Chapter 2 ~ Rules of a New Land

Mission 2 ~ Reconnaissance

Heero took another look at the bloody pillow. Where did that come from? Something happened in that bed. Something that made someone bleed. Heero didn't want to know what had happened there, yet the curiosity swelled inside him. Duo followed his eyes to the bloodstains. He grimaced a little at the sight.

" I'll explain that later. I promise I didn't do anything like what you're thinking, no matter what you're thinking. Come on, it doesn't bite." Duo said, sitting down. Heero still stared at the pillow. It wasn't the blood that made him wary, no, it was the memories that cam with it, Bad memories of beatings and blood. His own blood. Refusing to sit on the bed, Heero walked towards Duo and leaned against the wall. Duo sighed but didn't argue. He laid down, torso in full view. He looked very sexy that way. No wonder they all dress like that here.

" Alright, I'm going to start from the beginning so don't interrupt until I ask. All right now when you die, your body is left behind, on Earth or where ever. Your soul exits your body and floats in a dormant state. It feels like falling. There, your mind returns to you. You have two choices here. You can either remain dormant, those become ghosts until they become active. The other choice is that you reactivate yourself, and move on into a new world, namely, this world. Every soul it placed by the angel of death, depending on his life on Earth. Any questions so far?" Duo said, glancing at Heero. Heero though for a moment. Falling was an accurate description to be sure. Ah, there's a question.

" If my soul left my body, then why do I have one again?" Heero asked. Duo snorted. His face made him look like in his head he was saying ' oh yeah, forgot about that.' He stood up and stood in front of Heero.

" Tell me, how old were you when you died?"

" 29, why?"

" Take a look at yourself Heero. You don't look a day over 16." Duo said smiling. Heero walked over to the closest dresser and looked in. Duo was right, he looked a lot younger that 29.

" How old do I look?" Duo said. He posed in a cross-position, arms fully extended, feet together, looking down at himself. Duo did look young. His body was slimmer than most adults were and he was shorter as well.

" 15." Heero said, wondering where this was leading. Duo laughed very hard. He sat on the floor, laughing. Once he had himself composed, he spoke.

" Would you believe I died when I was 48? And that was in 1745. I'm very much your senior." Duo chuckled to himself. " You see, to live in this new world, you need a body. However, your body can't be the one you died with or we'd have a lot of old people, or people that had been blown apart. Imagine little pieces of me lying on the floor waiting for wind so I could get to a tailor to sew me back together. So instead, they freeze your body when it's the strongest and use that as your new body. So, I was the strongest when I was 15 and you, when you were 16."

Heero nodded. That made sense. Heero turned around and walked back towards his roommate's bed. From this new angle he could see plenty more bloody stains covering the comforter, barely visible on the black surface. Odds are that's the reason they were black. Heero made a mental note to himself to ask Duo about them later. Mental note made, he lay down on the bed.

" First of all, that's my bed, your lucky I'm letting you lay on it. Second, lay face down and take off your shirt. Its time for stage two." Duo said, standing with his hand on his hip, obviously waiting for the offending shirt to be removed. Heero was already quite content on the bed and the thought of moving didn't seem all too great. He closed his eyes and lay there for a while before feeling Duo's hands upon his chest. An annoyed grunt came from his throat.

" Hurry it up newbie I ain't got all day." Duo said, giving Heero a playful smack in the head. Heero opened his eyes to glare at his new roommate. Heero had to force himself to sit up while he removed his shirt and threw it on the floor near his own unmade bed. Duo looked halfway between amused and annoyed at the glare Heero sent his way before the boy laid down on his stomach.

" Now that wasn't too hard was it." Duo piped as he sat down on Heero's lower back.

" Ain't, isn't a word." Was all Heero said. Duo chuckled.

" Well ain't nobody told me that till now." He said, putting emphasis on the word 'ain't'. Before Heero could respond, he launched into his next explanation. " Now the symbols on your back are very important. The one on your left shoulder is what power you have in this world. Powers depend on your personality and actions in your life. For example." Duo said, tracing his fingers along the mark on Heero's back, ".you have an F on your back. That stands for fire. It usually means your quick to anger, you have devastating power, and you warm and guide others with your light. Now the marking on your right shoulder blade is called a rising sign. It lets you know when you are rising. Yours is a pair of wings, so odds are you'll grow wings when you rise. The one in the center is the most important. It's your rising clue. It gives you a clue on how to rise a level in the afterlife. Yours is two hands holding each other. Now remember that. So rising a level is good. When you get to the top level, you're reincarnated, and get to live another life. Falling gets you farther from that goal. Get it?" Duo said, removing his weight from Heero's back and sitting on the bed beside his companion.

" Yeah I get it. Let me see your symbols." Heero said, sitting up. Duo grinned and shook his head.

" Demanding aren't we. Well I don't see how it can hurt." Duo removed his vest and threw it near the door. It reminded Heero of how a teenager would act. Duo turned so his back was facing Heero and gently moved his long chestnut braid out of the way. Heero's eyes traveled rapidly over the other boy's back. In the center was a golden key, like those you would see in ancient times. On his left shoulder was a large B. It looked like it had been burned there. Heero remembered the burning sensation that ripped threw him when the angel had touched there and figured it probably had. The marking on his right shoulder was two hands gripping each other. Not in a loving way but in a way you would see a trapeze artist grip his partner's hand. After a few seconds Heero lifted himself off the bed and retrieved his shirt from near his bed. As he turned towards the rooms exit, shirt on, he found Duo, leaning against the doorframe, vest already replaced. He smirked at Heero in a way that sent chills down his spine.

" Now we need to go shopping. I got the money already. We have to get you a uniform so you can work here. So if you're ready we can leave." He said. Heero simply nodded and walked put the door. Duo watched him for a while and muttered " Well ain't he talkative." Chuckling to himself he followed the newbie out the door.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^* Mission Accomplished **^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

~A/N~ I finally got my computer back! ^_^. I'll be updating quicker now. I'm really sorry about the whole computer shit.I didn't mean to break it, Honest! Well anyway, review and I'll make the next chapter a priority!

~ Alleus~