Disclaimer: I don't own any of the GW characters. Though I really wish I own them. (glomps horrified GW cast) Anyways, on with the story!!!!
Kaitou Shinigami (Thief Shinigami) Chapter 3
by elana-chan
Duo grinned smugly as he slipped into Quatre's mansion, undetected. He told Quatre to tighten security in their estate for his practice. Now, he passed down the grounds with ease as he headed towards Quatre's wing. Securing the hook in place, he carefully climbed the wall and landed on the blond boy's balcony. Picking the lock and carefully disarming the alarm, Duo breezed into Quatre's suite with a mock-frown on his beautiful face.
"I told ya, Q, to tighten your security here. It seemed that you didn't fulfill your side of the bargain."
The blond Arabian being addressed was sitting on the couch in his sitting room. Before him were a couple of neatly pressed clothes and a tray of sweets and tea. The only light in the dim room was a small lamp beside Quatre, giving little illumination to the vast room. Quatre smiled at him and motioned for him to sit.
"Well, I can't help it if you think my security's not enough, Duo. After all, you're the famous Shinigami, ne?" Quatre teased, making the other boy chuckle softly.
"So Quatre-chan, did you get the goods?" Duo said in a tone that meant business.
"Hai." The smiling blond said as he gestured at the items beside the couch and on the table. He also handed Duo some printouts. Duo nodded his thanks as he started to read the papers before him. "Demo Duo, you still haven't told me what's the story this time."
Duo looked at his friend then placed the papers aside. "Well, it's like this..."
(Flashback)
"Dear God, I know I'm not worthy to ask anything from you. But just this once, I'm begging for your help. Please, Lord. Help my mother..."
Those words stopped Duo from his tracks. The evening service just ended and he, being Father Maxwell's only altar boy, was tasked to clean up as his uncle rested. Finished with all his work, Duo was just about to remove his robe when he heard soft, pleading words drifting from the small chapel just outside the church.
Following his instincts to comfort whoever it was, Duo reached the chapel and saw a boy his age kneeling in front of the small, nondescript altar of the Maxwell Chapel. Approaching ever so softly, he came and kneeled beside the boy, closing his eyes and making a sign of the cross.
The boy finally turned to him and Duo examined the other. Sporting rich brown hair that was cut short, the boy had equally deep brown eyes. He had a handsome face, albeit full of worry and concern. Duo smiled softly at the other and made a move to stand up. He offered the other his hand that the boy took gingerly.
"God will always help anyone who asks for it. Anything the matter? It could help if you talk about it. By the way, I'm Duo Maxwell, an altar boy here." Duo said softly, offering the boy a chance to air out his problems. He motioned them to sit on one of the front pews in the chapel.
The boy smiled at him a little. Duo can see it was pained and his heart went out for the boy. Finally, the boy spoke with a soft deep voice with a French accent.
"My name is Jean Pierre Titzel. Nice to meet you, Maxwell-san."
"Just call me Duo. Can I call you 'Jean'?" At the other's nod, Duo continued. "So Jean, what brought you here to our humble chapel? Maybe I can help."
Jean shook his head hopelessly. He sighed then turned to Duo with sad brown eyes. "All you can do now Duo is to listen to my problem. I'm the great-grandson of Pierre Auguste Renoir, the French impressionistic painter. My mother is the daughter of Jean Renoir, Renoir's second son. We've settled here in L1 just a month ago because my parents are trying to find one of my great-grandfather's works in this area. They heard that a rich businessman living here owned a Renoir piece so we set out here to make a compromise with the owner. Apparently, he didn't want to give it up and even accused my parents as con artists. He threatened to lock us up if we ever come near him again. We could have bought it from him but we just don't have that much money to meet his standards.
"That painting is not just an ordinary one, you see. It's the 'Claude at the Easel', my great-grandfather's favorite work. It was the picture of my grand-uncle, Claude Renoir, who died when he was 10 years old. Years ago, back in France, that painting was stolen from my father. Our family had been searching for that painting in years. It's the only treasure we had left... but it was stolen from us like the others..."
The boy's words trailed as he looked away from Duo. Duo can sense the sadness and helplessness in the other's voice. A light bulb flashed inside his head and hiding a playful smirk, he turned Jean and offered a comforting smile before firing his queries.
"What was that businessman's name again?"
(End of Flashback)
"So Monsieur Esprit Radisson's the businessman Jean was talking about. Well, that figures. I've met him, Duo. He's ruthless not only in the business world but in the real world as well. It's all in the file. My father warned me about him. He's the talk in the corporate world. A shark, they call him. And a very ruthless one at that. I've also researched that he runs an underground fur trade in other countries. His being a businessman is merely a façade to hide his trade. He might also be the one who's behind the theft of Jean's painting. He's an art connoisseur, I've heard." Quatre added as Duo finished his story.
"Just as I thought. He's one of them heartless animals who prey on the weak and the poor." Duo muttered to himself. He, then, looked at Quatre with all seriousness. "So Q-chan, what's the game plan?"
Quatre nodded at his friend and started to relate him his plan of attack. As Duo made adjustments to his tactics, Quatre mused over his unusual friend and reminisced on the day he learned Duo's secret...
(Flashback)
"Duo?"
"Hey, Q-chan! Whazzup? What's with the long face?" Duo turned to him cheerfully.
"I...I" Should I tell him? Should I let him know that I already know his secret? "Duo...I..."
"Aw come on, Q-man! You can tell me everything! We're bestfriends, remember? Come on. Spill."
That's just it, Duo. I'm your bestfriend. Why did you keep this a secret? "Why?"
Duo looked at him, confusion written all over his face. "Why what, Quatre? I'm sure as hell confused here, you know."
Quatre looked at him squarely on the eye and with a soft, calm voice, he answered Duo's question with another one. "Why didn't you tell me that you're Shinigami?"
That stunned Duo and rendered him speechless for what seemed like ages. The braided boy looked away from his friend's questioning aquamarine eyes and stared off at a distance. Finally, Duo broke the silence and turned to face the blond boy.
"How?"
"I managed to get a hold of your hair samples from the museum you robbed." The other boy stiffened at his words. "Don't worry, Duo. You're not clumsy. I just have my resources, that's all. I'm having my own investigation. I thought that you might target my family next."
"I'm very sorry for not telling you, Quatre. I know I can deny it but I wont. You deserve the truth and that's what I'm giving you now. I am the thief Shinigami. I don't want to tell you this because I know you might get involved and I have personal reasons not to tell you. But since you figured it out, there's no use denying it, ne? You needn't worry, Kat. The only reason I'm doing this is to give back to others what's really theirs from the start. And you don't fall in that category, Q-chan." Duo smiled hesitantly at Quatre.
Quatre surprised the other boy when he hugged him and smiled genuinely. "I understand, Duo-chan. Don't beat yourself up because you didn't tell me. I understand completely. So, you're a modern Robin Hood, eh?" At the boy's nod, Quatre smiled mischievously.
"You owe me, you know."
"So what's the verdict, Q-man?" Duo looked at his friend warily.
"I'm going to be your sidekick!"
(End of Flashback)
"Hey, Q-man!"
"Huh? Oh, sorry about that. I just drifted off." Quatre blushed.
"Maybe you should sleep—" At the boy's glare, Duo sweatdropped. "Okay. So a nap then. I'll contact you when I'm finished, 'kay?"
"Well, all right. But first, try this outfit on. I had it made just for this mission. It will look good on you!" Quatre gushed enthusiastically, eyes shining as he imagined Duo in the outfit. Duo just smiled and sweatdropped.
Emerging from the bathroom, Duo looked at himself in Quatre's floor length mirror. Quatre was right. The ensemble fitted him perfectly. His hair was made into the usual ponytail high behind his back; it was covered with black net that was attached to the blood red ribbon that held up his hair. Since his hair was unusual in color and easy to recognize, Quatre suggested dyeing it. Duo protested at first but finally complied, choosing black to go with his outfit.
He wore arm-length silk gloves the same color as his ribbon and a sleeveless tight coat of the same color that fitted him in the right places and reached just below his waist. Black boots encased Duo's calves. Completing the affair were black tights that hugged his shapely legs and perfect waist. He looked like a magician's assistant. Quatre then handed him Shinigami's own collapsible wand and the green cat-eye contacts he wore on missions.
"You really outdid yourself this time, Q-chan. I look like a cross between a magician's assistant and cat woman or something." Duo mumbled as he looked at himself, a hint of a blush on his porcelain cheeks.
"You're so cute, Duo-chan! Kawai! I should have readied my camera. Oh well. Time's running so you better get out there. But, Duo, please be careful." Quatre, then, looked at his friend, concern pronounced in his eyes.
"Don't worry 'bout me, Kat. Hee-chan can't catch me and neither will that bastard who calls himself human." Duo assured his friend with a smile. "Now then, let's start our ritual!'
Clasping their hands in their chests, the two placed their foreheads together and closed their eyes. Duo led the ritual with his own prayer.
"Dear God, forgive me for I use no gimmick or trick."
Then, together with Quatre, they completed their ritual as they ended their prayer.
"May the blessings of God be with us always..."
To be continued...
Author's Notes:
Oh my God!!!!!! I really love you people!!!!!! (glomps readers) I can't believe I've got 18 reviews already and I'm just on my 3rd chapter!!!! (cries tears of joy) Wah!!! I don't know what to say! Anyways, as you may have noticed, there's not a lot of action going on in this chapter. This chappie is made just to explain certain things about our favorite braided thief and his ever-loyal, if not a bit enthusiastic, sidekick Quatre. Umm... I still didn't beta this fic coz I'm too busy trying to kill the plot bunnies!!!! Joke! (snicker)
Enough of that. I've noticed that the anime 'DNangel' have been appearing in the reviews of people lately. Honestly, I haven't seen that anime yet though I really want to, you know. Umm... about Shinigami's outfit here, it would really look like that of a magician's assistant. I'm not really good at describing clothes in detail so please bear with me. Gomen! Hmm... what else? The painting mentioned here really exists and it's so kawaii!!! I really love Renoir!!!! I guess that's all.
Thanks people for reviewing my fic! I'm really happy you liked it. I'll try to update as soon as I can!!!!
Thanks to the ff:
Yasei Raiden - You know, I really love your feedback! (glomps Yasei) Wai!!! I really could use your help as a beta. But how can I send my fic to you? (scratches head) I'm really new at this stuff. (sweatdrop) About Zechs' hoarding Shinigami's pics? It's not really intended to look like Zechs is hiding Duo's identity. The guy's just proud that he managed to take a picture of the elusive Shinigami. But what you pointed out is quite interesting. I never thought of that angle. Hmm.. (thinking) And about being my muse, can you really be my muse? Onegai? (puppy-dog eyes) I really need inspiration!!!
Tenshi-Usa - thanks for that review! I promise to be good to the plot bunnies as long as they're good to me. As long as they keep away from my insane self, I won't pull the trigger and kill them all. (does a Heero Evil Laugh)
Keiran - thanks for the review! You're right! I patterned Quatre's character from Meimi, St. Tail's nun bestfriend. As I was working on this fic, I didn't intend for Quatre to be like Tomoyo and noticed it only know. But it's so kawai of Quatre to act like that!!!
Kaaera - thanks for that review! What's my inspiration for this? At first, it was a stray plot bunny that bit me. It's that plot bunny's fault! (wails) Now, I think you people are the only ones that kept me going to finish this fic. I was planning to abandon this one but you people seem to like so here it is! You mentioned HP. Do you read slash? What ship are you in? (wink)
Aspiring author, ahanchan, ZmajGoddess and Windy River - thanks for the reviews I get from you guys!!!!! (glomps the three)
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