Disclaimer: I don't own GW or any of its characters. (mutters) Though I wish I did. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this story, minna-san! I'm really sorry for the very long delay! Gomen! (wails)
Kaitou Shinigami (Thief Shinigami) Chapter 9
by elana-chan
"…should get this all cleaned up before we go. The week's almost up and we still have no lead whatsoever. Duo? Duo, are you still listening to me? DUO!"
"Huh? Kat, what is it?"
Quatre looked at his dazed friend then sighed. Since morning, the other boy had been like that: dazed and staring at space every few seconds. It had been hard for the blond to distract the teachers and, at the same time, shake his friend awake from wherever his mind went to. Duo obviously had things in his mind but Quatre had a hunch that whatever the braided boy had in his mind, it's not about Black Cat.
"You owe me, you know."
"Eh?" Duo gave him a puzzled stare, still not completely out of his daze. Quatre huffed in exasperation, bangs fluttering a bit before settling back to cover his face.
"You almost got yourself tossed into the principal's office with this mood of yours. What the heck happened to make you like a love-sick fool anyway? Don't bother using HER as an excuse, Duo. From that expression of yours, I know it's not her on your mind right now.
Duo had the decency to look chagrined at the blonde's words. He had lost his thoughts thinking about what had happened yesterday afternoon. He could still remember the time he spent with Heero under the shelter of his umbrella (Editor's Note: Awww. Me, too. Am inspired to draw a fic pic of this!). Then, the braided boy noticed that he had been drifting to his thoughts again and that his blonde friend was looking at him impatiently. He sweatdropped at the glare Quatre directed to him.
"Finished with your trip to La La Land? Maybe you could now tell me what's been bothering your mind since morning."
"Erm… it's like this…"
After a few minutes of blushing and stuttering from Duo and sniggering from Quatre, the braided boy finished narrating what had happened yesterday afternoon when Duo was returning home from Quatre's place. Quatre stared at his braided friend with amusement before a look of seriousness descended upon those expressive aquamarine eyes. He looked around to check if anyone is within hearing range before turning to the still-blushing Duo.
"I'm happy for you Duo. But you know that this isn't the time for all of this. HER deadline is near and I'm really worried for your sake."
Duo's eyes softened at the concern he can see in Quatre's clear aquamarine eyes. He sighed and gave his friend a bright smile to reassure the blonde.
"Don't worry about me, Kat! Everything's gonna be kitto OK! Take it fro—"
Duo's reassuring words were cut off as voices drifted down the hallway. Both aquamarine and cobalt blue eyes widened as they recognized the owners of the voices. Heero, Triton and Wufei were headed their way! (Editor's note: DOKUN! DOKUN!)
"I thought your goal is to capture Shinigami. Why take interest in the case of this thief that existed even before you were born!"
Wufei pointed out to Heero, who was currently engrossed at one of the files he had photocopied from the station's file room. Trowa just looked on at the two with a detached amusement, clearly steering away from the occasional argument that breaks out from his two friends.
Heero looked up from the papers he had been reading and gave his black-haired friend a long stare. Wufei seemed to understand what the other wanted to convey with that stare. He sighed deeply before shrugging as they continued to walk down the hallway.
"Suit yourself, Yuy. I can understand why you're hooked on Shinigami and Maxwell." Heero glared daggers at this comment, a hint of a blush on his cheek ruining the effect of the glare. Wufei just ignored this as he continued his ranting.
"But on these two thieves? Black Cat and Dark Angel, right? Based from the file, I think those two are already dead. And it might just be coincidence that Shinigami likes to keep us informed and about leaving a signature, he might just be doing that for his own amusement."
The trio halted their movement and stopped right in the middle of the empty hallway. Heero glared at Wufei while the latter matched the glare with his own no-nonsense stare. Trowa just sighed internally at his two headstrong friends as he waited for them to continue their walk. He was hoping to catch a glimpse of a certain blond-haired angel on the way out.
Surprisingly, it was Heero who backed down from the staring/glaring contest the two initiated. The junior detective shrugged then went back to the files that he had been reading as he resumed his walking. Wufei shook his head at his silent friend's actions, a hint of disbelief at what the other just did. Heero don't normally back down on their staring/glaring contest.
"Just leave it be, Wufei."
"I know. I guess I'm afraid that he might become obsessed with Shinigami as Merquise is obsessed with Maxwell. He's not the one to take failed 'missions' so easily." Wufei smiled ruefully at his tall friend as the two hurried to catch up on Heero.
The trio walked past the classroom where Duo and Quatre were currently in, the two listening intently to the conversation that happened outside. Quatre can't believe it. How on earth did Heero manage to stumble upon Black Cat? Even the Winner database had a hard time trying to find information on the thief. Quatre was about to comment on this to Duo when he was the other's expression.
Duo's jester mask was now replaced with an expression of complete seriousness. That expression may only mean one thing: Shinigami is now in charge of this mission. Quatre rarely saw this expression since he was usually the one who plans most of the heists done by Shinigami. Duo is the one who polishes it then executes it. Duo dons on this expression when Quatre has a hard time formulating a strategy for Shinigami's heists. The blond was still not accustomed to this serious façade of his best friend. Even when he's Shinigami, Duo rarely has a serious expression on his heart-shaped face.
"Duo?"
"Quatre, I think it's time we let Mom meet Shinigami and know the real story of Black Cat."
"I can't believe this…"
Duo muttered to himself as he exited the teacher's lounge. He had been called by his class adviser after Quatre and he finished cleaning their room. His blond best friend had gone on ahead, saying that he will look up again in his database about Black Cat while Duo extracted info from his mother.
Iruka-sensei (Editor's Note: Uh… huh… cough), their mother-hen of an adviser, had wanted to talk to him about his behavior this morning. His class adviser, being the worry-wart that he is, asked him if he was having problems and that his sensei was there to listen. Duo made the excuse that he was worrying about the upcoming Halloween Party. Iruka-sensei bought the excuse and just lectured him lightly that the next time he worries about parties, he must do it after class hours.
The class adviser was about to extract more info from his but the physical education teacher, Kakashi-sensei (Editor's Note: Uh… HUH… COUGH… Didn't know this was a crossover…. XD), barged into the teachers' lounge and proceeded to harass Iruka-sensei with his lewd flirting. Duo looked at his blushing class adviser and the tick mark that had appeared on the said teacher's forehead and decided to leave Kakashi-sensei to his demise.
As he walked towards his room to get his stuff, Duo repeated what had happened while ago when he and Quatre were cleaning their classroom. They had heard Black Cat's name being uttered by Wufei as he had lectured Heero on his pursuit of Shinigami. Duo hadn't missed Wufei's comment about Heero's fascination of him and Shinigami. Duo might buy the thought that Heero is 'hooked' on Shinigami. After all, the guy had been very adamant in trying to put him behind bars. But what Duo was still reeling from shock was that Heero was 'hooked' on him, too. Him, Duo Maxwell. The braided boy blushed at the thought that Heero might have feelings for him, too.
But reality just had to be a bitch because Black Cat swamped his thoughts of Heero and took away the blush that colored the young thief's cheeks. Duo's expression darkened at the notion of Heero being a potential target of Black Cat. The other thief might get wind of Heero looking over her file and might make the junior detective another potential hostage to bait Shinigami. He can't let that happen. Though Duo trusts in Heero's ability to defend himself as he himself saw this many times during their encounters with one another, Duo doesn't want to take that chance. He must prevent Black Cat from even touching his love ones. He really needs to speak to his mom.
Duo was so busy with his thoughts that he was not really aware of his surroundings. A shadow blocked his path and so engrossed in his thoughts that he hadn't manage to avoid the person in front of him.
A strong pair of arms steadied him as he was about to lose his balance from the impact. Alternating an apology and a thanks, Duo bowed furiously at the person in front of him, not at once noticing who it was.
"Gomen nasai! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to bump you. I was not looki—"
A deep chuckle halted his words and actions, making Duo stop his bowing and taking a look at the person who he had bumped into.
"Eh? Zechs-sempai?"
"No need to apologize, Duo-san. No harm done really. I was the one who got in your way."
"Demo—"
Zechs smiled at Duo's confusion. "You were busy brooding that you didn't hear me calling you down the hallway."
Duo blushed at this. He mentally cursed himself for not being aware of his surroundings. He gave a bright smile at his sempai to cover up his inattentiveness.
"Ehehe. Gomen nasai, sempai."
"It's ok, Duo-san. I want to talk to you anyway."
"Eh? What is it about? Do you need help for the pictures in the school paper?"
"No. Not really. It's about the school's upcoming Halloween party."
"Oh! So, does sempai-tachi need help from the juniors? I can round up people to help the seniors."
Zechs leaned closer to Duo, invading a bit of the braided boy's personal space. Duo began to look flustered at the actions of his sempai. He looked around to see if there was anyone he could use as a distraction to get out of this mess but such was his luck because the hallway was totally empty except for them.
"Anou sempai…"
"I just want to ask you for a dance in the party, Duo-san."
Duo mentally sighed in relief at Zechs' words. He was afraid that the senior might ask him to be his date for the party like what his friends had been speculating. He can't let the senior ruin Shinigami's plans for that night. He was about to agree to the tall blond's request when Zechs' next words were whispered to his ear.
"Or should I say Shinigami-kun."
The braided boy stiffened immediately as he turned stunned eyes at the person in front of him. Zechs gave him an enigmatic smile before stepping away from the young thief's personal space.
"See you at the party, Duo-san."
With those words, the tall senior left a shocked Duo in the middle of the empty hallway.
"Kuso..."
Unknown to the two, a pair of Prussian-blue eyes had been watching the whole thing a distance away. Though he didn't catch most of the words the two had been saying, he did catch the last words the blond senior had said to the braided boy.
Damn that Merquise! Omae wo korosu…
To be continued…
Author's Notes:
I'm soooooooooo sorry people! Gomen nasai! I didn't mean to post an update past the deadline I made myself. I'm so sorry! (kowtows before everybody) Wah! Damn internet viruses! It's their entire fault! (pulls a gun from hammerspace and proceeded to decimate internet viruses using Heero's gun) My 003 died because of them! Poor 003. (pats the laptop affectionately) 003 had to be reborn again so I lost all of my files in the process of reviving him. Sad thing is that I made no back-up of my fics so I have to type them all again. So this chappie is not the original chapter 9. Another thing that led to the delay of this chapter is my finals. My professors became Satan's little helpers and made this semester Hell. I got swamped by papers and exams that I hadn't had the time to even type a word in this fic. Plus my ego got busted when my professor in my technical writing course trashed my paper. Argh! (tears out hair in frustration) It's a good thing my friends manage to inflate my ego a bit to write this chappie. I was this close to forsaking fanfic writing forever.
Anyways, about that. Now that this bitchy semester is over, I'm going to enjoy these two weeks vacation trying to regain my fanfic writing ability and continuing this series. I just hope the heat in out country won't melt me first. It's soooo hot here! Darn tropical country! Darn heat! I wanna go to the beach all ready! (stops self from daydreaming of beaches and white sand) (Ed's Note: Puerto Galera! Puerto Galera!)
Okay. About this chapter. As I have written in the earlier paragraph, this is not the original chapter 9. The original is a bit shorter than this one and the dialogue is different. But the story is still the same. I just typed this chapter from what I remembered. I'm also proud that this is the longest chapter (I think) of Kaitou Shinigami that I have ever made! I still can't believe that I typed something this long. My stuff is usually more like a drabble than an actual chapter. (sweatdropped) I know I'm mean when I gave Duo a dilemma instead of a date for the party. Some had wished that Heero would ask our braided boy for the dance but I changed my mind. Instead, I inserted Zechs into the picture. Heero got his moment in the last chapter anyway. (smirk) I got this idea from you people and decided that it's a good angle to be included in the story. About the last line, my editor and I just can't resist to add that. Heero won't Heero without his famous line. Yeah! Omae wo korosu… (tries to imitate Heero Heero: Hn) Another thing, I couldn't resist to add my other favorite yaoi pair, Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei of the Naruto series. I just love 'em! Wai! Anyways, like the usual, ignore the typos and grammar. I hope this chapter is to your liking and that the long wait was worth is. Gomen if it didn't make your expectations. I will really try my best to make this fic a wonderful one! (bows before everyone) I'm hoping that my fic would make it to one of the C2 in this fandom. (sighs) And if you got annoyed by my editor's notes, just tell me. I'll be happy to hit her with my toy mallet. (evil grin)
Before I forget, a cookie shower for everyone! I miss giving our cookies to you people! I miss my reviewers! I'll try to install the next chappie as earlier as I can. (determined look) I MISSED YOU PEOPLE! Well, I hope I get to install the next chappie in less than a month. Thanx to all those people who reviewed the last chapter and all those encouraging words you gave me. It really helped in reviving my ego, you know. Also, I noticed that some new names have reviewed Kaitou Shinigami. Thanks people! Have some cookies! Anyways, I must end this AN. It's getting way too long. Thanks again, people! (bows in gratitude)
Potential next chapter: the real story of Black Cat and Dark Angel, the day before the Halloween Party, What is our dear Zechs planning? Is he one of the bad guys or what? Will our taciturn detective act to save our favorite braided baka (Duo: Hey!) from the clutches of their dashing blond-haired sempai? Stay tuned to Kaitou Shinigami! Same Shinigami time! Same Shinigami channel! Gosh, I wanted to do that!
(Spare's Comments (She's my editor, btw - elana-chan): claps furiously Yep, it's the longest chapter for this fic that I've read, so far. Grammatically good. I did VERY VERY minor changes. I mostly just made comments here and there. You didn't lose the original feel of the ficcie, thank goodness. Whee! Why did you make me beta anyway? The chapter's good enough as is. Although bitin pa rin. Argh. Cliffhanger na naman. And the way you made both Duo and Heero think about that "Rainy Umbrella Night" I'm beginning to call it that is good for character development. More power! Go, Jedi! vov)