FIVE

Sutoomu

Reikan, catc10, Tears Falling Freely, Kirihana, Wing It, hawsamber, anissa32, Vitanie Tora, Lilith Desiree, Trixters' Muse, Turtle Kid, Yami no Hikari-Chan, silvertwighlight, Katreda, and Lady-Friselle! You are my loved reviewers for chapter twenty one. I'm sorry to have left you all at that point, so here's the explanation of Tao Shen's bloody state and the ultimate fate of Tao Shen.

Cookies and Tea. /sips her cup, and eats her chocolate chip cookies/ Read on, and enjoy!

"He deserved it," Heero spoke, almost defensively, as he stopped and saw Wufei's gaze on Tao Shen's body. He shrugged his shoulder and Tao Shen fell into the grass with a grunt and a moan. "He deserved it, Wufei."

Wufei looked up and met Heero's hard blue eyes. Heero didn't regret letting Duo do this in any way, Wufei could see that plainly. But Wufei could also see that Heero understood how Wufei felt inside, and was worried for him.

"I know," Wufei murmured softly, his eyes storming with mixed emotions. "I just…this is sick justice."

"It's our justice," Heero stated firmly. "This is not yours, this is ours. This is our justice, Wufei, and we had a right. We had a right!" Heero exclaimed, his passionate hate for Tao Shen showing in his eyes and his voice. "You're ours, Wufei, not his! He shouldn't have touched you in the first place. You never belonged to him, and you were not his to control. We simply showed him that."

Wufei heard his words and he knew how Heero felt, but he still couldn't help feeling upset. Even though he was a despicable scum, Tao Shen was still a human being, and no human being deserved to be treated like this by another. Wufei supposed he felt empathy for Tao Shen, since he, too, knew what it was like to be beaten. And seeing Tao Shen like this was bringing back his own memories of being beaten.

"Did you let Quatre see this?" he asked softly.

Heero only now looked the tiniest bit ashamed. "No," he said, shaking his head. "Duo didn't want to upset him, and his heart."

Wufei nodded in agreement with the decision. "Considering how even I feel, Quatre would have probably gotten sick and passed out, or blamed himself for it."

Heero's eyes darkened, and he sighed for a moment before speaking, hesitantly. Wufei knew instantly that this was something he had never planned to say, and as Heero spoke, he knew why.

"I know, Wufei, that it's overdone," Heero said, staring at the waist high grass in the field Wufei had followed Heero into. "And it's my fault. I let Duo go too far."

"What happened to 'this is our justice'?" Wufei asked. It wasn't in an accusing voice, just curiousity as to why Heero had changed around and come on his side of thinking, suddenly. He wondered where this guilt Heero had came from. He hadn't seemed to regret Tao Shen being a pulp.

"This is our justice," Heero insisted firmly. "But…I made a mistake. I let Duo get too angry, and he lost it…there's a dark side to Duo, that he never talks about. He's only once ever came right out and told me, and Trowa and Quatre only know bits and pieces." Heero inhaled deeply and closed his eyes, and Wufei could tell that this deeply affected him. "Duo calls him Shinigami, the God of Death. He's like his alter ego, the persona he takes when he's not happy or angry. He becomes…almost like a monster of rage and hurt. It's from his past, again. Duo's had Shinigami in him since the orphanage burnt down, a bit after Solo first died."

Wufei listened and suddenly felt very guilty. He had been thinking, in the back of his mind, how sick and cruel Duo was for being able to do this, even though he refused to admit it right out. Now it was being explained to him, and he felt bad for even thinking that about Duo. Energetic, lovable Duo.

"When Duo gets angry, he loses touch with Duo and becomes Shinigami," Heero continued to explain. "It doesn't happen much anymore. We solved some of it in Sessions, and I helped him out of his depression earlier on, but…Shinigami is still in Duo. Right now, Duo's holding him at bay. That's why he's so moody.

At Tao Shen's house, when Duo was beating on him…I was so angry with Tao Shen that I wanted to do it myself," Heero clenched his fingers, remembering the emotions he had felt. "But I thought I would kill him, because I was an assassin. I never beat people, I only killed them. Duo's been a street fighter all his life. He's used to kicking the shit out of people so he wouldn't get the shit kicked out of him. I thought he would be able to handle it beautifully. But I forgot about Shinigami.

I didn't try to stop him until I realized he was hitting a limp rag," Heero looked aside, guilt burning in his eyes. "It took me a long time to calm him down and keep him away from Tao Shen…"

"Why are you telling me this, Heero?" Wufei asked. "I can see that it hurts you…"

"It doesn't matter if it hurts me," Heero declared, looking back up to meet Wufei's gaze. "I'm doing this to protect Duo. I don't want you to even bring it up, and that's the first and last order I'll ever give you, Wufei. But it is an order. Duo…he's already feeling guilt way worse than you or I, and I don't want him to feel any worse than he is now. I don't want him going back into a depression…I won't be able to stand it this time." Once again Heero stared at the ground, his face in a frown of haunting memories.

"Heero, I'm glad you told me," Wufei replied after a moment of silence, his voice soft and calm, and peaceful. He really was glad Heero had told him. It had settled the turmoil inside him about Duo. "And you don't need to order me. I'd do it anyways. I love Duo, too, and I don't want him to be hurting, either."

Heero looked up and then smirked. "I know," he sighed with relief, a sound Wufei had never heard coming from him before. "That's why I told you without his permission. If he ever finds out you know about Shinigami completely, he'd skin me alive. He would kill me, but he doesn't have the guts. It's why being Shinigami scares him. When he's Shinigami, he can take life, and Duo finds life to be a very precious thing."

"I can understand how he feels, somewhat," Wufei nodded. "And I won't let him know you spoke. After all, you two balance each other as good as Trowa and Quatre. Besides," Wufei's eyes brightened. "I like your skin."

A groan from the direction of the ground floated up to them, and they both looked simultaneously down at Tao Shen, who had opened the one visible black eye to gaze up at the two of them. Tao Shen rolled his eye over to the other side, having just looked at Heero, and his gaze connected with Wufei's. Instantly, Wufei remembered why he hated this man so much, as Tao Shen's face wrinkled into a painful looking snarl at him, anger and rage and pure hatred in his uncle's eyes matching his own. They were enemies, and they always would be until one of them died.

"I forgot about him," Wufei murmured.

"Good," Heero smirked. "I want you to forget he ever lived after he's dead."

Tao Shen growled, even in his condition. The man had hated him so deeply, and now, at death's door, he despised him even more. His uncle was furious, angrier than he had ever been, and Wufei knew it was all because he was helpless. He was trussed and tied like a calf, with broken bones and bruises aplenty, and he could do nothing. Tao Shen knew he was going to die, and he was mad.

For some odd reason, Wufei felt happy just knowing that. For once, Tao Shen was angry at him for something he had caused. All the other times…all the other beatings and the shouting Tao Shen had done to Wufei had all been pointless. Tao Shen had always seemed to be mad just because Wufei was alive. Now, finally, the man was mad and had a right to be. For the first time, Wufei was proud and glad to have made him angry.

It helped that Tao Shen couldn't release his anger on him with his fists.

"Here," Wufei looked up and his eyes widened at the handgun in Heero's hand. The ex-assassin was holding it with the familiarity of an old friend, but he was offering it to Wufei. "This is your justice, Wufei." Heero placed the gun in Wufei's hands and then hoisted Tao Shen to a relative sitting position. Tao Shen growled and Wufei could see veins on his neck throbbing. Tao Shen was trying to speak in the face of his death, but a broken jaw was holding him back. The man didn't need to speak. Wufei could see the hate in his eyes.

Death. Wufei held the man's life in his hands, and it was clear what Heero intended the gun to be used for. Heero intended Tao Shen dead, but he was giving the right to Wufei. This was his justice…but could he really stand here and kill a man? Even if it was Tao Shen?

Wufei wrapped his hand around the butt of the handgun and set his finger on the trigger. It was loaded and ready to fire. All he had to do was use one little muscle in his finger, and Tao Shen would be out of his life for good. There would be no worry or fear anymore. Wufei lifted his arm and directed the barrel at Tao Shen's forehead. He could shoot it right through the man's stupid little brain…

Wufei's hand trembled, and he tried to bring up reasons why Tao Shen deserved to die. The man was an abusive husband, an abusive uncle, and abusive person in general. He had hurt Taia, and he had hurt his loves, and he had even hurt Meiran, indirectly. Most of all, he had hurt Wufei. And he did deserve to die. He deserved to be killed without mercy, without caring or compassion or forgiveness. He deserved to be slaughtered like a cow.

It didn't work, and Wufei knew it wouldn't. He couldn't persuade himself that Tao Shen deserved to die. He knew the man deserved death. He just couldn't live with himself if he did it. This was his justice, but it was wrong. He couldn't kill another man, even if it was Tao Shen. He just couldn't.

Heero watched Wufei lower the gun and understood. He took it from Wufei's hand and turned his love around. "It's okay," he whispered as he nudged Wufei towards the van. "It doesn't matter. Let's go home."

Wufei nodded with a heavy soul, his heart and soul fighting tooth and nail. He so badly wanted to destroy him! He so badly wanted to kill the man, and tear him apart! But he couldn't, and it plagued him that he was weak like this. This was Tao Shen! He was the epitome of evil to Wufei! He was the haunting nightmares in his sleep, the shadows that lurked around corners, and the darkness where there is no light. Wufei felt so much hate and anger towards tao Shen, he should have been able to kill him. It would be so simple!

But he couldn't. He couldn't kill a man, and it burned his insides, because he so badly wanted to. But his rage and his mind conflicted each other, and his mind had always been above his rage. Wufei had always controlled his anger, mostly through meditation, and now he just couldn't let his rage overtake him. Though he wished to pull the trigger and watch Tao Shen die, he couldn't.

It wasn't until the gunshot reached his ears that Wufei realized Heero had not walked with him. He was nearly to the van when he heard it. He whirled around to look at Heero, holding the gun aimed at the ground. He couldn't see Tao Shen in the grass, but he knew as Heero let his arm fall to his side and his head drop that the man was dead.

'By Heero's hand,' Wufei swallowed the ball of emotion rising in his throat. As Heero turned and walked back to him, Wufei couldn't resist it, and his emotions welled up.

"You didn't have to do that!" he yelled, grabbing Heero's shirt and shaking him as he neared. Heero stared at him calmly with blocked off eyes and endured the shaking. "He wasn't your responsibility. You didn't have to do it, Heero! You shouldn't have done that!"

"Wufei…"

"You didn't have to do that for me!" Wufei continued shouting. His heart was breaking, and it wasn't because Tao Shen was dead. That was what he had wished for most of his life. He was hurting because Heero had been the one who did it. And Heero should not have had to kill again, not for him, not for Wufei. "You said you were done! You quit killing, Heero!"

Heero's eyes softened as he heard Wufei's words and understood why he was upset. The fact that Wufei was more concerned for his feelings than Tao Shen being dead was a great act of love, and it reminded him, once again, why he loved the chinese boy so much. Why he loved all of them. "Wufei, I didn't like it," he spoke, and his eyes flashed as a smirk came onto his face. "But I wanted to do it. Just like you did."

"So?" Wufei snapped. He was upset, and taking out his rage on Heero for his own faults. He was too weak to kill Tao Shen, and his weakness had forced Heero into having to do it. And it burned inside him! The fact that Heero did something he had sworn never to do for him. He felt like he was destroying their happiness and their lives. "You had no right to do that to yourself, Heero! Just because I'm too weak…"

"You are not weak, Wufei!" Heero cut off Wufei with a sharp voice, scolding him for even thinking it. "You have never been weak! You're stronger than I am, Wufei, believe me."

Wufei's anger melted away into grief, and he set his forehead on Heero's chest. "Heero, you jerk!" he growled as tears ran down his face. "You didn't have to do that for me…you didn't have to, not for me…"

"Why?" Heero whispered. "Because you don't think you're worth it? I would do the same for Quatre or Trowa or Duo. I would kill anyone for you, anyone!" he declared strongly, holding Wufei in an embrace. "And Tao Shen was going to be dead, whether by your hand, or by mine. I just gave you first try. Now," Heero grunted, and set Wufei up standing straight. "Stop feeling guilty about it. It was my choice, it was my bullet, it was my finger. I made a decision, not you, to break my vow. It was my choice, Wufei, not yours, and I want you to remember and believe that."

Wufei stared at Heero. "How are you so strong? How do you handle all of us, and yourself? How can you give up all your energy to deal with us messed up lovers? How can you do it, day after day after day? How can you be so strong?" he spoke quietly, almost as though thinking his questions out loud.

Heero just smiled at the amazed Wufei and kissed him. "I do it for love, 'Fei. I do it for love." Heero set an arm around Wufei's shoulders and walked the last few feet to the end of the field. They stepped out onto the dirt road and stepped into the vehicle. "Let's go home," Heero suggested as he started the van, and Wufei nodded gratefully, his heart aching to see home.

Wufei refused to look back at the field where his uncle lay as they drove away. Tao Shen was done and finished. The part of his life with Tao Shen had come to a close.

It was time to live his own life, now.

I hope my readers appreciate that. Everyone was always so adamant that Tao Shen should die, so I killed him. And it was very fun to write. Now, this sounds like a very nice place to end my story, but I don't think I can just let it go. I don't think I have any more real chapters to write, but whoever wants an epilogue, just say so in the review. I'll probably put something more on this fic. Just a little something extra or whatever, after the ending.

Now, since this is the last 'real' chapter, there are questions I must ask. Such as, who wants a sequel, who wants a prequel, and does anyone want another Five story with a different lover as the main character? Perhaps Trowa encounters Jasen... I have a lot of options with Five. It could become a series! Maybe.

I'm going to focus a bit more on Vampyres, now that this fic is not as much of a top priority anymore.

As well, I have a new story idea I'm going to be writing, about a character named Wolf Graves and Duo Maxwell, and a band. And there's going to be a lot more to it than just that. I'm going to try and write it as well as I did Five. If you're interested, check it out in a month or so. It will be called ShadedViolets.

Please review and give me your opinion. If anyone has any ideas, they can send me a message. If anyone has any questions about this fic or the ending, message me and I'll try and answer.

Storm