Disclaimer: I don't own GW or Duo
Note: Warning, there is violence and death in this chapter.
Death's Bargain
Duo ducked under the taller figure and tried to bolt away, but Merrick was too quick as he grabbed his arm and yanked him back, slamming him against the wall.
Strangely enough, it hurt, considering how off balance his senses were.
"There's nowhere for you to run. I brought you here; I'm the only one who can take you out. Now you're going to give me the answers I need, or you'll be stuck here for eternity."
Duo was scared and nervous. This guy could slice him in half, and he wouldn't even die; but the pain would be real. And he definitely believed his threat. So, Duo did what he always did when cornered by an enemy and he was scared shitless.
He rambled. "Now let's not be hasty, Azrin told me Reapers can't kill humans, and I'm pretty sure you're already in the doghouse as it is."
"I don't know if you know this, but you're not human." He said threateningly, his scythe appearing in his hand as he convulsed with more anger.
"Okay, I can see that! But I'm an innocent bystander! And I might be helpless in here, but you're helpless without me too!"
Merrick paused half way through almost slicing his head off, even if it wouldn't have killed him, he would much rather argue with just a head instead of a body that could get away. "What do you mean?"
Duo inwardly sighed, though he wasn't exactly sure himself, he figured if he kept talking, something would come to him. "I mean, right now Azrin trusts me, and he seems to be running from you, so I'm your only shot to getting him back."
"If you know where he is, tell me."
"But I don't." Merrick readied himself to strike, but Duo backpedaled. "But I know where he might be!"
"Where?" He demanded.
"I can help you find him, but on… a couple of conditions…"
"Why would I bargain with a Halfling?"
Duo got an idea. "You still need me, right? You have no idea where to look. But I do, him and I are close. We're like brothers. And he'll trust me. He won't come to you without me."
"You only knew him for a couple of days."
"Apparently that's long enough, considering you still need me to find him."
Merrick hesitated, then dropped his arm and relaxed his hold, though not letting go or dissipating his scythe. "What are your conditions?"
Duo smirked. He still had it in him. "Well first, promise you won't hurt him."
"That was never my intension." He growled.
Duo got the feeling Merrick was just trying to return Azrin home. Then who was Azrin so scared of? Maybe because this guy was a delinquent? No one seemed to trust him, according to Nergal. He wanted to know more, being an underdog himself, but he could pry that out another time. "I still want a promise. You break that promise, and I'll make sure you never find him." He said, staring him down.
Merrick eyed him, making him a little nervous, then nodded. "Fine, I promise. What is your other condition?"
Duo took a deep breath. Or, whatever was in this place. "I want some answers."
Merrick narrowed his eyes. "What kind of answers?"
"Like what the hell am I, and what's going on. Who's chasing Azrin, what happened to him that got him stuck in the Human world. And about Reapers in general."
Merrick searched his eyes for sincerity, then relaxed, giving him a skeptical look and dropping his hold. "I'm not exactly sure I can help you with you. As far as who's chasing Azrin, me and my comrade Evelia. Though, I'm not sure how he got stuck in the Human World or why he's in a physical form."
"That's not his real form?"
"No, you have to take on a physical form in order to interact with humans. It's corporeal. Evelia and I saw him in the Human World and tried to get him, but he ran for some reason."
"Is he scared of you or something?"
"I don't know. I've never met him before then."
"Then how would you know who he was?"
"Evelia knew him."
"Oh."
"Now help me get him back."
"Wait, you didn't tell me about Reapers. I think if I'm at least Half, I have a right to know. And why does no one trust you?"
"My personal business is not any of your business. About Reapers… that's a lot of information. How do you not know anything about them?"
"I didn't know I was half Reaper."
Merrick looked slightly surprised, though it was only subtle since his expressions were pretty much stuck in a scowl. "How could you not know?"
"I grew up thinking I was human, and before yesterday, I didn't have any abilities or anything."
"Was that the barrier that was on you?" Duo shrugged. "What happened to take the barrier off?"
Duo shrugged again. "I remember getting shot then waking up in the hospital."
"Human wounds wouldn't cause a Reaper Barrier to be torn down."
"Well then, I don't know."
"Then start with what you do know."
Duo paused, thinking. "I know I can see ghosts, and my wounds strangely heal fast."
"Reapers can't instantaneously heal human bodies."
"They can't?"
"Since Reapers have to take physical form in order to sustain themselves in the Human World, they have to take a human body. If the body gets injured or killed, they just move on to another body. Or, if they're strong enough, they can create a temporary corporeal form. If they take a corporeal form, they can instantly heal themselves from most wounds."
Duo thought back to when Azrin was able to instantly heal. That means he was in corporeal form? He would have to be strong to sustain that. Interesting. He was just a kid too. But Duo had to have a human form, he wasn't using any power to sustain a corporeal form. That he knew of. And if he was half human, wouldn't that cut his power in half? "Then am I half something other than human?"
Merrick seemed to be in contemplation. "I don't know. Your aura doesn't make sense."
"How does it not make sense?"
Merrick looked at him with agitated scrutiny. "I don't know how to explain it."
"How can't you explain it?"
"It's just hard to explain." He snapped. He held his temple. "This is going to take time. I'll tell you more after you find Azrin."
"How do I know you'll keep your promise?"
"How do I know you won't just run as soon as I take you to the Human World?"
Duo eyed him. "Touché." They went silent. Duo sighed. "Okay. I'll find Azrin, then when I bring him back, you give me the answers I want. Deal?"
Merrick nodded. "Deal." He looked down, seeing Duo's outstretched hand.
"Are we gonna shake on it?"
"You have my word, that's enough." He said, turning and holding up his hand. A black portal of darkness appeared. "We leave."
Duo looked at the portal with unease, hesitating because of the last time he was sucked into one of those. "Um, you first."
Merrick grabbed Duo's arm and shoved him through without another word, then followed.
"Yes, I'm on my way to her hotel room right now." Wufei mumbled into he cell as he hastily entered the small hotel not too far from Duo's house. They had been looking for him all day, and still no sign of him. It was less about worry and more about agitation at this point. Besides, Wufei didn't feel like anything was wrong anymore.
Not that he had a sixth sense like Quatre, but he could still tell when something was wrong, especially with the other pilots. They had a bond that even if they hadn't seen each other in years, they would still fight beside with all their trust. If something happened to one, they all knew. It was no surprise Heero and Trowa had contacted them around the time Duo was in surgery. They didn't know it was Duo, but they still knew.
When Hilde had gone looking for Duo this morning, they had hoped she would contact them if she found something or not. However, she hadn't communicated with them at all, and it worried Quatre that something might have happened to her. Wufei tended to believe Quatre's gut after all the times he turned out correct, even on hunches. He wasn't superstitious, but he knew when to trust in something outside of conventional means. Normally Quatre would have been with him, but since the Winner Corp Board was throwing a fit, he had to go in to calm them down.
Wufei was agitated. He was frustrated with Hilde for not answering her goddamn phone, and for Duo for making them run around worrying about him. When he heard from the Administrator at the Preventer Station about Duo walking in looking healthier than before he met that kid, everything went from trying to get Duo back safe, to trying to get answers. Something was off since that kid came around, and though he would be next on his list of missing persons to find, right now he wanted to see Duo face to face.
For answers.
Wufei made it to the third floor he stopped, seeing one of the rooms' doors slightly ajar. Normally these doors slam shut to keep the contents of the rooms safe. His gut tightened as he walked over to the door, reading the room number 304. He looked down, seeing the hair dryer caught between, keeping the door from closing; like someone wanted to let whoever came across this in. He opened the door.
"Hilde?" There was no sound. Not from the bathroom or the television or the air conditioning. It was silent. He walked around the corner, finally finding the girl her was looking for.
She was pinned to the wall, with a crown of blood where her head was supposed to be.
Duo stumbled out of the black hole and face planted onto the ground, groaning as he pushed himself up from the concrete. He found himself back in the city, where he last encountered Merrick, before sucking him into that Prison place. He stood, Merrick materializing behind him, and the void disappearing.
"Lead me to him." Demanded the Reaper, his cold yellow eyes trained on Duo.
"It's not that simple." Duo started. He felt the aura of agitation rise in Merrick, slightly wondering how he could feel that and retracing his words. "What I mean is, if he sees the both of us, he's just going to run because he doesn't trust you. Let me go find him by myself."
Merrick eyed him, still untrusting.
"Remember, you still have answers I need." Merrick hesitated, then nodded. Duo turned on his heel, nearly running into someone, apologizing, then running off.
Merrick stared after Duo. "I didn't even see him change to corporeal form…"
Duo honestly didn't know where to look first. Back at his house? Hell no. Besides, he tried that place already. He could go to the café? Maybe try Hilde and see if she has heard from him? She might be pissed since he went missing again. How long was he gone for anyway?
He tried his pocket and realized he didn't have his cell. Dammit. Where exactly was he supposed to look? He had no idea where to start, and he was pretty good at finding people.
Except Heero.
Okay Duo stop, you have to think about this. You're a trained professional after all. But even as a professional, this could take weeks, even months. He only had hours before Merrick was going to come looking for him. He probably should have negotiated time management.
Wait, I'm a Reaper, maybe I can "sense" him? He stopped, wondering to himself. Then again, the last time it happened he encountered Merrick, though that shouldn't be the case this time. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, and seeing if he could try feeling where he was.
A cold chill went up his spine again, and he looked around, half expecting to see Merrick standing behind him. He shivered, only seeing a dense crowd of people. So what was the chill from?
He shivered again. That was weird, he wasn't trying to sense anything.
There is was again, making him feel cold inside. Okay, this wasn't exactly normal…
He started walking down the street, looking around and not really paying attention to where he was going. He was trying to see if he could spot anyone different, or figure out why he kept getting chills down his spine.
He stopped, seeing someone. It was a young man, probably his age, walking down the other side of the street. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary about him. He was blonde, he wore a plain tan hood and red shirt, and his hands were dug into the pockets of his cargos. He looked completely normal.
But somehow, Duo just knew that he wasn't. There was something off, something creepy about him. He didn't look creepy; he just gave a vibe. Not like stalker creepy or rapist creepy, but definitely dark creepy. If he had run into him a couple days ago, he would have looked like any other student in this city.
Duo decided to follow him. Not because he thought he would lead him to Azrin, but because he knew he was like him somehow; maybe not a Reaper, but possibly linked to Death. He could just tell.
If someone asked him to explain it, he knew he wouldn't be able to. For now, he didn't care to dwell on the details, he just wanted to see if he could figure out who and what that guy was.
"Of course he leads me to a graveyard…"Mumbled Duo, trailing the young man to a cemetery on the outskirts of the central city. The blonde headed straight through the main path, leading to a hill where a mausoleum stood, and walked inside. Duo didn't know whether he should wait or follow, but figured by the size there wasn't much he could do in there and just waited.
Duo looked around at the graves unevenly spaced apart. There weren't actual rows or sections, and the headstones ranged from tiny slabs to intricate works of art. He had never disliked cemeteries, but he had never wanted to step foot in one. Probably because it would remind him of all the people he lost. He hadn't been able to make a decent grave for Father Maxwell and Sister Helen, he had been forced to leave and flee because it was a time of war, and he would have ended up dead beside them. Knowing he could never visit their grave was why he avoided all cemeteries.
So he had never known what it would feel like to enter one. Wound they be creepy? Would he be able to sense the death? Would he see ghosts?
Honestly, he thought he would at least see something or feel something, especially recently, but the graveyard was… boring.
There was nothing. No chills, no ghosts, no apparitions or even feelings or the dead. It was strangely quiet, like death had abandoned the place. It was almost unnerving.
"Who are you?"
Duo jumped, the blonde guy he had followed standing directly behind him. How the hell did he do that? He hadn't left the mausoleum; and from the angle on the hill, he would have seen him even if he left from another entrance. "How the hell did you do that?"
The young man, who was also taller than him, but not as towering as Merrick, gave him a curious look. "How does a Reaper not know how to sneak up on someone?"
Duo blanched. So, he knew what he was. He was right to follow him. "I'm a little new at this, so I haven't figured that one out yet." In fact, he did know how to do that, but he had never encountered someone who could do it better than him. Though, that did make a lot more sense now.
"You're new?" He narrowed his eyes. "Well, Newby, this is my cemetery, and I don't like Reapers, so leave."
He paused. This guy didn't like Reapers? Then, what was he? "You're not a Reaper?"
"Whoever trained you sucked in teaching, you should know a Shinigami when you see one."
"A… Shinigami…?"
Duo's mind started pulling information he had learned when he came up with his title "God of Death." Shinigami was the Japanese version of that. Weren't Grim Reapers then Shinigami? He took a step back. "I thought Shinigami were the Japanese equivalent of Grim Reapers…?"
The young man studied him. "Who exactly are you?"
"I'm Duo, a Half Reaper."
"Half? What's your other half?"
"I was assuming human, but I might be wrong about that."
"You're definitely wrong. You don't smell like human."
Smell? Duo felt another shiver, like he could suddenly feel the aura around this guy. It felt dense, and it gave the impression that he probably needed to run.
"You reek of Death Energy." He said, looking him up and down, taking in all of Duo's frame and memorizing his form. It was like he was imprinting his image into his mind, and Duo suddenly felt vulnerable, like he was in the presence of a wolf staring at prey. "Reapers can't manifest Death Energy."
"W-What manifests Death Energy?" He asked, slowly taking another step back.
"The dead." He said, taking a step closer.
"Could you elaborate on that?" He backed away behind a headstone, knowing that if he looked away, he might not see him strike. He stared at his eyes, which were blue one minute, then a dull amber with slits. There was hunger in his eyes, and Duo realized the chill he had been feeling wasn't the sense of Death, but the sense of being hunted.
Had he known Duo was following him?
"I sensed you before you spotted me." He said, like he was responding directly to his thoughts. Duo stumbled back and fell on a grave, but hardly noticed as he stared up at the blonde. The young man stood above him, looking down threateningly. "Don't think I didn't know I was leading you here."
Duo gulped. "What are you doing to do?"
His aura sprang forth, taking the form of a large, hungry monster as his human form stood silhouetted with glowing amber eyes. "Find out just what exactly you are."
To be continued
Okay! I won't be able to get another chapter out till after the first(that goes for all stories) because I need to study for my P&C license. Sorry :/ If you guys could please review, it would be much appreciated.
