Shinigami's Gem

AN: gulps uh… hey…. I'm ba-ack! Sorry for being so long… but I contracted this dreadful disease known only as… GCSEs and it's been very rudely taking up all my time recently. curses whoever thought of exams And I have honestly been busy revising up until last week. Then my parents, wonderful people, decided that I should move into the bigger bedroom sometime this summer holiday so I had to do excessive tidying of my room and also… wonderfully, we have plumbers in and they are trying to make me freeze to death!

Well, anyway, very sorry. But as a treat (ok… maybe it's a punishment, but you better damn well treat it like a treat!) I have been working on a lot of hand-written fics over the time of my GCSEs when I was… Kind of… trying to… not really… doing revision. Of course, they'll have to be typed up… and finished…. But there are a lot of them! now… please don't kill me!

Oh yeah, and this chapter has one of my favourite scenes in the whole story so far- Relena shopping… it sounds dreadful, but I just love it…. !

Chapter 6:

Zechs led Duo through the labyrinthine passageways of Oz's agency headquarters. For the first fifteen minutes or so he had tried to keep track of the route, but Zechs seemed to be deliberately making it more complex, adding in twits and turns that were unnecessary. He was tired and pissed off and the only thing keeping Duo going was what Solo might be going through at the end of it. He could not leave his friend to suffer like that. He just couldn't. All other things were banished from his mind as he followed the blond through the building, dodging guards every now and then.

Duo felt highly out of place in the elegant and extravagant building; his dirt and patches seeming all the more ragged and poor surrounded by luxury and opulence.

He looked around the corridor, which, looked the same as all the others he had been down so far: marble wall and pillars. The ceiling was a huge mural of the tales of the Gods. Powerful and beautiful figures warring against each other in an attempt to win the ultimate power. But none of the larger, bolder figures captured his attention, another did.

In each picture, just on the edge or at the top or bottom there was a slight looking figure, with none of the muscles the other character's sported. He was dressed in black, but his appearance seemed to change as Duo looked at him, all apart from the crafty grin that lit up his face, which suggested that somehow he was in charge. He looked as though he was the puppet master, pulling all the other characters strings, all though he only appeared in the corner.

Duo shook his head, this was strange: he felt deja vu every time he looked at that picture. A feeling of familiarity washed over him, as though he knew the person portrayed. Putting it out of his mind he averted his eyes to Zechs' back and followed him carefully.

"Heero," Relena simpered, smiling at him while twirling around in the dress. She waited for his comment, hands pressed together demurely. The Prince didn't even look up.

"HEEERRO!" she called, stamping her foot impatiently. The dark-haired boy looked up, startled out of his daydream. Duo? No, Duo would never scream his name in that horrible shrill voice. It had to be…

"Relena," he stated, his voice a monotone. He gazed at her blankly; completely oblivious to her fashion statement. One of her ladies in waiting raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

"Doesn't the dress look wonderful on her?" The girl prompted, earning herself a glare from his hard cobalt eyes. But as a Prince he could not let that comment go without a reply- it would be discourteous. He thought to himself for a while.

"Hn," he answered with just the right lack of emotion. It could be taken either way, just as ambiguous as he wanted it to be. Relena could take it like she wanted to, which happened to be with a huge smile and an almost-glomp, but luckily he managed to dodge at the last minute, much to Wufei's amusement.

The Chinese boy smothered a chuckle as Relena and her cronies glared at him. He smirked back, enjoying their discomfiture.

One of the ladies in waiting looked particularly venomous, glaring at the back of Heero's head, but a swift glare from the Prince sent her running back to Relena, terror in her eyes.

"Hn," He repeated amusement in his tone. He didn't like to talk around people he didn't like. Wufei nodded slightly, understanding the meaning behind his grunt. After growing up with the guy he could tell almost everything that went through his friend's mind. They shared a look and Wufei opened his mouth but was cut off by a shrill squeal.

"HEEERRROOO!" Relena again. Heero's face returned to its blank mask, concealing his hatred of the girl in front of him.

"Relena," he sounded resigned as the girl dragged him off to look at yet another of the tailor's dresses. She, apparently, was in desperate need of a new dress for the ball coming up. When Heero asked why she could not simply wear one of the other dresses she already had she had replied in a scandalised tone, as if he were stupid, that she could not possibly wear one of them again.

"Onnas," Wufei muttered, "what is the matter with them?" Heero, who had just heard him, shrugged imperceptibly. He had no idea. At the moment he was just glad that the two of them weren't being shopped for themselves. He wasn't sure he'd be able to keep up his blank exterior with all the girls giggling about him and dressing him up like a doll. Heero almost shuddered at the though as Relena shoved another putrid pink piece of cloth under his nose.

To keep himself from ripping the abomination up he lost himself in his daydreams, going onto autopilot. Duo filled his mind.

It was strange, he though to himself, that the young thief, who was, without a doubt, one of the most disreputable people he knew, was one of the main features in his life now. It was bordering on an obsession, and they'd only kissed once. But they'd talked for so long during his visits. Duo wasn't afraid to oppose him, or voice his own opinions- and he had a lot of them.

He was the realest person Heero had ever met; he had none of the pretentious mannerisms or masks that the courtiers and dignitaries had. He wasn't playing any games; he was simply trying to survive in his own world.

Even, Wufei had some of the politician, a tendency to be slightly false and guard himself even when they were alone, and Heero knew that he himself was just as bad, if not worse. But life for the crown Prince of Elleins was not the safest of existences; you never knew where there were spies or enemies around. But Duo made him forget all about those kinds of things. The only thing he saw when he was with him was the braided boy, the only thing he heard was the bright, perpetually chattering, voice.

The whole world seemed to fade away, leaving only Duo as the centre of his existence.

"I just love this style," Relena's twittering insinuated itself into his mind.

Love. The word took him by surprise, left him reeling. Love. It was such a short word, but one which held so much.

Did he love Duo?

He hesitated for a moment, to analyse the question, squashing the inner voice that tried to answer immediately. This couldn't be a rushed decision; it had to be carefully thought through. But the inner voice pushed back.

'You over-analyse things!' it told him smugly. 'Remember- follow your emotions.' Heero frowned. It wasn't that easy. There were things that needed to be though about.

'Don't think- feel!' the voice instructed him. 'Do you love Duo Maxwell?'

"Yes," he said immediately, not giving his brain time to get a word in.

"You do?!" Relena asked, and Heero snapped back to reality at the sound of her voice. He looked confused, flicking an eyebrow at Wufei to see if it was an answer he wanted to make or not. Wufei nodded slightly behind the girl's back and he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief and nodded at her.

"Hn," he said, glad that his little absence had gone unnoticed.

"This one it is then," she said, beaming at the new pink atrocity she was holding. Heero bit his lip to stop himself from showing his shock, and balled his hands into fists. Wufei smirked. At least, Heero decided, trying to look on the bright side, he hadn't agreed to marry her or anything like that. He really should pay attention in future; there was no knowing what he'd agree to.

Duo cautiously entered the room, looking around. It was dark, a shock after the bright light of the corridor. Zechs was waiting outside for him, keeping watch, as ready to help, as the guard was, he was not willing to risk his head completely; something Duo could quite understand.

His eyes fell on the figure hanging in the middle of the room. Duo gulped back a wave of nausea.

"Solo?" His friend was a mess of bruises and cuts, blistered skin stood out against the rest. Duo gasped as he took in the sight of his friend, he could hardly recognise the mutilated person in front of him. "What the hell?" Duo began to panic. He wasn't moving. Why wasn't he moving? "Solo? Are you ok? Shit! Solo, don't be dead, please, for Shinigami's sake- Don't. Be. Dead!" He approached the body slowly, almost fearfully and reached out a hand with hesitation. He went closer, even though all he wanted to do at the moment was run and hide, run far far away.

"Du…" a croak brought him back to reality.

"SOLO!" he yelled, forgetting the rule about being quiet. He went to hug his friend before remembering the state he was in and why he was here. He modulated his tone: "You're alive!"

"Yea…" another harsh croak and a wince that suggested it hurt him to talk.

"We've gotta getcha outta here, S. We're gonna get ya outta here…"

Outside the door Zechs was looking around. He was beginning to regret his decision to help Heero. All the way Duo had been chattering, and even when ordered he only remained silent for a couple of minutes. He could see no reason, other than the boy's obvious beauty, that Heero felt so drawn to him. He shook his head, yet another of the things he just couldn't work out about the Prince. There were a lot of them

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts he only just caught the faint sound behind him that indicated a footstep. He whirled around to look straight into the eyes of Lady Une.

"Une," he said with a bow. As they were of equal rank he saw no need for a title. The important thing now was to make sure she did not enter the room.

"Zechs," she said, equally politely. "I suggest you draw your sword." And that was when he realised that hers was already drawn. In a flash he drew his own.

"Thanks for the suggestion."

"Du..o. ru-un." Solo managed to force out the two words. Duo smiled at him and shook his head defiantly.

"Not without you, S," he told him, working at the bonds. Solo smiled sadly.

"Lea-ve me-e." Solo insisted.

"No…" Footsteps sounded behind him and Duo twirled around, not noticing the fear in Solo's eyes, which his braid barely missed.

"Mr Maxwell… or should I call you Shinigami," Treize said officiously, "How kind of you to join us."

Thank yous

Golden Wings- Ooops, sorry well, here you are, in the Thank yous… have a plate of Duo Cookies, as a sorry and here- a Duo plushie thing…

Storie2tell- Aha… well now… you're gonna have to wait and see now aren't you! but rest assured, one day Duo will find out about 'Ro… it is coming… soon, have a plushie

Malevolent Lady- Thank you very much… sorry for keeping you waiting so long, t'was beyond my control! Have a plushie

Kitty Kat 0303- Sorry sorry sorry! I couldn't update sooner… sorry… and what with ff.nets new policy against non story chapters… gah! Have a plushie of… oh… it's a Zechs Plushie… with real hair…

Camillian- please don't hurt me… I'm sorry… t'was the exams fault… 'twas… 'twas! Have a Prince Heero plushie and forgive me… please…

Cryearthstearsfalltou- Thank you . Sorry it took so long… blame it on the idiot who invented GCSEs… have a Solo plushie

Shinimikra- You make me laugh… very very cool review… thank you… and I did review one of your stories… and now I have time I shall review more… cross my heart and hope to kill Relena! Or, as 'Ro would say Ninmu Ryoukai. The hunting Relena down sounds like a great idea… I shall get my special 'evil-stalker-biatch' finding binoculars. As for the other thing… grins wickedly you can rest assured that Relena shall pay… but I ain't gonna tell you how yet! - have a Shinigami plushie.

Rena Lupin- Sorry it took so long, I really am… Thanks for the review… your life sounds… interesting! Lol. Have a Duo-kicking-Treize'-ass set of action dolls… Thanks

Darkpheonix365- Lol! Relena lives to stalk another day… Thank you for the review and… because I think you'll like it… you get the amazing Relena plushie with detachable head, arms, leg, body and which really screams and spurts blood… enjoy! (sorry for the delay…;;)

Fire of Phoenix- You added this to your favourites… I'm honoured! bows thank you very very mch for the review… I'm sorry it was so slow… sorry sorry sorry!