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 (And I mean VERY, VERY long) delay! Gomen! I've been a very bad author and a lazy one at that. Gomen! (wails) WARNING: This chapter is UNBETA'ED, so please excuse typos and grammatical errors. My beta is currently out of reach. Gomen. (bows before readers)
Kaitou Shinigami (Thief Shinigami) Chapter 12
by elana-chan
"Sempai, how much do you know of Shinigami?"
Duo asked the tall blond in front of him as they walked away from the hustle and bustle of the party. No answer was given. Duo was about to demand an answer when Zechs finally stopped walking and faced the violet-eyed boy. Duo then noticed that the blond had led him into a small garden park where tall foliage can serve as cover for such a private conversation.
"Shouldn't you be asking about my knowledge of Black Cat and Dark Angel?" Duo tensed at these words. Zechs gave the other a reassuring smile before continuing.
"You need not worry, Duo-san. You still have some secrets I wish to know. But I wish to know them with you telling me in you r own free will. At present, I merely choose to know what I deign is important in this situation. But first, I must share you the information that could turn the tide in tonight's mission. Your loved ones are worried about you, Duo."
I'm one of them, too…
Duo stared up at his sempai's eyes after hearing those words. He saw worry in those normally-cool blue eyes. He then realized the gravity of tonight's mission.
I can't afford to fail this. I can't fail them!
Seeing Duo's determination burning in those intense blue-violet eyes, Zechs got the hidden message and started his explanation.
"I assume you already know about the relationship between Black Cat and Dekim."
"Yes. According to my source, Dekim had been toying with her feelings and using her to acquire art pieces and sell them in the Black Market."
"Your source is partially correct. Dekim did use and is still using her for his own evil purposes. But he did have feelings for Black Cat. Yet he lost himself to greed and power. That's why he became the monster that he is."
Zechs said through gritted teeth as he tried to banish such painful memories and the feeling of intense hate and anger that came with it.
Flashback
"Promise me, son. Don't follow your uncle's footsteps or mine's. Live a normal life as possible. Leave this place."
A young Zechs leaned towards his father, clasping a hand slick with fresh hot blood. Small hands tried in vain to stop the thick, dark red fluid from escaping his father's trembling body. Tears had began to make their way down porcelain cheeks as Zechs clutched helplessly at the older Merquise' failing body.
"Take this, Zechs." A key and a slip of paper was handed to small hands. "K-keep…it and…leave. P-promissse me…" A deep breath. Then stillness.
"F-father? Father! FATHER!"
After releasing a loud scream of anguish, the small figure of a child stood over a rapidly cooling corpse of a blond man. Long tresses of platinum blond hair matted with blood covered the boy's features. Small hands tightened over the parting gift he had received from the dead man. The figure didn't move an inch, yet mumbles could be heard coming from the boy.
"Justice. I promise justice, father. Justice…"
End of Flashback
Zechs willed himself to forget long-buried memories and focus on the task at hand. Duo was looking at him curiously, wondering what the other was thinking with that spaced-out look he had a while ago. Schooling his emotions, the blond continued his explanation.
"Dekim eventually realized that the Dark Twins were not enough to fulfill his dreams of greed and power. He then started his plan to create the ultimate thief that would do his bidding without complaint and without fail. A perfect machine that will stop at nothing to gain what is requested. Dark Angel was his choice but the other had realized what he was doing and left the group."
Duo's eyes widened at this new information he was getting from his sempai. Zechs' blue eyes darkened as he continued to narrate the story to the other boy.
"Black Cat was the one left so he had no other choice. Based from my sources, Dekim still had some soft spot for Black Cat at that time. But the need for his perfect thief had been too great that he settled for Black Cat. The other was so infatuated with him at that time that she didn't even question the man's actions. Bigger heists, harder missions, dangerous operations. Black Cat took them all and completed them without fail. She was beginning to be the ultimate thief Dekim was shaping her to be.
"But there was a glitch in this whole experiment. Dark Angel. Apparently, Black Cat still respected her friendship with Dark Angel. She avoided all missions given to her that coincided with Dark Angel's heists. Dekim then decided to get rid of this hurdle."
"So he was the one who set them up in that warehouse…" Duo muttered angrily, hate for this person growing by the second. But there was one thing he couldn't understand in all of this. "If Dekim prized Black Cat so much, why would he injure her in the process?"
"I see you know the story as well. It was all in his plan. Two birds with one stone. Dark Angel's betrayal will serve as a starting point for Dekim to eliminate such useless emotions from his creation and he managed to eliminate Dark Angel in the process.
"But his plan sort of backfired. Black Cat developed amnesia after the shooting. She forgot everything about her past, even Dark Angel's so-called betrayal. All she can remember was Dekim. She retained some of her skills as a thief due to years of honed reflexes but it was not enough to put her back into the field.
"This did not deter Dekim. He bided his time since he thought Dark Angel was dead and there was not much worthy competition to be nervous about. He then decided to put his plan into action, feeding her with lies about her past and false emotions to ensure loyalty to him and absolute hate for her dead comrade. He married her to keep up with appearances and had her trained the ways of the thief. Eventually, she became fit to perform heists again and was sent back out, this time doing bigger missions in other countries and working nameless. Finally, Dekim had completed his experiment and created the ultimate thief he had been longing for."
Duo chose this time to interrupt the blond's narration. "Sempai, why did Black Cat chose to seek revenge after all this time? She could have exacted her revenge a few years back."
Zechs smiled a bit sadly at his braided kouhai's question.
"It was because of Shinigami."
"Eh? Shinigami? Me? Why?" Duo looked even more confused.
"Dekim was pissed off that someone was stealing some of the pieces that he had sold into the Black Market and returning them to their proper owners. He had Shinigami investigated. After digging around for some time, he not only found out Shinigami's real identity but also who his parents are, particularly his mother."
"No…It's all my fault then…" Duo's expression became shadowed as he was burdened with guilt once more.
A pale hand rested on his head and gave it a reassuring pat. Duo looked up at his sempai's face, clearly confused at his sempai's actions.
"It's not your fault, Duo-san. You're only doing what is needed. You are helping people, making them happy. Your mother understands that."
Duo's expression cleared a bit from the other's advice. The vulnerable expression vanished and was replaced with his game face, the poker-faced mask of Shinigami.
"This information could help me, sempai. But how can I prove this to her? Surely she will not believe in the words of the enemy."
"Here."
A packet was handed to Duo's palm. The braided thief cautiously opened the packet and blue-violet eyes encountered pictures. Pictures of some of the scenes that happened on that fateful night when his mother was almost killed by that bastard.
"These should help. They were taken on the night when Black Cat and Dark Angel had been manipulated by Dekim. These should make her believe. There are some pictures of Black Cat and Dark Angel when they were still the Dark Twins."
True enough, there were pictures of Lady and Maxine when they were young. Some of the pictures showed the two of them having fun together, doing stuff together. It showed the true past and not the lies that Dekim must have fed Black Cat.
Duo looked in awe at the pictures and then with a hint of curiosity at his sempai. Zechs saw the look and the question in those expressive blue-violet eyes.
"I, too, have my sources, Duo-san. How do you suppose I knew all of this, hm?"
Duo blushed at his sempai's astuteness and kept the pictures in some hidden compartment in his costume. He then turned once again to the blond.
"Thank you so much for your help, Zechs-sempai. I would still be having doubts about my success tonight if not for your help." Duo bowed low before the other as he expressed his gratitude. He then straightened and asked once again.
"But why help me, sempai? You were there before and now, you're here again to help me. You won't get a thing from helping me." Duo asked calmly, a bit wary with the other's true intentions.
Father, I'm sorry if I hadn't ran away. But I will fulfill my promise of justice.
Zechs looked away from the braided boy before turning his gaze once again at Duo. The taller blond moved closer towards the boy, startling the braided thief at the close proximity of the other.
"Zechs-sempai, what are you doing?"
A pair of strong arms wrapped around Duo's middle and the scent of musk and roses filled his senses. Zechs-sempai was hugging him! He felt the other's warm breath by his left ear, making him shiver involuntarily from the ticklish sensation.
"Shh.. We're being watched."
Duo stiffened from the other's words. They were being watched! Since when? They were talking in hushed voices so it's impossible for others to hear what they were talking about. But it would be suspicious if they were just talking.
"What are you planning then? It would be suspicious if we suddenly leave in opposite directions. The hour's approaching so I have to leave. Are they still there?"
Duo leaned closer towards the other's body and whispered back, a bright blush starting to paint his porcelain cheeks. He decided to play along with his sempai's idea of putting up a ruse that the two of them are lovers hiding from the party.
Zechs moved closer and tightened his hold a bit more on Duo to keep up their charade for their unknown audience. He then transferred his lips towards Duo's collarbone, not really touching them but close enough for Duo to feel his sempai's warm breath ghosting over his skin. Duo's blush brightened even more as he released a gasp of surprise that could also be mistaken as a gasp of pleasure.
"Yes. He's still there. I guess voyeurs exist even in our school, ne? I need you to play the victim here. Leak some tears to make it more believable. You can even slap me if you want. I won't take offense. Then, make your exit. I'll cover for you when you leave."
"Eh? What are you saying, sempai? Victim? Zechs-sem—!"
Duo's words were cut off when the blond suddenly grazed his lips on Duo's sensitive neck and bit into it. The braided thief immediately tore himself away from Zechs, the other looking at him mischievously. Finally, Duo got the other's hint and tears started leaking out of his wide blue-violet eyes.
"Zechs-sempai, why…?" Duo looked at the other with eyes sparkling with tears and hands holding the area where his sempai had bitten him. He also made his voice a bit louder for the benefit of their audience.
"Don't you feel it, Duo? This attraction between us? You responded splendidly when I wrapped my arms around you. And you showed such emotion in those pictures."
Sempai really is getting into this. But I still can't believe he bit me like that!
"No! I trusted you, sempai. I thought you were doing that for your project. I can't believe this!" Duo shouted as he leaked more tears. Turning his head away from their audience, Duo winked at his sempai before running away from the scene.
Thanks, Zechs-sempai. I owe you lots.
Good luck, Duo-san. Keep safe.
"I know you've been watching us. Enjoyed the show?"
As Duo's retreating back disappeared into the night, Zechs turned towards the direction where their unseen audience was hiding. A shape emerged from the bushes and revealed the figure of the said teen, glowering heatedly at the older teen. Zechs matched the glare with calm blue eyes, smiling at the other boy who was ready to kill him.
"Good evening, Heero Yuy.
"No! I trusted you, sempai. I thought you were doing that for your project. I can't believe this!"
Heero watched with thinly veiled anger as tears ran down blushing porcelain cheeks and the braided teen fleeing from the blond teen before him. He had seen Merquise led Duo away after their dance. When the blond had intruded upon their dance and taken away the braided teen, Heero had been monitoring them from afar since then. He'd watched the expressions dance on that expressive face. Butterflies had wreaked havoc in his stomach as he waited with baited breath for expressions such as adoration, love or even a hint of lust flit over Duo's handsome face. It was a good thing he hadn't seen one but one can never be too sure.
And so there he was, watching them behind the bushes after he had followed them outside and away from the party. He had lost them in the dark but eventually found them talking rather softly in a rather deep part of the garden that surrounded the area. He couldn't get close enough to hear what they were talking about without risking his cover. So he decided to watch them from afar and intervene if the blond should make some move on the braided boy.
He had been ready to jump out of his hiding place and punch the lights out of that Merquise when the other had wrapped his filthy hands around the braided boy. But the expression on Duo's face and the response he emitted towards the touch prevented him from revealing himself. A painful sensation in his chest started to make itself known but he tried to ignore it as he was forced to watch the exchange between his sempai and the teen he was starting to have feelings for.
When he had seen the betrayed expression on Duo's face and the tears that leaked out of those clear blue-violet eyes, relief and anger coursed through his veins. Relief that Duo did not really want Merquise' advances and anger that the blond dared to take advantage of the braided boy's trust.
I will really kill that bastard!
"I know you've been watching us. Enjoyed the show?"
So the bastard had known he was there all along. All the more to torture and give him a slow death.
Knowing it was now futile to hide himself, Heero emerged from his hiding place and communicated through his glare his intention to give the other a bloody death. He was further irked as Merquise remained calm and composed despite the fact that he had seen what he had done to Duo.
"Good evening, Heero Yuy.
"Merquise." Heero said through gritted teeth, voice laced with anger. He stalked menacingly towards the older teen, all the while conveying his anger towards the blond.
Now, they were standing in front of each other, sizing each other up. Tension was so thick that one could cut it with a knife. Marquise remained impassive to Heero's threatening aura. He was also the one who broke the stifling silence between them.
"What are you so mad about, Yuy?"
Silence.
"Giving me the silent treatment, eh? I can't see why you're so angry. I think I should be the one offended here since you were the one spying on us."
Zechs' cocky attitude was the last straw for Heero. He aimed a punch towards the blond but the latter evaded it easily. Heero didn't stop his assault towards the other but Zechs seemed to be holding on just fine as he evaded and block every blow and kick Heero delivered.
"Why fight me, Yuy? Are you Duo's knight in shining armor? I don't think the two of you are even friends to begin with. How much to you know about him? Do you even know anything about him?"
Zechs' words stopped Heero in mid-punch. His words struck something inside Heero. The other was right. The junior detective only knew the basics about the braided boy. He was just a classmate before, a nuisance who teased him to no end. He'd never spent time with the other boy before. Just instances when their paths crossed and on classes. He was never the one to take the initiative to interact with the other boy. It was always Duo who makes the first move.
But what about that time when it was raining? That should count as a start of our friendship. And that time when I asked him if I could come with him to the party. I made the first move there.
But it was not enough. He never did know the other detail about the other boy. All the things he knew about Duo were from his friends and from other people. He hadn't made a move to ask the other teen about himself. And he called himself a detective!
I'll make it up to him! I'll start to get to know him better. Even if we have to start out as friends. I will not give up! And I won't let this bastard take him!
"Just as I thought. You don't know much about Duo."
Zechs gave a small sigh at this and shook his head, which infuriated Heero even more. The junior detective was about to launch another attack when his sempai's next words stopped him in his tracks.
"Well then, why don't you follow him? This is your chance, Yuy. To find out more about Duo."
Heero felt a sense of foreboding from those words of his sempai. He can't help but feel that there's much more to what Zechs said to him. But he would take his rival's advice and follow the braided boy. He had seen the direction Duo had taken and made a move to follow him.
He took one last look at the calm visage of his sempai, briefly thinking if the other would block his path. But the blond made no move to prevent him from following the braided boy. With one last glare aimed at Zechs, Heero ran out of the garden and followed the path of the braided teen.
Wait for me, Duo. I'll make it up to you. I promise.
Zechs once again watched as another of his kouhai disappeared into the night. It had hurt to watch Duo go and fight Black Cat. Now, he felt a pang of regret at letting Heero follow the braided teen and discover his secret. Zechs knew that his love for the braided thief would become unrequited since the latter already had someone in his heart. It's just a matter of time before that someone finds out about Duo's feelings and his secret. He didn't want to betray Duo but this dilemma should be settled now than later.
Will you accept what you will learn tonight, Yuy? What will you do once you knew what's inside Pandora's box? Will your feelings survive this knowledge or hurt you both in the end?
"Good luck to you both."
To be continued…
Author's notes:
Ok. You people can kill me now. I confess I've been a very bad fanfic writer since I've not updated for ages. I've been very delinquent in writing fics since I got caught up with reading manga scans, watching new anime series, hanging out with my friends and organizations, having a part-time job and juggling 6 major subjects every semester. To top it all, I currently have a major writer's block! Argh! But all in all, I've been a very bad fanfic writer. And I owe you people tons of cookies, cakes and apologies for that. Gomen! (bows before readers)
I'm not all too surprised if only a handful of people review this chapter since it's been ages since I've updated. I'm also sorry if my beta and I happen to miss correcting some errors in this chapter like what happened in the previous chapters. I'm so sorry people. And for those people who have reviewed the last chapter and have been supporting this fic up to know, I really am grateful for you people. More cookies and cakes for you!
I've read a review on the last chapter about doing a 3x4 fic. Well, to be honest I'm not very good when it comes to writing about those two. Though I can't promise you that I'll surely make a side story about their romance, I can promise you that I'll try my best to make one. Though I dunno when that would be. Gomen!
Notes and comments about the fic itself. Well, I can honestly say that I did my very best to make this chapter a bit serious and an okay read with this writer's block on me. I hope I satisfied some lingering questions there but I think I added more into those growing pile of questions you people have been dying to know the answer. I think I made Zechs here a bit weird. (Zechs: I'm not weird. It's just me being my usual enigmatic self.) Don't you think so, that he's a bit weird here? I want him to be this very mysterious character who you couldn't really read that easily. My friend once asked me if I'm going to make Zechs a bad guy. Well, I really like Zechs in the series and even in this fic so I chose to make him like that. Hope you people aren't confused with him. The questions about his past and that flashback there would clear up in the next chapter. I promised before that this thing would be cleared up in this chapter but I estimated wrongly so I'm so sorry for that. I wrote them in my notes to make sure I tie up loose ends when this fic ends. I don't want you people to be left with more questions.
About Duo. Well, he's a bit on the naïve side (Duo: Hey! I'm not naïve! (pouts)) so I imagined he would react like that when his sempai started 'molesting' him. I tried my best in describing that scene but it was so hard for me since words didn't come easily when you're with writer's block.
You people would also notice that this chapter is somewhat boring. Well, I think it's a transitional chapter where I can clear up a few things before heading towards the confrontation between Shinigami and Black Cat. After all, Shinigami needs that kind of info in order to have a chance in changing the tide towards his favor. I decided to spice things I bit in the last part, the confrontation between Heero and Zechs. Hope you people liked that part.
I think Heero is once again a bit OOC in this chapter. But it would ruin the effect if he doesn't even get angry at Zechs for what he did. But Heero, a voyeur! Hehehe that's a funny thought. (Heero: Onna, omae wo korosu (whips out gun and aims at author's head) Author: EEEPPPP!)
Anyways, that's enough notes for now. I really hope I get to work on the next chapter of Kaitou Shinigami. I'm almost at my last year in the university so I'm trying to be a dutiful student. I hope my studies won't interrupt in writing the next chapter. I'll do my best! For now, ja people!