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Kyuuketsuki Duo
Flipside -- Episode 5
Masks (and ducks)
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	Duo took his seat gingerly, grumbling cheerfully in his head at 
his partner.  ::This is all your fault, you know,:: he mindsent.

	::I know it doesn't hurt anymore, so stop complaining already.::

	::It's still your fault.::  He'd taken a small tumble this 
morning and bruised his posterior when he'd fallen out of bed.  The late 
dawn light had made its way through the cracks in the heavy curtains 
covering the bedroom windows, and Duo had taken the cue to wake.  Gently 
untangling their minds, which had been as tangled as their limbs, from 
that comforting haze of mingled auras and shared upper-level thoughts, 
he had attempted to slip from the bed when he was halted by a light tug 
on his scalp.

	Turning, he had found his mussed braid clutched securely in the 
strong grip of his slumbering lover.  He frowned, rolled over, and 
attempted to free it from the tight grasp, but to no avail.  Raising his 
pouty glare to Heero's face, he had been greeted by mischievous bright 
blue eyes attempting to blink innocently at him.  When light tugs did 
not work to achieve his freedom, he had given it a good pull, and the 
silky strands had slipped out of the ex-Shinma's hold.  Unfortunately, 
he had been perched on the edge of the bed and still partially caught up 
under the covers, and he had ended up on the floor with a bruised bottom 
and his partner's rich sapphire chuckles rolling through his mind.

	::But I kissed it and made it all better, didn't I?::  The waves 
of deep blue and bright silver were wrapping themselves gently around 
his mind again in a brief, warm embrace.  For a moment, the guardian 
could almost feel Heero's arms around his waist, and a curious nuzzling 
at his neck beneath the restrictive collar of his boring school uniform.

	::Hmpf.  And made me almost late,:: he retorted mentally, 
opening his bag and shifting through his things to find the right 
folder.  ::You're just lucky I can slip through a conveniently isolated 
shadow and make it on time, instead of having to run to school and 
ending up all breathless and sweaty.::

	::I rather like you that way, myself.::  Images accompanied that 
last thought.

	Again, Duo blessed his ability to divide his thoughts and carry 
out two separate activities at once, or he certainly would not be able 
to carry on dirty conversations and still look like a perfectly normal 
high school student getting ready for class.  ::My, you're awfully 
playful this morning.::

	::Hmmm...,:: Heero mused.  ::Maybe I've got a bit of succubus 
blood in me, too.::  He gave Duo's mind a little poke in the proper 
places, quite capable of a small simulation of a succubus's sweet 
promises.

	The light wave of sensuality that resulted wouldn't have made 
Duo jump, if it hadn't coincided with someone calling his name quietly 
from behind him.  With a wordlessly amused, and not particularly 
serious, admonishment for his partner, he turned and faced his summoner.  
"G'morning, Quatre," he greeted his friend pleasantly, with a small, yet 
bright, smile.

	::Good morning, indeed.::

	::Hush, you.::

	"'Morning, Duo."  The blonde treated him to a smile of his own.  
"I was wondering if you had time after school again today?"

	"Math strikes again, eh?"

	The boy grimaced mildly.  "Things just seem so much clearer when 
you're sitting there."

	::That's funny.  It seems the other way around to me.::

	"Well, when you put it that way --"  ::Maybe I'll just stop 
sitting next to you, then.::  Duo sent a mental raspberry winging 
towards his partner.

	Heero caught it with ease and retorted.  ::Lying down would be 
just fine.::

	"-- I'd be happy to help any time," Duo finished.  What was up 
with Heero?  He was being uncharacteristically ... Duo-like.

	Quatre beamed his thanks, perfectly oblivious to the thoughts 
flying through the air.  "Um, actually, do you think Relena could join 
us today?"

	"Hmm?"  Duo gave the girl in question an appraising glance.  She 
gave a small, nervous wave and a greeting in return.  He knew who she 
was, but he had never really given her much thought, beyond recognizing 
that she was one of Quatre's friends.

	::Quite the popular one, aren't you?::

	::This is your fault, too.  You're the one who tutored me in the 
first place,:: Duo replied tartly, well aware of the fact that his 
argument wouldn't hold much more water than a bucket without a bottom.  
::Maybe I should send you over to help them out.::  "Yeah, sure, I don't 
see why not."

	As they made plans to work at Relena's house, Duo pondered his 
partner's odd mood.  He was rarely so vocal, or forward.  Granted, he 
had admitted a while ago that he thought a lot, but just didn't speak a 
lot, but Duo was pretty sure that these weren't the sorts of thoughts 
that were flying through his head all the time.  No, Heero had seemed 
brimming with unspent energy, restless.  It reminded Duo of something, 
something about himself....

	Himself right before deciding to settle down somewhere for a 
bit.  Right when he felt the need for a change in routine.  As class 
settled down and began, Duo began to contemplate the question, was Heero 
in need of a change?  Heero was an active person.  It was something that 
had never quite sat well with him, Heero staying at home while he was 
out.  He had tried to bring it up a few times, only to have Heero brush 
the matter aside as unimportant.  And really, what could he do?  Suggest 
that Heero get a part time job flipping burgers at the local hangout?  
Convince him to go to school with him?  Heero had no particular desire 
to walk amongst the humans as one of them, and no one had yet seen his 
face since getting the mask removed but Duo.

	Maybe he could convince him to take up gardening or knitting or 
something...?  Truth was, he didn't really know what Heero did all day.  
He put the topic on the top of his list of things to do something about.

                              ************

	Ah, the opulence of it all.  Walking down the street in the rich 
neighborhood, Duo kept his senses peeled for foul Shinma influences 
taking advantage of the degradation that often came with such 
comfortable lifestyles.  As they rounded the corner, his vision flashed 
with a scene impressed upon the othercurrents, but it was weak, and 
fading fast -- merely a car accident two mornings ago.  It had been 
relatively minor, but the owner of the fine luxury import sedan had been 
near to raving mad at the scratches and dents, even if he was mostly at 
fault.  Duo shook his head in cynical amusement at their pettiness.

	Six houses later, he caught a strong whiff of violence in the 
air, and without breaking stride, he took the time to delve more deeply 
into the matter.  He tsked to himself again.  It was the taint of 
domestic violence, dirty and impure, and yet still purely human and 
clean of Shinma staining.  Duo gave the matter some thought.  While he 
certainly didn't approve of spousal abuse and broken households, this 
technically was a matter outside his jurisdiction.  Still, he 
rationalized to himself, the man was a potential target for Shinma 
corruption.  Perhaps he would have justifiable means for intercession 
before it came to that.  He made himself another mental note, and 
inserted it into his list, two items below number one.

	Relena's home reminded him much of Quatre's at initial 
impression -- large and austere, well-kept and elegant.  Yet the inside 
yielded a different image.  The interior was tastefully decorated -- 
perhaps too much so.  Where Quatre's home had been tidily filled with 
trinkets and decorations that bespoke a certain personal taste, the 
Peacecraft home seemed cold and impersonal.  As Duo looked around, he 
barely felt any images impressed upon the ether.  The occupants merely 
inhabited the house.

	One of the hangings caught his eye as they moved to the sitting 
room to do their work.  It was a mask, seemingly shiny and metallic, and 
yet reflecting no light.  Quatre's attention had also been caught by it.  
Perhaps he, too, could feel the way its oppressive, and slightly 
malevolent, presence seemed to fill the corridor.  Quatre stopped to 
examine it more closely for a moment, his hand absently reaching up to 
rub at his chest, as if the dark energy from the smooth half-mask were 
stabbing stinging daggers into his heart.  Duo took the opportunity of 
his stopping to stop as well, and inspect it more closely himself.

	"Oh.  That," Relena stated distastefully.  "You know how Father 
travels about so much?"  She turned towards Duo to explain what Quatre 
obviously already knew.  "He's a diplomat, you see."  Duo filed that 
information away for future reference, and put checking her father out 
somewhere near the middle of his to-do list, for the next time he heard 
he was in town.  If he traveled a lot and met with a lot of people, or 
was in some position of power, he might be in a position to be involved 
in matters of Duo's interest.  Some might call it nosy, and others might 
call it paranoid.  Duo just liked doing a thorough job, and having his 
fingers quite firmly on the pulse of his territory.

	"Father brought that home on his last trip," Relena was 
continuing.  "I don't like it."

	"It... feels like it's watching me," Quatre pronounced.  Duo had 
to agree, only he knew for a fact that it *was* watching them, looking 
for a convenient victim to lure into its trap.  It was strangely 
mesmerizing and seductive as well, tempting the brave viewer to reach 
out, run his fingers through the cornsilk tresses that fell from its 
crown, perhaps even try it on, and then it would have its next bearer.

	Relena explained that, despite the fact that the mask unnerved 
her, her brother seemed to have an odd attachment to it.  Immediately 
catching onto the clue, Duo stayed behind a little as they proceeded a 
little hastily to the next room, and looked for signs that the mask had 
already impressed itself upon a new owner.  Sure enough, the signs were 
there.  With a mental sigh, he added the mask to his list of things to 
do as well, regrettably placing it even above the chat he'd have to have 
with Heero.  That would just have to wait.

                              ************

	That night, they hunted the hunter.  After Duo's tutoring 
session, he had acquired a newspaper and checked the news for suspicious 
happenings.  Finding a report about an unexplained collapse in the park 
led them to their current location.

	Duo was, admittedly, a little distracted, for he was watching 
the few ducks that were still awake, floating serenely on the small 
lake, its slight ripples reflecting and distorting the moonlight in a 
soft shimmering.  He leaned back contently against his partner, and 
Heero leaned back against the tree trunk, as ever, the two of them 
obscured in the shadows.

	"Guess the ducks just aren't ones for midnight snacks, huh?"   
He halfheartedly tossed the abused breadcrust to the shore, leaving it 
just beyond the reach of the tiny wavelets lapping at the shore.  Maybe 
the ducks would pick it up later.

	::Come back during regular visiting hours,:: Heero suggested.

	Was that almost a joke?  My, Heero really needed a distraction.  
Duo saw no reason why he couldn't begin his little chat with Heero now.  
He made a quick check of the park first, though, and detected no signs 
of Shinma activity yet.  "Well, it's hardly any fun going by myself, 
Heero," he hinted.

	::The ducks will be happy to keep you company, I'm sure.::

	Okay, that one obviously went straight by him.  Duo decided on a 
different tack.  He turned in his partner's loose arms and looked up at 
him for a moment.  They were technically out on business, but on a whim, 
Duo reached up and removed Heero's mask, negligently dematerializing it 
into ... I dunno, maskspace or something.

	Heero blinked back at him with curious dark blue eyes, and Duo 
softly answered the unvoiced question.  "It's just been so long since 
I've seen your face under the moonlight, or sunlight, or starlight, or 
anything outdoors even...."

	"You've been busy."  Well, there he went again, assuming that he 
wasn't important.

	"I should never be too busy for you."  He brushed back Heero's 
cowl to watch the breeze play with his companion's already tousled hair, 
then got jealous of the light wind and played with it himself, running 
his own gentle fingers through the silken mess, as if he could tame it.  
Heero submitted to the attention calmly, shifting his gaze to watch the 
last restless duck settle down for the night.

	"Why don't you come with me?" Duo asked suddenly, disturbing his 
tranquil silence.

	"Hm?"

	"To the park, next time.  During regular visiting hours."

	Heero blinked, reordered his thoughts, and began his 
counterargument.  "I wouldn't precisely fit in, Duo," he pointed out.

	Duo gave him a stern look.  "And why precisely not?  You're 
perfectly human beneath these robes, Heero.  All we'd have to do is 
rearrange a shadow or two."  Duo's hands fell to his partner's 
pitch-black robe and toyed with the fine shadowsilk for a moment.  "Or 
just get you some real clothes."  His mind was already flipping through 
the preliminary analysis of colors and styles.  "You'd fit right in.  
Well, maybe not right in, because you'd definitely look better than your 
average passerby, I dare say, but still.  What do you say?"

	The look Duo was careful to give Heero was casual and neutral, 
not hopeful or puppy-eyed.  He wanted Heero to have as much room for his 
own decision as possible, because at the moment, Heero seemed to be a 
little too rational in rejecting the suggestion.  Something was up.

	"What if someone you know sees you?"

	"Then they just see me out with someone, that's all.  I'm 
allowed to be with whomever I please.  But if you really think it might 
complicate things, then we can easily visit some other park."

	"Your ducks will miss you."

	Duo snorted.  "The ducks probably don't even know I exist.  
They'll just cozen up to the next fellow who happens by with a snack and 
they'll forget all about me, the traitorous wretches."

	"You'll miss the ducks."

	"We'll find another set of ducks at another park.  This isn't 
about the ducks, Heero.  Why don't you want to spend time with me?"

	"I want to spend time with you," was the immediate reply.  
Heero's arms tightened around his waist in accompaniment.

	Duo let himself get distracted for a little while, relaxing in 
his partner's grasp and resting his head on his shoulder.  He sighed 
quietly, the only sound breaking the silence besides a small splash from 
the lake.  "Then why don't you want to come with me?" he asked, his 
voice muted by his comfort in the embrace, and the tacit sanctity of the 
night.

	Heero was shifting carefully through the responses, searching 
for the correct one, when the moment was shattered by the sharp twinge 
of Shinma that thrummed down their senses.  Almost instantly, Duo was 
pushing himself away from Heero to leap into action, but Heero stopped 
him, holding onto him just long enough to impart a last promise.  "I'll 
think about it."

	Duo nodded, accepting that that was the best he could get from 
him right now, and then the two began their pursuit.

	Tracking of the signal brought them to a corner of the park, 
where first they paused in the shadows to investigate the situation more 
fully before rushing in.  ::Heero, is it just me, or does he keep 
showing up in the darnedest places?::  He referred to the Chinese boy 
drawn forth from the shadows, currently being harassed by the stray.

	The stray stopped and took a stand in the path, only it wasn't 
just a stray.  The mask that the stray inhabited was being worn by a 
young man, clad in swaths of power given substance, a dark reddish-brown 
that tossed restlessly in the otherwinds.  The ruff from the mask 
blended in almost imperceptibly with the figure's natural long hair, 
making it look as if the entire mane were a part of the mask.  Duo could 
not see the face beneath the dully gleaming half-mask, but he identified 
the victim as Relena's brother, Milliard.

	Wufei had pulled out a sword from beneath his coat, which they 
recognized as being the one he had held the first night they had seen 
him, left alive and alone amidst the ruins of his household.  They could 
sense the power lying dormant in the ancient sword, apparently more than 
just an ancestral heirloom.  From the destruction they had witnessed 
that night, they guessed that his family had been guardians of a demon's 
wards, and that those wards had, regrettably, broken.  The sword, no 
doubt, tied into it.

	::Think he knows how to use that thing?:: Duo asked worriedly.

	::Let's watch,:: Heero suggested.  From the way he held the 
sword, it looked like Wufei knew how to handle a blade, but when he 
attempted to summon the sword's power, it responded only sluggishly, 
although the boy seemed to be unaware of its weak response.  In 
response, the stray summoned its own weapon, and readied itself for 
combat.

	::Aw, geez,:: Duo complained angrily.  ::He's gonna get himself 
hurt.::  The introduction of Wufei was certainly a complication.  From 
the determination on his face, he was obviously set on meddling in 
affairs beyond his understanding, and now Duo would have to save Wufei 
from himself, and manage to do it without revealing himself.  He went to 
school with the boy, was acquainted with him, and certainly didn't want 
to have to bite him, even though, given what he knew of his personality, 
he was quite unfortunately certain that there would be very little he 
could do to otherwise persuade the amateur to leave and not come back.

	::How do you want to handle this?:: Heero deferred to the 
guardian's judgment.

	A confrontation between the hunter and the boy was swiftly 
becoming imminent, and Duo made his choice.  ::We're gonna have to 
intercede.  Let's just jump between them and save his hide.::

	::That's a plan?:: Heero interjected doubtfully, but Duo ignored 
him.

	::We'll fight if we have to, but I'd rather take care of Wufei 
first.  You take him, I'll stand behind you where he won't see and 
handle the stray.::

	The plan having been decided, they moved fluidly as one, 
interposing themselves between the two aggressors and bringing the 
conflict to an abrupt halt.

	::Tell him to go home, Heero.:: Duo requested, before letting 
the power take control of him and sink him to an appropriately 
intimidating level for scaring the stray into submission.

	Heero would have protested, but Duo had slipped into guardian 
mode.  Heero growled to himself at the pesky boy in front of him.  "Go 
home, human," he grated out, blatant irritation coloring his gravelly 
voice, muffled by the mask he had sometime reproduced from maskspace 
once more.  It wasn't that he was nervous about talking to the human or 
anything, but... how dare the boy make it necessary for him to speak to 
someone besides Duo!  It made little sense once he thought about it, but 
Duo was the only one who had seen his face and heard his voice for many 
a long year, and for some reason he just didn't want to share.

	The annoying human made no move to leave, but Heero supposed he 
didn't really expect him to.  Behind him, Duo flexed his power, and the 
stray started, as if finally realizing who the interlopers were.  It 
froze, then bounded away.

	::Duo.::  Heero warned him that the boy was about to follow.

	The guardian immediately responded by cutting off the boy's 
flight, and trapping him momentarily in his realm, in the place between 
places.  The two remained hidden from sight as Wufei spun around, 
seeking his captors.

	"You would be well advised not to dabble in things beyond your 
power and understanding," Duo called, the gathered power of his office 
amplifying his words and sending them ringing through the otherscape.  
::What do you think?:: he asked his partner brightly.

	"Who are you!?" Wufei demanded angrily.  "Show yourself, 
coward!"

	::I don't think it'll work,:: Heero responded blandly.

	Duo laughed, somehow unsurprised by Wufei's bravado.  "Coward?"

	"You, who will not stand to fight me face to face.  Nor your 
companion, who fled."

	For a moment, Duo was caught off guard.  ::Companion?  Have you 
been fleeing behind my back, Heero?::

	::I believe he refers to the stray.::

	"Companion?"  Duo released a darkly amused chuckle at that.  
::Damn, he's gonna be the type that just won't quit, isn't he?::

	Affirmation.

	::Sigh.  Well, might as well at least try.::  He let his power 
speak once more.  It had all the necessary chilly haughtiness he needed.  
"I wasn't working with him.  I am not here to fight you.  I was 
protecting you from your own foolishness."

	::You're just going to make him mad,:: Heero reasoned.

	::Well, yeah, probably.  But he's likely to get angry no matter 
what I do, you know?::

	::We'd best cut this interview short,:: he advised.

	:Yeah, yeah.::  Duo let the landscape dissolve and returned them 
to the park.  "Go home, human.  Stay out of these affairs," he warned 
once last time, just in case it would work.  He didn't want the boy 
being harmed because he hadn't bothered to try.

	::You've done all you can, short of touching him directly with 
your power,:: Heero pointed out comfortingly, laying a reassuring arm on 
the guardian's shoulders and tugging him close.

	Duo sighed again and nodded.  ::Let's go.::

                              ************

	They were in the park again the next night, but the peace of the 
ducks stayed blessedly undisturbed by bread crumbs falling from the sky 
this time.  Knowing that the stray's hunt had been interrupted last 
night, and that it would probably hunt again this night, they had 
returned to the park, to find the stray almost immediately.  Also, as 
they could have predicted if they had bothered, they once again saw 
Wufei there.  Heero confronted the stray, while Duo stayed behind to 
watch over Wufei and run interference, should it become necessary.

	Luckily, this time Wufei was the one who opted to remain hidden 
in the shadows, silently watching and observing the fight.  Duo wasn't 
quite certain what was running through his mind, and he didn't want to 
look.  He was just glad that they had at least managed to convince him 
to think before rushing headlong into things way outside of his league.

	::Has he seen enough yet?:: Heero asked, just a trifle annoyed 
with having to expend the extra attention to keep the stray here.

	Duo gave Wufei one last critical look, and judged that they had 
given him enough food for thought for one night.  Maybe now he would 
believe that they weren't working with the bad guys.  ::Yeah.  Let's 
move.::

	Heero relaxed his vigilance, and gave the stray a bit of a 
nudge, and it took the welcome opportunity to attempt to flee.  Heero 
pursued it closely, waiting for Duo to finish his business with the 
human and catch up to perform his duty without fear of being exposed.

	Duo stayed with Wufei just long enough to make sure that he 
wouldn't try to follow, then gave chase to his partner.  The stray 
finally chose to leave its hunting grounds, and fled through the city, 
leaping over the rooftops with supernatural, graceful ease.  Duo easily 
caught up to them, as he didn't have to follow the circuitous route that 
the stray had laid, but he was used to such things.  He could understand 
how a human might be tempted by such augmented power, or the illusion of 
such power, anyway, for he would, of course, be wholly dependent upon 
the stray and the mask for such 'freedom'.

	::We should try to remove the mask first,:: Duo plotted as they 
raced along.  Their path seemed to be leading back into the residential 
areas.

	::That will be difficult without taking off his head as well,:: 
Heero observed, avoiding a startled pigeon.

	::Point taken.  We'll make it a desired objective, then.  
Hmmm....::  He muttered a brief apology to the irate bird as they 
passed.  ::We seem to be heading towards the boy's home.  Perhaps he 
still has some control over his actions?::

	::He would likely flee there if he felt threatened, yes.  It 
seems probable.::  They invisibly vaulted the gate around the Peacecraft 
home and cut the boy off before he could approach the building.  He 
turned, cornered, and snarled.

	::Perhaps we can convince him to free himself?::

	::Your call.::  It would be Duo who would be responsible for the 
dive into the boy's mind.  It wasn't all that healthy for a human mind 
to have too many others in it at once.  Heero would back him up, if he 
chose to take that path.

	Confronting the stray carefully, Duo took the time to assess the 
relative strength of the stray and the boy, and decided that it would be 
worth a try.  He signaled Heero his intent, and waited for 
acknowledgement.  Heero replied, then with a sudden focused burst of 
power that caught the stray unprepared, distracted it enough for Duo to 
slip in past its barriers and into the boy's mind.

                              ************

	It was probably the boy's bedroom that Duo was seeing, a safe 
haven given form in the boy's mind, but its occupant was huddled in the 
corner, arms wrapped around the knees drawn up to his chest, as he 
inched away from the dark burgundy stain that encroached upon the edges 
of his mindscape.

	"Milliard?" Duo asked unthreateningly.  Relena's brother didn't 
know him personally; it would be much easier to block this little 
confrontation from him later.

	Milliard looked up shakily from beneath pale blond bangs, as if 
not wanting to see what was there.  "Who are you?" he questioned, with 
just a spark of rebellion.

	"A friend.  I want to help you get out of here."

	The teen gave a short bark of harsh laughter.  "Yeah, and just 
what do you think you can do against this?"  One hand released his grip 
on his knees and gestured widely at the corruption of his mind.

	Behind the guardian, a piece of the darkness tried to creep up 
on him and latch itself to him, but Duo turned before it got close and 
glared at it until it slunk back into the shadows.  "That's up to you," 
he said, turning back to the sullen boy.  "You don't want to stay like 
this, do you?"

	"Of course not," the boy snapped back at him.

	Oh, so he was going to be one of these contrary ones, was he?  
Sigh.  Moody teenage boys.  ...  Hmm.  If Duo's life had been frozen 
when he was sixteen, then did that mean that he was still a teenage boy?  
In a permanent state of hormones?  Nah, the Shinma probably wrote it out 
of him when they rearranged his cell structure to accommodate their 
needs.  They couldn't very well have a guardian that had needs of his 
own to fulfil.  And Duo hadn't felt that young for a long, long time.

	Well, that was fine.  Then all the kid really needed was a good 
poking to get him going.  "Then why the hell aren't you doing anything 
about it?"

	"You think I haven't tried?!" the blond cried, aggravated enough 
to get to his feet angrily, his long pale hair whipping out behind him 
in similar irritation.

	"I don't think you've been trying hard enough," Duo stated 
flatly.  It was so easy to manipulate these kinds, sometimes.  Then he 
did a mental sort of double take and realized just what it was he was 
doing.  He was acting just like the cunning Shinma that he despised, the 
ones that led men to their ruin.  And yet what could he do?  He hadn't 
the time to sit down and earn the boy's trust, to befriend him and 
strengthen him until he could stand confidently on two feet and stand 
against the invading presence.  Just another lose-lose situation he 
found himself in.  Well, he'd rationalize it to himself later, maybe let 
Heero convince him of its necessity.  He added it to his to-do list, and 
decided to try to stop taking pot shots at the boy's pride.

	The teen didn't react precisely as he wanted him to.  His 
shoulders slumped abruptly as the shadows around them pulsed and surged.  
"You don't understand how hard it is," he whispered.  "It can give me 
everything I ever wanted...."

	No, Duo understood.  He knew what it was like to be both seducer 
and seducee, to wield the power and fight it, too.  "You can give 
yourself what you want, too.  All you have to do is work a little.  You 
don't need to rely on this --" he gestured at the darkness "-- to give 
it to you."

	"But --"

	"You know this is wrong," he insisted gently, but firmly.  
"Otherwise I wouldn't be standing here having this conversation with 
you."

	Milliard nodded his head wearily.  "I know it's wrong.  But God 
help me, I want it.  I know it's wrong, and still, I want it."

	"Everyone wants it, on some level.  Given the choices, almost 
everyone would want to take the easy way out, if they could.  But it's 
not about whether you want it or not.  It's about whether you resist the 
temptation, and consider the consequences, and ultimately do what you 
know is right.  You're being given a choice, right now.  How do you 
choose?"

	The boy gnawed on his lip for a while, making his choice, but 
Duo looked at the shadows and decided to give him a little nudge.  "Your 
sister worries about you, you know."

	His head snapped up.  "Relena?"  His expression froze in a 
contemplative stasis for a few seconds, and then evolved into one of 
resolve.  His shoulders straightened, and the shadows hissed angrily at 
them both.  "Yes, Relena.  She'll kill me when she finds out about this, 
you know," he said conversationally.

	It's rather unlikely she'll ever find out about this since you 
yourself won't even remember, Duo thought to himself.  "Just apologize 
to her about your poor behavior, treat her nice for a while, I'm sure 
she'll forgive you.  But only if you get out of here, and go back to 
being the nice big brother you were before."

	"Hmmm, no.  I don't think I'll be the same after this."

	"Oh."  Duo considered that for a moment.  "Well, as long as you 
change for the better, right?"

	"Yes.  Absolutely."  Duo could see the determination burning in 
his light eyes now, and the shadows already struggling to maintain their 
hold on him, and saw that his job was done.  He made to leave, but was 
stopped by a hand on his wrist.  He turned.  "Do I know you from 
somewhere?"

	It was possible that he had seen Duo at school sometime.  "No," 
Duo responded anyway, capturing the young man's eyes with his own 
amethyst gaze and holding it intently.  "You don't."  A message of 
forgetfulness was burned into the boy's mind, and when he blinked to 
clear the moment away, there was no one there, no memory of anyone else 
ever having visited him in his mind, only a strong will to fight the 
evil wanting entrance just once more to his soul.

                              ************

	They stayed long enough to make sure he freed himself of the 
Shinma influence, and to return the stray after its hold on the boy and 
the mask had been dispelled, and then they slipped through the shadows 
and returned to their home.

	

-----
okay, so milliard was kinda weak.  but then, if he weren't weak, then 
why would he ever have been victimized in the first place?  the ending 
is kinda not very final sounding, too, but i just don't have anything 
more to say.  they went home, and life went on.

_________________________________________
This piece of fiction is the intellectual 
property of the little turnip that could.  
The basis for this fic, i.e. Gundam Wing, 
Kyuuketsuki Miyu, et al., is the property 
of someone else.  The author can be con-
tacted at jchew@myrealbox.com.  This has 
been an entirely automated message.
http://www.cs.hmc.edu/~jchew/misc/gw.html

last modified : 9/27/2001 20:30:46 PST