Duo Maxwell sat in his room. He held a tape recorder in one hand, and a gun in the other. There was no one else in the house. So no one heard the shot, or the thump. Just as Duo wanted it.
~~~~~
Quatre felt a sharp pain in his uchuu no kokoru. Something was wrong. Very wrong. �Guys? Something happened. Come on.�
~~~~~
Heero stood in the doorway of the bedroom, his face ashen and eyes wide. Duo�s body lay in puddle of blood on the floor, a gunshot clear through the temple. His hand held a gun, and a small, peaceful smile was on his face.
�Ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod,�
his mind chanted. �No!!! Not Duo! He�s not dead! He
can�t be dead!� His mind was seeing the scene in front of him,
and rejecting it entirely. Duo couldn�t be dead. He was the most
alive of anyone.
Walking closer to the body, Heero
saw the tape recorder and the note.
Guys,
I�m sorry
about this, but I had to do it. I don�t belong here. Not anymore.
Goodbye minna-chan. I�ll see you someday.
Duo Maxwell
P.S. Push play. ~DM
That was it. Nothing more. In a small state of shock, Heero pressed the play button on the tape recorder. After a moment, music started to come through.
�I never thought I'd die alone.
I laughed the loudest, who'd have known?
I traced the cord back to the wall.
No wonder, it was never plugged in
at all�
Suddenly, Heero realized who was singing. It was Duo!
�I took my time, I hurried up.
The choice was mine.
I didn't think enough.
I'm too depressed to go on.
You'll be sorry when I'm gone.�
The other pilots came in the room and saw this scene. Heero was kneeling next to Duo�s body, sobbing uncontrollably, while music was playing in the background. To Quatre, it felt like a surreal dream, but when Wufei walked over and placed his hand on Heero�s shoulder, he realized it was reality. Twisted, but reality, no less.
"I never conquered rarely came.
Fifteen just held such better days.
Days when I still felt alive.
We couldn't wait to get outside.
The world was wide, too late to try.
The war was over, we'd survived.
I couldn't wait till I got home,
to pass the time in my room alone."
Making this connection, Quatre burst into tears. Why Duo? Of all the pilots, he had probably been the most alive. So why would he do something like this?
"I never thought I would die alone.
Another six months and I'll be unknown.
Give all my things to all my friends.
You'll never set foot in my room again
You�ll close it off, board it up
Remember the time that I spilled the
cup
Of apple juice in the hall
Please tell Quatre this is not his
fault"
Duo watched this scene with sad eyes. Both Heero and Quatre were sobbing, and even Wufei had tears running down his face. He knew that he shouldn�t have done this, but he had to. He wasn�t happy. He had gotten lost in life, and there was no way out. He had run too much, hid too often, and told lies more times than he could count. He hadn�t known who he was. Now he did. He was truly Shinigami now, and he could start over.
And down on earth, the refrain played to the deaf ears of the other Gundam pilots.
"I never conquered, rarely came.
Tomorrow holds such better days.
Days when I can still feel alive,
When I can't wait to get outside.
The world is wide, the time goes by.
The war is over, I've survived.
I can't wait till I get home.
To pass the time in my room alone."