Eternal Love and Loyalty

-----part 1-----

The five Gundam pilots were on their way home from an afternoon of shopping. They were standing at the bus-stop when Duo stopped a sniper who was aiming straight for Heero. Instinctively, knowing it was too late to call out a warning, Duo threw himself into the path of the sniper's bullet.

"DUO!" Heero screamed as he grabbed his gun and took out the sniper. He knelt in front of Duo and saw the gaping wound in the other boy's chest. "Oh, no..." he sobbed, taking Duo into his arms.

Duo was already gone.

"Oh, Duo..." Heero wept.


They took Duo home to the safehouse and buried him in the back yard, marking the grave by parking Deathscythe there to watch over his master for all eternity.


That night, the worst storm ever hit the area, wiping out an OZ base that the five... now four... Gundam pilots had been trying to destroy for months with no success.

Quatre was on his way to visit relatives when the sudden storm hit. He watched the OZ base flicker and explode, leaving nothing behind but a pile of rubble and the bodies of OZ troops.

And atop the rubble, silhouette in the flashing lightning of the storm, was a figure upon horseback... which was odd considering there were no horses in that area.

A flash of silver by the cloaked figure's shoulder caught Quatre's attention.

"STOP THE CAR!" he screamed at the limo driver.

The driver pulled the car to a halt and Quatre leaped out.

"Sir!" The driver protested.

Quatre rushed to the horsed figure, his mind and heart racing. Was it possible?! Could it be...

The figure turned and held up a hand.

"Quatre, stay back."

"Duo! It is you!"

Duo backed the horse away. "Quatre, you can't touch me. None of you can. Not yet."

"You're coming home with me, right?" Quatre asked. "Heero misses you."

"I miss him, too." Duo admitted, pulling back his hood and pulling his braid out from under his cloak.. He still looked the same as ever. "That's why I can't come home. If I touch him, he'll die, and I want to touch him and have him touch me so badly I can taste it."

"Looks like you were right all along. About being Shinigami I mean."

Duo shook his head. "I wasn't until I died." he replied. "The old one was in need of a vacation, so I'm his replacement. Tell Heero I think of him often and I still love him."

Quatre nodded. "I will." he said as he got back into his car.

The driver sped away, eager to get away from the being Quatre seemed to be having a nice little chat with.

"Driver, take me back to my friends." he said. "I think I'm going to forego the visit this weekend."

"Yes, sir." the driver said, turning around and bringing Quatre back to the safehouse.

-----part 2-----

"Quatre?" Heero asked. "What are you doing back already?"

"The OZ base is gone." Quatre told him. "Obliterated."

"It's *WHAT*?!" Heero blinked. "Then..."

"Doesn't that mean the war is over?" Wufei asked.

Heero nodded, frowning. "Damn it all." He swore. "Duo died a few hours short of the peace we all worked to achieve."

"It couldn't have happened otherwise." Quatre shrugged.

"Meaning?"

"It was Duo who destroyed the OZ base." Quatre explained.

"Quatre..." Heero warned. 

"It's true." Quatre said. "He told me he's taken over for the past Shinigami and he sends his love."

"When will I see him again?" Heero asked.

"I don't know." Quatre shrugged. "But not for a long time."

-----TBC-----