Gundam Babylon
A Gundam Wing / Tokyo Babylon crossover
Part 6: Twilight over Babylon
By Beth 

Rating: G to PG-13 now, later R (for violence)
Pairing: Heero + Duo, Seishirou + Subaru

WARNING: Shounen-ai ahead, and spoilers for Tokyo 
Babylon volumes five and six.
DISCLAIMER: Gundam Wing owned by Bandai, Tokyo Babylon and CLAMP Campus Detectives (CLAMP Gakuen Tantei Dan) owned by CLAMP. This is an unauthorized not-for-profit work inspired and using elements of both for purposes of personal and shared entertainment. Some of the best mangaka get their start in doujinshi... I'm trying to see if the same goes for writers ^_^

Mini-dictionary:

onmyouji - sorceror/magician, more or less
ninmu kanryou - mission accomplished
Sakurazukamori - literally "guardian of the cherry tree grave"
sakura - cherry, cherry blossom, cherry tree

Blood splattered on white tiles. There were people running, shouting, crying, but he only had eyes for one.

"SEISHIROU-SAN!!!!!"

Heero was worried. Subaru had not attended school for four days and he found himself missing their conversations and the black-haired boy's insight. From what little he could get out of Duo (they were not exactly concentrating on talking in the moments they managed to snatch together), he knew that Hokuto had been absent as well, and was not answering her phone. He decided to look into this, but first he had to assemble this program, so that this pathetic excuse for an IT teacher would leave him alone.

He glared at the screen, mentally willing the compiler to hurry up. Then the display went black.

"It looks like you've managed to crash the computer, Yuy-kun," the teacher noted smugly. This insolent brat had been getting on his nerves lately, and the fact that the day before the color scheme on the teacher's computer had been turned into psychedelics and password-protected had not served to lighten that mood.

"I didn't," Heero snarled.

"Ara..." someone said softly from the floor near the door to the computer room. A blond tousled head popped up and Nokoru grinned apologetically. He held up the power cable he had just tripped over. "Was this important?"

"And through the simplicity of the iambic perimeter, the Bard..."

English Lit, Duo decided, was boring. Borrring. Bor-rin-ng.

Casting a quick eye around the room, he came to realize he wasn't the only one of this opinion. Relena dozed on her notebook, while Nokoru and Quatre were pelting each other with paper planes.

Hmph. Planes. He could do much better.

Surreptitiously tearing a few pages from his notebook, he tried to remember how to fold a crane. After forcibly derailing his train of thought from the activities that had followed that particular lesson from Heero, he succeeded in making a perfect bird, flapping wings and all. Then an owl, and then a chrysanthemum.

He caught Relena's eyes on him from across the room. He grinned at the girl and stuck the paper bloom on a pencil. He then mimed smelling the makeshift flower with delight while putting one fist on his hip. From the way the blond girl turned red with muffled laughter, he figured she had recognized Khushrenada's trademark pose.

"Now, class," he heard the teacher say, "we will practice verbal stylization. You may say anything as long as it is in Shakespearean English."

Duo seized upon the occasion, standing up with his paper rose. "But truly the fact must made be known," he exclaimed. "That those who beauty possess, happiness shall have not..."

"How dare thee mock a hero's shade?" Relena joined in, acting for all the world outraged.

"Not the shade of those by death embraced, just the words their mouths hath formed."

Nokoru decided to join in, despite his ignorance of the discussion. "But tell me this, dear sir and madam: is it not true that there be in beauty truth, and in truth beauty?"

"Neither doth truth happiness make," Quatre pointed out. "And this shall thyself know herewith, triest thou to match with mine sword."

"I pray thee, be more elegant... sir." Duo's words caused another bout of giggles in Relena, to whom he now turned. "And as for thee, my fair Countess..."

"Truth, quaint as it may sound," she interrupted him, "I do prefer 'Marquess'."

"I beg you both to stop those silly jests," Quatre sighed. "Amusing as they sound, they are not to all known. I doth not contemplate depriving our comrades of the relief a comedy provides."

"Comedy be here, in the very flesh!" Nokoru laughed. "Understanding be damned, and let us all but laugh!"

"Laugh? Prithee, sir, not pleases me that sentiment." Duo abandoned his Treize impression. "Knowst thou not in whose company thou be?"

"Pray tell me."

"And that I shall; for in this very room have we our share of rulers, warriors and gods even. Knowing but a fraction of one's past deeds enough would be to cry murder most foul!"

"So shalt it not be!" Quatre cried. "I bid Death silent to remain, and release not the secrets of the grave! Tis time of bloodlessness and cheer!"

"And," Duo grinned, offering his arm to Relena, "with my mouth thus silenced, pray let Death invite you all to lunch!"

When the door closed behind them, the teacher reached for his cache of Ibuprofen.

After lunch, Duo and Heero sat under a tree in the park. To be precise, Heero sat with his back against it, and Duo was sprawled comfortably in the Japanese boy's lap, strong fingers toying with his hair.

"Still no news from Su-chan?" the American asked.

"No."

"Hokuto-chan wasn't at school today either. I'm worried."

"So am I. It's not like Subaru-kun to skip so much school."

"He seemed cheerful enough last weekend," Duo mused.

Heero snorted. "More like ready to tear your head off. Did you have to bait those penguins?"

"Who, me?? Sei-chan was the one who started it!! And how could we know they'd break through the glass and attack us?"

They both laughed at the memory of their latest double-date in the Sunshine 60 building - those weekend meetings had become a habit for the past month. And surely the Sumeragi had been more relaxed with each one, Duo's antics giving him an excuse to laugh with the rest of them and stop being the serious onmyouji for a while.

"Anyway, I'm worried," Heero admitted.

"You? Heavens, save me! The great Heero Yuy has just admitted to a feelin- eep!" Duo glared at his lover, who had just pinched his arm. "Okay, so what do we do?"

"Pay them a visit and find out what's going on."

"OK. When?"

"Today, after school."

Several hours later, they stood in front of the door to Hokuto Sumeragi's apartment. Duo impatiently rang the bell for the sixth time.

"This is major weird," he muttered.

Suddenly hurried footsteps sounded on the staircase, and then a breathless Hokuto emerged from around a corner.

"Oh, it's you!" the black-haired girl exclaimed. "It's great you're here, maybe you'll be able to help with Subaru!"

Worry shot through Heero at her words, but it was Duo who grabbed her, violet eyes narrowed and serious. "What happened?!" he demanded.

She sighed. "You'd better come in - I need to get some stuff from my place anyway."

Once inside, Duo again spoke before Heero could open his mouth.

"What happened to Su-chan?!" His face was tense. It seemed even his hair picked up the mood, as more and more strands were escaping from the once-neat braid.

"Oh, Subaru's okay, just depressed - major depressed," Hokuto explained. "He's blaming himself for what happened to Seishirou..."

"I think you owe us a story," Heero stated.

"Okay," the girl sighed, flopping down on the couch. "You remember how Subaru was a bit under the weather last week? I took him to the hospital, and he met this boy - Yuuya - and made friends. Kid was ten years old and with badly failing kidneys - you know my brother well enough to get that he was kinda sad over this... Su-chan had to show up there for injections and stuff for the next few days, and met the boy's mother." She shrugged. "Poor woman was crazy over the boy - she'd lost a daughter to the same disease already, and there's never enough organ donors around. Next time Subaru came, Yuuya's state was critical. The mother went crazy - she became convinced that if she killed someone, their organs would save her son. She got hold of a knife.

"Subaru just happened to be closest. I- I didn't see much, but Seishirou did... he threw himself in front of my brother to protect him. She stabbed him in the eye.

"He's alright, but his eye's lost for good. Subaru's been all but catatonic since. Or mad with anger. I took him to see Sei-chan yesterday, but it didn't help much... Not 'cause of Seishirou, he's been very helpful and cheered him up for a bit. Then we met Yuuya again, and it all seemed to be working out fine, but then everything came back and my brother's been wallowing in grief again. He's so concerned about Sei-chan-"

Duo put a hand on her shoulder. "I think grief and blame is something we've had a lot of practice at handling."

Violet eyes smiled into green ones.

The upstairs apartment showed signs of neglect - plants were wilting and books gathered dust in the corners. In the bedroom, the figure on the bed did not move when they entered.

"Hello, Subaru-kun," Heero said.

No reaction.

Duo winked at his companions and swiftly approached the bed. In one pull he had the covers off the sulking onmyouji. "Enough brooding, Su-chan!" he informed him.

The black-haired boy's emerald eyes were full of pain. "You don't understand," he muttered.

"So what's the big deal?" Duo backed off to stand beside Hokuto again.

"It's all because of me," Subaru whispered, sitting down on the bed. "I- I-"

"Subaru-kun, moaning about it won't help," Heero stated. "Get yourself together."

Hokuto scowled at this unceremonious advice and started to say something, but was stilled by a hand on her arm. She looked up into warm violet eyes.

"Saa, Heero's right. Bad things happen, and it's not terminal you know," Duo said.

"But- Seishirou-san's eye... He might go blind..." Subaru had trouble putting words together.

"He's not dead," Heero said bluntly.

Duo sat down beside the black-haired boy and put a comforting arm around his friend's frail shoulders.

"Let me tell you a story, kid," he started. "Remember when we first met, how I told you me and Heero were in the war, colony side? In that war, I've gone through a lot. I got shot at, captured, tortured and hunted. I had two stable points in my life through that time: Heero and my mobile suit."

"You were a MS pilot?" Subaru asked, forgetting for a moment his predicament.

"Not just any old MS. Custom-made for yours truly, the best machine you can imagine. After a few months I'd started to think of it as more than just metal and circuits. It became my partner, friend, confidant - hell, I slept in the cockpit once in a while. Named it Shinigami, after the one god I believe in. Ol' Shini sometimes sure had more to say than Heero here," Duo winked at the other pilot. "Without those two, I wouldn't be here. But you know what the worst two moments in the war were?"

"What?"

He had Subaru's full interest now.

"Losing them, losing them both." Duo noted the way Hokuto's gaze swung to the silent figure of Heero leaning against the wall. He chuckled. "Ask Heero to show you the scars sometime, the scars he got when he blew his MS up. As I watched, no less. Hell, I'd thought he was dead, thought so for a damn long time. Shoulda known what's to hang won't drown."

"Hn," Heero remarked, smirking indulgently at his partner.

"Shinigami wasn't so lucky. I'd lost it to OZ, but was planning to get it back - figured they would want to analyze it for some time, giving me a chance to think up a plan. There I was, walking down a street, all a-planning how to spring my suit from OZ, when I noticed people staring at a screen. I looked, too."

Duo gazed straight at Subaru. "I saw my Shinigami, in space. Surrounded by OZ suits. They opened fire." He swallowed. "Ol' Shini stood up well, and for a minute there I thought he'd show them, but then..." his voice broke. "The armor cracked. I felt as if my own skin had been cut. A few more missiles and he exploded - I tried to look away but I couldn't. After a minute, when the screen faded, I heard somebody screaming. Then I realized it was me."

The Sumeragi twins were both staring at Duo, sympathy in their eyes. Heero was standing against the wall with his arms crossed, but a strange half-smile twisted his lips.

Duo continued. "Hell, it hurt - but I made it. Hurt for a bit, but I knew I was needed. Couldn't let the guys down. Got a new suit after a while. And then we won the war. End of story." He fixed Subaru with a violet stare again. "It was worth it, to bring the peace about. Worth everything, even risking the ones I love."

"Duo-" Hokuto started. "That Shinigami of yours was a Gundam, right?"

The braided boy nodded. "Deathscythe."

The girl grinned widely. "You're all Gundam pilots - I knew it!"

"I flew Wing," Heero confirmed. "Trowa had Heavyarms, Quatre's was Sandrock, Wufei's-"

"Nataku," Duo snickered.

"Shenlong." Heero glared at his partner.

"Yeah, right." Duo grinned sheepishly.

"Wow, Gundam pilots! I gotta get all of your autographs!" Hokuto was almost dancing around the room.

Duo snorted with laughter, then turned back to Subaru. "You better now?"

"Yes..." The boy smiled tentatively, then reached out and hugged the American. "Thank you."

Duo returned the embrace, smiling at Heero over the onmyouji's shoulder. /Ninmu kanryou,/ he mouthed.

"Well!" Hokuto smiled at her brother. "Now that you're better, you should go visit Sei-chan again! He's going to think you don't love him any more!"

"Ho-Hokuto-chan!!!" Subaru turned bright red.

"It's too late today." Heero motioned to the rapidly darkening sky outside. "How about we both go tomorrow? You look like you could use backup."

"I'd like that," Subaru smiled. "Let's go after school."

"You sure you're up to school?" Hokuto asked.

"Yes - I've missed too much already."

"Are you sure you do not need anything more?"

"No, thank you. Good night."

"Good night then." The nurse turned off the light and left the room.

A shadow fell across the window, blocking the glow from the street lamp and leaving the room in darkness. The man on the bed lifted his head.

"Hello there," he said. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Skip the pleasantries," his visitor hissed. "Whaddya go and do that for?" A slender hand gestured to the bandage on the man's head as explanation.

He shrugged. "I don't know. Why do you care?"

"I don't like seeing pure hearts broken."

"Oh, spare me. You, of all people?"

"Unlike you, I don't let tradition govern my life."

"Yes... you've made that very clear when you surfaced as part of that colony movement. And what was the point?"

Delicate lips twisted in a half-smile. "Would you believe redemption?"

"No," the man stated flatly.

"Then - I don't know." The nighttime visitor twisted a hand in the cascade of chestnut hair that flowed down the window sill. "Still, what do you plan to do?"

The man touched his bandaged eye ruefully. "It's too late to heal - I guess I shall just live with it."

"And the boy?"

A single golden eye flashed in the moonlight. "Subaru-kun is my business."

A shrug. "Just don't mess up my toys..."

"Any other threats you care to make?" Irritation sounded in the man's voice.

"My, my... could that be anger? Emotion?" A flash of amused silver in the visitor's eyes.

"What would you know about them?"

"Well, I don't repress my feelings... unlike certain people I could mention."

"Certain people I could mention, too."

"He got over this - and that's one I owe Subaru."

"Are you going to interfere?"

"We'll see about that." The visitor grinned and turned to leave. "Good night, Sakurazukamori."

Duo took a step through the window and disappeared. Seishirou unclenched his hand, releasing a small black feather. It fluttered to the ground, landing between two pink sakura petals.

Notes:
I admit to ripping off part of the second scene in this chapter (to boot, Nokoru's appearance) off the back of IIRC the first "Clamp Gakuen Tantei Dan" tankoubon...
The Shakespeare stuff, as well as origami, is adapted from my own English class. Props to May, Mike and Mike, who here provide some of Relena's, Quatre's and Nokoru's lines respectively - Duo's lines (C) by Yours Truly; none of us spoke correct Shakespearean, nor do we claim to. I don't know if my English teacher takes Ibuprofen as soon as we're out of the classroom, but he's been known to shoo me out as soon as the lesson starts... I'm not that bad!!!
Sunshine 60 is supposedly a real place (I gotta find myself a guide to Tokyo! I hate lousy research, most of all in my own fics) and features in Tokyo Babylon as well as X 1999
Yuuya's story and indeed all of the "off-camera" developments taken from Volume 5 and 6 of Tokyo Babylon.
Duo's story, of course, (C) of whoever wrote Gundam Wing's scripts ^_^

Originally, this was supposed to end at Heero and Subaru deciding to go see Seishirou. Then a certain long-haired, silver-eyed psychopath showed up at my window (don't ask me how he did it, I'm on the tenth floor!) and took me along to see a certain other psycho... and then my teachers wonder why I'm not paying attention in class! ^_~

In the next chapter: The mystery thickens! The master of illusions! Or is he a psychopath? Can anyone save Subaru's heart from being "Shattered by sakura"?