~Part 1 of Shinigami no Honou
By Reishin
It was precisely 7:59 a.m.
Wufei calmly sipped his
tea at the kitchen table, mentally timing the muffled thumps from the second
floor, more specifically from Duo and Heero's bedroom. "Third thump and 5th
'k'so,'" thought Wufei aloud. The long haired boy must have fallen over trying
to pull on his pants. A yelp followed by a rich variety of curses indicated that
he must have then caught his braid while zipping said pants. The boy raised an
eyebrow, when had Duo picked up Mandarin? The sound of a chair falling was
followed by the slamming of a door. "Hn. Almost here." Wufei casually extended a
plate with two slices of toast, liberally slathered with butter, jam and a
generous heap of cinnamon sugar. Heero had left at precisely half past seven,
leaving Duo's breakfast on the table. As usual.
And as usual, Duo was
running late. Rolling his eyes, the dark haired boy patiently counted down the
seconds until Hurricane Maxwell arrived. 5... 4... 3... 2...
"Thanks,
Wu!" In a burst of speed, Duo ran through the kitchen doorway and headed towards
the door, grabbing the toast in one hand while the other hand frantically
juggled books, a duffel bag, and a basketball. He ran out of the house, barely
avoiding being scalped by the rapidly closing door. The American boy's braid
trailed behind him by a good two feet, waving its own merry goodbye.
"Ittekimasu~~!"
Wufei half heartedly muttered, "Itterasshai." Not that
the other boy would hear him anyway. The grandfather clock in the hallway began
to ring.
It was now 8 a.m.
Only Duo could create being late into
so precise an art. The boy calmly polished off the rest of his tea and set up a
tray for Sally. Maybe she'd like a cup while she worked. He was pretty sure that
her schedule was booked for today, she'd need a hand with her patients.
"8:01 exactly, " the blonde woman murmured as she watched Duo speed past her
front office window. He waved enthusiastically as he ran by, narrowly dodging
the sprinkler system which was set to turn off at 8 a.m. but was always a minute
late. She let out a quet laugh and turned away from the window as her first
patient of the day arrived. Right behind him was Wufei, carrying a cup of tea.
They exchanged brief smiles.
"No school today?"
"Ah,
later."
She clucked her tongue in mock disapproval, "You sure you're not
just cutting? As my ward, I am reponsible for you boys."
Wufei simply
rolled his eyes, "As our guardian, you'd do far better my making sure *Duo* is
on time."
Sally laughed lightly, "But he's never really late. Just
rushed."
The Asian boy didn't bother to answer that particular remark. He
simply shrugged and bent to the task at hand, pretending not to hear her. She
laughed again and gazed with affection at the dark head industriously set to
work on her... no, their patient.
Now this was a scenario she had never
thought would come to pass but smiled anyway, content.
"Duo."
The American boy whirled around, sure that he had heard
someone call his name. There, in the entrance of a dark alleyway was a figure
draped all in black. The boy scratched his head. Hmm, to go to school or not to
go to school... Easy choice. With a wide grin and a cheery farewell to physics
class, he finished swallowing the rest of his toast before heading ambling over,
easily dribbling the basketball with the duffel bag slung over one shoulder.
"Anbody home?" Duo peered into the alley way carefully, making sure to
leave ample room to maneuver in case of attack. Despite the peace, one couldn't
be *too* careful...
"Duo."
The boy muttered a few choice curses
before hesitantly stepping deeper into the narrow strip of shadows. Something
about this entire scene...
Quick as a cat, Duo quickly jumped around, a
flicker of movement catching his attention. The last thing he saw before falling
unconscious was a beautfiul, pale face staring at him.
She looked
familiar...
The boy sighed, absently scratching the dark hair under the brim of his
baseball cap. "Are you sure we want to initiate him this way? I mean... Ka-chan
knows best 'n all, but it seems sort of harsh."
The figure next to him,
taller, his face half hidden in shadows, looked faintly amused. "He's from a
different era and knows next to nothing of our fighting arts. Considering what
he will soon face, I think this is the best way, Recca"
"Whatever." With
a long, last look at the unconscious boy in the middle of the desert, Recca
turned away. Ka-chan would take good care of him, kitto. She was, after all, his
great great great grandmother or something like that. "What's the name of the
next boy on the list?"
"Heero Yuy."
"Yoshi. We don't have much
time, let's go."
"Ah."
The two blurred and then disappeared,
exiting into the human world.