Lightening the Shadows

A/N: yes. i noted the collar color for a reason. it WILL be important soon. don\'t worry. :):)


Part Six

Heero and Trowa were disgusted. The village of Elfiv was small, dirty, and smelled. All of the houses were spaced as close together as fire regulations would allow. Refuse was sitting in large banks to the side of the streets, waiting for a hard rain to diffuse some of it. Even the people were dirty. The two Shadow Lords sighed and glanced first at each other, then back to the town. In unison one thought crossed two minds. *This is going to be one bad day.*

“I’ll take that end. Meet you in the middle?”

“Hn. Ryoukai.”

Three hours later, two hot, tired, and very irritated Shadow Lords met in the middle of the street. Each could tell by looking at the other that neither had been successful. Heero growled and his wings fluffed, showing his agitation.

“He’s one FUCKING man! How is it that no one has ever seen him before, when we ask, and then we leave they all look relieved.”

“They look relieved when you’re gone, because you are Shadow Lords. They fear you.” The two winged boys tensed at the sound of an amused voice.

They turned to see an old man sitting in the dubious shelter of a stairwell. The man’s hair was sticking up in weird tufts, and mirrored glasses obscured his eyes. His clothes were torn and ragged though his multicolored shirt still retained it character, and he was thin, as if he hadn’t had enough to eat in a long while. That didn’t stop the man’s laughter, however.

“How is it that you do not fear us?” Trowa inquired curiously. Heero, being Heero, remained stonily silent, doing his best to death glare the poor man into submission.

“I’m an old man.” He rasped. “What need have I to fear the wrath of two so fearsome beings such as yourself? What are you going to do, kill me?”

Heero never faltered in his glowering. Trowa did manage to stir up enough interest to muster a slightly curious expression. “Can you help us?”

The man leveled them with a bland expression, mirth spilling off him in waves. “Probably not.” He quipped.

The chocolate haired youth took a threatening step toward their potential witness and Trowa placed a restraining hand on his partner’s arm. The old man never flinched. If anything his smile widened and he shrugged fatalistically. “Can I help it if you’re beyond redemption? Why are you looking for Chang Maru anyway?”

Heero smirked, though his cobalt eyes remained hard as diamonds. “That is none of your concern, mortal. You’re coming back to the castle with us. I’m sure Shinigami would like to have words with you.”

*****

Shinigami raised his eyes from the papers in front of him when a throat tentatively cleared. Obviously the man had been on his knees for a while for him to risk disturbing his master.

“What is it?”

“Your Shadows have returned, my lord. They ask audience.”

Duo straightened fully in his chair. He carefully composed his expression into one of disdain so that the man would see no emotion on his face before he commanded, “Send them in.”

“Yes sire.” The man rose to his feet, bowed deeply, and backed from the room.

Moments later the door opened again to reveal Heero, Trowa, and a man hidden behind them. The two bowed and Duo rose gracefully from his chair. “What have you brought me, my Shadows?”

“A witness, my prince.” Trowa gestured to the man still hidden behind them.

When the brunette stepped forward, Duo was startled to see a very familiar face. “Howard! What are you doing here?”

The old man grinnnd Hnd Heero and Trowa facevaulted when the old man threw himself into the chair that had so recently been vacated by Shinigami. “Not too much, Duo. Heard you were looking for someone and I was already there so I thought I’d be nice enough to reveal myself to your lackeys here.”

Heero’s expression darkened at the word ‘lackey’ and Trowa thought for one awful moment that he’d have to physically restrain his lover.

Duo laughed and Heero regained his composure. “Just a moment Howard.” He turned to the other two. “You may go. I’ll send him to brief you later.”

When the door closed firmly behind the enraged Heero and his calmer companion Duo turned back to his friend. “So what have you got for me, Howie?”

Howard pouted. “Not much, I’m afraid. Chang Maru left Elfiv about a week ago. He mostly kept his business to himself, but I can tell you that the reason he left was that people in the town weren’t too thrilled that he sold his son as a slave.” Howard sighed sadly. “I wonder what happened to that poor boy…”

“Nothing more than getting knocked unconscious once for trying to escape his new master, I’m sure, Howard.”

“You? You’re the one who bought him? HA! The Lady didn’t tell me that!”

“How is Lady Une these days, Howie? I haven’t seen her in a while.”

“As well as can be expected, Duo. She’s not too happy with Maru herself, you know.”

“Hm. And what could our august child seller have done to offend our dear Lady?”

Howard chuckled. “Why don’t you ask her yourself? I hear that she’s on her way here.”

“Oh dear. It must really be something bad then, if she’s going to willingly collaborate with her lord and master.” Violet eyes sparkled with amusement.

“Lord and master D I d I don’t believe that I ever admitted to that being true now did i?”

“Lady Une! How nice to see you! Please,” he continued wryly. “Join us.”

Wearily she sank into a chair and rubbed at the aching headache that centered directly behind her eyes. “Why thank you. I believe that I will Duo.”

Shinigami regarded the head of his intelligence unit with worry. “Allow me to offer you something to eat and drink and then you may tell me what brings you here Lady.”

“Thank you Duo. I could definitely use something to drink. And whatever it is, make it a double.”

“Certainly.” Duo pulled an almost hidden cord and a scraping servant instantly appeared. “Bring refreshments for our guests. Now,” he turned back to her. “What is so important that it brings you out of hiding?”

When the Lady was settled she looked up at Duo with tired and slightly worried eyes. “Treize and Zechs have been looking for the deceased wife of Chang Maru. We don’t know why, because they have been keeping this carefully to themselves but when they’re up to something then we’d better be up to it too.” She scraped a hand over her face. “Those two are impossible to infiltrate, and i—“

Duo’s eyes softened. “Rest Lady. And don’t worry about those two. If I only know one thing about Zechs and Treize, it is that they are now, and always will be, loyal to me.”

*****

Long, slender fingers worried at platinum blonde hair. “But Treize, how will we find him?”

The auburn haired Lord stroked a soothing hand down his lover’s arm and gently removed the tortured hair from the blonde’s hand. “Don’t worry lover. Une has people working on it, and even though she can’t get here people in here, I do have people in there. Come to bed now lover. Tomorrow we have a meeting with Chang Maru. And he’s going to lead us straight to Wufei.”

“But are you sure—“

“Yes. To bed with you now.” Treize gathered his distressed lover into his arms and carried him into the bedroom, the door snicking closed behind them.

*****

Maru sat in a seedy bar, in an even seedier part of town. He lifted a glass of dark rum to his lips and mumbled to himself in a drunken slur. “Goddamned Shadow Lords. Well I’m going to use them this time. Since Shinigami refused to do his job and finally rid me of that little snot, then I’ll just get these two to finish him off. That whore’s goddamned little fucking brat is finally going to die.”

The other patrons ignored the malicious chuckles from the table in the corner in favor of their own devious plots. Whatever had made the drunken man laugh was none of their concern and they chose not to make it so.

None of them noticed the pair of gleaming eyes that focused for just a single instant on the man in the corner.

A wraithlike shadow detached itself from another table. *Time to report.*