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The Shadowman	By : ColdSilence Category: Gundam Wing/AC > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 2328 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing/AC, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Title: The Shadowman

Author: Cold Silence

E-Mail: writer.coldsilence@gmail.com

Category: Alternate Universe. Medieval Times.

Pairings: So far: 4 x Relena, 5 x Meiran, Odin x Catherine

Warnings: NC-17. Yaoi. OOC. (I'm trying to keep them IC, but I don't think I've succeeded.) Death. Squick. Incest. Rape.

Website: http://coldsilence.tumblr.com/post/433113072/index

The Shadowman

-Chapter Eight-

(The Farming Arc - Day Three)
Surprisingly enough, Duo woke up naturally the next morning. It took a few moments for awareness to set in, but when it did, he sprung out of Heero's bed as if he had been lying on hot coals. His braid danced along his back as he gave the room a quick once over, confirming that Heero had not caught him hogging his bed. Thank the Dark for that.

That would have been ugly.

Since he was up earlier than the day before, he actually had time to both eat and bathe. Once more, the water was freezing cold, but he found it was easier to deal with if he was expecting it. By the time he finished dressing in the black clothing he had arrived with, the kitchen table was already occupied by Odin, Heero, and Trowa. He got a nod from Odin in greeting, and brief glances from the other two boys in acknowledgment.

Immediately, he could feel tension radiating from them, and it made him wonder if they spotted him spying on them the night before. Nevertheless, he grinned as if he wasn't guilty of a single thing, and pulled up a chair to sit in. His jovial expression faltered at the waiting plate of bread and, what else? Grits. He was SICK of grits.

"Don't you guys ever eat meat?" asked Duo.

        His question brought several heads up, and after some chewing, Odin was kind enough to answer.  "Actually, Catherine makes the best damned turkey on this side of Sanc. Nice and crispy on the outside; tender in the inside. Roasted to a brown - red color. She makes it with gravy and these sweet potatoes from out back. It smells so good that we have to give Wing his own plate or he'll try to lick the meat when no one's looking."

The Shadowman seemed fixated on Odin's words, his food momentarily forgotten as dreams of delicious turkey danced in his head.

"Actually, she was hoping to make some before the wedding this week. You see that turkey over there?" Odin motioned with his fork towards the window, beyond which a fowl could be seen picking at its brown features, oblivious to their conversation. "Cathy had her eye on that one, but none of us have time to catch it."

They fell in silence after this and continued to eat their food. Duo took one look at his plate, then another glance at the window, before excusing himself from the table. The men watched him disappear out of the door, and then broke into peals of laughter.

"He'll never catch that turkey," Trowa murmured between chuckles.

"You never know, he looks like a resourceful gaijin." (1) Odin shook his head as he picked up his empty plate to deposit in the sink.

"Baka." (2) Heero glared at the door Duo exited, his fork accidentally making a scraping sound against his plate.

        "Heeeeeere turkey turkey turkey."

The creature tipped its small head to the side to regard Duo with one black eye.

"That's it, just stay there while ol' Duo chops your cute little head off~!"

A gurgle of nervousness emanated from the turkey's throat as it backed away from the figure stalking towards it.

"Just stay riiiight there... HAH!" Duo tossed his sword as if it was a javelin, and its sharp blade caught a few brown feathers - but no turkey - right before it wedged itself into the ground. The animal made its getaway minus a few pinions, while Duo tugged his sword back out of the dirt. "Come back here you walking dinner!" he shouted at the retreating fowl.

So began a riotous chase, the turkey managing to stay ahead of the Shadowman with triumphant little squawks, which only made the braided boy even angrier and more determined to lob its head off with his weapon.

"Squawk! Squawk!"

"Oh you think you're sooo smart! Well guess what - you're at the BOTTOM of the food chain!"  Duo swung another near miss with his sword, and stopped in his tracks when he heard peals of laughter. Tracing the sound, he found himself staring at Wufei, who could barely keep his perch on the barn roof as he chortled his head off.

"You must think this is very funny, don't you!" yelled the Shadowman.

        He was answered with more guffaws of laughter.

"Who are you talking to?"

Duo spun around to find stormy Prussian eyes staring at him. Glancing back towards the roof, he found that Wufei had already made himself scarce.  "Uhm... myself?"

Heero gave him an odd look, before proceeding to let the sheep out of the pens. Duo wondered if he would ever survive this day.

        The morning passed slowly. After they penned the sheep in, it occurred to them that one was missing: Porkchop, the black sheep that Duo had named the other day. This led to two hours of walking in the hot sun, with the Shadowman whining the entire way that one sheep couldn't possibly make a difference in a herd of fifty. However, Heero wouldn't cease the search until he had the frightened lamb in his arms, and it was safely carried all the way home.

Next, they fed the animals that stayed on the farm, though Duo was constantly distracted by the newly dubbed Rabid Turkey from Hell. When it finally managed to peck his fingers in his latest attempt to grab it, he called a truce for the day.

Then there was milking the cows, which Duo claimed was the nastiest thing he had ever done. He swore on the spot to NEVER drink milk again.

Heero caught himself smiling sometimes, but the expression would be whisked away before anyone could spot it.

After lunch, which consisted of more grits, Trowa joined them since he was done at the stables. Together, they went to a neighboring farm to help pick apples from their orchard.

        Clear fluid dribbled from the side of Duo's mouth before his pink tongue licked it away; the occasional noise of contentment accompanying the crunch of the juicy fruit in his mouth. Taking a break from filling bushels with the round, red apples, he leaned against a tree and just let himself relax.

"That's strange," murmured Heero.

        "Hn. I wonder how it got in there," answered Trowa quietly.

        Duo found his attention being drawn to the boys, who were currently inspecting the interior of a large barrel.

"You think it came from the mountains?" asked Trowa.

"Iie. Not ugly enough," answered Heero.

        "We should probably just leave it there."

"Aa. We should."

Baffled by the strange conversation, Duo watched as the other two boys picked up their baskets and returned to work among the trees. Now, he knew curiosity killed the cat, but he was dying to know exactly what was in that barrel. His patience lasted for a total of three minutes before he began inching his way towards the wooden cylinder.

Resting his elbows against its top, Duo peered into the darkness to see what had gotten Heero and Trowa so confused. "That's weird, there's nothing in here-"

He barely finished his quietly muttered sentence when two pairs of hands suddenly grabbed the sides of his breeches and hauled him into the barrel. Before he could even think of what happened, a lid was slammed over the top and Duo was encased in pitch-black. He felt the world tilting, and suddenly he was spinning very fast.

Trowa and Heero couldn't contain their laughter as they rolled Duo through the trees. He fell for the oldest trick in the book! Once the barrel had picked up enough momentum, they let it go on its own, and watched as it bounced its way into the orchard while Duo yelled at the top of his lungs.

It came to a shuddering stop after slamming into an apple tree, leaving Duo sore and disorientated. Several minutes passed before he figured out which side was up, and he kicked the lid off. After crawling out, he braced himself on his hands and knees to make sure he wouldn't start heaving, and when he was positive his stomach would stay in one place, he stood up.

They seemed to have abandoned him after getting a good laugh at his expense, therefore he found himself alone among the many trees.

He was sick and tired of this!

"WUFEI!" Cupping his hands over his mouth, Duo called out for the Dragon Clan leader. "Wufei! I know you're out there!"

Jogging through the grove, Duo craned his neck upwards to peer into the leafy canopy. He was about to yell out again, when an apple core flew through the air and hit him square in the head. Rubbing the abused spot, he canted his gaze in the direction the trajectile came from, and finally spotted the onyx haired boy lounging in the branches.

"Look, I've just about HAD IT with these country folk! All they do is work, eat shit, and they won't leave me alone! I don't care how dangerous it is, take me back to Sandrock! And I mean NOW!" demanded the Shadowman.

Wufei regarded his charge through squinted eyes, before replying evenly, "Duo, do you remember that time you put pink dye in the guest room's shampoo?"

"Yes."

"And remember when I used the said shampoo, and was cursed with pink hair for two months?"

"Eh heh heh.. yes.." said Duo nervously.

        "Consider this payback."

"What! Oh come on Wufei, that was years ago. Wu!" Duo's face fell when Wufei began climbing higher into the tree, his red coat blending in with the other apples once he was high enough.

"Is there a single person on this planet who's NOT against me?!" yelled Duo at the top of his lungs.

        By the time sunset tinted the sky a russet orange, Trowa was helping Odin in the woods while Duo and Heero were at the barn, doing what could be considered the highlight of the day: Mucking the pig pens.

Ankle deep in the mire, they used rakes to drag the waste away from the squealing, noisy piglets that kept getting in their way. Working in silence, Heero sported an aura of indifference whereas Duo silently seethed. Each were locked in their own thoughts, unaware of the way they seemed to gravitate towards each other until their rakes suddenly clamped together.

Both heads simultaneously lifted, each silently blaming the other for being stupid enough to get in the way.

"You're supposed to be doing the other side," said Heero.

        "This is my side," asserted Duo. He glared at the other boy, who stared him down with just as much intensity. The truth was, neither were on their sides; they had somehow met right in the middle.  "That was a rotten thing you did today. If you've got something against me, then why don't you spit it out instead of acting like a little kid."

Heero's knuckles began to whiten with the grip he had on his rake. Obviously, he didn't take very tell to the insult. "That was for sleeping on my bed."

For a second, Duo's expression faltered. After all, he did take Heero's bed without asking, but... "It's not like you were using it. Besides, you wrecked MY bed!"

"It's your fault for being lazy!" countered Heero.

"Hey! I work just as hard as you do, just not in the same way."

Heero snorted. "Doing what? Taxing the peasants? Rolling in your money?"

"You have no IDEA who I am!" said Duo emphatically.

        "I know exactly who you are. You're the same as everyone else. Selfish, pigheaded, unproductive -"

"Oh yah? Well, you want to know what I think you are?'' sneered Duo. "You're jealous! Jealous because you were spawned to be a farm boy by some she-goat instead of -"

"What did you say?" A dangerous light suddenly leapt into Heero's prussian eyes.

"Did you go deaf suddenly?" taunted Duo. "You heard exactly what I said."

In a flash, Heero's fist made a beeline for Duo's face, only to be blocked by the Shadowman's palm. Heero was mildly shocked that hands that soft were able to grind the knuckles of his hand together.  A silence fell between them as they teetered on the precipice of indecision.

And then it was on.

Pigs squealed in alarm as they backed into corners to get out of the way. It was hard to tell who continued it after the first punch, because they fell to the ground in a flurry of kicks and wild jabs. Work was forgotten as they rolled in the mud, grunting and yelling in a battle for dominance. Muck squished between their pressed bodies as they grabbed at flailing limbs in an attempt to pin each other.

A rough growl escaped Heero's throat when Duo got the upper hand and managed to straddle him. His wrists were trapped above his head, fingers clawed outwards and trembling with the force he was using to attempt to break the hold. They panted heavily in each other's faces, breath warming the scant inches between them.

"What is all that racket? Boys! What are you doing?" The door to the barn suddenly slammed open, and an irate Catherine stomped inside. Upon hearing the sounds of a fight, she ran over as fast as she could hoping that she was mistaken; but no, they really WERE fighting, and they made a big mess of themselves to boot.

"Duo!! Get off that boy now! Don't you look at me that way Heero, there will be NO fighting in this house! What will your father say!" scolded Catherine.

Obediently, Duo released Heero and took a quick step away. The other boy wasted no time scrambling onto his feet, his eyes locked on Duo as if he'd like to take another swing at him again.

"Heero!" Catherine placed her palm over his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. "This is not the way to be treating your guests! It's not right and you know it."

       "URUSAI!"

Even the squealing of the pigs stopped at the sound of flesh hitting flesh. Catherine held the wrist that Heero had knocked away, a look of shock on her face.

"You are not my mother." Heero's words were spoken low and full of vehemence. Duo's eyes were the size of saucers as he helplessly watched the whole thing happen.

Slowly lowering her wrist back to her side, Catherine's lips tightened to a thin line. Tears began to gather in her eyes, and her voice shook with the effort to hold them back.  "Get.. yourselves cleaned.. for dinner. Odin wouldn't... wouldn't want to see you.. this way."

She turned around just as the first few droplets fell to her cheeks, and made her way out of the barn, gaining speed with every step she took.

Not a word was said when they left the pig pen. Like a dark cloud, the silence followed them all the way to the creek in the woods, where they began the task of removing the caked layers of filth from their clothing and skin.

In a hurry to rid himself of that uncomfortable squishy feeling in his pants, Duo only paused to take off his boots before wading waist-deep into the water. From there, he peeled off each article of clothing one by one, and scrubbed them good before setting them aside on the shore. Glancing over his shoulder, he found that Heero was doing the same thing; his face set into a blank expression.

Maybe Duo was just a tad bit insane after all, because he decided to speak.  "You know.." Flicking his gaze over at Heero, he saw that the short-haired boy was trying his best to ignore him. "You know, being here in this place, it isn't so bad."

No answer. Duo cleared his throat and tried to continue. "What I mean is, where I come from people are never really honest. They're always out to take what they want, even if it means pretending to be your friend, so you can never really trust anybody." He slowed in his scrubbing, a wistful look overtaking his cobalt eyes. "It gets kind of lonely. But here, everyone's honest. It's the first time anyone's ever hated me to my face instead of trying to sneak behind my back. It's a nice change."

Silence. Was Heero even listening? He thought of Catherine's tears as she left the barn, and he felt something inside lurch in response. Suddenly, he couldn't hold the words back even if he tried.

"You know, I never had parents. They left me the day I was born. I guess they thought I was annoying like you do. But that's fine, I grew up as good as anyone else not knowing what it was like to have a real family or someone to call mom or dad. Or Pa." He wrinkled his nose as he mimicked Heero's way of naming his father. "I'll never know. But here you are, about to get a second chance at being whole again, and you just throw it away."

He stopped speaking then. Just what was he trying to accomplish anyway? Duo threw his clothes onto the bank and just let himself soak in the water. Internally, he fought the gaping hole in his heart, which was ripped open by his own words.

Heero had likewise stopped working on his clothes and put them aside, choosing just to sit in the creek and let the cool water run over his flushed body.

"Hey-ey, what's this!"

        "Nani! A pair of naked bishounen!" (4)

Both faces snapped towards the shoreline, where a duo of redheads were now holding their pieces of clothing captive.

"Heero-kun, who's your new friend?" Short haired Meia twirled his wet breeches around her fingertips, and wore an ingratiating grin on her face.

"...That's Duo," said Heero slowly. "Can I have my pants back?"

"Duo he says!" Marie scooted closer to the bank, causing both boys to shy away from her while they covered their family jewels. "Pleasure to meet you Duo! Would you like to shake my hand?"

"Eheh... nice to meet you, whoever-you-are, can I shake your hand later? Preferably when I get my clothes back," said Duo nervously.

        "Yare yare, (5) where are my manners? This is Meia." Marie's sister dipped in a little curtsy with the introduction. "And I am Marie." With a wide grin, Marie swept low into an elaborate bow. "I suppose you want your clothes back?"

The two boys nodded in unison.

"We'll give them back, but first - how about a little game of show and tell?" said Meia with a smirk.

        Duo's jaw nearly dropped to the floor, and Heero merely uttered two words: "Hentai onnas." (6)

"Why didn't anyone tell me the countryside was full of perverts!" ranted Duo.

"....." Heero didn't have anything to add to that.

"I've never been so embarrassed in all my life!!"

Grumping the entire way home, Heero shared in Duo's pain. It was doubtful they would ever be able to look at Marie or Meia without turning beet red ever again. The last of the sun's rays was spent in a grueling session of "Show and Tell," and they gratefully left the two giggling girls in the darkness when they finally got their clothes back.

Apparently, Catherine and Odin had stepped out for the night because the house was silent. As they approached the bedroom, Duo ceased his chatter and became silent. The twins had made him forget about the fight, but now the memory was returning. He grimly went to his designated side of the room and began changing into warmer clothing for the night.

"Trowa and I sometimes camp out. You want to come?" asked Heero.

Duo froze in the middle of tugging his tunic off. Was he dreaming? Did Heero really just speak to him, in an entire sentence no less, without the usual derogatory tone?  "Sure, I'll go." His mind grabbed at the possibility that this was just some other prank. However, when Heero handed him an extra blanket, he realized the truth.

Heero was apologizing, in his own way.

Trowa waited at the usual spot, a warm fire already casting a crimson glow against the towering sycamores. The tent was ready, and a few extra apples from earlier were laid out. Roasted apples were one of Heero's favorites. All that was missing now was the blue eyed boy.

His expectations were not disappointed. The faint crack of a twig announced his best friend's arrival, and he smiled up at the approaching figure. Then a second movement caught his attention, and the expression faltered just a bit when the braided boy stepped out of the shadows besides Heero.

All his best friend had to do was give Trowa a look, and he knew there was a standing truce between them and the gaijin. (7) Well, he would be okay with that.
        It was what Heero wanted.

The evening began awkwardly as the three boys tried to adjust to the new dynamics of their relationship. Duo's presence threw their equilibrium off, causing discomfort and shyness. Fortunately, as the night wore on, they were able to overcome this and enter into easy conversation. The more they got to know Duo, the less they saw him as a pompous, rich merchant.

In fact, they noticed how he sometimes slipped in his sentences and spoke using big words, something no merchant would do when they were communicating with common folk. Not to mention, he didn't speak a lick of Nihongo. Every trader knew Nihongo.

Who was he really?

"The castle looks dead in the moonlight." Trowa's quiet observation made everyone glance towards Sandrock, where it stood proudly on its plateau.

"What do you think the Shadowman looks like?" Duo's fingers tensed ever so slightly at Heero's softly spoken words.

"Ma says he's an ugly three headed beast," said Trowa.

        The so-called "thee headed beast" squeaked in indignation.

"And he drinks pig blood. That's where he gets his power."

They blinked when Duo suddenly began rolling with laughter, his eyes sealed shut to keep the tears at bay as he shook with mirth.

Slightly annoyed, Heero leveled a glare at the boy. "I suppose you know all about the Shadowman."

Ceasing his chuckles, Duo rolled onto his stomach, and bore an odd gleam in his eyes. "I think the Shadowman is just like you, a boy who eats and sleeps and definitely doesn't drink pig blood."

"If he doesn't drink pig blood, where does he get his power?" asked Heero.

        "He gets his power from darkness and death."

"Then that proves he's evil." Interested in one of the biggest sources of gossip in Sanc, Trowa leaned forwards on his elbows as he questioned the cobalt eyed boy.

"It's not evil," Duo spoke a tad bit more defensively than he meant to, but he continued nevertheless. "Darkness and death are worshipped by the Mystics."

"Everyone knows that," said Trowa.

        "Yes, but they never stopped to think why. People are afraid of death, so they automatically say it's evil. The real truth is that death is as much a part of life as breathing."

Duo found himself assaulted by a two different stares after saying this. He continued earnestly, "It is! Take the harvest for instance. You can't grow new crops until you kill the old ones so you can eat. You also have to kill livestock to get meat. Eventually everything dies, especially people, but even people need to die. If everyone lived forever, in time there would be no land or food left to give every person a home and something to eat each day. Their deaths make room for their children."

In the shadows of the night, the purplish tint to his eyes seemed to intensify. He lifted his palms upwards, splaying his fingertips until the crescent moon was between his slender digits. "The Mystics also worshipped the moon, because the way it waxes and wanes represents change. In life, you go through a lot of changes, and it's these things that eventually define who you are. Sometimes the changes aren't pleasant, sometimes they are. Either way, you grow spiritually because of it. However, you'll never know when or where a change will happen, life is like walking with a blindfold on - hence, why they worshipped the dark."

Glancing over at the other boys, Duo was embarrassed to find them giving him blank looks. "Eh, sorry. I tend to run my mouth off and say stuff that makes absolutely no sense."

"It made sense," Trowa's interjected, "just what did any of that have to do with the Shadowman?"

"Because his ancestors were Mystics," explained Duo.

   "Demo, (4) the king kills anyone with Mystic blood."

"Well, that's... a different story. In the beginning, Winner's ancestors killed them for revenge. Nowadays, there are no full-blooded Mystics left, just the occasional half a halfbreed." Or at least that's what I used to think. "These people are so ignorant of their history, they'd probably drink pig blood thinking it would help boost their powers. Can't have those types going around causing mischief just because they think they're evil."

Duo gave Trowa a sardonic smile as he continued. "And then, there's those that do know the true story of their ancestors. In that case, they would want revenge on the House of Winner. Can't have that."

For the first time, Heero's deep voice broke into the conversation. "It's still cruel to kill them."

At this, Duo tilted his head to look deep into Heero's eyes. "Wouldn't you do anything at all possible to protect your family?"

"Aa," the shepherd answered readily.

"So would the king," finished Duo.

        Heero continued to gaze at Duo's profile after he turned away, impressed by the amount of knowledge he seemed to hold. Trowa merely gave him another glance, before resuming his poking at the fire with a stick.

End Chapter Eight

(1) Gaijin: Outsider

(2) Baka: Idiot

(3) Urusai: Shut up

(4) Nani ... bishounen: What..... pretty boys

(5) Yare yare: Can be taken as: Oh, Ah, Oh dear, Dear me, or Aah!

(6) Hentai onnas: Pervert girls

(7) Gaijin: Outsider

(8) Demo: "But," or "However"
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The Shadowman