Chapter 12: Saying Goodbye

Duo shuddered. His eyes popped open and he immediately began to peer around the dark, shadowy interior of the giant cement cylinder. It was silent. His body quivered again as the cold seeped into his skin and chilled his small body. Then something in a shadow beside him moved. He spun around and peered into the large black patch across from him.

"Solo?" The braided boy whispered his friend's name into the darkness.

"Yeah?"

Duo began to relax at the sound of the other boy's voice. He leaned in closer to the shadow. His eyes had adjusted and he could make out the dark outline of the other boy. He was sitting upright with something clutched in between his hands.

"You okay?" Duo asked. As he did his breath hung like a dim cloud in the frigid air. He shivered again and this time tried to remedy his chills by rubbing briskly at the tops of his arms with his cold, stiff hands.

"Yes." Solo replied quietly. A glimmer of silver flashed faintly in the darkness between the Japanese boy's hands. Duo immediately recognized it to be the Desert Eagle. It was hard not to notice the gun, it was huge. And in the hands of the other boy it looked even bigger. "Are you cold?"

Duo smirked and nodded as he worked at building some friction heat for his body. "Yeah. I guess the climate machines aren't working too well tonight." His nose was running. He paused in his desperate attempt to warm himself to wipe his nose on the back of a thin, black sleeve. Solo's eyes shifted in the shadows. As they did they caught the light, which made them glimmer and become bright despite the lack of light.

"Come here, then."

The braided boy looked down at the gun in his friend's hand and thought on this for the briefest of moments.

Wonder if he will kill me.

It was a strange thought for a seven-year-old boy to have. Especially about his best friend, but he knew that Solo was different from anyone he had ever known. And it was only the instinct of self-preservation that had caused him to have that thought. It was out of his mind as soon as it came and without regarding the random reflection he crawled over to sit close beside his friend.

The Japanese boy had watched him approach and, as Duo had settled himself close beside him, he placed the Desert Eagle on the cement with the barrel pointed towards the farthest end of the cylinder.

"Aren't you tired?" Duo asked before breaking into a wide yawn. The Japanese boy frowned before staring into Duo's face.

"Yes. But I am worried."

Duo hadn't expected that as a response. He inched closer to Solo until he had managed to press his side against his friend's side. The Japanese boy was remarkably warm and Duo had plans to steal that warmth. As if understanding Duo's intention Solo leaned in closer to promote the building of their collective warmth.

"What are you worried about?" Duo inquired. His voice was slow and lethargic. Solo straightened his posture and his muscles became tense against Duo's side.

"That man… with the claw. I know him."

"You told me you didn't-"

"I do." Solo glared down at Duo, who had begun snuggling up as close as he could to the Japanese boy, unaware that he was being glared at.

"Yeah, so… who cares about him?" Duo mumbled, trying to fight off sleep. Solo turned away and stared straight ahead. His eyes began to transform and his former harsh, cold expression took over his face.

"He knew my father. A long time ago he asked me to do something for him." Duo could feel the other boy's arm begin to shake beneath his body. "But my father told me not to. He told the claw man "no". And… I…" Then Solo's arm began to tense and its quivering began to worsen. Duo frowned and sat up.

"Solo, what's wrong…?" He placed a hand against the other boy's arm and tried to hold it still. "Why are you shaking like that? Are you cold, too-"

"No." The Japanese boy blurted before ripping his arm out of Duo's grasp. "I don't… I just can't…" Then he tilted his head down and buried his face in his hands. His shoulders had begun to shake.

"Solo…?" Duo whispered nervously before leaning in closer to his friend. He lifted a hand and timidly placed it on the other boy's shaking shoulder. "Solo, please. Don't cry. Tell me what it is."

At that the Japanese boy sat up and dropped his hands from his face. Duo searched his face for tears and any sign of sadness but found none. Instead he saw a look of determination and pain. The other boy's eyes were dark and seemed to pulse an underlying energy.

"Duo. I gotta leave tomorrow." Solo said flatly. The American boy's jaw dropped and he stared mutely at Solo for a span of a full minute.

"But… but why?" The braided boy finally stuttered. Solo frowned and Duo thought he saw him flinch at the question.

"I just have to. That man… I was looking for him before I met you." Solo explained in a flat, unemotional tone. Duo felt a heavy weight begin to fill his chest. He took a deep breath to try and shake away the heavy feeling then began to chew on the corner of his lip in silence.

Solo sat in silence watching the other boy waiting for him to respond. When Duo had failed to say anything Solo's frown deepened then he hesitantly approached the braided boy before sliding his thin arms around Duo to hold him in a tight hug.

At first the act was very awkward. Duo had only been hugged a few times in his life, and all of those times were by Sister Helen. Solo was the last person Duo would have expected to do that. So when the Japanese boy hugged him he had froze in place and wasn't sure how to respond. Did he hug back? Did he shove the other boy away? Then Duo realized how nice it felt to be hugged by his best friend. He felt safe and the heavy feeling in his chest had begun to dissipate as the other boy tightened his hold on him.

So he hugged him back.

And it felt nice.

"That man looks dangerous, Solo." Duo finally muttered into the other boy's shoulder. This made the Japanese boy tighten his hold on his friend.

"I will be okay, Duo."

At those words Duo's eyes began to sting. He sucked in a frantic breath and held it. He didn't like to cry. He couldn't remember the last time he had, and he didn't want to cry in front of Solo. With a faint sniff he held back the impending flow of tears and managed to force out his next statement in choked, wavering words, "Don't die."

Solo's grip on him loosened and the other boy pulled away just enough to look down into the braided boy's face. Duo was staring up at him with an intensely worried expression. The Japanese boy's mouth curved into an amused smile.

"Well don't cry over me. I am not important." Solo replied, laughing lightly.

Duo's eyebrows rose. A sob vibrated from his throat. He became angry at himself to letting the sob escape as well as annoyed that his friend was smiling and laughing at such a serious time. "Shut up!" Duo hissed angrily, and then furiously shoved the other boy away from himself. Solo fell back to a sit on the cement and began to laugh louder. This made Duo bristle even more.

"I said be quiet! GOSH! Why are you laughing!? You are going to die, and you are going to leave me here allalone! Do you think this is funny?" The braided boy was furious. He began shaking his fist threateningly at the other boy. "Be quiet before I deck you!"

Solo's uncontrollable laughter had calmed to an amused chortle. "I'm sorry, Duo." Solo said quietly before finally regaining composure. "Why do you think I am going to die? And why does it matter if I do?"

Duo straightened in his spot and frowned. "Because you're the best friend I ever had. I don't want you to die." The young American explained. He began toying with the tip of his braid absently and tried his best to put the thoughts of Solo lying dead at the hands of the scary claw man out of his mind. He looked across the dark tube at Solo. The Japanese boy seemed suddenly peaceful and confident.

"Don't worry, Duo. I know if I die you will come find me. Even the Shinigami would be scared to face you…" Solo replied with an amused smile. Duo gave him a questioning look.

"Shini-gami…?" The braided boy tested the word with hesitation. "What is that?"

"A God of Death." Solo answered absently, giving his friend a small smile. "It is the Japanese word for God of Death."

"Hm… Shineegami. Shin… ni… gami." Duo repeated the word over and over again as if trying to memorize it. "Well I hope you never meet this Shinigami guy."

"I might. But I am better than any Shinigami." Solo said. He gave Duo a playful grin.

"No. You're just a 'normal kid'." Duo reminded him. Solo smiled brightly.

"Oh yeah. I forgot. I guess you're right, baka." The Japanese boy said. Duo finally smiled.

"I am always right."

Solo sighed. "Baka."

"Stop calling me that!"

Solo laughed.

The next morning when Duo woke Solo was gone.

He sat up and rubbed the back of his head slowly, letting his fingers tangle in his thick hair. As he began his morning ritual of yawning and stretching something caught his eye. A plastic bag sat nearby. He crawled over to it and pulled its white flaps open. Inside lie the Desert Eagle with a piece of paper underneath it. Gently he pulled the paper from beneath the gun and studied it.

It was a portion of blueprint for a building. Duo figured Solo must have found it lying somewhere in the construction area. He flipped the blueprint over. Long, angular letters had been scrawled across it.

"I am Solo now, but when we meet again we will be a duo."

The corner of Duo's mouth perked a little. He read the note over a few times before neatly folding it and sliding it into his pocket. Then he picked up the Desert Eagle and looked it over. He noticed some scratches on the barrel. He squinted and held the gun up to the light. Then he realized that they weren't scratches but words etched roughly into the metal. The words were sloppy and the first word he couldn't make out, but the last two were easily recognizable.

"TO EARTH"

His eyebrows scrunched together high on his forehead and he stared at the words for a moment.

"To Earth." Duo whispered quietly. He let a small finger trace the engraved words that had been scraped into the metal. Then his eyes widened. "He is going to EARTH without me? THAT JERK!" Then he leapt up and made his way out of the cylinder. He shoved the gun into the bag, blinked against the colony's morning lights, and then broke out into a run towards the fence. He darted through the opening and made his way down the street, clutching tightly at the large gun wrapped in plastic.

Solo is going to Earth… he reflected to himself as he ran. One day he is going to come back! That is what it means! He is going to come back and take me to Earth with him!

He was practically skipping by the time he arrived at the Maxwell Church. He was laughing in delight when Sister Helen came out to scold him for being gone to long and he was ecstatic when Father Maxwell assigned him to bathroom duty indefinitely.

None of it mattered. He knew he was going to Earth one day and that his best friend would come back for him and these thoughts alone would keep him sufficiently elated for years to come.

PART ONE – Little Shinigami and Solo: COMPLETE

To Be Continued in- "Meeting on the Planet", Coming Soon!

(Like... very soon. :D Black-Haired Girl)