In The Lap of Luxurious Love

Chapter 5 -- New Problems

"HEERO!" I screamed, sitting up in bed. I felt the sheets move harshly, and heard a thud as Heero landed on the floor. My heart was racing again, and cold sweat ran down my back. As quickly as he could, Heero got back into bed and wrapped his arms around me.

"What's wrong, Duo?" he said. "What is it?"

"I saw you die!" I rasped. "I saw you die and I couldn't do anything to stop it!"

"It was just a dream, baby," he cooed. "It wasn't real. I'm fine."

"Oh, god..." I whispered. "I can't believe this is happening again."

"What do you mean again?" Heero asked.

"I've had dreams like it before," I said. "I've always woken up screaming, just like I did this time."

"What happened?"

"We were out in town together," I began. "We were having a great time until, from out of nowhere, someone started firing on the place, and I couldn't do anything to help you. The last thing you said to me as I held you in my arms was 'I love you.' It was short, but it just felt so damn real! You have no idea how something like that feels."

"Actually, I do," he said. I turned and looked him in the eyes, complete surprise evident in my face. "I've had dreams like that recently, only it was actually me who died. But the strange thing was that both the Masters were there. Hiei was there to take me away from the living world, and Kurama was there to take care of you." That gave me a great deal of comfort, knowing that if something did happen to either of us, we would both be taken care of.
********************************************************************
The next morning, I awoke to an empty bed. Looking around, I saw Heero standing out on the balcony, smoking, wearing a black jacket and deliciously tight-fitting jeans. He looked at me as I opened the door and looked out at him. My hair was a tangled mess, but he just looked at me with a smile.

"Nice view," I said, commenting both on the sunrise and the man standing in front of me.

"I could say the same about you," he said. "Oh, were you talking about the sunrise?"

"You're such a fucking tease!" I said, wrapping my arms around him. Taking the cigarette from his hand, I took a quick puff and then leaned in and kissed him. "Want to go out into town after breakfast?"

"Sounds like a plan," he said. As Heero re-opened the glass door, a loud bang was heard and two bullets whizzed past my head, one going through the glass and the other hitting Heero's arm. Blood splattered onto my face, making me painfully aware of what was going on.

"Heero!"

"Duo, are you hurt?" he said.

"No!" I cried.

"Then let's GO!" he yelled, grabbing my hand. As we ran through the building and out into the main courtyard, I could hear gunfire from all directions, and I felt like I was back in the warzone. I had to stop a couple of times to stare as I saw the bodies of several couples, holding each other as they died.

"Oh, God, no!" I screamed as I watched two of our best friends, Trowa and Quatre Barton-Winner, being struck down. "Trowa! Quatre!"

"Duo... Heero..." Trowa whispered as I ran to kneel next to him, blood trickling from his mouth. Quatre was already dead, and it appeared that Trowa soon would be. "Tell Kathy goodbye for me."

"I will," we both said. I leaned down and kissed his forehead, and I heard the last gasps of a dying man, something that I will never forget.

"MASTER KURAMA!!! Heero screamed. Kurama appeared in the room a split second later, and was horrified at the scene in front of him. "We have problems here!"

"Damn it!" he cursed. "It appears that the Toguro family is after my blood again!"

"Very perceptive, Fox," said a steely female voice from above us. Before we had a chance to look up, I felt a searing pain ripping through my back, and I fell to the floor.

"Duo, No!" Heero screamed. "Please, please, don't leave me!"

"Don't worry about me," I grunted. "I ain't dead yet!"

"Can you carry him, Heero?" Kurama said. Heero nodded, bending to pick me up. Before he could lift me, however, another shot was fired, landing in the back of Heero's neck. "No!"

"Heero!" I screamed as he slumped over me, blood coming from his mouth and dripping onto my face. "No, please, don't die! I can't live without you!"

"You're going to... have to... my love," he whispered. "I can hear Hiei's voice. He and Trowa and Quatre are here to take me home." He kissed me softly, and then I once again heard the gasping final breath of a dying man. "I love you."

"No, Heero..." I whimpered, before raising my head to the sky. "NOOOOOOOOO!" Sitting up as best I could, I cradled Heero's body in my arms, unable to control my tears. Kurama crouched behind me, carefully wrapping his arms around me.

"Oh, what a sweet scene," said the voice of the woman again. "It reminds me of how I held my brother when he died. Oh, wait, that's right... He never actually died, and you saw to that, Fox, when you trapped him in that tree!"

"Marina Toguro!" Kurama said, standing, a defiant and infuriated look in his eyes. "Is that all this is about? REVENGE?! You've killed dozens of people who I refer to as my sons and daughters, and you did it all in the name of REVENGE?!"

"I just don't like you," she said.

"It was your brother's strong desire to kill me that trapped him in my plant, and his inability to die that has kept him screaming for me to die," Kurama shouted. "And it is your murderous desires that will now lead to your own undoing!" He reached into his hair, pulling out a seed, which formed into a rose, and then into his signature whip.

"You actually think that is going to stop me?" Marina laughed. "How many times in history have people with spears been defeated by people with guns?"

"You mistake human history with that of demon history," he said.

"Go ahead and try," she said.

"PROTECT THE HOUSE!" came a loud shout from one of the balconies on the third or fourth floor. A loud series of shouts came from all of the other balconies that overlooked the courtyard, and we looked up to see nearly two hundred young men and women standing there, some sort of projectile weapon aimed at the bitch on the balcony, whether it be a spirit weapon or a real firearm.

"Master Duo, catch!" called one of them. I thanked him, catching the gun in my hand and cocking it, aiming it as best I could to where Marina was standing. "Let's show this woman what the real meaning of suffering is! FIRE!!!" With that, the room became deafening with the sound of gunfire, all aimed at her. As the first shot hit her, she looked down at us in disbelief because she knew she had lost. Falling from the balcony, her bullet-mangled body landed with a sickening thud directly between where I lay and where the bodies of Trowa and Quatre were.

"You've saved us all!" Kurama said with a smile. "Thank you, boys!" I looked up at him, and he down at me. I looked down at Heero, and once again began to cry. I was so glad that Kurama was there, or else I may have gone mad. His comforting arms were a strength to me, and I melted into them like soft butter in a mold. "You do know what they're all right, don't you? They're in a much better place, and don't want you to be sad."

"I only had him for a couple of weeks," I whimpered. "I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, not wallow in grief because he's gone."

"Well, Duo, if it makes you feel any better, I want you to know that I will care for you in any way possible," Kurama said. "We must get you to a physician, or else your wound could become much worse." He quickly used his powers to stop the bleeding in my back, but could do no more. "Will you come with me to my city?"

"What about Heero, and our friends," I said as Kurama lifted me. "We can't just leave them here."

"You're very much correct," he said. "Isuzu!"

"Yes, Master," said a young man, running to stand before us.

"Prepare the bodies for burial," Kurama said. "Take the woman's body and burn it. I will not give her any respect in death for what she has done to my boys. See that those who need medical attention recieve it immediately, and escort those who need Demon medicine to my home in my city, and I will arrange for emergency care. There will be many I fear who will need such care. I want a full report of the damages when I return."

"Forgive me for asking, Master, but will Master Hiei be returning with you?" he said.

"No," he said. "Spread the word that Master Hiei left the mortal plane last night." I gasped, seeing the pain in Kurama's face as he said those words. His lover was dead. "Don't worry about me, Duo. You are my main concern right now."

(Author's note: Finally finished another chapter! Sorry it's taking so long!)