Hiro folded his arms over his legs, drawing them nearer, and stared up at the hanging cross that now hung above both boys. His eyes seemed to become lighter, its color shinning at him in the darkness. The dark shadows the candles created, twisted his features, making deep lines in the boy's face. Hiro blinked, his eyelids moving faster than usual. Death would not catch any of them unawares.

Duo smiled sadly. He would never know what lay inside Hiro's head. Indeed this war would never end, it will only grow bigger, until it blows itself out. Duo shook his head sadly, wishing he was just a spectator, and not the Angel of Death, coming to declare war on Earth. Duo held his breath, looking at Hiro, who now looked at him across the darkness, silently.

The perfect soldier, many people called him. Quiet, lethal and violent. Bloody and cruel. Hiro's eyes revealed all of those things, all the things the reporters in TV had created for his profile. Duo wanted to speak, to reach out for Hiro's hand, and squeeze it. Hiro's eyes revealed a lonelyness he could never understand. In the dark shadows, his eyes weary, his body about to collapse from exhaustion, his mouth dry, and his soul dead, Hiro looked beautiful. A soft angel sitting at the mercy of God and of the world. Duo held in his breath, seeing thsoe things for the first time in the boy, wondering what Hiro saw in him. Silently, Duo closed his eyes, wanting to keep that small beauty he had seen in Hiro's tired face. When he opened his eyes, Hiro was looking up at the hanging statue of Jesus and at the statue of the Virgin of Cinders. Duo blinked, watching the boy's eyes become blue, life penetrating them.

"Teach me her prayer, Duo."

There was a silence. Duo stared at him, his violet eyes still searching for the reason behind Hiro's still face. He smiled, his own lips hurting from the cold. He looked up at the statue, then at Hiro. Hiro was looking at him silently, his eyes growing light blue. Duo sat foward, his hands clasping together softly. He closed his eyes, feeling slightly stupid. Did Hiro really want to knwo the prayer, or was he mocking him? He opened his left eye, serching Hiro's expresion. Waiting.

Duo sighed softly, the weigh of the silence, of the expectation, too heavy on him. He wanted this stupid wars to end; he wanted to go home; he wanted to stand up and walk off to the streets like he used to in L-2. Wanted to get up and run back to his girl, back to Hilde. He wanted to teach Hiro so badly the simple prayer, the soft chant. Wanted to speak, but his damned lips wouldn't open.

"Holy Mother of Cinders..." his voice sounded shrill in the darkness, his sore throat in pain. Hiro closed his eyes, leaning back into the altar. Duo blinked, his mind tossed to the back of his skull. He stared at Hiro silently, his mouth gaping, his heart aching for the boy. Hiro, he thought, you want this war to end as well.

"Salve, Mother," he continued. "Listen to us while we lie in a forgotten valley of tears. Oh, Inmaculate One, oh Sweet One. Return to us those your merciful eyes, so that we may be able to see our Lord."

He stopped. The darkness ate his words. The prayer was longer, but he couldn't go on. His eyes had become foggy with tears, his voice clear in the dark, but his soul was afraid. So afraid. Hiro opened his eyes, looking at the statue. A beautiful peace came to the boy's eyes. Peace.

Duo smiled, brushing his tears with his fingers. He looked at Hiro, seeing all the wonderful things that he had missed. That many miss. I am lucky, he thought, to have seen you smile, Hiro. He smiled silently, watching the boy's eyes become sky blue, watching the boy's eyes find his. In silence, both boys stared at each other. That was the reason why I risked my life for you, Hiro, Duo thought, because I saw this part of you. Even then when we met in that hospital and you were tied like an animal.

The darkness grew slightly brighter as the lightning storm grew in size. The candle flames danced madly in the wind. The young boy smiled wearily. Somehow they would have to get their Mobile Suits back, and return to the colonies. The OZ had tacken the upper hand of things. That's bad, very bad, Duo thought as he stretched his arms. He stopped, watching Hiro's face. His eyes had grown slightly, his attention tacken. He was listening to something. Duo gritted his teeth softly.

There was someone in the cathedral.

Hiro's eyes returned to their dark blue color, his pupils enlarging slowly. Like a cat, waiting feraly, he pulled his legs up. His hands clenched menancily, his left hand reaching for the weapon in his belt. Duo watched grimly as the boy returned to his usual silence, his eyes no longer seeing the world, but just staring out at it. Cold. Duo bit his lip, angered at Hiro, angered at the stranger that had come in. Hiro slid like a feline, his slender legs moving fast and agile. He turned to look at Duo, but then turned away. Duo looked down, his head aching. He was alone again.

The man that had walked in shook his umbrella, the rain drops hitting the marble floor soflty. His footsteps echoed softly, his shoes drumming on the marble slightly as he stepped inside the dark building. He stepped over to the Holy Water and christened himself, bowing slightly at the cross. Using his umbrella as a cane, he walked silently and reverently to the pews. Duo stood up slowly, his eyes narrowing to get a better look at his face. He gasped softly.

It was the same man they had been watching from the window.

The man appeared surprised as the two boys emerged from the shadows. He gasped, staring silently at the two slender figures as they moved in the dark, and grasped his umbrella tighter. He had asumed, Duo thought, that the cathedral was empty. He must have been scared of his wits when both boys materialized out of nowhere.

"Dare desu ka?"

Duo smiled softly, ashamed to have made the man scared. Upon closer look the man looked older, leaning heavily on the umbrella as if tired from the long walk. The young boy looked at Hiro. The other boy was looking at the old man with narrowed eyes.

"Just faith followers, turning to God in this dismal times," Duo said.

The old man moved his head slightly, his grey hair covering his eyes. There was a strange countenance to his silence, to the way he sat on the pew, looking at the boys intently. Hiro noted the way he was looking at him, his hands clenching harder.

"Why are you here tonight, sir?" Hiro asked, his voice a bit too sharp, too lethal.

Duo frowned, looking at Hiro's body as it moved slowly up along the window lined wall, getting closer to the old man. The boy was moving with an agility only he could see, like a tiger stalking its prey. Ready to pounce.

Duo looked back at the old man, wondering if the civilian could see the way Hiro was stalking him. He's just a poor soul coming to the house of the Lord, Hiro, Duo though, his own hands clenching. There was a growing strange feeling crawling up his legs. He didn't like the silence Hiro walked in, the slow steps he was taking, the way his eyes were looking at the old man. Duo walked faster, his spine curling with fear. The young American pilot bit his lip, shaking his head. Yamete, Duo, he thought. This is Hiro. You can trust him.

"You boys hidding from something?" the old man asked, staring at the empty seats, watching the candles that lined the penitance stools.

Hiro didn't answer, only came closer to the old man, as the pew he was sitting met with the lined windows. The old man looked at the boy, his aged eyes narrowing. Duo speeded his movement, cursing under his breath that the old man had showed up. Sometimes people seem to be at places where they should not be. Duo gasped as one of the window latches to the far corner of the cathedral burst open. He looked back, his braid beating against his back as he turned.

The wind slammed the window hard against the wall. The rain poured horribly over the pews, over the floor. Duo's heart quickened as he turned around. The eerie feeling was climbing to his chest. It hurt to walk, his eyes becoming larger. He looked at Hiro's silent figure just a few pews away. The old man was looking at the pouring rain, his eyes narrowing deeper.

Hiro stopped, falling into a still stand, staring coldly at the old man. Shaking his head, the man turned his gaze back to the boy. Hiro's cold eyes seemed to bore into his own. The man drew the umbrella up to his lap, his small eyes taking in the small boy's figure. The wind coming in howled softly, echoing in the building.

"You look as if someone was following you, boy," the old man told Hiro. His eyes flashed softly, his hands gripping the umbrella tighter.

The old man gasped as Hiro pointed his gun at him, the boy's eyes full of hatred. Duo cursed under his breath, his chest contracting painfully. The feeling was begining to shoke him. He held his breath, his mind going crazy. What the fuck are you doing, Hiro, he thought over and over. Hiro didn't even seem to ackowledge that Duo was walking his way. The boy's eyes had frozen, possesed by the same strange evil Duo had seen when he had bandaged his hand. The same evil he had seen when they had met, not long ago, in that hospital. Hiro had wanted to die then.

The old man raised his hand, still holding his umbrella. His aged eyes grew wide, his old heart racing. Hiro smiled coldly.

"Don't act as if this is the first time," Hiro said. His voice echoed in the darkness.

The old man gasped, his eyes flashing slightly. Hiro didn't move, closer nor further, just held the man with the weapon. Waiting.

"Dameyo, Hiro," Duo called out, his voice weakened and hardly audible due to the wind, that had suddenly picked up. He reached to graps one of the pews. "He's just a civilian. What are you doing?"

Duo gasped as Hiro looked at him, the boy's eyes becoming blue for a slight moment, kind, like they used to be. The young pilot seemed tp pity Duo, as if the American didn't understand something that he did. Duo wanted to speak, to call out towards Hiro, but the boy's eyes had turned evil again. Duo gasped, his mind screaming. Hiro was looking at him the same way he was looking at the old man.

The man gasped as Hiro drew the trigger back, the young boy's eyes narrowing. A scream was forming inside his throat, his mind loosing its control as the young boy's lips twisted into a smile.

"You're crazy..." he whispered.

Hiro smiled, his finger releasing the trigger slowly, his eyes laughing cruely. The old man screamed as the boy shot him once, on his chest. Duo screamed, his voice lost in the echoes of the screams and the shots.

"Hiro!" Duo ran towards the boy, his eyes hardly believing what they saw. "Stop it, Hiro! He's just an old man!"

Hiro didn't look at him, nor at the old man, who drew his breath in weakly, reaching down for his umbrella. Hiro shot him again before he reached it, in his shoulder. Duo gripped his head, his black cap flying off, his head screaming in pain. The old man gurgled blood as his head slammed backwarsd on the seat, his old eyes looking up at Hiro. The boy smiled wider, his eyes flashing wickedly. He drew closer to the old man's body, shootting over and over again. Mercilessly, like an angel of Death.

"Hiro!" Duo cried out, begging the boy to stop, but his voice was drowned out by the rain and the wind; by the echoes. Hiro laughed wickedly as the old man's body slammed the pew, the gun shots penetrating the wooden bench, breaking through. The loud echoes reverbrated in the building as the rain poured like a madness into the darkness. Duo's heart ached as he heard Hiro's laughter, as he felt the world spin away from his grasp. Away into madness.

The old man's broken body, torn and destroyed, fell into the red carpet in the aisle. His blood darkened the carpet, running free into the marble. Hiro stared at the old man's open eyes, frozen in death, and grinned wrily. He leaned down and pulled the man's coat up to the man's neck. He straightened up again, his eyes closed. Mission acomplished. He turned around as he felt The other boy's presence. Hot, in his back.

Hiro's eyes met those of Duo. He stared silently at the other boy's angry, passionated eyes. They seem to hold a hatred that Hiro had never seen in them; a deep anger emanated from those violet eyes. Disapointment. Duo's hands were clenched in tight fists at his sides, his mouth twisted in pain. His voice was barely a whisper.

"You killed him..." he said. "Murderer. Hiro, this man had done nothing to us. We didn't even know him..."

Hiro looked at him silently, his eyes still cold, his body leaning sideways like a cat, waiting to attack again. Not satisfied by his meal. Yet.

"How could you, Hiro...?" Duo said, taking a step closer to the boy. "What the hell were you thinking? What the hell did they teach you before you came to Earth, to kill? It seems to me, that all they taught you was blind murder..."

Hiro raised his head slowly, Duo's words like sharp knifes on his ears. His eyes narrowed as Duo's figure came closer. Too close for comfort.

"I can't belive it..." Duo said. "Who the fuck do you think you are, Hiro!?"

Hiro's eyes flashed dangerously as he raised his gun, his finger on the triger. Duo's eyes looked at him, burning in anger, looking at Hiro's hand on the gun. The young boy gasped silently, but didn't move back. Hiro's eyes were blank, expresionless.

"Will you kill me too, Hiro?" Duo said. "Kill me. Like you killed this man, and many others in your deranged lust for blood."

Duo walked closer, his braid swinging sideways. Hiro walked backwards, away from the pews, holding the gun at Duo, his eyes still cold. Duo grinned sadly, his eyes becoming dark pools of sorrow and anger.

"Go ahead, Hiro!" Duo said, his voice becoming louder as his passion took over.

The young American hit the bench next to him, wanting to destroy something, feeling his soul reach out to destroy as well. He looked at Hiro, his mouth gasping for air, disbelieving that the boy could have the power, the evil, to destroy everything. Even the only other friend he had. The boy who had risked his life so often for him, who always came back to see he was safe, who sat staring at the sky wondering where he was. He felt his eyes fill with tears, but he swallowed them back. Hiro only stared at him, like he always did. Motionless, heartless, uncaring. Like always.

"Kill me too, Hiro!" Duo screamed, his voice a loud broken sob, his eyes narrowing in sorrow. "KILL ME!"

The young man gasped soflty, his breath stolen from his body, as Hiro shot. His body flew backwards into the wall, his head hitting it hard. His soul screamed, as he heard the echoes in the darkness, as he looked at Hiro's cold eyes. His eyes wide, his arms limp by his sides, his legs unbuckled beneath him, he could only look at Hiro in silence, feeling his own blood run over his black shirt.

Silence caressed their faces, softly as both boys loked at each other across the darkness. The rain blew into the pews, the wind playing with the candles, blowing them out. Duo closed his eyes, griping reality. The pain rushed up his limbs, slowly reaching his head. He put a hand over the wound, feeling the blood run through his fingers. He bit his lip, cursing himself. Cursing fate and cruel reality. He opened his eyes slowly. There was a soft sound coming from Hiro, soft and faint.

Hiro dropped his gun, its loud thud echoing in the hollow cathedral a thousand times. Duo looked at the young man's face. It was twisted, his eyes narrowed in deep sorrow. That sorrow he had sen before he had asked him to pray, when he was human again. Those eyes ahd become blue again, his big eyes capable of narrowing into evil pools, now small and were full of pain. And small tears. Duo gasped as a full tear ran down Hiro's cheeck. Silently, it traced his face, running down into his lips. Duo held his breath, watching it crawl down slowly.

Hiro sank to his knees, his head bowed, his arms lipm by his sides. Defeated. He shook his head, his face hidden now by his hair. Duo leaned foward, his soul quiet, feeling all of his body fall silent. His blood was the only sound he felt in himself.

Duo staggered up to his feet, his mind growing dizzy, his hands gripping his wound savagely, holding on to his bloodlife. He leaned back on the wall for balance, closing his eyes as pain invaded his body. It hurt to stand up, his wound breaking open wider as he moved. Or so he believed wrily, as he stood straight. He looked at Hiro's broken body, the small boy sobbing silently.

Hiro bit his lip as , the tears running off his nose. He felt his chest hurt, the air gone from his lungs. He hated himself, all of himself. He felt his body grow cold in the emptyness as if he was sinking into the darkness in the cathedral. He closed his eyes, wishing desperatly that this war was over, like Duo had said. Wanting to pray, wishing that Duo's God would hear him too. He wanted this stupid war to end, wanted the OZ or Federation, who cared who they were, to stop all this pandemonium. Just stop all of this insanity.

The young boy gasped as Duo's hand grasped his shoulder.

The young pilot looked up, into the eyes of the young man. Duo's eyes looked down at him, determined and strong. They shone with a vibrant fire, a powerful understandment. Hiro gasped as he saw himself reflected in those eyes. Duo closed one of them in pain, his face twisting as he tried not to show that he was in deep pain. Hiro felt his throat hurt as Duo smiled, a soft, beautiful smile.

Hiro gasped as Duo's hand tightened on his shoulder, his silent gesture speaking a thousand words, his friendship beating strongly in his body. He looked at him in silence, feeling Duo's invisible wings wrap over him. Duo, the angel of Mercy and Death, wrapping his wings over him. He looked into the angel's violet eyes, feeling his soul naked, broken by Duo's strong soul. Hot like his blood.

"I forgive you, Hiro," Duo said.

Hiro, his eyes smiling softly, his mouth pressed in silence, reached up his bandaged hand and lay it over Duo's hand.