Haunted Life
Part 4
by: Tigress Pern
Archive: GW Addiction (thanks Tyr!)
Warnings: Alternate Universe
Disclaimer: I don't own GW.
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Part Four

They tried again the next morning to contact Duo's
spirit, but the ghost was too tired to do more than
answer yes or no. The session lasted ten minutes.
Saddened that they couldn't speak more with him, the
boys decided that it was better to give Duo a couple
days to recuperate. It was agreed that on Wednesday,
they'd hold another session.
By the time Trowa said goodbye to his friends it was
nearly one in the afternoon. Catherine and Heero were
working outside raking leaves and clearing out debris.
Trowa immediately began pruning back the dying
shrubs. There was so much that needed clearing in the
yard that it would take them days to remove it all.
He tried to focus all his attention to the task at
hand, but his mind kept wandering. What sort of
person had Duo Maxwell been? Did he love his parents?
Did he laugh a lot or did he cry? Was he happy or
not? What had caused him to die? All these questions
swam around with no answers. From what Trowa had
experienced, he knew Duo liked suspense novels, music
and seemed to be lonely. Just like me, Trowa thought
as he looked out across the backyard towards the
house. I bet Duo has been lonely a long time.
Catherine offered to cook that night. The three sat
at the kitchen table sipping vegetable soup and
buttering hot rolls. Silence hung heavily about them,
like a thick fog. It was hard to know what to say
around Heero. He was so stern looking that Trowa
wasn't sure what to expect. Towards the end, as the
silence continued, Catherine finally gave in.
"What do you think of the house Heero?" she asked
hoping for some response.
"It is fine." He answered dipping his spoon into his
soup.
"Do you know anything about its history. I was told
your family has lived here for four generations."
Heero swallowed a mouthful of soup.
"They say its haunted." Heero replied. Catherine
shook her head.
"I don't believe in ghosts. This house has just had
poor management. We plan to turn it into a thriving
Bed and Breakfast." She said enthusiastically.
"You won't succeed. My grandfather said this place
was cursed the night the boy took his life."
"Really?" Catherine narrowed her eyes. "I don't
believe in curses either."
"To each their own." Heero glanced over at Trowa.
Trowa looked down at his hand and noticed that he was
gripping his spoon so tightly that his knuckles were
white. Immediately he released the spoon. It
clattered to the table.
"Trowa?" Shoving back his chair, Trowa stood.
"Trowa?"
"May I be excused?" he asked his sister. Catherine
nodded and he swept up his dishes, depositing them in
the sink. Quickly exiting, he didn't notice the look
of worry on his sister's face. Heero studied him as
he left before turning back to Catherine.
"Your brother seems troubled."
"I don't know what's wrong. Nothing has been the
same since our parents died." She whispered. Folding
her hands in front of her, Catherine tried to hold
back the tears that were threatening to spill. What
had angered him like that she wondered? Had it been
something she'd said? Ignoring the troubled woman,
Heero continued to eat. He's seen him.

* * *

Sitting at his computer, Trowa tapped on the keys.
He had a report to finish before Friday and this was
as good a time as any to work on it. Yet, Heero's
words kept interrupting his thoughts. This house was
cursed the moment the boy took his life, he'd said.
No, that wasn't true. Duo hadn't committed suicide;
he'd choked on something. It was an accident.
Something wet touched the back of Trowa's hand.
Looking down, he found himself staring down at a tear
as it rolled off onto the keys. I'm crying? Gingerly
touching his face, Trowa found a damp path running
down his cheek. His fingers traced it up until he
felt another tear sliding down. Pulling his hand
away, he brought it in front of him, rubbing his index
and thumb together in wonder. Why am I crying? I
don't know Duo. I have no idea what sort of person he
was. What is wrong with me?
"People say that you committed suicide and that
means you were messed up. But I don't believe that.
I think you were a decent person." Trowa whispered to
the air. He thought he felt the temperature dip, but
couldn't tell for sure. If it had, it was slight that
he barely even shivered. Suddenly there was a knock
on the door. Quickly wiping his eyes, Trowa hoped he
didn't look that bad. He didn't need Catherine to
find him like this. Walking over, he opened the door
to find Heero standing there.
"May I come in?" the boy asked. Trowa nodded.
"Arigatou." Stepping inside, he walked to the middle
of the room and waited while Trowa closed the door.
"How can I help you?"
"You've seen him, haven't you?" Heero demanded.
"Who?"
"The ghost. The ghost of Duo Maxwell." Trowa
shivered at the sound of Duo's name being said with
such ferocity.
"What if I have?" Trowa challenged. Heero turned
around so that his back was to Trowa.
"Then you should find a priest to help him move on.
He doesn't need to be here."
"Really? Is that your expert opinion?"
"That ghost is dangerous." Heero said curtly.
"How do you know?"
"Because my grandfather knew the boy. He said he was
trouble. That he wasn't normal."
"Your grandfather knew him?" Trowa asked in
amazement. Heero turned back.
"Hai. He knew Duo Maxwell. He had nothing good to
say about him. He killed himself to get even with
everyone. My grandfather told me before he died, that
Duo Maxwell was the richest boy in town and tried to
buy his favor. He used to buy my grandfather lavish
presents so that they would be friends. But
Grandfather wouldn't be bought. He was a selfish
spoiled brat and nobody liked him. He's scared off
twelve other owners, including his parents. It's time
someone did something about it." Trowa was taken
aback. He hadn't known the ghost to be malicious. In
fact, Duo had been a pleasant invisible friend.
Someone Trowa could pour out his heart to. What Heero
said wasn't making any sense. "Look. Grandfather
said, the less contact you have with the ghost, the
better. His energy will weaken and he won't be able
to harm anyone. So if anything strange happens.
Ignore it." With that, Heero strode past Trowa,
opened the door and left.
In a slight daze, Trowa staggered towards his bed.
No, Duo couldn't be bad. He glanced over at his
computer and noticed that the return key had been hit
several times and that a new line had been added
report. The line consisted of one word. Hiroshi.

* * *

"Here it is. Hiroshi Yuy. Born August 25th 1934,
died January 6th 1998. He was sixty-four." Quatre
read. "That's why I know the name Yuy."
"Why?" Trowa asked as Quatre removed the microfilm
containing the newspaper dating back two years.
"Because, Hiroshi Yuy was a millionaire when he died.
He actually had over two million dollars in stocks,
bonds, savings, and property. He left most of his
money to his family and the rest he donated to some
weird foundation that deals with paranormal activity.
Specifically, uneasy spirits like Duo. My father
thought it was odd that such a sensible gentleman
would believe in the paranormal. I guess it makes
more sense now that we know he knew about Duo's
ghost."
"I guess." Trowa replied sinking into a chair so that
he was no longer hovering over Quatre's shoulder. "I
wonder why Hiroshi didn't like Duo. Was it because he
was rich or that Duo was actually as bad as Heero
makes him out to be?"
"You said you've had no problems right?" Trowa
nodded. "Then maybe Hiroshi and Duo had some sort of
rivalry. We'll have to ask Duo on Wednesday."
"We will. Thanks for your help."
"No problem. Hey, I don't think Duo's that bad. Oh,
that reminds me. I talked to my grandmother. She
went to this school in the late forties. She was a
senior when the `Maxwell Suicide' made headlines.
She's bringing over her old yearbook. I don't know if
there is a picture of him or not in it, but there
might be."
"That's wonderful." Trowa exclaimed smiling. "Then
we'll have a face to go with the name." He hugged
Quatre. Surprised by his friend's suddenly show of
emotion, Quatre didn't squash the moment and instead
reveled in the fact that Trowa was beginning to act
like he had when he was little.
Releasing his friend, Trowa smiled and the two headed
home. As they were leaving, Wufei came running up
with Meiran.
"Hey, what are you two doing?" He asked.
"Doing research." Trowa replied.
"Hi Trowa, Quatre." Meiran said smiling at both.
"Trowa I hear that you are holding up in the haunted
house. Tell me. Have you seen the ghost? Wufei
won't say a thing and I know both he and Quatre spent
the night on Saturday." The boys looked at each
other.
"Well…"
"I knew it you have!" she exclaimed. "Listen, I know
how to make charms to scare it off if it is bothering
you."
"Thank you for the offer, but actually it is a quiet
spirit. We've actually never seen it." Trowa
half-lied. He'd seen it, sort of, but the others
hadn't. Meiran frowned.
"I didn't know you believed in ghosts." Wufei said
staring at his girlfriend. She crossed her arms and
harrumphed.
"Just because I'm good at fencing and track does not
mean I'm not interested in the supernatural. I've
just never expressed my opinions to you because you
didn't appear to believe in it." Meiran snapped. "I
know this may be presumptuous of me, but would it be
all right if I come over with Wufei on Wednesday. I
know he's going over because he's not coming to my
house for dinner. If you're going ghost hunting, I
want to come too."
"It's not exactly ghost hunting…," Wufei said.
"Then what is it?"
"We're holding a séance. Trying to talk to the dead
through a ouija board." Trowa stated. "I don't have
any problem, but we shouldn't have more than four
people at the board. Isn't that what your sister said
Quatre?" Quatre nodded.
"She also said that having a female would be a good
idea. At least one, but and even number was
preferable."
"You mean I not only can come, I can participate?"
Meiran asked eagerly. Trowa nodded. She grinned
widely. "This'll be great! I've always wanted to see
if those things actually worked. Come on Wufei, we'll
be late to fencing practice." Grabbing his arm, she
hauled him off.
"OI! Onna! Slow down!" Wufei ranted as they headed
for the gym.
"Shut up, we'll be late otherwise and it would look
bad if we were late!" Trowa turned to Quatre.
"Let's hope they don't argue while we're talking to
Duo."
"He'd probably tell them both to shut up." Quatre
snickered.

* * *

Heero watched as Trowa, Quatre, Wufei and Meiran
slipped up the stairs to the third floor. He was
attempting to repair a leak that had developed in the
kitchen sink. Sally had driven him to his school
across town, then back. He was going to transfer to
Trowa's school at the end of the quarter, as it would
be closer to his new home. For now, he still went to
the private school his parents had paid for before
they had left.
"Stupid parents, send me to a boarding school while
they go around the world." He growled. "Then get
themselves lost in some plane crash. Still haven't
found the wreckage." He reached for a wrench began
unscrewing the nut that held the faucet in place. No
one heard his rant. Normally he wouldn't speak his
thoughts out loud, but there was no one around. Trowa
and his friends had gone upstairs and the evil ghost
wasn't about. That ghost, part of the reason he'd
agreed to come work for the Bartons.
Heero knew that he couldn't fail his grandfather. The
promise he'd made had yet to be fulfilled. So what if
his parents never believed the old man, he had. He
remembered when he was six and the house had lost yet
another owner. He had snuck into the empty mansion
and been confronted by the spirit. If it hadn't been
for his grandfather coming to his rescue, the spirit
would have hurt him. His grandfather had warned the
ghost to stay way from his grandson and it had
vanished. Now, ten years later, he was back in the
house. Heero would remove the ghost and save the
current owners at any cost. First though, he had to
get the faucet fixed.

On to Part 5

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