For the Two of Us, God Bless.

[Milly Faye]

Milly had long since returned from her trip into Quazmrl, looking for someone who knew anything about exorcising spirits. Now, it was already getting past ten in the evening. Milly had already eaten her portion of take out food she had brought back with her. The rest was left on the counter in the cabin room for Duo to eat when he returns. She had expected him to already be back by this time, however.

In the morning, the two had split up to check various areas in Tenka. Milly went to the city of ice to see what sort of information she could find, while Duo was sent running around the other various frozen lands in the mountains.

Milly finally stood up when she couldn't take waiting there in the room any longer. She pulled on her jacket and slipped on her boots and headed outside into the snow.

There was a small porch light alighting just a small area in front of the cabin. Milly walked to the edge of the lighted area and stared out into the darkness. As a gust of wind blew, Milly shivered and pulled up her jacket's hood. She crossed her arms to hold herself and hopefully warm herself a little bit.

Milly glanced in all directions before letting out a small sigh and staring down to the ground. She then turned her eyes up towards the sky. It was clear and the stars were plenty and bright. The sight was almost comforting, yet Milly felt a sort of sadness staring at them alone.

Slowly opening her mouth, Milly's voice began to sing out quietly as she stared sadly up at the stars. As she sang quietly to herself in thought, she eventually closed her eyes and held her hands closely to her chest. The cold air made her shiver, but she still wanted to sing out in the darkness and in the snow.

[ picosong.com/wprg/ (Translation)

I run past you with a thirsty heart.
Sorry, I couldn't do anything-
you won't even let us
share our pain with each other.

In order to live purely
I face your back and leave without turning back.
on the lonely rail

I'll follow you.
No matter where you are in the darkness of this bitter world
you will shine,
and exceed the limits of the future.
To prevent your spirit from being broken because of your weakness
you converge with my way.
Now, God bless us...


I send my now passionate feelings-
they melt reality, then just hover there suspended.
There's no reason for me wanting to see you.
I pour my feelings into you, lovin' you

Let's at least imagine only beautiful dreams,
as we chase after them
for your lonely heart

Stop it, lying isn't like you.
Look into my eyes and let's speak of what will be.
I'm prepared-
even for a bleak future.
Become strong and you might even be able to change fate, you know.
Though I want my wish to be granted,
God knows everything...

You're here, and I'm here-
all the others have disappeared.
By sketching the beauty of our fleeting dream,
we're just tracing our scars

So, I'll follow you.
No matter where you are in the darkness of this bitter world
you will shine,
and exceed the limits of the future.
To prevent your spirit from being broken because of your weakness
you converge with my way.
Now, God bless us... ]

Milly already knew the feelings that were developing inside of her, as much as she tried to deny it at first. With each passing hour with him, she wanted more and more to be able to save him. To save herself. So that they could simply be happy.

Milly's eyes slowly opened after after a moment of standing there quietly in the cold and breathing, an expression on her face as if she had been wishing. She looked back down towards the ground with a sad expression, then looked up again and scanned the darkness for any sign of Duo again.

She wanted to trust that he would be fine going off in search on his own, but she couldn't help but worry and fear that he might not come back. As she let out another heavy sigh, Milly turned a sad and worried expression towards the ground again. She was holding herself a bit tighter now as she felt colder with each passing moment.

Milly looked forward once more before turning around and heading back towards the cabin, well within the reaches of the porch light. She stopped again at the bottom of the stairs as she noticed a few snowflakes flit across her eyes. She slowly turned around again to see that it had just begun to snow.

Without properly smiling, an almost sadly happy expression mixed its way onto her face as she watched the snow fall. Before losing herself, she suddenly clenched her fists to get a hold of herself and glanced around outside once more. She took another short moment to watch the snow fall before finally turning around again to head into the cabin so that she could warm herself up.

[tag Duo]

[Duo]

The only thing in Duo's thoughts right now is that he's hungry, so the man's been speeding extra fast after he had circled the places where he was supposed to hound for information. As he ran, he inwardly hoped that Milly brought back some food for him.

Due to his last berserk at the diner months ago involving Solo, he had to avoid to let himself spotted by the public eyes, in case they've put a sort of bounty on his head or something. He didn't want to cause any trouble, so he's happy that he was stationed in the less populated parts of Tenka to find some information.

When he sped through the woods though, now very close to the cabin he and Milly had rented, Duo slowed into a stop when he realized that it's actually starting to snow around here. His eyes widened as he looked upwards, unconsciously lifting up a hand to catch the falling snowflakes.

Just as he was smiling at the sight, he heard someone approached him from behind, and suddenly grabbing hold of his braid, jerking him backwards violently. "OWW!! HEY!" Loosing his balance, Duo fell on the snow roughly on his back.

The shock was so sudden to him that it took him a while to adjust his eyes, seeing a shadowed figure looming above him, with an axe in his grip.

[NPC: Male]

Luso is the local woodcutter in these parts, often dropping by at Cali's diner to eat dinner with his son, who works as a waiter there. One night though, he was called in to meet up someone from Kumo, missing to eat dinner there, for just that one night.

That one night, tragedy befalls. A lunatic with a long braid went crazy, they told him. Luso had a son now. That boy was shot in the crossfire, died on the spot.

Now, as he was walking home from chopping trees, he caught sight of a man with a long braid. Luso's eyes immediately changed, rage taking over his large form as he drew close to the man, pulled him into a fall, and raised his axe.

"YOU KILLED MARCHE!!" He thundered, and then swung his axe downwards to chop the man's torso off.

[Duo]

Duo's eyes widened like never before behind his goggles at the man's yell, and then his survival instincts kicked in. He rolled sideways just in time, the sound of the axe against the ground behind him ringing in his ears.

"Oh god--" He found himself whispering so as he rolled up to his feet, snatching out his gun from his pocket to protect himself, but then got kicked in the stomach. Duo fell on his knees, his gun escaping his grip and dropped on the snow.

As he was trying to get back up on his feet, his eyes caught sight of the man picking up the gun, and his vision blurred slightly when he realized the gun's barrel was pointed straight at him.

A gasp escaped his throat, and then an ear-busting gunshot was heard echoing throughout the woods. Birds flew off rapidly at the noise, and then there was silence.

Blood spurted out Duo's lips, staining the cloth he had tied over his lower face. The shot had pushed him against a tree now, with a seriously wounded shoulder. He wasn't fast enough to run when the bullet was shot, but he had the time to push himself away so the man had missed his heart.

"Oh my god, please--" He can hear his own voice quaking in fear as he begged, eyes tearing up by the strain of fear. Leaning against the tree, Duo watches the man pulling the safety trigger of his gun again, and then ducked out of his shooting range, the bullet grazed at the side of the tree.

Pushing his legs to move, Duo charged right at the man and rammed himself against him, chucking the gun away somewhere. The second after the man hit the ground, Duo bounced himself off, skidded his foot on the snow to push himself into a run, and finally zipped off out of sight.

It was strange... On normal circumstances, Duo would not be this afraid of death, he would actually welcome it to end his own suffering in living with a killer in his body. As he sped off, Duo took in a breath. He's breathing now, he's alive now...because he has a reason to.

At the sight of the familiar cabin, Duo slowed down his speed, jogging his way there and finally lessened into a walk there, a hand clutching his right shoulder. The moment he had entered within the glow of the porch light, Duo stopped, facing downwards.

His expression behind his goggles is still one that resembles fear, of shock, of guilt and regret. He took a moment to clench his jaw and close his eyes, before he finally look up, a completely contradicting expression on his face; calm and relieved.

He can see Milly at the door, and a smile stretched up his face, despite being hidden behind the cloth he had tied around his lower face. "I'm home~!" He started, his heart is still beating rapidly by that earlier near-death experience, but Duo is especially good in covering up his own fear.

"I feel like I'm married to you, Milly, haha! With me coming home from work, and you, waiting diligently for my return like a good wife.. Aaahhh, bliss.." He joked with a laugh. Really, sometimes he astound himself with how he's able to keep this happy mask on despite whatever calamity that just happened.

If there's a ranking listing the world's most successful hypocrites, he should be placed in top 1. "So I got shot just now." Duo announced like it's the most casual news to be said, releasing his grip of his shoulder as he turned his hand to look at his palm, seeing blood had stained the cloth he tied around his hand.

"Some guy tried to chop me to death because he assumed I killed someone named Marche, and he got my gun, so uh..." Duo tried to shrug his shoulders, but then winced in extreme pain when he realized he just moved his own shoulder that had been shot. "..Sorry, Milly. Must be hard to see a husband coming home bleeding like this."

[Milly Faye]

Milly stopped dead in her tracks just as she was stepping into the cabin. A gunshot had rung loudly in the woods behind her. It felt to her as though her heart stopped beating for a moment as she wondered if Duo was involved.

Unable to enter any further, Milly finally turned around when she was able to breath again. She stood there, in the doorway, with a concerned look on her face as she watched the woods for any sign of Duo.

Milly felt a massive sense of relief when she saw Duo finally approaching. She let out a quiet but deep breath of air in relief at seeing him still alive. His appearance, however, kept the concerned look on her face, even when he smiled towards her.

She could see from where she stood a bit of blood on the cloth that covered Duo's smile. She could also tell, from the way he held his right shoulder, that he must have been injured. Despite Duo's joking, Milly's concerned expression remained on her face as she watched him, calming herself down from what she now realized was fear; a fear of losing him.

Hearing Duo admit, finally, that he was shot, only confirmed her suspicions of him being involved in why she heard a gunshot. "Baka..." Milly uttered with a quiet sigh after his explanation of what happened.

"Get inside, Duo... It's best not to stand around in the open when hostiles are around." She stated in an almost strained but military tone. She stepped further inside the cabin, holding the door open for him to enter. "Sit down on the couch. I'll help you take off your coat, and I'll remove the bullet." She spoke without looking towards Duo anymore.

A far off, almost annoyed look was in her eyes. She closed the door after he entered, then removed her boots and coat. Immediately after, she headed into the bathroom to look for medical supplies that would help her to fix up Duo's wound.

Seeing only normal first aid items, Milly collected them and went to find her purse. She emptied the contents of her purse onto the table in the kitchen, going through the various items in it until she found her tweezers. She took the tweezers to the sink and cleaned them with soap, then disinfectant from the first aid kit. She then took the items she needed over towards the couch where she told Duo to sit, and placed them on the coffee table near the couch.

[Duo]

It seems like every time he does anything, she always called him 'baka'. The familiar sound of it that came out from her mouth and with her voice made him smile for real, and then he proceeded to pull the cloth over his mouth and showed her the grin for good measures. "At least I'm the lovable baka." He can't resist to add, but wouldn't dare to look up at her face as he feigned to laugh quietly and closes his eyes while doing so.

He doesn't like this serious and worried Milly, honestly.

Once she ordered him to get inside, Duo dropped his smile. Choking a bit of air suddenly, he felt something bubbling out of his throat and quickly spit it out of his mouth. It's thick red blood, dark against the white snowy grounds. "Ahh, damn." It's traveling up his throat, maybe the shot's worst than how he assumed it to be. Quickly covering that spot of blood by kicking a bit of snow on it to avoid others seeing it, Duo then jogged his way inside the cabin, passing Milly with a frown.

He really doesn't like this serious and worried Milly at all.

He removes his boots hurriedly and ungracefully with a few kicks. "I can take off the coat myself, don't bother." Duo huffed, doing fine with his good arm with a small bit of trouble at the wrist, and then slowly tries to pull the coat off of his other side...but somehow, it won't come off. "Wha?" It's almost like its stuck...or something is making it stick to him.

Turning around, he can see from the reflection of the window that there's a freaking tree branch drilled on his back, completely horizontal. It must have pierced his skin and caused the blood to crawl out of his throats earlier. "Oh come on!" He exclaimed angrily in annoyance, "You've gotta be kidding me, WHAT?" He cannot believe his body.

After less than a month getting out of that Herbal Healing place, he hurts himself again. "Nooooo~! Ugh, my precious body couldn't handle all these things~!" His abrupt complaints earlier had managed to get his mood back up somehow and caused him to whine. "How many times have you gotta see me half-naked..?! You're sucking away my virgin innocence~"

[Milly Faye]

Milly flinched at Duo's sudden angry exclamation. She froze for a moment, before sharply looking towards him. When he started whining, then, Milly's expression slowly grew more and more annoyed. "SHUT UP!!!" She finally shouted at Duo, slowly standing up straight and tall, breathing deeply in attempt to calm herself. She had a glare fixated on Duo for a moment before her eyes trailed over to the window behind him.

She quickly walked over to the window and shut the curtains so that no hostile could look in on them. She then turned back to face Duo, the angry expression still on her face as she moved to check his back. She inspected the stick and the wound for a moment, before carefully pulling it out, despite any whining. Milly then helped Duo finish taking off the coat. She tossed the coat on a chair beside her.

She then moved to help him take off his shirt with an annoyed expression that would tell him not to resist. When she finished helping him take his shirt off, she tossed it over with his coat. "Sit on the couch." She ordered him, then sorted through the things she had brought to the coffee table in front of the couch. She sat down on the table in front of where she expected Duo to sit on the couch. She picked up a cotton ball that she doused with disinfectant in one hand, and tweezers in her other hand to take out the bullet with.

[Duo]

Duo's eyebrows twisted sharply at Milly's sudden scream resonating inside the cabin. He only froze there, his hands slowly balled up into fists at his side, then lowered his head to allow his long bangs to hide a part of his face while Milly walked pass him to close the curtains.

He can feel her trying to pull out the stick behind him, and then proceeded to remove his bloody coat. When she moved around him to try and get his shirt off, Duo bounced his head back up, getting rid of the bags from covering his eyes and is actually beaming a wide grin towards Milly. "Sorry~!"

In his mind, he quickly laid out all the possible reasons Milly might have exploded. 'Time of month? Maybe she haven't eaten yet. Lack of sleep? Oooorr she loves me too much~?' He was forced to settle to optimistic thoughts about her actions, for obvious reasons concerning the demon in him.

When he was ordered to sit on the couch, Duo did so with a half-shrug using only his good shoulder, still with a silly smile on his face. He watched her readying with a cotton ball in one hand and tweezers in the other, then presses his jaws together while turning away from the shoulder that was shot.

He wanted to say something, but clenching his jaws together to prepare for the sting wouldn't allow him to speak. 'Just smile. He reminded himself, forcing the corners of his lips to curve up, 'I need to smile.'

[Milly Faye]

Milly leaned a bit closer to Duo, staring intently at the bullet wound in his shoulder. She placed the side of her left hand on top of Duo's shoulder gently to steady him. The cotton ball coated with disinfectant was between her first finger and thumb, ready to be placed over the bullet wound as soon as the bullet was removed.

She carefully inserted the clean tweezers into the hole, looking into it closely, and feeling carefully for the bullet. She made sure not to make any sharp or jarring movements with her hands as she located the bullet and carefully pulled it out. A small breath of air escaped as she then covered the wound with the cotton ball, allowing the disinfectant to pool its way into his wound.

Holding the cotton ball steady, she leaned back and placed the bullet and slightly bloodied tweezers in a small cup of water, then picked up a damp cloth and gently wiped off the blood from around the bullet wound. She placed the cloth back down, and gently removed the cotton ball, placing it down as well.

She picked up a strip of medical cloth and covered it with a balm to help healing that she'd kept in her purse since they left Fijion. She leaned towards the bullet wound again and gently pressed the cloth inside the hole so that it could start healing from the inside. She would have to change the bandage the next day. She then picked up a square bandage and placed it over the wound.

Appearing satisfied yet still serious with a bit of a scowl on her face, Milly leaned back a bit. "Turn around." She ordered in a slightly gentler voice as she coated another cotton ball with disinfected in her left hand picked up the damp cloth with her right hand.

She moved herself a bit so that she could see the wound on his back more clearly with the limited amount of space he had to actually turn around on the couch. She gently pressed the cotton ball against the wound, again letting the disinfectant a moment to pool inside the wound to cleanse it. While holding it there, she used the damp cloth to wipe off the blood that had been trailing down his back.

Once the wound was cleaned, she finished it off in the same manner as the other wound. After placing the square bandage over it, she let out a final and heavy breath of air. "Done." She moved back again, turning to the items she used to tend to him, and immediately began to clean them up. She threw out what she couldn't reuse, then placed the other items on the kitchen table and washed her hands at the sink.

[Duo]

"Nnnggghhhh!" Duo clenched his jaws tightly once Milly had started to pull the bullet out. He wish there's a roll of cloth he can bite on to keep his cries silent. After that was done, she bandaged him up like she always does, and Duo could only stare at the wall blankly.

'How many times have she done this...?' Ever since they first met each other, she has done nothing but healing him all over the place. "..Milly..." He spoke up, his voice very dry. "Why are you doing this to me?" His eyes glanced towards her, but he can't exactly see her at the moment with how he had turned his face away so she can bandage his wound easier.

This is too much for mere kindness. She's been traveling with him for a while now, and it's starting to concern him if he's going to corrode her in time. It's not exactly easy to contain a demonic spirit inside him when he's unconscious, and those bags under her eyes indicated that she must have trouble sleeping because of him. Because of Solo.

At her order to turn around, Duo did as he was told. He struggled a bit because of his newly-patched shoulder, but laid down on his stomach after he twists around. She was done with the wound on his back a lot quicker, and Duo only stayed static there as he is while staring at the turquoise-haired girl.

"Sorry," he said, a permanent smile still on his face. "I should consider getting a bulletproof vest so you wouldn't have to do this so much, huh?"

[Milly Faye]

Milly maintained a glare the entire time she tended to Duo's wounds. In fact, her expression has been that of a glare almost consistently for days now. The seriousness of the situation wouldn't allow her to smile. Inwardly, she admired Duo's ability to keep smiling regardless. She didn't like to keep blowing up at Duo in anger. She just felt tired every day from lack of sleep and frustrated at not having any leads yet.

Milly found her movements slow briefly at Duo's question which caught her slightly off guard. She thought about it for a moment while she continued to bandage him with a glare. "You're injured and the wounds need to be tended to. You can't exactly reach the one on your back yourself." She replied, matter-of-factly, skirting around any other possible meaning he had to his question.

In a better mood, Milly might've smiled slightly at his comment about getting a bullet proof vest. Instead, her face remained unchanged. "That's not a bad idea." She replied curtly, then continued. "I tend not to aim for your torso anyway, but others might."

[Duo]

Duo lets out a singular chuckle at Milly's straight answer. In fact, he's glad she answered like that, he wouldn't know what he'd do if she'd consider his question too deeply and answered it. Once she was done with treating him and began cleaning up, Duo takes his time to sit up and find a comfortable position to settle. Milly was already at the sink to wash her hands when he finally sits comfortably, her response to his joke of a bulletproof vest made him cock his eyebrow. "Wait, what do you mean you won't aim for my torso?"

Turning his body a bit back to look at her, Duo's lips held an amused smile, "Then, Miss Faye, which part of me would you aim?" His tone is mischievous, and once Milly looks at him properly, Duo proceeded to make his eyebrows jump.

[Milly Faye]

Milly barely glanced back as she dried her hands after washing them. "I aim to disarm or disable." She replied curtly, then began sorting and organizing the medical supplies that were left, putting what was usable back into the box and placing things that needed to be cleaned beside the sink.

At his second question, an odd tone in his voice, Milly looks over at him with a bit of an annoyed expression. Her face didn't change even as she saw him moving his eyebrows. She just sighed and turned back to the dirty medical supplies that needed to be washed and proceeded to wash them. With her back to him and her hands in the sink, thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting the supplies, a small blush began to form on her tired face.