Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Warrior Children ❯ Party Night ( Chapter 15 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter 15: PARTY NIGHT

Byakuen-

It had taken a good long time to search until Byakuen found the scent he was looking for outside the city and when he found it, the large tiger focused on it single-mindedly. Byakuen sniffed at the ground. Following the familiar scent had led him through nearly the entire city while trying to keep out of sight. He knew Ryou was safe with Seiji, the one-eyed human had the look and feel of a hunter about him. Ryou would be safer with Seiji than anywhere else.

Now, there was the other cub, Duo, to find and Byakuen would find him, no matter what! He owed it to Kokuen-Oh, since his twin hadn't been able to get here and do it himself. The scent of the longhaired Duo was soon led Byakuen to a destroyed building with dead humans all around. Byakuen snorted in disgust when he realized it was humans who had done this to each other and not some kind of natural disaster or accident.

Humans were horrible creatures when you got them in large groups. Individually, Byakuen could deal with them, but herds of humans were too much for any civilized creature to stand. Why, there were mostly dead cubs in the rubble and what kind of insane species kills its own young?

Byakuen also wondered, as he continued following the trail away from the dead, why the humans had left the bodies behind. After all, fresh meat was nothing to be wasted. He'd eat it himself, but human always gave him heartburn.

It took only a short while for Byakuen to wander back into the city. He had to quickly take to the rooftops to avoid screams of silly humans who saw him. It was harder to follow the scent from up there, but not impossible. Soon, Duo's scent mixed with the smell of another human and after that, a chase had apparently developed. One led the other through the city and eventually had ended with a truce as Byakuen caught up to them in an alley and both were sitting on the ground, trying to rest from the chase.

Another cub, about Duo's age sat with him in the alley, was quietly listening while Duo chattered. Byakuen stopped to wait on the rooftop, watching them. The stranger spoke softly, but not more than a few words and Duo seemed to be sitting as closely to the stranger as he could. After they were finished talking, Byakuen decided that it was time to go back to Ryou.

Byakuen jumped down landing right in front of Duo and the stranger. He noted with disapproval that humans didn't feed their young well, the stranger was stick thin! He also smelled familiar.

"Byakuen!" Duo shouted happily and ran to the tiger, throwing his arms around him. "I've missed you! Are you all right?" Byakuen then noticed that Duo had lost all of his clothes to the other cub. He was completely bare, in just his skin. Well, maybe the other cub had been cold and Duo had given him his clothes. Duo was very generous like that.

Byakuen licked Duo's face fondly, making Duo laugh and wipe off the tiger slobber with his arm. "Where's Ko-chan?" Duo asked.

Byakuen could only moan sadly to try and tell Duo he didn't know where his darker brother was.

"Don't worry, Byakuen. I'm sure everything will be all right once we go home. Hey, this is my friend, Heero. He tried to kill me a few minutes ago, but it's okay, now." Duo told him with his customary smile.

Byakuen went to examine Heero closer and the boy stiffened, but showed no other signs of stress, which interested Byakuen endlessly. Most humans did tend to scream when they saw him. Duo was a very forgiving boy, willing to completely forget that his new friend had just tried to kill him.

Heero. Byakuen remember, when Duo mentioned the name. Kay had found him and he was trying to help her, or so she'd told Anubisu when they were bringing her home. Anubisu had been upset that Byakuen and Kokuen-Oh had brought Kay to the Ningen-Sekai, but Byakuen hadn't been too worried. Kay was far stronger than her brothers gave her credit for, so she could have taken care of herself if any real danger had shown itself. Heero seemed to be a kind person, he must be or he wouldn't have tried to help Kay.

Byakuen grabbed Duo's braid with his mouth and gave it a yank, trying to encourage Duo to follow him. Duo protested, "That is not a chew toy!" And jerked his hair out of Byakuen's mouth. Byakuen rolled his eyes and nudged Duo with his nose. Honestly, what did it take to get the boy moving?

Duo finally got the picture after a little while. "Do you know a way to get home?" He asked eagerly. "I've got a score to settle with the monster thing that was attacking Ryou and me." His eyes narrowed slightly and Byakuen believe Duo must be thinking of the demon emperor that rules the Youja-Kai. He must be angry about the way he was exiled he Youja-Kai.

Byakuen, not for the first time, wished he could speak human. No, he couldn't take Duo home, yet. They had to wait to be rescued by the other humans in Youja-Kai. But, he did know where Ryou was he wanted to get back to him. They would be safe until the older humans could rescue them.

After Duo started to follow Byakuen out of the alley, he looked back at Heero, still sitting where Byakuen had found him, looking almost lost in Duo's old robes. "Heero, wanna come with us?"

Heero blinked and seemed to consider the offer. "Yes." He stood and walked with them and Byakuen thought that he liked this cub. He walked well, with very little noise, and he didn't speak nearly so much as Duo. He felt like a good person.

Youja Kai-

First, they had to figure out a way to have Arago send them to the Ningen-Sekai to find the children.

It shouldn't be hard to outsmart Arago. Arago wasn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer. Well, to put it bluntly, Arago was dumb as a box of hammers. Face it, the only reason he was in control of the Youja-Kai was because he had the raw power to back up his orders.

As they left Rajura's Garden of Illusions, riding back to the palace, they spoke completely in their minds, trying to figure out the best plan. Overhead appeared the ghostly image of Arago, magnified many times to fill the whole sky.

IDIOT BOY'S BACK. All the Ma-Sho snickered together in their minds. In this world of limited entertainment, Arago had become a secret punching bag for the relief of their boredom. Teasing the demon emperor was a source of unending pleasure, even if they couldn't say such things to his face.

"My Ma-Sho. Come to my throne room at once." Was all that he said before vanishing again.

The four samurai spurred the demon horses into a faster pace, ready to obey. Despite disrespect they had for their master, the Ma-Sho's were all very good samurai. They served their master without fail. ‘Well,’ Sh'ten thought, ‘most of the time.’ Sometimes. When they weren't to busy washing their hair or feeding the animals. In fact, almost everything was more important than listening to Arago rant and rave. If only they didn't need his power.

Sh'ten was loyal only to his brothers, not to Arago. Sh'ten eyes met Rajura's as they rode, thundering across the plains on the demon horses. The oldest and youngest of the quartet, they both shared similar ambitions. While Naaza and Anubisu seemed more content to simply stay safe and together, Sh'ten knew that he and Rajura both had bigger plans. Plans that had much to do with gathering the rest of the yoroi, though not for Arago's benefit.

The Ma-Sho knelt in front of their lord and master, careful to keep their eyes respectfully on the floor. "My Ma-Sho, I have located one of the yoroi. The yoroi of Kongo is readying to come forth and claim its bearer. You will retrieve it and the bearer." Arago's voice thundered with glee.

Mentally, all four Ma-Sho screamed happily at the chance to get to the Ningen-Sekai without having to think up a plan to outsmart Arago, but outwardly they remained as still as possible. A gate opened behind them.

Anubisu spoke. "My lord, may we have Kokuen-Oh to serve us on this mission? His help is always most valuable." In their minds Anubisu told his brothers, HE'LL BE USEFUL TO HELP US LOOK FOR BYAKUEN AND THOSE MISSING CHILDREN.

But Arago said, angrily. "The animal has betray me."

"What?" Anubisu asked in disbelief.

"He has sided with Lord Saber Strike against me and if seen, you will kill him."

That was the end of the conversation and in perfect unison, the warriors stood and transformed into their own yoroi, their second skins, and stepped through the gateway. The sensation was practically nothing. A brief feeling that the floor had vanished under their feet and then they were standing in the middle of a busy street with many mortals staring at them.

"What the Hell are you staring at?!" Naaza yelled at them, making everyone move on their way, pretending not to see the four bizarrely dressed people with the very large weapons. WEAKLINGS! Naaza sneered. THEY DESERVE TO GET CONQUERED. He was still bitter about the treatment he'd gotten when he was still mortal and living in this world. Naaza really, really didn't like mortals.

Sh'ten had to agree that modern day humans were pathetic. You'd think that someone would at least ask them why they were so heavily armed in the middle of a fairly peaceful city. WE WILL, IN JUST A LITTLE WHILE. WE NEED THE YOROI FIRST AND THEN THE WAR WILL START. WE'LL SHOW THEM WHAT FEAR IS. Yes, Sh'ten knew he was not a nice person, but he was happy.

They all looked forward to the first decent war any of them had seen in centuries and Sh'ten especially was looking forward to trying out his torture skills. It had been so long since he'd worked in his playroom. While Naaza called it the Hell's Domain, it was really just a basement with a few interesting toys. Ah, the good old days when he could just take an enemy and...Sh'ten shook his head. Business now, fun later. Fun when he could use the whips and the serrated knives and the vats of boiling pig fat and, of course, the Jell-O, and never forget the whip cream...

"Sh'ten, you're drooling, again. What are you thinking about?" Anubisu said.

"Whip cream." Sh'ten answered dreamily.

The Ma-Sho all shook their heads, knowing better than to ask about Sh'ten's hobbies. Rajura spoke for the first time in a long time and Sh'ten blushed as he wiped the drool off his chin. "I'll go find Kongo and Anubisu, you should go find Byakuen."

Anubisu nodded, agreeing. "I can feel Byakuen nearby." He turned slightly and his eyes seemed to lose focus as if he could see the tiger he was looking for. "He should be able to take us to the children from that picture." The picture in question had been pretty much memorized so they could recognize any of the children if they saw them.

Naaza said, "I'll go with you, Rajura. Sh'ten, you go with Anubisu."

Sh'ten looked disappointed when he finally got his mind away from the whip cream. "But I want to go with you, Za-chan."

Naaza narrowed his eyes. "You always get side tracked and this is important. We have to find Kongo and make sure he's going to join us and not be to loyal to Arago before we go home."

Sh'ten gave his lover a hopeful grin. "I'll be good."

"The day you're good, is the day that Rajura starts squishing his spiders." Naaza crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly. "You always get distracted when we're on a mission. I swear I get jumped every time we come here!"

"You're no fun!"

"Suffer." Naaza replied with a heartless sneer.

"I'd rather make you suffer."

"Not until tonight."

"Promise?"

Rajura interrupted. "Are you two quite finished?" He looked around at the people staring at them, or more specifically, their yoroi. "I think we should look a little more inconspicuous, though." He waved them all behind a building where he could spin his illusions in secret, a simple thing to give them more modern looking clothes. Solid black suits with black sunglasses were very sharp looking and seemed to suit them.

Anubisu ran a hand over his chest with an appreciative. "I like it." Of course, it was his favorite color. "Very nice."

They split into the two teams with their respective assignments. It should be simple enough to find Kongo. All they had to do was will themselves near to wherever Kongo was at that moment. The yoroi orb acted as sort of a beacon and could draw them all together when needed. Oddly, though, when they concentrated, Rajura and Naaza both looked up with startled expressions.

"What's wrong?" Sh'ten asked.

"Reach out with your mind and feel for Kongo. Tell me what you feel." Rajura told him.

Sh'ten, curiously did as he was told and was just as surprised as his brothers. "There are five of them! I can feel all five of the orbs!"

The four of them stood in silence for a moment. "This means we can start the war soon, right?" Anubisu asked eagerly. "If they've all appeared then it must be getting close to the time. We can finally do something instead of just fighting each other!"

Slow smiles spread around the group. Yes. War. All they had to do was collect their new brothers in arms and explain what they were going to do, hoping that none of them were pacifists or something equally bizarre, and set about conquering what ever they pleased. No more bowing and scraping to Arago, no more waiting in the dark, misty Youja-Kai, no more feeling as if part of them were missing.

BUT WHICH ONE IS KONGO? Rajura asked, examining the powers he felt on the edge of his mind. Floating like bubbles just outside his reach, an infuriating beauty, impossible to touch without destroying it. Rajura felt Sh'ten's power, brilliant and sharp, slide out along side his own, reaching out of their communal minds to look at the new ones. One was fire red, beating with a frantic, primitive rhythm. Naaza came to look, also, watching intently a soft blue one. Anubisu tried to reach out at the green one, warm and vibrant green, screaming with life, but he was blocked. They were limited by the confines of their communal mind, the part of themselves that was shared between them. Rajura saw the orange one, more solid looking than the others, as if the power were bursting to be released. This one called to Rajura, almost seeming to be pull at him, and he knew which one they needed to find first. Kongo was readying to claim its bearer and whoever that was couldn't be allowed to go through that alone.

Rajura remembered his first moments, when he'd been claimed by the yoroi.

Flashback-

Pain and fear, his mind seemed to expand, as if it were enlarging itself, waiting for more to fill it. Kuroda Jirougorou fell to his knees in the study of his home. His writings lay scattered on the floor from when he'd over turned his desk at the sight of the demon inside his home.

Jirougorou clutched the sides of his head, even as the yoroi formed around him. "Stop it!" He screamed at the demon's head floating in front of him. "Leave me alone!"

"You wanted power." Arago reminded him, seeming pleased by Jirougorou's reaction to the yoroi. "You wanted revenge against those who murdered your family. I give you that power and you want me to stop?"

"It's too much." Jirougorou whimpered, kneeling on the floor in full yoroi. "I can't take it." If this was power, he didn't want it, he wasn't strong enough to handle it. Jirougorou's mind seemed too large, like an empty room waiting to be filled. His own mind was just a piece of furniture in the room, but it needed more to make the room complete.

"You will learn." The demon told him harshly. "You are mine, now! You are Rajura, master of Illusion. Kuroda Jirougorou is no more!"

"Please, help me." Rajura begged, wanting his own mind back. He didn't care what this demon called him, he felt so alone.

The demon's face vanished, but in front of him, Rajura saw a door framed by two large, ornate red columns. The doors slowly creaked open and Rajura felt himself being pulled in. There was no going back. He was dragged into a world far different from his own.

Sudden loneliness and fear that he'd be alone forever were all that Rajura had for company in the Youja-Kai. He was the sole living human with no one for companionship or even to talk to. Arago had no compassion for Rajura's pain and left him to sort himself out.

Then the visions started coming from his own power, still untrained, sparked the most absurd visions without warning. Foolish things like a boy running with a dog or horrifying monsters that had never existed anywhere. The power showed him all manner of illusions, from his long dead family to visions of what the far future would be. It was not unusual to find him in some corner of the empty palace, rocking back and forth while the visions haunted him. "It's not real." He muttered to himself, trying not to see. "None of this is real."

But it was getting harder to convince himself of that as he watched his mother burn at the stake as a witch. Hard to remember when he'd seen such nightmarish wars in a future world where innocent children were used as killers, flying in metal monsters in the star-filled sky. The horror of seeing these things, real or not, had finally made Rajura lose his reason. He found himself in the vast armory, holding a long dagger with its sharp edge aimed at his face. 'If I have no eyes, surely I won't see these things.' It had seemed logical at the time, anyway. Just take the eyes and the visions would end.

Rajura had carved out his own eye with the dagger, but Arago stopped him from taking the other and permanently blinding himself. He'd lay alone on the floor of the armory for hours until he had the strength to move again. Arago had healed over the dead eye, but didn't give any sympathy or help otherwise. He wanted his samurai fit for battle, anything else was unnecessary.

Rajura eventually, after several many months, learned to control his power and stopped the visions himself.



Then Naaza had shown up and part of the emptiness in Rajura's mind filled. He'd loved Naaza even back then, simply grateful that someone now understood him. The sad, hate-filled Naaz seemed beautiful to Rajura. In truth, probably anyone would have seemed beautiful after spending so much time alone. Naaza was exotic and exciting looking with his olive skin and bright green hair. Even his fingernails were naturally green, matching his eyelids, always drooping halfway closed over large, wide eyes.

Naaza suffered from his own poison, growing sicker with each day, then healing, only to get sick again. His body leaked venom, oozing from his skin in a thin layer of slime. It became awkward to share the communal bath just in case he'd leaked some deadly acid into the water without realizing it. Naaza had not been frightened, though. He had come to the Youja-Kai without fear and walking proudly, not being dragged as Rajura had.

"This is my fate, why run?" He had replied when Rajura asked him about it. Naaza accepted life as it came, calmly as his beloved serpents did. He'd never told Rajura his true name, the one he'd had before Arago renamed him Naaza. Never told Rajura why he came to serve Arago, either.

Next came Anubisu, not only linking minds with Rajura and Naaza, but also stealing Rajura's heart, in the process. How could Rajura, master of deceit, lies, and illusions, how could he not love the simple, honest Anubisu? Brilliant blue hair, like blue sky fire, and the low, gravely voice. Anubisu, who was so violent, loved fighting more than anything, and was so gentle when they'd first made love.

Anubisu thought nothing of finer luxuries and spent his time running with the animals of the Youja-Kai. He'd go to the Ningen-Sekai to play with wolves and return exhausted, but happy with his simple play. Talking to the animals, however, was not the power of his yoroi. That seemed to be entirely natural.

Anubisu’s power was that of shadows and the cold. Anubisu suffered from the cold, constantly freezing and unable to find warmth even if he were to sit in fire. He'd tried that once and burned himself horribly, but still said he couldn't get warm. It even got to the point where he couldn't touch Rajura or Naaza for fear of hurting them. His touch was enough to turn their skin almost black with the burning, unbearable cold. He, too, learned to control himself after a while.

Lastly, Sh'ten, the cruel, beautiful child had come to them. His arrival had finished their cycle and tying them all together in the circle that could never be broken. His cruelty was blunted by passion and gentle touches. He would never hurt them, not really anyway. He loved them. "But," He'd told them. "Pain can be sometimes be nice. One of these nights, I'll show you how nice pain can be." Sh'ten had promised with his soft, silken voice. Sh'ten ran a finger down Naaza's face. "You'll like if when I give you pain. Such sweet pain."

Sh'ten didn't suffer from his power, he enjoyed it immensely. Sh'ten had the power to cause fear in others. A sadist by nature, Sh'ten enjoyed every minute of fear he could make others feel, though it was more often than not he who would comfort his brothers if they screaming from nightmares he’d unintentionally caused, sitting with them until they fell back to sleep. It was Sh'ten who would vanish for days if his presence was becoming too much for his brothers to handle. Sh'ten was strangely compassionate for a man who loved watching others suffer. He loved his brothers too much to think of his own pleasures instead of theirs. He had been born Kouma Toshidada.

End Flashback-

Rajura shook his head to get his mind where it should be. Each time another yoroi bearer had joined them, it had been easier because the new one had the older ones to lean the time he'd first called his yoroi. Rajura believed that it was the presence of other yoroi bearers that made it easier for them. This was part of the reason that he'd volunteered himself to go for Kongo. He had a strange mothering instinct that pushed him to care for his brothers and make sure they never felt the pain he'd been in.

Rajura and Naaza focused their power and, while Rajura's illusion hid them from the curious eyes of the mortals, both samurai vanished.

Sh'ten-

Sh'ten and Anubisu watched, able to see through Rajura's illusion, while their two friends seemed to turn into balls of light and flew out into outer space. Anubisu blinked. "What's Kongo doing in space?"

"How should I know? So, where's Yaku-chan?"

Anubisu stopped and stared at Sh'ten. "Who?"

Sh'ten gave him an irritated look. "Are you going deaf? I asked where Byakuen was."

"No, you didn't. You said, where's Yaku-chan?"

"What? I did not."

"Yes, you did. You called Byakuen, Yaku-chan. Where did you get that kind of silly nickname for him?"

Sh'ten blinked and realized that Anubisu was right. He hadn't meant to call Byakuen Yaku-chan, and didn't even realize it until Anubisu had pointed it out, it had just sort of come out. "I don't know. I must have heard it somewhere." But, as he thought about it, Sh'ten had a fuzzy memory forming in his mind.

A young boy's voice happily calling, "Yaku-chan! Come play with me, Yaku-chan!" A young boy with long black hair and...

The memory faded away.

"What's wrong?" Anubisu touched Sh'ten's arm.

"I think I'm remembering the children. One of them, anyway."

Colony A0206 (several hours before the attack by OZ)-

Rajura-

"I'm Xiulei Fan. Call my Xiu." The young man introduced himself, reaching out to shake Rajura's hand. They'd found him easily enough, moping in a field of small field of white flowers. Rajura and Naaza had wasted no time in introducing themselves to the young man. A spark of energy jolted them both as they touched and Xiu jerked away, shocked at the mild pain. He knew it couldn't have been anything so mundane as static electricity and rubbed his hand to relieve the pain.

Rajura was pleased by the reaction. It proved that this was the one they were looking for, the one whose yoroi would appear in a day or so, most likely. He looked at Xiu, the boy who promised to grow into a very muscular man. "So, you are the one." Rajura said with a touch of satisfaction that he'd found Kongo so quickly.

"The one what?" Xiu turned away, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around his legs, distinctly uncomfortable with the conversation all of a sudden and still confused.

Rajura crouched beside the boy, looking at him intently, but not wanting to scare him, yet. Rajura knew that Naaza would let him handle this, let him get the boy's confidence and trust. It was quite obvious that Xiu was already bonded with the four others, though none of them had been claimed by their yoroi and that Xiu had block himself from them, for some reason.

"It didn't feel quite right, did it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Xiu was trying to keep it all a secret, confused and frightened by the strange bond as Rajura had been before Naaza had come along. Foolish, really, but Xiu had no idea that Rajura understood everything he was going through. How long before Xiu became overwhelmed by the power of Kongo? How long before Xiu began hurting the ones he loved before he could control the power? Xiu and the four others he was bonded to were all children. None of them understood what was going on, they certainly weren't going to be able to survive this if they didn't have help.

"I'm talking about the feeling you got when we touched, the jolt of power. It doesn't feel like it does when you're with the others, does it." Even Rajura didn't fully understand the yoroi and the bond it created with the other bearers.

Sh'ten, the scholar of their family, had once discovered that the nine yoroi's were part of a greater whole, but were also separate. The four of them who already bore yoroi were seasonals, while the other five were...something different. None of them had yet figured out what these five new children were destined to be or what powers they would develop so Rajura was working blind on how to help Xiu.

Xiu stopped and slowly turned to face Rajura, his face suspicious. "How do you know about all that?"

Rajura held out one hand and conjured his orb, seemingly from nowhere. In truth, it was always there, he just liked to hide it so no one would steal it. He held out the icy gray orb for Xiu to look at.

Xiu's eyes widened and he leaned closer.

"The touch didn't feel right because you have not yet been claimed by your yoroi. Once you do, you will be one of us."

Xiu frowned. "Yoroi? One of you? I still don't know what you're talking about. Do you know about they guys back on Earth?"

Rajura smiled a little, ignoring Naaza's alarmed look when Xiu had said, guys back on Earth. "You mean you haven't seen your yoroi?"

WHAT'S HE TALKING ABOUT? WHERE ARE WE IF WE AREN'T ON EARTH? Naaza asked.

"Well, I've been having weird dreams about orange armor." Xiu admitted, still uncertain. "But...look, I don't want to get involved in all this, I've got things to think about." He waved them away and Rajura couldn't have been more shocked.

"You don't want to get involved in power?" He said softly. "You don't want to get involved in being able to do anything you please? Be reasonable, Xiu. Whatever is going on can't be all that important."

Xiu glared at them, starting to get angry. "What do you know about it? Buzz off!" Xiu turned back to the field, stomping away.

"It's about your lover, isn't it?" Rajura asked knowingly with a smile. How amusing! The boy was willing to pass up such amazing power because he was having a lover's quarrel.

"I don't have a lover, you freak!" Xiu snapped. "Leave me alone!"

"What's going on here?" All three of them turned to the unexpected voice. Rajura frowned at the interruption by the lithe black haired boy who wore glasses perched on his nose. Naaza let out a soft hiss, his hatred for humans surfacing at the sight of the pretty boy.

Xiu, however, smiled, relieved to see the newcomer. "Wufei! I'm glad you're here."

The boy, Wufei, kept his eyes on Rajura and Naaza, but he started walking toward Xiu. "Kwan said you wanted to see me. I didn't expect to find you out here and certainly not with strangers. Who are they?"

Xiu opened his mouth to say something, but was stopped by the rush of power coming from Rajura. Rajura held up the gray orb that was still in his hand and summoned the yoroi, letting it fall into place around him. Xiu and Wufei stared, but as quickly as he could, Rajura shouted "Tochimou! (Web of Deception!)", aiming his most effective attack at Wufei.

Naturally, no human was fast enough to dodge the webs of his attack and Wufei as was trapped, frozen in the webs, unable to see or hear anything that was going on around him. Rajura usually used this attack just to bind his enemies, but occasionally, it was better to confuse them.

Xiu was furious. "What did you do? Let my cousin go!" He charged Rajura, but Naaza stepped in and grabbed Xiu around the chest, holding him tightly. While he thrashed against an older, more experience Naaza, who was used to doing this sort of thing, Rajura tried to explain.

"Mortals can't know about us. If the mortals know too much before we are ready, our plans might not work."

"What are you talking about?" Xiu strained against Naaza, desperately trying to get to his cousin. "Wufei wouldn't hurt a fly! He didn't do anything to you, just let him go!"

Rajura didn't like Xiu's face twisted in almost hate when he looked at Rajura, but there was no other choice. "I won't kill him, if that's what you're afraid of." He reassured Xiu. "There are far easier solutions with my power." He went to the frozen boy, his eyes still open as if frozen in Anubisu' ice. Rajura ran a hand over Wufei's face, sticky with the tiny tendrils of web that covered him head to foot. "When he wakes, he won't remember any of this. He will not remember having seen either Naaza or myself. If you tell him what we were talking about before he arrived," Rajura turned to look at Xiu, still locked in Naaza's powerful arms. "We will be forced to kill him."

Xiu's mouth fell open in disbelief and he stopped struggling. "Why?"

"Because he's human. He isn't one of us and therefore he can't be trusted." Rajura motioned for Naaza to step away from Xiu before telling him, "I advise you to compose yourself before I wake him. You don't want your cousin to see you upset over nothing, do you?"

Xiu glared at Rajura, but turned to sit down as he had been before. Rajura looked at Naaza, causing his friend to disappear, before he vanished himself and with him, his power, freeing Wufei from its influence. At a distance, Rajura watched Wufei blink and then go to Xiu as if nothing had happened.

"Was that wise?" Naaza asked from Rajura's side, hidden by Rajura's illusion. "Xiu will not wish to be with us if he thinks we are threatening his family, surely."

Rajura raised one elegant eyebrow. "What else could I do? We can't let everyone know about us until we are at our full power. I won't hurt Wufei unless Xiu slips up. Even then, we'll just keep it secret from the boy. He doesn't have to know if we kill his cousin or not."

"We need his trust if he's going to fight with us." Naaza reminded him. "What if he ends up siding with Arago just because he's angry with you?"

Rajura shook his head. No, he didn't believe Xiu would ever side with evil like Arago. He might hate Rajura till the end of time, but he wouldn't help Arago destroy everything. The boy was just too good. "We'll wait for Kongo to show up and show Xiu what power is. When he has a taste of it himself, I'm sure he'll understand what we're talking about. He'll be more than willing to join us."

Unfortunately, it came too soon. Too soon and even more violently than Rajura or Naaza had expected, in a hail of fire from the sky and metal monsters Rajura had seen in long ago visions.

Now, shortly after the attack had ended, they followed Xiu to a destroyed place and watched as he dug in the rubble. Suddenly, he raised his face upward calling Kongo to him. They felt the numbing shock when the yoroi seized the boy for the first time, giving him the strength and power he needed to find the children he was searching for. They watched him dig out lifeless bodies of several small children.

Even Naaza was moved to pity for the crying boy, holding a young girl. He set her down, and went back to dig again. Xiu, in full yoroi, ended up holding a little baby with the row of small bodies lined up in front of him, the lives he couldn't save.

It was Rajura who went to Xiu first to soothe his tortured spirit. "Shhh. Everything will be all right." Rajura knelt behind Xiu and put his hands on the boy's armored shoulders.

Xiu bent lower, as if he were trying to escape the comforting words and gentle hands, but Rajura refused to let him go so easily. Rajura held on tighter and knew that if Xiu really wanted to get away, Kongo easily had enough strength to throw Rajura off. Still, Xiu cried.

"Try to pull your yoroi into your heart." Rajura advised softly, whispering into Xiu's ear, sweetly convincing.

"What?" Xiu managed to choke out.

"If you try to pull it back, the yoroi will change back into the orb."

Xiu shook his head. "I won't be weak again. I won't let anything hurt Lai!" The baby was nearly imprisoned in his arms.

"Will you cause your friends to suffer your pain?"

Xiu slowly looked over his shoulder at Rajura's compassionate face, his eyes, still filled with tears, clearly showing he didn't understand. "Huh?"

"Your mind opened to them when the yoroi took you and the others are feeling not only your pain, but they feel it echoed through each other. As we speak, they are screaming in agony from the magnified pain. I can stop the pain for them. I can let them rest peacefully."

Xiu leaned back, his sobs softening into just letting the tears run unchecked down his face, against Rajura and closed his eyes. He wasn't exactly trusting, but just tired and didn't want to cause his friends pain. The yoroi faded away and Xiu let himself sat where he was, to exhaust to move, leaning against Rajura's chest.

WON'T ANUBISU GET JEALOUS? Naaza asked, moving in closer to them. He sat on the other side of Xiu, just watching patiently as ever.

Rajura stroked Xiu's sweat wet hair out of his face. THE BOY ISN'T THINKING ANYTHING SEXUAL, NAAZA. HONESTLY, YOU REALLY ARE AS BAD AS THE OTHERS ARE, ALWAYS THINING WITH THAT THING BETWEEN YOUR LEGS! HE JUST NEEDS A FRIENDLY SHOULDER TO CRY ON.

WHAT ABOUT LATER? WILL YOU STILL BE THAT FRIENDLY SHOULDER?

Naaza looked down at the children's bodies and remembered all the innocents he'd killed over the years. One in particular stood out. A man who had grown too well liked, too dangerous, had come to the attention of Emperor Arago and Naaza was ordered to kill the man. Nothing out of the ordinary, back then they'd always been killing one threat or another. It ended up a nightmare. The man had fallen ill before Naaza had reached him and his pregnant wife had stood between Naaza and his target, desperately hoping to protect him. Naaza had had no choice but to kill the woman before killing her husband. He didn't know until later that she'd been only several months pregnant and he had killed the baby, too.

STOP IT. Rajura snapped at him. I CAN ONLY DEAL WITH ONE MENTAL INVALID AT A TIME AND IT'S NOT YOUR TURN. Then in a softer tone and a light brush against Naaza's mind. DON'T THINK ABOUT IT, IT WAS A LONG TIME AGO. "Let me block the link you share with them for their sake and yours." Rajura told Xiu.

Xiu nodded, not seeming to care. Naaza reach out for the baby, but Xiu glared at him and held Lai tighter. "Don't touch her."

Naaza's tongue flickered out, showing how long and inhuman it was. "Trust us." Naaza hissed.

Xiu gave a choked laugh. "You threatened to kill my cousin and you want me trust you? You want me to just hand over Lai?"

"We will only kill him if you tell him about us, his life is in your hands. Rajura needs to do something to you and you might be unprepared for the feeling and drop the baby. I am a samurai and there is no honor in killing children. I will not hurt her." Naaza told him in a surprisingly gentle tone.

Xiu was, it must be understood, in a very fragile frame of mind. He let Naaza take Lai and he let Rajura pull him down so Xiu's head was in Rajura's lap. This, also, was a very vulnerable position and Xiu wasn't sure he liked it.

Rajura was looking down at Xiu's face, the pulsating symbol of Justice on his forehead, slightly hidden by curly, dark hair. Rajura leaned down and Xiu was starting to look nervous as Rajura drew closer, looking very much like he was going to kiss Xiu. To be honest, Rajura had rather been thinking about it.

KISS HIM AND I'LL SHAVE YOU BALD! Anubisu's voice shouted over their link, furiously, reminding Rajura that he wasn't alone in his thoughts. YOU'RE MINE! Anubisu declared.

I LOVE IT WHEN YOU GET ALL POSSESSIVE. NOW, BE QUIET AND LET ME SAVE HIM. Rajura gently touched his forehead to Xiu's and he felt their power touch briefly before he put a damper on Xiu's link with the four others.

Xiu lay like that, breathing heavily, the touch of their powers did have an effect on him and he was glad he'd let Naaza hold Lai. He was now sure he'd have dropped her. "How do you feel?" Rajura asked.

"Like shit." His family was all around him in pools of blood, how was he supposed to feel?

"Good. That means you'll be fine. If you'd said you were fine, I'd be worried. I'll take off the block to your link later." Rajura helped Xiu to sit up and steadied him with his hands.

Naaza gave Lai back to Xiu, safe and sound, and Xiu held her tightly against his chest. "Someone is coming." Naaza said. "We'll go now."

Rajura stood with Naaza. "We'll come back for you, Xiu. You belong with us, now."

Xiu-

Xiu looked down at Lai and knew that the two strange guys had vanished as quickly as they'd come. Wufei and mama were yelling for him and Xiu didn't want to look up. Now, without the distraction of the strangers who seemed to know him so well, Xiu had nothing to look at but the children and think about what was going to happen. All he could think of was how quiet house was going to be. So very quiet.

Xiu started to cry again.


Earth-
Sh'ten-


They walked in silence for a while until Anubisu stopped and closed his eyes, turning his head to one side, as if concentrating. "He's close." Anubisu said, his bond with animals coming through clear and strong. Anubisu had pretty much raised both Byakuen and Kokuen-Oh by himself, so his bond with them was stronger than with any other animal. Anubisu opened his eyes and turned very slowly to look into one of the dark alleys. He took a step and then another. "I think..." he got no further as a boy, moving fast as lightening, shot out of the alley and leeched himself onto Sh'ten.

"Mama!"

Sh'ten looked down at the boy, shocked, his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide. The boy was exactly the same as in Naaza's painting, the long brown braid and wide, not-so-innocent eyes. He was hugging Sh'ten, the warrior of cruelty and the general of the Ma-Sho tightly and fearlessly. With a smile, the boy rubbed his cheek against Sh'ten's shoulder and Sh'ten noticed that the boy was completely naked.

"Oh, mama, I've missed you all so much! I want to go home. Is Ryou all right? What was that fucking demon thing? I made a new friend and I want to take him with us. He stole my clothes and tried to kill me, but he's nice enough. Well, he didn't really steal my clothes, I gave them to him, but he tried real hard to steal them. I was so scared, being out here alone and I found the orphanage and everyone was killed, so I have to go get revenge for them. Heero? Come out here. I want you to meet mama Sh’ten and Naaza, my oniisan's." The boy said this all in one breath, turned back to the alley to call out to his friend and then, jumped from Sh'ten and on to Anubisu. "I missed you, too, oniisan. I don't know what happened after you all took Ryou to meet this guy said he had to meet, but I woke up and Ryou was making fire all over the place and I was so scared! Ryou looked like he lost his mind, but I guess I can understand that 'cause that demon thing was pretty damned scary and then there was a hole under us..."

Sh'ten and Anubisu exchanged a confused look and then went back to staring at Duo who was still prattling on about something. Sh'ten blinked. This was one of their missing children?

Anubisu looked away from the boy clutching him when Byakuen walked out of the shadows and sat on his haunches, looking extremely proud of himself. "So, this is who you were looking for." Anubisu said to the tiger. Byakuen merely licked his paw to clean a bit of his fur.

Behind Byakuen, wearing a dirty, worn kimono that was too big for him, was another boy, this one with short brown hair who had the look of a fighter to him. He watched both Sh'ten and Anubisu warily, looking ready to jump into fight or turn tail and run at the least little sign of danger.

WHO'S THIS KID? Sh'ten as they both looked at Heero's rock hard expression.

But Anubisu knew him. "Heero, right?" Anubisu stepped forward, still unable to extract himself from the braided boy. "I seem to remember coming here and meeting you when I was looking for..." His voice trailed away. What was he doing here? Yes, he was looking for someone and Heero..."You're the boy I was supposed to train by that doctor J character and..." He stopped talking again. "I just can't remember."

"Anubisu." Sh'ten tapped Anubisu's shoulder.

"What?"

"You're babbling. Stop it."

Heero spoke up. "I was walking Kay to find a police officer when you came out of nowhere with two large tigers and took her back to her home. She said that you were her brother and that she was looking for her brothers, Duo and Ryo. She also told me that you all lived in the Youja-Kai with demons and spirits."

Sh'ten and Anubisu blinked at the boy who seemed to know all the answers to the questions they'd been looking for. "How do you know this, boy?" Sh'ten asked cautiously.

The boy just stared silently at them.

So, he was unwilling to give up his secrets. Probably wise of him. Well, they'll just have to keep him around until the mystery is solved.


Noin-


Noin had made sure that Seiji and Ryou were dressed respectably for the party (damned if she was going to let anyone laugh at her family!) She had taken them both out earlier and bought them both nice suits, complete with silk tied and polished leather shoes.

Even as she walked down the walkway towards Trieze's manor house, Noin couldn't help but think that the other young woman were all envious of her good looking escorts. Seiji's polish and Ryou's half-hidden wild side were enough to catch the interest of anyone. Seiji seemed calm and collected walking on her left, but Ryou shifted uncomfortably.

"Is something wrong?" Noin asked quietly.

Ryou jumped, startled when she elbowed him. Then he managed a sheepish smile. "I've never been real good in crowds." He cast a look through the open doors where hundreds of well-dressed folk could be seen and heard. "This is a little bigger party than I thought it would be."

Noin patted his shoulder comfortingly. "Trieze doesn't like the words small or understated." When she said this, Noin noticed something odd, for the first time, though by now she thought she should be used to odd where her brother and Ryou were concerned. Ryou had, around his neck, a gold chain with a small glass ball with a faintly red cast to it. "What's that, Ryou?"

Ryou, instead of answering right away, looked over her head at Seiji and Noin turned just in time to see Seiji shake his head as if to tell Ryou, no. Noin then saw that Seiji was wearing a similar gold chain, but this one held a glass ball with a green cast. "Hey, you have one, too!" Noin pointed at it and Seiji just shrugged.

"It's nothing."

But Noin's mind had gotten hold of an idea and didn't want to let go. "Are they sweet-heart necklaces?" She asked teasingly.

Ryou blushed and Seiji turned his head away from her, masking his face with his hair, but neither boy said anything and that as good as confirmed it for Noin. Inside she squealed with delight at the cuteness of it all. Matching sweetheart necklaces! How adorable, and they'd only known each other for about a week!

Noin took both their arms in hers and just smiled, not caring about Ryou's or Seiji's puzzled looks.


Seiji-


Seiji shook his head at Ryou to let him know that they shouldn't tell Luc about the orbs, right then, and Ryou thankfully got the message. Noin, for some reason, got the idea that they were wearing something called sweetheart necklaces, but Seiji wasn’t sure what those were, so he didn’t correct her.

Seiji didn’t want Luck to know about the strange connection he had with the other boys. He thought the five of them needed to meet first, at least to introduce Ryou to the others and figure out what was going on.

One of the others, Seiji thought his name was Xiu, was unhappy. Seiji almost wished the bond they had was stronger and that they could actually share thoughts and talk to each other through it, but as it was, they could only share emotions. Xiu had put a wall around his mind, nearly closing himself off from the rest of them, but he wouldn't have done something like that unless something horrible had happened.

Ryou stood close to Seiji in the grand hall where Luc's co-workers and friends were. Seiji saw Zechs, some distance away, looking quite uncomfortable as he leaned against a wall with his arms crossed over his chest and slightly looking down. He was, as usual when he was in public, wearing the metal mask Seiji had seen him wearing the first time they’d met, but Seji still wasn’t sure why he wore it. He wasn’t ugly, nor was he wanted for any crimes that Seiji knew about, so why would he hide himself?

"Seiji!"

Seiji felt the happiness before he heard the familiar voice call his name. Seiji saw, standing somewhat near Trieze, Shin and Touma. Touma spared Seiji a smile and a soft touch against the wall in front of his mind. Apparently they'd decided that if they couldn't touch Seiji’s mind, they would all settle for the wall. The touch was friendly and casual, but worried about something. Then Touma went back to talking with some man dressed very extravagantly.

It was Shin who was waving wildly to get Seiji’s attention, beckoning him over to them. Seiji nodded and took Ryou's arm, to lead him over. "I want you to meet some people."

"Friends?" Luc asked, looking over at Shin who was still waving madly.

Seiji nodded. "I met them a few days ago." Seiji had discovered, contrary to doctor J's enforced training, that Luc preferred it if he spoke occasionally. She wandered away toward Zechs.

"Those are the others?" Ryou asked, letting Seiji pull him toward them. Seiji didn't feel the need to answer as he felt Ryou reach out to them and they responded with light touching of their minds.

Shin's hand fell when he saw Ryou and, apparently, realized that Ryou was the missing one, the one Shin hadn't met before. Shin's eyes widened and he nudged Touma who turned and had a similar reaction to seeing Ryou. The man he'd been speaking to was quickly forgotten.

Ryou moved closer to Seiji and whispered. "Do you think they'll like me?"

"I can't think why not."

When they reached Shin and touma, Shin impulsively grabbed Seiji in a hug. "Thank you for saving my life! I was hoping to find you again! You didn't even stop to say hello!" This last was said a bit accusingly.

Seiji withstood Shin's hug and talking, but found it odd. Up until then, Ryou was the only one Seiji had let touch him. Then Shin looked at Ryou. "I know you, don't I?"

Touma looked at Ryou closely. "Me, too. You're one of us, aren't you?"

"I'm Sanada Ryou."

Introductions were made all around, but Ryou asked. "Someone's still missing. I could feel him yesterday, but then he closed himself off. Where is he?"

"That would be Xiu." Touma answered with a slightly guilty look that made Seiji wondered what Touma could have done to Xiu that would make him feel guilty. "We...kind of surprised him the other day."

"What happened?" Ryou asked.

Touma and Shin suddenly didn't want to look at each other, but Shin whispered. "We hurt him. Bad."

Ryou and Seiji exchanged looks. "Physically?" Seiji asked. If it were merely physical then he could probably fix it.

Touma shook his head. "No, we...huh...well, Shin and I kinda really like each other." He said this very quietly as if afraid that someone might hear, though he clutched at Shin's hand almost automatically. "And we know that Xiu liked us and he sort of caught us kissing. I think it really hurt him." Touma looked like he was desperately trying not to cry.

"So he blocked us out, just like you do, Seiji." Shin added. "I'm not sure how, but he managed it." Shin sniffled. "He must really be angry at us."

Ryou had no idea what to say and Seiji was at a loss. Personal relationships were not Seiji’s strong point. Look at how he and Heero had turned out, after all.


Trieze-


Trieze searched the room with his eyes and was satisfied with what he saw. The two boys he'd invited, Touma and Shin, were trying to mingle, though Touma didn't seem exactly comfortable. They seemed more comfortable now that they were talking with Noin's little brother and his friend, Ryou, though.

"Since when do you invite children to these parties?"

Trieze smiled at the voice, pleased that she'd actually showed up for the party. Usually, she would find some excuse as to why she had to be away from the house at that particular time or she'd just disappear. "You're hardly older than they are." Trieze reminded the long haired girl who stood next to him.

"I'm not planning to work for a scoundrel like you, either."

Choosing to ignore the scoundrel remark, mainly because he knew it was true, Trieze asked, "Are you having fun?" Trieze finally turned to look at his sister and his breath was nearly taken away. "You look very nice tonight."

Nice was a vast understatement. Her long auburn hair was curled and styled into braids and loops, a very unusual, though not unbecoming, look. She was dressed in a long, dark red, silk red dress that only came over one shoulder leaving the other one bare. He'd never seen her like this, so dressed up or so utterly beautiful. Trieze took a careful look around the room, noticing all the young men who were staring at his sister. No one had better try anything disrespectful with HIS baby sister or else...

"You can thank Zechs-kun, I had very little to do about all this." She replied through a strained smile as she gestured down at herself, obviously uncomfortable. "He's better at this sort of thing than I am and he did my hair for me."

"Is something wrong, Nasty?" Trieze asked, worried about her incredibly fake smile.

Nasutei answered, turning that hard smile on him again. "If I have to smile at one more of these puffed up pansies again, I'm going to scream. All I've heard all night is their glorious war stories and how much money their daddies make. I swear half the people here must share an IQ, not to mention the total lack of personalities in the room."

Trieze laughed, "You're just saying that because you're bored." It didn't help that Nasty was near genius level and she was often bored except when her nose was buried in a book. All Trieze wanted was for her to meet a few real people now and again, and for people to realize how incredibly wonderful she was.

Nasty seemed to get more irritated. "I mean it, Trieze! I just knew I should have gone to the library tonight! But no, I had to let you and Zechs-Kun talk me into this nonsense. I honestly don't know why you want me here, you know I don't fit in with these people."

"It's expected that I have my sister at my little get-togethers, especially since we live together. The problem is you’re talking to the few dignitaries and officials I had to invite for politics sake. Stick to my OZ troops, you’ll find them a more interesting class of people. Besides," Trieze winked at her teasingly. "Maybe you'll meet someone here."

Nasty groaned. "Please, stop trying to fix me up with someone. If it's going to happen, it'll happen on it's own. Besides, I'm going back to live with grandfather in a week, so even if I do meet anyone here, it'll difficult at best to keep up any kind of a relationship."

"Exactly my point. You're moving out into the middle of the nowhere, so you'll never meet anyone if I don't help."

Nasty crossed her arms over her chest. "Look, pal, before you start in on my love life..."

"Or lack thereof." Trieze added softly.

Nasty glared. "Don't make me hurt you. As I was saying, you should worry about your own. Poor Zechs-kun has been staring at you all night, and you know it. That sweet guy has had that puppy dog look on his face since you were both twelve and you've been making him suffer since the day you met him."

"That's half the fun."

Nasty scowled at him. "You're a very bad man, Trieze."

"Thank you." He said with a bow.

"I'm serious." Nasty took him by the arm and gave him a little shake. "If you don't do something soon, he's likely to pine away for you before he runs away in the arms of someone else."

That got Trieze's attention and his eyes narrowed. "Someone else?"

"Yes. You know, someone who'll show him the love and attention he wants and deserves."

Trieze got sudden, horrible visions of what he would do to anyone who tried to steal Zechs' heart. "No one would dare touch my Zechs."

"He doesn't even know he's yours!" Nasty reminded him forcefully. "You have to tell him or no one will have to steal him, he'll give himself away." Nasty cast a look at Zechs, still leaning against a wall in a shadow with a short, dark haired girl at his side, whispering to him. "He's the best thing that's ever happened to you. Do you really want to lose him to someone like that girl?"

Trieze looked over her shoulder at the girl indicated, and almost smiled. "That's Noin and she's not a threat, trust me."

Nasty slapped his arm lightly. "I KNOW who she is! We've been friends for a while now, I'm just making a point."

Trieze shook his head, not wanting to think such serious things tonight, and gave a lighthearted smile. "I'm just waiting to see how long he can hold out before he jumps me." The truth was, Trieze wanted very badly to be seduced, for once, instead of being the one to start things.

"You're awful!" Nasty slapped his arm, not so gently. Nasty was very protective of her gentle-natured friend.

"True." Trieze agreed and then moved quickly to another, more comfortable subject. "So, getting back to your love life, see anyone who interests you?"

"No. Now, let me escape. I've made my appearance and I want to get back to some research I was working on."

Trieze rolled his eyes and took her arm, leading her into the crowded ballroom. "You can't leave my party to read. You'll insult me."

"Consider yourself insulted, oniisan." Nasty turned walking away, after a parting kiss on Trieze's cheek, to find someplace where she could find some peace and quiet.

Before Trieze could stop her, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Trieze turned to see Zechs.

"Can I have a word with you?"

Trieze nodded and followed when Zechs motioned him to one of the side halls that was mainly for the stairway that led upstairs. Zechs closed the door behind them, locking out the noise from the party. "What is it?" Trieze asked. He turned to Zechs just in time to have Zechs push him up against a wall and seize his mouth in a greedy kiss.

Trieze thought to himself, letting Zechs run his tongue over Trieze's teeth, Finally! Trieze closed his eyes and let Zechs take complete control. Zechs lowering them both until Trieze was sitting on the stairs and Zechs was kneeling on either side of Trieze's legs.

The kiss broke only when they were forced to come up for air. Zechs had his arms around Trieze's neck and Trieze reached up to pull Zechs' helmet off, revealing the beautiful ivory skin and nearly white hair.

"Did I surprise you?" Zechs asked, almost whispering, his voice shaking. Trieze knew it must have been hard for his reserved friend to come up with the courage to do this, and right in the middle of a party, too.

I'll bet Noin talked him into this! Trieze thought gleefully, making a mental note to send Noin a bouquet of roses as thanks. Trieze ran his fingers through Zechs' fine hair. "Very surprised."

"Oh, good." Zechs leaned in again, pushing Trieze onto his back, kissing him against and Trieze tugged at Zechs' shirt. He'd been waiting for so long, he didn't want to wait any longer.

It was at that point that Lieutenant Une, Trieze's personal bodyguard, walked in. She was dressed in a formal evening gown, so as to not attract attention, but obviously on duty. She saluted Trieze, a good enough officer that she pretending to ignore the fact that she'd just caught Trieze and Zechs in a rather, well, delicate situation. "Sir, we have a couple of problems."

"Yes?" Trieze didn't get up, but he did pay attention to her. Lieutenant Une might be just a tad insane, but she was very good at her job and if she thought there was something Trieze should know about, he was more than willing to listen.

"The smaller problem, sir, this that apparently you have just tried to massacre colony A0206." Normally, Une's voice was cool and precise, refusing to get emotionally involved in her job, but even she sounded furious.

"What!?" Trieze jumped up and away from Zechs, also stunned by the news, and glared at Une. His face was twisted with disbelief and fury as he protested violently. "I did no such thing!"

"Yes, sir, I know that. However, the orders were signed by you."

"I read everything I sign and I would not have signed a paper like that!" Fighting trained soldiers was one thing, but he was certainly above killing a colony full of women and children.

"Yes, sir. I expect that it was a forgery. We will have to do some investigating to find out who did it, though."

Trieze rubbed his forehead. Now his name would be forever attached to the horrible crime. Even if they did find out who was truly responsible, he would never be believed. Trieze knew his own reputation well enough to know that everyone would believe he was trying to cover his own tail and using someone else as a scapegoat.

"Were there any survivors?" He asked, sitting down next to Zechs. Unfortunately, the mood had been completely shattered.

"Yes, it seems that the attack was foiled by a new mobile suit, some claim that it was a Gundam, but we have no concrete evidence, yet."

Trieze remained quite for a moment. "What's the other problem?"

Une took a deep breath. "Quatre Winner is here."

Trieze froze and looked at her, worried. "Winner? As in the Winner family who build colonies?"

"Yes."

Trieze stood again and started to pace. Though the Winner boy looked and often acted like a sweet little rabbit, Trieze knew better. He'd met the boy on a series of social and political occasional and he knew the boy was far more of a threat than he looked. Quatre was the type of person who tried very hard to be a good, gentle person, but every now and again their true nature showed itself and people would suffer. The boy was also quite smart and, reputedly had a band of rather large mercenaries working for him. "What does he want?"

"He says his brother is here and he wants him back."

Trieze frowned, puzzled. "Brother? He hasn't got a brother."

Une shrugged. "He's not causing a scene, but Mr. Winner is definitely not happy. I would get him out of here as soon as possible, if I were you. Did you invite anyone out of the ordinary?"

Trieze immediately thought of Touma and Shin. Then there was Seiji, but no, Noin would have told them if she was related to the Winner family. Ryou was a possibility, but it didn’t seem likely. He had done thorough background checks on all of him employees, so he knew it wasn't any of them, leaving only the boys. He nodded once at Une and the two of them left in search of the four in question, Trieze hoping not to run into the young man until he'd found out which boy was Quatre's brother.


Zechs-


Zechs sat on the stairs alone and forgotten. He blinked after them, even after the door closed behind them. A small whine of frustration came from his throat before Zechs turned on the stairs and started pounding with both fists. "Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! I was so close! So bloody close!" He wailed. Now, he was sure he'd never get the courage up to do that again.


Noin-


Noin had bullied Zechs into doing it, of course. They had watched while Zechs and his sister chatted, a slight argument about something and Noin whispered. "Do it. Do it, now!"

Zechs shook his head. "No! Not here, in the middle of a party! There's hundreds of people here!"

"So what? Take him into the back hall and ravish him on the stairs. There's a lock on the inside of door, so you won't be disturbed." She grinned at him impishly. "Or, if you'd rather, I can make a few more interesting suggestions."

Even from behind his mask, Noin could tell that he was looking at her suspiciously and curiously. "How?"

"Well, for instance, don't you think Trieze would look rather fetching tied, or maybe chained, spread eagle, to that big four-posted bed of his? All naked and gleaming with sweat, looking up at you nervously, his red eyelashes fluttering with apprehension as you stand over him, so powerful. So manly." Noin spoke softly, leaning in so that she was whispering in Zechs' ear. She was trying to be as seductive as possible and, apparently it was working. Zechs was breathing hard and he licked his bottom lip unconsciously. Noin continued, "How does he scream your name, Zechs? Does he call you master?"

Zechs whimpered softly, his cheeks under the mask reddening.

"Are you going to go easy on poor Trieze or will you be just a little bit rough? He's made you wait so long, after all. Maybe he does deserve to be punished a little." Just for added effect, Noin licked Zechs' ear and almost she wished she hadn't. He nearly fainted.

Zechs never took his eyes off Trieze all the time that she was talking and Noin smiled triumphantly. Tonight, she was certain, Zechs would finally get what he's wanted for so long. Trieze wouldn't be too unhappy, either. Noin gave her friend a little push. "Go get him. He's waiting for you, Zechs."

For the first time, Zechs didn't back down and strode confidently over to Trieze after Trieze's sister, Nasutei, left. They spoke briefly before Zechs did exactly what Noin had suggested and led him back to one of the halls leading into the main house. The door closed behind them and Noin, if she hadn't been a lady, would have jumped with joy and sang hallelujah to the heavens. Life was perfect!

Not thirty seconds later, Trieze's bodyguard and personal assistant, Lieutenant Une, followed them through the doors. She was a beautiful lady looking all dressed up for the party, but her posture and attitude were all business. When she headed straight for where Zechs had just taken Trieze, Noin almost panicked. Then she relaxed, remembering that she'd told Zechs about the lock on the door. Lieutenant Une swung the door open easily and Noin slapped her forehead.

Zechs, you idiot! You forgot to lock the door!

A moment later, Trieze walked out of the hall with Lieutenant Une, straightening his rumpled suit and combing his hair with his fingers. His face, Noin noted, was flushed. Well, at least Zechs got somewhere with him!

Before Noin could take a single step to see what had become of Zechs or what had been so urgent that Lady Une had to interrupt a perfectly timed seduction, a piercing, bone-jarring scream broke through the noise of the party. It took Noin a moment to realize that it wasn’t one scream, but several all sounding together.

Noin swung her head around, with everyone else, to see who'd let out the ear piercing scream. She instantly searched for her brother and found that it was him who was screaming, along with Ryou, Shin, and Touma. Each boy had their hands to their heads, a brightly glowing kanji symbol on their foreheads and each one wore a small glass ball on a necklace that was glowing just as brightly, and the same color, as the symbol on their foreheads.

"What the Hell?" Noin said out loud as she started pushing her way passed people to get to the boys.

Noin could only watch helplessly as the normally quiet, sedated Seiji had his face raised, his one eye wide open, screaming loud enough to wake the dead. Shin and Ryou were openly crying and Touma was shaking, quickly falling to his knees.

What's happening to you, Sei-chan? Noin thought. What are those things on your forehead? About then she realized the orb necklaces were not sweetheart necklaces, but something vastly different and probably more dangerous.

The guests had gone silent in shock, staring, until Trieze snapped at lieutenant Une, "Get everyone out of here. Take them in the garden if you must." The efficient soldier saluted and obeyed without question. In only seconds, the ballroom was empty except for the four uncontrollably screaming boys, Noin, Zechs (who'd come out by now and put his mask back on), and Trieze.

"Seiji? What's going on?" Noin asked, but Seiji's porcelain face was still terrified. She tried to hold his face in her hands, but he jerked violently away from her touch.

"Dead! They're all dead!" Seiji said, screaming, looking around as if he could see something that they couldn't. A green light shone from Seiji's forehead, the symbol of courtesy. Seiji fell to his knees near Touma, one hand on the floor to hold himself up.

Shin, through his tears said, "Oh, the children!" Suddenly angry, "They killed the children! My brothers and sisters! Oh, Kwan!"

"They attacked! The buildings are crushed and everyone's yelling!" Ryou grabbed onto Seiji, his eyes showing a lot of white. "Someone help me!"

"What are you doing to my brother?!"


Trieze-


Trieze groaned when he heard Quatre Winner's furious voice from behind them and he knew they'd been found. Trieze knew it didn't look good. He was in a room with two OZ officers and four young boys who were screaming insanely.

"I have no idea." Trieze answered. "They just started screaming about blood and dead people."

Quatre instantly went to Touma and took his hand. Just like Seiji, Touma flinched away from Quatre's hand, wrapping his arms around himself instead and started rocking back and forth. "Touma, tell me what's wrong?" Quatre asked in a commanding voice, far different than the one he normally used.

Touma focused, bringing himself back to reality somewhat. "An attack. Bodies all over the place. Kwan's all bloody! She's dead! Oh, god, blood all over my hands!" Touma looked down at his hands, perfectly clean, horrified.

"Touma, there's nothing there." Quatre tried to reassure him, in a softer voice. He obviously wanted so much to hold Touma and comfort him, but Touma wouldn't allow it.

Touma shook his head, his eyes still wide. "Yes, there is, I can see it. I can see it!" Slowly, he looked up to meet Quatre's eyes. "Help me, Kitty. Please, help me. I don't want to see it anymore." Touma leaned forward, putting his face against Quatre's shirt, giving into the feelings of grief and helplessness and letting himself cry. "I'm sorry I was so horrible to you, Kitty. I'm sorry I said those awful things, I didn't mean it, I swear. Please, make it stop."

Quatre, a shocked look on his face, hugged Touma, but even as his bare hand touched Touma's head, Touma jumped away as if stung.

Shin whimpered, "Don't touch us. It hurts, just don't touch us." And Quatre was left to watch helplessly as his brother curled up in a fetal position on the floor and cried to himself.


Anubisu-


"What's going on?" Duo asked, worriedly listening to the screams coming from inside the large house. He was now wearing Sh'ten's long vest, only barely decent, it was at least enough to cover the necessary parts as it fastened down the front.

"They're joined too tightly!" Anubisu said tensely. They listened as the four boys screamed in the pain that their fifth was suffering and the power flowed from them. They all wore their yoroi orbs around their necks like charms on a necklace and they glowed with raw, untrained power.

Heero stood quietly, taking in the surrounding, fingering the gun under the robes Duo had given him.

Duo was wringing his hands. "That's Ryou! I can hear him! What do we do?" He looked at both the older men with such expressions of trust that Sh'ten was taken back by it. How could the child trust someone like him?

"I don't know. It's not supposed to happen like this. We'll have to separate them." Sh'ten decided, watching as the party guests were taken out of the main ballroom. "Duo, stay here with Heero, this might get dangerous."

Duo scowled at him. "I'm not helpless! I want to see Ryou!"

"Very well, but keep out of the way."

"How do we separate them?" Anubisu asked. "We've never had to deal with this sort of thing before." Anubisu had them all cloaked in darkness so no one would see them as they walked through the garden and into the almost empty ballroom.

Sh'ten grumbled. "How should I know?" RAJURA? Sh'ten called out through their link.

YES, I CAN FEEL IT. THERE'S BEEN AN ATTACK HERE AND XIU, THE BEARER OF KONGO, HAS JUST FOUND HIS DEAD LITTLE BROTHERS AND SISTERS. I'LL TRY TO CALM HIM DOWN.

WE'LL TRY TO DO SOMETHING ON THIS END. WE DON'T WANT THEM ALL GOING INSANE.

I RECOGNIZE THE BLACK HAIRED ONE FROM NAAZA'S PAINTING. Anubisu told Sh'ten. HE MUST BE RYOU. It was rather exciting, just as finding Duo had been exciting. New family, and now they'd found all the yoroi in one place. It was a great day.

Duo suddenly saw the black haired boy and opened his mouth. Sh'ten clamped a hand over Duo's mouth to stop him from yelling out and giving their position away. They had to be sure of what was going on before they did anything.

A small blond boy, with a determined pace, walked easily passed the guards keeping everyone out of the ballroom. He used his small size well, to slip by everyone and into the room where the boys had been taken.

In the room was a disturbing sight, at least to Anubisu. The boys were screaming and crying, the mortals around them were trying to calm them unsuccessfully. Sh'ten found the sight of such undisguised pain to be quite...breathtaking. Heero showed no reaction one way or the other until he locked his gaze on one of them and his eyes narrowed. Duo looked like he wanted to kill whatever was doing this to Ryou.

Anubisu let his power go, leaving them in the open for everyone to see. RAJURA, TAKE THE ILLUSION OFF US. I THINK WE SHOULD LOOK PROPERLY IMPRESSIVE.

Rajura did what was asked of them, so they were now visible to the surprised military officers and in their full armor with very large, sharp weapons at the ready. Sh'ten's eyes didn't leave the young men, little more than children. Though he personally liked the pain they were in, he knew he had to end it.

After all, the yoroi bound them together more tightly than blood. They were brothers.

A man, wearing a metal mask that hid his face, was the first to see them. "Who are you?" He demanded, moving to step in front of everyone protectively.

"We're not here for you, mortal." Sh'ten sneered. "We've only come for the children." He gestured at the crying boys with his Kusari-Gama.

A woman with very short dark hair stood up, next to the masked man. "I don't think so." She grumbled angrily.

"It's very rude to enter someone's home like that and demand their guests, don't you think?" An auburn haired man stood, dressed like a fop, but with steel, threatening eyes.

Sh'ten's face lit up as he sensed a battle in the air. "Can you stop me?" He asked mockingly.