Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Warrior Children ❯ Torture ( Chapter 18 )

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

Chapter 18: TORTURE

Sh'ten-

Sh'ten tried not to worry about the stranger Anubisu had just discovered in the room with Shin and Touma. Anubisu could easily deal with the problem. Instead, he focused on Seiji who was shinning like a sun in the night. It was nearly impossible to see Seiji through the light. Sh'ten had to shade his eyes against the light that only seemed to get brighter and brighter.

"What's happening to him, mama?" Duo asked, still at Ryou's side and squinting against the light coming from Seiji.

Sh'ten gritted his teeth, still uncomfortable with the addition to their lives. 'Mama' of all the absurd things! But, the boy was not all that objectionable and he did seem to care about them. Duo had not left Ryou's side since they found him in an alley with Heero and he'd told them all about how he lived with them. Despite the obvious fact that he was mortal, Duo described quite accurately their home in Youja-Kai and the way they lived. Sh'ten found himself believing the boy.

"Korin comes to claim him." Sh'ten answered solemnly and saw Duo clasp Ryou's hand tightly. Could Duo possibly think that it would hurt Ryou to get his yoroi? Perhaps he was worried for Ryou's sake, as the two of them seemed so close. "The elemental yoroi will seize them."

Duo just smiled and stroked Ryou's forehead. "Oh, that's okay, then."

"You know about the Yoroi?" Now, this had surprised Sh'ten as Duo hadn't mentioned anything about it before. How could Duo have known about the yoroi unless he really had been a trusted part of Sh'ten's family?

Duo smiled sweetly. "Never heard of it."

"But..."

"You taught me and Ryou to fight with weapons when we were very young and I know you, Naaza, Anubisu, Rajura wear the yoroi. I sort of got the idea that we were going to be warriors along the way. Besides, we're family, so I trust you. I know you wouldn't do anything to hurt Ryou."

Sh'ten gave Duo a long, thoughtful look. It worried him that this mortal seemed to know so much about them, but Duo didn't want to stop them in any way. It worried him more, for some reason, that the boy trusted him without question.

'I'll have to worry about that later.' Sh'ten touched the kanji of Courtesy on Seiji's forehead, where he thought it should be, it was hard to see with all the light and wondered if Seiji's development into being a warrior would be difficult for him. It was a good thing Anubisu had left or he'd surely have been blinded.

The kanji of Korin stood out, like a beacon, in all the power radiating from Seiji and Sh'ten felt, more than saw, where it was. Was this how it was for the others when Sh'ten first came to the Youja-Kai? Sh'ten had had the orb long before he'd been brought to the Youja-Kai, but his yoroi didn't appear until he'd met his brothers. Using the more sensitive kanji, Sh'ten tried to get into Seiji's mind, only to have himself blocked. It should have been easier since he was actually touching the kanji, but it didn't make any difference. There was a wall around Seiji's mind that had a little to do with the magic that made him a bearer for the elemental yoroi and more to do with his own experiences in life. Seiji had grown used to shielding himself from everyone around him.

'Damn!' They still couldn't get into the minds of these new ones. They could feel the great power that the boys had, but couldn't get in their minds to do any good. Seiji would just have to settle into his yoroi on his own and Sh'ten would speak with him once he'd woken up fully. By they way Seiji was glowing, it wouldn't be long. Sh'ten now couldn't look directly at Seiji and found himself looking at the girl, Noin. She had tears of pain running down her cheeks while she held one arm over her eyes to protect them and squinted, even then. Noin didn't bother with any foolish questions as she'd just heard Sh'ten tell Duo the little that he knew about the Elemental Yoroi. 'At least she doesn't waste time with idiot questions.'

Naaza was suddenly there, at Sh'ten's side, his eyes firmly closed against Korin's impossibly bright light. "Rajura's just going to fetch Xiu and he'll come as soon as he can." Naaza told Sh'ten. "The boy's being a bit difficult."

Sh'ten put an arm around Naaza, but resisted the urge to hide his eyes by putting his face on Naaza's shoulder. Not that Naaza would have minded, but Sh'ten believed he should be strong enough not to hide from anything. "How's Xiu taking it?" Sh'ten really didn't like not being in their minds. How were they supposed to take care of the children properly if they didn't know what the children were feeling or thinking?

"Pretty well, all things considered. He's still upset about the deaths in his family and that little war they had in outer space. He'll get over it." Naaza really wasn't as cold as he liked people to think he was, he just didn't want to let himself get emotionally involved in something that might hurt him.

"Yeah, well, he'll get used to war soon enough. I'm sure he just needs a little training." Sh'ten answered. "Anubisu will come by as soon as the two other boys wake."

Suddenly, they both looked at the bed where Seiji was starting to wake up. He was thrashing and tossing his head back and forth, from what little Sh'ten could see. Sh'ten could hear, just barely, as Seiji mumbled in his sleep, "Busso Korin."


Heero-


Heero went to stand next to Duo, frowning at the scene taking place before them. His whole life had been one of logic and fact. Never once in his childhood had Heero been told a fairy tale or read a story that was not absolute fact. He didn't like this.

Seiji was glowing.

Seiji, his friend and partner (no, former friend, former partner), was glowing with an unearthly light, and Duo and Sh'ten had spoken of mystical yoroi. This was not possible, yet it was happening. Sh’ten touched Seiji's forehead with a long, delicate looking hand and another man, one Heero hadn't seen before, appeared from nowhere at Sh'ten's side.

Duo believed all of this completely and Heero was finding himself forced to believe. He was seeing with his own eyes, he had to believe.

Kay had told Heero much about the Youja-Kai. Duo had spoken of being exiled by a demon creature with immense power. He had seen with his own eyes the two men who'd found them that very afternoon change from looking like well dressed business men into the macabre, dark yoroi's they'd suddenly taken at the OZ party. How could he report this to doctor J? Doctor J would surely think he'd gone mad and order him to self-destruct.

'Still,' Heero reasoned with himself. 'Why should I have to report anything? This doesn't pertain to the mission at all, with the exception that Seiji is laying helpless in front of me and I should kill him while I have the chance.' It didn't even matter that Heero had been in the same room with three top OZ officers. Killing them wasn't his mission. Not yet, anyway.

A hand brushed his arm and Heero looked down at Duo. "Don't look so worried. Everything will work out." Duo smiled up at him.

Heero didn't answer, but he did feel a sting of...something when he saw how attentive Duo was being to Ryou. Touching him and barely ever taking his eyes off the sleeping boy. 'Now, is this emotion? Anger? No, not quite. Jealously? Maybe...' Heero was just starting to think about this when Duo's fingers curled around Heero's hand and Heero froze, taken completely off guard by the sudden touch. Duo didn't seem to notice Heero's stiffening and turned back to Ryou, but he did keep holding Heero's hand.

Heero fought not to shake off Duo's hand. Duo's hand did feel very warm and comfortable, after all, and even the calluses on Duo's fingers felt nice. But, Heero was getting a strange feeling in his stomach the longer he let Duo hold his hand. It was a funny fluttering sensation, like something was moving around inside of him. Heero swallowed hard, not sure if he liked this or not.

Images kept popping into his mind. The first time he'd been raped and the many times after when doctor J had allowed the soldiers to touch Heero for training. Doctor J had said that it was apart of training. Heero needed to learn to resisted interrogation even if the enemies resorted to this sort of torture. Still, if it was only training, Heero did think it strange that doctor J always, without fail, watched this training with a frightening leer and his hands clenched tightly around his walking stick.

Heero had learned to separate himself from during the training, so he could almost not feel or see what was going on. Of course, he could never entirely escape the sessions. The lingering memories of hands on him, hard and unfeeling.

'I don't want to think about that.' Heero forced his thoughts away from those dark nights and focused on the present.

But, Duo's hand didn't feel like that. Duo felt...different.

Luckily, before he had to decide anything about the unusual feeling, Duo let go for a minute to straighten Ryou's blankets, and Heero backed away into the corner of the room where he'd been standing beside the woman who was not only Seiji's sister, apparently, but also an OZ officer.

Noin had been working on her computer, before Seiji had started to glow, but now she was standing, her lips were thin with worry as Sh'ten, one of the two mysterious men leaned over Seiji. Heero wanted to help Seiji. He wanted to do something to keep Seiji from pain, but really, what could he do? This was all impossible and Heero had no clue as to what was going on, let alone how to help.

Looking out of the corner of his eye at Noin, Heero saw her stricken expression and how her hands were clenched to her breast with worry for the glowing Seiji. Heero knew she felt just as helpless as he did. How much pain would she feel when Heero killed her brother?

Heero turned away and tried not to think about that, it would only make him weak. Heero had discovered that it hurt too much when he let himself feel, so he wouldn't let himself feel in this matter, either. Seiji would have to die. That was the mission.

The light coming from Seiji suddenly intensified, until even Heero was forced to look away. He heard Duo gasp softly and felt worry for Duo. He almost went to Duo to see if he was all right, but caught himself. If this went on, Duo would make Heero weak and he couldn't allow that. He had to be strong.



Heero heard, from Seiji, a mumbled, "Busso Korin."


Sh'ten-


"Busso Korin." The sleeping Seiji whispered.

Sh'ten had to shield his eyes against the sudden pulse of brilliant light, and then it faded, leaving Seiji in the bright green and white yoroi, Korin. Seiji was still glowing, but softer this time, surrounded by a gentle halo of light around his whole body.

"Dear Buddha." Naaza whispered, blinking his eyes. Seiji was radiant with his light, like heaven's light. The yoroi of Korin was bright green, like new spring leaves, with a helmet that had two sharp, lightening bolts just over his forehead. "Did he make it through? Physically, he looks alright, but what about his mind? Surely he's going to do more than just shine, right?"

"I don't know." Sh'ten leaned down over Seiji, looking for signs of any other changes. Seiji was still for a minute, but started to blink his eye, waking for the first time in a long while. Seiji said nothing as he sat up in bed and looked down at himself. Seiji raised one armored hand and examined it closely. Slowly, he turned to look at Sh'ten, his gaze, for once, showing worry.

"Korin spoke to me." Seiji said simply.

"Yes." Sh'ten answered.

The boy had a long, savage looking no-datchi strapped across his shoulders, in much the same way Anubisu carried his. He was accepting everything very well, far better than Xiu had. Seiji pushed himself out of bed, looked at everyone in turn, stopping on Heero's face for a minute, then back to Sh'ten. "This doesn't feel right." Seiji touched his forehead to indicate exactly what was feeling wrong.

"We've had to show your minds how to close themselves off, for your own safety. I'll open you to Xiu, now." But when Sh'ten moved forward, Seiji leaned away from Sh'ten's hand, his eyes narrowing. "It won't hurt." Sh'ten assured him. "You will feel better when you are connected to Xiu, and he'll be better, also. As your friends come into their yoroi, we'll open their minds, also."

Seiji shook his head, stubbornly. "I don't want to be connected to anyone."

Now this was a bit of a surprise to Sh'ten. He hadn't expected resistance to this. "If you are not connected as you should be, you will suffer, become sick." Sh'ten told Seiji, trying not to think of this beautiful boy in pain. Ahhh, now that was an appealing thought. "Your friends will become sick, also. Is that what you want?"


Seiji-


Seiji thought for only a moment. No, he couldn't let them suffer just for him. Besides, his mind felt strange. Like it was too empty and needed to be filled. He nodded in agreement and let Sh'ten into his mind. Sh'ten was no less imposing since shedding the heavy yoroi he'd worn earlier, demonic helmet and all. He wasn't all that big, Seiji saw, but there was something terrible in Sh'ten bright green eyes, something he tried to keep hidden. Sh'ten moved to stand in front of Seiji before he sat at Seiji's side.

"Relax yourself as much as possible." Sh'ten told him.

Seiji felt the tingle in the middle of his forehead, responding, perhaps, to the kanji of Loyalty half-hidden under Sh'ten's red hair. Sh'ten put his hands on the back of Seiji's head, firmly bringing their foreheads together.

Seiji had the impression of his wall being torn down. At least, Sh'ten was trying to pull down the wall that protected Seiji's mind. No, not his wall, his wall had been pathetically weak compared to the one now protecting his mind. Seiji fought it, at first, but Sh'ten was strong and reassuring, pulling the wall apart piece by piece until Seiji began to slowly help, relaxing his control over his mind for just a moment.

A hole appeared and though it...paradise! Heaven! Seiji could feel Xiu (how he knew it was Xiu, Seiji had no idea, but he was certain that it was Xiu) though that hole in the wall and it was so right. Now, Seiji helped Sh'ten in earnest, pulling the wall down as fast as he could until it was completely gone and Xiu's strong and comforting presence was with him.

Unfortunately, along with Xiu came disturbing, terrible memories of the attack on the colony where Xiu's family had suffered such awful loses. Other memories of home on Earth also came through their link. Xiu's childhood also floated between them and Seiji knew that Xiu was seeing his life in a similar way. Xiu knew how Seiji had been waiting for the yoroi. The dream of the yoroi was what had encouraged him to escape his slavery and return to Earth. By mutual agreement, Seiji and Xiu pulled down a curtain between them, cutting out the more private memories and thoughts.

SEIJI? Xiu asked, hesitantly.

YES.

WOW, THIS IS WEIRD. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ANY OF THIS? Xiu's voice sounded very strong and Seiji liked the feel of it.

NO, NOT REALLY.

LOOK, I'M BACK ON EARTH AND THIS GUY, RAJURA, SAYS HE'S BRINGING ME TO YOU. I'LL BE THERE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Seiji broke off the connection, instinctively knowing how to block his mind from Xiu. A few short hours ago, Seiji was struggling to keep his mind walled off from the others and now it seemed like the easiest thing in the world.

A movement at his side drew Seiji's attention. Ryou was tossing and turning in his bed as he started to wake up and the green haired man immediately went to Ryou's side, looking worried. The green haired man and Duo met eyes for a minute before the man touched Duo's hair. "Sorry we left you alone, little one."

Duo's smile lit up brightly. "You remember?"

Naaza nodded. "The others don't, yet, and I don't think Ryou does either. Give them time."

Duo was Ryou's brother, from what Seiji remembered. Duo looked worried, but grateful that Ryou was finally starting to wake up and even happier that someone remembered him.

It was the boy standing behind Duo that worried Seiji. The hard glass blue eyes that were fixed on Seiji made him worried. So, Heero had finally caught up with him. 'So, why aren't I dead yet?' Heero's eyes were as impassive as Seiji remembered them from their last meeting, giving away no hint of emotion.


Quatre-


Quatre woke slowly and whimpered pitifully. His head was throbbing and someone shook him. "Wake up, kid." A harsh voice came at Quatre from the darkness of his mind and brought him rudely back to reality.

Blinking to clear his vision and groaning again as the pain in his head increased, Quatre woke up slowly. He knew what had happened, it was a kidnapping. He'd never been kidnapped before, but with his life and his father's money Quatre always been rather expecting it to happen at some point. Where was Rashid?

"What's the matter? Does our baby have a headache?" The harsh, irritating voice asked, in mock baby talk, a little too closely to Quatre's ear. Close enough that Quatre could feel the stranger's hot breath on his ear and run down his throat.

Quatre's eyes sprung open to find himself in a room, brightly lit by lamps on the walls, and surrounded by several men, one of whom was obviously in charge. The kidnapping was probably for money. Everyone who knew his family knew that he had more money than God, or so his father had once said.

One of the men was dressed finer than his companions and looked slightly more polished, so Quatre gauged him to be the leader of this little group. "Good evening, Mr. Winner. You can call me Mayers, if you like." The one Quatre thought was the leader said. "I'm looking for a couple of friends and I have reason to believe you may know where they are. Trowa Barton and Mouri Shin. I've had several people inform me that Mouri Shin has been seen in your presence after leaving the hospital after a tragic incident of being shot."

Quatre was desperately trying to clear his mind enough to think things through. He had only met Shin when Touma had brought him home saying that Shin had been shot and needed a safe place to stay for a while, until Shin's brother, Trowa, came to get him. It was odd, though Touma rarely lied, especially to Quatre, there was no sign of any wound of any kind on Shin. Shin had even gone swimming in the pool at Quatre's house the first day he got there.

Quatre knew very little about Trowa or Shin, for that matter. Shin had only told them surface information about Trowa, though he'd told them every detail about himself if they asked. Shin was a very trusting person and it just didn't seem possible that he'd be involved with these people. Had Shin really been shot or was he just hiding? Why wouldn't Touma tell Quatre about that?

Of course, Quatre knew he might never get answers to those questions. ‘These must be the people who'd tried to kill Shin.’ It must be, though why they'd want to do that, Quatre had no idea. He'd been told that someone had shot Shin during a circus act, but no one knew who or why. Well, the who question was solved, now.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Quatre lied. He just couldn't give up Shin to people like these, the sweet Shin wouldn't survive another murder attempt. Besides Shin's safety, Quatre also worried that Touma might be caught in the crossfire, or even Rashid or Abdul, who'd been like parents for most of Quatre's life.

Mayer's smile was replaced quickly by a snarl before he backhanded Quatre, making his head whip back and nearly snap. "You damned well better remember who they are, kid. I'm not here for ransom or any shit like that. I want Trowa!" The leader said acidly while Quatre's view of the room spun uncontrollably and he nearly blacked out again.

Now that was certainly a surprise. "I thought you wanted someone named Shin?"

Another brutal slap, sending Quatre crashing to the floor. "Don't play the idiot with me, boy. You know them. You think I'm so stupid I wouldn't check to see if that brat died or not? My man saw you walking them out of the hospital before they lost you. Since then, neither have been seen. It's a good thing I happened to see you in the city. Are they at are your home, kid? Where do you live?"

So, they didn't know who he really was. Surprising, but lucky. They didn't know where he lived and, so long as they didn't know that, Shin and Touma wouldn't be hurt.

Instead of a smart assed comment that he wanted to make, Quatre clamped his mouth shut. He closed his eyes and waited for what he knew would come. Drawing on all the training he'd ever had, Quatre tried very hard to quiet his mind and retreat into himself. The pain would come soon, he knew, but if he could keep quiet for long enough, maybe they'd just kill him.

They wouldn't let him leave here alive, that much Quatre was certain of. Mayers had told Quatre his name so they would never let him live through this.

He just had to hope he could die without betraying Touma or his friends.


Some time later-


Quatre didn't know how long it had lasted, but he came to his senses several times during the torture, and wished he hadn't. They'd cut off several sections of his skin, peeling him like an orange. One long strip off his left leg and both forearms had been skinned, along with, what felt like, several strips off his back. Looking at the floor, Quatre saw several bloody toenails and, though he really couldn't feel it through all the general pain, he knew they'd probably pulled out his fingernails, too, but he couldn't distinguish one pain from the other. All the pain was just sort of blurring together at this point.

Quatre could barely move, his head lolling to rest on his shoulder and Quatre didn't think he could lift his head to save his life. Not that it would do much good now. He'd long ago been stripped of his clothes and shackled to a wall, but that was when he'd been fully awake and not in shock, like he was in now. Quatre knew he was in shock because nothing felt real. It was like a dream he was drifting through. But the pain was very, very real.

Mayers appeared in Quatre's vision. "I'd ask if you're ready to talk yet, baby, but I don't think you will at this point. Personally, I don't even think you could if you wanted to. Well, nothing lost, I suppose. Trowa's been showing himself off, trying to lure us in, I suppose. I think I'd rather catch him off guard, he's a little too dangerous. I don't want him in control of the situation when we meet again."

Quatre blinked and Mayers, in his vision, blurred and fuzzed around the edges, but the man's voice still came in loud and clear. Quatre could see the small, shining knife Mayers held up, but it was blurry, too. 'Where's Touma?' Quatre wondered, confused. The world seemed to be growing fuzzy around the edges. 'Touma always protects me. Where's he gone? Is he safe?'

"Now," Mayers said, in an almost friendly tone. "There's really only one more detail to fix, isn't there? I've beaten you until you've blacked out, I've had you whipped, I let one of my men cut off several of your fingers." The knife was lowered and Quatre felt it pressing close to his crotch and even in his dazed, confused state, he struggled, though it was a weak, pathetic effort. "Now, just hold still, this won't take but a minute."

Agonizing pain and Quatre thankfully passed out again.


Xiu-


"This is not a good idea. Look, I think this yoroi picked the wrong guy." Xiu told Rajura nervously awhile they walked down the busy streets of Sendai. He'd said the same thing several times as they got closer and closer to where Sh'ten was waiting with the others. It was more than the kanji orb around his neck that was making Xiu nervous and more than the mysterious white haired man at his side.

Everyone would be at Seiji's house, Rajura had told him. Everyone including Touma and Shin. How could he possibly face the two of them? After all that had happened, the last thing Xiu wanted to deal with was Shin and Touma.

"Why? Just because you don't like being strong? That is an absurd reason, you'll get used to it in time and you're already controlling it better than you were just a few hours ago." Rajura told him.

"I feel like a monster!" Xiu glared at his companion. Though he wouldn't go so far as to call Rajura a friend, yet, he had to admit Rajura seemed to be sincere in what he was saying. "I just want to get rid of it and go home to my family."

"If you're done pouting, let me just remind you that it was because of you being a 'monster' that you saved at least one of your siblings. She would be dead if it weren't for your strength."

"Yeah, but I might kill her if I try to hug her! Poor mama doesn't know what's happening to our house when everything starts to break." It didn't help Xiu's conscience that he'd just runaway from home without a word or even a note. Mama would be worried sick, but he had to learn to control himself before it was too late and he hurt mama or Lai. 'I couldn't tell her that I'd become a freak. She shouldn't have to deal with that.' He'd have to gone back soon, or at least call her and try to explain everything.

"You'll learn. I used to suffer terrible visions until I could control my mind and that took months. You'll have it easier since we can teach you how to control yourself. Besides, I doubt the yoroi makes mistakes." Rajura said in a final tone. "The other two have woke up, I think you said you know them. Shin and Touma, right? Well, they're going to be there when we arrive. Ryou's working on waking up."

"All right." Xiu said, despondently. That was a whole other issue to deal with. "Why? Why did the yoroi chose me?"

"How should I know? Get used to it, young man. You've been granted immense power, whether you like it or not."

Quite a while later, they finally made it to the Date Dojo and Rajura considered the large, though still in disrepair, dojo. "Not bad. I used to go to a similar place, when I was younger."

"Yeah? How old were you?"

Rajura stopped walking and thought, seeming to take a long time. He thought, counted on his fingers and muttered to himself.

Xiu said, "Come on, how long does it take to think back a few years?"

"Give me a minute, kid. It was more than a few years for me."

"How many more?"

"Ummm, well, I was about six, so it must have been about three hundred eighty-five years ago."

Xiu's mouth fell open.

"What?" Rajura asked, annoyed that the boy was staring at him.

"You're three hundred eighty-five years old?"

"No, I am...um...three hundred ninety one years old. I was only six when I started taking lessons."

Xiu was going to accuse Rajura of lying, but there was something about the man that just screamed he was telling the truth. "You're really serious, aren't you?"

"Absolutely. You'll have to get used to the eternal youth thing, too. That takes a while. Shall we go in?"

Xiu nodded and just as we started to approach the old house, Xiu saw four other people coming toward the house from another path. It didn't take long to realize who they were; one stranger with dark blue hair and one boy who was familiar as Shin's friend, Trowa. The other two, though, Xiu knew very well.

Shin and Touma.

Xiu felt his stomach start to churn painfully.


A short while later-
Sh'ten-


They all just stared at each other in an awkward silence. Seiji and Ryou sat together on Seiji's bed with Xiu near the end of the bed. Touma and Shin sat on the bed Ryou had been using. Just after Seiji had woken up, Ryou woke, but still without his yoroi or memories. Duo was in seventh heaven, immediately gloomping onto Ryou. Trowa stood quietly in a corner, keeping a close eye on Shin. Shin was just nervously wringing his hands. Xiu stared at his hands in his lap, depressed.

Trowa kept his mouth tightly shut, seeming to prefer to just wait and see what was going on. Certainly a lot had changed since he was last here. When he did look away from Shin, Trowa's eyes fell on Heero. Trowa's face remained still, but he said to Heero, "01?"

To Heero, this must have meant something because he motioned for Trowa to follow him into another room. "Where are you going?" Duo asked.

"That room." Heero pointed, but offered no other explanation.

Duo jumped up as Heero turned to leave. "Will you be okay, Ryou?"

"Yeah."

Duo flashed him a smile and then went after Heero. "I want to come, too!"

Heero paused. "I don't want you involved."

"Involved?" Duo frowned. "What are you two involved with that I can't know about? I didn't even think you two knew each other."

"Duo, stay here." Heero told him, firmly.

"No, I don't think so. I want to go with you." Duo threw an arm around Heero's shoulder, only to be brushed off, with Heero looking a little disgusted with the physical contact. "Come on, I want to be with you." Duo pleaded.

Finally, Heero gave in and let Duo follow them out, closing the door behind them. Sh'ten never did find out what they were talking about in there.

No one said a word.

Finally, Sh'ten shook his head and decided to get down to business. "My brothers and I need to discuss a few things. You'll excuse us." He nodded politely to the newly awakened boys and gave Noin a low bow. The three other ma-sho followed him out into the gardens.

"Hey, wait for me!" Noin called after them. "I need to talk to you!" Noin went to Seiji and, again, kissed his cheek. She was so thankful that he'd make it through all that alive that she didn't care about the yoroi at this point, though Sh'ten wondered how long that would last. Noin stepped in front of Anubisu as soon as they'd all left the house and gone into the garden. "Before Seiji started glowing you said you knew who trained him."

Anubisu nodded. "Well, I know who trained Heero, anyway, and your brother was there, I think. Oh, that reminds me," He looked at Sh'ten. "Can I have Heero?"

"What?" Rajura glared at his lover.

"Not like that! I want to train him, he's got a wonderful start, but he needs to have a spirit to go along with all that skill. Can we bring him back to train him in the Youja-Kai?" Anubisu's voice was filled with hope, like a child asking for a new toy.

Naaza spoke up. "I don't see why we couldn't. He and Duo obviously like each other and Duo did quite nicely with his training. He was a very good fighter, actually, even without yoroi."

That brought back the other issue, the fact that Naaza remembered things that were nothing more than blank space to his brothers. Sh'ten wanted to explore that matter a little more, but Noin interrupted.

"Well? Who was it!?" Noin glared up at Anubisu. "I want names! Who hurt my brother?!"


Xiu-


Xiu crossed his arms over his chest, determinedly not looking at his friends.

"Xiu? Will you talk to us?" Shin put a hand on Xiu's shoulder, but Xiu shrugged the hand away. He didn't want them to touch him! He kept staring at his lap.

Seiji's voice broke through Xiu's thoughts. DEAL WITH THIS.

Though Xiu wasn't used to having someone in his head, he grumbled back angrily, THIS ISN'T YOUR BUSINESS!

YOU'RE GIVING ME A HEADACHE WITH YOUR ANGER, SO IT IS MY BUSINESS. TALK TO THEM. Seiji took Ryou's elbow and the two of them stood up. "Let's go."

Ryou, still not able to hear the mind-talk, asked, "Where are we going?"

"I saw you use the swords at the party the other day. I want to see if you're any good."

This left Xiu alone with Shin and Touma and an awkward silence. Xiu stared down at his feet, really wanting to run away from this. He looked up at Shin who was wringing his hands and Touma who was nervously pacing, then back to his feet, again.

"We didn't do it to hurt you, Xiu." Shin whispered, afraid that he'd lost his friend forever. "It just sort of snuck up of us."

Xiu gave a shaky laugh, trying to sound nonchalant. "I'm not blaming you for anything, man. I mean, it's not like we had anything, right? I never said a word to either of you and I'm not the selfish type who wants everything for himself."

Shin walked around and knelt beside Xiu, putting a hand on his knee. "I'm not saying I'm ashamed of anything, Xiu. I love Touma very much. Please, look at me." Xiu felt a hand on his cheek and pull at his face until Xiu found himself looking into the deep soulful eyes he'd loved for years. The eyes that loved someone else.

Xiu jumped up suddenly. "Look, just leave me alone!" He turned to storm out of the room, but Touma was in front of him and, before Xiu could do anything, he kissed Xiu.

Xiu was stunned enough that he just stood there for a moment until he felt himself start to soften in Touma's arms. His anger melting away so quickly, leaving only despair. Xiu started to tremble before the first of his tears fell, rolling slowly down his cheek.

Touma broke the kiss, keeping his arms around Xiu. Xiu couldn't stop himself from crying and, with his eyes closed, Xiu leaned forward and let Touma hold him while he cried. As he sobbed, Xiu slumped to his knees, suddenly finding that his great strength had deserted him.

"I've loved you for so long, Xiu." Touma whispered. "You are one of the few people I actually trust. I'm sorry I never said anything, but...I admit it, I'm a coward. I was afraid that you...you wouldn't want me. You knew what my life was like before Rashid and Abdul adopted me, so why would you want me? I can't lose you now." Touma whispered, kissing Xiu's closed eyes. "I wish I'd been braver."

A slight weight pressed against Xiu's back and he knew it was Shin. Shin's hands rested on Xiu's hips and Xiu could feel Shin's face against the back of his head. "Don't block us out, Xiu. Don't let yourself go through that kind of pain again." Soft lips kissed the back of Xiu's neck, then moved to his ear, a gentle touch.

Touma shifted, putting his knees on either side of Xiu's legs and leaning forward and putting them in a VERY intimate positing, especially with Shin still pressing against him.

"I didn't want to feel how happy you were," Xiu managed to choke. "Without me." Xiu leaned his forehead down, on Touma's shoulder and they stayed like that for until Xiu had worn himself out.


Continued...