Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Warrior Children ❯ Kissing ( Chapter 23 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
"WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER?" by Queen.

Chapter 22: KISSING

Trieze-


Trieze woke with a splitting headache. Again. It was becoming a habit.

He lay still and kept his eyes closed, hoping that it was all a very bad dream. Trieze was laying in a bed, one that felt very much like his own. The sheets under him were soft and worn to a comfortable state. He could even smell after-shave lotion.

Still not opening his eyes, Trieze frowned. He didn't use after shave lotion and that meant that someone was in the room with him. Trieze couldn't remember much of what had happened after he’d gone back to his own home and what he did remember was hazy. He had been driving with that Chinese boy, Wufei, and they'd found Nasty at the house...and...and there it all went blank.

Deciding that perhaps it was best that he find out what was going on, Trieze shifted with the intention of sitting up. 'What in the world?' Trieze couldn't move his arms or legs and realized that he was bound. 'It is my room.' Trieze thought when he opened his eyes. At first, even the dim light hurt, sending arrows of pain through his brain. Soon, though, the pain receded and Trieze looked around. Someone had lit candles all around his room, setting them on his bureaus, chests, the mantle over the fireplace, and even on the floor. The room was literally aglow in candlelight. Someone had gone to a great deal of effort, though Trieze couldn't find it in himself to appreciate it very much.

The fact that he was naked didn't help his disposition.

Trieze had noticed his state of undress right away, naturally, but it didn't bother him so much as the fact that someone had undressed him and set up all the candles without disturbing him. Trieze pulled at the chains that tied him to the four posts of his large bed, but the effort was in vain.

Panic started to set in when Trieze remembered he had been with his sister, Noin, and Zechs. If someone had attacked again where were the others? Another rescue by a mysterious stranger was, to say the best, unlikely. How many people had been in on Une's conspiracy?

'I made the mistake of thinking Une was in control of everything.' Trieze reprimanded himself. 'I should have known better. She must have been getting orders from someone and now they've come to finish the job. Maybe I should have let her kill me. At least I wouldn’t be humiliated in front of enemies.'

A shadow caught Trieze's eye, just at the end of the bed and hidden behind the not-quite-see-though-gossamer curtains that hung off the canopy of his bed. It was very romantic in the right circumstances, but this was not the time for romance!

"I know you're there. You may as well come out." Trieze tried to make himself sound as calm as possible. 'I've dealt with worse situations than this. Of course, I wasn't naked and tied down those times.'

A long pale hand reached around and took hold of the edge of the curtain. A pause that seemed to last forever before the stranger started to inch back the curtain.

Trieze felt like his heart would explode, he was wound so tightly. Finally, a face was revealed. "Zechs?!" Trieze exclaimed at the sight of the ever-elegant face. The long mane of magnificent ivory hair and the lovely slant of Zech's nose were a welcome sight.

"You are mistaken, commander Kushranada." Zechs said softly with a touch of amusement in his voice. "I don't know any Zechs. My name is Millardo."

'Of course.' Trieze thought. 'He's taken off the mask.' "My apologies. I'm under a bit of stress, as you can see..." Trieze's voice trailed away as Ze...Millardo came into full view to stand at the foot of the bed.

Millardo's beautiful body was bare from the waist up, showing off the muscles he'd worked for during his military career. The only clothes he wore, in fact, was a pair of very tight fitting white trousers.

"Stress?" Millardo purred as he knelt on the bed between Trieze's spread legs. "Perhaps I can help." Millardo put his hands on Trieze's knees, sending a shock up Trieze's spine. "Or, perhaps not." Millardo took his hands off Trieze and leaned back to look at Trieze appreciatively with burning eyes. "What do you think I should do?"

Trieze was already sweating and couldn't take his eyes off Millardo. So beautiful and commanding that Trieze was in seventh heaven just looking at the man, even with Millardo teasing him like this. This was like a dream come true!

"Well?" Millardo asked with a touch of impatience. "Shall I leave you here? I'm sure your sister will be amused to find you here like this."

"No!" Trieze said urgently and lifted his head as much as he possibly could to look at Millardo better. "I shouldn't like you to leave at all." He tried to speak in a more calm tone, but it wasn't working very well.

Millardo turned a wicked smile on Trieze. It was a smile that Zechs would never have worn, one tinged with danger and dark thoughts. Not at all like sweet, shy Zechs. Millardo stood and for a moment Trieze was afraid that Millardo really would leave him here like this, but Millardo only came to sit at Trieze's side. Millardo put a hand on Trieze's chest, lazily running one finger from naval up to the sensitive base of Trieze's throat.

"You shouldn't like me to leave? Is that the shallow depth of your emotion? You must speak more eloquently if you wish to convince me. I know you are capable of swaying the harshest of hearts, if you want to. Tell me, Rosebud, what do you want?"

Trieze could do nothing but stare up at his friend with open-mouthed astonishment. He'd never seen this side of Zechs! Trieze had never seen such raw sexuality and desire in Zechs. Millardo was certainly a lot more aggressive than Zechs.

Millardo moved his hand to Trieze's ear, gently rubbing it between his thumb and forefinger. Unfortunately, this happened to be Trieze's sensitive spot and he gasped with pleasure at the touch of Millardo's cool fingers.

"Is that your only response?" Millardo leaned in close enough for Trieze to feel Millardo's warm breath on his face. Millardo's long hair smelling of vanilla draped over Trieze's face, practically blinding him and drowning him in the scent of Vanilla. "This is not enough to convince me you want me to stay." Millardo ran his tongue delicately over Trieze's ear.

"OH, GOD!" Trieze cried out at the sensation and pulled at the chains. Overwhelming. In his whole life, Trieze had never felt something anything that made him feel so weak, yet so very good. "Please, Millardo, please..."

Millardo pulled back only enough so he could look down at Trieze and smile, touching Trieze's face with his free hand. "Ah, now I am convinced." Millardo pressed his lips against Trieze's and Trieze moaned with pleasure.


Youja-Kai-
Before Sh'ten's death-
Rajura-


The five boys stuck close together when we walked through the gateway and into the Youja-Kai. Only Ryou and Duo seemed at ease, as they'd done it many times before. Seiji and Heero wore identical masks to hide anything they felt and Xiu was scowling, looking around at the landscape distrustfully.

"Is this place for real?" Xiu asked loudly. He didn't seem to have any problems with saying what he was thinking. Xiu looked down at the marshy land we'd come out in. "The whole place is like this?"

"Certainly not." Anubisu answered. "This is where Arago's palace city is. That way," Anubisu pointed in one direction. "Is this mountains and over there," He pointed in the opposite direction. "Is the grasslands."

Heero frowned a little deeper. "Isn't that a little vague?"

"We know where everything is." Anubisu answered with a shrug. "What else do we need to know?"

Seiji was looking around. "Which way is North?"

"There is no North. Or South, for that matter." Rajura answered. "Things are different here. Don't try to think of it like this is the Ningen-Sekai or you'll just get confused." Rajura took one last look at Sh'ten who was walking steadily toward the palace city.

BE CAREFUL. Rajura thought.

I ALWAYS AM. Sh'ten paused and looked over his shoulder, though he was to far away for Rajura to see the expression on his face. IF ANYTHING HAPPENS...

IT WON'T! Anubisu said quickly, but Sh'ten ignored him, speaking directly to Rajura.

TAKE CARE OF THE OTHERS.

Naaza almost yelled at Sh'ten. DON'T TALK LIKE THAT! YOU'RE TEMPTING FATE!

Sh'ten sent sweet soothing emotions toward Naaza. MY SWEET 'ZA-CHAN. FOLLOW RAJURA, SHOULD I FALL. I LOVE YOU ALL.

With that, Sh'ten shut his mind. Like a door being closed, Sh'ten fully closed himself off from us and Rajura knew there would be no way to contact him again unless Sh'ten wanted to.

"Where are we going?" Xiu asked interrupting Rajura's thoughts. "How are we going to find the little girl we're looking for?"

Rajura was rather proud of the way Xiu was progressing with his power. He'd been the first of his companions to be taken by the yoroi and, in Rajura's experience, it should have been most difficult for Xiu to gain control of himself. Instead, Xiu had almost complete control of his strength without the Yoroi and was rapidly mastering control of his mind.

"There are only two places she could be if she isn't in Arago's palace city." Anubisu said. "Saranbo's fortress..."

Duo started to swear violently, hearing this, and Ryou looked like he'd kill if had a chance.

"We'll just hope she isn't there." Rajura said. "It would be preferable if she were with Kenbukyou (Lord Saberstrike). At least with him, we know she'd be relatively safe. We'll go to the castle of Kenbukyou." Rajura told everyone significantly. He wasn't entirely surprised by the blank look Xiu gave him. What could a boy raised in the Ningen-Sekai know of a demon lord?

Ryou and Duo both stopped walking and just looked at Rajura with wide eyes. Well, apparently they both knew what Rajura was talking about.

"Who's he?" Xiu asked. He hadn't missed the stunned looks on Ryou and Duo's faces. "Do you guys know him?" He asked Ryou.

Xiu looked at Ryou for a moment and Rajura felt a slight buzz in the back of his mind. This was a new situation for Rajura, too, but he knew that the Xiu and Ryou were talking. Ryou and Seiji had an almost a constant buzz going on between them and Rajura could even feel a buzz between the other boys who'd just gotten their yoroi.

Rajura wondered if the boys could feel it when he and his brothers mind talked.

"Well, I've heard of him." Ryou said carefully.

"Who hasn't heard of him?" Duo asked, as surprised as Ryou about their destination. Duo started waving his arms around excitedly. "Kenbukyou is one of the three great lords of the Youja-Kai but I've never seen him before. Why are we going, 'Jura-san? I thought you didn't like Kenbukyou."

Rajura answered easily. "I don't. He's a demon and you can't like a demon. I do trust him, however. Kenbukyou is very honorable and we have a few similar goals. We're just going to talk."

They walked in the opposite direction from the palace of Arago, to the great grasslands where Kenbukyou's nation of people lived. Unlike Arago, who preferred his army without thought or willpower, Kenbukyou had real people (not humans, but people nonetheless) who followed him out of loyalty.

It was a dangerous place to go, so Rajura wasn't making the journey lightly. Kenbukyou's people were fierce and very territorial. They were known to attack for very little reason and were dangerous enough that even the Ma-Sho generally kept out of Kenbukyou's domain unless Arago had ordered differently.

As they walked (They had to avoid using power so Arago's attention wouldn't be drawn to them) Rajura worked on a plan to get them into Kenbukyou's fortress without being attacked. It was true that they could probably kill all of Kenbukyou's forces without much trouble, but he really didn't want to get Kenbukyou angry.

Anubisu was leading them, as the swampy land slowly turned drier and indicated they were nearly in Kenbukyou's territory, and Rajura brought up the rear. He wanted to think this whole thing through before they reached Kenbukyou's castle and, walking behind everyone, Rajura was able to watch them.

Duo kept up an almost constant chatter to anyone who would listen while he stayed next to Heero. Heero kept looking around, as if he expected an attack at any moment. Rajura and Anubisu both liked Heero. He seemed like such a sensible lad.

Rajura realized quite early on in their quest that there was something wrong with Seiji. There was something odd about the way Seiji walked and how he always kept Ryou on his right side. Rajura thought about it long and hard, considering the way Seiji walked and how the blonde boy seemed to be slightly off balance at times. It was very familiar.

HE LOST HIS EYE. Anubisu informed Rajura through their link. HIS SISTER TOLD ME WHEN WE WERE AT HER HOME THAT SOMEONE KIDNAPPED AND HURT HIM WHEN HE WAS A CHILD. THE RESULT IS HIS MISSING EYE, BUT SHE DOESN'T KNOW EXACTLY WHO OR HOW SEIJI WAS HURT, OTHER THAN THE EYE.

Rajura quickened his pace until he was next to Seiji. "How did you lose your eye?" Rajura asked quietly as they walked along.

Seiji started, surprised at the question. Ryou and Xiu had stayed pretty close to Seiji throughout their long walk, but Seiji sent them a look and they both walked ahead, closer to Duo and Heero, and leaving Seiji alone with Rajura. Seiji lifted a hand to make sure his hair was still covering where his missing eye should be.

"Your hair is fine." Rajura assured him. "I could tell from the way you walk that something was wrong." The older man tapped his black eye patch with one finger to indicate his similar disability. "How did you get yours?"

"Punishment. You?"

"I took it myself in the grips of a nightmare." Rajura didn't elaborate and Seiji didn't ask him to. For that, Rajura was grateful. Rajura held up a hand and conjured an eye patch out of thin air. "Would you like one?"

Seiji stared at the eye patch for a moment and then took it gingerly. "It won't hide my face."

"Your face?" Rajura had thought that it was only the eye that was hurt.

Seiji turned his back to the others and pulled back his hair to give Rajura a full view of the damage. Rajura took a deep breath. "I guess the patch won't do much good. I can cast an illusion, if you like, to make you look..." He really didn't want to say that Seiji looked abnormal.

Seiji, with his hair securely masking his face, looked ahead of them at Ryou who was now casting a concerned look back at them. "He's worried about me."

"Anubisu tells me Ryou was always a very loving boy. He gives his love warily, but absolutely." Rajura felt Anubisu and Naaza's stirrings of protective instinct and was affected by it. Seiji had better not hurt Ryou. "See that you don't cause him to regret that it was you he gave his heart to."

Seiji didn't seem to register the veiled threat. "He hasn't seen my face, yet."


Later-


"Isn't there any night here?" Xiu demanded in an irritated voice. They'd been walking for many hours and Xiu kept looking at the twilight sky.

"No." Anubisu answered, equally irritated, though his was a long standing irritation. "There is no day or night, only twilight. Time isn't the same as it is in the Ningen-Sekai."

It suddenly occurred to Rajura that it was about time he worked on getting his memory back, too. Anubisu and Naaza already remembered the children, but it might be handy if Rajura knew what Kay looked like when they found her.

I'M GOING TO CALL MY SPIDERS. Rajura told Anubisu as they stopped to set up camp so they could rest. The children weren't used to walking for hours on end, though Heero and Seiji didn't seem the least bit tired. "I'd like to have my memory back."

"Good idea." Anubisu said out loud. MAYBE THEY CAN HELP YOU LIKE BYAKUEN HELPED ME.

Rajura didn't miss the tense undercurrent in Anubisu's mental voice as he spoke. Anubisu took risks when he fed on blood. The blood became apart of him and Anubisu had only once taken blood from anything other than human. He'd been lost far from civilization, long before he'd come to the Youja-Kai, and the only source of blood had been a wolf. It was from that wolf that Anubisu become tied to the natural world. Since that moment, Anubisu was more in touch with animals than anyone else ever could be.

Well, except for Rajura with his spiders. Also, there was Naaza with his serpents. They were all tied to a particular animal with the exception of Sh’ten. If Sh’ten had any bond with an animal, Rajura didn’t know about it

Now that Anubisu had taken such a large amount of blood from Byakuen he was worried about what other changes would come over him. Already, Rajura noticed that Anubisu's blue hair seemed to be growing rapidly and his fangs seemed to be longer than they had before the feeding from Byakuen.

"Ryou, start a fire." Rajura told the young man as he prepared for a visit with his familiars. "Everyone make yourselves comfortable, this might take a little while."

Ryou did as he was told, without hesitation, holding his hand out over a pile of sticks the other had gathered for him. Ryou closed his eyes for just a moment before the flame burst to life. Ryou smiled proudly at what he'd done for a moment before he moved to sit near Seiji.

Ryou leaned against Seiji, getting comfortable, and Xiu sat by himself. He was near enough to touch Ryou and Seiji, but instead he pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his knees. Xiu closed his eyes and Rajura felt him reach out to touch the minds of Touma and Shin before he smiled contentedly.

Duo sat very close to Heero, though he didn't touch the solemn boy. Heero cast a puzzled look at Duo and Duo answered, seeming to know exactly what his friend was thinking.

"Rajura's going to talk to his friends. You just watch, this is really cool." Duo smiled happily.

Rajura lay down in the tall grasses and closed his eyes, shutting out the world and even closing his mind to his brothers. COME TO ME. He commanded. Slowly, Rajura started to feel small creatures crawling over his legs and arms. Hundreds of them and it felt so good to have them back with him. I NEED SOME HELP. Rajura explained his loss of memory to the spiders who were now nearly covering him and they knew what to do.


Heero-


Heero watched with only slight interest as the white haired man lay down on the ground. What kind of friends was he talking about? It made no sense to Heero, but then the purple sky didn't make any sense to Heero. He didn't like the Youja-Kai at all and, judging from the way Seiji kept looking around suspiciously, it looked like Heero's former partner didn't trust this world, either.

Duo inched a little closer to Heero, but was still watching Rajura intently. Duo worried Heero. Duo acted without any apparent discipline and showed his feeling without care, waving them around like a banner. Duo was just as alien as this world he came from and just as confusing. Heero looked away from Duo to look at Rajura, hoping to see what was so interesting. Heero froze, his eyes going wide, when he saw what Rajura was doing.

Oh God! Spiders!

The horrible things were crawling from out of the grass and covering Rajura head to toe, slowly but surely engulfing the man. Big ones and little ones, all species of spiders and even some that couldn't exist on Earth.

Heero felt suddenly cold all over and he reached out with one hand to grab Duo's hand in a tight grip.

"OWWW! That hurts! Heero? Are you all right?" Duo took a closer look at Heero. "You're sweating."

Heero knew it was true. He could feel sweat running down his back and down the sides of his face. Fighting for control of his body, Heero swallowed hard but couldn't take his eyes off Rajura and the swarming mass of spiders.

"S-S-Spiders!" Heero managed to say in a choked whisper. It was his one fear, the one thing that could break down all his training.

"It's okay." Duo reassured him. "The spiders like Rajura. He won't get hurt. You're afraid of spiders, Heero?" Duo sounded surprised, but this was no time for Heero to be worried about his pride! A particularly large spider, bigger than a tarantula, moved to the top of the pile of spiders and waved its feelers around.

Heero squealed and jumped. Unable to control his reaction, Heero shamefully wraped his arms around Duo and pressed his face in Duo's neck. Duo put his arms around Heero and held him tightly, occasionally patting Heero's back or stroking his hair. "Don't worry, everything's okay. Gee, Heero, you're shivering like a mouse."

But Heero couldn't help himself. All he could see was all those spiders. Everywhere spiders, and they were climbing all over Rajura. The only thing solid and safe was Duo. Duo's hair also smelled pleasantly like lilacs.

"My poor little nezumi (mouse)." Duo crooned softly. "I'll take care of you."

Heero didn't care what Duo wanted to call him just now, so long as Duo kept the spiders away.

Finally, Duo tapped Heero on the top of his head. "You can look, nezumi. The spiders are all gone."

Heero peeked out, still keeping a tight hold of Duo's arm and shoulder, just in case. Sure enough, Rajura was standing up and everyone was looking at Heero amused by his reaction. Everyone, that is, except Seiji who fully understood the gravity of Heero's phobia. Even Duo was smirking at Heero.

Now that the crisis was over, Heero tried to move away from Duo, but Duo held him tight and leaned in closer, so their faces were almost touching. "You're so cute when you're scared, nezumi."

Heero realized his vulnerable position. Duo was entirely to close and Heero felt how very strong Duo was. Heero didn't know what to do and simply froze with his mouth half-open. Duo leaned in closer and closer, looking like he was going to...


Flashback-


Heero didn't even bother to struggle against the men anymore, like he had when he was younger. He lay passively while they touched him and tried to force his mind wander to other things other than where he was and what was being done to his body. Complex math, computer rewiring, medical treatments, anything so he wouldn't have to feel.

"Such a good boy." The man kneeling over Heero whispered. Heero kept his eyes closed and felt the man press his lips against Heero's. "You didn't even cry, this time." The man ran his hand down Heero's naked ribs and onto his hip. The man pressed his lips against Heero's again, but this time pain followed as the man bit Heero's lips, hard. Heero could taste his own blood, but didn't react.

Calculus, military tactics, mechanics of a car engine, anything but what was being done to him.

The pain continued on ever increasing levels until Heero was left bloodied and bruised. Only two minutes after the man had left, Heero opened his eyes.

Doctor J stood where he had watched this part of Heero's training, leaning on his cane and watching from behind his thick goggles. Various other people involved in Heero's training were also watching, had watched the entire event and were finishing up their notes on his progress.

"Get dressed Heero." Doctor J said coolly. "Time to test your computer skills."

Heero obediently stood and showed no sign of pain as he pulled his clothes back on. God, it hurt! He wouldn't let any pain show. Can't let anyone know how much it hurts or they'll hurt him more.


End flashback-


Duo-


Duo wanted to squeal with happiness when Heero latched onto him. As soon as the spiders had started to come to Rajura Heero had panicked and Duo was actually a little pleased to see that Heero wasn't so inhuman as he acted sometimes. Duo patted Heero's back him, telling Heero that it would be all right.

'Mine.' Duo thought as he mentally did a happy little dance. 'Mine, mine, mine.'

Even when the spiders crept off Rajura and Heero was finally able to look, Duo didn't want to let him go. Heero was much more vulnerable than Duo had first thought if he reacted so strongly to something like spiders.

Heero looked up at Duo with wide, still frightened, eyes. Heero almost looked like he was verging on tears, but refused to let them fall. Duo saw Heero's lips tremble and wanted, more than anything, to kiss Heero and make him feel safe.

Duo leaned in, pulling Heero closer to him. Suddenly, Duo felt Heero stiffened and noticed that Heero had stopped trembling. His eyes had a far away look in them, as if he was somewhere else. Heero was staring into space, not at Duo, remaining as still as he had been when Duo had been holding him.

"Heero? I..." Duo started, but he was interrupted when Seiji stood up and walked over quietly.

Seiji knelt by Heero's side and, to Duo's surprise, embraced Heero gently. Seiji started to whisper to Heero, so quietly that Duo couldn't make out what he was saying. Slowly, Heero started to relax, his eyes focused slightly and he leaned ever so slightly into Seiji's arms and away from Duo.

Duo wanted to kill Seiji. Beat Seiji over the head with his own internal organs. How dare he touch Heero!?

Finally, Seiji pulled away, sitting on his heels and watched Heero for a moment. Heero stood up, now completely back to his old self, and walked away. He walked a good distance away from the fire, then turned and sat with his back to them. Seiji went after Heero and sat next to him, but when Duo moved to go, too, Ryou called out for him to stop.

"But I want to go with Heero." Duo protested. "You know how I feel about him, Ryou! How can I just let Seiji go around hugging MY Heero?"

Ryou scowled and came to sit next to Duo. "I know what you mean. I'm not crazy about Seiji hugging Heero. But, Seiji told me Heero didn't like people touching him..."

"Well, he didn't have any trouble with Seiji touching him, now did he?!" Duo said indignantly.

"I think there's more going on then they're tell us, Duo. I've seen into Seiji's memories, like our brothers do, and they knew each other before they met us. I saw them together." Ryou looked at his feet and blushed. "I saw them sleeping in the same bed together."

"WHAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTT!!!!!" Duo stood up and screamed at the top of his lungs, earning curious looks from Anubisu and Rajura, who had sent all the spiders away and was now sitting with Anubisu.

"Calm down." Ryou told him. "I think they were kids at the time."

"You only think?" Duo sat again, taking a look over his shoulder at Seiji and Heero. "What do you think they're talking about? Hey," Duo got a sudden bright eye. "You can see into Seiji's mind, right? What's he thinking about?"

Ryou sulked, putting his chin in his hands. "Seiji's blocking his mind. I can't feel a thing from him. I guess, whatever they're talking about, they want to keep it private."


Heero-


Heero listened to Duo and Ryou talk, probably catching up on the time they'd missed when they'd been separated, but he couldn't exactly hear what they were saying. Duo seemed very happy to be back with his family and Heero wondered if Duo would stay here, in the Youja-Kai, when this whole little adventure was over. Heero didn't much like that thought, but it wasn't unthinkable.

"He tried to put his mouth on mine." Heero said softly. He knew very well that Seiji had just walked up and was now standing silently at his side.

"It's called kissing. Ryou kissed me the other day." Seiji responded in the same quite voice as he sat next to Heero, but he was facing the fire where everyone else sat.

"You let him?" Heero asked, surprised.

"Yes."

Heero's frown deepened and he looked over at Ryou. "Did it hurt?" If Ryou had hurt Seiji...

Seiji didn't laugh at the naïve question, but answered seriously, "No. It felt quite nice, really." To both of them, Heero's question wasn't a foolish one. In the past, the only time other people had touched them, the result had been pain. Such an intimate touch as pressing your face against someone else's seemed like a bold invitation to pain.

Heero gave him a skeptical look. "Why does Duo want to...kiss me." Heero asked, experimenting with the new word.

"I think it's because he likes you. I felt, when Ryou kissed me, that he felt great warmth toward me. I remember being kissed, long ago. Before doctor J." Seiji's eyes lost focus for a moment as he recalled the half-forgotten memory. "My mother and father kissed me every night."

Heero tried to dredge up some similar memory. "I...I don't remember anything like that." There had been little before doctor J and none of it pleasant.

"Ryou likes Duo and I trust Ryou's judgment. He wouldn't like someone who would hurt people." Seiji said. "Do you like Duo?"

Heero puzzled over the question. The only person he'd ever liked was Seiji, but Duo was an entirely different matter. "Duo..." Heero paused, trying to find the right word. "Duo makes me feel..."

Seiji waited patiently for the answer. Feelings weren't easy for either of them to deal with. Finally, when it looked like Heero wouldn't find the word he was looking for, Seiji suggested, "Tingly?"

Heero's eyes opened wide, as if a whole new world had opened to him at the use of that one word. "Yes. Yes, tingly. Right here." He pointed to his stomach. "I thought I was sick." Heero's look of bafflement was almost comical.

"Yes. Ryou makes me feel sick, too." Seiji confirmed what Heero had been thinking. "He makes me feel like I have a fever and need to vomit."

"Is this normal?" The idea of a person causing such a drastic change in him by their very presence was more than a little worrying to Heero. He wasn't sure he wanted someone to have such power over him.

"I don't know. But I do know, if I'm going to feeling sick I want it to be with Ryou."

"Perhaps it will be better for me to keep away from Duo. I don't want to be distracted in case of an attack."

"Do you think you can?" Seiji looked at him, curiously. "I can't stay away from Ryou, even if I try. The sick feeling makes me want to be with him. You came here to be with Duo, didn't you?"

Heero suddenly was very uncomfortable with this subject and tried to change it. He reached out and, with one finger, traced along one of Seiji's scars on his face. "You got these for me."

Seiji ran his hand through his hair, hiding his face, again. "I was protecting my partner. It was the right thing to do. If you chose to stay away from Duo, you will make him cry." Seiji was, as Heero remembered, almost impossible to distract.

"Cry?"

"Yes. He likes being near you and, I expect, he likes the feeling of being sick with you. He will cry and feel sad."

Heero pondered this. He didn't want Duo to feel sad. He just didn't want to worry about all these strange feelings he was having. There was no one here to give him orders, either. "Seiji, tell me what to do." He looked at Seiji expectantly, hoping his partner could help him with this new situation. Seiji had been always been better at making his own choices.

Seiji shook his head. "No. I think you have to choose this time, Heero. You have to decide what to do."

Heero's eyes widened. "Me?" How could he choose? He couldn't give himself orders, could he? Seiji started to walk away, leaving Heero alone to think about what he should do.


Anubisu-


AWWW, THEY'RE SO CUTE, DON'T YOU THINK? Rajura asked from where he and Anubisu watched the little drama unfold. Heero panicking when Duo got to close and Seiji rushing to Heero's rescue. Ryou and Duo getting jealous, even when they knew they didn't have to be.

IT'S SO SWEET I THINK I MIGHT JUST BE ILL. Anubisu replied, cuddling in closer to Rajura. He sat between Rajura's spread legs and had made himself comfortable leaning against Rajura's chest.

DON'T BE SO GRUMPY. I LIKE IT. WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY NEW ROMANCE SINCE SH'TEN GOT HERE. Rajura smiled down at his lover. Rajura tried to touch Sh'ten's mind, but found himself still blocked.

DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT. Anubisu said, cuddling in closer to Rajura. HE'S PROBABLY WORRIED THAT WE'LL FEEL THE PAIN OF ARAGO'S PUNISHMENT. YOU KNOW HOW HE IS.

Rajura did, indeed, know how Sh'ten was when it came to things like this. Sh'ten believed that, as general, it was his duty to take any and all punishment. It was a stupid belief, but Sh'ten lived by his honor.

THAT LITTLE IDIOT. Rajura muttered darkly. If Sh'ten would just open his mind, they could all share the pain and therefore lessen it for all. But NOOOOO! Sh'ten had to selfishly keep it all to himself. I'LL BET HE'S MASOCHISTIC AS WELL AS A SADIST.

Anubisu chuckled beside him. ONLY NAAZA KNOWS FOR SURE, BUT HE WON'T TELL.

By the fire, Duo was still glaring at Seiji and Heero's backs and Ryou was trying to fight off his own jealously. Xiu was still in his own little world, apparently unaware of what was going on around him.

WELL, Anubisu admitted reluctantly. MAYBE THEY ARE A BIT CUTE. THEY SORT OF REMIND ME OF US WHEN WE WERE YOUNGER. While he cuddled with his lover, Anubisu's mind went unbidden to another. Short dark hair with an elfin face and a fierce expression - Noin.

'Such a beautiful creature,' Anubisu thought wistfully. Strong and smart with flashing eyes when she'd looked at him that first time they'd met. There was also an attractive quality of mystery. He had no clue about what was going on in her mind and he never would.

What would Noin think of him? Anubisu looked down at his hands, clasped around Rajura's and saw that the hairs on the backs of his hands were growing as rapidly as the hair on his head. Long, thick blue hair was now clearly visible on the backs of his hands and it had only been a few hours since he'd taken blood from Byakuen. Rajura must have noticed, but he'd been to polite to say anything.

"'Jura?"

"Yes?" Rajura said as he bent his head down and started to chew on Anubisu's throat.

"Are you hungry?" Anubisu asked with a hint of a smile as he squirmed at the touch of Rajura's mouth.

"Only for you, cub, but not in front of the children. We don't want to corrupt them, do we?" Rajura was teasing, but the teasing feel of his mind abruptly stopped as he saw something in Anubisu's mind.

Rajura pinched Anubisu's arm and twisted painfully.

"Hey!" Anubisu shouted, jumping away and rubbing his arm. "What did you do that for?"

Rajura only glared. YOU WERE THINKING ABOUT -HER-!

Anubisu realized, belatedly, that he hadn't shielded his mind from Rajura and had to blush. WELL, WHY NOT? SHE'S VERY PRETTY.

YOU ARE MINE!

Anubisu chuckled slightly. POSSESSIVE, AREN'T WE?"

Rajura leaned in close, until their noses were nearly touching. DON'T MAKE ME HURT YOU, CUB!

Anubisu licked Rajura's nose. DON'T THREATEN ME, OLD MAN. THIS CUB CAN OUT RUN YOU ANY DAY.

Rajura harrumphed and pulled Anubisu back into his embrace for another cuddle. "What makes you think of her, anyway?" Rajura asked darkly. He clearly didn't want Anubisu spending to much time thinking about the woman.

DO YOU THINK I'M TURNING INTO AN ANIMAL? Anubisu asked, looking back at the coarse hairs on the backs of his hand.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Rajura wondered. I THOUGHT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THAT WOMAN.

SHE WOULDN'T LIKE AN ANIMAL, ANYWAY. JUST LOOK AT ME, 'JURA. Anubisu put a hand to his shoulder length hair. IT'S GOTTEN SO LONG IN JUST A COUPLE OF HOURS. MY FANGS ARE ALMOST AS LONG AS NAAZA'S AND I THINK MY VOICE HAS GOTTEN DEEPER, TOO. JUST LOOK AT MY FINGERNAILS! Anubisu held up a hand for Rajura to see, showing him the sharp points that had developed, like claws.

Rajura kissed Anubisu to reassure him. YOU ARE -NOT- AN ANIMAL! THESE ARE ONLY PHYSICAL DIFFERENCES AND THEY DON'T AFFECT WHO YOU ARE.

ARE YOU SO SURE? Anubisu turned fully around so he could look Rajura in the eyes. I FEEL DIFFERENT, INSIDE. I...I CAN'T SAY WHAT IT IS, REALLY, BUT SOMETHING INSIDE ME IS CHANGING.

YOU TOOK BLOOD FROM THE WOLF, TOO. YOU GOT YOUR BLUE HAIR AND YOUR FANGS, BUT THE CHANGES STOPPED AFTER THAT. Rajura tried to sound comforting. THESE WILL STOP SOON, I'M SURE.

NO! Anubisu pulled away from Rajura slightly. YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! THE WOLF WAS NINGEN, A MORTAL CREATURE. AFTER THE BLOOD DIED, THE CHANGES STOPPED. BYAKUEN IS NO MORE A NORMAL NINGEN TIGER THAN ARAGO IS! HE IS DEMON BORN, SO THERE IS NO WAY FOR HIS BLOOD TO DIE WITHIN ME. IT'LL STAY IN ME AND I'LL KEEP CHANGING, I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'LL CHANGE INTO. 'JURA, Anubisu's eyes suddenly filled with tears. I'M SCARED.

Rajura grabbed Anubisu and pulled in him close. NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, I'LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART AND SOUL, KUJUUROU.

Anubisu took a moment to regain his composure, thankful that the children around them didn't seem to realize what a scene he'd just made. I THINK YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE JEALOUS OF NOIN, THOUGH.

HER AGAIN? Rajura sounded annoyed to have the woman's name brought up again. WHY SHOULDN'T I BE JEALOUS?

WHAT KIND OF WOMAN WOULD LOVE A MONSTER?

STOP IT! I TOLD YOU AREN'T GOING TO CHANGE INTO A MONSTER, SO DON'T SAY THAT! BESIDES, YOU SHOULDN'T WORRY ABOUT WHAT SHE THINKS. YOU SHOULDN'T WORRY ABOUT SOME HUMAN WHO'S JUST GOING TO DIE. SHE'LL BE GONE IN A HEARTBEAT, 'NUBIE. JUST A HEARTBEAT AND SHE'LL BE DEAD. Rajura's mind was filled with sadness and Anubisu was shocked at what he discovered there.

YOU LIKE HER, TOO? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?

Rajura sighed. SHE'S MORTAL. SHE'LL DIE. WHEN SHE DOES, WE'RE THE ONES WHO'LL BE LEFT BEHIND. Rajura let his head lean onto Anubisu's shoulder. I DON'T WANT TO BE LEFT BEHIND. I DON'T WANT TO HURT.









Sh'ten died.

The control Sh'ten had kept over his mind shattered at the moment of his death and they all felt the agony as well as the emptiness in their hearts and minds when he was gone. Ryou and Seiji sagged against each other, feeling the echo of pain and loss. Xiu's eyes flew open and he slowly went onto his hands and knees, crawling until he reached Seiji and Ryou. Ryou reached out and pulled Xiu into their tight embrace without hesitation.

"What's going on?" Duo asked, but no one answered him.

Anubisu stood and staggered away from Rajura and the fire as he wept. Anubisu threw back his head and howled at the sky. A mournful, heart wrenching cry that echoed through the plains and tears ran freely down his face. Naaza, Rajura could feel, was in the midst of suicidal depression and only the presence of Shin was keeping him from taking his own life.

Rajura felt frozen. Completely unable to move, Rajura simply sat there while Ryou and Anubisu cried. While Xiu was clinging to Seiji and Ryou and Anubiu let out another howl.

"What happened?" Duo asked again, disturbed by what was happening, but Rajura still said nothing. Duo couldn't feel it, the bright light that had been extinguished far to soon.

No. Not Sh'ten. Sh'ten was the proud warrior child Rajura had raised to be a great leader. Sh'ten couldn't have died as Rajura had seen. Not begging on his knees before Arago. Begging for forgiveness so that they might all have more time to find Kay and get their family together again.

Their eternal child shouldn't have died at all. The red sky child whose laugher could lighten up their darkest moods. The cruel child who tormented them until they were ready to kill him themselves. Both cruel passion and gentle love ruled his personality and fought for dominance within him.

'We were supposed to be together forever.' Rajura though numbly. 'Forever.'


THERE'S NO TIME FOR US
THERE'S NO PLACE FOR US
WHAT IS THIS THING THAT FILLS OUR DREAMS
YET SLIPS AWAY FROM US?

WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER
WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER

THERE'S NO CHANCE FOR US
ALL DECIDED FOR US
THIS WORLD HAS ONLY ONE SWEET MOMENT
SET ASIDE FOR US

WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER
WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER

WHO DARES TO LOVE FOREVER

WHEN LOVE MUST DIE


Rajura suddenly felt hands on his shoulders, shaking him roughly.

"Oniisan!"

Rajura blinked and realized Duo was in front of him. "What's going on?" Duo demanded for the third time.

Rajura swallowed hard. "Sh'ten...Sh'ten is..." How could he say it? How could he tell Duo that his mama was dead?

But Duo seemed to know. He shook his head and slowly backed away. "No."

"He's gone." Rajura said softly.


Heero-


Duo's breath became ragged and he stared straight ahead of himself in shock. "No." Duo whispered. "No, no, no." He hugged himself tightly and closed his eyes. "Oh, mama, please, don't be dead."

Suddenly, Duo turned and ran as fast as he could go. Heero took off after him almost without thinking.

It was harder than Heero had thought to catch up to Duo. Duo must have had some kind of training to be able to run so fast, but he was distracted and tripped as he ran. Heero grabbed Duo's arm when Duo tried to stand, only to have Duo slip easily out of his grasp.

"Don't touch me!" Duo snarled, his long hair falling into his eyes and making him look even more wild than usual.

"You can't just run away." Heero told him. He wanted to make Duo feel better, but he really didn't know how.

"Fuck you!" Duo snapped, his teeth bared. "Like you even give a shit! You ice hearted bastard, you can't even feel love, don't tell me what to do!"

Heero took a step toward him, but Duo backed away.

"You're the one who doesn't like being touched. Well, you don't have to. Just keep away from me, you prick!" Duo told him and started to back away again.

Heero knew that Duo was getting ready to run again and he knew he had to stop Duo. Heero did the bravest thing he'd ever done in his life. He lunged forward and caught Duo in a hug. Duo struggled, but Heero held tightly, even when they both fell to the ground.

"Let me go!" Duo shouted while he fought, but Heero wouldn't let go. "Let me go, you ass! I don't want your filthy hands on me." Duo used every swear he could think of, but nothing worked. He bit and hit Heero as best as he could, but still, Heero wouldn't let go. Duo was starting to break down. "Please, let me go. Please." He started to cry and his fighting was slowing. "I want to be alone, Heero. I want...I want my mama." That was the final straw. Duo dissolved into a sobbing heap, letting Heero hold him.

Heero didn't know how to comfort Duo and he had no words of comfort. All Heero had to work with was his memories from his time with Seiji. Heero pulled Duo close and rubbed his back as Seiji used to do for Heero long ago when he'd been troubled by nightmares.

'I'll protect you, Duo.' Heero thought. 'If I can do nothing else for you, I'll protect you.'


Continued...