Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Warrior Children ❯ Don't Make Me Leave Him ( Chapter 29 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Cousin D 
The Ma-Sho and the Ronins return to the Ningen Sekai.
Anime/Manga: Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Fantasy / Drama / Angst / Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 03.05.2005 | Updated On: 09.18.2006 | Pages: 6 | Words: 9.2K | Visits: 444 | Status: Completed
The Ma-Sho and the Ronins return to the Ningen Sekai.
Anime/Manga: Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Fantasy / Drama / Angst / Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 03.05.2005 | Updated On: 09.18.2006 | Pages: 6 | Words: 9.2K | Visits: 444 | Status: Completed
Chapter 29 :Don't make me leave him
At the Yagiyu mansion-
Police Officer Xao didn't have to look away from the body on the floor. The old man hadn't been dead long since the death so there was no decomposition, yet, and he'd seen too many corpses to get upset by one dead old man. "A single shot to the back of the head," Xao told his partner.
"I don't understand. Why would anyone want to hurt Yagiyu-san?" Cong, the younger of the pair, asked while they began to search the room for any evidence they might have missed. "From what I’ve heard, he rarely left the property and was a nice guy. He gave to charity, raised his orphaned granddaughter... there was nothing wrong with him. He never did anything bad."
Xao smiled humorlessly. "You really don't know who he is? This is General Treize Kushranada's grandfather, on his mother's side. That orphaned girl is Kushranada’s sister." He shook his head. "I pity the officer who has to tell Kushranada."
Cong paled and shuddered. "This is bad. Very bad. Kushranada has a lot of enemies, even people inside the alliance. You think one of them..." He nodded toward the body just a few feet away.
"I'd say it's pretty obvious. His enemies couldn't get to him, so they got to the old man. The whole world knew Yagiyu-san didn't have anyone out here but himself and the girl, Nasutei. No servants or guards or anything, even the girl, I'm told, went off to visit Kushranada for a few weeks. He was a sitting duck out here." Xao peeked out a window, wishing that the coroner would get here soon so he could go home. The place was creepy, all in half shadows. "Good thing she wasn't here, the poor girl might have gotten killed, too."
"This brings up a very unpleasant thought, you know." Cong leaned against the doorframe. "If general Kushranada decides one of his enemies is behind this, either there will be a discreet assassination or we could see the biggest war the Earth has ever seen."
"Yeah. He doesn't strike me as the type to take this sort of thing laying down. It could have been one of the colonies, I guess. They never thought too highly of him and this would have been simple enough for any one of them." Xao paused and a thought hit. "I'll bet money it was A0206!"
"What?"
"You know, the one that was attacked by the OZ forces. I heard general Kushranada ordered the attack. It's only rumor, but it could be true. He's ruthless as a rattlesnake and they might have had something he wanted. An incredible Gundam, they're calling it Shen Long, saved the colony. I'll bet they were out for revenge. They attacked like cowards and kill a helpless old man."
Cong gave his partner a crooked grin. "How much you gonna bet?"
"Twenty bucks."
"Done." They both reached out and shook hands over the dead man's body. "If it was that colony, we'll be at war."
"So what? That miserable little place is a decrepit pile of garbage. General Kushranada will crush them in about a second after he sends The Lightening Count to destroy that Gundam."
"You think Zechs Marques can do it?"
"Without breaking a sweat, I'd say. He's the best soldier general Kushranada has and the best pilot ever. If anyone's going to fight for general Kushranada, it'll be Zechs. Who called this into the station, anyway? No one comes out here but his family, and they're all on the other side of the country."
"It was anonymous. Some girl just called the station and said we might want to come out here. If we could find her, this whole mystery might be solved. The old man can't have been dead more than an hour or so. She was probably the killer, for all we know."
A short distance away-
"That was well done."
"Thank you, Badamon. I do my best." The girl grinned easily and looked briefly into her rearview mirror at the house vanishing in the distance. The police hadn't even seen her parked in behind the hedges and by now they'd know all about the murder. "Not difficult, really. For all his intelligence, the old man just didn't see it coming."
"And you are certain this will get us the results we desire? The death of one ningen can not possibly cause the amount of negative energy that I require."
"It all depends on how well-loved that particular person was. One of the most powerful girls on this planet loved that old man and her brother will do anything that he sees fit to protect his family. Trust me. This will be the greatest war this world or yours has ever seen." She shivered delightfully with the thought of all the blood that would be spilled soon, just because of one man. "You’ll get your power and I will get the pleasure of watching it all." She began to laugh. "I've got Doctor J standing ready to release his weapons on the Earth, as well. He's made sure they’re ready to fight, but he tells me that he has a new weapon, something greater even that his other creations. Some sort of program."
"These weapons are effective?"
"Doctor J has sent me the occasional updates as they are trained over the years. I saw Chang at a social event, once, and he most definitely had death in his eyes, he's a born killer. I saw Heero, once, while he was training, but Doctor J was always possessive of that one and kept him well hidden. Quatre, I'm actually related to. He's a cousin of mine and I understand this new weapon was designed specifically for him to use. I find it hard to believe Doctor J has created something greater than the original weapons, but I do look forward to seeing it."
She was alone in the car, but the voice spoke clearly in her mind. He was a long time... well, not friend. Ally might be a more appropriate word. For a long while the demon priest had been helping her in her plans, and she knew full well that he was gaining power in his own world as a result of her work on Earth. She knew that he was a demon and had even seen him occasionally, though this time he didn't seem to want to appear. Badamon was powerful and just what she needed to bring Treize to his knees.
'Yes,' She thought to herself. 'In a blaze of glory and a hail of bullets, Treize will fall and I... I will watch the destruction.'
"Can you trust this Doctor J?" Badamon asked.
"No. Not really, but he is a genius. I pay him well enough that he will deliver the goods. There was a moment that I worried I would have to have him killed. He was going to desert me in favor of Une. Fortunately, Nasutei seems to be more ruthless than I'd believed. She killed Une for me and now Doctor J has no one with more money to tempt him away from me."
"You'll kill him once the weapons are activated, I suppose."
"Oh, yes. Of course. He's too independent to allow to him to live."
"And what of the weapons?"
"I want to keep them. Just in case I need them to control order after the war. Yes, they'll be very loyal tools."
The demon's voice in her mind laughed. "You are truly ningen after my own heart, Dorothy."
Youja-Kai-
Rajura-
Still standing on the top of Kenbukyou’s newly formed castle Rajura took a last look over the wall, down to the masses of warriors below and the glorious landscape beyond. The warriors were cheering for their emperor, Kenbukyou. Kenbukyou really did look like an emperor. He was calm and strong, with his arms crossed over his chest and cloak waving in the gusting wind. The demon lord looked down on his cheering people silently. Unlike Arago, who kept himself hidden away, Kenbukyou was apparently planning to keep himself in full view of his people.
Rajura wouldn’t miss the Youja Kai. He’d had enough of it to last the rest of his life. He sighed, straightened his back, then turned to walk back to his family. They were all clustered together far from the edge where Kenbukyou stood.
"Let's leave now." Rajura said. The youngsters had all recovered completely, save for occasional scrapes and bruises, and even Ryou was now able to stand on his own though he was still visibly shaken. Ryou kept staring at his feet and sat on the ground with his knees drawn up to his chest and one arm around Seiji. "Ryou, are you feeling all right?" He looked Ryou up and down, but couldn't see anything physically wrong.
"Sure." Ryou answered. "It was kind of weird to have that... whatever it was in control, but it's gone now. Right?" Ryou looked at Rajura imploringly, as if he would have all the answers.
Rajura swallowed hard at the look Ryou gave him. 'I'm not that powerful, I don't know everything.' It hurt to think that Ryou trusted him so much, but Rajura knew his little brother was depending on him. Without Sh'ten, Rajura was sure they would never see Kikoutei again, so he had no hesitation in reassuring Ryou. "You're probably right. What was it like?"
Ryou leaned into Seiji and turned a bit paler before wrapping his arm around his silent friend a bit tighter. "I don't know how to tell you. It was like having everyone inside me and that thing just sort of...exploded in my head. It felt like my brain was being squeezed for a minute, but then it just felt good. Very, very good." Ryou wouldn't look at him anymore and scowled at his lap.
"It's all right." Rajura patted Ryou's shaggy hair. "Don't think about it so hard." He didn't like how Ryou was taking this. Then again, Rajura supposed that he wouldn't like having another creature taking over his mind and body.
'I'll have to uncover this mystery.' Rajura had never been more shocked than when he'd looked at Ryou near the end of the battle and saw the boy in his father's yoroi, the white Kikoutei. The last time he'd seen that yoroi was when that damned monk had stolen it, just before Rajura had been called to Arago's services.
"Ryou's going to be all right, isn't he?" Xiu asked. "That thing won't hurt him, will it?"
Rajura could only shrug, thinking how the five youngsters looked even younger now. Covered in ash and blood and dirt, they looked like the children they were instead of warriors they would one day be. "I don't really know. The only thing we can do is wait and see, I'm afraid. It time to go home, boys." Fifteen years old, they were only fifteen. When Rajura had been human, fifteen years old had been adult. These boys didn’t look like adults, though. They looked tired and frightened. Fifteen was just a heartbeat in Rajura's long lifetime.
"Yeah. My mama will be worried sick. I never even told her I was leaving." This thought seemed to make Xiu even more depressed and he rubbed the back of his neck, absently. "I wonder how she and Lai are. Wufei's going to kill me when I get home, though. He’ll skin me alive."
Seiji said nothing, but he was thinking heavily and stayed near Ryou.
Shin had his arms at his sides and moved close enough to the edge that he could look down at the Youja Kai people still cheering for Kenbukyou. "I need to contact my sister. Cathy's going to be so worried, I've never been away from her for so long without calling. She and Trowa will need help with the act."
Touma looked into the sky. "I'll have to go back and apologize to Quatre. He doesn't like it when I just disappear like this, and after he was so badly hurt, too. I hope he's all right. I have to get back to school, too. I can't let my grades slip anymore."
Children. They were children who had no business in war. Time to take them home.
Ryou looked at Rajura, worried. "Where are we going to live now?"
Ah, now that's the big question. Anubisu looked up at Rajura, too, but stayed near Naaza who was still deep asleep. WE CAN'T STAY HERE. I'M NOT GOING TO WORK FOR ANOTHER DEMON EMPEROR, I DON'T CARE HOW MUCH BETTER HE IS THAN ARAGO. I DON'T WANT TO TAKE THE CHANCE.
YOU SUGGEST THE NINGEN SEKAI? HOW CAN WE LIVE THERE? Rajura gave Anubisu a disbelieving look. The thought that they'd one day live among mortals had never crossed his mind, in all honesty. He’d given all the idea of living with humans long ago. While not impossible, it would be difficult considering that they had no idea how the human world worked anymore or how to survive there without the benefit of a lord to serve.
Anubisu got a slightly offended look on his face. WE CAN DO ANYTHING! I'M CERTAINLY NOT GOING TO LET A BUNCH OF MORTALS INTIMIDATE ME!
TRUE. Rajura agreed. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BE NEAR THE BOYS, TOO. THEY'RE STILL ALL SO YOUNG, THEY NEED TRAINING, AND I DOUBT WE COULD CONVINCE THEM TO LIVE HERE WITH US. Rajura gave Naaza a thoughtful look he stared into empty space, his face expressionless. How strange to think that Naaza was now the baby of the family. NAAZA?
But Naaza was still deep in the illusion Rajura had created, the garden they used to share private time in and where they'd left Sh'ten's body. Naaza didn't answer, didn't even make any effort to come back to them. His mind was completely submerged in the illusion, but the part of his mind that Rajura could touch was growing foggy and distant.
HE'S LOSING HIMSELF. Rajura told Anubisu, alarmed. I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN BRING HIM BACK.
Anubisu picked up Naaza's smaller body with a worried expression on his face. WE HAVE TO GET HIM OUT OF HERE! I CAN’T LOSE HIM, TOO. Anubisu tried to reach into Naaza's mind, but like Rajura, he could only see parts of Naaza. HE DOESN'T WANT TO COME BACK TO US. Anubisu felt like his heart was breaking.
A tremble of fear ran through both Rajura and Anubisu. DO YOU SUPPOSE SH'TEN WAS RIGHT ABOUT WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF ONE OF US DIED?
Sh'ten had once theorized that each of the Ma-Sho occupied a place in the other's minds. If one space was left vacant, it was like a void and whoever was closest to that void would be pulled in. If one was pulled in, that would only leave a greater void that would, inevitably pull in the other two. Basically, if one died, they'd all be lost.
WE’RE ALIVE NOW. HE WAS WRONG. Rajura said, determinedly. He’d never been so happy to have Sh’ten be wrong. WE'LL GET HIM AWAY FROM THIS PLACE. I'LL FORCE HIM OUT, IF I HAVE TO. Rajura gestured to all the boys to come closer. "We're going back to the Ningen Sekai. We'll find Kay and then return you all to your families, if that's what you want."
"Is Kenbukyou coming with us?" Touma asked, casting a look at the new emperor. "He said he wanted Kay for something, didn't he?"
Rajura shook his head. "He can come on his own. The gateway is all ready opened and we don't have anything here that we need. Our debt to him is paid and we owe him nothing. We may as well go." Rajura looked at Naaza. This wasn't going to be easy. Closing his eyes, Rajura found the illusion he'd created and he saw Naaza sitting next to Sh'ten under the tree with lavender leaves. Naaza looked like he was almost dead, except for the slow breaths he was taking.
NAAZA, IT'S TIME TO GO. YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP NOW.
Naaza didn't answer. Rajura felt his little brother pushing his mind away the closer Rajura tried to get.
WAKE UP. THE CHILDREN ARE WAITING FOR US. WE'RE GOING TO THE NINGEN SEKAI AND IT'LL BE A LOT EASIER IF WE DON'T HAVE TO CARRY YOU.
Again, Naaza didn't answer and still tried to push Rajura's mind away.
Rajura sighed. He'd hoped it wouldn't come to this, but if he had to... NAAZA, I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME. BRACE YOURSELF, I'M GOING TO SHATTER THE ILLUSION, WHETHER YOU WANT TO COME OUT OR NOT. Rajura did it quickly, severing Naaza's connection with the illusion, bringing Naaza out of the almost comatose state he'd been in.
Naaza woke with a painful gasp, like someone who'd been underwater for far to long getting their first taste of fresh air. Unfortunately, Naaza wasn't very happy to find himself awake and his large eyes focused on Rajura.
"Let me go back!" He yelled at Rajura.
Rajura couldn't meet Naaza's eyes and turned slightly to the side, rather than look at him. "We have to go now."
"I'm not leaving him." Naaza's face twisted in a terrible grimace and his fists clenched at his sides. "I've all ready had to lose him twice, I want to stay with him now." His tongue was sliding in and out of his mouth on almost every word and Rajura was suddenly reminded that though Naaza was his dear little brother, he was also a very formidable warrior and a very deadly person.
"He's not there, Naaza." Rajura tried to make his voice as gentle as possible. "It's only his body. Sh'ten has moved on."
"We have to get Kay and make sure she's all right." Anubisu added in. "She was hurt when we send her off with Kokuen-Oh. We might need you to heal her."
Naaza was too clever to fall for that one. "Seiji has healing talents, and he won‘t cause her pain with his healing. You don't need me. Let me stay here!" Naaza jerked away from Anubisu, landing easily on his feet. He paid no attention to the children, but focused on Rajura and Anubisu.
I WON'T LET YOU TAKE ME AWAY FROM HIM! Naaza cried at them, while Anubisu and Rajura started to close in on him. If they had to, they were willing to drag him kicking and screaming with them through the open gateway. I CAN'T LOSE HIM AGAIN! Naaza opened his mouth and his fangs showed, all ready dripping with venom and the light sheen of greenish liquid on his yoroi told Rajura that they were in trouble. That liquid was poison leaking from Naaza's body, natural poisons, that made their way through his yoroi.
"He's gone." Anubisu whispered soothingly, while wisely keeping a safe distance. "He wasn't really alive, it was just the yoroi, 'Za-chan. The yoroi came back to fight with us and it used his body."
Naaza struck out, attacking Anubisu, while screaming, "Don't call me that! Only Sh'ten calls me that!" Anubisu struggled for a moment, but wasn't able to hold the maddened Naaza off.
"Get off me!" Anubisu ordered.
Naaza leaned down and drops of venom, like sweat, dropped off his face and onto Anubisu. Anubisu cried out, "'Jura!" when drops of the venom splattered on his face. They could all hear a soft hissing as it ate at the yoroi where their two bodies touched. Naaza wrapped his hands around Anubisu's throat, throwing them both to the ground.
They tumbled on the ground for a moment, and all the children jumped out of the way to avoid being caught in the fight. "You still have Rajura!" They stopped rolling with Naaza on top of Anubisu, holding him down easily. "I heard you thinking of that woman, too!" Venom dripped down and landed on Anubisu's unprotected cheek.
Rajura, who'd seemed stunned by Naaza's savage attack, leaped into the fray. He grabbed Naaza by the hair and pulled him roughly off Anubisu before throwing him away from everyone. "What the Hell do you think you're doing?!" Rajura demanded, glaring at Naaza. The children were all staring and tense, ready to defend themselves, but still not entirely sure what was going on. "We're family, how can you do this?"
Naaza slowly rose to his feet and spoke with hate in his voice, turning his gaze from Rajura to Anubisu and then back again. "I heard you thinking about that woman, Noin. I’ve seen what you're thinking and feeling. You want her as much as Anubisu does, you're going to invite her into our family. You're going to replace Sh'ten with a ningen, a damned ningen woman!" Naaza launched himself at Rajura, his fangs fully bared and his eyes wild.
Naaza never connected with Rajura.
Shin had stepped out in front of Rajura and caught Naaza. Shin stumbled backwards slightly, but used his arms to pin Naaza's arms to his side. Naaza spit venom at Shin and Shin screamed when it hit his face, but didn't let go of Naaza. Shin's eyes rolled up into his head and he went limp almost instantly, falling into Naaza's arms.
It happened to fast for the other boys to help Shin. They watched in horror, afraid that they'd also lose one of their number.
Everyone froze, including Naaza. "Oh, no." Naaza held onto Shin and lowered the boy's body gently to the floor. Reality seemed to set in when he realized what he'd done. "I didn't mean it." Shin woke almost as quickly as he'd fallen and looked up at Naaza with misty eyes. "I didn't mean it." Naaza told him weakly.
"We have to go." Shin whispered. "I don't want to leave you behind. Please, don't leave us."
Naaza started to cry. "I can't leave him. He's everything to me."
"Does that mean that the others are nothing? Rajura? Naaza? Is Kay nothing to you?” Shin asked.
Naaza didn't answer Shin's question and didn't move when Xiu and Touma, each giving Naaza very filthy looks, came forward to take Shin back to Seiji. Shin seemed to be fighting off Naaza's venom remarkably fast, but Seiji's power would make him well in no time. DON'T MAKE ME LEAVE HIM. Naaza sobbed. PLEASE, DON'T MAKE ME LEAVE HIM.
WE HAVE TO GET KAY. Rajura repeated. SHE NEEDS US.
Naaza took a deep breath, stood up, and went to Anubisu. He took Anubisu's head in his hands and leaned forward. I'M SORRY. Anubisu held still as Naaza stepped in close enough that their chests were touching, and kissed the cheek that he'd burned. Anubisu closed his eyes while Naaza kissed his cheek; when Naaza pulled away, Anubisu was healed. There was only a faint trace of burns left from Naaza's healing. If nothing else, Naaza seemed more stable, but just as bleak. "Then let's go."
ARE WE GOING TO LOSE HIM? Anubisu asked quietly.
I HOPE NOT. Rajura replied. I HOPE NOT.
The others walked through the gateway Kenbukyou opened for them and Rajura was the last through. One last look behind him, at the world that had been his home for so many years, and his eyes landed on Kenbukyou. The new emperor was staring at him, or at least that's what Rajura thought with the demon's helmet and mask on.
"We will see each other again, Gen."
Rajura turned and walked away.
Ningen Sekai-
Seiji's home was empty when they arrived. Touma was the first one to speak. "Sei-chan, do you have a phone?"
Seiji pointed to a phone that hung on the wall where Touma immediately went and started dialing, muttering that he had to get a hold of Quatre and see how he was doing. The conversation apparently wasn't what he was expecting. "Rashid? Sorry I've been gone so long. What? No, I'm fine. I thought Quatre would have told you...no, I haven't heard from him." A pause when Touma's eyes got REAL big. "What do you mean he's missing?!" Touma spluttered incoherently for a minute before stopping abruptly. "Wufei? Trowa? What the Hell is going on?"
That instantly got the attention of Xiu and Shin.
Meanwhile, Anubisu looked around and muttered, "Where are the cats? I told Kokuen-Oh to come back to Byakuen." Anubisu frowned as he stretched out his mind to reach the creatures he was so close to. "Kokuen-Oh is trying to keep Byakuen calm, but Byakuen isn't very happy." They'd all expected Noin and the two cats, along with Heero, Duo, and Kay, to be at the house waiting for them. But the house was still and absolutely silent.
"Where is everyone?" Ryou asked as everyone took off their yoroi. Ryou was still shaky from the battle, but so worried about Duo that he started looking around. Naaza slunk away without a word to anyone, clearly not wanting to talk.
Touma hung up the phone slowly with a shocked expression on his face and turned to face Xiu and Shin. "I leave him alone for a little while and he gets himself kidnapped, again!"
"Are you sure he was kidnapped?" Shin asked.
"Of course he was." Touma replied certainly. "He's not the type to just vanish. No one knows where he is and he hasn't called Rashid. Your cousin, Wufei," He looked at Xiu and then at Shin. "And your friend, Trowa, just ran out of my house and sped away on Wufei's motorcycle. Rashid has no clue about what's going on and he's not very happy with anyone at the moment."
"Well," Shin said reasonably. "One problem at a time, eh? We're here, so we'll find Seiji's sister first. Then we go look for Quatre, since he was injured. Wufei and Trowa were healthy and they left the house by their own choice, so we probably don't have to worry so much about them." He didn't look as confidant as he sounded, though.
Through all of it, Seiji was standing with his arms crossed and glaring at Rajura.
Rajura tried very hard to ignore Seiji, but that glare was quite penetrating. "Yes?" He finally said, irritably. The day was going downhill rather quickly.
Seiji looked at Anubisu briefly, then back at Rajura. "Are you going to have sex with my sister?"
Rajura, a very old fashioned gentleman, blushed to the roots of his hair and almost fainted. "W-what?!"
"You are thinking about my sister, aren't you? That's what Naaza said. Exactly what are you thinking?" His lavender eye narrowed.
Rajura really hadn't thought about how Seiji would take this. "Well... you see... Anubisu and I... " Damn, he still hadn't decided what to do about all this, what was he supposed to tell Seiji?
"Do you want sex with my sister?" Seiji repeated, his tone deadly serious.
"Don't you have any tack?!" Rajura snapped. The world surely hadn't changed so much in the past few hundred years that children went about openly talking about such things, had it?
"No." Seiji answered flatly.
"If you must know," Anubisu started to say, but stopped when Rajura kicked him in the shin. Anubisu rethought what he was going to say. "We will talk about this when we find Noin." He stepped passed Seiji without another word. HE'S GOING TO FIND OUT, YOU KNOW.
WE'LL BURN THAT BRIDGE WHEN WE COME TO IT.
Seiji-
Seiji was prowling the house, his expression growing more and more dangerous when he found no sign of his sister. 'I only just found her, I will NOT lose her again!' Still, the place was empty and Luc was not the sort of person who just went out without word to anyone. Seiji knew for a fact that this was not a work day for her. 'I'm not sure I even want Rajura and Anubisu to find her, though.' Seiji was having mixed emotions about those two. He found them both excellent warriors and good people, from what he knew, but still... he found the thought of them with his beloved sister just a little bit disturbing.
Touma caught up with Seiji outside the bathroom. "I can't find anything!" Touma said, annoyed. "You don't have to worry about your sister with those two. I get the feeling that she can take care of herself." Seiji gave Touma a cold look that plainly said he didn't want to talk about it. "Where would she have gone?" Touma asked, wisely changing the subject. "Does she have any friends she'd go to visit?"
Seiji didn't have to think long before saying, "Zechs and Treize."
Touma's eyes widened. "So that's why you two were at Trieze's party that night." He realized, apparently thinking back to the night when he'd first met Seiji and Ryou. "She might have gone over to one of their houses."
So it was agreed. They'd all have another search through the house, just in case they'd missed anything the first time, and then head over to Treize's house. No one found anything, until Ryou shouted, "Hey, come here!"
It sounded like a stampede of demon steed when everyone raced from where they were to find Ryou standing in front of Noin's computer. The only person who didn't come running at Ryou's call was Naaza, but no one had really expected him to. Not with what he was saying about Noin back at Kenbukyou's castle.
'They can't have her!' Seiji glowered. 'I just got her, I won't let anyone take her away from me.'
"What is all this?" Ryou pointed to the computer screen where a ball was bouncing aimlessly on the black background. Seiji, who'd been thoroughly trained in the most high tech computer studies, could have worked the computer easily, but it was Touma who took command.
Touma didn't say a word as he sat at the computer and started tapping away at the keyboard, knowing exactly what he was doing.
Touma-
It was all fairly apparent. Noin had been doing research on some guy, J, and she's found his current location. She must have been in quite the hurry because she left the computer on and didn't bother to erase what she was looking for.
Touma didn’t know exactly what the person had done, but whatever it was didn't look good. There was nothing illegal listed on any of the records or files that Noin's found, but there was quite a bit of suspicious behavior. Lots of money being thrown around and no reasons being given for all the spending. The man was constantly moving around, going from colony to colony and then, finally, down to Earth.
"Who is this guy?" Touma wondered aloud. He flipped from page to page on the screen, looking for information and ended up at the first one he'd found, the one that told where this J was living. Touma looked at Seiji over his shoulder, from whom Touma could feel a barely contained fear and anger. "Who is this, Seiji? Do you know him?"
Seiji was staring at the photo of J that was posted on the screen. "She went after him." He said shortly. "We have to find her, now."
"I'm glad we agree, Seiji."
Again, everyone turned at the sudden new voice. It was a man Touma recognized immediately. He'd seen this man at Treize's party, the same party that seemed to have started all this madness. It would have been hard to forget someone him. The man had long white hair and wore a silver bird mask that covered all of his face but his mouth. He was dressed very well and looked calm, despite the fact that Naaza was holding the man's arm tightly behind his back at what looked like a painful angle.
"Zechs," Seiji stepped forward and no one stopped him. It's his sister and his home, so it's his responsibility. "Where is my sister?" His normally flat tone was starting to break, and Touma noticed just then that Seiji's hands were balled into fists.
Yes, it would be Zechs who might know. Touma remembered seeing Noin and Zechs standing very closely together at the party and relayed this image to the others. Seiji held his ground, but everyone was anxious to hear what Zechs would say.
"I really don't know. I came here to find her, but I just got here. If you don't know where she is, then we have a problem. She sent a message to Treize earlier, but we didn't know until just a little while ago." Zechs sort of turned to look at Naaza from out of the corner of his eye, if he could see out of that thing, and said, "Do you mind? That's rather uncomfortable."
Naaza just twisted the man's arm harder, but, if it hurt him, Zechs didn't react. Even without his yoroi, Naaza was a very strong man and, Touma thought, quite insane. His actions after the battle proved that Naaza couldn't be trusted.
"Naaza." Rajura ordered in a soft voice. There was stillness for a horrible moment as everyone was waiting to see how Naaza would react to the gentle order. If it were anything like how he'd reacted to the last order from Rajura, they'd be lucky to get Zechs away from him alive.
Naaza glared for a minute, but he let Zechs go before sulking away into a corner.
Touma was still angry with Naaza for hurting Shin. Granted, it had been an accident and he'd healed almost immediately afterwards, but Shin was so small... so fragile. Just because he was upset that Sh'ten had died...
DON'T BE SO HARSH.
Touma glanced away from Zechs, who was now rubbing his arm, and at Shin. For his part, Shin didn't look like he'd been hurt at all. There wasn't a mark on him at all. HE HURT YOU. Touma replied easily. I DON'T LIKE IT WHEN YOU GET HURT.
Shin sat on Touma's lap as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do, and put his arms around Touma's neck. IF I'D BEEN KILLED INSTEAD OF SH'TEN. WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Touma's mind blanked. Shin... dead? The thought was so inconceivable that Touma honestly started shaking just thinking about it. Dead? No. That wasn't going to happen. They were going to be together forever.
YOU DON'T KNOW THAT. Shin hugged Touma closer. NAAZA THOUGHT HE AND SH'TEN WOULD BE TOGETHER FOREVER, TOO. JUST GIVE HIM A LITTLE SYMPATHY. I'M NOT HURT, SO DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT. HE NEEDS TIME.
Xiu slapped a heavy hand down on Shin's head. SAY WHAT YOU LIKE, BUT IF HE HURTS YOU AGAIN, I'LL KILL HIM.
Shin laughed at this, mentally, but replied, HE WON'T HURT ME AGAIN.
HOW DO YOU KNOW? Touma asked, taking a quick look at Naaza, now glaring out a window at the dawn. HE'S NOT TO STABLE. Unfortunately, they'd all forgotten that Ryou could hear them.
Ryou turned furiously on Touma, nearly shouted, MY BROTHER ISN'T CRAZY! In their connected minds, Ryou's anger at them was blazing. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS LIKE! HOW DARE YOU SAY THINGS LIKE THAT ABOUT HIM, YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HIM!
Xiu subtly moved in front of Touma, not threatening, but enough that he could guard Touma and Shin. Unfortunately, this made Ryou focus on Xiu.
AND DON'T YOU EVER THREATEN MY BROTHER AGAIN, XIU! I DON'T CARE HOW MUCH WE'RE CONNECTED OR WHATEVER THIS THING BETWEEN US IS, HE'S MY FAMILY! Ryou stood completely still, afraid that if he moved at all he wouldn't be able to stop himself.
Seiji broke away from his conversation with Zechs when he realized how furious Ryou was. Taking a step closer, Seiji whispered something to Ryou. Touma didn't know what was being said, but whatever it was calmed Ryou immensely. 'I wish I could do that.' Touma thought, envious of how easily Seiji could shield his mind from the others.
Ryou slowly backed away until he was next to Naaza at the wall, and Touma felt panic when Naaza raised a hand to Ryou. Ryou trustingly moved closer until Naaza's arm wrapped around Ryou in a one armed hug and Touma felt his heart start to beat again. 'Thank goodness.'
While Ryou seemed a bit more than a little hot tempered, Touma knew he'd hate to have anything happen to the little firebug. Touma was absolutely sure that he'd have hated Ryou if they'd met under different circumstances. If there had never been any yoroi or magical link between them, Touma would never had thought twice about Ryou. As things were, as irritating and as hot-tempered as Ryou was, Touma loved him almost as much as he loved Xiu and Shin.
Love?
Touma hugged Shin closer. He'd known Shin for a little while before falling in love with him, and Xiu for more than a year before he realized he loved him. Ryou, though? Touma shook his head, trying to clear it. Maybe all these battles were making him loose his mind just like Naaza.
Still, watching Ryou with his head pressed up against Naaza's shoulder... Ryou with such a wild look to him and wonderfully bronze skin...
OF COURSE YOU LOVE HIM. SO DO I.
Touma looked up in surprise at Xiu, who was smirking down at him. WHAT? Touma blushed dark red.
I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYTHING TO WORRY ABOUT. I'VE BEEN TALKING WITH RAJURA FOR THE LONGEST TIME, AND I THINK WE'RE GOING TO END UP LIKE HIM AND HIS BROTHERS. WE'RE KIND OF THE SAME, YOU KNOW? Xiu send a look at Seiji. HE'S HAVING THAT KIND OF EFFECT ON ME, TOO. I JUST LOVE THAT TALL, LEAN LOOK HE'S GOT. Xiu seemed to be accepting this better than any of them, taking it all very casually.
I HOPE THIS DOESN'T GET CONFUSING. Shin said, looking between Ryou and Seiji. ARE WE GOING TO SHARE EACH OTHER, OR WHAT?
Touma almost fainted at that thought as it drifted across his mind creating several X-rated images. Share?
Seiji-
RYOU, DON'T GET SO UPSET. Ryou looked at Seiji with that wonderful fire in his eyes. SHOW THEM. THEY DON'T KNOW NAAZA LIKE YOU DO, EVEN IF YOU TOLD THEM HE WAS THE MOST WONDERFUL PERSON IN THE UNIVERSE, THEY WOULDN'T BELIEVE YOU BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY SAW HIM DO. SHOW THEM YOU TRUST HIM.
Ryou didn't say anything, but reined in his anger, went over to Naaza and hugged his brother. There was no doubt in him at all and the others understood. They made such a cute group, Xiu, Touma, and Shin. All together like that with Shin on Touma's lap and Xiu standing slightly to the side. They're talking, but it wasn’t Seiji’s business, so he shut his mind to them and turn back to the main crisis.
"Zechs, do you have any idea where Luc might have gone. The only clue we have is what was left on her computer." Seiji motioned for Zechs to take a look at what Touma had uncovered.
Zechs examined the screen for a minute. "You know him, don't you?" Zechs didn't bother looking at Seiji, but everyone else did.
SEIJI, Shin said, looking at me with a confused expression. HOW WOULD YOU KNOW THAT GUY?
"I do." Seiji didn't bother to answer Shin. He would tell them later, in private. For right now, he doesn't need to know. It was bad enough that Ryou had seen the face on the computer.
"Noin was looking for the man who did this to you." Zechs said when Seiji didn't elaborate on my answer. He briefly looked up and gestured to the hidden side of Seiji’s face and, for once, Seiji felt a flash of fear. He was hoping that it wasn't true. "She said she was going to catch him if it was the last thing she ever did." Zechs paused, and picked up a large stack of papers next to Luc's computers. "It would seem that she's found him."
‘She... she found him?’
"I think it would be best if we went back to Trieze and had him analyze this information. With luck, we'll be able to find out what Noin found. She must have found an address, but she didn't write it down." Zechs started to flip through the papers. "There must be something in here that will lead us to where she's gone to."
‘Gone? No, she can't be gone. I only just found her. Luc wouldn't leave me; she loves me.’ Seiji swallowed hard, trying to remember his training to keep himself in control, but it didn't seem to be working. He felt like the lost child he'd been when he’d been taken from his family.
"It'll be okay." Seiji saw all his friends looking at him with concern, and it was Shin's who'd spoken and put a hand on his arm. "We'll find her."
A short while later-
By the time they’d reached Treize's house, the sun had long since risen, a fact that the Ma-Sho were taking delight in, except for Naaza who still seemed dazed. Both Rajura and Anubisu had once told them that the Youja Kai never changed. It was always twilight there and seasons were unheard of. So the simple pleasure of a sunrise was almost a miracle after so long.
They ran, as Zechs' car wasn't nearly big enough to fit all of them, with Zechs driving and leading the way. He'd been doubtful that they’d be able to keep up with the car, but Rajura had calmly assured him that he'd better drive fast if he didn't want to slow them down.
Wufei-
Quatre’s Home-
"I'll take the first shift." Trowa offered and Wufei accepted.
He lay down on Quatre's large bed. It was decided that they would take turns waiting for Quatre to either come back or call. They had one phone in the bedroom and there was one down stairs. Between them and the huge staff that seemed to work there, someone should get a message from Quatre relatively soon. Better yet, he'd just come back.
Quatre's bed was very soft, almost too soft. Wufei thought that he’d become too used to the bed he used at Auntie Fan's house. It was stiffer, almost hard, and such softness just didn't feel right. "Wake me if there's any news."
Trowa simply nodded and sat in the chair next to the bed. His eyes closed, but Wufei could tell from the way he was breathing that Trowa wasn’t going to sleep. Trowa was a guy after Wufei’s own heart. He wouldn't go to sleep until Wufei relieve him of duty.
Wufei knew he'd need rest in order to solve all these problems. If Quatre returned with bad news, Wufei may not be getting any rest for a long time. He still had to find Xiu. That thought reminded him of something important.
Wufei sat up again and picked up the phone. Trowa cracked open an eye, giving him a puzzled look, but said nothing. The dial tone rang for almost four minutes and Wufei had to admit that he was getting worried. 'There's no reason for her to leave home.' Funny how he’d started to think of the restaurant as his home instead of A026. The phone rang three more times. 'Where is she?'
Finally, Wufei gave up and hung up. ‘There's nothing wrong. She’s probably just fast asleep. Poor auntie deserves all the rest she can get. There's no reason to worry, she not in danger. I should just get some sleep and worry about this in a few hours.' Again, Wufei lay down on Quatre's bed, still worrying.
What if something HAD happen?
What if his auntie had been hurt?
What if Lai was sick and auntie had to take her to the hospital?
What if Quatre wasn't going to come back?
What if Doctor J figured out that they were on to him, then he might have set a trap and already killed Quatre. In fact, he might try to kill all of them and start with fresh subjects, someone who was as innocent and naïve as Wufei had been in the beginning.
What if Xiu was dead, and that's why he hadn't come home? Sure he's tough, but it was so unlike him to just run off. He might have been killed and they just hadn't found him, yet.
"Relax." Trowa told Wufei. "Nothing will be solved by denying yourself sleep."
Knowing that Trowas was right, Wufei closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was late and he didn't have the energy to think anymore. If he wanted to be any good to anyone, Wufei would just have to get some rest.
Meiran kicked and struck. She jumped and twisted. In a graceful dance, she worked her way through a kata in her family’s garden as Wufei watched. She was small, but the power of every move was breathtaking. He couldn’t concentrate on his book while she moved before him.
“I love you.” Wufei said, though his voice was barely a whisper.
Meiran kept moving. Another strike, another twist.
“I love you.”
She turned and spun, then rolled.
“Meiran? Can’t you hear me? I love you.”
"You idiot." Meiran turned to Wufei suddenly.
Wufei stepped closer to her and the world around them faded away into black nothingness.
She scowled, like she usually did when Wufei did something stupid. "When are you going to get over it?"
"Over it?" Wufei asked. "Over what?" He reached out to her, so happy to see her, but she moved further away without moving her feet. Wufei stepped closer, but she moved again.
"Stop it." She said, firmly. "You're going to hurt yourself."
What was she talking about? He only wanted to hold her. Was that so strange? "I've missed you. Why won't you come to me?"
"Because it'll only hurt when you wake up." Tears formed in her eyes, which she hastily wiped away. "This is a dream. It's not real and I'm not here. I'm dead. You have to let me go."
"No." Wufei shook his head stubbornly. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
He tried again to reach her, but she kept moving away. "I told you not to do that. Don’t you listen?" She snapped in irritation. "I'm dead. You're alive. I've moved on and now you have to, also."
It's not that simple! "I want to be with you, Meiran."
"Will my death be for nothing?!" She shouted suddenly. "I died for you, Wufei! I gave up everything so you could live on and do great things. Don't you dare throw all that away! Don't you dare!"
There was suddenly a red haired man standing with them, dressed in old Japanese clothes and watching them with mild interest. "Have you finished yelling at him, yet?"
"No, not yet." Meiran answered him calmly before turning back to Wufei. "I know you like that girl, Wufei." It wasn't an accusation, but still Wufei felt guilt stab his chest.
"Meiran... I... " He couldn't lie to her.
Meiran waved her hand. "Don't bother trying to lie. I know you can't do it. I'm not mad at you, fool! I'm happy you found someone good enough. Not as good as me, of course, but then, who is?" She stepped closer, still not letting Wufei touch her. "Nasutei is smart, beautiful, funny, and kind. You can't ask for more in a woman, no matter how picky you are." Her tone softened considerably. "Idiot. I want you to be happy more than anything else. She will make you happy. Don't throw her away just because you want to loyal to my memory."
"I love you." It was all he could say. He couldn’t deny what she’d said.
Meiran starts to grow faint. "I know. I love you, too, I always will. We just can't be together, now. She'll make you happy, and that will make me happy." Meiran turned to the red haired stranger. "I guess that's all I have to say. I don't feel so strong anymore. I think I have to leave."
"Where are you going?" Wufei asked.
She smiled at him. "I don't know. I guess I'll find out when I get there." Then, Meiran was gone and Wufei was alone with the stranger.
"What do you want?" Wufei asked angrily. He really don't want to talk to anyone, especially not figments of his imagination.
"Your aunt is at the Kushranada mansion with your friend, Nasutei." The red haired man said shortly, his tone very arrogant. "Go there, if you want to find that little blonde friend of yours."
Wufei stared at him. "How do you know about Quatre? What's my aunt doing at Kushranada's mansion?"
The man sniffed. "I'm dead. I know lots of things." He paused a minute. "I'd take your wife's advice, if I were you. She's very wise for her age." Then he started to walk away, not fade as Meiran had.
"Wait!" Wufei yelled. "Where are you going? Will you see Meiran?"
The stranger gave a short, bitter laugh. "No, I don't think I'm going where she's going. I have more business to see to now that I've finished with you. My own love needs a slap upside the head, that idiot. He's not taking my death well, I'm afraid, and I absolutely refuse to leave until I'm sure he's going to be all right. Besides," A wicked gleam sparkled in his eye for a minute and he smiled. "I have the feeling I'll be making one last appearance before my time is up. My brothers and you may need my help for one last pleasant task."
Wufei woke sharply when Trowa touched his arm.
Continued...
At the Yagiyu mansion-
Police Officer Xao didn't have to look away from the body on the floor. The old man hadn't been dead long since the death so there was no decomposition, yet, and he'd seen too many corpses to get upset by one dead old man. "A single shot to the back of the head," Xao told his partner.
"I don't understand. Why would anyone want to hurt Yagiyu-san?" Cong, the younger of the pair, asked while they began to search the room for any evidence they might have missed. "From what I’ve heard, he rarely left the property and was a nice guy. He gave to charity, raised his orphaned granddaughter... there was nothing wrong with him. He never did anything bad."
Xao smiled humorlessly. "You really don't know who he is? This is General Treize Kushranada's grandfather, on his mother's side. That orphaned girl is Kushranada’s sister." He shook his head. "I pity the officer who has to tell Kushranada."
Cong paled and shuddered. "This is bad. Very bad. Kushranada has a lot of enemies, even people inside the alliance. You think one of them..." He nodded toward the body just a few feet away.
"I'd say it's pretty obvious. His enemies couldn't get to him, so they got to the old man. The whole world knew Yagiyu-san didn't have anyone out here but himself and the girl, Nasutei. No servants or guards or anything, even the girl, I'm told, went off to visit Kushranada for a few weeks. He was a sitting duck out here." Xao peeked out a window, wishing that the coroner would get here soon so he could go home. The place was creepy, all in half shadows. "Good thing she wasn't here, the poor girl might have gotten killed, too."
"This brings up a very unpleasant thought, you know." Cong leaned against the doorframe. "If general Kushranada decides one of his enemies is behind this, either there will be a discreet assassination or we could see the biggest war the Earth has ever seen."
"Yeah. He doesn't strike me as the type to take this sort of thing laying down. It could have been one of the colonies, I guess. They never thought too highly of him and this would have been simple enough for any one of them." Xao paused and a thought hit. "I'll bet money it was A0206!"
"What?"
"You know, the one that was attacked by the OZ forces. I heard general Kushranada ordered the attack. It's only rumor, but it could be true. He's ruthless as a rattlesnake and they might have had something he wanted. An incredible Gundam, they're calling it Shen Long, saved the colony. I'll bet they were out for revenge. They attacked like cowards and kill a helpless old man."
Cong gave his partner a crooked grin. "How much you gonna bet?"
"Twenty bucks."
"Done." They both reached out and shook hands over the dead man's body. "If it was that colony, we'll be at war."
"So what? That miserable little place is a decrepit pile of garbage. General Kushranada will crush them in about a second after he sends The Lightening Count to destroy that Gundam."
"You think Zechs Marques can do it?"
"Without breaking a sweat, I'd say. He's the best soldier general Kushranada has and the best pilot ever. If anyone's going to fight for general Kushranada, it'll be Zechs. Who called this into the station, anyway? No one comes out here but his family, and they're all on the other side of the country."
"It was anonymous. Some girl just called the station and said we might want to come out here. If we could find her, this whole mystery might be solved. The old man can't have been dead more than an hour or so. She was probably the killer, for all we know."
A short distance away-
"That was well done."
"Thank you, Badamon. I do my best." The girl grinned easily and looked briefly into her rearview mirror at the house vanishing in the distance. The police hadn't even seen her parked in behind the hedges and by now they'd know all about the murder. "Not difficult, really. For all his intelligence, the old man just didn't see it coming."
"And you are certain this will get us the results we desire? The death of one ningen can not possibly cause the amount of negative energy that I require."
"It all depends on how well-loved that particular person was. One of the most powerful girls on this planet loved that old man and her brother will do anything that he sees fit to protect his family. Trust me. This will be the greatest war this world or yours has ever seen." She shivered delightfully with the thought of all the blood that would be spilled soon, just because of one man. "You’ll get your power and I will get the pleasure of watching it all." She began to laugh. "I've got Doctor J standing ready to release his weapons on the Earth, as well. He's made sure they’re ready to fight, but he tells me that he has a new weapon, something greater even that his other creations. Some sort of program."
"These weapons are effective?"
"Doctor J has sent me the occasional updates as they are trained over the years. I saw Chang at a social event, once, and he most definitely had death in his eyes, he's a born killer. I saw Heero, once, while he was training, but Doctor J was always possessive of that one and kept him well hidden. Quatre, I'm actually related to. He's a cousin of mine and I understand this new weapon was designed specifically for him to use. I find it hard to believe Doctor J has created something greater than the original weapons, but I do look forward to seeing it."
She was alone in the car, but the voice spoke clearly in her mind. He was a long time... well, not friend. Ally might be a more appropriate word. For a long while the demon priest had been helping her in her plans, and she knew full well that he was gaining power in his own world as a result of her work on Earth. She knew that he was a demon and had even seen him occasionally, though this time he didn't seem to want to appear. Badamon was powerful and just what she needed to bring Treize to his knees.
'Yes,' She thought to herself. 'In a blaze of glory and a hail of bullets, Treize will fall and I... I will watch the destruction.'
"Can you trust this Doctor J?" Badamon asked.
"No. Not really, but he is a genius. I pay him well enough that he will deliver the goods. There was a moment that I worried I would have to have him killed. He was going to desert me in favor of Une. Fortunately, Nasutei seems to be more ruthless than I'd believed. She killed Une for me and now Doctor J has no one with more money to tempt him away from me."
"You'll kill him once the weapons are activated, I suppose."
"Oh, yes. Of course. He's too independent to allow to him to live."
"And what of the weapons?"
"I want to keep them. Just in case I need them to control order after the war. Yes, they'll be very loyal tools."
The demon's voice in her mind laughed. "You are truly ningen after my own heart, Dorothy."
Youja-Kai-
Rajura-
Still standing on the top of Kenbukyou’s newly formed castle Rajura took a last look over the wall, down to the masses of warriors below and the glorious landscape beyond. The warriors were cheering for their emperor, Kenbukyou. Kenbukyou really did look like an emperor. He was calm and strong, with his arms crossed over his chest and cloak waving in the gusting wind. The demon lord looked down on his cheering people silently. Unlike Arago, who kept himself hidden away, Kenbukyou was apparently planning to keep himself in full view of his people.
Rajura wouldn’t miss the Youja Kai. He’d had enough of it to last the rest of his life. He sighed, straightened his back, then turned to walk back to his family. They were all clustered together far from the edge where Kenbukyou stood.
"Let's leave now." Rajura said. The youngsters had all recovered completely, save for occasional scrapes and bruises, and even Ryou was now able to stand on his own though he was still visibly shaken. Ryou kept staring at his feet and sat on the ground with his knees drawn up to his chest and one arm around Seiji. "Ryou, are you feeling all right?" He looked Ryou up and down, but couldn't see anything physically wrong.
"Sure." Ryou answered. "It was kind of weird to have that... whatever it was in control, but it's gone now. Right?" Ryou looked at Rajura imploringly, as if he would have all the answers.
Rajura swallowed hard at the look Ryou gave him. 'I'm not that powerful, I don't know everything.' It hurt to think that Ryou trusted him so much, but Rajura knew his little brother was depending on him. Without Sh'ten, Rajura was sure they would never see Kikoutei again, so he had no hesitation in reassuring Ryou. "You're probably right. What was it like?"
Ryou leaned into Seiji and turned a bit paler before wrapping his arm around his silent friend a bit tighter. "I don't know how to tell you. It was like having everyone inside me and that thing just sort of...exploded in my head. It felt like my brain was being squeezed for a minute, but then it just felt good. Very, very good." Ryou wouldn't look at him anymore and scowled at his lap.
"It's all right." Rajura patted Ryou's shaggy hair. "Don't think about it so hard." He didn't like how Ryou was taking this. Then again, Rajura supposed that he wouldn't like having another creature taking over his mind and body.
'I'll have to uncover this mystery.' Rajura had never been more shocked than when he'd looked at Ryou near the end of the battle and saw the boy in his father's yoroi, the white Kikoutei. The last time he'd seen that yoroi was when that damned monk had stolen it, just before Rajura had been called to Arago's services.
"Ryou's going to be all right, isn't he?" Xiu asked. "That thing won't hurt him, will it?"
Rajura could only shrug, thinking how the five youngsters looked even younger now. Covered in ash and blood and dirt, they looked like the children they were instead of warriors they would one day be. "I don't really know. The only thing we can do is wait and see, I'm afraid. It time to go home, boys." Fifteen years old, they were only fifteen. When Rajura had been human, fifteen years old had been adult. These boys didn’t look like adults, though. They looked tired and frightened. Fifteen was just a heartbeat in Rajura's long lifetime.
"Yeah. My mama will be worried sick. I never even told her I was leaving." This thought seemed to make Xiu even more depressed and he rubbed the back of his neck, absently. "I wonder how she and Lai are. Wufei's going to kill me when I get home, though. He’ll skin me alive."
Seiji said nothing, but he was thinking heavily and stayed near Ryou.
Shin had his arms at his sides and moved close enough to the edge that he could look down at the Youja Kai people still cheering for Kenbukyou. "I need to contact my sister. Cathy's going to be so worried, I've never been away from her for so long without calling. She and Trowa will need help with the act."
Touma looked into the sky. "I'll have to go back and apologize to Quatre. He doesn't like it when I just disappear like this, and after he was so badly hurt, too. I hope he's all right. I have to get back to school, too. I can't let my grades slip anymore."
Children. They were children who had no business in war. Time to take them home.
Ryou looked at Rajura, worried. "Where are we going to live now?"
Ah, now that's the big question. Anubisu looked up at Rajura, too, but stayed near Naaza who was still deep asleep. WE CAN'T STAY HERE. I'M NOT GOING TO WORK FOR ANOTHER DEMON EMPEROR, I DON'T CARE HOW MUCH BETTER HE IS THAN ARAGO. I DON'T WANT TO TAKE THE CHANCE.
YOU SUGGEST THE NINGEN SEKAI? HOW CAN WE LIVE THERE? Rajura gave Anubisu a disbelieving look. The thought that they'd one day live among mortals had never crossed his mind, in all honesty. He’d given all the idea of living with humans long ago. While not impossible, it would be difficult considering that they had no idea how the human world worked anymore or how to survive there without the benefit of a lord to serve.
Anubisu got a slightly offended look on his face. WE CAN DO ANYTHING! I'M CERTAINLY NOT GOING TO LET A BUNCH OF MORTALS INTIMIDATE ME!
TRUE. Rajura agreed. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BE NEAR THE BOYS, TOO. THEY'RE STILL ALL SO YOUNG, THEY NEED TRAINING, AND I DOUBT WE COULD CONVINCE THEM TO LIVE HERE WITH US. Rajura gave Naaza a thoughtful look he stared into empty space, his face expressionless. How strange to think that Naaza was now the baby of the family. NAAZA?
But Naaza was still deep in the illusion Rajura had created, the garden they used to share private time in and where they'd left Sh'ten's body. Naaza didn't answer, didn't even make any effort to come back to them. His mind was completely submerged in the illusion, but the part of his mind that Rajura could touch was growing foggy and distant.
HE'S LOSING HIMSELF. Rajura told Anubisu, alarmed. I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN BRING HIM BACK.
Anubisu picked up Naaza's smaller body with a worried expression on his face. WE HAVE TO GET HIM OUT OF HERE! I CAN’T LOSE HIM, TOO. Anubisu tried to reach into Naaza's mind, but like Rajura, he could only see parts of Naaza. HE DOESN'T WANT TO COME BACK TO US. Anubisu felt like his heart was breaking.
A tremble of fear ran through both Rajura and Anubisu. DO YOU SUPPOSE SH'TEN WAS RIGHT ABOUT WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF ONE OF US DIED?
Sh'ten had once theorized that each of the Ma-Sho occupied a place in the other's minds. If one space was left vacant, it was like a void and whoever was closest to that void would be pulled in. If one was pulled in, that would only leave a greater void that would, inevitably pull in the other two. Basically, if one died, they'd all be lost.
WE’RE ALIVE NOW. HE WAS WRONG. Rajura said, determinedly. He’d never been so happy to have Sh’ten be wrong. WE'LL GET HIM AWAY FROM THIS PLACE. I'LL FORCE HIM OUT, IF I HAVE TO. Rajura gestured to all the boys to come closer. "We're going back to the Ningen Sekai. We'll find Kay and then return you all to your families, if that's what you want."
"Is Kenbukyou coming with us?" Touma asked, casting a look at the new emperor. "He said he wanted Kay for something, didn't he?"
Rajura shook his head. "He can come on his own. The gateway is all ready opened and we don't have anything here that we need. Our debt to him is paid and we owe him nothing. We may as well go." Rajura looked at Naaza. This wasn't going to be easy. Closing his eyes, Rajura found the illusion he'd created and he saw Naaza sitting next to Sh'ten under the tree with lavender leaves. Naaza looked like he was almost dead, except for the slow breaths he was taking.
NAAZA, IT'S TIME TO GO. YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP NOW.
Naaza didn't answer. Rajura felt his little brother pushing his mind away the closer Rajura tried to get.
WAKE UP. THE CHILDREN ARE WAITING FOR US. WE'RE GOING TO THE NINGEN SEKAI AND IT'LL BE A LOT EASIER IF WE DON'T HAVE TO CARRY YOU.
Again, Naaza didn't answer and still tried to push Rajura's mind away.
Rajura sighed. He'd hoped it wouldn't come to this, but if he had to... NAAZA, I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME. BRACE YOURSELF, I'M GOING TO SHATTER THE ILLUSION, WHETHER YOU WANT TO COME OUT OR NOT. Rajura did it quickly, severing Naaza's connection with the illusion, bringing Naaza out of the almost comatose state he'd been in.
Naaza woke with a painful gasp, like someone who'd been underwater for far to long getting their first taste of fresh air. Unfortunately, Naaza wasn't very happy to find himself awake and his large eyes focused on Rajura.
"Let me go back!" He yelled at Rajura.
Rajura couldn't meet Naaza's eyes and turned slightly to the side, rather than look at him. "We have to go now."
"I'm not leaving him." Naaza's face twisted in a terrible grimace and his fists clenched at his sides. "I've all ready had to lose him twice, I want to stay with him now." His tongue was sliding in and out of his mouth on almost every word and Rajura was suddenly reminded that though Naaza was his dear little brother, he was also a very formidable warrior and a very deadly person.
"He's not there, Naaza." Rajura tried to make his voice as gentle as possible. "It's only his body. Sh'ten has moved on."
"We have to get Kay and make sure she's all right." Anubisu added in. "She was hurt when we send her off with Kokuen-Oh. We might need you to heal her."
Naaza was too clever to fall for that one. "Seiji has healing talents, and he won‘t cause her pain with his healing. You don't need me. Let me stay here!" Naaza jerked away from Anubisu, landing easily on his feet. He paid no attention to the children, but focused on Rajura and Anubisu.
I WON'T LET YOU TAKE ME AWAY FROM HIM! Naaza cried at them, while Anubisu and Rajura started to close in on him. If they had to, they were willing to drag him kicking and screaming with them through the open gateway. I CAN'T LOSE HIM AGAIN! Naaza opened his mouth and his fangs showed, all ready dripping with venom and the light sheen of greenish liquid on his yoroi told Rajura that they were in trouble. That liquid was poison leaking from Naaza's body, natural poisons, that made their way through his yoroi.
"He's gone." Anubisu whispered soothingly, while wisely keeping a safe distance. "He wasn't really alive, it was just the yoroi, 'Za-chan. The yoroi came back to fight with us and it used his body."
Naaza struck out, attacking Anubisu, while screaming, "Don't call me that! Only Sh'ten calls me that!" Anubisu struggled for a moment, but wasn't able to hold the maddened Naaza off.
"Get off me!" Anubisu ordered.
Naaza leaned down and drops of venom, like sweat, dropped off his face and onto Anubisu. Anubisu cried out, "'Jura!" when drops of the venom splattered on his face. They could all hear a soft hissing as it ate at the yoroi where their two bodies touched. Naaza wrapped his hands around Anubisu's throat, throwing them both to the ground.
They tumbled on the ground for a moment, and all the children jumped out of the way to avoid being caught in the fight. "You still have Rajura!" They stopped rolling with Naaza on top of Anubisu, holding him down easily. "I heard you thinking of that woman, too!" Venom dripped down and landed on Anubisu's unprotected cheek.
Rajura, who'd seemed stunned by Naaza's savage attack, leaped into the fray. He grabbed Naaza by the hair and pulled him roughly off Anubisu before throwing him away from everyone. "What the Hell do you think you're doing?!" Rajura demanded, glaring at Naaza. The children were all staring and tense, ready to defend themselves, but still not entirely sure what was going on. "We're family, how can you do this?"
Naaza slowly rose to his feet and spoke with hate in his voice, turning his gaze from Rajura to Anubisu and then back again. "I heard you thinking about that woman, Noin. I’ve seen what you're thinking and feeling. You want her as much as Anubisu does, you're going to invite her into our family. You're going to replace Sh'ten with a ningen, a damned ningen woman!" Naaza launched himself at Rajura, his fangs fully bared and his eyes wild.
Naaza never connected with Rajura.
Shin had stepped out in front of Rajura and caught Naaza. Shin stumbled backwards slightly, but used his arms to pin Naaza's arms to his side. Naaza spit venom at Shin and Shin screamed when it hit his face, but didn't let go of Naaza. Shin's eyes rolled up into his head and he went limp almost instantly, falling into Naaza's arms.
It happened to fast for the other boys to help Shin. They watched in horror, afraid that they'd also lose one of their number.
Everyone froze, including Naaza. "Oh, no." Naaza held onto Shin and lowered the boy's body gently to the floor. Reality seemed to set in when he realized what he'd done. "I didn't mean it." Shin woke almost as quickly as he'd fallen and looked up at Naaza with misty eyes. "I didn't mean it." Naaza told him weakly.
"We have to go." Shin whispered. "I don't want to leave you behind. Please, don't leave us."
Naaza started to cry. "I can't leave him. He's everything to me."
"Does that mean that the others are nothing? Rajura? Naaza? Is Kay nothing to you?” Shin asked.
Naaza didn't answer Shin's question and didn't move when Xiu and Touma, each giving Naaza very filthy looks, came forward to take Shin back to Seiji. Shin seemed to be fighting off Naaza's venom remarkably fast, but Seiji's power would make him well in no time. DON'T MAKE ME LEAVE HIM. Naaza sobbed. PLEASE, DON'T MAKE ME LEAVE HIM.
WE HAVE TO GET KAY. Rajura repeated. SHE NEEDS US.
Naaza took a deep breath, stood up, and went to Anubisu. He took Anubisu's head in his hands and leaned forward. I'M SORRY. Anubisu held still as Naaza stepped in close enough that their chests were touching, and kissed the cheek that he'd burned. Anubisu closed his eyes while Naaza kissed his cheek; when Naaza pulled away, Anubisu was healed. There was only a faint trace of burns left from Naaza's healing. If nothing else, Naaza seemed more stable, but just as bleak. "Then let's go."
ARE WE GOING TO LOSE HIM? Anubisu asked quietly.
I HOPE NOT. Rajura replied. I HOPE NOT.
The others walked through the gateway Kenbukyou opened for them and Rajura was the last through. One last look behind him, at the world that had been his home for so many years, and his eyes landed on Kenbukyou. The new emperor was staring at him, or at least that's what Rajura thought with the demon's helmet and mask on.
"We will see each other again, Gen."
Rajura turned and walked away.
Ningen Sekai-
Seiji's home was empty when they arrived. Touma was the first one to speak. "Sei-chan, do you have a phone?"
Seiji pointed to a phone that hung on the wall where Touma immediately went and started dialing, muttering that he had to get a hold of Quatre and see how he was doing. The conversation apparently wasn't what he was expecting. "Rashid? Sorry I've been gone so long. What? No, I'm fine. I thought Quatre would have told you...no, I haven't heard from him." A pause when Touma's eyes got REAL big. "What do you mean he's missing?!" Touma spluttered incoherently for a minute before stopping abruptly. "Wufei? Trowa? What the Hell is going on?"
That instantly got the attention of Xiu and Shin.
Meanwhile, Anubisu looked around and muttered, "Where are the cats? I told Kokuen-Oh to come back to Byakuen." Anubisu frowned as he stretched out his mind to reach the creatures he was so close to. "Kokuen-Oh is trying to keep Byakuen calm, but Byakuen isn't very happy." They'd all expected Noin and the two cats, along with Heero, Duo, and Kay, to be at the house waiting for them. But the house was still and absolutely silent.
"Where is everyone?" Ryou asked as everyone took off their yoroi. Ryou was still shaky from the battle, but so worried about Duo that he started looking around. Naaza slunk away without a word to anyone, clearly not wanting to talk.
Touma hung up the phone slowly with a shocked expression on his face and turned to face Xiu and Shin. "I leave him alone for a little while and he gets himself kidnapped, again!"
"Are you sure he was kidnapped?" Shin asked.
"Of course he was." Touma replied certainly. "He's not the type to just vanish. No one knows where he is and he hasn't called Rashid. Your cousin, Wufei," He looked at Xiu and then at Shin. "And your friend, Trowa, just ran out of my house and sped away on Wufei's motorcycle. Rashid has no clue about what's going on and he's not very happy with anyone at the moment."
"Well," Shin said reasonably. "One problem at a time, eh? We're here, so we'll find Seiji's sister first. Then we go look for Quatre, since he was injured. Wufei and Trowa were healthy and they left the house by their own choice, so we probably don't have to worry so much about them." He didn't look as confidant as he sounded, though.
Through all of it, Seiji was standing with his arms crossed and glaring at Rajura.
Rajura tried very hard to ignore Seiji, but that glare was quite penetrating. "Yes?" He finally said, irritably. The day was going downhill rather quickly.
Seiji looked at Anubisu briefly, then back at Rajura. "Are you going to have sex with my sister?"
Rajura, a very old fashioned gentleman, blushed to the roots of his hair and almost fainted. "W-what?!"
"You are thinking about my sister, aren't you? That's what Naaza said. Exactly what are you thinking?" His lavender eye narrowed.
Rajura really hadn't thought about how Seiji would take this. "Well... you see... Anubisu and I... " Damn, he still hadn't decided what to do about all this, what was he supposed to tell Seiji?
"Do you want sex with my sister?" Seiji repeated, his tone deadly serious.
"Don't you have any tack?!" Rajura snapped. The world surely hadn't changed so much in the past few hundred years that children went about openly talking about such things, had it?
"No." Seiji answered flatly.
"If you must know," Anubisu started to say, but stopped when Rajura kicked him in the shin. Anubisu rethought what he was going to say. "We will talk about this when we find Noin." He stepped passed Seiji without another word. HE'S GOING TO FIND OUT, YOU KNOW.
WE'LL BURN THAT BRIDGE WHEN WE COME TO IT.
Seiji-
Seiji was prowling the house, his expression growing more and more dangerous when he found no sign of his sister. 'I only just found her, I will NOT lose her again!' Still, the place was empty and Luc was not the sort of person who just went out without word to anyone. Seiji knew for a fact that this was not a work day for her. 'I'm not sure I even want Rajura and Anubisu to find her, though.' Seiji was having mixed emotions about those two. He found them both excellent warriors and good people, from what he knew, but still... he found the thought of them with his beloved sister just a little bit disturbing.
Touma caught up with Seiji outside the bathroom. "I can't find anything!" Touma said, annoyed. "You don't have to worry about your sister with those two. I get the feeling that she can take care of herself." Seiji gave Touma a cold look that plainly said he didn't want to talk about it. "Where would she have gone?" Touma asked, wisely changing the subject. "Does she have any friends she'd go to visit?"
Seiji didn't have to think long before saying, "Zechs and Treize."
Touma's eyes widened. "So that's why you two were at Trieze's party that night." He realized, apparently thinking back to the night when he'd first met Seiji and Ryou. "She might have gone over to one of their houses."
So it was agreed. They'd all have another search through the house, just in case they'd missed anything the first time, and then head over to Treize's house. No one found anything, until Ryou shouted, "Hey, come here!"
It sounded like a stampede of demon steed when everyone raced from where they were to find Ryou standing in front of Noin's computer. The only person who didn't come running at Ryou's call was Naaza, but no one had really expected him to. Not with what he was saying about Noin back at Kenbukyou's castle.
'They can't have her!' Seiji glowered. 'I just got her, I won't let anyone take her away from me.'
"What is all this?" Ryou pointed to the computer screen where a ball was bouncing aimlessly on the black background. Seiji, who'd been thoroughly trained in the most high tech computer studies, could have worked the computer easily, but it was Touma who took command.
Touma didn't say a word as he sat at the computer and started tapping away at the keyboard, knowing exactly what he was doing.
Touma-
It was all fairly apparent. Noin had been doing research on some guy, J, and she's found his current location. She must have been in quite the hurry because she left the computer on and didn't bother to erase what she was looking for.
Touma didn’t know exactly what the person had done, but whatever it was didn't look good. There was nothing illegal listed on any of the records or files that Noin's found, but there was quite a bit of suspicious behavior. Lots of money being thrown around and no reasons being given for all the spending. The man was constantly moving around, going from colony to colony and then, finally, down to Earth.
"Who is this guy?" Touma wondered aloud. He flipped from page to page on the screen, looking for information and ended up at the first one he'd found, the one that told where this J was living. Touma looked at Seiji over his shoulder, from whom Touma could feel a barely contained fear and anger. "Who is this, Seiji? Do you know him?"
Seiji was staring at the photo of J that was posted on the screen. "She went after him." He said shortly. "We have to find her, now."
"I'm glad we agree, Seiji."
Again, everyone turned at the sudden new voice. It was a man Touma recognized immediately. He'd seen this man at Treize's party, the same party that seemed to have started all this madness. It would have been hard to forget someone him. The man had long white hair and wore a silver bird mask that covered all of his face but his mouth. He was dressed very well and looked calm, despite the fact that Naaza was holding the man's arm tightly behind his back at what looked like a painful angle.
"Zechs," Seiji stepped forward and no one stopped him. It's his sister and his home, so it's his responsibility. "Where is my sister?" His normally flat tone was starting to break, and Touma noticed just then that Seiji's hands were balled into fists.
Yes, it would be Zechs who might know. Touma remembered seeing Noin and Zechs standing very closely together at the party and relayed this image to the others. Seiji held his ground, but everyone was anxious to hear what Zechs would say.
"I really don't know. I came here to find her, but I just got here. If you don't know where she is, then we have a problem. She sent a message to Treize earlier, but we didn't know until just a little while ago." Zechs sort of turned to look at Naaza from out of the corner of his eye, if he could see out of that thing, and said, "Do you mind? That's rather uncomfortable."
Naaza just twisted the man's arm harder, but, if it hurt him, Zechs didn't react. Even without his yoroi, Naaza was a very strong man and, Touma thought, quite insane. His actions after the battle proved that Naaza couldn't be trusted.
"Naaza." Rajura ordered in a soft voice. There was stillness for a horrible moment as everyone was waiting to see how Naaza would react to the gentle order. If it were anything like how he'd reacted to the last order from Rajura, they'd be lucky to get Zechs away from him alive.
Naaza glared for a minute, but he let Zechs go before sulking away into a corner.
Touma was still angry with Naaza for hurting Shin. Granted, it had been an accident and he'd healed almost immediately afterwards, but Shin was so small... so fragile. Just because he was upset that Sh'ten had died...
DON'T BE SO HARSH.
Touma glanced away from Zechs, who was now rubbing his arm, and at Shin. For his part, Shin didn't look like he'd been hurt at all. There wasn't a mark on him at all. HE HURT YOU. Touma replied easily. I DON'T LIKE IT WHEN YOU GET HURT.
Shin sat on Touma's lap as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do, and put his arms around Touma's neck. IF I'D BEEN KILLED INSTEAD OF SH'TEN. WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Touma's mind blanked. Shin... dead? The thought was so inconceivable that Touma honestly started shaking just thinking about it. Dead? No. That wasn't going to happen. They were going to be together forever.
YOU DON'T KNOW THAT. Shin hugged Touma closer. NAAZA THOUGHT HE AND SH'TEN WOULD BE TOGETHER FOREVER, TOO. JUST GIVE HIM A LITTLE SYMPATHY. I'M NOT HURT, SO DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT. HE NEEDS TIME.
Xiu slapped a heavy hand down on Shin's head. SAY WHAT YOU LIKE, BUT IF HE HURTS YOU AGAIN, I'LL KILL HIM.
Shin laughed at this, mentally, but replied, HE WON'T HURT ME AGAIN.
HOW DO YOU KNOW? Touma asked, taking a quick look at Naaza, now glaring out a window at the dawn. HE'S NOT TO STABLE. Unfortunately, they'd all forgotten that Ryou could hear them.
Ryou turned furiously on Touma, nearly shouted, MY BROTHER ISN'T CRAZY! In their connected minds, Ryou's anger at them was blazing. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS LIKE! HOW DARE YOU SAY THINGS LIKE THAT ABOUT HIM, YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HIM!
Xiu subtly moved in front of Touma, not threatening, but enough that he could guard Touma and Shin. Unfortunately, this made Ryou focus on Xiu.
AND DON'T YOU EVER THREATEN MY BROTHER AGAIN, XIU! I DON'T CARE HOW MUCH WE'RE CONNECTED OR WHATEVER THIS THING BETWEEN US IS, HE'S MY FAMILY! Ryou stood completely still, afraid that if he moved at all he wouldn't be able to stop himself.
Seiji broke away from his conversation with Zechs when he realized how furious Ryou was. Taking a step closer, Seiji whispered something to Ryou. Touma didn't know what was being said, but whatever it was calmed Ryou immensely. 'I wish I could do that.' Touma thought, envious of how easily Seiji could shield his mind from the others.
Ryou slowly backed away until he was next to Naaza at the wall, and Touma felt panic when Naaza raised a hand to Ryou. Ryou trustingly moved closer until Naaza's arm wrapped around Ryou in a one armed hug and Touma felt his heart start to beat again. 'Thank goodness.'
While Ryou seemed a bit more than a little hot tempered, Touma knew he'd hate to have anything happen to the little firebug. Touma was absolutely sure that he'd have hated Ryou if they'd met under different circumstances. If there had never been any yoroi or magical link between them, Touma would never had thought twice about Ryou. As things were, as irritating and as hot-tempered as Ryou was, Touma loved him almost as much as he loved Xiu and Shin.
Love?
Touma hugged Shin closer. He'd known Shin for a little while before falling in love with him, and Xiu for more than a year before he realized he loved him. Ryou, though? Touma shook his head, trying to clear it. Maybe all these battles were making him loose his mind just like Naaza.
Still, watching Ryou with his head pressed up against Naaza's shoulder... Ryou with such a wild look to him and wonderfully bronze skin...
OF COURSE YOU LOVE HIM. SO DO I.
Touma looked up in surprise at Xiu, who was smirking down at him. WHAT? Touma blushed dark red.
I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYTHING TO WORRY ABOUT. I'VE BEEN TALKING WITH RAJURA FOR THE LONGEST TIME, AND I THINK WE'RE GOING TO END UP LIKE HIM AND HIS BROTHERS. WE'RE KIND OF THE SAME, YOU KNOW? Xiu send a look at Seiji. HE'S HAVING THAT KIND OF EFFECT ON ME, TOO. I JUST LOVE THAT TALL, LEAN LOOK HE'S GOT. Xiu seemed to be accepting this better than any of them, taking it all very casually.
I HOPE THIS DOESN'T GET CONFUSING. Shin said, looking between Ryou and Seiji. ARE WE GOING TO SHARE EACH OTHER, OR WHAT?
Touma almost fainted at that thought as it drifted across his mind creating several X-rated images. Share?
Seiji-
RYOU, DON'T GET SO UPSET. Ryou looked at Seiji with that wonderful fire in his eyes. SHOW THEM. THEY DON'T KNOW NAAZA LIKE YOU DO, EVEN IF YOU TOLD THEM HE WAS THE MOST WONDERFUL PERSON IN THE UNIVERSE, THEY WOULDN'T BELIEVE YOU BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY SAW HIM DO. SHOW THEM YOU TRUST HIM.
Ryou didn't say anything, but reined in his anger, went over to Naaza and hugged his brother. There was no doubt in him at all and the others understood. They made such a cute group, Xiu, Touma, and Shin. All together like that with Shin on Touma's lap and Xiu standing slightly to the side. They're talking, but it wasn’t Seiji’s business, so he shut his mind to them and turn back to the main crisis.
"Zechs, do you have any idea where Luc might have gone. The only clue we have is what was left on her computer." Seiji motioned for Zechs to take a look at what Touma had uncovered.
Zechs examined the screen for a minute. "You know him, don't you?" Zechs didn't bother looking at Seiji, but everyone else did.
SEIJI, Shin said, looking at me with a confused expression. HOW WOULD YOU KNOW THAT GUY?
"I do." Seiji didn't bother to answer Shin. He would tell them later, in private. For right now, he doesn't need to know. It was bad enough that Ryou had seen the face on the computer.
"Noin was looking for the man who did this to you." Zechs said when Seiji didn't elaborate on my answer. He briefly looked up and gestured to the hidden side of Seiji’s face and, for once, Seiji felt a flash of fear. He was hoping that it wasn't true. "She said she was going to catch him if it was the last thing she ever did." Zechs paused, and picked up a large stack of papers next to Luc's computers. "It would seem that she's found him."
‘She... she found him?’
"I think it would be best if we went back to Trieze and had him analyze this information. With luck, we'll be able to find out what Noin found. She must have found an address, but she didn't write it down." Zechs started to flip through the papers. "There must be something in here that will lead us to where she's gone to."
‘Gone? No, she can't be gone. I only just found her. Luc wouldn't leave me; she loves me.’ Seiji swallowed hard, trying to remember his training to keep himself in control, but it didn't seem to be working. He felt like the lost child he'd been when he’d been taken from his family.
"It'll be okay." Seiji saw all his friends looking at him with concern, and it was Shin's who'd spoken and put a hand on his arm. "We'll find her."
A short while later-
By the time they’d reached Treize's house, the sun had long since risen, a fact that the Ma-Sho were taking delight in, except for Naaza who still seemed dazed. Both Rajura and Anubisu had once told them that the Youja Kai never changed. It was always twilight there and seasons were unheard of. So the simple pleasure of a sunrise was almost a miracle after so long.
They ran, as Zechs' car wasn't nearly big enough to fit all of them, with Zechs driving and leading the way. He'd been doubtful that they’d be able to keep up with the car, but Rajura had calmly assured him that he'd better drive fast if he didn't want to slow them down.
Wufei-
Quatre’s Home-
"I'll take the first shift." Trowa offered and Wufei accepted.
He lay down on Quatre's large bed. It was decided that they would take turns waiting for Quatre to either come back or call. They had one phone in the bedroom and there was one down stairs. Between them and the huge staff that seemed to work there, someone should get a message from Quatre relatively soon. Better yet, he'd just come back.
Quatre's bed was very soft, almost too soft. Wufei thought that he’d become too used to the bed he used at Auntie Fan's house. It was stiffer, almost hard, and such softness just didn't feel right. "Wake me if there's any news."
Trowa simply nodded and sat in the chair next to the bed. His eyes closed, but Wufei could tell from the way he was breathing that Trowa wasn’t going to sleep. Trowa was a guy after Wufei’s own heart. He wouldn't go to sleep until Wufei relieve him of duty.
Wufei knew he'd need rest in order to solve all these problems. If Quatre returned with bad news, Wufei may not be getting any rest for a long time. He still had to find Xiu. That thought reminded him of something important.
Wufei sat up again and picked up the phone. Trowa cracked open an eye, giving him a puzzled look, but said nothing. The dial tone rang for almost four minutes and Wufei had to admit that he was getting worried. 'There's no reason for her to leave home.' Funny how he’d started to think of the restaurant as his home instead of A026. The phone rang three more times. 'Where is she?'
Finally, Wufei gave up and hung up. ‘There's nothing wrong. She’s probably just fast asleep. Poor auntie deserves all the rest she can get. There's no reason to worry, she not in danger. I should just get some sleep and worry about this in a few hours.' Again, Wufei lay down on Quatre's bed, still worrying.
What if something HAD happen?
What if his auntie had been hurt?
What if Lai was sick and auntie had to take her to the hospital?
What if Quatre wasn't going to come back?
What if Doctor J figured out that they were on to him, then he might have set a trap and already killed Quatre. In fact, he might try to kill all of them and start with fresh subjects, someone who was as innocent and naïve as Wufei had been in the beginning.
What if Xiu was dead, and that's why he hadn't come home? Sure he's tough, but it was so unlike him to just run off. He might have been killed and they just hadn't found him, yet.
"Relax." Trowa told Wufei. "Nothing will be solved by denying yourself sleep."
Knowing that Trowas was right, Wufei closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was late and he didn't have the energy to think anymore. If he wanted to be any good to anyone, Wufei would just have to get some rest.
Meiran kicked and struck. She jumped and twisted. In a graceful dance, she worked her way through a kata in her family’s garden as Wufei watched. She was small, but the power of every move was breathtaking. He couldn’t concentrate on his book while she moved before him.
“I love you.” Wufei said, though his voice was barely a whisper.
Meiran kept moving. Another strike, another twist.
“I love you.”
She turned and spun, then rolled.
“Meiran? Can’t you hear me? I love you.”
"You idiot." Meiran turned to Wufei suddenly.
Wufei stepped closer to her and the world around them faded away into black nothingness.
She scowled, like she usually did when Wufei did something stupid. "When are you going to get over it?"
"Over it?" Wufei asked. "Over what?" He reached out to her, so happy to see her, but she moved further away without moving her feet. Wufei stepped closer, but she moved again.
"Stop it." She said, firmly. "You're going to hurt yourself."
What was she talking about? He only wanted to hold her. Was that so strange? "I've missed you. Why won't you come to me?"
"Because it'll only hurt when you wake up." Tears formed in her eyes, which she hastily wiped away. "This is a dream. It's not real and I'm not here. I'm dead. You have to let me go."
"No." Wufei shook his head stubbornly. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
He tried again to reach her, but she kept moving away. "I told you not to do that. Don’t you listen?" She snapped in irritation. "I'm dead. You're alive. I've moved on and now you have to, also."
It's not that simple! "I want to be with you, Meiran."
"Will my death be for nothing?!" She shouted suddenly. "I died for you, Wufei! I gave up everything so you could live on and do great things. Don't you dare throw all that away! Don't you dare!"
There was suddenly a red haired man standing with them, dressed in old Japanese clothes and watching them with mild interest. "Have you finished yelling at him, yet?"
"No, not yet." Meiran answered him calmly before turning back to Wufei. "I know you like that girl, Wufei." It wasn't an accusation, but still Wufei felt guilt stab his chest.
"Meiran... I... " He couldn't lie to her.
Meiran waved her hand. "Don't bother trying to lie. I know you can't do it. I'm not mad at you, fool! I'm happy you found someone good enough. Not as good as me, of course, but then, who is?" She stepped closer, still not letting Wufei touch her. "Nasutei is smart, beautiful, funny, and kind. You can't ask for more in a woman, no matter how picky you are." Her tone softened considerably. "Idiot. I want you to be happy more than anything else. She will make you happy. Don't throw her away just because you want to loyal to my memory."
"I love you." It was all he could say. He couldn’t deny what she’d said.
Meiran starts to grow faint. "I know. I love you, too, I always will. We just can't be together, now. She'll make you happy, and that will make me happy." Meiran turned to the red haired stranger. "I guess that's all I have to say. I don't feel so strong anymore. I think I have to leave."
"Where are you going?" Wufei asked.
She smiled at him. "I don't know. I guess I'll find out when I get there." Then, Meiran was gone and Wufei was alone with the stranger.
"What do you want?" Wufei asked angrily. He really don't want to talk to anyone, especially not figments of his imagination.
"Your aunt is at the Kushranada mansion with your friend, Nasutei." The red haired man said shortly, his tone very arrogant. "Go there, if you want to find that little blonde friend of yours."
Wufei stared at him. "How do you know about Quatre? What's my aunt doing at Kushranada's mansion?"
The man sniffed. "I'm dead. I know lots of things." He paused a minute. "I'd take your wife's advice, if I were you. She's very wise for her age." Then he started to walk away, not fade as Meiran had.
"Wait!" Wufei yelled. "Where are you going? Will you see Meiran?"
The stranger gave a short, bitter laugh. "No, I don't think I'm going where she's going. I have more business to see to now that I've finished with you. My own love needs a slap upside the head, that idiot. He's not taking my death well, I'm afraid, and I absolutely refuse to leave until I'm sure he's going to be all right. Besides," A wicked gleam sparkled in his eye for a minute and he smiled. "I have the feeling I'll be making one last appearance before my time is up. My brothers and you may need my help for one last pleasant task."
Wufei woke sharply when Trowa touched his arm.
Continued...