Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Warrior Children ❯ Moving On ( Chapter 34 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Cousin D 
Sh'ten's last thoughts.
Anime/Manga: Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Fantasy / Drama / Angst / Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 03.20.2007 | Pages: 6 | Words: 9.2K | Visits: 236 | Status: Completed
Sh'ten's last thoughts.
Anime/Manga: Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Fantasy / Drama / Angst / Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 03.20.2007 | Pages: 6 | Words: 9.2K | Visits: 236 | Status: Completed
The lyrics of I'm Moving On are not mine. I don't remember who wrote or sang it, sorry. A lovely song that always makes me think of Sh'ten choice to leave the Youja Kai.
Chapter 34: Burdened with Pain
Treize-
There were guards posted at the entrance of the driveway when Treize pulled up the front gate of his home. When Treize stopped the car and the armored boys stopped running, one young guard cautiously approached. He was out of uniform, dressed in tanned trousers and a plain white shirt, but held his rifle firmly. When he saw who was driving the car, he stiffened and snapped a quick salute.
“Sir! Forgive the stop.”
“At ease,” Treize returned the salute after unrolling his window. “What‘s going on lieutenant Barker?”
Zechs leaned over to look out the window, too. “Are you planning to keep mister Kushranada out of his own home? Why are you out of uniform?"
"General Marquis." Lieutenant Barker saluted Zechs, sharply. "You'll have to excuse me, sir, but..." Lieutenant Barker raised a small hand radio to his mouth and spoke. "Yagiyu-san? Your brother has arrived with general Marquis, major Noin, and five young men. Is it alright to let them in?" He paused, obviously listening to the answer. "Yes. Thank you, ma'am."
Treize frowned. "What's this all about, Lieutenant?"
"General," The young lieutenant saluted again. "I'm sorry, sir, but I think you'll have to ask your sister that. I was told not to give out any information to anyone." He looked uncomfortable. “You did give orders that we should obey her as we would you… ”
“Yes. It’s alright.” Treize rubbed his forehead even as lieutenant Barker eyed the armored boys standing around the car. “Ignore them. You’re not in trouble. Answer general Marquis’ question. Your uniform?”
"Your sister requested that we wear civilian clothes so we wouldn't stand out to much."
"What's going on?" Treize turned to find Xiu glaring at the lieutenant. He should have guessed that they wouldn’t stay quiet for long. "Did something happen?"
"Yeah." Duo spoke up, still sitting on Ryou's back with his arms around his brother's neck. "Is someone hurt?"
Lieutenant Barker did as Treize had said and ignored the questions. He raised his arm, waving a signal. "Go ahead, sir. I'm sorry I can't tell you anything more."
Duo-
"Do you suppose Kay's alright?" Duo asked worriedly. "Why have they got all these soldiers?" He was speaking right into Ryou's ear while hugging Ryou's neck tightly.
"I hope so. She's been though so much." Ryou's face darkened.
"If she's been hurt, we'll get revenge for her." Duo told Ryou, firmly. "If we can fight a demon army for her, we can take on any stupid ningen who'd want to get their hands on her." Duo meant every word. There was absolutely nothing more important to him than his family and he'd do anything to protect them.
Ryou and Xiu looked at each other.
"What is it?" Duo asked, wishing, not for the first time, that he could hear the silent conversations his brother was now privy to.
"Xiu's worried about his mama and his baby sister. He doesn't like all these strangers around."
"I don't blame him. They all work for the Alliance." Duo's voice turned hateful at the word. "They kill people. They killed Sister Helen."
"I don't think they're the same as the Alliance." Ryou said doubtfully. "Don't the Alliance soldiers dress in uniforms?"
"Doesn't matter." Duo growled, looking at Treize who was in his car again. "Treize runs things. It's Treize's fault."
Treize-
Mama Fan met them at the front door after being let in by one of the OZ soldiers. While they waited for the guard to call Nasty and ask permission to let them in, Treize noticed it wasn't just a few soldiers around the house. He saw shadowy movements around in the windows, behind curtains. There were two soldiers on the upper balcony and several people making rounds around the house. It wasn’t all that unusual, his men were always somewhere around, but they never actually stopped HIS car!
The front door swung open and mama Fan stood there, her normally cheery face was drawn and sad.
"Mama, what's going on?" Xiu went forward and hugged her. "Is everyone okay?"
"Oh, baby." Mama hugged him back. "Why don't you take your friends into the living room. Ryou, dear, your tiger friend has turned back into a tiger a few minutes ago. I'm not sure how, but he seems happier. Kay's waiting for you and Duo." Mama Fan spoke with a nervous tremble in her voice and twisting her apron in her hands. She gave the still sleeping Noin a glance. "Why don't you take that young lady to go lay down, Zechs."
Xiu nodded slowly. "Um...sure, mama." Xiu closed his eyes and the armor he wore vanished, changing into his normal clothes.
Mama Fan shook her head at the transformation and then at the other three as they changed. "Not right now, but very soon, I want to know exactly what's going on, young man." Mama Fan looked around. "Where's everyone else? Xiu, honey, where's your cousin?"
"They'll be here soon, mama. There was something they had to take care of."
"Alright." She made shooing gestures for everyone to get inside the house but when Treize made to walk passed her, Mama Fan took his arm. “Come talk with me a bit, dear."
"Should I be worried?" Treize asked, letting himself be drawn away. "I really must have a word with Nasty."
Mama Fan patted his hand and pulled him towards the library, away from where the others were headed. "Nasty's a bit busy at the moment. I need to tell you something, dear." She waited until he was sitting down before closing the doors and sitting next to him on the couch. Gently, Mama Fan took Treize's hand in her own and held it securely. "Nasty asked me to tell you what happened and she wanted to make sure you stayed calm."
"You're making me nervous, ma'am," Treize said. "Why don't you just say what you have to say?"
Mama Fan swallowed hard. "Nasty was called by the police a few hours ago and...your grandfather Yagiyu has been murdered."
Treize froze. 'Murdered? No, that can't be right. Grandfather hardly ever left his house, he never did anything to draw attention to himself.' "There must be a mistake... "
"No." Mama Fan shook her head. "There's no mistake. Nasty went to the morgue and identified his body."
Treize had never been as close to his grandfather as Nasty was, he was barely allowed to see the man. However, Treize had respected and liked his grandfather. Treize stood up quickly, but Mama Fan didn't let go of his hand. "Excuse me, ma'am, but I've got to see Nasty." When he tried to walk away, Mama Fan kept a hold of his shaking hand.
"Treize, dear," She said seriously. "When Nasty came back she snuck into her room and cried for a long time. I heard her car drive up and I watched her creep around the house before sneaking into her room. I don't know how well she's taking this except that when she did come out, she told me that I was to stay inside with the girls and she spoke with your guards. The phone's been ringing off the hook, reporters and such asking all sorts of questions. I won't pretend to understand what's going on, but," She stood up and touched his cheek. "I know what it's like to lose loved ones. My shoulder's good for crying on."
Treize nodded, but didn't even bother forcing a smile for her. He had the feeling she would know it wasn‘t genuine. "Thank you, ma'am."
Treize found Nasty in his study. The room was darkened with the shades closed and the only light coming from the greenish glow of the computer screen. The only sound Treize could hear was the tapping of the computer keyboard.
"Nasty?"
Nasty's back was towards him as she typed and Treize couldn't see her face. "Yes?"
"Mama Fan told me what happened." Treize walked up behind her and hugged his sister, but she didn't stop typing. "I'm so sorry, Nasty."
"I'm sorry if your people inconvenienced you, but I gave them orders not to allow anyone in without permission." Nasty kept her eyes on the computer screen as she spoke. "I have reason to believe it wasn't just some random murder."
Treize frowned. "Tell me."
Instead of answering, Nasty walked away from the computer and to the small television Treize kept in his study. She turned it on to the news and the biggest story seemed to be their grandfather's death. Treize watched intently the scene of Nasty walking out of police station and the reporters accosting her. He watched with growing dread when Dorothy appeared out of nowhere and felt sick to his stomach at her words.
"How long has this been broadcasting?" Treize asked when it was finally over.
"Almost three hours now, since it happened." Nasty answered, watching him from where she stood. "I wasn't in time to stop the broadcast so the damage has already been done."
Treize ran a hand through his hair. "The timing of this couldn't be worse. Septum is coming tomorrow for his annual inspection to make sure I haven't done anything stupid to endanger the image of the Alliance. He's sure to have seen Dorothy's little scene and all this security's going to give him something to sink his teeth into when he arrives."
"I don't think it was an accident that Dorothy's timing was so bad."
"Oh?"
"The police told me I was the first person told about grandfather's death, yet the reporters were waiting for me when I got out. Dorothy was also right there - waiting. I really don't think the police would have been stupid enough to let this leak out, they're all too afraid of you to risk getting you angry. I believe Dorothy knew something about grandfather's death."
"Or that she killed him herself?" Treize could hear the accusation in his sister's voice. "I don't doubt that Dorothy would have done it. She's certainly ruthless enough." Treize had never trusted Dorothy, to be honest. She was his cousin, on his father's side. Treize and Nasty's father had a brother, Quatre's dad, and a sister, Dorothy's mother. Though he'd often seen Dorothy throughout their childhood, Treize could never bring himself to like her.
"There was a glove from an Alliance officer's uniform found at the scene of the crime."
"It would be odd for the Alliance to attack an old man who posed no threat to them. He wasn't involved with any kind of rebellious activity and he wasn't prominent enough to affect them. Stranger, still that they'd send someone stupid enough to leave such a hard piece of evidence. It’s also hard to believe it was a random killing. He lived almost twenty miles from the nearest town and had no close neighbors. The simple fact that he's our grandfather makes it a very suspicious coincidence."
Nasty sighed. "I was almost hoping you'd see it a different way than I had. That glove alone makes me think it was planted there. At the very least, Dorothy must have known about grandfather being killed and said nothing to the police."
"And, at the very most, she killed him," Treize answered bleakly. "I want to know if she did it on her own or if she was working for someone. If she's working with some kind of conspiracy I don't want anymore loose ends."
"Who do you think she could be working for?" Nasty asked. "Dorothy was never the type to follow orders."
"I have plenty of enemies within the Alliance and out of it. People like Septum who dislike me for my popularity and people like Duo who believe I've done terrible things. This would be a very good way to upset me. I don't think it would be hard for anyone to persuade Dorothy to kill. She's the sort of person who'd do it just for the sake of the thrill."
Nasty was quiet for a moment before giving Treize a cautious look. "You don’t mind me using your soldiers, do you? I was a little worried about our guests. If someone is targeting our family, I'd rather not have Mama Fan, Kay, or Lai get in the way."
Treize smiled reassuringly. "I think you did just the right thing and I'm pleased that you trusted my men enough to use them when I wasn't around. If there is someone trying to get at me though my family, I don't want you left unprotected."
A small radio next to the computer buzzed and Nasty quickly went to answer it. "Yes?"
"Yagiyu-san, there's a man here claiming to be general Septum of the Alliance and that general Kushranada is expecting him."
Treize wanted to groan. Septum was a day early! That arrogant bastard didn't even have the courtesy to call ahead when visiting someone's home. "Let him in. Let's get this over with."
Touma-
Zechs set Noin down on the couch and Ryou immediately went to a much happier Byakuen who was a tiger again. Everyone made themselves as comfortable as possible in Treize's home, relaxing on the comfortable chairs, but Touma was having a hard time getting his mind of Quatre and the fact that his brother now seemed to be possessed by the spirit of Ryo's mama. To see Quatre licking his own blood off his fingers and nearly purring when he spoke about torturing doctor J had been horrifying.
'It's so weird, I don't know what Rashid's going to think about all this.' That thought made Touma want to slap himself on the forehead. 'Damn! I'll have to call Rashid and Abdul, they're gonna be worried sick. Well, at least this whole mess is over with. Once Kitty gets back we can go home. No more battles or fights. I don't even know if I can tell them about this yoroi stuff. They'll believe me if I show it to them and I don't think they'd be at all worried. After all, they both wanted me to be a fighter in the manaques.' Touma rolled the crystal orb around in his hand, feeling the cool aura that seemed to radiate from it. 'I don't even know how this thing works and if I didn't see it for myself, I'd never would have believed that it even existed. It's just not possible. But it is.'
"Who's that?" Duo was looking out a window at something and Touma went to see what he was looking at. The man who'd stopped them at the gates, lieutenant Barker, had stopped a large, expensive looking black car and seemed to be arguing with the man in the car.
Zechs, just getting of the phone with a doctor, came to look, also. He cursed. "It's Septum."
"You know him?"
"Unfortunately. Look, everyone, we only have a few minutes." Zechs turned to face the parlor full of people. "That man is trouble for Treize and it'll be a lot easier on everyone if Septum doesn't know that we're here. If everyone could just leave for a little while, I'd appreciate it very much."
Ryou protested, "But I promised Seiji I'd take care of his sister, I can't leave her!"
Zechs grimaced. "We'll move Noin into Nasty's bedroom. Even Septum wouldn't dare to insult Treize by invading his sister's privacy. That would be unforgivable. You can stay with her there. It's the third door on the left." Zechs held the door open for Ryou who carried Noin out.
"What about the rest of us?" Shin asked.
Outside, they heard the heavy gate swing open with a clank and the car drive in. Zechs thought desperately. "You’re all servants. He likely won’t bring anyone with him. He never does. I think he worries that someone will slip up and report his conversations with Treize to the press. No one should question you about your presence here. He certainly won’t lower himself to speak with servants.”
Kay, who'd made herself almost invisible with her silence, stood up and drew attention to herself. "What can I do?”
"Do you mind taking the tigers and little Lai out to the garden? If you could keep them quiet and away from windows it would be a big help. Septum has never bothered to look around the house so he shouldn't be going out there."
Kay nodded quietly and picked up Lai. "Let's go play." Then she looked at the large cats. "Ko-chan, Yaku-chan, let’s go. Let's keep Lai amused."
Zechs stopped Touma as he began to stand. “You might as well stay. Having a witness might just keep Septum civilized and, if we're lucky, it'll encourage him to leave early.”
From the window, Touma could see a large man in a military uniform marching up the walkway towards the front door. "What do you want me to do?"
"You don’t have to do anything. You were accepted into OZ prematurely, the paperwork is all there and legal. You stay here and if Septum asks, you're here on a second interview with Treize."
So Touma stayed on the couch and it was only then that Zechs noticed Duo was still in the room. "Duo, will you..."
"No."
"What?" Zechs was taken aback by Duo's reply.
Duo stood by the window, watching as Septum knocked imperiously on the door. "I'm not leaving. If this is gonna make trouble for Treize, I'm all for it." He smirked unpleasantly. "He killed Sister Helen, so I want to make as much trouble for him as possible."
Zechs looked like he was about to panic. "Please, take this up with Treize later! This is very important... "
"Sister Helen was important! All the children were important!" Duo snarled back. "If he didn't want trouble he shouldn't have killed them!"
"You idiot!" Zechs almost yelled, his fists clenched at his side. "Treize didn't order that attack, Septum did! He's the military commander for the Alliance and no one does anything without his approval!"
Duo's dark smirk vanished and he slowly looked out the window at Septum who was still impatiently waiting for Treize. "Really?" His voice was soft and thoughtful. "Did he?"
"Yes! I haven’t even told Treize what I found out, yet, but it’s definite. A source of mine has told me that it was Septum who ordered the attack. If you mess up this meeting Treize, you're only going to be helping Septum!" Zechs hated begging, but there was no other way that he could get Duo out of the room. "Treize is a paper tiger!"
"A what?"
"He's a tiger with no teeth or claws, he's got no power! The only thing the Alliance uses Treize for is to look pretty for the people. Please, believe me!"
Duo stared at Zechs with an unreadable expression for a moment. "If I find out you're lying to me, I'll kill you along with Treize." With that, he slipped easily out of the room.
Touma didn't think much of General Septum. The man was brash, overbearing, and unpleasantly loud. He spoke far louder than necessary and seemed to mock Treize at every opportunity. He strolled into the house as if it were his own and sat down without being invited.
The tea was served by mama Fan who remained polite even when General Septum commented that it was interesting how Treize was suddenly in need of a housemaid and asked why he hadn't thought to hire one who was at least a little attractive. "After all, you have the money not to have to look at that fat face everyday."
"I find Mrs. Fan to be an excellent cook, sir." Treize replied calmly as he sipped his tea and watched, over Septum's shoulder, as mama Fan blew a silent raspberry at the back of Septum's head. She was smart enough not to endanger Treize by doing it to the man's face, but Touma strongly suspected mama Fan wanted to slap Septum's face.
I'LL BREAK HIS NOSE IF HE SAYS SOMETHING LIKE THAT ABOUT MY MAMA AGAIN! Xiu thought furiously from the kitchen where he and Shin were listening through Touma.
Treize continued, "I like having trustworthy people in my house, and it's so hard to find good help these days."
"Yes," Septum answered, picking up his own teacup. "I heard that Lady Une vanished a short while ago. Have you had any word from her?"
"No," Treize answered, shortly. "I'm afraid not. I suppose she must have found a better employer, somewhere. She seemed satisfied with her position here."
General Septum snorted. "I've heard rumors that she went and joined the rebels from the colonies."
Treize lifted an eyebrow. "Oh? Really?"
"Yes." General Septum's tone hardened. "She was your personal assistant, if I remember correctly, Treize. She knew most of your business, didn't she?"
"Lady Une knew all of my secrets, General." Treize lowered his voice slightly and Touma heard sadness in his tone. "I shared everything with her and she was very valuable to me. She was a very close friend."
"Hrumph! I don't care if she was your mother, Treize. What did she know that could hurt us?"
Treize gave Septum a sweet smile that never touched his eyes. "I don't know any secrets, General. Lady Une helped me organize the fund-raiser parties and keep track of my appointments. She helped to write speeches for me and she made sure my shoes were polished before I went out."
Touma wanted nothing more than to be out of the room with the amount of tension that had escalated between the two men. 'Treize is lying and Septum knows it, but he can't do anything unless he has proof.' Zechs was the only other person in the room, standing at the door at attention, like a guard would, but even he seemed more stiff than usual.
"So," General Septum was suddenly looking at Touma with a very fake smile. "You're the Hashiba I've heard so much about."
"Um, yes, sir." Touma sat up a little straighter, thankful again for how much Kitty had forced him to learn how to act in 'proper' company when he was younger. "I'm Hashiba Touma."
"I hear you want to be in OZ. Is that right?"
"Yes, sir." Touma wished he knew what Treize wanted him to say so he wouldn't get the other man in trouble.
Septum laughed softly. "You should consider a career in the Alliance, I think it would suit your talents better than OZ."
"Oh?"
"Yes. OZ is just an offshoot of the Alliance forces, after all. It wouldn’t be all that much different for you. From what I've seen of you I think you'd be a great asset to my army." He seemed about to say something else when something caught his attention and Septum went silent for a moment. "There was something I wanted to talk to you about, Treize."
Touma, curiously, followed Septum's gaze and found that the man was staring at a photo of Nasty. It was a lovely picture of Nasty, Treize, Zechs, and Noin on what looked like a family picnic.
Treize also saw what Septum was looking at and his face because carefully blank. "Yes?"
"I heard about the recent tragedy your poor sister is going though, what with her... your grandfather and all. How is she holding up?"
"She's fine, general. She's in mourning, but taking it as well as can be expected." Treize seemed to be confused about this sudden curiosity about Nasty, but didn't ask.
"Ahh. She's grown in a very... attractive young lady. I remember seeing her at your parents funeral. She was such a plain child."
Treize stiffened at the mention of his parents. "I've never thought her plain, but she is my sister so I suppose I may be bias."
"She isn't married, is she?"
Touma felt about a dozen warning bells go off in his mind and, from Treize's expression, so did he.
"No. She... "
"I think I may remedy that."
For a moment, Treize just stared, dumbfounded. "Sir, I... "
"It could help your own interests, Treize." Septum lit his cigar and leaned back on Treize's sofa. "If I had Nasutei as incentive, I may be more willing to help you within the Alliance rather than keep you confined to that embarrassing OZ. I can always find some other idiot to babysit the misfits. You could get a very comfortable position at the Alliance headquarters."
Septum seemed to forget that Zechs, a proud OZ officer, was still in the room. Either that or he was just rude enough not to care.
"It would be good for your sister if she had someone to take care of her, now that she's lost her grandfather. I can give her the security a woman needs and keep her in a manner she should enjoy." He smirked and kept his eyes on the photo of Nasty. "Yes, I think I'd like to have your sister as my wife."
Touma inched away from Treize, seeing that the man had reached his breaking point. A man can only be pushed so far, after all.
"My sister is a very intelligent, independent young lady perfectly capable of taking care of herself, General." Treize tried to keep his tone civil, but wasn't doing a very good job of it. "She does not need your security. Nasty is inheriting our grandfather's fortune and it will keep her safe and comfortable for the rest of her life." Touma saw Treize's eye twitch. "And besides all that, I've made it publicly clear on more than one occasion that I will never try to force my sister into a political marriage against her will."
"She's your sister, you should be able to control what she does... "
Treize stood up very quickly and turned his back on General Septum. He went to the drinks cabinet and filled his now empty teacup with some kind of liquor. "Have you ever heard of a man that could control what a woman does? Nasty will not only tell anyone who listens what was done to her, but she would arrange interviews with the media and write articles online. My sister can be spiteful and vindictive, general. She is perfectly capable of ruining us both if we get her involved with the Alliance in anyway. Trust me, you're better off looking for a more docile wife."
Touma watched Treize's hands shake while he drank the liquor in one gulp and knew he that Treize was keeping his back to Septum just so he wouldn't lose his temper entirely.
OH, DEAR. Touma heard Xiu think from where he was watching though Touma's eyes in the kitchen. NASTY'S WITH US AND SHE SAYS TREIZE DOESN'T HOLD HIS BOOZE WELL. HE'S A TERRIBLE DRINKER AND IF HE GETS STARTED IT MEANS HE'S REALLY UPSEST.
HOW DOES SHE KNOW HE'S DRINKING? Touma asked.
SHE'S PEERING THOUGH A VENT IN THE WALL THAT CONNECTS THE PARLOR TO THE KITCHEN. SHE SAYS ITS ONE ADVANTAGE TO LIVING IN A SMALL HOUSE.
"I get the feeling you'd rather I didn't marry Nasutei, Treize." Septum's voice was dark and threatening. "Do you think I'm not good enough for your backwoods sister?"
"Of course not, General." Treize finally turned around and smiled the same idiot smile that had been on his face ever since Septum had arrived. "I just think you'd be happier with someone else. I know my sister better than anyone and I can tell you, she does not want to be married to anyone at the moment."
Zechs-
Later-
"As if I was going to let that balding, pervert old man put one finger on my sister!" Treize growled as he threw his teacup at the wall and watched it shatter. "That ass! He thinks he can demand my sister just like that?! How dare he have the audacity to... in my own home... I'll kill him with my bare hands before he touches Nasty!" Treize snatched a bottle of gin he normally kept on the fireplace mantel and poured himself another large glass while glaring out the window at Septum's car as it vanished down the driveway. Treize was silent for a minute before throwing his head back and swallowing the entire glass of gin in one swallow.
"Treize... " Zechs bit his lip, not sure what to say in the face of Treize's uncharacteristic fury. It was going to be a bad situation if he let Treize get drunk. He'd never seen Treize so angry.
"I don't want to hear it!" Treize snapped, reaching again for the gin bottle. "I know what you're going to say, Zechs. That I have to calm down and think about this rationally. Well, logic just flew out the window at the insult of that proposal, so you can save your breath!"
Zechs strode over to Treize and took the half-empty bottle out of his hand. "Actually, I was going to say that I think we should ask mama Fan for a cup of coffee for you. You've had enough to drink."
"I don't think so!" Treize grabbed for the bottle again, but Zechs kept it out of reach and put a hand on Treize's chest to keep him at arms distance. "Give it to me, Zechs! I've had a hard day!"
Zechs' eyes narrowed under his mask. He turned to Touma, who still sat awkwardly on the sofa, looking as if he'd rather be anywhere but in the same room as Treize right now. "Touma, why don't you go see your friends and tell them what's going on?"
"They already know, but I'll just go make sure." Touma sped out of the room as quickly as he could.
Treize took that moment to make another move for the gin, but Zechs slapped him.
Treize reeled back, a hand on his cheek. "You... " Treize wore a shocked expression that almost made Zechs wish he hadn't hit him.
"Get a hold of yourself!" Zechs ordered. "Every time Septum comes to visit, you end up drunk. Just stop it! Think for a minute. He WANTS you to get this upset. We aren't alone this time. You've got Nasty to think about and your home is full of OZ soldiers. What are your men going to think if they see you staggering around or praying to the porcelain goddess? You mean everything to them and they're going to feel crushed if you fall apart in front of them. They won't have any faith in you if can't even handle a simple visit from your commanding officer."
"You don't understand."
"Like Hell I don't! You know I think of Nasty like my own sister. She's one of my best friends and I'll kill Septum myself before I'll let him have her. Don't you dare say I don't understand!" Zechs moved away from Treize, now afraid that he'd do something he'd regret more than just a slap across his love's face. "I lost my sister to Septum, in case you don't remember! My sweet little sister DIED in that damned war Septum and his kind started and she was only six! How dare you? How dare you say I don't understand?!"
Treize looked away, ashamed. "I'm sorry. You're right, as always." He rubbed his face with both hands and said, "I wasn't thinking. Please, forgive me. I didn't mean to hurt you by bringing up those memories. You must hate him more than I ever could."
Taking a deep breath, Zechs forced himself to calm down. "I'll never forgive him. I can't. But I don't let that hate interfere in my life. I know I can never have the revenge I want, but I can help you to stop a war like that from ever happening again."
A moment of silence before Treize offered Zechs an apologetic smile. "Let's go ask Mrs. Fan for that coffee, shall we?" He shook his head and smiled self-consciously. "I'm already starting to feel a bit queasy. I really should stick to tea."
"You won't hear me arguing." Zechs replied. "I could live my whole life never having to deal with you being drunk again."
Shin-
Mama Fan was not impressed with Septum, nor was anyone else who'd been eavesdropping on the meeting. "What a rude man!" Mama Fan fumed while she chopped some vegetables for dinner. Everyone had gathered in the kitchen and Shin found it a strangely comforting atmosphere. In a very few hours Mama Fan had changed the cold, unused kitchen into a very homey room filled with lovely, warm smells. "Why, I wish I could give him a piece of my mind!"
Shin tried to hold back a smile. "I'm surprised you didn't, mama." He said, lending a hand by preparing some chicken. "I've never seen you take attitude from anyone."
Mama Fan patted his shoulder. "Even I know when it's wiser to hold my tongue. However," Her eyes narrowed, "He went WAY beyond rudeness!" She turned a questioning look to Treize who was sitting at the table, sipping coffee. "What is a nice boy like you doing associating with that character? He's going to dirty your image, with that kind of behavior."
Treize laughed. "He's going to kill me if he can get the chance. If he can't find an excuse to have me killed, he'll ruin my reputation and publicly embarrass me. Don't worry, Mrs. Fan. I don't trust him and I'll keep my eye on him."
"So will I." Nasty had been sitting next to Kay, opposite of Treize at the table, but now stood. "Don't you worry about me, Treize. I can take care of myself. I'm going to go do some more searching on the internet, Treize. I'll be back down in a little while."
"What are you searching for?" Touma asked suddenly. "I'm pretty good with computers, maybe I can help."
She looked at him wearily for a moment, as if trying to determine if she wanted his help or not. "Alright. Come upstairs and I'll fill you in. Treize," She called as she and Touma started walking out of the room. "They're bringing Quatre back here, aren't they?"
"Yes. As far as I know. Why?"
"When he gets here, I need to talk with him. Tell him it's important."
"What for?" Touma asked her; interested in anything that had to do with his brother.
"Don't worry about it." Nasty replied before they both left.
SHE'S HIDING SOMETHING. Touma told Shin, worried. I DON'T TRUST HER, SHE'S SMARTER THAN SHE LOOKS.
I'M SURE SHE'S NOT GOING TO CAUSE TROUBLE. Shin answered. I LIKE NASTY. SHE SEEMs CLEVER, BUT THAT'S NOT A BAD THING, AS YOU SHOULD KNOW. His tone turned teasing.
LAUGH IT UP, PAL, Touma replied. BUT THIS GIRL IS DANGEROUS. CAN'T YOU TELL?
Shin thought about what little he knew of Nasty. He'd only met her a little while ago, after all, and really didn't know her well. NOT REALLY. WHY DO YOU THINK SO?
Xiu barged into the conversation. WUFEI LIKES HER, IF YOU FIND OUT SHE'S TROUBLE, I WANT TO KNOW. He didn't sound at all happy, and Shin saw him cast a look at the now closed door that Nasty and Touma had gone though. I DON'T WANT HIM GETTING HURT. HE'S JUST STARTING TO GET OVER MEIRAN; I DON'T WANT HIM GETTING HIS HEART BROKEN AGAIN.
Shin smiled and put his arm around Xiu. YOU'RE SO SWEET AND THOUGHTFUL.
Xiu blushed, but didn't bother to hide his grin. Shin belatedly realized that Xiu's mother was in the same room. OH, I'M SORRY... He hadn't thought of how Xiu's mom would react.
"Don't worry," Xiu said serenely. "Mama knows I'm gay. I told her ages ago."
"So long as my baby's happy," Mama Fan said without turning around from her cooking. "And so long as he gets an heir for the Fan name, I'll be happy."
"Heir?" Shin turned, startled, to Xiu.
"I'll adopt." Shu replied easily. "Mama and I figured it all out ages ago. Don't worry so much."
How could Shin stop himself from worrying? Now that the crisis was over, he had to start thinking about the little details. Life with Xiu and Touma, where Ryou and Seiji would fit into all of this, what part in their lives would the Ma-Sho play, and how would Cathy take this when he told her what had been going on?
Cathy?
Cathy?!
"I have to call my sister!" Shin nearly screamed. "She hasn't heard from me in weeks and she still thinks someone's trying to kill me, she'll be so worried!" He pushed himself away from Xiu. "Treize, can I use your communicator?"
"It's in the parlor." Treize said, without looking at him.
Treize-
A short while later, when Treize had settled down, he blurted out, "I'll bet it was him!" Treize said suddenly, frowning at his coffee. "I'll bet Septum had grandfather killed."
Ryou frowned. "Why? I know you don't like the guy, but that doesn't mean he killed anyone."
"Isn't it obvious? That was his main point when he said he wanted to marry Nasty. He used the excuse that she didn't have grandfather to take care of her as an excuse to try and get me to marry her off. I'll bet he had Dorothy kill grandfather just to get this opportunity." Treize's eyes blazed with fury. "I'll kill him!"
Nasty walked back in with a paper in her hands and had just heard Treize's words. "NO!" Nasty cried, her eyes widening. "You can't! Treize, you can't start anything yet. Look," She held out the paper she'd brought in with her. "I've got some information. Dorothy was definitely not in school when the murder happened, I managed to hack into her school's records. At that time, though, Septum was in America overseeing the building of some new armaments factory. He could have given her the order to kill grandfather, but he didn't do it personally."
"It's close enough. I'll have him dead as soon as possible."
"You aren't listening, Treize." Nasty spoke slowly so he'd be sure to hear her and Treize could easily see how serious she was. "We don't know Dorothy did it, we only know she could have done it. We don't KNOW Septum even had anything to do with it. There's been no record of any contact or communication between the two of them in the last six months. I want to make sure, before we do anything."
Treize hugged her tightly, knowing that he would do anything to protect her. "I'm doing this for you, Nasty. If my enemies have started to target my family, the time has come to... "
"No, it hasn't! You said it yourself, that OZ is only at half it's potential strength and to start a war at this point would be throwing your troops lives away. They can't possibly defeat the colonies and the Alliance. We don't even know who killed grandfather. It might have been the colonies, but I doubt it if those boys are their representatives. They were with us the whole time. The Alliance? It's possible, but why? They really don't see you as a threat." Nasty forced Treize to look at her. "Promise me you won't do anything rash."
Treize was quite for a long time.
"Excuse me."
Everyone looked up to find Rajura standing in the doorway. "I couldn't help but over hear. Did you say you wanted to start a war?"
Sh'ten-
Void-
Sh'ten was, once again, in the void of darkness. He had been there ever since escorting doctor J to his 'reward' and now waited for... something, anything to happen. It felt like he'd been in the endless nothingness for years and in that time, Sh'ten had nothing to do but remember.
He remember how he'd first met Rajura, on a battlefield where he'd lost his first battle to the one eyed man. He remembered Rajura's seductive offer of an endless lifetime and the life of an emperor. He remembered even before that.
Clear, bright memories of his father hurting him. He'd come home one day, beaten up by bullies because the color of his hair was different, crying. Father had slapped him across the face. "I only do this because I love you, Koma. You can not be weak! You must never show fear or pain to anyone! You'll understand when you grow up."
And so Sh'ten learned that pain means love.
Then came memories, more faded and less concrete, of his mother. A red haired woman with soft eyes who held him against herself during thunderstorms and told him stories. "The thunder is giants throwing temper tantrums, my little one." She would turn to the open window and laugh bravely at the raging storm while he sat on her lap, clutching the front of her kimono in fear. "Laugh, my little one. Show them you are not afraid. My warrior. My brave little warrior."
Sh'ten, of course, laughed with her and learned that if you laugh, you can't be really afraid.
Now, alone, Sh'ten was lost in those memories and more. Anubisu taking him hunting for the first time and Naaza allowing him into his bed. Rajura teaching him to, strangely enough, knit.
It was all so... unspeakably pitiful.
'I wasted all that time.' Sh'ten realized with a sigh. 'There was so much we could have been doing instead of gathering power for Arago and ourselves. What would I have done if we had conquered the Ningen Sekai, anyway? Power is all well and good, but then you have to defend that power and take care of the people under your rule. I should have just asked Naaza to elope with me and gone on a romantic honeymoon. Some place nice, like Hawaii. Never did see Hawaii. Damn.'
Sh'ten sighed again. So, this was how it all ended. Just a vast emptiness, forever. All the years of blood that stained his hands would surely condemn him; to whatever Hell the afterlife had to offer. Well, it had been his choice.
"Are you ready?"
Sh'ten turned abruptly to the voice he now recognized as belonging to the monk. He stood behind Sh'ten, leaning slightly on the elaborate staff with his ever-jangling rings. The wide hat he wore hid his face so all that was visible was the man's mouth.
"Ready?" Sh'ten repeated dumbly. It took him a moment to realize what the monk was talking about. He nodded, turning to face the monk fully. "I've dealt with my ghosts and I've faced all my demons."
"Then you are satisfied with what you have done with your life?"
"No." Sh'ten shook his head. "Finally content with a past I regret, but I'm not satisfied. I could have done so much more." Sh'ten thought back, though, to the people he loved more than life, his brothers, and how much their love meant to him through out the long years of his life. “I've found your fine strength in your moments of weakness. But once I made peace with myself... " Sh'ten stopped himself right there. He was NOT going to start thinking about his evil deeds, again. Instead, he told the monk, "I've been burdened with blame, trapped in the past for too long." Perhaps he was just a fossil. The world had changed so much and Sh'ten was a relic from a bygone age. He hadn't been able, or allowed to, move and grow as humanity had grown over the years. "I'm moving on."
"Are you prepared to leave your home?" The monk pointed his staff at the void behind Sh'ten and Sh'ten turned to look. There was Arago's city-palace he'd lived in for nearly four hundred years. Surrounded in mist like he would always remember it and in the pasture next to the palace, Sh'ten could just barely make out the herd of horses, a breed of demon horses Anubisu lovingly tended. "There are so many memories for you here."
"I've lived in this place, and I know all the faces." Sh'ten found himself picturing not only Anubisu with the horses, but Ryou and Duo running though the halls, Kay practicing with Rajura with her little twin jitte. He saw Naaza in the swamps, sprawled out on a large sunny rock with his snakes perched all around and on top of him. "Each one is different, but they're always the same." Family, the only people who ever loved him. "They mean me no harm. But it's time that I faced it." Then came other faces. Arago. Saranbo. Father. Badamon. All the people he had ever killed, or done worse to, haunted his mind. "They'll never allow me to change." Even if Sh'ten wanted to be a good person and never lift a weapon again as long as he lived, he didn't think he'd be able to. They'll always be with him, in the back of his mind, reminding him of what he was capable of. How could he change if their faces were always with him?
Sh'ten turned away from the city-palace. "But I never dreamed home would end up where I don't belong." Sh'ten had come to think of the Youja Kai as his home, but his family was gone, now in the Ningen Sekai. There was nothing left for him in that place. "I'm moving on."
The city-palace vanished as abruptly as it had been created.
"What to do you believe will become of you now?" The monk asked.
"I don't know." Sh'ten shrugged and tried to sound lighthearted. "I'm moving on. At last I can see, life has been patiently waiting for me." Perhaps in the afterlife there would be something wonderful. It was a chance to see and experience new things. He had to be hopeful. If he dwelled on the fact that he was doomed, Sh'ten knew he would lose his mind.
"You may not like what you will find in this new life."
"I know there's no guarantee. But... I might... alone... " He paused a moment to stop babbling and say what was in his heart. "There comes a time in everyone's life when all you can see is the years passing by and I've made up my mind that those days," Sh'ten had to stop again, choking with tears. Tears? 'I... I don't want to cry. I'm not afraid. The years have become very long and tedious. There's no sense in being afraid of change.’
"Do you have anything left that needs to be done?"
Sh'ten shook his head: no. "I've done what I could, they'll do what I couldn't. I felt their love on my way out. I've loved like I should. But lived like I shouldn't. Maybe forgiveness with find me somewhere down this road. I'm moving on." Yes, it's time to leave. 'I'm tired of this emptiness. Tired of nothing to do but remember the faces of people I'll never get to see again. There's nothing for me here, I have to go. I have to let them get on with their lives. I'm moving on. I'm moving on.'
The monk raised his staff again and pointed it at Sh'ten's chest. There was no bright flare of light, but a soft fading of reality that engulfed Sh'ten. Sh'ten felt himself start to fade, regretting that he wouldn't see his family again. They meant so much to him, so very, very much.
He was tired and wanted to rest.
Sh'ten, Koma Toshitada, the red topped child and beloved by all who truly knew him, faded from sight.
Kaosu, the Monk-
"Master, are you certain about this?" Kaosu looked at the spot where the spirit of Sh'ten had been only moments before.
"You have doubts?"
"He had not changed in many hundreds of years, master." Kaosu replied carefully. "His life had been a waste and he has only used it to bring pain and evil to the world. Is he worthy of your mercy?"
"It is not mercy that moves me to retrieve his soul. Sh'ten is apart of something greater than he that will not suffer to be without him. The ogre of spring, so changing and contrary, is a part of the circle that holds the Earth in balance.
Time: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter
Elements: Fire, Earth, Air, Water, Spirit
Without them, the Ningen Sekai will face the doom of a dark future. Spring, whatever his nature, will be endured for the good of all. His pleasures and his torments are not important, only his existence matters. Find him a home, my servant. A loving, gentle home that will temper his spirit."
Kaosu bowed to the unseen speaker and, with staff in hand, Kaosu disappeared from the void.
To be continued...
Chapter 34: Burdened with Pain
Treize-
There were guards posted at the entrance of the driveway when Treize pulled up the front gate of his home. When Treize stopped the car and the armored boys stopped running, one young guard cautiously approached. He was out of uniform, dressed in tanned trousers and a plain white shirt, but held his rifle firmly. When he saw who was driving the car, he stiffened and snapped a quick salute.
“Sir! Forgive the stop.”
“At ease,” Treize returned the salute after unrolling his window. “What‘s going on lieutenant Barker?”
Zechs leaned over to look out the window, too. “Are you planning to keep mister Kushranada out of his own home? Why are you out of uniform?"
"General Marquis." Lieutenant Barker saluted Zechs, sharply. "You'll have to excuse me, sir, but..." Lieutenant Barker raised a small hand radio to his mouth and spoke. "Yagiyu-san? Your brother has arrived with general Marquis, major Noin, and five young men. Is it alright to let them in?" He paused, obviously listening to the answer. "Yes. Thank you, ma'am."
Treize frowned. "What's this all about, Lieutenant?"
"General," The young lieutenant saluted again. "I'm sorry, sir, but I think you'll have to ask your sister that. I was told not to give out any information to anyone." He looked uncomfortable. “You did give orders that we should obey her as we would you… ”
“Yes. It’s alright.” Treize rubbed his forehead even as lieutenant Barker eyed the armored boys standing around the car. “Ignore them. You’re not in trouble. Answer general Marquis’ question. Your uniform?”
"Your sister requested that we wear civilian clothes so we wouldn't stand out to much."
"What's going on?" Treize turned to find Xiu glaring at the lieutenant. He should have guessed that they wouldn’t stay quiet for long. "Did something happen?"
"Yeah." Duo spoke up, still sitting on Ryou's back with his arms around his brother's neck. "Is someone hurt?"
Lieutenant Barker did as Treize had said and ignored the questions. He raised his arm, waving a signal. "Go ahead, sir. I'm sorry I can't tell you anything more."
Duo-
"Do you suppose Kay's alright?" Duo asked worriedly. "Why have they got all these soldiers?" He was speaking right into Ryou's ear while hugging Ryou's neck tightly.
"I hope so. She's been though so much." Ryou's face darkened.
"If she's been hurt, we'll get revenge for her." Duo told Ryou, firmly. "If we can fight a demon army for her, we can take on any stupid ningen who'd want to get their hands on her." Duo meant every word. There was absolutely nothing more important to him than his family and he'd do anything to protect them.
Ryou and Xiu looked at each other.
"What is it?" Duo asked, wishing, not for the first time, that he could hear the silent conversations his brother was now privy to.
"Xiu's worried about his mama and his baby sister. He doesn't like all these strangers around."
"I don't blame him. They all work for the Alliance." Duo's voice turned hateful at the word. "They kill people. They killed Sister Helen."
"I don't think they're the same as the Alliance." Ryou said doubtfully. "Don't the Alliance soldiers dress in uniforms?"
"Doesn't matter." Duo growled, looking at Treize who was in his car again. "Treize runs things. It's Treize's fault."
Treize-
Mama Fan met them at the front door after being let in by one of the OZ soldiers. While they waited for the guard to call Nasty and ask permission to let them in, Treize noticed it wasn't just a few soldiers around the house. He saw shadowy movements around in the windows, behind curtains. There were two soldiers on the upper balcony and several people making rounds around the house. It wasn’t all that unusual, his men were always somewhere around, but they never actually stopped HIS car!
The front door swung open and mama Fan stood there, her normally cheery face was drawn and sad.
"Mama, what's going on?" Xiu went forward and hugged her. "Is everyone okay?"
"Oh, baby." Mama hugged him back. "Why don't you take your friends into the living room. Ryou, dear, your tiger friend has turned back into a tiger a few minutes ago. I'm not sure how, but he seems happier. Kay's waiting for you and Duo." Mama Fan spoke with a nervous tremble in her voice and twisting her apron in her hands. She gave the still sleeping Noin a glance. "Why don't you take that young lady to go lay down, Zechs."
Xiu nodded slowly. "Um...sure, mama." Xiu closed his eyes and the armor he wore vanished, changing into his normal clothes.
Mama Fan shook her head at the transformation and then at the other three as they changed. "Not right now, but very soon, I want to know exactly what's going on, young man." Mama Fan looked around. "Where's everyone else? Xiu, honey, where's your cousin?"
"They'll be here soon, mama. There was something they had to take care of."
"Alright." She made shooing gestures for everyone to get inside the house but when Treize made to walk passed her, Mama Fan took his arm. “Come talk with me a bit, dear."
"Should I be worried?" Treize asked, letting himself be drawn away. "I really must have a word with Nasty."
Mama Fan patted his hand and pulled him towards the library, away from where the others were headed. "Nasty's a bit busy at the moment. I need to tell you something, dear." She waited until he was sitting down before closing the doors and sitting next to him on the couch. Gently, Mama Fan took Treize's hand in her own and held it securely. "Nasty asked me to tell you what happened and she wanted to make sure you stayed calm."
"You're making me nervous, ma'am," Treize said. "Why don't you just say what you have to say?"
Mama Fan swallowed hard. "Nasty was called by the police a few hours ago and...your grandfather Yagiyu has been murdered."
Treize froze. 'Murdered? No, that can't be right. Grandfather hardly ever left his house, he never did anything to draw attention to himself.' "There must be a mistake... "
"No." Mama Fan shook her head. "There's no mistake. Nasty went to the morgue and identified his body."
Treize had never been as close to his grandfather as Nasty was, he was barely allowed to see the man. However, Treize had respected and liked his grandfather. Treize stood up quickly, but Mama Fan didn't let go of his hand. "Excuse me, ma'am, but I've got to see Nasty." When he tried to walk away, Mama Fan kept a hold of his shaking hand.
"Treize, dear," She said seriously. "When Nasty came back she snuck into her room and cried for a long time. I heard her car drive up and I watched her creep around the house before sneaking into her room. I don't know how well she's taking this except that when she did come out, she told me that I was to stay inside with the girls and she spoke with your guards. The phone's been ringing off the hook, reporters and such asking all sorts of questions. I won't pretend to understand what's going on, but," She stood up and touched his cheek. "I know what it's like to lose loved ones. My shoulder's good for crying on."
Treize nodded, but didn't even bother forcing a smile for her. He had the feeling she would know it wasn‘t genuine. "Thank you, ma'am."
Treize found Nasty in his study. The room was darkened with the shades closed and the only light coming from the greenish glow of the computer screen. The only sound Treize could hear was the tapping of the computer keyboard.
"Nasty?"
Nasty's back was towards him as she typed and Treize couldn't see her face. "Yes?"
"Mama Fan told me what happened." Treize walked up behind her and hugged his sister, but she didn't stop typing. "I'm so sorry, Nasty."
"I'm sorry if your people inconvenienced you, but I gave them orders not to allow anyone in without permission." Nasty kept her eyes on the computer screen as she spoke. "I have reason to believe it wasn't just some random murder."
Treize frowned. "Tell me."
Instead of answering, Nasty walked away from the computer and to the small television Treize kept in his study. She turned it on to the news and the biggest story seemed to be their grandfather's death. Treize watched intently the scene of Nasty walking out of police station and the reporters accosting her. He watched with growing dread when Dorothy appeared out of nowhere and felt sick to his stomach at her words.
"How long has this been broadcasting?" Treize asked when it was finally over.
"Almost three hours now, since it happened." Nasty answered, watching him from where she stood. "I wasn't in time to stop the broadcast so the damage has already been done."
Treize ran a hand through his hair. "The timing of this couldn't be worse. Septum is coming tomorrow for his annual inspection to make sure I haven't done anything stupid to endanger the image of the Alliance. He's sure to have seen Dorothy's little scene and all this security's going to give him something to sink his teeth into when he arrives."
"I don't think it was an accident that Dorothy's timing was so bad."
"Oh?"
"The police told me I was the first person told about grandfather's death, yet the reporters were waiting for me when I got out. Dorothy was also right there - waiting. I really don't think the police would have been stupid enough to let this leak out, they're all too afraid of you to risk getting you angry. I believe Dorothy knew something about grandfather's death."
"Or that she killed him herself?" Treize could hear the accusation in his sister's voice. "I don't doubt that Dorothy would have done it. She's certainly ruthless enough." Treize had never trusted Dorothy, to be honest. She was his cousin, on his father's side. Treize and Nasty's father had a brother, Quatre's dad, and a sister, Dorothy's mother. Though he'd often seen Dorothy throughout their childhood, Treize could never bring himself to like her.
"There was a glove from an Alliance officer's uniform found at the scene of the crime."
"It would be odd for the Alliance to attack an old man who posed no threat to them. He wasn't involved with any kind of rebellious activity and he wasn't prominent enough to affect them. Stranger, still that they'd send someone stupid enough to leave such a hard piece of evidence. It’s also hard to believe it was a random killing. He lived almost twenty miles from the nearest town and had no close neighbors. The simple fact that he's our grandfather makes it a very suspicious coincidence."
Nasty sighed. "I was almost hoping you'd see it a different way than I had. That glove alone makes me think it was planted there. At the very least, Dorothy must have known about grandfather being killed and said nothing to the police."
"And, at the very most, she killed him," Treize answered bleakly. "I want to know if she did it on her own or if she was working for someone. If she's working with some kind of conspiracy I don't want anymore loose ends."
"Who do you think she could be working for?" Nasty asked. "Dorothy was never the type to follow orders."
"I have plenty of enemies within the Alliance and out of it. People like Septum who dislike me for my popularity and people like Duo who believe I've done terrible things. This would be a very good way to upset me. I don't think it would be hard for anyone to persuade Dorothy to kill. She's the sort of person who'd do it just for the sake of the thrill."
Nasty was quiet for a moment before giving Treize a cautious look. "You don’t mind me using your soldiers, do you? I was a little worried about our guests. If someone is targeting our family, I'd rather not have Mama Fan, Kay, or Lai get in the way."
Treize smiled reassuringly. "I think you did just the right thing and I'm pleased that you trusted my men enough to use them when I wasn't around. If there is someone trying to get at me though my family, I don't want you left unprotected."
A small radio next to the computer buzzed and Nasty quickly went to answer it. "Yes?"
"Yagiyu-san, there's a man here claiming to be general Septum of the Alliance and that general Kushranada is expecting him."
Treize wanted to groan. Septum was a day early! That arrogant bastard didn't even have the courtesy to call ahead when visiting someone's home. "Let him in. Let's get this over with."
Touma-
Zechs set Noin down on the couch and Ryou immediately went to a much happier Byakuen who was a tiger again. Everyone made themselves as comfortable as possible in Treize's home, relaxing on the comfortable chairs, but Touma was having a hard time getting his mind of Quatre and the fact that his brother now seemed to be possessed by the spirit of Ryo's mama. To see Quatre licking his own blood off his fingers and nearly purring when he spoke about torturing doctor J had been horrifying.
'It's so weird, I don't know what Rashid's going to think about all this.' That thought made Touma want to slap himself on the forehead. 'Damn! I'll have to call Rashid and Abdul, they're gonna be worried sick. Well, at least this whole mess is over with. Once Kitty gets back we can go home. No more battles or fights. I don't even know if I can tell them about this yoroi stuff. They'll believe me if I show it to them and I don't think they'd be at all worried. After all, they both wanted me to be a fighter in the manaques.' Touma rolled the crystal orb around in his hand, feeling the cool aura that seemed to radiate from it. 'I don't even know how this thing works and if I didn't see it for myself, I'd never would have believed that it even existed. It's just not possible. But it is.'
"Who's that?" Duo was looking out a window at something and Touma went to see what he was looking at. The man who'd stopped them at the gates, lieutenant Barker, had stopped a large, expensive looking black car and seemed to be arguing with the man in the car.
Zechs, just getting of the phone with a doctor, came to look, also. He cursed. "It's Septum."
"You know him?"
"Unfortunately. Look, everyone, we only have a few minutes." Zechs turned to face the parlor full of people. "That man is trouble for Treize and it'll be a lot easier on everyone if Septum doesn't know that we're here. If everyone could just leave for a little while, I'd appreciate it very much."
Ryou protested, "But I promised Seiji I'd take care of his sister, I can't leave her!"
Zechs grimaced. "We'll move Noin into Nasty's bedroom. Even Septum wouldn't dare to insult Treize by invading his sister's privacy. That would be unforgivable. You can stay with her there. It's the third door on the left." Zechs held the door open for Ryou who carried Noin out.
"What about the rest of us?" Shin asked.
Outside, they heard the heavy gate swing open with a clank and the car drive in. Zechs thought desperately. "You’re all servants. He likely won’t bring anyone with him. He never does. I think he worries that someone will slip up and report his conversations with Treize to the press. No one should question you about your presence here. He certainly won’t lower himself to speak with servants.”
Kay, who'd made herself almost invisible with her silence, stood up and drew attention to herself. "What can I do?”
"Do you mind taking the tigers and little Lai out to the garden? If you could keep them quiet and away from windows it would be a big help. Septum has never bothered to look around the house so he shouldn't be going out there."
Kay nodded quietly and picked up Lai. "Let's go play." Then she looked at the large cats. "Ko-chan, Yaku-chan, let’s go. Let's keep Lai amused."
Zechs stopped Touma as he began to stand. “You might as well stay. Having a witness might just keep Septum civilized and, if we're lucky, it'll encourage him to leave early.”
From the window, Touma could see a large man in a military uniform marching up the walkway towards the front door. "What do you want me to do?"
"You don’t have to do anything. You were accepted into OZ prematurely, the paperwork is all there and legal. You stay here and if Septum asks, you're here on a second interview with Treize."
So Touma stayed on the couch and it was only then that Zechs noticed Duo was still in the room. "Duo, will you..."
"No."
"What?" Zechs was taken aback by Duo's reply.
Duo stood by the window, watching as Septum knocked imperiously on the door. "I'm not leaving. If this is gonna make trouble for Treize, I'm all for it." He smirked unpleasantly. "He killed Sister Helen, so I want to make as much trouble for him as possible."
Zechs looked like he was about to panic. "Please, take this up with Treize later! This is very important... "
"Sister Helen was important! All the children were important!" Duo snarled back. "If he didn't want trouble he shouldn't have killed them!"
"You idiot!" Zechs almost yelled, his fists clenched at his side. "Treize didn't order that attack, Septum did! He's the military commander for the Alliance and no one does anything without his approval!"
Duo's dark smirk vanished and he slowly looked out the window at Septum who was still impatiently waiting for Treize. "Really?" His voice was soft and thoughtful. "Did he?"
"Yes! I haven’t even told Treize what I found out, yet, but it’s definite. A source of mine has told me that it was Septum who ordered the attack. If you mess up this meeting Treize, you're only going to be helping Septum!" Zechs hated begging, but there was no other way that he could get Duo out of the room. "Treize is a paper tiger!"
"A what?"
"He's a tiger with no teeth or claws, he's got no power! The only thing the Alliance uses Treize for is to look pretty for the people. Please, believe me!"
Duo stared at Zechs with an unreadable expression for a moment. "If I find out you're lying to me, I'll kill you along with Treize." With that, he slipped easily out of the room.
Touma didn't think much of General Septum. The man was brash, overbearing, and unpleasantly loud. He spoke far louder than necessary and seemed to mock Treize at every opportunity. He strolled into the house as if it were his own and sat down without being invited.
The tea was served by mama Fan who remained polite even when General Septum commented that it was interesting how Treize was suddenly in need of a housemaid and asked why he hadn't thought to hire one who was at least a little attractive. "After all, you have the money not to have to look at that fat face everyday."
"I find Mrs. Fan to be an excellent cook, sir." Treize replied calmly as he sipped his tea and watched, over Septum's shoulder, as mama Fan blew a silent raspberry at the back of Septum's head. She was smart enough not to endanger Treize by doing it to the man's face, but Touma strongly suspected mama Fan wanted to slap Septum's face.
I'LL BREAK HIS NOSE IF HE SAYS SOMETHING LIKE THAT ABOUT MY MAMA AGAIN! Xiu thought furiously from the kitchen where he and Shin were listening through Touma.
Treize continued, "I like having trustworthy people in my house, and it's so hard to find good help these days."
"Yes," Septum answered, picking up his own teacup. "I heard that Lady Une vanished a short while ago. Have you had any word from her?"
"No," Treize answered, shortly. "I'm afraid not. I suppose she must have found a better employer, somewhere. She seemed satisfied with her position here."
General Septum snorted. "I've heard rumors that she went and joined the rebels from the colonies."
Treize lifted an eyebrow. "Oh? Really?"
"Yes." General Septum's tone hardened. "She was your personal assistant, if I remember correctly, Treize. She knew most of your business, didn't she?"
"Lady Une knew all of my secrets, General." Treize lowered his voice slightly and Touma heard sadness in his tone. "I shared everything with her and she was very valuable to me. She was a very close friend."
"Hrumph! I don't care if she was your mother, Treize. What did she know that could hurt us?"
Treize gave Septum a sweet smile that never touched his eyes. "I don't know any secrets, General. Lady Une helped me organize the fund-raiser parties and keep track of my appointments. She helped to write speeches for me and she made sure my shoes were polished before I went out."
Touma wanted nothing more than to be out of the room with the amount of tension that had escalated between the two men. 'Treize is lying and Septum knows it, but he can't do anything unless he has proof.' Zechs was the only other person in the room, standing at the door at attention, like a guard would, but even he seemed more stiff than usual.
"So," General Septum was suddenly looking at Touma with a very fake smile. "You're the Hashiba I've heard so much about."
"Um, yes, sir." Touma sat up a little straighter, thankful again for how much Kitty had forced him to learn how to act in 'proper' company when he was younger. "I'm Hashiba Touma."
"I hear you want to be in OZ. Is that right?"
"Yes, sir." Touma wished he knew what Treize wanted him to say so he wouldn't get the other man in trouble.
Septum laughed softly. "You should consider a career in the Alliance, I think it would suit your talents better than OZ."
"Oh?"
"Yes. OZ is just an offshoot of the Alliance forces, after all. It wouldn’t be all that much different for you. From what I've seen of you I think you'd be a great asset to my army." He seemed about to say something else when something caught his attention and Septum went silent for a moment. "There was something I wanted to talk to you about, Treize."
Touma, curiously, followed Septum's gaze and found that the man was staring at a photo of Nasty. It was a lovely picture of Nasty, Treize, Zechs, and Noin on what looked like a family picnic.
Treize also saw what Septum was looking at and his face because carefully blank. "Yes?"
"I heard about the recent tragedy your poor sister is going though, what with her... your grandfather and all. How is she holding up?"
"She's fine, general. She's in mourning, but taking it as well as can be expected." Treize seemed to be confused about this sudden curiosity about Nasty, but didn't ask.
"Ahh. She's grown in a very... attractive young lady. I remember seeing her at your parents funeral. She was such a plain child."
Treize stiffened at the mention of his parents. "I've never thought her plain, but she is my sister so I suppose I may be bias."
"She isn't married, is she?"
Touma felt about a dozen warning bells go off in his mind and, from Treize's expression, so did he.
"No. She... "
"I think I may remedy that."
For a moment, Treize just stared, dumbfounded. "Sir, I... "
"It could help your own interests, Treize." Septum lit his cigar and leaned back on Treize's sofa. "If I had Nasutei as incentive, I may be more willing to help you within the Alliance rather than keep you confined to that embarrassing OZ. I can always find some other idiot to babysit the misfits. You could get a very comfortable position at the Alliance headquarters."
Septum seemed to forget that Zechs, a proud OZ officer, was still in the room. Either that or he was just rude enough not to care.
"It would be good for your sister if she had someone to take care of her, now that she's lost her grandfather. I can give her the security a woman needs and keep her in a manner she should enjoy." He smirked and kept his eyes on the photo of Nasty. "Yes, I think I'd like to have your sister as my wife."
Touma inched away from Treize, seeing that the man had reached his breaking point. A man can only be pushed so far, after all.
"My sister is a very intelligent, independent young lady perfectly capable of taking care of herself, General." Treize tried to keep his tone civil, but wasn't doing a very good job of it. "She does not need your security. Nasty is inheriting our grandfather's fortune and it will keep her safe and comfortable for the rest of her life." Touma saw Treize's eye twitch. "And besides all that, I've made it publicly clear on more than one occasion that I will never try to force my sister into a political marriage against her will."
"She's your sister, you should be able to control what she does... "
Treize stood up very quickly and turned his back on General Septum. He went to the drinks cabinet and filled his now empty teacup with some kind of liquor. "Have you ever heard of a man that could control what a woman does? Nasty will not only tell anyone who listens what was done to her, but she would arrange interviews with the media and write articles online. My sister can be spiteful and vindictive, general. She is perfectly capable of ruining us both if we get her involved with the Alliance in anyway. Trust me, you're better off looking for a more docile wife."
Touma watched Treize's hands shake while he drank the liquor in one gulp and knew he that Treize was keeping his back to Septum just so he wouldn't lose his temper entirely.
OH, DEAR. Touma heard Xiu think from where he was watching though Touma's eyes in the kitchen. NASTY'S WITH US AND SHE SAYS TREIZE DOESN'T HOLD HIS BOOZE WELL. HE'S A TERRIBLE DRINKER AND IF HE GETS STARTED IT MEANS HE'S REALLY UPSEST.
HOW DOES SHE KNOW HE'S DRINKING? Touma asked.
SHE'S PEERING THOUGH A VENT IN THE WALL THAT CONNECTS THE PARLOR TO THE KITCHEN. SHE SAYS ITS ONE ADVANTAGE TO LIVING IN A SMALL HOUSE.
"I get the feeling you'd rather I didn't marry Nasutei, Treize." Septum's voice was dark and threatening. "Do you think I'm not good enough for your backwoods sister?"
"Of course not, General." Treize finally turned around and smiled the same idiot smile that had been on his face ever since Septum had arrived. "I just think you'd be happier with someone else. I know my sister better than anyone and I can tell you, she does not want to be married to anyone at the moment."
Zechs-
Later-
"As if I was going to let that balding, pervert old man put one finger on my sister!" Treize growled as he threw his teacup at the wall and watched it shatter. "That ass! He thinks he can demand my sister just like that?! How dare he have the audacity to... in my own home... I'll kill him with my bare hands before he touches Nasty!" Treize snatched a bottle of gin he normally kept on the fireplace mantel and poured himself another large glass while glaring out the window at Septum's car as it vanished down the driveway. Treize was silent for a minute before throwing his head back and swallowing the entire glass of gin in one swallow.
"Treize... " Zechs bit his lip, not sure what to say in the face of Treize's uncharacteristic fury. It was going to be a bad situation if he let Treize get drunk. He'd never seen Treize so angry.
"I don't want to hear it!" Treize snapped, reaching again for the gin bottle. "I know what you're going to say, Zechs. That I have to calm down and think about this rationally. Well, logic just flew out the window at the insult of that proposal, so you can save your breath!"
Zechs strode over to Treize and took the half-empty bottle out of his hand. "Actually, I was going to say that I think we should ask mama Fan for a cup of coffee for you. You've had enough to drink."
"I don't think so!" Treize grabbed for the bottle again, but Zechs kept it out of reach and put a hand on Treize's chest to keep him at arms distance. "Give it to me, Zechs! I've had a hard day!"
Zechs' eyes narrowed under his mask. He turned to Touma, who still sat awkwardly on the sofa, looking as if he'd rather be anywhere but in the same room as Treize right now. "Touma, why don't you go see your friends and tell them what's going on?"
"They already know, but I'll just go make sure." Touma sped out of the room as quickly as he could.
Treize took that moment to make another move for the gin, but Zechs slapped him.
Treize reeled back, a hand on his cheek. "You... " Treize wore a shocked expression that almost made Zechs wish he hadn't hit him.
"Get a hold of yourself!" Zechs ordered. "Every time Septum comes to visit, you end up drunk. Just stop it! Think for a minute. He WANTS you to get this upset. We aren't alone this time. You've got Nasty to think about and your home is full of OZ soldiers. What are your men going to think if they see you staggering around or praying to the porcelain goddess? You mean everything to them and they're going to feel crushed if you fall apart in front of them. They won't have any faith in you if can't even handle a simple visit from your commanding officer."
"You don't understand."
"Like Hell I don't! You know I think of Nasty like my own sister. She's one of my best friends and I'll kill Septum myself before I'll let him have her. Don't you dare say I don't understand!" Zechs moved away from Treize, now afraid that he'd do something he'd regret more than just a slap across his love's face. "I lost my sister to Septum, in case you don't remember! My sweet little sister DIED in that damned war Septum and his kind started and she was only six! How dare you? How dare you say I don't understand?!"
Treize looked away, ashamed. "I'm sorry. You're right, as always." He rubbed his face with both hands and said, "I wasn't thinking. Please, forgive me. I didn't mean to hurt you by bringing up those memories. You must hate him more than I ever could."
Taking a deep breath, Zechs forced himself to calm down. "I'll never forgive him. I can't. But I don't let that hate interfere in my life. I know I can never have the revenge I want, but I can help you to stop a war like that from ever happening again."
A moment of silence before Treize offered Zechs an apologetic smile. "Let's go ask Mrs. Fan for that coffee, shall we?" He shook his head and smiled self-consciously. "I'm already starting to feel a bit queasy. I really should stick to tea."
"You won't hear me arguing." Zechs replied. "I could live my whole life never having to deal with you being drunk again."
Shin-
Mama Fan was not impressed with Septum, nor was anyone else who'd been eavesdropping on the meeting. "What a rude man!" Mama Fan fumed while she chopped some vegetables for dinner. Everyone had gathered in the kitchen and Shin found it a strangely comforting atmosphere. In a very few hours Mama Fan had changed the cold, unused kitchen into a very homey room filled with lovely, warm smells. "Why, I wish I could give him a piece of my mind!"
Shin tried to hold back a smile. "I'm surprised you didn't, mama." He said, lending a hand by preparing some chicken. "I've never seen you take attitude from anyone."
Mama Fan patted his shoulder. "Even I know when it's wiser to hold my tongue. However," Her eyes narrowed, "He went WAY beyond rudeness!" She turned a questioning look to Treize who was sitting at the table, sipping coffee. "What is a nice boy like you doing associating with that character? He's going to dirty your image, with that kind of behavior."
Treize laughed. "He's going to kill me if he can get the chance. If he can't find an excuse to have me killed, he'll ruin my reputation and publicly embarrass me. Don't worry, Mrs. Fan. I don't trust him and I'll keep my eye on him."
"So will I." Nasty had been sitting next to Kay, opposite of Treize at the table, but now stood. "Don't you worry about me, Treize. I can take care of myself. I'm going to go do some more searching on the internet, Treize. I'll be back down in a little while."
"What are you searching for?" Touma asked suddenly. "I'm pretty good with computers, maybe I can help."
She looked at him wearily for a moment, as if trying to determine if she wanted his help or not. "Alright. Come upstairs and I'll fill you in. Treize," She called as she and Touma started walking out of the room. "They're bringing Quatre back here, aren't they?"
"Yes. As far as I know. Why?"
"When he gets here, I need to talk with him. Tell him it's important."
"What for?" Touma asked her; interested in anything that had to do with his brother.
"Don't worry about it." Nasty replied before they both left.
SHE'S HIDING SOMETHING. Touma told Shin, worried. I DON'T TRUST HER, SHE'S SMARTER THAN SHE LOOKS.
I'M SURE SHE'S NOT GOING TO CAUSE TROUBLE. Shin answered. I LIKE NASTY. SHE SEEMs CLEVER, BUT THAT'S NOT A BAD THING, AS YOU SHOULD KNOW. His tone turned teasing.
LAUGH IT UP, PAL, Touma replied. BUT THIS GIRL IS DANGEROUS. CAN'T YOU TELL?
Shin thought about what little he knew of Nasty. He'd only met her a little while ago, after all, and really didn't know her well. NOT REALLY. WHY DO YOU THINK SO?
Xiu barged into the conversation. WUFEI LIKES HER, IF YOU FIND OUT SHE'S TROUBLE, I WANT TO KNOW. He didn't sound at all happy, and Shin saw him cast a look at the now closed door that Nasty and Touma had gone though. I DON'T WANT HIM GETTING HURT. HE'S JUST STARTING TO GET OVER MEIRAN; I DON'T WANT HIM GETTING HIS HEART BROKEN AGAIN.
Shin smiled and put his arm around Xiu. YOU'RE SO SWEET AND THOUGHTFUL.
Xiu blushed, but didn't bother to hide his grin. Shin belatedly realized that Xiu's mother was in the same room. OH, I'M SORRY... He hadn't thought of how Xiu's mom would react.
"Don't worry," Xiu said serenely. "Mama knows I'm gay. I told her ages ago."
"So long as my baby's happy," Mama Fan said without turning around from her cooking. "And so long as he gets an heir for the Fan name, I'll be happy."
"Heir?" Shin turned, startled, to Xiu.
"I'll adopt." Shu replied easily. "Mama and I figured it all out ages ago. Don't worry so much."
How could Shin stop himself from worrying? Now that the crisis was over, he had to start thinking about the little details. Life with Xiu and Touma, where Ryou and Seiji would fit into all of this, what part in their lives would the Ma-Sho play, and how would Cathy take this when he told her what had been going on?
Cathy?
Cathy?!
"I have to call my sister!" Shin nearly screamed. "She hasn't heard from me in weeks and she still thinks someone's trying to kill me, she'll be so worried!" He pushed himself away from Xiu. "Treize, can I use your communicator?"
"It's in the parlor." Treize said, without looking at him.
Treize-
A short while later, when Treize had settled down, he blurted out, "I'll bet it was him!" Treize said suddenly, frowning at his coffee. "I'll bet Septum had grandfather killed."
Ryou frowned. "Why? I know you don't like the guy, but that doesn't mean he killed anyone."
"Isn't it obvious? That was his main point when he said he wanted to marry Nasty. He used the excuse that she didn't have grandfather to take care of her as an excuse to try and get me to marry her off. I'll bet he had Dorothy kill grandfather just to get this opportunity." Treize's eyes blazed with fury. "I'll kill him!"
Nasty walked back in with a paper in her hands and had just heard Treize's words. "NO!" Nasty cried, her eyes widening. "You can't! Treize, you can't start anything yet. Look," She held out the paper she'd brought in with her. "I've got some information. Dorothy was definitely not in school when the murder happened, I managed to hack into her school's records. At that time, though, Septum was in America overseeing the building of some new armaments factory. He could have given her the order to kill grandfather, but he didn't do it personally."
"It's close enough. I'll have him dead as soon as possible."
"You aren't listening, Treize." Nasty spoke slowly so he'd be sure to hear her and Treize could easily see how serious she was. "We don't know Dorothy did it, we only know she could have done it. We don't KNOW Septum even had anything to do with it. There's been no record of any contact or communication between the two of them in the last six months. I want to make sure, before we do anything."
Treize hugged her tightly, knowing that he would do anything to protect her. "I'm doing this for you, Nasty. If my enemies have started to target my family, the time has come to... "
"No, it hasn't! You said it yourself, that OZ is only at half it's potential strength and to start a war at this point would be throwing your troops lives away. They can't possibly defeat the colonies and the Alliance. We don't even know who killed grandfather. It might have been the colonies, but I doubt it if those boys are their representatives. They were with us the whole time. The Alliance? It's possible, but why? They really don't see you as a threat." Nasty forced Treize to look at her. "Promise me you won't do anything rash."
Treize was quite for a long time.
"Excuse me."
Everyone looked up to find Rajura standing in the doorway. "I couldn't help but over hear. Did you say you wanted to start a war?"
Sh'ten-
Void-
Sh'ten was, once again, in the void of darkness. He had been there ever since escorting doctor J to his 'reward' and now waited for... something, anything to happen. It felt like he'd been in the endless nothingness for years and in that time, Sh'ten had nothing to do but remember.
He remember how he'd first met Rajura, on a battlefield where he'd lost his first battle to the one eyed man. He remembered Rajura's seductive offer of an endless lifetime and the life of an emperor. He remembered even before that.
Clear, bright memories of his father hurting him. He'd come home one day, beaten up by bullies because the color of his hair was different, crying. Father had slapped him across the face. "I only do this because I love you, Koma. You can not be weak! You must never show fear or pain to anyone! You'll understand when you grow up."
And so Sh'ten learned that pain means love.
Then came memories, more faded and less concrete, of his mother. A red haired woman with soft eyes who held him against herself during thunderstorms and told him stories. "The thunder is giants throwing temper tantrums, my little one." She would turn to the open window and laugh bravely at the raging storm while he sat on her lap, clutching the front of her kimono in fear. "Laugh, my little one. Show them you are not afraid. My warrior. My brave little warrior."
Sh'ten, of course, laughed with her and learned that if you laugh, you can't be really afraid.
Now, alone, Sh'ten was lost in those memories and more. Anubisu taking him hunting for the first time and Naaza allowing him into his bed. Rajura teaching him to, strangely enough, knit.
It was all so... unspeakably pitiful.
'I wasted all that time.' Sh'ten realized with a sigh. 'There was so much we could have been doing instead of gathering power for Arago and ourselves. What would I have done if we had conquered the Ningen Sekai, anyway? Power is all well and good, but then you have to defend that power and take care of the people under your rule. I should have just asked Naaza to elope with me and gone on a romantic honeymoon. Some place nice, like Hawaii. Never did see Hawaii. Damn.'
Sh'ten sighed again. So, this was how it all ended. Just a vast emptiness, forever. All the years of blood that stained his hands would surely condemn him; to whatever Hell the afterlife had to offer. Well, it had been his choice.
"Are you ready?"
Sh'ten turned abruptly to the voice he now recognized as belonging to the monk. He stood behind Sh'ten, leaning slightly on the elaborate staff with his ever-jangling rings. The wide hat he wore hid his face so all that was visible was the man's mouth.
"Ready?" Sh'ten repeated dumbly. It took him a moment to realize what the monk was talking about. He nodded, turning to face the monk fully. "I've dealt with my ghosts and I've faced all my demons."
"Then you are satisfied with what you have done with your life?"
"No." Sh'ten shook his head. "Finally content with a past I regret, but I'm not satisfied. I could have done so much more." Sh'ten thought back, though, to the people he loved more than life, his brothers, and how much their love meant to him through out the long years of his life. “I've found your fine strength in your moments of weakness. But once I made peace with myself... " Sh'ten stopped himself right there. He was NOT going to start thinking about his evil deeds, again. Instead, he told the monk, "I've been burdened with blame, trapped in the past for too long." Perhaps he was just a fossil. The world had changed so much and Sh'ten was a relic from a bygone age. He hadn't been able, or allowed to, move and grow as humanity had grown over the years. "I'm moving on."
"Are you prepared to leave your home?" The monk pointed his staff at the void behind Sh'ten and Sh'ten turned to look. There was Arago's city-palace he'd lived in for nearly four hundred years. Surrounded in mist like he would always remember it and in the pasture next to the palace, Sh'ten could just barely make out the herd of horses, a breed of demon horses Anubisu lovingly tended. "There are so many memories for you here."
"I've lived in this place, and I know all the faces." Sh'ten found himself picturing not only Anubisu with the horses, but Ryou and Duo running though the halls, Kay practicing with Rajura with her little twin jitte. He saw Naaza in the swamps, sprawled out on a large sunny rock with his snakes perched all around and on top of him. "Each one is different, but they're always the same." Family, the only people who ever loved him. "They mean me no harm. But it's time that I faced it." Then came other faces. Arago. Saranbo. Father. Badamon. All the people he had ever killed, or done worse to, haunted his mind. "They'll never allow me to change." Even if Sh'ten wanted to be a good person and never lift a weapon again as long as he lived, he didn't think he'd be able to. They'll always be with him, in the back of his mind, reminding him of what he was capable of. How could he change if their faces were always with him?
Sh'ten turned away from the city-palace. "But I never dreamed home would end up where I don't belong." Sh'ten had come to think of the Youja Kai as his home, but his family was gone, now in the Ningen Sekai. There was nothing left for him in that place. "I'm moving on."
The city-palace vanished as abruptly as it had been created.
"What to do you believe will become of you now?" The monk asked.
"I don't know." Sh'ten shrugged and tried to sound lighthearted. "I'm moving on. At last I can see, life has been patiently waiting for me." Perhaps in the afterlife there would be something wonderful. It was a chance to see and experience new things. He had to be hopeful. If he dwelled on the fact that he was doomed, Sh'ten knew he would lose his mind.
"You may not like what you will find in this new life."
"I know there's no guarantee. But... I might... alone... " He paused a moment to stop babbling and say what was in his heart. "There comes a time in everyone's life when all you can see is the years passing by and I've made up my mind that those days," Sh'ten had to stop again, choking with tears. Tears? 'I... I don't want to cry. I'm not afraid. The years have become very long and tedious. There's no sense in being afraid of change.’
"Do you have anything left that needs to be done?"
Sh'ten shook his head: no. "I've done what I could, they'll do what I couldn't. I felt their love on my way out. I've loved like I should. But lived like I shouldn't. Maybe forgiveness with find me somewhere down this road. I'm moving on." Yes, it's time to leave. 'I'm tired of this emptiness. Tired of nothing to do but remember the faces of people I'll never get to see again. There's nothing for me here, I have to go. I have to let them get on with their lives. I'm moving on. I'm moving on.'
The monk raised his staff again and pointed it at Sh'ten's chest. There was no bright flare of light, but a soft fading of reality that engulfed Sh'ten. Sh'ten felt himself start to fade, regretting that he wouldn't see his family again. They meant so much to him, so very, very much.
He was tired and wanted to rest.
Sh'ten, Koma Toshitada, the red topped child and beloved by all who truly knew him, faded from sight.
Kaosu, the Monk-
"Master, are you certain about this?" Kaosu looked at the spot where the spirit of Sh'ten had been only moments before.
"You have doubts?"
"He had not changed in many hundreds of years, master." Kaosu replied carefully. "His life had been a waste and he has only used it to bring pain and evil to the world. Is he worthy of your mercy?"
"It is not mercy that moves me to retrieve his soul. Sh'ten is apart of something greater than he that will not suffer to be without him. The ogre of spring, so changing and contrary, is a part of the circle that holds the Earth in balance.
Time: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter
Elements: Fire, Earth, Air, Water, Spirit
Without them, the Ningen Sekai will face the doom of a dark future. Spring, whatever his nature, will be endured for the good of all. His pleasures and his torments are not important, only his existence matters. Find him a home, my servant. A loving, gentle home that will temper his spirit."
Kaosu bowed to the unseen speaker and, with staff in hand, Kaosu disappeared from the void.
To be continued...