Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Warrior Children ❯ Pregnant ( Chapter 36 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Cousin D 
Nasty's life is in for a big change.
Anime/Manga: Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Fantasy / Drama / Angst / Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 06.22.2007 | Pages: 7 | Words: 8.9K | Visits: 397 | Status: Completed
Nasty's life is in for a big change.
Anime/Manga: Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Fantasy / Drama / Angst / Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 06.22.2007 | Pages: 7 | Words: 8.9K | Visits: 397 | Status: Completed
Chapter 36: Pregnant!?
Noin-
She woke in pain and darkness. Slowly, as she reached a hand up to rub at her eyes, memories suddenly resurged, she sat bolt upright with a gasp. Two large hands took hold of her shoulders and pressed her back onto the bed. Instinctively, Noin kicked and tried to fight, but whoever held her just kept pressing on her shoulders.
“Fear not. The trouble has gone. You are safe.”
Noin froze, then slowly relaxed. “Anubisu? What’s going on? I can’t see a thing.”
"Forgive me.” The hands left her shoulders and Noin heard footsteps cross the room. A door opened and light from the hall let Noin see. “Adequate?”
“Very.” Noin breathed deeply in through her nose and settled herself more comfortably in the bed. Anubisu wasn’t nearly so imposing when he was alone and speaking so softly. “How did we end up at Treize’s house?”
“How do you know where we are?”
“He’s got that Elvis painting in the hall. I can see it, just there. Ugly thing. What happened to that boy? The blonde kid.”
“He’s fine.” Anubisu looked away, briefly. He stood stiffly by the door and kept his hands at his sides. "A few minor injuries, but nothing that couldn’t be handled easily.”
"But his hand! I think I broke it." She couldn't seem to remember everything exactly clear. "It wasn't his fault. He was... "
"Yes, we know." His voice, though rough, was soothing. "Just lay down, please. Seiji went to get you something to eat and I promised I wouldn't let you hurt yourself. He said you should stay in bed for a while."
Reluctantly, Noin lay down. She was sore, but not so much as she’d thought she would be, and it felt good to lay still in the darkness.
"I apologize for being with you while you were resting." Anubisu shifted on his feet and wouldn‘t look at her. "If you would rather that I leave you, I'll let Nasutei-san know you'd prefer another lady for company."
"No, no." Noin assured him. "This is fine. Why should I want you to leave?"
Anubisu flushed, even in the half-darkness. “You… ah… your clothes were in a state of disarray. Nasutei-sama decided it would be best to have them laundered.” He gestured at her. “Your are wearing her nightclothes.”
Noin looked down at herself. Indeed, she was wearing what looked like one of Nasty’s old t-shirts and could feel that she was wearing sweatpants. “Yes. And?”
"A lady should not have a man, a stranger, in her bedchambers. Certainly not while in a state of undress. It is unseemly."
Noin laughed. "I'm a fully trained soldier. I don‘t worry about unwanted advances too often.” Her stomach churned when she thought of how she’d woken up. If he’d meant to harm her, she wasn’t sure would have been able to defend herself. “Besides, that's a very old fashioned point of view, isn't it?"
"I'm a very old fashioned man."
'Perhaps he has a point.' It wasn't exactly smart to be alone with a strange man when she was still recovering, especially when said man was built like a brick chicken house. Still, the fact that Anubisu had offered to leave for the sake of her peace of mind made Noin believe he didn't mean to hurt her.
A soft whine brought Noin's attention to her left. "Byakuen?"
"Your brother, very properly, does not want to leave his sister alone with a man who might cause harm to her reputation."
"My reputation? What's that got to do with Byakuen?"
Anubisu gave a chuckle and stroked Byakuen's head with his still armored hand. "Ryou and Seiji, along with their friends, had to speak with Rajura about something. It is rather important, but they'll be right back. Seiji wanted Byakuen to stay just so I wouldn't do anything to hurt you while he was gone."
Noin sighed. With how protective she'd been of Seiji since she'd found him, it really shouldn't be a surprise that he'd turn it around on her. "I’m sorry about that. I didn’t think he’d worry so much.”
“Why wouldn’t he?”
“It’s hard to tell what he’s thinking.” To change the painful subject, she asked, “Tell me, how old are you?" Just how old fashioned? Was the armor he wore genuine? What connected him to Seiji? There was just so much mystery surrounding Anubisu and his friends and she'd never really gotten any answers from Seiji.
"I don't think you'd believe me if I told you." He answered with a sad sort of smile.
"Try me. I'm a big girl."
Anubisu remained silent until Noin was sure he wasn't going to tell her a thing. Noin let herself lay down more comfortably, still a little sore from what had happened. "That machine, the one that made the poor boy go nuts. What happened to it?"
"I believe Treize had it destroyed."
"You believe?" Noin frowned. "Don't you know? It's very dangerous and does horrible things to people."
Anubisu shrugged. "I was occupied at the time, helping with the man who made that machine."
"Helping?"
He looked away. "It is not proper to speak of such things in front of a lady. I will not tell you what we did to him. I will tell you that he will not come back."
"I'm not a lady."
He, for the first time, gave a small, teasing smile. "Really?" His tone made Noin actually blush.
"I mean, I'm a soldier," she clarified. "I've seen and done some very bad things. You can tell me what happened."
"No. I can't. The world seems so different, now, and people have changed a great deal. I remember women being far more fragile. You may be a soldier, but in my eyes, you are a lady and I there are some things I will not say or do in front of you."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Noin told him, bluntly. "Will you tell me what's going on with Seiji and all of you?" She reached out and poked his armored arm. "This armor... I saw you bring down lightening with just a sword, at Treize's party. I know Seiji can heal people. I've seen such strange... " Noin looked closer at Anubisu's broad face. "I saw... I saw you... I think. That was you, wasn't it? That was you that turned into a blue wolf."
Anubisu met her eyes. "Yes, that was me. I'm not human nor have I been one for a very long time. My brothers, including Seiji, are human, but they are not mortal as you are. Not any longer. I will tell you everything, if you are feeling well enough."
Noin pulled herself up into a sitting position, with a little help from Anubisu. "I've been feeling well enough to hear this for a long time. Seiji won't tell me and there's been no time to ask anyone else."
"Seiji is afraid that you will reject him." He looked away. "We have not often been welcomed by our mortal families because of what we are. It is a very real fear for Seiji and he told me that he has chosen to be a coward. He asked me to tell you and if you react badly, he will not try to see you, again. It's your choice, really."
"Reject him!?" Noin almost shouted. "It took me years just to find him. I don't care what kind of secret he has; Seiji is my only family. I'm not going to reject him for anything. I love Seiji and he can tell me anything."
Her passionate declaration didn't move Anubisu at all. "Wait until you hear the secret and then give your opinion. Seiji is now my family, too. I will not have him hurt needlessly."
Later that night-
Nasty-
Nasty had spent hours in front of her computer, typing and searching until her fingers were almost too sore to move. In the end, she let her hands drop from the keyboard and let out and exhausted sigh. There was nothing, absolutely no evidence, to connect Dorothy to Grandfather Yagiyu’s murder. The only possible link was the fact that on the day of the murder Dorothy hadn't gone to school and that was a very thin connect, at best.
Nasty left the computer chair to sit on the small sofa in her bedroom and looked around. Mama Fan had already come in and fallen asleep on Nasty’s bed with little Lai curled up next to her. The food she’d brought for Nasty was now cold and unappetizing on the side-table. Still, Nasty picked up the plate of pasta and ate. She went to a window and looked down at the driveway where OZ soldiers walked back and forth, pacing near the entrance of the house.
"Nasutei-sama?" Kay stood uneasily in the open bathroom door wearing the spare clothes Nasty had given her.
“You can sleep on the sofa. I’m afraid the bed’s going to be a bit full tonight and Noin has the spare room. When the mansion’s repaired you can have your own room. It won’t be long, now.”
“Are we staying so long?”
The question took Nasty aback. “Well… only if you want to, I suppose. Do you want to?”
Kay tugged at the hem of the nightshirt she wore. On Nasty, the nightshirt was slightly sexy and showed off lots of leg. On Kay, it looked like a very big T-shirt. 'She'll be so beautiful, one day.' Nasty thought with a smile. 'I'll have to see she gets introduced to some acceptable young men when the time comes.' After all, Nasty didn't want Kay to get involved with some guy that was going to be unworthy of her or treat her badly. 'I think I've just gotten myself a little sister.'
"Yes. I think I would like that. It depends on what Rajura decides, though. Are you sure it's all right for me to wear this?" Kay tugged again at the bottom of the nightshirt to try and make it cover her knees. "I‘m sure Rajura wouldn’t like this. It's too short."
"Of course he wouldn’t." Nasty replied. "Big brothers are like that. They don't like to admit it when little sisters start to grow up. You look just fine. Besides, there's no one here but us girls, so there's no reason for you to feel self-conscious. Are you ready for bed?"
"Yes, Nasutei-sama." Kay obediently came to sit on the sofa.
"You don't have to call me Nasutei-sama. Just Nasty will do."
Kay shook her head. "Rajura says that I must always be polite and mind my manners. He said that you're a lady and your family has been very kind to us, letting us stay here until we can find somewhere to live."
Nasty laughed and gave Kay a brief hug. "You're such a sweet girl, Kay. Your brothers are lucky to have you."
"Do you think so?"
"Oh, yes. I think they think so, too. Rajura and the others have been so worried about you. He's afraid that you're still hurt from whatever the man who kidnapped you did. And you won't talk to him."
"Saranbo didn't hurt me, not really. He just made me think... weird things. He made me feel things, to. I don't want to think about it, but I can't stop, either. I know Rajura didn't have any choice. He couldn't remember me. But... "
"Is Rajura the head of your family?" Nasty asked.
"Hmm? Oh," Kay was dragged out of her dark memories and a soft smile touched her face. "Yes. Mama Sh'ten was the leader when they went into war, but Rajura always took care of us. He used to read me bedtime stories and he didn't let Duo tease me when we were little. He didn't do the cooking, though. Naaza always says Rajura can ruin rice without trying, so Naaza did the cooking. But Rajura used to sing to me at bedtime."
"He sings?" For some reason, the image of stern, serious Rajura singing a bedtime song made Nasty smile.
As if she could see Nasty's thoughts, Kay told her, "Rajura's wasn't always so worried.
Before... everything happened we were very happy. We all had lots of fun. Back then it was Mama Sh'ten who worried most about the battles, but they weren't very serious because we always won. Mama Sh'ten spent his time writing and Naaza painted such beautiful pictures. Anubisu made fancy wooden toys for me, when I was a child. He’s a very good carver."
"So," Nasty asked. "What did Rajura used to sing to you?"
Kay blushed. "It's kind of a silly song, but it was my song. Rajura never sang it for Ryou or Duo. It was just for me."
"Will you sing it for me?"
Kay cleared her throat before singing:
Yuhi you yamani
Teru-Teru Kayura
Kaeru yatokage ga
Kon'nichi wa
Koi no arai
Tabu no ko umani
Yuhi you yamani
Teru-Teru Kayura
Kaeru yatokage ga
Kon'nichi wa
As she'd sung, Kay's eyes started to water and she finished by wiping her eyes. "Nastuei-sama, please, excuse me. I think I should go speak to Rajura. I won't be long."
"Come back when you're done talking."
Xiu-
It was Rajura who'd called them all together and Xiu wasn't sure he was at all comfortable with Rajura putting himself in command. Of course, Rajura did know more than any of them about the yoroi so maybe it was only right that they followed his lead. They were meeting outside, in a small clearing in the forest near Treize's house.
Naaza had assured them that none of Treize's soldiers were close enough to listen, and they gathered around a fire Ryou had lit for them. It was the middle of the night and the completely dark house told them that everyone else was fast asleep, but Rajura seemed to think this was a very important matter and needed absolute secrecy. Xiu, Touma, and Shin sat together on a fallen log, while Ryou spoke with Anubisu. Anubisu, who had only just arrived with Byakuen, spoke to him quietly before whispering to Rajura about something.
"What's that all about?" Shin asked when Ryou came to sit with them on the fallen log.
HE'S COURTING NOIN-SAMA. Ryou told them, letting Seiji hear his thoughts, too. Ryou was clearly very happy about this and didn't see any reason to hide the fact, even though Seiji glowered at the news.
HE WON'T HURT MY SISTER. Seiji said firmly.
OF COURSE HE WON'T. ANUBISU AND RAJURA ARE IN LOVE WITH HER. THEY'LL TAKE VERY GOOD CARE OF HER. Ryou let his feelings of happiness float around everyone. THEN WE'LL BE EVEN CLOSER. OUR FAMILIES WILL BE LINKED.
Xiu wasn't overly concerned about Ryou and Seiji's family relations, right now. He knew that they'd all work it out once Noin decided what she wanted. He was more concerned with what he thought they were going to discuss tonight. He wanted to know what they were going to do now that they all had this yoroi and nothing to do with it.
"We have an opportunity to do something truly grand." Rajura started, brining Xiu out of his thoughts. "Treize is having a bit of difficulty in a little war he wants to start. I think we should help him."
Xiu's mouth fell open and he wasn't alone in his shock.
Shin gasped out, "Are you mad? We don't want to start a war! I don't want to fight, that last time was bad enough and Sh'ten died! What if someone else dies?" He looked to Naaza. "You can't be serious about this."
Naaza met Shin's eyes easily. "I'm a warrior, just like Sh'ten. We've been conditioned for many years to love war. There is a thrill to marching out onto the battlefield."
"Don't say that!" Shin snapped, suddenly irritated with his new friend. "That's a horrible thing to say!"
Ryou stood up for Rajura. HEAR HIM OUT. RAJURA'S SMART AND HE ALWAYS HAS REASON FOR WHAT HE DOES. But even his mind voice sounded doubtful as he thought about going into battle again. HE WOULDN'T WORK WITH NINGENS OUT OF THE GOODNESS OF HIS HEART, YOU KNOW.
"Oh, we won't be actually fighting. We will probably never even be on the war field." Rajura said, a soft, wicked smile touching his lips. "Anubisu, Naaza, and myself are going to be training Treize's soldiers. We just want you five along because you also need training."
"Why?" As usual, Seiji was short and to the point.
"Whoever heard of five young men who couldn't fight?" Naaza said from where he leaned against a tree. "This modern world is absurd. Ryou is already half-way trained and you are more than decent in your fighting ability, but Shin and Touma can barely defend themselves... "
"What are you talking about?" Touma demanded, sounding more than a little insulted. "Rashid taught me to fight most of my life. I'm trained to be a professional soldier."
"Exactly," Anubisu said. "You should not be a soldier. Soldiers take commands and do what they are told without question. We want you to question your orders if they don't seem right. You have a brain and you should use it. You should be able to see a situation and deal with it without orders or asking permission. You are destined to be a warrior, not a soldier."
Touma glowered. "I don't believe in destiny. I can decide my own fate."
"Can you? That the orb of Tenku found you, and that you were already closely known to both the bearers of Kongo and Suiko, can not all be coincidence. Destiny controls us, whether you like it or not."
Touma leaned against Xiu. I DON'T THINK I LIKE HIM VERY MUCH.
Xiu put his arm around Touma, liking the feel of Touma's thin shoulders under his arm. Life was getting comfortable with both Touma and Shin and he was more than a little relieved when he'd heard that Naaza had refused Shin's offer to 'spend some time together.' Shin was a very loving, caring guy, but Xiu just didn't understand why he felt such pity for Naaza. Yeah, it was awful that Naaza had lost Sh'ten, but that didn't mean Shin had to...
IT'S NOT PITY. Shin told him, moving closer to Xiu and Touma. HE NEEDS SOMEONE AND I LIKE HIM. IT'S NOT SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND, SURELY.
"Anyway," Rajura said loudly enough to get everyone's attention back on him. "I know very little about this Alliance that Treize hates so much, but I do know that I don't like them." His eye darkened. "Duo's gone off to kill one of the Alliance generals and... "
"He what?!" Ryou jumped to his feet, away from where he was sitting at Seiji's feet. DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT THIS ALLIANCE KILLS PEOPLE ALL THE TIME? Ryou thought to everyone. THEY KILL SPYS WITHOUT TRIALS AND INTRUDERS ON THEIR BASES TEND TO VANISH? Then he looked back at Rajura. "Why didn't you tell me? He'll get killed, I should be there to keep him safe."
"Don't worry, Ryou-chan." Rajura smirked. "Duo's learned from the best. He won't get caught and, if I know that boy like I think I do, he'll come back to us without so much as a scratch."
Still, Xiu could feel Ryou's worry for his brother and he understood it. "You haven't told us why we should help to start a war. We don't want anyone to get killed."
"I shouldn't have to remind you how we met." Rajura answered, giving Xiu a flat look. Thankfully, he said no more about that still painful subject. "Besides, if you want reasons, I'm sure Touma can find any number of atrocities that the Alliance has committed on that computer thing. You don't have to do any real fighting. I just want you near us because we're now family."
"I will stay with Luc," Seiji said firmly.
"And I want to stay with Seiji, so I'll be near you because Noin's one of Treize's soldiers." Ryou smiled, pleased that he would still be with family. Ryou went to stand near Seiji, a place he seemed very comfortable, and smiled at Xiu and his loves. "You'll come with us, won't you?"
There was an almost blinding innocence in Ryou's eyes. Xiu knew, though their link, that bad things had happened to Ryou in his life, but none of it seemed to effect Ryou's bright outlook on life. He was desperately hoping for the best and the best would be for them all to be together.
Rajura said, turning his attention to Shin, Touma, and Xiu. "You three will find it... uncomfortable to be away from your brothers. It would be simplest for you to remain together, but it is your choice."
Touma thought carefully. "I can't just leave Rashid and Abdul. They've been like parents to me and I know Rashid's not real crazy about the Alliance, but I don't know what he thinks about Treize. After all, Treize acts like he owns the Alliance."
"I need to talk with Trowa and Catherine," Shin said. "Catherine is expecting me to go home, back to the circus. I don't know what's she'd say if I told her I was going to join a war." He seemed nervous and thought to Xiu, CATHERINE HATES WARS. SHE'LL BE FURIOUS WITH ME.
THEN, YOU'RE GOING WITH THEM? Touma asked, rubbing the back of Shin's hand.
I WANT TO BE WITH YOU. He looked around, not just at Xiu and Touma, but also at Ryou and Seiji. RAJURA'S TELLING THE TRUTH. I REALLY DON'T WANT TO BE AWAY FROM ANY OF YOU. IT WOULD JUST BE WEIRD.
Shin's unwillingness to be parted from any of them made Xiu's answer harder, though. He was the one who was going to separate them. "I'm not going." Immediately, he felt distress from Ryou, worry from Shin and Touma, and nothing from Seiji. Seiji was still making a habit of hiding himself.
Rajura looked at him calmly, but said nothing.
"I can't leave my mama to run the restaurant and raise Lai all by herself. She needs me." Xiu said, feeling like he was defending himself. "I just can't. If you're going to start a war, that's all the more reason that I have to stay with her. I have to protect her and Lai."
"It's your choice." Rajura repeated.
Heero-
Heero had the strange feeling that Quatre was manipulating him, but he didn't know how or why.
Quatre coughed pathetically, taking the glass of water when Trowa handed it to him with a shy smile. There was something going on between the two, but Heero couldn't put his finger on it. They were all together in the bedroom that had been given to the four of them to share including Quatre, Trowa, Wufei, and Heero.
"Have a seat, Heero," Quatre invited. "You'll be sleeping here, too, so you may as well make yourself comfortable." Quatre gestured weakly to the small couch against one wall. "I'm afraid we're all at a loose end here, so we've really got no place to stay. You're welcome to stay in my home, Heero. It's rather large so there would be no problems with space." Then he shifted to Trowa and spoke more shyly. "You're welcome to stay, too."
Heero took in the information and stored it away, wondering if he should say anything in response. He had rather been expecting to stay with Seiji, but what if Seiji and his sister didn't want Heero with them? Perhaps Quatre's offer would come in useful.
They'd been sitting together for a while and it seemed to Heero that Quatre spoke a lot, but was saying very little. He seemed happy enough to just babble about little, unimportant things. 'It's night.' Heero thought, looking out of the window. 'We should be asleep.' He was still in the habit of sleeping when he was told, though, and he wasn't sure when he would be allowed to lay down and get some rest.
"What do you think you'll be doing?" Quatre asked Heero, only to get a blank look in return.
Heero had no idea what Quatre was talking about. 'Do? Do about what? Should I be doing something?'
After waiting several minutes and not getting an answer, Quatre put the same question to Trowa.
"I suppose I'll just go back to the circus with Shin and Catherine." Trowa spoke without enthusiasm, though. It was as if it really didn't matter. "I have been training for this war for such a long time, I don't know how to do much else other than fight."
Quatre patted Trowa's hand. "Don't worry about it too much. I'm sure we'll find some way to keep us busy."
"I will find a job," Trowa told Quatre. "I will not let myself become useless."
"Oh," Quatre said, widening his eyes. "I never thought you'd be useless. I didn't mean to say that. It just seems like a bit of a waste to have a pilot trained to fly a machine built for global devastation wasting his skills working in a supermarket. But, where would you ever find a job where the requirements include stealth, computer expertise, strategic knowledge, and a license to pilot a Gundam?"
Trowa blinked, thinking as he turned away from Quatre.
'I think I had better ask Duo about this.' Heero thought. 'Duo's smart and I'm sure he'll know what I should do. He's been living a 'normal' life longer than I have, so he'll know how I get a job. I wonder what a job is?' Heero already knew he was pretty much useless unless he managed to find some kind of position in the military. Joining the same army he'd been trained to kill was not an appealing idea.
Trowa seemed be thinking the same thing. "I can't join the Alliance. It would be... wrong." He apparently didn't feel the need to explain himself and was content with his reason.
"The Alliance?" Quatre smiled sweetly, the only expression his face seemed to have. "Oh, I wasn't even dreaming of us joining the Alliance. No, that just wouldn't do at all." He reached out and put his hand on Trowa's knee. "Don't worry. I'm sure an opportunity will just fall into our laps."
Trowa looked at Quatre and got a puzzled expression on his face. "Quatre, are you hiding
something?"
"Hiding? What are you talking about?"
"Your voice... it doesn't sound normal."
Heero had been trained in many things, not only computers and weapons. He had been trained to read facial expressions and body language so he'd be able to infiltrate the enemy bases and do espionage work. Trowa was right. Quatre was hiding something.
Quatre looked slightly guilty, but kept smiling. "Well, I may have an idea of what we could do with our time. It may seem like a strange idea, but I want to wait until Wufei comes back. It'll involve him, too."
"What will involve me?" Wufei asked, walking through the door and throwing his coat on a chair before taking a seat next to Heero on the sofa.
Quatre didn't answer right away, but said, "You were gone for a while."
"Duo and I have been busy." A satisfied smile spread across Wufei's face. "Just tying up a loose end."
"A loose end?" Quatre frowned. "What kind of loose end?"
"We were making sure that a man who deserved death, got what he deserved." Duo replied happily, coming in and, seeing that the seat next to Heero was taken by Wufei, sat on Heero's lap instead. He seemed to like that seat best and cuddled into Heero, not caring that there were otherpeople in the room. "Did you miss me, sweetie?"
"Yes." Heero surprised himself with the answer, but it was true. Duo had only been gone a few hours and Heero had missed him terribly. "You killed someone?"
Duo nodded proudly, though his eyes darkened and Heero recognized that this was a different Duo. "Oh, yeah. He's very dead. We made him suffer for everything he did."
"Septum?" Quatre guessed.
"Yes." Wufei gave him a puzzled look. "How did you know?"
"He visited earlier, I'm told, so I'd assumed that you'd heard about the horrible things he's done. Anyway, about my idea... " Quatre paused and looked at Duo. "Are you spending the night with Heero, Duo?"
"Yep." Duo lay his head against Heero's shoulder.
"Maybe you should go tell your family where you are, so they don't worry."
Duo sprung off Heero's lap and ran for the door. "Good idea. Rajura tends to worry."
After the door had closed behind Duo, Quatre wasted no time. "I didn't want Duo to hear this, I'm not sure how he'd react. We have all had an offer from Treize."
"What kind of offer?" Wufei asked.
"To become his bodyguards."
There was a heavy silence, as everyone thought it through. Wufei looked irritated, at best, and growled at Quatre, "I hope you didn't answer for us when Treize made this offer."
"Oh no, of course not. I wouldn't do something like that. But, I did think that considering his ambitions to overthrow the Alliance, it might be sensible to join him. After all, he's a very important political man and there are bound to be assassins after him. Who's better qualified to keep him alive than us?"
Wufei thought this over. "You may have a point. But I'm not going to give him my loyalty without good reason. How do we what his real ambitions are?”
"We'll just have to wait and see what he does, I suppose," Quatre answered. "But I think if we're going to be doing this, we should do it as a team. In a way, we were all trained to work together on a similar cause. The cause has just changed a little, that's all."
"We should sleep on this," Trowa announced. "Give everyone time to think."
They all went to bed after Duo came back, telling them that Rajura had said it was all right for him to spend the night with Heero so long as Heero didn't hurt him. Duo laughed as he crawled under Heero's blankets and snuggled up close. "I don't think Rajura has anything to worry about, though. I think I'm more likely to get physical than you are, nezumi."
Heero fell asleep with Duo curled next to him, snoring softly. The last thing he remembered was that Quatre was also still awake, laying next to Trowa, and he was watching Duo with thoughtful eyes. Quatre met Heero's gaze and the two just stared at each other for a moment in the otherwise silent room. Then Trowa muttered in his sleep and Quatre hugged the taller boy closer until Trowa fell back into a deeper sleep. When Quatre looked back up he whispered loudly enough for Heero to hear him,
"Death needs a fitting steed, don't you agree?"
What Quatre was referring to, Heero didn't know, because just then Quatre closed his eyes and seemed to fall asleep.
A short while later-
Kaosu-
He appeared in the room when the last of the women had fallen asleep and stood over the quiet body of the girl he'd found. He'd been watching her since his master had charged him with his mission.
'Yes.' He thought, looking down at her peaceful face. 'Yes, she will be perfect.'
Lowering his staff over her body, Kaosu concentrated and did what he knew he had to do.
Nasty-
Nasty woke up and immediately knew something was different. With a hand to her mouth, she jumped to her feet and ran to the bathroom where she instantly hit her knees and started praying to the porcelain goddess.
Ten minutes later, and feeling much better, Nasty wandered out and wondered what had brought that on. 'I'll call the doctor tomorrow. I'd hate to come down with a flu now. I still have to make arrangements for grandfather and sort out what to do about Dorothy. I can't afford any more complications in my life right now.'
Kenbukyou-
Sh'ten's body had vanished.
It was... disturbing, to say the very least. Deep in his castle, nothing should have been able to enter without his notice. Certainly, nothing should have been able to get into the human's tomb. It had been pure coincidence that Kenbukyou had been wandering by the tomb of the fallen samurai and seen the stone slab was bare.
He stopped and stared for a long time. 'This is not good,' he thought. 'The Ma-Sho will not be pleased.' But he really had to tell them. They were notoriously loyal to each other and Kenbukyou had no doubt that sooner or later, they would return for Sh'ten, to give him a 'decent' burial on Earth.
"Guards!" Kenbukyou snapped.
His guards answered as quickly as he knew they would and saluted smartly.
"We've been invaded. Why did you not know of it?"
The two guards looked between each other nervously. "Sire, we heard and saw nothing. The barriers you placed around the castle to detect intruders have not been disturbed."
Kenbukyou was even less pleased by that news. "Are you suggesting that one of MY own people has dared to desecrate the body of an honored warrior? A warrior who made my rise to power possible?"
"No, sire!" The immediately answered. "Never would one of our people do such a thing."
"You are dismissed. Rouse the rest of my army and have them search the castle from top to bottom. I will have no one resting until the Oni Ma-Sho's body is found!"
"Yes, sire!" The saluted and ran off.
'How am I going to tell Rajura that I 'lost' Sh'ten?' Kenbukyou thought. Though he'd never admit it to anyone, he was worried. The child, Ryou, controlled Kikoutei, and Ryou had loved Sh'ten. If Ryou became angry enough to wake Kikoutei or if Rajura ordered Ryou to do it... there was no telling what devastation the white yoroi could wreak on both worlds.
Kenbukyou should know. After all, he had once worn Kikoutei. Long ago, when the white yoroi had been created, it had been Kenbukyou that the yoroi had chosen to wear it.
'That was all so long ago, though.' He thought, still looking at Sh'ten's empty tomb. 'Before the yoroi had been divided and before Arago had been sealed away in the Youja Kai. Before I fell in love with a mortal woman and before I had my son.'
Kenbukyou turned and walked briskly away from the tomb, trying to rid his mind of the painful memories. It was one of the problems of never aging. Everyone around you aged and died while you could only sit by and helplessly watch. Even wives with hair so fair it was almost white and sons who loved to tell wild tales.
It was no use. Their faces were, as always, stuck in his mind. Though he loved them dearly, even after so many hundreds of years, Kenbukyou couldn't help but feel it was some sort of punishment.
'I'll never have any peace with them in my mind. It doesn't help that my son's so near.' Once back at his chambers, Kenbukyou sat in his chair that overlooked his kingdom out of a small window. A kingdom he would gladly give up if he could have his family back again. 'I wish I could have stopped him being chosen as one of the bearers. It's not a pleasant fate. At least I know that he isn't alone, like I was. Like I am. He has the other parts of his soul, the other yoroi bearers.'
Naaza-
They were given the living room to sleep in. Not that Naaza cared one way or the other. It was a different sort of place to sleep, but he'd long ago gotten used to sleeping outside and on whatever bedding he could make from fallen leaves or grass. Here, he had a relatively comfortable carpet to sleep on and a pillow.
All of a sudden, he felt something so terribly familiar that he didn't want to believe it. Naaza sat bolt upright, almost gasping for air, and hardly noticed that Rajura and Anubisu had both done the same. They all sat like that in the darkness with their hearts thudding.
SH'TEN. Naaza thought, stunned, as his love's unmistakable presence dawned in their collective mind. It was a soft and gentle feeling, not at all like the wicked and slightly twisted man Naaza had grown to love, but it was Sh'ten. His unique flavor was there and... and... it was not something one could put into words. HE'S ALIVE. Naaza jumped to his feet and ran to where Rajura and Anubisu were now sitting next to each other, just as stunned as Naaza was. HE'S ALIVE! HE'S ALIVE! HE'S COME BACK TO ME! Naaza was actually weeping when he threw his arms around his brothers and they fell into a pile on the floor.
NOW, NAAZA, Rajura started, petting Naaza's hair to comfort him. The empty part of their mind was filled and, despite the undeveloped feeling of it, it was definitely Sh'ten. WE DON'T KNOW WHERE HE IS, OR HOW HE'S COME BACK. HIS THOUGHTS DON'T FEEL EXACTLY THE SAME. IT'S LIKE PART OF HIM IS SEALED AWAY. HE MIGHT NOT EVEN BE AWARE OF US.
YOU TOOK HIS ORB, REMEMBER? Anubisu told him. HE WON'T BE REALLY
CONNECTED WITH US UNTIL HE HAS IT AGAIN.
Naaza was trying not to pay attention. He didn't want to think about the how or why, he just knew that Sh'ten was back. He was somewhere and that was good enough. I'LL FIND HIM. Naaza thought aloud. I DON'T CARE WHERE I GO OR WHAT I HAVE TO DO, I'LL FIND HIM.
The next morning-
Nasty-
As much as she couldn't afford any complications in her life, Nasty was pretty sure she had one by about seven in the morning. After a failed attempt to eat Mama Fan's breakfast, Nasty found herself staggering to the bathroom again with a churning stomach. When she was nearly there, Nasty ran into something solid.
"Nasty? Are you alright?"
Nasty looked up and saw Wufei looking down at her, concerned. He was, despite the early hour, perfectly dressed and had his hair combed back into a neat pig tail. "Bathroom... now." Nasty said, pushing her way passed him and running the last few feet to the bathroom.
Wufei wasn't one to give up easily, though. Nasty hadn't had time to close the door behind her before throwing up and Wufei took advantage of the open door to come in and hold back her long hair for her. When the heaves had stopped, Nasty found Wufei rubbing her back gently.
"Thanks," Nasty said, feeling terminally embarrassed at having Wufei see her like this.
"No problem." Wufei paused, as if he wasn't sure what he should say. "Are you feeling all right?"
"Just ducky." Nasty sighed, standing up to wash her mouth out. "I think I'm coming down with a flu or something. It's nothing terrible." Nasty was suddenly turned around and Wufei put a professional hand on her forehead.
"You haven't got a fever. I think you should go speak with Auntie Fan. She's very good with this sort of thing."
So that's what Nasty did, but Mama Fan declared that it wasn't flu. "I'm not sure exactly what's wrong." Mama Fan confessed when she had Nasty seated in the kitchen and Wufei stood at the door, just watching. "You've been sick since when?"
"Since about three this morning and then just after I tried to eat, now. I feel fine, other than that, though." Nasty couldn't help but think that this was all a bit of a big fuss over nothing. It was just a bout of throwing up, surely something had just disagreed with her stomach.
With hundreds of generations of family cures on her side, Mama Fan took it very seriously. She bustled around the kitchen, her cooking forgotten, while she began pulling herbs and spices from here and there along with bottles of this and that. "I should go back to the restaurant," Nasty heard her mutter. "I have better ingredients there." She mixed several of the things she'd gathered together in a glass of cold water. "Here, drink this, dear."
Nasty swallowed it all, after looking to Wufei who nodded encouragingly. It actually tasted pretty good and Nasty managed to swallow it all in just a few gulps. "That wasn't half bad. What was it for?"
"Oh, just something to settle your stomach. I do think you should go see your doctor, though."
Wufei stepped forward and asked, "Doctor? What for? Do you think it's so serious that you can't do anything for her?"
"Hush, Wufei darling. This really isn't any of your business." Mama Fan ran a hand affectionately through Wufei's hair as she walked briskly passed him, ignoring his insulted expression, and picked up the phone. "Now, your doctor's number is right here, isn't it?" She scanned the numbers posted by the phone. "Ah, yes! Here it is. Doctor Butterfly, huh? That's a colorful name, isn't it?" She was dialing while she spoke, apparently not willing to listen to any discussion. "Hello? Yes. I'm calling for Yagiyu Nasutei, just a general check up and blood work. Yes, you can expect her at eleven. Thank you."
"Mama!" Nasty exclaimed. "I can't go to the doctor's just for an upset stomach. It's foolish."
Like she'd done with Wufei, Mama Fan patted Nasty's hair. "Nothing's foolish when it comes to your health, dear. Now, I think that nice young man, Zechs, should drive you to the doctor's. Why don't you run and ask him, dear?"
Zechs-
Zechs had naturally agreed to take Nasty to doctor Butterfly's office. When Treize had suggested to Mama Fan that Dr. Butterfly would come to them, she had flatly refused. "Nasty spends far too much time alone here. It's good for her to get out and about once in a while."
"Mrs. Fan, our grandfather was just murdered. There are a lot of reporters and other riff-raff about I would prefer Nasty not be exposed to. If Nasty's sick, Dr. Butterfly can come here."
"Don't you trust Zechs to take care of your sister?" Mama Fan asked with a sly smile.
Treize laughed. "That's fighting dirty, Mrs. Fan. All right, I give in."
That was how Zechs ended up in Dr. Butterfly's office. It was actually a nice place, as normal looking as any other doctor's office, with the possible exception of a large, psychedelic painting of a man with a banana in one ear. Zechs had seen the painting many times, but he still couldn't make any sense of it.
"Mr. Marques?" A nurse came out of the office. "Will you please step into Dr. Butterfly's office?"
He found Nasty sitting in a chair looking pale and shaking. Whatever was wrong had to be bad to affect Nasty so badly. Zechs put a hand on her shoulder and looked at Dr. Butterfly who was writing something in his notes.
"Now, Yagiyu-san, I want you to go to this doctor." He handed her a note. "She's very good. I went to school with her and I feel sure you'd like her. Tell her everything I just told you and these are some vitamins I want you to start taking."
"Vitamins?" Zechs took the list from Dr. Butterfly and looked at it, worried. However, he didn't see anything odd about the list. "What for?"
"Yo, dude." Dr. Butterfly, who had seemed relatively normal while talking to Nasty, turned back to his hippie personality. "What's up?"
Zechs was in no mood to play games if Nasty might be sick. After all, she was practically a sister to him. "Just tell me what's happened."
"Zechs-kun," Nasutei said, sounding shocked and frightened. "He says I'm pregnant."
'This can't be happening.' Zechs thought, just imaging what Treize would say when he heard. Nasty definitely wasn't the type of girl to fool around with just anyone and the only guy she'd ever shown interest in was that young man, Wufei. Surely, they hadn't known each other long enough to... Then again, Wufei was a teenage boy. Full of hormones and little of anything else, if he was a normal teenager. What if... ?
"That's right. I'm pleased to be the one to give the happy news." Dr. Butterfly said cheerfully. "Yagiyu-san is going to be a mother."
Nasty insisted, "You've made some kind of mistake, doctor. I can't be pregnant."
From the look on Dr. Butterfly's face, this wasn't the first time Nasty had protested. "Actually, you can. I'd say it's very recent, just a few days, at most. Congratulations."
"No. You really don't understand. I'm a virgin. I CAN NOT be pregnant. It's impossible."
Dr. Butterfly looked down at the charts and reread everything. "Yagiyu-san, you ARE pregnant. There is no mistake. I can redo the tests for you, if that's what you want, but it won't change anything. You are undeniably pregnant."
Nasty paled and swayed, covering her face with her hands for a moment before getting a hold of herself. "I'm serious, doctor. I've never had sex. Never. Not once, ever. This is simply impossible."
Dr. Butterfly sat down next to the expectant mother. "May I ask you a few frank questions?"
"Of course."
"Have you recently been to any parties where you've been drinking or done any drugs? Your memory could be impaired, if you've been doing any such thing. If someone had slipped something into your drink, a date rape drug, perhaps... "
"No." Nasty shook her head. "The last party I was at was my brother's and that was several weeks ago. I didn't get drunk and I don't do drugs. I left after about twenty minutes, for goodness sakes!"
"Well, then," Dr. Butterfly shut his folder and threw it onto his desk. "I have only one explanation."
"Yes?" Nasty sat forward expectantly.
"Immaculate Conception."
Nasty's mouth fell open.
Zechs snarled at Dr. Butterfly. "What are you trying to say?! Do you think we're stupid enough to believe... ?"
"Yagiyu-san has denied any sexual activity, yet she is undeniably pregnant. There is no father and therefore I suggest Immaculate Conception." Dr. Butterfly’s expression turned serious. “Can you think of another explanation?”
Zechs balled his hands into fists. "Are you saying that Nasty is going to give birth to the messiah?"
"Peace, dude. I'm saying that Yagiyu-san is going to be a mother, nothing more.
If you really don't want the baby, Yagiyu-san, there are options. You can abort, it's still early enough. If you don't like that idea, you can give it up for adoption."
Nasty slowly stood up. "Zechs-kun, I think I'd like to go home, now."
to be continued...
The song Kay sang was actually from the anime Fruits Basket. The song is Momiji's song that he sung to Tohru at the hot springs. The image of Rajura singing a lullaby was too good to resist. Here's the translations:
Sunset on the Mountain
Come out Come Momiji
Frogs and Lizards say
Hello
Koi and red herring
Looks like a horse
Sunset on the Mountain
Come out Come Momiji
Frogs and Lizards say
Hello
Noin-
She woke in pain and darkness. Slowly, as she reached a hand up to rub at her eyes, memories suddenly resurged, she sat bolt upright with a gasp. Two large hands took hold of her shoulders and pressed her back onto the bed. Instinctively, Noin kicked and tried to fight, but whoever held her just kept pressing on her shoulders.
“Fear not. The trouble has gone. You are safe.”
Noin froze, then slowly relaxed. “Anubisu? What’s going on? I can’t see a thing.”
"Forgive me.” The hands left her shoulders and Noin heard footsteps cross the room. A door opened and light from the hall let Noin see. “Adequate?”
“Very.” Noin breathed deeply in through her nose and settled herself more comfortably in the bed. Anubisu wasn’t nearly so imposing when he was alone and speaking so softly. “How did we end up at Treize’s house?”
“How do you know where we are?”
“He’s got that Elvis painting in the hall. I can see it, just there. Ugly thing. What happened to that boy? The blonde kid.”
“He’s fine.” Anubisu looked away, briefly. He stood stiffly by the door and kept his hands at his sides. "A few minor injuries, but nothing that couldn’t be handled easily.”
"But his hand! I think I broke it." She couldn't seem to remember everything exactly clear. "It wasn't his fault. He was... "
"Yes, we know." His voice, though rough, was soothing. "Just lay down, please. Seiji went to get you something to eat and I promised I wouldn't let you hurt yourself. He said you should stay in bed for a while."
Reluctantly, Noin lay down. She was sore, but not so much as she’d thought she would be, and it felt good to lay still in the darkness.
"I apologize for being with you while you were resting." Anubisu shifted on his feet and wouldn‘t look at her. "If you would rather that I leave you, I'll let Nasutei-san know you'd prefer another lady for company."
"No, no." Noin assured him. "This is fine. Why should I want you to leave?"
Anubisu flushed, even in the half-darkness. “You… ah… your clothes were in a state of disarray. Nasutei-sama decided it would be best to have them laundered.” He gestured at her. “Your are wearing her nightclothes.”
Noin looked down at herself. Indeed, she was wearing what looked like one of Nasty’s old t-shirts and could feel that she was wearing sweatpants. “Yes. And?”
"A lady should not have a man, a stranger, in her bedchambers. Certainly not while in a state of undress. It is unseemly."
Noin laughed. "I'm a fully trained soldier. I don‘t worry about unwanted advances too often.” Her stomach churned when she thought of how she’d woken up. If he’d meant to harm her, she wasn’t sure would have been able to defend herself. “Besides, that's a very old fashioned point of view, isn't it?"
"I'm a very old fashioned man."
'Perhaps he has a point.' It wasn't exactly smart to be alone with a strange man when she was still recovering, especially when said man was built like a brick chicken house. Still, the fact that Anubisu had offered to leave for the sake of her peace of mind made Noin believe he didn't mean to hurt her.
A soft whine brought Noin's attention to her left. "Byakuen?"
"Your brother, very properly, does not want to leave his sister alone with a man who might cause harm to her reputation."
"My reputation? What's that got to do with Byakuen?"
Anubisu gave a chuckle and stroked Byakuen's head with his still armored hand. "Ryou and Seiji, along with their friends, had to speak with Rajura about something. It is rather important, but they'll be right back. Seiji wanted Byakuen to stay just so I wouldn't do anything to hurt you while he was gone."
Noin sighed. With how protective she'd been of Seiji since she'd found him, it really shouldn't be a surprise that he'd turn it around on her. "I’m sorry about that. I didn’t think he’d worry so much.”
“Why wouldn’t he?”
“It’s hard to tell what he’s thinking.” To change the painful subject, she asked, “Tell me, how old are you?" Just how old fashioned? Was the armor he wore genuine? What connected him to Seiji? There was just so much mystery surrounding Anubisu and his friends and she'd never really gotten any answers from Seiji.
"I don't think you'd believe me if I told you." He answered with a sad sort of smile.
"Try me. I'm a big girl."
Anubisu remained silent until Noin was sure he wasn't going to tell her a thing. Noin let herself lay down more comfortably, still a little sore from what had happened. "That machine, the one that made the poor boy go nuts. What happened to it?"
"I believe Treize had it destroyed."
"You believe?" Noin frowned. "Don't you know? It's very dangerous and does horrible things to people."
Anubisu shrugged. "I was occupied at the time, helping with the man who made that machine."
"Helping?"
He looked away. "It is not proper to speak of such things in front of a lady. I will not tell you what we did to him. I will tell you that he will not come back."
"I'm not a lady."
He, for the first time, gave a small, teasing smile. "Really?" His tone made Noin actually blush.
"I mean, I'm a soldier," she clarified. "I've seen and done some very bad things. You can tell me what happened."
"No. I can't. The world seems so different, now, and people have changed a great deal. I remember women being far more fragile. You may be a soldier, but in my eyes, you are a lady and I there are some things I will not say or do in front of you."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Noin told him, bluntly. "Will you tell me what's going on with Seiji and all of you?" She reached out and poked his armored arm. "This armor... I saw you bring down lightening with just a sword, at Treize's party. I know Seiji can heal people. I've seen such strange... " Noin looked closer at Anubisu's broad face. "I saw... I saw you... I think. That was you, wasn't it? That was you that turned into a blue wolf."
Anubisu met her eyes. "Yes, that was me. I'm not human nor have I been one for a very long time. My brothers, including Seiji, are human, but they are not mortal as you are. Not any longer. I will tell you everything, if you are feeling well enough."
Noin pulled herself up into a sitting position, with a little help from Anubisu. "I've been feeling well enough to hear this for a long time. Seiji won't tell me and there's been no time to ask anyone else."
"Seiji is afraid that you will reject him." He looked away. "We have not often been welcomed by our mortal families because of what we are. It is a very real fear for Seiji and he told me that he has chosen to be a coward. He asked me to tell you and if you react badly, he will not try to see you, again. It's your choice, really."
"Reject him!?" Noin almost shouted. "It took me years just to find him. I don't care what kind of secret he has; Seiji is my only family. I'm not going to reject him for anything. I love Seiji and he can tell me anything."
Her passionate declaration didn't move Anubisu at all. "Wait until you hear the secret and then give your opinion. Seiji is now my family, too. I will not have him hurt needlessly."
Later that night-
Nasty-
Nasty had spent hours in front of her computer, typing and searching until her fingers were almost too sore to move. In the end, she let her hands drop from the keyboard and let out and exhausted sigh. There was nothing, absolutely no evidence, to connect Dorothy to Grandfather Yagiyu’s murder. The only possible link was the fact that on the day of the murder Dorothy hadn't gone to school and that was a very thin connect, at best.
Nasty left the computer chair to sit on the small sofa in her bedroom and looked around. Mama Fan had already come in and fallen asleep on Nasty’s bed with little Lai curled up next to her. The food she’d brought for Nasty was now cold and unappetizing on the side-table. Still, Nasty picked up the plate of pasta and ate. She went to a window and looked down at the driveway where OZ soldiers walked back and forth, pacing near the entrance of the house.
"Nasutei-sama?" Kay stood uneasily in the open bathroom door wearing the spare clothes Nasty had given her.
“You can sleep on the sofa. I’m afraid the bed’s going to be a bit full tonight and Noin has the spare room. When the mansion’s repaired you can have your own room. It won’t be long, now.”
“Are we staying so long?”
The question took Nasty aback. “Well… only if you want to, I suppose. Do you want to?”
Kay tugged at the hem of the nightshirt she wore. On Nasty, the nightshirt was slightly sexy and showed off lots of leg. On Kay, it looked like a very big T-shirt. 'She'll be so beautiful, one day.' Nasty thought with a smile. 'I'll have to see she gets introduced to some acceptable young men when the time comes.' After all, Nasty didn't want Kay to get involved with some guy that was going to be unworthy of her or treat her badly. 'I think I've just gotten myself a little sister.'
"Yes. I think I would like that. It depends on what Rajura decides, though. Are you sure it's all right for me to wear this?" Kay tugged again at the bottom of the nightshirt to try and make it cover her knees. "I‘m sure Rajura wouldn’t like this. It's too short."
"Of course he wouldn’t." Nasty replied. "Big brothers are like that. They don't like to admit it when little sisters start to grow up. You look just fine. Besides, there's no one here but us girls, so there's no reason for you to feel self-conscious. Are you ready for bed?"
"Yes, Nasutei-sama." Kay obediently came to sit on the sofa.
"You don't have to call me Nasutei-sama. Just Nasty will do."
Kay shook her head. "Rajura says that I must always be polite and mind my manners. He said that you're a lady and your family has been very kind to us, letting us stay here until we can find somewhere to live."
Nasty laughed and gave Kay a brief hug. "You're such a sweet girl, Kay. Your brothers are lucky to have you."
"Do you think so?"
"Oh, yes. I think they think so, too. Rajura and the others have been so worried about you. He's afraid that you're still hurt from whatever the man who kidnapped you did. And you won't talk to him."
"Saranbo didn't hurt me, not really. He just made me think... weird things. He made me feel things, to. I don't want to think about it, but I can't stop, either. I know Rajura didn't have any choice. He couldn't remember me. But... "
"Is Rajura the head of your family?" Nasty asked.
"Hmm? Oh," Kay was dragged out of her dark memories and a soft smile touched her face. "Yes. Mama Sh'ten was the leader when they went into war, but Rajura always took care of us. He used to read me bedtime stories and he didn't let Duo tease me when we were little. He didn't do the cooking, though. Naaza always says Rajura can ruin rice without trying, so Naaza did the cooking. But Rajura used to sing to me at bedtime."
"He sings?" For some reason, the image of stern, serious Rajura singing a bedtime song made Nasty smile.
As if she could see Nasty's thoughts, Kay told her, "Rajura's wasn't always so worried.
Before... everything happened we were very happy. We all had lots of fun. Back then it was Mama Sh'ten who worried most about the battles, but they weren't very serious because we always won. Mama Sh'ten spent his time writing and Naaza painted such beautiful pictures. Anubisu made fancy wooden toys for me, when I was a child. He’s a very good carver."
"So," Nasty asked. "What did Rajura used to sing to you?"
Kay blushed. "It's kind of a silly song, but it was my song. Rajura never sang it for Ryou or Duo. It was just for me."
"Will you sing it for me?"
Kay cleared her throat before singing:
Yuhi you yamani
Teru-Teru Kayura
Kaeru yatokage ga
Kon'nichi wa
Koi no arai
Tabu no ko umani
Yuhi you yamani
Teru-Teru Kayura
Kaeru yatokage ga
Kon'nichi wa
As she'd sung, Kay's eyes started to water and she finished by wiping her eyes. "Nastuei-sama, please, excuse me. I think I should go speak to Rajura. I won't be long."
"Come back when you're done talking."
Xiu-
It was Rajura who'd called them all together and Xiu wasn't sure he was at all comfortable with Rajura putting himself in command. Of course, Rajura did know more than any of them about the yoroi so maybe it was only right that they followed his lead. They were meeting outside, in a small clearing in the forest near Treize's house.
Naaza had assured them that none of Treize's soldiers were close enough to listen, and they gathered around a fire Ryou had lit for them. It was the middle of the night and the completely dark house told them that everyone else was fast asleep, but Rajura seemed to think this was a very important matter and needed absolute secrecy. Xiu, Touma, and Shin sat together on a fallen log, while Ryou spoke with Anubisu. Anubisu, who had only just arrived with Byakuen, spoke to him quietly before whispering to Rajura about something.
"What's that all about?" Shin asked when Ryou came to sit with them on the fallen log.
HE'S COURTING NOIN-SAMA. Ryou told them, letting Seiji hear his thoughts, too. Ryou was clearly very happy about this and didn't see any reason to hide the fact, even though Seiji glowered at the news.
HE WON'T HURT MY SISTER. Seiji said firmly.
OF COURSE HE WON'T. ANUBISU AND RAJURA ARE IN LOVE WITH HER. THEY'LL TAKE VERY GOOD CARE OF HER. Ryou let his feelings of happiness float around everyone. THEN WE'LL BE EVEN CLOSER. OUR FAMILIES WILL BE LINKED.
Xiu wasn't overly concerned about Ryou and Seiji's family relations, right now. He knew that they'd all work it out once Noin decided what she wanted. He was more concerned with what he thought they were going to discuss tonight. He wanted to know what they were going to do now that they all had this yoroi and nothing to do with it.
"We have an opportunity to do something truly grand." Rajura started, brining Xiu out of his thoughts. "Treize is having a bit of difficulty in a little war he wants to start. I think we should help him."
Xiu's mouth fell open and he wasn't alone in his shock.
Shin gasped out, "Are you mad? We don't want to start a war! I don't want to fight, that last time was bad enough and Sh'ten died! What if someone else dies?" He looked to Naaza. "You can't be serious about this."
Naaza met Shin's eyes easily. "I'm a warrior, just like Sh'ten. We've been conditioned for many years to love war. There is a thrill to marching out onto the battlefield."
"Don't say that!" Shin snapped, suddenly irritated with his new friend. "That's a horrible thing to say!"
Ryou stood up for Rajura. HEAR HIM OUT. RAJURA'S SMART AND HE ALWAYS HAS REASON FOR WHAT HE DOES. But even his mind voice sounded doubtful as he thought about going into battle again. HE WOULDN'T WORK WITH NINGENS OUT OF THE GOODNESS OF HIS HEART, YOU KNOW.
"Oh, we won't be actually fighting. We will probably never even be on the war field." Rajura said, a soft, wicked smile touching his lips. "Anubisu, Naaza, and myself are going to be training Treize's soldiers. We just want you five along because you also need training."
"Why?" As usual, Seiji was short and to the point.
"Whoever heard of five young men who couldn't fight?" Naaza said from where he leaned against a tree. "This modern world is absurd. Ryou is already half-way trained and you are more than decent in your fighting ability, but Shin and Touma can barely defend themselves... "
"What are you talking about?" Touma demanded, sounding more than a little insulted. "Rashid taught me to fight most of my life. I'm trained to be a professional soldier."
"Exactly," Anubisu said. "You should not be a soldier. Soldiers take commands and do what they are told without question. We want you to question your orders if they don't seem right. You have a brain and you should use it. You should be able to see a situation and deal with it without orders or asking permission. You are destined to be a warrior, not a soldier."
Touma glowered. "I don't believe in destiny. I can decide my own fate."
"Can you? That the orb of Tenku found you, and that you were already closely known to both the bearers of Kongo and Suiko, can not all be coincidence. Destiny controls us, whether you like it or not."
Touma leaned against Xiu. I DON'T THINK I LIKE HIM VERY MUCH.
Xiu put his arm around Touma, liking the feel of Touma's thin shoulders under his arm. Life was getting comfortable with both Touma and Shin and he was more than a little relieved when he'd heard that Naaza had refused Shin's offer to 'spend some time together.' Shin was a very loving, caring guy, but Xiu just didn't understand why he felt such pity for Naaza. Yeah, it was awful that Naaza had lost Sh'ten, but that didn't mean Shin had to...
IT'S NOT PITY. Shin told him, moving closer to Xiu and Touma. HE NEEDS SOMEONE AND I LIKE HIM. IT'S NOT SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND, SURELY.
"Anyway," Rajura said loudly enough to get everyone's attention back on him. "I know very little about this Alliance that Treize hates so much, but I do know that I don't like them." His eye darkened. "Duo's gone off to kill one of the Alliance generals and... "
"He what?!" Ryou jumped to his feet, away from where he was sitting at Seiji's feet. DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT THIS ALLIANCE KILLS PEOPLE ALL THE TIME? Ryou thought to everyone. THEY KILL SPYS WITHOUT TRIALS AND INTRUDERS ON THEIR BASES TEND TO VANISH? Then he looked back at Rajura. "Why didn't you tell me? He'll get killed, I should be there to keep him safe."
"Don't worry, Ryou-chan." Rajura smirked. "Duo's learned from the best. He won't get caught and, if I know that boy like I think I do, he'll come back to us without so much as a scratch."
Still, Xiu could feel Ryou's worry for his brother and he understood it. "You haven't told us why we should help to start a war. We don't want anyone to get killed."
"I shouldn't have to remind you how we met." Rajura answered, giving Xiu a flat look. Thankfully, he said no more about that still painful subject. "Besides, if you want reasons, I'm sure Touma can find any number of atrocities that the Alliance has committed on that computer thing. You don't have to do any real fighting. I just want you near us because we're now family."
"I will stay with Luc," Seiji said firmly.
"And I want to stay with Seiji, so I'll be near you because Noin's one of Treize's soldiers." Ryou smiled, pleased that he would still be with family. Ryou went to stand near Seiji, a place he seemed very comfortable, and smiled at Xiu and his loves. "You'll come with us, won't you?"
There was an almost blinding innocence in Ryou's eyes. Xiu knew, though their link, that bad things had happened to Ryou in his life, but none of it seemed to effect Ryou's bright outlook on life. He was desperately hoping for the best and the best would be for them all to be together.
Rajura said, turning his attention to Shin, Touma, and Xiu. "You three will find it... uncomfortable to be away from your brothers. It would be simplest for you to remain together, but it is your choice."
Touma thought carefully. "I can't just leave Rashid and Abdul. They've been like parents to me and I know Rashid's not real crazy about the Alliance, but I don't know what he thinks about Treize. After all, Treize acts like he owns the Alliance."
"I need to talk with Trowa and Catherine," Shin said. "Catherine is expecting me to go home, back to the circus. I don't know what's she'd say if I told her I was going to join a war." He seemed nervous and thought to Xiu, CATHERINE HATES WARS. SHE'LL BE FURIOUS WITH ME.
THEN, YOU'RE GOING WITH THEM? Touma asked, rubbing the back of Shin's hand.
I WANT TO BE WITH YOU. He looked around, not just at Xiu and Touma, but also at Ryou and Seiji. RAJURA'S TELLING THE TRUTH. I REALLY DON'T WANT TO BE AWAY FROM ANY OF YOU. IT WOULD JUST BE WEIRD.
Shin's unwillingness to be parted from any of them made Xiu's answer harder, though. He was the one who was going to separate them. "I'm not going." Immediately, he felt distress from Ryou, worry from Shin and Touma, and nothing from Seiji. Seiji was still making a habit of hiding himself.
Rajura looked at him calmly, but said nothing.
"I can't leave my mama to run the restaurant and raise Lai all by herself. She needs me." Xiu said, feeling like he was defending himself. "I just can't. If you're going to start a war, that's all the more reason that I have to stay with her. I have to protect her and Lai."
"It's your choice." Rajura repeated.
Heero-
Heero had the strange feeling that Quatre was manipulating him, but he didn't know how or why.
Quatre coughed pathetically, taking the glass of water when Trowa handed it to him with a shy smile. There was something going on between the two, but Heero couldn't put his finger on it. They were all together in the bedroom that had been given to the four of them to share including Quatre, Trowa, Wufei, and Heero.
"Have a seat, Heero," Quatre invited. "You'll be sleeping here, too, so you may as well make yourself comfortable." Quatre gestured weakly to the small couch against one wall. "I'm afraid we're all at a loose end here, so we've really got no place to stay. You're welcome to stay in my home, Heero. It's rather large so there would be no problems with space." Then he shifted to Trowa and spoke more shyly. "You're welcome to stay, too."
Heero took in the information and stored it away, wondering if he should say anything in response. He had rather been expecting to stay with Seiji, but what if Seiji and his sister didn't want Heero with them? Perhaps Quatre's offer would come in useful.
They'd been sitting together for a while and it seemed to Heero that Quatre spoke a lot, but was saying very little. He seemed happy enough to just babble about little, unimportant things. 'It's night.' Heero thought, looking out of the window. 'We should be asleep.' He was still in the habit of sleeping when he was told, though, and he wasn't sure when he would be allowed to lay down and get some rest.
"What do you think you'll be doing?" Quatre asked Heero, only to get a blank look in return.
Heero had no idea what Quatre was talking about. 'Do? Do about what? Should I be doing something?'
After waiting several minutes and not getting an answer, Quatre put the same question to Trowa.
"I suppose I'll just go back to the circus with Shin and Catherine." Trowa spoke without enthusiasm, though. It was as if it really didn't matter. "I have been training for this war for such a long time, I don't know how to do much else other than fight."
Quatre patted Trowa's hand. "Don't worry about it too much. I'm sure we'll find some way to keep us busy."
"I will find a job," Trowa told Quatre. "I will not let myself become useless."
"Oh," Quatre said, widening his eyes. "I never thought you'd be useless. I didn't mean to say that. It just seems like a bit of a waste to have a pilot trained to fly a machine built for global devastation wasting his skills working in a supermarket. But, where would you ever find a job where the requirements include stealth, computer expertise, strategic knowledge, and a license to pilot a Gundam?"
Trowa blinked, thinking as he turned away from Quatre.
'I think I had better ask Duo about this.' Heero thought. 'Duo's smart and I'm sure he'll know what I should do. He's been living a 'normal' life longer than I have, so he'll know how I get a job. I wonder what a job is?' Heero already knew he was pretty much useless unless he managed to find some kind of position in the military. Joining the same army he'd been trained to kill was not an appealing idea.
Trowa seemed be thinking the same thing. "I can't join the Alliance. It would be... wrong." He apparently didn't feel the need to explain himself and was content with his reason.
"The Alliance?" Quatre smiled sweetly, the only expression his face seemed to have. "Oh, I wasn't even dreaming of us joining the Alliance. No, that just wouldn't do at all." He reached out and put his hand on Trowa's knee. "Don't worry. I'm sure an opportunity will just fall into our laps."
Trowa looked at Quatre and got a puzzled expression on his face. "Quatre, are you hiding
something?"
"Hiding? What are you talking about?"
"Your voice... it doesn't sound normal."
Heero had been trained in many things, not only computers and weapons. He had been trained to read facial expressions and body language so he'd be able to infiltrate the enemy bases and do espionage work. Trowa was right. Quatre was hiding something.
Quatre looked slightly guilty, but kept smiling. "Well, I may have an idea of what we could do with our time. It may seem like a strange idea, but I want to wait until Wufei comes back. It'll involve him, too."
"What will involve me?" Wufei asked, walking through the door and throwing his coat on a chair before taking a seat next to Heero on the sofa.
Quatre didn't answer right away, but said, "You were gone for a while."
"Duo and I have been busy." A satisfied smile spread across Wufei's face. "Just tying up a loose end."
"A loose end?" Quatre frowned. "What kind of loose end?"
"We were making sure that a man who deserved death, got what he deserved." Duo replied happily, coming in and, seeing that the seat next to Heero was taken by Wufei, sat on Heero's lap instead. He seemed to like that seat best and cuddled into Heero, not caring that there were otherpeople in the room. "Did you miss me, sweetie?"
"Yes." Heero surprised himself with the answer, but it was true. Duo had only been gone a few hours and Heero had missed him terribly. "You killed someone?"
Duo nodded proudly, though his eyes darkened and Heero recognized that this was a different Duo. "Oh, yeah. He's very dead. We made him suffer for everything he did."
"Septum?" Quatre guessed.
"Yes." Wufei gave him a puzzled look. "How did you know?"
"He visited earlier, I'm told, so I'd assumed that you'd heard about the horrible things he's done. Anyway, about my idea... " Quatre paused and looked at Duo. "Are you spending the night with Heero, Duo?"
"Yep." Duo lay his head against Heero's shoulder.
"Maybe you should go tell your family where you are, so they don't worry."
Duo sprung off Heero's lap and ran for the door. "Good idea. Rajura tends to worry."
After the door had closed behind Duo, Quatre wasted no time. "I didn't want Duo to hear this, I'm not sure how he'd react. We have all had an offer from Treize."
"What kind of offer?" Wufei asked.
"To become his bodyguards."
There was a heavy silence, as everyone thought it through. Wufei looked irritated, at best, and growled at Quatre, "I hope you didn't answer for us when Treize made this offer."
"Oh no, of course not. I wouldn't do something like that. But, I did think that considering his ambitions to overthrow the Alliance, it might be sensible to join him. After all, he's a very important political man and there are bound to be assassins after him. Who's better qualified to keep him alive than us?"
Wufei thought this over. "You may have a point. But I'm not going to give him my loyalty without good reason. How do we what his real ambitions are?”
"We'll just have to wait and see what he does, I suppose," Quatre answered. "But I think if we're going to be doing this, we should do it as a team. In a way, we were all trained to work together on a similar cause. The cause has just changed a little, that's all."
"We should sleep on this," Trowa announced. "Give everyone time to think."
They all went to bed after Duo came back, telling them that Rajura had said it was all right for him to spend the night with Heero so long as Heero didn't hurt him. Duo laughed as he crawled under Heero's blankets and snuggled up close. "I don't think Rajura has anything to worry about, though. I think I'm more likely to get physical than you are, nezumi."
Heero fell asleep with Duo curled next to him, snoring softly. The last thing he remembered was that Quatre was also still awake, laying next to Trowa, and he was watching Duo with thoughtful eyes. Quatre met Heero's gaze and the two just stared at each other for a moment in the otherwise silent room. Then Trowa muttered in his sleep and Quatre hugged the taller boy closer until Trowa fell back into a deeper sleep. When Quatre looked back up he whispered loudly enough for Heero to hear him,
"Death needs a fitting steed, don't you agree?"
What Quatre was referring to, Heero didn't know, because just then Quatre closed his eyes and seemed to fall asleep.
A short while later-
Kaosu-
He appeared in the room when the last of the women had fallen asleep and stood over the quiet body of the girl he'd found. He'd been watching her since his master had charged him with his mission.
'Yes.' He thought, looking down at her peaceful face. 'Yes, she will be perfect.'
Lowering his staff over her body, Kaosu concentrated and did what he knew he had to do.
Nasty-
Nasty woke up and immediately knew something was different. With a hand to her mouth, she jumped to her feet and ran to the bathroom where she instantly hit her knees and started praying to the porcelain goddess.
Ten minutes later, and feeling much better, Nasty wandered out and wondered what had brought that on. 'I'll call the doctor tomorrow. I'd hate to come down with a flu now. I still have to make arrangements for grandfather and sort out what to do about Dorothy. I can't afford any more complications in my life right now.'
Kenbukyou-
Sh'ten's body had vanished.
It was... disturbing, to say the very least. Deep in his castle, nothing should have been able to enter without his notice. Certainly, nothing should have been able to get into the human's tomb. It had been pure coincidence that Kenbukyou had been wandering by the tomb of the fallen samurai and seen the stone slab was bare.
He stopped and stared for a long time. 'This is not good,' he thought. 'The Ma-Sho will not be pleased.' But he really had to tell them. They were notoriously loyal to each other and Kenbukyou had no doubt that sooner or later, they would return for Sh'ten, to give him a 'decent' burial on Earth.
"Guards!" Kenbukyou snapped.
His guards answered as quickly as he knew they would and saluted smartly.
"We've been invaded. Why did you not know of it?"
The two guards looked between each other nervously. "Sire, we heard and saw nothing. The barriers you placed around the castle to detect intruders have not been disturbed."
Kenbukyou was even less pleased by that news. "Are you suggesting that one of MY own people has dared to desecrate the body of an honored warrior? A warrior who made my rise to power possible?"
"No, sire!" The immediately answered. "Never would one of our people do such a thing."
"You are dismissed. Rouse the rest of my army and have them search the castle from top to bottom. I will have no one resting until the Oni Ma-Sho's body is found!"
"Yes, sire!" The saluted and ran off.
'How am I going to tell Rajura that I 'lost' Sh'ten?' Kenbukyou thought. Though he'd never admit it to anyone, he was worried. The child, Ryou, controlled Kikoutei, and Ryou had loved Sh'ten. If Ryou became angry enough to wake Kikoutei or if Rajura ordered Ryou to do it... there was no telling what devastation the white yoroi could wreak on both worlds.
Kenbukyou should know. After all, he had once worn Kikoutei. Long ago, when the white yoroi had been created, it had been Kenbukyou that the yoroi had chosen to wear it.
'That was all so long ago, though.' He thought, still looking at Sh'ten's empty tomb. 'Before the yoroi had been divided and before Arago had been sealed away in the Youja Kai. Before I fell in love with a mortal woman and before I had my son.'
Kenbukyou turned and walked briskly away from the tomb, trying to rid his mind of the painful memories. It was one of the problems of never aging. Everyone around you aged and died while you could only sit by and helplessly watch. Even wives with hair so fair it was almost white and sons who loved to tell wild tales.
It was no use. Their faces were, as always, stuck in his mind. Though he loved them dearly, even after so many hundreds of years, Kenbukyou couldn't help but feel it was some sort of punishment.
'I'll never have any peace with them in my mind. It doesn't help that my son's so near.' Once back at his chambers, Kenbukyou sat in his chair that overlooked his kingdom out of a small window. A kingdom he would gladly give up if he could have his family back again. 'I wish I could have stopped him being chosen as one of the bearers. It's not a pleasant fate. At least I know that he isn't alone, like I was. Like I am. He has the other parts of his soul, the other yoroi bearers.'
Naaza-
They were given the living room to sleep in. Not that Naaza cared one way or the other. It was a different sort of place to sleep, but he'd long ago gotten used to sleeping outside and on whatever bedding he could make from fallen leaves or grass. Here, he had a relatively comfortable carpet to sleep on and a pillow.
All of a sudden, he felt something so terribly familiar that he didn't want to believe it. Naaza sat bolt upright, almost gasping for air, and hardly noticed that Rajura and Anubisu had both done the same. They all sat like that in the darkness with their hearts thudding.
SH'TEN. Naaza thought, stunned, as his love's unmistakable presence dawned in their collective mind. It was a soft and gentle feeling, not at all like the wicked and slightly twisted man Naaza had grown to love, but it was Sh'ten. His unique flavor was there and... and... it was not something one could put into words. HE'S ALIVE. Naaza jumped to his feet and ran to where Rajura and Anubisu were now sitting next to each other, just as stunned as Naaza was. HE'S ALIVE! HE'S ALIVE! HE'S COME BACK TO ME! Naaza was actually weeping when he threw his arms around his brothers and they fell into a pile on the floor.
NOW, NAAZA, Rajura started, petting Naaza's hair to comfort him. The empty part of their mind was filled and, despite the undeveloped feeling of it, it was definitely Sh'ten. WE DON'T KNOW WHERE HE IS, OR HOW HE'S COME BACK. HIS THOUGHTS DON'T FEEL EXACTLY THE SAME. IT'S LIKE PART OF HIM IS SEALED AWAY. HE MIGHT NOT EVEN BE AWARE OF US.
YOU TOOK HIS ORB, REMEMBER? Anubisu told him. HE WON'T BE REALLY
CONNECTED WITH US UNTIL HE HAS IT AGAIN.
Naaza was trying not to pay attention. He didn't want to think about the how or why, he just knew that Sh'ten was back. He was somewhere and that was good enough. I'LL FIND HIM. Naaza thought aloud. I DON'T CARE WHERE I GO OR WHAT I HAVE TO DO, I'LL FIND HIM.
The next morning-
Nasty-
As much as she couldn't afford any complications in her life, Nasty was pretty sure she had one by about seven in the morning. After a failed attempt to eat Mama Fan's breakfast, Nasty found herself staggering to the bathroom again with a churning stomach. When she was nearly there, Nasty ran into something solid.
"Nasty? Are you alright?"
Nasty looked up and saw Wufei looking down at her, concerned. He was, despite the early hour, perfectly dressed and had his hair combed back into a neat pig tail. "Bathroom... now." Nasty said, pushing her way passed him and running the last few feet to the bathroom.
Wufei wasn't one to give up easily, though. Nasty hadn't had time to close the door behind her before throwing up and Wufei took advantage of the open door to come in and hold back her long hair for her. When the heaves had stopped, Nasty found Wufei rubbing her back gently.
"Thanks," Nasty said, feeling terminally embarrassed at having Wufei see her like this.
"No problem." Wufei paused, as if he wasn't sure what he should say. "Are you feeling all right?"
"Just ducky." Nasty sighed, standing up to wash her mouth out. "I think I'm coming down with a flu or something. It's nothing terrible." Nasty was suddenly turned around and Wufei put a professional hand on her forehead.
"You haven't got a fever. I think you should go speak with Auntie Fan. She's very good with this sort of thing."
So that's what Nasty did, but Mama Fan declared that it wasn't flu. "I'm not sure exactly what's wrong." Mama Fan confessed when she had Nasty seated in the kitchen and Wufei stood at the door, just watching. "You've been sick since when?"
"Since about three this morning and then just after I tried to eat, now. I feel fine, other than that, though." Nasty couldn't help but think that this was all a bit of a big fuss over nothing. It was just a bout of throwing up, surely something had just disagreed with her stomach.
With hundreds of generations of family cures on her side, Mama Fan took it very seriously. She bustled around the kitchen, her cooking forgotten, while she began pulling herbs and spices from here and there along with bottles of this and that. "I should go back to the restaurant," Nasty heard her mutter. "I have better ingredients there." She mixed several of the things she'd gathered together in a glass of cold water. "Here, drink this, dear."
Nasty swallowed it all, after looking to Wufei who nodded encouragingly. It actually tasted pretty good and Nasty managed to swallow it all in just a few gulps. "That wasn't half bad. What was it for?"
"Oh, just something to settle your stomach. I do think you should go see your doctor, though."
Wufei stepped forward and asked, "Doctor? What for? Do you think it's so serious that you can't do anything for her?"
"Hush, Wufei darling. This really isn't any of your business." Mama Fan ran a hand affectionately through Wufei's hair as she walked briskly passed him, ignoring his insulted expression, and picked up the phone. "Now, your doctor's number is right here, isn't it?" She scanned the numbers posted by the phone. "Ah, yes! Here it is. Doctor Butterfly, huh? That's a colorful name, isn't it?" She was dialing while she spoke, apparently not willing to listen to any discussion. "Hello? Yes. I'm calling for Yagiyu Nasutei, just a general check up and blood work. Yes, you can expect her at eleven. Thank you."
"Mama!" Nasty exclaimed. "I can't go to the doctor's just for an upset stomach. It's foolish."
Like she'd done with Wufei, Mama Fan patted Nasty's hair. "Nothing's foolish when it comes to your health, dear. Now, I think that nice young man, Zechs, should drive you to the doctor's. Why don't you run and ask him, dear?"
Zechs-
Zechs had naturally agreed to take Nasty to doctor Butterfly's office. When Treize had suggested to Mama Fan that Dr. Butterfly would come to them, she had flatly refused. "Nasty spends far too much time alone here. It's good for her to get out and about once in a while."
"Mrs. Fan, our grandfather was just murdered. There are a lot of reporters and other riff-raff about I would prefer Nasty not be exposed to. If Nasty's sick, Dr. Butterfly can come here."
"Don't you trust Zechs to take care of your sister?" Mama Fan asked with a sly smile.
Treize laughed. "That's fighting dirty, Mrs. Fan. All right, I give in."
That was how Zechs ended up in Dr. Butterfly's office. It was actually a nice place, as normal looking as any other doctor's office, with the possible exception of a large, psychedelic painting of a man with a banana in one ear. Zechs had seen the painting many times, but he still couldn't make any sense of it.
"Mr. Marques?" A nurse came out of the office. "Will you please step into Dr. Butterfly's office?"
He found Nasty sitting in a chair looking pale and shaking. Whatever was wrong had to be bad to affect Nasty so badly. Zechs put a hand on her shoulder and looked at Dr. Butterfly who was writing something in his notes.
"Now, Yagiyu-san, I want you to go to this doctor." He handed her a note. "She's very good. I went to school with her and I feel sure you'd like her. Tell her everything I just told you and these are some vitamins I want you to start taking."
"Vitamins?" Zechs took the list from Dr. Butterfly and looked at it, worried. However, he didn't see anything odd about the list. "What for?"
"Yo, dude." Dr. Butterfly, who had seemed relatively normal while talking to Nasty, turned back to his hippie personality. "What's up?"
Zechs was in no mood to play games if Nasty might be sick. After all, she was practically a sister to him. "Just tell me what's happened."
"Zechs-kun," Nasutei said, sounding shocked and frightened. "He says I'm pregnant."
'This can't be happening.' Zechs thought, just imaging what Treize would say when he heard. Nasty definitely wasn't the type of girl to fool around with just anyone and the only guy she'd ever shown interest in was that young man, Wufei. Surely, they hadn't known each other long enough to... Then again, Wufei was a teenage boy. Full of hormones and little of anything else, if he was a normal teenager. What if... ?
"That's right. I'm pleased to be the one to give the happy news." Dr. Butterfly said cheerfully. "Yagiyu-san is going to be a mother."
Nasty insisted, "You've made some kind of mistake, doctor. I can't be pregnant."
From the look on Dr. Butterfly's face, this wasn't the first time Nasty had protested. "Actually, you can. I'd say it's very recent, just a few days, at most. Congratulations."
"No. You really don't understand. I'm a virgin. I CAN NOT be pregnant. It's impossible."
Dr. Butterfly looked down at the charts and reread everything. "Yagiyu-san, you ARE pregnant. There is no mistake. I can redo the tests for you, if that's what you want, but it won't change anything. You are undeniably pregnant."
Nasty paled and swayed, covering her face with her hands for a moment before getting a hold of herself. "I'm serious, doctor. I've never had sex. Never. Not once, ever. This is simply impossible."
Dr. Butterfly sat down next to the expectant mother. "May I ask you a few frank questions?"
"Of course."
"Have you recently been to any parties where you've been drinking or done any drugs? Your memory could be impaired, if you've been doing any such thing. If someone had slipped something into your drink, a date rape drug, perhaps... "
"No." Nasty shook her head. "The last party I was at was my brother's and that was several weeks ago. I didn't get drunk and I don't do drugs. I left after about twenty minutes, for goodness sakes!"
"Well, then," Dr. Butterfly shut his folder and threw it onto his desk. "I have only one explanation."
"Yes?" Nasty sat forward expectantly.
"Immaculate Conception."
Nasty's mouth fell open.
Zechs snarled at Dr. Butterfly. "What are you trying to say?! Do you think we're stupid enough to believe... ?"
"Yagiyu-san has denied any sexual activity, yet she is undeniably pregnant. There is no father and therefore I suggest Immaculate Conception." Dr. Butterfly’s expression turned serious. “Can you think of another explanation?”
Zechs balled his hands into fists. "Are you saying that Nasty is going to give birth to the messiah?"
"Peace, dude. I'm saying that Yagiyu-san is going to be a mother, nothing more.
If you really don't want the baby, Yagiyu-san, there are options. You can abort, it's still early enough. If you don't like that idea, you can give it up for adoption."
Nasty slowly stood up. "Zechs-kun, I think I'd like to go home, now."
to be continued...
The song Kay sang was actually from the anime Fruits Basket. The song is Momiji's song that he sung to Tohru at the hot springs. The image of Rajura singing a lullaby was too good to resist. Here's the translations:
Sunset on the Mountain
Come out Come Momiji
Frogs and Lizards say
Hello
Koi and red herring
Looks like a horse
Sunset on the Mountain
Come out Come Momiji
Frogs and Lizards say
Hello