Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Warrior Children ❯ Dancing ( Chapter 13 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Cousin D 
Shin learns to dance.
Anime/Manga: Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Fantasy / Drama / Angst / Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 04.05.2003 | Updated On: 01.23.2006 | Pages: 7 | Words: 10.6K | Visits: 488 | Status: Work In Progress
Shin learns to dance.
Anime/Manga: Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Fantasy / Drama / Angst / Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 04.05.2003 | Updated On: 01.23.2006 | Pages: 7 | Words: 10.6K | Visits: 488 | Status: Work In Progress
Chapter 13: Dancing
Youja Kai-
Naaza stood in his room utterly confused.
On his easel, in a corner of his chambers, was a painting Naaza had never seen before. It was only half finished and was undeniably done in his style, but Naaza just could not remember painting it.
Painting had been his greatest passion for many years and he was, even he admitted, quite good. He had learned to paint after he'd come to live in the Youja-Kai when boredom had nearly driven him mad. It was the boredom that had driven Sh'ten to write, Anubisu to run, and Rajura to sew. After all, everything was provided for them. They had unlimited food, clothing, and a magnificent home. They didn't need to do anything and after a while the luxury could turn into a hell. They’d all come from lives where they were expected to earn a living whether it was hunting for food or risking one’s life in battle for one’s lord, they were used to being busy.
Over the many years of his life in the Youja-Kai, Naaza had lined the walls of their palace home with paintings of his family, flowers, his beloved snakes, the Ningen-Sekai moon, and abstract images done in rainbow colors. Anything that sprang to mind, he would commit to canvas.
But, the painting he’d discovered in his chambers was just...odd. Naaza scratched his head and tried to remember painting it. It was a large painting, a family portrait of sorts, with his three brothers standing side-by-side (himself included in the painting) and the two guardian tigers, Byakuen and Kokuen-Oh, on each end, like majestic bookends.
It was the three unfamiliar figures in the center of the painting that was the mystery. They were posed in front of the Ma-Sho, two teenage boys standing with a small girl sitting on the floor between the two boys. The first boy, standing in front of Rajura, had a wide, bright smile and a long braid hanging over his shoulder. The girl - she could only have been about nine or so - had immensely long black hair and holding a fine china doll on her lap while she smiled sweetly. The second boy was about the same size as the braided boy, but with shorter, black hair and a darker complexion.
"Now what's this all about?" Naaza muttered. "I'm sure I would have remembered doing this one." Naaza scratched his head and frowned at the painting. He didn't remember the children and, since the painting hadn't been finished, it must be recent.
'Trouble?'
Naaza looked down at the snake that had woken up on his bed and had spoken to him. "I'm not sure. Do you remember me doing this one?" He gestured to the painting.
The snake regarded the mystery painting lazily. 'It is fresh smelling.' She commented. 'Before the hatchlings were sent away.'
This got Naaza's attention. "What hatchlings?"
'Young ones in painting.' The snake seemed to be irritated that she had to tell Naaza such a thing and she crawled off his bed. 'You go get your young. Not good, young being alone.' With that last piece of advice, the little snake slithered out a crack in the wall, going to wherever she was when she wasn't with Naaza.
He didn't both to try and stop her as snakes weren't well known for talking. Naaza knew that she would tell him more if it suited her and not before. Naaza glared at the painting. His paints were still cluttering the table next to his easel, with the brushes still in the paint, so he must have been working on it recently.
Finally, Naaza gave up his puzzling and left his room in search of Sh'ten. Surely, Sh'ten would know what was going on. It wouldn’t be hard to find him even if they hadn’t had the mental link. When Sh'ten wasn't in his room, he could normally be found in the library.
Sh'ten-
Sh'ten had gone to the library, his personal domain in the great empire of the Youja-Kai. Everything else, he shared with his brothers, but the library was his alone. Looking for the notes he was using for his book he was writing about his long life, Sh'ten came across a box marked SCHOOLWORK. Sh'ten pursed his lips and picked up the box. He didn't remember that one and it was fairly heavy.
What he found inside, however, was even more puzzling. Hundreds of papers that appeared to be of someone practicing writing and mathematics and several longer papers, writing assignments that told about animals or history. Just like school reports. They were obviously done by two different people, one handwriting was messy and barely legible while the other was neat and practiced. Through this pile, Sh'ten searched for names that would identify who these belonged to.
He only found one clue, a paper that had written, in small neat handwriting at the top of the page:
PUNISHMENT - DUO.
I WILL NOT THROW FIRECRACKERS INTO THE SNAKE PIT.
I WILL NOT THROW FIRECRACKERS INTO THE SNAKE PIT.
I WILL NOT THROW FIRECRACKERS INTO THE SNAKE PIT.
Almost a hundred lines were written like this and Sh'ten knew he should speak to Naaza. If his snake pit had been disturbed, Naaza surely would have told them about it. Hell, he would have been screaming bloody murder for weeks if one of his babies had been hurt in the least little way. So…why didn’t Sh’ten remember anything about it and who would have been insane enough to tempt Naaza’s wrath?
In the end, Sh'ten put the box back where he'd found it and sat at his desk drumming his fingers on the top. While he was doing that, a small, pink envelope caught his attention, just poking out from under a book on his desk. Sh'ten pulled it out and found his own name written across the front in the same hand neat writing as one of the papers he'd found in the box. He pulled out a card, made of folded paper and opened it. Inside was a chalk picture of roses and,
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, MAMA SH'TEN!
LOVE DUO, RYOU, AND KAY.
Sh'ten almost dropped the card, he was so shocked. "Mama?" He said out loud. "Me?" He certainly didn't recognize the names. Why in the world would anyone give him a mother's day card?
Rajura-
Rajura sat in the armory with a scythe in his lap. He had seen the scythe when he was making his inspection of the armory and the sight of it was enough to make him forget about the inspection. It wasn’t just a single scythe that worried Rajura so much, but a good many weapons that weren’t supposed to be in the armory. He ought to know, the armory was his responsibility and he knew every weapon.
There was a tiny scythe that seemed to be built for a child. On the wall with the tiny scythe, was six more, each one growing in size until it reached adult size. On another wall were twin katanas, hanging in a similar fashion to the scythes. Each pair gradually getting bigger until an adult could wield them.
There was nothing unusual in the scythes, themselves, or the katanas. They were not magical in anyway, but they were out of place. The weapons were not supposed to be there. What caught his attention, however, was that on the wooden handle of the scythe he was holding were the engraved initials: D.M.
Who was D.M.?
Anubisu-
He'd been looking for the tigers all day and finally found Kokuen-Oh sunning himself on a rock just outside the palace. "There you are." Anubisu said. "I've been looking for you everywhere! Where's Byakuen?"
The black tiger, normally not so friendly, was even more unpleasant than usual. He slowly turned his head to glare at Anubisu, his dark eyes cold as ice. 'I don't know.' Was the bitter reply.
"What do you mean?" Anubisu knew that the twin tigers were always together. They rarely - if ever - left each other's sides. Anubisu walked toward Kokuen-Oh, but stopped when the tiger suddenly growled and bared his teeth. Kokuen-Oh raised himself up onto his feet and refused to let Anubisu get any closer. "What's gotten into you?"
'No closer, betrayer.'
Anubisu blinked. Perhaps Kokuen-Oh was sick. Again, Anubisu tried to get closer, but Kokuen-Oh wasn't fooling around and swiped at Anubisu, his claws fully extended to their nearly inch long length. 'Stay away!' The tiger screamed furiously. 'Byakuen has gone to the other world. I want to go to him. I must find my cub!'
"What cub?" Anubisu was, by now, thoroughly confused. Since when did Kokuen-Oh have a cub?
Kokuen-Oh cried out at the moon, a long, mournful sound. 'Byakuen made his own way, but when I tried the power was gone. Let me go to them!'
"Master Arago has ordered that there is to be no more travel between worlds, to conserve power before the war begins. Byakuen must have gotten through before Master Arago shut out that power to us. I didn't even know you two could open gateways."
Kokuen-Oh didn't say anything to that, but snarled. 'Betrayer. You sent the cubs to other world, away from us. Betrayer!' With that, Kokuen-Oh bounded away into the long grass plains and vanished from sight.
Several hours later-
They were in the wilderness, with an excuse to Emperor Arago that they needed to work off some energy by hunting. It was a usual excuse they used when they wanted quality time together, away from the clanging foot soldiers and the cold stone walls of the palace. It also wouldn't be questioned. After riding for hours on the demon horses, the Ma-Sho found themselves in a secluded clearing.
The four men sat in the grass by the side of a familiar river and relaxed into the comfort of each other's arms under shade the pale purple blossoms of the tree. It was a tree very much like a cherry tree, with it's beautiful pink blossoms, but not exactly. This tree was a thing of pure imagination that Rajura had dreamed up and then created. The blossoms smelled vaguely like lilac for some reason that Rajura wouldn't tell anyone. He just liked it.
How could such a place of beauty exist in a world of evil? Simple. It didn't. This was one of Rajura's greatest masterpieces. Rajura fancied himself an artist with his illusions and had come to this place one day to work. For three days, he'd worked to make the most beautiful, restful places he could imagine and the result was this oasis of peace. No foot soldiers or weapons, no Arago or spirits or even yoroi were seen in Rajura's creation. Only the Ma-Sho themselves were allowed in this place. He was, to put it plainly, terribly proud of his greatest creation ever.
Rajura's Garden of Dreams.
Naaza lay on his back with his head propped up in Sh'ten's lap and he stared up at the light filtering through the tree's flower blossoms, lavender in the moonlight. Sh'ten ran his long, graceful fingers through Naaza's green hair, in a lazy fashion.
Rajura and Anubisu leaned against each other, close enough that their temples were touching Rajura had his arm draped over Anubisu's shoulder while his other hand played with Sh'ten's long red hair. It was an intimate moment, one that none of them wanted to break with talking. From where he leaned against a tree, Sh'ten looked down at his lover, pleased that his exotic looking Naaza looked so at peace. Naaza was often plagued by inner torments, mostly concerning his slow transformation into a serpent.
Still, they had to discuss the strange things they'd been finding and why the animals had been acting so oddly. Hiding in Rajura’s garden and being utterly silent was the safest way to go about it. If Arago happened to spy on them the only thing he would see would be exactly what was going on, them all sitting, and laying, together under a tree. He wouldn't know what was going on in their minds. He couldn’t hear their mind-speak.
The demon lord Arago was all-powerful in the Youja Kai, even if he wasn't overly bright. However, the mind speaking was one thing they'd discovered that he had no control over and, more importantly, had no knowledge of. This was a secret that only the four of them shared.
Anubisu spoke first, THERE'S SOMETHING VERY ODD GOING ON AROUND HERE. BYAKUEN IS MISSING AND KOKUEN-OH WON'T TELL ME WHERE HE IS. KOKUEN-OH WAS VERY AGGRESSIVE TODAY. He turned to Rajura to nuzzled his beloved's neck. It always pleased him to have the feeling of his Jura's soft hair on his face and to kiss the delicate, pale skin.
Anubisu didn't bother to shield his mind and shared what he was feeling with the men he considered his brothers. Sh'ten had always been susceptible to the emotions of others and was obviously aroused by how Anubisu was feeling. He reached down, running his hand down Naaza's chest and into the folds of his kimono.
Naaza closed his eyes and smiled at the touch. NICE.
Like Anubisu, neither Sh'ten nor Naaza bothered to hide themselves. It was too good of a feeling to keep to oneself.
Sh'ten agreed, even as he lowered his head to kiss Naaza's cheek. YES. I HAVE FOUND SOME INTERESTING PAPERS IN THE LIBRARY. Sh'ten finished the kiss with a long, wet lick.
One by one, they went around, opening their minds, and shared what they'd discovered that day, while they touched and caressed each other. IT MUST HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE PUNISHMENT WE WERE GIVEN SEVERAL DAYS AGO. ARAGO WOULDN'T EVEN TELL US WHY WE'D BEEN PUNISHED. HE MUST HAVE TAKEN OUR MEMORIES. Naaza said. BUT I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT. WHO WERE THE CHILDREN AND WHY WERE THEY HERE?
DOES IT MATTER? Rajura asked, his eyes closed as Anubisu lowered him into the tall grass, pulling at the cord that held his kimono together. WE KNOW THEY WERE HERE. WE KNOW THAT THEY LOVED US. WE KNOW WE LOVED THEM ENOUGH TO EDUCATE THEM AND INCLUDE THEM IN FAMILY PAINTINGS. WE MUST FIND THEM. A pause. THAT FEELS VERY, VERY GOOD, 'NUBIE. Even in their minds, Rajura sighed and moaned when Anubisu started to bite his neck.
WE HAVE TO FIND THE CHILDREN. Sh'ten agreed, letting Naaza slip hands under his kimono. THEY MUST HAVE BEEN TAKEN AWAY BY ARAGO, FOR SOME REASON.
WHERE DO WE LOOK FOR THEM? Rajura asked. THEY COULD BE ANYWHERE IN THIS WORLD OR THE OTHER.
Anubis smirked as he straddled Rajura's hips, biting his love's ear hard enough to draw a tiny bit of blood, which he eagerly licked up. WE JUST HAVE TO FIND BYAKUEN. He was very pleased to finally be the one to take command. I CAN'T SENSE HIM IN THIS WORLD SO HE MUST BE IN THE NINGEN SEKAI. KOKUEN-OH SAID BYAKUEN WENT AFTER ONE OF THE CHILDREN, SO THEY'LL PROBABLY BE TOGETHER.
WON'T WE BE PUNISHED IF WE FIND THEM? Naaza asked, looking up from Sh'ten's now bare legs. THE CHILDREN MIGHT BE IN DANGER, TOO. EMPEROR ARAGO MUST HAVE BEEN VERY ANGRY WITH US FOR SOME REASON.
WE CAN'T LEAVE THEM IN THE NINGEN SEKAI. Rajura told him. THEY BELONG WITH US.
ARAGO WON'T LET THEM RETURN IF HE SENT THEM AWAY! WHAT IF HE KILLS THEM THIS TIME?
Rajura's eye narrowed. HE WON'T HURT THEM. WE'LL DECIDE WHAT TO DO LATER. RIGHT NOW, I WANT TO KNOW WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT'S GOING ON. I WONDER IF THEY REMEMBER US OR IF ARAGO TOOK THEIR MEMORIES, TOO.
There were a few moments of quiet as the men concentrated on what they were doing, lost in the pleasant sensation of touch and the smell of each other. It was intoxication, as they began to move closer together, forgetting partners and just enjoying each other.
I SUPPPOSE WE SHOULD GO AFTER THEM. Sh'ten said, his face flushed.
SOON. THEY'LL BE ALL RIGHT FOR A LITTLE WHILE MORE. Anubisu grumbled. He was firmly attached to Naaza's chest at this point and really didn't look as if he wanted to leave.
Ningen-Sekai-
Heero-
"Give me your clothes." Heero aimed the gun at Duo. The braided boy lost his smile slightly, but didn't move so Heero repeated the demand.
"You want my clothes?" Duo asked slowly.
Heero didn't bother to answer, just pulled back on the trigger of the gun menacingly.
The braided boy smiled widely, a seeming permanent state for him. "Yippee! I found my koibito!" With that Duo leapt at Heero and wrapped his arms around him.
Heero almost dropped the gun, he was so startled, and could only stand there, shocked as Duo rubbed his cheek against Heero's. "Get off." Heero said in a dangerously quiet voice.
"Don't be so shy. Why else would you want me to strip for you? Frankly, I'd rather go somewhere more private, but whatever floats your boat, baby." He gave Heero a suggestive wink and kissed him softly on the cheek.
Heero dropped the gun and started struggling to get this strange boy off him, pulling and pushing, but found his strength just wasn't up to the task. "Off! Off! Off!" He really, really didn't like being touched.
The Duo dropped to the ground and, with a lightening fast move swiped up the fallen gun. He kept grinning maniacally while he turned the gun on Heero. Heero's face froze. He'd have to kill the boy at this rate. If Duo actually tried to stop Heero, Heero would have no choice.
"Now," Duo said, ominously, his eyes narrowing to reveal darkness Heero hadn't seen before. "I have to tell you, I haven't used anything like this before, so I'm not sure how good my aim is. From this distance, though, I really don't think I'll miss." He cocked his head to the side, like a bird.
Heero said nothing, waiting for a chance to get the gun away from Duo. He hardly seemed like the same boy Heero had seen and been entranced by at the school just a day or so ago. That boy had looked so carefree, without the madness lurking in his eyes.
"Fine then, keep quiet. I want to take you somewhere." Duo motioned for Heero to turn around and at this range, Heero knew he didn't stand a chance against the gun. Duo was more dangerous than he looked, clearly crazy. "Go on. It's just up the fire escape, all you have to do is climb."
Heero did as he was instructed, climbing up the fire escape that was practically next to him in the alley. The other climbed behind him, with one hand, no less, until they reached the third floor. "Right there." Heero was told. "The window is open, just go in."
The apartment Heero climbed into was empty, completely empty, not a bit of clothes or furniture. Not even any light bulbs in the over head lights. The room was cold and lifeless as if no one had ever set foot in it. "This is home." The boy announced. "I just need some information from you."
While his captor was speaking, Heero was thinking. The name, Duo, rang a bell in Heero's mind, though he tried not to let it show. Duo? Wasn't that what Kay had called one of her brothers? It was hardly a common name, after all.
"What is the Alliance?"
The question took Heero off guard. He had thought that Duo was sent by the Alliance to stop him, but if Duo didn't even know who they were...where did that leave him? Who'd sent him?
Duo waved the gun impatiently. "Come on, come on. I don't have forever! I have vengeance to wreak and nuns and children to avenge. Time is running out, I have to know who the enemy is so I can kill them."
"Why do you want to kill the Alliance if you don't know who they are?"
"They killed friends of mine, so I'll go kill them." Duo replied as if he were talking to a rather stupid three-year-old. "It's very simple when you think about it."
Heero tried not to sound alarmed, but asked, "Was it Kay that they hurt?" He had to know if it was the sweet little girl who'd been killed. If so, he might just join forces with Duo.
Duo's eyes opened wide at the question and, if anything, it was like a fog in his eyes was lifting. He suddenly looked just a little saner. "How do you know Kay?" His voice was softer, far more serious than before but his grip on the gun didn’t loosen.
"Was Kay killed?"
"No."
'So I was right.' Heero thought. Kay did say that one of her brothers had a very long braid.
"I met her the other day, looking for her two brothers, Duo and Ryou. Are you her brother?"
"Yes."
"She was picked up by another brother. I think his name was Anubisu."
Duo started to shake, but quickly took control of himself. "Yes. Anubisu is one of our older brothers. He's good about keeping track of her. They were all over-protective of Kay and us." Duo fell silent but only for a moment. "You'd think they'd have let me explain before kicking me out, wouldn't you?" Duo said bitterly and he started to pace the room, almost forgetting that he'd been talking to Heero. "But no, I wake up with Ryou burning the room down around us and a demon mask staring at me, next thing I know I'm here. Then there’s Sister Helen, dying, and all the little kids all around her. There was blood…everywhere…blood. I can't get back home by myself, I need my oniisan's to help me, but... I just can't believe they just left me here! Rajura and Naaza especially hate Ningen Sekai! I don't even know what I did wrong, and..." Duo's voice broke off and Heero had a pretty good idea of what brought on Duo's madness.
Half of the story sounded like reality, while the other half was obviously fantasy. It was probably that Duo's brother, Ryou, had set a fire in their home and had been locked up for pyromaniac tendencies. Duo must have gone searching for his brother and come upon the nuns and dead children and the sight snapped his mind. Well, Heero would just have to find Duo's family or...Heero stopped that thought right where it was.
He didn't have to do anything for Duo! He was only on Earth for Seiji. First Kay and now Duo, where was this weird kindness coming from? It wasn't like him at all. Still, Duo did seem upset at revealing this...
Duo lowered the gun slightly. "There's a bathroom in there." Duo pointed to a closed door. "I've never used it, but the water should be working. Go wash up if you want to and I'll get you some clothes." He'd seemed to put the thought of his family abandoning him firmly behind him, covering up with the cheerful mask again.
Heero backed up, keeping his eyes on Duo while he went to the bathroom and closed the door between them, thankful that there was a lock on the inside of the door. Duo was dangerous, half-mad, but still dangerous. He had shown four faces in the past fifteen point six minutes. Happy madman, a very quick jump to being an experienced soldier, then sliding easily into tortured victim. Now he was acting very hospitable and Heero couldn't help but wonder how many faces Duo hid under the cheery smile.
There was an unlocked window in the bathroom, and Heero knew he was small enough to slip out easily. Heero allowed himself a little smirk. This was working out nicely. Now, if he just had some clothes.
He was finished scrubbing himself clean of the blue paint when there was a knock at the door. "I've got clothes for you!" Duo called.
Heero contemplated just escaping out the window as he was, but it would be easier if he had the clothes and his gun. Heero opened the door and let Duo in, still holding the gun and without any clothes in his hands. Heero raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
"Don't you want some clothes?" Duo asked, slyly.
Heero cautiously nodded, knowing Duo was up to something.
Duo stepped into the small bathroom and closed the door behind him. Slowly, Duo started to untie the straps that held his kimono together. Heero narrowed his eyes at Duo. This was some kind of trick, he just knew it! With a flourish, Duo let the black kimono fall to the floor, leaving him in absolutely nothing. "Don't you want it?" Duo asked playfully.
"Are you trying to seduce me?" Heero asked. No one had ever tried, so this was a first for him. Either that or Duo was just very, very strange.
Duo rolled his eyes. "You finally get it! Yes, I am trying to seduce you." He raked his eyes up and down Heero. "I've been seeing you in my dreams, you know. Exactly you. The hair, the face, the attitude, even the clothes and the gun are exactly what I've been seeing in my dreams. It must be fate. I'm so happy to have finally found you."
Heero, unnerved by Duo's words, slowly stooped to pick up the fallen kimono and tied it loosely around him. "The gun."
At that, Duo shook his head. "I don't think so, pal. This is the only way I get to have you tell me about the Alliance and how you know my sister. It stays with me."
Oh, well. Heero quickly kicked Duo in the stomach and, when Duo doubled over with a grunt, Heero threw himself out the still closed window. He fell three stories to the ground level, but with no serious injuries and he took off running. The gun wasn't all that important, he could kill hundreds of ways without it, it was just easier to have the thing. Heero didn't get far before he heard a chirpy voice call from behind him,
"Wait for me, Koibito! I wanna come, too!"
Heero risked a glance over his shoulder to see Duo running after him, still completely naked, right down the sidewalk. Heero grimaced and tried to run faster.
Hours later-
Heero finally collapsed, exhausted. He sat on his knees, panting for breath, until the other boy, still bare-assed naked and still holding Heero's gun, skidded to a stop bedside him. Heero glared at Duo, the maniac he'd had the misfortune to run into. Duo's eyes still sparkled and he was still smiling, even though he, too, was panting. Heero had liked Duo's look in the schoolyard, but couldn’t understand why Duo wouldn't leave him alone now?
For hours they'd run a mad chase around the city as Heero tried to lose so he could get on with his mission to find Seiji. Duo proved to be most persistent, refusing to give up. Heero couldn't kill Seiji with Duo watching because then he'd have to kill Duo, too. Frankly, he really didn't want to kill either of them, but orders were orders. The fact that Duo seemed to revel in making a scene of himself, giving three old ladies fainting spells when they caught a glimpse of his bare self, didn't help keep them inconspicuous.
While Heero glared, Duo asked, "Is this part of the game over yet?" Duo let Heero's gun dangle between his knees as he squatted beside Heero, a little to close for comfort. In fact, as he watched the gun, Heero felt himself become increasingly warm and the warmth was creeping up his neck into his cheeks.
"Are you blushing?" Duo leaned forward, nearly touching noses with Heero.
Heero continued glaring, but now he sat down on his backside, moving him further away from Duo to a more comfortable distance, and crossed his arms over his chest. He absolutely wouldn't give in! Heero turned away from Duo, stubbornly. Maybe if he ignored Duo, he'd just go away.
Duo leaned over and put his chin on Heero's shoulder with a charming smile but Heero jerked away violently. "Don't touch me." He said, narrowing his eyes.
Duo harrumphed and looked insulted. "I don't bite. Well, not unless you want me to."
"I don't like being touched."
They sat together, catching their breaths and Duo, as usual, felt the need to talk about something. "So who are you here to kill?"
"My partner."
"Boy, he must have really ticked you off." Duo commented, but Heero didn't reply. Duo tried several more times to get the conversation started, but Heero steadfastly ignored him. Finally, Duo settled back into an uncomfortable silence, except for the cars honking and the occasional sounds of pigeons.
"He was going to get caught." Heero said, in his soft, clear voice, his back still turned to Duo.
Duo came to attention, focusing on Heero's unexpected voice.
"Who?"
"My partner. He wanted to run away, but he was going to get caught." Heero thought back to that day in the cafeteria when Seiji had run up to him, so happy that he'd been able to get free of his guards for just a moment.
Flashback-
"I'm going to run away, Heero. Come with me!" Seiji wasn't smiling, he never smiled, but there was hope in his voice.
Heero loved looking at Seiji, he always had. Seiji was the most beautiful person Heero had ever seen, despite the scarred half of his face. Heero lift another spoonful of food to his mouth. Seiji doesn't know that the guards had been doubled because of Alliance spies. He didn't know that the surveillance cameras were heat and motion sensitive. They would set off an alarm if he even tries to go out of the restricted areas.
"Go back." Heero told him softly. The badge doctor J had given Heero to contact him with was pinned to his chest, but Heero didn’t know if it works the other way. He didn’t know if doctor J could hear what he was saying to Seiji.
Seiji looked at Heero, stunned and...oh, it hurts to see him like that! Seiji lookd as if he would cry. "What? If we go together, we can escape, Heero. It's what we always wanted."
"Go back to your room, Seiji." Heero repeated with a hand on the communication badge. "I will send for doctor J if you don't go." Heero didn't know if he could do it, if he could actually send Seiji to his doom. If doctor J found out what Seiji was planning, it would probably mean death. Heero had hoped Seiji was sensible enough to go back and wait for a better time to run. 'Please,' Heero thought, 'please go back.' Heero couldn’t even tell Seiji why he was saying such things. If anyone was listening, it would surely be trouble for them both.
Heero missed Seiji so much. He wanted to be with Seiji every day that they’d been separated, but now that Heero could see him it hurt. He knew Seiji would think Heero hate him. Heero want to tell Seiji everything, but...doctor J wouldn't approve. There would be punishment and, despite everything, Heero knew he was a coward.
He was afraid that doctor J would let the guards touch him again and, because of his fear, he’d hurt Seiji, the one person he’d never wanted to hurt. ‘I...I just don't want to be touched again.’
Seiji stumbled away, almost tripping over a chair and he looked so betrayed. Heero wanted to shout that he didn't mean it. Yell that he’d run anywhere with Seiji, but that Seiji just had to wait for the right time.
Heero did nothing and sat there just watching Seiji. Seiji who'd fought for Heero and taken care of him so many times. Heero watched Seiji’s face showing the betrayal and anger. He realized that his hand was still hovering over the communication badge, threatening Seiji's life.
Seiji ran and Heero slowly lowered his hand to his lap. It was the right thing to do. Heero had done the right thing. Seiji would be safe so long as he went straight back to his room and didn't get caught.
‘Then why do I feel sick? My stomach hurts. Just wait,' Heero thought. 'I'll come for you at the first chance I get. I'll rescue you and take you away.' It was then that Heero made up his mind to get a message to Seiji as soon as possible. ‘I'll tell him to wait and I'll help him, just not right now. Not today.’
"Very good, Heero."
Heero turned to see doctor J walk through one of the other doors of the cafeteria, opposite from where Seiji had come in and left. The old man was smiling, a bizarre parody of a real smile, as he walked slowly toward Heero. The clicking of his staff froze Heero’s gut. It always brought back memories of Seiji's punishment.
"I am pleased that you know where your loyalties lay, Heero. I was going to kill Seiji when I saw him in here, but I wanted to know whom you would side with, with your ex-partner, or with me. I am glad to see you made the right choice." From out of his lab coat doctor J pulled out a small, but effective looking gun. "If you had made the wrong choice, you would both be dead now."
Heero was more thankful that he’d known what he’d had to do. Going against doctor J meant death for Seiji and Heero.
Doctor J continued, "From now on, extra guards will be placed on Hiro's room, to prevent this happening, again. You don't have to worry about ever seeing him again. If he does manage to escape, he will be shot on site."
'No!' Heero wanted to scream and rip out doctor J’s throat. "Yes, sir." Heero said obediently and hated himself.
End Flashback-
Duo was still watching Heero, but Heero didn’t really care. ‘I would NOT cry!’ He’d lost Seiji because he was a coward and he had been ordered to kill him or bring him back. Heero couldn’t go against orders. He just couldn’t. ‘But...I don’t want to hurt Seiji. I've all ready shot him twice. He might be dead all ready.’ If Seiji hadn’t hated Heero before, he surely did now. No chance had ever come to help Seiji, or even contact him, before he managed his own escape and left. Seiji’s fault for leaving or Heero’s fault for not listening to him - Heero didn’t care. He still felt abandoned.
Duo moved closer to Heero again, but didn't touch him that time. His tone was soft and sincere. "You want to talk about it?"
"No." Heero didn't want to get close to anyone again. It just wasn’t worth it.
Shin-
Touma needed all the help he could get, that much was obvious. Shin had watched all morning as Touma fussed about the house, dressed in his best clothes and then went to raid Quatre's closet for a better tie and shiny, black leather shoes. Touma looked at himself in the mirror before grumbling and running off to change his clothes. He repeated the whole process five times until he was finally satisfied with a dark blue suit, but then started to talk to himself in the mirror, working out what he'd say to Trieze when the man arrived. Shin shook his head at Touma's nerves and went to the kitchen to get out of the way.
The previous night, Touma had tried his best to talk to Quatre and Rasid. Try to convince them that he could handle the whole situation and that they shouldn't judge him before they'd even met Mr. Kushranada. Rasid had crossed his arms stubbornly. "Not in my house!" He declared. "I will not have anyone from the Alliance in my house!"
"But why not?" Touma had never known Rasid to act like this, so unreasonable.
"We have to tell him." Quatre said quietly from where he stood next to Rasid. "If he understands, maybe he'll reconsider."
"Tell me what?" Touma demanded.
Quatre opened his mouth, but Rasid silenced him with sharp hand movement. "No! I don't want him involved. It's bad enough to have you endanger, master Quatre." He looked at Touma. "Please, you've trusted us all this time, just this one last time. Don't get involved with the Alliance, Touma. They are not good people."
"And what, exactly, have they done?" Touma asked. "You've told me all about how evil the Alliance is, that's what Quatre and I are being trained for, but what exactly have they done? All these years of training and you've never told us..." Touma's voice faded when he saw a guilty look on Quatre's face. "You know, Kitty?" He asked in disbelief before turning on Rasid. "You told Kitty what's going on, but you didn't trust me enough to tell me?"
Rasid shook his head. "It's not that, Touma. You are like a son to me, you know that."
"Then tell me. Why are we fighting? What, exactly, has the Alliance done?"
"Well," Quatre said, awkwardly. "We strongly suspected that..."
"You suspect?" Touma rolled his eyes sarcastically. "You hate them just because you suspect something? Jeeze, for all you know, there might be nothing wrong with them, right?" He looked up at Rasid. "Have I wasted my life training because you don't trust them?"
Quatre shook his head. "It's not like that, Touma. I have inside information that says..."
Again, Touma interrupted him. "Inside information? From where? How do you know they can be trusted?"
"I believe them, Touma. I can't tell you who they are, though. I can't even tell you what the information was. It‘s dangerous. The people I’m working for are just as dangerous as the people I’m fighting against."
Touma's eyes narrowed. "What are you both involved in?"
Quatre and Rasid both remained silent.
This was the last straw and Touma turned on his heel, marching upstairs to his room.
"Touma, wait!" Quatre called.
"No. I don't think I want to talk to you right now, Kitty. You're keeping secrets." He stopped and looked at his adoptive family. "I don't know why, but I'm really not happy with it." He continued up, Shin, who'd witnessed it all from the background, followed.
They went up to Touma's room and Shin knew, without being told, to lock the door behind him. He could feel such fury from Touma and not just about the job anymore. Quatre was hiding something. He didn't trust Touma enough to tell all his secrets and that infuriated Touma.
Without a word, Touma sat at the computer at his desk and started typing.
"What are you going to do?" Shin asked quietly.
"I'm going to try to find out what all the fuss about the Alliance is about." Touma replied, not looking up from the screen. He zipped though so many windows on the screen that Shin was getting dizzy just watching. Sometimes the screen would go completely black and Touma would type in gibberish, taking him to another screen. “Rasid raised me with the idea that I would be a soldier. I’m cool with that. He never said it in so many words, but I am trained to fight. Why against the Alliance, I have no idea. I’m going to find out.”
Finally, the screen went completely yellow, except for big black letters. ACCESS CODE REQUIRED.
Touma sat back thinking. He tried everything he could think of Quatre using from Quatre, Winner, Rababer, Rashid, Touma, and Abdul. He went through lists of names of friends at school and even hobbies that Quatre had. Nothing worked. Then he tried Alliance, Romafeller, OZ, Trieze, War, enemy, and teacup. Why teacup? Why not, he was running out of ideas, after all.
It was almost three hours later, well into night, when Shin was falling asleep, trying to be patient for Touma, who was still clicking away at the computer. "Touma, just go to bed. You're not going to crack that code tonight."
"I can crack any code." Touma replied with a yawn. Then he shook himself. "But I think I'll settle for just sending Kitty and Rasid on a wild goose chase for now."
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, while I was messing around in here, I noticed that they always seem to go away when Kitty gets an email from someone called: DRH. All I have to do, I think, is send a similar message. The last one said, 'Check in. All going according to plan. DRH.'
Shin watched as Touma easily typed in exactly the same message into the email. "But won't they know that it's coming from your computer?"
"Not if I do this right. It'll look like whoever this guy is, is sending it."
Shin shook his head. "Are you sure you really want to do this? I mean, isn't it kind of...dishonest?"
"It's extremely dishonest." Touma answered easily. "But, they're being dishonest with me, too, so I don't mind lying to them." He clicked the send button. "With any luck, tomorrow, they'll be gone when Mr. Kushranada gets here."
Shin's eyes went wide. "Trieze Kushranada? The guy that's always on the news? The same guy who runs the Alliance?" He was more than awed. "You must have made quite the impression if he's coming here himself."
Touma gave him a smug grin. "You're telling me."
Now, on the morning of the auspicious visit, Shin was in Quatre's kitchen and wondering what Touma was getting himself into when he heard a noise in the driveway. Must be Trieze. Touma's ruse had worked and the house was mainly deserted after he'd given all of the staff the day off when Quatre and Rasid had left earlier.
The guy Shin thought must be Trieze, as fitting for the commander of the Alliance, arrived in a chauffeur driven Rolls Royce at exactly the time he said he'd be there. He was apparently a man who liked the finer things in life. Shin watched from the kitchen, over the sound of a boiling kettle on the stove, as Trieze got out and said something to the driver before walking up to the front door of Quatre's home.
"Well, he looks...rich." Shin said to himself. Trieze was dressed very formally, in some kind of uniform and with short, reddish hair and a sharp look to him. In his mind, Shin felt how panicked Touma was, still rushing around. "Maybe I should help him." The teakettle whistled.
Touma-
The doorbell rang, and Touma froze with terror. Mr. Kushranada!
Again, the doorbell rang and Touma remembered to breathe. This was his future. His whole future was riding on this meeting and whether or not Mr. Kushranada thought he was good enough for the Alliance.
Another ring and Shin shouted from the kitchen, "He's going to leave if you don't answer it!"
Without further prompting, Touma ran for the door. He swung it open, surprising Mr. Kushranada. "Hello!" Touma burst out, trying to sound relaxed, but failing miserably.
Mr. Kushranada, to his credit, didn't laugh at Touma, so well-dressed, and so obviously flustered. "Good afternoon, Mr. Hashiba. I'm Trieze Kushranada, I believe you receive my letter and are expecting me."
"Yes, yes, of course! A great pleasure to meet you, sir, please come in!" Touma managed to stand back and let Trieze walk in.
Trieze looked around the impeccably clean living room, appraisingly. Trieze sat on the sofa and Touma nervous sat in the chair opposite of him. There was a tense moment of silence, but Trieze never stopped smiling. Touma suddenly looked at the empty coffee table and wondered what was wrong. Why wasn't Mr. Kushranada saying anything?
'OH GOD! THE TEA! I FORGOT TO MAKE TEA!!!' Touma nearly had a heart attack and just wanted to cry. Trieze was going to think he had no manners at all! He'd never get the job. Kitty would think he was a failure and Rashid would think he'd failed as a father. Touma gave into the stress and fell to the floor on his knees, weeping, a lake of tears growing around his knees. Touma screamed at the top of his lungs to whatever god would listen to him, "Just kill me and get it over with! Why torture me? Do you enjoy making my life Hell?!"
"Are you all right, young man?" Trieze was giving Touma a very odd look when Shin walked in, a silver tray set for tea and three china teacups.
"Hello, sorry the tea is late." Shin smiled sweetly at their guest before turning to Touma. "What are you doing on the floor, Touma?" He set the tray down and started to serve the tea.
Touma blinked, astonished and managed to pick himself up. 'He saved me!' Shin gave Trieze a cup of tea, also offering a plate of homemade cookies. 'Maybe he's not such a prick after all.'
Then Shin offered Touma a cup of tea and gave him a look that clearly said, 'You owe me, boy. Big time.' Touma managed to be grateful, anyway. He'd worry about repaying Shin later.
Some time later-
Trieze shook Touma's hand. "I'm very pleased about his interview, Mr. Hashiba. You have managed to impress me with your intelligence and I think you'd be an excellent addition to my personal staff, instead of just a technician for the Alliance. I could use a scientific advisor to help me understand all the new technology that my scientists are working on. How would you like to work as my assistant, a good job in OZ?"
"Oh, yes, sir!" Touma was almost bowled over by the offer. Mr. Kushranada was not the sort of person who went around picking assistants out for no reason. OZ? Wow! OZ was the elite military of the entire Alliance army. If Trieze wanted Touma, then...oh, wow! "Your personal staff? I'd be honored."
"I would like to see how you interact with other members of my staff, though. OZ is holding a party shortly and I'd be honored if you attend, with a guest, of course."
Shin-
"Yes, sir." Touma eagerly agreed, still shaking Trieze's hand with a wide smile. Shin felt so pleased for Touma, pleased that things were working out nicely, even if they weren't exactly friends. Touma walked Trieze to the door, with a promise to be at the party. His smile lasted only until he came back to the couch and collapsed with a cry of anguish. "Please, kill me!" He screamed, again, with tears running down his face.
Shin, shocked at the change of mood said, "What's wrong? I thought it went wonderfully. You really impressed him." He'd stayed through the meeting, helping to keep the small talk moving, not a skill Touma was terribly good at, and trying to keep Touma relaxed enough to speak in front of Trieze. Personally, Shin wasn't terribly impressed with the man, but at least Trieze was polite.
Touma looked up only to glare at Shin. "Well, sure you did. You're not the one who has to go to that party, are you?" He'd obviously forgotten that Shin had saved his interview with tea and cookies and a few well-placed words.
Shin stood stiffly, picking up the tray of empty cups and cookie crumbs. "I'm only trying to help! You're the one who wants this job, not me!" He turned away, clearing the tea he'd worked so hard to set out just right. "You don't have to snap at me just because you can't dance!"
"That's not the problem, you jerk!" Touma jumped up and started pacing the room. "I can dance just fine, but I don't have anyone to go to this party with and he said I was to bring a guest. If Kitty wasn't against this whole thing, then I'd go with him, but he doesn't even like the Alliance mentioned in the house, he'd never go to one of their parties. If he were here, I'd ask Xiu..." Touma trailed away from this thought with another glare at Shin. Xiu probably wouldn't go with him anyway, now that Shin was around.
Shin glared back, not afraid in the least. He knew what Touma was feeling as Touma was too distraught to try and block his feelings, but it wasn't Shin's fault that Xiu liked him! "Don't you have anyone else you could go with?"
Touma shook his head miserably. Xiu and Quatre were, pretty much, his only friends. He didn't like even being near other people, even Xiu's cousin, Wufei, let alone having to take a chance dancing with some stranger at this party. "What if someone asks me to dance? I won't be able to do it." If he had a 'date' then maybe no one would bother him.
Shin felt how afraid Touma was of being touched and having people close to him, besides Xiu. Shin fought with himself for a moment, part of him wanting to leave the rude, nasty Touma to suffer on his own, but his good nature won out.
Shin bowed his head and closed his eyes, knowing he'd regret doing this. "I'll go with you."
Touma blinked and looked at Shin, surprised. "You what?"
Shin scowled at Touma. "I said I'll go, if you want me to. If you'd rather go alone, then I'll stay here and play poker with Abdul."
Touma couldn't stop jumping up happily, thankful that he had someone to be with. "Great!" Touma wasn't afraid to be close to Shin for just one evening, because of the bond they shared. Touma would know instantly if Shin would 'do' anything to him, so he knew Shin could be trusted. "Now, I can just tell everyone that I'm with you, if some asks me to dance."
Shin frowned. "Won't they think that's a little odd? That you're on a date with a guy?"
"Maybe. Do I look like I care?" Touma smirked. "So long as I have an excuse not to touch anyone, I'll be fine." Shin could tell that Touma really meant it, he honestly didn't care what other people thought of him.
"But they might not hire you if they think you're gay."
This made Touma pause, but he waved off the objection. "I AM gay and that's not going to change. I'm certainly not going to hide myself my whole life, so they might as well find out now as later. Besides, they're hiring my brain, not my body." Touma gave Shin a look up and down. "Even if I have to dance, I can have you for a partner. Not that you'd be my first choice, of course, but beggars can't be choosers."
Shin's eye twitched at the insult. How dare he! "Maybe I'll change my mind and just let you go alone, if you really think I'm the bottom of the barrel." Shin suggested and was sadistically pleased with the flash of fear from Touma.
"You are a very nasty person, Shin."
"You're no angel, yourself, buddy."
The two glared at each other for a moment before Shin spoke again. "Anyway, you won't be able to dance with me, even if I wanted you to."
Now, Touma became alarmed. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know how to dance." Shin admitted with a slight blush. "I never had time to learn, what with the circus act and all. It always kept me pretty busy."
Touma brushed that aside. "I'll teach you. Kitty taught me a long time ago, and he tells me I'm pretty damned good, too." With that Touma ran to the stereo that sat in the corner of the living room and started to rifle through the collection of music.
Shin sat heavily on the sofa. 'I must be insane.' He thought. 'I just volunteered to spend a whole evening with a guy who practically hates me!' Thinking back to Touma's earlier comments and how he'd been treated by Xiu's other best friend, 'I don't think I'm real fond of him, either.'
"Ah, ha!" Touma triumphantly held up the disk he'd been looking for. "This is a great dancing song." Touma immediately set to work moving the coffee table out of the way, opening up the living room for a dance lesson.
After putting the CD in, Touma came to stand in front of Shin and held his arms out. "What?" Shin asked, suspiciously.
Touma rolled his eyes. "How am I supposed to teach you to dance if you don't stand up? Come on, you said you'd help me."
Shin sighed, but stood and let Touma take control. "Just put your hand on my shoulder." Touma said. Touma put his arms around Shin, one hand on Shin's waist and the other taking Shin's free hand. The music came on, a soft, almost mournful wailing sound.
Shin thought that the music was getting to him. It was really a very beautiful song, and it seemed to relax him, letting Touma guide him though the first awkward steps. Shin was very graceful in his acrobatics, but dancing seemed like a far different thing. He had to watch his feet and, Touma told him, watch his partner at the same time. He tripped several times, on his own feet and Touma's.
It was getting easier and Shin actually glad that Touma was so sure of what he was doing. That made things simpler so Shin didn't have to work so hard. All his had to do was trust Touma.
Touma was feeling pretty good about it, too, Shin realized. Touma wasn't even thinking about how revolting it was to touch someone and just relaxing into the moves, letting his mind wander into the music. Shin tightened his hand around Touma's, for some reason he didn't fully understand. Touma pulled him closer and Shin felt a pleasant wash of calm through the link he shared with Touma. Touma did feel very good against him.
Shin felt warm all over. Touma's hands felt like they're burning Shin, all of a sudden. The music still plays, but it was getting hard to hear it, Shin realized he could feel Touma's heart beating against his chest, thundering in his ears.
They had stopped dancing and just held each other. Touma no longer looked so threatening and angry with gentle eyes looking at Shin from only inches away. Without thinking about what he was doing, Shin raised his face to Touma. Touma leaned down, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss.
Shin, suddenly realized whom he was kissing. "Oh!" He jumped away from Touma. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean..." What was he was doing?! And Xiu could probably feel it, too!
His apology was cut off abruptly as Touma pounced him, dragging Shin to the floor while kissing his passionately. Shin gave in without much of a fight.
Trieze-
They were so cute together! It was sweet watching Shin come to Touma's rescue with the tea just went Touma looked like he was have a stroke. Trieze had actually felt rather bad for the boy when he collapsed in tears. Just looking over his exam results Trieze was sure the age given had been a mistake, until the boy had answered the door. Touma was a child, probably not even seventeen. He wasn't even old enough to drive yet!
But with that intelligence, Trieze really wanted Touma on his side when the war started and he wanted Touma’s intelligence creating new weapons for him. When Touma had opened the door, Touma reminded Trieze of a child trying to play adult. Dressed in clothes that were far too formal for a job interview and all flustered, he was really very cute. He bit his bottom lip all through the interview and kept wringing his hands in a nervous gesture. It was hard not to laugh, but then Touma would astound Trieze, using his intelligence to impress Trieze without even realizing that he was doing it.
Trieze had already started down the long drive of Touma's home when he’d realized that he hadn't given Touma the invitation to the party that told the address and time so he turned the car around and headed back.
Trieze knocked a few times at the door, but no one answered. Well, the cars were both still in the driveway, so they must be there. Trieze opened the door, thinking that he would just leave the invitation on the hall desk, but as soon as he walked in, he heard strangely familiar sounds coming from Touma's living room. Trieze followed the noise, curiously only to find Touma and his friend, Shin, in one of the most frenzied kissing duels he’d ever seen, rolling around on the floor. Shin was attempting to take Touma's shirt off, pulling it down around Touma's waist.
Not really wanting to disturb them Trieze ended up leaving the invitation and walking out quietly as he could. Seeing those two make Trieze think of Zechs and all the interesting things Trieze could do to...er...with him.
"Home." Trieze told the driver, then changed his mind. Trieze gave the driver a certain address. Zechs had said earlier that he was visiting at Noin's home, so that was where Trieze would go. It might be the perfect time to do a little flirting and get Zechs all hot and flustered. He was so damned cute when he blushed.
Trieze had heard rumors of Noin having found a long missing brother, too. Maybe he would get to meet him.
Youja Kai-
Naaza stood in his room utterly confused.
On his easel, in a corner of his chambers, was a painting Naaza had never seen before. It was only half finished and was undeniably done in his style, but Naaza just could not remember painting it.
Painting had been his greatest passion for many years and he was, even he admitted, quite good. He had learned to paint after he'd come to live in the Youja-Kai when boredom had nearly driven him mad. It was the boredom that had driven Sh'ten to write, Anubisu to run, and Rajura to sew. After all, everything was provided for them. They had unlimited food, clothing, and a magnificent home. They didn't need to do anything and after a while the luxury could turn into a hell. They’d all come from lives where they were expected to earn a living whether it was hunting for food or risking one’s life in battle for one’s lord, they were used to being busy.
Over the many years of his life in the Youja-Kai, Naaza had lined the walls of their palace home with paintings of his family, flowers, his beloved snakes, the Ningen-Sekai moon, and abstract images done in rainbow colors. Anything that sprang to mind, he would commit to canvas.
But, the painting he’d discovered in his chambers was just...odd. Naaza scratched his head and tried to remember painting it. It was a large painting, a family portrait of sorts, with his three brothers standing side-by-side (himself included in the painting) and the two guardian tigers, Byakuen and Kokuen-Oh, on each end, like majestic bookends.
It was the three unfamiliar figures in the center of the painting that was the mystery. They were posed in front of the Ma-Sho, two teenage boys standing with a small girl sitting on the floor between the two boys. The first boy, standing in front of Rajura, had a wide, bright smile and a long braid hanging over his shoulder. The girl - she could only have been about nine or so - had immensely long black hair and holding a fine china doll on her lap while she smiled sweetly. The second boy was about the same size as the braided boy, but with shorter, black hair and a darker complexion.
"Now what's this all about?" Naaza muttered. "I'm sure I would have remembered doing this one." Naaza scratched his head and frowned at the painting. He didn't remember the children and, since the painting hadn't been finished, it must be recent.
'Trouble?'
Naaza looked down at the snake that had woken up on his bed and had spoken to him. "I'm not sure. Do you remember me doing this one?" He gestured to the painting.
The snake regarded the mystery painting lazily. 'It is fresh smelling.' She commented. 'Before the hatchlings were sent away.'
This got Naaza's attention. "What hatchlings?"
'Young ones in painting.' The snake seemed to be irritated that she had to tell Naaza such a thing and she crawled off his bed. 'You go get your young. Not good, young being alone.' With that last piece of advice, the little snake slithered out a crack in the wall, going to wherever she was when she wasn't with Naaza.
He didn't both to try and stop her as snakes weren't well known for talking. Naaza knew that she would tell him more if it suited her and not before. Naaza glared at the painting. His paints were still cluttering the table next to his easel, with the brushes still in the paint, so he must have been working on it recently.
Finally, Naaza gave up his puzzling and left his room in search of Sh'ten. Surely, Sh'ten would know what was going on. It wouldn’t be hard to find him even if they hadn’t had the mental link. When Sh'ten wasn't in his room, he could normally be found in the library.
Sh'ten-
Sh'ten had gone to the library, his personal domain in the great empire of the Youja-Kai. Everything else, he shared with his brothers, but the library was his alone. Looking for the notes he was using for his book he was writing about his long life, Sh'ten came across a box marked SCHOOLWORK. Sh'ten pursed his lips and picked up the box. He didn't remember that one and it was fairly heavy.
What he found inside, however, was even more puzzling. Hundreds of papers that appeared to be of someone practicing writing and mathematics and several longer papers, writing assignments that told about animals or history. Just like school reports. They were obviously done by two different people, one handwriting was messy and barely legible while the other was neat and practiced. Through this pile, Sh'ten searched for names that would identify who these belonged to.
He only found one clue, a paper that had written, in small neat handwriting at the top of the page:
PUNISHMENT - DUO.
I WILL NOT THROW FIRECRACKERS INTO THE SNAKE PIT.
I WILL NOT THROW FIRECRACKERS INTO THE SNAKE PIT.
I WILL NOT THROW FIRECRACKERS INTO THE SNAKE PIT.
Almost a hundred lines were written like this and Sh'ten knew he should speak to Naaza. If his snake pit had been disturbed, Naaza surely would have told them about it. Hell, he would have been screaming bloody murder for weeks if one of his babies had been hurt in the least little way. So…why didn’t Sh’ten remember anything about it and who would have been insane enough to tempt Naaza’s wrath?
In the end, Sh'ten put the box back where he'd found it and sat at his desk drumming his fingers on the top. While he was doing that, a small, pink envelope caught his attention, just poking out from under a book on his desk. Sh'ten pulled it out and found his own name written across the front in the same hand neat writing as one of the papers he'd found in the box. He pulled out a card, made of folded paper and opened it. Inside was a chalk picture of roses and,
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, MAMA SH'TEN!
LOVE DUO, RYOU, AND KAY.
Sh'ten almost dropped the card, he was so shocked. "Mama?" He said out loud. "Me?" He certainly didn't recognize the names. Why in the world would anyone give him a mother's day card?
Rajura-
Rajura sat in the armory with a scythe in his lap. He had seen the scythe when he was making his inspection of the armory and the sight of it was enough to make him forget about the inspection. It wasn’t just a single scythe that worried Rajura so much, but a good many weapons that weren’t supposed to be in the armory. He ought to know, the armory was his responsibility and he knew every weapon.
There was a tiny scythe that seemed to be built for a child. On the wall with the tiny scythe, was six more, each one growing in size until it reached adult size. On another wall were twin katanas, hanging in a similar fashion to the scythes. Each pair gradually getting bigger until an adult could wield them.
There was nothing unusual in the scythes, themselves, or the katanas. They were not magical in anyway, but they were out of place. The weapons were not supposed to be there. What caught his attention, however, was that on the wooden handle of the scythe he was holding were the engraved initials: D.M.
Who was D.M.?
Anubisu-
He'd been looking for the tigers all day and finally found Kokuen-Oh sunning himself on a rock just outside the palace. "There you are." Anubisu said. "I've been looking for you everywhere! Where's Byakuen?"
The black tiger, normally not so friendly, was even more unpleasant than usual. He slowly turned his head to glare at Anubisu, his dark eyes cold as ice. 'I don't know.' Was the bitter reply.
"What do you mean?" Anubisu knew that the twin tigers were always together. They rarely - if ever - left each other's sides. Anubisu walked toward Kokuen-Oh, but stopped when the tiger suddenly growled and bared his teeth. Kokuen-Oh raised himself up onto his feet and refused to let Anubisu get any closer. "What's gotten into you?"
'No closer, betrayer.'
Anubisu blinked. Perhaps Kokuen-Oh was sick. Again, Anubisu tried to get closer, but Kokuen-Oh wasn't fooling around and swiped at Anubisu, his claws fully extended to their nearly inch long length. 'Stay away!' The tiger screamed furiously. 'Byakuen has gone to the other world. I want to go to him. I must find my cub!'
"What cub?" Anubisu was, by now, thoroughly confused. Since when did Kokuen-Oh have a cub?
Kokuen-Oh cried out at the moon, a long, mournful sound. 'Byakuen made his own way, but when I tried the power was gone. Let me go to them!'
"Master Arago has ordered that there is to be no more travel between worlds, to conserve power before the war begins. Byakuen must have gotten through before Master Arago shut out that power to us. I didn't even know you two could open gateways."
Kokuen-Oh didn't say anything to that, but snarled. 'Betrayer. You sent the cubs to other world, away from us. Betrayer!' With that, Kokuen-Oh bounded away into the long grass plains and vanished from sight.
Several hours later-
They were in the wilderness, with an excuse to Emperor Arago that they needed to work off some energy by hunting. It was a usual excuse they used when they wanted quality time together, away from the clanging foot soldiers and the cold stone walls of the palace. It also wouldn't be questioned. After riding for hours on the demon horses, the Ma-Sho found themselves in a secluded clearing.
The four men sat in the grass by the side of a familiar river and relaxed into the comfort of each other's arms under shade the pale purple blossoms of the tree. It was a tree very much like a cherry tree, with it's beautiful pink blossoms, but not exactly. This tree was a thing of pure imagination that Rajura had dreamed up and then created. The blossoms smelled vaguely like lilac for some reason that Rajura wouldn't tell anyone. He just liked it.
How could such a place of beauty exist in a world of evil? Simple. It didn't. This was one of Rajura's greatest masterpieces. Rajura fancied himself an artist with his illusions and had come to this place one day to work. For three days, he'd worked to make the most beautiful, restful places he could imagine and the result was this oasis of peace. No foot soldiers or weapons, no Arago or spirits or even yoroi were seen in Rajura's creation. Only the Ma-Sho themselves were allowed in this place. He was, to put it plainly, terribly proud of his greatest creation ever.
Rajura's Garden of Dreams.
Naaza lay on his back with his head propped up in Sh'ten's lap and he stared up at the light filtering through the tree's flower blossoms, lavender in the moonlight. Sh'ten ran his long, graceful fingers through Naaza's green hair, in a lazy fashion.
Rajura and Anubisu leaned against each other, close enough that their temples were touching Rajura had his arm draped over Anubisu's shoulder while his other hand played with Sh'ten's long red hair. It was an intimate moment, one that none of them wanted to break with talking. From where he leaned against a tree, Sh'ten looked down at his lover, pleased that his exotic looking Naaza looked so at peace. Naaza was often plagued by inner torments, mostly concerning his slow transformation into a serpent.
Still, they had to discuss the strange things they'd been finding and why the animals had been acting so oddly. Hiding in Rajura’s garden and being utterly silent was the safest way to go about it. If Arago happened to spy on them the only thing he would see would be exactly what was going on, them all sitting, and laying, together under a tree. He wouldn't know what was going on in their minds. He couldn’t hear their mind-speak.
The demon lord Arago was all-powerful in the Youja Kai, even if he wasn't overly bright. However, the mind speaking was one thing they'd discovered that he had no control over and, more importantly, had no knowledge of. This was a secret that only the four of them shared.
Anubisu spoke first, THERE'S SOMETHING VERY ODD GOING ON AROUND HERE. BYAKUEN IS MISSING AND KOKUEN-OH WON'T TELL ME WHERE HE IS. KOKUEN-OH WAS VERY AGGRESSIVE TODAY. He turned to Rajura to nuzzled his beloved's neck. It always pleased him to have the feeling of his Jura's soft hair on his face and to kiss the delicate, pale skin.
Anubisu didn't bother to shield his mind and shared what he was feeling with the men he considered his brothers. Sh'ten had always been susceptible to the emotions of others and was obviously aroused by how Anubisu was feeling. He reached down, running his hand down Naaza's chest and into the folds of his kimono.
Naaza closed his eyes and smiled at the touch. NICE.
Like Anubisu, neither Sh'ten nor Naaza bothered to hide themselves. It was too good of a feeling to keep to oneself.
Sh'ten agreed, even as he lowered his head to kiss Naaza's cheek. YES. I HAVE FOUND SOME INTERESTING PAPERS IN THE LIBRARY. Sh'ten finished the kiss with a long, wet lick.
One by one, they went around, opening their minds, and shared what they'd discovered that day, while they touched and caressed each other. IT MUST HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE PUNISHMENT WE WERE GIVEN SEVERAL DAYS AGO. ARAGO WOULDN'T EVEN TELL US WHY WE'D BEEN PUNISHED. HE MUST HAVE TAKEN OUR MEMORIES. Naaza said. BUT I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT. WHO WERE THE CHILDREN AND WHY WERE THEY HERE?
DOES IT MATTER? Rajura asked, his eyes closed as Anubisu lowered him into the tall grass, pulling at the cord that held his kimono together. WE KNOW THEY WERE HERE. WE KNOW THAT THEY LOVED US. WE KNOW WE LOVED THEM ENOUGH TO EDUCATE THEM AND INCLUDE THEM IN FAMILY PAINTINGS. WE MUST FIND THEM. A pause. THAT FEELS VERY, VERY GOOD, 'NUBIE. Even in their minds, Rajura sighed and moaned when Anubisu started to bite his neck.
WE HAVE TO FIND THE CHILDREN. Sh'ten agreed, letting Naaza slip hands under his kimono. THEY MUST HAVE BEEN TAKEN AWAY BY ARAGO, FOR SOME REASON.
WHERE DO WE LOOK FOR THEM? Rajura asked. THEY COULD BE ANYWHERE IN THIS WORLD OR THE OTHER.
Anubis smirked as he straddled Rajura's hips, biting his love's ear hard enough to draw a tiny bit of blood, which he eagerly licked up. WE JUST HAVE TO FIND BYAKUEN. He was very pleased to finally be the one to take command. I CAN'T SENSE HIM IN THIS WORLD SO HE MUST BE IN THE NINGEN SEKAI. KOKUEN-OH SAID BYAKUEN WENT AFTER ONE OF THE CHILDREN, SO THEY'LL PROBABLY BE TOGETHER.
WON'T WE BE PUNISHED IF WE FIND THEM? Naaza asked, looking up from Sh'ten's now bare legs. THE CHILDREN MIGHT BE IN DANGER, TOO. EMPEROR ARAGO MUST HAVE BEEN VERY ANGRY WITH US FOR SOME REASON.
WE CAN'T LEAVE THEM IN THE NINGEN SEKAI. Rajura told him. THEY BELONG WITH US.
ARAGO WON'T LET THEM RETURN IF HE SENT THEM AWAY! WHAT IF HE KILLS THEM THIS TIME?
Rajura's eye narrowed. HE WON'T HURT THEM. WE'LL DECIDE WHAT TO DO LATER. RIGHT NOW, I WANT TO KNOW WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT'S GOING ON. I WONDER IF THEY REMEMBER US OR IF ARAGO TOOK THEIR MEMORIES, TOO.
There were a few moments of quiet as the men concentrated on what they were doing, lost in the pleasant sensation of touch and the smell of each other. It was intoxication, as they began to move closer together, forgetting partners and just enjoying each other.
I SUPPPOSE WE SHOULD GO AFTER THEM. Sh'ten said, his face flushed.
SOON. THEY'LL BE ALL RIGHT FOR A LITTLE WHILE MORE. Anubisu grumbled. He was firmly attached to Naaza's chest at this point and really didn't look as if he wanted to leave.
Ningen-Sekai-
Heero-
"Give me your clothes." Heero aimed the gun at Duo. The braided boy lost his smile slightly, but didn't move so Heero repeated the demand.
"You want my clothes?" Duo asked slowly.
Heero didn't bother to answer, just pulled back on the trigger of the gun menacingly.
The braided boy smiled widely, a seeming permanent state for him. "Yippee! I found my koibito!" With that Duo leapt at Heero and wrapped his arms around him.
Heero almost dropped the gun, he was so startled, and could only stand there, shocked as Duo rubbed his cheek against Heero's. "Get off." Heero said in a dangerously quiet voice.
"Don't be so shy. Why else would you want me to strip for you? Frankly, I'd rather go somewhere more private, but whatever floats your boat, baby." He gave Heero a suggestive wink and kissed him softly on the cheek.
Heero dropped the gun and started struggling to get this strange boy off him, pulling and pushing, but found his strength just wasn't up to the task. "Off! Off! Off!" He really, really didn't like being touched.
The Duo dropped to the ground and, with a lightening fast move swiped up the fallen gun. He kept grinning maniacally while he turned the gun on Heero. Heero's face froze. He'd have to kill the boy at this rate. If Duo actually tried to stop Heero, Heero would have no choice.
"Now," Duo said, ominously, his eyes narrowing to reveal darkness Heero hadn't seen before. "I have to tell you, I haven't used anything like this before, so I'm not sure how good my aim is. From this distance, though, I really don't think I'll miss." He cocked his head to the side, like a bird.
Heero said nothing, waiting for a chance to get the gun away from Duo. He hardly seemed like the same boy Heero had seen and been entranced by at the school just a day or so ago. That boy had looked so carefree, without the madness lurking in his eyes.
"Fine then, keep quiet. I want to take you somewhere." Duo motioned for Heero to turn around and at this range, Heero knew he didn't stand a chance against the gun. Duo was more dangerous than he looked, clearly crazy. "Go on. It's just up the fire escape, all you have to do is climb."
Heero did as he was instructed, climbing up the fire escape that was practically next to him in the alley. The other climbed behind him, with one hand, no less, until they reached the third floor. "Right there." Heero was told. "The window is open, just go in."
The apartment Heero climbed into was empty, completely empty, not a bit of clothes or furniture. Not even any light bulbs in the over head lights. The room was cold and lifeless as if no one had ever set foot in it. "This is home." The boy announced. "I just need some information from you."
While his captor was speaking, Heero was thinking. The name, Duo, rang a bell in Heero's mind, though he tried not to let it show. Duo? Wasn't that what Kay had called one of her brothers? It was hardly a common name, after all.
"What is the Alliance?"
The question took Heero off guard. He had thought that Duo was sent by the Alliance to stop him, but if Duo didn't even know who they were...where did that leave him? Who'd sent him?
Duo waved the gun impatiently. "Come on, come on. I don't have forever! I have vengeance to wreak and nuns and children to avenge. Time is running out, I have to know who the enemy is so I can kill them."
"Why do you want to kill the Alliance if you don't know who they are?"
"They killed friends of mine, so I'll go kill them." Duo replied as if he were talking to a rather stupid three-year-old. "It's very simple when you think about it."
Heero tried not to sound alarmed, but asked, "Was it Kay that they hurt?" He had to know if it was the sweet little girl who'd been killed. If so, he might just join forces with Duo.
Duo's eyes opened wide at the question and, if anything, it was like a fog in his eyes was lifting. He suddenly looked just a little saner. "How do you know Kay?" His voice was softer, far more serious than before but his grip on the gun didn’t loosen.
"Was Kay killed?"
"No."
'So I was right.' Heero thought. Kay did say that one of her brothers had a very long braid.
"I met her the other day, looking for her two brothers, Duo and Ryou. Are you her brother?"
"Yes."
"She was picked up by another brother. I think his name was Anubisu."
Duo started to shake, but quickly took control of himself. "Yes. Anubisu is one of our older brothers. He's good about keeping track of her. They were all over-protective of Kay and us." Duo fell silent but only for a moment. "You'd think they'd have let me explain before kicking me out, wouldn't you?" Duo said bitterly and he started to pace the room, almost forgetting that he'd been talking to Heero. "But no, I wake up with Ryou burning the room down around us and a demon mask staring at me, next thing I know I'm here. Then there’s Sister Helen, dying, and all the little kids all around her. There was blood…everywhere…blood. I can't get back home by myself, I need my oniisan's to help me, but... I just can't believe they just left me here! Rajura and Naaza especially hate Ningen Sekai! I don't even know what I did wrong, and..." Duo's voice broke off and Heero had a pretty good idea of what brought on Duo's madness.
Half of the story sounded like reality, while the other half was obviously fantasy. It was probably that Duo's brother, Ryou, had set a fire in their home and had been locked up for pyromaniac tendencies. Duo must have gone searching for his brother and come upon the nuns and dead children and the sight snapped his mind. Well, Heero would just have to find Duo's family or...Heero stopped that thought right where it was.
He didn't have to do anything for Duo! He was only on Earth for Seiji. First Kay and now Duo, where was this weird kindness coming from? It wasn't like him at all. Still, Duo did seem upset at revealing this...
Duo lowered the gun slightly. "There's a bathroom in there." Duo pointed to a closed door. "I've never used it, but the water should be working. Go wash up if you want to and I'll get you some clothes." He'd seemed to put the thought of his family abandoning him firmly behind him, covering up with the cheerful mask again.
Heero backed up, keeping his eyes on Duo while he went to the bathroom and closed the door between them, thankful that there was a lock on the inside of the door. Duo was dangerous, half-mad, but still dangerous. He had shown four faces in the past fifteen point six minutes. Happy madman, a very quick jump to being an experienced soldier, then sliding easily into tortured victim. Now he was acting very hospitable and Heero couldn't help but wonder how many faces Duo hid under the cheery smile.
There was an unlocked window in the bathroom, and Heero knew he was small enough to slip out easily. Heero allowed himself a little smirk. This was working out nicely. Now, if he just had some clothes.
He was finished scrubbing himself clean of the blue paint when there was a knock at the door. "I've got clothes for you!" Duo called.
Heero contemplated just escaping out the window as he was, but it would be easier if he had the clothes and his gun. Heero opened the door and let Duo in, still holding the gun and without any clothes in his hands. Heero raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
"Don't you want some clothes?" Duo asked, slyly.
Heero cautiously nodded, knowing Duo was up to something.
Duo stepped into the small bathroom and closed the door behind him. Slowly, Duo started to untie the straps that held his kimono together. Heero narrowed his eyes at Duo. This was some kind of trick, he just knew it! With a flourish, Duo let the black kimono fall to the floor, leaving him in absolutely nothing. "Don't you want it?" Duo asked playfully.
"Are you trying to seduce me?" Heero asked. No one had ever tried, so this was a first for him. Either that or Duo was just very, very strange.
Duo rolled his eyes. "You finally get it! Yes, I am trying to seduce you." He raked his eyes up and down Heero. "I've been seeing you in my dreams, you know. Exactly you. The hair, the face, the attitude, even the clothes and the gun are exactly what I've been seeing in my dreams. It must be fate. I'm so happy to have finally found you."
Heero, unnerved by Duo's words, slowly stooped to pick up the fallen kimono and tied it loosely around him. "The gun."
At that, Duo shook his head. "I don't think so, pal. This is the only way I get to have you tell me about the Alliance and how you know my sister. It stays with me."
Oh, well. Heero quickly kicked Duo in the stomach and, when Duo doubled over with a grunt, Heero threw himself out the still closed window. He fell three stories to the ground level, but with no serious injuries and he took off running. The gun wasn't all that important, he could kill hundreds of ways without it, it was just easier to have the thing. Heero didn't get far before he heard a chirpy voice call from behind him,
"Wait for me, Koibito! I wanna come, too!"
Heero risked a glance over his shoulder to see Duo running after him, still completely naked, right down the sidewalk. Heero grimaced and tried to run faster.
Hours later-
Heero finally collapsed, exhausted. He sat on his knees, panting for breath, until the other boy, still bare-assed naked and still holding Heero's gun, skidded to a stop bedside him. Heero glared at Duo, the maniac he'd had the misfortune to run into. Duo's eyes still sparkled and he was still smiling, even though he, too, was panting. Heero had liked Duo's look in the schoolyard, but couldn’t understand why Duo wouldn't leave him alone now?
For hours they'd run a mad chase around the city as Heero tried to lose so he could get on with his mission to find Seiji. Duo proved to be most persistent, refusing to give up. Heero couldn't kill Seiji with Duo watching because then he'd have to kill Duo, too. Frankly, he really didn't want to kill either of them, but orders were orders. The fact that Duo seemed to revel in making a scene of himself, giving three old ladies fainting spells when they caught a glimpse of his bare self, didn't help keep them inconspicuous.
While Heero glared, Duo asked, "Is this part of the game over yet?" Duo let Heero's gun dangle between his knees as he squatted beside Heero, a little to close for comfort. In fact, as he watched the gun, Heero felt himself become increasingly warm and the warmth was creeping up his neck into his cheeks.
"Are you blushing?" Duo leaned forward, nearly touching noses with Heero.
Heero continued glaring, but now he sat down on his backside, moving him further away from Duo to a more comfortable distance, and crossed his arms over his chest. He absolutely wouldn't give in! Heero turned away from Duo, stubbornly. Maybe if he ignored Duo, he'd just go away.
Duo leaned over and put his chin on Heero's shoulder with a charming smile but Heero jerked away violently. "Don't touch me." He said, narrowing his eyes.
Duo harrumphed and looked insulted. "I don't bite. Well, not unless you want me to."
"I don't like being touched."
They sat together, catching their breaths and Duo, as usual, felt the need to talk about something. "So who are you here to kill?"
"My partner."
"Boy, he must have really ticked you off." Duo commented, but Heero didn't reply. Duo tried several more times to get the conversation started, but Heero steadfastly ignored him. Finally, Duo settled back into an uncomfortable silence, except for the cars honking and the occasional sounds of pigeons.
"He was going to get caught." Heero said, in his soft, clear voice, his back still turned to Duo.
Duo came to attention, focusing on Heero's unexpected voice.
"Who?"
"My partner. He wanted to run away, but he was going to get caught." Heero thought back to that day in the cafeteria when Seiji had run up to him, so happy that he'd been able to get free of his guards for just a moment.
Flashback-
"I'm going to run away, Heero. Come with me!" Seiji wasn't smiling, he never smiled, but there was hope in his voice.
Heero loved looking at Seiji, he always had. Seiji was the most beautiful person Heero had ever seen, despite the scarred half of his face. Heero lift another spoonful of food to his mouth. Seiji doesn't know that the guards had been doubled because of Alliance spies. He didn't know that the surveillance cameras were heat and motion sensitive. They would set off an alarm if he even tries to go out of the restricted areas.
"Go back." Heero told him softly. The badge doctor J had given Heero to contact him with was pinned to his chest, but Heero didn’t know if it works the other way. He didn’t know if doctor J could hear what he was saying to Seiji.
Seiji looked at Heero, stunned and...oh, it hurts to see him like that! Seiji lookd as if he would cry. "What? If we go together, we can escape, Heero. It's what we always wanted."
"Go back to your room, Seiji." Heero repeated with a hand on the communication badge. "I will send for doctor J if you don't go." Heero didn't know if he could do it, if he could actually send Seiji to his doom. If doctor J found out what Seiji was planning, it would probably mean death. Heero had hoped Seiji was sensible enough to go back and wait for a better time to run. 'Please,' Heero thought, 'please go back.' Heero couldn’t even tell Seiji why he was saying such things. If anyone was listening, it would surely be trouble for them both.
Heero missed Seiji so much. He wanted to be with Seiji every day that they’d been separated, but now that Heero could see him it hurt. He knew Seiji would think Heero hate him. Heero want to tell Seiji everything, but...doctor J wouldn't approve. There would be punishment and, despite everything, Heero knew he was a coward.
He was afraid that doctor J would let the guards touch him again and, because of his fear, he’d hurt Seiji, the one person he’d never wanted to hurt. ‘I...I just don't want to be touched again.’
Seiji stumbled away, almost tripping over a chair and he looked so betrayed. Heero wanted to shout that he didn't mean it. Yell that he’d run anywhere with Seiji, but that Seiji just had to wait for the right time.
Heero did nothing and sat there just watching Seiji. Seiji who'd fought for Heero and taken care of him so many times. Heero watched Seiji’s face showing the betrayal and anger. He realized that his hand was still hovering over the communication badge, threatening Seiji's life.
Seiji ran and Heero slowly lowered his hand to his lap. It was the right thing to do. Heero had done the right thing. Seiji would be safe so long as he went straight back to his room and didn't get caught.
‘Then why do I feel sick? My stomach hurts. Just wait,' Heero thought. 'I'll come for you at the first chance I get. I'll rescue you and take you away.' It was then that Heero made up his mind to get a message to Seiji as soon as possible. ‘I'll tell him to wait and I'll help him, just not right now. Not today.’
"Very good, Heero."
Heero turned to see doctor J walk through one of the other doors of the cafeteria, opposite from where Seiji had come in and left. The old man was smiling, a bizarre parody of a real smile, as he walked slowly toward Heero. The clicking of his staff froze Heero’s gut. It always brought back memories of Seiji's punishment.
"I am pleased that you know where your loyalties lay, Heero. I was going to kill Seiji when I saw him in here, but I wanted to know whom you would side with, with your ex-partner, or with me. I am glad to see you made the right choice." From out of his lab coat doctor J pulled out a small, but effective looking gun. "If you had made the wrong choice, you would both be dead now."
Heero was more thankful that he’d known what he’d had to do. Going against doctor J meant death for Seiji and Heero.
Doctor J continued, "From now on, extra guards will be placed on Hiro's room, to prevent this happening, again. You don't have to worry about ever seeing him again. If he does manage to escape, he will be shot on site."
'No!' Heero wanted to scream and rip out doctor J’s throat. "Yes, sir." Heero said obediently and hated himself.
End Flashback-
Duo was still watching Heero, but Heero didn’t really care. ‘I would NOT cry!’ He’d lost Seiji because he was a coward and he had been ordered to kill him or bring him back. Heero couldn’t go against orders. He just couldn’t. ‘But...I don’t want to hurt Seiji. I've all ready shot him twice. He might be dead all ready.’ If Seiji hadn’t hated Heero before, he surely did now. No chance had ever come to help Seiji, or even contact him, before he managed his own escape and left. Seiji’s fault for leaving or Heero’s fault for not listening to him - Heero didn’t care. He still felt abandoned.
Duo moved closer to Heero again, but didn't touch him that time. His tone was soft and sincere. "You want to talk about it?"
"No." Heero didn't want to get close to anyone again. It just wasn’t worth it.
Shin-
Touma needed all the help he could get, that much was obvious. Shin had watched all morning as Touma fussed about the house, dressed in his best clothes and then went to raid Quatre's closet for a better tie and shiny, black leather shoes. Touma looked at himself in the mirror before grumbling and running off to change his clothes. He repeated the whole process five times until he was finally satisfied with a dark blue suit, but then started to talk to himself in the mirror, working out what he'd say to Trieze when the man arrived. Shin shook his head at Touma's nerves and went to the kitchen to get out of the way.
The previous night, Touma had tried his best to talk to Quatre and Rasid. Try to convince them that he could handle the whole situation and that they shouldn't judge him before they'd even met Mr. Kushranada. Rasid had crossed his arms stubbornly. "Not in my house!" He declared. "I will not have anyone from the Alliance in my house!"
"But why not?" Touma had never known Rasid to act like this, so unreasonable.
"We have to tell him." Quatre said quietly from where he stood next to Rasid. "If he understands, maybe he'll reconsider."
"Tell me what?" Touma demanded.
Quatre opened his mouth, but Rasid silenced him with sharp hand movement. "No! I don't want him involved. It's bad enough to have you endanger, master Quatre." He looked at Touma. "Please, you've trusted us all this time, just this one last time. Don't get involved with the Alliance, Touma. They are not good people."
"And what, exactly, have they done?" Touma asked. "You've told me all about how evil the Alliance is, that's what Quatre and I are being trained for, but what exactly have they done? All these years of training and you've never told us..." Touma's voice faded when he saw a guilty look on Quatre's face. "You know, Kitty?" He asked in disbelief before turning on Rasid. "You told Kitty what's going on, but you didn't trust me enough to tell me?"
Rasid shook his head. "It's not that, Touma. You are like a son to me, you know that."
"Then tell me. Why are we fighting? What, exactly, has the Alliance done?"
"Well," Quatre said, awkwardly. "We strongly suspected that..."
"You suspect?" Touma rolled his eyes sarcastically. "You hate them just because you suspect something? Jeeze, for all you know, there might be nothing wrong with them, right?" He looked up at Rasid. "Have I wasted my life training because you don't trust them?"
Quatre shook his head. "It's not like that, Touma. I have inside information that says..."
Again, Touma interrupted him. "Inside information? From where? How do you know they can be trusted?"
"I believe them, Touma. I can't tell you who they are, though. I can't even tell you what the information was. It‘s dangerous. The people I’m working for are just as dangerous as the people I’m fighting against."
Touma's eyes narrowed. "What are you both involved in?"
Quatre and Rasid both remained silent.
This was the last straw and Touma turned on his heel, marching upstairs to his room.
"Touma, wait!" Quatre called.
"No. I don't think I want to talk to you right now, Kitty. You're keeping secrets." He stopped and looked at his adoptive family. "I don't know why, but I'm really not happy with it." He continued up, Shin, who'd witnessed it all from the background, followed.
They went up to Touma's room and Shin knew, without being told, to lock the door behind him. He could feel such fury from Touma and not just about the job anymore. Quatre was hiding something. He didn't trust Touma enough to tell all his secrets and that infuriated Touma.
Without a word, Touma sat at the computer at his desk and started typing.
"What are you going to do?" Shin asked quietly.
"I'm going to try to find out what all the fuss about the Alliance is about." Touma replied, not looking up from the screen. He zipped though so many windows on the screen that Shin was getting dizzy just watching. Sometimes the screen would go completely black and Touma would type in gibberish, taking him to another screen. “Rasid raised me with the idea that I would be a soldier. I’m cool with that. He never said it in so many words, but I am trained to fight. Why against the Alliance, I have no idea. I’m going to find out.”
Finally, the screen went completely yellow, except for big black letters. ACCESS CODE REQUIRED.
Touma sat back thinking. He tried everything he could think of Quatre using from Quatre, Winner, Rababer, Rashid, Touma, and Abdul. He went through lists of names of friends at school and even hobbies that Quatre had. Nothing worked. Then he tried Alliance, Romafeller, OZ, Trieze, War, enemy, and teacup. Why teacup? Why not, he was running out of ideas, after all.
It was almost three hours later, well into night, when Shin was falling asleep, trying to be patient for Touma, who was still clicking away at the computer. "Touma, just go to bed. You're not going to crack that code tonight."
"I can crack any code." Touma replied with a yawn. Then he shook himself. "But I think I'll settle for just sending Kitty and Rasid on a wild goose chase for now."
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, while I was messing around in here, I noticed that they always seem to go away when Kitty gets an email from someone called: DRH. All I have to do, I think, is send a similar message. The last one said, 'Check in. All going according to plan. DRH.'
Shin watched as Touma easily typed in exactly the same message into the email. "But won't they know that it's coming from your computer?"
"Not if I do this right. It'll look like whoever this guy is, is sending it."
Shin shook his head. "Are you sure you really want to do this? I mean, isn't it kind of...dishonest?"
"It's extremely dishonest." Touma answered easily. "But, they're being dishonest with me, too, so I don't mind lying to them." He clicked the send button. "With any luck, tomorrow, they'll be gone when Mr. Kushranada gets here."
Shin's eyes went wide. "Trieze Kushranada? The guy that's always on the news? The same guy who runs the Alliance?" He was more than awed. "You must have made quite the impression if he's coming here himself."
Touma gave him a smug grin. "You're telling me."
Now, on the morning of the auspicious visit, Shin was in Quatre's kitchen and wondering what Touma was getting himself into when he heard a noise in the driveway. Must be Trieze. Touma's ruse had worked and the house was mainly deserted after he'd given all of the staff the day off when Quatre and Rasid had left earlier.
The guy Shin thought must be Trieze, as fitting for the commander of the Alliance, arrived in a chauffeur driven Rolls Royce at exactly the time he said he'd be there. He was apparently a man who liked the finer things in life. Shin watched from the kitchen, over the sound of a boiling kettle on the stove, as Trieze got out and said something to the driver before walking up to the front door of Quatre's home.
"Well, he looks...rich." Shin said to himself. Trieze was dressed very formally, in some kind of uniform and with short, reddish hair and a sharp look to him. In his mind, Shin felt how panicked Touma was, still rushing around. "Maybe I should help him." The teakettle whistled.
Touma-
The doorbell rang, and Touma froze with terror. Mr. Kushranada!
Again, the doorbell rang and Touma remembered to breathe. This was his future. His whole future was riding on this meeting and whether or not Mr. Kushranada thought he was good enough for the Alliance.
Another ring and Shin shouted from the kitchen, "He's going to leave if you don't answer it!"
Without further prompting, Touma ran for the door. He swung it open, surprising Mr. Kushranada. "Hello!" Touma burst out, trying to sound relaxed, but failing miserably.
Mr. Kushranada, to his credit, didn't laugh at Touma, so well-dressed, and so obviously flustered. "Good afternoon, Mr. Hashiba. I'm Trieze Kushranada, I believe you receive my letter and are expecting me."
"Yes, yes, of course! A great pleasure to meet you, sir, please come in!" Touma managed to stand back and let Trieze walk in.
Trieze looked around the impeccably clean living room, appraisingly. Trieze sat on the sofa and Touma nervous sat in the chair opposite of him. There was a tense moment of silence, but Trieze never stopped smiling. Touma suddenly looked at the empty coffee table and wondered what was wrong. Why wasn't Mr. Kushranada saying anything?
'OH GOD! THE TEA! I FORGOT TO MAKE TEA!!!' Touma nearly had a heart attack and just wanted to cry. Trieze was going to think he had no manners at all! He'd never get the job. Kitty would think he was a failure and Rashid would think he'd failed as a father. Touma gave into the stress and fell to the floor on his knees, weeping, a lake of tears growing around his knees. Touma screamed at the top of his lungs to whatever god would listen to him, "Just kill me and get it over with! Why torture me? Do you enjoy making my life Hell?!"
"Are you all right, young man?" Trieze was giving Touma a very odd look when Shin walked in, a silver tray set for tea and three china teacups.
"Hello, sorry the tea is late." Shin smiled sweetly at their guest before turning to Touma. "What are you doing on the floor, Touma?" He set the tray down and started to serve the tea.
Touma blinked, astonished and managed to pick himself up. 'He saved me!' Shin gave Trieze a cup of tea, also offering a plate of homemade cookies. 'Maybe he's not such a prick after all.'
Then Shin offered Touma a cup of tea and gave him a look that clearly said, 'You owe me, boy. Big time.' Touma managed to be grateful, anyway. He'd worry about repaying Shin later.
Some time later-
Trieze shook Touma's hand. "I'm very pleased about his interview, Mr. Hashiba. You have managed to impress me with your intelligence and I think you'd be an excellent addition to my personal staff, instead of just a technician for the Alliance. I could use a scientific advisor to help me understand all the new technology that my scientists are working on. How would you like to work as my assistant, a good job in OZ?"
"Oh, yes, sir!" Touma was almost bowled over by the offer. Mr. Kushranada was not the sort of person who went around picking assistants out for no reason. OZ? Wow! OZ was the elite military of the entire Alliance army. If Trieze wanted Touma, then...oh, wow! "Your personal staff? I'd be honored."
"I would like to see how you interact with other members of my staff, though. OZ is holding a party shortly and I'd be honored if you attend, with a guest, of course."
Shin-
"Yes, sir." Touma eagerly agreed, still shaking Trieze's hand with a wide smile. Shin felt so pleased for Touma, pleased that things were working out nicely, even if they weren't exactly friends. Touma walked Trieze to the door, with a promise to be at the party. His smile lasted only until he came back to the couch and collapsed with a cry of anguish. "Please, kill me!" He screamed, again, with tears running down his face.
Shin, shocked at the change of mood said, "What's wrong? I thought it went wonderfully. You really impressed him." He'd stayed through the meeting, helping to keep the small talk moving, not a skill Touma was terribly good at, and trying to keep Touma relaxed enough to speak in front of Trieze. Personally, Shin wasn't terribly impressed with the man, but at least Trieze was polite.
Touma looked up only to glare at Shin. "Well, sure you did. You're not the one who has to go to that party, are you?" He'd obviously forgotten that Shin had saved his interview with tea and cookies and a few well-placed words.
Shin stood stiffly, picking up the tray of empty cups and cookie crumbs. "I'm only trying to help! You're the one who wants this job, not me!" He turned away, clearing the tea he'd worked so hard to set out just right. "You don't have to snap at me just because you can't dance!"
"That's not the problem, you jerk!" Touma jumped up and started pacing the room. "I can dance just fine, but I don't have anyone to go to this party with and he said I was to bring a guest. If Kitty wasn't against this whole thing, then I'd go with him, but he doesn't even like the Alliance mentioned in the house, he'd never go to one of their parties. If he were here, I'd ask Xiu..." Touma trailed away from this thought with another glare at Shin. Xiu probably wouldn't go with him anyway, now that Shin was around.
Shin glared back, not afraid in the least. He knew what Touma was feeling as Touma was too distraught to try and block his feelings, but it wasn't Shin's fault that Xiu liked him! "Don't you have anyone else you could go with?"
Touma shook his head miserably. Xiu and Quatre were, pretty much, his only friends. He didn't like even being near other people, even Xiu's cousin, Wufei, let alone having to take a chance dancing with some stranger at this party. "What if someone asks me to dance? I won't be able to do it." If he had a 'date' then maybe no one would bother him.
Shin felt how afraid Touma was of being touched and having people close to him, besides Xiu. Shin fought with himself for a moment, part of him wanting to leave the rude, nasty Touma to suffer on his own, but his good nature won out.
Shin bowed his head and closed his eyes, knowing he'd regret doing this. "I'll go with you."
Touma blinked and looked at Shin, surprised. "You what?"
Shin scowled at Touma. "I said I'll go, if you want me to. If you'd rather go alone, then I'll stay here and play poker with Abdul."
Touma couldn't stop jumping up happily, thankful that he had someone to be with. "Great!" Touma wasn't afraid to be close to Shin for just one evening, because of the bond they shared. Touma would know instantly if Shin would 'do' anything to him, so he knew Shin could be trusted. "Now, I can just tell everyone that I'm with you, if some asks me to dance."
Shin frowned. "Won't they think that's a little odd? That you're on a date with a guy?"
"Maybe. Do I look like I care?" Touma smirked. "So long as I have an excuse not to touch anyone, I'll be fine." Shin could tell that Touma really meant it, he honestly didn't care what other people thought of him.
"But they might not hire you if they think you're gay."
This made Touma pause, but he waved off the objection. "I AM gay and that's not going to change. I'm certainly not going to hide myself my whole life, so they might as well find out now as later. Besides, they're hiring my brain, not my body." Touma gave Shin a look up and down. "Even if I have to dance, I can have you for a partner. Not that you'd be my first choice, of course, but beggars can't be choosers."
Shin's eye twitched at the insult. How dare he! "Maybe I'll change my mind and just let you go alone, if you really think I'm the bottom of the barrel." Shin suggested and was sadistically pleased with the flash of fear from Touma.
"You are a very nasty person, Shin."
"You're no angel, yourself, buddy."
The two glared at each other for a moment before Shin spoke again. "Anyway, you won't be able to dance with me, even if I wanted you to."
Now, Touma became alarmed. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know how to dance." Shin admitted with a slight blush. "I never had time to learn, what with the circus act and all. It always kept me pretty busy."
Touma brushed that aside. "I'll teach you. Kitty taught me a long time ago, and he tells me I'm pretty damned good, too." With that Touma ran to the stereo that sat in the corner of the living room and started to rifle through the collection of music.
Shin sat heavily on the sofa. 'I must be insane.' He thought. 'I just volunteered to spend a whole evening with a guy who practically hates me!' Thinking back to Touma's earlier comments and how he'd been treated by Xiu's other best friend, 'I don't think I'm real fond of him, either.'
"Ah, ha!" Touma triumphantly held up the disk he'd been looking for. "This is a great dancing song." Touma immediately set to work moving the coffee table out of the way, opening up the living room for a dance lesson.
After putting the CD in, Touma came to stand in front of Shin and held his arms out. "What?" Shin asked, suspiciously.
Touma rolled his eyes. "How am I supposed to teach you to dance if you don't stand up? Come on, you said you'd help me."
Shin sighed, but stood and let Touma take control. "Just put your hand on my shoulder." Touma said. Touma put his arms around Shin, one hand on Shin's waist and the other taking Shin's free hand. The music came on, a soft, almost mournful wailing sound.
Shin thought that the music was getting to him. It was really a very beautiful song, and it seemed to relax him, letting Touma guide him though the first awkward steps. Shin was very graceful in his acrobatics, but dancing seemed like a far different thing. He had to watch his feet and, Touma told him, watch his partner at the same time. He tripped several times, on his own feet and Touma's.
It was getting easier and Shin actually glad that Touma was so sure of what he was doing. That made things simpler so Shin didn't have to work so hard. All his had to do was trust Touma.
Touma was feeling pretty good about it, too, Shin realized. Touma wasn't even thinking about how revolting it was to touch someone and just relaxing into the moves, letting his mind wander into the music. Shin tightened his hand around Touma's, for some reason he didn't fully understand. Touma pulled him closer and Shin felt a pleasant wash of calm through the link he shared with Touma. Touma did feel very good against him.
Shin felt warm all over. Touma's hands felt like they're burning Shin, all of a sudden. The music still plays, but it was getting hard to hear it, Shin realized he could feel Touma's heart beating against his chest, thundering in his ears.
They had stopped dancing and just held each other. Touma no longer looked so threatening and angry with gentle eyes looking at Shin from only inches away. Without thinking about what he was doing, Shin raised his face to Touma. Touma leaned down, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss.
Shin, suddenly realized whom he was kissing. "Oh!" He jumped away from Touma. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean..." What was he was doing?! And Xiu could probably feel it, too!
His apology was cut off abruptly as Touma pounced him, dragging Shin to the floor while kissing his passionately. Shin gave in without much of a fight.
Trieze-
They were so cute together! It was sweet watching Shin come to Touma's rescue with the tea just went Touma looked like he was have a stroke. Trieze had actually felt rather bad for the boy when he collapsed in tears. Just looking over his exam results Trieze was sure the age given had been a mistake, until the boy had answered the door. Touma was a child, probably not even seventeen. He wasn't even old enough to drive yet!
But with that intelligence, Trieze really wanted Touma on his side when the war started and he wanted Touma’s intelligence creating new weapons for him. When Touma had opened the door, Touma reminded Trieze of a child trying to play adult. Dressed in clothes that were far too formal for a job interview and all flustered, he was really very cute. He bit his bottom lip all through the interview and kept wringing his hands in a nervous gesture. It was hard not to laugh, but then Touma would astound Trieze, using his intelligence to impress Trieze without even realizing that he was doing it.
Trieze had already started down the long drive of Touma's home when he’d realized that he hadn't given Touma the invitation to the party that told the address and time so he turned the car around and headed back.
Trieze knocked a few times at the door, but no one answered. Well, the cars were both still in the driveway, so they must be there. Trieze opened the door, thinking that he would just leave the invitation on the hall desk, but as soon as he walked in, he heard strangely familiar sounds coming from Touma's living room. Trieze followed the noise, curiously only to find Touma and his friend, Shin, in one of the most frenzied kissing duels he’d ever seen, rolling around on the floor. Shin was attempting to take Touma's shirt off, pulling it down around Touma's waist.
Not really wanting to disturb them Trieze ended up leaving the invitation and walking out quietly as he could. Seeing those two make Trieze think of Zechs and all the interesting things Trieze could do to...er...with him.
"Home." Trieze told the driver, then changed his mind. Trieze gave the driver a certain address. Zechs had said earlier that he was visiting at Noin's home, so that was where Trieze would go. It might be the perfect time to do a little flirting and get Zechs all hot and flustered. He was so damned cute when he blushed.
Trieze had heard rumors of Noin having found a long missing brother, too. Maybe he would get to meet him.