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Copyrights: Time to get to the simply © The characters, besides Alex, are not mine. I do not own them and have never claimed that I do. The only thing belonging to this author is the original story-line. Don’t steal it or I’ll eat your hat.

Warnings: Relatively few this part. Actually, things are going to calm down a whole hell of a lot from what they were going at. Things are going to be tranquil for a part or two. As always there’s the shonen ai warnings, but that’s a given. I think that’s about it.

 
 Wufei stepped out of the hospital. It was raining, the sky was pouring down its tears in torrential force. He turned his face up to the deluge, reveling in the cold, pure feeling of water hitting his face. Sakura stood at his side, demurely.

<boy, what are you doing standing out in the rain?>

 He didn’t even blink at being called boy. He wasn’t in the mood to be goaded into anything.

“I’m getting rained on.”

<I realize that. The question I posed, oh insolent child, was ‘why’ you were getting rained on.>

 Wufei didn’t answer her question at first, his face turned up into the rain. His onyx eyes were hidden from the world and everything was simply dark and sensation. When he opened his eyes he saw only the angry gray sky, not the clear skies of the desert in his mind. He sighed and finally chose to answer Sakura’s question.

“I’m checking to make sure that I’m still alive.”

 Sakura snorted. <Were you dead I would certainly know it.>

 Wufei sighed darkly. “There aren’t a whole lot of ways to make sure one is alive.” After a moment’s pause he spoke again. His thoughtful tone caused Sakura to listen even more carefully.

“I suppose one could say that bleeding is believing.”

 Sakura snorted. <There will be no bleeding Cheng.>

 Wufei sighed and shook his head, causing droplets of water to spray every-which-way. With a measured stride he exited the hospital parking lot and headed for his motorcycle. After a battery of testing Maxwell would most likely be released for home care. He didn’t want to sit around while Heero made eyes at the sleeping pilot. And something in the room unnerved him to the point that he just wanted out. Perhaps it was the entire situation. He noted as he straddled his bike that Quatre and the others were leaving as well. That would leave Heero and Duo alone to have some quality time together.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

 White light, cold, bright white light. That was the first thing that Duo saw when he came around. The second thing he saw was a tuft of dark hair sticking up just behind his right side. When he tried to move his fingers he found them immobile. A small smile crossed his lips, Heero, it was Heero sleeping beside him.  As his vision began to clear he realized two things, Heero was wearing a –long-sleeved- shirt  and he had wings.
 
 That was something new and different that one did not see everyday. With an unbelievably thin hand he reached over to stroke his hands through Heero’s glossy hair. The faint scent of an assortment of flowers wafted up to his nostrils. The perfect soldier had showered recently, for he smelled like Herbal Essences. The Japanese boy stirred under Duo’s light touch.

“hmmm?”

 Duo laughed inwardly because he could see that Heero was completely disoriented. It was quite obvious to him that Heero was bewildered as to his surroundings. He continued his weak petting motions, a ghost of a smile lurking on his lips.

"You fell asleep on duty soldier."

Heero sat bolt upright, his eyes coming fully open. When he saw Duo he blinked several times and then straightened in his seat. His old habits became apparent as he flinched away from Duo’s hand; and then , just as quickly as he had moved away and a hurt look was beginning to establish itself on Duo’s face he caught Duo’s hand within his own. In a slow but decisive movement he brought the hand up to his lips and brushed them over Duo’s knuckles, a smile lurking in his eyes. Duo smiled and spoke rather weakly.

“Ohayo Hee-chan.”

 Heero gave one of his rare smiles. “ohayo.”

 Duo looked at the various wires adorning himself and giggled morbidly. “I have to tell you something. I feel like shit.”

 Heero nodded, giving and acknowledging sound in the back of his throat. “One would figure that you would,” came his soft and slightly monotone reply.

 Duo sighed. “Ne, how long will I have to be in here?”

 Heero laced his fingers in with Duo’s, sighing slightly. “I don’t know, until they check you out and pronounce you healthy to go home.”

 A part of Heero still couldn’t believe that Duo was alive and well. They boy was dead, but then again, so was he. They were in the same boat in that respect.  Somehow he was managing to fool the hospital equipment.

< That’s no accident Heero-san, that’s something Shinigami is doing to protect his representative.>

 Heero smirked slightly at Alex’s mental voice. He was used to ethereal beings speaking to him by now. He had also learned how to reply their mental sending, it seemed only natural to him.

<-That makes much more sense to me, thank you Alexandria->

 She nodded to him quickly, her blonde hair falling into her eyes.

<It’s not a problem Heero-san.>

 Heero looked around, having temporarily forgotten where his wayward angel had gotten to.

<-Alex, where is Fusei?->

 The demon laughed, an expression that did not reach her eyes.

<She went to go and yell at her superiors.>

 She turned to the bed and found Duo watching her. Even as his violet eyes searched her, a chill ran down her spine. His eyes felt like icy fingers of death themselves, running over her entire being. Still she smiled to the one that she was to protect. That was always her job and she would do it well. She was to serve Duo to every extent that she could when he was in this state.

<How are you Duo?>

 He smiled at her, a weak imitation of what his smile should be. She noted sadly that his smile would never be quite the same again. In becoming the person that he was he would loose all the warmth of his smile, to have it replaced by cold, calculating amusement.

“I’ve seen better days chibi, what about yourself?”

 She smiled at him pleasantly. <I grew up.>

 He nodded. “So I see…I’ve got good news for you, no more headaches!”

 She smiled at him, nodding. <No, there will be only a few more of those and they’ll be nothing like what you experienced before. >

 Duo smiled gently. “That’s a good thing.”

 Heero sat silent while the small exchange went on between the two demons. He had nothing to say and it wouldn’t help the situation, even tranquil as it was, to just blurt out something. He looked down, his hair falling into his eyes as Duo squeezed his fingertips gently. He caught Duo’s violet eyes and smiled.

“Hmmm?”

 Duo smiled as well, an expression that might rest on the lips of a happy eight year old who was just about to fall asleep.

“Just making sure that you were still real.”

 With those words his eyes closed and he drifted off into a light doze, giving Heero no time to comment. The Japanese boy smiled, and positioned himself so that Duo could keep a-hold of his hand, and at the same time so that he could be comfortable.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
 

 Dorthy strolled down the aisles of the grocery store with a practiced gait. She wasn’t familiar with the particular establishment that they had come to, but she would find what she was looking for soon enough. It was an amusing thing to find that Quatre was helping in her search. They were on a quest to find the feminine products aisle and so far they had found no luck. Trowa had eventually fallen a pace behind the two intrepid voyagers. He wanted to have no part in this particular search.

 Quatre looked back to his lover with bright and amused eyes, a small smirk hovering about his delicate mouth.

“Ne, Trowa!”

 Trowa looked up, his visible green eye widening ever so slightly at the sound of his name.

“Hmmm?”

 Quatre giggled slightly and fell back a step or two also so that he could latch onto the arm of his taller lover. He looked up at the Heavyarms pilot adoringly and smirked.

“You should walk with us!”

 Trowa was silent, silence from him was not an unusual reaction, however this silence was an uncomfortable one. Quatre gave him time, knowing that his tall boyfriend was taking the time to choose the words that he wanted to use. When Trowa spoke, Quatre could imagine a phantom sweat-drop somewhere close to where he was.

“Uh, I have no idea what it is you’re looking for…”

 Quatre smiled. “Oh, really? I guess you wouldn’t….I grew up around a lot of girls; pads and tampons and those sorts of things were just a part of daily life.”

 He fell silent for a little while, falling into reminiscences of the past. Trowa remained silent, as was usual. He honestly didn’t have a clue when it came to any of those things. He was happy enough to walk along with Quatre, no matter where the little blonde would lead him; be it to hell or the feminine products aisle.

 Dorthy looked back and rolled her eyes. She slowed her pace slightly so that they were all walking somewhere close to abreast.

“I swear, you two are always snuggling. Could you manage to keep your hands –off- of each other for a while, I wonder?”

 Quatre nodded, still perfectly amicable as he spoke to the taller blonde. “Yes, I could manage to keep my hands off of him if I really wanted to or felt that there was a reason that I should do so. Yet under these circumstances, neither case presents itself to be apparent and so I stay close.”

<Score one for Quatre>

 Dorthy smiled at the voice of Stephanie. She looked over her shoulder to find that Stephanie was trailing about a foot behind them, invisible to all eyes save those that knew her. A small smirk rested on her lips; it was comparable to one that might grace Quatre’s face in a playful mood.

<Yes, I do believe that he has the point Stephanie, I concede for this round.>

 Stephanie grinned. <I think you’ve had enough of being completely lost, the isle you’re looking for is two over to the left.>

 Dorthy smiled and nodded appreciatively. <It’s nice to have someone who knows where they’re going. Do you have something akin to a cosmic map with everything on it inside of that pretty head of yours?>

 Stephanie giggled, a melodious and ringing sound that reminded Dorthy of bells. <No, just a good sense of direction and the ability to read signs.> She pointed upward and indeed, the isle was clearly marked. Dorthy rolled her eyes and walked onward, confidant that her employer and his entourage were in tow.

 After finding the fruits of their laborious search, they went to check out and then to their vehicles without any trouble to speak of. As Trowa and Dorthy observed their surroundings, they quickly noted the lack of a familiar presence. After a small amount of time searching they realized that the griffin that had been silently following them for days on end had completely disappeared. And yet both persons realized that in the present time, dropping their guard would be a foolhardy move.

 The trip back was also uneventful. The clouds wept openly once again. There had been a small break in the pattern of rain while they were indoors and toward the beginning of the drive home. And yet halfway back to their destination the skies had shed their tears once again. Apparently what had upset the clouds was not of a dire nature, their tears did not fall harshly, but rather in a slow sprinkle.

 When they arrived back at the house Trowa got out of the car that he and Quatre shared first. He pulled an umbrella out of the back seat and walked around to Quatre’s side. He opened the door for the small blonde and held the umbrella over his exiting point. The fact that he was getting slightly soggy was more than made up for in the loving warmth of his koi’s smile.

 Dorthy followed them in, after parking her car out in front of the house. It was getting closer to night time. It was comical to see Dorthy carrying in a sword along with a grocery bag. Once the door was unlocked all stepped in slowly, in no hurry to enter the threshold of their communal home. Something seemed slightly off about the place. Quatre noted it immediately, someone had died here, and recently.
For a brief instant he suffered an urge to go rummaging about the closets to search for bodies; then the recollection of exactly what had happened to Heero came to him. That urge died quickly in the wake of the thought.

 There was a chill throughout all of the rooms and the heater was turned on in an expedient and timely manner. Quatre, being the small, slim person that he was, already shivered from the temperature. He was used to hot places, anywhere from desert sands to stifling board meetings. Back in the day he had attended one or two of the official functions with his father to get a feel for what exactly it was that would be expected of him when he were older. From what he had gathered, he didn’t think he would enjoy board meetings in the future anymore than he had in past times.

 As he looked around, his ‘angels’ excused themselves to separate rooms. Dorthy padded upstairs to go and change into some dry clothing. Trowa made a beeline it to the nearest bathroom to take care of some business. Quatre was left to himself for the moment. He took off his jacket and hung it on the coat rack that was close to the entry-way.

 Taking small steps over to the couch he pulled the fuzzy purple comforter off of it. In a twirl of material he had it wrapped about his slim shoulders and trailing down past his hips. To his surprise and small delight he had misjudged the size of the comforter by a couple of feet. He would be able to curl up in it quite nicely. He headed for the small patio off to the side of the house. Opening the door he stepped outside and smiled at the view.

 A part of the house they were staying on was close the edge of a small bluff. The architect behind the design of the house had built the patio so that it’s supports slanted upward, letting it extend out into space. The view wasn’t the most beautiful thing to ever come to the human eye, yet not an eyesore either.
The city close-by spread out well bellow them, it’s blinking lights and sounds only barely visible and audible from where Quatre stood. The wind tousled his golden hair, brushing it over his cheeks and teasing his skin with tickling sensations. He turned and walked back inside, perhaps tomorrow he would sit outside and read. It was a nice patio for that sort of a thing.

 As Quatre stepped back in, he almost ran into Wufei. The Chinese boy was standing just beyond the small blonde’s range of vision, contemplating the distance. As Quatre got to close he backed up a step and smiled apologetically.

“Gomen.”

 Wufei nodded mutely. Quatre noted in passing that his compatriot had opted to let his hair down that evening. It hung in silken glory down close to his shoulders, with a few scattered strands falling into his onyx eyes. It was none of his business to say anything, and he wasn’t about to. He simply walked past the contemplative Chinese boy and the rest of the way into the house to get a cup of tea.

 After Quatre had passed Wufei did walk out onto the balcony/patio. The rain had stopped and the gray clouds from earlier in the day were hidden by the fingers of black slowly reaching out to cover the sky. The air was slightly chill from the winds that blew through, moving the storm along it’s course. The icy fingers brushed through his bangs, pushing and pulling them this way and that.

 He leaned against the wrought iron supports, stuck deep within his own thoughts.

<I wonder what made Maxwell better so suddenly? I know what’s going on in that mystical sense, but it doesn’t sort out in my mind. Everything is so jumbled that I can’t find a clear path, it seems as if everything is blocked or convoluted in such a way as to make it impossible to reason out. I just don’t know what to do…and this strange feeling inside….>

 At his own thought Wufei paused, staring at the bronze tone of his own flesh, and then he snapped his fingers. In the air where he had preformed the small action a small flame flickered and danced sinuously, and then sputtered, dying quickly at the hands of the flippant winds. Wufei sighed and turned from his place of repose, returning to the indoors and locking the door behind him.

 The next day passed uneventfully. The only break in the monotony of the time was when Heero arrived home to change clothes. The expected questions were asked of him, ‘How’s Duo?’, ‘When’s he going to be released?’, ‘How are you holding up?’, ‘Did you get enough sleep last night?’. All Questions were answered calmly and a short while after, Heero departed to go back to where he had previously been. After that everything returned to the pleasant haze of normality.

 Quatre sat outside on the patio. A steaming cup of tea sat on a side table at his right side. A small fountain tinkled merrily over in a corner next to a cascading patch of ivy which was slowly but surely working it’s way up the side of the house and would eventually reach it’s green fingers to the roof. Plugged into a socket on the outside were a small batch of pseudo-paper lanterns with kanji written on them. They glowed in another corner, just behind the lawn chair that Quatre had situated himself in. Their warm glow moved over the ivy nearest to them and provided a pretty contrast to the shadows given by the fading sunlight.

 On the railing over a dozen candles flickered in the shifting air currents. Their glow mixed with that of the lanterns on the wall and created a warm glow to the patio that let shadows reshape themselves as they pleased. Quatre had his feet curled beneath him in the big lawn chair and was engrossed in reading Richard the III. The purple comforter that he had claimed as his own for the time being, now rested comfortably about his slim frame. Every now and then a flicker from the candles on the rail caught a small ring on one of Quatre’s ring fingers. It was a plain silver band to the casual observer, but there was an inscription on the inside.

“Look how this ring encompasseth thy finger”

 The quote came from the very same book that Quatre was fixated in, from act 1, scene ii, and line 204. Trowa was aware how much Quatre adored literature and that piece in particular, and so he’d gotten the ring made for the small Arabian. Simple words of love from a fairly simple man. Trowa had given it to his koi a while back. Quatre had given him a look then, but Trowa had simply smiled quietly. Not quite just a gift and not quite a promise of anything in that moment. Yet most definitely it was a promise of things to come.

 Now Trowa sat close to the fountain, on a hardwood stool brought out from inside. His arm rested against a space of the railing that was unoccupied by candles. His eyes were off in the distance, and his thoughts were even further away. Quatre put a bookmark in his book and stretched leisurely.  The evening was one worth remembering, with the sky painted hues that were too luscious for a simple sunset.

 Cerulean mixed and melded with purples and oranges that faded up into a velvet black where the stars roamed freely. The colors were fading even as the couple watched them, replaced by the all encompassing black tinted with shining silver points. The clouds from the previous day were far removed from the painted sky, and the trouble they heralded with them slowly fading into the distance as well.

 Setting the book on the little side table, Quatre stood. He walked over to Trowa quietly, not wanting to disturb his tall lover from his reverie. The quiet pilot was lost in the vast expanse of air before them, his mind clearly not in the here-and-now. Quatre placed a small hand on Trowa’s shoulder. The Heavyarms pilot flicked his gaze over to the source of the touch and smiled.

“hmmm?”

 Quatre gave one of his gentlest smiles, looking at the ring Trowa had given him and in the same glance the man that he loved with all of his heart. He wasn’t ashamed to say it, or think it. It was a certainty.

“You looked lost.”

 Trowa shook his head, his emerald eyes glittering from beneath his bangs. “Such is not the case dear one, not when I’m with you.”

 There was a moments pause in which the two shared a companionable silence. It had been said before by great minds, unrecognized by the rest of the world for their simple wisdom, that to have a lover, in the same person one must have a best friend; otherwise the relationship was doomed to fail. In Trowa, Quatre had everything and he couldn’t ask for more.

 In a silent motion he leaned forward and wrapped his arms about Trowa, his small hands carrying their slim fingers trailing down the front of the tall pilot’s chest. Those same hands were almost swallowed by the purple material of the sweatshirt he was wearing that evening, fighting the approaching chill. Trowa melted back into his hold, resting the back of his head against Quatre’s collar bone. In some relationships between men that they had seen there was a definite, seme, uke arrangement, with one person much more dominant than the other. In their relationship they found themselves on equal ground, and it was good that way. No one was expected to be meek and on the same token, neither was expected to be strong, they simply expected each other.
 

 They were strong for each other and they were weak when they needed to let the barriers down. That was just the way that things were between the two of them. Theirs was a relationship of equality and so it would stay. Trowa spoke from his comfortable position against Quatre.

“Change is brewing isn’t it?”

 Quatre nodded, and Trowa felt his motion, he didn’t have to see it. Silence stretched between them for  a while and then Quatre took his turn to speak, trusting the man in his arms to bear witness to what he would speak of.

“I can’t shelter him anymore.”

“You shouldn’t have in the first place koi-chan. I knew that it was for a good purpose, but you can’t prevent the inevitable, and you certainly can’t tax yourself the way you have been.”

 Quatre sighed, his weight falling more heavily onto Trowa’s shoulders. “I just wanted to shelter him. I didn’t want them to feel it.”

 Trowa sighed. “Sometimes the most violent of thoughts and feelings are given in dreams. There’s really nothing that you can do to stop that Quatre. You’re just burning yourself out for a useless purpose.”

 A wind picked up slowly, beginning to muster the force that it eventually wanted to achieve. Trowa noted the temperature change and looked at Quatre whose eyes were suspiciously misty.

“C’mon, lets go inside, get a cup of tea and curl up in bed together. You have an early morning mission and I’m backing you up.”

 Quatre looked dubious. “But I thought that you were off of any sort of missions for a while until Heavyarms got the specialized missiles that it needed re-stocked.”

 Trowa quirked an eyebrow. “Who says that you don’t need backup. I think so, ergo I will provide it. You won’t argue with me because you can’t change my mind.”

 Quatre sighed, letting go of Trowa’s shoulders to go and fold up the chair and bring his candles in. “You’re always the stubborn one. Not necessarily the most vocal, but always stubborn.”

 Trowa smiled and gave a slight bowing motion. “I try my best.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 Wufei curled up on the couch, reading glasses perched on his nose. Outside Trowa and Quatre were packing up for the evening. He had borrowed a couple of their candles earlier, which now were stationed at various places around the room. They glowed merrily, the fire burning bright on each candle.
 Sakura sat quietly beside him, staring off into the spectral distance. He let the novel fall into his lap and looked over at her silently.

 The words of the story he had been reading chilled him. They seemed to remind him of exactly how alone each man really was in the world. In that moment he was feeling –very- alone, he was bereft of any sort of family or background and he wasn’t the possessor of many friends. All that he had that he could claim rightly as his own, was a tentative understanding with the five around him which he would chance to call brothers of the heart; and his honor. Only the second thing could not be taken away from he who had almost lost it all, all ready.

 Without a word or gesture Sakura moved over closer to the Chinese youth, bringing him into her arms so that he leaned against her. Quietly she enfolded him in her gossamer wings and stroked her lithe fingers through his hair.

<shhhhhhh…..chibi ryu….you’re never completely lost, I’m always here, small a consolation as that might be.>

 Wufei leaned gratefully into the warm embrace which he suddenly found himself in. “Such is my damnation, to be forever stalked by an onna…”

<touché > Sakura commented lightly.

 Both participants in the embrace ignored the door as Quatre and Trowa stepped quietly inside. Stephanie smiled at the sight and faded from view completely, closing the door silently so that the two could enjoy their moment of peace.

 Quatre looked up to his sister and smiled. “Such is the solace you offer us, and small as it may seem, you do us a great service.”

 Stephanie laughed lightly. <For all your fancy words oniichan, what it comes simply down to is: we are the ones that keep you sane.>

 Quatre nodded, and then squeaked lightly as Trowa picked him up with elegant ease and began to walk up the staircase to the second floor. A furious blush decorated his cheeks as soon as he saw Dorthy’s half-mocking, half amused eyes watching them from the banister.

“koi-chan, I –can- walk on my own you realize…”

 Trowa smirked, a small expression and hard to find to the untrained eye, and yet Quatre saw it, he knew where to look.

“I felt like carrying you angel, and so you shall be carried.”

 Quatre sighed, but did not protest much more than that, and chose instead to lay his head against Trowa’s lightly muscular arms and enjoy the ride.  Dorthy let them pass without a word. It wasn’t her place to say anything at all, and she wasn’t going to. Trowa had Quatre covered for the time being.

 She waited until they passed and then started down the stairs, her steps a tad heavier due to the weight that had recently come to her. Her sword; at first she thought that the blade she had chosen was completely illogical for her. It was a fairly heavy thing and seemed to be slightly cumbersome, and yet it suited her balance and sense of style perfectly. Even is she had the tool she needed the practice to be come excellent with it. And judging from what she had seen in Quatre’s mind, it would be important that she was more than excellent.

 She was rather surprised to see Wufei cuddled in close with Sakura. The angel was humming lightly, her ethereal voice spreading through the room in soft waves. The candles that decorated that part of the room flickered and waved in quiet glory, speaking of peace and tranquility. There wasn’t to be too much more of that.

 She stepped outside into the crisp night air. It was almost December now, close to the millennium. Some things were beginning to make sense in her mind, and a lot of things seemed to be growing progressively worse. Once she was free of the confining indoors her mind went to work. She had always admired herself for the wit and mind that she possessed, and now was the time to use it. There were a few things about her current situation that had been bugging her; she brought the sword into a ready position and let her mind free.

 Her first question was: why could she see all of the other’s guardian angels? It seemed that the protectorate knew and saw their protector, but she didn’t understand why it was that she could see the angels. In the kitchen Stephanie had solidified in response to the loss of Brynn, and that made sense to her. Yet she could see Sakura lurking about with Wufei and Alex upon occasion, whenever she happened to see the little demon accompanying Duo. She attributed it simply to the fact that she was aware of things; and kept up her drill, striking forward and leaping back, fighting phantoms, moving in rhythms that she wasn’t aware that her body was accustomed to.

 The second question rose the front of her consciousness. Where was her guardian? She contemplated that for a while longer and found her own answer; it gave an interesting sort of a joy. She was her own guardian, she was of such a strong will and mind that she had no need of one to watch her. The independence thrilled and depressed her all at once. She let her thoughts flow on.

 What exactly was it that Quatre and the others were becoming? She could feel it in them, stirring restlessly, and yet they seemed to do nothing in preparation to receive it. She couldn’t tell what was what anymore. The strange and confused images that she had received from when Quatre was sharing with them didn’t help. She moved the sword out in a slow arc, as if coming face to face with something. When the fog started to shift around her heels she knew that she wasn’t fighting phantom anythings anymore.

 The Griffin seemed to step out of eternity itself. She caught a flash of darkness behind it, as it stepped forward into the physical world. A lingering breeze swept through the front yard. In the back of her mind somewhere she realized that most likely it wasn’t a good idea to be standing out in the front yard of a residential area with a broadsword. Yet, the people of the street seemed to have decided that the front yard was an unholy place to venture besides in the early morning hours. That suited her fancy just fine, in actuality she would prefer that there be no pedestrians meandering about and bystanders to her conflict.

 The beast stood on it’s paws, claws tightening and relaxing marginally with each movement that it made. Motion caused the muscles of it’s torso to ripple in a dangerous wave. A definition flashed into her mind. This was a higher demon, the little one she had seen flitting around with Duo at one point was one of the lower demons, not as able in speed, endurance, ability and general nastiness. This was something that was after her employer, the boy whom once she had called Master. It would not go through her.

 A low, rumbling, dark sort of a voice flashed through her mind.

<You think that you can stop me, small human thing?>

 Dorthy smirked, angry humor coloring her mood. “I certainly intend to try.”

 Duo sat up in the bed, the last lights of the afternoon falling into the abyss of the horizon. Nighttime was approaching, and he didn’t have to hide behind a set of smiling eyes anymore. He looked over at the angel napping lightly in the corner. His wings twitched and he unfurled them reflexively in response to a cramp. They were very curious in their nature. They would not interact with solid things of this world, but were solid when he wished them to be. He would test their abilities later on, now wasn’t the time. A small chuckle worked its way through his throat as the dark crept slowly into the room, treading carefully in Duo’s presence. He knew that it recognized an extension of the master of shadows.

“How can I ever thank you…” his tone turned sarcastic and mocking, “koi?” He looked over at Heero as he spoke; his eyes were dark pools of violet. The smile on his face was cold, unfeeling, a dead man’s smile.

“You’ve let me out Heero-kun, and now I want to play. I’ll wait a little while yet, I don’t want to seem out of place in this world of logic, but, as soon as we get home, the real fun begins.”

 Somewhere deep inside himself Duo cried out, only to be hushed by shadows that were deeper than the darkest night.  What frightened the inner child so much was the fact that the shadows were masquerading the colors of his own soul for all to see.

 Fusei faded in against the wall that Duo faced away from. <You’re wrong Hellmaster; it wasn’t Heero that freed you, but rather circumstance. The fact that you died before you both consummated the relationship let a loophole to the situation come into effect. Thereby you inherited that poor boy’s form.

The pact should have been flesh to flesh, soul to soul, a little of each of you in the other, setting of a reaction that the ones higher up had ingrained into you. >

 She had thought that the demon wasn’t listening to her. She had thought that the shadow boy that Duo so feared hadn’t even been aware of her presence. When he turned she felt involuntary shivers run down her spine. Yet when he spoke it seemed to be in tones of ice woven into words.

“I was aware of that actually, pretty little angel. Don’t tread to close now, you can’t save your precious Heero from me, don’t even try.”

 Fusei glared at Duo, her midsection aching. It was getting closer to time for the damn thing to be born, but it was simply reacting to Duo and Heero’s collective presence.

<Angels protect their own; I can’t stop him if he wants to go to you, but I can sure as hell keep you from hurting him when he doesn’t strive toward you. >

 Alex stood in the background, looking regretful. <If you’re going to try to stop him, then I’ll be forced to stop you. What made you change your mind anyway? Weren’t you going to argue for our case? Didn’t you want to stop this? >

 The demon that had once been a child already knew the answer to the question. She had seen the answer in Duo’s eyes as he had been lying in Heero’s arms only a night previously. There wasn’t anything that could be done.

 Fusei also looked regretful. <There’s nothing that I can do about it; -he- spoke and that’s just the way that things are going to have to be. I’m almost sorry to say that we are enemies now. >
 
Alex said nothing at all, her violet eyes narrowing to slits as she folded her wings about herself and sat close to Duo, making herself the corporal barrier between Fusei and the boy that seemed to be Duo, and yet wasn’t quite. Silence fell once again completely over the room and Duo fell asleep with a thin smile on his lips.

Computer Caretaker of the Shinigami organization.
The Shinigami Organization
www.ShinigamiOrg.homestead.com/index.html
The only mob dedicated to Shinigami

ICQ me at #82315185
 

See the art of the insanity that is the story?

White Reflection (my yaoi nook)
http://www.fortunecity.com/marina/tripcock/835/index.html
(Heero will show you in)

"The lights are on, but nobody's home.."-some really spiffy movie I
saw
"Everything you want is not necessarily everything you need.
Every second counts" -Vertical Horizon Music Vid.
"Fuck you no da!" –things chiri chiri will never say
"Every revolution begins with a single act of defiance"
 
Possessor of a mighty set of Two muses:
Chibi Kuri: little blue haired sayajin with quite a temper
Griffin: The little Duo-esque muse with a dark black braid and a  kawaii set of batwings (not to mention a cute .. *BEEP*..)