Title: The Ribbon and the Ring 10?
Author: Seraphim Grace
Archive: if you want it ask, I'll probably say yes. Always appreciated and replied to.
Rating: 18 (This is an open rating so I don't have to worry).
Pairings: 1x2
Warnings: Angst. Some gore.
Notes: AU, and features necromancy. Also when referring to an original character I'm going to use the term used in role playing games NPC, or non-player character. I mention this because I'm adding two of them in this chapter, Aia and Fenrir

Duo was woken to the sound of Gereint raising hell as he screamed at Kail about locking them into their suite. In fact it sounded like Gereint was even more annoyed by it than they had been. There was talk of them being guests not prisoners of war and then the rest of it was drowned out by Trowa's chuckling as he mixed up the tea for Quatre.

"I had a dream last night." Quatre said a propos of nothing, he just looked at Duo and said it. His eyes still maintained their inability to properly focus. "It was strange, but you were in it, and you," he looked at Heero, "and you," his strange gaze fell on Trowa, "and everything was still, frozen, like someone had pushed pause and there was water everywhere, and I thought I would drown and then I realised I could breathe underwater and my wrists were bleeding but I wasn't bleeding out, and then there was this big serpent and I thought it was going to eat me but it didn't, it just turned on itself and swallowed it's own tail, and then the world cracked open to drain the water and the blood and Duo, the ends of your hair were stained red." He blinked furiously then in a completely different tone of voice said, "there is war coming we must be prepared," and fainted.

"Trowa," Wufei said as he arranged Quatre on the chair, "I think he's had enough of that tea."

Trowa looked at the clear concoction in the cup. "I don't know, Sir Gereint said to make him drink it until we reached Dathyl to control the headaches."

Sir Gereint opened the door, "good morning, boys, I hope you're ready to travel to Dathyl, despite your recent captivity." He gave a dirty look over his shoulder at Kail, "there's a wagon downstairs if any of you can't ride." Heero looked at Duo innocently but Gereint was looking at Quatre who was propped up in his chair. "So if you've eaten we can make a start and spend the week we're travelling talking about the fact that Kail was an ass locking you up." He walked in and picked up Quatre as easily as if he was a doll.

"Sir Gereint." Cedric said running up to him, "there's this really strange woman in the courtyard, she's asking to speak to Lord Duo, and she's got this really scary dog. What do you want me to do?"

Gereint rolled his eyes, "what did she ask for, specifically?" Gereint said as he led them through the spiralling corridors to the courtyard.

"She said she was here to speak to Lord Shinigami no Duo-Tennosha, and I remember that Duo said that he was the Tennosha and she said she had come a long way to be here but that big dog of hers went for Sir Kail."

Gereint laughed. "I think that we should buy the girl dinner just for that. Now did she gave a name?"

"Aia," Cedric said, "she's really pretty, and she's dressed really nice, not like she came a long way at all, she said her name was Shiko-me no Aia."

Duo stopped causing Trowa to bump into him. "Watch it." Wufei snarled as he bumped into Trowa. Heero turned back. "Are you all right, Duo?" He asked.

"Shiko-me." Duo said quietly, shocked to his core.

"A homely woman?" Trowa asked, "now why would someone be startled by that, and Cedric said she was really pretty." He stopped, "how bad must his taste be."

"No," Duo said, "the Shiko-me are female monsters. I am told by the Dead that they are supposed to serve me." He sounded afraid and Heero reached out to take his hand, "what if she's like the Ningyo?"

Gereint had gone on ahead now trusting that they would follow, "what are the Ningyo?"

"Animated corpses," Heero said bluntly, "with their hands cut off and long blades incised into their forearms in their place, their feet are encased in lead to stop them ripping them off as they lumber. There are bands of copper over their eyes bound so tight that they give them lobotomies." Both Trowa and Wufei looked at Heero, they expected that kind of story from Duo but not from Heero. "They are terrible killing machines, pray you never see them." He was resolved, "they frightened me." He looked at Duo again, tightening his grip on his hand, "I will not let her hurt you."

Wufei decided to scoff but there was something about it that made it sound forced.

The sun was beaming in the courtyard and it was a nice hot day. The wagon that Gereint had arranged had a wide base and a wooden cover, all manner of cooking utensils were hung from it's exterior, and it was darkly painted, obviously in a way to discourage bandits. Gereint settled Quatre inside on a thickly folded quilt making sure that he was facing the road and was secure as a small thin woman with dark brown hair and a dog, who was easily as large as she was, approached the rest of them. "Excuse me," she asked Wufei who was startled by it, "are you the Shinigami?" Her voice was remarkably ordinary and there was nothing strange about her accent, it was perfectly neutral. The only odd thing about her was her manner of dress and the fact that there appeared to be a metallic sheen to her pupils. Her dress was made of a rich dark green fabric, that might have been linen, tied tight with a white ribbon under the bosom, and long trailing white ribbons fell along each arm. A silver chain was threaded around her temples and through the parting of her hair. It was the only jewellery she wore. "I'm supposed to present myself to the Shinigami." It was also patently obvious that she was very young, perhaps no older than they were.

"Onna," Wufei muttered and wandered off.

Without lowering Heero's hand Duo walked across to her, "I am the Shinigami." He said but he was afraid to meet her eyes.

The girl beamed. "I'm Aia." She exulted, "the Tallest sent me, I have travelled all the way from the City to find you, with Third Son of the Fifth Litter to protect me, they said I would meet you here and if I missed you I was to try Halcyon, and if not there then Meirin, but I am so glad I caught you here, Halcyon's so far away and well I'd have to double back to get to Meirin and none but the Tallest have ever seen it."

"Why are you here?" Heero asked, his hand was on the hilt of the sword on his hip.

"The Tallest sent me." She said, looking at Heero, "I am to protect the Shinigami and guide the Shinigami and to be his bed slave." The dog cocked a single ear as Heero started a growl with his glare. "No that's not right, I'm sorry." She looked genuinely disheartened, "this language is new to me, I am to protect you and guide you, for the Tallest, and to be your bath slave." Heero didn't seem to like that any more and had loosened the sword in it's sheathe. "Oh, poo." She said.

Trowa, who was finding this quite funny, decided to rescue her, possibly in the hope that her answer would be quite amusing, "what is it you're meant to do for the Shinigami?"

"I am to help him dress and to help with his hair and his toilet and keep his chambers clean and to prevent anyone hurting him before the chosen time. So said the Tallest." Heero loosened his death grip on the hilt of his sword.

"You're to be his lady's maid." Trowa said helpfully. "It looks like the Senshisha can let you live then."

Heero answered him rather succinctly with a hn.

"And this is Third Son of the Fifth Litter," she said pointing to the dog, "the Tallest thought that he would help defend you until the chosen time."

Heero looked at the dog, the dog looked back, his golden eyes were measuring. They appeared to reach some form of understanding because Heero hned at the dog.

Duo on the other hand decided to glomp the animal. "I always wanted a dog." He said throwing his arms around it's neck. It didn't seem to bother him in any way that the dog was almost as big as the horses, and spooked them. He decided that it was his favourite puppy. The dog looked at Heero as if asking for help, Heero just shrugged. "I'll have to think of a name for you, something suitably fierce, like Rover, or Fido." The dog's lip curled at that.

"He understands you." Trowa said, but not daring to scratch the rather fierce looking dog between the ears whilst Duo was burying his face into it's fur and his hands were everywhere stroking and scratching the animal. "And he doesn't like those names."

"Fenrir," Wufei said from atop a black horse he was having to hold still with his thighs as it circled around the dog. "It's the wolf that will swallow the sun at the end of the world." He explained, "It's a fitting name for such an animal, it's the name of a warrior."

"Fenrir," Duo said looking at the animal, "do you like the name Fenrir?" The dog raised a paw. "Well then, Fen-Fen, shall we get going, there's a good puppy, shall we get into the wagon with me and Quatre and I'll get you treats and fuss you and."

Fenrir whimpered and looked at Heero as if he could save him. Heero didn't answer him but Trowa was glad his bang covered his smirk.

"So you're coming with us." Gereint said to Aia.

"If you don't mind." She answered outstretching her hand to shake his, "I'll just walk alongside you, horses don't like me much."

"Nonsense." Gereint said, "into the wagon, there's plenty of room between the books and the pottery. The more the merrier." He didn't sound in any way sarcastic. "But I have to ask," he looked into her strangely metallic eyes, "how did you train the wolf?"

Heero looked at the massive animal that Duo was now pestering, he supposed that Gereint would have more experience in recognising such an animal as a wolf, they were extinct in his own world. Aia had shrugged off the question with a smile and a shrug and the wolf seemed more determined to live through Duo's ministrations than mauling him so Heero decided to keep his questions for Aia for later.

Duo, to make the long trip seem shorter, possibly, or just to see just how far he could push Wufei until he snapped, was singing, loudly.

"The women of Tanis are bonny and gay

And you can't trust a word a Sidin woman says

And overall I'll take what I may,

But you can't beat a woman of Dathyl"

Wufei's eye was twitching but he wasn't doing anything, even though it was clear that under the huge wolf, that he was currently using as a comforter, that Duo was laughing his head off. Heero thought that this was adorable. There was a lot of little things that Duo did that Heero had recently found adorable. Yet despite his urge to giggle at Wufei's twitching eye he remained resolute, in front of Duo alone he would have broken down and laughed out loud, but not in front of the other pilots.

"There's a woman in Danev who has eyes that are deep

And a girl in Caelum who without me won't sleep

And the women of Muchine well they play for keeps,

But you can't beat the women of Dathyl."

"Enough!" Wufei roared, "with the tales of your licentious onna! This is the fifth time, Maxwell, that you have told us about these accursed onna. Sing one more line and I will strangle you with your own lower intestine." The wolf who had been sprawled over Duo's legs raised his head to look at him and growled.

"Good Fen-Fen." Duo said glomping the animal again, throwing his arms around it's neck, the animal looked distraught. "You won't let the nasty Fei-Fei hurt me, will you, Fen-Fen?" Heero noticed Fenrir, with a noted look of distress, lower his head in defeat. "Now, where was I?"

"Duo," Gereint said patiently, "before Wufei's eye explodes, can you sing something else?" Although he didn't look quite as irate as Wufei it was obvious even he was tired of the song.

"Sure thing, boss." Duo said and looked at Quatre who was still prostate where they had laid him, but now with his head cast back and snoring loudly. "One little, two little, three idiots, four little, five little, six little idiots, seven little, eight little, nine little idiots, all joined up because…"

Wufei had heard this song before because he spurred his horse on ahead.

Duo continued regardless, bellowing it out at the top of his lungs, "one little, two little, three little idiots, four little, five little, six little idiots, seven little, eight little, nine little idiots, all signed up for Oz. One little, two little, three little Ozzies, four little, five little, six little Ozzies, seven little, eight little, nine little Ozzies, all in a suit and tie, One little, two little, three little Ozzies, four little, five little, six little Ozzies, seven little, eight little, nine little Ozzies, all dressed up to die."

"Shinigami," Aia said from where she was sat with her legs pressed to her chest behind Quatre, "That song, although charming, is really quite annoying," she licked her lips, "perhaps you can tell me the story behind it."

Duo looked at her and then launched into an excited retell of the war and his role in it that mostly featured explosions and Fenrir burying his muzzle in his paws. It did however, Heero noted, stop the singing. He decided that he and Fenrir may have had an understanding about protecting Duo, even if it was from himself, Aia had successfully distracted him from a song that annoyed Heero as much as Oz and had thus included herself in his exclusive do not kill unless there are exigent circumstances list. The only person who Heero would never kill, was Duo.

Author's Note

Shikome is the Japanese word for homely woman, hence Trowa's odd joke but Shiko-me are the insect female demons that appear in manga.

Fenrir is the wolf that during Ragnarok will swallow the sun. I thought Third Son of the Fifth Litter would like it.