The House

Ch. 9

Co-Authored By Azuril Noir Raine (it's a rock in need of an exorcism!)

Co-Authored By Anshi-chan (we send baked goods)

Mitsuhide froze, his entire form going pale. He stepped back from the door, his hand over his mouth. Did he just…? Had he been wasting his time? He couldn't even go inside. He turned and headed back downstairs.

"Did he kill you? Hell, you look like shit." Neko noted as the samurai returned. Mitsuhide just growled a little in response.

"They're fine. Probably making out or something." He grumbled. Neko and Link and Sheik exchanged confused looks.

"You go." They all said at once, pointing to each other.

Date shifted the pillowed behind his back and closed his eye briefly. "Mars, when I was 8, I had smallpox. It infected my eye, and in order to prove to my father that I wasn't weak…I ripped it out. Because of that, my mother thought I was a demon. She and my brother tried to kill me…several times. I don't even remember what saved me…" He paused, opening his eye and coughing a little. He wiped the flecks of blood from his hand and his lips before continuing. "And what's worse…is my relatives decided to try to control me by kidnapping my father…so I took my clan's army and set out to rescue him…I was 16 at that point…and I…I was forced to kill my own father…I know it was an order, but words cannot simply describe the loathing and the hate I felt." His voice trails off again, biting his lower lip. He looked up at Mars and smiled sadly. "I know we both haven't had the best lives…but that doesn't mean that we need to give up…I feel like shit but that won't stop me from trying to protect you…"

"Three out four!" Neko whined, Sheik and Link exchanged tired glances, "Come on, throw em down!" Neko snapped,

"One." Link said,

"Two." Sheik added,

"Three!" Neko finished, then she gave a frustrated cry, "Nooooo! Four out five!"

"Neko, you lost...again." Sheik said, Link gave a nod.

"This is getting rediculous. Just go already." he said, she whined.

"Can't Nightmare go?"

"What? With a report like the one we just got? Not a chance in hell." Sheik whispered, "any deaths that may result won't be accidental and you know it." then he pointed to the stairs. "Go."

"I hate all of you." she grumbled, standing up and heading for the stairs. Link allowed a grin to cross over his face.

"She'll be doing all the work from now until the Soul Edge is whole." he said, Sheik nodded,

"She always throws down scissors. You'd think she'd catch on by now." he said. Xun was silently looking at Nightmare, who was looking in the direction Neko had disappeared in. Unease was clear in his features.

Neko gently knocked on the door. Upon receiving permission, she slowly opened the door to see Mars now sitting on the edge of the bed, and Date awake and sitting up. Even scarier was the fact that they were both smiling.

"Did hell just freeze over? Mars, you're not killing anyone!" She teased, walking over and hopping onto the other side of the bed.

"I can be peaceful when I want to be!" He shot back. Date sighed.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah…we were just worried about you. The Weaver came back. She wasn't looking so hot." Date's eye flickered in fear.

"Wyrm." He said softly.

Xun slowly stood up.

"I'm going to check on the Weaver." He said. Link and Sheik jumped.

"Oh my god! He speaks!" Sheik teased, though he fell silent with the unusually harsh glare he received from the tactician. He strode from the room and into the bathhouse. The Weaver was inside, and there was blood all over.

"Wyrm?"

"Indeed, and he's getting more creative…go tell that little group of adventurers that Mars is free to leave whenever he wishes…they don't need to argue." She paused, rising from the bath and revealing the gaping hole in her abdomen. "Why are you standing here? Go!"

Xun turned away quickly, running out of the bath house, slowing to a walk when he returned to the rest of the group.

"She said no need to argue with her, you can take him with you whenever you want to-"

"if he wants to leave." Mitsuhide muttered sourly, Xun gave him a curious look.

"And what's wrong with you? You've been rather bitchy ever since you came back from checking on Date and Mars."

"From the sounds of our earlier report," Sheik said, "he either heard or saw something rather unnerving to think about."

"What part?" Link asked,

"Mars in the entire situation. For some odd reason, it unnerves me to put him in any of the odd situations Mitsuhide's earlier statement implied could be ongoing up there."

"Ok, yeah, that is a little weird...the Mars part." Link said. Nightmare didn't speak, and the air of uneasyness hadn't lifted from him.

"I'm going to tell the three upstairs." Xun said, part of him wanted to send someone else, but he decided nto to involve anyone that didn't feel like standing up or moving too much.

Neko, Mars and Date looked towards the door when someone knocked on it, Xun poked his head in.

"The Weaver sends you a message, Mars, Neko."

"Oh, do tell." Neko said, turning to face him.

"She said that you're free to take Mars and go whenever you please."

"Then why the hell'd she kidnap me in the first fucking place?!" Mars snapped, "I don't like her!"

"Not too loud! She's not in a good mood right now, and she isn't one to annoy even when she starts out in a good mood." Xun cautioned.

"Whatever. So I can leave whenever I feel like it?"

"Yes."

"Ok."

"We go now?" Neko asked, Mars looked at her for a moment, then at Xun, then Date, then he shook his head.

"No. No, we no go yet."

"You're mocking me aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Figures you'd say exactly what I didn't think you would." Neko said, "fine. But I think bad blood's brewing between you and Mitsuhide, and watch what you say, I don't think he's the 'tease when upset' kind of guy. And Nightmare's looking a bit out of it too."

"He what?" Mars looked at her quickly, "is he alright?"

"Who, Mitsuhide or Nightmare?"

"Funny."

"I dunno. He just looks kinda on edge."

"I-I should go see if it's my fault."

"Mars," Neko said, putting a hand on his shoulder when he moved to stand up, "stay here. I think I know what's going on. I'll talk to him...and possibly Mitsuhide, but I dunno there...and everything will be peaches and cream, ok."

"What?"

"It's my process, leave me alone."

"Ok." Mars said, turning back to Date, "whatever..."

"Hey!"

"She didn't kidnap you." Date says quietly, looking away. Mars and Neko both gave him rather puzzled looks.

"She takes in the broken, the abused, the hopeless and the utterly destroyed, and she helps fix what has been broken." Xun adds, sitting down next to the bed.

"I guess we're all broken, aren't we?" Neko says, curling up on the edge of the bed as if she wanted to fall asleep.

"Oh no. No sleeping here. Your fiancé might get jealous. And I don't need an angered elf on my hands." Date said half jokingly.

"Then he can come get me…I feel tired…" Neko replies. Mars rolls his eyes and hops off the bed.

"Fine, I'll go get him."

"I'm warning you…they're not exactly happy with you right now…I'll come with you so Mitsuhide doesn't decide to kill you." Xun said, standing as well and keeping a waiting hand on his sabers. Mars nodded, and the two started for the door. Upon opening the door, The Weaver limped past, still holding her hand over the bleeding wound. She didn't even bat an eye at the two young men, just staggered off towards the east wing.

"Won't ask." Mars said, "and why are people out for my head? What'd I do?"

"I'm really not sure. As far as I know nothing, as far as the two elves know, nothing, as far as Mitsuhide, I really don't know why he suddenly hates you, and as far as Nightmare, I don't know him well enough to be able to tell if he's even upset any."

"I have known him for a while and he's still hard to read." Mars said, "he treats me so well, and he's so careful with me, but I keep remembering, I'm only a tool to find the Soul Edge. I'm not sure what he'll do with me when it's whole again...but that's not what makes it so hard to be near him..."

"I understand. You really have a stronger hold on him than you think. He was worried while you were asleep in the mansion, and I don't believe he would have worried about a tool as much as he did you. You are far more valubale than you think...but you didn't hear it from me. Though I see his human side, I am thinking of the side that is not completely sane and my own well-being at the same time."

"He's not the violent insane monster that everyone seems to think he is." Mars said, "I know who he is, I knew from the second I saw him for the first time, and I was expecting pain, I really was. Blood, pain, killing mercilessly, but he didn't, we just wandered around, no slaughter, no injuries to myself, he even seemed to care a bit about my well-being mentally as well as physically. I've only ever seen him angry once, it was a rather frightening ordeal don't get me wrong there...but he was so...he knew what he'd done, he felt guilty, again, he isn't a monster. And I find myself, every now and then, wishing he was, then maybe I wouldn't have fallen for him..."

Xun smiles and pats Mars on the shoulder.

"I know how you feel. But I wouldn't worry at all. I can tell these things, like a sixth sense. He has a good heart." Mars blinked a moment.

"Why did you close the door on Date?" Xun's eyes dimmed.

"There was…another man…his name was Wander. I returned from a little errand I had run for the Weaver, and found that Wander had been killed. The Weaver gave me a book, one that told all of Wander's life. His emotions, his hidden thoughts, everything. I read it through, and realized how much he had loved me…I realized that I couldn't continue to love Date with all I had discovered…"

"But he had just come back from being…"

"I know. I know the timing was terrible, but I couldn't keep it in. I had to tell him…I've always been terrible at timing. But I'm happy that he seems to have gotten over it a little, because I don't want to hurt him…not after that." Xun finished just as they returned to the main group.

Mars smiled knowingly,

"I get it. But maybe you should have explained that to him, he has it in his head that you simply either got tired of him, or thought way less of him because of...well, you should probably work it out wiht him at some point is all I'm saying."

Link and Sheik looked away from Mitsuhide,

"Hey, you're not dead." Link said jokingly, "good. I don't want to have to deal with Neko and Nightmare on a double downer."

"Speaking of your fiancé," Mars said, pretending he didn't have an ever so faint blush on his face, "she's sleeping in another man's bed, you might want to move her, he doesn't appreciate her taking up his personal space."

"Eh?!" Link stood up and ran upstairs. Xun gave Mars a 'did you have to put it like that?' look, Mars only gave an innocent smile for a second,then it vanished and he looked at the rest of the group in the room, Sheik remained unaffected by his presence, Ranmaru looked relieved to have Xun back by him, Nightmare was watching him silently, and Mitsuhide was glaring at him.

"Um...why'd I come down here again?" he asked quietly, inching closer to Xun, unsure of Nightmare's current standpoint or how angry with him he'd possibly randomly become...though part of him knew that Nightmare wasn't angry in the least with him..."and why does he look to be plotting my slow and painful and rather untimely demise? What'd I do?"

"I believe it's wounded pride plotting your death right now, Mars." Sheik said, "if I'm not growing dull on my people reading skills."

"No, that looks to be the size of it." Xun said, "I believe there's been a misunderstanding. Mars, are you in love with Date?"

"Wh-what?!" Mars jumped back away from Xun, stariung wide eyed, "what the hell brought that on?!"

"You're not helping yourself, just answer the question." Xun said, he shook his head.

"No. No I can't say that I am."

"There. That should solve the plotting of your death going on here. Or at least it should make it very well known that I don't feel like dealing with imature displays right now, resolve your differances somewhere that isn't near me if you find it necessary to injure someone." then he sat back down on the couch he'd been on earlier. Mars stood silently by the bottom of the stairs for a moment, casting Nightmare a somewhat desperate look, he clearly wanted to be sure nothing had been damaged between himself and Nightmare, but didn't seem to have the nerve to say anything at all. After a moment, he lowered his gaze.

"If-if no one has any other problems with me that they find worth vocalizing, I'm going back upstairs."

Mitsuhide crossed his arms, seeming somewhat unconvinced of Mars' little confession.

Link threw open the door to Date's room, finding both the boy and his fiancé asleep, though on completely different parts of the bed. Link sighed, determined to beat Mars later. He smiled and walked over, gently picking up Neko. She immediately snuggled into his arms, purring a little. Link slowly exited the room, closing the door behind him and headed downstairs.

When he got back to the bottom of the stairs, he found Mars turned towards him, blinking a bit, looking like he'd been figuratively kicked in the face...and he also appeared to have been heading back up the stairs.

"Date's sleeping." Link said quietly. Mars nodded a bit, looking back at the group in the room.

"Now I really wanna stay." he muttered bitterly, sarcastically, "I find an unconscious individual better company than some of you people, so I'm out of here. Take it however you want. I really am running dry on reasons to care." then he inched past Link and headed back upstairs, a door could be heard closing a second later.

"Do forgive him." Sheik said, "he gets snippy when he feels cornered...how lashing out helps him any I don't know, but it's how he does things."

"I don't hold it against him." Xun said, "I find it very hard as of late to hold anything against such a damaged child."

"And that's exactly what he is." Link said, "he's still just a child."

Mars sat by Date's bedside, mulling over things

so, people hate me now because...because why? Because they think I have a thing going with Date? I don't even know for sure if he meant it that way...but, what if he did? he looked towards the door, thinking hard on things, on the people downstairs. Sheik always remains indifferent on most things, so he doesn't hate me, Link loves Neko who cares about me, so he automatically doesn't hate me...Ranmaru's an ass anyway so he doesn't count, I don't give a rat's ass what he thinks...Xun obviously doesn't hate me...but, Mitsuhide, what the hell happened there? I need to get that straightened out...before I meet a very messy end. then he thought of the last member of the group, and the unease he sensed in him, the doubt that caused to flare up inside the young mage made him second guess whether it was safe to go or stay anywhere. If Nightmare was losing faith in him then what reason did he have to stay with the group of travelers? He was only there because of Nightmare in the first place. So, if I lose him, if that doubt was real, then what do I have...? he looked at Date, possibly as an answer to his question, but now all he could find in himself was doubt.

TBC...

A/N: oooo, now what? Is Mars giving up on Nightmare and going with Date? Or will he hang in there?

Mars: the suspense is killing me, really it is.

ANR: shut up.

Zykan: so are you gonna pair him up with Date then?

ANR: probably not, but if the story ends out writing itself more so than Anshi-chan and would like it to, then I think I might in the end.

Mars: if Mitsuhide doesn't kill me first.

ANR: you know very well he won't kill you, you have enough friends that are willing to protect you.

Zykan: and you have Nightmare too. He even scares me.

ANR: yup.

Mars: what, he scares you too?

ANR: oh, no, I'm just kind of making sure I stay in the conversation alright that's all.

Mars: right...

ANR: well, anyway, I need to go put more goo on my new tattoo-

Zykan: hey, that rhymes. Goo, new, and tattoo.

ANR: I'm so happy for you that you noticed that.

Zykan: if you're joking that's cruel, but if you're being sarcastic that's even worse.