Braids of a Feather

Braids of a Feather

Chapter 12

By AlantisB

Disclaimer: Standard Disclaimer Applies!

A/N: Hey everyone! Wow! I like the reviews I got this time. Thanx to you all! Really nice of people to review me. (Okay, enough sucking up for me, it ain't my style) Its cool though, everything is starting to tie together and you get to see the oddities I mentioned become more clear. Mwahaha

"..talking.."

'..thinking..'

OoOo Scene change

OoOoOoOoOo

In the gym toward the corner, Duo watched as the boys made their way over to him. They were all smirking but hiding it behind a friendly smile. Duo got up off the bench and grinned cheerfully as he folded his arms behind his back putting on his most innocent looking, harmless, charming guy face that gets everyone to underestimate him every time.

"You're that new kid, ain't ya?" One of the guys asked as he eyed Duo critically.

Duo nodded. "Yup! Just came in a day or two ago. What can I do for ya?" A guy with black hair and green eyes smirked before pushing Duo up against the wall hard out of the teacher's sight. He was so close to him, that Duo could smell his horrible breath. If he had 'em, he would of given the guy a tic tac, or three.

"We don't like your rich, snobbish kind here. Listen pussy, you think just cause you got money that we would leave ya alone. You're wrong! No self-respecting guy wears hair that long so we gotta teach ya a lesson so you cut it, or are ya a girl under all that?" The black haired guy's smirk widened slightly.

Duo looked down at the hand on his chest then calmly looked up at the boy's face. "Can you take your hand off my chest now? Or do I hafta force ya?" His tone was light but had an underlining coat of ice under it. The bullies (or what was left of them since Ranma showed up), sneered and laughed in his face.

Duo smirked slightly and said lightly again. "Okay, your choice. Don't say I didn't warn ya." He jump up slightly and pushed off the wall with his feet knocking the guy on his back in surprize. Duo fell forward and preformed a front handspring and flipped in the air and landed on his feet in a fighting stand and his braid whipped behind him. He clenched his teeth and tried to forget about the pain his arms that was complaining very loudly into his brain.

The other boys lunged at him and Duo slipped under their larger bodies with his smaller one and karate chopped their necks causing them to drop down unconscious. The last boy grabbed him from behind and pulled on Duo's braid tight that he hissed in pain and struggled to get out of the grip. His bandages were bleeding again, his wounds had reopened on his stomach and wrists and he started to feel a little dizzy from the blood that he was loosing. It wasn't a lot of blood but since he had been loosing pints in the last few days it wasn't enough to keep his energy level high enough.

He heard the distant sound of a whistle being blown and someone running up to them and punching the other guy in the face and catching Duo before he fell onto the ground. His vision was becoming spotty and dark and he weakly looked up at the face of the person who saved him and his eyes slipped close.

"Ran..ma.."

OoOoOoOoOo

Darkness was everywhere. Where was he and how did he get here? All he saw was black mist clouding the area and what seemed like a solid surface under his feet. He started to walk around but it was like a never-ending road, his footsteps didn't even echo against the surface he was standing on. It was totally weird and it unnerved him greatly. Time had no meaning around him, how long had he been there? Hours? Minutes? He didn't know, really.

He started to become a little scared from the constant nothingness, but the dark mist and shadows came around him closer and gave him a secure feeling. He was safe in the darkness. He snuggled into it more and waited. The shadows whispered to him he must wait here. He sat indian style in the void of mist and shadow and waited.

OoOoOoOoOo

Ranma gasped as Duo fell into his arms almost totally limp. His eyes were half open and he slightly looked up to his face. "Ran..ma.." He whispered weakly to the wild horse, then the young pilot's violet eyes slid shut.

Ranma hooked his arms under Duo's legs and lifted him into his embrace and stood up. He looked down at the boy who he had suckered punched and frowned. "He didn't do anything to you, your lucky he's sick or he would've given ya a trip to the hospital!" He turned his back in disgust to the boy he thought he had known pretty well and walked away with Duo in his arms to the nurses office leaving the rest of the gym class to stare at his back.

He almost ran to the nurse's office and opened the door. "Uh.. Miss? Can you help me? My friend passed out and I was wonderin' if it was okay if he stayed in here for a while."

A young woman around twenty-five or so nodded and motioned him to lay Duo onto the bed. Ranma laid his best friend down gently onto the soft cot and sat next to him and didn't pay attention to the nurse who told him he could go back to class now.

She wanted him to leave his best friend here with no one to wake up to? She must be crazy if she thought he would do that to him. 'When Duo wakes up,' he promised to himself silently. 'I'll apologize and maybe we can be friends again.'

He looked down at his braided friend who looked so pale and sickly. "I hope so, at least. Please forgive me Duo-chan." He spoke quietly so that the nurse didn't hear. He grabbed Duo's hand gently and lightly ran his thumb over the back of his hand. 'I'm sorry Duo,' he gazed at his friend with worry.

OoOoOoOoOo

Cologne smirked as she jumped the roofs again. She had been waiting this time, the power was being used more and more frequently and the user was getting sloppy. She cackled in pleasure as she hopped faster on her old cane. She was close, so close she could feel the waves of power washing over her from this distance. It seemed as if the old one was getting ready to come at full power and she as the elder of the ancient amazon tribe; could not allow it.

She had to know who this person was first, if they really deserved the old power before she allowed the person to have it. She also reminded herself to make sure to check up on Ranma's friend. Of course when she had the chance again, she wondered had wondered the past day if he was in that gang fight that took place yesterday.

She focused onto the power again and grinned as her hair rushed up into the wind blowing behind her like a long cloak. It was only a matter of time now before it all became so clear.

Just a matter of time, ancient.

OoOoOoOoOo

Quatre grasped the bar edges so tightly his knuckles turned white. He slumped down onto his knees and his eyes seem to gaze over in concentration. Images flashed before his eyes; dark images of old times that had long since been over.

He saw himself as the desert prince; a prince on a long journey to capture the demon. Trowa; as the beast master of the lands who came to help him along the way. Heero; as the noble warrior who provided the protection against the demon should it attack, and Wufei as the white magic mage that would help against the demon with magic spells.

Something wasn't right with his vision, there was too much darkness. Dark magic; not evil but dark in power. He looked up over the dry sand hill of the hot Arabian desert and saw two figures against the hot sun. One had long beautiful hair down to their knees and glowing eyes that had no pupils. The other figure was dressed in oriental clothing and had a black braid that reached down to the center of the back. Both figures were two of the same Ying-yang. The unbraided one was the black side of the universe, the other was the light. Yet both seemed to fit perfectly well together, they were soul mates. Another figure was behind them, this one was both light and dark and had shorter hair then the other too. He too was apart of the same souls as they, but was more of a creation of both, a chylde. But, more to them, it seemed as a brother and a lover.

Quatre gasped, his eyes wide as the vision cleared and Trowa's concerned green eyes met his blue-green ones. It took him a moment to calm down and he shook the vision from his head. He looked at his hands and studied them carefully.

"Trowa.." he whispered softly. "I'm okay, really. I..I just saw something. I'm fine, trust me." He smiled at his lover reassuringly and got up with the help of Trowa and they got back to feeding the animals again before the next performance.

'Our past. It has come to full circle again.'

OoOoOoOoOo

Lady Une smirked as she ordered the small squad into the private plane. The plan was going into action in a few hours and Duo Maxwell had no clue. It would be priceless to see the look on his face when he was capture. The thing that excited the woman the most was, she would be the one to question him for information.

Ah, the pleasures of military leadership.

She could see now all the delightful tortures she could use on the young boy. She would get to take as much pleasure in beats, torturing, and yelling at Maxwell as much as she wanted as long as she got him to talk. That was the easy part as far as she was concerned.

He was just a kid, admiringly a good pilot but he was still a child and children have low pain tolerance levels. It would be a matter of hours before the young pilot talked. Between getting him in the room, and to that time, he was hers to do with as she pleased.

She was just almost giggly in excitement! Playtime was almost here.

OoOoOoOoOo

"WHERE IN THE WORLD AM I NOW!!!!!???" Yelled Ryoga as he looked around.

"Miss Relena, how did this young boy get into the palace?" The young butler looked at the frustrated young woman whose left eyebrow was twitching slightly.

"I don't know, he has gotten in here three times already and keeps asking me how to get to Nerima." She glanced up at the young butler.

"Perhaps I should show him out Miss Relena?"

"He's gone already. Just wait another minute and he'll show up again," replied the tired voice of the Queen of the World. It was days like this she wished she hadn't gotten out of bed.

OoOoOoOoOo

A figure slowly appeared coming out of the mists in front of him. It was a shadowed figure except for two large black, leathery, bat wings sprouting out of the figure's back. Long hair was dangling to the knees and he looked up into the glowing eyes of the demon.

"Wh..who are you?" He whimpered slightly then almost growled at himself for being so pathetic.

The figure's face came into view and his eyes widened. "But..your..your..." He found his mouth didn't work correctly anymore from the shock. The figure smiled down at him gently, showing slightly pointed canines and the figure kneeled next to him.

He looked into the glowing orbs of light and the creature suddenly pulled him close wrapping his large demon wings around them both protectively and he curled into the embrace feeling more complete then he ever had been but still had something missing. The arms were warm and smooth. He felt truly at peace for the first time in his seventeen years of life.

The figure smiled in his hair and gazed down at the form in his arms. He leaned over and whispered in the form's ear. "My friend, my name is Shi*. I have come to be apart of you again for the circle is complete. Do you accept me?"

Duo looked up from the demon's chest and into the violet eyes that were no longer glowing. "What happens if I do?" He whispered, he wanted to be himself still. He didn't want to live in the past.

"You will still be yourself in every way, for I am you. I only will awaken a power in your that has been trapped for a long time. Tell me if you accept me."

Duo chewed on his lip and weighed the possibilities in his mind. He looked up at the demon once more and gave him a wicked grin he was well known for in his gundam, Deathscythe Hell, when battling enemies.

"What do I got to loose? It's all or nothin, my friend!"

The demon smiled and the awakening began.

OoOoOoOoOo

Well? Was that good or what? Wow, lotsa scenes in this one huh? I had to do it! Don't hurt me! So does that make sense now? Remember when Duo woke up in that alley after beating up those gang members and getting shot? His demon side had awoken to save him from death. I feel kinda bad for the one gang member who shot him. Ouch. BBQ humans! Coming right up!

Next chapter coming out in a few days! Stay Tuned!

-AlantisB

Shi- Death