Virgo

Virgo

By Chash

Based on the Zodiac coin quest from Final Fantasy IX.  Happy unbelievably late birthday, Yeou-chan!

            Heero Yuy scanned the barren mountains.  Supposedly, the mission's object was beautiful.  Foreign, like Yuy himself, with onyx eyes and darkened skin.  Sleek black hair, and a mean temper.  Everyone wanted this one.  It was Yuy's mission to find them, though, and "Aries" never failed a mission.  No picture, he didn't need one.  Yuy loved challenges.  And this "Virgo" promised to be a challenge.  Across from him, a windmill turned lazy arcs, and there was peace.  Yuy knew to never trust peace, though.

            "You're looking for Virgo too, aren't you?" asked a voice.  Yuy spun, hand falling at once to his side and gun, cocking it and aiming at the boy behind him.  Something always broke peace.  With an easy smile, the boy raised his arms.  This was a beautiful boy, Yuy had to admit, with captivating violet eyes and a long braid of shining brown hair.  Yes, beautiful.  Not the mission, though, and the mission was all that mattered.  Yuy could see a storm brewing behind the newcomer, and he concentrated on it instead.  Safer than beauty or humans.  Rain was safe.  "You aren't going to answer me?" asked the boy.

            "Yes, I am looking for Virgo," replied Yuy, still focused on the distant cloud.  The boy nodded.

            "Everyone is.  What's in it for you?" he inquired, sitting down on a tree root near Yuy. 

            "It's the mission," he said flatly.  The boy laughed.

            "You'll never find Virgo with that attitude.  I'm Cancer, by the way.  I may run and hide, but I'll never tell a lie.  Which one are you?"

            Yuy looked away from the cloud in surprise.  He'd always thought Aries was a name given to him for no reason.  Was the boy telling him otherwise?  "Aries," he replied.

            "You're Aries?  Don't look like much," a new boy said.  Hair fell over his green eyes, and he tossed a coin mindlessly.  "And Cancer.  Neither of you have a chance."

            "Why?" asked Cancer, rising as if to fight.  "Because of you?  I could take you!  Who are you, anyway?"

            Yuy watched the coin fall into the boys hand, and fly up again.  Dependable motions. 

            "Gemini," said the new boy, watching the coin with the one eye Yuy could see.  "The other one looks always to Virgo," commented Gemini to Heero.  "Twin eyes, separate but the same.  Hence, Gemini.  Taurus, come out.  There are more seekers here."

            "Coming, then," replied a quiet voice.  A pale blond boy came out, smiling in a nervous manner.  "I am, as Gemini said, Taurus."  Behind the quiet boy, Yuy could see the night coming in.  Dependable as well.  Yuy could rely on such things.  People weren't like the night and the rain and Gemini's coin.  Here were four of them, all searching for one beautiful Virgo, but unfocused.  Different.  Unreliable.

            "Why do you two search?" asked Cancer.  Gemini's coin fell again.

            "For challenge and for beauty," he replied.  "Taurus searches because he once knew Virgo.  He once loved Virgo."

            Taurus nodded, his golden head bobbing up and down, looking more like a bow than a nod.  Yuy didn't care which it was.  That was not important.  None of this was.  The windmill made more lazy arcs. 

            "And you, Cancer?  Why do you search?" asked Taurus. Cancer smiled.

            "Beauty, mystery, romance, challenge, wonder, what's not to love about the search for Virgo?" smiled Cancer.  "Aries over there searches because it's his mission.  At least you've heard of the beauty, right Aries?"

            "Beauty is insignificant.  Beauty gets in the way of the mission.  Undependable.  All that matters is the mission," replied Yuy.  Someone was staring at the sunset.  Long platinum hair looked towards the falling sun. 

"Who is that?" inquired Cancer.  All but Yuy looked over.  Yuy looked away to the windmill.

"Zechs Marquis.  Scorpio," said Yuy. 

"Scorpio?" asked Cancer.  "Oi!  Scorpio!  Come over here!"

"He won't come," commented a woman, "it's not his way."  She had purple hair, almost black, and blue eyes.  Once acknowledged, she smiled at them.  "I'm Sagittarius.  You're all looking for him too, right?"

"Him?" asked Cancer.  "Virgo's a guy?"

Taurus nodded.  "A beautiful boy."

            "That's Scorpio?" asked Gemini.  "Interesting…"

            "Will you stop talking like you know more than the rest of us?" asked Cancer, almost snarling. 

            "No point in fighting," said Aries.

            "He's right," from the town, faraway, a man was lit behind a golden fountain.  "I'm the seventh, Libra.  We can't change who Virgo loves."

            "Loves?" asked Yuy.  Libra smiled.

            "You don't know much about the Virgo quest, do you?  You may think you're in for something else, but we're all here because there is something that draws people in Virgo.  Before the stroke of twelve, he will have kissed one of us.  That one who he kisses will be the only one who succeeds."

            "Then it must be me," Yuy replied.  Libra smiled again.

            "You do not understand."

            "And you do, Septim?" asked Sagittarius.  Libra glared at her.

            "I am Libra, here, as you are Sagittarius and Scorpio is Scorpio.  All else is for later.  And I do understand.  I cannot change it, but that which draws us to Virgo will not allow me to stop."

            From a standing tower, a remnant of a great war long ago, came another.  "I am here for Scorpio."

            "So you think," said Gemini.  "We all seek Virgo."

            "Yup!  And there's nothing you can do about it.  If you're one of the twelve, you either are Virgo or you seek him," commented the quiet Taurus, smiling as if he held some great secret.  They all did, Yuy realized.

            "And you are not Virgo," said Sagittarius.  "You are the eighth, you are Leo."

            "Are you the fifth, then, Sagittarius?" asked Cancer.  Sagittarius shook her head.

            "It goes, gentlemen, as follows.  There are two lists.  In either case, it begins with Aries.  He is the first.  Next is Cancer.  Following Cancer numerically is Gemini, and that is how he came here.  In the zodiac, though, is Scorpio.  Fourth in the zodiac is Gemini, numerically is Taurus.  Fifth is Taurus or Virgo, the former numerical, the latter zodiac.  Next numerically is Scorpio, and in terms of our zodiac, is Virgo.  Then comes I to us, Libra to numbers, and Libra to the zodiac.  Nine, seven, or seven.  We are even on numbers and zodiacs now, but our order in coming here is changed.  Next comes to us Libra, to numbers Leo and to the zodiac, Leo.  Finally, and most recent, our ninth has joined us, comes I to numbers, to I the zodiac and to us Leo.  Do you understand?"

            "There are nine of us?" supplied Cancer.  Taurus giggled and Sagittarius sighed.

            "I go to all that trouble for nothing."

            "Such is the way of the world, Sagittarius," a withered old man came to them, and Gemini hissed as he came.

            "And here is the tenth to numbers and our Zodiac, and the tenth to come to us, all is made even, for here is Capricorn."

            Yuy smirked as Capricorn acknowledged this gracious introduction by coughing and hacking. 

            "So, Sagittarius, you never did explain one thing," commented Cancer.  Sagittarius raised a delicate purple eyebrow.  "Where is Virgo and why'd you count him as already being here?"

            Sagittarius smacked herself in the head.  "He'll be here right after Aquarius.  Isn't it amazing that I stay even though I know I won't get him?" she asked, smiling a 'what can you do?' smile. 

            "It is the appeal of Virgo," commented a new woman.  Her hair was down on one side, but up in a bun on the other.  She held a pair of glasses, as if undecided as to whether or not she needed to use them.  Sagittarius smiled.

            "Aquarius.  Now Virgo will make his choice."

            "And we already know what it is," commented Gemini.  Sagittarius looked at him. 

            "Do you?" she inquired. 

            Gemini nodded.  He caught his coin, the thirteenth time Yuy had counted.  The boy pocketed the silver.  He was unreliable again.

            Then came Virgo, from the warmth and splendor of the night.  At once, all knew it was Virgo, and all knew that everyone knew it was Virgo.  It was obvious, the way he walked, the way his eyes glittered in the dark.  Each forgot all but the beauty, the mystery and the wonder that Virgo possessed.  Even Yuy forgot his mission.

            Virgo glided in.  Nodding at Sagittarius, the beautiful boy still said nothing.

            "There shall be one kiss.  Whoever is given it is the one chosen by Virgo.  Aries, Pisces will want to know who got it.  You will tell him.  The thirteenth will know what he lost.  That is the zodiac prophesy."

            Each nodded, unaware they did it.  Sagittarius nodded as well, and all watched as Virgo gave his one lasting kiss.  Pisces ran in late, late enough that the kiss had ended and it was morning.

            "Who did Virgo kiss?" asked Pisces.

            "The one who watched the sunset," replied Yuy, jumping off a tree root in front of the windmill.  In the farm house, a gramophone was playing old music while Virgo danced with his chosen.  Without realizing it, Yuy switched the gramophone off.  "Where is the thirteenth?"

            Pisces blinked.  "Thirteen?  There are only twelve zodiac signs."

            Yuy shook his head, realizing there were.  Where had he gotten a thirteenth?

            On another hill above Virgo and his choice, sat the thirteenth. 

            "My hill faces the sunset too, dragon.  It isn't only he who loves you.  Scorpio and Virgo, Zechs and Wufei, six and five, they all make sense.  I watch the sunset every night, too, though.  I think of you every night too.  It could be Opiuchus and Virgo, thirteen and five, you and I, Wufei, you and I."

            No one ever knew there was a thirteenth zodiac, though.  Except for Heero, who was quite confident he heard the forgotten one weeping.

Owari.

Everyone loved Wu at least, ne, Yeou-chan?  Ne?