Small author's thank you to Kacfrog711, because if you hadn't bugged me I wouldn't have rememebered that I forgot to post this chapter! Oops!
Author's Note: Here and now we depart from the Fushigi Yuugi story line. Yes that means you can put away your source books. The plot from here on in is mostly of my own creation. (With oodles of help from Khadaji and Jo-san and a few FY plot twists dumped in). Do not expect me to follow the show's story line anymore and expect some more characters to come in from the other kingdoms and gods. From here on in the story promises to take on a life of its own. Hope you all enjoy!
Part 8
Quatre opened his eyes to find darkness: a tight cloth wrapped around his eyes. Not only was there a cloth tied securely around his eyes but also tight cords around his wrists and ankles. Quatre opened his mouth to give a yell but also found he was gagged with another cloth. Whoever had tied him up had certainly taken the time to do so well. Wiggling around he found the ground below him was jumping around unsteadily and quite scratchy. Straw? He was in a carriage or wagon, or something like that. Quatre attempted to speak through the gag but it came out as an indefinable and muffled sound.
Lightly something touched his shoulders and he jerked in surprise. He froze as he felt the cloth around his eyes loosen. Quatre waited patiently as the blindfold was taken away and he found himself face to face with a boy in a mask. Half his face was covered by his hair and the other by a strange half-mask with blue markings around the eyehole. It was Trowa! Quatre's eyes widened in recognition but Trowa placed a finger to his own mouth in a motion of silence. Quatre nodded that he understood and Trowa went back to undoing all the ties.
A second later Quatre was free and the untied cords and pieces of cloth littered the bottom of the covered wagon. He glanced around him and rubbed his wrists as he watched Trowa remove the half-mask.
"Where are we going?" Quatre whispered quietly.
"Back to Kuto."
Quatre's eyes widened. "But we can't do th-!"
Trowa quickly put his hand over Quatre's mouth to stop him. "Hush, not so loud. Quatre, please, you have to trust me on this one. You're life is in danger if you stay in Konan."
Quatre frowned. "So instead you expect me to be safe in the same palace as Zechs? Trowa, he tried to kill me!"
For a moment Trowa was silent and didn't answer. Quatre could easily see he was thinking over the entire situation in his mind. Perhaps if he convinced Trowa, the emerald-eyed boy would return with him to Konan.
"I don't trust him," Quatre restated with a frown.
Trowa sighed softly. "Neither do I… but I owe him my life, and that at least counts for something."
"You're life?" Quatre moved closer to Trowa and glanced down at the half-mask he held in his hands. Trowa's hands were shaking slightly, as if he couldn't decide whether to destroy the mask or place it back over his face for protection. "Trowa…"
Trowa looked up in surprise as his tangent of thought was disturbed, but he recovered quickly, his face blank once more with no trace of that second's weakness. "Zechs said that you could not be allowed to call Suzaku because when a god is called they take over the body of the priest. You would be allowed three wishes, yes, however once those three wishes are made your life is forfeit and you are destroyed as the god returns to its home in the heavens. Whether you trust Zechs or not… I couldn't chance that it could be the truth."
Quatre looked away from Trowa and shook his head vigorously. "That can't be true, they would have told me if my life was in danger." He glanced back to Trowa. "They're my friends, why would they omit something like that?"
"I don't know. Quatre, they can't be your friends, you haven't even been in this world for a month."
"But they…" Quatre bit his lower lip and stopped. Trowa had a point, he hadn't been here very long and he had nothing to judge them by. For all he knew they could have been lying to him the entire time. It was true that Heero had seemed bent on killing him until his power had appeared, and then everything was fine. Was it possible that Heero and the others were using him? No, that didn't sound right. He shook his head once more. "They have no reason…" but he trailed off, still not sure.
Trowa placed a comforting hand on the blond boy's shoulder. "We have to face the fact that we are in a different world from our own. Everyone must earn our trust and the only ones we can trust completely are each other. I do not trust Zechs, but I owe him my life. They have shown me nothing but friendship and decency, and have promised to help us find a way home… without sacrificing anyone."
Quatre didn't respond.
"We have a better chance of surviving through this if we stay together."
Quatre nodded. "Yeah, you're right. But I still don't trust Zechs."
A ghost of a smile crossed Trowa's face. "Understood. I will make sure he stays far away from you."
Quatre frowned and leaned back against the side of the covered wagon. He let his eyes roam for a moment but finally settled them on Trowa's silent face. Trowa's eyes had become distant again and even though he was looking just off to the side of Quatre the blond knew he wasn't seeing anything. What was Trowa thinking about that seemed to bother him so much? And something about everything Trowa had said felt wrong, one certain phrase.
"Trowa?" Quatre whispered the name quietly and watched in interest and surprise as the boy seemed to jump again, but quickly recovered. He was definitely uneasy.
Trowa raised his visible eyebrow in question.
"What… what happened to you after you told me to run away?"
Trowa seemed to flinch, but very slightly. If Quatre hadn't been watching closely he wouldn't have noticed. But since he was watching he caught it and began to worry. He hadn't known Trowa for long but he knew this wasn't right. Trowa shouldn't have been jumping at every sound and flinching at every time his name was mentioned. Something bad had happened. Upon realizing this Quatre immediately regretted asking, though a large part of him still wanted to know.
He opened his mouth to retract the question but paused as Trowa took a deep breath.
"I didn't get away."
That simple phrase seemed to speak volumes. The slave traders had caught Trowa, but then what? What had happened to him after that? Quatre hated to ask but he wanted to know so much, and he was beginning to feel guilty.
"I was caught, and sold…" Trowa's voice dropped off and his eyes grew distant again, yet this time the pain and fear seemed quite apparent. Quatre bit his lip.
"I shouldn't have run away, I should have stayed behind and helped."
Trowa broke out of his moment of reflection and looked to Quatre quickly. "No."
Quatre shook his head. "I could have helped. It's my fault."
Trowa shook his head and moved across the wagon to sit down next to Quatre. With a soft smile he wrapped his arms around the boy, in comfort. Quatre's eyes widened in surprise at the action and contact with the boy and he stiffened. But he soon relaxed in Trowa's arms as the emerald-eyed boy held him tightly.
"It's not your fault, never think that."
"But…"
Trowa smiled softly. "Better me then both of us. No worries. Don't blame yourself, it makes no difference now. I'm just glad you're safe."
At that Quatre relaxed completely and allowed himself to lean his head against Trowa's chest. The blue silk was soft and cool against his face and he closed his eyes, savoring the moment sitting in Trowa's arms. Despite the jarring of the wagon and the knowledge that he was heading back to Kuto he felt completely safe. He knew he would always feel completely safe in Trowa's arms. Duo had been right, he did have feelings for Trowa.
Duo…
Quatre opened his eyes and frowned at the side of the wagon in thought. Trowa was right, they really couldn't be sure whom they could trust but he had trusted Duo. The fact that Duo had shared his secret with him, and just everything he'd learned about the long haired boy seemed to add to that trust. He just couldn't imagine Duo being one of the bad guys. Even if he wasn't sure if he could trust Relena, Heero, Hilde or Wufei he pretty much knew he could trust Duo. And that wasn't just based on gut feeling. He trusted Duo. Duo had earned his trust.
So he was returning to Kuto… where Zechs was. Quatre repressed the urge to shudder at that name. Despite the fact of Zechs he would stay with Trowa and discover if the people of Kuto could be trusted. And if they couldn't? Well then they could both go to Konan, because at least he knew he could trust Duo there.
**
Duo sat up in bed and glanced around the room in worry. His worry increased ten fold when he realized he was wrapped in a robe he had no recollection of ever putting on. It didn't take him a second to remember the attack and what had happened to Quatre. He vividly remembered how Lady Une had attacked him and sliced him across the chest. The chest…
Duo looked down and found his chest completely healed under the robes. What's more there was nothing covering the top of his chest. He was wearing just a robe, and he was healed. That meant Relena had healed him. It also meant that they now knew he was actually a he. Duo closed his eyes and shuddered as he imagined the look that probably appeared on Heero's face when he saw that Duo was only posing as a girl. Opening his eyes he pushed the though away and quickly jumped out of the bed, glancing around the room.
"I need to get out of here, and fast."
"And go where?"
Duo froze in mid-step and spun around at the voice. He found Wufei standing behind him in the shadows, his straw hat bent down to cover his face. The monk lifted the straw hat and set his serious eyes on Duo. Duo immediately tugged the edges of the robe over the top of his chest, even though he knew Wufei most likely already knew the truth. Still, it had become a habit for him to act more like a girl.
"Anywhere but here," Duo spoke in a shaking voice. "I'm dead meat if I stay here after Heero-sama has found out. I'll be executed for sure. And I have no desire to die thank you very much."
"He doesn't know."
Duo's hands went slack and the robe dropped back into place, to simply just covering around his arms and waist. He blinked at the monk in confusion. "How could he not know after Relena healed me? She probably took great pleasure in revealing to him that I was some sick weirdo dressed as a guy."
Wufei shook his head. "Relena did not heal you. Her powers are such that she is only able to help one person a day, thus she attended to Hilde while I attended to you. My powers are not generally used for healing others but as you can see…" He waved his hand toward Duo's scarless chest. "On occasion they come in handy."
Duo dropped back to sitting on the edge of the bed and just stared at Wufei. "Heero-sama doesn't know that I'm a guy?"
Wufei shook his head. "He doesn't know and I have no reason to tell him."
At that a wide grin broke across Duo's face. "Oh man, you don't know how much I love you right now!"
Wufei smiled slightly. "I'm sure. However, we have more important matters to attend to. If you will please get dressed I will explain." Wufei gestured toward a pile of clothing sitting over on the table.
Duo moved over toward the table and lifted the fabric, then frowned. "But… these are men's clothes."
"Trust me, get dressed and I shall explain."
Duo shrugged and stripped of the robe, his back to Wufei, and began to pull on the men's style of clothing. "Yeah, ok, whatever you say. But believe me if this is some joke you're going to be eating that straw hat of yours."
Wufei merely smirked. "I have no doubt."
**
The throne room was silent save for the hard steps of the Emperor as he paced across the carpeted floor. Merely three hours after the attack and already he was on the way to walking a large indent into the floor. As he paced back and forth his advisors stood off to the side, watching in worry. Hilde and Relena stood against the other wall, watching him with worry. As he paved Heero kept glancing at the door, waiting for either Wufei or Duo to walk into the room. Most off all he was waiting for Duo.
As annoying as the woman was at times, he found he missed her maddening gleefulness. At a dire time like this her ever-present grin and shameless flirtations would have been a welcome distraction. Yet, with the fact that she'd been wounded badly and Relena didn't have any power available to help her, all he could do was leave Duo in the questionable care of that mysterious monk. Meanwhile the waiting was about ready to drive him mad.
Heero turned and began pacing in the other direction, his hand rested firmly on the hilt of his sword, causing it to click against his boots as he paced back and forth. Hilde leaned over to Relena with a worried look.
"You suppose he'll be able to heal her?" she whispered softly.
Relena shrugged. "I hope so, Heero-sama looks ready to kill. If he doesn't cure that annoying woman then I bet he's not going to keep his head for very long."
Hilde's eyes widened in fear and she swallowed.
Beyond them the door of the throne room opened slowly and Wufei stepped in, closing the door behind him. All eyes turned on the monk and Heero immediately stopped pacing, instead he turned an impatient glare on the dark haired monk.
"She's fine," Wufei spoke softly.
"Where is she?" Hilde asked, stepping forward.
"Currently recovering in her room. Heero-sama, will you please come with me?"
The Emperor nodded and followed the monk out of the room, leaving the other two women to just stare at each other in confusion. They had no idea what was going on.
As soon as they exited the room Heero fell into step beside Wufei as they headed for Duo's room. They walked in hurried silence and when Wufei opened the door Heero was surprised to find the room completely empty. He immediately turned on the monk and grasped the hilt of his sword.
"Where is she?" he growled angrily.
Wufei placed up his hands in defense and a movement of surrender. "If you will let me explain, your highness. I assume you have already realized that the Priest is being taken back to Kuto."
Heero nodded impatiently. "That is not the current moment of concern. Do not change the subject."
"The Lady Duo is safe, but there are a few things I must explain first, for the lady's sake."
Heero's eyes narrowed and he gave the slightest of nods, signaling the monk to continue.
"Quatre has been taken back to Kuto and an all-out attack is out of the question. Especially since they possess the scroll of Suzaku. Instead our best plan of attack would be to have one of our warriors infiltrate Kuto and act as an informant until we have a full grasp of the current situation."
Heero frowned. "You mean send one of us in as a spy?"
Wufei nodded.
"You intend to send her in?"
Wufei nodded once more.
"You can't be serious. We can't possibly send a female into enemy hands-"
"If you haven't noticed Lady Duo is quite capable of taking care of herself in most situations. I doubt you completely missed how she stood up on her own to that Warrior of Seriyu."
Heero frowned, he knew Wufei had a very good point. "Still…"
"Who else do you propose we send in? You have said yourself that you do not trust Hilde. Relena seems to only have power in the area of healing and even that is limited. You yourself are the Emperor and can not risk such a venture, no matter what. I can tell from your actions that you still do not completely trust me, so that leaves Lady Duo or one of your ill-equipped advisors."
Heero shook his head. "No, we can not send Duo in. They have already seen her as it is. She was captured along with Quatre the first time."
The corners of Wufei's mouth tilted slightly into a smirk, or rather a sly smile. "That, my lord, has already been taken care of. Duo? You may step in now."
Heero turned toward the other door to the room as it opened and had a hard time disguising his shock. Into the room stepped a young man, not a woman, dressed in simple peasant clothes. He wore an outfit of dark green and blue, without a single hint of red. His violet eyes shimmered just as Duo's always had while his long chestnut colored hair was pulled back into a simple braid that bounced against his back as he stepped into the room.
Upon meeting eyes with the surprised Emperor, Duo blushed and glanced away.
"Lady Duo, you're a…" Heero wasn't able to finish the sentence, still sitting in shock.
"No, what you see before you is merely Duo wrapped in my own illusions. My power from Suzaku gives me to ability to wrap shadows around myself and others to fool the eye into believing what I wish it to. She is still Duo, yet the shadows make her appear male rather than female."
Duo grinned. "Cool spell, eh, Heero-sama?"
Heero swallowed and nodded numbly. "A very convincing illusion."
Duo glanced down at his outfit and then at Heero, grinning all the time. It was all he could do to keep from cheering, Wufei's explanation had worked. The Emperor actually believed it was all an illusion. His grin widened as he stepped completely into the room and proceeded to stand near the Emperor and the monk.
"So," Heero swallowed his surprise and forced his eyes back to Wufei. Still, even that was a feat, there was just something about this illusionary male form of Duo. Something that struck him as odd, and somewhat familiar. It was almost as if he'd seen this particular boy before… even though it was an illusion and this boy didn't really exist. He pushed away his thoughts and turned back to Wufei. "What is your plan?"
"The Lady Duo will use this form to get into the palace of Kuto and find the priest. Then she will also search out where they have hidden the scroll."
Duo grinned. "And when I find that out I return with Quatre, the scroll and Quatre's friend."
Heero nodded slowly. "It seems simple enough. How will we keep in contact to make sure nothing goes wrong?"
"Being that Duo is a warrior of Suzaku I will be able to keep track of her with my own powers. She will be able to contact me with any reflective surface, however," Wufei turned to Duo. "I would highly suggest against doing so in the Kuto palace. If Zechs is as strong as I suspect he will be watching the entire palace, and will be able to sense such a communication."
"No problem."
Heero watched the harem girl turned boy and frowned deeply. He still didn't like the idea of sending her into enemy hands but he had to admit that there was no other choice at the moment, at least no other safer choice. Sighing heavily he nodded, giving his consent.
**
That night Duo left the palace under the cover of shadows and moonlight. He wore a dark black cloak which Heero had lent him and disappeared around the wall without incident, completely passing by Hilde and Relena without them being the wiser.
The other part of the plan was that in the morning they would find Duo's room empty and explain to the two women that they had no idea where 'she' had fled to. Which was just as well. Duo understood that Heero didn't trust Hilde and in order to keep up the illusion of his running away they'd have to lie to Relena as well. Not that Relena would really care, she'd probably be overjoyed at the fact that Duo was finally gone and she finally had the Emperor all to herself.
Crossing through the empty street and right past the walls of the kingdom Duo finally took a rest near a pond outside the Konan walls. Grinning widely he ditched the cloak and rolled it up tightly, stuffing it into his pack. Walking over to the water he grabbed a small drink.
"Man, it feels real good to be in guys' clothes again! Not to mention I get to sneak into one of the most heavily guarded cities around, definintly the kind of excitement I've been needing for a long time."
Heafting his pack back onto his back he started down the road toward Kuto, smiling happily.
"Now the only thing that could make this better is if I had Shi-chan with me, but I guess I'll survive."
**
Quatre - The Priest of Suzaku
Trowa - a boy sucked into the book with Quatre, staying in Kuto
Heero - The Emperor of Konan, a Suzaku warrior
Duo - a boy posing as a girl in Heero's harem, also a Suzaku warrior
Relena - a girl from Heero's harem, a Suzaku warrior
Hilde - a Suzaku warrior discovered in Kuto
Wufei - a mysterious monk from the temple of the 5 gods, a warrior of Suzaku
Zechs - general of the Kuto army
Une - a warrior working for Zechs
Catherine - Trowa's twin sister who is reading the Universe of the Four Gods
Shi-chan - hehehe... no real clues yet except that Duo knows him
Author's Note: Here and now we depart from the Fushigi Yuugi story line. Yes that means you can put away your source books. The plot from here on in is mostly of my own creation. (With oodles of help from Khadaji and Jo-san and a few FY plot twists dumped in). Do not expect me to follow the show's story line anymore and expect some more characters to come in from the other kingdoms and gods. From here on in the story promises to take on a life of its own. Hope you all enjoy!
Part 8
Quatre opened his eyes to find darkness: a tight cloth wrapped around his eyes. Not only was there a cloth tied securely around his eyes but also tight cords around his wrists and ankles. Quatre opened his mouth to give a yell but also found he was gagged with another cloth. Whoever had tied him up had certainly taken the time to do so well. Wiggling around he found the ground below him was jumping around unsteadily and quite scratchy. Straw? He was in a carriage or wagon, or something like that. Quatre attempted to speak through the gag but it came out as an indefinable and muffled sound.
Lightly something touched his shoulders and he jerked in surprise. He froze as he felt the cloth around his eyes loosen. Quatre waited patiently as the blindfold was taken away and he found himself face to face with a boy in a mask. Half his face was covered by his hair and the other by a strange half-mask with blue markings around the eyehole. It was Trowa! Quatre's eyes widened in recognition but Trowa placed a finger to his own mouth in a motion of silence. Quatre nodded that he understood and Trowa went back to undoing all the ties.
A second later Quatre was free and the untied cords and pieces of cloth littered the bottom of the covered wagon. He glanced around him and rubbed his wrists as he watched Trowa remove the half-mask.
"Where are we going?" Quatre whispered quietly.
"Back to Kuto."
Quatre's eyes widened. "But we can't do th-!"
Trowa quickly put his hand over Quatre's mouth to stop him. "Hush, not so loud. Quatre, please, you have to trust me on this one. You're life is in danger if you stay in Konan."
Quatre frowned. "So instead you expect me to be safe in the same palace as Zechs? Trowa, he tried to kill me!"
For a moment Trowa was silent and didn't answer. Quatre could easily see he was thinking over the entire situation in his mind. Perhaps if he convinced Trowa, the emerald-eyed boy would return with him to Konan.
"I don't trust him," Quatre restated with a frown.
Trowa sighed softly. "Neither do I… but I owe him my life, and that at least counts for something."
"You're life?" Quatre moved closer to Trowa and glanced down at the half-mask he held in his hands. Trowa's hands were shaking slightly, as if he couldn't decide whether to destroy the mask or place it back over his face for protection. "Trowa…"
Trowa looked up in surprise as his tangent of thought was disturbed, but he recovered quickly, his face blank once more with no trace of that second's weakness. "Zechs said that you could not be allowed to call Suzaku because when a god is called they take over the body of the priest. You would be allowed three wishes, yes, however once those three wishes are made your life is forfeit and you are destroyed as the god returns to its home in the heavens. Whether you trust Zechs or not… I couldn't chance that it could be the truth."
Quatre looked away from Trowa and shook his head vigorously. "That can't be true, they would have told me if my life was in danger." He glanced back to Trowa. "They're my friends, why would they omit something like that?"
"I don't know. Quatre, they can't be your friends, you haven't even been in this world for a month."
"But they…" Quatre bit his lower lip and stopped. Trowa had a point, he hadn't been here very long and he had nothing to judge them by. For all he knew they could have been lying to him the entire time. It was true that Heero had seemed bent on killing him until his power had appeared, and then everything was fine. Was it possible that Heero and the others were using him? No, that didn't sound right. He shook his head once more. "They have no reason…" but he trailed off, still not sure.
Trowa placed a comforting hand on the blond boy's shoulder. "We have to face the fact that we are in a different world from our own. Everyone must earn our trust and the only ones we can trust completely are each other. I do not trust Zechs, but I owe him my life. They have shown me nothing but friendship and decency, and have promised to help us find a way home… without sacrificing anyone."
Quatre didn't respond.
"We have a better chance of surviving through this if we stay together."
Quatre nodded. "Yeah, you're right. But I still don't trust Zechs."
A ghost of a smile crossed Trowa's face. "Understood. I will make sure he stays far away from you."
Quatre frowned and leaned back against the side of the covered wagon. He let his eyes roam for a moment but finally settled them on Trowa's silent face. Trowa's eyes had become distant again and even though he was looking just off to the side of Quatre the blond knew he wasn't seeing anything. What was Trowa thinking about that seemed to bother him so much? And something about everything Trowa had said felt wrong, one certain phrase.
"Trowa?" Quatre whispered the name quietly and watched in interest and surprise as the boy seemed to jump again, but quickly recovered. He was definitely uneasy.
Trowa raised his visible eyebrow in question.
"What… what happened to you after you told me to run away?"
Trowa seemed to flinch, but very slightly. If Quatre hadn't been watching closely he wouldn't have noticed. But since he was watching he caught it and began to worry. He hadn't known Trowa for long but he knew this wasn't right. Trowa shouldn't have been jumping at every sound and flinching at every time his name was mentioned. Something bad had happened. Upon realizing this Quatre immediately regretted asking, though a large part of him still wanted to know.
He opened his mouth to retract the question but paused as Trowa took a deep breath.
"I didn't get away."
That simple phrase seemed to speak volumes. The slave traders had caught Trowa, but then what? What had happened to him after that? Quatre hated to ask but he wanted to know so much, and he was beginning to feel guilty.
"I was caught, and sold…" Trowa's voice dropped off and his eyes grew distant again, yet this time the pain and fear seemed quite apparent. Quatre bit his lip.
"I shouldn't have run away, I should have stayed behind and helped."
Trowa broke out of his moment of reflection and looked to Quatre quickly. "No."
Quatre shook his head. "I could have helped. It's my fault."
Trowa shook his head and moved across the wagon to sit down next to Quatre. With a soft smile he wrapped his arms around the boy, in comfort. Quatre's eyes widened in surprise at the action and contact with the boy and he stiffened. But he soon relaxed in Trowa's arms as the emerald-eyed boy held him tightly.
"It's not your fault, never think that."
"But…"
Trowa smiled softly. "Better me then both of us. No worries. Don't blame yourself, it makes no difference now. I'm just glad you're safe."
At that Quatre relaxed completely and allowed himself to lean his head against Trowa's chest. The blue silk was soft and cool against his face and he closed his eyes, savoring the moment sitting in Trowa's arms. Despite the jarring of the wagon and the knowledge that he was heading back to Kuto he felt completely safe. He knew he would always feel completely safe in Trowa's arms. Duo had been right, he did have feelings for Trowa.
Duo…
Quatre opened his eyes and frowned at the side of the wagon in thought. Trowa was right, they really couldn't be sure whom they could trust but he had trusted Duo. The fact that Duo had shared his secret with him, and just everything he'd learned about the long haired boy seemed to add to that trust. He just couldn't imagine Duo being one of the bad guys. Even if he wasn't sure if he could trust Relena, Heero, Hilde or Wufei he pretty much knew he could trust Duo. And that wasn't just based on gut feeling. He trusted Duo. Duo had earned his trust.
So he was returning to Kuto… where Zechs was. Quatre repressed the urge to shudder at that name. Despite the fact of Zechs he would stay with Trowa and discover if the people of Kuto could be trusted. And if they couldn't? Well then they could both go to Konan, because at least he knew he could trust Duo there.
**
Duo sat up in bed and glanced around the room in worry. His worry increased ten fold when he realized he was wrapped in a robe he had no recollection of ever putting on. It didn't take him a second to remember the attack and what had happened to Quatre. He vividly remembered how Lady Une had attacked him and sliced him across the chest. The chest…
Duo looked down and found his chest completely healed under the robes. What's more there was nothing covering the top of his chest. He was wearing just a robe, and he was healed. That meant Relena had healed him. It also meant that they now knew he was actually a he. Duo closed his eyes and shuddered as he imagined the look that probably appeared on Heero's face when he saw that Duo was only posing as a girl. Opening his eyes he pushed the though away and quickly jumped out of the bed, glancing around the room.
"I need to get out of here, and fast."
"And go where?"
Duo froze in mid-step and spun around at the voice. He found Wufei standing behind him in the shadows, his straw hat bent down to cover his face. The monk lifted the straw hat and set his serious eyes on Duo. Duo immediately tugged the edges of the robe over the top of his chest, even though he knew Wufei most likely already knew the truth. Still, it had become a habit for him to act more like a girl.
"Anywhere but here," Duo spoke in a shaking voice. "I'm dead meat if I stay here after Heero-sama has found out. I'll be executed for sure. And I have no desire to die thank you very much."
"He doesn't know."
Duo's hands went slack and the robe dropped back into place, to simply just covering around his arms and waist. He blinked at the monk in confusion. "How could he not know after Relena healed me? She probably took great pleasure in revealing to him that I was some sick weirdo dressed as a guy."
Wufei shook his head. "Relena did not heal you. Her powers are such that she is only able to help one person a day, thus she attended to Hilde while I attended to you. My powers are not generally used for healing others but as you can see…" He waved his hand toward Duo's scarless chest. "On occasion they come in handy."
Duo dropped back to sitting on the edge of the bed and just stared at Wufei. "Heero-sama doesn't know that I'm a guy?"
Wufei shook his head. "He doesn't know and I have no reason to tell him."
At that a wide grin broke across Duo's face. "Oh man, you don't know how much I love you right now!"
Wufei smiled slightly. "I'm sure. However, we have more important matters to attend to. If you will please get dressed I will explain." Wufei gestured toward a pile of clothing sitting over on the table.
Duo moved over toward the table and lifted the fabric, then frowned. "But… these are men's clothes."
"Trust me, get dressed and I shall explain."
Duo shrugged and stripped of the robe, his back to Wufei, and began to pull on the men's style of clothing. "Yeah, ok, whatever you say. But believe me if this is some joke you're going to be eating that straw hat of yours."
Wufei merely smirked. "I have no doubt."
**
The throne room was silent save for the hard steps of the Emperor as he paced across the carpeted floor. Merely three hours after the attack and already he was on the way to walking a large indent into the floor. As he paced back and forth his advisors stood off to the side, watching in worry. Hilde and Relena stood against the other wall, watching him with worry. As he paved Heero kept glancing at the door, waiting for either Wufei or Duo to walk into the room. Most off all he was waiting for Duo.
As annoying as the woman was at times, he found he missed her maddening gleefulness. At a dire time like this her ever-present grin and shameless flirtations would have been a welcome distraction. Yet, with the fact that she'd been wounded badly and Relena didn't have any power available to help her, all he could do was leave Duo in the questionable care of that mysterious monk. Meanwhile the waiting was about ready to drive him mad.
Heero turned and began pacing in the other direction, his hand rested firmly on the hilt of his sword, causing it to click against his boots as he paced back and forth. Hilde leaned over to Relena with a worried look.
"You suppose he'll be able to heal her?" she whispered softly.
Relena shrugged. "I hope so, Heero-sama looks ready to kill. If he doesn't cure that annoying woman then I bet he's not going to keep his head for very long."
Hilde's eyes widened in fear and she swallowed.
Beyond them the door of the throne room opened slowly and Wufei stepped in, closing the door behind him. All eyes turned on the monk and Heero immediately stopped pacing, instead he turned an impatient glare on the dark haired monk.
"She's fine," Wufei spoke softly.
"Where is she?" Hilde asked, stepping forward.
"Currently recovering in her room. Heero-sama, will you please come with me?"
The Emperor nodded and followed the monk out of the room, leaving the other two women to just stare at each other in confusion. They had no idea what was going on.
As soon as they exited the room Heero fell into step beside Wufei as they headed for Duo's room. They walked in hurried silence and when Wufei opened the door Heero was surprised to find the room completely empty. He immediately turned on the monk and grasped the hilt of his sword.
"Where is she?" he growled angrily.
Wufei placed up his hands in defense and a movement of surrender. "If you will let me explain, your highness. I assume you have already realized that the Priest is being taken back to Kuto."
Heero nodded impatiently. "That is not the current moment of concern. Do not change the subject."
"The Lady Duo is safe, but there are a few things I must explain first, for the lady's sake."
Heero's eyes narrowed and he gave the slightest of nods, signaling the monk to continue.
"Quatre has been taken back to Kuto and an all-out attack is out of the question. Especially since they possess the scroll of Suzaku. Instead our best plan of attack would be to have one of our warriors infiltrate Kuto and act as an informant until we have a full grasp of the current situation."
Heero frowned. "You mean send one of us in as a spy?"
Wufei nodded.
"You intend to send her in?"
Wufei nodded once more.
"You can't be serious. We can't possibly send a female into enemy hands-"
"If you haven't noticed Lady Duo is quite capable of taking care of herself in most situations. I doubt you completely missed how she stood up on her own to that Warrior of Seriyu."
Heero frowned, he knew Wufei had a very good point. "Still…"
"Who else do you propose we send in? You have said yourself that you do not trust Hilde. Relena seems to only have power in the area of healing and even that is limited. You yourself are the Emperor and can not risk such a venture, no matter what. I can tell from your actions that you still do not completely trust me, so that leaves Lady Duo or one of your ill-equipped advisors."
Heero shook his head. "No, we can not send Duo in. They have already seen her as it is. She was captured along with Quatre the first time."
The corners of Wufei's mouth tilted slightly into a smirk, or rather a sly smile. "That, my lord, has already been taken care of. Duo? You may step in now."
Heero turned toward the other door to the room as it opened and had a hard time disguising his shock. Into the room stepped a young man, not a woman, dressed in simple peasant clothes. He wore an outfit of dark green and blue, without a single hint of red. His violet eyes shimmered just as Duo's always had while his long chestnut colored hair was pulled back into a simple braid that bounced against his back as he stepped into the room.
Upon meeting eyes with the surprised Emperor, Duo blushed and glanced away.
"Lady Duo, you're a…" Heero wasn't able to finish the sentence, still sitting in shock.
"No, what you see before you is merely Duo wrapped in my own illusions. My power from Suzaku gives me to ability to wrap shadows around myself and others to fool the eye into believing what I wish it to. She is still Duo, yet the shadows make her appear male rather than female."
Duo grinned. "Cool spell, eh, Heero-sama?"
Heero swallowed and nodded numbly. "A very convincing illusion."
Duo glanced down at his outfit and then at Heero, grinning all the time. It was all he could do to keep from cheering, Wufei's explanation had worked. The Emperor actually believed it was all an illusion. His grin widened as he stepped completely into the room and proceeded to stand near the Emperor and the monk.
"So," Heero swallowed his surprise and forced his eyes back to Wufei. Still, even that was a feat, there was just something about this illusionary male form of Duo. Something that struck him as odd, and somewhat familiar. It was almost as if he'd seen this particular boy before… even though it was an illusion and this boy didn't really exist. He pushed away his thoughts and turned back to Wufei. "What is your plan?"
"The Lady Duo will use this form to get into the palace of Kuto and find the priest. Then she will also search out where they have hidden the scroll."
Duo grinned. "And when I find that out I return with Quatre, the scroll and Quatre's friend."
Heero nodded slowly. "It seems simple enough. How will we keep in contact to make sure nothing goes wrong?"
"Being that Duo is a warrior of Suzaku I will be able to keep track of her with my own powers. She will be able to contact me with any reflective surface, however," Wufei turned to Duo. "I would highly suggest against doing so in the Kuto palace. If Zechs is as strong as I suspect he will be watching the entire palace, and will be able to sense such a communication."
"No problem."
Heero watched the harem girl turned boy and frowned deeply. He still didn't like the idea of sending her into enemy hands but he had to admit that there was no other choice at the moment, at least no other safer choice. Sighing heavily he nodded, giving his consent.
**
That night Duo left the palace under the cover of shadows and moonlight. He wore a dark black cloak which Heero had lent him and disappeared around the wall without incident, completely passing by Hilde and Relena without them being the wiser.
The other part of the plan was that in the morning they would find Duo's room empty and explain to the two women that they had no idea where 'she' had fled to. Which was just as well. Duo understood that Heero didn't trust Hilde and in order to keep up the illusion of his running away they'd have to lie to Relena as well. Not that Relena would really care, she'd probably be overjoyed at the fact that Duo was finally gone and she finally had the Emperor all to herself.
Crossing through the empty street and right past the walls of the kingdom Duo finally took a rest near a pond outside the Konan walls. Grinning widely he ditched the cloak and rolled it up tightly, stuffing it into his pack. Walking over to the water he grabbed a small drink.
"Man, it feels real good to be in guys' clothes again! Not to mention I get to sneak into one of the most heavily guarded cities around, definintly the kind of excitement I've been needing for a long time."
Heafting his pack back onto his back he started down the road toward Kuto, smiling happily.
"Now the only thing that could make this better is if I had Shi-chan with me, but I guess I'll survive."
**
Quatre - The Priest of Suzaku
Trowa - a boy sucked into the book with Quatre, staying in Kuto
Heero - The Emperor of Konan, a Suzaku warrior
Duo - a boy posing as a girl in Heero's harem, also a Suzaku warrior
Relena - a girl from Heero's harem, a Suzaku warrior
Hilde - a Suzaku warrior discovered in Kuto
Wufei - a mysterious monk from the temple of the 5 gods, a warrior of Suzaku
Zechs - general of the Kuto army
Une - a warrior working for Zechs
Catherine - Trowa's twin sister who is reading the Universe of the Four Gods
Shi-chan - hehehe... no real clues yet except that Duo knows him
