Rei: LOL, he's the blue furry thing. Couldn't resist. I love Wuffers really ^_^ Thank you for the review ^_^
Elle-FaRa2x1: Thanks for the review! ^_^. Yeah, it could spoil the FFX story in places, although I'll probably miss some out and concentrate more on relationships. I'll have to see where the flow takes me, lol. And I'll try to update more often, darn writers block (kinda sad seeing as it isn't my own storyline! heh heh)
Cheery Wolf: Let me make this short: Thank you!!! I'll try to update more often!
Tainted Halo: Thank you! More is on zee way!
Lora Helen: Aww thank you ^_^. And I've read a few of your fics....and they are awesome! You are a fabulous writer my friend!
Transylvanian Concubine: Thanks buddy ^_^. And you mock my shounen ai obsession, mwa hahah hah. I think I got you into it, heh heh. Mission accomplished!
Pandora-Chan: Thank you so much! ^_^ I'll try to stick to the storyline as much as possible, and I am planning on changing the ending slightly. *sweatdrops* Just a bit....The lake bit is totally gonna be in there! Yeah, Quatre as Wakka...not that good, but he just wasn't a Lulu sweatdrops* Originally, he was going to be Rikku, but then the pairings wouldn't work. I hate the battles too, lol! And more cute guys, though I thought Auron was cute.....in a way.
Sorry for the long wait everyone! I haven't had any inspiration for a while, lol. Plus I'm lazy. Gomen nasai!
I have a sore throat :(. Oh well ,at least it's nearly Christmas!
Thank you all for the reviews! I couldn't do this without you guys! Thank you!!!
Less than ten minutes after I had met the most beautiful man in the world.....or wherever this place was, I was stood outside, sweating in the immense heat.
"Duo! Come on, you have to see this!"
Suddenly I found myself being dragged over to where a small crowd of villagers had gathered, by a very excited Quatre. He literally pushed his way through the crowd, to where Heero was stood alone in the centre of a circular stone platform. He looked really nervous, and he now had a long wooden staff, which he held loosely down my his knees.
"Ready?" Trowa asked gently, stood on the other side of Quatre. Heero looked up, stunned slightly and nodded.
"Ok...." he replied, barely above a whisper. Silence fell for a split second before he raised his staff, and stepped elegantly to one side. I looked on confused as he started to do this dance, waving his staff up high in the air, before swooping it low down by his feet. All these time, his eyes were closed.
Then, all of a sudden, this pink circular pattern appeared beneath him, and started shooting up rays of pure white light up to the heavens.
"That's a glyph" Quatre whispered ever so softly in my ear. I just nodded, and watched as Heero stopped dancing, and opened his eyes. I followed his gaze up to the sky, and nearly cried out when this huge, bird like beast flew down, landing inches away from him.
I froze, watching as Heero slowly stepped closer to the creature, holding his hand out gingerly. I squeezed my eyes shut. What was he doing!? That thing would probably eat him!
The sound of soft applause met my ears and I re-opened my eyes reluctantly. Heero was stroking the bird like creatures beak softly, and in return, it was rubbing it's head against his arm. My jaw dropped.
"That's an Aeon. Magnificent beings, that only Summoners can call" Quatre began lowly, "Summoners pray to different temples to get new Aeons"
"That.......was amazing" I replied, still gob smacked. Quatre laughed, and he and Trowa went forewords to congratulate him. The blue, furry guy was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he didn't like crowds......
I didn't get another chance to speak to Heero until later on, when the whole village were gathered round a huge campfire, which was on the stone platform where Heero had been stood earlier that day. Quatre immediately dragged me over to the Besaid Arouchs, to introduce me.
"This is Duo Maxwell" he announced, and immediately I felt a blush rise to my cheeks. Why was it whenever anyone said my name I got all embarrassed?
"He'll be joining our Blitzball team, for the Luca Championships" he continued, smiling, "So, what's our goal?"
"To do our best!" they replied, almost in unison.
What a weird goal! I always play Blitzball to win, it's all part of the game. I knew that I had to help this team out with a little Duo inspiration.
"No, we have a new goal now" I interrupted. Quatre looked over at me, confused.
"Victory!"
Various murmurs went through the team, before one of them started up the chant. Soon all of the them were yelling it at the top of their lungs, and Quatre threw me a grateful smile.
"Thanks Duo! We leave tomorrow, ok?" I nodded, "You're free to go now. Explore a little. If you get tired, there's a bed waiting for you in my hut"
I nodded, and walked away from the fire, away from the villagers. Most of them were giving me dirty looks, I had betrayed their beliefs after all. Nice one Maxwell.
I sighed, and gazed into the flickering flames. I felt so lonely. I was so different from everyone....well maybe me and Quatre had something in common, we both loved Blitzball after all.
"Duo?"
I must of jumped half a mile, as I turned to see Heero smiling shyly at me. He rubbed the back of his neck slowly, a faint tinge appearing over the bridge of his nose.
"Sorry, I didn't meant to startle you-"
"Ahh that's ok" I interrupted, smiling, "I was in another world just then"
That feeling had returned to my stomach. Not a painful feeling.....just a strange one. Made me feel kind of light headed at the same time.
"I just wanted to thank you. For...your help earlier on"
"Ahh that's ok. I mean....it was nothing. Anyone else would of done the same...."
Heero nodded, and followed my gaze into the fire. As the flickering flames sent shadows over his delicate features, I realised just how good looking he was.
"We'll be leaving on the same ship tomorrow" he suddenly began softly, his gaze never leaving the fire, "I start on my pilgrimage"
"Will you be....watching the tournament?"
He nodded, smiling.
"Of course. I'll be there to cheer you and Quatre on"
Silence fell between us, and I could hear the soft crackling of flames. I was perfectly content to sit here and watch Heero all night, but one of us had to break the silence. And surprisingly, it was him.
"What....will you do if you don't find someone you know in Luca?"
Could he read minds or something? That's exactly what I had been worrying about all day. I shrugged, and laughed hollowly.
"I dunno......I can't remember anything......"
"Quatre said that the first thing you said was....that you were from the Zanarkand Abes"
"Yeah.....must of been to do with Sin's toxin......" I replied, hating myself for lying to him. I think he knew, because he sent me this really weird look.
"Duo..... don't be ashamed about it. It could be a link to where you actually came from"
I looked at the ground, unable to think of a response to that.
"Besides" he added, "If you believe that you came from Zanarkand....then I believe you"
"You.......do?"
"Anything's possible"
"I guess so...."
"Look at me"
What?! I looked up surprised, to come face to face with a smiling Heero.
"I belive you, ok?"
I nodded, feeling myself grin like an idiot.
"Thank you.....you have no idea how much this means to me...."
As we stared into the dying embers of the fire, I think we both knew that we were friends.
"Duo, wake up!"
"Ahhhhh!" I screamed, snapping open my eyes. Quatre was grinning down at me, his floppy bangs hiding his eyes.
"C'mon, we have to get going. Don't want to miss the boat" he explained, walking back to give me room, "And I'm sure you don't want to miss Heero, right?"
What?! I coughed, and tried desperately to stop myself from turning a very deep shade of red.
"Hmm..."
I followed him outside, where Trowa and that blue furry thing were waiting for us.
"Oh man, I nearly forgot!" Quatre exclaimed, hitting his head, "Here, this is for you"
He handed me this beautiful blue sword. It was transparent, and looked as if it were made of crystal.
"Whoa! This is for me? Thanks" I replied, feeling a lump in my throat. I'd only known Quatre less than a day....and he had given me a sword.
He smiled sweetly.
"Just think of it as a thank you, for helping the team out"
"Hey, sorry I'm late!" Heero called suddenly, half running, half tripping down the temple steps. He somehow made it safely to the bottom, and ran over to us, his face flushed.
"Sleep well?" I asked ever so innocently. He smirked slightly, and straightened his robes.
"Very well thank you" he replied, pushing the bangs out of his eyes. They immediately fell back down and he sighed.
"We better get going. The boat leaves soon" Trowa suddenly said, and he, Quatre and fury guy started to walk away. I followed them, and only seconds later I realised that Heero wasn't following.
I turned and saw him bow down the village in prayer. He sighed slightly, before turning and smiling.
"Let's go then!"
We'd been following this path through the woods for about ten minutes, when suddenly Mr Fury jumped in front of me. And he looked angry.
I backed away as he smashed his fist against the ground. What had I done to upset him?!
"Hey! I'm not going to hurt you!" I explained quietly, dropping my sword, "See?"
He either didn't hear me, or didn't care. I covered my face with my hands, and expected to die.
"Wufei! That's enough!" Quatre exclaimed, "He's with us, ok?"
Wufei nodded curtly, and growled what could of been took for an apology. I nodded, and watched as he left.
"What's with that guy?"
"He's Chang Wufei. Form the Ronso tribe. He's learn the fiends way of fighting" Trowa explained. I shrugged.
"That's not exactly what I meant..."
Heero smiled apologetically and walked over to me.
"He's protected me since I was a kid. My father asked him to....."
We continued after that and I kept a wary eye on the blue Ronso. He had scared the wits out of me.
A few minutes later, we stopped again, by a small stone. Quatre knelt down, and began praying.
"It's custom to pray here before leaving the island" Trowa explained. I liked it how he explained things to me, he was nice for a quiet guy.
"My sister never prayed before she left" Quatre added quietly, "When she went to join the Crusaders. Last year, round this time. She was killed fighting"
"That's....why you couldn't concentrate on the Tournament....right?"
He nodded.
"Crusaders?" I added puzzled. Another tribe, like the Al Bhed, and Ronso?
"A group made up of mostly Al Bhed, they try to fight Sin by using weapons and machina" Quatre began bitterly, "If only they'd repent their sins! Then maybe, Sin would leave! Yevon teaches us that the only way to defeat Sin, is by repenting our sins! It's because of using Machina a 1000 years back that we're in this mess in the first place! Only Summoners can sort of stop Sin"
"How?"
"Summoners travel round Spira, praying to the Fayth, so they can Summon the Final Aeon and banish Sin. That's what Heero is doing" Trowa added, and I thought I heard a not of sadness in his voice.
"Banish? Why not just kill him?"
"It's impossible. All we can do in Banish him for a short while, which is what we call the Calm. When everything is safe......for a while"
"Then.."
"Don't ask what's the point" Heero interrupted softly, "Just for a while, everyone can sleep safe in their beds, living their lives without death, without fear"
I nodded, somewhat understanding this crazy system. Summoners went round Spira, praying to the Fayth, whoever they were, so they could Summon the Final Aeon, which would banish Sin for a while, a time which is known as The Clam. Sin is here because 1000 years back, people relied on Machines......or Machina too much. Yevon, a God type figure, teaches that the only way to destroy Sin is by repenting our sins. However, the crusaders, and Al Bhed don't follow this, and still use machina. That's why Quatre doesn't like them.
We continued for a while, and finally reached the docks. We boarded the S.S Liki and left Besaid, amidst very tearful farewells to Heero.
Quatre pulled me aside as soon as we left the docks.
"We're going to Kilika first, ok?"
"Kilika?"
He shook his head, and smiled apologetically.
"Guess you don't remember....anyway, it's so Heero can pray in the Temple there, and we can pray for victory at the same time"
Whatever floats his boat. I nodded.
"That's cool" I began, when I heard a commotion behind me. I turned, and saw that Heero was surrounded by a small crowd.
"Following in his father's footsteps, huh?" one guy said, turning to his friend, "He'll never be as great as him though"
"Yeah, well living up to a High Summoner, big task"
"Not only that, one of the best Summoners in Spira!"
I grimaced slightly, and turned back to Quatre.
"You never said Heero's dad was famous"
Quatre shrugged.
"He doesn't like to make a big deal out of it"
"I hear him there. It's hard when your dad is famous"
"Huh?"
"Quatre's a bit lacking in the imagination department" Trowa added quietly, smiling slightly. I laughed.
"I'll keep that in mind Trowa"
The crowd had dispersed and I walked over to where Heero was leaning on the rail, looking back at the now disappearing island.
"Nice view?"
"Yeah" he replied softly, "The colour of the sea.....it's so beautiful...."
I looked over at him. He was staring dreamily into the waters, smiling.
"Ya know, your eyes are the same colour as the sea" I sad without thinking, and I mentally kicked myself. Could I be any more obvious?
He laughed, and turned to me, staring right at me.
"Thank you. Your eyes.....hmm" he broke off, cocking his head slightly, "They're the colour of the sky at twilight"
"No one's ever said that before. They just go "Oooh, purple""
He laughed again, and I joined in. He had such a musical laugh...
I finally started to relax. The last time I'd been on a boat, Sin had attacked it. I guess I was kind of nervous.
Suddenly, something smashed up against the ship. Dread gathered in the pit of my stomach.
"Sin! Sin!"
I turned just in time to see a huge wave zoom by us. I instinctively reached out and grabbed the railing as the ship tilted sideways.
"Whoa!" Heero cried out, and started sliding down the deck. I reached out and grabbed his hand. His hand was so warm against mine.
"Just hold on!" I called, feeling his hand start to slip. I gritted my teeth. and tried to pull him back up the deck.
I couldn't. I was too weak. I could only watch helplessly as he fell from my grasp, and started sliding towards the churning ocean.
"Heero!"
"Duo!" he yelled back, and closed his eyes tightly. I mentally kicked myself. Heero was going to die!
Suddenly, a blue arm reach out and steadied Heero against the railing. I sighed in relief, which didn't last long as the ship lurched again, and I was thrown over the side.
I heard someone scream my name before the water swallowed me up.
Ooh! Cliff hanger, lol!
Sorry for the wait _. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Also, I hope I explained things clearly, lol!
Thanks for all the reviews, and keep reading please!
Merry Christmas! (It's Christmas Eve ^_^)
~*~Tawny Eyed Angel~*~
