Emily Hato: Thank you ^_^ Kimhari-Wufei, I agree is kinda weird, lol. But, if ya look at it, their personalities are quite similar. In a way. *sweatdrops*. LOL, Auron and Rikku, they would go great together, apart from the age difference. (of about 20 years)
Also, thank you for the email ^_^ You put me back in motion! ^_^
Violet Eyes: Yup, Heero is definitely OOC. But gradually, as he grows stronger, he should be more like the Heero we love and adore! They are repenting their sins, because the reason that Sin is there is because in the past, they made machines do all the work, and they just relaxed. Yevon tells them that if they repent their sins, Sin will vanish. LOL, I hope that made sense! Thanks for reviewing!
sparda219: Thank you! Now I have the demon's approval, I'll work on changing the ending, for the better of course ^_^
Rei: LOL, I had no plans for the cliff hanger, it just happened *sweatdrops* Wufei blue and fury, I like ^_^ Heero is quite OOC, I wanted to make him more innocent really. Maybe this is a 2+1 rather than a 1+2..hmm.... Thanks for reviewing!
lora-helen: Thank you! ^_^ And your fics are not half baked! They are amazing!
Dhiana: I hate them too. LOL, but I'll try and update more often ^_^. Thanks for reviewing!
Rikkui lai'Kyasha: Thanks for taking the time to review. I agree, this certainly isn't original, I have problems with writing my own storylines, and am using this as a sort practise for my writing. I'm not too keen on aspects of my writing either, which I hope to improve throughout helpful reviews from the lovely people at fanfiction.net. Wufei, a blue walking carpet....lol. Anyway, Wufei is a warrior, like Kimhari he has the spirit anyhow, and I plan to put that in later on. You think I should be more original....could you please give me a few suggestions? This is my first attempt at a fic as big as this one, and any suggestions would be more appreciated.
Tainted Halo: My fingers are itching to type it riiiiiiiight now ^_^. Thanks for reviewing.
Thank you all for the reviews! They are all very appreciated and give me the strength to go on ^_^ Many, many thanks to all of you who have reviewed.
"Duo..."
Heero? I opened my eyes, and squinted up at the blurred face above me. Beautiful cobalt eyes shone down at me and I felt the heat rise to my cheeks.
"Duo? Are you ok?"
I nodded, and tried to sit up. Pain shot across my back and I fell backwards, crying out in pain. I gasped, trying to get my breath back, my chest aching with every breath I tried to take.
"Don't move Duo" Heero instructed me softly, and he placed his hands on my chest.
I blinked, trying to clear my vision when this bright light surrounded me.
I watched amazed as the coloured sparkles settled onto my skin briefly before sinking in. A warmth rushed through me and suddenly......the pain was gone. I could breathe again.
Two hands gripped my shoulders gently and pulled me up from the floor, against a warm, fragile body. I sighed, and leant into the warmth, exhausted.
"It's ok Duo....you'll be ok......give it a while"
Gradually, I felt the muscles in my legs tighten, followed by the ones in my arms. I waited a while longer, feeling the strength shoot through my whole body, before gently pushing away from Heero and shakily getting to my feet.
"What.......what happened?" I managed to ask, glancing down at the still kneeling Summoner. He smiled sweetly and stood up, tucking his staff into his belt.
"You fell overboard" he began quietly, briefly looking at Quatre, "Quatre jumped in after you. There were........fiends down there"
"Loads of fiends" Quatre added, "We almost didn't make it out of there. You had taken quite a few hits before I managed to reach you. Sorry for not reaching you sooner"
"Hey, you saved me, didn't you?" I told him, "That's enough for me. Thank you"
He grinned, and ran a hand through his hair.
"No problem. That's what friends are for, right?"
Friends. Quatre was my friend.
I nodded, and smiled at him. Finally, things were starting to get a little brighter.
We reached Kilika about Sunset. It was a disaster area.
The clear waters were clogged with planks of wood, and household items. The collection of wooden walkways that supported this village above the water had been ruined, and were full of gaps. A few lone huts stood, with gaping holes in their roofs and walls. Sin had been.
The entire boat was silent as we pulled into what was left of the dock. A few villagers came up to great us, with tearstained faces.
"My Lord Summoner!" one woman cried as Heero stepped slowly down the ramp, "Please......we would be honoured for you to do the Sending....."
Heero hesitated momentarily, before nodding.
"Of course"
He followed the villagers, and we in turn followed him.
"I'm guessing that you have never seen a sending" a quiet voice asked. I turned to see Trowa walking next to me, his arms wrapped loosely around his body.
"You're right there. What is it anyway?"
Suddenly, the group ahead of us stopped, and Trowa and I took our place at the railing, watching as Heero went down to the waters edge.
"It's where a Summoner sends dead peoples souls to the Farplane. If this doesn't happen, then they will become fiends. They will attack their own family even, jealous of the living"
I watched as Heero slipped off his shoes, and gingerly placed one foot in the water. At this moment, the ocean was a beautiful mixture of orange, pink and even purple as the sun set.
Heero took another step. This time, his foot actually stayed on the water.
I blinked, squinting to see clearer. No, he was actually walking on the water. His feet made soft splashing sounds as he walked, and to give him credit, he didn't even look down once.
Finally, he stopped after a while and stood, watching us all warily. He looked quite nervous, and was clutching his staff in both hands.
The suddenly, he began to dance. He rose his staff high above his head, before gracefully swooping it down by his feet. His eyes were closed as he moved lightly across the water, not even opening as a wave of water rose beneath him and carried him up in the air, ocean spray dampening his robes.
Several coloured lights began to rise from the water, spiralling up into the atmosphere above Heero. A woman next to me broke down into tears, falling to her knees. A man took her gently by the shoulders and tried to comfort her, blinking back tears himself.
I turned my gaze back to Heero, who was back on the surface of the water. His face was pale, and his eyes were downcast as he came back to shore.
As the others ran forwards to congratulate him, his gaze lifted to reach mine and he smiled tiredly. I returned the smile, and hung back, watching as Quatre embraced his friend.
I talked to Heero later, after Quatre, Trowa and Wufei had gone to bed. He was sat on the edge of the dock, his bare feet dangling above the midnight blue sea.
I joined him silently, my feet barely skimming the surface. It was still warm, even at this time of night.
I glanced over at him. He was staring ahead of him, lost completely in thought. He looked worried.
"What's wrong?"
He smiled slightly, and looked over at me.
"Just........seeing the destruction that Sin can cause. I have to stop it. Everyone's depending on me"
He sighed and leant back on his hands, and looked up at the stars.
"Everyone's expecting me to follow in my father's footsteps. He was a High Summoner......"
"A High Summoner?"
"When a Summoner defeats Sin...they become a High Summoner. My father was the last person to defeat Sin"
Wow. What a thing to live up to. I sighed, and rested my elbows on my knees.
"It's hard when your father's famous"
He looked up.
"Your father was famous? What for?"
"He was a Star Blitzball Player. He had so many fans.....the famous G Maxwell....."
Heero sat up fully, his blue eyes wide open.
"G Maxwell........"
"You've heard of him?"
"Yeah......he accompanied my father on his Pilgrimage as a Guardian"
What the? There couldn't be that many G Maxwell's in the world......
"But.......my father died.....at sea.....ten years ago"
"That's when G came to Spira!" Heero suddenly exclaimed, a small smile playing on his lips, "Duo, maybe he came here like you did!"
I shrugged.
"Maybe....."
"Duo, this means that your father could still be alive!"
"Yeah...."
"What's wrong?" he asked quietly. I grinned, and leant backwards onto the dock.
"Ahh......me and my father never really got on. That's all"
I felt him lie down next to me, his hands behind his head.
"Ahh...."
I glanced over at him. His eyes were closed, and I could see something glistening beneath his left eye. A tear?
"Heero, what's wrong?"
".......nothing"
"Yeah right nothing. C'mon, what's wrong?"
"I hate doing Sendings. I've only done one before......for Quatre's father" he began softly, opening his eyes, "It was so hard.....I was only an Apprentice Summoner......and he looked so sad...he was depending on me to do this"
He shook his head and smiled.
"But that's in the past. I want to ask you something"
"Sure"
He sat up, and I followed suit, resting back on my arms.
"I know we've only known each other a day....but I feel like I know you. And I know I can trust you" he started slowly, his voice husky, "Anyway, what I want to ask is.....will you become one of my Guardians?"
"What?!"
He smiled slightly.
"I know, it's unusual. But.....there's something about you. I can't figure out what it is......but I'm asking you to come with me on my Pilgrimage. Please"
I nodded.
"Ok"
He sighed in relief and laughed nervously.
"Great! Thank you so much Duo"
We both led back down, and we just led there in silence for the remainder of the night. And I guess we both finally drifted off to sleep.
I slept in bursts, too afraid of falling off in order to sleep properly.
The next morning, we woke up stiff and aching from having slept on hard wood all night. It was still early morning when we moved back to the Inn, where the others were.
We didn't speak as we walked side by side, occasionally one of us stretching to ease the pain in our muscles. We didn't need to speak. We had nothing to say.
"Heero! Where have you been?"
Heero smiled sheepishly as a frantic Quatre ran up to us, his hair tousled from sleep. He glared at the both of us.
"I've been so worried!"
"My apologies Quatre" Heero began, "But we.....were just talking.....and....fell asleep"
Quatre raised an eyebrow at this.
"It's true. He was explaining stuff about Summoners and Spira"
Finally, the blond smiled, and he visibly relaxed.
"I know. That's ok. I was worried, that's all. This place is crawling with fiends, and with Sin nearby......"
"I had Duo with me" Heero replied quickly, grabbing my arm, "He's......one of my guardians now"
Quatre had a look of complete and utter shock on his face.
"But.....you've known him.....less than a day" he stammered, "I don't mean any offence Duo, but...."
"I just......see something about him. Ever since I first saw him......I knew I could trust him" Heero added softly, "He'll make a great guardian"
"And I'm not denying that" Quatre pleaded, "I......well......welcome aboard Duo"
Ok, that really sucked. And a huge, big, big big SORRY for not having updated sooner. I really hate Coursework, and I have GCSES coming up soon, and I really need to pass them. It's a matter of life and death, lol.
A huge thanks to Emily Hato who persuaded me to get off my bony ass and finish this chapter. I'll try and get the next one up as soon as I can.
As usual, many thanks to all who have reviewed, and sorry if I've missed you out at the top. _
Please R& R if you have time. If not, no worries ^_^
