Duo had never liked the library. Why in the world would you want to spend any of your own time with out-of-date books when there were technological resources that were updated constantly? Computers were sanitary, regulated, not half as heavy, and, besides the point, dust made Duo sneeze. Of course, by the time he found a book worth looking through, his nose was running and his eyes itched like nobody's business. He tossed it down on the table and sneezed again, to make damn sure that Trowa knew that he was suffering. Trowa didn't even glance up at him from the lamented news-pages in front of him. Two pages were set off to the side, while a meticulous stack of others were piled in front of him. The pages were the same grey as they had been the day they were printed, but Trowa handled them carefully. He stopped on one page and shifted it to see it in a better light. He held it out to Duo.

"Don't get anything on my case, but that's the girl you're looking for right?" Duo sniffled and took the page, all while aiming a red-eyed glare at his friend. He held the page at an angle, so that the glare of the white fluorescent lights didn't blot out the picture. It was her, all right, the Japanese-born, European-looking beauty. The picture didn't capture the blue of her eyes, or the copper undertones of her hair, since it was a flat black and white picture. But it was her - her hair was curly, and she was frowning hard, at something directly off camera. There was another woman in the picture, one whose hair was dark enough to be black in real life, but her eyes were an indiscriminate grey that could have translated into any color, even the same blue as Miss Akairo's. She was leaning over the shorter girl's shoulder, smiling brightly for the cameras and, if Duo had been able to breathe, he would have lost the ability again. Akairo had the look of a fashion model, but the other was simply beautiful. Duo whistled appreciatively.

"'At the grand opening of their new shop, 'Satin Past', Akairo Hiarashi and Danae Tenoe, both age 18, were excited to have what Danae called a "magnifique" crowd'. Wow. Where the hell was I when this happened?" Trowa shrugged nonchalantly as he pulled the other two pages back from their pile and separated them.

"Check the date," he replied, not looking up. Duo's eyes scanned to the top of the page and suddenly, he was frowning deeply.

"Oh, yeah," he said flatly, tossing the page onto the reject pile. Trowa saved it as Duo stretched his arms above his head. "I'm gonna search the other newspapers for the same day. Have fun with that vile book." He said the word with disgust, than sneezed hard enough to plaster his bangs to his forehead. Scoffing, and scowling, Duo fought his bangs aside and stalked back to the newspaper reference desk. Trowa resisted the urge to either laugh or roll his eyes. Instead, he returned his attention to the article he had put aside. He ran his finger under the title line, then stopped. The library was silent now, without even a murmur of voices or the whisper of turning pages. Trowa glanced up - the study area around him was empty, an abyss surround by towers of manuscripts, most older than he himself was, soundless witnesses to his present, though temporary, loneliness. He shook his head, and leaned forward on one of his elbows, resting his head on his hand. He closed his eyes and heaved a sigh. Sleep had been fleeting lately and now, even with the task of researching the jewel in front of him, the silence seemed almost like the silence of his apartment at night, the silence that had been so comforting, yet not enough. Every time he closed his eyes and slipped into sleep-

She was there again. He knew it was a she, because the dim, unflickering light that emanated from an unknown source lit up pale shadows along smooth curves. She was shrouded in the darkness that swarmed where the light could not reach. Her face was hidden in it, but something inside of him told him that from the gloom, eyes the color of a coming night stared at him. He couldn't see them, but he could feel them, cutting in past his very skin and invading whatever crevice they could find.

I would… came a whisper, something that was of the darkness itself. It reverberated around him, coming from every place but the woman directly in front of him.

I would have

saved you…

saved you for the very last,

but

I need you

need you, Eiyo

need you now

before he wins

again.

The shadows began to pulse and something deep inside of him shied away from them. That which had kept him awake all these nights before, it said, was not this which stood before him. The pulse became stronger, quicker, until it was a dull, even shimmer that bit at the shadows until they had cleared away from her face, the dark lines caressing the edges of her chin, cheeks, mouth, and nose as they reluctantly gave up their hold. He was rooted to whatever spot he stood on, if he was even standing, because when the shadows were gone and it was truly her eyes he looked into, it was as if all of the breath had been taken from his lungs. He was paralyzed, trapped, and the fear in his body made every muscle tight. She took a step forward, her hair a solid curtain of auburn curls that twisted in an endless wave down her back to brush her hips. Everything about her was grey, save for her eyes and her hair, and when she moved, she was absolutely silent. Every step brought her closer, closer to him, but she held him in her gaze, locked against his will. She stepped up to him and he was dully aware of how close she was, her toes up against his, her breath a gentle whisper. She wore an air that smelled like spring, a warm air of renewal and rebirth, and her eyes were like the vibrant storm clouds of an April shower. He could almost see them gathering in the deep blue irises, the clouds of this storm, and when she touched him, her fingers were cold, the last vestiges of winter in a storm made to bring warmth. She mouthed something, but the sound was lost, and then, without warning, her mouth was on his, her lips the fulfillment of the promise of the end of winter's cold. Something passed over his skin, the pressure of the storm building, and somewhere in his mind, it crashed down, breaking with all the force of raging thunder. It began to rain, but the droplets were not water. Voices, images, a flood and tidal wave of painfully solid feelings that ravaged him. She disappeared, the one who had brought this storm, and he fell into the unending darkness around him, held tightly in the grasp of what he did not know.

Duo shifted the pile of laminated newspapers in his arms and hummed the next few bars of the melody that was running its course across the surface of his mind. He had hit upon the idea of finding a record of his missing person's birth and boy, had that been a smart idea. There was much, much more going on in the Hiarashi family than he would have guessed and the article he had found was proof of that. Ms. Akairo had a brother, a twin brother, who had been kidnapped the day after they were born. No one knew who, but it was implied that a family bodyguard had kidnapped him. This made everything more interesting.

"Tro, you'll never even guess what I found out," he said excitedly as he struggled through a narrow set of bookshelves. He made a small noise of irritation when a thin tome that was sticking out decided to dig itself into his shoulder. The book fell to the floor and he stepped over it gingerly, clutching the slippery papers that threatened to slide from his grip. "Sonuva- stupid lament... Trowa, I could use your help, if you're not too tied up in your reading! Trowa?" Duo stepped around a bookcase and almost tripped on another book that lay on the floor. The laminated papers slid from his grip, like sand from his fingers, and fell heavily to the carpet in an unorganized mess. Duo scowled at them and their pile, but it was a short lived look. One piece slid off entirely, and skittered across the floor to bump into the last thing Duo would have expected. He swore, loud enough to bring the attention of every person in the library, and ran to the arm that lay sprawled on the floor. It was attached to Trowa, confirming Duo's inner fear, and the skin that ran across it was as flush as the skin on his face. Duo touched his arm, once, and felt a jolt race up his arm, as the skin on his fingertips burned hot. He jerked his hand away and cradled it against his chest, rubbing away the numbing tingle.

"Is he breathing?" inquired a calm voice, making Duo jump. He lifted his head as she knelt down, her short black hair falling just to her chin. She laid two fingers to the side of the fallen boy's neck and frowned deeply. "Sheisse. It is you." She took in a deep breath and raised a pair of almond shaped black eyes to meet Duo's. "I'll call an ambulance. Do you have a cell phone?" Duo stared at her with blank confusion, than nodded slowly. "Good," she stated, nodding firmly. "Call an ambulance. He needs to get to a hospital, and fast."