Thanks to my 5 first reviewer's. You guys are THE best. As for Trowa eating sushi... well, he said it was a 'new' experience. After all, I found an uber cute picture of him eating a rice cake so why not sushi? And thanks for the extreme lift in my self-esteem. It is highly appreciated.
Okee, explanations are in order. The guy who saved Duo in the last chapter is Koryu, a Devil from Wish. He is sooooo cool, if slightly obscene at times and uberly cute. Kokuyo is a Devil as well and Hisui is an Angel. Later, introductions will include the bubble-headed angel Kohaku, the catty Devil Twins Ruri and Hari and a mention of some guy named Shuichiro. I own no-one. That said, let's get it on...
Kokuyo stared adoringly at his beloved from the door of the patio as she flitted about, making supper. He loved every piece of her. Her gentle smiles, her long, honey brown hair, and her beautiful golden eyes. He felt so... lucky. She was his angel, to hold and love for eternity. Though his face usually showed a stoic glare, his eye always glimmered whenever he was near his wife. She held the Devil's Wedding Ring, his left eye and half his power, and this she wore as an earring that she never took off. He smirked slightly, remembering their first meeting lustfully. She was still just as beautiful now as she was then, over 400 years ago.
Right now, they had the house to themselves. At least until it's owner arrived once more to claim it. By then however, it was safe to assume that it was really theirs. After all, they claimed ownership 400 years ago.
He glanced at the garden that lay before him. Right in the middle was an enormous wisteria tree. Its blooms were just opening and was now a sight to behold.
I hope your slumber is well, Little One. It won't be long now, He thought out silently. The tree responded with a slight flutter of it's blossoms. He smiled gently. But then the smile turned to a frown as something caught his attention. He knew that aura anywhere.
'Dammit, Koryu, I thought you were supposed to be gone all night!' he muttered. A dark shape flitted into the yard, huge black wings upon it's back. Koryu, the owner of the wings, straightened out and readjusted his fragile bundle.
Kokuyo, noticing the concern on his cousins face, frowned deeper.
'Kokuyo! Dammit, help me out!' Koryu called out. Kokuyo walked over and leaned above to inspect the cargo, which turned out to be a teenaged boy. His gaze turned to the young Devil.
'What's going on?' He asked, curiosity piqued. Normally Koryu wouldn't bother bringing prey or lovers home, especially since it appalled Hisui.
'I don't know, but while I was out, I found this one under attack. I had to help him. Please get Hisui,' Koryu pleaded softly. Kokuyo's confusion was replaced by his need to find out what exactly Koryu had found. The human certainly had no strange aura about him now. Odd.
He walked into the kitchen to find his wife fluttering about between the counter and the stove. She looked up to see him and smiled. Her smiled wavered slightly.
'What's wrong?' she asked, reading the concern on his face.
'We need your help. Can you get a bed prepared?' Kokuyo asked gently. Hisui looked at him worriedly. Seeing this, Kokuyo hugged her comfortingly.
'Is it...?' Hisui started. Kokuyo shook his head.
'No, Kohaku is fine. It's someone Koryu met,'
Hisui sighed in slight relief. Her little pupil was fine, that's what mattered. Kokuyo stepped in, holding the precious bundle close to his body. The boy moaned in his unconscious state and Koryu glanced at him worriedly. Hisui gasped when she saw the state that the teen was in. His eyes were starting to grow black and his face was covered in cuts and bruises.
'What happened?' she asked, not bothering to hide her alarm.
'Some jerks wanted to have some fun with him. He's lucky I came along...'
Hisui, catching the implication, turned her face away, busying herself.
'I can help him but I need quiet...' she said, raising her hands to hover just above the boy's chest. Both devils nodded, understanding.
Spirits of Wind
Healers of Breeze
Answer my Call
Cure the Form before You
A light emanated from Hisui's palms and a slight breeze washed through the room, surrounding the prone body in front of her. The two devils become eerily aware of a Hellish presence, though it was faint. They both looked to each other at the same time, eyes wide. The aura was flowing from the beaten body of the boy! At the same time, Hisui sensed a quiet, heavenly presence in the room.
A moan arose from the boy, though he was very much still unconscious. The silver tinted aura flickered about him as it reacted slightly to the hougan Hisui was performing. As his body healed, the aura extended and formed wings that were black, tipped with silvery white, translucent feathers. The three shared a glance of shock. There was no way...
The four of them sat in the small living room, which was now eerily quiet. Only one hour since they had found the gruesome scene and dusk had since fallen. Quatre sat quietly, his eyes bloodshot and puffy from crying. He emitted small gasps now and then, trying to hold back the sobs. Wufei tried to seem strong, but his eyes revealed that he too was struggling to hold back his grief. Trowa's eyes, too, held back unshed tears. Heero cradled his head, hiding his pain from the other's, trying to be strong for his friends.
Quatre choked back another sob.
'I-I should've stopped him... I should've known that he wasn't alright on his own!' He choked out. Trowa turned, trying to comfort the other boy and embraced him.
'I knew... I knew he wasn't feeling quite right but he... I let him go alone anyways...' he cried out. They looked at him, shocked. Duo hadn't been feeling well? And Quatre knew?! Wufei frowned in thought.
'Now that you mention it, Maxwell did seem a bit off. I mean, he didn't eat nearly as much as usually does and he seemed... I dunno, quiet...'
They lapsed once more into silence. The night wore on, hearing the whimpering remains of Quatre's sobs.
'Awake... Third... You have much to learn and you have remained dormant for too long... you have only begun realizing the change... you're mother worries...'
...
Blood and ash floating around him and huge black wings enveloping him almost protectively.
...
Duo's eyes opened quickly as his body jolted him awake. A nightmare of sorts lingered in his mind. His breathing calmed slightly and he looked at his surroundings. His eye brows cocked as he noticed that he was in a strange room, and not in his own room at the hotel.
Tatami mats, the futon he woke up on and the slightly ajar sliding door... nope, defenitely not his room. And the oddest thing of all was that everything seemed, well... big! Very, very big...
He stepped out of the room and found himself in a hallway.
'hmmm... where the hell am I? Sure not in Kansas anymore... sniff... I smell FOOD!'
Duo slunk down the hall, and found a dining sort of room with a low table with three trays of warm food set out. On them were big, battered shrimp and miso soup.
'Jackpot!'
Just then he heard footsteps.
'Uh oh...'
Duo licked his lips and grabbed two of the HUGE shrimp from one bowl and scampered off and hid himself in a nearby cupboard.
He watched with wide eyes as two people walked in. One was a big, scary looking dude short, black, spiky hair and dressed totally in black. He had one onyx black eye and one white eye. The other was a beautiful woman dressed in long white robes, her long, honey brown hair tied back with a wrapping of some sort . She had bright, kind green eyes. They talked quietly to each other, both smiling at each other lovingly. The woman sat down and pulled a tray closer to her and the man joined her, leaning down to share a quick kiss.
The big guy pulled a tray closer as well and eyed the tasty shrimp in the bowl. That's when Duo realized that he took the shrimp from the scary guy's bowl. He gulped nervously. What if he noticed they were gone? That's when another person walked into the room. This person also dressed in lots of dark, flowing clothes and had long, black hair cascading down his back and he had bright, crimson eyes and pointed ears. He sat down and reached for the final tray. He eyed the big guy and smirked.
'What's wrong? Hisui not give you enough?'
The man glared and Duo suppressed a giggle, thinking of how much it looked like Heero glaring.
'No... well... yes, it seems I'm missing some of my shrimp. And I think I know who the little culprit is...'
'Well don't glare at me, I didn't-'
'No, not you Koryu. Someone else...'
He stood up and walked over to the cupboard where Duo was hidden. Duo gasped. How could the guy see him! He was in a freakin' cupboard!
The door opened slowly and a hand reached out to grab him. He made a quick decision and lunged at the hand, burying his teeth deep into whatever he could get. The man cried out in shock and the pain in his hand. Duo raced out of his hiding spot as fast as he could and made for the door. But something tripped him and he rolled, head first into ground.
'Koryu! You didn't have to knock him down,' the woman said rushing to him. Duo sat up, holding his now aching noggin.
'And let him get out? I think not!'
He felt himself being lifted by the back of his shirt. Which was his cue to struggle further.
'Shhh... it's okay, we won't hurt you,' the woman's voice soothingly reassured.
Duo opened his eyes and looked up to see the woman smiling at him. He relaxed and saw that he was being held by none other than the guy with the long, ebony hair . He hung his head in defeat. He was caught and there was no escape. He glared at his captor with the look he learned from Heero, but the guy didn't even bother to glance at him. The woman smiled.
'What's your name Little One?'
Duo pouted but then sighed in defeat when he saw her gentle smile.
'...Duo'
'Well then Duo, now that you're awake, welcome to the Kudo home...'
An explanation and meal later...
'I'm a what!?'
'Either an Angel and/or Devil. We actually aren't too sure what to call you. And as you can see, you are quite small right now.'
'Whaddya mean? You're all big! And I'm not an Angel or the Devil!'
Hisui laughed. The cherub in front of her was apparently unaware of his current plight, being that he was no bigger than a small toddler and had small, black and white wings poking from his back. Kokuyo and Koryu looked on as she tried to explain to the confused chibi.
'You have always believed yourself to be human?' She asked, smiling gently.
'Well yeah, I mean you have no proof that I'm a- WHAT THE BLOODY FUCKIN' HELL!?' Duo shrieked when Hisui slowly unfolded her huge, beautiful, translucent wings.
Her smile remained even as Duo began to take on a look of fear. His gaze turned to the other two in the room. Kokuyo calmly released his leathery, huge, demonic wings. Koryu smirked as his own expansive, black, feathery wings were revealed. Duo's jaw fell as he watched them unveil their wings.
'You see, do you believe Hisui now?' Koryu questioned, smirking. Duo mutely stared, his eyes wide in shock and fear.
'I'I-I-'
'Duo, calm down...' Hisui spoke calmingly to him.
Duo crumpled and his mind went numb.
'Duo, if anything you are home... ' Hisui whispered as she gathered the little chibi up into her arms.
'W-Whaddya mean?' Duo stammered.
Hisui stood and with Duo in her arms she gestured to Kokuyo and Koryu to follow her outside, into the beautiful backyard, right to an unusual yet gorgeous tree. It was in full bloom and gave off wave after wave of heavenly and hellish power, making it glow in the oncoming twilight. Duo felt a rush of instinctual familiarity come over his numb mind.
'This is your tree, Duo. The same one from which you had hatched and what seems to be a source of your unique energies,' Hisui explained quietly. Duo nodded and Hisui set him down.
'Me and Hisui are your, ah, parents I guess you could say,' Kokuyo mentioned.
Duo snapped out of his shock and stared at them.
'Parents?! That means... that... I...' Duo struggled to say what he could.
'It's a long story, and one that will be told. We didn't realise that this tree was a Tree of Life until 17 years ago when it began to blossom. It had the most beautiful blooms, almost like a cherry tree with violet petals. An egg formed not long after the flowers burst. But complications arose, and action was taken to protect the egg at all costs. That egg had hatched not long after and you were 'born'. Apparently, the only way to truly protect you was to establish a block of power somehow, and now, it seems that block has been removed,' Hisui explained to the cherub in front of her. He didn't react. He just stared twin holes at the ground in front of him. Then he mumbled something that they couldn't hear.
'What's that?' Koryu asked.
'I... wanna... go home. I gotta go home-'
'But Duo, you can't go out there like that,' Hisui warned.
'Exactly. It's best if you learn all there is to know about your situation,' Kokuyo agreed.
'I- I gotta go... 'Duo weakly argued.
'Nu-uh, little guy, you can't go like that,' Koryu joined in the argument.
'No... I... ,' Duo stood up shakily'... I gotta go home.'
'Duo... be reasonable. You can't- DUO!' Hisui shouted as the cherub rose and shot off into the rising night. She began to unfold her wings when Kokuyo grasped her arm firmly.
'Kokuyo...?!'
'Let him find out on his own. He'll be back before long,' He explained quietly. Hisui relaxed and stared off into the sky, sending her prayers to the little shape rising and disappearing into the sky.
...
Duo didn't realise that he was flying. His mind just turned off, storing only shock and grief. His body flitted along effortlessly. He was almost unaware of the change that took place. His body grew, enveloped by his expanding wings, resuming it's full size. His hair ran loose and glistened in the moonlight. His body was covered in a silken robe, tied by a long, graceful cord. His feet and legs were covered in sleek black leggings, refuelling only his toes and heel. His two-toned wings glistened in the now prominent Tokyo city light. He was a creature of grace and beauty. But his grief wore on, thinking of his change and revelation of parents who he had long given up on. And his now lost family. They would never... he would never be able to see them after this. He was a freak now. Not human. That devil, angel, thing, couldn't even tell. A freak...
He stopped suddenly, arriving at his own destination. The hotel. He looked inside. All was dark inside, as now it was now past midnight. But he made out the shape of a sleeping body.
'Quatre'
He stared through the glass longingly. Quatre looked to have been crying.
'If... only... I could tell you...'
Quatre lay, curled up in the midst of sleep. His face was tear streaked and his arms unconsciously hugged a pillow like a teddy bear. He whimpered every once in a while as grief filled visions tormented him...
'Duo! Where are you?'
Black tipped feathers, floating as dainty as gossamer strands in the wind.
'Duo! Please come back! Please...'
Small lights hover about the feathers, holding them in place to form a glittering shape resembling wings.
'Please... I still need you... I need you... I... love... -'
'You...' a voice finished. Quatre looked up to see a familiar face looking back at him through the haze of light, as though through fogged glass. The lights broke away, shattering the illusion to reveal no one standing there looking at him. The feathers fell through the nothingness and turned to dust. But embedded within the dust was a feather that didn't fall apart. It was perfect, just like the face of Duo who had looked at him from the glimmering haze...
'Duo...' Quatre whispered sadly in his dreams as a single feather drifted through the air and settled on his open palm.
Duo pulled himself away from Quatre, his own face tear streaked. He gave Quatre a feather as a gift. He had opened the window and heard Quatre in the midst of dreaming. He could of sworn he had heard his own name whispered from the blonde boys own lips.
'Quatre... I... I'm not coming back. You guys probably think I died if you're crying so much. I might as well have. I... I love... you... I... I... need you... but you are... better off... with out me... goodbye... my Desert Prince...
With that, he turned and left, tears streaming in angry rivulets down his face.
'Goodbye...'
...
Wow... That took bloody well forever. But here it is. Enjoy and remember the motto.
'Think Yellow Thoughts'