Genre: Fantasy/Romance/Drama

Pairings: 1x2 main, other

Disclaimer: Don't own nothin' but these words

Warnings: Yaoi, lemon, language, gross misuse of powers, reincarnation, evil Duo, cold Heero, Relena bashing (sort of), cruelty

A/N: Did you notice it's been almost a year since I posted a chapter for this story?

The Seeing Room

Probably for the millionth time, he guiltily started out of his chair when the door opened and Hiro strode into the darkened room. The only light source was an enormous bowl in the center of the floor, glowing a pale sickly green.

"Shin, what are you doing? Get away from there."

Knowing a display of temper would only anger the God of Life, he obeyed and stepped away from the Pool of Ages. Once, it had been an actual pool. Deep and cool and dark in the tangled and dense jungles of Athros. A few millennia ago he'd drained it into the magical containment vessel where it now lay and brought it back with him. He was the God of Death. It was his right.

"I'm just tending to the Ebb."

"You're doing more than that," Hiro snapped. He grabbed Shinigami's chin in his hand and shook gently. "What must I do to make you obey me? Put a collar on you and tie the leash to my belt?"

Shinigami's first thought was how appealing that sounded, and how inappropriate a reaction that was. He licked his lips. "I don't disobey you."

The faintest, faintest hint of a smile crossed Hiro's lips. "You disobey every moment of every day. Whatever am I going to do with you?" He released Shinigami and moved to the Pool. "You're drawing mortals into the Ebb again, aren't you?"

Shinigami sniffed. "That's what I do. And those people were all headed into a high mountain pass where the snow would have avalanched. They'd all have died anyway."

"And taking them from the Flow has nothing to do with the fact that they worship Daydre?"

It would have been easy to lie. Hiro might even have let it slip. But that wasn't in Shinigami's nature. He gave the other Divine god a savage grin of pleasure. "Of course. Why would anyone worship that weak fool? I'm doing everyone a favor, Daydre included. She actually had the gall to suggest to her followers that she is the Goddess of Life. There's only one deity of Life, and it's you!"

Hiro blinked, looking a little surprised. Then it passed. "I believe I've told you on multiple occasions that you may not steal from the Flow either for me or in my name. It seems I will have to punish you. Again."

Shinigami shrank back. Hiro's punishments were always . . . inventive. And painful. He was the only one of the other Divine who treated Shinigami like this. Punished him like a misbehaving child when he was, in fact, Hiro's counterpart and equal in every way. They completed each other. The beginning and the end. The Ebb and Flow. It was perhaps why Shinigami loved Hiro so much. And why he continued to submit.

Before he could blink they were in one of Hiro's private chambers. This one looked like a meadow contained in a small space. Hiro gave him something like a smirk. "Disrobe, Shin, and get down on your hands and knees."

Already trembling, Shinigami obeyed. "I'm sorry," he blurted, not sure whether he was more excited or frightened.

Hiro dipped his hand into a stream of light running through the floor. "I know you are," Hiro soothed. He turned his wrist and the glittering light cascaded down on Shinigami's back and shoulders.

It hurt. It hurt so terribly. Yet it felt so strangely good. The light of the Flow should never touch Death, but when it did Shinigami couldn't help tremble and shiver under the bizarre and intense combination of sensations. He knew why Hiro did this to him. To remind him that life was powerful and incredible and beautiful. That the Flow was just as important as the inevitable Ebb. After all, Death would not exist without Life. Shinigami wouldn't exist without Hiro. His skin felt hot and cold, his heart raced, every nerve ending screamed with the overload of pain and pleasure.

"I don't like hurting you," Hiro's voice poured over his senses, just like the light of Life poured over his skin. "Why do you continue to defy me?"

Because when I do, Shinigami thought, beginning to feel weak, you turn all your attention on me. And because it was fun. His arms abruptly buckled, dumping him face-first onto the soft green. His muscles spasmed, the light of Life pouring into places of him where it felt altogether too intense.

Then, suddenly, it was gone. The sensation, the light. Hiro gathered him into his strong arms, holding him close and rocking a little. "It's over," the Divine deity murmured, lips brushing over Shinigami's temple. "I'm done, Shin. Shh . . ."

Eventually his trembling stopped. He felt weak as a newborn kitten. This moment, this precise moment was exactly why Shinigami kept defying Hiro and pushing his luck. Because Hiro ignored the entire universe in these moments and only held Shinigami. Rocking him, murmuring soothingly, softly kissing his brow. Tender and apologetic and gentle. As if comforting his counterpart were the most important thing. As though Shinigami were the most important thing to him.

"Don't do this anymore, Shin," Hiro's voice slithered across his senses. "Promise me you won't."

Shinigami made a quiet, unintelligible sound. He wouldn't make that promise because he already knew he wouldn't keep it. How else would he draw Hiro's attention and keep it? Perhaps Hiro knew this, because he didn't demand an answer. In fact he said nothing more at all, merely sighed faintly and drew Shinigami a little closer.

Perhaps he knew why Shinigami did it, after all.

o0o 0o0

Heero closed and locked the door of the Seeing Room and strode into its center. The walls to the sides and back were all formed of a dull gray stone, but the entire wall directly ahead was covered in shining glass. It reflected everything in the room except Heero. When he'd first set foot in this room, it had been quite unnerving. Now he was used to it.

"I've come as you've asked," he said. "What is your will?"

The glass rippled and shifted, rather like water cascading down. Soon three faces appeared, each one a little blurred around the edges, giving them an unearthly appearance.

Apropos, since they were all three gods.

"Thank you for coming so promptly, Heero," said the woman in the middle. Her hair was as silver as the glass. "It is time you returned to Glewhyn University."

Heero blinked. "Why?"

The bluntness of the question seemed to momentarily ruffle them. The woman to the far left recovered first. "Though your education is mostly complete, we would like you to return there and fetch a specific item. It's a relic that the Head Master has kept safe for many years now. Your mentor should have told you of them. The five Aligning Stones?"

"Yes," Heero said, "but he called them the five Wisdoms."

"They are one and the same," the goddess confirmed. "We need you to find the other four Wisdoms. They were lost at some point in history, shortly after the Divine Deities disappeared from Athros. The Wisdoms are necessary for aligning the energies of the world. It has been far, far too long since any Vale Priest performed this duty, and because of it demons and humans are beginning to separate. This cannot happen. We would like you to collect the five Wisdoms and carry them safely to the Heart of the World. You will see a great seal. Place the Wisdoms at their corresponding places in the seal, and the world will align itself once more."

That sounded simple enough, but Heero suspected there was more.

"There is more," the goddess in the center said. "The great seal has been corrupted by a great evil. You must find a way to purify it before you place the Wisdoms in it or the Wisdoms themselves will be corrupted and instead of aligning the world, they will misalign it permanently."

"How do I purify the seal?"

A pause. "We don't know," the god on the far right finally admitted. "We didn't even know it could become corrupted."

Heero tried not to sigh. "Is there anything else you can tell me about it?"

"When you collect the Wisdoms," the middle goddess said, "place them in special sealing jars so their power doesn't attract the ilk currently wandering Earth."

"I will," he said, inclining his head. When it became clear they had nothing else, he shifted. "If I may, a question?"

"Certainly," the middle goddess said, nodding.

"You're aware of the boy I found? Sealed in the sacred mountain?"

Another pause, shorter this time. "Yes," the god said. "We . . . I'm afraid we can't offer much insight, Heero. About five-hundred years ago there was a terrible unrest in Athros, and so much changed that most aren't even aware any longer what happened. Though it's clear the boy is unique, we don't know who or what he is. I can tell you one thing, though. That gold pendant he wears isn't decorative. It's a powerful seal, locking away his power. I honestly don't know what would happen if it was broken or removed."

Gods, Heero thought with a measure of disdain, lost their mystique when they couldn't keep track of their own history. It was very . . . mortal of them. "I will do as you ask," he said again, inclining his head. The mirrors all went blank. Sighing in equal parts irritation and frustration, Heero stalked out of the Seeing Room.

As he passed through the corridors, he nearly trampled Duo. The boy yelped and leaped backward, then straightened with a grin.

"Heero!" he chirped. "I was just coming to look for you. You're done?"

"Yes," Heero said shortly, stepping around him and heading for his room. "Go tell the cook to prepare travel provisions, Duo. We're leaving tomorrow morning."

"We?" Duo repeated, sounding a little nervous. "You and me?" A little hopeful, a little wary.

"Yes, baka," Heero replied. "Hurry up."

"Kay!" The boy immediately scampered off.

Back in his room, Heero began folding up his clothes and putting them into his travel case. If he was to set out on a mission of this importance, he didn't plan to go alone. His three friends, whom he'd left behind months ago, would be coming with him. He knew he would need their skills and their power.

Chang Wufei was a master fighter with any weapon, any style. He was a powerful demon, and therefore highly resistant to demonic magic.

Trowa Barton had an incredibly potent power of persuasion. He was a master infiltrator, capable of making others believe almost anything. Like Chang he was a demon.

Quatre Winner was a human only a year younger than Heero, and he'd honed the power of his spirit into a great weapon. He was also a keen empath, and it was impossible to lie to him.

And Duo. Duo, who seemed to have no special skills other than eating enough to make ten grown men stare in awe. And talking. He loved to talk. He loved to listen to others talk. About anything. Everything. He was very, very cute and never seemed to take Heero's intensity or his temper personally. And supposedly, the gold cross he wore locked away his power. A power so great it made even the gods feel afraid.

What is he? Who is he? Duo had told him he didn't know how long he'd been locked in the sacred mountain. Obviously he wasn't human. So then what was he? A demon? I don't think so. Demons are powerful, but not enough to make the gods wary. Could he be a demi god of some sort? Perhaps banished from the heavens for some reason? During that time of unrest? Duo didn't look more than about sixteen, but the boy insisted he'd been locked away for far, far longer than a few years. He said he'd counted the sun rising and setting well over ten thousand times before finally losing count and interest.

Reaching into his bedside drawer, he drew out his banishing gun. With great efficiency he disassembled it and began cleaning the individual components. Though the gun didn't shoot bullets, he found the act of cleaning it relaxing. When he finished he put it back together and tucked it back inside its special holster. It was around this time that Duo came back, trotting into the room and throwing himself down on the bed.

"I didn't know how long we'd be gone, so I told the cook to just pack up everything in the kitchen. Just in case."

The words startled a soft snort of amusement out of Heero. It made Duo look at him with a bright little grin.

"Can you tell me about the Seeing Room now?" he asked. "What is it?"

There was no valid reason not to. The gods had never forbidden him from speaking of it to others. "It's where I commune with the gods."

"Really!" Duo exclaimed, rolling onto his side. "Do they ask you to do things for them?"

"Yes."

"Is that why we're leaving in the morning?"

"Yes."

"What did they tell you we have to do?"

"Find something."

"Naa, Heero," Duo whined, "are we ever gonna have a conversation where I don't have to drag everything out of you?"

Heero just looked down at him. Why couldn't I just free you and leave you on the mountain? He had no idea what it was about Duo that he couldn't leave him alone. He just felt, somewhere deep down, that he should never leave Duo behind. That if he ever allowed that to happen . . . it would mean the end of something. And that terrified him on a level he doubted he'd ever be able to define.