I'M SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY! I know, I suck, I'm not worthy of being called an author, and you're probably all incredibly tired of hearing this, but I'm still incredibly sorry!
Also, I'm sorry to inform you all that NinthFeather-chan will not be with us this chapter. She finally managed to pick the lock on her handcuffs and escape. But no worries! I will be sure to re-capture her by the next chapter so we can have more Neko-chan/ Feather-chan dialogue fun! But until then, on with the fic!
Warning:...nothing, really. This actually a relatively normal chapter. Don't worry though, that will have stopped by the next chapter. *evil grin*
Disclaimer:...still don't own the bishies...TT_TT
Rei sighed, lying on his back in the soft grass and staring at the beautiful, cloudless sky above him. How he wished he could just spread his wings and take off into that endless expanse of blue, and completely banish the events of the past couple of days from his mind.
Unfortunately, Rei was all too aware of the consequences of such reckless actions, and it terrified him to even think about it.
Well, flying wouldn't do me much good at this time anyway, Rei thought to himself. He'd just find me that much quicker.
Yes, Rei was currently avoiding a certain silver-haired angel as much as he possibly could. And when he couldn't altogether avoid him, he simply ignored him or, if unable to do that, spoke to him using as few words as possible.
Why? Simple. Rei was sulking.
Was it childish? Yes. Was it pointless? Also yes. But Rei didn't care. He was angry and annoyed. Angry that Ruka had, once again, thought him weak and in need of protection, and annoyed at himself for, once again, proving him right.
Rei felt an all-to-familiar pang of sadness and guilt at the thought of his silver-haired love. He knew Ruka was only being protective because he loved him, and Rei truly was grateful for everything Ruka had done for him in the past six months, but that did not give Ruka the right to make decisions about him without his knowledge! Rei still got mad every time he remembered their last conversation, and that had been almost three days ago.
Rei looked at Ruka like he was speaking a foreign language. And maybe he was, for Rei knew there was no way he could have heard his lover correctly. "...I'm sorry, Ruka, but would you mind repeating that?"
Ruka gave Rei an apprehensive look, but his voice was steady and firm as he spoke. "I said, the Saint Beasts have received orders from Zeus to descend to Earth. We will be leaving in five days time. However, due to your recent injury, it has been decided that you will remain here, in Heaven."
Again, all Rei could do was stare at the larger angel in front of him. He opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. In truth, he was in shock. He knew Ruka could be over-protective at times, but still...
The look on Ruka's face turned from one of apprehension to concern. "Rei? Rei, are you alright?" Ruka took a cautious step toward the dumbstruck angel.
Rei shook his head to bring himself out of his shock induced stupor and shot Ruka a glare that the silver-haired angel often referred to as his "bird of prey" look, because whenever Ruka was faced with it, it always meant that Rei was about to tear into him, in one form or another.
However, much to Ruka's great surprise, Rei did not say anything. He merely turned his back on the larger angel and gracefully walked out of the room.
Rei let out an angry puff of breath, turning to lay on his side. No, he would not feel guilty for avoiding Ruka, nor would he admit to himself that he missed his crimson-eyed lover. This time, Ruka was the one at fault, not him, and Rei was definitely not going to apologize for his actions.
Suddenly, Rei heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. Jumping quickly to his feet—and ignoring the twinge of pain that doing so brought to his back, where his wings were located—he prepared himself and got into a defensive position, ready to defend himself. The incident with Stheno had made him a bit paranoid, so he always made sure he was prepared to fight, if need be.
"Oi! What are you doing, you stupid cats? I told you, this isn't for—no wait! I didn't mean that! You're not stu—Ahh!"
Rei let out a sigh of relief as he recognized the loud, completely unmistakable voice as that of Gai. Smiling slightly to himself, he quickly walked over to the bushes to see what trouble the blonde angel had gotten himself into this time.
When Rei made his way through the foliage and came upon Gai, it took all his will power not to burst out laughing at the small angel's predicament.
Gai had been tackled to the ground and was apparently still trying to fight off the numerous angry-looking cats, all of whom seemed focused, not only on clawing the poor angel to shreds, but also getting at the small object Gai held in his right hand, which he seemed intent on protecting, so matter what.
"Rei! Don't just stand there! Help me!" Gai shouted after a few moments, finally noticing Rei's presence. Deciding that he'd had enough of watching Gai's somewhat humorous plight, Rei took pity on the struggling angel.
Quickly searching the plants around him, Rei found what he was looking for almost immediately. Catnip. Or rather, Heaven's version of catnip. It worked just as well as the type the humans used, but it was much more readily available in heaven. Lucky for Gai.
Pulling out a couple handfuls of the green plant, Rei turned back to Gai. The cats, immediately smelling the cat nip in Rei's hands, quickly got off the now terribly scratched up angel and rushed over to Rei, who spread the catnip along the ground a little ways away from Gai. Then, once he was sure the cats were otherwise occupied, he walked back over to the blonde angel.
"Are you alright, Gai?" Rei asked kindly, holding out his hand and helping the smaller angel to his feet.
Gai winced as he stood up, the movement pulling at some of the more painful scratches. "Yeah, I'm fine. Damn cats, they just don't know when to quit," he muttered, more to himself than to Rei.
Rei looked at the green-eyed angel curiously, "What was so important to you that you still protected it, even faced with several rather determined cats?"
Gai immediately blushed and looked down, too embarrassed to meet Rei's gaze. "Well, um...I couldn't because..." he said slowly, trying to get up the courage to finish his statement. "Because it was something I made for you!" He finished quickly, then thrust the small object in his hands at Rei, still not looking at him.
Rei could not contain his look of surprise at Gai's words, but his surprise quickly evaporated into a gasp of awe as he saw what Gai was giving him.
It was a small stone carving of a bird. A robin, to be exact, perfect in every single detail. From its textured feathers to its red stomach to its shining, onyx eyes, the little bird was so life like that Rei wasn't the least bit surprised that the cats had been after it, thinking it was a real bird.
Rei was so taken aback by receiving such a beautiful gift—and from Gai no less—that honestly was at a loss for words. It was only when Gai looked up at him self-consciously and asked, "Do you like it?" that Rei was shaken out of his stupor.
"Oh Gai, I...I love it! It's absolutely breathtaking! How in heaven did you manage to make this?"
Gai, encouraged by Rei's decidedly positive reaction, merely shrugged. "It's no big deal. I am the Saint Beast of Earth, after all. If I couldn't create something like this out of my own element, I'd be a disgrace!"
Rei smiled, holding the small bird carefully, as if it really were alive. "Thank you so much, Gai! This is, without a doubt, the best gift I have ever received! Oh, I can't thank you enough! But..." Rei looked up from his bird to turn his confused gaze on Gai. "Why would you do something like this for me? I can think of nothing I have done to warrant receiving such a beautiful gift."
Gai looked down at the ground again, this time in shame rather than embarrassment, and slowly traced patterns in the dirt with his foot. "Well, I had to do something, you know, to make up for getting you hurt and all. It...it was my fault, after all," Gai replied, his voice breaking near the end, as if he were about to cry.
Rei felt his heart go out to the small angel and he couldn't help but lean down and embrace him. "Gai, it was an accident. There was no way for you to know that that side of the valley wall was unstable. And even if you had, we all have difficulty controlling our powers at one point or another. That is why we practice in the first place! So please, don't feel guilty. It is not your fault."
Gai hugged Rei back, not feeling entirely convinced, but decided to let the subject drop. "Ok, thanks, Rei!" He said cheerfully, pulling out of the embrace. He was just turning to head back to Heaven's Palace, when he looked back over at Rei. "Hey Rei? Why haven't you or Ruka talked to each other in three days?"
Rei blushed and looked down, quickly remembering why he was out in the woods in the first place. "That's...It's complicated, Gai."
Gai merely shrugged, "Whatever you say, Rei. But you should know, Ruka hasn't left his room since you two fought. He hasn't come down to meals, training sessions, or anything. The guy's a real mess without you," Gai finished with a smile and a wink, which sent Rei into a fresh round of blushing, and walked away.
Rei just stood there for a while, clutching the little stone bird and thinking about what Gai had said. Ruka? A wreck without him? Gai must have been confused, for it was Rei who was a wreck without Ruka.
Deciding that he had acted like a spoiled child long enough, Rei swallowed his pride and, looking down at the small bird tightly clasped in his hand for comfort, began walking in the direction Gai had gone.
Well, there it is! Chapter 10! I hope you all enjoyed it (even though it was EXTREMELY late). And please, do a broke, sleep-deprived author a favor and REVIEW! Please? I practically live off my reviews, so if you want me to be conscious enough to write the next chapter, I suggest you REVIEW!
Until next time, my friends!
~Neko-chan~