Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own DN Angel. I do own Rue, but not DN Angel. And unfortunately, I will not be able to create a doujinshi featuring Rue, since I cannot draw to save my life. (Or anyone else's.)

…

We left an hour later, when I could walk normally. Krad hadn't asked anything about me, so I figured he hadn't seen the cryogenic chamber (which was hard to imagine) or had figured everything out for himself. I didn't bother bringing it up; it hurt to even think about. I'd given Hanone to Krad, we'd found Daisuke and were preparing to set off. The sun was high now, it was nearing noon. The cool grass felt wonderful on my feet as I set off to unlock the door that had always kept me trapped here. It was protected by a code, just like the other doors, but I wanted to unlock this one myself. I snatched a stick in my mouth and gently pressed the buttons. 6-9-8-2-4-6-9-8-2. I heard the lock click. I felt something in me break.

This place had been my home for almost all of my life. And now I was walking out on it. I was walking out on my life, my uncle… I hadn't even given him a grave.

It felt like someone had shoved a steel bar through my stomach.

I hit the lock button and bounded away from the door. I knew what I wanted to do. I ran straight into the lab and began looking around at the experiments. If any one of them appeared as though they could live outside of the lab, I unlocked their cage. It was hard to do, but I did it fast.

There, a white rabbit with red eyes and a long tail. I snapped the bars on its cage and dashed off. There, a cat with bats wings. A dog (my heart broke) with a snakes tail. These were only my uncle's minor experiments… very few of his major ones ever turned out correctly; there were only three of them: me, Krad, and Satoshi. I kept throwing open cages, admiring a cute squirrel until it struck out at me with a set of (probably) venomous fangs. I'm leaving that one there. I ran up and down one more time, then dashed out, hoping the animals (hybrids, I suppose) would follow me. They did.

The little rabbit thing was running beside me, and I scooped it up in my mouth. I liked it, I decided. It was coming with me. The other hybrids trailed behind. I dashed around to where Satoshi, Krad, and Daisuke stood, and dropped the rabbit at their feet. "We've got one more coming with," I said, gesturing at it with my nose. "Give me another few minutes." I dashed off without waiting for an answer.

Next I went to our house. It was exactly as it had been left, one wall collapsed, windows shattered, Kei… I whimpered and slowed down, padding gently towards his corpse. Strangely, nothing appeared to have touched it. Him, I snapped at myself. Nothing has touched him. I gently nuzzled his shoulder with my nose. He was cold and stiff, a corpse. I felt tears prick the backs of my eyes. "Why?" I whispered. "Why did you do this to me?" My whole body shuddered with gentle sobs as the enormity of this situation. I had no guardian, no family left. Kei was gone forever, and nothing could bring him back.

I was going to bury him. He had been a terrible man, but he at least deserved a decent funeral. I searched around the house, looking for something; hoping the collapse of one wall hadn't damaged it. I wanted a picture. A picture and a curtain. I wouldn't be able to provide a coffin, but…

"Rue!" I heard Satoshi softly calling my name, but I ignored him. "Rue, where are you?" I didn't even turn, not even when I heard his footsteps right behind me. "Rue," he said again, "I'm sorry." I didn't want to hear it. I just didn't. I said nothing. I didn't turn to face him.

I turned and set off in search of what I needed. I didn't say a word when he followed.

I tore a curtain from one of the windows. It was a light blue, and long. My uncle had always told me how it matched my eyes. It suited the occasion. I went back over to him and set it near his feet. When I came back, Satoshi was staring out the window. I paid him no mind. There was one more thing I needed. Unfortunately for me, it was in my old room. I took a deep breath to prepare myself, and shoved the door open.

The glass window was barely cracked, and sun streamed through the open curtain. My bed stood in one corner, a dresser with a mirror balanced on top of it directly across from that. A light gray rug was thrown over the wood floor, my slippers sitting on it. My closet was shut, so I didn't have to look at its emptiness, and a shelf sat on the wall opposite my bed. The shelf was what I wanted. I walked over to it and balanced on my hind legs, trying to reach the small picture I wanted. My jaws snapped just shy of it, so I hopped down again and grabbed one of my slippers. I walked back and batted the picture with it, and it came just a bit closer. I repeated the process, and when it came within grabbing range, I snapped it up carefully in my jaws and walked back to where Kei lay.

Satoshi was there now, wrapping the curtain around him. I wanted to kill him, but at the same time, I was thankful. There was no way I could have done that myself. I walked up to him, and dropped the picture on top of the curtain. He picked it up and looked at it for a moment, then set it down.

"Is that the two of you?" He asked. I nodded, not trusting my voice. It had been a few years previously that I'd taken that photo. He'd been in a good mood, and I'd been happy. We were lying on my rug, playing a game of chess. I could never beat him, but I loved playing against him. It was something I could do with my uncle, and I think that's really what mattered to me. It had taken me forever to get the timer to work for the shot, but I'd done it. I was laughing, he was sighing and was just about to checkmate me… I smiled at the memories as tears streamed down my muzzle. I tucked the picture carefully into the folds of the curtain, and pawed my tears away.

"I want to bury him," I whispered. "Can you carry him for me?" Satoshi nodded, not blinking. His wings cast small rainbows on the walls as he picked up the bundle that was my uncle. I couldn't help but smile gratefully at him, and he returned the small gesture. Then I set off and he followed.

I walked over to the hole I'd dug early this morning; when I'd accidently found Tsume. It took about five minutes, at the pace I was going. Satoshi's footsteps were light and easy behind me.

I didn't know what to make of Satoshi. Or Krad, for that matter. Daisuke was obviously a very nice, easygoing person, but those two were so… they just seemed to be hiding their true selves. But then we were there and I stopped thinking about it.

It felt so strange to be burying him, my uncle. It felt wrong, so wrong, but right. It felt strange, but right and wrong and… I'm sorry. I'm confusing you. Maybe you know how I felt, but then again, maybe you don't, and I'm sorry I can't tell you quite what it was like.

"Here?" Satoshi asked. I nodded, then watched as he jumped down the hole and gently, carefully set my uncle's body on the bottom. I whimpered gently, but I wouldn't cry. Not anymore, not again, never again. Never. I didn't have it in me; my tears were gone for good now. Satoshi jumped back up to me with the help of his wings, and stood next to me.

"Thank you," I said, and my voice held steady. "Could you… you know, just give me a few minutes?"

"Of course," Satoshi said, "I'm sorry. I'll be waiting over with the others." I nodded.

"Uncle," I whispered, once Satoshi was out of earshot, "You were a terrible man. I was wrong to ever call you family, but I did. I loved you, somewhere deep down, and I guess it took me too long to realize that. I'm sorry Uncle Kei. I wish I would have seen it sooner. Maybe I could have helped you change. Maybe, if I'd learned to act quicker, I could have saved you. Rest in peace. Please don't forget me."

And with these words, I scraped the first paw full of dirt into the grave.

…

Twenty minutes later, I walked back over to the three boys. I'd taken my time in burying my uncle, trying to make sure I got in all of my last goodbyes; making sure I forgot nothing, and then I'd found a large stone to mark the place where he lay. After inspecting the shabby grave carefully, I'd left him. It tore my heart out, but I'd walked away.

"Sorry," I whispered, "I just… I wanted to bury him." Krad said nothing, Satoshi's eyes glimmered with understanding (he had been there after all) and Daisuke nodded. "I'll go unlock the door now."

"Please do," Krad said, and I detected a hint of bitterness in his voice. I walked over to the door, grabbing the same stick as I had before, and typing in the same code. Part of me was buzzing with nerves, and part of me was numb. The only family I had was dead, but I was free. My family was dead, but I was free. Was it wrong to feel happy?

Maybe. But I couldn't help myself. The lock beeped and I heard the doors whir open. I bounded forward, feeling the first small gust of cool air from the other side of the door send shivers up and down my spine. I heard a bird call. The wind smelled clean and fresh.

And then I realized where I was and stopped dead.

"Rue," Satoshi asked, "What's wrong?" I didn't move. I hadn't been outside in so long, I'd forgotten where I lived. There were wild things out here, dangerous things… I snarled as one of the beasts passed in front of us.

"Yes," Krad said dryly, "That's a squirrel." I tensed, remembering the one with fangs I'd seen in my uncle's lab.

"Do they have fangs?" I asked, staring at the thing. The little white rabbit thing I'd rescued from the lab made a funny noise, like a little 'kyuu', almost like it was laughing. Krad didn't bother hiding a snicker from me. "Well, you know, I've never gotten outside much," I snapped defensively.

"No," Daisuke said, "They don't have fangs. They're herbivores." Oh. Well, I felt stupid. At least I knew what he meant though. I'd been given a pretty decent education, nothing like Harvard or anything, but still.

"Come on," Krad snapped, "We can't waste time standing around. Satoshi, you fly ahead and tell us if we're on track. Daisuke, come with us." Looking at him, I was reminded he was of royal blood. The way he spoke, how he looked at us, everything reminded me of a king, of a soldier. Even the look in his eyes was a reminder; the look of someone who'd had to make very hard choices in a matter of seconds, the look of someone who had killed. Maybe it was just his eyes, but the look they held made me want to cower away from him.

"Of course," Satoshi said, and took off. He was a bit clumsy looking at first, especially right after takeoff, like he didn't seem to know what to do with his arms or his legs, but then he evened out and seemed to gain a bit more majesty. Krad turned, and without another word, walked off.

"You've done something to him," Daisuke commented. But he didn't say whether 'him' was Krad or Satoshi, and I was too busy looking around me to ask. Everything was new; the tree leaves like emeralds, the sky a blue silk cape speckled with white clouds of cotton, the grass waving and rustling with the breeze. Tiny flowers, like jewels, speckled the green landscape. I couldn't believe my luck.

I turned my back on my old home; turned away from the city I had always planned on living in when I turned eighteen, and faced the wide, open prairie that gave way to trees. Maybe, just maybe, I could find a home in this beautiful wild.

Satoshi's wings beat above us.

…

AN: GAAAAHHH! IT'S SO SHORT! I'm so sorry I keep making you all wait and wait for such short chapters! I feel terrible… Please review anyways? *Puppy eyes*