Havest Moon
Chapter 24
By: Amiko
HARVEST MOON
PART XXIV
~Amiko
Author's Notes: Sorry it took so long to get this up... I went to 6 Flags w/ my buds, and then my koi spent the night, and we had a blast for a couple days. In other words, we stayed up late, laughed ourselves silly, had Japanese food, an' watched Serial Experiment Lain (dubbed, ewww). ^_^ So anyway.. I want to thank everyone who's been coming back every time to read these chapters, and especially for the reviews (threats included ^.^;;). You have *no* idea how much encouragement those comments have been, since actually I lost interest in this story about halfway thru and I don't even like it anymore. =p Especially compared to other fics I've been reading (looks pointedly towards Mami-san). But NE way..
Here it is, the conclusion~! *waves cheerily* Arigato and sayonara~!! ^___~
~ Amiko
~~~~~~~~~~~
Who is that boy?
I turn as I am walking, straining over my shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse...
There!
A flicker of dark hair, nothing more. I glance back towards the man I am stalking, then turn away, jogging after that elusive top. The theft can wait.
I weave my way through the crowd, using Duo's street instincts to effortlessly avoid collision with the people swarming down the street, darting in between them, ignoring the few indignant remarks thrown my way as my violet eyes dart from side to side, looking, searching....
Again!
I duck into an alley, peeking around the corner. Finally, he is still.
Ara.. I raise my eyebrows appreciatively.
He is finely built for someone so young, and though I cannot see his face because his back is to me, he appeals to me because of the confident way he carries himself and his slender build. His mop of dark hair gleams in the sunlight as finally he turns his face to the side, probably wondering which street to take, and I whistle under my breath.
Very nice.
I continue to watch him, sneaking silently after him as he finally picks a destination and stalks off. I trail after him, simply watching the fluid way he moves, the way his perfect face never changes from its stony mask.
Cold and impenetrable.
The kind of challenge Shinigami might enjoy.
Suddenly, he is gone.
Just like that.
I blink in confusion, looking around, straining my senses for him, but he has disappeared.
I bite my lip in frustration, finally giving up and turning back.
Allusive *and* good looking.
I like that.
Hmm...
Perhaps we will meet again...
Someday..
~~~~~~~~~~~
Memories flash through my mind as I move without any conscious thought, my arms swinging in one fierce, deadly slash.
Heero saving me despite his orders when I was held captive by Oz..
Allowing me to grow closer to him and be his one true friend..
His sudden protectiveness towards me..
The taste and feel of his lips on mine..
//I want...to finish that...//
"IYAAAA!!!"
I get a brief glimpse of Irdarr's horrified face before my burning scythe, powered by all the fury, all the fear, all the grief pent up inside Duo, slices through him, lighting the clearing with a murky gray light. A shrieking wail echoes through the forest, and then with a silent boom, he explodes, throwing me hard and fast. My head cracks against a tree and I know nothing more as darkness covers me with merciful hands....
*****
"You're awake."
I am..?
Slowly I force my eyes open, squinting even in the dim light there is, eyes moving sluggishly as I take in my surroundings, my senses and mind slowly seeping back, along with the throbbing pain in my skull.
Yes, having a mortal body is *definately* a bitch, I decide firmly.
"Nnf... Wh'm I?" I mutter, squeezing my eyes shut for a moment, pulling a hand from underneath the covers to rub my temple gingerly, encountering an ice pack. I push it off, lying a hand on my forehead and sighing quietly before opening my eyes once more, looking up at Wufei's solemn face. Are we back at the safe house?
"We're in one of Quatre's resorts," Wufei grunts as if reading my mind, tucking one wing more comfortably against his back and shifting his weight, arms crossed over his chest as he gazes down at me seriously. "You've been out for almost two days. Quatre was really worried about you." I notice his hair is back in its tidy ponytail.
"Aa.." I breathe, looking around again. Yep, definately classy enough to be Quatre's crib. I must be in one of the bajillion guest rooms. "How are you feeling?" I ask, blinking up at him.
One elegant eyebrow arches in irony. "I should be asking *you* that," he says drolly. "There's nothing wrong with me. I was just drained. I'm fine. You're the one who decided to smash your head against a tree like a fruit."
I attempt to pull a wry face, but wince painfully and drop that idea quickly. "Ch'....Wasn't ex'ctly...plann'd tha' way..." I mutter defensively.
"Hn." He snorts, glancing towards the door. "Trowa and Quatre are fine," he says brusquely. "Nothing a few band-aids from Relena couldn't cure. Heero.."
I am instantly alert, holding my breath as he faces me again.
"Heero is in the worst condition, understandably," he says frankly, but quietly, watching my reaction carefully. "He's still bed-ridden, and he's been asleep more than awake, but Quatre and Relena said he's going to be fine in just a week or so. Less time, if I know him."
I let out my breath in relief, closing my eyes. Yokatta... "Where's Relena?" I murmur, the pillow soft against my aching head. A nap sounds nice...
"She stayed for a day, then she left, albeit reluctantly. She's going to have a long talk with...with her mother before she returns to her kingdom."
"Tha's good..." So tired...
He hesitates before adding gruffly, "Jova's here, too. It seems he lost his hostility once Irdarr was destroyed by..Duo."
Interesting.
I'm too tired to voice my opinion on the matter.
"Quatre is allowing him to stay 'as long as he behaves'." I hear a slight tenseness to his voice, and wonder at it. "Anyway...You had better get some sleep..."
No problemo.
I slide into comforting darkness once again, and this time am glad for it.
*****
"So Heero.....What...What exactly *are* you?"
I look up at the question, darting a glance towards Heero's impassive face before looking back to Quatre, who voiced the question.
We are sitting in the den-- well, some of us are lounging. We Shinigami's like to sprawl ^__^ , and Jova is slumped in a plump chair toying with a letter opener. I'm still not sure about that one, but as he has done nothing worse than voice sarcastic remarks, I will leave him be for the time being.
Wufei is perched on the windowsill where he can feel the breeze, and Quatre is sitting properly on a couch, a teacup (of course) in one hand as he looks apprehensively from me to Heero while Trowa sits on the floor by his feet, fingers slowly tracing the back of some cat, which is purring madly in the lap of its Master, eyes closed in bliss. Heero himself is leaning against the wall, the clean bandages wound around his legs, arms, and even his skull marking him as a soldier at ease. I grin at Quatre from where I am lying on the couch, wiggling a finger at him. "Yare yare... So inquisitive. Haven't you guessed it, yet?"
He shakes his head dumbly, saying nothing, and I chuckle quietly, closing my eyes and stretching like a cat.
Jova yawns, flicking the knife aside, letting it imbed itself in a cushion, ignoring Quatre's pained look as he shoots a glance towards Wufei, dangling his feet over the arm of the chair and clasping his hands together behind his head, long gray hair spilling onto the floor. "This whole guessing game is interesting," he says, eyes dancing. "Have *you* guessed, kagerou?" (1)
Wufei sends him a dark look but doesn't dignify him with a response.
Trowa shakes his head slightly at me as his fingers toy with the cat's ears. "Tell us."
"Yes, do," Jova prompts, looking faintly interested. "Now that Terra-sama has her precious mirror back, isn't it time to let everyone know who your boy is? Irdarr-sama never bothered to tell *me*."
"What do *you* care?" Wufei snaps irritably. "It's no concern of yours."
Jova yawns as an answer, and the dragon looks away huffily, thinking dark thoughts.
I shrug nonchalantly, rising and stretching languidly, knowing Heero's eyes are on me and loving it, though I keep my triumphant smirk to myself. "All right, all right...I'll tell you." I look around at them all slowly, drawing their attention, waiting until all eyes are on me, until they are all completely still and impatiently awaiting my answer.
"He is..." I pause for affect, then flash a cocky grin. "The Perfect Soldier, of course. Didn't you know?"
Quatre blinks, looking startled. "D..demo...."
I toy with the end of my braid, shrugging. "That's why he was chosen to protect Relena-sama. He's just like me: he is who he has always claimed to be. The Perfect Soldier."
Jova scowls, looking miffed. "That's all? How dull!" He stands huffily and brushes by me, probably to raid the fridge.
Trowa glances up at his angel, who still looks perplexed. "It would make sense," he says quietly, and after a moment Quatre nods slowly.
"Oi," Wufei says from his perch, shaking his head. "Then what about that white explosion? And why would Irdarr be so fascinated in the Perfect Soldier?"
I throw up my hands, shaking my head, my face as blank as theirs. "I can't explain the white explosion," I admit. "But I guess he figured if he killed Earth's daughter *and* her protector, he was good to go."
I turn away, waving over my shoulder. "Well, I'm going to go check up on Deathscythe and see about the next mission. Catch you guys later."
"Matte--"
"Ja!"
//.....Duo..//
I smile to myself.
*****
"....Duo..."
I lift my eyes to Heero's face as he shifts, raising himself on his elbow, staring down at me with intense cobalt eyes, one hand still resting against my bare hip, his voice stern but not cold. I smile innocently up at him, reaching up to trail my finger down his chest. I am still sated from earlier, but if he wants to talk, okey dokey.
"Mm?"
He doesn't protest my wandering fingers, his own thumb rubbing the turn of my hip softly in response, though his eyes don't leave my face.
"Why didn't you tell them?"
I shrug, the movement causing my loose hair to whisper against my rounded shoulder as I stifle a yawn, burrowing closer to him and breathing in his musky scent. "They don't need to know. Not yet."
"Hn." He buries his nose breifly in my hair.
"Heero?"
"Nn?"
I hesitate, my eyes softening as I trace my hand slowly up his chest to play with his lips with the tips of my fingers. "Ai shiteru..." I whisper, my eyes lifting almost hesitantly to meet his own as he draws back slightly to face me fully.
He stares at me solemnly for a long moment before reaching up to capture my cheek in his palm, smiling slightly as I lean into his touch. His smile, no matter how small, seems to make him even more beautiful to me.
"I know."
And that is all that needs to be said.
The night is quiet, the stars outside seeming to shine even brighter as we move together once more as one, and for one exhilirating moment of passion there is no one in the world but the Prince of the Stars and his Shinigami tangled together in the bed as the harvest moon watches approvingly from her bed in the sky, playing silent witness to the lives of a thief, a soldier, and the war they fight to win.
~~Tooi yoake made yori sotte sugoshitai yo~~
~~Nani mo ka mo nakushitemo yasashisa dake na kusazuni~~
~~Kotoba yori Kiss de tagai no kodou kanjite~~
~~Jyou netsu wo hiki yo seru isshun dakedo ei en…~~
~~Setsunaku hageshiku mitsumetai~~
~~Nakitai kurai ni anata dake ga itoshii....~~
Ai shiteru.....
Heero...
~*THE END*~
Author's Notes 2: Ta-dah~!! And there we go, the ending. ^__^ Yeah, yeah, it sucks.. -_-;; but at least I didn't leave ya hanging. *Grins evilly* I honestly sat there and thought about ending it there at that "that is all that needs to be said" line, so you'd never know who Heero was unless I did a sequel, just to drive you all crazy. :D ARen't I niiiice? ^_^;; hehehe.. I'm considering doin' a sequel, but it depends on if I can come up with a decent storyline.
Once again, thanx for readin' an' reviewin', and I'll catch you guyz on th' flip side. Ja ne~!!
(1) kagerou= dragonfly *smirk* A mean little nickname, ne? ^___^ yihihi
(2) The lyrics at the very end are from "Just Communication", and this is the translation:
Until the faraway dawn, I want to spend the night nestled close to you
We can lose everything else, as long as we don’t lose gentleness…
From words, through kisses --- we feel each other’s heartbeats
Drawing passion near --- for an instant, for an eternity…
Painfully, violently, I want to focus on this…
In this tearful situation, only you are precious…
(fitting, ne? ^____^ yihihi)
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