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"Magic, Mischief, and Miracles"Written By: Honor Disclaimers: I've contracted some guy named Doctor
Draken to steal the boys. It's part of his mad scheme to take over
the world. Nifty, huh? Pairings: 3x4, 1x2 already established Warnings: AU, violence, language, supernaturalness,
LEMON, yaoi, etc. Spoilers: nada Author's Insane Ramblings: Okay, this is the result
of watching too much Inuyasha. I was sick, and to keep myself entertained,
I bounced back and forth between watching Inuyasha and writing GW
fanfiction. This...is the result.
" Magic, Mischief, and Miracles" Part 3 Quatre couldn't even get an acknowledgement from Nanashi the next morning. /We're back to not talking, it looks like./ Why was he putting up with this? Normally, he wouldn't associate with someone so...snobbish. Well, okay, maybe that wasn't the right word. Maybe Nanashi was just...disconnected. Whatever it was, Quatre was fast coming to the point of boxing the demon's ears, he didn't care how hot he was. By mid-morning, he just couldn't handle the oppressive silence anymore. Spinning around, he caught Nanashi's face between his hands and glared as darkly as he knew how. "Look! I can't take this every morning! You won't even look at me, never mind speaking! Are you not a morning person, or is it that you are embarrassed by sleeping next to me? What?!" Nanashi blinked, then scowled as he lifted his head free of Quatre's hold. "It's not your concern." "The hell it isn't! Usually I'm even tempered, but this is driving me up the wall. If you're upset with me for some reason, just say so!" Their eyes locked, but Quatre couldn't read what was going on in Nanashi's mind. The demon's eyes lifted toward the sky, something like a sigh coming from his mouth. "When we find Terandl, hide." Quatre blinked. Hide? Is that what he had been thinking about all morning? "You're worrying about me?" The look in those green eyes when they cut back to Quatre was quite expressive: I am a scary demon and I don't worry about anyone. Quatre beamed back at him and went right back to following Terandl's tracks, almost skipping. Hell, if Nanashi was quiet just because he was worrying about him -- he could handle that. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Out of curiosity, why are we walking when you can fly?" Nanashi gave him a resigned glance as he answered. "It takes energy to fly. I don't wish to use up such power when I am in pursuit of an enemy." "Oh. That certainly makes sense." Thinking that through, he remembered that Nanashi had carried him once he had collapsed yesterday. Memory said that he had flown, at least in the beginning. "Sorry. I must have been a burden to you yesterday." "Separating power is a useful ability." /Um...is it safe to translate that as 'no problem' or 'don't worry about it'?/ "Yeah, I suppose it is. I didn't really think I could do it but...it looked so real to me that I thought maybe I could grab it. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Spiritual power is...slippery." "Hn." /Okay, that wasn't exactly a response, but at least it was an acknowledgement that I said something. And why is he probing at this anyway?/ "Is it odd that I have such an ability?" "Yes." "How odd?" "I did not think it was possible." "In other words, you've never heard of anyone doing anything like that before." "Yes." "Weird," Quatre muttered. He wasn't sure if he liked the idea of being the one and only in anything. There were too many pitfalls, and no one to warn him about them. His head snapped up as the energy residue abruptly flared. He flinched from it without thinking, nose wrinkling. "I'm not sure what he did here, but it's..." "I smell it," Nanashi murmured with eerie calm. "Demons were slayed here." Every hair on Quatre's body was standing on end. Turning toward the demon, he looked up pleadingly. "I know it drains you a little, but can you fly us over just this part? It's giving me a migraine." Nanashi's eyes flared a little. Quatre was...touching him, without any sign of discomfort. He'd never had a human trust him like the little blond did. Slowly he inclined his head in agreement, wrapping an arm around Quatre's waist and lifting into the sky. Quatre slid his arms around the demon in return, holding on tightly as they rose over the site of the battle and moving past it. When Nanashi could no longer smell blood, he settled back onto the ground. "Thank you," Quatre gave him another blinding smile. "We need to go more west, now. He changed directions." "Quatre." "Yes?" "It isn't that draining." Quatre blinked. /Oh. I think he means it's alright to go around such places instead of through them, that he doesn't mind flying me around or over them. Geez, I need a translator for this guy./ "Okay." Satisfied, Nanashi moved in the direction Quatre had indicated. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quatre was watching the sunlight fade over a small river, eyes heavy. He was so tired...gods, he was worn out. In between using his power all day to track Terandl, and walking all over the place, he was about ready to collapse. Only problem was he hadn't eaten yet, and he didn't want to wake up in the middle of the night hungry. He just couldn't rustle up the energy to care right at that moment, but he was working on it. The water shifted, slowly forming into the image of a lithe man with chestnut hair and brilliant violet eyes. [Testing, testing. Hey Q, you hear me?] Either Quatre was so tired he was hallucinating, or... "Duo?" [Ah, he can hear me! Hey, blondie. How's it going?] "How are you doing this?" [Well, I'm a clairvoyant, you know. My specialty is Reflections -- be it mirrors, water, or shiny surfaces. Mirrors work best, I have to admit. Is our favorite demon treating you alright? Or have you given into temptation and strangled him yet?] Quatre rubbed his eyes wearily. "I'm not sure how to answer. Sometimes he's so considerate it's almost sweet, then there are times I can't even get him to look at me." [Huh. That sounds like him. Look, Quatre, you're going to have to just deal with him. Long as I've known the guy, he's hated having to depend on anyone for any reason. Right now he's completely depending on you, and that's gotta grate on his nerves. Just smack him if he's being too obnoxious.] "Right." He dredged up a smile for the other man. [You look worn out, blondie. What's going on?] "I'm not used to this, frankly. Using my ability all day is draining. And well...a few other things happened." [Like what?] "Duo...can anyone eavesdrop on this conversation?" [Uh...you know, I'm not sure. It's possible, I guess.] "Then I'll wait and tell you in person." Duo's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. [Okay. Hopefully that will be soon. 'Ro's a lot better now. I think he'll be ready to rumble in a day or so. That's part of the reason why I called. Where can we meet up with you?] "Um...I don't know the area well enough to give you directions. Let me call Nanashi." Quatre turned to call him over, completely missing the surprise on Duo's face. "Nanashi! Duo needs to talk to you." The demon turned from his position near the fire and came forward, kneeling at the bank. [You didn't tell him your real name?] "Leave it, Duo." [Now that's just wrong, man. He trusts you -- only enemies and other scraggly demons call you Nanashi. It's an insult.] "Duo." [Fine, be that way. Tell me where you're heading, and 'Ro and I will meet up with you.] "That is not necessary." [Not necessary. Right.] Duo glared at him. [Tell you what, I'll call Ro in and you can explain to him why helping his best friend from getting killed is 'not necessary'.] Growling in the back of his throat, Nanashi returned the glare. "Terandl almost killed him." [Yeah, and he's pipin' mad about it too. So am I. We want to get even with the bastard. Location, Tro. NOW.] With another feral growl, the demon gave in. "We're at the base of Mount Heresy, heading west." [Good. We'll meet you in a few days. Q, remember what I said. If he gets to be too much of a pain in the ass, just smack him.] The image faded into the depths of the water, out of sight. Quatre was acutely aware of the silence between them, and sighed. "If you do not wish to tell me your name, it's alright." "It's Trowa." Quatre's head snapped around, eyes wide. Nan-Trowa returned his stare with a calm gaze, giving the blond no answers to the myriad of questions going in circles around his mind. "Why...is that name so important to you?" "My name is an old one. If they knew of it, they would be able to trace my origins." "...and you don't want your family involved?" Quatre hazarded. "Yes." Thinking this through, Quatre just couldn't feel that insulted. They barely knew each other, after all. "I can't blame you for keeping your name a secret. Is that why Duo called you by a nickname?" "Duo gives everyone a nickname." Quatre laughed softly when he thought over that last conversation. "Even me, apparently. So what's for dinner?" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The little blond was ready and waiting. If Trowa even thought about ignoring him this morning, he was prepared to smack him right in the back of the head. Didn't happen. Trowa didn't move until Quatre pointed the direction to go in. He was even considerate enough to stop briefly at a village so that Quatre could dart in and buy something for breakfast. Maybe hearing that his friend was nearly well again had improved his temperament. His human traveling companion certainly hoped so. Quatre was enjoying the bright sunlight on his face, reveling in the sense of being warm and fed. It was such a beautiful day and...he frowned and stopped, turning to the right. "Something's approaching." "Human?" "I'm not sure. Something...like you. Only it looks wrong, off somehow." Trowa growled, a feral sound that made Quatre jump in surprise. "Go near that tree and stay there." "Trouble?" "Demons are rarely friendly." And that summed up the situation quite well, in Quatre's mind. He went to the tree, a fair distance from the road, and stayed put. He was unarmed, and human: his chance of surviving against a demon's attack wasn't very good. Trowa stood still in the center of the road, cloak stirring softly around his legs. He could smell it now -- the scent of demon's blood. He didn't recognize the scent, but it hardly mattered. He could catch the hint of bloodlust. This demon was hunting something -- and demons in that mood usually destroyed whatever was in their path. His eyes glanced off to the side, double checking that Quatre was where he was supposed to be. He couldn't risk the little human. Good, he was staying put. At least he had that much sense. It wasn't a demon that appeared -- it was two. A juvenile oni with green skin and red eyes blazing with barely contained violence, and another smaller demon that shifted appearances so fast even Trowa's eyes could barely follow one face to the next. It was the smaller one that made Trowa's hackles rise -- geryon. He hated geryons. They were always hard to kill. As expected, they stopped three feet away from him, grinning evilly. "We are Sashin and Deklar. You have a human with you --" the geryon's eyes shifted to Quatre, and a blue tongue flicked over his lips "-- yes?" The oni's eyes were focusing entirely on Quatre. He was nearly shivering in excitement. "Sweet skin, soft flesh...Sashin! Want!" Trowa raised a fist, his knuckles cracking loudly as he flexed them. "Ooh! He wants to fight over it." Sashin spun in the air, long hair flying. "What is your name?" "Nanashi." "I'll have them put it on your grave!" Sashin launched himself at Trowa, then skidded to a stop when he realized that between one blink of the eye and the next, Trowa had moved. Trowa spun on his back leg, aiming a claw of Shards at the demon. Sashin jumped, hissing a little when one of those blades of burning power nicked his thigh. "Mmm, a challenge!" Laughing manically he darted forward again. The oni wasn't going to wait for Nanashi to be defeated. He stalked forward, grinning evilly as he saw the human retreat a step in fear. Sweet human, defenseless, nowhere to run. Drool started to run down his chin as he imagined the taste of such meat. Quatre could see that Trowa was very busy fighting that other weird demon, but he was in a bit of a pickle. He had an oni staring at him like he was an all you can eat buffet, and there wasn't anything on him that he could fight with. /This was really poor planning on my part. And I'm starting to regret being such an air head./ Thinking frantically, his mind flashed to when he had manipulated that ball of power four days ago. The Oni's power didn't look much different -- he could use that. Somehow? /And do what with it? Just drain him so that he doesn't have the power to attack me?/ Okay, so it was a really rough plan and he didn't have a clue on what to do, but call for help -- no, that might distract Trowa and it was a bad idea to distract him just at that moment. He was on his own, gods help him. The choice was taken out of his hands. Quatre tried to spin out of the demon's grasp, but the oni was faster than he looked and grabbed him. Quatre landed hard on his back, jarring his shoulder and knocking air out of his lungs. Gasping, he blocked that massive head from lowering with his forearm. Okay, so maybe he didn't have a better plan, but any plan was better than being eaten by this guy! Trowa caught the predicament his human was in out of the corner of his eye and snarled. Swiping his claws at the geryon, he tried to jump free to help Quatre. Sashin twisted around enough to shoot a hot arrow of power through Trowa's shoulder. Stumbling slightly, the cat demon spun back around, ignoring the searing pain in his shoulder. "You don't have time to worry about him! He's Deklar's lunch by now." Roaring in rage, Trowa threw himself forward, hand extended. Sashin gasped in surprise as that hand went through his throat. Gurgling, he slowly slumped to the ground in a pool of his own blood. Trowa lost no time in jumping over the corpse toward Quatre. His aid wasn't necessary. Quatre grasped the power boiling inside the oni with mental hands and pulled. The demon over him cried out in pain, hands tightening reflexively. Gritting his teeth, Quatre yanked harder until his physical hands touched that power. Then he threw it back into the demon's body so hard that it went right through him. The oni shook like he was electrocuted, eyes rolling up into his head. Quatre pushed him off as soon as he felt the soul leave the body, then wrenched himself to his feet. Stumbling a little, he ran to Trowa. "Trowa! Are you alright?" He...what did he do? The stink of death was evident over the oni's frame. Trowa nodded numbly, a little shocked that the frail human had found a way of protecting himself. "Fine." Quatre caught sight of the blood slowly seeping through the dark clothing. "You're bleeding! That doesn't equal fine!" He pushed the heavy coat and white shirt aside, studying the round hole in Trowa's shoulder with a pinched face. It was black around the edges, and bleeding heavily. "We have to clean this out, and put a bandage on it. I wish I had a first aid kit..." Trowa shrugged off the concern and turned back to the road. "Unnecessary. It will be healed by tomorrow morning." "What do you mean 'unnecessary? You've got a freakin' hole in your chest the size of a tennis ball! Even if you do heal that fast, we need to clean it out." "It's unnecessary," Trowa repeated with a little more force. Quatre planted himself firmly in the demon's way. "Trowa, you've got two choices. You'll let me clean that out and put something on it to stop the blood, or I'll knock you unconscious and do it. Either way is fine by me." Seeing that the 'frail' human was deadly serious, Trowa grudgingly nodded. It wasn't just that Quatre was probably capable of carrying out his threats...the obvious concern in those light blue eyes was a factor as well. He...liked Quatre worrying about him. It was a bit of a walk before he found a well. Dragging a bucket of water up, he tore off his sleeves and did the best job he could with just water. Quatre wouldn't let Trowa get up until he'd washed the area thoroughly, and bandaged it somewhat crudely with the sleeves of his shirt. It wasn't a pretty job, but it would hold. As he tightened the last knot, Trowa's hand came up to brush against his knuckles. "Thank you." Quatre's head snapped up to look at him. Was the demon feverish? Maybe that weird demon he'd fought had poison in its claws or something...no, Trowa's eyes were clear and steady as they looked back at him. Maybe he was just unthawing a little, finally getting used to the blond's presence. "Ah...you're welcome." Jerking himself roughly back into the present, he sat back on his heels. "Don't be too rough with it, I'm not sure if it'll hold. I really wish I had a first aid kit." "What is a first aid kit?" "Um...a convenient thing that's made on my world. It holds bandages, and antiseptics, and medicines." Trowa nodded and stood. That was enough information for him. And he rather agreed with Quatre...it would be a nice thing to have, but it hardly mattered in his case whether they had it or not. He would be well by the next morning. "Let's go." Quatre stood, toppling slightly as all of the blood in his head rushed southward. Trowa caught him with his good arm, steadying the human against his body. "Quatre? Quatre!" "...sorry." Quatre kept his eyes closed so that the very nice landscape would stop spinning in mad circles. "I used...too much energy with that demon." "Dammit, you shouldn't push yourself like this. I know that drains you." "Had to make sure you were alright," Quatre gasped. Darkness was eating at his vision. An analytical part of his mind informed him that overusing his ability was very similar to significant blood loss. Oh, and he was going to faint. "Idiot! I told you I'll be fine." Trowa didn't like this at all. Quatre was sheet white, and trembling against him. He was kicking himself for not noticing sooner. Quatre must have been running on adrenaline alone to see to him. "Trowa --" "What?" "Going to pass out – sorry --" Trowa hissed angrily when Quatre abruptly went lax in his arms. They were out in the open, with no cover. He couldn't ensure Quatre's safety like this. Carefully he gathered him up in his good arm, draping him carefully so that he was secure. He was growling as he lifted into the air and looked for a safe place to hide until they were both on their feet again. Quatre was going to hear about this -- at length -- when he woke up.
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