Blue Forest Banshee Part 92
Zen Wyvern
"I came because you were not telling me everything, Heero," the IchiBan responded firmly. "You know very well I can tell when you are skirting the truth."
"But you didn't need to fly all this way," he grumbled, knowing he wouldn't get very far, but needing to try anyway. "I would have sent a porter, if you had just told me you wanted to come."
The Matriarch of Clan Torii snorted at her grandson. "You would have tried to talk me out of it, and you know it, darling. Enough of this; Duo will be back in a few moments and he should not hear us arguing over something so silly."
That was certainly true. The Banshee was still fragile enough to jump to erroneous conclusions, and Heero was in no mood to chase his stress-porting Chosen around the world.
He growled softly to himself. "And have you a reason prepared for why you would come for him and never for me? He knows you've never come here to see me; I don't want him getting himself into a snit over that."
The IchiBan glared at him. Truly, the boy did have a Wyvern attitude; he was obviously his mother's son. But there were also those tiny, fleeting flashes of his bright and caring father...
"You are a Wyvern, Heero. You are not in need of constant reassurance or cosseting."
He rolled his eyes. Oh, yeah; like that would go over well with the Banshee. "Sobo, if you tell him that you came because he needed cosseting, the resulting explosion will be felt in Tokyo!"
Giniro reached out and smacked Heero lightly on the back of the head. "Cheek! Of course, I'm not going to tell him that! I came because he is your Banshee and he was injured by barbarians, and I know perfectly well he would try to hide as much as possible from me. Just like you're doing," she rumbled. "Besides, I am the IchiBan; if I feel like flying to my grandson's home, who is anyone to argue with me?"
"Well, he is someone who will argue with you, or have you forgotten that he has a temper as well?"
Giniro sighed and laid her arm around her stubborn grandson's shoulders, forcing him to walk with her. "Heero, I came because you are my grandson; my favorite grandchild, if you want to know the truth, just as your mother was my favorite. I came because you felt a need to distance yourself from us so many years ago; a need that I understand more clearly now, thanks to that little bit of fluff you've fallen in love with."
Heero glared and opened his mouth to argue with the description of his Banshee as "fluff", but the IchiBan stopped him with a raised eyebrow.
"There is nothing wrong with fluff, and it is meant from a strictly Wyvernian point of view. I have no doubt that there is nothing fluffy about Duo when he is anywhere other than among Wyverns." She cocked a sly eyebrow at him. "Your father was fluffy, and a great number of his adversaries realised that only in their last moments. We rather like... fluff, I think. It gives us a break from our dire, granite selves."
There should have been an argument to that, but damned if he could think of it at the moment.
He stopped moving, his shame pricking at his eyes. She was Sobo; she'd raised him, educated him, expected things of him and finally, when he was an adult, she'd let him go to find his own way and place in the world. Surely she, of all people, had a right to the truth.
"I failed him," he whispered hoarsely. "He is my Chosen and I failed to protect him... IchiBan... Duo was raped while in the hands of that monster. I failed him."
The IchiBan stared at him, finding herself once again fascinated by the roiling blues of his eyes. Nikko's Dragon eyes, ever-blending, changing, merging; myriad shades of blue that chose to settle only reluctantly into the bright cobalt that she loved. Eyes filled now with pain and anger and guilt. Humans, she thought, have not a clue what real guilt is....
"Is he dead?" she asked quietly.
Heero nodded tightly. "Not by me, though; Duo killed him."
"That is good, Heero. It is good that Duo was allowed his own revenge."
"He shouldn't have been taken at all! I should have been there! I should have been with him! It was my fault for not being with him..." he cried miserably.
She drew him close with a sigh, coaxing him to rest his head on her shoulder. He let out a heavy, shuddering sigh and relaxed in her protecting arms. "We are not omnipotent, Heero," she said gently. "We are not gods or Great Dragons. We cannot be everywhere, watch over everyone or fix everything. We are only Wyverns. You did the best you could possibly do; you failed no one."
A rather grumpy whimper came from the younger Wyvern.
"And what does the Banshee say to your proclamations of guilt?"
"...."
"I'm sorry; I didn't catch that."
"He tells me I'm out of my freaking mind."
She patted his shoulder, smirking against his dark hair. "Hadn't you better listen to him, then? He is your Chosen, is he not?"
Heero growled wordlessly. "Mine," he muttered.
"Your parents would be proud of you, Heero Yuy. And the Banshee loves you."
~*~
"Heero believes that you're angry that we've come to see you," said the tall female, not looking at Duo.
He thought about that for a moment. He wasn't angry, not exactly; more... confused and maybe a little uncertain of how to react to this. These people had, after all, welcomed him whole-heartedly, almost embarrassingly. He did wonder, though, how Heero felt, knowing that it took a crisis involving his Chosen to bring his family halfway around the world.
"I'm not angry," he said slowly. "I'm glad to see you. It just feels kind of weird, since you've never come here before. Almost..." He hesitated, but couldn't find any better way to put it. "Almost as if you care more about me than you do about him," he finished reluctantly.
Giniro turned to him, hands on his shoulders. "I hope you will not take this amiss, Duo, but Heero is a Wyvern. He is strong, capable and decidedly lethal in either form. You are not nearly so. Therefore, my maternal instinct to protect the young and helpless is much stronger where you are concerned." She smirked at his frown. "I did not say that you are weak, Banshee, so don't get your knickers in a knot." He blinked, wide-eyed. "You are the most important thing in the world to Heero. When he is reduced to tears over something, I take a very close interest. And since I like to see for myself, here I am." She gave him a gentle shake, then slipped one arm around his shoulders companionably. "Unfortunately, when you get me, you also get the Five and whoever decides to attach to us."
Duo thought about it for a moment and decided that the moment had gotten rather weighty and that he should remove some of that weight. "So... What you're saying is that we should reserve the entire second floor of the Holiday Inn whenever you come. No problem," he grinned. "I think we can manage that."
Giniro arched one eyebrow. "Why not the Hilton?"
Duo snickered. "Oops?"
"I have particular tastes," she said haughtily. "And I expect to see naked males by the pool."
"Wow, you drive a hard bargain... But I can probably scare up some exhibitionists. These Wizards would probably do just about anything to meet a dragon. Oh! I know! The Wizards from R&D! You'll love them," he teased.
Giniro shuddered. "I hope you don't mean J, G, S, H and O. Good lord! The very idea is the stuff of nightmares!"
Duo burst out laughing. "You know them?!"
"I heard about them from Heero when he interned in the labs. Great Dragons in the Sky! I cannot believe you would threaten me with them!" Her gaze sharpened suddenly. "Duo! You haven't let them get hold of you, have you?"
He flinched. "Not for lack of trying," he replied distastefully. "Every time I go near R&D they try to drag me in to 'try' things. But Heero warned me," he added quickly.
"Good for him," she muttered. "Those lunatics..."
~*~
Heero hitched his Banshee more firmly into his embrace and buried his face in the warm, clean hair. He had worried that Duo would somehow know that Giniro was aware of the truth of his ordeal, but with no explosion, no exasperated sighs and not a single incidence of eye-rolling, he decided that the Banshee was still blissfully ignorant. He had to be told, of course; that wasn't the sort of information that could wander around unsupervised. It was just a matter of timing....
"Are you tired?" he murmured against the thick hair.
"Kind of..." the Banshee sighed. "I've been so up and down all week."
"Yes," Heero replied. "It has been one of those weeks..."
"Did you really not know she was coming?"
"I was as surprised as you were. Maybe more so, because I know how unusual this is."
"I feel funny about that... I mean, that she came here to see me, but she's never come here to see you, right?"
Heero twitched one shoulder in an abortive shrug. "I've gone home with reasonable frequency; it's simpler that way." He nuzzled the Banshee's exposed ear, tasting his slight sunburn. "You may have noticed, she never goes anywhere outside our territory without an entourage."
"All of them?" he snickered. "They must give airliners fits."
"On occasion. Faiesa, Rigel, Kohaku and Kiba are extras this time, just because it's you they came to see, but she never goes anywhere without the Five."
"Still makes me feel weird," Duo grumbled. "They're your family."
"They're yours too, now."
"Yeah..." Heero lifted his head enough to see the grin that he heard in Duo's voice.
"Are you... very tired?"
"Not... very tired..."
"Good... I have a confession..."
"You want to screw me into the bed?"
"Of course, but after the confession."
"Of course. Carry on confessing, then."
"I told Giniro what really happened."
"I know."
Heero rose up on one elbow to look down at his love. "You know? How did you know?"
Duo smirked up at him, purple eyes almost glowing in the moonlight. "I know you and your damn guilt. I knew you'd have to tell her eventually. If you hadn't, I would've had to, and I really did not want to do that. You saved me some more embarrassment." He wound his arms around Heero's neck, drawing him down to whisper against his lips. "So, thank you, Wyvern; how can I ever repay you?"
"Hnn... Why don't you start by turning over?"
~*~
"Wow, Duo; I can see why Heero wants to live here." Rigel turned in a circle, taking in the Castle, the lake, the blue/grey/purple mountains, the picturesque town. "This is beautiful!" He looked down at the Banshee. "Oh, so are you! I know that's a big part of why he's so happy here. Having you..."
Duo shrugged in embarrassment. "He's been here a lot longer than I have," he muttered. He still couldn't imagine Heero and Rigel... together. Rigel was just so... so exuberant. He couldn't quite figure out, if Heero did enjoy that exuberance, why he would have traded Rigel's brand of exuberance for his own.
"Oh, yeah! Sure! He went to school here," Rigel pronounced. "But everyone expected him to come home after. When they offered the internship, and he took it... well, we were all surprised."
"School?" echoed Duo blankly. "Heero went to school here?"
"Oh, yeah! Actually, he had offers from three schools; here, Shanghai and some place in the Balkans." He waved a hand dismissively. "That place was out; IchiBan went there and was appalled. She checked out the school in Shanghai too, and it was better, but then the Wizard recommended the Castle, so she sent Heero here."
Duo stared at him. Now, where the hell was his brain, that he didn't realize that Heero had gone to this school? He said he'd interned here; he was intimately acquainted with all the nooks and crannies of the place; he knew the staff of both the school and the Department of Magick.
"The Wizard?" he echoed.
"Yeah, the blond one. Looks like a little angel, until you piss him off."
"You mean Q?"
"Yeah; he came to the Clanhold when we were about ten and picked Heero." He grinned in remembrance. "The adults were all excited, but we didn't know what the deal was. Then the next summer, Heero went off to a Wizarding school." He shook his head ruefully. "I always knew Heero was special; I just never would have guessed that he could be a Wizard too."
"Heero's a Wizard?" Just like... just like Wufei... Duo blinked. What the hell?
"Well, yeah. Didn't you know?"
~*~
"Rigel, we have to talk. Now."
"Oh sure, Heero. Hey, this is a great party; what do you call this stuff again?"
"It's called barbeque. Why did you tell Duo that I'm a Wizard?"
"Um... Well, you are. Oh. You haven't told him?"
"It's not a part of my life; I am a Wyvern, not a Wizard. I do not use it."
"But he's your Chosen! I thought you told him everything!"
"Rigel..."
"...."
"It makes me uncomfortable; you know that."
"I guess... But you're so good..."
"I don't use it."
~ sigh ~
"Then you're wasting all that time and effort, dude. If it were me -"
"We've already had this conversation, Rigel. You are not me; I am not you."
"Yeah..."
"And now I have to explain the past to him, and justify myself all over again."
"Sorry, Heero. I just assumed he knew..."
"Do not make assumptions; they always get you into trouble."
"Yeah. Are you going to be pissed at me forever?"
"Rigel... No, I'm not going to be pissed forever. Maybe for a few hours."
"Okay. Hey, did I mention how good this stuff is? What do you call it? Barbeque? Tastes great!"
~*~
The blue-haired female hugged Duo again. She couldn't seem to keep from touching him, as if in constant need of reassurance that he was real and all right.
"We were so stunned when we heard!" she exclaimed again. "Giniro called us immediately. We wanted to come then, but Heero was adamant that you needed to rest."
"I was pretty well out of it for a while," the Banshee admitted reluctantly. "It took forever to get the drug out of my system. I probably wouldn't have realised you were even here."
She peered into his eyes anxiously. "But you're okay now?"
"I'm fine now," he grinned. "Back at work, got my appetite back, as you can see." He lifted the overflowing plate of food. "I seem to get weepy over sad movies now, which is kind of annoying, but I just avoid sad movies."
"We're really relieved that you're okay," said Kiba after swallowing a mouthful of potato salad. "Faiesa wanted to pull a squad and go after the kidnappers immediately. Giniro had quite a time talking her down."
Duo blinked. Faiesa hadn't seemed terribly concerned about him yesterday. She'd hugged him and patted his cheek and muttered something about "tempered steel," but that was all. The warrior female had been worried about him? Holy wow...
"Um... So, you guys got the tour and all?"
"Trowa was nice enough to show us around. Bet he doesn't get any grief when he's in that form," said Kiba in admiration for the Were-Puma.
"Nah, he and Wufei have no trouble when they're in their Were phases," Duo laughed. "Trowa just stares at people and they do what he wants. And Wufei blows smoke at them."
"Where is Wufei, anyway?" asked Kohaku. "I haven't seen him since yesterday."
Duo ducked his head. "He... um... muttered something about stuff and nonsense and flew off somewhere. He's... you know... kind of cranky."
"He was talking to Rigel yesterday," Kiba reminded his Chosen, and she rolled her eyes in understanding.
Duo arched one eyebrow questioningly.
"Just a little pissing contest," Kiba replied. He glanced at Kohaku. "Um... You do know that Rigel had a... a crush on Heero, right?"
"Yeah, Heero told me when we visited Clan Torii."
"Good. I guess Chang had a crush on Heero as well, back when they first began working together." He blinked at Duo's wide-eyed look. "Ah, you didn't know about that one..."
"It was sort of... implied once, but I didn't pay too much attention," Duo said slowly. He plastered on a rather hesitant grin. "Damn. Sounds like Heero's been breaking hearts all over the place."
Kohaku leaned close to him, lowering her voice. "He's a handsome guy, Duo, and his background is fantastic. He's intelligent, powerful, dedicated, loyal... People have been chasing Heero since he was fourteen. He had his little flings, and he and Rigel were close for a while, but I think he outgrew all that by the time he started working here." She smirked over the top of her soda. "You could actually hear the female hearts in the Clan breaking when Heero and I got together to fulfill our obligations."
"I believe there were a number of male hearts also in tatters," came the wry comment from behind the tree. All three jumped guiltily.
"Heero!" cried Kohaku. "You sneak!"
Her hands being full of food, she couldn't smack him, so he took advantage of that to give his cousin a quick squeeze, before wrapping his arms around his Banshee.
"Of course; how else will I find out what nonsense you're spouting," Heero smirked.
Duo poked him in the ribs, grinning. "Doesn't sound like 'nonsense' to me; sounds like your Clan has pretty damn good taste, Yuy."
The Wyvern snorted. "Well, I have pretty good taste also, and my taste likes your taste." He nibbled along the Banshee's neck and shoulder. "Delicious."
Kiba looked them up and down, trying not to grin. "I'd say that goes both ways. Uh, Duo; you're about to lose that plate."
Duo started and quickly righted his plate of food. Damn, but Heero was distracting!
"Damn, Heero; I think we need to talk some more about your past love life," he teased.
Heero glared at Kiba. "See what you started," he accused.
"Not me!" he protested. "She did it!" He pointed to Kohaku, who pouted.
"Oh, fine; both of you just turn on me, why don't you! Duo, make the big mean lizards stop picking on me!"
"Hey, you heard the lady! Stop picking on her; she's someone's mother!"
Kohaku blinked at him. "Not much of a defense, Banshee," she chided.
"I don't have many brain cells left," he muttered as Heero's mouth worked its way across the back of his neck and down to suck at his collarbone.
"Mine!" rumbled the soft growl in his ear.
~*~
"Rigel."
"Hi, Kiba. Hey, did you try the barbeque? Stuff is great! I want to ask the kitchen how it's done, so I can have it at home."
"It is delicious... But I'm not here to talk about food."
"Didn't think so... You gonna yell, or just lecture?"
"Lecture, for now. Wufei works with Heero and Duo; it's not fair of you to tease him."
"Aw, come on, Kiba. He's just so... so poke-able. Always getting indignant and righteous over everything."
"He's a Were-Dragon; that's just how they are."
"A Five-Toed Chinese Imperial Were-Dragon. Geez, he says that every time I see him. Like that makes him the head of the class or something."
"You both had your moments in Heero's life; why can't you just let it go now?"
"I dunno... He just irritates me when he sticks his snout up in the air, like I'm... I don't know - trash or something. I don't actually dislike him... He's just... annoying."
"Well, whatever went on between him and Heero, it's over now. They are friends, and if you keep poking at him, Heero will notice. He takes his friendships seriously, Rigel. Do you really want him to have to step between you?"
"No... Chang is just such a prick sometimes..."
"And you're not?"
"Well... maybe. A little. But not to Heero!"
"You hurt his friends and he'll hurt you. You hurt his Chosen and he'll kill you without a second thought."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll try to be nicer to the little snot... Hey, Kiba; did you know that Chang had the hots for Duo? Apparently still does..."
"As long as he doesn't try to come between them, that's irrelevant."
"Nah... He's an honorable Were-Dragon; wouldn't demean himself that way."
"Then how about you try being a little more honorable yourself and get your jealousy under wraps? Before Duo or Heero notices it."
"...okay... 'm sorry... Not trying to be a jerk; it's just... I feel... Um... Left out, I guess..."
"Why not try making friends with Chang? You both like Heero and Duo; you should have some other interests in common. He's supposed to be an outstanding swordsman..."
"Really...? Huh. Wonder what sort of blade he prefers..."
~*~
"Did the accommodations meet with your approval, IchiBan?" asked the Wizard.
"Absolutely. I should have called ahead, as my grandson has grumbled at me, but this was something of a spur of the moment decision."
Q smirked at the tall Wyvern. "I didn't think Dragons made spur of the moment decisions."
"I do," she grinned. "I take after my father that way. He's something of a maverick and considered unpredictable by other Great Dragons." She sipped at her beer. "I wanted to see that Duo is all right with my own eyes. I wanted to lay hands on him and feel that he is better." She fixed the blond Wizard with a sharp eye. "He is better, isn't he?"
"He is better," Q confirmed. "He had a rough couple of weeks, but he's got his equilibrium back and his appetite." He glanced across the garden to where Duo was laughing with Kohaku, Kiba, Heero and Tiffany. "He still has some 'moments' but they are becoming less frequent as time passes. He refuses to let this rule his life; I am amazed sometimes at his stubbornness."
"I am not." She gazed at the laughing group. "I knew Heero's father; he too was so much more than he seemed. I think Banshees are a hardy race; even more so when they've been tempered by fire."
"I agree..." The Wizard glanced at the buffet tables. "Looks like they've left some of the cake for us. Shall we...?" He offered his arm and the Wyvern took it amiably.
"Of course. Tell me, Q," she smirked at the shorter Wizard; "what's in something called a 'dump cake'?"
~*~
"They look like regular people..."
"Well, they're shapeshifters."
"They don't look scary..."
"You've seen Mr Yuy in his shifted form, haven't you?"
"...."
"What?! Never?! Have you been hiding under a rock?"
"Hey, I'm paid to cook and serve, not to sneak around and spy on the execs."
"Huh. I don't know how you could miss him; he's out flying twice a day."
"I've only been here a couple of months..."
"Well, the vine says they're leaving in a couple of hours; be back here then and you'll get to see them change and launch. It's really cool!"
"And you know this, how?"
"I told you - Mr Yuy flies twice a day, dawn and dusk. Don't you ever come out of the kitchens?"
"I like to cook."
"All the time?"
"I come out. Sometimes I help serve. I just don't putz around."
"Your cake is gone..."
"I have another... There."
"This one's chocolate...."
"I thought it might make a nice change from the yellow."
"Oh, here come the bosses. Where are you going?"
"...."
"They won't bite you; Wizard Q is very nice. Come on; you're a server, aren't you? Well, get over there and serve them!"
....~~~....
"See? It was fine!"
"Did you read her t-shirt?!"
"Why?"
"It says 'I eat what I like and I like you'!"
"Well... She's a Dragon..."
"...."
~*~
Duo went from Wyvern to Wyvern, hugging each one. He even hugged each of the Five, who looked rather startled, but pleased to have been noticed.
Giniro shook her head, smirking. "They'll be babbling about that for the rest of their terms. No one ever acknowledges the Five."
"Maybe they should," suggested Heero. "I remember feeling quite unappreciated sometimes..."
She cast him a sidelong look. "The Five are not supposed to have personalities, my dear. They are guards."
"But they are still Wyverns and therefore have intense personalities."
"Hm... I will think about that. I can't have them calling me 'Ichi' or slouching around chewing gum and swilling sodas on duty. But I suppose a bit of individuality might not hurt."
"Maybe give them uniforms of different colors. Aspen looks almost nauseous in that shade of green."
"You know, I really hate that color... Perhaps I'll stop in Tokyo and see if any of the designers have suggestions," she allowed thoughtfully. "I do believe this has been a very good experience."
Heero cocked one eyebrow at his grandmother. "Oh, yes?"
"I've seen your home, I've seen your Banshee, I've seen this place and met your coworkers and I am now contemplating a complete restructuring of the Five. A very productive trip." She looked around at the massive stone Castle, the sleeker, more modern out-buildings, the lake (with a cantankerous Were-Dragon barely visible in the distance, arguing with the moat monster) and the magnificent mountains. "I feel... refreshed."
"You should come more often, Sobo," murmured Heero. "Maybe go some other places as well. Europe, South America, Africa... Take some vacations."
She draped an arm around Heero's shoulders. "You're quite something, you know that? I am so very proud of you, Heero. Now, grab hold of your Banshee, before one of these rapacious Dragons decides to snatch him up and carry him off."
TBC...
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