| Gundam Wing: Legend of Mystiks Chapter 36 � But I---� � Sit!� Cosmos sat. Duo did as well after a moment. � You�re otousan�s name was Garin---� � Isn�t that---� Cosmos closed her mouth and ducked submissively under Shinigami�s glare. � Gomen.� � Don�t ask me anything until I�m done. Got it?� Cosmos nodded. � Good. Anyway, your father�s name was Garin and yes, your otousan and the Shinigami before me were the same person. When I was chosen to be his successor I went to meet him. I saw how well he interacted with the Reapers and souls and I thought �I want to be like that.� So when that generation�s Kami was killed by something--we still don�t know what it was--I and the others� fathers took the place of our respective elder, even though they weren�t dead. Garin and I remained close friends and we kept in touch. � I don�t know exactly what happened, but from what I surmise, it was at least a dozen Ferals. All I�m sure about is that two weeks after our last conversation Garin showed up half dead. He was bleeding badly--I�m not going into detail because it made me ill seeing it--and holding something wrapped in his shirt. He told me that Lara, your okaasan, had been attacked right after giving birth and that he hadn�t reached her in time but had managed to save the child. I promised to watch over it until my own death and he smiled and disappeared. I never saw him again, alive or dead. When he was gone, you and I had about three seconds of bonding time be- fore Lily�s friend arrived with her news.� Shinigami said the last part bitterly, then shrugged helplessly. � That�s all I know.� Cosmos stared at the grass in front of her, mouth open and eyes wide. Concerned, Duo leaned toward her and put his hand on her shoulder. � Cosmos? Dai---� He never finished because Cosmos turned to him and dropped into his lap, sobbing loudly. Duo gathered her up and wrapped his wings around her, giving her head a kiss and cooing soothingly. He then looked up at Shinigami and the full force of his mother�s death hit him finally. � Exactly the same, Otousan,� he murmured, tears forming in his eyes. � We lost them the same way.� The Death God went over and hugged both kids as they cried, making sure to keep them enveloped in his black cloak because for some reason, probably because they were children of Death, they only calmed when it was dark and they knew they were safe. He cuddled them to soothe them, then gathered them in his arms and went to the castle to notify Halcyon where the two would be, but she and the others, were gone. Shrugging, Shinigami disappeared to the Seventh Dimension. *~*~* Heero walked a few paces behind Airia to gauge her running speed. <Hn. She could probably get up to thirty-five miles per hour easily. Forty would be average and forty-five a stretch, but she could do it. I should challenge her one day.> He watched where her left foot was going to step and paused. <That doesn�t look right like that.> He suddenly realized what it was. � No Airia!� She turned, placing her foot on the spot. But instead of settling on the soft ground, her foot went right through the leaves and the rest of her followed. � Ah!� She quickly vanished from view. Heero ran to the edge of the small hole and dropped to his hands and knees to peek in. � Airia?!� � . . . Daijibou,� was the hesitant reply. Airia looked up at him from fifteen feet down into the earth and sighed. � I think. My shoulder�s hurting a little.� Heero felt a strange sense of relief when she said she wasn�t injured badly. He closed his eyes and thanked Quatre�s father profusely. Staring down at Airia again, Heero read her fear of being trapped. � Daijibou ka,� he soothed. He took in the size of the hole. It was too small to fly down or for Airia to fly up. Calling the Wind wouldn�t help because he didn�t trust himself with the Element�s control and with no room for the Element, it would be more likely to hurt her further rather than help her escape. He stood and started to walk away, but a quiet whimper stopped him. He turned and knelt by the hole again. � Relax, Airia. I won�t go far. I�ll come back. I�m just going to look for something to get you out of there.� � How long will you be gone?� � How long do you want me to be gone?� She was silent for a while. � It doesn�t matter. Just don�t leave me alone. As long as I know you�re here, I�ll be fine.� She tapped her temple for emphasis. He nodded and opened a mental channel between them. � I�ll be here.� He smiled genuinely--something he did only for her because he hadn�t managed anything more than an amused smirk for the others--then turned and left. It was a reluctant take-off; he really didn�t want to leave her alone. Not with the Ferals lurking around the area now. Shaking the thought off, Heero sped through the forest, looking for a good strong vine. *~*~* Halcyon watched him nap and giggled to herself. <He has to be getting a sunburn. I think I�ll just . . . help him cool off.> She sent a small stream of water onto his stomach, making him jump and look around wildly. She couldn�t help it. She laughed. Zechs narrowed his eyes at her over the top of his eye visor. Making a quick up and down motion with his hand, he sent a large wave of the river water onto her, drenching her completely and making her go into a shivering fit. � Ha ha,� he said as he laid down. � Got you back. Again.� The next water war was stopped by an unexpected visit. � Zechs. Halcyon.� Halcyon looked up in surprise. � Nurian-sama!� Zechs sat up and watched his father. � Nan da?� The Water Controller took a breath. � Halcyon, I have to tell you something very important. You must listen carefully . . .� |