by Haruka

The dark-haired knight strode down the corridor and stopped in front of the guards who stood outside a pair of wooden double doors. They immediately tried to look alert.
"You may both leave. I will take up guard duty tonight."
"Are you sure, my Lord?" one of the men asked doubtfully. "There are supposed to be two guards "
"Another will be joining me shortly. Go on, get some rest."
The men weren't about to argue further with their superior, so they took their leave. The knight glanced up and down the corridor, then slipped inside the double doors.
Although all lights were extinguished, the moon provided enough illumination for him to cross the room to the large curtained bed. He brushed the curtain aside and smiled warmly at the sleeping figure. White-blonde hair that shimmered like diamonds framed a face of breathtaking beauty, even with the sky-blue eyes closed in slumber. The knight sighed, wishing he could allow the exquisite youth a few more hours of undisturbed rest. Regretfully, they didn't have that luxury. He leaned down and gently shook the boy by the shoulder.
"Prince Arislan," he said, "you must get up now. Time is running short."
The blue eyes blinked open sleepily, then quickly focused. "Daryun!" he exclaimed, springing from the bed fully dressed. "Did I fall asleep?! Are we too late?"
"No, Your Highness, but we must hurry," Daryun went to the bedroom doors and peered out. "Narsus should be waiting for us out front by now."
"Then let us not keep him waiting any longer." Arislan reached under the bed and pulled out a large gunny sack. He stepped inside it and began pulling it up over himself. Daryun assisted him until the last platinum-blonde hair disappeared inside. He then stuffed a couple of pillows into the sack with him to make it appear more padded.
"I'm sorry for this manner of transport, my Prince," Daryun apologized as he reached down and lifted the bagged Arislan over his shoulder.
"It's the only way to leave the palace unnoticed," the boy's muffled voice replied. "I'm fine, so don't worry about me. Let us go now."
Daryun took one more look into the corridor before venturing out. He kept a steady, but not hurried pace. Too much haste would attract attention. He nodded at people he passed, and they returned the greeting, assuming him to be carrying laundry or supplies.
The trip to the palace's front entrance seemed endless, but in reality lasted only a few minutes. He walked out and continued until he reached the grove of trees that was to be their meeting place. A handsome man with long hair sat astride a horse, holding the reins of two others.
"I was beginning to worry," he chided mildly.
"Why, Narsus, I'm touched." Daryun stopped and gently set the full sack down, helping Arislan out of it.
"My concern was for the Prince," Narsus retorted. "Are _you_ all right, Your Highness?"
"Yes, fine." Arislan took his horse's reins and mounted. "Did anyone see you?"
"No, we're safe as long as we depart swiftly."
Daryun swung into the saddle of the third horse. "Then let us do so."
They set off at a gallop, leaving the royal palace in the distance.
"When do you think we will be able to return?" Arislan asked.
"Gieve and Pharengese will send a message through Azriel once they have tracked down the would-be assassin," Narsus said. "Until then, we will be safe on the ship."
"I'm still not sure this is a good idea," Daryun told him. "We will have to live deceitfully for several weeks. If anyone suspects we are not what we seem "
"There's no reason why they should as long as we remain in our roles," Narsus said.
"I trust Narsus' judgement, Daryun," Arislan said firmly.
"Yes, Your Highness, but we are all aware of your views on slavery. These so-called Pet Masters are little better than slave- keepers."
"Exactly why no one would expect to find me or my two closest friends in one of their Communities."
"At least reconsider your role," Daryun pleaded. "I would be willing to play the part of the Pet to spare you "
"As I told you earlier," Narsus interrupted, "my research shows the majority of Pets to be young boys and girls. Prince Arislan would be more believable in the part."
Arislan smiled reassuringly at Daryun. "I understand your concern, but try not to worry, for I'm sure everything will be all right."
Daryun frowned. "If it weren't for those two close calls recently I wouldn't even consider something like this. But your life is in danger and protecting you is our first priority."
"Then it's agreed, we're doing the right thing." Arislan smiled. Narsus laughed at the resulting look on Daryun's face.
"Next time I've an easel within reach, _that's_ the first thing I'm painting."
Arislan giggled, and Daryun pretended to look even more disgruntled, but privately, he was relieved to hear it. As long as his Prince was safe and in high spirits, he would take any amount of teasing from Narsus.

Hiei tried not to walk too quickly. He knew Van was less than anxious to return to Nakago, and he couldn't blame him. In the past couple of hours, however, he'd grown increasingly worried about Kurama and knew only seeing him in person would calm his fears.
As they arrived at Nakago's cabin door, Van put a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you, Hiei-sensei. I appreciate your and Kurama's sacrifice more than you could know. Please express my gratitude to him for me.
"I will," Hiei said, and knocked on the door. Nakago opened it and smiled.
"Well, all good things must come to an end, I guess. Come in." He turned away. "Kurama! Your Master is here!"
Hiei looked toward the bedroom doorway and his heart skipped a beat, then pounded loudly in his chest.
Kurama entered the living room slowly. His hair was damp as if from a recent bath, but as clean as he appeared, he still looked godawful. One entire side of his beautiful face was black and blue. His lip was split. One eye had a shiner. There were bruises all over his arms and legs. Hiei was torn between flying into a rage and bursting into tear gems.
It wasn't until he reached him when Kurama met his dismayed gaze. "Good evening, Master Hiei. I'm ready to go."
It was in the green depths a silent plea for him to stay calm. Hiei wanted more than anything to ignore Kurama's wishes, but to do that would likely blow both their covers. Then everything his fox had just gone through would be for nothing.
"I hope Van was satisfactory," Nakago said smoothly. "Because I asssure you that Kurama was thoroughly enjoyable."
Hiei slowly turned blood-red eyes upon him. I will kill you, he thought. When this is over and you least expect it, you will die.
Aloud he said, "Hn." Then turned away. "Come, Kurama."
The redhead followed, glancing at Van as he passed. The smaller boy was pale, his eyes still wide with horror at Kurama's condition. Kurama paused, and reached back into his hair, producing a rose. He handed it to Van and continued out after Hiei. Nakago walked over to shut the door.
"Strange boy," he remarked. "But an exceptional one." He stretched, yawning. "Go to bed, Van. I have no need of you tonight."
Van watched him walk off to his own room and close the door. He looked down at the perfect red rose.
"Thank you, Kurama," he murmured. "Thank you."

Yuri came out of the bathroom, rubbing her lilac hair with a fluffy towel. She glanced over to where Kei sat on the couch, stuffing her face with potato chips as she read a book, pointedly ignoring Yuri. She had been there most of the evening, pretending she couldn't hear anything Yuri said. She _knew_ what Kei was waiting for an apology. Not that she really deserved one as far as Yuri was concerned, but this silence was getting very tedious.
"I'm going to bed soon," Yuri said.
Kei replied by chewing the chips with her mouth open. No doubt this was designed to drown her out, Yuri thought, and narrowed her eyes.
"Are you _ever_ going to speak to me again?" she asked.
Chomp, crunch.
"It wasn't my fault, you know!"
Chew, munch.
"It was YOUR fault!"
Kei sat up abruptly, dumping her book on the floor and scattering chips everywhere. "MY fault!" she sputtered.
"I'm glad we agree on that." Yuri turned to head for the bedroom. She only took two steps before Kei grabbed her and spun her around.
"How dare you say it was my fault!" the redhead yelled. "You're the one who slapped _me_!"
"I had to!" Yuri yanked her arm from Kei's grasp. "And the reason I had to was because you were an idiot and ran into Sesshomaru!"
"It was an accident!"
"He didn't care, Kei! And he wanted you _beaten_! You're lucky you got off with just a slap across the face!"
Kei folded her arms. "That wasn't _just_ a slap, it was brutal! You knocked me down! And you haven't even apologized!"
"Why should I?!" Yuri exploded. "You should apologize to _me_! I'm the one who has to deal with the other Masters and explain my incorrigible Pet's behavior every five minutes! You love making things difficult for me!"
"And you _loved_ hitting me!" Kei accused.
Yuri blinked. "That's not so."
"Isn't it?" Kei demanded.
"No!" Yuri yelled, then took a deep breath. "Maybe we don't always get along, but you're my partner. I may have wanted to kill you at least once a day since we've known each other, but I never wanted to hit you."
Kei didn't respond and Yuri sighed.
"If it makes you feel better, I'm sorry you put me in a position where I was forced to hit you."
"Is that supposed to be an apology?" Kei said incredulously.
Yuri shrugged. "It's the best I can offer."
Kei snorted. "Well," she said grudgingly, "since Lina already healed my face I guess I can put this aside."
"Good." Yuri smiled. "Now go to bed." She headed for her room.
"Stop telling me what to do!" Kei bellowed after her.
Yuri laughed as she closed her bedroom door.

Hiei shut the cabin door and watched Kurama with concern. His fox hadn't said a word since leaving Nakago and seemed reluctant to even look him in the eyes. Even now he was staring at the floor.
"Kurama?"
No response. Hiei shifted from concerned to afraid.
"Kurama?" he repeated in a softer tone.
The redhead still said nothing, but Hiei noticed that he'd begun to tremble. Damn it, he thought. I'm so bad at this. He's scared or upset or both and I don't know what the hell to do.
"Van told me about the nullifying magic in the wristbands," Hiei said. "When I get my hands on Fish Eye he's seafood."
A tear slipped down Kurama's cheek. Hiei was at a loss. Not knowing what else to say, he wrapped his arms around the boy's waist. Kurama immediately knelt down and clung to him, sobbing.
"I want to _kill_ that bastard Nakago," Hiei growled huskily, stroking the red tresses that smelled naturally of roses. "I want to kill ANYONE who hurts you!"
"Van ...." Kurama murmured, his voice thick.
"What about him?"
"He's been ... with Nakago all ... this time," Kurama gasped out through his tears. "I only spent ... a few hours with him. We HAVE to get ... him out of there!"
Hiei pulled back to look Kurama in the eyes. "Is _that_ what you're crying about? What _Van's_ gone through?"
Kurama broke down again and Hiei hugged him fiercely. "My fox," he whispered. "Don't worry, we'll get him out."
"Fox," Kurama sniffled and looked at Hiei. "Youko ... He came out."
"While you were with Nakago?" Hiei's eyes widened. "What happened?"
"Nakago raped him," Kurama wiped his eyes, breathing deeply to calm himself. "But Youko didn't really care."
"Hn. I'm not surprised. He's been through it all before."
"It frustrated Nakago that he couldn't break Youko. So I ...." Kurama paused.
"You took over?" Hiei demanded roughly.
Kurama nodded guiltily. "I couldn't let him take his anger and frustration out on Van, Hiei."
The Koorimei raised a hand and Kurama flinched as if expecting a slap. The small hand touched his bruised cheek gently.
"I'm proud of you, Fox," Hiei said firmly. "I may not always approve of self-sacrifice for humans, but Van needs everything we can do for him. And you mastered Youko. That alone is a great accomplishment."
Kurama smiled and wrapped his arms around Hiei. They kissed deeply, until Hiei noticed the redhead wince.
"Your lip is too painful for that," he said curtly. "Let's go see Scarlet I hear her Pet Lina has some kind of healing power."
"Then can we pick up where we left off?" Kurama asked mischievously.
"Haven't you had enough tonight?"
"Nakago doesn't count."
"Hn."

"Fish Eye, may I speak to you?"
The blue-haired Changechild looked up at Nuriko and felt his stomach muscles clench. "Sure," he said in a small voice.
Nuriko gracefully knelt beside him under the cherry tree and fiddled with one of the fallen blossoms. "We missed you at the briefing."
"I had nothing useful to add," Fish Eye replied. "Besides," he lowered his head, "I couldn't face everybody."
"You know, Fishie, you _are_ allowed to make mistakes." Nuriko put a finger under Fish Eye's chin and turned his head to look at him. "You're half-human, after all."
The younger boy's eyes moistened. "But my mistake could have killed somebody! We still don't know that it didn't!"
"We don't know that it _did_, either," Nuriko said firmly. "And whatever happened has already happened, so there's no point in crying over what you can't control."
Fish Eye sighed. "I know you're right, it's just "
"No," Nuriko interrupted. "No more negative thinking, okay? We're going on that ship tonight and we expect you to hold good thoughts for us." His voice softened. "It hasn't been that long, honey. Chances are, nothing happened because of your oversight, and we'll warn the others as soon as we can, okay?"
Fish Eye nodded and Nuriko hugged him. Over his shoulder, the Seishi saw something that he knew would brighten Fish Eye's spirits. "Hey, look who's here."
Fish Eye pulled back from Nuriko and looked behind him. His eyes widened and a huge smile spread over his face.
"Hawk Eye! Tiger Eye!" He jumped up and ran to be embraced by his brothers.
"Fish Eye!" Hawk Eye spun him around joyously. "We missed you so much!"
"We were _worried_ about you, too!" Tiger Eye squished him next. "Two months without a word!"
"I know I couldn't I oh, I'm so glad to see you!" Fish Eye hugged them both again.
Nuriko smiled as he watched the reunion, thinking how right it was that the Amazon Trio were together again. Muscular, sexy Hawk Eye and beautiful, vain Tiger Eye complimented pretty, effeminate Fish Eye perfectly. The three of them were more devoted to each other than most siblings despite being from three species that usually fed on each other.
"How'd it go, boys?" he asked.
"Hi, Nuriko-sensei!" Hawk Eye greeted. He ran a hand through his spiky pink hair. "It went fine, no problems at all." He gave Nuriko a look that could be read as concern, hope, or a mixture. "Tsuzuku got back, didn't he?"
"Yes, and he's fine," Nuriko assured him with a smile.
Tiger Eye's blonde hair swirled around his shoulders as he turned to look at Fish Eye. "How about _your_ mission_, Fishie? How'd you and Van make out?"
"It's a long story," Fish Eye sighed. "Sit down and I'll tell you about it."
"I'll go let Setsuna know you're back," Nuriko said, and left the brothers to exchange stories.

"This is the way I search the room, search the room, search the room ...." Duo sang softly to himself as he opened first one drawer and then another. It was risky Quatre and Ryoga were both in the cabin but he didn't have much choice. It was looking more and more like he'd never have any time alone there, if one wasn't with him, the other one was.
Ryoga was a pest, plain and simple. His piglet counterpart was no better if anything, P-chan was _more_ annoying. The only good thing was that he wasn't expected to have sex with P-chan. How many times had Quatre watched them together the previous day? Too many. And that was before he'd had time to recover from the night before _that_. Thankfully, Quatre was enjoying an early-morning session with Ryoga, so he had a little time to poke around.
Nothing of interest in that drawer, how about the closet ....
Duo wondered how Kurama had made out with Nakago. He hoped the new agent was okay. And speaking of new agents, how were Kei and Yuri dealing with that incident at lunch? He could practically feel the tension between the two of them at that time, and _he_ didn't have any psychic power. The other Seigi group was supposed to board that evening. He suppressed a grin when he thought of the look on Nuriko's face when he saw him ....
"What are you doing?"
Duo froze. He'd been on his tip-toes, reaching for a suitcase stored on the closet's top shelf. He slowly lowered himself and his arms and turned to face Quatre. Ryoga stood further back, in the bedroom doorway, watching.
"Doing?" Duo repeated brilliantly.
"Yes." Quatre folded his arms. "What are you doing?"
"Looking?" Duo said in a way that sounded more like a question than an answer.
"For what?"
Think, Duo, think, he ordered himself. "Um ...," he stalled. Nothing he could come up with would keep him out of trouble, but at least he could avoid the absolute truth that could get him killed. He forced a sheepish grin. "Loose change."
Quatre frowned. "What?"
"I wanted to go to the game room during Free Time today," Duo lied as he shrugged, the guilty grin still on his face. "To play the pinball machines. I remembered that lots of times people leave spare coins in the pockets of their suitcases and "
"You thought you'd steal it," Quatre concluded.
"Right! No, wrong!"
"Any change in this cabin belongs to me, Duo, and if you take it, you're stealing, as simple as that." Quatre shook his head. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you'd asked for change, I'd have given it to you."
"Can I have some, then?" Duo said with what he hoped was a cajoling smile.
"What you can have is a spanking for your dishonesty," Quatre told him and motioned to his other Pet. "Take care of it, Ryoga."
"Yes, Master." Ryoga grinned and advanced on Duo, who backed up.
"No, wait! Can't we talk about HEY! Whaddya think you're doing?! Lemme go!"
What Ryoga was doing was grabbing Duo with one powerful hand and relieving him of his pants with the other. He plopped down on the sofa and yanked the long-haired boy over his lap.
"Don't you DARE, Ryoga! Let me go! OW!" Duo yelped as Ryoga's hand descended on his bottom sharply. "That hurt, you OW! Hey, not so hard! I never did anything to OW! I'll rip your damn head off for this OW! Pig! Pig! Soooeeey, pig OW! Just wait'll I get you alone OW! I'll make P-chan into pork chops OW! You son of a s OW!"
"That's enough, Ryoga," Quatre said.
The spanking ceased and Ryoga stood up, depositing Duo on unceremoniously on the floor.
"I hope you learned something from that, Duo," Quatre told him sternly. "I have no tolerance for thieves. Get cleaned up and we'll go to breakfast."
"Yes, Master," Duo said weakly as he struggled to his feet. Learned something? Yeah, I sure did, he thought. First of all, never again try to search the room if anyone else is here, even if my next chance doesn't come for a while. And secondly, don't _ever_ get myself spanked by someone with superhuman strength again. Oh, my poor butt ....

End of Chapter 13

I own none of the characters used in Seigi.
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