The Game, Part 19

Part 19: “Considering a side quest”

They stopped and set up camp a few hours before nightfall. Heero, who was still locked in 'over-protective' mode, supported the decision. Duo thought it was
strange. Hotohori was the one who'd called for them to halt, saying the nearby lake was the only shallow one between them and the mountain. As if he were
doing it for Duo's sake, when he should have been so impatient to reach the mountain and get his miko back that he drove them on until it was too dark to
see. Duo kept his suspicions to himself for the moment and asked Nuriko to walk with him to the lake.

Heero made as if to follow. Duo stopped him with a sharp look. Being worried was one thing. Duo didn't mind that. Hovering, on the other hand, wasn't
something he'd stand for. Besides, someone had to do the dirty work to set up camp. He seriously doubted Hotohori would volunteer for that.

After the pristine hotsprings in Yukimura's realm, the lake looked more like a swamp than a pool to bathe in. Plants were growing out of it at random, not just
in the shallows, and the water was a bit browner than Duo cared for. He scrunched his nose and sent Nuriko a reluctant look.

"Think there's snakes in there?" asked Duo. "Or leeches?" His eyes widened at the thought. "Oh, man, I bet there are leeches. He's probably sitting over
there with a haughty smirk, just waiting for me to start screaming to get them off me."

Nuriko laughed. "That's the sort of thing I'd have done to Miaka when we first met. I wish I'd thought of it. Of course, that would have just led to fighting over
who got to rescue her first..."

He sighed, shook his head, and waved a hand at the water's edge. "See those tracks? That's why the water's muddy. We must have scared something
through here when we rode up. It'll settle clean enough if you wait. I don't think anything in there will bother you."

Duo raised an eyebrow at Nuriko's confident tone, as if the fancily dressed boy had experience living in the boondocks. "You do much bathing in swampy
lakes? No offense, but you guys don't have a speck of dirt on you. I didn't think nobility would know much about the outdoors."

"You might be surprised," said Nuriko. "But I won't take offence at that compliment. Talent is required to look this good after a day of traveling." He sniffed,
patting a hand on his perfect hair. Then he snuck a peek at Duo's expression and laughed. "I'm not joking with you, really. The emperor is perfectly coiffed
at all times - keeping up with the standard he sets is very difficult. You wouldn't believe how upsetting it is that Miaka attracts the eyes of every man around
her without so much as combing her hair. Only the miko would be tolerated in his presence while scruffy."

"Your emperor did strike me as a little vain," Duo admitted. He wanted to add 'snooty with a stick up his ass' but didn't know the Japanese words for that
phrase.

Rather than be insulted, Nuriko immediately nodded with an amused, and possibly bitter smile. "He's the most beautiful man in Konan, and he knows it. No
one but the legendary miko could ever be perfect enough for him. Which is why he's uncomfortable with you. Don't take it personally. I'm confident Miaka is
in love with Tamahome, so he would have been disappointed regardless."

Duo snorted. "So we really did drop into a love triangle. At least he wasn't being all twitchy just because I'm not a girl."

He slunk down against a tree to wait while the silt settled in the shallow water. Nuriko had looked away after his last comment. Duo took the chance to study
him. Whatever that vain emperor thought, Duo was convinced Nuriko was the prettiest male he'd seen. He couldn't help but wonder what this Miaka looked
like, to be competition for him.

"You know," Duo said slowly, "I'm a really honest person. Straight-forward, too. So I'm just going to tell you - I know you're not a girl. Heero knows, too. We
won't say a word to your emperor, but you should know so you won't be offended when I take my shirt off in a minute. That way we can keep talking while I
wash a little, and you won't get the wrong idea like when I offered to share the horse earlier."

Nuriko flinched, paled, and stood gaping at him. He looked threatened and shocked. Duo winced.

"Come on," Duo said, with a weak smile. "I figured Hotohori didn't know, that's why I didn't say anything sooner. I'm not going to tell him. I don't even like
talking to him. It's just, we're friends, so...I wanted to get it out of the way. It doesn't change anything. I knew it the moment I first saw you."

If anything, the more Duo talked, the more disturbed Nuriko looked. Duo noticed that and promptly stopped talking.

"You knew immediately?" Nuriko asked, looking both horrified and maybe annoyed. "It was that noticeable?"

"To me and Heero," Duo said quickly. "I think it's just us. We met a guy who cross-dressed in our first task, too. It seemed really obvious to us, but no one in
his world seemed to notice. And you're a lot more...authentic...than he was. You almost had Heero fooled. Heero notices everything."

"Oh," Nuriko said in a small voice. He frowned down at Duo for a long moment, remembering his first impression. Then a slow, sly, smile crept over his face.
"Maybe the two of you notice because you're the same."

As in cross-dressers? An image of Heero wearing one of Relena's dress uniforms flashed in front of Duo's eyes. He blinked and sent Nuriko a dumbfounded
look. "Huh? What do you mean, the same?"

"You like men," Nuriko shrugged, as if it were obvious.

Duo straightened in denial, "I'm not-" He fumbled when he realized he didn't know the word for gay, and started over. "I don't like men like that," he blurted. "I
don't have a problem with it, but I'm not attracted to men any more than I am to women."

Heero was the exception, not the rule. Duo had wondered about himself after that 'lust at first sight of tight black spandex shorts', but he'd come to the
conclusion it was a Heero-thing. Either that, or he was bi, because he'd seriously considered dating Hilde for a while there, before he realized they were too
similar to work out. And she'd wanted to be his mother rather than his girlfriend. But back to the subject, other than Heero, he couldn't think of a single time
he'd been attracted to another guy. Well, there had been one time when he'd caught himself 'noticing' Wufei, but that was one of those things he liked to
pretend had never happened. Like the time Dorothy's skirt had blown up and he'd accidentally looked a little longer than necessary.

Nuriko was giving him a droll stare. Duo fidgeted.

"Okay," Duo admitted, "I might be like that a little, with certain guys, but Heero definitely isn't. He doesn't like anyone that way, male of female. Most of the
people we know are guys and I spent a long time Heero-watching, I would have noticed if he ever looked at them like that. Not that he really could have even if
he wanted to since Wufei would have had a heart attack, Quatre would have gone Zero on him, and Trowa...well, there's an idea, but, yeah, Heero's definitely
not. Just tease him about sex and you get a gun to the face. I like girls, too, so it's not like I make a habit of scoping out guys. I might be a little more inclined
to notice because I'm not particular about guys versus girls, but..."

He paused for a second, "No, wait, I'm not particular so that would mean I don't really notice one more than the other. So technically I should be less likely to
notice if someone in a dress is a guy or a girl, not more. Nope, I think it's just a game thing. That and the complete lack of cleavage..."

Nuriko glowered, his arms folded over that completely cleavage-lacking chest of his.

"Yeah," Duo nodded, smiling and satisfied to have figured it out, "it's definitely the flat chest. Yukimura had the same problem. Where we come from women
have breasts, big ones. Even guys who cross-dress pad their bras or get implants. If you added a little of that, well, maybe I wouldn't have noticed as quick.
You'd just have to make sure they don't end up looking lumpy or crooked. Nothing gives a cross-dresser away like lopsided breasts. If we end up sticking
around for a while, I could help you with that, maybe get that guy to pay more attention - he'd never look at your face again, but at least he'd be looking.
Though, the emperor would probably notice if you suddenly went all D-cup on him. Maybe if you start with small ones and work your way up...like start with
this-"

"No, thank you," Nuriko interrupted. His mouth twitched at the demonstrative way Duo was cupping his hands. "I don't think it would help anything, and I don't
see the need."

Duo was starting to warm to the idea of helping the pretty cross-dresser, especially with how torn Nuriko looked between laughing and blushing. "It couldn't
hurt," he wheedled. "He's the reason you dress like that, right? He might end up disappointed when he finds out they're not real, but he'll end up with quite a
few things to deal with when it comes to that. Speaking of which...what are you going to do when he finds out you're not as female as you act? That's not a
crime here, is it?"

"Punishable by death," said Nuriko. He'd stopped smiling, but he didn't look overly concerned. "Any man who stepped foot inside the royal harem would be
executed. A man joining under disguise and becoming the favorite is definitely a crime here. But I don't plan to be discovered, and even if I were, they'd have
to make an exception for me since I'm a seishi. If I died, they'd have to wait for my reincarnation to summon Suzaku. That could take a very long time."

"Damn," Duo breathed. "All that for some conceited guy and you can't even get close enough for him to figure out you're not a girl. What's the point, just to
be near him? Doesn't sound like it's worth it..."

"There are other reasons," Nuriko smiled, "but just being close to Hotohori-sama is worth it. It's very worth it." He clasped his hands under his chin with a
dreamy fangirlish sigh. "Very..."

"Yeah," Duo grinned, "I caught that when he had you ride with him earlier. That's one major crush you got there."

"Crush?"

"Obsession," said Duo. "Yeah, more like an obsession. Especially if you're risking your life just to be around him. I have to give you props for that. There's a
girl in my world who used to do the same thing with Heero, pretty obsessive for a while there, but she got over it eventually. Silly stalker with a crush. If she'd
really been obsessed, she'd have gone your route and pretended to be a pilot to get close to him. That would have been genius, scary, but genius."

Despite the fact that they were both guys being in the open now, Nuriko kept his back turned while Duo washed. Duo didn't mind. It kept things comfortable
between them, and he had to admit Nuriko's blush when he turned his back was too honestly cute to pick at. If Nuriko actually lived in a harem, he probably
saw more naked women than men, anyway.

Duo kept the silence at bay by telling more about the realms they'd gone through, and his own world. Nuriko was especially interested in the way Relena had
stalked Heero, a subject Duo still found infinitely amusing. The piloting and politics surrounding that chase were better left unexplained. Nuriko didn't have
machinery in his world, and Duo couldn't seem to explain the concept of a mobile suit with words alone.

"I can't believe she'd give up after all of that," Nuriko complained. "So much effort and determination for nothing. Though, it worked out well for you."

Duo twisted the water out of his shirt with a nod. Then he remembered the nod wouldn't be seen and added, "Definitely. I wouldn't have gotten this far in the
game without Heero. I can see where Relena would give up, though. She probably met someone she liked better, or just finally realized Heero would never be
interested in her like that."

He shrugged on his coat, a little strange since his skin was still damp, but better than putting on the wet shirt and then the coat. He'd wait till it dried and just
sleep in the jacket tonight. Once he was finished he went over to tap Nuriko on the shoulder.

"I'm decent," Duo grinned. "It was really polite of you not to so much as peek."

Nuriko turned with a small smirk. "You're too trusting, almost as bad as Miaka."

"Eh?"

"If I didn't know you're not interested in Hotohori-sama, I could have done all sorts of things to you out here. A little peeking's nothing."

Duo gaped, "You did peek!"

"Of course I did," Nuriko scoffed. "That's nothing. The first time I met Tama, I kissed him right in front of Miaka. I'm not as innocent as you think I am."

"Oh," Duo blinked. "So, um, you really like guys, huh? You aren't gonna, like, hit on me, are you?"

Nuriko gave a catty little smile and prodded Duo in the direction they'd left the other two. "I don't need to, so I won't. I don't really like men, either, just
Hotohori-sama. I'm more like your Heero than you."

"What do you mean?" asked Duo.

"You said you liked both men and women, while Heero doesn't like either," Nuriko shrugged. "I never liked anyone till I met Hotohori-sama. So Heero's the
same as me. He doesn't like men or women, just you."

Duo snorted, "You're Hotohori-sexual. That's great. Not so sure about Heero, though. He tolerates me more than anyone else, but that's a friend-partner
thing."

Nuriko shot him a skeptical look, "Aren't partners the same? If you're loyal to each other, not interested in anyone else, and you care about each other, it's
the same thing. You don't have to have sex to be lovers."

That concept made Duo stumble for a second, a wide grin pulling at his face. "You do in my world. That's sort of the definition of lovers - two people who
have sex with each other. What kind of lovers don't have sex?"

"Miaka and Tama-chan," said Nuriko, with a knowing smile. "The lovers you and Heero replaced when you came here, Suzaku no Miko."

.-.

Duo found his partner sitting a few feet from a small fire, blankets and bedding set up to the side of him. Nuriko wandered off to the other side of the make-
shift camp to murmur quietly to the horses. For some reason the sight brought a smile to Duo's face. He had an idea Nuriko's childhood hadn't been spent
sitting prim and proper in some harem palace. Hotohori was nowhere to be seen, probably off somewhere bemoaning the loss of his miko. Duo rolled his
eyes and dropped down beside Heero.

"I had an interesting talk with Nuriko," said Duo. "Mostly about Hotohori, you, Miaka, and Relena. There's a lot of parallels going on here. Food for thought."

Heero raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure yet," Duo waved, "I'm still doing comparisons. First, I have a very simple question for you."

Heero waited for it until Duo's sober face started to twitch with a compulsive smirk. His own expression turned wary and a touch annoyed. That was the look
Duo wore when he was about to say something he knew would irritate him.

"If it's going to annoy me," Heero scowled, "don't ask."

"Too late," Duo grinned. "It's kind of embarrassing, but I'm too curious not to ask it now." He took a breath and wiped the smile off his face. "Okay, entirely
serious now. Are you attracted to me?"

Heero's eyebrow twitched. He couldn't see where that question had come from. Duo didn't even look flirtatious - his bangs were damp and limp, tired, his face
still had that sickly mix of flush and pallor, and he'd wrapped up his coat so he might as well have been shapeless. If it were a joke, Duo wasn't playing his part
well at all. Heero was sure Duo should have been standing with a hand on his hip, looking all jaunty and cute, when he popped a question like that. The
setting was all wrong.

"Why?" asked Heero, his eyes narrow. "Are you asking if I'm gay?"

"No," Duo said quickly, "I don't care if you're gay, straight, or bi. I just want to know if you're attracted to me. In general. I'm attracted to you, which-" and he
flashed a helpless smile, "you probably figured out already. I just wanted to know if it's mutual."

Heero stared at him silently, confused, suspicious, uncomfortable, and mostly looking thrown. Duo wondered if Heero had really never noticed him looking.
He'd told Nuriko that Heero noticed everything. Maybe they both had a spot of selective blindness when it came to each other. Heero dropped his eyes
suddenly, and Duo wished he hadn't said anything. Something like this could take their comfortable relationship and turn it inside out.

"Never mind," Duo said quickly, smiling when Heero glanced back at him. "Forget I said anything. I'm attracted to you, yeah, but it's nothing to get all bent out
of shape over. Not like I'm gonna jump you either way. I was just curious."

The way Duo admitted that was so careless, so...matter of fact. Heero thought it was the same voice Duo would use to admit he liked explosives. This wasn't
like teasing him about his clothing being too tight. He was serious. For some reason that annoyed Heero more than being teased would have. Duo was
honestly attracted, had been for some time apparently, and Heero hadn't noticed.

Heero scowled at the fire and thought about the hotsprings. Heat promptly crept up his face. He gritted his teeth and answered, anyway. "I think I'm attracted
to you. Sometimes," recently went unsaid, "I think so."

An arm curled over his shoulders immediately, and Heero scowled at the beaming grin Duo gifted him with. He knew what that meant - serious moment over,
back to teasing.

"That's great," Duo grinned. "I mean, I was okay with it just being me, but it's a lot easier if I know you have the same problem. Not quite as embarrassing to
be crushing on my best friend if he's crushing right back at me, you know?"

Heero glowered faintly, "I'm not crushing on you."

"Sure you're not," said Duo, "of course not. But this makes it nice. Out in the open where we can get used to it, and I don't have to wonder if you're asexual
anymore. That's a definite plus. I was attracted to you at first sight. Bet you didn't catch that at all, eh?"

Heero's stunned expression was answer enough.

"Didn't think so," Duo laughed. "That's half the reason I teased you so much about Relena - you're oblivious when it comes to stuff like that."

"Why didn't you say something?" asked Heero. "You joked, but you did that with everyone. You never said anything seriously."

"Ah, I didn't want to mess things up," Duo admitted. "I still don't. But we're...different now. Closer, and I don't have to act like an idiot to get your attention
these days. It's really hard to be serious with someone who won't even look at you unless you're poking him with a pencil or some other sharp pointy object.
And it's not like we could have done anything back then, even if it had been mutual. I actually agreed with what you told Quatre...about getting too close to
someone you risk losing in every battle. It was enough being friends. I wasn't ready for anything else."

Heero frowned at Duo's wistful tone, "And now you are?"

"Maybe," Duo shrugged. "Why not. Like I said, I'm not gonna jump you just because it's mutual. I still value what we have over what we might have
eventually. It's just...in the open this way. I think that's right. We shouldn't have to hide something as natural as attraction. Consider it part of the whole best
friends package - honesty, sharing, and the occasional flirtatious groping when the mood strikes. Fun friendly stuff."

Now that was either a joke or a threat. Heero twitched faintly, glowering at Duo's wicked grin. Attraction, mutual or not, wasn't enough for him to sit quietly
while Duo poked at him. Whatever Duo said about not 'acting the idiot for attention' he still acted the part for the fun of it. Heero knew better than to
encourage him.

"It's late," said Heero. He ducked out from under Duo's arm and waved him to the blankets. "Go to sleep."

"What?" Duo pouted. "No friendly groping before bed?"

Heero glowered and gave a two-handed push to get him moving in the right direction. "You're still in the role of hypochondriac. Don't wear yourself out."

Duo bit his tongue and let himself be prodded. "Okay, mommy. But only because you're cute when you're all twitchy."

.-.

They made good time the next day. Duo's 'malady' seemed to have disappeared along with the sweat he washed away the night before. They doubled up
again and gave the horses their heads. Heero really did know his way around the animals, so Duo contented himself to sit back and enjoy the ride. It helped
that he had his arms wrapped around Heero's waist - he tickled the boy twice and didn't even have to joke about why he'd done it. Heero had drool-worthy
abs and Duo wasn't about to pretend he didn't appreciate them. It was part of that whole honest and open thing.

A mountain range was just starting to peak over the canopy when Hotohori called them to a sudden halt. Heero had taken to riding a few lengths behind and
to the left, leaving them an open view of the path. Duo gaped when he saw the small thing that had made the emperor stop.

It was a midget, a tiny old woman about two feet tall, floating level with their horses' heads. She purplish gray hair, a pronged golden crown, and ruffles. Lots
and lots of ruffles, green on the shoulders, pale blue in the middle, and another layer of green followed by blue at the hem. There was no sign of her feet, and
her hands were hidden in the longer blue middle ruffle. Pink ribbons streamed out to either side of her as she floated, bobbing faintly.

Duo thought she looked like a wrinkled old head on top of a wedding cake. Not pretty. Not a bit. Her face reminded him of Tsuberov. Scary. He didn't say
anything, just sitting behind Heero and trying not to grimace while Hotohori introduced the woman as Taiitsu-kun. That meant she was the one they'd been
heading to see - the 'ruler of the world'. Duo wondered if all gods were as tiny and funny looking as her.

The woman floated over to glower knowingly at Duo, as if she could read his disrespectful thoughts. He had an idea he was lucky he hadn't said them out loud.

"Um, hi," Duo said weakly. "We were just-"

"I've heard everything," Taiitsu-kun interrupted, still glowering at him in particular. "I already know what you're doing here. You plan to wreck the way things
naturally should happen. Presumptuous brat, do you seriously plan to summon Suzaku?"

Duo twitched and forced himself not to glower back at her, "Maybe. Once we complete the task everything will revert. We'll only change things while we're
here - afterward they'll still happen the way they would have without us. There's no harm in that."

The woman's eyes narrowed sharply, "There's-"

Her words were cut off by another of those strange flickers, everything fuzzing and blurring for a brief second like a skip on a disc. Duo winced and reminded
himself to ask Setsuna about that later. Once it passed he blinked at Taiitsu-kun. Her expression was completely different. She didn't pick up as if nothing
had happened, the way Setsuna had. Instead, she sniffed and smirked and shook her head as if she'd noticed the distortion just like Duo and Heero had.

"No," Taiitsu-kun murmured, in an amused tone that was almost scary, "no harm in that. What harm could there be? Indeed. If that's the way you want it, be
warned that the hints in the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho won't work for you. Your decision...no...your mere presence here has already begun to affect things. In your
favor, I might add. This should be interesting."

"The scroll won't work?" Duo asked warily. That didn't sound like a change in their favor, losing clues that would have led them to the people they were
supposed to find.

"No," Taiitsu-kun said in a pleasantly devious tone, "not for you. No magical object will provide hints for you. Not to worry, though. I'm sure you'll find what
you're looking for if you head in the right direction. I'd suggest turning for Mt. Reikaku. You're in no hurry, after all. Take your time and...look around a little."

Duo definitely didn't like that smile. Maybe she really was some sort of god, knowing things they didn't about the game. She'd noticed that flicker when
Setsuna hadn't. No, he didn't like it at all. Heero didn't either.

"What about the task?" asked Heero.

"Oh, that," Taiitsu-kun simpered, as if she found Heero cute for some reason. "No need to fret about that. If you go ahead to my mountain the task will be
complete and you'll be taken out of this world. When you do that is up to you."

Heero gave a quick glance at Duo. He didn't like taking his eyes off the woman. He was certain she was manipulating them, even though she was only
encouraging what they'd already considered doing. A side quest. Somehow having her encourage them made him less eager to try it.

"Two wishes," Duo shrugged, knowing what was going through Heero's mind. "Who knows, we might be able to use one of them to bring Trowa out, or at least
find out which realm he was taken into. If it gets too complicated we can always quit and finish the task."

He gave Heero a sober look. It was worth the risk. They didn't even know that there was a risk. One suspicious old god-woman wasn't enough reason to give
up what might be the most worthwhile side quest available to them.

Heero met his look and nodded. He turned back to the floating old woman and nodded to her as well. "We'll complete the task afterward."

"Such confidence," Taiitsu-kun smiled, her wrinkled face making her eyes glitter. "And so polite, too. Good luck with that one." She shot a knowing look at
Duo before floating off a few feet. "I'll see you soon. And remember, children, games are meant to be fun."

.-.

PART 20

.-.

FEEDBACK

FANFICTION INDEX