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Define Arc	By : BlackberryPatch Category: +M to R > Pet Shop of Horrors Views: 8525 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Pet Shop of Horrors, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Desecration
- 2-Despot
- 3-Damask
- 4-Definition
- 5-Damsel
- 6-Dearth
- 7-Dirigere
- 8-Disturbance
- 9-Decadence
- 10-Disease
- 11-Draht
- 12-Darkness
- 13-Dva
- 14-Daguerreotype
- 15-Draconigenae
- 16-Deification
- 17-Deviant
- 18-Doyoubi
- 17
- 18
Disclaimer: I do not own Pet Shop of Horrors and I am making no money from this or any other fan related work.

Note: The title is a Japanese word that means "Saturday."

Warnings: language, horrific elements, yaoi/lemon

----------------------------------------------

-

"Doyoubi"

-

And on the seventh day God rested, having
finished in the task of creation.

-- Genesis 2:2

Leon faced D, the body of the
young boy lying between them as they stared at each other. Behind him, Leon heard Howell drawing
his gun. "Damn self righteous bastards," Howell was muttering
in horror.
"You think you can just do this?" D's father sneered at
him but the
Count stood with impassive face, watching. Howell pulled the
hammer back and pointed the gun at D.

D's eyes narrowed as they shifted to Howell
and Leon turned, facing Howell as he stepped
between the agent and D. "No," he said.

Howell's eyes were hard.
""Detective, get out of my way."

Leon shook his head. "No,"
he repeated. It was so quiet around them he could hear D's breath
as it caught. He stared at Howell. "I told you I wasn't like
you."

Howell's lip pulled up in a parody
of a grin. "So you did. Goddamn you, how can you protect
him- any of them- after this??"

Leon stood his ground, staring
doggedly at Howell. "You heard him; in ten years that kid would
have crossed your desk, a serial killer with twenty bodies no one was ever
going to find."

Howell's stare was incredulous.
"You would execute the kid for crimes that haven't even happened yet?
Can you know the future Detective?"

"No," Leon conceded. "I can
look at that kid and see what would probably happen, but no one can know
for sure." His eyes flickered to the Count. "No one.
No- but I will see the kid executed for crimes he has committed.
He willfully committed murder. Willfully and happily and knowing
it was wrong."

"Murder?" Howell laughed, a short
barked sound without humor. "They were cats. That's
not murder."

Leon scowled, losing his patience. "Goddamnit, you stupid fed, who the
fuck do you think you are? Look, maybe I don't know exactly what's
going on here, and I sure as hell don't have to like it, but I can see."
He gestured to Honlon and to Damask, and the wolfhounds whose ears
pricked up to be recognized. "I can see who the victim was here,
and I know my job- I protect the victims of crimes, and I serve
those victims." He locked eyes with Howell. "I don't care if
that victim is a billionaire, or a homeless man, or an elephant, or a goddamn dog. I know my job." Howell snarled at him, his face
contorted with rage as his finger tightened on the trigger of the gun.
Leon watched the process with a strange detachment; he was going to die,
he thought, but it was going to be all right if he did so in service to
what he believed, and to protect
someone he loved.

He was suddenly aware of D's hands
on his shoulders and D shouting something. The words seemed too
far removed for Leon to hear, but the tone was angry and fearful and it
made him sad to think of D being that way. D's hands were on his
chest now, one coming up to cup his cheek as D tried to pull his face down
to catch his eye. He thought the word D was saying was his name.
Leon blinked, and slowly
registered that he hadn't been shot. Howell still stood a few
paces in front of him but the gun was lowered and the agent was eyeball
to eyeball- to eyeball to eyeball- with Honlon, the dragon's gaze
holding him still. Leon inhaled deeply, a hand coming up to touch D's
shoulder for a moment before his arms
closed crushingly around the other man's slighter body. "Leon," D
was whispering now, "you idiot. I love you." Leon smiled
softly and contentedly.

"Well done," a voice echoed
in his brain, and Leon opened his eyes, tearing his attention from D to
glare up at Honlon, one of the dragon's heads having transferred its
attention to him. He glanced at Howell suspiciously but the other
man seemed shaken to the core and only stood staring blindly off into
space, gun lowered and arm shaking. Since it seemed he couldn't
ignore the rest of the world just yet, Leon turned his head slightly to
take in where D's father and grandfather stood.

The Count was stunned.
Beyond stunned; Leon would go so far as to say completely floored.
His long-haired doppelganger didn't seem to be stunned so much as
disbelieving, as if the past few moments were running on a time delay in
the man's head and he hadn't quite caught up to what was going on.
The Count turned to Honlon. "Is such a reaction even possible? Humans
seek only destruction, and think only of themselves and their own
amusement."

Leon felt the hair on the back of
his neck stand up at the absolute certainty in the voice uttering those
words, but the dragon answered before he could. And
really, if humanity was going to have a spokesperson, better her- it?-
than he.

"Why should it be such a
surprise?" One long neck wove a pattern through the sky as the
head at the end of it twisted to meet The Count's confused gaze.
"When we first asked this burden of you, we never presumed to believe
that all humans were the same. We never asked you to hate
them." Honlon's eyes were deep and compassionate.
"Only to show them what it was that they, in their often quick and
greedy actions, refused to see."

D knelt beside the body of the
boy. "All life is sacred," he murmured. "Even his." He
raised his eyes to his grandfather. "Ramla showed me that. I
did not learn it from you." He reached out a hand sadly as if to
touch the body, but the dragon bent a head
and breathed softly on the still form; D pulled his had back as the body disappeared.
He turned his head to meet Honlon's eyes and Leon thought they argued
briefly in the span of that gaze; D turned away finally, looking
distinctly unhappy. "I give it to you," he murmured and stood.

Honlon nosed the ground where the
body had lain, eyes closed, and sighed. A second head leveled eyes
at Leon and he heard, as if just for him, "He will not be
missed."

Leon frowned. That thought
seemed the saddest part of the whole business. You know, to use
punishment as a deterrent for crime, he thought toward the dragon,
it helps when people know beforehand what they're getting themselves
in for.

She cocked her head and her eyes
were cold. "Humans
possess the only society which exists that allows within its bounds the
presence of those who are without regard for that society's laws.
To respect life and the order of nature is within every creature.
Do you think we desire bloodshed?"
And he knew she spoke for all the animals.
"Do you think it pleases us? We are not
human to get such pleasures. But there are always consequences for
actions and there is no place in either of our societies for one who is
without the ability or the desire to learn from wrong actions in his
past."
Her eyes met his,
consumed him. "But even among your own law you have those whom you know
cannot be redeemed."

I can't say I disagree,
Leon shifted his eyes from Honlon to D, but it's a fine line; one
that I wouldn't want to walk.

Her voice was deep with knowledge
as she confided, "No one does."

He thought she smiled
then, as much as such a huge,
strange creature was able to. "It is not our desire to harm,"
she said again, as if turning her words to a wider audience, and
nosed the ground again. "But to have
humans think before they act." The dragon's heads all turned to focus on
the Count. "Have you been listening, my God? You were
zealous for us in the cause we gave you, but in our pain we, on both
sides, forgot to cherish the most exceptional of human traits-
compassion."

The Count shook his head in
denial. "What is there to cherish? A shadow that
vanishes in the light? They are always the same," he hissed. "They
are selfish and deceptive. They do not require a reason for
violence; they have never
changed in this. They have not changed, not since that day..."

D's head came up and he inhaled
sharply. He met his father's eyes from across Honlon's long neck.
"You..." he whispered, but it was his father who continued.

"You were the one." Eyes
wide and wild, his long hair fell around his body as he bent forward.
"You are the survivor, from that day." His eyes looked up,
swiftly accusing. "You never said... You fed us
that whole song and dance about our ancestor, but you never said... it
was you?" His words did not seek affirmation of the statement but
were rather the desperate questioning of a child lost suddenly in a
larger world. "You have lied all this time," D's father continued,
the look of wonder and shock on his face fading into betrayal.
"Was any part of it truth?"

The Count sighed, more composed
than he had been moments before. His eyes met those of his son.
"All I have told you is true, as I remember it, as I was there."
He paused, his eyes seeing nothing that was before him but darkening
with remembrance. "All of the pointless bloodshed, all of the
sorrow, all of the anger." His eyes narrowed suddenly, sparked
with reinvigorated hatred as he narrowed them at Leon.

"So," D called his Grandfather's
attention to himself, his own face dark with emotion, "you chose to
ignore that particular fact? I remember that I have lived before
and I grieved for the destruction I saw. Did it never touch you
that we would desire knowledge of the burden of the memory you yourself
bore?" He was angry now and Leon watched him with wonder.
"Were we not equal to the task you had given us that you felt you were
required to hide part of this truth from us?"

With a tired sigh the Count
regarded both of his children. "Did you never wonder why we were three, not
one?" The trio glanced between each other. "The memory
was too much for one to bear alone, even as the weight of it was what
bound me to my task. The anger I felt filled my soul to bursting,
and, with the help of the spirits who guided me, I fashioned separate
souls and bodies for them to reside in. And so there were three,
to carry my vengeance through the world and through the ages, bound to
aid and not harm each other- bound to me. I lived, burning with my
vengeance, and their souls were bound through reincarnation to return to
me. But one thing I did not foresee; you each developed your own
minds, separate in purpose from my own." He shook his head
thoughtfully. "She was right- you are right; I was incomplete in
my task, and that is why it has come to this."

D looked shaken and Leon touched
his arm reassuringly. "You bastard," he murmured to the Count. "You used them,
to kill people who never even knew about the ones who betrayed you."

The Count glared at him with
sudden insight and dislike. "I knew you, even from the beginning,
were one who would be... revolutionary. Perhaps I should not be
surprised that you have brought us here, even if it is an end of which I
could not even conceive. But," his eyes darkened and he stepped
forward, "I will not be judged by you."

D's eyes flared as he moved to
come between the Count and Leon, but Honlon lowered her heads and regarded her three gods
with loving eyes. "Humans wish they had such faithful deities
to call upon." Behind the dragon other animals appeared,
gathering and surging forward; Leon
recognized Pon-chan as she came to sit near his feet, and
the Siamese cat from the shop, and other familiar faces. There
were many also that he didn't know, creatures strange and brilliant that
came each to their chosen gods, but he was distracted from their
strangeness as Damask came to stand between him and
D, bumping Leon companionable with his nose, while the two wolfhounds greeted the
other creatures from the shop as the animals came forward and gathered
around.
"Deities are created by those who worship them. But, it seems what we have asked of our gods has become twisted in
on itself." Honlon met three pairs of golden and violet eyes
simultaneously. "In your own pain, and in your enthusiasm to
aid us, you became much like the monster you fought against.

"You are correct in saying that many times, both now and throughout
history, it seems as though humanity has become a plague on this planet,
proficient only at inventing ways to maim each other and the world
around them. But," the dragon's mouth opened.
"Hope always remains."

As it had before, an image
appeared in the minds of those who stood before the dragon, a memory-
or, it seemed, a current event- pulled from someone the dragon was
connected to.

A young, tow headed boy was
standing in an alley, pulling at a pile of wreckage that seemed to be a
poorly constructed shed which had recently succumbed to gravity.
A girl crouched beside him nervously trying to peer beneath the debris.
"I can see him Chris," she called, reaching a hand into the mess.
"Come on," she called encouragingly, "You can make it." Chris
pulled harder at the beam he was holding up; he could feel what little
of the structure remained disintegrating around that support.
"Hurry, Ari," he hissed, distracted with trying to keep it from
falling, but Ari glanced up at him and then wedged herself further under
the pile; getting her shoulder under a relatively intact panel, she
shoved it up. "You can do it," she said again, her voice heavy
with conviction though it was not readily apparent who it was she spoke
to. Slowly, a dust covered form crawled its way out from under the
wreckage. Ari ducked her way out as well and Chris let the beam he
held fall. He turned to Ari and the spaniel she was holding now as
it shivered in her arms. Chris took off his coat and covered the
dog with it, patting its head reassuringly. "Lucky Bruno knew you
were in there when that fell," he told the dog. "Is he hurt
badly?" he asked Ari. She frowned. "I think his leg is
broken." Their eyes met, equal in their conviction. There
were only two options: wait for the Count and Leon to return, or get the
dog to some other help- a daunting proposition for two children in a
city where they effectively knew no one. "We can't know when
they'll come back," Ari said. Chris nodded. "I'll go
find someone to help," he responded. He started to move away but paused a
moment and touched the girl's shoulder. "Ari," he began, his voice
soft with sudden hopelessness as he saw the red stains spreading so
quickly over his coat. She shook her head. "It doesn't
matter," she said firmly, "we have to try." Chris nodded again,
and ran off toward the street.

Leon smiled, bittersweet, and felt
pride rise in him.

"Chris has a deep respect for
life," D
observed, sliding his hand in Leon's surreptitiously. "And
Ari as well."

"He is your charge, even
as she has become. Even as god is created by those who worship, so
too do those worshippers gain power from their faith," Honlon returned.

Leon looked up at the dragon
sharply at that cryptic statement, but felt his attention drawn to D and
his father; their eyes met and they conversed silently, D's father turning away
suddenly. "Perhaps there are beads that serve a purpose being
solid," he conceded grudgingly and D smiled though Leon wondered what the hell the
man was talking about, even as the long-haired man's eyes rested briefly
on Howell before shifting away.

Howell seemed to stir under the
slight recognition. "You," he hissed, his eyes on D's father.
"You... I..." He stumbled over words that didn't seem to want to
form together into longer thoughts, and his finger tightened around the
gun in his hand as he raised his arm.

Leon swore under his breath, his
hand sliding from D's as he made ready
to tackle the agent, but the crisp clear report of the gun being fired
stopped him as he followed the bullet's path in surprise. "You,"
Howell hissed, "you're behind all of this- it's all your fault."

The Count stumbled backward under
the impact of the bullet, and raised a hand to the reddening stain on
his chest in wonder. "I... I see."

He fell and D cried out,
running to him. Above them Honlon shrieked and Leon stood frozen
as all around him he heard a rising growl. Howell snarled back at
the animals around him,
but he was soon lost beneath the creatures as they turned upon him in sorrow
and anger. Leon watched in strange fascination as a large cat
leapt upon Howell and pinned him down as it grabbed the back of his head
and shook him like a terrier with a rat, but he looked away when he knew
Howell was dead. He stepped toward where D and his father knelt
beside the Count but felt inadequate as he watched helplessly.

"Grandfather," D murmured in
horror, but the Count raised a hand to still his lips.

"I have seen this end and I am
content in it. And, truly, I think this is my end. Gidora," he called, voice firm, "watch them."
Honlon bowed her heads in acknowledgement and the Count turned to D.
"You asked me earlier why I had hidden the truth from you. To
answer you my child, the weight of my memory was what bound me to my
task. To share it would have been to diminish it- to lessen my own
hold on my hatred, and I was too selfish for that. I do see now that I should have been wiser to
share it, for then you would have understood better my reasons and held
to them without developing your own." He smiled wryly,
painfully, eyes coming to rest on his
son as he said to both of them, "I leave you to your own designs my children,
bound no more to my will. I have... erred in much I have done,
but," his hand clutched in D's sleeve and his eyes were heavy on
his first son, "I
take great comfort in what I have given to the world. I think... I leave
my legacy in good hands." His fingers slipped from D's sleeve and
his eyes glazed and became became sightless.

D reached to touch the Count's
face but drew back with a small sound of pain, turning and wrapping his
arms around Faolan, who had crawled to his god's side, burying his face
in the wolfhound's rough shoulder. It cut Leon to his heart to
watch and he stepped forward to touch D's shoulder. He wasn't sure
what he offered besides a reassurance that seemed woefully inadequate,
but he felt D's hand come and cover his. More animals crowded
closer; a brilliant bird of paradise landed on Leon's shoulder and a
pair of ermine crawled up his back to claim his other shoulder as a
perch, making small sounds of sorrow as Leon knelt beside D. He
reached out with his other hand to rest it against D's side but found
the presence of all the animals impeding his ability to do what he
really wanted- namely, wrap his arms fully around the other man- so he
sat where he was and waited. After a moment he felt D's fingers
tighten in his and D's other hand take his wrist, pulling Leon's arms
around him. The animals made soft sounds of protest as they sorted
out where to move as D leaned against Leon, but once he stopped moving
they settled around, pressing close. Leon kissed the top of his lover's head before
looking up to find the only other remaining person in the vicinity watching him.

D's father sat across from them,
on the other side of the Count's still body, and the eyes he rested on
Leon were curious rather than hateful. A large white hound was
pressed close behind the man and a pair of silky-haired lynxes with
darkly marked mixed spots and stripes were crouched in front of him, peering into the
man's face with worry and occasionally licking tears from his cheeks.
He cradled a small, pale faced owl in his arms, occasionally stroking it
mechanically as it hurred and chuckled softly. Other creatures
gathered closely, but those four stood out in Leon's mind even as he
dropped his eyes to Pon-chan's worried face as she tried to crawl into
D's lap to find it already filled with a pair of cats and one of the
ermines who had crawled down from Leon's shoulder.

Honlon leaned over the body of the
Count, all three heads focused together; though they acted in concert,
each face wore a different expression- one was solemn, one was sad, and
the third appeared slightly angered. But, still joined in thought,
six eyes slid shut simultaneously and a soft humming emanated from deep
in the creature's chest. The Count's body glowed softly for a
moment, and Leon- even after all he'd seen- would not swear to what he
thought he saw next, but energy seemed to flow out of the body and into
the dragon, and from the dragon into the two figures who sat with bent
heads, until eventually there was nothing left of the corpse. Honlon's
central head cried out softly but there were tears falling from all six
eyes.

It was several moments before D stirred in his arms, glancing up
to see what was happening and sighing softly. "I'm alright," he
chided the worried Pon-chan, and he used Leon's steady shoulder to push
himself to his feet. He looked to his father, and the long-haired
man pulled himself from wherever his thoughts wandered to meet D's eyes.
They held each other's eyes for a moment before D's father nodded
wearily and stood as well.

Leon rocked himself back to his
feet to find D's father looking at him again with an odd expression.
He stopped, raising an eyebrow in belligerent inquiry. But,
perhaps out of respect for everything that had happened today, he
managed to keep his voice civil. "What?" he asked quietly.

The man's face was troubled.
"What do you want here, human?" His hand, resting on the back of
the large white hound, balled into a fist. "What do you think you
will find here?"

Leon smiled, slowly. "I have
faith. Faith in a power and a justice greater than the law."
D was watching them with tired eyes, but he smiled at Leon's words.

D's father shook his head, but
turned back to his son. "Let's finish this."

-o-o-o-o-

There was a cold bite to the air
as Chris ran out of the alley where Ari sat, the injured spaniel in her
lap and Bruno leaning against her back. It chilled him, without
his coat, but he tried to push that from his mind as he scanned the
street for a familiar face. Even though the street was crowded with
people, he didn't recognize anyone despite all the time he'd spent
practically living on this street. He was about to reach out
and grab a hold of the nearest passing stranger and hope the man spoke
English when he felt Tetsu at his shoulder.

"Chris," T-chan called, and
pointed across the street. Chris followed the direction and looked across the street to the empty storefront that had
until recently been the
pet shop, and felt a sudden joy fill his being when he caught sight of familiar
trappings hanging again in the window. "They're back," he
breathed, grabbing Tetsu in a sudden hug, before he turned and yelled
back to Ari, "It's back! They're back!" He ran across
the street and slammed into
the door, chime rattling crazily as he
pushed it open, Tetsu right behind him. Leon was the first thing he saw and Chris
ran to him. He had his arms wrapped tight around his brother
before he noticed Count D and a man who looked to be the Count's double facing
each other. Their eyes flashed with an odd light as if of some
strange magic; magic... and Chris thought about a shop that disappeared
and reappeared and had far too many rooms in it, and animals that were
people.

But there wasn't time for that; he
pulled at Leon's sleeve. "There's a dog in the alley, I think he's
gonna die if we don't help him." He turned to D and found both his
familiar D and the long-haired stranger looking at him. "Count, can you help
him?"

D raised a sardonic eyebrow.
"As I informed your young friend on a previous occasion I do not run a veterinary service.
However," he stepped to the door, "I will make an exception this time."

Chris smiled and ran to lead the
way calling, "Ari, we're coming!"

Ari looked up worriedly as they
came closer; the spaniel was bleeding out despite her desperate attempts
to staunch the wound in the dog's side and it didn't move as they
approached. D went quickly to
kneel beside her; long nails slashed deliberately at the skin of the
opposing hand, and D pressed his bloodied hand to the dog's side.

"You have to do everything the
hard way don't you?" the long-haired stranger scoffed.

Leon leveled a pointed glare at
the man. "Be helpful or shut up," Chris heard his brother advise.

The man shrugged, eyes narrowed in
distaste as he glared back at Leon. "That you are still alive is
only because Alesia does not hunger for your death." He rested a
hand on the head of the elegant hound that sat at his side and its dark
eyes settled on Leon in amusement.

"Stop it, both of you," D said to
them without looking; his voice was flat and tired and Chris could see
strain on his face. The words seemed to do the trick as both the
stranger and Leon stopped talking, but Chris wasn't sure if D noticed.
D was concentrating very hard on the spaniel, until the dog whined
softly and raised its head. Ari smiled as it sat up slowly, tail
wagging as it reached to lick D's hand. Chris smiled widely as
well, meeting Ari's eyes as they both grinned with pure joy.

D sat with a tired smile of his
own and as Leon stepped close behind him D leaned back against the
steady presence of Chris' brother. Leon let his hands rest on D's
shoulders as he looked down at the man. He was quiet but Chris
could see love in every line of his brother's body.

He glanced over to the stranger to
find the long-haired man watching his brother as well with a strange
expression on his face. The stranger turned away abruptly.
"I will be going," he said.

D looked up suddenly.
"But... where?"

The long-haired man shrugged.
"Where else? To set up shop in some unsuspecting town," he said with a dark smile.
"Though first, perhaps... elsewhere." His gaze was distant and
thoughtful for a moment, before his eyes turned to D. "I will keep
in touch." His eyes passed over Leon and he raised an eyebrow as
he turned to leave. The hound at his side wagged its tail slowly
as it turned to follow.

D sighed, leaning back against
Leon for a moment longer before he stood. Chris offered Ari his
hand to help her to her feet and she blushed when she realized her
clothes were ruined, covered in blood. The spaniel jumped up to
follow them back to the shop, touching noses with Pon-chan as he crossed
the threshold.

Chris smiled as he followed,
filled with warmth as he looked around at the familiar place and the
familiar faces. But... something was different. He stopped,
looking around him more carefully. He couldn't tell what it was
but... Something was definitely different about the shop.

"It's not the shop, Chris,"
a voice murmured in his head and Emrys appeared to twine around his
shoulders. "The shop is no different than it has always
been. You are the one who is different."

Chris felt his eyes widen in
surprise. "I..." He swallowed around the sudden lump in his
throat. "I know." Emrys regarded him fondly and Chris
smiled. He turned to look around the room. Ari was feeding
the spaniel, Faolan and Sdhorim clamoring that they wanted some as well
as they had worked hard today. D was sitting on the chaise; Leon perched
on the end as he reached to touch D's face, asking him something softly,
to which D responded by shaking his head and giving a soft smile.

Chris went to Ari, pushing Faolan
out of his way as he reached for the strap of the bag she wore over her
shoulder. She realized what he was doing and shrugged out of the
shoulder strap, passing the bag to him. The strap was dark with
blood where it had crossed over her chest but the bag was unhurt and
Chris hefted it into his hand, carrying it to where his brother and D
were sitting. Leon turned to him when he felt Chris approach, and
he recognized the bag immediately. "Thanks," he said quietly to
Chris, and pulled the bag open to set the stone in D's hands.

Leon explained to D's slightly
confused glance, "Maria came while you were gone to return it."

"Return it?" D raised an
eyebrow. "That's rather unprecedented."

"She said she didn't need it any
more." He looked to be trying to remember her exact words and
continued, "She said, it wanted to help her, but that she had 'the true
cat inside' now, and was giving it back so it could help someone else."
Leon shrugged.

D smiled, the expression slowly
spreading over his face as he met Leon's gaze. Leon cocked his
head questioningly, watching as D stroked the stone. "She didn't
need it anymore," he murmured, laughing suddenly.

Leon was surprised, but soon
laughed softly as well.

D reached out to touch his face,
pulling Leon toward him until their foreheads touched. "I... I
think that was something I was looking for," D murmured.

Leon grinned. "Well, good
then."

Smiling, D turned to Chris.
"Thank you, Chris. And Ari too, for keeping it safe."

Chris nodded, then turned to Leon
hesitantly. "Bro... I'm ready." He looked down and shifted
his feet before meeting Leon's eyes. "I'm ready to go home.
Back to Mama and Papa."

-o-o-o-o-

Leon wasn't sure what he'd thought
his reaction to that statement would be, but he found himself strangely
empty of emotion. Something was building in him, and as he leaned
back and examined it he realized he was happy. He reached out and
pulled Chris into a hug. He was happy- not that Chris was
leaving, but that... "I'm glad," he mumbled against his brother's
ear, then pulled him away and held him at arm's length to look him right
in the eye and tell him, "I'm glad because I know you're going to be
okay." Chris smiled at him, the expression starting slow before
spreading over his whole face. Chris turned to D and Leon turned
with him to find D smiling as well.

"I will be sad to see you go
Chris," D said, reaching out to lay a hand on Chris' shoulder.
"Having you here has always been a pleasure, and I am so proud of how
you acted today."

Chris ducked his head, blushing.
"Thank you," he mumbled, hesitating before he threw himself at D and
hugged him fiercely. Surprised at first, D was soon returning the
hug every bit as fiercely. Chris was still blushing when they
finally parted and he turned away quickly, running over to where Ari was
feeding the dogs. He stopped beside her and mumbled a few words;
she nodded tightly, then dropped everything she held and hugged him with
a deathlike fierceness, demanding loudly that he write to her everyday.
He nodded, still blushing, as she hurried Bruno from the shop, pausing
for a moment to fish Leiella out from underneath one of the chairs where
she was playing with some of the shop's residents. She was holding
the Chihuahua desperately as she marched to the door, but she stopped as
she passed Chris. Turning toward him she kissed his cheek, and now
that they were both bright red in the face, she dashed out the door
yelling again for him to write to her.

Chris looked slightly dazed; Leon
chuckled at his expression and D smothered a laugh behind his hand.
Leon reached to take his lover's hand. "I need to take him back."

D nodded. "I understand."

"If I may be of assistance."
Emrys' bright red wings flickered for a moment before the dragon lighted
on the back of the chaise.

Leon shook his head. "I
should take him. He's my brother."

Emrys nodded. "I know
this. I meant my assistance to both of you. And you as well,
child of the line of D." The dragon's small eyes whirled
with agitation. "The agent has been missed and his office
has sent more men to find him. They are coming here."

Leon swore, but D only sighed.
"It is time I left anyway," he murmured, stroking Leon's arm absently
before he raised his eyes to meet Leon's. "I..." he faltered, his
hand stilling on Leon's arm.

"What is it?" Leon asked, suddenly
apprehensive. He brushed D's hair back from his face. "It
doesn't matter where you're going, I'll come."

D smiled, but there was something
sad about the expression. "Can you?" he wondered aloud. "Emrys,"
he began to ask, but the dragon interrupted him.

"You have the power to make
your own fate," it reminded both of them. "There is
no force, other than the creatures that reside here, that prevents any
from journeying on this vessel."

Leon felt D's fingers interweave
with his, holding his hand tightly. "No force?" D repeated, half
asking for affirmation and half seeming to revel in the information.

"There's nothing left for me
here," Leon said, knowing there was some part of this conversation that
was going over his head, but he wasn't going to let this slide. He
clenched his jaw. "Dammit D, if you try to leave me here I'll hunt
you down."

D's eyes were bright on him as he
regarded Leon with a slight half smile. "Promise?" he asked
huskily.

Leon nodded, and D's lips were on
his before he could voice that promise.

"Time is a factor,"
came Emrys helpful reminder.

Leon glared at the creature and
stood from the chaise. "I have to take Chris home first."

"He is almost ready."

-o-o-o-o-

Chris pushed open the door to
Honlon's room, half expecting to find Junrei weeping again. He
knew she would somehow already know that he was coming to say goodbye,
but instead he found the childlike dragon girl sitting quietly, waiting.
She smiled at him and came to take his hands in hers.

"Chris! I'm glad to see you.
I wanted to be the first one to say thank you." She pulled his
closer and hugged him, to his surprise, then released him to touch her
forehead to his lightly with a mischievous smile. "You were a very
good friend and I'm so happy I got to know you. Thank you, Chris."

He blushed. "Thanks Junrei."

"Sheesh, she got you red already,
didn't she?" Kanan grumbled. She patted Chris' shoulder stiffly
and folded her arms over her chest. "Yeah, whatever kid.
Have a great life."

He seized her and hugged her
tightly. "I'll miss you too, Kanan."

She snorted in indignation, but he
felt her arms go around him. "Whatever," she said but he thought
she sounded close to tears. "Yeah," she murmured finally, "I'll
miss you Chris." She sniffled and hid her face against his shirt,
but then she straightened. She held him away from her and smiled
softly. "May good fortune always follow you in life Chris," Shuko said to him. "And remember," she touched his wrist where a
single thread of her hair was curled underneath his shirtsleeve, "If you
ever need us, who once commanded in the name of King Gidora, we are only
a thought away from you." She took his face in between her hands
and kissed his forehead. She released him with a smile, and he
smiled back.

"I love you too, Shuko," he said,
then turned and left before he started crying.

He called goodbye to others as
he made his way down the hall, and when he turned the last corner that
would bring him back to the main shop he found Tetsu and Pon-chan
waiting for him. Pon-chan came and hugged him, wordlessly, before
she slipped away. "She doesn't like goodbyes," Tetsu said,
watching her go, and Chris stood for a moment; he was fighting the tears
that threatened in the corners of his eyes, and was surprised when Tetsu
grabbed him and hugged him. "She won't believe me when I said this
wasn't goodbye." Chris was released and pounded on the back and
T-chan grinned at him. "See you round, kid." Tetsu tossed
him a half salute and held the door open as Chris stepped back into the
main shop.

He never made it into the room.
Between one step and the next he suddenly found himself standing on a
lawn. The grass was dead under his feet and the air was cold
enough that when he exhaled in surprise his breath escaped him in a
plume of smoke. Leon stood facing him, looking slightly annoyed,
and Emrys hung between them. Chris' eyes were drawn by the
familiarity of the house they stood in front of and he suddenly realized
that Emrys had taken them, instantly, to his parent's house in New
England. His mind reeled slightly under the information, but he
filed it away and didn't think about it. There were more important
things to deal with at the moment.

Leon threw an arm around his
shoulders as they walked up to the door and Chris ran the bell.
Sam answered after only a few seconds, a huge smile on her face.
"I'm back," Chris told her unnecessarily, but he felt a strange joy
flooding up out of him that wouldn't be contained. She laughed out
loud and ran out to seize him in a wild hug, and he thought absently how
embracing was something one did both in parting and in meeting, in
sorrow and in joy. He looked up to see Leon talking to Papa, who
was smiling welcomingly even as he tried unsuccessfully to try to make
some sense of Emrys' perched alertly on Leon's shoulder. Leon
stepped back, outside of the door, and Chris ran to him one last time.

Leon leaned down close to him.
"I love you Chris," he murmured and grinned, his hand ruffling through
Chris' hair. "See you round, kid."

Chris smiled back. "I love
you too, bro." He caught Leon by the hand and looked at him
seriously. "Take care of Count D."

Leon laughed. "Definitely."
He waved as he walked off down the street, and even though Chris watched
him go he missed the exact moment when Emrys took them back to the shop.
Turning, he went back into the house and shut the door behind him.

-o-o-o-o-

Leon blinked and he was suddenly back in the
pet shop instead of the street where his aunt and uncle lived.
"Crazy dragon," he muttered as he pulled back the step he'd been about
to take, so that he wouldn't step into the chair suddenly in his path.
"Warn a guy, will you?"

Emrys decamped from Leon's shoulder with
alacrity and didn't respond to the comment as it winged toward the front
door. Leon turned to follow the dragon's path, realizing Emrys'
destination as the door chime sounded and D stepped back into the shop
from the street. D's eyes lit on Leon, but he turned to the dragon
and said in a slightly annoyed voice, "Yes, yes, I'm leaving. You
know I was only waiting for you to get back."

Emrys lighted on D's raised hand and cocked its
head as if listening. "You will have time. I can feel
the men who would pursue you, but they are not so close."
The dragon turned its eyes on D. "I will bid you farewell
myself now. There are others I must see to, and my sister has
proven that she commands well enough here without my aid- though I find
myself pleased to have given the aid asked for." A
gravelly sound, not unlike a chuckle emanated from the dragon and it
leapt on the wing again. "You are very amusing, even to one
who has seen so much as I. I will look in from time to time."

Leon blinked, and the dragon was gone.
He snorted. "Good fucking ridden, nosy bastard."

D laughed out loud, coming over and burying his
hands in Leon's hair as he kissed him. "And here I thought you
liked that he was here to keep an eye on Chris."

"I can't say he didn't do a good job of that,
but he's damn arrogant." He kissed D back. "Now, did I hear
something about leaving?" He glanced around the shop; there were
no animals in the front room, which was unusual, but nothing else had
been moved. "He said we would have time, but I don't think he
meant you were going to have time to pack."

D laughed again. "Actually, we are
already packed." He smiled smugly at Leon; still holding the other
man's face in between his hands he absently stroked his thumb over
Leon's cheek. His eyes glowed, brightly golden and deep purple,
and Leon felt something around them shift, as if- strange as it sounded-
the shop itself wrapped around them and pulled away from where it
rested. The feeling passed over him like a wave and when it had
fully passed Leon's eyes were inexplicably drawn to the front door; only
it was gone- the walls smooth where it had been as if the portal was
never there. He started, twitching slightly in D's hold, and
stumbling backwards when D released him.

"What happened?" he asked, in wonder more than
question- because disappearing doors may have been a bad thing in the past day,
but what he wanted was here, with him, so he wasn't worried- and D
pointed behind him to the door that led to the rest of the shop.
Leon moved toward it, wondering what he was supposed to be seeing that
would clue him in, but the moment he stepped through the door he stopped
dead.

Instead of the dark hallway he'd expected, a
broad wooden deck was stretched out before him, and beyond the railing
that bounded it he saw only a darkened. star-spangled sky.
"It's... a ship," he said in sudden strange understanding. There
were people covering the wide deck of the ship- except that they were
the animals, lounging and playing, and he saw faces among them that were
familiar. Pon-chan smiled at him and waved and he smiled back, the
expression spreading over his face as he turned back to D to find his
lover watching him and smiling as well. They sat on the steps in
front of the doorway they'd just left, Leon sitting between D's legs and
leaning back against him, and watched the antics on the deck below them.
The animals were excited to be heading somewhere new, though the events
of earlier in the day were not forgotten; many of the creatures came and
sat beside D for a few moments, offering their own comfort, and several
new faces that Leon did not recognize came to introduce themselves to
their god. They had traveled with the Count and had chosen to
continue now with D.

After awhile, they retired back through the
doorway into what had been the front room of the shop. Leon
absently put a hand to his pocket and felt paper crinkle under his
fingers.
He stopped and pulled out Jill's letter that he'd folded and thrust in
that pocket- had that only been earlier today? D moved past him,
to the desk by the back wall, and Leon slowly opened the envelope.
Frowning slightly in anticipation of what it might contain, he tossed
the envelope on the tea cart in front of him and pulled open the single
sheet of folded paper.

Leon,

I know I said there was another reason for my transferring.

Well,
it's you.

I know you're leaving. I can feel it, in the way you're slipping
away from this world, slipping further into the Count's world. I
don't know if you even know it yet, but I know when he leaves you will
go with him. That's the real reason- I can't stay in that city
alone. Without you, there will be nothing left.

Isha and I... we're doing well, and we haven't really talked about
anything formal but this feels right. I hope you can be happy for
me, because I know I'm happy for you. Let me know how you're doing
from time to time, okay?

And Leon- if you screw this up I'm going
to have to kick your ass.

Jill

Leon felt a chuckle rise up in him
as he dropped the paper on top of the envelope.

-o-o-o-o-

D didn't look up from the desk;
he'd set the jaguar stone there earlier and he stroked it softly now,
watching it as if waiting for
something. It was not the stone he waited for and he sighed in
contentment when he felt Leon's hand again on his shoulder. He turned
his head to smile up at his lover, his eyes dark and promising.
Something flared in Leon's own eyes in recognition and he grinned as he
bent his head down, resting his forehead against D's. D stood for
a moment, eyes sliding closed as he relished the feeling of Leon beside
him. He leaned up and touched his lips to Leon's, smiling as he
felt them part under his kiss.

They stood for a long while,
tasting and touching with an unhurried passion that warmed D to his
core. Leon's arms were around him as he reached up to take the
man's face between his hands and look deep in Leon's eyes, asking what
he'd been too full of other thoughts earlier to spare time to confirm. "Chris
is well?"

Leon smiled, the expression warm
and easy. "Yeah. I think he's gonna be okay." He
kissed D lightly. "Better than okay even."

D returned the smile. "That
is good. Now, we have just one problem left."

"Oh?" Leon kissed his
throat.

"Mmm." D turned in his
embrace, Leon's arms falling to his side as D leaned over the desk and
placed his hand on a map that lay there.
"Where shall we go?"

Leon laughed softly against the
back of his neck and D leaned back slightly, liking the feel of the
other man's body pressed to his. "I think," Leon murmured, "that
there are other," he brushed D's hair to the side and kissed his neck
again, "far more important things," Leon's breath was hot on his skin
and D shivered, "that we need to," he leaned forward, placing his hands
on the desk surface to either side of D, "talk about."

D smiled, pure mischief touching
his eyes as he turned in Leon's arms and placed his hand on the man's
chest, pushing slightly. Leon stepped back immediately, eyebrows
raised in a question that immediately smoothed into a happy smile as D
said, "You are correct. We must address that problem immediately."
Leon complied as D pushed him back further, stepping backward until he
came up against the wall, D looking up at him expectantly.
"What do you think should be done about this?" he asked in a
measured voice.

Leon was silent for a moment,
watching D with deep eyes. "I have faith that you will find the
answer," he said finally, and D almost melted at that response. He
surged forward, his hands coming up to hold Leon's face, going around to
the back of his head to tangle in thick, golden hair as D claimed his
lips. Leon's arms were around him then, holding him close as the
man surrendered to his kiss.

D pulled back, slowly undoing the
clasp at his neck as he moved toward the bedroom. Leon followed
him, also slowly shedding clothes; D turned back to his lover as he leaned
against the bed in time to see Leon drop his shirt at his feet and stand
bare to the waist for a moment as he looked back at D.

"I love you," Leon murmured,
crossing the room to slide his hands in underneath D's cheongsam to
stroke his fingers over smooth skin before he wrapped his arms around
the other man and kissed him. They stood for long unhurried
moments, touching, before D shed the rest of his clothing and crawled
back on the bed. Leon joined him and D pulled his lover over him,
fingers toying with strands of golden hair as it fell around Leon's
face.

"I like the way you feel above
me," D said softly, his eyes darting from where they watched his fingers
interweave with Leon's thick mane to hesitantly meet his lover's eyes.
"I like it when you surround me."

Leon smiled back. "Oh?"
He leaned down and touched his forehead to D's.

"Yes," D confessed, his hands
clasping behind Leon's neck.

"Hmm," Leon murmured. He
kissed D's face softly, over his eyes and down the side of his face
until his mouth hovered near D's ear. "I like to surround you.
I..." He hesitated, then whispered quietly, "I like to feel you
inside of me."

D's fingers tightened where they
were clasped and he inhaled with a sharp gasp. He reached to pull
Leon's face to his, seeking confirmation of his words. Leon's eyes
were closed, and his cheeks were stained red with embarrassment, but he
opened them to meet D's gaze. D held his eyes, thumb stroking
slowly over Leon's cheek. "I'm glad," D returned, his voice still
soft, and Leon relaxed above him, grinning slightly as he straddled D's
body. D let his hands drift down from Leon's face to slide down
the length of his lover's body. He felt Leon's body shiver and
lean into his touch and the thought of the power he held over this man
made warmth swell in his heart. It was the same power Leon held
over him, to make him weak with the thought of his lover here, beside
him, sharing in his pleasure. He cupped Leon's cock in his hand
and felt the flesh grow harder under his fingers.

Leon buried his face in D's
shoulder, thrusting against the hands that held him, then pulled away
slightly to kiss his way slowly down D's body until he could take the
other man's
half hard length in his mouth. D moaned and arched up into his
lover's touch, brushing his fingers through Leon's hair. He
reveled in every point of contact, every touch, and marveled at the feel
of Leon's skin under his fingers. Leon's mouth on his body sent
fire racing through him, and D cried out with joy to feel it. It
felt deeper than it had before, richer, and he loved it more than he'd
thought he could. He pulled Leon's face to his and kissed him
again, tasting the soft foretaste of himself on the tip of Leon's
tongue. Leon murmured against his lips soft wordless sounds of
bliss, and reached behind himself. He'd found a small vial of
lubricant at some point when D wasn't paying attention and he was
sliding his slicked fingers slowly into his body. His eyes slid
closed as he concentrated on the feeling and D watched him with growing
desire. Leon, beautiful, magnificent Leon... One hand cupped
Leon's face while the other brushed over his chest, waiting for Leon to
be ready.

It didn't take long, and D had the
sneaking suspicion that Leon wasn't quite ready yet so much as he was
tired of waiting. D let both his hands slide down Leon's body as
Leon rose up on his knees, four hands together guiding their joining.
Leon hissed softly as D entered him and D's hands tightened on the man's
hips like vices. "Leon," he chided, his voice slightly strained.

Leon growled softly, eyes still
closed. "'S fine," he mumbled.

"Leon." It was
only after he'd spoken that D realized how worried he sounded.

Leon opened his eyes and smiled
down at his lover. "I want you inside me," he said, his voice soft
but firm. "I want to be all around you."

D shivered and felt his resolve
start to weaken. But he held tightly to Leon hips, slowing the
man's descent as Leon's body took him in. It wasn't until Leon had
settled on him fully that he exhaled again, only then realizing that
he'd been holding his breath. Leon chuckled, leaning his head down
to press his forehead to D's. "Idiot," D hissed at him, and Leon
kissed him. They lay for a moment before Leon unhurriedly braced
his arms and started to lift himself experimentally, sliding back down
with a satisfied grunt. He shifted his angle slightly and both he
and D moaned sharply in pleasure.

Leon grinned his cocky grin and D
lost himself in the presence of Leon and the feel of pleasure. His
hands roamed Leon's body, delighting in finding the places that would
elicit the loudest moans when touched, and paid special attention to
Leon's cock. Whether it was in spite of or because of the fact
that they had not tried this position before D found himself pulled
closer and closer to climax faster than he would have thought. He
shuddered and his long fingers were wrapped around Leon's upper arms as
he thrust up against his lover's body, crying out as he came.

The sweet high of afterglow made
him languid, but he disentangled himself from his partner and rolled
Leon to the bed beneath him, dark lips closing around the sensitive tip
of Leon's cock. Leon moaned expectantly, and thrust with desperate
zeal into D's mouth. He was close as well and it didn't take long before
he too came, spilling hot over D's tongue. D sat back and licked
his lips fastidiously like a cat while Leon, sated, watched him through
half closed eyes with a tired smile. D lay beside his lover and
Leon wrapped his arms around the slighter man, pulling D's body against
him and burying his face against the back of D's neck. D smiled
and sighed a soft, contented sigh before he closed his eyes and relaxed
back against Leon's body.

-o-o-o-o-

The sun was low in the sky when they
returned from a day of gathering lilies down by the lake and Ramla
raised her fond gaze from the young girls of the village who grouped around
her to let it rest on the man who stood under the eaves of the nearest
building, a white hound seated at his feat. She urged the children
back to their mothers and fussed absently with the baby slung across her
chest as she approached the man. He didn't look at her, instead
gazing out toward the setting sun.

She looked at him however, reading
much in his silence. "I see," she said finally. "The animals
were restless a few days ago, and would not tell me why." She
already knew the answer but she framed her words as a question because
she wanted him to speak. "It is well then? You have fixed
the wandering of your course?"

He did look at her then, and there
was anger in his eyes. "You knew?" His words were
short and harsh and the beast at his side lifted lips to bare teeth in warning.

She waved away his concern,
bouncing the baby on her hip as it gurgled. "I knew only that
there was some ill that hung about you, followed you and your line
through the centuries. I..." she hesitated, but admitted, "I knew
there was much he never confessed to."

The man turned away, arms folded
over his chest and head lowered so that his long hair fell around his
face, hiding his expression. "Then you knew more than we," he
murmured finally.

She was silent a moment, but could
not help chiding him, "You knew more than you thought you did. Was
it not you who came to me, long ago, asking why you were not as you knew you
should be?"

"Ah, but we all have things
we do not wish to see," a voice murmured to both of them.
"And sources we do not wish to question." A slender
red shape curled in the air, spreading wings to hover between their
faces.

Ramla bowed her head. "Emrys,"
she acknowledged.

"I know you child of Ramla,"
it responded, turning to the man next, "and you child of D."
It glanced between them and trilled a high note. "All is as
it should be."

The D she had known would have
responded to that- for nothing was as it should be- but he was
silent. She peered at him intently. "You are... changed."
He looked at her sharply, but was still silent, and she spread her
hands, disowning any attempts to read his thoughts.

"'Changed.'" He spoke
finally, mockingly, sighing a deep breath and flicking long hair behind
his ear as he knelt to cup the face of the hound at his feet, holding
the beast's head between his fingers as it gazed at him lovingly.
"Change is the purpose for which life exists."

-o-o-o-o-

Pet catalog:
- Cocker Spaniel:
  Hunting dogs brought from Spain to England were developed into
  gundogs which were used to flush game before hunters. Most
  probably taking its name from the fact that it was used to hunt woodcocks,
  the Cocker Spaniel is now usually kept as a
  companion animal. It is a medium sized dog that comes in a
  variety of colors and has long, feathery hair on its legs; the American and English versions are recognized
  as separate breeds.
- Montemboeuf: Now
  extinct, this hound was originally bred to hunt boar. It was
  used in the 19th century in the formation of the current breed known
  as the Billy, a scent hound from western central France, usually
  white or off-white in color. (Alesia was
  the name of the stronghold of Vercingetorix, and was the site of the
  final decisive battle of the Gallic Wars.)
- Iberian lynx: Smaller
  than the more common Eurasian lynx, the Iberian lynx- sometimes
  called the Spanish lynx- is considered the most endangered cat species in the world.
  They are found in small pockets throughout the western central part
  of the Iberian peninsula.
- Laughing owl: A
  smallish owl native to New Zealand, thought to be extinct since
  1914.
- Lesser Bird of Paradise:
  Birds of paradise refers to a family of species of birds native
  to parts of the Oceana region. In general, the males have
  brilliant plumage and engage in complex displays to impress the the
  more dully plumed females who choose which male they will mate with.
  The Lesser Bird of Paradise is native to New Guinea and other close
  by islands. It is very similar in appearance to the Greater
  Bird of Paradise, and is found quite commonly throughout its home
  range.
- Ermine: More commonly
  called a stoat, and sometimes referred to as "ermine" only when it
  has white fur, this member of the weasel family is found naturally
  throughout the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
-o-O-o-

-End-

-

With many thanks to: Akino Matsuri, who shared her
world and let me get it into my mind; ZeoViolet, for always talking
me through dry patches and making me think; Koro-chan, for nagging me in the early stages;
the two Amy's, who both tried to keep me grounded in reality with their
technical advice; and to every single person who told me how much they enjoyed reading:
Your comments are the reason any part of this arc exists.

This arc has changed so much since I first started it; thanks for taking
the ride along with me!!

Please head to my website to vote for your favorite story in the Arc.
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Define Arc

-"Doyoubi"-

And on the seventh day God rested, having finished in the task of creation. -- Genesis 2:2

-o-o-o-o-

-o-o-o-o-

-o-o-o-o-

-o-o-o-o-

-o-o-o-o-

-o-O-o- -End- -

-

"Doyoubi"

-

And on the seventh day God rested, having
finished in the task of creation.

-- Genesis 2:2

-o-O-o-

-End-

-