~~~
Disclaimer: The fun, sprightly characters and their wacky world belong to Mr. Watanabe. This story is written for Phoenixstorm, a lovely Raiel/Sizer fan. The tune of "Nao Chora Menina" was composed by N. Uematsu.

~~~

The four heroes and two birds traveling to the Northern Capital were really more of a hopelessly dysfunctional family than a bold team of adventurers. Flute naturally gravitated to the role of mother, caring for the others when they sought physical and emotional support, but she wasn't without her own needs, and contrary to popular belief, she didn't suppress them. There was someone to whom she could go for friendship, feminine understanding and the most delicate hair brushing in the world. And at the moment, she was spending a rare afternoon with that particular someone.
"Mmm, please don't stop...that feels so nice,"Flute sighed, her eyes closed blissfully. It's amazing; you're so good with a comb! Oh...yes, right there, it's all tangled...�E
"All right, Flute-chan, but tell me if it hurts."
"Oh, it never hurts when you do it, Raiel..."
Several meters away, the rest of the party ate their lunches. Ocarina was questioning her father about getting peanut butter out of wings, while Sizer finished her can of processed soy meat substitute. Hamel was eavesdropping with an intensity ordinarily reserved for splitting atoms. From across the camp he could hear a few snatches of conversation:
"Yes, that spot...so good..."
"Here?"
"Mm-hmm. Ah, that's it..."
Hamel very much wanted to stomp over there and tell Flute to brush her own damn hair, to shove Raiel in the closet so he could come the hell out already, to yell at them both for spending time on such pointless crap.
But he couldn't do it. Not when Flute looked so happy, not when everything seemed so peaceful for once, and especially not when a very small and very persistent part of him wanted to be holding that hairbrush more than anything else in the world.
Sizer, oblivious to her brother's furious stewing, tossed her can into the campfire and stood up. "I'm going to go train. I'll be back in a couple hours."
"Why do you train alone, Sizer-san?" Flute asked. "Don't you think we could help you? I mean, I'm no good, but Hamel...oh, well, I suppose you've fought with him enough as it is...which only leaves..."
Sizer's gaze turned to the gentle, unassuming young man sitting beside Flute. He gave her a shy smile and hoped she wouldn't see the blood dribbling down his chin.
He's like a puppy, she thought.
"Um, I'd...um..."Raiel appeared rather calm but for the way he was frantically tugging on the hair in front of him. Unfortunately, the hair in front of him was not his own, and Flute was shrieking in pain, but Raiel was too busy trying to form coherent sentences to notice.
Okay, a dumb puppy. "You might get hurt," she warned.
"N-n-no! That's okay. I'm not very sensitive to pain."
"Especially the pain of others," Flute wailed. "Ouch! Ouch! YEOW! Let go!"

~~~

Earlier that day, Raiel had commented on the breathtaking beauty of the large, open valley and the brook that snaked around the hills. Sizer, upon seeing the same place, figured it would make a pretty good defensive stand for a retreating army. However, both were able to agree that it would be a suitable sparring site.
"Sizer-san, I'm ready now!" Raiel called. It had taken him a few extra minutes to get ready. Hamel had recently found a hobby in pinning signs to Raiel's back; short, scrawling messages that could be a bit embarrassing when they went into town (GIRLS ARE ICKY, HIT ME WITH A SPIKED BAT, I STOP FOR COCK, and so forth), so he was sure to check every inch of his robes before he went out. "I'm sorry to take so long!"
Sizer used the wooden end of her scythe to gesture at an oddly-shaped rock. "If you can get this back to the campfire---I don't care how you do it---then it'll be your victory. But if I get it over that creek there, it's mine." "Why, Sizer-san," Raiel said, surprised, "That sounds almost like...a game."
"It is," she said, trying to sound careless. "Ocarina used to play this with me when I was little."
He chuckled. "Well, we're both adults here, aren't we?"
"Last night you cried when Hamel took your dinner."
"I..." The memory of the lost salmon made him tear up. "I was really hungry," he said bashfully.
She fought the twitching at the ends of her lips. "Anyway. As long as that's understood, we might as well get started..."
Before she could so much as spread her wings Raiel was at the piano, letting loose with Tchaikovsky's Dance of the Cygnets. Hmph! Play around with your water spirits all you want; I'm going after the rock! Sizer leapt into the air, swinging her blade, only to find a flock of ice swans obstructing her path.
"Pfah!" Birds shattered in spectacular shower of ice. Flute, Ocarina and Oboe cheered from the sidelines. The violinist sulked.
Sizer soon found herself surrounded by swans. It seemed for each one she destroyed, two more appeared in its place. Meanwhile, she could barely make out the rock being rolled away. Frustrated, she lashed out with a mighty slash of her scythe. "Damn it! Fight me for real!"
"I thought this was a game," Raiel mused.
"Then play fairly!" In the midst of her adrenaline she had a surprisingly clear thought. If the music stops, so do the birds. She dove straight for where Raiel was playing. "Think fast, Raiel!"
Icy feathers materialized in front of her face. "Fast enough?" he asked jovially.
This time, though, Sizer wasn't going to have any of it. She smashed the feathers with her fist and landed atop his piano, only inches from his face. "You scared?" she whispered.
He shook his head. "Are you kidding? Half my fantasies start out this way!"
Sizer sprang back, tripped on her wings and fell to the ground. A searing pain shot through her ankle, but she wasn't about to be any more embarrassed than she was already. After a few seconds she hobbled to her feet and took off into the air. "H-hey!" she cried. "Don't talk like that!"
"Well, you asked," he replied, absentmindedly eking out the first few lines of the overture from "Die Fledermaus"
"That's not what I meant!" What was he doing, acting so calm like this? How dare he make her feel so feminine and vulnerable! She was so flustered it took her almost two minutes to realize that the rock was still being pushed by some of the water spirits.
Jolted back to her senses, she set about hacking at the swans. Raiel had changed to Sarasate's "Zapateado" and it was all she could do to keep up with the piece's erratic tempo. She spent nearly a quarter of an hour struggling with the swans, which were now bouncing around to the vibrant tune.
She was starting to regret ever having suggested this. Being stuck in the middle of a bunch of birds wasn't her idea of a game, and having to fight them for a rock wasn't much fun either. Why didn't she just work with Ocarina like she usually did? Hand-to-hand was her specialty; not grappling with minions. Especially icy, pecking minions on her bare skin.
"I've had enough!" Sizer cried, striking out blindly. She reveled in the sounds of cracking ice, crunching rock, and torn flesh---ah, battle! It was a part of her, and regardless of what some people might say, she was a fighter at heart.
...torn flesh? Raiel was sprawled on the ground, the rock having been flung straight into his chest. He gurgled something incoherent and coughed up a little trail of blood.
"Well, the rock is on his side," Oboe reasoned, "So I believe Raiel is the winner."
"But did I just...kill him?" she asked.
Hamel applauded enthusiastically.

~~~

Several hours later they determined that Raiel was not, in fact, dead, although he had taken a serious blow. He leaned back against a tree and wheezed weakly. Flute begged him to let her use her healing magic, but he refused. "Oh, c'mon," he said, waving her off. "I'm a hearty guy, see? I'll be just fine. If you really want to help, you should take a look at Sizer-san...I think she's limping."
"What are you talking about? I'm not hurt," she said, not noticing her right foot was twisted at a forty-five degree angle.
"Flute-chan," he continued, "Please heal Sizer-san."
"Don't you dare!" Sizer shot back. "I don't need magic! A little gauze; maybe an Ace bandage and I'll be good to go. He's worse off than me."
Flute looked a little exasperated. "But we're out of medical supplies at the moment, I was going to buy them tomorrow..."
"Then buy them now!" Hamel exploded. "Or did you need Raiel to give you a manicure?!"
There was a long silence while everyone tried to figure out what he was referring to. Hamel, infuriated that he was the only one who saw that Raiel was an extremely dangerous villain threatening to spread his evil, fashionably dressed fruitcake germs all over Flute, folded his arms and stomped away in a huff. Who does he think he is, anyway? What makes him think he can...what makes him so special, huh? I can be missing a limb and she won't give me the time of day, but he gets a measly pebble to the chest and she's acting like it's a big deal. Stupid...!
Oboe sighed, put on his pint-sized army helmet and flapped away. "I guess I ought to try to talk to him..."
"I think he just insulted me," mused Flute, "But I'm not sure..." She harrumphed indignantly. "Not that he's ever done anything else. Ocarina, will you come with me to town to buy some medical supplies? If we hurry, we can be back in an hour."
"But Sizer-sama...and Raiel..."
Sizer felt more humiliated than ever. What, so now she couldn't even handle a foot injury? "I'm telling you, I'm not hurt."
Flute gave her a warm smile. "Please take care of Raiel."
"Sure, but..." She snuck a glance at him out of the corner of her eye. The pianist's breathing was ragged and raspy. She doubted he could even stand up. "He's not going anywhere, but I'll keep an eye on him."
"Thank you...oh, and don't excite him too much!"
"Just go, why don't you?" Sizer glared as the girls skipped away, laughing. Why were they being so immature? Some friends! Did they think she couldn't handle spending some time with Raiel? So what if twilight was just setting in and the two of them were wounded, alone---
Shit! Come back!

~~~

Hamel played his violin as though he was trying to break it. Oboe was perched gingerly on his toes, not daring to speak until the bow's frenetic motion shuddered to a stop. "You know," the bird dared, "You should eat. We were so caught up trying to wake Raiel that we forgot about dinner."
"I'm not hungry."
"Please..."
"I said I'm not hungry!"
"Now listen." Gentle prodding wasn't working and neither was pleading. It was time to bring out the big guns. "You've been a real ass today, even by your usual standards, and I know something's bothering you. So either give me a good reason or start thinking of an apology for Flute and Raiel."
He set the violin down with a bang.
"I'm angry," he said quietly. "Is that a surprise? After all, I'm a demon, aren't I?"
"Hamel..."
"I'm a demon! Aren't you more amazed that I'm not tearing your guts out or something? I'm a monster, a killer, a murderer! What the hell is so surprising about me getting mad? I'm not..." He stared at his hands (claws) and balled them into fists. "...human."
"That's not true, Hamel."
"Then why the hell am I so...so..." Hamel clapped his hands over his ears and gasped, trying to reorient himself. The rage he had felt at Raiel and Flute seemed too powerful to be normal. It scared him. If he didn't know what his feelings meant, then how would he be able to tell he was losing control?
"Maybe because you're male?"
Hamel stopped.
"That is to say, because you're an ordinary, red-blooded Mr. Average?" Oboe wanted very much to laugh, and was glad that birds weren't able to do so. Hamel had never before been romantically attached to anyone, and now that he was, he had misattributed his own envies to his demonic heritage. "Don't think I'm condoning your behavior. I'd hit you upside the head with your violin if I could lift it. But it has nothing to do with...you know. It's because you're male and, as a logical extension, prone to being an idiot and a jerk on occasion."
This concept clearly hadn't occurred to him. "It's ordinary?"he repeated.
"To an extent."
"Of course," Hamel murmured, lifting his face as the idea sank in. "I'm not mad at myself...I'm mad at Raiel."
"That's right!"
"And that's not a problem...that's normal."
"Good for you!" Oboe encouraged.
"And it's not because of me...it's because Raiel is gayer than two pink bears trading blowjobs on top of a unicycle of pulsating dildos."
"Exactly! I mean---" He should probably have stopped him. Or should he? Hamel's self-esteem was notoriously erratic, and it was heartbreaking to see him depressed. And, come to think of it, the boy had a point.
Disaster thus averted, Hamel picked up the violin again and began to play a cheerful melody.

~~~

Disaster, having been averted thusly, crept away from the violinist and over towards where Raiel and Sizer rested side by side. Being a particularly capricious form of trouble, it snuck under their tongues and waited for a good opportunity to come out.
However, it looked like it was going to be quite a while. They were only a few inches apart, but neither could summon the courage to speak. Sizer wondered if she would stay lying there like an idiot until the end of time.
"Sizer-san," Raiel said.
"Ah...!"She didn't know whether not to be bothered or thankful. Say something back, you idiot! "Uh, what?"
"Is your ankle feeling better? I've been worried."
Something behind her eyes was stinging. She hoped it was allergies, but had a sneaking suspicion it was connected to the kind-hearted and boyishly handsome young man at her side. "Dammit, I'm...I..." She picked up her scythe, raised it to her lips and began to play.
Raiel, she thought. I don't know how to talk to you...
She played aggressively, attacking the notes as they arose. She'd always loathed magical music, if only because she remembered watching Pandora teach Hamel those melodies (not me, not when I wanted to learn more than anything else, to learn all those wonderful songs from you---)
Sizer knew better now, but it didn't stop her from recalling her own first experiences with music. She had sat on a tiny iron stool in one of the castle's endlessly dank dungeons, playing at the flute that was so large in her hands.
She remembered how dark and cold it had been.
She remembered the way the whips cracked at her when she failed.
She remembered Ocarina kneeling at her side afterwards, whispering soothingly in her ear and dabbing at the fresh wounds around her wrists.
She remembered pretending that she was in the tiny thatch house in Ansem with her tall, beautiful mother, and that they were playing together.
The piece ended and her fingers reflexively jerked to a halt. The bitter memories fell away like shattered glass. She couldn't even remember what it was she had played.
"Bach's Badinerie," Raiel murmured. Sizer jumped, having forgotten she wasn't alone. "One of the most difficult works ever written for the flute...many people devote entire years of their lives trying to master it."
"Oh, yeah."
"You played it beautifully."
"Oh." You would too if you were beaten for every wrong note. "You did a good job today," she said suddenly, not knowing what it was that drove her to speak. Yet even as she told herself to shut up and run away, the words continued. "You're a good opponent."
"Oh, Sizer-san. I don't ever want to be your opponent." He was oblivious to the stricken look on Sizer's face. "And...I'm sorry if I upset you today."
"Upset me? How?"
He blushed and gave her an embarrassed smile, which was enough to make her blush in return. "When I, um, said that I...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. You know, when we were..."
"What...?" For some reason, the memory made her giggle. She tried to choke it back, mortified at her own indignified reaction, but she couldn't help it. Something about the way he had said it (he looked like a little kid) and the way he had said it so honestly (you're too stupid to lie) and the implications (do you really fantasize about me?) made it impossible for her to hold back. "No," she said, laughing more at his puzzled expression. "I'm not upset."
"But you hurt your ankle because of me..."
"I don't mind. I got you back, didn't I?"
"Well, er, I suppose..." It was clear Raiel didn't quite know how to deal with her when she wasn't brooding and serious. "Um, are you all right?"
"I'm better than I've ever been," she said, realizing she truly meant it.

~~~

Flute returned with Ocarina, each carrying a bulging bag of first aid supplies. Ocarina was eager to see how her mistress was faring, and Oboe disliked being a third wheel, so Hamel and Flute were conveniently left alone.
Way to be subtle, you idiot birds, Hamel thought. He cocked his head slightly at Flute in a would-be humble gesture, only to discover that it really just made him look kind of stupid. "Uh, hey," he offered.
She didn't seem to be angry, which was a tip-off that she might have been abducted by aliens who had taken over her body. "Hello. We've got medical supplies for everyone here, but I think Ocarina's going to handle it...we bought some dinner, too."
He was still waiting for the alien to pop out of her chest and tear him apart. "Um...what did you get?"
"Soup. Cream of sweet potato." She glanced up at him timidly. "Is that all right?"
She knows that's my favorite. "Yeah, fine."
"And...I bought you a hairbrush." When his jaw dropped, she hurried to explain herself. "I mean, don't take it the wrong way. I just thought that this morning maybe you were mad that I was spending too long with the hairbrush. And goodness knows you don't spend enough time on yourself as it is," she added spitefully.
He glared. Why did he bother trying to be nice when she said things like that? "I didn't ask for a new hairbrush. I carry a standard salon kit in my sleeping bag."
Flute was still angry at herself for that last snippy little comment of hers. But why the heck was Hamel being so dense? She knew he carried a salon kit; she'd seen it, and besides, how else could he get such clear skin when they were traveling around outside in the middle of August? She had bought the hairbrush as a peace offering, hoping that it would make him less mad about whatever it was that was eating at him. But no, she had messed it all up and insulted him, and now he was mad... "Forget it. I'll return it tomorrow," she snapped.
He was rummaging through the bag in her hands. When he found the hairbrush, he held it up and inspected it carefully. "Actually, this is a pretty good brush."
"Then take it! I don't care."
Shit. She wasn't snapping out of it. It was time to go double or nothing on bravado, which would be quite a risk if he wasn't the most handsome man on the planet. "Why don't you brush your own hair?" he asked, putting enough charm into his voice to seduce cold granite.
"I-I-I..." She simultaneously couldn't look at him and couldn't look away from him. She felt her chin trembling. "Because it's better when someone else does it," she said, vaguely aware that this was not the same Hamel that routinely used her as a projectile weapon.
"It's always better when someone else does it with you," he agreed.
Flute panicked, having forgotten that he was the master of all things double entendre. Ordinarily she would have screamed and ran the hell away (yeah, right. You like being with him like this...), but she couldn't remember how to move those blocky things at the end of her legs that she used for walking (what were they called again?). What was it about Hamel that paralyzed her brain? "What...do you want?"
"I think you know what I want," he said. The look of absolute shock on her face was enough to make the sly grin on his face become downright devilish. He took one of her hands, paying no attention to the bag that dropped to the ground. Oh, man, he was not ever going to let her forget this under any circumstances ever, even if she killed him. This would be his ultimate blackmail.
"Ha-Hamel."
He leaned down to whisper in her ear, noticing she didn't resist. "Flute..."
"I d-d-d-don't think this is a good idea..."
"Would you...brush my hair?"
She stopped, pulled away from him, staring at him with a look hot enough to melt steel. "You want WHAT?"
"How about it, hmm?" he said. He dropped the charisma and abruptly became plain, dumb, kind-of-a-jerk Hamel again. "Or should I get Raiel to do it, if he's that much better at it than you are?"
Flute took several deep breaths, waiting for her heart rate to return to normal. What had happened to her? Had he been trying to---no, he hadn't. He was playing with her! He had been making fun of her! "Hamel, I..."
He held the hairbrush out to her.
Well.
A peace offering...
She took it. "Sit down on the ground; you're too tall," she commanded. He did so, and she found a nearby stump to sit on. She took off his hat, temporarily forgetting everything he hid beneath it. He inhaled sharply.
"Now then. Let's see what we can do."
Hamel let her. He needed this sometimes, whether or not he wanted to admit it. He needed someone that didn't look at the demon that tore apart cities and slaughtered families. Everyone saw it as a part of him, even Raiel. But Flute didn's see a demon, only the guy that had a habit of taking her underwear and throwing it up in trees.
I'll take off my hat for you, Flute, he thought. ...but only you.
...what the hell. Now I'm thinking like Raiel. Shit.
She began to sing softly. For once, instead of making fun of her breathy, warbling soprano, he decided to listen.

"Não chora, menina, nã chora mais. Um dia você vai saber. Na vide existe sempre a razão E mesmo a tristeza tem valor."

The language was one spoken in the southern countries, he couldn't remember which, but it was oddly comforting. He let her continue, well aware that if anyone saw him like this he would be forced to kill them. It was an emasculating experience, but for some reason, he didn't want to stop her.

"O que fez as làrimas no seu rosto, � o carinho do seu coraoão. E a menina que sabe o que é o carinho Vai ser mais linda, linda mulher."

Mother...
This was his mother, wasn't it? Wasn't this the woman who sat with him and cared for his wounds and sang to him at night and was able to make his fears ago away? Something about Flute reminded him of home...of Mother...

"a la la la, la la la, la la la, La la la la, la la la la..."

And then, in one of those rare moments that he would never admit for any amount of money or booze in the world, he laid his head in her lap. He didn't know why---maybe it was because he heard Pandora in her words, maybe he was sorry he had overreacted earlier, or maybe she was making him a goddamn pussy. But it felt right.
"That song sucks," he said quietly.
She brushed the ends of his hair. "One of the old women in Staccato used to sing it to me."
"It still sucks."
"I won't sing it any more, then," she said, not assigning too much value to his criticism. After all, he was the one with his head in her lap.
"...it didn't suck that much."

~~~

"Sizer-sama, are you better?" Ocarina asked. "Look here, I've got a bandage, we can wrap it around six times counterclockwise just the way you like it, and---"
Sizer nodded. She was still in a good mood, although she wasn't entirely sure why. Something about Raiel, the way he had been smiling, how shy and stupid he had been...well, whatever. She watched her friend (servant? No, friend. Closest friend. Dearest friend.) attend to her ankle.
"Thank you, Ocarina."
"I hope you feel better," Raiel chimed in.
(...but not only friend. Not anymore.)
Oboe settled back with a happy sigh. It was rare that all of them got along this way, and it was worth it, even if they had to suffer some injuries first. There wasn't going to be any peace at the northern capital; why couldn't they just relax and be happy to be together?
...because they're young, he reminded himself. They didn't realize just how good they had it. It seemed logical for them to routinely beat the crap out of each other and never talk about their fears and dreams. They were young. They were stupid. And there wasn't anything he could do about it.
"Ocarina," he said, hopping onto his daughter's shoulder. "Would you like to spend some time with your father?"
"What? Of course! Why...?"
"Because I owe it to you," he said, not knowing he had meant to say that. But he did, didn't he? He had left her to watch over the son of Pandora, beautiful Pandora, and Ocarina would have been alone but for Pandora's other child...
No. He had wasted enough time as it was; he couldn't afford to spend any longer feeling guilty. Okay, so he was a bird, but he was also a father. "So why don't we go for a walk?"
"You want to walk?" she said doubtfully.
...but he still was a bird. "All right, then, a fly. I've been meaning to talk to you about that outfit of yours, because honestly I don't think it gives other people a very good impression of the way you've been raised..."
Father and daughter soared into the air. Sizer and Raiel watched them, amused. "They're happy," she concluded.
"Well, sure."
She turned to face him. No matter what she thought about him---what do I think about him, anyway?---he was already set in his feelings for her. Sizer had long ago erected an impenetrable wall around her heart, and no amount of bombs or explosives could bring it down. That didn't keep Raiel from trying, even if the only way he knew how was to run really fast and hit it as hard as he could. He would never quit, not ever; he would just keep getting back up and slamming his head into the wall, over and over and over.
Something within Sizer told her that no amount of pitiful attempts could ever change her, but the dogged, almost ridiculous determination behind it would. If she didn't watch out, she was going to fall into something very dangerous and very deep that her wings couldn't help...
No. Not yet. All she felt now was a tiny bit of happiness, something she could treasure secretly when she was alone. She was glad that he was beside her like this, but nobody else would know. Nobody except...
I still can't talk to you, Raiel. I don't know how.
But...
I can try.
How did one go about being affectionate, anyway? Was there a book that told you how to do these things? Where could she get one? "Raiel?" she asked.
He was still staring at her, eyes wide. "Yes, Sizer-san?"
She gave him a kind of experimental once-over. Finally satisfied, she turned away and kissed the tip of her left index finger. She looked at her hand for a moment, pushing any last doubts from her mind, and quickly pressed the finger against his lips.
"That's all," she said.
Raiel didn't move. As a matter of fact, he didn't breathe. Sizer put a hand to his neck to feel for a pulse, only to find it still.
Well, great. This time she had killed him.