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Balance Factor

Prologue

A/N: Hello everyone! This is my first story on FFN! I hope you like it!

Ryuuko smiled a little while chatting with the other Light King, Shisui. Shirogane had come over to visit, but had bumped into Kou along the way. They had some sort of disagreement about something, and now they were working things out. Or so the king thought.

Walking into Shirogane forcing his dominance on a rather submissive human Kou was a little strange, he admitted. The fact that they had both turned to stare at him in surprise, as if he was the one who shouldn't have been there, was a little strange. As well as Shirogane pouncing on him when he had turned to leave.

"Shirogane, wha?" Ryuuko sputtered, rubbing his head where he had hit the floor. Shirogane loomed over him, stroking his cheek and petting his hair. Kou slid across his lap, looking up at him.

"Who do you like better?" Kou asked, rubbing up against him. He had morphed to his human form, his hands wrapping around Ryuuko's waist. Ryuuko gave a start as Shirogane bent down to kiss him.

Ryuuko was slightly flushed when the other man pulled away, looking up at him. His white cape was a bit ruffled, his hair slightly messed up, and he was panting lightly. He, quite honestly, had no idea where this had come from.

"Well," Ryuuko said slowly. "I like you both. You both mean something different to me..."

"Told you so," Shirogane said smugly. "But he's my counterpart. So I get to touch him more!"

"I'm his child, so he should spend more time with me!" Kou countered.

They both glared at each other before settling down with Ryuuko in the middle. Ryuuko let Shirogane pull him to his lap, looking up at him confused. Shirogane seemed pleased and Ryuuko had been a bit tired.

Kou yawned in Ryuuko's lap, resting his head against Ryuuko's stomach. Ryuuko hummed pleasantly, leaning against Shirogane.

"Father!"

Ryuuko looked up, smiling pleasantly at his son. His son had bright blue eyes, a mark of Shirogane's power, and long black hair, his own powers. The balancer. A being of equal shin and rei, of darkness and light.

"Good morning, Kazuki. How did you sleep?" Ryuuko asked. Kazuki smiled.

"Pretty well," Kazuki said, smiling happily. Shirogane reached over, placing a hand on Kazuki's hair, stroking the long black strands that were familiar.

"That's good," Shirogane said softly. "Make sure you practice your studies. What are you learning today?" His gaze softened as he looked at the child, a combination of his and Ryuuko's powers.

"Shisui promised to teach me healing today!" Kazuki said, looking up at his other father. "Do you have time, Father? I wanted to show you how much I've learned with my spear!"

"Perhaps. I'll see if I have time after my meeting with Ryuuko," Shirogane said. Kazuki smiled brightly as he vanished down the hallway in search of Shisui. Ryuuko smiled.

"Kou…?" Ryuuko said softly. "If something happens…" He turned to the man sprawled on his lap. "I want you to take care of Kazuki, okay?" He smiled, looking into the familiar gold eyes of his creation.

"Okay, Ryuuko-sama." Kou promised.

-0-

It wasn't long after that, Homurabi attacked. Kou ran as fast as he could in his dog form to get away from the Shadow Palace. He had to get to Kazuki. He had to! He promised Ryuuko. And Ryuuko was… was…

Gone.

There was an explosion right next to Kou's body. Part of the Palace wall had been broken through, but Kou kept running. Sawaki took a swing at him. Kou felt blood splatter against his fur. And then… he was falling. Falling into the darkness…

-0-

Kazuki jerked up as he felt Ryuuko's presence inside him shift. What was this feeling? What had happened?

Kazuki had never left the Light Palace. He walked over to his balcony, looking over the edge. Both Shisui and Ryuuko were out. Ryuuko had taken Kou with him, as he had wanted Kou to see the world. But both his fathers had agreed to keep him in the Light Palace, thinking that the Shadow Palace would be too dark for the young child.

The young boy leaned over the edge, looking into the swirling light. He had never met any other Shin but Shirogane, as Shirogane claimed that his Children would taint the light inside him. Kazuki knew, logically, that it could happen. Darkness was a more varying factor. Until he learned to control it in his own body, any extended period of darkness would taint him.

He had practiced of course. But Shirogane shook his head when he had shown him.

"You're putting too much effort into it. You need to learn to control it," his other Father, Shirogane said. "Draw out your powers slowly, but make sure you do it right. Meditation will help with that."

Kazuki closed his eyes. The light inside him was echoing softly. His Factor, born from both light and dark, pulsed. What was going on?

There was a sudden swirl of discomfort. Kazuki flinched. His Father! His Father's Factor was stolen! The Light Factor!

His own Factor pulsed one last time, but then was still. Kazuki gave a sigh of relief, but was almost knocked off his feet when a second wave of discomfort hit him. He gasped for breath, his other Father's Factor reacting wildly, angrily. Fury pooled through his gut, but his face went pale. Someone had angered Shirogane. Ryuuko was in trouble.

Almost a minute passed, but then there was silence. Kazuki gasped for breath, looking stunned. He looked into the swirling light and his crystal blue eyes hardened. The balance was tipped.

"Listen, Kazuki."

Kazuki looked up at his Father, Ryuuko. Ryuuko gave him a kind smile and touched his hair. A thin string was warmth passed through his body and pooled through his heart.

"If we are ever in trouble, you will know. That being said, if that happens, I want you to not act on your anger," Ryuuko said, kneeling down to his Child's level. "Think things through. The safest place you will be is by our side. If you cannot be there, I want you to go to the Human World."

"The Human World, Father?" Kazuki asked.

"Yes. There, you will be safe for a long time," Ryuuko said. "Humans can be kind and loving. They will take care of you, as you will be reborn in their world."

"Don't lie to him, Ryuuko," Shirogane sneered. "Humans are weak. They pick on their own kind all the time."

"Nothing will happen to either of you! You are the strongest beings in the whole wide world!" Kazuki declared proudly. Shirogane's lips twitched. He looked like he was refraining from laughing.

"Thank you, Kazuki," Ryuuko said.

Kazuki wished he had listened to Ryuuko's explanation on how to get to the human world. He looked into the light and whispered to it.

"Father… Help me..."

A sudden gust of wind pushed him off the edge. Kazuki flailed and scrambled back to try and reach the balcony edge, but he was too far. Then he felt the comforting presence of Ryuuko holding him as he fell. He opened his blue eyes, but saw nothing but light.

-0-

Harry Potter woke with a start.

-0-

A/N: Please Review!