By Dyaoka
Disclaimer: I don’t own the Prince of Tennis nor do I own Final Fantasy. Geezus Christ! How many times must I repeat this?
Notes/Warnings: This is a more…well…plot mover kind of chapter. Not much important things happen and…CHRYSAN!!! ARE YOU STILL THERE?!?! I’m sorry I took that long, but…um…I managed to fit your challenge into this. You know which part it is. ;D And well…I actually tried to put some more shounen-ai into this because…we’re lacking in the ‘love-love’ section. Thought that we needed some more FujiRyo-ness back in action. It’s been a while since I’ve actually written about the two together too…Surprisingly, its very hard to write them together in an action/adventure/fantasy epic! I’m not a professional writer so I sure as heck don’t know how to incorporate romance and action together. I REALLY admire those who can…
Scroll Twelve: Beaming Sunlight in the Dark
“I am Shiva, the Queen of Ice.”
Tezuka’s eyes narrowed, his stance spoke that he was ready to take action. Shiva paid no heed to him, but stepped towards Ryoma, the bloody spear of hers trailing the floor, leaving a trail of ice and blood upon it. She stopped several feet in front of the dark haired boy’s bed. She glanced down upon Ryoma coldly and brought up the spear till it was mere inches from the golden-eyed boy’s forehead.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Tezuka demanded. With one fluid motion, he casted a powerful fire spell at the Aeon, who stood not far from him. “Stay away from him.”
“Foolish, foolish, child,” she murmured, watching in fascination as the fire licked at the mortal body she was trapped within. “Don’t you understand? This is my trophy…to show that I have won. My…war trophy.”
“Tezuka! What are you doing?!” Taka exclaimed, his eyes watching the fires that burned at his charge. “That’s…that’s Shinji!”
“He is no more; he died. Shinji never made it back,” Tezuka said, his eyes fixated upon the burning body. Meanwhile, Fuji was slowly pulling Ryoma farther away from Shiva. His own frosty ice-blue eyes were glaring down upon the intruder as he drew Ryoma closer. Fuji had one hand out, ready to cast a spell if he had to. In one quick motion, Momo had pulled both Fuji and Ryoma away from the reach of the spear and dashed out of the room with Inui and Oishi. Tezuka and Kaido pulled a stunned Taka with them as they ran from the room, barring it as they did so.
“Everyone, get out of here!” Tezuka ordered. “It’s going to get dangerous.”
“But what about the rest of the people here?” Oishi asked.
“If they’re smart, they’d probably had already evacuated,” Inui said. “Though there is only a thirty-two percent chance that the whole usual staff is here, so I wouldn’t worry to much…”
“But…people’s lives are at stake here!” Oishi argued, stopping in the middle of the hallway.
“This is no time to be sentimental. If their lives are lost, there is nothing that we can do about it—”
Oishi cut off Tezuka with a glare. “How can you say that? Are you really that cold hearted?!” His eyes were sparked with a fury and rage that spoke of retribution. “You…!”
“Get out!” Inui yelled suddenly. “Earth!” He slammed a fist into the ground and the wood boards suddenly snapped in two, revealing a huge wall of dirt and gravel. Tezuka looked back behind them just in time to see a rapidly expanding blanket of ice going through over everything in the halls. “Let’s go!”
Tezuka didn’t waste any more time arguing with Oishi. “If you want to try and save them, go ahead,” he challenged. “See if I care.”
“Stop arguing!” Inui snapped. “Let’s go already, we don’t know how long the wall will hold out against the ice.”
“You guys go ahead!” Oishi said, rushing off in another direction of the hall. “I’ll get out before this whole place freezes over.”
Tezuka resisted the urge to hurt the other, but instead, he settled for the giving a nod and running down the hall, not even caring if the other two were following or not. After all, he had much more important things to deal with.
Inui, on the other hand, sighed and went after Oishi.
~*~
“Y-Your Majesty! What are you doing here?! You could have told us beforehand that you were coming!”
“You understand that we couldn’t risk that?”
“O-of course!”
“Good. Now take us to where the humans are staying.”
~*~
Ryoma was looking in shock at what the house had become. He, Fuji, Momo, and Kaido were the only ones outside. The house, once a beautiful, ivy covered home that emitted the very essence of comfort and calmness was being completely frozen over. A thick sheet of ice had already covered most of it and it was still growing. It reached to the pavement and continued to stretch out, and at the tip of it, many shapes of hands and arms came from it, grabbing for whatever they could.
It was a grotesque sight to see; hanging limbs from the ice still moving and freezing whatever it touched. They moved, like waves of the ocean, loosely and at odd angles, sometimes splintering themselves into two with their own movements.
Suddenly, the half-frozen front door was blasted open by none other than Tezuka; his expression hard and unreadable. The bespectacled youth ignored the lifeless hands that grabbed at his boots and cape. The ice upon his boots was heavy and when he finally made it onto the ground free of ice, his boots made heavy clunking sounds. He barely paid any thought to it whatsoever as he brought on a small fire in the palm of his hand and set to defrosting the ice.
“What in the—”
Everyone’s attention was drawn to the newcomer. It was one of the sentries of Haven, clothed fully in his uniform and his weapon at hand. He glared heatedly at the group. “This was your doing!”
“Stand down,” came a deep, authoritative voice. They looked over at a tall youth with dirty blonde locks that curled at the end who was completely covered in a dark cloak that only revealed his face and hair. His companions were dressed in the same style, although their hoods were still up, obscuring the light and view to their faces. “What is going on?” he addressed Tezuka, who gave a small nod as greetings.
“Shiva,” was all Tezuka said as if it explained everything.
Suddenly, there was a loud crack and a bang as one of the walls of the house burst open. Out came Inui and Oishi, along with some of the house staff that was there. The Fae were delicate upon their feet and nimbly avoided the grasp of the icicle hands—however, ice encased them anyway, freezing them up to their knees. Inui made a faint irritated noise and cleared the way of ice with a spell, destroying and shattering the ice like delicate glass. It created a temporary road for him and Oishi.
“Inui! Oishi! Are you alright?” Taka asked, looking up at his friends.
“J-just fine…” Oishi grunted as he collapsed onto the ground.
“The cold got to him,” Inui said, trying to wipe off the fog upon his glasses without taking them off. “His right hand is just lightly frostbitten, but that’s it.” He nodded to the unidentified faces briefly. “Who are they?”
“How dare you address them like some commoner!” the soldier exclaimed, waving his weapon at Inui. “You don’t know who they are, do you?!”
“Didn’t I tell you to stand down?” came the authoritative voice of the blonde.
“Y-yes…” the soldier said meekly, backing down almost instantly.
“What are you going to do?” Oishi asked, turning to Tezuka. “Whatever that thing was…it’s clearly gone mad!”
“Or power hungry,” Momo added, but no one laughed at the irony of the statement. “That thing was another one of those…Aeons, wasn’t it?”
“But of course,” came a crystalline voice. Everyone’s attention was directed to the forming figure amongst the ice. The hands had disappeared; instead, the ice was clumping together and forming the distinct shape of a woman with long hair tied into many braids. “I am no other than Shiva, fool.” Finally, the full figure of the woman emerged. She was truly an ice queen, being made entirely from ice and her body completely a unearthly blue that represented what would happen to a body should it get too cold. Strange patterns decorated her bare skin and she stood tall and proud, even though she was scantily clad.
Ryoma stepped forward, recognizing the form that Leviathan had once described to him. At first, the golden-eyed youth had been rather skeptical about whether or not the woman was Shiva, but finally, now that she’s revealed her ‘genuine’ form, he saw that it was true. It really was Shiva.
Cold, blue eyes rested themselves upon the small youth who had stepped forward. “Brother…” she hissed, raising her hand out as if doing a handshake, however, from the tip of fingers, a thin wisp of misty ice begun to form. “You’re not going to greet me? After all the trouble I went through to get here…”
“He doesn’t want to greet you out here,” Ryoma said. “So why don’t you come with me and say hi to him later?”
“…brat,” she muttered. “I’m sure you don’t want me freezing this whole place. My brother calls, return him to me this instant…”
“Ryoma, be careful,” Fuji murmured from besides the golden-eyed youth. “She’s dangerous.”
“I know,” Ryoma murmured in return. “But its true…Leviathan calls to her. That’s probably why Shinji’s sought me out so many times recently…”
“R-Ryoma! Fuji!” Momo sudden exclaimed in surprise. “Look!” The two looked over at Momo who pointed downward at the ground. Ice had completely encased the ground they were on, including their feet and shoes. Tezuka and the newcomers onto the scene were unaffected, as the ice did not freeze them down like Ryoma and Fuji.
“When did this happen?!” Oishi exclaimed, trying to break through of the ice. He looked back up and saw Shiva smirk, but that too, disappeared quickly from her face. She let her hand drop to her side, where the wisp of ice disappeared. Without even taking a step, she literally slid on the soles of her feet towards Ryoma ever so slowly. She completely towered above Ryoma and Fuji, her demeanor calm and composed, yet completely dangerous.
“Boy,” she murmured, reaching forward and stroked Ryoma’s hair gently, her touch causing ice to form on his hair wherever she touched it. “Give me back my brother…and my cousin. You have them and I refuse to go with a know-it all brat like you.” Ryoma’s eyes remained defiant as he glared back at Shiva, refusing to shiver from the cold or show any signs of weakness. He slapped Shiva’s hand away, a spell already upon his lips. “Foolish…” she said, sealing Ryoma’s lips with cold, hard ice, preventing the youth from speaking.
“Fira!”
The ice Aeon turned around too late to see a ball of fire heading towards her. With a loud sizzle, the fire hit her, engulfing her. She gasped, feeling the warmth of the fire seep into her skin. However, the spell was not strong enough to banish her and the fire quickly vanished, having burnt out and defeated by the cold. Shiva glared icily at the one who dared to attack her—it was the tan haired youth besides Ryoma, with the strong blue eyes who was trying to melt the ice on the golden-eyed youth’s mouth with a spell.
“Fuji! Careful!”
The youth could only duck just before an icicle went flying past where his head once was.
“Quick reflexes, I’ll give you that, boy…” Shiva murmured, using the ice to fling Fuji away from Ryoma. A wall of ice rose around the golden-eyed youth and her, blocking out all other intruders. The ice was thick and difficult to see through, almost completely opaque. “Now, give me my brother and cousin.”
“T-they don’t want to come with you,” Ryoma sputtered, trying to regain the use of his throat and mouth again. The ice had done quite some damage to it, he found, and his voice sounded rather off.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” she said. “You can release them willingly or you can let me do this the hard way.”
Ryoma glared. “Let’s do this the hard way. Phoenix!” he summoned. But nothing happened. Shiva laughed, her voice sounding harsh than anything else.
“Did you really think my cousin would come at such an…insignificant moment?” she asked. “You amuse me, but my patience wears thin.” She reached over Ryoma’s shoulder and onto his back. He was able to feel her could touch even through the coat he wore and suddenly, a sharp, cold pain ran through his back. He felt Shiva dig deeply into his skin, ready to rip out the jewels embedded into his back when suddenly he yelled out another fire spell.
With a loud woosh, the fire surrounded the ice maiden, licking and burning at her body. There was loud sizzles where the extreme temperatures met and Shiva’s mouth opened into a silent scream as the fire consumed her. The Aeon’s body just suddenly seemed to melt away into the background and Ryoma brought his arms to shield himself from the tiny ice particles flying at him, closing his eyes upon instinct and facing away. When he opened his eyes again to survey the surrounding area, Ryoma found the all ice was gone and floating in front of him a sparkling diamond. Ryoma held out his hand and the jewel dropped lifelessly into his palm and then he proceeded to attached it to his back. Feeling the jewel sink into his skin, Ryoma finally allowed exhaustion to take over.
After coming back home, he found that whatever the spell he used to bring himself back home was, it had taken a lot of energy…and then the Shiva ordeal, and he just expanded even more energy over it. All his reserves were tapped dry, though he’s found that he really didn’t mind sleep that moment…and thus, he let the darkness take him.
~*~
Yet again, Ryoma found his sleep plagued by dreams. They were confusing and it was another repeat of a dream that he had since before he met the others; a dream he’s been having since he’d been in Nanjirou’s care. However, this time, everything was in the most striking clarity…The tiniest detail was accented strongly and almost everyone he saw in the dream, he was able to name.
Fuji. Momo. Tezuka. Oishi. Eiji. Inui. Taka.
The only one he had been unable to name was a snake-like youth he’s seen earlier upon his return.
As always, the dream was horrible and ended horribly.
“Ryoma, are you alright? I know you’re awake,” came a deep voice. Just barely managing to crack open one eye, Ryoma saw that it was Inui. The resting youth sighed softly, letting his body relax.
“It’s just you,” Ryoma murmured, his eyes closing again. His eyelids felt heavy and his mind compelled to bring him back into the dream world.
“Don’t fall asleep just yet,” Inui said. “Taka’s making you something to eat right now, since your body hasn’t eaten in days and is running low on nutrition. It’s a miracle that you’ve managed to survive this long.”
“Just how long was I out…in this world?” Ryoma asked.
“It’s almost been two and a half months,” Inui answered rather gravely. “It’s been a long time.”
“Yes…it has,” Ryoma breathed, falling to the tiredness that threatened to engulf him, but Inui shook him awake.
“You are not sleeping again until you’ve eaten,” Inui stated, pulling Ryoma up into sitting position and fixing his pillow so he rested comfortably against the headboard. “Now, why don’t you tell me what happened.”
“Happened…?” Ryoma murmured slowly, as if the word was foreign upon his tongue. “As in…where I was during that two and a half months of absence…?”
“Yes. I may not be as clueless as Momoshiro or Oishi as to not know that you’ve been placed into a different world and had been living there. In fact, I’d say that there would be an eighty-five percent chance that you’ve been living there quite happily until Shinji showed up and pulled you back, yes?”
Ryoma chose not to comment and the two fell into silence. Finally, Ryoma drew breath to talk.
“I…I was in this place…I didn’t know anything that was going on…It was so confusing…”
“Start from the beginning,” Inui advised. Ryoma nodded slowly.
“After I blacked out from the fall in the ravine, I woke up into this strange world. No one there knew magic, and if they did, it was just some fairy tale that no one believed in. They had…technology there. Crafts called telephones that allowed someone to speak into one end and the person from the other end would be able to hear, even if they were half way around the world. There were radios and things that flew in the skies. Horseless carriages that ran on engines that traveled faster than horses themselves. It was…very amazing there.” Ryoma’s expression softened, as he remembered the people there.
“I would imagine so,” Inui said, taking in all the information Ryoma had given him. “It must had been amazing…I would have loved to see it for myself.”
“I didn’t see them,” Ryoma said. “I was…blind.”
“Blind?”
“The body I ended up being transported into had been in an accident and in coma for a long time. The body was blind.”
Curiosity piqued, Inui couldn’t help but ask; “And whose body was that? Surely you must know.”
“The body of the person I entered was Echizen…Ryoma. His name was Echizen Ryoma—he was me in the other world,” Ryoma said. “There was another you there too. At first I thought that you’ve all come or something, but I realized that you and everyone else were not the same. Everyone was so much more carefree and different.”
“But of course,” Inui said. “Even if we are physically the same, it does not mean that we are the same mentally. We’ve grown up in different environments, had different pressures and worries upon our shoulders…of course we wouldn’t be the same people.” Inui patted Ryoma’s shoulder gently. “I won’t ask anymore of you, though I am greatly curious of what happened there. Besides, I believe Taka is here with your food.” Both their gazes turned over to Taka, who stood at the doorway, holding the tray with a sheepish look upon his face.
“Eh…sorry…I couldn’t help but eavesdrop…” Taka said, placing the tray onto Ryoma’s lap. The light haired youth pulled over a chair from the side of the room to sit next to Ryoma’s bed. “Can you tell me one thing?”
Ryoma’s expression clearly said ‘what?’
“I just wanted to know…well…”
“Shinji, right?” Inui finished for the late seer’s caretaker. The other youth nodded.
“He was…happy,” Ryoma said after careful moments of thinking. “I’ve never seen him happy, but he was happy and scared. He was happy because people loved him for who he was—a friend, not a seer. I don’t know why he seemed to be rather scared, but I believe its because he saw his family again—it scared him because they loved him. He urged to get me…us…back here as soon as possible, but I think he had some regrets. It felt like…he was forcing himself to do all this.”
“You know, Ryoma…” Taka trailed off, looking at the younger youth with sad, smiling eyes. “You’ve changed.”
“I did not,” Ryoma muttered almost immediately. “I am still the same.”
“I’d say you’re now seventy-seven percent more open than you were the first time we’ve met you,” Inui added evilly. Ryoma leveled a glare in the bespectacled youth’s direction; Inui just gave a shrug and smirk in response.
“Now that I’ve answered your questions, you can answer mine,” Ryoma said. “Where’s everyone else?”
“They’re resting,” Inui answered. “It’s been very tiring for them—and us, for a matter of fact. But someone needs to watch over you and your cat’s disappeared, so we’ve taken up the job.”
“Wait…Karupin’s disappeared?” Ryoma said, glancing sharply at Inui.
“We’ve searched for him…but we don’t know where Karupin’s gone,” Taka said. “I’m sorry…”
“But…Karupin can’t be gone!” Ryoma exclaimed. “No…he isn’t gone. He isn’t.”
“Well, he’s not here then,” Inui said with an air of tiredness. “Are you finished eating? There are some people who would like to speak with you.”
“…who?” Ryoma questioned.
“You’ll see,” Inui answered mysteriously. “Now, quickly, hurry and finish eating.”
Still giving Inui a suspicious glare, Ryoma resignedly finished his food quickly and Taka and Inui both left the room right after. A few moments later, a familiar blonde came walking into the room with two cloaked and hooded figures flanking him.
“Ryoma,” the youth greeted politely. Ryoma did a quick scan through his memory, intent on finding a name for the blonde who looked oh-so familiar that it couldn’t have been more than just a week ago that he’s seen him.
“Kajimoto…” Ryoma murmured lightly. “That is…your name?”
The blonde chuckled heartily and smiled. “Indeed, that is. You are truly His child.” Ryoma growled, recognizing and realizing what was going on.
Kajimoto was from his dreams, and the person whom Kajimoto had referred to, Him, was none other than the only person Ryoma was related to by blood…
A father.
“Please don’t associate me with him. He is nothing but a liar and a power hungry fool,” Ryoma said aloofly. “I am not family with…him.” There really wasn’t any other way to say it and ‘him’ was the only word that Ryoma could come up with. Perhaps that was why the agents had only referred to their master as Him—he was not worthy of any titles, much less a name.
“As you wish,” Kajimoto said politely. “I have matters to discuss with you.”
“…I think I already know what it is that you wanted to discuss with me,” Ryoma said, looking from the two hooded figures in the room, who stood at attention next to Kajimoto, like twin guards. “And this isn’t going to be a simple discussion.”
Kajimoto found himself smirking. The boy certainly was sharp. “Of course this isn’t. You two, please secure the doors and windows. We don’t want anyone listening in, of course.”
“I certainly hope this is purely business…”
“But of course. Why else would we come here unannounced to our people?”
~*~
Fuji had once again found himself wandering through the endless darkness of his dreams. Nothing but darkness surrounded him and it was so cold…With every step he took, it became even more difficult to walk. When he tried to call out for someone…anyone, he found that his throat did not work.
Was this how death was? The very same death that had been haunting his dreams since Ryoma’s temporary passing into another world?
He doubted it. It was more like all his senses shutting down upon him than the veil of death.
Suddenly, as if curtains being pulled upwards on a stage, the view around him burst out in light, chasing away the darkness. The scene that soon replaced the light was a horrible, gruesome scene that Fuji had never thought he’d live to experience.
He was in a dark, dark dungeon that was rank beyond comprehension. It stunk of fear, sweat, heat, and blood. The latter was everywhere—old and dry or new and wet. It sprinkled the floor and walls with the human’s essential fluid and Fuji felt sick to his stomach. However, it was the people lying there that alarmed him. He saw a red headed figure with strange; triangular-like bangs leaning against one of the cells in the dungeons heavily. He was damaged beyond help with wounds and blood, but he was smiling, like there was no pain. On the opposite side, was Momo.
The youth laid sprawled there, on his side, with a pool of blood forming beneath him. There was a large gash upon his stomach, which the youth was clutching at. Fuji was about to run towards his companion…to help him, to heal him. But instead, the scene shifted and he was no longer in the dungeons.
“I-Inui!” Fuji gasped, recognizing the bloody mess in front of him. His long time friend was dead; his glasses were cracked and knocked askew, revealing dark, misty eyes that already showed he was already gone from the world. His limbs were strewn about in the library of which Fuji had arrived in. The dusty, old books soaked in his blood, making the yellow pages a sick, red color. Blood still dripped from where his throat had been cut.
“Inui…” Fuji breathed, stepping forward. His foot came in contact with glass. “Glass…?” Fuji lifted his foot to find that he had stepped on another pair of glasses. He’s seen these pair of spectacles before—they belonged to the person that Tezuka was talking to that one day in the gardens. Quickly, Fuji’s eyes darted around, searching for the missing person. Finally, he found the person. The dark haired youth lay under a stack of books—almost hidden away from the world. The youth’s breathing was erratic and shallow; he was at death’s gates, Fuji could tell.
The scene shifted out of the library and into another place—it was a garden. Except the plants and greenery was all trampled and the flowers lay dead and wasted. Seven bodies laid there, several in bloody messes, four of which Fuji could identify. One was Tezuka, leaning heavily against a tree. The bespectacled youth’s head was bowed to his chest and Fuji could not tell if he was alive or not. The other was Oishi, a blade haven been drove through his heart. Taka was the third Fuji identified; he laid face up, towards the sky and his face was a peaceful smile. Perhaps he was in a dream, seeing his loved ones…or he was dead, fallen on the battlefield like the rest. The last one Fuji was able to identify was Sengoku, the commenter at the competition in Bevelle. Fuji had no idea why Sengoku was there, but…there he was, laying on the grass spread eagle like the victor of them all, save for the bloody wound above his eye and on his stomach.
“No more…” Fuji whispered as the scene shifted once again. “I don’t want to see anymore…”
He was in a children’s playroom that had been unused for a long, long time. Dust covered almost everything except for the occasional footprint here or there. In the center of the room laid Eiji, his eyes wide and shocked. The scene was the most gruesome of all of the ones that Fuji had seen; his red haired friend was completely soaked in blood, pooling around him like liquid water. However, it was the seven swords that skewered him that was horrific. Two to pin down his two arms and two to pin down his two legs; one for his neck, one for his heart, and one for his stomach.
Finally, the scene shifted again and this time, Fuji found himself in a large ballroom of some sort. Kaido laid in one corner, half hidden by the shadows. He looked beaten and dead, but his chest moved up and down—he was still alive and breathing. In the center of the room, Fuji saw the most confusing scene of all.
He saw himself, lying in Ryoma’s arms. Fuji saw that the left side of his body had been burnt and mutilated, yet Ryoma did not fear him and continued to hold him, murmuring desperate whispers of love and hope to him. Fuji saw himself open his eyes, revealing dull, glassy-blue colored eyes, to stare up at his golden-eyed lover.
“Don’t…worry…”
A hand reached up to brush the stray strands of dark hair around the golden-eyed youth’s face. “It’ll be ok…”
His eyelids closed, shielding the lost blue eyes from sight and the hand dropped limply to the side. Ryoma uttered only one word.
“FUJI!!!!!”
It was due to that yell, his name that Fuji even woke up from the dream with his heart racing quickly. He found himself alone in his room, with nothing but his mind playing illusions upon him. With a small sigh of relief, Fuji settled back onto the pillow again, wondering what the dream meant.
“I sure hope it doesn’t mean anything bad…” Fuji murmured to himself.
~*~
“It’s almost time.”
“The twenty-sixth is tomorrow…just this coming dawn. Do you think they’ll all be there?”
“There is no doubt about it. They will all assemble tomorrow. All of us that are left remaining…all the twenty-nine of us…”
“It should have been sixty.”
“That was for you to blame, Gakuto.”
A light snicker and chuckle came from the other speaker. “Oh? Who was it that helped out?”
“It was a rebellion—they had to be pressed down. Why do you think I helped out? All traitors must die.”
“Aren’t we traitors, Oshitari?”
“No. We are sinners, not traitors.”
“I see no difference.”
“Of course not, Gakuto, of course not…”
“You scare me some times. Just thought I’d like you to know.”
“Well, thank you.”
~*~
“We’re the first ones here, it seems,” said a heavily cloaked figure, though long dark strands of hair peeked out occasionally from the sides of the hood.
“Well…what do you expect? It’s been…I think eight years since the other agents and us has been here. The paths and landscape has certainly changed much over that time period…” another murmured.
“Eight long years, indeed.”
Snap!
“Who’s there?!” Both the cloaked figures jumped, their stances on their defense already.
“Calm down, it’s just me! For fuck’s sake, you losers call me here and you get all antsy about it. Jeez. If not for that Oshitari bastard, I would have never came,” came a gruff and cynical voice.
“Such a potty mouth as usual, Akutsu…it’s nice to know that you haven’t changed,” said one of the cloaked figures.
“You wanna make something of it?!” the silver haired youth exclaimed, raising a fist at the two.
“Please, desu! Stop fighting, desu!” a small, petit youth came running into the clearing, his overlarge headband falling over his eyes as he did so. He tripped and landed on the forest floor with a small ‘omph’ and quickly got up when he did so, pushing his headband up as well.
“Ah…Taichi, I didn’t know you were here too,” one of the cloaked figures said warmly. The poor boy was always so overlooked.
“The brat’s ALWAYS been following me! How can you not know that?! Wherever I am, he’s certainly not two steps far behind! He’s annoying as hell too!” Akutsu fumed angrily, his golden eyes glaring darkly at the shorter one.
“B-but…but…desu…” Taichi’s eyes begun to water. He was always a bit too emotional, according to Akutsu.
“W-well…you should calm down first! It’s nothing to get angry about!”
“And just what are you commoners fussing about?” came a new voice that everyone recognized at the drop of a pin. It wasn’t because they wanted to—it was because that person had made sure that his voice was so distinguishable from everything by speaking to everyone so many times so that they’d recognize the difference in his voice between everyone else’s. Even if they couldn’t identify it, the aristocratic drawl was always there in Atobe Keigo’s voice that gave away his identity just as quick as Akutsu would kill someone.
“Oh, do you want to know?” Akutsu said mockingly.
“Yes, please, enlighten me.”
“I’ll show you—”
“There shall be NO violence here!” another newcomer exclaimed loudly. A cloaked figure stepped into the clearing and took off the hood, to reveal one Tachibana Kippei.
“And when did you get here?” asked Kisasaru Atsushi, taking off his hood. His twin mirrored the move as well.
“I’ve been here for a while. The urging from Oshitari was quite strong and got straight to the point. I had to come,” came the reply from the monk.
“Were we all called here by Oshitari? Because if it was, nothing’s good is going to come of it,” Kisasaru Atsushi’s twin, Ryou, wondered.
“I got called here by a letter though, desu…”
The six agents fell silent as a sudden ominous breeze passed by, making them feel as if heavy eyes were upon them. “Taichi,” Akutsu murmured, pushing the younger looking boy into the shades of the trees. “Stay hidden.” A dangerous looking dagger appeared in his hand as his cold, calculating eyes surveyed the surrounding areas. There was no one around, or at least no presence that he was able to feel.
“I know where you are,” spoke Atobe suddenly. “I’ve seen through you. Why don’t you come out of there? You certainly can’t stand a chance against me, let alone all of us.”
There was a light chuckle and the person stepped through the darkness of the trees. He smiled lightly, though his eyes were behind walls of ice and defenses. “Very good, very good. I see that you’ve not lost your touch, Atobe…Makes me wonder if you’d still put up a good fight…” The figure’s tongue darted out to a drop of blood that was dribbling down his lips. “Sorry…I’ve been…feasting.”
“Kirihara…Akaya…” Atobe murmured, distaste written clearly on his face. “If you’re here then the Emperor must be here too.”
There was no question on who the Emperor was. He was the man was fearsome and powerful, though most of it had been restrained by his other half, a feminine looking youth who held even more power than the Emperor himself. Yukimura had never really shown his true powers to anyone, save for Sanada, the Emperor.
“Oh no, he’s not here,” Kirihara said, taking another step forward. “He’s dead, you see…He tried to betray our master two years ago. He was killed.”
“Dead…?” Tachibana gasped. “But…I could have sworn that I just saw him several days ago…He even spoke to me…”
“Well, it must have been your imagination,” Kirihara shrugged. “And the kid can come out of hiding. I won’t bite…hard.”
Taichi fearfully crawled out from behind the trees and bushes, keeping a wary eye on Kirihara. He ran and hid behind Akutsu, who only sighed and tried to drag the boy out from behind him. It didn’t work as the boy just clung harder to him.
“My…aren’t we all early…” came a cynical voice from the tree tops. “Here I was, thinking that I was going to be the first one here, but it seems that I was outdone. How unlucky…”
“Sengoku!”
“Hello to you too, Dan,” the youth greeted the other cheerfully. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”
“I’ve been really busy with His assignments and all…Really, if he wants to make so many alliances, he should do it himself!” Taichi said with a pout. “Why does he send me?! They’re so troublesome! Especially that Mizuki person…he’s so sly!”
Tachibana chuckled. “Mizuki has always been troublesome—he’s difficult to manipulate, unlike most of the other upper class. His weakness is his never satisfied desire of the world,” Tachibana said.
“You talk like you know him,” Akutsu muttered, sending Tachibana a dark look.
“He’s visited the Bevell monastery more than once,” Tachibana informed. “I was the one to deal with him every time he came.”
“Nothing but a spoiled child,” Atsushi Kisasaru said, his twin nodding an affirmation.
“Oh? Who are we talking about here?”
Out of the shadows stepped one of the oldest members of the living agents. He had seen many suns and moons in his time, including wars and battles between leaders and kings. The stress of the world and of his duties became heavy upon his shoulders, making him look more like a human adult than any of the others. Scratching at his stubble, Yamato Yuudai greeted his fellow agents calmly.
“Nothing in particular,” Atobe said stiffly. He did not like Yamato and that was a common fact. Atobe did not know why the older Fae was…valuable to
Him, even though Atobe owed Him no loyalty. Yamato had an unruly look about him, as if he didn’t care about his looks or the way he dresses…It just made him seem like…a dirty human. Added to the fact that Yamato had no special abilities and no royal bloodline in his veins, but in
His eyes, Yamato Yuudai was extremely valuable. Atobe did not like being outranked, out favored, or out anything by someone he’d consider lower than himself.
“Please, no fighting, Atobe,” Tachibana said, putting his hands out as a gesture of peace between them all.
Akutsu snarled. “Oh, shove it, you fucking monk! You were the worst out of all of us years ago! So don’t be such a fucking hypocrite!” Akutsu’s eyes turned to the smaller, quivering form of Taichi Dan who was hiding behind him. “And you! Stop hiding behind me like a fucking child! You’re goddamned older than me!”
Taichi’s large eyes begun to water and he sniffled, his lower lip jutting out into a semi-pout. Akutsu rolled his eyes as Sengoku tried to comfort the other.
It was just like that, that all the agents came to order, each of them arriving by themselves or in pairs. Time passed quite slowly to those that were waiting and agitation between some agents begun to wear at other’s patience. However, the grueling wait was over, when the last agents of them all arrived.
“Sorry, we’re late,” Oshitari said as he and Gakuto dropped down from the trees. Gakuto gave a wide grin to all the assembled agents. “Let’s get this meeting started.”
“About time,” muttered one cynical Kirihara. “Who the hell was it that wrote the letter? It was like…five years ago!”
“The person wishes to remain anonymous,” Tachibana said, looking critically at all the agents. “That is why it is circulated from agent to agent, making it look like the message was given to them by another. Isn’t that right?”
“Ah…but who started to pass it around?” Atobe mused. “I read this letter before I left, of course. So it must have been running around before even then…”
“But it begun five years ago…we really wouldn’t know, now would we?” Sengoku asked. “But that’s not why we’re here for. I believe the letter’s purpose was to bring all the agents together to bring about His demise…”
“That is what we all want,” muttered Youhei to his twin, Kouhei. “But how?”
“Isn’t he calling us all for a…loyalty test or something like that?” Taichi asked. “I…heard about it, but I’m not sure, desu…”
“Yes—it came sooner than I expected it to,” Yanagi Renji answered. “There is a ninety-nine percent chance that he is up to something. Seventy-two percent says that he is trying to eliminate us all. Even if we are ‘allied’ with him, he sees us as a threat.”
“Then, when we assemble for the meeting in the castle, we’ll attack him!”
“That’s fucking suicide,” Akutsu snapped. “He’s got the strongest barriers in there and you know it. Lure him out, I say, and I’ll cut his throat…”
“Watch your language, there are children here,” Tachibana chided. Akutsu growled, glaring at the younger ones of the group.
“They’re fucking mature enough to fucking take care of themselves!”
“Akutsu!”
“Tezuka, what do you say that we do?” Yukimura asked, turning to the youngest of them all. The stoic youth stared back at the other, finding no words to say until the person next to him nudged him in the ribs.
“He will notice if we’d all step back into the castle at once; he would have noticed that we’re all gone from the castle already so there isn’t much to hide. We’d best just storm the place—our forces combined will be able to cancel out even his strongest spells. Then, we’ll send in several significant few to take care of him personally.”
“True…but what if he calls them out, desu?” Taichi asked. “I’ve never had a lot of magic or power so I can’t deal with them…”
“He won’t call them out just like that, Taichi. Those that would infiltrate the castle will have to be the strongest of us…” Oshitari reasoned, looking around as if surveying every single one of the group. “Of course, those that enter the castle must be reliable too…”
“No, I do not think so,” Yukimura said. “There are some of us who has been missing for some time. I believe that we should send back those that has been present and somehow convince him that nothing is wrong.” The effeminate one looked at them all evenly, his eyes determined and spirited; his lips were pressed together firmly in stubbornness. Yukimura wanted it done his way.
“That is…a good idea also,” Oshitari agreed, looking around at the group just like Yukimura had. “But considering that I am one of those that will be going back, pray tell, what would I say?”
“There was a…traitor to deal with,” Yukimura answered confidently. “We’ve one to fit the shoes exactly.” All gazes drifted over to Tezuka, who merely shrugged.
“That is a good idea,” Sengoku mused with a light smile.
“Alright—now back to the castle!”
~*~
It would be many days by the time Ryoma regained all of his energy. It wasn’t the healing part that was difficult; rather, it was trying to keep Ryoma in bed that was challenging. The boy was restless, not able to stay in the same place for any amount of time. When there was no one around he’d sneak off on his own to explore Haven; when someone came in to the room to check on him, they’d find that he wasn’t there.
As was all of Ryoma’s escapades, finding the boy was just as difficult as keeping him in bed. This was the reason that made Fuji worry tremendously. This was the reason that made Fuji angry. This was the reason that Fuji was searching for the boy, running up and down the streets of Haven yet again, for the second time in two days.
“Ryoma…” seethed the light haired youth. “When I get my hands on you…”
Meanwhile, the person the latter was searching for was wandering around the outskirts of Haven. Golden eyes were surveying their surroundings with barely concealed excitement and curiosity.
Ryoma looked down into the shining, clear water of the pond. Water trickled in from upstream, where a small river would run through Haven—everything emptied out into this particular pond.
“I told you that the faeries had disappeared from this place a long time ago,” one of the two people accompanying him was saying. “No matter how pure this water is, they won’t come back.”
Ryoma wasn’t alone—oh no, he certainly wasn’t so stupid as to go wandering around by himself in such a large place like Haven and get lost. The place they were at was filled with greenery, which was filled with overgrown plants and ivy. The trees shaded the place with their hanging boughs that intertwined with one another, like a huge canopy hanging above a bed. A small spring collected at the base of a several large trees, and Ryoma couldn’t help but look into the shining spring.
“Whoever said I was looking for the faeries?” Ryoma said. “I just wanted to see this place.”
“Strange little childling, aren’t you?” asked one Ohtori Choutarou, who was observing the golden-eyed youth with patience and curiosity. Shishido, on the other hand, was feeling quite impatient with the youth.
“Strange? More like annoying…” Shishido muttered. He was quickly silenced by a look from Ohtori.
“Is there something in the water?” Ryoma asked suddenly, pointing to something in the spring. Curious, Ohtori and Shishido both leaned over to peer into the water, though on first glance, there was nothing. But when the two stared for just a while longer, they found themselves staring at…well…something. “What is that?” Ryoma asked, reaching into the water to touch one of the near transparent…thing…in the water. When his fingertip brushed the thing, for a lack of a better term, it flew out of the water, causing tiny ripples in the water and air, surprisingly.
“It’s a water sprite!” Ohtori exclaimed suddenly, recognizing what it was.
“A water sprite?” both Shishido and Ryoma asked at the same time. “But how? It doesn’t look like any of the other ones I’ve ever seen!” Ryoma exclaimed, wondering about the playful water sprite that was dancing around him now.
“Well, that’s probably due to the fact that regular water sprites were never exposed to such clear water touched and purified by the Fae…and besides, the water sprites here were probably separated off from the others and begun to adapt and grow on their own. That’s probably why it looks so different to what you’re use to, Ryoma,” Ohtori explained with a small smile of amazement on his face. “It’s a water sprite nonetheless.”
“That’s interesting…” Shishido muttered, watching the water sprite dance around Ryoma and then dive back into the water. Just as they thought it was the last that they’d see it, a bunch more came out of hiding. “How come we’ve never seen these around before?”
“Well, that’s probably because the water sprites would only react to those that carry…the Aeons …” Ohtori trailed off, his eyes widening at his own statement. “He carries the Aeons…?”
“Oh, boy,” Shishido sighed, watching the water sprites pull and tug at Ryoma for him to step into the water. Truth to be said, the water sprites did not look like how they really would—they were, more or less, spheres with a central glowing point upon them, which was probably the sprite itself. The little creatures caused tiny waves of distortion in the water and air and everywhere they went, a tiny trail would be left for all to see. They zoomed about, flying around Ryoma and some even went as far as to pull Ohtori into the spring.
Shishido was glad that none of the sprites approached him—it wasn’t because that he didn’t like the sprites, but he felt as if he shouldn’t be playing with the sprites at all. It was something that…well…it was something that children would do. And he was on longer a child; he grew out of that stage several years ago.
“So this was where he was,” a soft, tenor voice spoke from behind Shishido. Shishido turned around to face a short human youth with a friendly smile upon his face. “You must be…Shishido.”
“Yes…” Shishido answered, his eyes narrowing slightly. “You are…?”
“Fuji,” the youth answered. “Fuji Syusuke.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Shishido said. “I believe you’re here looking for…him?” the brunet pointed to the dark haired youth playing with the water sprites in the spring.
“Yes, actually,” Fuji answered, his smile not subsiding and it somehow managed to unnerve Shishido. “I was looking for him…he ran off without telling anyone. He’s suppose to be…well, bedridden, at the moment.”
Shishido sighed. So that was why Ryoma didn’t speak of why he was out there, just wandering the streets of Haven. ‘Of all people Choutarou had wanted to help!’ Shishido cursed his luck and his friend. ‘Why him?!’
Ryoma, who was not aware that Fuji had come looking for him, had his attention completely captured by the tiny water sprites. They flew and danced around him merrily and he thought that he could almost hear their individual voices, telling and begging him to play with them; they’ve been in isolation for so long, they wanted to play! However, Ryoma did not consent to this, but the smile did not leave. He just lifted a hand up to catch a random tiny sprite in his palm and watch it distort the image of his hand before it flew off again, making a circle around him. It was amusing and beautiful; it was something that Ryoma had never seen before.
“I’m sure they’d glow in the dark and they’d be even more beautiful,” spoke a calm voice, making Ryoma and Ohtori jump.
“F-Fuji!” Ryoma sputtered, reeling from the surprise of seeing the other standing there with a calm smile upon his face. When Fuji was calm when he shouldn’t be, Ryoma knew it was not a good sign. “Wh-what are you doing here?”
“What do you think?” Fuji asked. “I came to find you. I think its time that we went back now, right? Ryoma?”
“Oh…alright,” Ryoma muttered, nearing a pout, but he consented with Fuji anyway. No one really liked a cross Fuji—it was too dangerous! Who knows what Fuji would have done if he was really angry with Ryoma. He bid both Shishido and Ohtori good-bye with a small nod. Ohtori waved and smiled when Shishido just grunted something like ‘yeah. Sure.’
“The sprites sure are amusing,” Fuji said, pushing one lightly off of his shoulder and another one out of his hair. “Let’s go.” He placed an arm firmly around Ryoma’s shoulder and it was that firm, iron grip that told Ryoma that he was in trouble. The golden-eyed youth cursed his bad luck under his breath. Fuji ignored whatever it was that Ryoma had muttered under his breath.
“Shishido…did you see that?” Ohtori asked, tugging lightly on his friend’s sleeve.
“You mean the sprites clinging onto the human? Yeah. I thought sprites mostly only liked Fae or other…nonhuman creatures,” Shishido said. “But he’s definitely human. Which is why it was so weird.”
“Yes…I wonder what that means,” Ohtori murmured. “We should be getting back soon, Shishido.”
“Yeah. We should.”
~*~
“We’ve found him.”
“Who?”
“The traitor.”
“Oh? How…interesting.”
“You don’t sound interested, Oshitari.”
“I am interested. Who was it, Gakuto? Who was the traitor?”
“It was a little kitten that’s been missing for a long, long time…”
“Oh…that is interesting. Let’s go pay a visit…to that very special little kitten.”
“I’ve always loved visits!”
“Indeed, Gakuto, indeed…”
~*~
“Ryoma,” Fuji said after tucking the youth into bed. “Don’t do that again. Please.” Ryoma said nothing in return, adverting his gaze from Fuji’s stern blue ones. “You don’t want to make me tie you down to the bed, now would we?”
“You wouldn’t dare,” Ryoma said, lifting his gaze to meet Fuji’s. The blue-eyed youth smiled grimly.
“Try me.”
“No,” Ryoma deadpanned, looking as serious as he could. Fuji chuckled in return, lying down onto the bed next to Ryoma. “What…are you doing?”
“Laying down next to you. What does it look like?” Fuji answered. “Scared that I might…bite?”
“As if,” Ryoma said in return, a smirk and air of confidence adorning his tone. Of course, Fuji wasn’t one to pass up a challenge, especially when it was Ryoma who issued it. He had leaned in close to Ryoma, touching their lips briefly before he kissed his way to the crook of Ryoma’s neck.
The blue-eyed youth took a bite, alright, and everyone the next day that saw him questioned the youth about it. Ryoma had never been more embarrassed about a hickey on his neck.
--To Be Continued…
Wow…this was a rather peaceful ending. And I managed to keep it within the regular 8000-word chapter!! XD!!! Woohoo! You were lucky on the past couple of chapers which were over 10,000 words long! I’m going to keep the rest at 8000…except for probably the last chapter, which will go over 8000. -.-;;; Oh well. I haven’t planned out the last chapter yet so…meeh. Whatever. Oh yeah…and is anyone still confused? If you are, be sure to leave a review with your question in it…Otherwise I can’t answer it and you’d still be in the dark. :P Now go review! XD!!!