title: Burns On
fandom: Weiss Kreuz
characters/pairing: Yohji/Aya
Rating: R
Warning: character death, read at your own risk
Summary : When Yohji met Aya, he sealed their fate
A/N: : written for goldenbastet, based on a prompt given by seraphimgrace

Glossary: obi jime a small string used to secure obi.

…You said "Through glory and ecstasy we pass;
Wind, sun, and earth remain, and birds sing still,
When we are old, are old..." "And when we die
All's over that is ours; and life burns on
Through other lovers…
(Rupert Brooke: The Hill)

Kyoto, Heian period

Takezou pressed his lips on the pale column of the neck, feeling the veins that throbbed beneath the silky skin. With each breath he took and each beat of his heart, he reminded himself how lucky he was to have found someone so beautiful he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

When he felt the owner of the neck shuddered beneath the kiss, Takezou reluctantly tore away. He nuzzled the crook where the neck with the shoulder, then he moved to kiss a mop of crimson colored hair. The scent that filled his nose down to his lungs made him miss this person already, although they were still together.

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

Yuki stiffened against him. "For what?" he asked, his voice low and deep and lazy as if he was feeling very comfortable here. Yet they were hardly lying on a thick futon, nor in a warm room, they were inside a cave- in a forest.

"For taking you away," Takezou answered carefully. "For doing what I did to you last night."

Silence fell between them, and Takezou was torn between the sound of the wind outside and their breaths.

"Did it not make you happy?" asked Yuki. There was something in his voice that made Takezou's stomach flipped painfully.

"It did," Takezou replied. "And I'm forever grateful for that."

Yuki turned to look at him with a pair of violet eyes under thick eyelashes that made Takezou's heart pound harder. His kimono was not tied, when he moved, the front part shifted that Takezou could see the skin beneath and he remembered all the happiness he had the night before.

Yuki took his face with one hand and he said, "You take whatever you can in life and you don't feel sorry."

And he opened his mouth for Takezou to kiss.

-----

There was a small spring outside the cave, the water was icy cold, but that did not stop them to take a long, languorous bath. They were not in a hurry, and they were warm for they were together, and with each second that passed, Takezou's heart swelled more and more with ecstasy. He was so glad that he'd found Yuki. Even if he had to steal Yuki to be together with him.

After all, Yuki didn't seem to mind.

Takezou hunted for rabbits and when he came back they set up fire and roasted the rabbits and ate them, then they went back inside the cave and stayed there until the sun set, sharing warmth and passion between them. When the moon had risen up high enough in the sky, they came out and sat at the mouth of the cave, Yuki looking at the beautiful dark sky and admiring its queen, Takezou looking at Yuki and admiring his lover.

"Everything will be better in Edo," he said. "I have a big house and lots of servants. You'll be well-provided for."

Yuki turned to look at him. Something flickered in his eyes that made Takezou feel a tight knot in his stomach. "I will never reach Edo," he said.

Takezou smiled. "I won't ask you to walk. There is a village at the end of the forest…"

"They will find me," Yuki cut in.

Takezou frowned. "Who will find you?"

"Them. The people from the brothel."

Takezou chuckled then snorted. "They won't. We have gone far enough."

"They will. They don't like it when someone takes their things."

Takezou leaned so closer that his nose touched Yuki's. "You're not their belonging. You're not even one of their girls. You're only a singer there."

Yuki smiled, and Takezou did not remember having ever seen a smile that sweet. "It does not matter," he said.

----

Takezou woke up with a start, and instantly reached out. He inhaled deeply, relieved to find that Yuki was still sleeping by his side. Takezou shifted to wrap his arms around Yuki, embracing tightly, feeling their hearts beating together in the same rhythm.

His heart swelled with love and passion.

"What do they do if they find you?" he whispered into Yuki's ear.

Yuki made a sound like a well-fed cat at the back of his throat and he murmured sleepily, "They'll stone me."

"I'll take you away from here, I'll keep you somewhere safe where they can't find you."

Yuki smiled with his eyes still closed.

They avoided villages and towns as much as they could because Takezou did not want anyone to recognize Yuki and give away the information to the people from the brothel. The only time Takezou went to the village was to buy two horses to help speeding up their trip to Edo. They spent nights in the forests, sometimes they found run down temples or huts, sometimes they could sneak into a cave, and sometimes they just made a bed by piling up dry leaves behind a thick bush and they'd lie side by side, looking at the sky until their eyes were to heavy to keep open.

Sometimes Yuki would sing, his voice low and deep and sad, and that made Takezou miss him terribly, even though they were lying side by side so close that they could hear the sound of each other's heartbeat.

The closer they got to Edo, the more relieved Takezou got, and as days passed and he still had Yuki by his side, the happier Takezou got for he knew that he would spend the rest of his life with Yuki and nobody was going to destroy that.

----

Takezou woke up because he heard the sound of footsteps on rough ground of the forest outside the small cabin they were staying in for the night. He heard people's breathing too, and he knew they were not common passerby like Yuki and himself. Those were trained people and Takezou had a good idea who were they.

Yuki was still sleeping next to him. His face looked peaceful and happy and he was smiling. He still bore Takezou's scent all over him.

The footsteps got closer.

Takezou knew there was no point in trying to match them, even though he had his swords. They were going to kill them. Perhaps they were going to kill Yuki first and make him watch it. Or they were going to kill him first and take Yuki away with them.

He found it devastating that he could not even brave himself to protect Yuki, for he knew every effort was a waste.

He was so happy with Yuki.

He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Yuki.

He did not want anybody else to put their hands on Yuki.

He lay back down and hugged Yuki, feeling the warmth, breathing the scent.

They were coming closer.

And closer.

Takezou reached for the obi jime lying on the other side of Yuki's body. His hand was trembling as he lifted the string. He reminded himself that if he could not have Yuki, nobody else could. And nobody else could kill his precious Yuki.

He carefully lopped the obi jime around the column of Yuki's neck, its dark green color a stark contrast with the pale, silky skin.

----

Tokyo, present day

Yohji watched the young man sleeping in his bed with a twinge in his heart. They had just met a few hours ago, an unlikely meeting too, and he could swear to God that he had never seen the man before, except from the description given by Birman before he and his teammates went to capture him.

Now that he stared at Fujimiya, Yohji felt that something was familiar with him. Perhaps it was the unique crimson color of his hair, which Yohji knew was natural. Perhaps it was the violet eyes that looked at him, flickering with fire, previously. Perhaps it was the long column of his neck, covered by pale skin which he somehow knew was silky smooth.

He had just met Fujimiya but Yohji had felt that he missed him already.