IDEALS

"Goodnight, Jinxy-chan," Draco smiled as the door to Jinx's room closed. As he turned to walk down the hallway, he spotted Shadowcobra leaning against the wall. "Shadow…"

"You could've died, you know," Shadowcobra stated. "Copycat ran you through. You could've died."

"She was attacking Jinx. I had to do something," Draco responded.

"You could've blown her away with your fireballs or your telekinesis. There was no reason for you to put yourself up as a shield," Shadowcobra retorted. "Don't think I don't know this, but you have a very unhealthy tendency to risk your own life for others." His eyes narrowed.

"Well, that's what a hero does! He puts the safety of others above himself!" Draco argued.

"Yes, but does a hero have to die and leave behind the ones he loves? Do you think that if you die the others will be happy?" Shadowcobra shot back. Draco was silent. "You try to be a hero but all I see is a suicidal fool. An idiot of the highest caliber who doesn't even have respect for his own life."

"You can say what you want but I'll live the way I want…"

"…And die like a hero," Shadowcobra finished. "How about I just cut you down now!" He rushed at Draco and grabbed him by the shoulder before slamming him against the wall. Draco grunted and looked at Shadowcobra's dark eyes. "Fight!"

"I'm not going to fight you, Shadow! You're my friend!"

Shadowcobra flashed his Zodiac Deck. "Then I'll just force you to fight me. How about this? I go in there, take Jinx hostage, and then you'll fight me." Draco growled. "So, you'll fight for others but not for yourself." He asked, "Or, do you want to die because…?"

"It should've been me. Not him."

Shadowcobra released Draco. "If you continue to think like that it will be you next time. Who knows? Maybe it's my blade that ends your life." He warned, "Your tendency to sacrifice yourself will jeopardize your chances in this war."

"I don't want to win this war. I just want it to end."

"If that's your desire, then you better stay alive until the end. Because, in the end…"

"There can be only one," Draco finished.

"He'd be really ashamed of you right now if he saw how you were throwing your life away." Shadowcobra began to walk away and spoke, "If you want to continue fighting for others, the first thing you need to do is fight for yourself. Otherwise, how can you continue to protect and save people when you're dead?" He stopped in mid-step and addressed Draco, "He gave his life to save yours. Don't waste his sacrifice."

"Don't you think I know that!" snapped Draco.

"No, I don't think you understand his sacrifice since you were so willing to throw your life away," Shadowcobra retorted.

"Why do you care anyway? In the end you intend to kill me, don't you?"

"I do, but I would rather have you as someone worth my time to fight and kill, not a quitter. Goodnight." Shadowcobra disappeared into the shadows, leaving Draco alone with only his thoughts as company.

Raven and Shadowcobra were both alone on the roof. It was a nice night for meditating. Raven decided to speak up. She'd overheard the exchange between the Snake Knight and Dragon Knight and was not particularly happy.

"What you said to Draco was cold," Raven stated.

"Cold, but true. It had to be done, luv," he responded. "It had to be done. I have to admit what he did was noble, but it was also foolish of him to give up his life for one person."

"You call his desire to help people foolish?" she asked.

"Yes, especially if he throws his life away. Life is a precious thing and should not been thrown away without reason."

Raven was silent for a second before she spoke, "Were you serious about killing him in battle?"

He answered honestly, whispering, "Yes."

"But this contradicts your stance on life being precious," Raven argued.

"I know... that is why I want him to fight. I already know what his wish is, and it's possibly the only way to right the wrongs that were caused in this war," Shadowcobra said. He recalled how Misha had died and Yoshido had used his grief to recruit him into the Zodiac War. "A person's first and foremost responsibility to themselves. That is what I intend to remind Draco. I want him to fight for the sake of his own survival because if he dies, how can he continue to save and protect people. Heroes who die can't do anything else but heroes who live can still continue their work."

"But you still want to fight him and kill him," Raven concluded.

"He's an idealistic fool, but he's a fool I can respect. He isn't driven by anything like greed or revenge. What drive him are his heart and his ideals. As foolish as his ideals are, I can't let them be extinguished. It's an admirable trait."

Raven shook her head. She couldn't exactly argue with his logic. However…"Even if you ignite his will to survive, I seriously doubt that he will finish you off as he sees you as his friend."

Shadowcobra was silent at this but he still responded, "He must, for if he can't even take me down, there is no way he can't take down the others, and their wishes may have dire consequences. Not many would agree, and I loathe myself to admit it, but this war needs someone like Draco. Knights who are driven by their greed have lost their compassion but he is one of the only ones who fight for noble ideals. He may not have been chosen like us, but maybe fate had other plans."

"If you plan to fight him someday, why are you all a team?" Raven inquired.

"It was his idea, to be honest," Shadowcobra answered. "After he found out the truth behind the Zodiac War, he tried to persuade me and the Mutt to join forces with him. At the time, we had our own goals, but I eventually decided that it would be beneficial if we did join forces."

"Beneficial?"

"Draco has raw power and Pluto has endurance. I planned to use the both of them as tools to take down the other Knights and clear the path for me. Then, when only the three of us remained, I would eliminate them. That was the original plan, but unfortunately I grew an attachment to them."

"So, in the end, if there was three of you left, what will you do?" Raven inquired.

"I don't know, but I know I won't be easy to kill and if we do end up fighting, we should fight will all we have because I won't hold back and I won't respect them if they hold back."

"Does winning this war mean all that much to you?"

"It's not winning the war that's important, it's staying alive. After all if I die now, I won't be able to be with you," Shadowcobra confessed, making Raven fight down a blush. The last time anybody had spoken to her like that it'd been Malchior and he only did so in order to be freed. Shadowcobra generally wanted to be with her. As much as she didn't want to be in love again due to her last painful experience, she couldn't help but let her heart be drawn to the Snake Knight with her.

Shaking her head, Raven remarked, "Something tells me that I won't be able to completely understand your logic when it comes to this war."

"Indeed, I still can't comprehend why I even got attached to those two. One of them is an idiot and the other is a walking disaster." He added, "I should've just dragged Draco back, kicking and screaming, but he got attached to this place too and I wanted to see what the big deal was." He glanced at Raven, "And now I know. There are beautiful things here."

Raven blushed. She pulled up her hood to conceal it but he stopped her, pulling the hood down. She looked away from him but he gently held her chin and turned her head to face him. "Beautiful things, indeed." He then leaned in and pressed her lips against hers. She melted from the kiss and closed her eyes, enjoying the soft sensation as she gently kissed him back.

-END-