This is a darker chapter. I edited it quite heavily in June 2018 so please let me know what you think!
Still don't own tsubasa.
0o0o0
Description: Ashura brings Fai home
0o0o0
Yuui was trying to breathe as he clung desperately to the man who called himself Ashura. He could feel hot magic swirling as queasiness bubbled up from his stomach into his throat. He had to just keep breathing. After all he had been through he should be able to do at least that much.
The magic slowly faded and the child felt himself set on something soft. It had been so long since he had felt something soft…
Breathe in—breathe out.
Yuui's hand unconsciously reached for his twin's hand. Fai was so, so very cold. He looked about the room—for the first time in years he was sitting in a bedroom. A huge fireplace heated the room and he felt far too warm. He wasn't used to being warm.
He turned his eyes to the strange man who had rescued him. He was smiling. Why was he smiling at him?
"We're here Fai." The man chimed at him. The living twin glanced at his brother… Right—he had taken Fai's name. The kind man was speaking to him.
"Oh…" Yuui looked from the true Fai down to the floor. Why were man's eyes so kind? No one had ever smiled at him like that. The child felt suddenly paranoid. What on earth did this man have instore for him?
He gripped the icy hand harder.
"Let's take care of your brother little one." The man's tone was more reserved as he knelt down in front of Yuui. Forcing him to meet the king's gaze. He wasn't smiling any more. Yuui took a few more deep breaths.
He just had to keep breathing. He couldn't save Fai if he stopped breathing as well. He could never make this right.
In. Out. In. Out.
"I know it's hard Fai." A hot hand whipped the single tear that had made its way down his dirty cheek. "What is the funeral custom in Valerie?"
"NO!" Yuui didn't mean to yell. He didn't mean to raise his voice to the kind man named Ashura. He didn't want to make him mad… He didn't want to be sent back to that tower with all of those corpses.
He couldn't do that alone. He couldn't save Fai without this kind man's help.
Ashura frowned at him and wiped away the new tears that started to rush from his eyes. He had to remember to breath. He had to breathe. Why couldn't he breathe!
"Hush now." Yuui couldn't breathe. He needed to breathe. "We will use magic to preserve him until you are ready child. We don't need to decide right now."
Yuui gasped in a loud sob as his body started shuttering. More followed, and no matter how hard he tired he couldn't get enough air in his small lungs. The kind man didn't move. He continued to wipe the tears away and held his free hand, humming softly.
Just breathe Yuui. Breathe. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.
Fai wasn't going to be buried away. He wasn't going to be eaten slowly by maggots as the people at the bottom of the tower had. Yuui was going to bring him back. He was going to fix this.
Sobs turned into sniffles and the kind man didn't move from where he had kneeled. He seemed sad. Why was he sad? Was Yuui making him sad?
"A—are you M—Mad at me?" The blonde child hiccupped and whipped at his face with dirty hands. They hurt in this warm room… It had been so long since he had felt anything in his fingers.
"Heavens no." The kind man stood now and crossed the room quickly. Yuui flinched as he griped a staff that had been leaned against the door when they first arrived. "You have done nothing wrong Fai. You have nothing to fear from me."
Yuui watched in amazement as the kind man drew sparking runes in the air with the staff. They swirled quickly before being absorbed into Fai's icy skin.
"There we go." Ashura leaned the staff against the wall once again and Yuui relaxed. "That's only a temporary fix. With your permission I would like to have your brother moved to a place where a more powerful spell can be woven."
Breathe Yuui. In and out. In and out.
"Can I still visit him?" He couldn't bear the thought of being separated from his sweet Fai.
"Of course. There is a place in Luvel where the magic of the land is strongest. A sanctuary has been set up there. It's very peaceful and your brother will be able to rest until you are ready." The kind man smiled at him.
Yuui liked it when he smiled. He thought that Fai deserved a quiet place to wait for him. He liked that Idea very much.
"Thank you..."
Just as the words left his mouth there was a sharp knock on the door.
Oh no.
No. No NO. What if the people knocking were mad at the kind man for bringing him here? What would he do if he got Ashura in trouble? Panic started to bubble up again.
"No need to worry child. That's just the staff. I asked them to come and help me get you and your brother taken care of." To Yuui's surprise, the kind man scooped him up and walked to the door.
He was going to get rid of him.
The door was opened quickly and Yuui was carried into the hallway. He dug his sore hands into the fabric of Ashura's cote and squeaked as the door shut. A comforting hand cupped the back of his head. Breathe Yuui. Fai was safe. In. Out. In. Out.
"Thank you all for coming so quickly. I understand how late it is." The kind man's voice was firm as he spoke. Yuui didn't want to see who he might be talking to incase they were mad.
He just had to keep breathing.
There was a shuffling sound and Ashura sighed. "No need for such formalities. Please see to it that Lord Fai's brother is cleaned up and taken to the sacred pool. I will need healers sent to my room to attend to Lord Fai immediately. Fresh cloths as well as something that will be easy on his stomach."
A chorus of "Yes your Majesty." Sounded before Yuui heard footsteps. The door to the kind man's room was opened again for the strange people Ashura had ordered allowed to enter. Yuui was nervous as he was carried up the hallway a ways.
He wanted to know what they were doing to Fai!
The kind man set him down on a windowsill. Slowly he unfurled his fingers from Ashura's cote and was horrified to see that he had left two bloody marks on the pristine white fabric. No-no-no. Ashura was going to be mad and send him away—he was going to get rid of him for being so bad!
The king kneeled before him again and grabbed both of his wrists, examining his hands. Fai was used to them bleeding, but the kind man seemed horrified.
As he should be—Yuui was such a disgusting mess. He didn't deserve this man's kindness—he had ruined his cloths and was causing problems for all of them!
"That's some pretty bad frost bite." Ashura whispered to him giving him a sad smile. "You are very very brave Fai. You must be in quite a bit of pain."
Yes. Fai was very brave—Yuui however was the opposite. A weak coward.
"I—Im so—sorry" He couldn't look at the kind man as he spoke such sweet words to him.
"Why are you sorry Child?" His chin was tipped up and he was again forced to look at Ashura. His eyes were so kind. Warm. Loving. Yuui didn't deserve it—not after what he had done.
"I got blood on your pretty cloths…"
"Nothing to apologize for child. I have many others." The kind man smiled at him. "You will not be scolded here for such things."
Heavy, fast footsteps could be heard from up the hall and both the kind man and Yuui watched as a group of men rushed towards them. They looked so worried? Why were they worried?
"My King!" The man at the front panted as they got closer. "What on earth is going on?"
Yuui didn't want to get any more blood on the kind man's cloths but he also didn't want those men to take him away. Ashura lifted him again, and Yuui wrapped his arms around the kind man's neck trying not to make a mess.
"Shush. People are trying to sleep." The kind man scolded them as they continued to approach. "I need you all to take a look at Lord Fai."
The men came to a stop. "Forgive us your majesty— it sounded quite urgent."
"That's because it is. We don't need to wake the entire Kingdome just because it's urgent." The kind man opened his bedroom door again and carried Yuui back over to the bed.
Fai was gone.
Ashura had said that they were taking him someplace safe… But Yuui felt as though the little bit of bravery he had was melting away. He NEEDED Fai.
Tears started falling down his face as he was settled back onto the soft surface, and Ashura sat next to him. The older gentlemen looked at him long and hard and Yuui felt two inches tall.
They were mad. They were going to send him away. They were going to put him back at the tower with all of those rotting bodies and leave him there. They were going to separate him from the kind man. From Fai.
Breathe. He. Had. To. Breathe.
For Fai.
"What on god's good earth happened your majesty?!" They were all looking at him with sad eyes. Yuui didn't understand. He couldn't breath and he couldn't hear the kind man's answer over the sound of his own gasping.
He felt hot hands grip his arms and Yuui screamed. He tried to push them away but his hands burned. He tried to breath but the air was too hot. He tried to look at them but his eyes wouldn't open. Yuui screamed and scream and screamed.
Yuui screamed until he heard Ashura hum the same tune as he had before. He manage a lungful of air and crawled into the kind man's arms and cried. He didn't care that his hands and feet were bleeding. The kind man was rubbing a hand up and down his back and it helped him breath.
"Fai. Can you hear me?" Ashura whispered in his ear as he continued to suck air into his lungs greedily.
Slowly, he nodded his head.
"These men are doctors. Do you know what a doctor is?"
Another slow nod.
"They are going to help you feel better."
Yuui didn't deserve to feel better. Yuui deserved to go back where the kind man had found him. He deserved to rot with the rest of the corpses.
"Can they please see one of your hands?" Ashura continued to rub a hand up and down his skeletal back. "I know it hurts but we need to have them treat the frostbite as soon as possible."
Yuui would let them do it if the kind man continued to rub his back and hum. He could breathe if he did that.
"Ok." The child whispered.
Yuui bit is lip as they touched the delicate, blackened skin. He tried to breathe in and out of his nose and focus on the sound of the kind man humming. Whatever they were doing—it burned. Yuui had been in the cold for so long. He didn't like hot. He wasn't used to hot.
After what felt like years, they wrapped his hand. It still burned but not like it had before. Not as bad as the rest of his appendages. It was harder not to cry as they worked on his other hand.
Yuui was too afraid to see what they were doing. He listened to the kind man hum as nausea bubbled up again. Why was it so hot?
He couldn't hold his cries in any longer as both of his feet were worked on at once. The kind man didn't seem to mind though. He told Yuui that Fai was so very brave. That Fai was so very strong. That he was so very proud of Fai. That it was almost over.
By the time the doctors were finished the sun was starting to peek though the heavy curtains. Yuui was still trying to remember to breathe, though it was getting easier. The kind man carried him into another room that was tiled from floor to ceiling in a dazzling white.
There was a tub of water.
Yuui was going to get a bath. He couldn't remember the last time he had a bath.
The child didn't protest as he was set on his sore feet. They didn't hurt anywhere near as bad as they had when he had first arrived but it was still uncomfortable. The kind man pulled his tunic off over his head.
Yuui was too exhausted to be embarrassed.
The kind man gently lifted him unto the tub. The water was warm—not too hot. Yuui was thankful for that. It felt amazing on his sore muscles and protruding bones, and he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open as the layers of blood, dirt, and grime were washed away.
His hair was washed and combed and he was lifted out of the tub and dried off. The kind man gave him an unspoiled white night shirt to wear as well as a warm cote.
Yuui didn't deserve such nice things.
He followed Ashura back into the main room. All of the other people were gone and Yuui was happy to be alone with the kind man. He wasn't used to other living humans other than his twin.
"Are you hungry Fai?" The kind man was still smiling at him as he pulled out a chair from a table that had been set up.
Yuui didn't know what it was like to be hungry any longer. The burning hunger pains had turned into nothingness long long ago. Yuui was tired though. Slowly he shook his head no.
The kind man frowned. He didn't want to make him mad…
"How about a few bites then we can go to sleep? I know it's been a long day child but you're so very thin."
Yuui would do whatever the kind man asked him to do, and crawled up onto the chair to sit at the table. Ashura scooped out something that smelled wonderful into a bowl. Yuui was having a hard time moving his fingers and was grateful when the king helped him with the spoon.
He savored each bite.
He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve to be treated so kindly while his brother was dead.
Yuui was a terrible terrible person.
He could only manage a few bites of the food and the kind man didn't scold him. Ashura smiled at him and carried him to bed. Tucked him in. And stayed by his side.
Yuui didn't deserve this.