Prologue
The roar of the fire obscured all other noise, but he could still see, and he watched through slowly fading vision at the scene that played out before him.
The man in the pale blue yukata sat on his knees, eyes blank, reflecting the dancing flames. A giant black winged serpent hovered over the man. The man's arms reached out, as if in supplication to the black serpent that moved through the heat of the fires, then slowly lowered, his head turning as if something had caught his attention.
The next moment, a slender figure stood in front of the man, reaching out a hand to him. The man shook his head, dark brown hair falling to cover his eyes and he turned his face away from the other. Tears glistened in the flickering light of the flames as they traced their way down his cheeks.
Then the smaller figure threw himself on the man, slender arms wrapping around him, fingers clenching tightly to the fabric of the yukata, and the mans head came up in shock.
A tremor racked the small frame, and slowly, the man's arms came up to return the embrace. The man's eyes closed and he raised his face and something that was almost a smile touched his lips.
Burning rubble fell across his line of sight, hiding the pair from him, and as his vision narrowed to a pinprick, there was a feeling of being lifted…
And then, darkness…