Debts and payments
YAOI. Ep18; Sanosuke is gravely injured - the only other person who might be able to pull him back from death's door is the demon Shiranui; but at a cost. SanoXShiranui
A/N I'm still really upset over episode 18. Grr. What do they mean by 'we never saw either of them again'? Hmph. But I really loved the chemistry between the two in this episode. The way Shiranui looked at Sano and vice visa. So, I'm going to show in my own way, what happened after the fight with Koudou and the Rasetsu. Why is it that they were never seen again? Read on and review!
Disclamier: I do not own anyone from Hakuouki, they all belong to Idea Factory! But man, how awesome it would be to have them with me. Hahas
Enjoy!
000oo00oo000
"Impossible! They killed all my Rasetsu?" Koudou muttered in disbelief.
His army of Rasetsu that had been perfected to withstand the sun and to regenerate themselves even after been attacked had just been annihilated by a mere human and one demon. There was no way that was possible – and yet, the bodies of his soldiers lay bloodied upon the forested floor and the purple-haired demon was smirking towards his direction.
"I'll send you to hell too Koudou."
Shiranui could almost smile; instead a frown formed on his features as he raised his gun and aimed it directly at the bald forehead of the man before him. He was tired; he had to remove the bullets from his body before he was able to heal himself, he wanted to get this deed over and done with.
"Prepare yourself!"
Tension was so thick within the air surrounding the two men that if it wasn't for the fact that the two were concentrating on each other so deeply, maybe one of them would have been suffocated to death.
Shiranui readied his gun slowly, enjoying the moment for as long as he could. Watching that old fart break into cold sweat was ultimately very entertaining; and Shiranui was determined to make sure he made that old fart remember and regret all that he had done.
Worry and fear were etched upon every wrinkle and every shadow on Koudou's face. Sweat glistered and rolled down the side of his face as he watched with apprehension down the barrel of the gun. Was this the end of his mission? Even before he could help to revive the great Yukimura clan?
The ring of an empty cartridge broke through the veil of silence like a bell in the dead of the night. Shiranui was obviously taken aback as he stared dumbfounded at the gun held within is right palm.
"I'm out of bullets?"
Cursing inwardly for not checking beforehand, Shiranui wondered sadly at how anticlimactic that had been. He quickly cocked the gun open and released the empty bullet shells. Maniac laughter from Koudou distracted him and Shiranui stared at the demon.
"You needed better preparation!" Koudou laughed as he produced a lighted hand-bomb from within his garments.
Apprehension flashed through his head momentarily as he wondered how his body was supposed to regenerate itself when it was in pieces. An unwanted image filtered into his head – bloodied and mangled, his body laid distorted on the ground, a limp or two missing.
"This will finish you off!" Koudou screamed as he pulled back his master arm.
Shiranui stepped back as he watched the bomb wide-eyed. It was impossible for him to insert new bullets and shoot that bomb out of the way in time.
Wind caressed his right cheek as his hair fluttered by him – the spear soared past Shiranui's right side and embedded itself into the bone of Koudou's right arm. Shrieking in pain and shock, Koudou lost grip of the metal ball and watched, as if in slow motion as the ball plummeted down, bounced once in imitation of a ball before exploding into a surge of flames and shrapnel.
Shiranui shielded his eyes from both the brightness of the flames and the force of the explosion. He heard something heavy fall and landed like dead weight into the stream nearby.
"Harada!"
His body was utterly exhausted; having used whatever remaining strength he possessed to throw his spear, Sano knelt down to the ground. Breathing was getting very difficult – it felt like his lungs were on fire. With every breath he took in, he would feel a surge of excruciating pain within his chest cavity – his ribs felt broken, and it would be no surprise of one of them had pierced his lung.
Shiranui knew he had to ensure that Koudou was gone for good. He spun quickly on the balls of his feet and ran towards the direction of the stream – just in time to see the remaining air bubbles disappear from the surface of the water. Within moments the ripples caused by the landing of Koudou diminished and the surface of the stream became still again.
Returning the pistol to his waist, Shiranui strolled back to where Sano was seated. There was a huge patch of spreading red on Sano's coat. There, huddled under a huge tree, Sano sat, clutching the wound by his side; his face deathly pale from blood loss and fatigue was evident in the shadows under his eyes.
"I paid you back for Koufu…"
Sano had a small smile as he muttered those words with difficulty. It hurt for him to even breathe, but his personality made him this way, no matter the situation, Sano had to try and make a tense situation better, even at the expense of his own comfort. Shiranui felt the smile he had suppressed earlier reappear on his lips.
"You're pretty insolent for a lowly human." Shiranui sat down on the other side of the tree; even demons felt tired. Especially at times like this.
"It's over."
"Yeah…" came the reply, barely above a whisper.
Shiranui eyed the wound on Sano's waist once again. The stain had become bigger than before; blood was still seeping through the cloth and covered the fingers that hung on tightly over the injury.
"You remind me of a guy name Takasugi."
Repressed memories flooded his mind as he recalled the times he had spent with that guy. It seemed only yesterday where they met and had disliked each other almost instantly. Yet, it turned out, they became the best of friends after hanging out a few times.
"I should go visit his grave sometime." Shiranui tilted his head slightly and glanced over at the wounded human. "What are you going to do now?"
"Oh yeah. Shinpachi's waiting for me, so I need to hurry to Aizu…" Sano uttered weakly.
The pain was starting to overwhelm him. He felt his fingers go numb as he thought of his best friend; that idiot was probably drinking again, trying not to care about the war that was going on. What was he going to do without Sano's guidance? Although he had never admitted it, Sano knew that Shinpachi was still like a young boy, he was still too immature to survive the world without him by his side.
Sano kept thinking. Thinking of the past, where the few of them would spend their time on a night like this at the dojo, drinking, fighting, just having fun. He didn't even know what he was thinking of when his mind shut down on him.
"I see…" Shiranui turned his gaze back up to the full moon that hung alone against the night sky.
The clouds drifted lazily across the night sky; at times blocking out the rays from the moon. Shiranui sighed deeply and leaned back onto the trunk and stared at the white orb. He could hear the shallow breathing getting softer and lesser with every minute that went by.
000oo00oo000
A/N OMG. I hated myself for having to force myself to re-watch that scene over and over and over again. T_T SANOOO! Argh. Sano is just off with Shiranui! Shiranui saved him! T_T Please let Sano still live… ARGH. Don't kick him out of the story! Pfft.. /rant
Hahas, okays, I guess this means that this will become a chaptered-fic. But who knows when I'll post up the next chapter.. Maybe tomorrow, cause when I have these plot bunnies in my head, I can't get them out unless I write them. AHH. Still upset over episode 18.. T_T Review please. Reviews make my day! Ahhh, Sano used to make my day every time he appeared. ;_;