The root of the attraction between Sol and Ky lies in the Crusades, where they once fought side by side... (Contains shounen ai [Sol x Ky]) Part 2 of the Amor Exitiabilis Est series.
TITLE: Faith in Chaos AUTHOR: Athena Asamiya <empresskatzy@hotmail.com> SERIES: Guilty Gear TYPE: Part 2/5 in the Amor Exitiabilis Est series RATING: R WARNING: Graphic violence, some harsh language, and Solky shounen ai. Yes, it's definite this time. Rabu-RABU~! ^^<3 SETTING: Pre-first game, during the Crusades, when Sol & Ky are still in the Seikishidan [Sacred Order of Holy Knights] together. THEME: "Thin Spirits" by finger eleven COMMENTS: ....Wooooo boy, this is a fluffy one. ^^;;;; It didn't really start out that way, but I figured hey, might as well try to top the sappiness of By Your Side...this is part 2 in my GG Solky series, Amor Exitiabilis Est, and it comes after By Your Side, although they're not linked so closely that you have to read one to understand the other. There's just more effect. ^_~ I almost wonder if I made the boys TOO mushy in this one (even though they're supposed to be, since they're just discovering their feelings for each other)...that kinda bugged me by the end of the fic, but this is how it turned out, so make your own opinions. Again, reviews and comments would be greatly appreciated. ^_^
The dawning sun rose brightly over the land, cracks of light breaking through the rocky outcroppings of the mountains and illuminating the vast plain below. What should have been a fertile field for wildlife and humans alike was now desolate and barren, stripped of any form of life by a centuries-old cycle of violence and chaos. A dry, early wind blew across the plateau, carrying away even more of the loose dirt and dust, all that was left of a past time, before the war had begun and ruined almost half of the world's natural resources.
As the sun began to shine, unheeded by the course of events that had taken place for so many years, there was no sound but the wind. But carried on the wind was a noise of a different type -- manmade.
Yelling and screaming. The screech of weapons cutting the air, making their mark or missing it. Bestial howls. Cries of pain and moans of the dying.
The war was continuing while the sun watched on, lonely and lost in a sky that was too blue.
"STUN EDGE!!"
A bright flash of lightning lit up the area as the energy attack struck its target. The Gear, a frightening monstrosity well over seven feet tall, wailed as the electricity seared its body, fusing cells and rupturing its body from the inside out. Ky Kiske spun around in a blur of blue and white, immediately singling another Gear out of the hundreds and charging towards it with a loud cry.
There was an entire army of Gears attacking this time, most of them the more advanced models, used primarily for high-intelligence battles. However, they weren't some of the more humanoid ones, as although their stature and body types were slightly human-like, their appearances were not. The animal DNA was showing through especially in these Gears -- their faces were almost resembling crosses between birds of prey and dragons of legend, crude large beaks and yellow eyes that glowed with bloodlust. And as usual, the mark of the Gear was branded on all their foreheads, the red shape almost like a twisted flame.
Justice was behind this attack on the Seikishidan, no doubt. The Gears were not meant to be this hostile without command from their owners. And judging by the way the marks on the Gears were shining, the lead Gear, Justice, had them obeying HIS command instead.
Which didn't fare too well for the Seikishidan, who, being mankind's only line of retaliation against Justice and the Gears, were constantly the targets for surprise attacks. Like now.
It had started out as a usual reconnaissance patrol after there had been one or two quick Gear sightings in this area, and the leader of the Seikishidan, Ky, didn't want to take any chances. He immediately had a base camp set up in a secluded part of the quadrant, and led a team comprised of Scouting, Wilderness Investigation, and a few members of the Combat Special Division, just in case the situation turned for the worse. Which it did.
A small band of roaming Gears had been easily eliminated, thus luring the members of the force into a false sense of security. There wouldn't have been anything to really worry about, if those had been the only Gears in the area. But before any of them knew it, least of all Ky, a larger horde of Gears, these ones of the more sophisticated design, had ambushed them from a weak spot. Although the Knights were putting up a valiant battle, the combined surprise factor and the fact that none of the Scouting or Wilderness Investigation troops were very well-trained in fighting was doing damage. Not even the Combat Special Division was holding up very well -- these were some of the strongest Gears yet encountered.
"Circle back and attack together! Aim for their weak points!" Ky yelled in command, though it might as well have fallen on deaf ears -- the battlefield was a collaberation of unpleasant noise. The shrieks of the damned beasts were mingling with the hollering of the men and women. It was one of the worst battles of the Crusades that the sixteen-year-old had ever been in.
Another Gear swiped at him, attempting to remove a limb, and was rewarded with a quick thrust through the throat for its efforts. Hearing one approaching from the rear, Ky struck out behind, not even pausing to hear the howl of pain before swinging his longsword, the lightning magic-imbued Furaiken, at two more Gears that were leaping towards him. Even as the young commander was blocking the attacks and retaliating, he could hear the screams of those dying all around him, more human than Gear.
It was a losing battle.
Breaking away from the battle, Ky hollered, "Seikishidan soldiers, fall back!"
But too many of the Knights were falling to the sheer power of the Gears. Soon, Ky could no longer see any more splashes of white among the sickly black and green hues of the Gears. Bodies were lying in various broken positions on the ground.
Was no one left alive...?
Temporarily distracted by the amount of casualties that his side had suffered, one of the Gears tried to take advantage and slashed at him with curved claws. Snapping out of his daze, Ky swiftly moved and sliced through the Gear's arm -- but he didn't catch sight of the one rushing at him from behind until it was too late.
No-
Mind going blank, Ky was knocked off his feet, his body being limply tossed through the air and landing heavily on the ground a few metres away. His leg made a sickening-sounding crunch as it twisted beneath him in an unnatural position. The boy let out a loud cry of pain, clutching his wounded leg with one hand and gripping Furaiken with the other. Writhing in agony, Ky struggled to sit up, dragging himself into a half-sitting position as the Gears closed in around him. He lifted his sword weakly, as a warning to keep the monsters away, but it was no use trying to fool them -- they saw his vulnerability, and were moving in for an easy kill.
No...too many...there's-
An abrupt wave of pain sent his mind into a spinning daze, and before he knew it, blackness overtook him. Ky slumped over backward and passed out, Furaiken falling uselessly from his fingers.
The Gears, seeing the young warrior's helpless state, began to move towards him, teeth and talons gnashing in anticipation of ripping through human flesh. One of the monsters impatiently dashed forward, shrieking in a raucous, ear-splitting voice as it swung one arm back, ready to tear off the human's head-
There was a sudden flash of white and red and auburn hair, the whistling of a sword cutting the air, and the attacking Gear exploded in a spray of blood and tissue, messily bisected through its midsection.
The crouching assailant stood up and spun around to face the army, massive broadsword held in one hand, pristine white outfit splattered with fresh crimson blood. The circle of Gears screamed at the challenger standing his ground in front of the fallen boy, obviously protecting him from the wrath of the demons. The new figure answered back in an animalistic snarl of fury, his narrowed eyes flashing in anger -- but as two separate colours.
Right eye red, left eye yellow.
The rest of the Gears, no longer waiting, charged in to attack with cries for destruction. The protector's blade flashed in the sun's light, over and over again, colouring the earth a brilliant shade of vermillion.
The sun hid its face behind a cloud, unable to withstand any more carnage.
From far away in the distance, he could hear a voice speaking. But everything was dark, too dark, and his mind was barely responsive. He couldn't move or feel anything, floating in the blackness that kept him so thankfully separated from the pain. But the voice continued, persisting, getting nearer and nearer every second. His eyes stayed closed and his entire body limp until he felt someone physically shaking him, and heard the now-familiar voice clearly speaking in almost a panicked-sounding tone, calling him...
"Hey...hey, boy, are you okay? Goddammit, answer me! Are you alright?? Come on, open your eyes!"
..Who....?
Weakly, Ky did as he was told -- and when his eyes were able to focus again, he could correctly identify the source of the voice.
Sol.
The American was kneeling over him, long strands of his wild brown hair trailing across his shoulders, red eyes dark with unexpected concern. As Ky's mind cleared further, he noticed the bright splatters of blood across his rival's white tunic, matching the vermillion smears on his face. Turning his head, Ky's breath caught in his throat as he saw the chaos surrounding him. The Gears that had attacked him were now lying in ruined heaps in a scattered radius around him, some of them so viciously brutalized that he couldn't discern one from another. The cause of it was obvious. Lifting his eyes, Ky could clearly see that Sol's broadsword was streaked and still dripping with sanguine redness.
...But how...? he thought confusedly, distantly remembering his estimation of how many Gears had attacked him. There had been far too many for one person to take on alone and completely destroy single-handedly, even if Sol WAS one of the members of the Combat Special Division... It didn't make any sense, unless Sol was far stronger than he had initially thought...it couldn't be possible...
"Hey, can you hear me, boy?"
Sol's deep bass voice brought Ky back to the present, and the young boy managed to focus his gaze on his rival, although it was somewhat hazed and disjointed. "...Sol....?"
"Yeah, that's right. Good," he said, and Ky, although he was still partially detached from reality, thought he caught a temporary look of relief pass across the older Knight's face. But as quickly as it came, it was gone again, and Sol asked, "Can you move?"
Ky tried moving slightly, then fell back, grimacing. "My leg...I think it's broken."
"Shit," Sol muttered, standing up and surveying the area. "They'll be back any minute now, too...and we'll be perfect targets just sitting here." He glanced back down at Ky, whose face was twisted in pain, and sighed. "Guess there isn't any other choice..."
"W-what are you-" Ky managed to stammer before Sol quickly bent down and scooped the young boy up in his arms. Letting out an initial cry of discomfort, Ky winced sharply, a fresh wave of pain temporarily numbing his senses and threatening him with unconsciousness again. Pulling himself back to reality, the Seikishidan leader found his face getting hot again when he realized where he was -- in Sol's arms, his slight body resting against his rival's warm chest.
Hastily shoving aside any of the more questionable feelings, Ky struggled for only a moment, until the resounding pain in his leg decided that he rethink his protest. "What do you think you're DOING, you...you barbarian??"
"Look, do you have a BETTER way to get you out of here with your leg broken like that? Because I'd sure as hell like to hear it," Sol growled, shifting himself in an attempt to balance out their combined weight. "And if you call me another stupid name, boy, I'll seriously consider dropping you right here and letting the Gears take you apart. So do us both a favor and shut the hell up for once, would you?"
Reluctantly, Ky did as he was told, though only out of unadmitted gratitude. However, the realization of the death toll from the previous battle hit him, and he gazed around the wartorn plain in stunned disbelief. He and Sol truly were the only survivors -- the smell of blood and death was heavy in the air.
Ky took in all of the sight that he could before looking away, feeling instantly guilty for not having called the retreat earlier on. Maybe if he had, then they could have avoided the loss of so many lives...
"It happens."
"....What?"
"Death in war."
The second Knight was staring at the battlefield as well, his eyes indifferent and stoic. Ky expected him to say something more, but instead, Sol took a second look around the area, glaring at some of the taller hills and cliffs as if he meant to burn holes through them. "That's what they did...damn good ambush job, coming up from behind those hills, and more'll probably try it again if we hang around here any longer. We'll have to get back to base camp, as soon as we can." With that, he briskly started moving east, the wind across the plain causing his tunic's bloodstained cloak to billow out behind him like a red-splotched sail.
Ky distinctly flinched as the Furaiken, hanging from his side, bumped against his broken leg in the sudden movement. He turned his face towards Sol, distress crossing his effeminate features. "But...base camp's over a hour's walk away, and you're injured..." His eyes widened at the sight of a brutal-looking cut across Sol's bicep, lacerating through cloth, skin and probably several layers of flesh -- possibly even to the bone. A thick rivulet of blood was trickling down his arm, droplets of crimson leaving a path on the ground below. "Are...are you sure you're-"
"I'm okay. Don't worry about it." Sol's brusque tone cut Ky off, and the younger Knight fell silent at the suppressed pain behind his voice. It was obvious enough that Sol was hurting from the wound, yet he was refusing to acknowledge it and putting all his strength into carrying Ky. The blond-haired boy didn't quite know what to make of this. Here was his disrespectful, lazy, mocking rival, doing everything he could to make sure he was safe. Ky watched Sol's face for several minutes as they moved, trying to see if he could locate any sort of emotion that would give a clue as to how his nemesis was feeling about this situation. But there was nothing there -- Sol was simply staring straight ahead, his expression completely apathetic, if not a little strained from the pain in his arm. It was then that Ky realized he knew very little about the former bounty hunter, although it had been more than a few months since he was initiated into the Seikishidan. The silence between them was getting a bit awkward, so Ky finally decided to speak.
"I don't think I really knew in the first place, but....why do you fight them? The Gears, I mean."
Sol's response came almost too quickly. "Because I hate them. I hate them all."
"Did they do something to you...?"
"...Yeah." His crimson gaze seemed to harden, just a little. "They remind me...of something. Something I don't want to remember."
Ky raised a blond eyebrow in question. "Something you don't-"
"I'm not telling you any more, so forget about asking anything else."
Silenced again by Sol's harsh tone of voice, Ky frowned to himself, automatically thinking, How discourteous...he truly is an uncivil individual. But as he saw the drying crimson splashes on Sol's outfit and the hilt of his sword, he was reminded that, as uncivil as Sol was, he had risked his own life to save his. That alone was worth some merit, surely.
But I wonder why he did it, challenging so many Gears for my life...even though I'm high commander, status hardly matters on the battlefield. Few would have gone against all those monsters...I wouldn't have thought him willing to take that chance for another, especially since it was I, and he's always treated me with nothing but contempt...
"Why did you save me, anyway...?" Ky glanced up, trying once again to read the expression on Sol's face as he walked. However, the only thing he could see reflected on the dark features of the ex-bounty hunter was the hint of an ironic-looking smirk.
"That's kind of a dumb question, isn't it?" he answered, not even looking at Ky. "I saw you knocked out and about to get killed, so I did what I had to do. It would have been my ass if everyone had found out that I had stood by and watched our illustrious leader get taken out by a bunch of Gears, without doing anything."
"Oh...I see." Ky was surprised to find himself thinking that that wasn't really the answer he had wanted.
"Don't get me wrong," he suddenly continued. "If you were one of the lower soldiers, I probably just would have let you die and saved myself. But you're not, so I had to do SOMEthing."
"That doesn't seem like a very honourable attitude."
"Yeah, it probably isn't. But when it comes down to it, it's all about kill or be killed, right? No way would I have risked my ass for some disposable third-rate soldier." Sol was quiet for a moment, walking in silence, before adding, "...It was you, though. So I did it."
Ky regarded Sol again, confusion written across his young face. "You wanted to save me because I'm the Seikishidan leader, is that what you're saying?"
He didn't answer.
"I said-"
"I heard you." His voice was flat, emotionless. He finally looked down at the boy in his arms, meeting Ky's sapphire gaze with a cool, even stare, the deep red pupils seeming to burn right through him. "Is that what you think?"
Ky opened his mouth to answer, then thought better of it and paused before quietly replying, "...Yes."
Sol simply shrugged. "Then believe what you want to believe."
"But that doesn't answer my question!" Ky said indignantly. "I want to know the truth, Sol."
Once more, the blood-splattered Knight didn't speak. He took in a deep breath before muttering, "You want the truth, huh..." But before he could say anything else, he slowed, then came to a stop, exhaling sharply and frowning at something in the distance. "Aw, fuck."
Ky turned his head, his heart dropping as he saw what was coming.
A line of Gears was marching right towards them.
The blond-haired Knight involuntarily closed his fingers around the grip of the Furaiken, feeling a sinking sense of helplessness. There was no way he could fight like this, and Sol was already injured from the previous battle...they would be nothing more than easy targets for that many Gears. And there was no chance of avoiding confrontation.
Hastily checking the terrain, Sol spotted a cluster of broken rocks and a few scraggy trees nearby, and moved to hide behind them -- though it hardly mattered, since the Gears had already seen them and were advancing closer. Sol carefully lay Ky down on the ground behind a large boulder, then unsheathed his sword and glanced out past their cover, scowling. "Shit...I'll have to take care of them." He stood up in a rustle of fabric, his eyes fixed on the approaching enemy. "You stay here, boy."
He started to move, but his eyes widened only slightly when he felt Ky grab his wrist.
Surprised, he looked over his shoulder at the boy lying on the ground, his blue eyes set with determination. "You can't challenge them. Not by yourself."
He instantly knew what Ky was implying. Sol appeared to first mutter a few choice words before stooping back down to Ky's level, angrily hissing, "Boy, don't you dare try to help me -- you'll only get yourself killed."
"But you'll get killed too, if you go against them alone!"
"What the hell does THAT matter??"
"It will matter to someone!"
"Oh yeah? Who? I've got no family or friends, so who's gonna care if I die out there?"
The words instantly formed in Ky's mind, begging to be said-
I'll care.
-but he pushed them away, not even wanting to consider them. This moment of hesitation was enough for Sol to think that Ky wasn't going to argue any further, and he stood up, stepping out from behind the rocks and walking ahead. He said nothing more.
"Sol!"
"Don't come after me!" he yelled back threateningly, breaking into a run towards the Gears, broadsword ready. Ky watched with horrified eyes as his rival dashed right into the line of Gears, viciously slashing at any monster in his line of vision. Unable to watch, Ky turned back around, huddling closely against the rock, wishing that he could block out the inhuman screeches and the deep yells that were coming from the battlefield. He screwed his eyes shut.
It's because of me...I can't let him do this, because of me...
Ignoring Sol's words and throwing all caution to the wind, Ky dragged himself into a position to where he could see over his rocky shield -- and was startled at the sight before him. There had to be almost forty Gears in the group, and the bloodied, unmoving bodies of even more were already littering the ground. Sol was right in the thick of it, striking out at any monster that came within the reach of his sword, but the wounds he had suffered in the earlier battle were taking their toll. His head snapped back as one of the larger Gears struck at him, leaving long red cuts across his rugged face. He moved away, pausing momentarily to spit out a mouthful of blood, then jumped right back into the fight. The Gears swarmed over him like army ants, out to maim and kill.
...It's my fault that he's not strong enough to beat them...
Sol let out a loud yelp of pain, stumbling backwards from the Gears with bloody slashes marring the front of his uniform. Ky couldn't even breathe, incapable of looking away as his rival was beaten and bruised by an unmerciful group of monsters, all the while trying his hardest to fight back against them.
He's-
Ky suddenly froze as Sol's head whipped back and their eyes locked, his crimson ones wild with pain and adrenaline. Vermillion drops splashed on the ground as he flung an arm at Ky and screamed, "STAY DOWN, YOU IDIOT!!"
Caution came too late. A group of the remaining Gears had spotted him, and with excited growls, they quickly started towards his hiding place, hunger gleaming in their pure yellow eyes. Instantly, Sol had gotten between them, pointing his sword and baring his teeth in a feral show of warning. "If any one of you even TOUCHES him, you're dead before you hit the ground. You hear me?"
However, the Gears hardly seemed to find the worn-down Knight any more of a challenge, as they made noises that sounded suspiciously like laughter. One of them leapt forward and swung at Sol, who barely had enough strength to block or avoid the attack. He was sent spinning to the ground, where he slid a few feet and lay still.
Ky gasped, slipping back down behind the boulder and clutching Furaiken so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He could hear the Gears coming towards him, ready to kill, and there was nothing standing in their way. Ky grit his teeth as he stared at his sword; the shining blue and white hues of it always seemed to sparkle, even if there was no light.
With this sword, I will not go down without a fight...but how much strength do I have to summon Furaiken's power?
And as if on cue, a new, different form of energy began to tingle in the air around him.
Ky sucked in a breath, wondering if one the Gears was a magic-using type. It almost felt like their kind of magic...but there was something odd about it, something that wasn't quite right. Pulling himself back onto the rock with sword in hand, the first thing Ky saw was that the Gears' attention had been diverted.
Sol was getting up again, head bowed, eyes not visible under his wild mess of hair.
He was surrounded by magic.
Ky's grip on the Furaiken trembled as the sword threatened to react in accordance with the power that was amassing around his rival, the waves of it tangible and strong. The Gears seemed to realize the imminent danger as well, slowly beginning to move away almost immediately. And Sol spoke, his voice containing an eerie quality that sent chills through Ky.
"Heh...heheh...you just HAD to piss me off, didn't you? I warned you...prepare yourselves, bastards..."
Unexpectedly, the wind began to pick up and shift at dangerous speeds, sending dirt and leaves swirling in a maelstrom around Sol's battered body. Ky blinked uncertainly -- if he wasn't mistaken, the strange power almost appeared to be...converging in Sol.
Is he...could he be summoning it? That magic? But how...??
Ky's bewildered thoughts were bluntly cut off -- the magic force had reached a point of extremity that he had never witnessed before, churning around the older Knight and barely held under control. In a single move, Sol reared back, spreading his arms out and yelling to the sky, as the air surrounding him exploded in a brilliant flash of light.
"DRAGON INSTALL!!"
Ky had no choice but to look away, temporarily blinded by the release of power.
But he could still hear the screams. The piercing, pained screams of the Gears, and the loud, wet sounds of bodies being ripped apart.
And even after the spots in his vision cleared, he knew he didn't want to watch.
The hellish sounds ended at last, and Ky glanced up cautiously, eyes painfully adjusting to the light. There was Sol in the midst of the slaughter, kneeling on the ground with one hand over his face, breath coming in ragged gasps. Whatever it was that he had just done by summoning all that power, it had obviously taken almost everything out of him. The Gears had been torn to unidentifiable pieces.
Even though he had known war since he was a child, and had seen spectacles this horrific before, Ky still felt like he was going to be ill at the sight.
A sudden movement caught the corner of his eye, though Sol was too out of it to notice anything. Ky's eyesight quickly focused -- on a lone Gear, stumbling and whining in pain, clutching the stump of a severed arm. However, it had somehow remained alive and breathing, and it set its yellow eyes on the defenseless swordsman who had been the cause of the massacre. Ky clearly heard the deep growling in its throat as it advanced on Sol from behind, aiming to return the gruesome favor.
Ky found his voice at the last possible second. "Sol!"
At the sound of his voice, Sol's head spun around, face contorting into a grimace as he saw the oncoming attack. He started to move, to lift his sword and block, but the Gear was too fast, everything was too slow-
Suddenly, the atmosphere shrieked with kinetic energy, and a bluish-white bolt of lightning seared right through the Gear's stomach.
As the Gear dropped to the ground, smoking and destroyed, Sol stared at the source of the power that had saved him. Ky was sitting up, his leg twisted under him, the Furaiken in his hands still dispelling crackles of electricity. Breathing hard and gasping for air through the pain, Ky managed to choke, "Are...you-" before dropping his sword and falling forwards, completely drained of energy.
Despite his own serious injuries, Sol was immediately there to catch him. Cradling the boy's convulsing body in his arms, Sol shook his head angrily at a coughing Ky and yelled, "You goddamn fool! You could have died! You knew you didn't have enough strength to use your sword's power, so why did you...?"
His eyes still closed, Ky took a few short breaths before the hint of a smile touched his face. "You...saved my...life, so I...I had to..." A sudden jolt of pain cut him off, and he let out a sharp gasp and moaned. Sol, however, continued to shake his head, but one corner of his mouth was turned upwards in something resembling a smile. "Christ...you stupid boy..." He paused to wipe some blood off his face, then glanced back down at the wounded teenager, lowering his voice to a softer tone. "If you try to stay conscious, you'll just pass out anyway, so rest now, okay? You need it. I'll get you back to base camp."
Ky was only too happy to oblige, half-nodding weakly. As he drifted off into the welcoming blackness, he could vaguely feel Sol's lips pressing against his forehead, and his voice murmuring quiet words.
"Don't worry, boy. I won't let anything happen to you."
There was no protest this time. Rather, against his conscience and better judgment, Ky sank into a blessed sleep.
Sol watched as Ky's eyes closed peacefully, his breathing becoming more quiet and rhythmic as he escaped to a world past the pain. Sol closed his own eyes wearily, feeling almost envious -- the injuries he had sustained were becoming more noticeable every minute, but he knew he didn't have any choice but to take it. The boy's life was more important than his, anyway. Anyone else's was.
What the hell was I thinking? Saving this kid...
He smirked a bit, remembering how much of a pain in the ass the boy was. Always ranting about his justice and honour, putting so much pride into his swordplay and magic-using skills. No wonder he was always so upset and frustrated when he pitted his skills against Sol's, and constantly lost -- the boy practically had an inferiority complex, for Christ's sake.
But still...there was something about him.
Something that I can't place...
He was beautiful, of course. That was obvious to anyone who saw him. But there was something else, something more...something that brought out feelings in Sol that he didn't want to figure out. It made no sense to him, that he could feel something like that. Especially for some moral-spouting, God-obsessed French kid.
But what he really didn't understand was how he could feel at all, knowing what he actually was.
...I don't want to tell him. Or anyone. Not now, and if I can help it, not ever.
Reaching under his shirt, Sol pulled out the gold cross hanging around his neck, a regulatory piece of the Seikishidan uniform. They were all such religion freaks, the boy no exception. A lone ray of sunlight struck the pendant, sending off a flare of warm metallic light. However, the American only glared at this sight, barely refusing the urge to throw the necklace away. He slipped the cross back under his shirt instead, scowling in disgust.
"This is more of my punishment, isn't it?" He narrowed his eyes at the clearing sky as he felt the familiar throbbing sensation under his headband, a nagging reminder of his true identity. And his supposed purpose. "Damn you, bastard, haven't you screwed me over enough? These feelings are the last thing I need..."
Humanity is the last thing I need...
Though as he looked down at the young boy asleep in his arms, Sol nearly smiled, forgetting the strangeness and frustration of the new feelings. It was at that moment, walking down an empty battlefield while holding the boy gently next to him, that he decided to simply accept those feelings instead. It was easier that way. He ruffled Ky's hair with one hand, pulling the boy closer to him.
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