A/N: Hello ladies! First of all I'd like to thanks for your time, then I'd like to say that it's been a while and I had… life to deal with (can't believe it's been so long). I also wanna say that I'm pissed off because I somehow deleted everything I had written of chapter two and had to write all over again.

Warnings: The same as before + blood and injuries.

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Chapter 2 – Time may pass, even so everything's the same

It was cold, his skin prickled and he shivered. No comfort could be found with that running water, washing away the fresh blood from his wounds, making the room have an oppressing iron smell. He touched his left side, where a slash tore his porcelain skin. It hurt, but he deserved the pain, so he stabbed his finger inside the wound, looking for the piece of metal still in there.

'It's my fault...' He wormed his finger inside, gritting his teeth to not howl in pain. He was seeing white when he finally was able to get the cursed piece from inside.

'It's my fault...' He should have told the Master about his wound, it was deep and angry, red from blood and inflammation. The tender skin around it wasn't faring good, his poor treatment of the wound and the cold water weren't helping with the blood flow, making it a ghost pale contrast with the red.

'It's my fault...' But he knew the master was caring for his teammates. An ambush, he hadn't seen that coming and sent someone unfit to fight in small cramped places to take the horde… his mistake almost costed his companion's lives. One of them was now in his deathbed, the only thing holding him alive was Saniwa's watchful eye, magic mending those deep wounds.

A crack was heard, more blood joined the water in the floor, being drained. "It was all my fault!" was the angry yell, followed by a sorry sob. Kiku felt himself falling, knees on the floor, head hang as he let the tears flow. He felt dizzy but he deserved it. Deserved the pain, he wouldn't allow the Master to waste magic power or amulets on him.

'Ah… everything's spinning. Such weakness is fit of me...' he looked up, the ceiling feeling so far away, dyed in white all around the edges, vision failing. He could hear something, a voice it seemed, but that was impossible, no one was to come there at such a time. The sound was closer, something broke and yelling began, yes, he knew he deserved all the pain, he could accept it, but now the only thing he could do was let that whiteness close around him and then it was no more.

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Alfred paced around the room, the arm that wasn't in a sling was making his hair look wilder. He couldn't believe it, it wasn't something that Kiku would do… yet here he was: Kiku ghost pale and bedridden, in a room away from the others.

The most sensible thing would be to call the Master or ask for the healing amulets but, looking where and how he found the other, his impression was that Kiku didn't wish that help. He looked his teammate again, the injury was kind of deep but wasn't bleeding anymore, his sword form had a nice crack but nothing that would make him break. At least he wouldn't break for now.

"Okay… so let's do it your way this time. Damn it, you Hakuouki swords will be the end of me!" Alfred pushed his hair out of his face, his sword and gun were down, near if he so needed, but far away enough to not disturb his delicate work. He got his injured arm out of the sling, it still hurt but he would need it. At the side room he found a medical kit, he put it down and got ready, gulping his anxiety down.

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His hands trembled, but it was almost over. He had blood all over his arms, stitching someone up wasn't easy, he had to carefully chose the right thread and fortunately, Kiku was passed out enough so he didn't have to think about anesthesia – it could turn bad. Thanks the divines above, they had right tolerance to pain, swords weren't supposed to feel pain. His job wasn't made any easier by the blood that dropped from inside the muscles as he touched and stitched them, again, at least he wasn't bleeding.

He finished the last stitch and moaned "Thanks God!". Tanned hands bloody, his injured arm hurt really bad so it was time to clean everything up and put back the sling. "You Hakuouki people… you're suicidal. Stuck in a mind set that wouldn't allow progress, even while seeing the future trying to run Japan down." He silently complained as a rag caressed the other's skin, sickly pale by the blood loss. "If you saw how better guns were, how we could better strategies using them and swords, maybe…" the cleaning stopped, Alfred put his unhurt hand on Kiku's chest, feeling the soft skin get warmer. "… maybe things would be different."

It was sad that the destiny chose to make them meet again. Blue eyes slowly traveled up, watching the rise and fall of a delicate but strong chest, the way that alluring collar bones begged to be bitten and those cherry red lips, partially opened to allow air inside such resilient lungs, looked so kissable. It was difficult to keep his breathing steady, his hands away from the skin he was thirsty to touch, so he moved away to fix a better place for Kiku's sword.

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The sun was almost down, the sky painted a rainbow of twilight colors. This room was secluded from the others, it was barely lit, casting shadows over Kiku's sword form. Small cracks permeated the blade, with a thick and long one crossing it from a side to the middle and even fragile looking like that, it was beautiful. It was a beautiful blade, as Kiku himself, as Alfred put the blade to rest, he felt restless: touching it was as erotic as touching his human body, maybe even more as the swords were their very souls. Alfred could feel himself twitch, the forbidden feeling of touching something so sacred and private making him feel boneless, floating in euphoria.

It hurt: his arm, his heart. Meeting Kiku again, having to fight along side him this time, was like trying to quench a fire with alcohol. His feelings didn't fade with time, even so, he shouldn't allow them to dictate what he would do, but...

In this secluded room there was no one to interrupt or discover their dirty secrets.

His injured hand trembled as it was set free from the sling, it hurt, but touching the metal with his fingers, running them on the blade, cutting his fingertips and making his blood dye the silver with his color was too much. His heart beat fast, like a bullet that just left the gun, he had trouble breathing as his feelings became a dam ready to break. He could feel his body aching, could taste it demanding attention, ready to burst. It was so wrong but felt so right, he looked back and Kiku's chest rose and feel with his steady asleep breathing, it was okay, no one had to know, no one was going to know.

Alfred let his bleeding fingers caress the blade, it was so alluring, he still could smell Kiku on him – it was hard to carry the other here to tend him and now those images came back. He didn't even try to hold back anymore, held strong the blade and touched his body where it wanted the most. Ecstasy overloaded his mind as he trembled and let himself fall boneless next to Kiku's sword form. A sheen of sweat coated his body, his only wish being to lay in afterglow and enjoy, but he had to fix everything up: new blood to clean and a blade to polish.

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In the end, Kiku got better and took treatment from the master (and a scolding from a blushing Alfred). Their group was able to prevent further changes and catastrophe in history.

That episode made them stronger, as a unit and as weapons. They were set to not allow such failure happen again, so they learned each other weakness and how to better cover them. Maybe they weren't as good as their veterans but it's better for them not too slack or they'll be suppressed.

Kiku knew that what happened left scars in everyone, but him and Alfred looked the most affected. He couldn't imagine what was going on his team mate's mind, but something changed. For now he would let it be as he had to set his own feelings right: whenever they brushed shoulders in battle it felt like his body knew that touch and craved it. It was like that feverish dream wouldn't leave him alone and he had to hold back his hopes, as those kind of feelings could withstand time, his heart was the prof of that, and this time around they had eternity against them.

Or maybe it just was fate that hadn't allowed them to fade and then meet again.

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A/N: Yep, that was the end.

Please do not kill me, as I'm having shit load of things to do (job and it's stressful shit, 2 pets -one of them a puppy from hell; house -living alone is a blessing and a nightmare… and the aftermath of a shit load of shit that happened last year) but I hope you enjoyed you time reading this. As for the one that I promised this to: ;D Hah! You didn't see this coming eh?

Thanks all and until next time!