Chapter 2: No Man's Land

Yuma woke slowly. He was vaguely aware of Astral's hand clasped around his wrist but more aware of the thudded footsteps headed toward them. He slid his hand free and had half-drawn his sword when the door crashed open and Ryoga Kamishiro stumbled in, supporting a smaller figure that Yuma recognized as Ryoga's twin sister.

"Help," Ryoga grunted before collapsing, his trident slipping from his hand and clanging on the stone floor.

Yuma closed the gap quickly and bent down next to his commander, turning him onto his back. His face was bloodless and clammy. "Rio, what hap-"

He stopped as Rio, unsupported, buckled next to her brother.

"Rio? Rio, Ryoga?" His eyes slid over Rio's disfigured shoulder and the dried blood covering four evenly-placed holes in it. Her ashen face was taut with agony.

"It's broken," Rio whimpered. When Yuma tried to help her up, she shook her head. "Ryoga first."

Yuma turned back to Ryoga. The blood on his commander's neck was still wet, but was no longer freely trickling. A wound much like Astral's on his thigh caught Yuma's attention next.

"It was Mizael," Rio said shakily. "Ryoga was about to finish off the big one – Gilag – and Mizael shot him with one of his arrows. The blood won't stop."

"I think there's something about Barian weapons that prevents natural healing," Yuma mused, wrapping one of Ryoga's arms around his shoulder and lifting him by the waist. His commander was much heavier than Astral, especially with all his armor; it took Yuma nearly three minutes to drag Ryoga's dead weight across the room to the bed next to Astral's and another two to situate him on the bed. Rio was next; though since she was conscious, it was much easier to guide her to the third bed.

"You're covered in blood," Rio said quietly as Yuma shook out another cloth.

Yuma glanced down at his white jumpsuit, now stained crimson with Astral and Ryoga's blood. The arm he had held Ryoga across the waist with caught him by surprise – it was covered in fresh blood. Yuma gently lifted Ryoga's tattered shirt and found a shallow gash across his stomach. With some trepidation, Yuma began removing pieces of Ryoga's armor until all that remained was the bloodstained undershirt. Yuma lifted it gingerly and splashed some of the ointment on the freely bleeding cut across his lower chest down across his abdomen. It bubbled and hissed before hardening the blood, leaving an angry red line in its wake. Yuma wrapped the cloth around Ryoga's body.

"He always complains that I don't wear armor properly, but he always leaves his torso exposed," Rio sighed. "He says it's hard to do an aerial attack when he's weighted down with armor, and that any idiot could protect his stomach."

Yuma smiled halfheartedly and glanced around for something to tie off the cloth.

"Here," Rio offered, pulling a small clip from her hair. "This should help hold it in place."

"Thank you." Yuma clipped the cloth in place and went to work on the leg injury, ripping the leather around it with difficulty. After tying another cloth into place on it, he gave his unconscious commander one last glance before turning to Rio.

"I don't… know what to do about a broken bone," he said miserably.

She tried to smile but it came out more of a grimace. "Just splint my arm. That should help."

He took the last cloth in the pile and folded it into an arm splint. Gently, he placed her arm in it before gently tying it off across her shoulder. She flinched violently through the process but when she finally settled back against the pillow, her face was less taut.

"What happened?" Yuma sat on the end of her bed.

"I was downstairs when… when the king was killed."

Yuma's throat tightened. "Who… who was it?"

"Vector," she said, brow furrowed. "There was so much noise, people screaming and bleeding and the Barians were just slaughtering everyone, even the serving maids. He plunged his hand into… into the king's chest. There was a blinding blue light and then…" She shook her head. "He collapsed. My brother went to him. The king whispered something and Ryoga kept shaking his head. Finally, Ryoga laid him down and called out an order before taking off up the stairs. Someone tried to stop him-" she placed her good hand on her neck "-but he… he's a good soldier. It didn't stop him, even though he let out a pretty horrible cry. So I followed. I lost my rapier somewhere in the thick of battle – someone knocked it out of my hand, I think – so I picked one up. By the time I got upstairs, I didn't see Ryoga anywhere but I did hear soft footsteps on the stairs, so I climbed up one of the tapestries and waited." She smiled grimly. "I hardly ever went to Dragoon training with Ryoga when we were kids, so I'm not as good at aerial attacks, but I thought I might be of some help as long as I kept quiet. Then you, the prince, and my brother came out of the library." She shifted on her pillow as she continued – how she arrived, how she and her brother quickly realized how outmatched they were, how Mizael shot her brother, how Alit shattered her shoulder, how Hope had saved them…

Yuma swallowed as he glanced over at Astral, whose breathing was beginning to normalize. After everything, Astral maintained enough control over his summon to save Ryoga and his sister…

"Where did he get his stomach injury?" Yuma asked quietly.

Rio grimaced. "We were almost to the tower when we were spotted by a stray band of Barians, four of them. They came at us, but I couldn't move my arm and it was hard to stand as it was; I was really dizzy. Ryoga took care of them well enough, but when one tried to stab me, Ryoga took it instead. Fortunately, it wasn't deep and he…" She smiled grimly. "He got him through the neck with his trident."

Yuma repressed a shiver.

"By then, we were worried that the others might notice their disappearance. Ryoga was in a lot of pain, a lot more than I thought he should be from a shallow cut, but he took me to the tower. We went down the hidden staircase and into the dungeon." She looked a little confused. "He touched a wall and there was a lot of blue light before it opened a hidden doorway. I thought he was going to collapse, but he kept going. For what felt like hours, he kept stumbling down the path, supporting me. I don't know how he did it."

A long silence followed Rio's story.

Yuma finally stood, his legs shaking. "I'm going to see if there's any food down here. When they wake up, they'll be hungry."

Rio watched as he walked over to the crates and began opening them. Cloaks, several changes of clothing, spare weapons, medicine… No food. He should have realized; this place seemed to have been abandoned for a few years, at least.

With a reluctant sigh, Yuma took a few bottles from the last crate and returned to Astral's bedside. He gently opened the prince's mouth poured a think purple potion down his throat. The prince choked some of the potion back up but Yuma held his jaw firmly shut until he saw the muscles in the prince's throat constrict.

"My lord?" Yuma offered hesitantly, letting go of his jaw.

The pale young man stirred before slowly opening his eyes. "Yuma…" His eyes darted around the dim room. "We made it…" He made to sit up but Yuma pressed him back firmly.

"You need to stay lying down," Yuma warned. "Mizael's weapon drained you."

Astral obediently leaned his head back down but glanced over to the beds next to his. "Captain? Lady Rio?"

"My lord," Rio said, inclining her head respectfully.

"They were injured fighting the Barians," Yuma explained as Astral's eyes lingered on Ryoga's stationary body. "The captain collapsed when he arrived here."

Astral's body tensed as he squeezed his eyes shut. "I failed, then. I failed to protect my kingdom." He shook his head. "Yuma, are my parents… really dead?"

"Yes."

Astral's mouth trembled. "No," he whispered as though saying it would make it untrue. "No."

"It's true."

Yuma turned his head. Ryoga's eyes were open now. His blue eyes were filled with pain as he looked at Astral. Whether it was physical or mental, Yuma couldn't tell. Probably both. It had to be an unimaginable feeling of agony for it to show on Ryoga's face.

"Your mother died first," Ryoga said quietly. "Mizael shot her through the heart. Your father was next; Vector stole his power, ripped his hand right through the king's chest. I held him as he died." He lifted a hand to his head. "I'll never forget their screams."

Astral jerked violently at these words and Yuma placed his hands on Astral's arms to hold him down. "Captain-" he began furiously, but Ryoga cut him off.

"He deserves to know how his parents died, Yuma."

"Yes, but you could have waited-"

"What good would that have done?" Ryoga demanded, wincing as he pulled himself to a sitting position. "He needs to know now so he can move on quickly."

"His parents are dead!" Yuma's voice was nearly a yell as he climbed to his feet. "How do you expect him to just 'move on' from that?"

Ryoga's eyes locked on Yuma's. "He isn't the only one who has lost people he loves to the Barians, Yuma."

Silence.

Finally, Yuma lowered himself onto Astral's bed. "I'm sorry."

Ryoga leaned his head against the headboard. "We all need rest. We should abandon this hideout soon, now that the Barians have control over the palace. It's only a matter of time before they find out where we went."

Yuma sat at the small table in the middle of the room, his sword propped up next to his chair. If the Barians did find them that night, his sword was of little use – Ryoga, Rio, and Astral were in no shape to fight anyone or even move, and though Yuma was a skilled swordsman, he was no match for four Barian warriors with all the powers of the Barian Empire at their disposal. He couldn't sleep. The events of the past twenty-four hours ran through his mind, from sitting down with Astral in the library to prepare for Yuma's promotion ceremony to Captain Kamishiro bursting into the room, warning them not to move until he returned…

He buried his head in his hands, stifling the tears that spilled from his eyes. He was so tired but his mind refused to let him rest.

A quiet scratching of wood against stone alerted him to a second presence at the table. Yuma rubbed at his eyes as he looked into his commander's face. His piercing blue eyes were rimmed in red but his face was impassive.

"You should be resting," Yuma said quietly.

"So should you."

Yuma stared at the table and shook his head. "I can't."

Ryoga folded his hands on the table and leaned forward. He looked strangely fragile without the armor covering his hands and shoulders. The fang that dangled from his neck glistened like glass as it caught the murky light. "I didn't get to thank you."

"Thank me for what?"

"Keeping the prince alive."

Yuma forced himself to meet Ryoga's eyes again. "You risked your life to protect him. To protect me. And I didn't do anything more than bring him here."

"Is that what's bothering you? Look at me." Ryoga dipped his head as Yuma tried to look away. Yuma reluctantly kept eye contact. "You're angry that you didn't get the chance to prove yourself in battle?"

"I'm angry that people died while I was cooped up in the library," Yuma said bitterly. "That you and Rio almost died to give us a chance to escape. That I alone out of everyone in the castle remained unhurt."

Ryoga settled back in his chair. "When Mizael shot me with that arrow," he said softly, "the pain was overwhelming. It hurt worse than this-" he gestured at the slowly healing wound on his neck "-and I thought I was going to die."

Yuma remained silent.

"It felt like my body was being ripped apart. For a second, I wanted it to end. To die and be done with it. I failed in my oath to protect the king and queen. All I had left was my oath to protect their son. Even that was hopeless, I thought. But then I heard my sister. I heard her scream. And I knew I had to live, to protect those I care about. So I fought it." His eyes darted to his hands clenched on the table. "And I will not default on my oath to the king. I will keep his son safe and I will see him retake the throne if it kills me." He hesitated. "Yuma, I've always admired your never give up attitude, even if I found it annoying at first. It's what got me through today. Don't let yourself get sucked into feelings of inadequacy and self-loathing again. It's not a good place, and it doesn't suit you. You did a great thing by saving the prince. A very great thing."

Yuma swallowed and blinked back tears that threatened to escape his eyes. "Captain-"

Ryoga shook his head. "I'm not a captain anymore. There's no army left for me to lead."

"You're my captain," Yuma said before he could stop himself.

Ryoga smiled, but it didn't reach his shadowed eyes. "No, I'm just Ryoga Kamishiro now." He sighed. "I'm sorry that your promotion ceremony turned into this. It should have been a proud day for you, being granted the honor of being Lord Astral's permanent bodyguard. Now you will always remember the day as the one where the Barians murdered your king and queen and all your friends."

"It doesn't matter anymore. I will fulfill my duty to him regardless. And I will fight the Barians, to my life if necessary."

Ryoga moved his hand as though contemplating reaching across the table to Yuma with it, but pulled back so quickly Yuma thought he might have imagined the motion. He scooted his chair back. "We should sleep. Good night, Yuma."

"Good night," Yuma murmured as he watched Ryoga walk with a rigid limp back to his bed.