After talking to viriditas, we both agreed that she just doesn't have the time to edit, so I present this long overdue chapter raw. And since I no longer have a beta, this means that the wait for chapter 5 will not be as long either.
Still fan fiction last time I checked.
Hyacinthus and the Dark Apollo
Chapter 4
Duel
By Illusion
There was no doubt. Hayami was bored. He yawned and stretched across the park bench, managing to somehow look like a hobo in clean, but faded jeans and an old, but hole-less T-shirt. He also hadn't shaved that morning due to being woken up earlier than usual and the stubble only enhanced his image.
Just as he was beginning to admire the fluffiness of the clouds, a sure sign he was going crazy from the boredom, a body soared over his head. His eyes followed it lazily as it arched gracefully before landing in an undignified heap on the other side.
Yuki scrambled to his feet as Ama-Inu launched himself over the bench, and Hayami, and exploded toward him without losing any momentum. He swung his fist forward, but the younger darklore lost his footing on the pebble walkway and fell. Their legs got tangled and Ama-Inu ended up sprawled on top of the boy.
Hayami laughed quietly at the sight before he sat up. "Hey, you mind if I join in? I'm bored out of my mind right now."
"Ama-Inu pushed himself up then helped the rabbit darklore before saying, "He's not good enough to handle me, let alone two people."
"Nishimura-chan is from Wiz-dom though. They don't do hand to hand combat, and I know for a fact that this one uses a wand."
"And a sword," Yuki chipped in. "Nishimura-sempai is the fencing club president and has been fencing since she was very young."
The pride and admiration in his voice did not go unnoticed. "Can you beat her in a swordfight?" Ama-Inu almost snapped.
He deflated. "No."
"Hey, don't depress the kid."
"He needs to know how strong his opponent is," the older darklore argued. "Your form is too rigid," he said, turning to the kid. "In a real fight, your opponent will come at you in all directions, not head on."
"Wait," Hayami interrupted. "So do I get to join in or what?"
The darklore glared at him. "Next time."
The E.G.O.'s body sagged, but he flopped back onto the bench in disgruntled obedience. This is for Yuki. This is for Yuki. This is for Yuki. "Need anything healed?" he asked, irritation apparent in his tone.
"Not yet."
Hayami groaned. So. Fucking. Bored. His next thought shocked him so much that he fell off the bench, eyes wide and unseeing.
Yuki whipped his head around at the sound of crunching pebbles and took a fist to his face. Ama-Inu helped him up with a, "Don't get distracted!" before glaring at the E.G.O.
Ever the concerned one, Yuki rushed to Hayami's side and squatted in front of him, placing a hand on either shoulder. "You-chan! You-chan!" he called, shaking him gently. "Are you ok? What's wrong?"
The dazed man lifted his head slightly so that his face was turned toward the young darklore's, though his eyes remained wide and unfocused. "I… had the most terrifying thought," he whispered with absolute horror.
The boy looked at Ama-Inu in worry. He made a non-committed sound but eyed the other man warily.
"What was it, You-chan?" Yuki was now gripping both his hands in his own. "I'll try to help. If not, Ama-Inu, Kuro-san, or Gabriel will. You can tell me."
Hayami blinked slowly, the shock never fading from his face. Finally, he opened his mouth again and Yuki leaned into catch his words.
"I should have brought a book."
Yuki blinked. Ama-Inu didn't move. "What?"
"Please," he pleaded. "Don't make me say it again."
The rabbit darklore stood up slowly. He walked towards Ama-Inu, picked up his foil, and continued walking. The older darklore glanced between the boy and the man slumped against the bench. Making a small irritated noise, he followed the former. Hayami remained sitting on the path, face blank and eyes vacant. Every so often, his lips would move in horrified silence, but other than that, he remained still.
They found him like that after their training finished.
--
Kuro opened the bathroom door to see a lightly fevered Ama-Inu about to open the door to Yuki's bedroom. His eyebrows rose.
"I need to talk to him," the darklore said. "His sword broke today. We need to talk about fighting without it."
"Replacing it won't be very hard," Kuro said. "But it would take several weeks to arrive."
"What he has is too flimsy," Ama-Inu replied. "If he's gonna use a weapon, he needs a real one, not some metal stick he can poke at someone with."
"I agree. I'll look into it. In the mean time," he nodded at the door, "please take care of him." He walked down the hall to the kitchen where Gabriel and Hayami were pouring the newly popped popcorn into bowls.
Ama-Inu slipped into Yuki's room to see the boy look up from his book. "Hey."
"Hey." He marked his place with a scrap of paper and set the novel down on his desk.
"The others made popcorn."
"Kuro-san insists on everybody watching a movie together every few weeks or so."
"But you're not there."
Yuki shrugged. "I have exams coming up. And Sempai's fight after that." He visibly deflated.
The older man sat on the corner of the bed closest to the desk. "You like this Nishimura, don't you?"
He blushed. "Is it really that obvious? Kumiko-chan figured it out on her own too."
Ama-Inu nodded. "If you pay attention. The way you talk about her and everything."
"Oh. Like what?"
"The way you're so happy."
"Oh."
The man looked away, realizing changing the topic would be obvious and awkward. He was acutely aware of the uncomfortable atmosphere yet somehow, he didn't want the subject to change. Not entirely.
"So… have you ever… um…." Yuki trailed off, embarrassed.
The dog darklore considered it. The last time he had shared his past had ended with an embarrassing cry session. That, in turn, had led to an unfamiliar sense of relief. He also hadn't woken up alone. He hesitated. "Twice."
"Did either… work out?"
Ama-Inu looked at the kid. He was so young. "The first one was when I was a teenager," he said. "The second one was impossible."
"Why?" All embarrassment aside, Yuki leaned forward in his chair.
"She had… has somebody."
"Do you… still like her?"
He stared.
Yuki flushed and sat back in his chair, shuffling his feet "I- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. I was just wondering if it was your master because you look like you're in pain every time you talk about her or I bring it up and—" He cut himself off, realizing he was doing what he was apologizing for. His blush darkened und he turned back to his desk.
"Master…" Ama-Inu said slowly, "is very special to me. When she first mind-breaked me I was very confused and jumped to conclusions. These past few years helped me realize it's not what I thought before. She is my master. My… alpha."
The boy slowly turned back around. "You're very articulate about your feelings."
Ama-Inu shrugged. "I know myself," he replied.
"But you don't say much. Why did you decide to tell me?"
He looked at the boy. He really was young. "Because I like you. I guess."
Yuki blushed and dropped his gaze, suddenly finding his lap very interesting. "Th-thank you." He shuffled his feet. "So… you said your first crush didn't work out because you were a teenager. What did you mean by that?"
Ama-Inu shrugged. "I was young. She was young. We were each other's firsts."
"So what happened?"
He gave the boy a serious look that made Yuki realize he was not talking to a sheltered classmate with no more than a few years more experience.
"First loves never last."
"That's not true."
"How many first couples do you know have lasted?"
"A few. Souta-kun's parents, Hayakawa-kun's aunt and uncle, Ashika-chan's parents, and Sakaki-kun's piano teacher and his wife have been together since middle school."
"Fine," Ama-Inu grumbled reluctantly. "Maybe it does happen sometimes, but don't expect it to be common."
"I-I don't!" He blushed a little. "But I hope I'm one of the few it's true for."
--
"Pass your papers forward."
Kumiko scribbled one more answer before leaning back and adding her paper to the pile before passing it forward. She stretched in her seat, careful not to kick the person in front, and looked around the room for her friend. He sat somewhat dejectedly at his seat, surrounded by people chattering happily about summer plans and complaining about the test. Kumiko walked to him, a grin on her face. "Well, that wasn't too bad now, was it?"
"Eh?" Yuki looked up. "Oh. No, I thought it was kind of easy."
"Me too, but that probably means I made a ton of careless mistakes." Seeing that he was thinking of something else, she switched gears.
"Ok, what's wrong?"
"Nothing!" he replied too quickly.
One skeptical eyebrow rose. "Right," she said, sarcasm practically dripping from the word. "Something to do with Haruko-sempai? You've acted differently around her since you got back from the hospital." When he didn't respond she let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm sorry."
Yuki blinked at her. "Why?"
"I shouldn't have left you two alone," she said. "Sempai must have said something to hurt you. I'm sure she didn't mean it to though. Maybe she was confused or something."
"Oh, no, Kumiko-chan!" Yuki stopped her before she would get even more upset on his behalf. "I'm glad you did that. Sempai and I just need to work a few things out."
Kumiko sighed, though Yuki noticed her shoulders relax a little. "I wish you would tell me more, but if you can't, then don't." She ruffled his bangs. "I'm here for you, Yuki-kun."
He smiled gratefully at her. "Thank you, Kumiko-chan."
"Come on," she pulled him up and he noticed they were the last ones in the classroom. "It's summer break! Let's go and do something fun before we get worked to death by Sempai! Ice cream?"
"Maybe tomorrow," he said. "I have a feeling Sempai might want to talk to me today."
"Good luck."
Relief swept over Yuki as his friend froze just after she turned her face away from him. "I really wish I could," he murmured. "You're better off not knowing though." He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the source of the binding spell.
He doubted that she would bind the entire school, knowing that there would still be teachers present. He looked out the nearest window and scanned the school grounds. People were moving on the other side of the school. He watched a pair of students walking towards the side he was on freeze. Noticing they were on the second floor and closer to him than an unmoving teacher on the first floor, he hurried downstairs and behind the building, grabbing his fencing bag on the way.
"I see you came prepared."
"You too," he replied, looking at the foil in her hand. "Just normal foils?" he said hopefully.
"Of course not." She saluted him. "Why else would I set a binding spell?"
He didn't salute back. "Do we have to do this, Sempai? I don't want to fight you, and I don't think you want to fight me either."
Haruko waited a beat, then, "My loyalty is to my faction. Now salute!"
He hesitated, then slowly brought the foil to his face.
She lunged forward with a throaty yell and a column of wind erupted from the tip of her foil.
Instead of parrying, Yuki jumped to the side and charged forward.
Haruko sprang back into her stance and thrust her arm forward at the darklore. The speed with which he used to dodge her attacks threw her off guard and she barely had time to conjure a shield to block his lunge.
It faded much faster than he anticipated and Yuki found himself almost impaled. He jumped back and she followed. Their weapons clashed in a series of fierce blows. He continued to back up to get into a better attacking position, but with each step, Haruko advanced as well.
"Stop retreating!" she ordered. "Any more and people will see us!"
At her next attack, Yuki dodged to the side and Haruko stumbled into the open grounds. Instead of spreading the binding spell like he expected her to do, she merely spun around and slashed through his new foil. He stared at the severed blade too long and was stabbed brutally on his chest.
"To any outsider, it just looks like we're having a match," she said.
Yuki grit his teeth in pain. His ripped uniform began to stain red as he stared at the witch. Finally unable to stand her emotionless gaze, he sprang past her and dashed into the building.
Little Witch cursed and gave chase, glancing up to see the teachers' lounge empty and adjusting the binding spell to only encompass the wing Yuki entered. Glad the halls were empty, she transformed her foil into her wand and blasted a spell at the boy.
He swerved violently into another hall and looked back quickly to see parts of the wall crumbling. Breathing heavily, he forced the rising panic down and continued to run. Spotting a staircase, he raced up just as Haruko launched a spell down the hall.
She ignored the stitch in her side and her screaming lungs as she pursued the darklore. As soon as she reached the top of the stairs, she blasted another spell down the hall. Too late, she saw a normal human caught in the binding spell.
Yuki whirled around, grabbed the student, and then dove sideways to avoid the blast. It hit the wall behind them and the force of the spell knocked them over the railing. Yuki twisted them around so that he landed underneath, his back slamming into the steps below. He imagined the skin on his back getting scraped off as they slid to the bottom. He groaned and looked down at the student in his arms.
Kumiko smiled back, her mouth partly open from her last words to him before the binding spell had been cast. A sound above brought him back to the present and he struggled to a sitting position.
"Get away from her!" Haruko demanded, aiming her wand carefully.
"She's ok!" he called back.
"I said get away from her!" she repeated, walking down the stairs. "Put her down. Gently."
Not wanting to jeopardize his friend's safety, Yuki reluctantly obeyed.
"Now step away from her before I make you." Her eyes flicked back and forth between the darklore and the girl until she reached Kumiko's side. She bent over the girl to check for injuries. The sound of a step caused her to snap her head up and send a warning spell to explode at Yuki's feet. He jumped back but another presence entered the binding spell and she quickly cast a shield to block the sudden attack that broke through the door at the end of the hall.
"You-chan! Don't attack!" Yuki shouted before the E.G.O. could do anything stupid. "Kumiko-chan is there!"
Hayami stepped through the door, taking in the damage. He whistled. "I only trashed school in my dreams," he said, clearly impressed.
Haruko narrowed her eyes at the new opponent. She glanced between the two. Finishing the darklore would be easy, but the E.G.O. was a veteran fighter and was at full power. Escaping through the windows seemed very tempting, but she couldn't leave Kumiko behind and wasn't strong enough to carry her either. She quickly arranged the younger girl's body into a more comfortable position and stood in front of her.
"Nishimura-chan."
She snapped her head around and glared at the mind breaker as he stepped through the doorway and past Hayami, an eraser close behind him. At the sight of those wings, she began to panic.
"Calm down," Kuro said, walking slowly towards her. "We're not going to do anything to you or Takahashi-chan. Now just lower your wand."
Her eyes jumped between each of the psychics.
"It's ok."
A slight rustle of feathers and she panicked, directing a spell at the mind breaker. Gabriel seized his master from behind and pulled him into his arms as he created a deflecting shield.
Haruko threw herself on the floor, narrowly missing her rebounded spell, which crumbled the stairs behind her. She covered Kumiko's body with her own as little pieces of metal and concrete rained down on them.
"Sempai!" Yuki yelled as he rushed to check on the two girls.
The witch tightened her grip on her wand and slashed it through the air. A magical blade flew through the air towards the boy. Suddenly, a large figure broke through the window near the teen and slammed into his side hard and fast enough for both bodies to barely clear the blade, which sliced through the wall.
Hayami wasted no time and attacked the Wiz-dom girl as soon as he saw Yuki was out of harm's way.
Panic overcoming rational thought, Haruko gripped Kumiko tightly and cast a shield that barely softened the attack but crumbled quickly and sent them flying back.
"Gabriel!" Kuro shouted.
The eraser sprang forward to catch the girls before they could be hurt.
Haruko opened her eyes to see the green-eyed man holding her and dug the end of her wand into his shoulder. Gabriel dropped them in surprise and they landed ungracefully on a pile of broken cement. Haruko forced herself to sit up and began firing spells at all the psychics.
Unable to dodge, Yuki was scooped up by his savior and carried bridal style as Ama-Inu avoided the spells while making his way to the door.
Once outside, Ama-Inu slowed to a walk. He lowered Yuki into a sitting position at the wing opposite the one the others continued to battle, their shouts muffled.
"Um… thank you," the teen said.
The older man didn't say anything. Yuki looked up in concern and was slapped so hard he almost lost his balance.
"You should have been able to avoid that by yourself!" he shouted. "You could've jumped over it! Or ducked!"
Yuki felt his face burning from the slap as well as his own embarrassed and angry blush. As he replayed the scenario in his mind, he had to admit the man was right and maneuvers were obvious and easy to carry out.
"And why are you in your human form?" Ama-Inu demanded, tugging roughly on one of Yuki's very human ears. The boy yelped in pain. "You're not even in your medium form! If you're in a fight like this, at least go into that!"
"She's my sempai!" he argued.
"That doesn't matter when she's trying to kill you!"
"She doesn't want to!"
"It isn't stopping her from trying!"
"But…!"
"Sakurai-kun is a very precious kouhai to me."
Ama-Inu released the boy's ear and squatted in front of him. "She. Is. The. Enemy," he growled. "Just 'cuz you like her ain't gonna change that."
"We can change her mind," the teen insisted. "It's been done before. There have been pacts made for school areas."
"And none of them were kept."
Yuki glared at him. "If your master tried to kill you would you kill her?"
The man's face turned stony and the boy instantly regretted the question.
"I-I'm sorry," he whispered. "I shouldn't have—"
A hand under his chin jerked his face up and he found himself staring the dog darklore's livid brown eyes.
"Don't ask a question then apologize for it," he growled in a dangerously low voice. "I would," he continued. "If it's me or her, I'll damn well choose me." He was lying. He didn't know if his loyalty or will to live would win, but the terror in the boy's eyes filled him with a satisfaction he had once been familiar with before every kill. He leaned in with a feral grin on his face and shifted his hand so that it rested just above Yuki's Adam's apple and he could feel the boy's quickened breaths on his face. "I'd kill you too," he whispered. "No matter how much I like you." And he went in for the kill.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Posted: 5 July 2009
