Sorry for the lack of updates. I am really sorry -bows-

WARNING: Strong mention of violence in this chapter.

There was no road. There was no sound besides of the melody of the breeze above the plains; Saike could feel the warmth of the earth under his straw sandals, he heard the noises of the village far away from him. He had departed from Gizo-Suru wearing the attires of an errand monk; he had never worn some clothes like that, and he felt a strange feeling of calm thinking about the meaning of each one of the colors, of the fabric, that covered his body and made him look older.

He smiled lightly; he had never some clothes like this, he never had that feeling of silent resolution in his heart; he looked above the meadow into the south, where his home was. Across the forest and the valleys, there was some point between the Orihara lands and the Great Forge of the East, where his older brother, Orihara Izaya, expected to launch an attack to the little village of blacksmiths to rescue him.

At least, that was what Saike thought. He knew that it was a foolish mission to go back at his brother with nothing in his hands but awful memories and terrible news. However, it was better than nothing, better than an attack to the Forge based in a lie told by a stranger; he walked more, always going forward to the south, expecting to see tents of black and red shining under the merciless sun. Saike smiled, after all, tents and visible things were not the style of his brother, He knew that the road was long and the message, strange.

He sighed deeply, praying silently for the first time in his life. He remembered the night, and the smell of incense that covered the skin of the one he loved; the sweet and musky flavor was still in his mouth, and the warmth between his flesh and his bones was still there, lingering and making him smile.

He remembered Tsugaru, and everything was easier.

Blood red eyes stared down to pink orbs. The owner of those eyes drenched in fury; his hands held a dagger closely, making his knuckles pale. Orihara Izaya was angry; he thought for a moment that the words he just listened from the lips of one of his brothers were some sort of mockery, so he repeated them.

"So, little Saike-chan, not only did you fail in your mission, you also got raped by bandits and got rescued by the imbecile who serves as your enemy…in the hands of that pitiful idiot you found comfort and peace and now you want me to stop this war, right?"

His little brother nodded. He could see in his face the utter fear that crawled into his spirit.

"You´re fast, yes, but weak as a dry leaf, and naïve as a little boy; if you were as smart as you claimed to be back at home, the blue eyes of Heiwajima Tsugaru would be here, in my hands…a pair of blood sapphires to decorate my sword"

Izaya rose from his seat, looking at the other shinobi with hatred; Saike trembled and lowered his gaze, scared of the images that his brother brought to his mind. The red tent of the Clan Leader was getting colder as the sun hid in the horizon. The pink-eyed shinobi walked alone the entire day, leaving his loved one alone in the dim light of the dawn. He didn´t say goodbye, nor he said anything to his beloved Tsugaru. He just walked and traveled until he found his people amidst a caravan in the plains, feeling that, for the first time in his life, he was going to do something right.

"No! Please brother! I beg you to reconsider things! There is no point in this whole war! Our purpose is as nimble and foolish as the words of a child…I was betrayed, Onii-sama! Someone told the bandits who I was and someone told you that I was captured instead of rescued. I´ve seen in those eyes, in those sapphires you want to see covered in blood, real peace and honor. There are better things in this world than treachery, like compassion and peace and…"

Saike looked at his brother, whom played with his dagger in a nervous way, cutting the tatami floor with a sadistic low speed. The Leader spoke, looking into his pink eyes with pure hatred, smiling like a snake.

"…and love, I guess, isn´t it?"

Izaya moved forward, sitting front of his brother; he took his hand and smell it, he smelled his neck, his arms, his hair, and he growled. He covered the dagger and choked his brother, making Saike whimper in pain and fear.

"I am the strongest one, Saike…"

Seethed the elder, hatred present in each of his words.

"You were touched by the mongrel, did he made love to you? Or did he rape you with his words and his rope? Oh...Saike, little one, you are a whore now, you betrayed your kin because of the touch of someone who would like to break your bones for his own pleasure~"

Saike couldn´t speak; the strong hands of his brother trapped his words; he struggled against him and tried to kick him. However, every effort was worthless, as the grip of Izaya got stronger.

"I guess it felt good, to have the samurai bastard inside you, dirtying your flesh with his bitter seed and making you think that his frail touches were better than any kind of family tie…"

The face of the younger shinobi paled as he felt air leaving his lungs. Some painful seconds passed, and Izaya let him go, just to slap him in his face, making his left cheek burn in pain as he gasped for air. The older laughed in a cruel way before speaking again.

"We will attack the Great Forge at midnight, just to finish the assignment you couldn´t fulfill, useless little one. And there, you shall find Heiwajima Tsugaru, and kill him in front of me"

Saike nodded out of pure fear, letting his brother take the lead again; the older one raised and sneered at him, he took a needle that he kept hid in his sleeve, and nailed it in the back of his little brother; Saike froze in the middle of his movements and fell to the floor, unconscious.

"And there will be no chance for disobedience this time…"

There was darkness outside his house; there was fear in the eyes of the villagers, and there was pain in his own soul. The blue-eyed samurai stood firm in front of the gates of the Great Forge of the East, looking for any sign of the presence of Heiwajima Kasuka, whom was ordered to come and assist him in the defense of the blacksmithing enclave.

He just stood there, his bow prepared to make a signal, his senses focused in every sound or sight. His complete appearance drenched in a void, calm serenity; the men of his personal guard stood by his side, feeling that, for the first time in their lives of service, the serenity of their master looked too much like sadness. And they were right, for the mind of the samurai drifted back and forth from the image of a certain black haired shinobi; it was the midnight after being with him, and there was something in the memories of being with Saike that haunted him even in the face of duty.

The silence of the plains startled them; men could hear the limited sounds of the village behind them. There was nothing strange, yet everything was tense and obscure. No kind of noise or light could be seen in the fields; only the animals that crept in the dark of the night could be heard amidst the low melody of wind.

Until the seething sound of fire broke the peace.

Some red flames broke at the side of the mountains, near the forges of the village; fire wasn´t big, but it was followed by the sounds of steel cutting flesh, screams, and the noise of metal being borrowed in great quantities.

Melancholy disappeared as the bright arrows of the Heiwajima men ripped the air, making the bells of Ginzo-suru ring with haste. Tsugaru and his guard left their posts to enter the village, past the houses and into the frays: they knew what to do, the defense mechanism of the Great Forge, called the Hellfire, should be turned on to separate the Forge district and the village itself. The Hellfire was just a complicated pipe system designed to create walls of hot air and fire between the two districts, it was deadly, and functional after decades of peace.

Tsugaru and his men dashed through the village, and arrived to the Forges, where no sound was heard for a minute. The samurai walked slowly over the end pipes of the Hellfire, watching the crates filled with blades of steel in the wrong places, as if someone had moved them and leave.

Two of his guards fell dead in their tracks, and he heard something flying in his direction.

A single movement of his sword and a needle fell at his feet.

And a dark laugh crept in the air, revealing the clapping shadow of a man covered in black.

"It is true, Heiwajima-san, that you talk like a monk and fight like a god?"

Two needles, launched from different directions, passed near him: the samurai lowered his head and dodged them.

"It is true, Heiwajima-san, that you saved the life of an enemy and showed him love?"

The voice that spoke had a mocking tone; his words were poisoned and his movements were fast. Three, four needles flew behind him, and there was almost no chance of dodging them, but, somehow, Tsugaru rolled down, uninjured. His men didn't have that much luck.

"Yes, it is true you took a boy in the middle of the night and made him betray his family…oh Heiwajima Tsugaru-san, you act so high and so low sometimes…"

Two sets of steps brushed against the stone floor of the Forge entrance, and two voices spoke; two shadows moved towards him, the two of them being equal to Saike.

"So now you will be punished, poet, for the anger that consumes the Red-Eyed Lord is boundless!"

The blades of a pair of wakizashi reflected the red light of embers as both shinobi dashed at the same speed and tempo. Both blades moved as spears, seeking his heart. The samurai traced an arch with his katana, making the blades clash into each other with a brilliant sound of battle. He slashed from one side to another in a swift movement, just to see that the shinobi crunched and tried to hack his legs.

The blonde moved back, but too late, as one of the blades cut through his leg armor, making him groan out of pain; the wound was not dangerous, but it reduced his speed.

"There is no escape here, Lord of the samurai, for our men steal now your precious steel" Said one of the voices "And we will destroy this place; who thought that someone famous for his wisdom would keep the mining tunnels opened for us?"

More shadows appeared from behind the ember vaults; men taller than the two people who had attacked him. They carried the crates, and, as Tsugaru tried to stop them, the two main shadows tackled him, one of them lunching his already wounded leg, making him fall; however, he traced an arch towards the sky, making one of the ninja groan in pain; the blood of one of them slipped from a long wound in his chest.

The wounded shinobi shrieked in anger and grabbed the helmet of the samurai, cutting his fingers with the sharp edged of the piece of armor. The pain didn´t interrupt his movements, even when Tsugaru stood up and looked at his eyes, which shone like blood in the middle of the night.

"And here we are, trying to kill ourselves…trying to understand why does these things happen all the time, isn´t it?"

Orihara Izaya had the marks of anger across his calm face, and hatred illuminated each one of his gestures. He pointed with his wakizashi to the eyes of the samurai and made a forceful grin. Tsugaru could not help but stare and focus again in the other figure that stood beside him; the breath of the other one was irregular, and some sobs could be heard in the air.

"Saike…" Said the samurai with a sorrowful expression.

"Oh of course, Heiwajima-san, I brought my little brother here so he could fulfill his mission, we do have honor, after all, and he promised me your blood…"

Izaya dashed to slash the head of his enemy, but the samurai resisted. He knew that the alarm had sounded, and he could hear the steps of the ashigaru coming closer to his position; they found the thieves with their hands in the steel. The full raged battle started, and there was almost nothing the Heiwajima army could do: their opponents had better weapons, and each one of them was a trained shinobi. The howls of death and the scent of blood filled the air once again, as the death god smiled in his grim throne for the Orihara army.

Tsugaru stood with a bright movement of his katana: his leg was badly wounded and his heart was at the verge of darkness, but he was still focused; he needed to go and activate the Hellfire, ignite the mining tunnels and cut the escaping route of his enemy. He held his ground and positioned himself for battle.

"Let destiny be fulfilled, then…"

He dashed to distract the older shinobi, but the younger answered with a long stab towards his chest; he just traced and arch, and another one, as the short swords of his opponents tried to stab against his defense. The three men knew that that battle could not be decided by ability, as the Orihara battle style couldn´t make much damage to the arches and the total defense of the Heiwajima samurai.

The only way to win, thought Orihara Izaya, was to break that already frozen heart. He looked at the eyes of his younger brother, and senses the fear hidden into those tears that flowed. It was almost impossible to maintain the battle pace while crying, but he was sure that Saike could do it; after all, he was the best in combat, although his mind was weak and his heart was embedded in that silly and never-ending love.

Izaya prepared a thin, silver metal needle, and threw it between a little gap of those steel arches; a clean cut of a needle in the wounded leg, and there was nothing the blonde could do. Saike gasped, but he attacked swiftly, and used the sheath of his sword to hit the arm of the samurai and disarm him quickly.

The red eyes of the older Orihara shone with anger as he sneered, "See? Love has brought you here, to the edge of hate and darkness. Your precious honor cannot hold down our need for victory, right, Saike?"

Saike shivered strongly, and held the neck of the samurai, looking him into his eyes, crying, clenching his teeth. Only a faint whispered got out his lips, just for the blonde to hear.

"I am sorry…"

"CUT HIS THROAT AND FINISH THIS!"

Roared the older shinobi, raising his sword and menacing him.

"I am your Lord, and I command you to cut his eyes and his throat for the glory of our clan!"

Saike took his sword and made a determined gesture. He could see the despair in the eyes of the samurai, his fear, he had no focus in that moment, he just seemed to be there, frozen by sadness and fear.

"Do not fear death, Tsugaru"

He said with a forced cold tone so his brother could hear.

"Fear the cold feeling of treachery; fear my blade in your beautiful eyes, my love…"

"No, I only fear your descent to hell, Saike, for my own death holds the meaning of true peace"

The blue eyes of the samurai locked with the pink eyes of his opponent as the blonde kneeled before him, emptying his mind and his spirit. He felt that the compassion and the love he showed for the shinobi was useless; there was suffering around him, as the battle raged and the sound of horseshoes against the metal furnaces clouded his hearing…

He opened his eyes. His guard didn´t had trained horses, and the brown and blue symbols of the samurai who were fighting against the Orihara men were not his.

Orihara Izaya cursed in the name of the thousand spirits of hell; Heiwajima Kasuka had arrived, and with him, the heavy cavalry that cut the pathway for his men to escape.

"SAIKE! The men are fighting or escaping, KILL HIM NOW!"

The pink eyes or Orihara Saike trembled, and his entire body shivered: he was torn between his duty and his family honor and the love for the samurai. His life of deciert, murder and endless, tainted fun against the boring peace of compassion and wisdom. There was a second where the two paths revealed themselves in his mind, along with the options and the images, along with the type of end they would have

Saike made his choice, he took his sword and attacked swiftly to his objective.

Izaya raised his guard and protected himself from the strike of his brother´s blade. It was treason; it was against all the codes of honor and family, even for the shinobi clans. But Saike stroke again and again, turning into a flurry of dancing blades, piercing through the defense of his brother just to turn back and attack again.

"TRAITOR! TRAITOR!" Yelled the older one.

"No! You´re the traitor! You´re the one who has betrayed his own kin leading all of us to war! We are going to die like animals! We are going to be forgotten or hated because of your stupid idea!"

Izaya felt his anger grow, and he attacked his brother fiercely; both blades danced and clashed between the look-alikes. Izaya was wounded in his chest, and Saike´s eyes were still clouded by his tears, but they carried on, and, at last, the younger one stabbed His brother arm, making him threw his short sword.

"Leave now! Take the men and go home and plan something for the Heiwajima Clan to accept peace and end this war!"

The red eyes of Izaya turned into slits as he denied fiercely; he knew that battle was lost, but he expected the men that ran through the mining tunnels to steal as much metal as he needed to continue fighting.

He ran towards the entrance of those tunnels, but a strange mechanical sound made him stop. He turned around and saw Heiwajima Tsugaru, wounded and bleeding, with some sort of lever in his hand; the mountain itself growled and trembled, along with the men who stood in the tunnels.

Then, an immense roar of fire and hot air broke the sounds of battle; the scent of charred meat filled the air, and the sounds of thousands of men burned alive made Izaya repeat his words once more.

"Heiwajima-san, you act so high and so low sometimes…"

The hatred in his soul made him roar once again, and he ran towards the wounded samurai; the blonde tried to defend himself, but only got a deep cut in his hands. Izaya grabbed his face and looked into his eyes.

"I will take what is mine…"

And with a swift movement of his hands, he took a needle and used it to tear off one of those gorgeous eyes; the face of his enemy turned in a expression of pure agony, and his blood filled his face, staining the black robes of the shinobi.

Saike heard the soul-piercing scream of his loved one, and his own will faltered; he dashed and punched his brother in his face, insulting him and crying as the red-eyed lord held a perfect, blue eye between his fingers. The fight was short, as the older ran away from it all at the sight of a samurai with the Heiwajima mon in his back. His laughter was that of a crazy man, and his movements were swift and erratic.

The young shinobi was sure he was going to escape, but he didn´t care about it. He looked at his lover, who sat there in a excruciating pain, whispering some prayers to calm down. He ran and sat by his side, kissing his cheeks, cleaning the stream of blood from his face, his whosle mind focused in one simple thought.

"Please don´t die…"

"I don´t want to die, Saike, but if the god of death claims me, I have no choice but follow him"

"But...but you can stay here with me, and we can live peacefully, like in your dream.."

"Silence… there´s just one reason for me to live, I made a promise and I must honor it."

Those cold words made Saike shiver with fear, as a question made its way in his lips.

"Which promise…?"

The samurai just smiled and looked at him with his only eye, and repeated the soft words he said many nights ago.

"I won´t leave you alone…"

And they shared a little kiss for a second, a strange sign of love amidst the sounds of battle and death in the furnaces. They smiled lightly, just before Tsugaru fainted due to his blood loss, making Saike hold him closely, while he saw a mounted man coming for him, pointing at him with his katana. The emotionless face of Heiwajima Kasuka appeared from behind a simple combat mask, and his words sounded above the fading noises of war.

"Orihara Saike, shinobi and enemy of our clan, I command you to leave the body of Hewajima Tsugaru-sama and leave him alone"

The pink eyes of the ninja closed, as he sighed

"Please, my Lord, I won´t harm him; you saw how I defended him from my own brother, I will surrender and walk at your side as a prisoner, but let me be with him. This man is now my Lord as well as the person whom I love the most…I know it´s difficult to believe, but please, let me be by his side…"

The mounted man looked at him with nothing in his brown eyes. He just nodded.

"Your wounds and my sight have helped you, Orihara Saike-san. We will go to the north, where Heiwajima Shizuo-sama awaits us. He won´t be happy to see you, no matter how much do you love this man."

Saike accepted that and nodded softly.

"Thank you so much. I will face his legendary anger if necessary; I will serve him and all of your brethren if that means I can see Tsugaru smile once more"

The samurai just shrugged and called out for his men to regroup and take care of the wounded. The roar of the mountain in fire went silent as the shinobi used the lever as support to raise the battered body of his loved one. He just hoped that the blue-eyed samurai could hear the whispered words he spoke before going near the defenders of Gizo-Suru.

"Even if your brothers break my bones, I will stay by your side, my peaceful warrior…"

Oh dear oh dear! One chapter and this first rebellion is finished! I also plan to write an omake...a smutty one -grins- I just need to write about that first lovely time between Tsugaru and Saike before writing the DeliHibi part -winks-

I truly hope you´ve like it. I love your reviews a lot, all of them means a lot to me. Thanks for your support!

Winter In Japan.