((A/N: Spiritua Masquerade: Hehe. I was talking to Meowzy on MSN and we realized just how much we had left to do. The problems aren't even beginning to end yet, and after that they all have to be solved, so… this could very well be a thirty-chapter fic!))


Chapter Nine (Kratos's PoV)
The Beast.

When I awoke, I was keenly aware of two things. First, that Yuan's bandages did absolutely nothing for the pain in my wounds. And second, that the half-elf in question's head rested on my shoulder, the dead-weight pressure telling me he was asleep. He shifted his head ever-so-slightly, sending stabs of white-hot pain through my arms and torso and causing me to sharply draw breath in affliction. To make things worse, the shoulder he's using as a pillow happens to be the one wrapped in his cape. The one with the hole and the flesh burned away. Oh joy. Despite a fairly large amount of discomfort, I didn't wake him. He seemed so... peaceful. If only he was like that when he was awake. Heh. I don't know why I let him sleep; last time, I was away in an instant. I guess that someone who spent all their energy bandaging my wounds deserved to sleep off the fatigue resulting.

My head shifted slightly to the left, back toward the forest we came from, slowly enough so my shoulder didn't cry out in further pain. Oh, what a hell of a mess we'd gotten ourselves into. Only then did I realize how serious the situation was. We could die, honestly die, if we stayed on the island much longer. But we couldn't fly away, or use any communication devices, for our Cruxis Crystals and equipment were all nullified by some force emitted from the island. We couldn't raft off either, no, a big bad missile would fly out with amazing accuracy to blast our raft to smithereens. So we went to kill/turn off/otherwise kick the ass of whatever shot at us, and we got Big Red and Scary sicced on us. Now him and his two scaly accomplices were loose on the island, doing Martel knows what, and we had yet to infiltrate the island. Meanwhile, I couldn't very well waltz back in there, not in that condition. Or even waltz anywhere, for that matter, considering I doubt I could walk very well.

Oh goddess, I'm starting to sound like Yuan. Somebody, beat me over the head with a large blunt object. No, I'm serious.

I looked to the half-elf, lifting my left hand to brush his cerulean hair from his face and back behind his ear, and wincing as the muscles in my back that aided my arm's movement stung violently. At my touch, he mumbled something incomprehensible and turned his head away.

Suddenly, I heard a rustle in the forest to my left, where I was gazing moments before. My head whipped around, drawing a gasp of agony, and my ultrasensitive auburn eyes bored into the shadows and greenery. After a minute or so, my search proved unfruitful, yet I couldn't help but feel like I'd missed something. Like something was there.

My right arm made its way around to cover Yuan's mouth so he made no loud noises, despite excruciating protests from my shoulder. Eyes still locked on the forest, I drew my lips close to his ear.

"Time to wake up, Pervert Boy." I whispered, and his eyes fluttered open, immediately confused. He went to complain about the usage of his nickname, or something similarly unimportant, but realized my hand was over his mouth. The look in his eyes would have been priceless, had I not been so focused on whatever had rustled. Absolutely bewildered, it was. A moment later, the surprise turned to something I couldn't mistake. It was the look that said, 'You'd better explain what the hell's going on before I bite your hand.'

"We've got visitors." I hissed almost inaudibly, and his eyes darted to where mine were, apparently under the assumption that the dragons had returned. It very well may have been the two-headed beasts... Yet I wasn't so much afraid of them as before. I survived the first time, didn't I? Sure, I'll have the scars for the remainder of my life, but I survived. Who's to say I wouldn't again?

"Wait here." I slowly slid my hand from over Yuan's mouth, but he had the sense to stay silent. He was no longer watching the forest; now his attention was on me as I laboriously made my way to my feet, teeth gritted against the sting and ache of the wounded muscles and skin being pulled farther than it appreciated. I turned to step toward the trees, but suddenly a hand caught hold of the loser ends of the cape wrapped around my shoulder, causing me to lurch to a excruciating stop. I whirled on the half-elf with a snarl, my left hand instinctively flying up to my wounded right shoulder. He cringed slightly, but met my livid gaze unflinchingly. The bluenette bit his lip in uncertainty, before opening his mouth to explain himself.

"Kratos, no. If it is something, how the hell will you fight back?" He hissed.

I lifted my right hand to rest it on Flamberge's hilt, making the movement as smooth as possible despite the pain. I had to appear strong enough, didn't I?

"Just like I did last time." My voice was even, though on the inside, I knew he was right.

"Kratos, you'll be killed! Does that mean nothing to you?" His voice was slightly louder, slightly stronger.

I turned away, back toward the forest. I couldn't answer. If I did, I knew it wouldn't be the answer he wanted. Honestly, it's meant nothing to me since-... since Anna died... And it's better that way. For an enemy with nothing to lose is the strongest enemy of all.

"Kratos, please..." I froze mid-step. His voice... I've only heard it like that once before. When he was begging Martel not to die, four thousand years ago. I turned slightly, and my eyes met his once more. They in themselves were begging me to stay, so full of desperation and... concern? No! It wasn't concern, I wouldn't believe it. If I had believed it, I may not have gone.

"Yuan, quiet. You'll bring the entire lot of them here, if you keep that volume." My voice was cold, but only to silence his pleading, for any more of it I may not have been able to resist.

He opened his mouth to protest further, but shut it with a pleading look. I turned away. What else was I to do? I turned away, and started toward the forest. This time, there was no pull at my bandaging to stop me. Each step brought agony to my back and shoulder, but I continued on. Soon the shadows of the trees washed over my body, a nice cool feeling on my skin. Everything seemed in order. Yet somehow, I knew it wasn't. I knew something was amiss. It was all quiet. Too quiet...

I kept walking, against all common sense and judgment, into the forest of hell that had housed the half-elf and myself for almost two weeks. If I had any common sense and judgment, I'd have brought Yuan along. Common sense tells me I could feed him to the beast and satisfy it long enough for me to get away. But whatever force this is that drives me on now would rather be eaten than see Yuan eaten. Heh. Oh how things have changed. I remember when we first got stuck on this island, and Yuan claimed he was nearly eaten by a man-eating plant. I didn't really care back then. I just laughed. And laughed. And laughed and laughed. But that's beside the point. He was the enemy. And I didn't care whether or not my enemy died. Remember? The whole reason I came here was to kill him. Though for some reason, I was glad I didn't.

I didn't know exactly when Yuan turned from enemy to ally in my mind. I didn't exactly care either. He'd made my stay on this island bearable. Without him, I'd probably be dead. Eaten by a dragon or maybe even some man-eating plant. If they even exist.

I was too deep in my thoughts to notice that a shadow had fallen over me, colder than the shadows of the forest. If I'd kept my guard up, I wouldn't have allowed myself to be ambushed like I did. But instead, I only noticed my attacker when it wrapped its massive jaws around my waist and jerked me quickly backwards.

I yelped in surprise, grabbing the hilt of my sword and drawing it, but the unexpected backward pull caused me to fumble and drop it. I swore, ramming my elbow into the upper jaw of... the man-eating plant? I couldn't help but laugh in disbelief. So he really was telling the truth. I continued to beat and kick it, looking wildly around for its eyes so I could gouge them, a surefire way to distract any beast. To my dismay, this thing seemed to have no eyes, just a massive jaw, jagged teeth, and what felt like mildly acidic saliva to help digest its prey.

Of course it had no eyes, stupid, stupid Kratos! It was a plant, resembling the fly-eating variety, which used sensors and reflex to catch their prey. I must have stepped on one of its roots or something of the sort. With no eyes to gouge and no sword, I was pretty much screwed.

I felt the teeth slicing into my sides, the saliva making its way into the cuts on my back and bringing tears to my eyes with the pain. I bit my lip in an attempt to block out the pain, but I bit it so hard it bled and I could still feel the burning in excruciating detail. This whole thing had a note of twisted humor in it... How I've killed angels and heroes, monsters and men, but I'm being eaten by the only thing alive with teeth but no brain.

It never occurred to me to call to Yuan. In the heat of the moment, I'd forgotten that I wasn't alone on this island, being accustomed to so many years of solitude. Even if I had remembered, however, I doubt I could have yelled loud enough for him to hear, seeing as the breath was being driven from my lungs by a pair of amazingly strong jaws, crushing me slowly. Only when I heard a surprised 'Kratos?' and a war cry of 'Burn in hell, pansy!' did I recall my bluenette companion. And by the time I could ask him to hand me my sword, I was being unceremoniously dropped to the dirt, the plant's jaws still embedded in my side. I glanced down, to realize that Yuan had lopped off its head with his double-ended sword, the end oozing a translucent green substance. He then crouched beside me, slipping his hands between my sides and the jaws and prying them apart. Though my vision was blurring slightly from the pain, I could still see him wince when he caught sight of my wounds and my back.

"Shame we ran out of bandages." I managed to laugh slightly, though it sounded a bit like a choke. He didn't seem to find this funny, however. Not at all. For some reason, it seemed to make him more worried. I leaned up slightly and propped myself up on my elbows, ignoring the pain in my abdomen and managing to do so without any sign of it outwardly.

"Yuan, I'm fine, see?" I went to sit up fully to prove it, but a sudden stab of agony shot through my upper half, and I gasped in pain, my vision swimming even worse than before.

"No you're not, see?" He replied, and I felt his arm slide across my back to support me in case I were to collapse again. Part of me wanted to shrug off his aid, to tell him that even if I was dying it wasn't his concern... But that's the part of me that got me like that to begin with. The proud side of me that always gets me hurt in the end. So instead, I grudgingly accepted his aid, slowly leaning into the support, despite the protests of the wounds under pressure from his arm.

"Why do you always help me, Yuan?" I murmured, my eyes half closed.

"Because you don't deserve to die," came his reply, and let out a weak snort of amusement.

"Ah really? That's news. I deserved to die a long time ago, Yuan, but... If memory serves me, you've been there to stop me each time."

"Your job in this world isn't done." He replied, his voice soft, as if he'd just told me one of his best kept secrets. I looked up at him, but he was looking at the ground beside him, refusing to meet my gaze.

Puzzled, I looked away once more. For a while, we sat there in silence... Long enough to put his leg to sleep, I guess. He shifted his weight onto the other one, and his arm jostled slightly, sending a fresh wave of pain down my back. I winced slightly, attempting to mask it at the last minute, but failing miserably. Quite obviously, he noticed.

"Come on, we need to get you somewhere... else." The half-elf decided, and though he was very nonspecific, I somehow understood exactly what he meant. I made a small grunt of accord and pushed myself up once more, only to feel that same stab of pain. I hissed slightly in discomfort.

"Uh, Yuan? A slight problem has arisen." I managed through clenched teeth.

"Shit, I forgot. Uh…" Yuan looked around, searching for something. "Hate to break it to you, Captain, but the only way out of here is if you..."

Though he trailed off, I knew where he was heading. If I wanted out, I'd have to-

"Yuan-back-ride?" I can't help it. My voice betrayed all the amusement I felt. He raised his hand to smack me upside the head, but hesitated and thought better of it.

"I don't find this funny." He replied, his face a mix of puzzlement and awkwardness.

"I suppose not. After all, the humor must have worn out after the sixth Renegade who got a Yuan-back-ride, eh, Pervert Boy?" I smirked, causing him to turn a light shade of red.

"If you weren't hurt right now, I'd beat you 'till you-"

"If I weren't hurt right now, the prospect of a Yuan-back-ride wouldn't even be thought of." I interrupted, silencing the bluenette. For a moment.

"Come on then, quit bleeding all over my arm and... well... get on." He finished rather awkwardly turning around and presenting his back. I chuckled inaudibly, before heaving myself up into a crouch and slowly easing my weight onto his back, wrapping my arms around his neck so I didn't fall off backwards.

It felt... awkward, to say the least.

Yuan smoothly rose, attempting to make as few sharp moves as possible, and surveyed his surroundings. Our surroundings. Is it just me, or was I in an extremely compromising position? I think I was. Considering neither of us had a shirt. Thank the goddess we were the only ones on the island. I'd have shit if anyone had seen me like this. And I don't mean the injuries.

"Hey Kratos? I think I see a hot spring."

"How can you see anything, with the trees this thick?" I replied, squinting slightly into the shadows.

"I'm a half-elf, remember? I can see twice as good as you, without your Crystal." He replied.

"Heh, oh yeah. Where is it?"

"In the general that-way direction." He replied, jerking his head toward the forest about forty-five degrees to our right, his hands being busy keeping me off the ground.

"Let's go, then." I replied, and we were off. I must admit, Yuan surprised me. I didn't expect him to trudge very long before he made me get off and walk by myself, but instead, he even refused when I offered. He'd changed since he arrived, I knew that much. Maybe he just needed some company and some nice, friendly name-calling. Heh.

Before long we found ourselves on the edge of a steaming pool. I braced myself for him to drop me, but instead he crouched down beside it.

"In. The water'll make your wounds better, hopefully." He ordered, and I had no complaints.

It'd been a while since I last bathed of my own accord, and a nice dip in a hot spring never failed to relax me and soothe my pain. I found that my muscles and such had grown stiff, in the long amount of time they were held in that same position, but again, nothing a little dip in the spring couldn't fix. Easing myself from the half-elf's back, I slipped into the pool, seating myself in the fairly shallow end where my head could rest on a rock just above the surface. I closed my eyes, sighing contently, while the water around me turned red. Red with my blood, but red with my problems as well, the biggest being how the hell to get off this hellish island.

Something felt wrong, however. I couldn't relax, not completely. After a minute, I opened my eyes, glancing over at Yuan. He sat cross-legged, facing into the forest, his elbow rested on his knee and his chin in his hand. He looked... alone.

"Hey, Yuan? My conscience won't let me relax until you're in here too, so come on." He looked to me in surprise.

"Why? No, you relax and heal and whatever, I'll keep watch."

"Yuan, come on."

"No."

"Yuan, get your ass in this spring."

"My ass is fine right here."

"Yuan!" Frustrated, I pulled my arm out of the water, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him backwards into the water. He managed to shout in alarm before he hit the water, and he came up sputtering. Before he could yell, or smack me, or whatever he had in mind, I closed my eyes again in a contented fashion.

"Good. Now stay." I murmured.

"I'm not a dog, I'm a seraph." He protested indignantly, and the traces of a smirk came to my lips.

"I know, mine listens far better than you do."

"Noishe isn't a dog, you know that."

"Well if you want to get technical, you're not a seraph."

"The hell I'm not!" He replied, once more indignant.

"Pull out your wings for me, Yuan." I replied, though it was a rhetorical request, for I didn't need to open my eyes to know that he couldn't.

"Point made." He grumbled.

"I know. Now relax, enjoy the water." I replied, and within moments I felt him sit beside me, his shoulder almost brushing mine. I didn't find this curious as I once would have, nor did I accuse him of perverted motives. He probably, like me, wanted to sit where it's not too deep, and not too shallow.

I allowed us to sit in silence a while... Obviously a little too long, for I felt the call of sleep tugging at the corners of my mind. After a moment's resistance, I gave in.

"Thanks, Yuan." I murmured, my words slightly slurred as I drift into sleep.

"For what?" I hear from beside me, a bit tired as well.

"For everything." Those are my last words before I fade into a peaceful sleep.


((Spiritua: Sorry it took so long, I'm having a few real life problems right now. I hope you like it.
Meowzy: -hugs Spiritua- It'll be okay. ... Oh dear, I'm next.))