Well hello! I can do nothing but apologize for the extreme delay. Whereas summer usually means more free time, for me it unfortunately means that work becomes a place of socialization instead of a place for quiet concentration -. – As an added excuse, I also climbed Mt. Fuji and went on vacation…? I dunno; even I am super frustrated at this lateness.

If you're still out there, I sure do appreciate it. (And thank you for your reviews!) Please enjoy!

And don't kill me.

The Free Fighter and the Evil Within

Chapter Nine

Makoto stared at the innocent-looking ingredients spread out before him on Haruka's kitchen counter. This isn't going to be that hard, he reassured himself, slowly reaching for a pan, I'm just cooking dinner.

Just cooking dinner. Makoto laughed softly to himself at his private joke. For him, no meal was as easy to make as 'just cooking' it. Makoto had to really work hard when he wanted to cook something edible. Thanks to Haruka, he'd become relatively proficient at making mackerel, but he knew that Haruka was just being nice when he said that it was delicious. Makoto knew that Haruka could make mackerel a hundred times better than his. He stared down at the pan in determination. Haruka had gone to the aquatic center to do some laps; Makoto had said that he would take care of dinner. However, what Haruka didn't know was how intricate of a dinner Makoto was planning.

Only yesterday Haruka had told him his greatest secret…that he was the Free Fighter. Makoto still couldn't quite believe it. Haruka had been wary at first, but luckily Makoto had convinced him that it was okay to talk to him about it, to stay with him. The two had stayed up for hours talking, and Makoto still had more questions. He couldn't get enough of listening to what Haruka had to say; the fact that Haru was the Free Fighter…he wanted to know everything and more. Despite his own excitement, he knew that Haruka was clearly worried about the Master of Darkness…and yet Makoto couldn't bring himself to be overly concerned. He was confident in Haruka's abilities, even if Haruka was not. So, he wanted to show Haruka how grateful he was, how much he supported him…which was why he wanted to make him this special dinner. It was a small gesture, but he knew Haruka would understand. He always did. With that thought in mind, he tentatively reached for the dial on the burner. I've got lots of time; surely I can do this…for Haru, I can do anything—

You know, it's almost sickening how much you love him.

Makoto jumped in surprise, spinning around to face the empty room. No one was there. "Strange," he murmured to himself as he slowly turned back around, "I could've sworn I'd just heard someone…" Shaking off his sudden uneasiness, Makoto reached for the mackerel, regaining his concentration. He couldn't screw up the mackerel; it was Haruka's favorite part—

Scratch that; it is sickening. I think I may vomit.

"Who's there?" Makoto exclaimed, clearly spooked as he turned around again, knife unsteady in his hand.

Calm down, Makoto, Makoto heard a voice drawl, but he still couldn't see anyone. There's no reason to freak out.

Needless to say, Makoto was freaking out. "S-Shut up! Show yourself!"

I already am.

Makoto's knife dipped slightly as he confusedly scanned the room once again. "No you're not…unless you're a ghost?!" He shakily raised the knife again.

Makoto heard an audible sigh come from out of nowhere. I'm not a ghost you scaredy cat; I'm you.

Makoto's panicked thoughts ground to a halt. "What?"

I said, I'm you. Now calm down already and put that away before we get hurt. To Makoto's utter amazement and horror his hand started moving of its own accord, firmly setting the knife back on the counter. He stared at his hand for an instant before his thoughts whirred to life again, dizzying him with the sudden return of panic and confusion. "I…How—?"

You're not alone, Makoto. You haven't been for a very long time. Suddenly, Makoto found himself having the inexplicable urge to grin despite his feelings of bewilderment and turmoil. But now it's my turn to take the wheel.

Makoto's hands started to move on their own again, and he frantically gripped the counter on reflex, straining to control his own body. "I don't understand."

You don't have to understand.

"Who are you!?" Makoto snapped, his fear finally shifting into anger and frustration as his grip on the counter tightened, his knuckles turning white.

That's right; even after all these years, we still haven't been properly introduced yet. Makoto looked at his reflection in the small kitchen window in front of him; he could see the corner of his lip upturned in a mischievous smile. "The name's Kurakvo," he heard himself say without his permission, "Master of Darkness."

Makoto's grip on the counter slackened from shock, and he watched in the window as his body slowly shifted out of his control, feeling himself fading towards a mysteriously welcoming darkness. "Now if you'll excuse me," he said, "I've got a date with your boyfriend. You know, the Free Fighter? You talked at great length about it last night. I'm sure he's dying to see me."

Makoto's panic returned, spiking to a whole new level as the implications of what he was hearing fully washed over him. Haru…what have I done—!

"Haru…no!" Makoto exclaimed aloud, regaining control of his body with a jolt and covering his mouth with his hands…as if that would stop whatever was happening, as if he could somehow manually keep the Master of Darkness at bay.

Now now, don't be like that, Makoto heard in his head, and his hands slowly came to gently rest on the counter top. I'll take good care of him. Kurakvo looked at Makoto's reflection in the window, a cruel smirk gracing his lips. "I promise."

-((Several Hours Later))-

"I'm home," Haruka called out, taking off his shoes as he entered his house. He took a deep breath through his nose, taking in the mouth-watering scents that permeated the air. "Makoto?" he called out, following his nose to the kitchen. He found him there, facing away from him as he cut vegetables on the counter. Makoto turned to face him, his green eyes alight with a warm smile.

"Welcome home, Haru-chan," he said, and Haruka came to stand next to him, examining the intricate, nearly-complete meal spread out before him on the counter.

"Makoto," Haruka said in amazement, "You did this?"

"Yep!" he replied cheerfully, finishing what he was cutting before setting the knife down and wrapping his arms around Haruka's waist. "I wanted to do something special for you, Haru." He leaned down, kissing him softly on the lips. "So I figured I'd try to cook you dinner…if doesn't look too horrible, does it?" he asked with a rueful smile.

"It looks perfect," Haruka said, even though he wasn't looking at the food, "but you didn't have to do this."

"But I wanted to," Makoto replied immediately, pulling Haruka even closer to him, "I wanted to show you how grateful I am to you for opening up to me, to let you know how much I support you…even though knowing my cooking skills, it'll probably taste terrible…"

Instead of replying with words Haruka simply rested a hand on Makoto's chest, conveying with his expression how much he appreciated Makoto, that he was sure it would taste delicious—

Wait a minute. Haruka's brows came together in a small frown as he noticed something different behind Makoto's tender gaze. There was something off, but Haruka couldn't quite put his finger on it…

But in the next instant it was gone, and Haruka let himself completely relax as Makoto smiled gently, meeting his lips in another affectionate kiss.

"Actually," Makoto said with a small chuckle as he brought Haruka's other hand up to rest on his shoulder, "maybe I should show you my appreciation in a different way first…as an appetizer." Haruka wasn't given time to properly register his words or reply as Makoto suddenly swooped down on him, pressing his lips to his in a hard kiss. Haruka clutched at Makoto's shoulders on reflex as he was suddenly pressed back into the counter, while Makoto's kisses became more forceful and insistent. He made a noise against Makoto's lips as Makoto's hands shifted, one slipping under his shirt while the other ghosted over the waistband of his shorts. He felt the sharp edge of the counter digging into his lower back as Makoto refused to relent, slipping his tongue past his lips. Haruka couldn't say why, but little warning bells were sounding in his head, urging him to stop Makoto. He started to listen, to slide his hands down to push against Makoto's chest—

And then Makoto shifted his stance, forcing Haruka's legs apart and pressing his knee firmly between them. Haruka's mind went completely blank as he gasped, hands slowly sliding upwards to tangle in Makoto's hair. Makoto broke off their kiss, and Haruka continued to try and fail to catch his breath as Makoto left a path of searing kisses down his neck.

"I always wanted to see you like this," Makoto said in a roughened voice, tugging at the collar of Haruka's T-shirt to lave at his collarbone, "just once."

Haruka struggled to make sense of Makoto's words through his lust-filled haze. Makoto placed one last hot kiss to his neck before pulling back enough to stare into Haruka's eyes, a playful smirk gracing his lips. "But once is enough, I'm afraid."

Haruka felt as if he had been doused in cold water when he saw that smirk. He knew that smirk; he saw it practically every day. However, he usually saw it framed by a pair of shiny sunglasses and a leather jacket—

It was only thanks to Haruka's quick reflexes and training that he wasn't eviscerated on the spot; the instant he saw the knife coming down his body took over, forcing Makoto back so he could spin out of the way. Haruka stared at Makoto from a safe distance away, watching with growing astonishment as Makoto's face contorted into a dark, malicious, and very un-Makoto-like expression. He'd seen that face before, too…

"What's wrong, Haru-chan? You and Makoto have never been a little rough?" He let out a small chuckle that quickly broke out into full blown wicked, undeniably evil laughter.

Haruka couldn't make sense of what was happening. Standing before him was clearly the Master of Darkness, he had no doubt. But it was Makoto. "What is this?" he demanded, still keeping a safe distance just in case, "Why do you look like Makoto?"

The (undoubtedly fake) Makoto let out another peal of laughter. "Look like? I am Makoto; at least his body is mine to borrow…for now. But once you're out of the way, he'll be completely overcome by darkness; you can't protect your precious love from himself! The person you value most will be destroyed, this body will be mine, and no one will be able to stop me!" He threw the knife back to the counter, fixing Haruka with a maniacal, evil grin that did not suit Makoto at all. "You really made it easier by telling me who you were…although I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't figure it out myself…" He made a 'tsking' sound as he scrutinized Haruka, staring deeply into his ocean blue eyes. "You really do have unique eyes; I should've known…" He shook off his sudden thoughtfulness after another moment, clapping his hands together as if he had just decided something. "Oh well! It doesn't matter now anyways. Are you ready to die, Free Fighter?"

"You bastard," Haruka spat in reply, shaking his head vehemently in adamant refusal of Kurakvo's words. "You're lying!" He reached for his necklace, transforming as he flew past the fake Makoto and out of the house. The more Kurakvo spoke, the less Haruka believed him. This simply couldn't be. He didn't know what trick Kurakvo was pulling: how he had found out, where he had taken the real Makoto, how he had made himself look like Makoto, but that's what it was. A trick. It had to be. If it wasn't—

Haruka shook himself again as he stared down the now transformed Master of Darkness outside his house, stopping that line of thought. The sheer notion of that was ludicrous; it was not even worth considering. There were more important things to worry about. Like Makoto.

"I'm not lying, Haru," Kurakvo said, approaching Haruka with his hands out in a placating gesture. "So unless you want Makoto to get hurt, you should just give up and—"

Haruka bristled at the threat. "What have you done to him? Where is he?"

"He's right here!" Kurakvo replied in a seemingly sincere tone, pointing at his chest, "You saw him yourself—"

"Liar!" Haruka shouted, firing a blast of hot water straight at Kurakvo's chest. Kurakvo dodged his shot easily, shaking his head in dismay. "Oh Haru, you're being so difficult…I should've just killed you when I had the chance—" Kurakvo cut himself off, suddenly flipping backwards to avoid a deadly spear of water that would've pierced him right through the heart. "Woah now! Careful! You don't want to kill Makoto, do you?"

"Shut up!" Haruka yelled in reply, his usual composure completely lost in his anger and concern for Makoto. He refused to allow Kurakvo to stop moving as he shot wave after wave of watery spikes into his path. "Where is he?" Kurakvo winced as a spike caught him on the ankle, causing him to stumble for an instant. Haruka pressed his advantage, unleashing a wave with such powerful force that it sent Kurakvo sprawling to the ground, his head smacking face first into the pavement. He sat up, coughing up blood. Haruka grabbed him by the jacket, yanking him up so that they were nose-to-nose. "Where. is he." he repeated threateningly.

Kurakvo let out a sound that was half cough, half laugh. "You know, at this rate, you really are going to kill him."

Haruka let out a loud cry of frustration in response, hurling Kurakvo away from him with all of his strength. He landed against a tree at backbreaking force, sliding slowly down the trunk to rest at its base. One of the lenses fell out of his sunglasses, and a sparkling green eye glittered at Haruka with malicious intent. Kurakvo spit out more blood before grinning, his teeth red-stained. "As perfect as I think it would be to have you live the rest of your life with the guilt of killing your lover hanging over you…" He stood, nonchalantly brushing debris off of his jeans as if he had done no more than trip and fall. "…I really can't allow you to do that."

Haruka closed his eyes as his worry, anger, and frustration reached a boiling point. "Fine," he said, his voice as unforgiving as steel, "I'll just kill you and find Makoto myself."

-((Meanwhile))-

"Fine. I'll just kill you and find Makoto myself."

Makoto gradually came to, finding himself facing a familiar situation. Ah…the nightmare again, he thought dully, slowly regaining his senses after what felt like a very long, peaceful sleep in quiet darkness. The scene was the same as it had always been: he was fighting the Free Fighter, powerless to control himself—

Wait a minute.

"Ouch, harsh words…too bad you refuse to realize that if you kill me, all Makoto will be is a dead body," he heard himself taunt before he sprung out of the way of a watery jet that was moving so fast it would've impaled him had it connected.

"Just shut up and die already," the Free Fighter spat, relentless in his swift attacks that left Makoto little time to recover. He felt himself lift off the ground, taking to the sky like it was as natural as breathing.

"Sorry to disappoint," he heard himself say as twin columns of darkness poured from his hands, heading straight for the Free Fighter.

Straight for Haru.

Haru! Makoto cried, panicking as he watched Haruka roll away from the danger before taking to the sky as well. Everything that had happened before he lost consciousness suddenly came back to him in a rush. He was the Master of Darkness; he was trying to kill Haru.

And it appeared that there was nothing he could do about it.

"Your rage is making you sloppy, Haru," he taunted, catching the end of Haruka's whip with a darkness-covered hand as it lashed past his shoulder. However, the water simply flowed out of his hand, harmlessly reforming at the handle in Haruka's. In the split second it took for the whip to reform, Makoto rushed forward, grabbing both of the upper edges of Haruka's scarf in each hand, pulling them tightly so that it cut off his oxygen. Haruka dropped his whip handle as he reached for the scarf, fighting to breathe.

Makoto smirked. "Sloppy and weak," he commented, using his grip on the scarf to pull Haruka from his watery perch, sending him careening to the ground. Haruka managed to slow his fall with some upward streams of water, but he still hit the pavement hard, rolling several times before landing on his back. Makoto was on top of him in an instant. "I have you."

No… Makoto thought brokenly, watching his hand reach out of its own accord to pin Haruka down by the neck. His other hand raised high in the air; he could feel the darkness gathering in his hand for the finishing blow—

NO!

-((~*~))-

Kurakvo suddenly let go of Haruka, leaping back from him and clutching at his head. "…ru…"

Haruka scrambled to his feet, fruitlessly looking for his whip as Kurakvo inexplicably fell to a knee. He wasn't sure what was going on, but this was it; this was clearly his chance—

Foregoing the whip, Haruka deepened his fighting stance instead, holding his arm outstretched in front of him with his palm facing the struggling Master of Darkness. A blue light started gathering at the center, slowly gaining power—

"Ha…ru…"

Haruka's brows narrowed in confusion; did he just hear something? He shook it off. It didn't matter…just a few more seconds—

Now.

"Haru." He distinctly heard it that time, and Haruka's eyes locked onto Kurakvo's one eye that was now visible through the broken sunglasses. All traces of malevolence had disappeared from his brilliantly green gaze, and his sneer had melted into a tender smile.

Makoto?

"Ma—" But it was too late; Haruka released the beam, staring wide-eyed as it raced through the darkness, filling it with an overpoweringly bright watery blue light.

-((To Be Continued!))-

As I said, please don't kill me. I will update as soon as I can! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, I love reviews and hearing what you think!

Also, if you noticed I made the rating M, it's just because I was thinking with this darker turn it's time for some rating up-ing, just in case.

Please review! Thanks for reading!

~freaky-hanyou