Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Amemiya Yuki and Ichihara Yukino. I own only the plot!

WARNING: This story contains shounen-ai! If you don't like boyxboy love, please don't read, don't flame, and don't blame me. Don't say I don't warn you!

Wahhh I'm sorry (again)! My lappie went berserk again. I can't use it for a week. And now my friend came and I often go to her hotel to accompany her *bow* I'm so so so so sorry

SongHaIn: Well, you can't expect me to treat them kindly all the time! (actually I torture them ALMOST ALL the time LOL) but well, just pray for some happy ending for them later mwahahhahahah

Yuki: Thank you. I'm glad you liked it!

No0b: Here you go, another chapter :)

Night 25: A Plan

Water was dripping from the ceiling to the pool beside my feet. I listened to its sound in this deafening silence. It reminded me that I was alone in this dark and cold prison. My wrists and ankles bounded on the wall by short but unbreakable chain, and then I asked myself, what was I doing? Question floated in my head, wanting to be answered but no one came to give that answer.

I tried to call my blonde partner but again only silence answered my call. I still couldn't believe he was caught.

I had given him Eternal Snow but I didn't tell him how to use it. I was afraid I could control his body and mind with my power, because then his care and affection was nothing but imitation. He already had a small trace of the power inside him. If I gave him more, I fear he might become a soulless puppet who lived only for me. I didn't want that.

Was that a mistake? Should I have had him under my control?

"What are you thinking?"

I didn't bother to raise my head. I simply moved my eyes up to see the intruder. Ayanami stood in front of me, one hand on his sword hilt, looking down on me proudly. He was wearing the same uniform each time I wondered did he even had other clothes.

"..."

"Still can't believe I had Zehel?"

At the mentioned of my partner's true name, my head immediately snapped up. I gave him the best glare I could make but he wasn't intimidated at the least. If there was any slight change in his expression, there was only a small, amused grin.

Ignoring my silent treatment, the man went on with his provocation. "I strongly believe he lost a crucial moment of concentration when Kuroyuri knocked you down."

Horrified, no, it was fear I felt in that second. I felt like my insides were knotted forcefully and my head throbbed painfully. If there was anything I feared the most that was weakness. It was always because of this reason that I lost a lot of people.

If I didn't say I wanted to fight, if only I listened to Agas, if only I was stronger enough…there was too much ifs, but none of them was true. I lose and because of my failure, Frau was captured.

Despite all the negative thought, I was level-headed enough to know what I should do and prioritize. First of all, I needed to do something with this chain, find Frau, and finally, run away from this place. But how did I do it? Putting aside helping Frau, I couldn't even break free from this cursed chain!

"Do you wish to be free?"

I looked into his eyes, trying to decipher the strange glint I saw in just a split second. When I found nothing, I turned my eyes from him and looked down to my feet, thinking hard. I really couldn't understand this man. What did he want to achieve by giving me that question? It was rhetorical, obviously, but I didn't think he mean exactly what he said. There must be some underlying motive.

"What's the price?"

With his unchanging smile, the silver-haired man walked closer to me. He stopped when our distance was less than a meter. Feeling his presence so near to me was daunting. When his cold fingers landed softly on my lips, I shivered. He trailed along my lips line, down to my chin and forcefully lifted my head up. The moment his cold amethyst eyes met mine, all my effort to keep calm was broken. He was cold. His eyes showed merciless, cold-blooded killer, although for a split second I saw longing.

I quickly scrapped the last part and turned to stare challengingly at him. The idea of him, longing for someone was so bizarre.

"Wrong, it's not your freedom I'm offering," he slipped one hand to my waist and pulled me closer to his body.

"I will release you from this binding but you must be mine," the older man paused and gave a smirk upon seeing my hardened eyes. I was about to refuse, but the man continued, "In exchange for Zehel's life."

I froze, stunned. It wasn't that I hadn't expecting that classic line but I hadn't prepared answer. Inside, I could feel every gear in my brain spin so hard, trying to find a way out from this mess but no matter how hard I think about it, I couldn't find answer. I had no choice but to conform.

"How do I know you are telling the truth?"

The man answered with a chuckle and I squirmed uncomfortably. His hand was still on my back.

"Why don't you try calling him? You have performed blood contract with him, haven't you?"

My eyes narrowed suspiciously. I had never told anyone except our closest friends. Even Agas knew just because he was always with us but Ayanami was our enemy. It was impossible for him to go near us.

"You're curious how I know."

It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

"You're forgetting I have ability to manipulate mind. I had once entered your mind, manipulating your dreams, and when I did that, it wasn't all that hard to dig some extra information."

"If you're that great, why do you bother using Frau as bait? You can just control my mind!"

"Ah, again," the man sighed dramatically. "You're forgetting something. When I entered your mind the last time, your mind was defenseless. I assume Castor or Labrador had showed you the rope. I can no longer get into your head. Even if I can, I will have to risk both your and my safety."

His explanation was logical, I thought. However, something I realized in that explanation was something completely different. Ayanami needed me alive. I felt it wasn't just because of the 'Eye'. I saw something differentin his eyes. The way he looked at me, it wasn't how one gave to a merely tool. He didn't think of me as a weapon but as a human.

"Why are you so persistent to get me?"

Ayanami reflexively pressed my body closer until my stomach touched his. It was so awkward. WAY too awkward, even when I compared it to when I was with Frau.

Decided not to think too much of the closeness, I continued. "I used to think you only need the Eye, but I can see you need me for something else."

If there was anything I regretted more than being captured by Ayanami, it would be me and my big mouth. If I never asked, I wouldn't have to remember and haunted by this man.

With one hand still planted firmly on my lower back, the silver haired commander slipped his other hand to the side of my face. Roughly, he grabbed a fistful of my hair and jerked my face up. Before I could understand his intention, his lips landed harshly on mine.

If I said I had expecting this, then I was lying. As a prisoner, I thought he would at least torture and made me submit to him. Actually, he had success on making me resigning my fate on his hand just because Frau's life was on the line, but this…this was totally unexpected, totally outrageous development.

Pressing my lips tight was the only defend I could do. With my hands and feet firmly attached to the wall like this, there really wasn't much I could do. I tried to move my head but his hand was keeping it in place.

His kiss was rough. It was not passionate and gentle, like Frau's, at the least. All I could feel from it was Ayanami's feeling of wanting to dominate. He wanted to show the difference of power to me and probably hoping by doing so, I would be a good boy and listen to whatever he said. Well, he was wrong. He should have known by now I wasn't the type that would gladly surrender.

It was out of anger when I bit his lower lips. His blood, like any other blood, smelled a little bit like iron or copper and tasted sweet. I had been wondering, was anyone's blood always taste sweet, or was it only vampire's? I'd only tasted two vampires, and now it became three.

I kind of hoping the older vampire would be surprised when his blood dripped down to my chin, but unfortunately he wasn't. Though I was relieved his lips had left mine, I was disturbed by his knowing smile. It was as if he had predicted I would do that.

Wiping the blood from his lips, the man turned to leave. Halfway, he paused and turned slightly until I could see his eyes sharply glared at me.

"I'm expecting you to behave next time. Remember, Zehel's life is in my hand."

Without giving me a chance to answer, the man left. His blood was left un-wiped on my lips and chin. It was sweet, so sickly sweet. It was a prize of our bitter defeat.

That night, I unexpectedly fell asleep. I had been calling Frau, desperately hoping he would answer me. But the only answer I got was cicada's lonely cries.

Frau's PoV

My head hurt. Every vein in my body pumped so hard, I could hear the sound inside my head. It was annoying. Also, my body ached all over. What happened to me?

With questions still unanswered in my head, my eyes weakly fluttered. At first I recognized only soft darkness and then that darkness slowly dispersed, revealing distinct shapes. Dim light from a poorly hanged lamp was the only source of light, but even that hurt my eyes.

'How long had I been unconscious?'I asked myself. I tried to search my memory about the time before I lost consciousness, resulting in a massive headache. I cursed, hissing in pain when I tried to wake up but only to be bound down. I turned to my side, noting there were strong leather-like bondages tying my body down. They weren't binding me down completely, but enough to restrict my movement.

With one hand, I tried to reach to my side pocket. I couldn't get my hand inside, but I could feel a bulge inside. I sighed in relieve. The bottle Teito gave me was still there. I was afraid it fell when I fought Ayanami.

'Teito', I called my partner telepathically. There was no answer, so I called the boy again. 'Teito, answer me!'

'…Frau?'

Was it just my imagination, maybe it was. The boy sounded genuinely surprised.

'Yeah, you okay?'

'That is my line, moron! I had been calling you!'

Anger, relieve and fear mixed into one and that explosion of emotion forcefully invaded my mind. I could feel how worried my young partner had been. Apparently I was out cold for a few days.

'What happened?'

There was short pause. It aroused my suspicion. From that short silence only, I could guess something really wrong had happened. Judging from how restrictedmy movement, I was probably lost the fight and was holding captive. No, I knew very well I had lost. The second I lost contact with Teito, I lost my concentration and Ayanami, even without using my true name, knocked me down.

'Teito, where are you?'

There was silence again, this time longer.

'I was caught. I assume you too?' The moment the word 'caught' was registered in my head, that very second fear nearly dominated my head. Sensing my leaking emotion, the boy quickly added, 'No, I'm fine. They only are restricting me. What about you?'

'…same situation as you.'

'Frau, can you escape?'

'I don't know, but surely I don't want to be stuck in this place for long.'

I mentally heard the brunette laughed softly. That subconsciously brought smile to my face. 'Yeah, me too.'

'Any plan?'

The boy went silent but I could imagine his eyebrows drew closer in a frown. Both of us knew there wasn't any easy way to escape from this place. Though it wasn't as heavily guarded as most people thought, its personnel were elites, personally chosen by Ayanami. Even though I was confident I would be able to knock one or two down, but an army would be too much.

Although I doubt they could kill us since they wanted Teito alive but that couldn't guarantee we would be treated well. They could cut of one of two feet of mine. I was sure Ayanami threatened Teito with my safety because he sounded tired and resigned. If I wasn't here, the boy would have probably chosen to kill himself. My capture was a good thing, but at the same time, bad.

'Teito, did you resign yourself because of me?'

He didn't answer. Not that he needed to. I already knew the answer. Even if I wasn't his partner-tied by blood, he would still sacrifice himself. He was a self-sacrificing idiot after all.

'It was not a question, Teito. I know what you have done. You have no choice, do you?'

'I…I can't let you die because of me. After all it was my fault you were defeated.'

That damn Ayanami told him, I scowled angrily. He and his big mouth, but that confirmed my suspicion. I wasn't so sure my ex-boss knew Teito was my partner, but now I could be sure. He had known, probably since long. The arrangement of the attack was too neat. He knew I could defeat his subordinates so he came for me himself. In the meantime, he also sent his best fighters as decoys for Castor and Labrador. Then the rest would try to take Teito down. Once the young king fell, he knew I would lose my concentration. With me as a captive, he could have Teito in his hand. It wasn't necessarily needed for me to be the prisoner. Anyone would suffice, but I would be the most effective bait.

'If I have never say this then listen closely. Stop saying such thing! It wasn't your fault so stop blaming yourself. All we have to think now is how to escape this place. If I'm right, Ayanami must have known about us.'

'Yeah. I thought he would come for me but if he came for you, he must have planned it, knowing about the contract. But how…?'

'I think I know. Remember once I mentioned once about knowing someone's really good at manipulating dreams? It was him. It wasn't really the dream he was manipulating. He invaded your mind, digging useful information and planted fake memories. I'm afraid he had taken some information from you, including our contract.'

'…sorry...'

I sighed mentally. This boy was one tough nut to crack. Just how far should I go to make him understand? It wasn't his fault at all and I had mentioned it a moment ago.

'Brat, stop apologizing. It isn't your fault. If there is anyone, you should blame me. I should have known it when I saw your dream. He couldn't enter your mind anymore partly because I was defending it too, conscious or unconsciously. You have probably realized by now, he chose not to invade your mind, not only because of my protection, but also your own wall had grown strong. You can be proud of that instead of wailing for the past you know can't be fixed.'

'I know that. I just can't bring myself to stop blaming my weakness.'

Teito had always been a kind and gentle person. He cared for others more than himself. It irritated me sometimes, seeing he had to sacrifice his freedom and welfare so that others could be free and happy. It was so unfair to burden one boy with the fate of one kingdom. It was heavy, way too heavy for one man to shoulder; I afraid it might broke him one day.

There was one thing he needed to know and understand was that I would protect him no matter what. I didn't need to tell him that. We were connected, no matter how far we were apart. I only needed to open up to him and my partner would understand immediately.

Just like this, our minds were one. We understood each other. We knew we cared about each another. Our coalesced heart blanketed our cold body with warmth. I just couldn't say how much I treasure this boy. I couldn't imagine how my life would be without him. That was why I was able to do anything just to protect him safe.

'Rather than lamenting, why don't we think how to escape this place? I don't like depressing thought'

'Yeah…but both of us can't move. What can we do?'

Hm…can't you use the Eye?'

'Actually, I have when…'

'When…?'

'When he came to my cell and offered me to spare your life. As you had probably known, I took the offer. Anyway, I tried to use the Eye but its not working. I think it was because he never has even the slightest touch from Eternal Snow. Otherwise I would have been able to control him.'

'…Eternal Snow?'

'Its…remember the bottle I gave you before, the one with golden dust? That was the essence of Eternal Snow. Anyone who had ever made contact with that could be controlled by me.'

'I see. Was that the same for my case?'

'I think so. At least that's what A-chan said.'

'When was that?'

'…During the sacred ceremony. Anyway, do you still have it with you?'

For some reason, I felt that he was being evasive when the subject was mentioned. However, I did understand this wasn't the time to ask. 'Yeah. I have it with me.'

I swore I could see the boy grinning on the other side. 'Great. Then do whatever it takes to get Ayanami or at least his strongest subordinate to touch the dust. I would be able to control them then!'

'That's our escape plan?'

'Yep. Don't like it?'

'No, not at all. I would LOVE to see Ayanami fight with his men! Heh, I would be very happy if he would just drop dead somewhere and stop bothering us.'

'I know. Just do whatever you can.'

Plan had been laid; the only thing now was how to make sure the plan was executed properly. But at the very least, both of us could finally sleep in peace, at least for just one night. We now had a chance to survive this place.

I wanna finish this soon! I have lots of new ideas, waiting to be written LOL

Anyway, R&R please!