Author's Note: This is unedited (and will be switched with the edited version once my Editor returns from her trip ^^). This story is NOT abandoned and WILL be completed. (I'm already 2000 words into the next chapter XD) This is dedicated to my Editor 3 Though also to my crazy need to post this for all of you out there who have been so kind to leave reviews for me during the months I was attending university classes.
This is based on Episode 38 of the Anime. Mostly from this point, the 'episode to a chapter' will be a bit twisted, I will be picking which episodes of the anime to include in TKC. Though I have to say I'm looking forwards to episode 52~ Conrart Standing Tall. Enjoy enjoy Enjoy!
Now I'll let you read!
Private Ship, Mishan, Cavalcade Waters
"It's not going to fade, is it?" Yuuri's voice was a low whisper, his gaze flickering over the rigid line of his husband's back, the bunches of muscles rippling under the dark cloth. Reaching out, his fingertips stroked between those massive shoulderblades, feeling the emotions practically rippling off him in dark waves. "Not for a long time." His tone was stark, not sugar-coating his words, his gut telling him the exact same thing, the cold hard lump that settled inside of him at the thought of the months they had spent apart and the reality of what they had both suffered through.
Silver eyes turned back towards him, reflecting the harsh reality of what they had both seen inside of Shinou's Tomb, the darkness that lurked beneath the surface of their world and hat had manipulated them both to an almost painful end. "No." The single word hovering in the air, raw and ragged. "No... it won't." His jaw worked a little, his eyes closing as his head dipped and he leaned against the rail of the ship a little harder, grateful for the warmth that soon curled against his back the strong arm that curled around his waist as Yuuri leaned into him. They were different, both of them from what they had been. Each scarred inside by the shadows that still lingered around both of them.
"I keep searching for the words... keep searching for that laughter." His brows drew together as his head dropped forwards against one broad shoulder, squeezing his beloved just a little more tightly. "We had it a few days ago." Laughter that had seemed carefree, new and fresh after confronting Shinou... or at least the darkness behind the form of the man who had been the very first King of the Great Demon Kingdom. And then reality had come crashing in, like a cold harsh wave, slamming into them and casting them upon the rocks. There were boxes still out there, weapons that could fracture apart their entire world and all the emotions that had been buried in the initial joy of their reunion.
Conrart's hand drifted down to cover the one that rested against his stomach, his thumb slipping beneath his beloved's palm and brushing over the scars that streaked across it. They were both rattled by the intensity of the vicious nightmares that circled Conrart each night, each time he shut his eyes and remembered the sight of his beloved falling, a blade buried in his flesh, his name on his lips. He had thought those after the battle of Lutenberg had been bad, but they had nothing on this...
Yuuri's hand shift just a little so that he could slide his fingers between those of his beloved's, their rings clinking together softly as their digits laced together, weaving together like the threads that bound their souls.
"We are together."
The knight blinked sharply at those words, silvery eyes immediately twisting again to look down on the dark head that was pressed against the back of his shoulder, feeling lips softly touch against the fabric that covered it. All the strain that had been cording his muscles abruptly released, his body sagging a little, his long mane of hair dropping forwards to shield his face. His heart warmed at those three simple words, his eyes closing and a brief smile touched his lips.
"Together." He squeezed Yuuri's fingers in response.
"You do know what to say." Conrart mused for a moment, regarding his beloved's earlier comment.
"I don't." The younger man protested a little, feeling Conrart turn so that his back was to the rail and Yuuri was drawn in against him so that they were face to face. "I make a right fool of myself most of the time."
"No, you don't." He responded, leaning in his mouth found that sweet one, the kiss soft and lingering, just a sharing of simple affection and his need for contact. "You can be an elegant spokesman."
"One that can make your brother wince."
The familiar teasing between them was a welcome thing, something that had been missing the last few days of their journey towards Cavalcade and then on to Fransia. The entire crew aboard ship had felt the tension of the two royals, their loss of equilibrium in their ever changing world.
"Yozak."
Conrart froze at that single word, a name that encompassed so much, his eyes dropping down to meet the inky black of his husband's eyes and the knowledge that burned there. "Betrayal."
"It's not as simple as that, is it?" Yuuri's hands stroked across the broad muscular chest before him, tracing small patterns across the dark fabric that was stretched over a frame that was a little too thin, but still powerful. "It's not as simple as him being a pawn of Big Cimaron, of Belar." Problem was, they had no answers from anyone about that particular person. They were both aware that it had been Ken Murata who had pleaded with Adalbert to not take Gurrier Yozak's life for drawing a blade against the King and for turning against his country. The rather large issue being that now... Ken would not talk. The Great Sage as tight-lipped as a clam about how exactly he knew Yozak and why he had pleaded for the man's life.
The Prince Consort didn't have an answer for that question. He didn't seem to have any answers of late, just more questions which seemed to be piling up.
"I knew we had issues before..." Yuuri's lips turned down at the corners, his brows pressing together as he considered his beloved's face, his hand stretching up to stroke his fingertips against one cheek, sliding his fingers up into the wild brown locks. "With him... about us..." He considered what he knew of the man and it just couldn't add up, no matter how he counted everything running through both of them. "It still doesn't add up... none of it does, not anymore."
And that was what worried them both.
Horse And Bull Inn, Lutetia, Fransia
Eyes were staring at his back, the heat of that gaze burning into him. One glance over his shoulder would tell Ken Murata that it was Adalbert Von Grantz that hovered there in the shadows, the massive bear of a man having not lifted his eyes from him since the moment they had landed in Cavalcade and inched their way towards the Fransian border.
Icy cold flowed through his veins, aware that the slightest move from him could more than easily mean the end of his life if Von Grantz decided he was more of a threat than help to the Demon King. It was not the first time his loyalty had been questioned, that he was an outsider looking in at the rest of the world. The plan, the original one devised by himself and Shinou those long Millennia ago was going quickly off-course and a part of him had to acknowledge that it was no longer an option. Shinou... the man he had known as Alaric, had almost lost the battle against the Originators... the dark that was attempting to infest the world again seeping from within the man's soul.
His head tipped sideways slightly, catching the reflection of blue eyes in the glass from over his shoulders. "What do you expect me to do?"
Cold silence answered him.
"I wouldn't betray Shibuya."
Those blue eyes narrowed on him, staring deeply into his own and actually questioning him on that. Would he sacrifice Gurrier Yozak's life to save Yuuri Shibuya Weller or Alaric? His heart jerked in his chest when the answer came to him cold and unrelenting. Murata's gaze immediately dropping to stare outside unable to meet the blue eyes scrutinising his reaction to the question the man had forced him to ask.
He was willing to give his own life... the chance at another reincarnation if it meant Yozak surviving. Fingers curled tightly against the window sill, nails digging into the white paint and leaving tiny crescents etched in the wood.
"Betrayal is a hard thing to live with." Adalbert's voice was a low rasp of sound, one that echoed with remembered pain and a guilt that not even his Gisela's love could not fully erase. He had done things in the name of vengeance, things in the name of justice. Things that wanted to tear him apart from the inside out and take his own blade to his chest. "The knowledge of what your own hands have done..." His jaw clenched and shoulders shuddering once, almost seeming to constrict in on themselves. "Blood once spilt does not wash off of them. Pick your loyalties carefully."
He knew in that moment there was a choice looming before him. One that would take him off the path that he had agreed to travel alongside Alaric and had up until that point. Secrets that whispered inside of his soul, nibbling at his internal compass. The simple reason for this elaborate game that was being played all around them. So many of them being played like puppets on strings, swung to and fro on a whim.
There was a whisper of change in the room, the subtlest of shifts.
"I don't wish for him to be extinguished." His head lifted again, dark eyes lifting to catch the midnight black of the Demon King's, his heart stopping in that moment as he made that leap of faith, to believe in something more than a millennias' old foretelling. "I do not wish for Alaric to cease to exist. I need to trust in the man he believed could destroy the Originators with the simple truth."
"He used himself to contain the Originators." Yuuri's simple statement was soft, his expression quiet and thoughtful, not judging Ken Murata in that moment. He had reached that conclusion since his earlier conflict against the dark shadow that haunted the Tomb of the Great One.
"His very soul, not just his body, knowing that in the end that it would be destroyed." Swallowing hard against the weight of that truth, that decision thrust upon them so long before. "He knew that there would come a day when the seals on the boxes would begin to unravel, when the darkness would leach from them... He had been infected during the battle and so he made the decision to sacrifice himself before their influence overwhelmed his own will. You were made... the game played in order that you would be strong enough to defeat the Originators once he had restrained them within himself."
Ken Murata turned around, his mask that had covered his emotions for so long fracturing open, his heart in his throat and in each word. "He's still in there." His throat worked fiercely. "My friend... the man I thought of as a brother is still in there... He should never have been forced to surrender himself like this. He has already given up his life once..." A hand reached out towards Yuuri, a wordless plea in his eyes. "Do not let him... if you can prevent it... save him... please... Let me safe him." The last four words were a plea of a different type. One for another man, another who had wormed his way deeply into Ken Murata's soul.
It was a leap of faith that they were both needing to take in that moment, to trust in things that one could not see the end to.
A flicker of deep understanding crossed Yuuri's face as he looked into his friend's eyes and saw far more in them than he ever had before, the mask had been torn away, shattered like his own had been in a time that seemed so long ago.
A scarred hand reached out towards the other young man, an acceptance. Ken Murata's hand clasped Yuuri's, feeling the strength in the Demon King's grip, fingers hot against his own with the pulse of the Dragon just beneath the surface of Yuuri's skin.
"I leave the issue of Gurrier Yozak to you. Do not disappoint my trust in you and the faith I still have in him." Drawing the other man in closer, their gazes clashing fiercely for a moment. "However, if he has truly betrayed his country, I cannot still Adalbert's blade."
Relief coursed through Kenta, his eyes closing, while his strength seemed to slowly slide out of him, all the fight going out of him for a moment as he remembered those blue eyes which had looked down at him with a love that he did not deserve to possess, yet he treasured and held close all the same. "I will bring him home."
"I have no doubt you will, if you are half as stubborn and cunning as I know you to be." And a small smile tugged at the corners of Yuuri's mouth in that moment.
Blue Cap Inn, Lutetia, Fransia
"They're a bunch of snivelling cowards."
Blue eyes lifted from papers that littered across the desk before him, his lips pressed together as he glanced back slightly over one shoulder to take stock of the soldiers he had been given command of. All of them were drunk, their words and behaviour enough to convince him just how much they had imbibed on the coin of their king. Their voices were progressively growing louder with each glass of alcohol they downed from the constant supply that was brought up to them by the Inn's keeper.
"Why hold back? Push them hard and we'll resolve this instantly." Another responded, his lips twisted into a annoyed grimace over the fact that Yozak had ordered them into retreat before they could bring down to the Fransian army on themselves. "Cowards and farmers."
"That's for certain."
Yozak's lips pressed together for a long moment, regarding those soldiers for a long time silently. Had he ever been like them? Selfish and so consumed by his own perceived worth? His head twisted back and gazed down at his own hands for a long moment. The half-breed could recognise it in himself, the selfish man he had been thinking that he had known best how to look after Conrart, that he was the right man for him. His actions had almost cost the man his life and also the loss of their friendship. Reality had come crashing down around his ears, like a sword cutting through the shrouds that bound and muffled his senses.
Regarding the papers before him again, he regarded the information he had been able to gather before this mission and also from his own observations during the time they had been inside of the castle's walls.
It was clear that though the King of the country was a weak-willed boy who hadn't had the nerve to face them when they had gone to the castle earlier that day. However despite this, someone was directing the country's military with surprising skill, having set up border patrols that would immediately pick up any movements from any of the surrounding kingdoms, such as Big Cimaron. It was clear that they had been put on alert by Big Cimaron's earlier attacks against smaller nations that surrounded its southern borders and the fierce response that had come from these nations and from Big Cimaron's own people. Not all the people of Big Cimaron were like those who had watched the potential execution of the Blue Wind and the Calorian representatives.
He prayed that the King would give into them the next time they approached him, though many of the teeth had been yanked from the jaws of the Big Cimaron army and from their own king, Belar. Wounded animals were the most dangerous. Hopefully after retrieving this box he might be able to return... home. Even imprisoned in the Great Demon Kingdom was far better than been seen as a traitor in the eyes of the man he loved.
There was a firm knock on the door, one that made Yozak glance up from what he was reading to twist around in his seat to gaze back at the young woman who entered.
"Excuse me, which of you is Lord Yozak?"
The soldier with his back to the door let out a rather annoyed sigh, glancing back at the rather pretty maid that hovered there in the doorway. A thumb was jabbed towards him, though the soldier's beady eyes followed the woman's progress as she moved across the space, dropping from her bosom to her rear without even a shred of self-restraint or decency. An outrageous leer coming to the human's drunken lips as she progressed through the space.
The maid paused beside Yozak's chair, before bowing to him and offering out a piece of parchment, which he took with a silent thanks. He waited until the door closed behind her before opening it.
Several words were written on the small piece of parchment, at the sight of that flourished handwriting he knew that he was not the only one in this city or after the Box. His eyes closed tightly, when he stood, crumbling the piece of paper in his fist before standing and tossing it into the fire, watching for a moment as it turned to ashes. Swallowing hard, he turned silently and headed to the door, ignoring the questions that were flung at his retreating back.
A grim set remained on his face as he disappeared through the doorway.
Lutetia, Fransia
"Does the Prince know?" Lord Von Christ asked softly.
"No, nor does his Majesty or his Eminence." Troubled blue eyes however regarded Gunter, Geigen Huber's lips pressing together in a fine line, knowing that though Gunter was acting in what appeared to be the best interests of all involved, this had the possibility of blowing up on both of them. Some part of him hoped that there would be a reason for Yozak's betrayal... a simple logical reason that could explain his actions up until this point. Traitors seemed to have a way of redeeming themselves before the eyes of their King. Himself included. "My Lord..."
"Traitors to the Crown cannot be ignored." The man whispered fiercely, his lavender eyes sparking with cold determination, jaw working, the muscles flexing jerkily. "This situation cannot be ignored. He drew his sword against the King."
That was one thing that Grisela could not ignore, the open threat to their King. It was a sharp reminder to him that his duty was first and foremost to protect the King and his Consort, no matter how much he wished that this was not a fellow soldier he was here to face. They needed the likes of Yuuri Shibuya Weller and Conrart Weller if their Kingdom was to survive in this world of advancing human nations. Open minded Kings that would not seek to destroy the world in the search of power or racial cleansing. A painful jolt skittered through him at the thought that he had been one of those men, one of those who would never have been given a chance to love or have a chance to raise his family in safety if not for those men.
The sound of boots on compacted gravel drew both sets of eyes upwards towards the familiar figure of Gurrier Yozak, what they had both been expecting to see was not what met their searching gazes. This was not the same man either of them had known. Stormy eyes regarded them both from a face that had lost that last ounce of brash charm and been replaced by stark lines and eyes that had seen far too much in the last few months. There was guilt in those eyes, guilt and soul deep regret for actions done, which could not be taken back.
"You sent me the message, Lord Von Christ?"
Gunter's hand immediately dropped to the hilt of his sword, fingers curling around the leather grip, clenching white knuckled on it. "I did."
"How unusual, Lord Von Christ. You never leave the castle for such a long journey. Is his Highness also here?" Though the question Yozak wished to ask was if Kenta Murata was here. His Kenta. His heart ached painfully at the simple thought of the man's name.
"You no long have the privilege of knowing such things." The Master Swordsman advanced upon Yozak, with each step his grip tightening until it was clearly painful, his hand shaking with his suppressed fury. "Why do you wear that uniform? Why did you betray his highness? Betray the Great Demon Kingdom?"
"I never betrayed the Great Demon Kingdom." It was the softest of whispers, one tugged from deep in his soul, he had never betrayed the land that had welcomed him. However, he had betrayed his friends, the people he had regarded as his family, his King... also the man he thought he had once loved.
"How can you say those words and think I would actually believe them?"
It was like a cold slap, one that made Yozak stagger backwards, his stormy eyes reflecting the soul-deep torment raging on inside of him.
Suspicion shimmered in their eyes, a cold hard reality settling around them all, one that Yozak was suddenly aware that he might not come back from. He had been doing the bidding of the Great One, yet in doing so, he was going against the people who he had once called family. stormy eyes twisted slightly to meet the clear piercing blue of Griesela's stare, his throat working as even this man gazed at him with something close to condemnation, though there was a hint of something there... that this man was not fully convinced as Gunter Von Christ was of his guilt.
Yozak longed to go home. He wished to finish this mission quickly, either by aiding his countrymen or by gaining the box and delivering it to the Demon King. Though there was one more box out there, he knew he did not have the will to remain amongst the humans, to keep turning his back on his people and be able to live with himself for what he had done. However, before he could speak out, before he could offer any kind of explanation, metal scraped upon metal...
Cold steel flashed in the afternoon light, the promise of swift, certain death.
"Griesela, I..." His head tipped to one side, about to ask for a moment to explain, to finally say all the words that were pounding through his heart and mind.
Gunter however didn't give him a chance, the man charged him with a cry of warrior defending his country, Yozak responded to the incoming threat. His own blade was soon meeting he deadly elegant weapon Lord Von Christ favoured, the swords slashing in a violent storm of movement. Gunter on the offensive, Yozak trying to just prevent his body from being cut apart by the razor edge of his superior's sword. He staggered backwards from the force of Gunter's attack on him, recognising a little of Conrart's sword dance in the movements of this Tribesman.
"Twenty years ago, I lost man pupils in the great war against Big Cimaron. I vowed never again to allow such a thing, I cannot lose another student. It's devastating."
Yozak's guilt weighed his limbs down, when he truly understood why it had been Gunter to challenge him and not Conrart, why this man had requested this. Gunter saw Conrart as more than just another soldier, more than just his Prince, but as something far more. It was a connection between a swordsman and his apprentices, a bond that was forged during those long days of training, the battle of wills and the affection of brothers-in-arms. He had attacked that bond when he had betrayed Conrart Weller in his effort to protect him, to try to have something that hadn't ever been his to begin with.
Blade met blade as they circled, Gunter looking for weaknesses, Yozak seeking in some way to make up for what he had done. Betrayal was still betrayal, no matter how it was framed or who's orders he had been following. He should have turned his own sword upon himself than ever betray those who had depended upon him to protect and guard their backs. Shame blazed like a living thing through his veins, vapouring his blood and the words his lips wanted to give this man, the excuses that they honestly were.
How could he return to Kenta like this? How could he look the man he loved in the eye knowing what he had done. He almost failed to block the powerful slash to his face and throat, his body shuddering as a single tear drifted down over his cheekbone, carrying away the blue of his eyes, the clear cloudless colour they had once been and forever leaving them a stormy grey, marked by this moment in his life where he had become everything he had so despised. A traitor.
Yozak parried another powerful blow, feeling the wild force behind it, the clean effortless movements, one flowing into another. Blade locked with blade, their equal weights behind the movement, the edge of his own blade chipped from the force, revealing the superiority of the Tribesman's weapon over his human forged one. Shifting pressure, he allowed his blade to angle up, allowing Gunter's to slide upwards and he spun back and to the side releasing the lock between them.
Gunter advanced again swiftly, long sweeping slashes driving at his chest and throat, razor sharp edges able to slide clean through a man's limb or even an entire body. The half-breed parried and blocked, reversing away from Griesela Geigen Huber who stood watching over them both, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade.
"What is the matter?" The Sword Master hissed sharply, eyes narrowing upon Yozak, quite aware that his opponent was only defending himself, clearly attempting to ferret out an explanation as to why this battle was a mockery of what it could be. "I know you have more strength than what you're showing me, Traitor."
As much as he wished to give this man what he sort, he knew that his blood on this man's sword would not ease the ache in this man's heart for what had occurred between them all. He knew that Gunter had never killed another, killing for the first time changed a man at the most basic level, he had seen that occur in Yuuri Shibuya Weller the first time they had met, when their king had been forced to kill privates that would have killed and raped innocent people.
"Do not do this." He breathed out, for the first time stepping into the other man's first swing, throwing the man back a step. The weak defence he had shown to this man evaporating as he gazed into clear lavender eyes, which held a desperate desire to protect what was important to him. "Your sword has never known the blood of another, don't let this moment be you're first. Don't let rage be the reason for your first death."
"My fighting prowess, my determination will be shown to you."
Yozak attacked swiftly in that moment, turning from defensive to offensive in the blink of an eye, his entire body drifting forwards, his blade ringing powerfully against his opponent's as his leg swept out, lashing at the other man's catching him against the side of the knee and almost downing him. He used that momentary lapse to retreat several steps, his chest heaving slightly at the half finished mess of a duel they had shared. "Prowess has nothing to do with this or your determination and honour." His blade slipped back into his scabbard, startling both men with the action and also the third that was coming to join them. "I am a traitor, I turned my back on those I should have protected."
Geigen Huber's expression darkened, though his brow drew together at the tone of those words, his fingers still curled around his partially drawn sword.
"I betrayed my dearest friend, the man I owed my loyalty and unwavering faith. I betrayed my King." His words hissed out, remembering Yuuri's face, knowing that he should have seen the good in the man rather than the shadows of darkness... and illusions his mind had placed over that honest face. He had never been the right man for Conrart, that much was clear to him and he had acknowledged it in that forest when he had been the archer allowing his friend to fight on. "I thought I knew... what was right, what should be. I thought... I was the man for Conrart, that I... knew what he needed."
"I knew nothing about what he needed." His throat worked after a moment, keeping his eyes steady on Gunter's face. "I did things... things I will never be able to make up for." His gaze met Griesela's, knowing that this man and also Adalbert Von Grantz would understand the weight of that kind of emotion, though his ran deeper than theirs because he had practically handed Conrart Weller over to their enemies and served the son of the King who had almost destroyed their entire world twenty years before. "I was trusted... and I turned away and stepped upon that bond."
"Yozak."
Grey met brilliant silver and Yozak's heart lurched at the sight of Conrart Weller standing there in the shadows, his face haunted and his silver eyes those of a full blooded Demon Tribesman. The tiny flutter of magic still clinging to the man's body and was echoed in the wind that swept around their feet.
"Why?"
It was such a simple question, but one that had so many answers. He opened his mouth to answer, when all hell broke loose.
"What the... hell... is this, Commander?" The drunken rumble of one of the other Big Cimaron soldiers made every single person freeze in the open courtyard.
Two men stumbled into view around the corner of the building, clearly having been interested in following him from the Inn in order to find out exactly what he was up to. Though they were so clearly inebriated that they were little of a threat to the three talented swordsmen who stood before Yozak, their hands resting lightly on their weapons.
Eyes flickered to Yozak, clearly attempting to make sense of this entire situation as it was beginning to play out before them. Killing these men would only bring more to investigate why they had not sent a message to King Belar in the form of an update report. Cold tension bracketed Yozak's mouth, his fingers curled tightly around the hilt of his weapon.
"Get yourselves back to the Inn." He ordered sharply to the men. "This does not concern you."
"I think it does... Commander..." The long haired soldier grunted, rubbing at his bearded lip and tugging up his sword belt bringing the hilt of his weapon to bear. Smirking in that cocky assurance of his own skill at Griesela, snickering as drunk bloodshot eyes turned towards the shadowed, hooded form of Conrart and the pretty features of Gunter. "Any challenge to... Big Cimaron... is a challenge..."
Yozak's gaze met Griesela's in one split second, storm grey met blue for one long moment, indicating that these men knew practically nothing of who Yozak was other than a foreigner who had been given a command of them and this particular mission. He was still loyal, still on their side despite everything. Despite everything, he still believed in the Great Demon Kingdom. He would come to them again, there was a silent promise in his eyes.
The slightest nod from Griesela and the large man charged him with a shout of rage, his fist connecting powerfully with Yozak's jaw and then his gut, thrusting him back into the first of the other soldiers. They crashed backwards in a tangle of limbs as the drunken human let out a shout of pain and rage as he shoved hard at Yozak.
The half-breed was already on his feet, tackling the other warrior, his own fist clipping the man's cheekbone and allowed the man to get in several solid punches to his kidneys and gut. Getting in a few heavy strikes of his own, he was flung back into the second man several moments later, being carried by Griesela's powerful bulk. They tussled, fists connecting, blood being spilt across the compacted gravel as Yozak's lip split from a sharp upper cut.
Neither of them gave quarter, two powerful men going at it with all the fierceness of their warrior natures. Yozak felt each blow, knowing he had earned them, grateful that this man had been willing to silently listen to him, to understand the needs of the situation and keep both Gunter and Conrart safe from the attentions of the humans. A powerful crash of a broad shoulder into the centre of his chest sent him crashing into the nearest wall, the force of the impact stunning him and allowed Griesela a clear opening at him. An arm was being pressed against his throat, cutting off his air while Griesela hissed at him in a language foreign even to him. Spots danced before his eyes, bright and flickering, while he struggled to find air until Conrart and Gunter understood the situation and gripped Griesela by either shoulder and hauled him back from Yozak, the half-breed sliding down to the cold gravel, his throbbing head dropping back against the wall, a small trickle of blood slipping from the corner of his mouth.
Griesela spat blood upon him with another angry snarl, before being hauled away by the two other men, leaving Yozak sprawled there, listening to the hissed curses of the two human soldiers as they struggled to right themselves, but finding that they were too drunk to get back to their feet.
He would have laughed if he could, considering that Griesela had probably just saved this entire situation and his life with his actions. Irony in its purest form, considering the same man had been the catalyst that had sent him and Conrart into an almost impossible battle decades before. Irony indeed.
Blue Cap Inn, Lutetia, Fransia
"Why is it every time we are together, you've been in some kind of fight?"
Yozak's head lifted from where his chin had dropped down against his chest, while his back leaned against the solid oak door of his private room. His stormy eyes widening at the sight of a slender man seated on the edge of his bed, long legs stretched out before him, head cocked adorably to the side, worry in those dark eyes.
"Kenta." The name raised out of him, helpless and hopeful. "You cannot... be here..."
"And why can't I be?" The man responded, one raven brow lifting in question.
"I'm the enemy."
"I don't see enemy written on any part of you." The young man was slowly pushing himself to his feet, moving slowly towards Yozak, as if approaching a spooked horse. "I just see darkening bruises... and blood..." Worry darkened to full out concern when Yozak was unable to push himself from the door without swaying wildly on his feet and almost ending up on the hard wood floor. Strong arms slipped around him, hands resting lightly against his back, keeping him upright. "And the man I love."
"You... should not be with me... Kenta... I'm..." He rasped out between cracked lips, his head dipping downwards, his forehead lightly touching against the forehead of the beautiful man before him, leaning into the warmth. Inhaling deeply the clean scent of this man filled his aching lungs, heady and intoxicating.
"I think that is my decision to be make." Fingers tenderly smoothed through the long strands of amber that ran down over the collar of his riding coat, cradling the back of his beloved's nape and pulled his head downwards softly, their lips meeting in a heated kiss, one tinged by the metallic tang of blood.
The kiss was soft at first, deepening into something desperate, the familiar taste sweeping them both up in the heat of their blazing emotions. Gurrier Yozak's arms sliding almost hesitantly around the slender waist of his lover, allowing his beloved to claim every part of him that was still left. Lips clinging together as they pulled apart, Gurrier's forehead rested softly against Kenta's, gazing down into those dark eyes, into the deep love that burned there just for him. His own closed tightly, just drawing the man a little closer, desperate to hold onto the one thing good thing in his life.
"Nothing you can say will chase me away." He promised Gurrier. "Nothing you do will ever stop me loving you."
Stray tears streaked down across his cheeks at those words, knowing he didn't deserve them, but clinging to them all the same. "I've betrayed everyone. Everyone... All that I've believed... for what?"
"For this moment." Brushing soft kisses over the every inch of the man's face, one hand brushed back the long tangled locks that shielded the man's eyes form his view. Their mouths found each other again, sweet and lingering. "The journey... not the destination." It was a silly quote from High School, but one that seemed to fit it.
"Cryptic." Yozak mused a little, burying his face into the clean heat of this man, desperate for him, to just hold him close and never let him go. A low groan of pain slipped out from between his lips, his knees almost giving out from beneath him, Griesela had definitely improved when it came to dirty fighting considering the way his ribs were throbbing and creaking almost audibly with each breath.
"Strip."
The wounded man couldn't help but grin at that simple, single word command. Amusement coloured his features, some small spark of the man he had once been in his eyes. "Now that is a command I wouldn't mind following."
"I would have given into you if you hadn't returned to me in this state."
"Damn." A ghost of a smile remained on his lips.
He was grateful when steady hands were moving over his body and beginning to draw his coat from his shoulders and allowing the stained white fabric to pool at his feet. Jacket and shirt following, his sword belt thumped hard against the floor as the rest of his clothing fluttered down around his still booted feet. Gazing down at that dark head as Kenta dropped to his knees before him, his large hands resting against the man's shoulders to keep his balance as his boots were freed and set aside and left him bare for inspection. Scars ran across his skin, dark bruises beginning to form purple and black along the sides of his ribs and lower back, his flesh looking like he had gone ten rounds with a very angry boxer.
"Will... you tell me why, Guri?" Kenta's dark eyes gazed up at the man standing over him, his shadow stretching over him.
Slowly, the man's knees giving out beneath him, he sank to the floor before his beloved, his hands reaching out to tenderly cradle that beautiful face in his palms, thumbs stroking over high exotic cheekbones, memorising every inch of that beloved face. Kenta gazed back at him without judgement already written in those eyes, just the quiet desire to understand all that had occurred since that ill-fated day where the world had come crumbling down around them all.
The first word seemed to get caught in his throat, caught around the lump that had formed there, before he forced it out. Soon the words tumbled end over end in a bid to escape, merging together so fast and chaotic.
He spoke of those moments in the blackness, of the shadow that had stepped from it and made him an offer, one that had promised him Conrart's safety and possibly his love in return for his completing the mission for the Great One. He was to gather the boxes and then return them to the Great Demon Kingdom, he was to work from within the enemy camp and he had. He spoke of his days of convincing Belar of his trustworthiness, of his desire for Conrart to love him... and his slow realisation that he was destroying what he had thought he was protecting.
His guilt. The blazing shame of the choices he had made in selfishness and greed. He spoke of the attack in the forest where he had killed his own men in an effort to protect Conrart without the man been aware he was even there and his decision to let go of that selfish desire to have what wasn't his. He spoke of the time facing off against Yuuri... of the lie... the secret he had kept of the fact that Conrart Weller was alive... that he knew others thought him dead.
He spoke of his current mission, of his earlier meeting with Conrart, Gunter and Griesela... of his understanding of the true depths he had fallen to on his road.
The words came until there were no more to be said, his shoulders were shaking painful with silent sobs being torn raggedly from his lips as his head rested in Kenta Murata's lap. He curled as close as possible to the only solid thing in his twisting world. A warm hand smoothed along his spine, while he curled there naked on the hard floor, eyes closed tightly in an effort to keep the hot tears at bay. A tingling warmth spread through his body with each stroke of that strong fingered hand, it moved again and again from his nape all the way to his tail bone. The throbbing ache in his flesh was being slowly leached away as was the dark pain that clenched around his heart.
Minutes... hours seemed to pass, the two of them curled there, until Gurrier finally fell silent. His cheek rested against Kenta's thigh, a soft kiss tenderly pressed against his amber locks that hung limply around his face, not a single word being spoken, until even Gurrier's hitched breathing evened out.
"This is not the end." The man whispered so softly into the darkness, his fingertips rubbing at the sensitive strands at the nape of the man's neck. "This is not the end at all, Gurrier. Not for you. Not for me. It is only the beginning. There is a long road before you, you will stumble as every man does, as I do. However, I will be right there beside you, my hand outstretched. I need you, I want you still. I love you, faults and all. We will stand together, whatever may come, I will be beside you facing it with you. I promise you this."
Pausing for a moment, he gazed down at the bright head in his lap. "Yuuri and Conrart still believe in you."
Gurrier jerked at that, stormy eyes opening and staring into the darkness in disbelief, his breath catching in his throat.
"Yuuri has faith in you, as I do, as I always have."
"I love you." Gurrier breathed, curling closer to that warmth, a tiny spark of hope raising from the dark ashes of his past. That tiny spark of hope flaring that he might... might just have a future... that redemption... still existed even for the likes of him. Only Kenta could do this to him, make him hope... make him want to tentatively stretch his hand out and consider living. He knew the truth and he was still there... still holding onto him.
There was a spark.
Hope you enjoyed it 3 Now I'm going back to writing. LOL