Woof. I've played Guilty Gear once (thanks, Em!), fell in love with Ky, went around looking for images, find a Ky/Sol shrine and voila, I wrote a fanfiction. ^_^ Not very good, mind you, as I know nothing about these characters save that they're extremely cool. And thanks to Mirai for beta-ing for me ^_^
Hero-worshipby Eike
I had heard of him, of course. He was famous -- it was incomprehensible that one so young was such a great leader, and such a great swordsman. So when I was transferred over to be directly under his command, I was thrilled to finally get the chance to catch a glimpse of him, maybe even to meet him. I was a couple of years older than he was, having recently reached Knight status. I doubt I was anywhere near as good as he was though; he was a genius, pure and simple.
Ky Kiske, leader of the Seishikidan. Beautiful, kind, intelligent, strong... he was near perfect, and I know that I wasn't the only person under that impression. He was loved by everyone.
No, not everyone. One person seemed to despise him. They often clashed, simply because of their extremely different personalities. Ky tried to be courteous to all around him, whereas Sol Badguy made it a point to be rude to all who approached him.
The first time I met him, on my way to see Ky for the first time, he had smirked at me and told me to commit suicide right away, because that's all I was doing by joining this war. He had left before I could utter a word in my defense. First impressions are everything, they say. I already knew I wouldn't like him. If that first meeting had given me any doubts, all my next encounters with him would have erased them. He seemed to go out of his way to make sure I knew that he disliked me.
But I don't want to talk about Sol, not yet. The more important part is Ky. Ky had welcomed me warmly, giving me a small introduction as to what was expected of me. He had even shaken my hand, something I hadn't expected. The great Ky Kiske really was as wonderful as everybody had told me. His smile was gentle as he talked to me, and I understood that I, like so many others, would willingly risk my life for him.
Our meeting was rudely interrupted by Sol. He just waltzed in through the doors, pushed me aside without even looking and stared into Ky's eyes, a smirk on his face.
"What do you want, Sol?" Ky finally said. The way he said the brute's name... I hadn't heard that much contempt uttered in a single word before this. If not for Sol, I would never have believed that Ky was capable of hating any humans, much less expressing that hate. It made me dislike Sol even more.
I forget what happened after that; it wasn't really important. That was the first of many times that I saw them openly attacking each other. Sometimes they actually dueled; more often Sol would be disrespectful to our leader and start a verbal argument.
Their sword fights were impressive, to say the least. Ky always lost, but it always seemed like such a close match that I was sure, with a couple of new skills, Ky would succeed the next battle. He never did. No matter how often he surprised his opponent, Sol always recovered. It was almost inhuman, how he managed to brush off attacks that would have left other men unable to walk for at least a week. But Ky didn't comment on it; instead, he would train for hours after that, perfecting his mastery of the sword.
I often wished I were as dedicated as Ky was. I trained hard to be of use in this war, we all did. I wanted to see the war end in my lifetime, and I was sure it could happen, simply because of the great leader we had. Nobody else could have given us this kind of hope with his mere presence, but Ky did so much more than that. He talked to us, he taught us, he gave us the courage to continue these bloody battles.
I worshipped him. I can admit that now. Hell, I was able to admit it then too, although I gave it a prettier word. Love. More of a crush really, but I didn't realize it. I had thought myself to old for crushes. It was a hero-worship that led to the attraction. I tried to keep it hidden because I knew I had no chance, and this kind of love was forbidden. Since we were a holy group, fighting in the name of God, most of us had a tough time with repression... not to mention that the lack of women in the army caused for some strange things to happen between us.
I think there is only one thing I can thank Sol for. He saved me from making a foolish decision. He approached me during one of my staring sessions; my attraction for our leader was a bit more conspicuous than I would have liked. I admit, openly staring at one's commander while he trained wasn't the best way to hide my "love," but as there were a couple of others doing the same, so nobody took note of me.
"You wouldn't be good for him."
Oh, how I hated Sol then. He had shattered my delusions so quickly. I knew it would never work out, but if I faced it, then I wouldn't even be able to have my dreams. I glared at him, a retort already forming in my mind.
"Oh, and I suppose you're good enough for him?" It seemed so clever in my mind. Sol Badguy chuckled though.
"I didn't say you weren't good enough for him. I said you wouldn't be good for him. It's a difference." He was right, of course. I know it now, but it completely flew over my head. Being young has many disadvantages.
"What difference would that be?"
Sol turned to look at Ky. Ky was chanting a spell, causing his Furaiken to sparkle with electric power. Sol's smirk was dropped, and his voice took a more serious tone.
"How many do you think want Ky? You're not alone. Thousands all over the world dream of being with him, but nobody would be good for him. Not one of you knows enough about him to give him the emotional support he needs. Ky isn't this great hero you make him out to be. He's just a boy. Yes, he's a prodigy. So what? He acts older than most of you. So what? Emotionally, he's still a boy, and not one of you would be able to handle that. Not one of you would know exactly when he's about to crack, when he needs some resistance, when he needs to be treated as the boy he actually is, not the hero. And that is why you wouldn't be good for him. A relationship of any sort would place an even greater emotional strain on him, and he'll end up breaking."
It irked me that he talked about our leader like that. It irked me that he would say it so calmly, so matter-of-fact. It irked me that he said "you" and not "we."
"You wouldn't be good for him either!" My comebacks left much to be desired.
Sol's smirk returned. "Of course not. The difference between you and me is that I want to break him."
That stunned me. And it instilled a fear in me. I was afraid of Sol now, as I hadn't been before. But more importantly, I was afraid for Ky, afraid of what Sol would do to him.
Sol was gone before I could reply to him, but that uneasy feeling caused me to decide to keep a closer eye on Ky, to keep him safe from that barbarian.
It was three days after that conversation, and nothing unusual - or dangerous - had happened. Before I had talked with Sol, I had been almost ready to gush my heart out to Ky. Now I was thinking a lot, thinking too much. I was distracted easily, and my superiors even complained about me. I was too busy wondering if Sol was right, if any relationship would end up harming Ky. I held no delusions that I would ever be important to Ky. I didn't have a high enough status to talk with him regularly; I was rarely even on the same battlefield as he was.
But I had to wonder if Sol was right about Ky's psyche. Was he really under so much strain that he wouldn't be able to handle a lover? Surely if he had the time to fall in love with a girl...
A movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention. It was dead of night, the only light available was the moon and a few torches. The guards were all positioned further down, where an attack was more likely. These training areas were open at all times though, so it shouldn't have surprised me to see somebody still training.
Not just somebody, of course. Ky and Sol were having another one of their sparring matches. I hid myself behind a column and watched them. I don't know what I had planned on doing, I can only remember having been determined to keep Ky safe from Sol.
Their battle was interesting to watch, as it always was. Ky rarely fought so fiercely outside of the battlefield. Sol smirked at him though, and only dodged the blows. Ky jumped back, Furaiken crackling with energy. Sol brought his own sword up and lunged forward, nearly hitting our leader before he jumped out of the way. They continued to move, gradually getting faster and faster, until keeping up with them left me dizzy. I could see the energy being released in forms of blue shadows, and wondered how long it took them to master their techniques.
It was over all too soon with Ky on the floor, Sol's sword at his throat. Both of them were covered in a fine sheen of sweat, and their breathing was heavy. What surprised me though were the tears streaming down Ky's face. I hadn't ever seen him cry before, and would have left to give him some privacy had Sol not been there. I watched to see what the American would do, certain that he would hurt Ky in some way.
I was such a poor judge of character. Sol pulled Ky into his arms, Ky's sobs growing louder until he was truly crying. I was so jealous of the hand that stroke Ky's hair, so mad that Ky allowed that to happen. But I felt so defeated. Ky let his nemesis, of all people, see him cry. Ky wouldn't do it in front of us, but in front of him…
Sol was whispering things to Ky that seemed to calm him, as his sobs softened into whimpers, and then even those ceased.
I realized then that Sol had been right. Ky really was just a boy. He was too young to handle the terrible burden that everybody placed on him. He deserved something better than this awful future ahead of him. He should have been worrying about whether his crush liked him, not about the future of humanity.
And that was why I silently left, trusting Sol to do what the rest of us couldn't -- let Ky be the boy he should be, not the hero we made him out to be.