Summary:  Set directly after the events in A Stitch In Time.  Seiji makes a drastic choice as his stalker is revealed.  Hastily, Ryo promises something that he cannot provide, and hurts the one he wishes to protect. 

Ryo/Seiji shounen ai drama R

Warning: This story contains shounen ai, which implies male/male love. Please do not read if such ideas upset you. Please use your good judgment. This fiction also contains violence, death, and scary little creatures that hide under your bed at night.  *grrr*

Rated R for violence, strong language and sexual situations.

Disclaimer: "Yoroiden Samurai Troopers" does not belong to me. I am but a lowly slug.

Plea:  Please read and review, oh wise and generous readers! 

*Any* comments or suggestions are welcome.


Comments are happily received at: Li_bell_ule@yahoo.com

Reciprocal Motion:
Chapter six: the rite



Silence magnified the creek in the stairs as Seiji ascended to his room. Color drained from his vision leaving blocks of blacks and whites in simplified shapes.

His body trembled but his mind was motionless. An incredible calm had consumed him-- the same feeling of composure after throwing up.

But then, as Seiji moved, he felt it-- the unmistakable rise of violent emotion, rebelling from the depths where it was spawned inside him.

Seiji stilled himself, attempting to suppress the terror of feeling such deep emotion-- and he did feel it. The way it churned within him, teeming up from his center, incinerating his insides, the way it caressed with deliberate cruelty, forming a consuming, insatiable ache, the way it permeated his body in fashion that would taint him permanently-- he felt it to the fullest extent.

He closed his eyes tightly against the burn, forbidding himself release.

But this pain demanded to be expressed, and fought past the barriers of his firmly lidded eyes, leaking down his cheeks in slow, rolling tears.

Disgusted by his own weakness, Seiji refused to acknowledge them, and therefore let the tears slide down his face unheeded.

He sank to the floor, wrapping his arms around himself as if to keep himself from physically disjoining.

A little laugh escaped him, though it sounded more like a sob.

Pathetic, he thought.

Why had he allowed himself to think that Ryo might love him?

The memory was blurred-- distorted to bright hues of color and piercing whites-- but it was there.

Maudlin, blue eyes and delicate hands of pain had stroked his vision.

Unintelligible sounds of distress had turned into a stream of words. Though the voice was distinctly laced with panic, it unmistakably belonged to Ryo. His voice was mixed with some other emotion too, softer and with more warmth.

Then suddenly a moment of clarity fell upon his memory's ears... 'ai
Shiteriu, Seiji' as lips marked by heat pressed against his skin. The words were pronounced and hot, a laser scratching his brain. Then his memory disrupted in a blaze of white.

To think that Ryo actually meant it, Seiji scoffed. How foolish of me...

No one had been able to love him his entire life, why should Ryo be any different?

Seiji rarely allowed himself the luxury of emotion, having learned at a young age that the pain so inevitably connected to it did not heal readily.

But that hardly mattered now. Today the sun would set on his life and he was glad for it.

*************************************


The keys felt harder to push, she noticed, as she stared at the blank computer screen. Nasuti would not find what they were looking for in her grandfather's database. She knew the information stored there inside and out and there was nothing on bringing Arago back into the mortal realm.

She had tried explaining this to Touma, but he'd endured. He insisted that there must be some kind of lore in her grandfather's vast library about protection and resurrections. She'd told him there was not, but he pressed her to look anyway.

Nasuti watched him from the corner of her eye. Touma looked haggard and at the end of his tether. Raking his hand through his dark hair, he pulled another book from the dwindling pile before him.

Her chair made a soft sound of protest against the floor as she stood.

"Touma..." Nasuti moved behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "I think It's time to throw in the towel."

She massaged the tense muscles beneath her fingers slowly. "You have to face facts-there's nothing we can do."

Touma leaned into her hands and said, "The information has to be
Somewhere-- we've just got to find it."

Nasuti sighed. "You should be spending time with him now, instead of in here with all these books. You wouldn't want to regret--."

Touma pulled away from her and spun around. "Don't talk like that! Seiji is not going to die." He pounded his fist on the table for emphasis, sending books cascading to the floor. "We fight. We get hurt. We survive. We don't die."

Nasuti looked at him sadly and chided, "What about Shuten? He is dead, Touma. I'm sure the Masho were just as devastated as you are."

He turned away from her sorrowful eyes as she continued. "I'm not trying to hurt you. I just want you to accept..."

But Touma was no longer listening to her, he was riveted by one of the books on the floor. It had fallen open when he'd jarred the table. Touma bent to pick it up, his eyes scanning the page quickly.

"My God, Nasuti-- do you know what this is?"

She peered over his shoulder and stared in confusion at the unusual symbols scribed there. "It looks like hieroglyphics."

"It is," He said excitedly. "It's the Book of the Dead. This is it-- our answer is in here."

**********************

He felt sick to his stomach. A rush of vertigo forced Ryo to the ground.

Ryo swallowed back his sickness as he leaned forward on his knees and pressed his palms firmly to the earth. He lowered his head, breathing hard.

The pure scent of the earth made him cringe in self-revulsion.

What have I done? He thought.

The moment Ryo had been dreaming of had come-- only he hadn't been prepared for the utter fear that had paralyzed him.

Angrily, he dug his fingers into the dirt.

Why hadn't he said it? He'd fantasized about the day when Seiji would say those words to him, imagined over and over how he would reveal his love to Seiji.

The colorless world spun and spun. Ryo clamped his eyes tightly and held securely to the earth as if he would be thrown from it.

Ryo did not know when he'd fallen in love with Seiji, but could not remember a time when he did not love him in some regard. Its depth scared him sometimes.

He was scared, Ryo realized. Saying those words to Seiji would be admitting something about himself that he wasn't quite ready to accept. Spoken words would validate it-- make it real and irrevocable.

Why did everything have to be so complicated?

Ryo stifled a gag, laying his forehead on the ground.

His own cowardice made him ill.

How could he face death without fear, but be frightened of love?

Because love changes everything, Ryo thought. His relationship with Seiji was so complex already that taking a chance on love may ruin it entirely.

But it was a risk he wanted to take, he realized. How many times had he come close to kissing him-- wishing that he could ravish those lips with his own? There were so many stolen touches and caresses. Those few times when they had fallen asleep together had always brought Ryo a secret pleasure.

His heart was thundering in his chest as he realized just how scared he was. I don't want to ruin it, he thought. Don't want to rush in.  He always wanted Seiji to be in his life.


A pang of dread tugged at his heart though. In a desperate attempt to save Seiji from certain death, he'd promised something that was beyond his ability. Unless he could find a way to bring Arago back from wherever he'd been banished to, Seiji would most definitely be taken from him.

Though the sun was high in the sky, Ryo knew that there were still hours before noon. Suddenly he felt a wave of unnatural fatigue. Less than three hours of sleep was catching up to him. He fought against his failing body, wanting to procure Seiji's future right away.

Exhausted, Ryo laid back in the tall grass, indulging in the early morning warmth, never seeing the jackal that hid amid the shadows.


************************************

Shin hesitated outside Seiji's door, wringing his hands. He wasn't sure how to approach him. What did you say to one that was going to die by his own volition?

Shin tapped lightly on the closed door. "Seiji? May I come in?"

He waited, but got no response.

"Please, I just..." Shin's voice trailed off. What did he want? He wanted to grab Seiji by the shoulders and shake him that's what he wanted to do. Shin wanted to yell at him and tell him not to give up his existence so easily. He wanted to force the want of life back into him.

But Shin could do none of those things.

"...I just want to be what you need right now... a friend."

The door opened slowly. Shin pushed it in and entered the room. Seiji looked remarkably calm, all things considered, though something was off kilter that Shin couldn't quite pinpoint.

"I suppose you're going to try to inspire some kind of resistance against my fate."

"You say that as if it's a bad thing."

"Shin, I just don't have the strength to fight anymore."

"Touma and Nasuti are working on it as we speak-- I have confidence that they will find a way around--."

"There's no way around, death!" Seiji snapped. "It's the only certainty in life."

"But it can't be over..." Shin sighed. "...after everything we've over come... We can't have gotten so far just to lose one of us now..."

Seiji had always appreciated Shin's child-like wonderment and it was this same nature that made war and loss so hard for him to handle.

"Isn't there anything I can do?" Shin asked him.

Seiji smiled slightly. "...there is one thing you could do for me," he admitted.

"What is it?"

Seiji extended his hand, palm up to reveal his armor orb.

"Will you take it?" Seiji asked. "An... another I am bonded to will suffer if I hold onto it."

Shin's mouth hung open. "Seiji... I'd be honored to-- but I will not take it just yet."

"Promise me you will take it before I die."

Shin looked down. "I promise."

"Thank you, Shin."


Shin lifted his gaze from the floor. "But you have to promise me something, too."

"What?"

"That you'll do everything you can to stay alive."

Seiji looked at him sadly. "I can't..."

"Swear to me that if you see a way out you will take it."

Shin was unrelenting on this.

"All right, Shin, I swear it."

Shin looked at Seiji intently. He realized what was different about him.

"Seiji, your eyes--." He started. "They're darker."

His normally pale, violet eyes were deep purple-- they were getting blacker.


********************

Bounding through the tall grass, Byakuen searched for Ryo's still form. The white tiger knew something was wrong.

Finding his master slumped over in the dirt, Byakuen nudged Ryo's shoulder trying to wake him. The warrior of virtue remained in deep sleep.

Byakuen stood stock-still and listened. Carefully he surveyed the area, his sharp eyes searching for the predator that hid midst the grass.

Like a shot, he sprang suddenly from his stance, streaking towards the place of the intruder. The black jackal growled, but did not stay to defend its claim. Instead it ran off, disappearing as it came into the afternoon sun.

Circling around, Byakuen returned to Ryo's side. He had to make Ryo wakeup. The white tiger roared, then stooped down to lick Ryo's face. The feel of his rough tongue against his cheek caused Ryo to stir.

"Okay, okay, Byakuen." Ryo said as he sat up, pushing the white tiger back. "...must have fallen asleep."

Then suddenly, it hit him-- the sun was already beginning its decent beneath the horizon.

"Oh, my God. How long was I out?"

Byakuen growled again, urging Ryo to his feet. Fear impelled him to run as he thought, Please don't let me be too late.


******************

Once Touma had discovered the Egyptian book of the dead, he needed quiet concentration to learn it in time for dusk. Shin, Shuu and Nasuti were left with the arduous task of waiting.

Watching the hours pass was excruciating. A tense agitation drifted among them. The future was truly uncertain.

Shin had managed to coax Seiji out of his room to sit with them, but it was clear that he was fading fast. A preternatural calm had claimed him, as he sat in lotus position on the floor, eyes closed. His absence of movement was unnerving.

Restless, Shuu had not been able to sit still and decided to go look for Ryo, who had been missing since this morning. He reentered the room alone and plopped down next to Shin on the couch.

"I couldn't find him." He whispered. "Hell of a time to disappear."

"How can he do this to us-- to Seiji?"

At the sound of his name, Seiji turned towards them, opening his eyes.

Both Shin and Shuu gasped-Seiji's eyes were pure black.

"Ryo had better get here soon," Shuu said. "We're running out of time."


"We are out of time." Touma said, emerging from the study, book in hand. "We have to begin now or it will be too late."

"But Ryo isn't here--." Shin started to protest.

"Yes, I am."

Ryo appeared in the doorway, out of breath, Byakuen at his side.

"Where have you been?" Touma asked sharply.

"I'm sorry-I'm here now." Ryo apologized.

Now was certainly not the time to tell them he'd fallen asleep in the tall grass.
He didn't understand how he could have dozed off. One moment he was wide awake with every intention of talking to Seiji, and the next fast asleep. Had it not been for Byakuen, who had unexpectedly jolted him from sleep, Ryo wondered if he would have woken up at all.

"Please tell me you found something." Ryo asked.

"I did, no thanks to you." Touma snapped. Shin laid a hand on Touma's arm, gently trying to calm him before another fight broke out.

Ryo stole glance at Seiji, who would not look at him.

"Seiji, I--" Ryo began but was cut off by his cold, black-eyed gaze.

"As you can see," Touma started, brushing past Ryo, "Our deadline is fast approaching."

Nodding sullenly, Ryo whispered, "You're right. Let's go."


**************************

Touma drew a pentagram in the dirt and instructed each of the warriors to stand at a point of the star. He suggested that Seiji should be at the pinnacle of the star where he would be protected the most.

Ryo attempted to guide him by the shoulders to his place, but Seiji shrugged him off. He was becoming more and more withdrawn, and completely apathetic to Ryo's concern.

"Once I start," Touma warned. "I cannot stop until it is finished, or else it won't work. If you move from the pentagram at any time, the protection spell will be broken. When I have finished the Egyptian rite, you all must direct your armor's power towards the center. That's the last step before the raising... I don't know if this will work or what will happen, so be prepared for anything... Any questions?"

They all shook their heads no. "Okay, let's begin..."


Touma stood facing north, taking out an arrow. He touched the tip to his forehead and said, 'Noh-khnu-ke-feh-kah..." You are...

He moved the arrow to touch below his navel. "...ah-doh-he..." ...the kingdom...

Touching it to his right shoulder, "...loh-khnu-sah..." the power... and then continuing to his left, "...khnu-de-ra..." ...the glory...

Then he clenched the arrow in his fist and beat his chest once and intoned, "...ee-oh-ee-oh-dah." ...he that liveth forever.


Touma raised his bow and took aim, stabbing the center of the pentagram.
As the arrow hit the ground, the lines of the drawn pentagram turned to golden illumination. Like flame dancing on gasoline, light radiated from the center to the tips. Each warrior felt a blaze of power plow through him.

None of them noticed the sun sinking beneath the horizon.

Touma then bowed once to each of the Four Corners of the earth, north, south, east and west, his eyes closed and arms raised, beginning the Egyptian rite.

"That which was shut hath been opened that is the dead. That which was shut fast hath been opened by the command of the Eye of Horus..."


Seiji suddenly felt a cold prick at the base of his neck. He knew it was death seeking a way past the protection circle. She was angry that they had found her secrets in the Ancient Egyptian ways. Seiji tried to focus on what Touma was saying.

"The way shall be opened to him that hath power over his feet, and he shall see the Great God in the Boat of Ra… Grant that the Eye of Horus may deliver a soul for me, and let darkness cover your faces, O ye who would imprison Osiris..."

Cold breath was on his neck, a deep, chilling frost setting into his bones. Seiji tried to keep his breathing even, but the ice forming in his veins threatened his consciousness.

"O keep not captive a soul... A way shall be for Ka with thee, and thy soul shall be prepared by those who keep ward over the members of Osiris, and who hold captive the shadows of the dead..." Touma chanted on.

Sensation was gone from his limbs, only a pain clamping around his heart like a fist of ice remained. Seiji fought against the deadening that would surely send him into oblivion.

"Heaven shall not keep thee fast, Hell shall not bind thee, the earth shall not hold thee captive!" Touma shouted. "Thou shalt advance to thy body straightway on the earth!"

In a streak of dark blue light, Touma sent Tenku towards the center of the pentagram. In flashes of red, orange and cerulean, it was quickly joined by Rekka, Kongo and Suiko, but not Kourin.

His body completely numb, Seiji's eyes rolled back in his head and his body pitched backwards, breaking the protection circle.

Death had found a way through.



Continued in chapter 7...



********


Author's note: I did a considerable amount of research in Egyptian folklore, and the incantation that Touma reads is, to the best of my knowledge, accurate.


Oh please send me some feedback. Dangerously close to NOT posting the end of the story. Sorry to those who have been so kind.