Disclaimer - I don't own Tekkaman Blade. I'm not making any money.
YAKUSOKU
(Promise)
written by Star
Oh thinkin' about our younger years
It was only you and me
We were young and wild and free
Now nothing can take you away from me
(Bryan Adams)
«Chapter One»
In the late hush of twilight, a lone figure looked behind him and saw long hair spread about on the pillows. A faint smile came to his lips and he stalked quietly to her. Crouching by the bedside, D-boy extended his arm and gently pushed the wild and wayward strands from Aki's face. How a woman could look so angelic and fight like an elite warrior was beyond him. He grinned as he reminisced watching her debate with the old guard of the Military, with the same reckless abandon he'd seen on her face in battle, but that was a look he knew as reckless - they saw it as nothing special for seldom did they trouble themselves with her looks. The old men would never credit a woman for being a good leader, especially since Aki was trained at a military camp before defecting to become the Space Knight navigator who stole his heart.
Those days, thankfully, were far behind him. The moon was still difficult to bear at times, even in its sliver before it disappears for a night...but Aki helped him bear the nights. He grinned again; it's a smart woman who shares her bed to help a melancholy man forget.
As he rose and closed the balcony door, D-boy stole a furtive glance at the disappearing moon and thought with passionate anger of one whom vowed to take the one person who tied the past and the future together in a neat knot. Aki was all he had left, and it was unacceptable that she should be harmed.
A foreboding sense of dread filled him when he thought of the new hurdle of which he planned to clear. He had jumped over so many and not without falling along the way but always, Aki, there to help him reach the finish. Whoever it was that jibed him and threatened Aki would just have to be dealt with. It was as simple as that.
'Since when was anything simple?'
D-boy shook his head and snuggled closer to Aki and held her possessively, just like a child afraid a toy would be taken from them.
*****
"Pablochiva's an ass; they're all asses!" D-boy grinned as Aki stormed into his office.
"Why do you still care what they say?" As she slammed papers down on his desk, she sighed and rubbed her neck.
"Oh, I don't know..." Her voice faded in the instance D-boy's hands made contact with her waist. As his breath tickled her neck, the tight sensation in her shoulders slackened a bit.
"What have they done now?"
"It's what they haven't done..."
"Noaru?" She sighed heavily and turned so she could nestle into D-boy's broad chest. "They're not allowing visual contact anymore, I only got to speak to him for two minutes; they're trumping up charges of treason - treason! It's insanity Takaya..." As always, whenever Aki called him by his real name, he froze momentarily. However, he had learned long ago it was an endearment she bestowed when she needed his support. He smiled carelessly and held her tighter.
"Aki..."
Suddenly, dizziness claimed him, sounding the prelude to a dark voice that threatened the woman in his arms.
/You're the cause of my pain, I'll be the cause of yours/
*****
Aki waited for him to continue, but after an extended silence she murmured his name. When still, he did not respond Aki grinned mischievously and slapped his backside. "Wake up Takaya!" She gasped to see his eyes blank, and the glowing of the emerald crystal on his forehead. Were Radam about to attack?
Blinking his eyes rapidly, D-boy stared at Aki as though she were a stranger. Colour drained from his face as he broke from his daze and saw the determined look upon Aki's face.
"Do you know where they'll attack?"
/Where you least expect it/
"Do you know how many?"
/Enough/
"What's their target? Takaya!"
/I'll gut that bitch and paint you with her blood/
*****
D-boy broke from her embrace and ran from the room and sped down the corridor. Looking about frantically, he feared the enemy had infiltrated the base and was now following his irate senses.
Cussing under his breath, D-boy stopped running and realised he was getting nowhere. Aki's confused voice pleaded that he explain what was going on, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her. That was a subject that was as vague and uncertain as the murkiest fog. Part of him wanted to believe that he could protect her; he knew Aki could defend herself if need be, but he wanted more for her than that.
The most primal fear stopped him and he swivelled violently to look behind. If it was Aki they wanted...
"Aki!"
How could he be so stupid? He ran as though being chased by a predator, in a way he was, he thought violently. He caught himself as he took another corner, sensing Aki's presence; he didn't want to knock her cold because of his reckless stupidity.
Any hint of confusion in Aki's blue eyes was thickly covered with concern.
"What's wrong Takaya?" Catching his breath, he grasped her arms desperately. "Where were you running to?"
/Yes, where were you running to Takaya, a dead end?/
Losing his cool, D-boy summoned his crystal and vowed blood from the one who would torment him so.