Warnings: To remind readers again, this story contains scenes of sexuality and sexual nature between two men. Cheese. Sap. Cheesy Sap lathered in more sappy Sap. Reader discretion advised.
Chapter IV: Letifera Aleae (Deadly Game)
"Are you always this stubborn, or do you just have something against me?" Rei said, tilting his head to the side, a cocky smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. He gave the Commander a once-over, clucking his tongue against the inside of his cheek. "I thought you liked me? What gives?" He asked teasingly.
Kai spared him a dark glare from atop his nose, turning back to the dark woods head of him. "I've never said I liked you. And I don't have anything against you."
The raven-haired boy smirked at his leader's back, making a rude gesture with his free hand.
It was too early for the Illumination System to turn the lights on fully –– he gathered it was almost o' four hundred hours –– but the overhead 'sky' was brightening considerably. This time was his favourite, he decided. Everything was still consumed by that foreboding darkness, though it seemed less frightening. The hot haze that he came to associate with the forest's climate just barely skimmed the ground and reached almost to his midsection; the faint light from their camp and from the fake stars made it seem like a silvery overlay. The air felt fresher as well, free from long day's perspiration and the heat generators.
The week of their field training was almost up, with no real damages to either team. The final showdown, so to say, was expected at any moment. The two of them had been sent on night patrol, as they couldn't leave their camp un-monitored in case of nightly attacks and, if Rei dare think it, because none of the other guys dared to even glance at Kai for longer than a few seconds out of fright. ‛The pussies,' thought Rei with an inward smirk, sending another one in Kai's direction, ‛he's just a big, bad icicle. What's there to fear?'
He stepped over a sprawling plant and leaned against a tree, signalling Kai to follow him.
The brunet pouted for show when Kai remained unmoving, closing his eyes in a dismissive fashion. He sounded overly ostentatious, even to himself, when he said, "I'm deeply wounded, you know. I thought there was something special between us? Soul mates, maybe?"
Kai didn't bother to grant him another scolding glare, his lips twitching in an irritated manner. That's how things were between them now. Ever since their nightly exchange, he noted the drastic difference between them. The fire and passion were still there, as was the occasional bout of ire, but now they were accompanied by teases as well. Sure they'd been there before, but never in such a degree and nature. Now, Kai had to forcibly prevent himself from wondering about the underlying meanings in Rei's jests, from coming to disturbing conclusions, which were –– and he was aghast to admit it –– sexual in manner.
He was not much disturbed that it had actually occurred, as taboo as that was, but by his reaction to it. Kai found himself watching the lazy grin spread on the other's lips, how the words were formed with an almost languid precision and then left those lips with a smug undertone. He wanted nothing more than to just make that smirk go away. And there were times when he's find a smart, equally saucy retort rolling on his tongue. And he didn't like it one bit. It was too friendly, too familiar and he didn't want that.
He glowered at nothing, barking out sharply, "Don't fool around with things that could get you into deep shit."
Rei chuckled, then, his serious tone betraying his edginess, he asked, "Then why do you bother with me?" The question had actually been circulating around his mind for a while, much to his chagrin. He'd have to be both blind and deaf not to notice that Kai wasn't exactly a social butterfly (Blondie had explained to him what one of those were) and his opening up to Rei, though minimal to the bare bones, was a surprising occurrence.
"Because you won't let me do otherwise," Kai replied in his deathly serious voice, which didn't help to answer the brunet's question at all.
Rei hid a defeated sigh behind a well-placed roll of the eyes and disentangled himself from his support tree. It was important to never stay sill for more than ten minutes; the heat detectors would be able to trace their location and then they'd have a horde of soldiers descending on their asses. (He was quite annoyed and disappointed when he learned that the other team was not Tala's; he would have enjoyed seeing the redhead sputter and beg surrender at their feet, as unrealistic as that was.) He walked farther along the edge of the forest, Kai following in his wake.
Their camp was just beginning to stir with the oncoming morning; he could hear the clattering of pots and pans as the morning shift prepared to take their turn in the kitchens. Rei was glad to finally returning to base; tendrils of sleep were beginning to have an effect on him. Satisfied with the distance they'd travelled from their last location, the dark-haired boy settled himself against the bark of another tree, using a low-hanging branch as a makeshift seat.
"I hope the guys can handle it," he said out of the blue, his mind just a bit hazier with lack of sleep than he would have preferred.
"Hn?"
"The change, I mean," he explained on Kai's questionable grunt. "Some of them haven't grown up yet, I think. I'd hate to see their lives end like this, never knowing anything in life besides this. It's sad, really. Leaving their homes unwillingly, enduring this shit hole and then having to face Death. I don't suppose you realize how unpleasant that is."
Kai nodded, though the gestured seemed to go unnoticed by the other. He propped himself against the lower part of the branch, crossing his feet at the ankles. He was too tired to fight this one out, he reasoned, and maybe he even agreed with the brunet. "I thought you'd be furious with me," he said almost contemplatively, not fully registering having said it at all.
"Really?" Rei smirked in an humourlessly way, his eyelids drooping. "Heck, no. I'm tired, sleepy, and maybe even a little hungry –– but not furious. How very little faith you have in me." He toyed with the strings fastening his shirt collar, frowning. "But seriously, Kai, I can't exactly expect you to know any better. You've been bred into this, haven't you? You've been prepared, they haven't. It's not fair to them like this."
Kai remained silent for a long while, digesting everything Rei had said. It was true, really, and there was nothing he could say otherwise. It hurt, though, having someone else point it to him. "You're not blaming me for this?" He asked, the question having popped up all of a sudden.
Rei tilted his face to the side to glance at Kai from underneath his eyelashes before lowering his face to a more comfortable position. He smirked to himself in memory. "I was at the beginning. You could have been a nicer prick, you now? But not anymore –– you're in this as much as we are, after all. We all will die eventually anyway, why should I blame you if your cup of shit happens to be smaller than ours?" He grinned at another thought. "And besides, the only thing I can blame you of at the moment is talking too much –– oh I realize the irony, believe me –– and not letting me sleep."
Kai's noncommittal grunt was the only apology he offered. He glanced at Rei from the corner of his eyes. The brunet did, actually, seem exhausted. It looked very strange to him, to see Rei, who he'd come to associate with an endless supply of verve, to lack energy. No smirk was stretched on his lips, no reproach or teasing. Instead, his eyes were barely open, long eyelashes drawn together to tiny slits. We was slumped almost obscenely along the branch, one hand tangled in his hair, the other at the collar of his shirt; a leg dangled off the side of the branch while the other was propped up. He seemed so relaxed, nearly asleep. But, somehow, Kai knew that if he even so as breathed differently the brunet would spring into a defensive pose.
He grunted softly, flicking away sweat-dampened hair from his eyes. He needed rest, more then the allotted five hours, and he needed to get away from so much human contact. He wanted to get back to his secluded room back in the main section of the Academy, he wanted to get back to his usual training routine. But most of all, he wanted a shower; a long, hot shower to get rid of all the sweat and stench that for some reason gathered in the forest and had a tendency to pervade even through the bone marrow.
Kai shifted until he was fully upright. Sure enough, Rei raised his head slightly to look at him with one golden eye.
He shrugged off the other's question before he managed to voice it, beginning to walk to where voices were just starting to resound. "I thought you wanted to go to sleep," Kai offered as explanation.
One fine, black eyebrow shot up. "I thought we were supposed to be on patrol." Rei watched as Kai sidestepped a protruding root, making no motion to follow him.
"Hn. You forget that I'm the leader here. What I say is the law," Kai called over his shoulder.
Rei swung his legs from the branch, hurrying up to catch up with his Commander. He let a gingery grin spread over his lips. He winked at Kai, saying with as much sugar as he could muster, "You might be the law around here, but you're certainly no gentleman. Did no one tell you that you have to escort your date home once you're done?"
The brunet watched in satisfaction as the other's back became ramrod straight, his mouth curving around a scowl. Rei raised his chin just high enough to make it seem as a dismissal. Then he picked up his pace and headed for their base not too far ahead, making sure that his rope of hair swung enough to hit his rear with each step. It was a move he'd learned from the prostitutes on the corners of fifth and sixth streets way back in his thieving days. He'd seen what kind of stares the motion registered in the surrounding men. With amuse, he wondered of it had the same effect on Kai.
Rei knew he was being terribly crude with his not-very-subtle innuendoes. He also knew that he could get in serious shit if any of the other officers, or even cadets caught him at it. He didn't even know why Kai tolerated it. And it wasn't as if he'd meant it. He just wanted to pull on the Kai's strings, to see him reacting to each of his moves. And, maybe, he enjoyed seeing the impenetrable Kai all flustered from harmless banter. Nothing else could invoke the same response from him. And it was fun, deliciously so.
He smirked to himself, gloating at the fact that he had something over the other. With his next step, he made sure to jerk his hips just so, satisfied when his hair thumped against his rear in an almost methodical fashion.
"Holy Crackers!"
Kai stifled a growl, flinching when the shrill voice cracked over his headset, uncomfortably close to his ear. He had warned the rest of the guys to be very silent, unless stuck in an emergency situation, lest it got them killed. As expected, the final showdown down between their two teams came suddenly and unplanned. It was no time for jokes or recklessness. Besides which, he didn't even have enough time to rest after his nightly patrol with Kon before their camp was invaded.
He remembered the small explosion that rocked the ground just minutes after he'd entered his tent, then running out and barking out orders. Rei had been on the other side of the camp, directing a few of the younger cadets to the emergency supplies when a second explosion went off not too far away. Everything after that was a hazy blur. People scampering about, running in and out of various tents with weapons and med tools, others diving into the forest for an all-out attack.
It was nearly three hours after the initial explosion and things seemed more or less calm. Nearly half of his team was scattered throughout the forest, positioned in a sort of semi-arch in front of the enemy. The remainder of his team was back at base, tending to the wounded and preparing to fend off an attack from the rear if it came to that. Kai was lying on the ground, a plasma gun at his side and a hunting knife hidden in the folds of his clothes, a headset digging uncomfortably into the underside of his chin. He was filthy and tired (having not slept since the day before), and he was really in no mood for theatrics. He wanted this mission over as soon as possible, but the way things looked now, an end would be a long way coming
"What's wrong, Takao?"
Someone's – Max's, he noted– voice hissed over the line, cracking from static and maybe even worry. They all used the same radio frequency so it would be easier for him to communicate with his entire team.
"I've been hit." The blue-haired boy hissed back. It didn't surprise Kai much; gunfire could still be heard at periodic intervals, splitting the air too close for his liking. At each shot, he couldn't help but feel his lungs contort and release painfully while he waited for a report – if one was necessary.
"Where?" Asked Max, his anxiety now evident, even through the static.
"Right shoulder, just below the collarbone," Takao replied. Kai had to give him credit for not sounding panicky.
"Are you —"
"Is it critical?" Kai's sharp question over the intercom startled nearly everyone; nobody was expecting the Commander to be listening, much less bothering about such small things. Kai could clearly hear the younger boy fidgeting through his head set.
"N-no, Sir," Takao stuttered. "There's just so much blood and... Ow! It stings."
"Hn." Kai grunted in response. "What does it feel like?"
The Commander could practically see the other boy blanch, most likely holding on to his wound and having to fight off a nasty retort. ‛It feels like I've been shot, dammit!' Seemed to pass silently through the intercom. For a minute or two all he could hear was the ragged breathing of this team through the headset and the faraway gunshots.
"It...it," began Takao, looking for something appropriate to describe the sensation spreading through his chest and bones "... it's like... a wave of ice, like I'd taken a cold shower and it's gotten even under my skin."
Kai grunted again, removing a twig from where it dug into his side. The blue-haired boy could have been hit with the same bullet that he dug out of Rei's shoulder earlier that week. The possibility was small but the little chance that it was nagged at him. He gave himself a few seconds to deliberate what to do about it; he didn't have more than that. Takao didn't sound too affected, but that could have also been because of the nervousness or the tension had made him slightly giddy. It could also be that same weapon, and if it was, then they'd have to get the projectile out as soon as possible – before the blood and fragments of skin obscured it. But then the situation itself was not favourable; he didn't know if he could afford to spare one or two men, even for emergency. Should he sacrifice the structure of the current situation for the safety of his teammate? Or should he go on ahead while everything was still under control?
"Jenkins?" He called out over the line.
"S-sir?" Said man responded timidly; he didn't think that Kai noticed his existence.
"How far are you from Kinomiya's last reported location?" The Commander asked, oblivious to how edgy the other had sounded.
Fumbling noises could be heard over the intercom. "Ah... um... X, 3665 and Y, 7650 to south-southwest, Sir."
Kai harrumphed, thinking. That made it about ninety yards. "Tate? How far are you?"
"Not very far, Sir," Max replied, sounding surer of himself, which Kai attributed to his lineage. "I can make it in under five minutes, I think. What should I do?"
"Take him back to camp," Kai called out, pleased that something was finally going right. "Make sure he sees a medic immediately upon arrival."
"Will do." Max responded. "Should I call in reinforcements?"
The Commander thought about it for a moment. He'd had enough of waiting around on his belly like some coward. He'd take things on the offensive, Kai decided. "No, there won't be any need," he replied.
After a minute or two of waiting around, he heard the other's shuffling; the two had obviously met and were on their way. He waited for another little while, making last changes to the plan that was forming in his brain even as he thought about it. He could wait to battle it out to the last breathing man, or he could, somehow, attempt a sneak attack and take out the other team from the inside.
"Kon? What's your location?" He called out. Whatever his plan, he opined, Rei would be a vital part. Truthfully, the brunet was the fastest, most skilful of his entire team. Kai needed him, as must as he hated to admit it.
His thoughts were instantly brought to a halt when a warm hand was placed on the small of his back, a darkened face drawing to his own. Kai's muscles tensed under the hand, his breath lodged in his throat. Another hand reached up to press the small button on the strap of his headset, unclasping the apparatus. He felt rather than saw the air above him become heavier. His assailant's lips came close to the side of his face, the warm breath stirring the faint hairs on his nape.
"I'm right here" was whispered right into his ear; Kai suppressed the urge to shiver at the tickling sensation. Then realization hit his stomach like a bagful of bricks. Angry, he made a sharp motion to turn his head to the side, glaring at the perpetrator.
Rei just shrugged, crouching down beside Kai. "I thought you might want me near you." At Kai's lack of response (he was pointedly aware of his furious gaze) he smirked and set about recharging his own plasma rifle. "Admit it, I'm good and you need me."
Kai snorted in response, his ire dying down now that they were back on teasing terms. He shook himself mentally at this; he shouldn't be thinking that these harmless jests were a normal occurrence, a part of his daily life. Instead, he asked, "Why did you disable my comm-tool?"
Rei feigned a smirk, pressing the release button on his weapon. "What? Can't we even have a private conversation?" He glanced at Kai from the corner of his eye, knowing full well that he wasn't fooling the him. "So, I lied, no biggie. I just don't want the rest of the guys to hear, in case they'd get worried. Lord knows they're already scared shitless. Things aren't exactly peachy from this vantage point, are they?"
"Hn." Kai grunted in agreement. "Ten wounded, seven of them seriously. The others are too scared to move. They got us completely surrounded on the western side and from what I gather, they're swarming ahead of us as well."
"Why can't we just get rid of their leader? Eliminate him and the game's won, right?" Rei asked looking at him. It seemed to Kai as if his eyes glowed even in the darkness.
He shook his head. "Not easily done. As we are right now, there are more of them than there are of us, we'll be outnumbered in an all-out fight. And taking one down won't guarantee us a victory."
Rei fought off a grin. Just as he'd expected, Kai had intended on nothing but triumph. "They might have more manpower at the moment, and maybe even the advantage, but if we take down their leader they'll crumble and burn. A team is nothing without a leader."
Kai could feel Rei's eyes on him even as he fathomed it over. It seemed to him that, maybe, there had been a praise behind those words. It could work, he thought, if they played on the other team's strings correctly, they could still pull off a victory.
"‛sides," Rei added, looking away into the darkness of the forest, "what else would you suggest. Waiting things out?"
"Hn," Kai grunted in agreement. "Kon, you ——"
"Rei," the brunet interrupted him.
The two-toned youth looked at him questioningly.
"My name is Rei," he supplied helpfully. It was important, for some inexplicable reason, that Kai referred to him by his given name. "I thought you would have learned at least that much about me after all this while. And it's the least you could do after I come to save your ass like this."
"Rei." Kai rolled the name on his tongue, feeling unnecessarily awkward at having to say it aloud. "I want you to head for their Commander while I distract them."
The brunet frowned. "Why do you get to act as a decoy? You're not telling me you'd rather that I go unscathed and have to fend them all off yourself. Is that concern I sense there?" Despite his joking tone, Rei was quite serious. Kai had openly volunteered to take on the hardest part himself, which meant two things, neither of which he favoured. One was that Kai decided to be a self-righteous kamikaze; the other that was that he'd sacrifice the mission on his account.
Kai ignored the tease, saying gruffly, "Because you're the fastest of the two of us and more agile. You'll have less trouble getting to their leader."
Rei tilted his face to the side in a coy gesture, gazing at Kai with the same fake-ly sugary simper. "Why you flatter, you. That's the first compliment you've given me!"
His Commander grumbled something darkly to himself. Rei could clearly see the struggle not to strangle him twisting on the other's face, and he damn well enjoyed it. He was about to say something else –– along the lines of how sweet Kai was –– when a shot and a muffled scream sounded through the air. The brunet swore under his breath, angry at himself for letting personal feelings get in the way of the mission.
He looked at Kai with dark, narrowed eyes. "How will I know which one's the leader?"
Kai shrugged, recharging his gun just in case, even though it was still full. "He'll be the one giving all the orders."
Rei bit back a sharp retort, asking instead,"What about the others? Should we tell them or go ahead with it?"
At this, Kai picked up his discarded headset, donning it on but not fitting the straps. He tapped the speaker with his index finger, hearing the initial static of the comm-system booting up. "You are all to remain in position," he said over the open line, not waiting to hear if the others had acknowledged his presence. "No matter what happens –– whether you hear screams or gunfire –– you are to remain where you are. Understood?"
Small confirmations could be heard over the line even as Kai dropped the headset back to the ground. Finishing making the final adjustments to his plasma gun, the Commander unsheathed the hunting knife that was concealed until that point. He looked up at Rei, letting his eyes roam over the other's face as if for the last time. "Here," he handed the knife to the brunet.
Rei took the weapon, hiding it within his clothes as Kai had. "I'll treasure it always," he said lightly, hoping to get rid of the tension that seemed to suddenly rear its ugly head. From the time he was a small kid on the streets he didn't like tense situations, they always made him feel useless.
"You better," Kai said quietly, trying to relieve some of the jitters twisting at his stomach. "That's my favourite hunting knife." He couldn't very well say ‛be careful' or ‛make sure you bring yourself along with it,' could he? That would be completely uncharacteristic of him.
The raven-haired youth forced a smirk at the attempted joke, feeling better already; the knife was an oddly soothing weight against his side. "I feel so special," he said with a little chuckle.
Returning to fight-mode, Kai sprang into a half-crouch, pressing against the back of a tree. He motioned Rei closer. The brunet squatted at his side, looking ahead into the forest and carefully observing Kai at the same time.
"You'll follow closer behind me until their front lines," the Commander was saying, absently digging in his pocket for something. "Then we'll separate. You'll lie in wait until I give you the signal – you'll know once you hear it –, which will give you the go ahead. From then on, you'll have approximately ten minutes to find and isolate their leader. Here, take this," he said, finally fishing out what he was searching for.
Rei held out his hand. A small, blue and white capsule was dropped into his palm. He inspected it closer, noting the tiny writing printed on the side. "What is it?" He asked.
"It's a minor explosive," Kai replied, closing Rei's still outstretched hand. The brunet felt a sort of thrill of electricity pass through him, originating from where their skin met. The two-toned youth obviously had not felt the same sensation because he was looking back into the woods again, his brows furrowed in concentration. "If you find yourself in a compromising situation, I want you to use it. Press on its sides lightly and then throw it as far away from yourself as possible. It's not strong enough to be lethal, but it'll create a flash that'll give enough a distraction for you to get away.
"If I hear nothing from your side of things after ten minutes, I'll assume that you've been either shot, knocked out or captured," he continued in his calculating voice; Rei had to suppress a shiver at the frost Kai seemed to radiate. "I'll manage to plant a couple of these capsules all over the place and when the time's up, I'll set them off. That'll be plenty enough opportunity for you to get out. If you can escape, head straight for base to re-group and re-strategise."
Rei snorted. "You sure have so little confidence in me." That made the brunet's anger swell up again. Did Kai really think him incapable of taking care of himself? He might not have been an expert at these things, but he'd rather suffer a thousand humiliations than to give up – or fail. And he owed that much to Kai, at least. On a lighter note, he added, "That sounds like an elaborate plan. For how long exactly have you been planning this?"
Kai shrugged in answer and dismissal. "It doesn't matter now. Ready?" He gave a small grunt at Rei's nod and bolted around the tree before the dark-haired youth could get a word edge-wise.
He ran fast, ducking left and right, springing into a crouch and jumping over logs, knowing instinctually that Rei was just a step behind him, if not slightly ahead. What he said was true, the brunet really was incredibly fast. That first night during the reconnaissance mission he caught a glimpse of him moving through the trees by accident. It lasted less than a second, streaking alabaster and amber in-between the dark, obscuring trees. He'd thought it was the trick of the eyes, as such things tended to happen after a while of being surrounded by the same environment, but then his gut clenched and he knew that it was Rei.
He just hoped that that speed was enough to get him through this unscathed. Kai hated it, but being with these people had changed him. Wanted or not, they were slowly gaining his trust and concern. Maybe they were becoming like a family to him. Whatever it was, he was sure it would hurt like hell if one of them got seriously hurt.
A streak passed by him and then disappeared ahead into the trees. He thought he caught a wisp of ebony hair ghosting over his cheek. He narrowed his eyes and sped up.
Rei squatted behind a mangled tree, waiting for his captain to approach. He allowed himself a second's reprise to catch his breath before Kai joined him. The Commander looked at him long and hard, his eyes like raw rubies in the murkiness. It passed as a silent agreement between them that no more words should be said from this point on. Rei cocked his head slightly to the side, deliberating before giving a small nod. Kai responded with a similar gesture and rose up slightly to move ahead.
The younger man caught his hand before he could move forward, however. Kai looked down at him. Rei tugged on his sleeve, pulling the larger hand toward him so it was pressed against his side, where the knife was concealed. ‛I'll bring it back,' he seemed to say with the token, ‛so you better be here to get it.'
With another curt nod, Kai set off again. Rei did not dare to look after him, not wanting to catch unwanted attention. His insides seemed to shrink while he waited for the other's signal. He felt almost as if time had decided to slow down, simply because at that moment it didn't like him. It felt like a sensory overload. Every sound was amplified until it was almost too painful to listen, even to his own breathing. His eyes darted every-which-way, looking for anything that did not belong but finding nothing.
The wait was excruciating. His muscles tightened and released, pumped with nervous anticipation. He thought he might as well choke on his own breath and be spared having to just sit there and do nothing. Then, like from behind closed eyelids or a dream, he heard it: the signal. It was no more than a whisper, though it sounded awfully loud to his straining ears; it was like one of those chirping sounds that artificial birds made. He remembered it from that evening in the training room with Kai. It had to be the signal – there were no living creatures in this forest, after all.
Sucking in a deep breath, he leaped up and onto a low tree branch, skidding on the growing moss and sheer momentum. He jumped from one branch and onto the next, half-gliding. From a short distance ahead, he heard yells and gunfire. Rei grinned to himself, thinking that it was unfair of Kai to be having all the fun while he had been stuck with all the waiting. At least that meant that their plan had gone without a hitch for the time being.
Light was coming ahead of him. He slowed down, creeping along the current branch, pressing himself flat against it when the trees parted to a clearing. He was rather high up, which granted him a good overlooking view of the entire situation. Rei felt his breath hitch up. The other team built a forte in the middle of the forest. ‛So that's how they managed to surround us and keep it up for such a long while without re-supplying,' he opined. Several trees were uprooted, lying haphazardly on the ground. Small tents were set up, the main one situated between a couple of smaller ones. It would be tough getting into, he decided. Rei noticed that many of the small people below were scurrying about from tent to tent. He smirked again, mentally thanking Kai for the opportunity.
He waited for a second longer, assessing the best opening. Then, as if a gun unlocking mechanism went off inside his head, Rei jumped down from his perch on the branch, landing noiselessly on the ground below. He ducked behind a couple of stacked crates, taking the moment to wipe off the sweat on his nape and to regain his equilibrium. When a couple of nameless cadets passed by his hiding spot, he sprang from position, following them stealthily. They did not differ much from him; both tall, lanky and dressed in dark clothes. Still, he did not want to risk just walking along side of them.
Rei sidestepped into the shadow of two tents, running lithely along the side of one. He could see the main tent just a slight ways ahead. Crouching down in front of broad-leafed plant, he observed the situation. There were several armed men walking about, a couple others guarding the entrance and the Commander inside. Dully he noted that things were systemized differently in this camp – apparently, the leader and most of the infantry were left at base, as opposed to all hands in combat. Things weren't in his favour; he'd have to bypass them all before making a break for their leader and by that time the entire forte would have been alerted to his presence. While he didn't doubt that he could take on a dozen or so men by himself, an entire camp was too much.
He chewed on his lip, a nervous habit he picked up from Max, and thought about it. There really was only one way out of this mess, he reasoned. Hurriedly, Rei took out the small capsule that Kai gave him. He didn't allow himself a single moment more to ponder on it and squeezed the little instrument in a fist that was clammy. There was a whirr and click. Feeling as if things were happening too fast for his liking, Rei drew his arm back and threw the mini bomb as far away from the main tent as possible.
The brunet had less than a second to regroup his focus when the explosion went off. Instantly, the ground underneath his feet shook, a painfully pale light coming from the source of the blast. Not even thinking, he darted from his hiding place and to the main tent. People were frantically scurrying all around him, shouting and screaming obscenities at each other and at the commotion. Rei's hands were curled around the flaps of canvas when a second explosion rocked the earth, followed closely by another. Startled, he whirled around to look for the origin of the disruption. His mind whirred frantically; things weren't supposed to go like this, what went wrong? Did someone else manage to sneak into the enemy camp? Was it another confrontation? Was Kai all right?
He had just a fraction of a second to process all these thoughts when a head popped timidly from the tent's entrance. Rei was surprised to note that this man was young, only a couple of years older than him, with mousy hair and pale brown eyes. He seemed positively green with inexperience. ‛Is this what they send to fight in the war?' Came the disgruntled thought.
Despite the young face, the Commander barked out sharply, "What's all the commotion?" He reached for the gun secured at his waistband.
Taking the opportunity, Rei stepped up to the older man, forcing on a worried expression. "We're under a surprise attack, Sir. Come inside where you can be safe."
The Commander looked at him intently, narrowing his eyes as if in recognition, but followed Rei inside the tent nonetheless. Outside, more small explosions went off, trailed by yells for help and more ammunition. The mousy-haired leader went over to his large desk, where a map similar to Kai's lay. His brows furrowed together as he studied the charts and reports on his desk.
"How many of them are operating the attack, private...?" He asked, bending over a sheaf of records.
"Kon, Sir," Rei supplied, coming closer to the man. "I suspect there's no more than two of them, Sir."
"Two?" He sounded almost affronted, giving the brunet a scathing look. Rei came to stand behind him, looking over his shoulder at the records. "Who's their Commander?"
"Kai," the ebony-haired boy breathed out, almost tenderly, smirking inwardly when he saw the faint hairs stand up on the Commander's neck, "Hiwatari Kai, Sir."
The older man blanched, an almost imperceptible shudder passing through him. Kai was practically a legend on the Academy campus. To fight against him was every cadet's late night fantasy and worst fear. From what he'd heard, Kai wasn't even human. He suppressed a tired sigh.
"That's just fucking great!" He shook his head. "No matter. These reports read that his side has more casualties than us. If we manage to hold off this attack... I'm guessing he sent his best people over, and if we capture them then we'll have a high advantage over him. Private, relate these orders t——"
"Captain?" The softly spoken question interrupted his planning.
"What?" He growled out.
Just then, the cold barrel of a plasma gun was pressed against the blond man's right temple. He froze, a cold shiver passing through his body. A sudden feeling of terror overcame him, he closed his eyes; a plasma shot that close to the body, even if set to the lowest level, was lethal.
Rei felt the Commander stiffen and suck in a sharp breath. He grinned to himself, like a predator that had captured his prey. He turned off the gun's locking mechanism. The brunet felt more than saw the man's Adam's apple rise up. He pulled back the trigger device just slightly, enough for the pieces of the metal to scrape against each other. The Commander went completely still, even the beads of sweat seemed to pause.
"Bang! Bang!" Rei whispered darkly into the Commander's other ear.
The man went totally limp, slumping against the brunet's front. Rei deposited the man onto the floor beside the desk, noting with a little cringe the dark stain that formed on crotch of the Commander's trousers. Quickly, he went over to the comm module and flipped over a couple of the switches. He picked up one of the discarded headsets near the station.
"Attention all!" Rei called out into the speaker, sounding fierce. "We have your leader captured and your fort surrounded on all sides. There are a dozen of our men stationed in various places all over this camp. Also, several medium power explosives have been set up — " ‛So what if that was a slight exaggeration, they didn't know that, right?' He added mentally "— If you want to come out of this situation with as little casualties as possible, I suggest your surrender."
Everything outside seemed to suddenly stop. No more explosions, no more shouts. Just outside the tent, he heard the sounds of something heavy and metallic thud on the hard earth. He didn't have to turn around to look when the heavy canvas was lifted behind him and a person stepped in, he already knew who it was.
"I'm glad you decided to show up, Kai," He said with a little lilt in his voice, cocking his head to the side but still not facing the other.
Kai, because it was, indeed, him, grunted in response, stepping further into the darkness of the tent. He had been alarmed when he heard the first explosion, thinking that Rei had encountered a possibly threatening situation. He had acted on instinct, too brashly, he thought.
"Here," Rei said, finally turning around. He flashed Kai an easy grin and threw something at him. The object hit the Kai's chest and landed with a soft thud on the ground. The other youth bent to pick it up, eyebrows rising once he identified what it was. He sent a questioning glower Rei's way. The brunet just shrugged nonchalantly. "It's your favourite, isn't it?"
Kai muttered a soft ‛yes' and hid the hunting knife back amongst the folds of his clothes. Through the layers of cloth, he could feel Rei's heat lingering on the metal. He got it back after all.
He leaned in against the dull metallic railing, letting the artificial breeze blow the slate-coloured locks out of his eyes. This, Kai thought, was his most favourite place in the entire world. After their release from the exercise field, both teams were hailed for their efforts and were given a week off of training duty, after which they'd be moved closer to the front lines. While the rest of his team had decided on a well-deserved rest and a party at one of the local pubs, Kai decided to come here, out of the protective dome of the Academy and to one of the viewing platforms.
He remembered reading from somewhere that he stood on what used to be the ruins of an ancient capital city; it had been renamed New Kioto after the reconstruction of the old island. Several long viewing platforms had been built from the city's port and extended nearly ten miles into the ocean. These edifices were mostly constructed under the water, sound and shatterproof glass surrounding the structures on three sides. It was the only place in the world where real-life fish could still be found. If Kai closed his eyes and all other senses besides sound, he could almost make himself believe that he was in an underwater world.
It was still morning and only a few other visitors were scattered about. The lights on the metal bar that connected the heavy sheets of glass were dimmed to create an illusion of hazy dusk. The water seemed almost blue, just faintly so because of the ash-black sky overhead. Even still, everything appeared decidedly ethereal. In this place, Kai felt as if he had been transported back through time, to the ancient worlds he had studied. If he extended his hand over the railing and pressed it against the glass, he knew from the experience, he would feel the water flow, pulsate as if having a life of its own. Being here, Kai forgot, even if for a brief moment, about everything but this gentle surge, like that of time.
When he was younger, he often came to this place to free his mind whenever he found his thoughts to be muddled.
Kai ignored the weight that was added next to him on the railing. He resisted an urge to growl and sent a menacing glare into the expanse of water. This was supposed to be one of his safe-havens, a place where he could be alone, meaning that he did not want or appreciate anyone invading that space.
"Shouldn't you be with your friends, Kon?" He asked, biting back a waspish curse.
"Rei." Said youth supplied automatically.
"Rei."
The brunet shrugged and sent a light grin his way. "I was just taking a stroll around the place and then I saw you walking about. And so I thought to myself, why, he seems as if he knows his way around, maybe I can mooch off a free tour from him." He saw Kai's lips part as if preparing a sharp retort. With a little incline of his head, he added, "and for your information, you weren't that difficult to track down."
Kai didn't say anything in response, leaning more heavily onto the rail. He didn't want to have another fight with Rei, not so soon in any case.
"I never figured you to be the contemplative type," was said softly after a while. Kai hid his surprise when he realized that there was no tease in that voice.
"Why can't I be?" He retorted, keeping his voice quiet so they wouldn't attract the attention of other visitors, as if any sort of confrontation would mean disturbing the sanctity of this place.
Rei shrugged nonchalantly, saying, "I never said you weren't, just that you did not seem that way to me."
"Hn."
Kai may not have seemed it, but he was a strong devotee of the ancient arts. Growing up, he had many books –– digitalized and genuine –– on classical literature. Once, he had sneaked down to his grandfather's library and read the entire Ulysses, though it took him several nightly trips to finish the whole tome. He was fascinated with the ancient world, the abandon, the politics and simplicity. Maybe he even envied the characters in those books.
"I mean," Rei continued over the stretch of silence, "I don't know, you just seem so very harsh, like you are trying to freeze from the inside out. Or like you're trying to dislodge that stick from up your ass," he added with a little rueful grin. "I didn't think you'd bother with such frivolous things. What's the use for art and literature in this world? To you, especially?"
Kai just peered deeper into the almost-blue of the water beyond the glass. If he stared hard enough, maybe he could see a fish swim by.
Rei scrutinized him from the corner of his eye. All his first impressions of Kai had crumbled and fell before he had even realized it. Initially, he thought his Commander was cold-hearted, but he came to realize that that was not the case. Kai went out of his way to save him back in that forest. He took the time to appreciate rare beauty such as this observational platform. And Rei knew that somewhere inside, Kai cared about every member of his team as if their were his own siblings.
Looking at him now, the brunet could almost imagine Kai as a lonely little boy trying to escape the harsh reality. And, perhaps, that's what he still was.
He propped one elbow up on the railing, cupping his cheek while still maintaining his barely subtle gaze on Kai. With a little start he realized that his Commander was actually quite handsome. Dark eyes and pale skin. If only his hard glare didn't shrivel the air, if only his harsh words didn't have the force to crush, if only he didn't shrink away from human touch.
Rei allowed a small smile to tug on his lips. "Let me tell you a story," he said, trailing the finger of his free hand along the glass' surface.
Kai glanced at his companion as if trying to decide if he was insane or not. "Aren't we a little bit too old for such things?"
The brunet ignored him, beginning his tale. "Once there lived a... man." He fumbled with the last word, as if he wasn't sure how to address the protagonist. "This man, since he was young, all he knew was running. Always, he ran and ran and ran. He didn't know why he was running, or from what, but it was very important to keep on gong. He never paused, never looked back, and he never stopped, not even when his feet had swollen up with blisters and his every breath felt like it was his last.
"One day, as he was running through a city, he realized that he had been there before, that it had been his home once." From the brief glance he allowed himself, Kai noticed that Rei's face was closed off, devoid of emotion. The brunet went on, "He looked at the desolate streets, the dilapidated buildings and the fleshless forms on the ground that were once his friends. And it struck him very odd that he should keep on running while all his friends, everything that he had ever known and loved was dying. It was then that he realized what he was running from." Rei paused for dramatic effect, turning to look at Kai with eyes that were more or less lifeless. "Do you want to know what it was?"
"Hn." Kai's noncommittal response was ambiguous in nature, not having a clear distinction between negative and positive. And that's exactly how he wanted to sound.
"It was death," Rei answered without really caring whether Kai wished to hear or not. "You see, he didn't want it to happen to him or to those he cared about. He realized that the world was doomed, as was he. He knew that the fate of his hometown would be shared by others over the span of time, but he had never seen it come so close to him and it was truly terrifying. And he wanted to live, he wanted to be with those he loved, even when he knew that they would perish someday, too. But he was very tired, and everyone, he discovered, that he loved was gone. And you know what he did?" Rei turned to him again, a sort of lost smile stretched on his lips. "Then and there, on a street littered with human corpses and with the ruins of his home at his feet, he stopped and looked behind him. And he smiled because he saw his future there..." he let his voice trail over and slowly disappear.
Kai managed to swallow past the lump that somehow managed to lodge in his throat –– why, he had not a single clue. "That's a lame story," he snorted, looking away.
Rei shook his head as if trying to get rid of a bad thought. Cocking his head to the side, he retorted,"Well I skipped a couple of parts of course! I didn't think that you'd would want to hear about the hero of the story finding the love of his life, realizing only too late that it would end in tragedy. And he had to go through a long ordeal about finding his family again and after that, he had to save the world from some nameless force."
Kai dismissed the latter as complete nonsense."And?" He asked after a while.
Rei quirked an eyebrow at this. "What?"
The Commander rolled his eyes, as if expecting it to be a universal question. "Did it catch up to him?"
The cadet thought about it for a moment, then shrugged with a little grin. "Maybe, maybe not. I don't know, it hasn't been written yet."
Kai felt a victorious smirk tug on his lips. "If it hasn't been written yet then how do you know what happens in it?"
Aware of the Kai's ploy, Rei decided to play along. "I don't have to have read the story to know how it goes!" He exclaimed, bringing his hands in front of him in a defensive fashion.
Kai snorted something incomprehensible and turned to lean backwards against the railing. "Meaning that you just made it up," he said, the little smirk still planted firmly on his lips.
Rei looked nearly scandalized. "No I didn't!" He exclaimed, sounding affronted. "It's a real story, I swear! It happened to a friend of a friend of mine."
"Hn." Kai sounded unfazed, closing his eyes to hide his amusement. "Don't try to weasel your way out of it, Rei." He had a little struggle deciding what to address the other –– should he purposely ruffle the brunet's feathers by sticking to the formal title, or should he submit and refer to him as only "Rei"?
The brunet's only reply was to make a crass gesture with his hand. Kai was fighting a losing battle against a wide, triumphant grin. Rei had lost this small fight, which was a large plus in Kai's opinion. Though, if he thought about it, something in the dark-haired youth's story was unsettling, he just couldn't pinpoint what it was. When he was telling it, Rei seemed almost lost, like he'd forgotten which was the right path so he was stumbling and blindly groping to find his way back. Kai shrugged off a nagging thought that told him that Rei was the man in the story. Thinking like that would do no good to him. Rei, after all, was just a no body with no future, like himself. He had no room to make bonds, knowing that they would be broken at some point.
"What happed to the one he loved?" Kai asked to combat the returning silence, during which both had fallen deathly still.
"Hmm?" Rei looked up at him, barely comprehending. "He never told his love, but sat like saddened Patience upon the pedestal and let his invisible tears roll over frozen cheeks. He fell in love with a loveless fool, you see." 1
"You're being overly melodramatic about it," snorted Kai.
Rei sent him a haughty grin. Saying sarcastically, "You're very observant, aren't you? Your deducing skills amaze me."
Kai inclined his head to the side as if in acknowledgement. Then another question popped into his mind."...How would you know what happened with his lover if it was never written down? For all you know, he might have been loved in return and suffered in silence."
Rei shrugged, feigning the illusion of nonchalance. "Call it intuition of somebody who's rocked in the same boat."
Kai let the implication die down, thinking that it was none of his business to meddle in Rei's personal life. Besides, it's not as if his input mattered to the other. Instead, he said to change the topic, "After the week is up a transport will come to take all of you to Delhi."
The dark-haired youth glanced at him from under his bangs. He knew it would come up sooner or later, just that he did not anticipate it so soon. "You mean to tell me you're not coming?" He asked seriously.
Kai looked at the dark water across from him, keeping his gaze otherwise neutral. "Voltaire wants me to stay here."
Rei looked up at this. It was the first time he heard Kai refer to his grandfather. He had referred to the man in such a formal way. Rei thought there would be more relation between the two. "His heir?"
"Hn." The other grunted in response.
A bile-tasting knot rose to Rei's throat. He forced his gaze down to the grated walkway. "Don't tell me your grandfather has you tied so tightly against his little finger that you can't even move of your own free will." Kai didn't say anything to defend himself. "I can't believe you would abandon your team just like that, just because some old bastard said so. What bullshit. Have you ever thought that some people might actually depend on you to pull through? No, I don't think you ever did."
Kai chose not to comment, feeling his own ire raise up. He wanted, more than anybody, to be among the front lines. He was prepared for it. But Voltaire was a difficult thorn in his side, and one not easily removed.
Wanting to change the stale atmosphere that seemed to arise at the mention of his grandfather, he asked, "How did you get inside the viewing platform? The admission fee is more than a private's pay."
Glad for the change of topic, Rei felt his stomach twist, as if it was trying to feed on itself. He was hoping that Kai wouldn't ask that question. A shiver of something akin to unadulterated fear spread along his spine, though he prevented it from showing on the exterior. He wasn't afraid of Kai, but he was afraid of the gun he knew Kai always hid on his person.
He swallowed past the dry lump that formed in his throat, backing away just ever so subtly. "You're right, I didn't have enough for an admittance." Which was the truth; after all, the pay of a cadet of his stature was less than a hundred credits, which was barely enough for a decent meal at the pub and certainly wasn't enough for the hefty thousand credits to get inside the viewing platform.
Kai narrowed his eyes at this, noticing that a cold sweat had broke out on the other's forehead, and that Rei was trying to surreptitiously creep away. "How did you get the right amount?" He asked, though he had a sneaky suspicion that he already knew.
"I borrowed some," Rei replied with a shrug, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It's not like the guy needed it."
With a muttered curse, Kai held out his hand to the other. "Give it back," he growled darkly.
Rei blinked at him endearingly, sticking out his bottom lips in an imitation of a pout. "What do you mean?" He asked in mock innocence, inching further away all the while.
Kai noticed this, straightening up and taking a step closer in retaliation. "My purse," he ground out, extending his hand farther. "Give it back."
Clicking his tongue, the brunet backed away even more, feeling playfulness set in again. Kai had such a cold demeanour; was it really his fault if it was fun to see it destroyed because of harmless banter? "Why should I ?" he asked with a lazy drawl. "You don't need so many credits anyway. Think of it as sharing."
"Kon." Kai had said the name as if it was a threat, which it was, actually.
Rei grinned at him and produced the wallet from somewhere amongst his clothing. "How about we play a game for it?" He offered. "If you can catch me, I'll give it back to you. If you don't... Well, I get to keep everything that's inside and spend it on whatever I wish. Deal?"
Before Kai managed to utter a protest, Rei pivoted around and set off for the deeper end of the viewing platform. Kai cursed profoundly under his breath, darting after his renegade companion. Why did Rei always shift things to a game level?
"I'll get you, Kon!" Kai shouted after the brunet, unable to suppress his ire.
"I'll never be yours!" was hollered in return, accented with rich, melodious laughter.
Kai glared at Rei's rapidly shrinking form and sped up. He didn't have to play along with Kon's games, of course; he had more than enough money, the few thousand that were in his wallet were nothing in comparison to the Hiwatari fortune. But, somehow, he knew that losing even this much to Rei would mean losing more than just. It wasn't about wanting to have something over the other, it meant that his pride and ego was being stepped on. Although he wasn't conceited, he didn't like to be humiliated either, especially by like likes of someone like Rei.
So, he determined with a darkening glare, he would not let Kon defeat him. Out of sheer will, Kai forced himself to become faster. The air that filled his lungs was almost painful, throbbing dully in his side. He ignored it as well as the people that were frantically dodging away from him. His cheeks stung and bones all but creaked with exertion. It felt exhilarating. On an offhand note, he wondered whether this was the reason Rei seemed to enjoy speed so much.
A few paces ahead of him was Rei, though he wasn't laughing anymore. Kai didn't allow himself to count it as a victory yet. Mustering up all the impetus he could, he accelerated –– if that was possible –– until he was almost neck-to-neck with Rei. He thrust his left arm out, which caught the brunet on the side. Not expecting the move, the younger of the two stumbled a bit but did not stop. Narrowing his gaze at Kai's back, he was about to drive a low kick when Kai swivelled around suddenly and grabbed his upper arm roughly, stopping his progress.
"Ow!" Rei exclaimed, though it didn't register with either of them.
Kai growled profanities under his breath, steering his less than willing companion into one of the maintenance compartments that were situated along the stretch of the platform. Keeping his vice grip on Rei's arm, Kai nearly crushed the man against the wall, blocking the way out with his body.
"Relax, relax!" The brunet said breathlessly with a little laugh. He had not felt so exalted in years. "You know I was only playing."
Kai's glower was scathing enough to make anyone else beg for mercy. Rei, however, just grinned cockily at him. For some reason, this perturbed him. Why wasn't Kon cringing away from him? As if expecting some devious ruse to be behind the brunet's unfazed appearance, Kai peered closer at him. All he saw were cheeks flushed a pale pink from excitement and exertion, jet-black hair falling into eyes that didn't have a particular colour up close, a perky nose and lush, delicate lips. He'd never really looked at him before, Kai realised, or at least he never saw him like this.
He noted that Rei's lips were moving, but he couldn't hear what was being said. Suddenly, he felt very tired, all energy drained from his limbs. He slumped against Rei's slighter form, oblivious to how the other stiffened at the contact.
"You. Are. Mine." He growled breathlessly into the brunet's ear; it was a strange shape, small and pointed just slightly at the tip.
Rei suppressed a shiver at the warmth of the other's breath on the sensitive lobe. He valiantly tried to ignore how Kai's body was pressed almost uncomfortably against his own, how the wall and the man's strong arms trapped him. The several layers of clothing didn't seem to be enough for him, because he could clearly feel the definition of every muscle along Kai's chest. The heat that was creeping along his skin was very unsettling. The faint hairs on his nape were stirred again when Kai seemed to sigh softly. His insides froze when he realized that Kai's lips were hovering along his jaw, barely touching.
Swallowing, he turned his head to look at his Commander, a curse or a retort –– he couldn't decide on one –– poised on the tip of his tongue. But when he caught sight of Kai's face, nothing could come out. Maybe it was the garnet gaze, which had become a darker, richer shade, or the complete lack of the usual coolness, the brunet could do nothing.
"Rei," was breathed softly, like a dream, before lips that he did not dare to look at touched his own.
The contact was less than a whisper against flesh, but even that much was enough to send Rei's mind awhirl with sensation. He panicked. He didn't know what to do, what he wanted to do. The touch was warm and delicious but wrong at the same time. Should he push away? Did he want to? With a sinking feeling in his gut Rei realized that he didn't, that he'd wanted this for a long while. And with that came disgust –– at himself for thinking such thoughts, at Kai for complying with them and for making it better than he could imagine, and at the world just because at the moment he hated everything about it.
Somehow, his heart leaping to his throat and plunging back down to the soles of his feet, Rei managed to find it in himself to push at Kai's chest. The Commander seemed dazed, as if he didn't realize what he had just done.
Rei didn't wait for comprehension to dawn on him before ducking under one of Kai's arms and escaping into the main walkway, saying a harried, "Takao'll kill me for being late –– I promised him that I'd go with him to this bar he heard about."
Before Kai could administer a reply, Rei was running at top speed to the entrance of the platform. Something decisively bitter and painful tugged at his stomach. At that moment, he didn't know what he wanted more –– to cry or die. He could do neither and he felt very cheated.
Rei sighed heavily and leaned his forehead against the cool transporter window. Those who knew him would think that the gesture seemed completely foreign on him, but as of late, he was moody and silent. None knew why, of course. Rei, though he was what one would call a people's person –– meaning that he preferred the company of others rather than solitude –– was in actuality rather closed off. His smiles and jests rarely meant anything, the real ones reserved only for very close friends, which were few to begin with. His pensiveness, however, suggested a soul troubled by more than could be conceived by a first glance, or even a lifetime of observation.
It had been more than a week since the incident at the offshore observation platform, and Rei was still plagued by the guilt over what had happened. He didn't know what to think anymore, didn't know what he was. All his life he'd been taught that such things were evil and against the law. But why did such a simple gesture make him feel a trembling child? Why were there jittery bubbles in his stomach, why did his cheeks flush at the mere thought? Why did he have to think of Kai as handsome in the first place, why didn't he resist more when he'd been kissed? And why oh why did he want to do it again? On some small level, he felt dirty for even thinking it. At the same time, he didn't care about what stupid laws stated. Everything had become complicating in a matter of seconds.
He looked out the window. Outside was a sightless scene, a stretch of barren nothingness. No buildings stood, no people walked. Just the ruins of some ancient, or maybe even modern city, a filthy bog sweeping over. Outside the main cities, nothing else existed –– it couldn't, really, with the poison in the earth and the exposure to the atmosphere.
The transport that took them to Delhi came just on time; Rei didn't even realize as the week passed by, too busy with pretending to enjoy himself and trying to avoid Kai. He was glad for how quickly things were moving. The world would not wait for him to resolve his issues.
"It used to be a flourishing city not too long ago," was said quietly.
Rei stiffened but remained otherwise unruffled. He did not dare to look at Kai, feeling a mixture of awkwardness and trepidation pull at his nerves. He promised himself that he wouldn't be affected by what had happened, but from his current position that didn't seem an easy task to achieve.
"At the start of the war," Kai went on, heedless of the other's silence, "this used to be mercantile town. Then one day, storm troops infiltrated the city's grounds, because of its wealth. Everything was totalled down, not a woman or child survived."
Rei almost cringed from the coolness in Kai's voice. Clean and mechanical. What else should he have expected? He supposed that it was just Kai's way to deal with things, to block them out behind a sheet of ice so they wouldn't be able to hurt him.
A long time ago he heard a story which stated that the souls of those who died without a reason would remain at the place of their death to remind those still living of their ultimate destruction. Looking at the desolation beyond the window, the feeling of impending doom pressed harder on Rei.
The only outcome to this war was destruction. There were no more just wars to liberate the oppressed and preserve freedom. He resisted a bitter laugh at this. One day he'd kill for no other reason than being told to do so, and he would do so with all the strength he had. It made him feel like a dispensable tool.
Kai came to stand close to him, bracing against the wall. As an offhanded thought, Rei wondered if the man realized what he had done and whether he felt guilty about it.
He smirked, feigning haughtiness. That was something he understood, could handle expertly. "I didn't think you'd actually have the guts to go against your grandfather's orders and come here," he said in what he hoped was even-tempered manner.
Kai lifted a shoulder in a shrug, grunting as per usual. "I didn't think I had much to lose."
Rei left it at that. Kai didn't seem to be wanting to reveal too much about himself, and that was fine with him. He, after all, didn't go around telling his innermost thoughts, why should Kai? Besides, he doubted it even mattered anymore. They weren't even friends, wartime acquaintances, really.
He chuckled dryly. "You do realize that we'll be like one of those corpses out there one of these days?" He asked, pointing outside.
"Hn."
"It's funny how we're going to be protecting lives by taking them away. We're like the carriers of death, I think," Rei said, chortling humorously.
"What else can we be? What's left for us to be?" Kai asked in return, not really expecting an answer.
Rei leaned his forehead against the cold glass, not seeing anything. At least Kai didn't bring up what happened a week ago. Maybe Rei had just imagined the whole thing, which made him feel even sleazier. Problem was, he wanted Kai to want it, too. He could still feel the whisper of that kiss and he wanted another, and another and everything that he could possibly have. But Kai was obviously ignoring the issue. He felt as if he had been trampled on and then thrown aside like a useless thing.
It seemed like some infernal joke had been played on him. His stomach began to chew on itself again.
"Kai?" He asked quietly after the silence had grown heavy and burdensome.
"Hn?"
When after a little while Rei didn't say anything, the other man turned to regard him. Instantly, a punch was thrown at his abdomen. He was not prepared for the hit so he flinched and doubled over. Rei kneeled in front of him.
Before anything could escape his lips, however, Rei silence him. "That was for stealing my first kiss."
Kai hissed a curse under his breath. Referring to what had happened was a low blow coming from the brunet, and it hurt. Knowing that the kiss had been Rei's first was even more painful; Kai felt lower than scum. He was hoping that both of them could pretend it never happened.
"And this is because I won't let you get away with doing something as stupid as that without repercussions."
Kai didn't have more than a blink of an eye to dwell on the meaning of the statement when soft lips were pressed to his. It didn't last longer than a couple of seconds, though that was enough to completely petrify him. Coherent thought ceased to function, as did every other life-sustaining organ in his body. ‛God...' the word ricocheted in his mind, though he didn't know whether it was in praise or prayer.
Rei flicked his tongue tentatively across the other's lips and drew away. Hastily, he rose to his feet, murmuring a broken, "you're right, I am yours" and walked away.
(...continua...)
1 I had completely forgotten that I put this in here. Slight reference to Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, when Viola speaks to Orsino about her candid feelings.