Summary: An unrequited lust, a betrayal, a mysterious sword, a foreign land-- all bathed in the deepest blood. This cannot end well. Not for the faint of hearts.

Ryo/Seiji shounen ai Drama strong R

Warning: This story contains shounen ai which is male/male love. Please do not read if such ideas upset you. Please use your good judgment. This fiction also contains violence and foul play. Consider yourself warned.

Rated R for violence, strong language and sexual situations.

Disclaimer: "Yoroiden Samurai Troopers" does not belong to me. God, how I wish it did...


Author's note: The story you are about to read is becoming progressively darker. For anyone who is familiar with my other stories, this fiction will be even darker than those are.


To Have and Have Not
by Libellule

Chapter Five: Misconceptions




Throbbing pain, matching the rhythm of his heartbeat, brought Shin back to awareness-- an aching twinge springing up from his shoulders to his wrists and back down again. A soft groan escaped his dry lips, as he peeked his eyes open. Vision bleary and eyes sensitive to the brutal light of the sun, he quickly snapped them shut.

His perception in a vertigo spin, Shin realized he was suspended, his entire weight supported by the rope binding his wrists to the wooden beam overhead, like some type of modified hangman's platform.

Cautiously, he risked a glance around, being careful not to attract attention to himself. There were two others strung up beside him to his right. A girl with long black hair and a simple tattered dress dangled next to him. She was crying, whimpering softly to the unconscious boy next to her. He hung, only partially clothed, on the end of the wooden beam, unmoving. Blood seeped down his brow, dripping onto his bare chest in timely, dull, splats. Both were young, perhaps sixteen at most.

Shin let out his breath in a stifled hiss-- he swore that it was his head that bled and those drops were splattering on his own chest.

Confused and in pain, Shin hardly had time to gain his bearings as the beam they were attached to swung out. Suddenly, he was being pulled, an unbearably heavy burden ruthlessly stretching his body, straining against the restraints at his wrists. The girl next to him screamed and even the boy on the end let out a grunt of pain.

There were weights, stones perhaps, attached with rope to each of their ankles that brought the sheer force of gravity upon them as they dangled over the cliff's edge. The swirling sea raged below them, churning and crashing against the cliffside.

With his body stretched out in this way, Shin found it increasingly harder to breathe. His armor orb was in the right hand pocket of his blue jeans and would be impossible to reach. The three of them would suffocate if something wasn't done to relieve the pressure.

A large man, in some kind of military uniform, or so it seemed to Shin, loomed over him with a freshly sharpened battle ax. His wicked grin deepened as he raised the heavy weapon high above his head.

He shouted.

With a jarring hew, he brought the ax down hard, severing the only thing preventing Shin and the other two from plummeting into the tumultuous sea below.



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Standing firm, Mele stared past the barrel of her smoking gun, perplexed. There should have been a body laying at her feet with three hits in its chest-- the fact that there was no such thing, frightened her.

There was no way on this earth he could have dodged those bullets. Nothing she had ever known could vanish into thin air, for that is how she explained his sudden disappearance.

Feeling vulnerable standing in the open, she stooped to the ground and knelt over Iliki, who was still sleeping. A pang of fear rippled through her-- what if Iliki never woke up? She never should have trusted--

Mele suddenly felt eyes on her. Cautiously, she peered into the darkening forest for any signs of the golden haired menace.


What the hell is wrong with you?

Before Mele could turn the gun on him again, Seiji knocked the weapon out of her hands. In retaliation, she swung her leg out in a swift kick, trying to knock him off balance. But Seiji was very angry and in no mood spar.

Disabling her in seconds, Seiji pinned her to the ground, and hissed, Are you insane?

Got to hell! She retorted defiantly. Kill me and may the wrath of the gods smite you.

Kill you? You're the one who shot at me!

How do you do it? She questioned him. How do you change from human to machine? I've never seen a Mecha do that before...

Seiji stared at her stone faced and then-- he laughed.

Mele felt her face flush beneath her golden skin. He actually had the audacity to laugh at her.

Why is that so funny? She practically growled.

Is that what you think? Seiji asked. If I were a Mecha, why would I have destroyed my own kind?

Letting her up, Seiji held something before her in his palm-- a small orb marked with a strange symbol.

I don't normally show this to people, but since you asked so nicely... The orb glowed green, illuminating the darkness between them. This is Kourin-- it is armor. It does give me power that might make me seem like something inhuman, but as I told you before-- I am human.

The indignant woman stared at him, trying to suppress a deeper blush from her cheeks. Why should I trust you?

You don't have to. Seiji remarked, surprising her with his retort. But you would be wise to.

When he turned from her and started to make his own way through the forest, she called after him, I have a child to think of.

Pausing, he looked back at her, and retorted cuttingly, That doesn't mean you have to think like a child.

Oh, the infuriating wit of that man! Biting back her anger, she ignored that last remark and stated, Well, what was I supposed to think? I have never seen power like that-- or anything like that-- before. Mele hesitated, swallowing back her pride. I think you should come with me, Seiji. It would be better for both of us.

That was the closest to an apology that Mele could muster. She was a very proud, willful woman and never admitted when she had done something wrong.


*

Of course, it didn't really matter to Seiji that she had not truly apologized because he could read her thoughts.

She was embarrassed that she had made such a grievous mistake, and angry that he was right and flaunting it. Though she didn't fully trust him, Mele's instincts were telling her that he would make a powerful ally.

That, and she liked him. It made Seiji smile slightly as he joined into step beside her. Raking his fingers through his blond hair, Seiji lowered his eyes to the ground as his hair fell back into place.

When he had Mele pinned to the ground, he felt the blush on her cheeks rise from more than just anger.

This new ability was a bit disconcerting-- this telepathy. Normally, he would not have pried, but he did not know her language or how to communicate with her otherwise. The only way for him to understand was to borrow the words from her mind, as invading as that might be.

Wait a minute, Seiji said, clasping her by the arm. I need some answers before I go anywhere with you.

Mele sighed, bending down to pick up Iliki. With everything that had happened, it was amazing how this child managed to remain sleeping.

Yes, you do. She said, continuing down the path. Follow me and I will tell you.


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It took extra concentration for Shin not to become paralyzed from the terrifying free fall. The only thing he hated more than great heights was falling from them.

But if he lost it now, they would all die.

Part way into his decent, Shin managed to pull his arms downward, reaching his armor orb that hid inside his pocket.

Without hesitation he shouted, Doa Shin, transforming into Suiko to split the thick rope that bound his hands and feet.

Shin thought that he could survive hitting the water, but the other two would be killed upon impact if he didn't do something now.

Focusing his energy, he tried not to think about the mere seconds he had to save them. Shin conjured the sea to rise up to support them, extending Suiko's power into the tumultuous waves. Constructing pillars of water to lengthen upwards, carefully increasing the widths of the spouting water so as not to crush them, he attempted to delay their screaming plummet into the sea.

Shin struck the water first, but managed to curve the arc of his dive to send him back towards the surface. As his head burst through the top of the waves, he saw the boy smack the water far to the left.

Despite being heavy armor, Suiko was literally in its element, and actually enabled Shin to swim effortlessly in the water.

He reached the unconscious boy in seconds, severing the weight from his ankles and wrists with the tanto dagger strapped behind his right shoulder. A rolling crash diverted Shin's attention as he realized that the girl had hit the water. She struggled vehemently against the ropes that secured her to the weight, but was sinking steadily towards a watery grave.

Propelling himself upwards, Shin broke through the surface with the boy, swimming deftly towards the large stone formations near the cliffside. Shin propped him against a rock, then shoved off against the cliff, diving back towards the sinking girl.

When he reached her, she had stopped struggling, and her black hair drifted languidly about her face as her head drooped. Shin pulled her to him, and with the small tanto split the ropes. Unteathered, the weight plunged swiftly into the murky depths of the sea.

With the girl in tow, Shin swam back to where he had set down the boy and deposited her soaked body next to his onto the rock's ledge. The girl rolled onto her side and heaved the sea water from her stomach as Shin hoisted himself up beside them.

He checked the unmoving boy for life and discovered that he was breathing easily, if still unconscious. Shin banished his armor, but remained in the undergear just in case the trouble wasn't over yet.

Are you all right? Shin asked, turning to the girl.

Huddling close to the recumbent boy, she stared at Shin with wide, frightened eyes.

You're not hurt anywhere, are you? Shin persisted, reaching out to touch her arm in a soothing motion.

But as he touched her, his breath was suddenly stolen from his lungs and his chest ached as if he'd been running a marathon. Quickly he drew away from her and the sensation stopped. He noticed that the girl was breathing hard, still distraught from nearly being killed.

How strange... Shin thought. When I touch her, I feel what she feels. He didn't have a chance to reflect more on it because the girl shouted, and prostrated herself before him, soughing a strange litany of words.

Shin said, not sure whether to be amused or frightened. No, get up. There's no need for that.

The girl continued to bow and chant, Ta'aroa! Ta'aroa!

Not only did Shin not understand her language, he had to convince this girl that he was not a ta'aroa-- whatever that was.

Shin began, risking a touch to make her look at him. We have to get out of here. He swept his hand around, gesturing to himself, the unconscious boy and to the girl, and then pointed towards the shore.

The girl nodded in understanding before helping Shin to carry the boy over the dangerous juts of the cliffside towards the sandy beach.


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It is a very long story and I suppose I should have to start at the very beginning, hundreds of years ago.

The pollution that had warped the tropical flora became less and less as they got farther from the city, and as they walked through the forest, Mele relayed to Seiji the story of the island.

My people are descendants and keepers of the old ways of this island. Traditions that extend back thousands of years have been passed on from generation to generation, teaching each age to live in symbiosis with the earth. But with this onset of technology, the old ways have become obsolete.

It is unknown how it came to be this way, but the old ones say that our problems stemmed from the splitting of the sacred stone of Pere. She is the goddess that breathed the fires of life into all mankind.

Mele paused to shift Iliki's small weight to her other shoulder, leading Seiji further into the woods as she told her story.

We don't know how the ruby stone was sundered, only that when the gem was split into two separate pieces, the protection of the gods had vanished, and a period of great hardship befell my people. Our harbors were suddenly without fish. Our crops withered and died. Fever, said to be the wrath of Pere, broke out claiming hundreds of lives. Many lost their faith in the gods.

All because of the stone? Seiji asked, a slight trace of skepticism bleeding through his voice.

Mele studied him for a moment.

Oh, yes, she said finally. I'm sure you have faith in something, too-- wherever you are from. But imagine a goddess entrusting you with something sacred to her, and you break it-- would you not expect her to be angry with you? It was during this time of abandonment that the people's faiths were divided between the old ways and the new technology, so much so that segregated villages were formed for the separate factions.

The old village by the coast still survives through tradition, while the city in the island center-- where I found you-- advances through technology.

But something happened to upset these two societies-- made one collide into the other? Seiji prompted.

Mele said. An assassination. The true King, the Ali'i, had always ruled fairly. Neither he, nor his Queen, forced any of our people to choose one or the other. Despite the definitive split between our people, times were relatively peaceful.

But that was not good enough for some. A group of men lead by the one called Akamu, wanted to expand the city past its parameters. They wanted to do away with the inefficient fishing villages and outfit the entire island with power generators and electricity-- among other things. The King foresaw that this would not benefit all people of the island. It would take many years of hard labor to produce the type of revolution Akamu had proposed-- and much of island life would be destroyed in the process. The King decided against Akamu's plans.

One night, in the year before I was born, the Pere line of ancestry was destroyed forever by a furious Akamu and his brethren. The King was murdered along with his young sons and anyone who opposed them that night. The Queen was taken captive and forced to marry Akamu, the tyrant who'd killed her husband. Akamu and his supporters established a new rule and set their plans for the island into motion.

This was the beginning of your oppression? Seiji whispered.

Mele nodded. Akamu did not want respect from the people, he wanted them to fear him. He had enough supporters to make it so. No one was allowed to practice the old ways. People were arrested and sent to prisons in droves.

As bad as it was before, it was nothing compared to afterwards.

Seiji repeated, not sure he wanted to know what could be worse than an oppressive dictator in power.

Regardless of all Akamu's power, he had one weakness that proved to be his breaking point. He was very much in love with the Queen. Some say his entire plot revolved around obtaining the King's wife for himself. Despite becoming pregnant straight away, it was clear that the Queen loathed him with every ounce of her being. Only months after her son, Luka, was born she leapt to her death from the balcony of her palace bedroom. Her death drove Akamu over the edge. The tyrant went crazy with grief for his wife. As legend has it, to this day he searches for a way to elude death himself.

They walked together in quiet through the forest for quite a few minutes before Seiji responded, That's horrible.

That's only the beginning of the atrocities, Mele whispered as she scanned the darkening forest.

You mean, the uhane?

Mele sighed. Yes, and the Mecha-- among other things.

Tell me about them.

Mele stopped once again to switch little Iliki back to her other shoulder.

I can take her. Seiji offered.

It was the ultimate sign of her trust when Mele handed over her most precious burden to a man she barely knew.

Seiji could sense her anxiety as her suddenly empty hands had nothing to occupy them. Smiling at her, Seiji held the small child reverently, as if to reassure Mele's reliance in him.

Shall we continue? He asked her.

Mele nodded and led the way, resuming the explanation of her people's history.

After the Queen's passing, Akamu went mad. He became obsessed with death-- or conquering death. He enlisted a team of genetic specialists who gave many attempts at unraveling the secrets of life.

Using their knowledge of science and anatomy, they tried to create their own life, producing creatures we call uhane. The primitive beasts they engineered can hardly be considered human. With albino white hair and skin, sharp teeth, claw like nails and minor intellect, they were considered a scientific failure. Treated like nothing more than wild dogs, the creatures were released into our forests to die.

But they didn't die, they survived and multiplied, making their homes in these forests. Because they are sensitive to light, they appear mostly at night, thus named uhane or spirits. The uhane are dangerous. They hate all humans simply because we are humans and they are not. Some are more intelligent than others, having learned our language and can even pass as humans.

And that is what you thought I was when we met? Seiji asked with a hint of humor to his voice.

Sorry about that, Mele grinned sheepishly. Your appearance will bring you trouble here, Seiji. You will be mistaken for uhane everywhere you go.

What about the Mecha? Seiji asked. You thought I was one of them, too.

In an attempt to cheat death, the Akamu and his lot have broken the laws of men and gods alike by trying to create their own life. Their first attempt was a horrific failure and the pathetic beasts they spawned still plague us to this day-- but the Mecha--

Mele sighed, the thought clearly a weight on her shoulders, They were bred from rebellion.

What do you mean?

There has always been resistance against Akamu and his tyranny. Throughout his reign he has employed numerous ways of controlling those who would oppose him, but none was so effective as his imperial guard until the day even they turned against him. There was a period when it looked as if Akamu's reign was about to end-- sections of his own guard had given up his cause and joined the resistance.

Their defection only threw wood on the fire-- Akamu was so enraged that he sought a way to form an army that would not question his lead and would perform without hesitation.

The Mecha are part human, part machine... They have the ability to make decisions, like a human being would, only they can also be programmed, and therefore are more loyal than their human counterparts.

Anyone who had been arrested or openly opposed Akamu was dragged off to his labs. He took healthy, grown men and experimented on them... measured how much the human body could endure, charted its strengths and weaknesses, mapped out where improvements could be made--. Mele's voice faltered, betraying her upset. Anyone who opposes Akamu is massacred by the Mecha or worse-- turned into one.

She glanced over her shoulder at him and said thoughtfully, Because you have defended me, they will consider you to be one of us. I should warn you that any rebels who are captured are either killed or are taken to become Mecha.

That's why their faces are left unprotected, Seiji said suddenly. So you can recognize your friends among the Mecha.

Mele whispered. Akamu may be insane, but he isn't stupid. He knows that where we will hesitate, the Mecha will not.

Is there any process for reversal?

Mele shook her head, her short hair swaying. No one has ever survived an attempt to remove the machinery from his body. Once we successfully deprogrammed a Mecha, but the man was so distressed at what he had become that he threw himself into the sea.

I would imagine that Mecha would not like water. Seiji replied.

It is one weakness, Mele said. Water will short out their circuits if they are immersed in it. Our only other defense would be to kill the machine's human host. Either way, his life is lost.

How long have you been fighting them? Seiji asked.

All my life, she sighed wearily. It has to be this way, though-- belief in the gods aside, the island will not survive another ten years under Akamu's rule. You've seen how desolate the city is? It's the center of the island and it rots from the core out. The forest is dying. The uhanes have disrupted the inherent ecosystem. Our natural resources are diminishing, there is no doubt about that. And the kahunas believe that the island is slowly sinking into the sea-- the village used to not be so close to the shore.

I was born into this. I want something better for her. Mele said, staring at the sleeping child in Seiji's arms.

Is Iliki your daughter?

Mele said softly, Her mother died a long time ago. I doubt she even remembers her...

Seiji knew there was more to that story, but did not get a chance to pry further as Mele halted abruptly, cutting her arm across his path to stop him, Do you hear that?

He tilted his head to one side and listened as a terrible howling ripped through the night air.

Those are the uhane.

They sound like wolves. Seiji murmured.

Another series of fierce yowls, closer than the last set, sent chills down Seiji's spine as he was reminded of jackals...

We have to get off road and settle down for the night, Mele replied as she ushered them from the path. I dare not take us through these woods tonight.




To be continued in chapter six...

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Notes:

pronunciation key:

Mele: say it -- mel-lay'

Iliki: say it -- ee-lee-key'

uhane: say it -- u-hahn-nay'

mecha: say it -- mek-kah'

Akamu: say it -- ah-kah-moo'


Comments can be sent to: Li_bell_ule@yahoo.com or take a moment please to review.



Okay, major apologies for taking such a long, long time to post. On top of writers block and other nonsense, my real life started to get in the way!

I realize that this is a difficult chapter to read-- LOTS of information to swallow.

Announcements: on my website thedragonflysleeps. tripod.com/ I have opened up a Print Shop-- *yay* help me pay for college! go take a peek AND the # 5 most wanted ronin (results from the poll) has been up for a few weeks now. #4 coming soon.

A little encouragement goes a long way!

thanks everyone.

~Li