You Don't Need a Heartbeat to Follow Your Heart
Chapter 3 A Favor
AN: Here's chapter three--please don't flame me for this.... (Oh, yeah, and I do not own Escaflowne, 'cause last I checked my name ain't Kawamori Shouji....)
Shesta and the others all crowded around, as Dilandau touched his fallen Slayer's face.
"Dallet...if you can hear me, answer, damn you..." He hated this. Without a pulse or need to breathe, it was impossible to tell if Dallet was dead or just exhausted from his revival. If he's dead...is that a good thing? The Madoushi's tampering should be reversed, but none of us want to lose Dallet again. Is it a bad thing, to hold onto him like this? Maybe we should be letting him go instead of trying to forget he ever died at all...
"D...Dilandau-sama..." A small murmur of relief filled the room at Dallet's faint words.
"Dallet!" Dilandau for once threw composure to the wind and allowed himself a smile. "I thought you died again..."
"Forgive me...." The brown-haired boy whispered sadly, "I-I'm so weak... I can't hope to be of any use to you now."
Dilandau frowned to hide his concern. "Weak? Hah! You came back from the dead, Dallet--and sacrificed your life for me, too! Can anyone get any stronger?"
Smiling weakly, Dallet closed his eyes. Wincing, he dragged a hand up to press against his chest, right over his heart. "I-I...knew when I decided t...to come back...that it wouldn't last," he managed to say, and Dilandau felt his own heart ache at the pained expression on the other boy's face.
"You mean...you're going to die again?" He asked sadly. Images of Dallet's battered Guymelef and still, broken form loomed in his mind.
When Dallet made no reply, Shesta touched his shoulder, asking in concern, "Isn't there anything we can do for you...?"
Dallet smiled faintly. "Shesta...thank you, but....th-the best thing....anyone could do for me now.....is probably to kill me." The blonde boy didn't answer, but the look in his eyes said better than words that just the thought of killing Dallet made him sick.
"Don't you...even want to live?" Shesta finally asked, sounding a bit hoarse.
"I'm already dead," Dallet closed his eyes, wincing again. "M....my body...can't h-house....my soul for much longer." He forced his eyes open, looking at each of his friends, and offered an unhappy smile. "I...wish I could stay...but I'm not even....really s-supposed to be here now..."
"But...after seeing you die once, nobody here could possibly make themselves kill you," Migel pointed out sadly.
"...I'll do it." The living Dragon Slayers all turned to stare at Dilandau in shock.
"Don't....if you're going to blame yourself....for it, please don't do it." Dallet's lilac eyes pleaded with him.
Frowning, Dilandau forced steel into his voice as he explained, "You're my Dragon Slayer, Dallet--killing you isn't the right or duty of any of them. The responsibility is mine alone."
"Dilandau-sama..." Dallet smiled faintly, his eyes drifting closed. "....Thank you."
"But how're you going to resolve things this way?" Guimel asked, voice wavering a little. "Y-you came back to fix things, didn't you?"
"To resolve....all of your...emotions," Dallet answered, wincing and pressing at his heart again. "I-I just...want you to know....that I blame no one f-for...my death. You guys...y-you're the best friends I...ever had...." He quieted, the pain seeming to have passed for the moment. "D...don't take it wrongly, but...I love you guys, all of you. You're my family..."
"W-we love you, too..." Guimel looked about ready to cry, and his voice betrayed his tears worse than his brimming green eyes did.
"If you do..." Dallet looked at him and sighed, "...D-don't beat yourself up...over it..." The others looked at Dilandau helplessly as the brown-haired boy began to wince again, squeezing his eyes tightly closed.
Standing, Dilandau told the others quietly, "Back...please." Seeing the look in his eyes, they quietly withdrew, murmuring sad farewells to Dallet as they each passed.
Dilandau drew his sword, taking a steadying breath as he knelt beside Dallet. Gritting his teeth, the brown-haired boy dragged his hands away from his heart. "Dallet," Dilandau whispered, too quietly for the others to hear, "I....I'm sorry about this."
"...Don't..." Dallet answered even more softly, "D-don't be, please....it's a favor." Opening his eyes with some difficulty, he smiled weakly. "For me...don't regret."
Glancing into the slanted lilac eyes one last time, Dilandau whispered, "You were one of my best men, Dallet. Be at peace...goodbye." Gripping the hilt of the sword with trembling fingers, he positioned the tip over the other boy's heart...and stabbed.
The blade slid smoothly down through Dallet's chest, piercing the floor beneath him as well. No blood accompanied the wound--there was no heartbeat to spread it. Wordlessly, Dilandau and the others watched as Dallet's eyes drifted closed.
Now he's really gone, Dilandau thought, releasing the blade with trembling fingers. It had neatly pierced Dallet's heart, and the silver-haired boy felt that it shouldn't be moved yet, out of respect. He's...truly dead. And I'm the one who sent him away. The realization weighed heavily on Dilandau's shoulders, and suddenly he found it hard to draw a full breath. But he wanted me to, he reminded himself, glancing down at his gloved hands, it was a favor to him...a favor.
Behind him, the silence was broken by a tiny sob. A glance back told him not only that Guimel was the one who couldn't contain his tears, but also that the rest of the Dragon Slayers were in similar emotional states. Shesta was in tears, himself, and trying not to cry outright, while Migel couldn't look at his fallen friend and Gatti couldn't seem to tear his eyes away. Viole had both hands pressed over his mouth, tears streaming silently down both cheeks as he stared in horror at Dallet.
"A...at least...he won't be in pain now," Kagero spoke up, swiping at his own eyes.
"Yes," Dilandau swallowed, glancing at the older Dragon Slayer briefly before turning back to Dallet. Staring at the sword's shining blade, he repeated in a whisper, "At least..."
Suddenly, Dallet's fingers twitched. Dilandau blinked, then stared in shock as the brown-haired boy's hands lifted, trembling, to press against his chest around the blade.
"Dilandau.....-sama...." Dallet's lilac eyes slid open, regarding his shocked commander with a tired, pained look.
Recovering from his shock somewhat, Dilandau gritted his teeth, realizing the truth.
"The Madoushi," he whispered dangerously, eyes still locked with Dallet's. Of course...I should have realized sooner! The magic of the Madoushi is the only reason Dallet is even alive right now, even with dead vital signs. He won't be able to die unless they cancel their spells--or unless their spell-casting is ended. Permanently. Dilandau growled, whirling to face the others with a violent glint in his pale red eyes. "Get to your Guymelefs," he hissed, We're going sorcerer hunting."
End Chapter 3
Heartbeat Akugi! Volume 2
Akugi #3
Narrator: Suddenly, Dallet's fingers twitched. Dilandau blinked, then stared in shock as the brown-haired boy's hands lifted and formed into a very rude finger-sign.
Dallet: "Next...time...behead me....got it?"
Dilandau: Oo;;
Akugi #4
Shesta: (Concerned) "Isn't there anything we can do for you...?"
Dallet: (Smiles faintly) "Bury me."
AN: Eheheh, the Akugi seem to be too fun to skip out on... (Shrug) I changed my formatting for the Akugi actions because the asterisks I was using disappear in the final HTML document. Anyway, I hope I don't get mercilessly murdered for this chapter, but it was in my original outline. (Sweatdrops and grins nervously) Yes, I have the whole thing outlined, so don't worry, I fully intend to finish it. Thanks for all your reviews on the previous chapters--feel like adding one for this one? =) Feedback is always nice--I love to see who else on is a Dragon Slayer and Dilandau fan.