Chapter 10: Curse

The rain stung Kurogane's wounds, making him wonder how he would fare against Ashura. Kurogane was confident enough in his abilities but Ashura had an advantage; he hadn't been hurt even once yet.

This didn't matter though. All that mattered was making Ashura suffer for everything that he had done that day. Kurogane wanted Ashura to pay for everything that he had ever done to Fai, he want wanted Ashura's blood to spill for creating the fake Fai. He knew that Ashura was responsible for every stiff smile and every goofy gesture.

He unsheathed Souhi once again when he reached his foe. There had never been someone that Kurogane had wanted to kill so badly. If he could have, he would have eaten Ashura alive.

Kurogane could have sworn he heard Fai calling out for him. Was he trying to stop him? He didn't turn to look. Instead he ignored Fai's potential warnings and stood before Ashura in a ready stance.

There was a groan behind him and when Kurogane dared to peer over, he saw Syaoran. He had been hurt badly; there were burns all across his body. Syaoran shakily tried to support himself with his sword. He was wincing from the effort and hissing in pain.

" Please," he said hastily. " Give Sakura back her feather!"

Kurogane looked up at Ashura curiously. He had that girl's feather too? He hadn't heard Mokona beforehand. He wondered vaguely where the stupid white manjyu was, but he only wondered for a moment or so. There were more important things going on; they could find it later.

Ashura chuckled and reached inside his cloak, pulling out Sakura's glowing white feather. Kurogane glared. If he thought that Ashura was going to be a difficult match before, he would be twice as hard with her feather in tow.

" Please, give Sakura back her feather!" Syaoran repeated, shouting this time.

The kid was polite to a fault, he really was. Even though they were in a dire situation, he was still saying 'please' while demanding back his love's feather. Kurogane though it was incredible, but he wasn't sure whether it was incredibly noble or incredibly ridiculous.

" After discovering the potential of this thing, do you really think I'm going to give it back to you?" Ashura laughed at the thought. " Silly boy."

With that, Ashura flicked his fingers in Syaoran's direction. This gesture sent him toppling over and rolling back a several feet. Then, he turned to Kurogane.

" Time flows differently in different worlds, you know," he said. " I've been waiting for you all for a month already."

" You talk too much," Kurogane said, waiting for the right opportunity to slit this man's throat.

" After finding that feather and exposing that…that little bear or whatever it is to it," he continued. " I sent it into the town with entertaining results."

Kurogane tried to attack him then, but Souhi stopped in midair. It was as though someone were grabbing it and refusing to let go, because Kurogane couldn't move it at all. Kurogane refused to relinquish his sword.

" That was incredibly rude," Ashura said pointedly.

All Ashura received in response was a glare. Kurogane continued to try and pull his sword away, desperate for his only weapon.

" So I kept exposing it to the town, driving them into a state of perpetual fear," he said proudly. " Clever, isn't it?"

Kurogane didn't answer properly. Instead he growled something so soft it could not be heard.

" Like I said though, I was waiting for you all, or more specifically Fai," Ashura said. " He was the crucial part. If I had exposed him to the feather's power, he would have been unstoppable. He would have been my most powerful weapon."

It sickened Kurogane when he realized that Ashura only thought of Fai as an object, especially when he knew that Fai was much more than that.

" He's not just a toy for you to play with," Kurogane shouted.

Ashura laughed at that. He laughed a long, hard, sickening laugh.

" You're a fool, Kurogane," he said. " Fai has always been my toy. He doesn't have any other purpose in this life. None at all. He exists only to be my weapon."

" And you're a sick bastard," Kurogane said, still trying to pull his sword away, " who treats people like chess pieces."

Ashura laughed again, but instead of striking Kurogane, he caressed his cheek. His touch was icy cold, but Kurogane found that he couldn't pull away from it. Instead he continued to glare at him and struggle with Souhi.

" You know what I was going to do?" Ashura asked and then answered. " I was going to use him to concur hundreds of worlds, thousands even, so that I could rule them all."

That made Kurogane want to destroy this man even more. If he allowed this man to live, he might attempt to take over his own world. Ashura would kill his princess and he would utterly destroy Fai, and no matter what he had to stop him. He had to, if only he could move his sword and attack.

Ashura brought his face in close to Kurogane's, in a move that mirrored one of Fai's. It made Kurogane extremely uncomfortable and it made him want to spill Ashura's blood.

" You ruined that though," Ashura said into Kurogane's ear. " You ruined it all. That is why you have to die."

Instead of gasping, crying out, or appearing shocked in anyway, Kurogane laughed coldly. He may be quick-tempered, but Kurogane had always been an excellent battle strategist. A person could only focus on so many things at once. If Ashura didn't want to drop the feather and still strike him, he would have to let go of Souhi. Kurogane would have a split-second to strike, but that was all that Kurogane needed.

Sure enough, Ashura brought his free hand in front of Kurogane's chest in a sweeping motion. At the same time, Kurogane pulled his sword away and stabbed Ashura in the chest. He would have liked to do something more impressive, but it was all he had time for.

Kurogane hissed in pain. It felt as though he'd been struck three times with a sword. Looking down, he saw that his shirt had been sliced open in three lines, and that his shirt was stained with blood. It could certainly become a fatal wound if he didn't stop the bleeding soon.

Ashura looked as though he was in pain as well. His eyes were wide in fury; he obviously hadn't been expecting Kurogane to pull something like that.

" If I have to die," Kurogane grinned. " I'm taking you to hell with me."

Kurogane watched Ashura with a sickening expression on his face. He couldn't honestly say whether or not he was going to die, but he knew for sure that Ashura would. Kurogane had him exactly where he wanted him now. Forcing his own pain out of his mind, he shoved Souhi the rest of the way through Ashura, hearing the crack of bones and the spurting of blood. There wasn't a person alive who wouldn't have made a screamed out at that.

Tilting his sword, Kurogane let Ashura slide off of it and onto the ground in a heap. He peered at the man carefully. His blood was staining the grass, mixing with Kurogane's own dripping blood. Ashura struggled to stand up, but he fell back down every time. Kurogane was certainly that if he left Ashura there he would die eventually, but he didn't want to take that chance. He raised his sword again, striking the coward over and over and over until he couldn't hear Ashura yelling for him to cease anymore. When Kurogane looked down, he didn't see Ashura. He only saw a corpse, mangled and still. The only reason that he knew it was Ashura was the long, black hair resting in a pool of blood.

Kurogane stumbled a bit after that, clutching his chest. Ashura had really gotten him, and it hurt twice as much as anything Fai had done to him.

He looked over to his side and saw Syaoran, who was staring at him in shock. That was right; Syaoran had never seen him brutally murder someone before. He wondered if the boy thought any less of him now that he had seen that. Kurogane decided that he couldn't and wouldn't try to explain himself to him.

Sakura had run out on to the field once the commotion was over with, calling both of their names. Syaoran reached out to her, perhaps to try and shield her from the carnage, but it was too late, she had already seen it all. She had he hands over her mouth and she looked as though she might start crying.

" Kurogane-san," she whimpered. " Syaoran-kun, you and Kurogane-san are very badly hurt! And that other man…"

She didn't need to finish her sentence. No one else felt she needed to either.

Kurogane brought a hand to his forehead. It had begun to burn slightly and he struggled to figure out why. Then he remembered; he had been cursed. If he killed anyone, he would grow weaker. At least that's what his princess had said.

He cried out in pain as the full effect of the curse struck at once. It seemed to painfully suck the energy from his body, draining away everything he had, forcing him to the ground. Kurogane growled in annoyance. He shouldn't be this weak from his curse after killing only one person. It took him a moment to remember that he had been sliced open as well, and that his blood coated the ground around him. Loosing strength now would mean that he wouldn't even have enough to stand back up.

As the mark's burn faded away, Kurogane found himself wondering if he would die there in the blood he'd spilled. He laid on his back, since any other position had him hissing in pain. The rain continued to fall, rinsing the blood from his face. Kurogane almost wished that it was still there, marking his victory.

Perhaps it was all of the blood that he had lost, but Kurogane felt somewhat satisfied. He had done just what he had set out to do. Fai was safe, even if he had been wounded, and Ashura was dead.

Love is…it's when you feel so strongly about someone that nothing else matters.

Yes. Fai was alive and out of that man's clutches. There would never be a need for Fai to ever wear a fake plastic smile again. Ashura no longer held any power over him. Fai would never have to be afraid again.

It's when you would give anything just to be by their side.

Kurogane thought he would have been angrier that his strength had been drained. He thought that when the time came he would be screaming at the sky, damning his princess with whatever strength he had left. Strangely though, he was calm. It had been worth it to kill Ashura. There was no worthier cause in his opinion.

It's when…when you would die just to keep that person safe.

It would be an honorable death if he were to die there. Kurogane found himself laughing under his breath, even if it hurt his chest. Syaoran had turned out to be wiser than his years. That damn kid had been right about everything.

Kurogane could hear and feel someone walking over to him. Their slow footsteps squished awkwardly in the bloodied wet grass. Kurogane didn't need to look up to see who had come over to him. He knew already.

" Kurogane," Fai whispered, his voice trembling.

Fai was nearby, but Kurogane couldn't see him. Just from the sound of his voice, Kurogane wasn't entirely sure he wanted to. Had Fai watched the battle? Kurogane secretly hoped that he had. He took great pride in killing Ashura, more than any healthy man should have.

His foots steps grew quicker; Fai was sprinting now. Kurogane shut his eyes, trying to force the sounds away. It was giving him a terrible headache.

" Kurogane!" Fai cried out, shaking his shoulder lightly. " Wake up, please!"

Fai had been worried about him. Kurogane could feel Fai's hand shaking against his shoulder. It was only then that Kurogane fully realized that he hadn't been moving at all.

" Would you shut the hell up and let me die in peace?" Kurogane growled, opening his eyes, just show that he hadn't died yet.

The first thing he saw was Fai's face, which had grown icy pale. His eyes were wide and fearful and it looked as though he had even been crying. Kurogane couldn't remember Fai ever crying before. His lips trembled and he looked as though he might start again.

" Don't say that," Fai said. " You're not going to die."

Fai sounded more like he was to convince himself of that fact. He shook lightly, but he bit his lip, refusing to cry in front of Kurogane. Instead he slowly pulled Kurogane into an upright position, despite his protests. It was an amazing feat for Fai since Kurogane had sliced open his arm.

" Blood," Fai said shakily. " Got to stop the blood."

Kurogane groaned. Was he really still bleeding? It was no wonder then that he was dizzy. He watched hazily as Fai struggled with his shirt, finally pulling it off completely. Fai began to brutally rip the shirt into strips with much difficulty, but that certainly wasn't what Kurogane was paying attention to. Instead he watched the curves of Fai's slender body and his harsh breaths, in and out, in and out. Blood swirled down his bare arm. Even with his obvious wounds, Kurogane was blinded by his beauty.

Instead of wrapping his own injuries, Fai carefully began to tie the strips around Kurogane's chest, not bothering to rip the rest of Kurogane's blood-coated shirt off. Fai trembled as he did this, choking on his words.

" I-I have to stop the blood," he tried not to sob. " Or else you...y-you'll…"

" You can cry, you know," Kurogane said, as Fai quickly began to finish up the wrappings. They weren't the best, but they would have to do.

Fai looked at him with widened, teary eyes. Kurogane only smiled at that. It may have been the blood loss or perhaps he was just going insane. All that Kurogane knew was that couldn't explain his smile.

" A wise ass once told me," he said, " that it takes strength to cry when you need to."

Kurogane watched as Fai trembled a bit at those words. For a moment, he thought that Fai would ignore his own advice and continue to try and hide his tears. Then out of nowhere, Fai was gripping what was left of Kurogane's shirt and sobbing. There was no hysterical yelling or screaming, just simple quiet tears.

Fai's skin was cool to touch, as Kurogane found out when he wrapped an arm around him. It was the best that Kurogane could offer for comfort. There were no words.

Kurogane didn't know exactly why Fai was crying. Maybe he was crying for his fallen king, or maybe because Kurogane had been hurt. Perhaps it was joy at finding Kurogane alive, or maybe it was sorrow at the thought of him dying. It didn't matter though, because the silence wrapped around them, enveloping them and shielding them from the world.

After several moments, Kurogane thought he heard voices behind them. It took another few minutes for recognition to set in, realizing that it was Syaoran and Sakura.

" Hey, stop! Please don't go over there!"

" Come back! Tier-chan!"

Tier-chan? Kurogane turned his head groggily at the name of the creature that they had dragged along. What he saw behind him almost made his stomach churn. The little black creature had found Ashura's corpse and had begun to feast upon whatever Kurogane had left behind. It wasn't so much the sight, but the horrible noises it made when tearing through the flesh and meat of the body.

Grasped in a hand that could have belonged to anyone at this point, was something that glowed a light pink. It was Sakura's feather, which had long been forgotten about. By the time Kurogane spotted it, it was too late. The Tier had already eaten the entire hand, bones and all.

Whining and growling, the creature fell to the ground. It could have been Kurogane's imagination, but he swore he felt the ground shake. He watched in horror as a pink aura wrapped around it and it began to grow larger and larger, until it was at least ten times its original size.

Kurogane roughly shoved Fai off of him and struggled to stand once again. They had to retreat before the Tier tried to eat them as well. It was hungry and they were all weak from their battle with Ashura. There was no chance of victory and they couldn't die there, an odd thought coming from a man who swore that he was dying only moments before.

Fai stood up quickly when he saw what was happening. He ran right back over to Kurogane though and helped pull him to his feet. Kurogane suddenly felt even dizzier than before, but once he thought he was sturdy he gave an order to Fai.

" Go get that brat and the princess over here," he said, pointing over to where they were, on the other side of the monster. " And get that stupid manjyu too. Go!"

Fai didn't say anything, but he didn't move either. It was clear that he wanted to stay and help Kurogane. All this did was aggravate Kurogane even more.

" Just go!" he shouted. " I'm not some damn cripple! Now go!"

Truthfully, he wanted to remain with Fai as well, but they simply didn't have time. They basically had to get everyone together and go; otherwise they wouldn't leave that field alive. Fai nodded in silent agreement and ran as fast as he could.

When Kurogane turned his head though, he met large, glowing red eyes that reeked of something straight out of hell itself. Standing before the Tier, Kurogane realized it must have been twice as big as the first time they fought it. Kurogane also realized that he was right in the line of fire. Instead or being eaten as Kurogane had assumed would happen, the Tier brought one of its paws back and struck Kurogane down.

For a moment, he was flying. Then, he was falling. Kurogane swore he heard someone calling his name loud and clear before everything went black.

(A/N: Sorry that it took so long to get this up. Thank you for all of your wonderful reviews! Just to warn everyone now, I'm going to be away on vacation next week, it might take a little longer to get the next chapter up. On another note, I predict two more chapters. Please R&R and I will try to have the next chapter up soon. : ) )