A/N: This chapter is dedicated to the person who is single-handedly 2/3 of my reviews for this story so far: K a w a i i - S y a o r a n. Your reviews make me smile. Aaaand maybe this chapter will make up for my evil cliffie on chapter four. Hehe...
-quick bow- Please excuse any OOCness.

The King of Hell
by Lamenting Fox

Chapter Five: Salvation

Click. Click. Click.

Karen watched from behind some metal barrels a few hundred yards away, far too terrified to do anything but snap pictures.

Oh, god, she thought in despair. He's dead, he's dead, I just watched him die! What should I do?

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Kotarou was lost. He'd been wandering through the warehouses, but in the gathering darkness, he'd gotten turned around, accidentally doubling back once or twice. Now he had no idea where he was.

If only I could find Tatsuki, he thought miserably.

Suddenly he emerged from between two warehouses and found himself on the shore of the lake. He looked around and blinked in surprise at a large number four painted on a warehouse a hundred yards to his right.

He straightened his shoulders in excitement. "Warehouse nine must be really close. This way, then" he said to himself as he spotted warehouse number five a few hundred yards to his left.

Walking along the lakeshore so he wouldn't get lost again, Kotarou had gone past three numbered warehouses when he heard voices and ducked behind a stack of empty pallets.

"Please, please, please don't let them see me," he whispered before poking his head cautiously around the pallets.

Kotarou's jaw dropped in surprise. But...that's Kazuma! What's he doing here? Before he could utter a sound to let his friends know he was there, Kazuma leapt at Tatsuki.

Kotarou remained rooted to the spot as his cousin and his friend fought each other. Tatsuki went down hard, and Kotarou's heart leapt into his throat when Koutari started to choke him, but fear held him still and kept him quiet.

Tatsuki lay still. Koutari stood, a satisfied smile on his face

Why? Kotarou thought bitterly as tears rolled unheeded down his face. Why did you have to hurt Tatsuki, Kazuma? Why him?

Kotarou felt betrayed in the worst way. And as he watched Koutari stoop to lift Tatsuki under his arms and drag him towards the lake, the betrayal gave way to anger.

Koutari was at the end of the dock now, and with one final heave, he tossed Tatsuki's limp body into the lake.

Without a second thought, Kotarou dove into the water. A sense of urgency like none he'd ever known propelled him forward with rapid speed. The water was pitch black, but Kotarou wasn't relying on sight to find his cousin. He closed his eyes and just felt.

There! he thought, and dove deeper.

Just a little further--

His hand touched fabric. Kotarou grabbed hold of the material and pulled the body attached to it closer. He wrapped his arms around Tatsuki's chest and kicked upwards. As his head broke the surface of the water, Kotarou inhaled sharply, and attempted to swim to the shore.

Just as his muscles began to cramp and his head dipped below the water tiredly, he felt another pair of hands tugging at him. He raised his head and locked eyes with Karen, standing chest-deep in the water. Finding that his feet did indeed touch the ground now, Kotarou fought his way to the shore with renewed energy. Wordlessly, Karen moved to Tatsuki's other side, and together they half carried and half dragged him out of the water.

They laid him down on the grass gently. Karen turned to him. "I'm sorry. But I think he's--"

"Nine." Kotarou interrupted.

"What?"

"Warehouse nine," he croaked, desperate to drown out the words he couldn't bear to hear. "Yuuto's there. Find him. Make sure he's okay."

She hesitated.

"Please," he begged.

Karen pursed her lips, nodded, and ran off, stopping long enough to grab the camera she'd left on the ground before wading into the lake to help.

Kotarou turned back to Tatsuki. His fingers probed the slender throat, desperately searching for a pulse. He gasped when he felt the faint heartbeat beneath his fingertips.

But Tatsuki still wasn't breathing, and his heartbeat was growing fainter by the second.

Oh, god, what do I do? Kotarou panicked.

Then it dawned on him. "Of course! Mouth-to-mouth!"

He used one hand to pinch Tatsuki's nose closed, and the other to tilt his head back.

Here goes...

He covered Tatsuki's mouth with his own and breathed into him. He pulled back just enough to let the air exit Tatsuki's lungs, then repeated the process. As he worked, begging his cousin to just breathe already, a strange warm feeling flooded through him and his spine tingled.

A cough sounded beneath him, and Kotarou jerked back, startled, his heart racing. Tatsuki rolled onto his side and coughed up some water. His face was contorted in pain. Kotarou rushed to help him sit up as he coughed out the rest of the water.

When he was done, Tatsuki just leaned against him weakly, shivering and breathing unevenly.

But he's alive, Kotarou thought joyfully as he held the trembling boy in his arms. Tears slipped down his face and onto Tatsuki's, but if he noticed, he didn't show it.

"Kotarou?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," he whispered.

Kotarou laughed weakly and swiped at his eyes with a wet sleeve.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "No problem."