Reason I Love to Fly

Chapter 9

"Yuri-sama?" Krad called as stood on the ground at her favourite garden. He had thought about it the whole night and he thought he would be able to cheer her up after Yuri lost her favourite pendant.

"Hm?" the young lady looked at him.

"Give me your hand," Krad offered his hand.

"Eh?" Yuri looked up at him.

"Trust me," he smiled at her, "I won't let you fall."

"Yuri doesn't understand what Krad-san is trying to say," Yuri said.

"Trust me and give me your hand," he said. Yuri put her hand in his as his smile widened. With a pull from Krad, Yuri fell onto him and he jumped off the cliff.

"Krad-san!" Yuri screamed. She held onto Krad tightly and shut her eyes. She thought she was hallucinating when she heard wings flapping and soft laughs escaped Krad, who had his arms around Yuri's waist.

"Open your eyes, Yuri-sama," he said. Yuri, who had plastered her face onto Krad's chest, opened her eyes. She looked up at Krad and her eyes widened when she saw white wings behind him.

"You wanted to know how it feels to fly," he said, "Let me take you."

"Krad-san," Yuri said softly as a smile graced her face, "Thank you."

"So, where to?" Krad asked.

"You are the pilot," she replied, "You decide."

"Hm," Krad glided through the sky, "Alright." He turned Yuri around so that her back was to his chest.

'It's so warm,' Yuri blushed at the thought as she rested her hands on Krad's hands. One of his hands encircled her waist while another encircled around her shoulders. His hand which rested on her shoulder felt Yuri's body tensed.

"I'm sorry I have to hold you like this," Krad said as a blush coloured his face as well.

"It's alright," Yuri said.

'Why?' Krad asked himself, 'Why do I feel so comfortable like this? She's so warm and she's smiling. It's a genuine smile that I seldom see.'

"Krad-san! Look!" Yuri pointed at the setting sun in the distance, "I have never seen the sun set from this height!" She smiled as she turned to look at him.

"Krad-san?" she called when Krad's face did not show any emotion or any sign that he heard her.

"Yes?" Krad snapped out of his train of thoughts.

"Is Krad-san tired?" Yuri asked, "Yuri think Krad-san better put Yuri down as Yuri is getting heavy for him."

"No, you aren't," Krad laughed, "I was just thinking, that's all." He turned his gaze to the setting sun and tightened his arms around her. 'I don't want to let you go, Yuri-chan,' his voice said inside him. Slowly he descended to the edge of the grassy cliff below them.

"Thank you for today," Yuri said with a smile as she turned to face Krad. As she took a step back from him, both momentarily missed the warmth they felt a moment ago.

"You are welcome," Krad said. Yuri's smile too faded as the warmth she felt emanating from Krad had vanished.

"Well," she found herself stuttering, "We should go home." She quickly turned around to hide her blush.

"I can take you to fly anytime if you want," Krad said without thinking. Yuri turned and stared at him, as if he had said something to her in another language. "Can I?" Krad asked as he kept his hands in his pockets.

"Thank you!" Yuri said as she threw her arms happily around Krad's neck. Krad was surprised of her sudden reaction that he had to take a step backward to balance himself.

"Sorry," she exclaimed as she backed away from him.

"It's alright," he smiled at her, "As long as you are happy."

"Yuri's happy," she smiled, "Thank you, Krad-san, for cheering Yuri up."

XXXXX

"THIS ISN'T IT!" the star pendant shattered into small pieces as it hit the wall, "What went wrong?"

"Sir," a man dressed in a black suit came into the luxurious reading room.

"WHAT?" a young man shouted at him.

"There are no other arts in the Kasumi household that is born on the day you mentioned, sir," he announced.

"GET OUT!" he threw an old looking book at the guard but the book hit the wooden door instead as the guard had already disappeared. The young man sat back into the chair and messed up his short jet black hair and sighed.

"It can't be…" a thought struck him and he rose to pick up the book that he had carelessly thrown in anger. Furiously, he turned the pages searching for something that was useful to the idea that had just struck in his mind.

"Hmph, so that is what had happened," he smiled victoriously as he closed the book.

XXXXX

"I've got information on the pendant's whereabouts. Do you need it?" Dark waved a piece of paper in front of Krad which contained the address of the person responsible for stealing Yuri's pendant. Krad snatched the paper and read it.

"I'm going," he said and headed for the balcony.

"I'm tagging along," Dark followed him, "I'm the greatest phantom thief after all. I sneak unlike someone else who busts his way into any building."

"Krad-san? Dark-san?" a soft voice called them.

"We're caught!" Dark laughed as he saw the beautiful Yuri looking up at them.

"Dark-san has wings too?" Yuri stared at the pure black wings on Dark's back.

"Yeah," the thief answered, "But we gotta go now."

"Where is Krad-san going?" she asked.

"I'll be out for a while," the blonde angel replied, "I'll be back soon and we'll go flying again tomorrow." With that, both he and the dark angel set out of the city on their wings.

"Please protect them," Yuri prayed to the stars, "Please let them be safe."

As the two angels drew nearer to a castle, they saw that security wasn't at all as tight as they expected and they easily slipped into the dimly lit castle. Both of them only used hand signs to communicate and they managed to get into the reading room where all artifacts were kept. As the door gave a soft click when it closed, the lights in the room were suddenly turned on and momentarily blinded the two angels, who got used to the dim lighting.

"I was wondering when you two will appear," a voice said from behind the chair.

"Show yourself!" Krad commanded and the chair was turned around to reveal a handsome young man about twenty. "Where's Yuri-sama's pendant?" Krad demanded.

"You broke in just to get that useless pendant?" he asked with no interest at all. "If you want it, it's here," he tossed a small box into the air. Krad caught it in his hand and heard the shattered pieces in it. He glared at the man.

"It is broken," the man by the window stated, "Have it fixed and return it to the girl. You may leave now."

"Who do you think you are ordering us like that?" Dark bellowed and took a step towards him but was stopped by Krad.

"True," the man smirked, "You are trespassers after all. Guards!"

At the call, tens of heavily armed guards came through the door and aimed at the two winged angels. Both immediately unfurled their wings and broke out of the room through the large windows on the sides.

"Release them," the young nobleman said casually and strode away. A guard nodded and left the room with the command to the other guards.

"Krad! Behind!" Dark yelled as he looked back at the towers where guards held small gun loaded with poisonous darts. As they swirled in their course to avoid the darts, both Krad and Dark saw tiny sparkling dust along their way.

"Diamond dust?" Krad mumbled as he looked at the twinkling dust in his hand.

"Krad! Fly!" Dark called but it was too late to avoid the oncoming dart when Krad realized that one was darting towards him. He felt a stinging pain on his back and the pain spread to his chest. Within seconds, Krad's vision blurred and his wings failed him. Dark caught the falling angel and sped away from the castle.

"Why does Yuri feel pain?" Yuri clutched her body and found diamond dust on herself, "What? What is this?"

"Yuri!" Dark banged on Yuri's balcony. She turned to the door and gasped when she saw Dark carrying the blonde angel in his arms. She immediately slid the door open and helped Dark to lay Krad on her bed before hurrying into her bathroom to retrieve towels and a basin of warm water.

"What happened?" Yuri was on the verge of breaking into tears when she saw the blood on Krad's back after Dark carefully removed his clothes and proceeded to stop his bleeding.

"…your pendant…" Krad managed to say as he slowly released the small box he held so tightly in his hand.

"It isn't worth it," Yuri gasped as tears spilled down her eyes, "It isn't worth it!" She held the hand that had become red from holding the small jewellery box.

"This is bad," she heard Dark mumbled as he looked at the dart he just pulled out of Krad's back.

"What's wrong, Dark-san?" Yuri looked worriedly at the phantom thief.

"I think the dart had pierced into his lung," he said solemnly and the tearful girl gasped in horror.

"Hospital…" she muttered as she started for the door but a strong force held her back and covered her mouth. Yuri struggled to remove the hand that was clasped on her mouth.

"Shh!" Dark said behind her, "We can't let them know!"

"But Krad-san will-" Yuri stopped when she saw Krad had a soft smile on his lips.

"I'll be alright," he said softly before he took a short breath and continued, 'I'll not forgive you for hurting Yuri-sama, Dark."

"If he can say that in that condition," Dark released Yuri, "He'll be alright."

"I'll go get some bandages," Yuri said but Dark stopped her from opening the door.

"I'll go get it. You stay here with him," he said and walked out of the room to hunt for bandages.

"I'm sorry to have you worry about me," Krad began when Yuri sat on the floor beside the bed to look at his serene face.

"Don't talk too much," Yuri said softly, "Dark-san said maybe Krad-san's lung had been pierced. Does Krad-san feel uneasy anywhere?"

'My heart feels uneasy to see you so teary,' Krad only smiled to her and said, "I'll be alright tomorrow and I'm sorry that I took your bed."

"It's okay," Yuri shook her head and brushed away the loose strand of hair that fell in front of his beautiful golden eyes.

"Did I ever tell you that you have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen?" Krad asked softly and Yuri shook her head. "I love the innocence you have in your hazel eyes," he continued, "But all I see in your eyes today was sorrow until we flew in the air."

"Is that why Krad-san went to get it back?" Yuri asked but before he could answer, Yuri burst out in tears, "But Yuri'll be much much sorrowful to see Krad-san hurt!"

"I'm sorry," was all Krad could say.

"Thank you for taking it back," Yuri held his hand, "Yuri'll treasure the pendant more than ever from now on. Will Krad-san promise Yuri that Krad-san'll never do such things again?"

"I promise to never make you cry anymore," Krad promised the teary eyed girl.

"Take some rest," Yuri gently touched Krad's forehead as he slowly slipped into a dreamless sleep.

"He's asleep?" Yuri nodded to Dark, who came in after Krad had fallen asleep. "Can you help me bandage his wound?"

"Of course," Yuri answered as Dark handed her the roll of bandage he somehow managed to get without being caught by the maids in the hallway. Dark gently lifted Krad by his arms and Yuri began to roll the bandage around Krad's chest.

When Krad woke up the next morning, the first thing that he saw was a sleeping Yuri, who still sat the floor and laid her head on the bed. A soft moan escaped his lips as he tried to turn onto his back. As soon as he got used to the pain on his back, he looked at the sleeping angel beside him and slowly got up on his feet.

'It isn't comfortable sleeping like that, Yuri-chan,' he wanted to tell her but instead, he gently lifted her up and laid her on her bed. He smiled warmly as Yuri softly whimpered his name when he pulled the blanket over her. It was his turn to watch Yuri and with every passing second, he became more aware of how soft and creamy her skin had felt last night. Unconsciously, his hand moved on its own accord and began to gently trace down her cheek to her chin like he did yesterday.

'Maybe I should have stolen a kiss last night,' he said in his mind, 'What am I saying? I sounded like Dark now! Besides, I have sworn to protect the innocence she still has with her.'

"You are really in love with her, aren't you?" a deep voice said softly in his ears.

"Dark, be quiet," Krad said in a hushed voice.

"She won't be awakened by anything for now," Dark smirked, "She stayed up all night after all. She was worried sick about you."