Love and War
--
In a time of war, the unthinkable happens...two lost souls are reunited. Together again for the first time in more than a decade, Dark Mousy will make a startling discovery about the one person he has sworn to kill...the one person he has sworn to love.
--
Chapter 2
--
The sky had grown darker in the past moment, it seemed. Light flashed across the sky and thunder crackled in the distance. Dark didn't notice; he couldn't move his gaze from the figure beneath him.
His heart pounding in his ears, he drew in a quick breath. Finally tearing his eyes from the limp blonde, he scanned the area quickly. Unable to stop himself, he stumbled backwards.
"No—how can this…Krad? But he…why would he be fighting against his own country? His family—friends—me? There…there must be some mistake," Dark spat, his mind spinning and his heart pounding. No one moved on the battlefield; as far as Dark could see were corpses. "Krad wouldn't—couldn't—!"
His throat closed, and Dark swallowed, panting for air. He flopped down onto the cold, mud-covered ground. His view slowly drifted back to the male before him. He noticed a glint of gold.
Slowly, Dark forced himself to crawl next to the blonde. He reached out a shaky glove to pick up a battered, golden cross tied at the end of the other's long ponytail.
He dropped is as if it had burned right through his glove and scorched his calloused hand.
It was Krad. This was Krad.
Only he had that long blonde hair…those fierce, feral eyes…that cross.
"Oh, God…" Dark whispered, shaking his head slowly. Tears lightly brimmed his eyes. "Oh, God…"
--
Dark stumbled into the inn clumsily, calling out, "Get me the doctor and a room. Immediately."
A few locals ran out the door, eager to help one of the king's soldiers. A girl in her early teens approached Dark, flipping her long, chocolate hair as she gave him a room key. "First door on the right," she said, tossing a curious glance at the bundled figure wrapped in Dark's arms.
Dark paid the girl no mind, giving only a curt nod before dashing to the room.
He unlocked the door with ease, shuffling inside. He slammed the door behind him before clumsily making his way towards the bed in the room. He gently lowered the blonde from his arms onto the bed, grateful that the sharp angles on the other's vibrant black armor were no longer piercing into him.
He drew in a long breath before quickly setting to work, removing the armor from the blonde at an amazing speed. He knew if anyone recognized that armor, both he and Krad would be killed on the spot.
After a tedious amount of unlatching, unbuckling, unclasping, and so forth, all the armor was discarded in a heap on the floor. Dark threw his cloak atop it to veil it from sight not a moment too soon; the black cloak was still settling when an elderly man rushed in the room.
"What's the injury? Why did you call?" He asked hastily in a crippled voice. He adjusted the glasses on his tiny nose and leaned towards the bloody male.
"Him. My troops and I fought on the borderline of this town just earlier today. He and I…are the only ones that survived." A look of agony washed over Dark's features. "My captains—my friends…my subordinates…and all the enemy troops were annihilated in the attack."
A look of contemplation washed over the old man's face. "I'm sorry to hear that," he said as he made his way to Krad's bedside.
"Do you mind if I…?"
Dark shrugged when the old man gestured to the blonde. "Do whatever you can. Please."
With fingers too nimble to belong to such an old man, the doctor quickly plucked at the buttons on the blonde's bloody shirt and discarded the article quickly. He stared at the many fresh cut and bruises painted onto the blonde's pale flesh and shook his head. "He's taken a lot of damage," he grumbled. From his bag, the old man drew out a few tools and a large roll of cotton bandages. A bottle of ointment was elicited when he said, "I've seen men die from less. How many were you fighting?"
Dark leaned back against the wall, drawing in a tight breath. "There were three of them to one of us."
Dabbing at one of Krad's gashes, the old man grimaced. "You look like you've got yourself injured as well. I've got my apprentice outside. As soon as she gets back with the cool water, she'd be more than happy to tend to you while I'm at this one…"
Dark shrugged. "Sir," he said, "He will live through this, right…?"
"Like I said: I've seen men die from less, but he seems to be holding out pretty well. I think he'll make it."
The dark haired male paused for a long moment in front of the doorway before sighing. The doctor had moved away from the bruises and was examining a dislocated shoulder. A chill shiver swept down Dark's spine and he crept out of the room, closing the door behind him.
--
It was a good number of hours before the doctor came out of the tiny room, rubbing his sore hands together. He shuffled through the living room and said to Dark when the youth rose eagerly from his seat to meet him, "Your friend…"
"Yes, what of him?" Dark asked impatiently when the doctor fell silent.
"He should be fine in a few days time. He and you both—from what my assistant has told me—have taken quite a beating."
Dark gave a small bow, ignoring the constriction around his upper torso. A few bandages and a couple of aches, but he was fine. "What do I owe you?"
The old man smiled a charming smile. "Nothing. I'm sure if you hadn't stopped those damnable troops before they reached town…well, let's just say that I'm still in your debt."
"No…but thank you, anyway."
"It isn't a problem. You should get some rest, young man. I'll come back tomorrow and check on both of you, so make sure you stay here. I'm not in the mood to go looking for you for a check-up…"
"Yes, sir," Dark said. "Goodnight."
The doctor nodded, hobbling out of the inn. Dark watched him depart, staring at the door for a long moment before he tore his gaze away and moved across the common room. He paused in front of the door to his room and reached out a hand to gently open it. He entered silently, biting his lip as he slipped into the darkness.
Krad lay, pale and still, underneath the thin sheets atop the bed. Had Dark not carefully been watching the blonde's chest slowly rise and fall, he might have mistaken him for a corpse. His eyes drifted to the blonde's blood-caked hair, the crimson splotches contrasting strongly against his flaxen demeanor, and then to his thin face—eyes running slowly over his closed eyelids, his delicate nose, his lush lips…
Dark tore his gaze away, running his fingers through his wild violet bangs as he mentally scolded himself. 'God,' he spat it his mind, 'I can't think about that right now…there are too many questions unanswered…'
Shoulders slumping, Dark let out a weary groan as he quietly drifted to a chair in the corner of the room and dragged it in front of the door before sinking into it. He reached behind him and locked the door, confident that no one was getting in…and no one was getting out.
--
Thunder rattled the inn, jolting Dark awake. He looked around quickly, seeing only darkness. The candle once illuminating the room must have burned out long ago, for the only light was that of the lightning flashing outside.
Silence resumed, and Dark paused, feeling something was wrong. He didn't move, listening for any abnormal noises. There were none. He released a breath only to draw it back in again—lightning flashed through the window to reveal an empty bed.
"Krad?" Dark called, moving to sit up.
There was a warm breath on his ear, and a hand pushed him back down into this chair. "Right here," came a familiar voice. Cold metal suddenly pressed against Dark's throat, nearly choking him. "Where am I?" Came the icy whisper.
Dark coughed. "Krad, hold on—"
"And how do you know my name?" The knife, Dark assumed, was pressed deeper into his flesh.
"Get that thing out of my throat and I'll tell you," Dark hissed. He felt the metal slowly draw away from his throat.
"…Fine."
"Get on the bed, first."
Confusion nearly surfaced itself as Krad returned, "What?"
Dark grit his teeth. "Go lay down—conserve your strength. You almost died today, so don't chance anything."
Krad let out a quiet hiss, "How do I know you won't attack me?"
"Because I brought you here in the first place. Now, go."
The blonde frowned, clearly in thought, for a moment before slowly retreating to the bed and taking a seat. He was in no condition to protest and he knew it—just sneaking over next to Dark had drained most of the energy he had, anyway.
Dark leaned forward. "Good, now you're answering my questions, first. What the hell are you doing?"
"Clarify."
"Clarify? Clarify what?"
Irritance crept into the blonde's voice as he said, "I'm breathing, hurting, sitting here—"
"That's not what I meant."
"Then clarify what it was you did mean."
Dark drew in a breath. "Why was I fighting you?"
The blonde shrugged, regretting the action as searing pain tore through his arm. His expression never changed when he said, "Because I was trying to kill you?"
"That's not what I meant, either! Why were you fighting against Azumano's troops?"
"Because that's what my lord assigned me to do."
Rage blasted through the dark haired warrior, and he fought for control to keep himself from screaming at the blonde who stared coolly at him. "Okay," Dark said, calming himself, " I know who you are. Do you know who I am?"
"Dark," Krad said, and Dark's heart stopped. Again, when the blonde added, "It's dark in here. I can't see anything. What do you think?"
"So…" Dark asked, a little hurt and confused, "Your cross…"
"The gold one I wear?"
"That one. Where did you get it?"
Lightning illuminated the blonde's shocked features. "Where is it?" Krad asked, unable to suppress the longing in his voice.
"Why? Is it important to you?"
Krad hesitated before giving an answer. "Yes. It is. It's very important to me."
Dark nodded, hiding a smile. "Why?"
"That's none of your business. Where is it?"
"Answer the rest of my questions, and I'll give it back."
"You're cheap…and low," the blonde said, glaring at him in the darkness.
"But you'll answer?"
Krad nodded.
"First, I want to know why you, Krad Hikari, have joined with the king. You used to hate him. Why are you with him? Why did you leave in the middle of the night without so much as a goodbye?"
Dark took pleasure when Krad's golden eyes widened. "How did you…?"
A smirk was supplied from the violet haired male. He rose from his chair and away from the shadows that veiled him even from the shocking blasts of lightning. He moved into the center of the room, and said when the lightning illuminated his face, "Because I was the one you left. That's how I know."
--
Whoo! Like I said, this was supposed to be a one shot, but now, all of a sudden, there's another chapter? Blame Genkai. I would never have updated if she hadn't been so mad at me for telling her this was a one-shot. I wrote this well over a year ago, when she first requested it, though it has been quite some time since I last saw the pages I'd written the next chapter on. And then…voila! They pop up out of nowhere, during my updating spree. What a coincidence…
Anyway, have fun reading. Please leave a review, if you can, because I'd love to get feedback from my readers.
