Disclaimer: I do not own Tsubasa, neither do i own the starting of this story.

Warning: THIS ENTIRE STORY IS YAOI/ BxB. DO NOT PROCEED IF THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR.

LOTS OF ANGST AND RAPE/ NON CON. BE-WARNED.

Chapter 7: Caught in the Act

Fai froze in his spot. He felt every strand of the hair on his body stand as the man took a step closer.

After what seemed like an eternity, Fai turned around to find a pair of dark merciless eyes boring onto him. Fai stared wearily into them. There was no hint of compassion.

Shozu chuckled. Don't ask him how he knew, but he could tell that the man was waiting for him to notice his presence. He just did.

Fai's eyes darted towards the door and assessed his probability of escape. A plan formulated in his mind. The entrance was the only exit. If he was to evade the fat man and run straight there, he would have to face the guards. Given his agility, he might just be able to slip away before the Matsuda were to grab him.

Sure, it's tough. But it's possible. He would just have to give it a try.

As though looking through his plan, Shozu took a step to the side, blocking the entrance.

Fai smiled playfully as he skipped forward towards the fat man. His face hardened as he froze for a second, just a step before crashing into Shozu. He then twirled his body around, sticking his leg out to trip the man before turning again to get past him.

In a flash, Shozu collapsed and fell into the public bathing pool. There was a huge splash and he was on his way to the exit. Gently, he chuckled, sprinting towards the door of his freedom.

But that chuckle stop short in his throat.

A sudden force grabbed him at his ankle and hurled him back.

The sheer force sent him flying backwards and Fai grimaced as his back hit against the water knob. Hot water cascaded down into him as his vision blurred from the impact.

What..?

A choking force ceased him before he could finish his thoughts. His hands flew upwards as he struggled to release the grip upon his throat.

"You.." Fai coughed as a chill ran down his spine. How can the fat man be so strong?

The moment he opened his mouth, water gushed right in.

Fai sputtered, throwing up a mouthful of water as he struggled to loosen the rough hands upon his neck. Through the cascade of water from the shower, Fai struggled to open his eyes.

A figure stood beyond the wetness.

"Ashura-sama?" The blue eyes widen in shock and horror as he choked on the water, making him sputter uncontrollably. With chills running up his spine, his thoughts jostled.

"It's time." He whispered, as the grip upon his neck tightened.

A torrent of fists rained on him. He could feel the impact of every blow plummeting right through his bone and flesh, adding extra damage to his already bruised and tattered body.

No. It cannot be. How can he be here? All his senses suddenly heightened as pangs of fear exploded within him. Against his will, his body begun to tremble and then shook.

I've escaped from his clutches, haven't I? Why is he here? Had he come to take me back? No.. He'll never want to go back to the hellhole again. Memories from the past flashed across his mind.. The abuse he suffered at his hands.. He'll rather die than to go back to him. With that, the lanky limbs fell limp to his side and the mage gave up struggling.

As though sensing his will to die, the pair of hands loosened and he collapsed onto the ground like a puppet without strings. With his release, the cascade of water from the shower ceased and his vision finally cleared.

Ashura? He shook his head to clear his mind and vision. No. A dark shadow stood before him. In some distance behind, Shozu rested in the public pool as though watching a show.

Was it an illusion?

Out of the corner of his eyes, a familiar red glow took his attention and he found his whole body, mind and spirit drawn towards it.

It was the glow of magic.

No. That's not possible.. Fai gasped in surprise. He could not summon a single ounce of magic ever since he arrived in the place. How..?

Fai sputtered, gasping frantically for air.

The choking force had found its way to his throat once again. This time, it pinned him to the ground. Then he felt himself getting lifted off the ground and travelling backwards before hitting onto the solid wall once again. With each step, the grip upon his throat tightened.

The blue eyes stared into the black holes of the mystic shadow which took form of a charcoal burnt man. There was no doubt. There can only be one reason.

Dark magic.

With great difficulty, he attempted to summon his own powers from within his body.

But to no avail.

A punch to his face blanked his mind. His vision blurred for a while. He made a second attempt at casting a spell.

A chuckle broke his train of thoughts as a series of harsh spattering followed it.

"Your magic won't work here."

Shozu spoke.

And he had understood it.

Surprise flickered through the blonde's face. Did he mishear? No. He definitely heard it right.

His dark shadow of a servant paused to look at his master. The grip upon his throat seemed to loosen.

"Who are you?" Fai choked before pain exploded on his body. It felt like a thousand needles had pierced into him all at a go. Each needle was blunt and rusted, creating thousands holes on his body, with blood oozing out. Fai screamed. But no actual sound came out.

Standing up, Shozu casted an evil grin. Through the works of magic, he had mentally inflicted physical pain upon the mage. An eerie red glow followed his ascend as wisps of smoke swirled around the fat man. It had originated from a ring upon his finger.

The stone encased in his ring glowed red, gleaming menacingly. Lifting the corner of his lips, the stoned scarred face twisted gruesomely into an evil grin. Slowly, the commander approached the pair.

"ARGHH!" Fai screamed again. In reality, only a small strangled cry managed to escape out of his mouth. The body thrashed violently to the evading force.

Shozu had pressed the glowing piece into his neck. The moment it came in contact with his skin, it burned. This time, the pain was a hundred times worse than the previous. It burned into his neck, eating into his skin, down to the bone, emitting a violent red glow in its wake.

The lithe body heaved, struggling to survive the ordeal.

The burning sensation upon his neck escalated with each passing second. It soon began to claw its way through his body. Feeling his whole body rapidly tensing up, Fai could only struggle to breathe, to fail terribly.

All of the sudden, the body begun shaking violently. It then jerked to stop before slumping down on to the cold hard ground. His mind blanked and the pair of blue eyes rolled backwards.

"What did you do to him?" The harsh growl echoed in the winter night.

xXx

Kurogane rushed in the moment he landed both men on the ground. The process probably took only minutes. There was no doubt. He was damn sure the owner of the scream had belonged to the mage.

"Fai?" The raven yelled as he entered the bathing tent. Mists met his eyes. The 1000 square foot bathing tent was empty.

Wait. There's someone at the back. Two dark shadows lurked at the far end of the tent: a silhouette of a man squatting on the ground and that of another lying on the ground. A mysterious red glow engulfed the pair. Kurogane squinted as he advanced cautiously.

Shozu? The tall man frowned slightly upon recognising the back view of the squatting man. He was one of the captain of the camp.. the man who witnessed the fight on the first day they arrived.

Kurogane could clearly remember the word he used then. 'Unbalanced.' That was how the fat man described his mage and accused him of assault. What bullshit. That idiot may be weird but he wouldn't attack anyone for no reason.

"Unbalanced." He grunted. Sounded more like him to me. Who in the right mind would first accuse one of assault and plead for the man's release on the next day.

Back then, Shozu had been the only eye witness for the fight between Fai and the two men guarding the tent just now. According to the fat man, the mage had suddenly attacked and wounded his men. As a result, Fai was subjected to punishment for three days. However, on the next day, Shozu had suddenly decided to change his mind and terminated Fai's punishment. It definitely demonstrated his authority in the camp.. But so what? His actions were illogical. Kurogane wondered for a brief moment how such a man could be made a captain. Friend or foe, one thing for sure, he did not like him. There's something about him..

So why is he here? Where's.. His eyes trailed downwards.

The pair of red eyes widened. A mob of blonde met his eyes and his hand shifted onto the hilt of his sword.

From his angle, he could not really see anything behind the man. But that blonde mob of hair.. no one else in the camp had blonde hair. He could definitely confirm that the body lying on the floor was Fai's.

"What did you do to him?" Kurogane demanded harshly. His mind raced at the confirmation of the unmoving body. If the stupid mage was hurt in one way or another... He could feel his anger rising rapidly as a sense of protectiveness over the blonde swarm over him.

At those words, the squatting silhouette froze momentarily and looked back briefly. The red glow suddenly diminished. Slowly, the fat man stood up and turned to look at Kurogane, exposing what was concealed.

There, the body of the mage lay on ground, motionlessly. The blue eyes lay wide opened and unseeing. His mouth opened agape, lips moving, whispering unheard words. As though having a spasm, the mage was shaking violently.

"You son of a.." Without finishing his sentence, the tall man lunged forward, pulling out his sword.

It happened so fast that Shozu had just enough time to evade his attack. He ducked back just as the sword swing downwards onto his face. The tip of edge briefly swiped passed his cheek, leaving a small cut onto his already scarred face. In another second, the next swing was already coming hard and fast towards his stomach.

Only due to his many years on the battlefield that he honed his instinct to react, he managed to jump back in time, preventing his guts from spilling. But that leap also lost him his footing, landing him hard on the ground. Shozu watched as the next blade about to come down on him and wondered for a brief second if he should unleash his magic on the man.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE?" A booming voice echoed in the empty bath tent, followed by a series of footstep as Mizuro marched into with a few other men.

The fighting ceased to a sudden stop upon the arrival of the War Master as Kurogane stopped short in his attack and lowered his sword.

"Mizuro-sama" Both men greeted Mizuro, giving a small bow. It was the proper procedure upon meeting the War Master

Mizuro eyed the pair, first to the sword in Kurogane's hand, then to Shozu and Kurogane and finally lingering on the lithe body of the mage on the ground. He watched as the body on spasm jerked to stop before slumping down on to the cold hard ground.

"What happened here?"

"LOOK WHAT HE DID TO HIM!" At that question, Kurogane exploded, raising his sword at the fat man.

"What did you do to him?" Mizuro enquired Shozu sharply, raising an eyebrow at Kurogane's raised sword.

Slowly, but reluctantly, the tall man lowered his arm. Despite his hot-headedness and unwillingness, he knew when he really need to control anger. It was a lesson he learnt in the hard way during his journey.

"I did nothing to him. When I came in, he was already like this. I was merely bending over to help him when Kurogane-san came in and attacked me." Shozu replied calmly.

"WHAT?!" Kurogane exploded, lunging himself at Shozu once again. LIES. How could he be helping? THAT SON OF A BITCH!

But this time, resistive force met his arms.

"You know the rules. No fighting is allowed unless on training grounds."

Dread filled the tall man's guts. No. That was not how it was supposed to turn out.

"Lock him up in the dungeons until tomorrow's meeting" War Master Mizuro commanded.

"BUT.." Before the raven could protest, Mizuro interrupted.

"You attacked an unarmed man."

Blood boiled as Kurogane tried his utmost best to not lunge at the fat man and kill him.

There was no point arguing. The conclusion had been made.

"Bring him away."

It was obvious now. That man was no friend. Kurogane could only eye him with spite as he marched out of the room. His eyes lingered on the limp body of the mage, a sense of helplessness creeping onto him.

"I can walk by myself." He growled, taking one last look at his travelling companion before exiting. He had gotten into enough trouble and it would be unwise to do more damage now that he would be stuck behind bars, unable to protect the mage.

As the crowd took their leave, Mizuro, too, turned to leave the room.

"And the blonde?" A low voice echoed from behind him, making him pause in his track.

At those words, Mizuro turned his head slightly, eyeing the mage who was lying motionlessly on the ground. Other than the sound of footsteps in the distance, silence engulfed the bathing tent. Only him, Shozu and a limp body remained in the tent.

"I'll make necessary arrangement."

Heavy silence hung in the air as Shozu looked expectedly at the War Master.

"..to your satisfaction." Mizuro added reluctantly after a long pause.

A smirk crawled up the scarred face.

"This is the last time I'm allowing you to do what you want." Mizuro growled in a low voice in obvious displeasure. "Stop creating trouble."

"I understand." Shozu bowed deeply as the War Master marched out. Behind the shadow casted upon his face, the smirk upon his face spread wider. A drop of blood dripped down from the newly inflicted scar upon his face. It did nothing to conceal the evil glint reflected in his eyes.

A harsh red glow shone in the semi-darkness as dark magic swirled within the arena.

"He's all yours now." Whispers echoed in the silence of the night.

A/N:

Sorry guys, but I don't think i'll be able to upload the next chapter on time next week. (I haven't started writing it.. D:)

I'll be pretty busy rushing reports and stuff so it might take a while. Sorry for the delay.

But it'll be nice to have some feedback for the story.

Thanks!