Disclaimer: I do not own Kyo Kara Maoh or any of its characters
Claimer: I, chop4tess, own this story, its plot and any and all original characters
And this is the second to last chapter…its taken me long enough right?
Chapter 15: The aftermath
"Alviss are you ok Alviss?" Ryan shook his friend in panic hating the pale look to his skin and the shadows under his eyes.
"Ryan calm down he just fainted." Conrad soothed and Ryan looked up at him and nodded then looked around at if suddenly realising where he was.
"Oh Shinou what have I done?" Ryan whispered looking at the smoke curling into the air from the damaged buildings. His face had gone horribly pale as all the memories came rushing back. Without the spirit controlling him Ryan could remember everything he did, no matter how much he might want to forget. "I attacked my own people." Ryan said glancing at Conrad who looked away not knowing what to say.
"Ryan is that you?" Ryan glanced up to see his father hovering nearby his black eyes full of concern.
"F-father?" Ryan choked out before Yuri rushed forwards and wrapped his son up in his arms. Ryan buried his face into his father's shoulder breathing the warm scent of home. This was the feeling he had remembered back when he was in the human kingdom, being held safe and warm inside the arms of his parent. Ryan bit his lip and held back a sob, now was no time for crying. Ryan wriggled out of his father's hold and glanced at Alviss.
"Father please Alviss is hurt can you help him?" Ryan pleaded and Yuri glanced at Conrad.
"His wounds are bad and he has lost a lot of blood," Conrad said, "We should get Gisela at once if he is to survive."
"Very well take him to the hospital and send for Gisela and her medical team." Conrad nodded and picked Alviss up in his arms and carried him inside. Elvira walked forwards and smiled at Ryan.
"Are you ok?"
"No I attacked my own home, my people." Ryan bowed his head in shame. "I am a traitor."
"No!" Wolfram strode forward and pulled his son to his feet. "You are not responsible for what that man did to you! You are not responsible for this!" Wolfram looked deep into his son's green eyes. "You should have killed Yuri but you didn't, you fought and you won remember that." Ryan nodded biting his lip and Wolfram pulled his son into his arms. "I missed you so much."
"I missed you too." Ryan whispered back hugging his dad before stepping away. "I have better control over my powers now and I would like to help treat the wounded."
"But Ryan –"
"No buts father," Ryan cut off Yuri mid-sentence, "It is the least I can do." Ryan turned and blinked in surprise when he saw Sliver. "What's a dragon doing here?"
:-:
The rest of the day was spent clearing up the mess the human soldiers had created. Many homes were destroyed in the attack and over 20 men lost their lives. Many more would have died if it wasn't for Ryan. He went around to each and every person making no distinction between demon and what few humans remained. He would place his hand on the worst injuries and his palm would glow blue and some strange magic within him would heal the wounds. By the nightfall every Mazoku soldier injured in the fight was healed of any life threatening injuries and the rest were being tended to in the hospital. Ryan was on the brink of collapse but he pushed himself relentlessly. Yuri had gone with his son into the town to survey the damage and was worried about his son. He knew that Ryan blamed himself for the attack when it clearly wasn't his fault. Whatever that black smoke was had been controlling him, dictating his actions. Yuri had complete faith that his son would never do something like this of his own free will. The dragon, Sliver, had flown around but had been unable to find the missing Night Crawler that she hadn't yet killed. Yuri gave her permission to sleep in the royal gardens and arranged to have some food brought to her as thanks for her help. Elvira had gone after Conrad to help Gisela in the hospital.
Yuri watched at Ryan healed another wound and jumped forward to catch him as he collapsed. "Ryan you need to stop now everyone is healed." Yuri said firmly nodding at the soldiers who came with them. They stepped forward and helped Ryan to his feet. Ryan was panting his black hair soaked with sweat.
"No there are still some injured." Ryan protested weakly.
"They will recover with medicine and time, you have done enough." Yuri turned to the soldiers. "Round up anyone with wounds and bring them to Gisela for treatment." The soldiers saluted and hurried away. Ryan made no protest as he was half carried back to the castle by one of the soldiers while his father walked beside them.
"I guess you will want to know what happened to me huh?" Ryan smiled but there was no humour in his voice.
"We can talk tomorrow."
"No I want to talk now." Ryan protested and Yuri sighed and nodded. As they entered the castle he sent the soldier to find Conrad, Josak, Gwendal, Gunter and Wolfram. In the meantime he took Ryan to his personal briefing room and sent a maid to get some food. Ryan sat in silence staring at the wooden table until a maid brought in some food and placed it in front of the Prince and hurried away. News that the Prince had tried to attack his father had already spread around the castle and she was afraid of him.
"Ryan you have to eat something otherwise you'll collapse and be of no use to anyone." Yuri pushed the bowl of soup towards Ryan who sighed and reluctantly picked up a spoon and began eating. Within minutes the others arrived and sat around the table. Conrad looked worried, Josak kept glancing at Ryan as if he expected him to attack at any moment, Gwendal was scowling more than usual, Gunter kept fidgeting as if he wished he was somewhere else and Wolfram looked strained and worried.
"It started when I was kidnapped." Ryan started suddenly and all eyes focused on him. "I was knocked out and taken to a human kingdom many days ride from here. It is ruled by a Lord called Eric who as far as I can tell hates the Mazoku for some reason. When I woke up I did not remember anything about myself or my past. I was told by the Lord's only son, Henry, that I was a human soldier injured in a battle against the Mazoku."
"Did you believe him?" Gwendal cut in and Ryan shook his head.
"I did not know what to believe. I had no memory of my past at all but I remember I had a feeling that I was needed somewhere, that I wasn't supposed to be where I was." Ryan left out that Henry had told him that he was his fiancé. Ryan still didn't know why he had said that.
"So what happened next?" Conrad asked gently.
"I remained inside the castle in the human kingdom believing the lies I was told by Henry and David."
"Who is David anyway?" Josak cut in and Ryan shrugged.
"I do not know much about him except that he is the Lord's advisor. He didn't have much contact with me. I do not know how long I was asleep after being kidnapped but I wasn't awake for long before I felt the presence of a Mazoku inside the castle. I still do not know who that was but they were found and I assume captured by the humans." Ryan took a deep breath before continuing.
"It was the same day that I sensed the Mazoku in the castle when I was knocked out again and when I woke up I was…trapped. My body was moving but I was not the one in control. I was being controlled by a spirit that David had summoned and could bend to his will. It liked to gloat about what it was going to make me do and how powerless I was. I could not speak or move my body so I basically became a prisoner in my own mind. I was aware of what happened around me but unable to react to it. I remember seeing David's servants, the four riders, and watching them feed their beasts."
"Riders?" Yuri asked.
"Yes they all had black hair and pale skin and rode beats shaped rather like dragons but smaller and uglier. There were two females and two males I believe their names were; Yami and Kirai for the males and Ashi and Kage for the females although I am not sure which rider carries which name."
"Where they also being controlled by David?" Conrad asked.
"I don't think so, Kirai seemed uncertain about following David's orders but the other three seemed to be happy to do his bidding." Ryan didn't mention the kiss he shared with Kirai that was a secret he would take to his grave. "Shortly after David put the spirit inside me I was put into a wagon and hidden from view. I knew that we were marching to a lake but the spirit wouldn't tell me anything more. It was only later when I realised that we were marching here."
"How did they get here exactly?" Gunter asked and Ryan sighed and leaned forward so his elbows were resting on the table.
"That was the reason they kidnapped me in the first place. The spirit controlling me told me that I had a special power that this world had not seen in many centuries. The last known person to have it was a human called Ryan." There was a collective intake of breath at that statement but Ryan continued as if nothing happened. "From what little the spirit told me I know that a human called Ryan lived many years ago before even Shinou was born and he and his twin brother had a power called the white tiger.
"Ryan's brother was jealous of Ryan's greater ability with the power so he tried to have Ryan killed. Ryan escaped and ran to the Mazoku world and asked them to help him fight off his brother. The Mazoku seeing the twin brother as a threat agreed to help Ryan. As far as I know Ryan and the Mazoku won the fight but Ryan disappeared after the battle and was never seen again. The Mazoku assumed that he had been killed while defending the Mazoku from his brother's power and soon he was forgotten."
"You believe these lies?" Gwendal asked in amazement. "There is no way such an event occurred! We would know about it."
"Very little was written down during that time," Gunter pointed out calmly. "Most scriptures and recordings were created because Shinou commanded it for future generations. If this event did indeed occur long before Shinou was born then there may very well be no recordings made."
"Well isn't that useful." Gwendal muttered his frown deepening. Ryan said nothing but stared at the table as if he was locked inside his own world unable to react to the real world outside.
"Ryan when the spirit or whatever it was left your body, a huge tiger appeared does that have something to do with your new powers?" Yuri glanced at his son who nodded slowly.
"Yes I have the same power as my human namesake before me did. Of course I do not have a twin brother like he did but we share a connection anyway. Somehow David found out about the human Ryan and his powers and he discovered that he could open a portal allowing instant travel from one kingdom to another. It may have been how Ryan escaped from his brother I do not know. David built an archway made out of special rock and built it far away from the city as not to attract attention. All he needed after its completion was a power source."
"So that is why David captured you." Josak said and Ryan nodded again.
"I don't know how he knew about my power when I did not know of it myself but he needed me to open the gate. He must have thought that brainwashing me would take too long so he put a spirit inside me to control me and somehow the spirit could access my dormant powers. It opened the gate and held it open while the human soldiers went through. It let me watch what was happening but it do not allow me to interfere. I admit that at this point I was so tired I had almost given up any hope. I screamed at the spirit to stop but it ignored me.
"Being home was what broke the spirit's control over me. That and Alviss fighting me." Ryan licked his lips. "I could hear Alviss's voice more clearly than the others and I tried to break free but I was too weak. When I saw you come out of the castle," Ryan glanced up at his father, "I felt the spirit take full control again. I was barley aware of anything until the white tiger helped me to throw the spirit out and regain control of my body. The spirit as no corporal form so I doubt it can survive without a host."
"I thought it was Alviss's kiss that woke you up, like Prince in story." Josak grinned and Ryan felt his cheeks heat up. He could still feel Alviss's warm chapped lips against his own and the way his heart had leapt in his chest.
"It jolted me back into control long enough to summon the tiger to throw out the spirit." Ryan said his voice wavering slightly. "I attacked my own home and killed many Mazoku soldiers in the process and wounded several more. I even stabbed my best friend in the side and almost killed him. If I had been stronger I am have been able to break the spirit's control over me sooner." No one said anything because no one knew what to say. Ryan looked at Conrad and asked a question he dreaded to ask but had to know. "Is Alviss alive?"
"I checked with Gisela just moments ago." Conrad said with a soft smile. "She told me that Alviss will make a full recovery." Ryan sighed in relief.
"That is good news at least."
"Yes we need to ask him where he has been the past few weeks." Conrad commented and Ryan looked up in surprise.
"What do you mean?"
"Well Alviss and Elvira both disappeared shortly after you did. We thought that they might have been kidnapped too but their horses were gone. Then a few weeks later we find the horses but no bodies. Then they appear out of the gate on a dragon." Josak smiled remembering. Ryan looked very surprised and he shook his head.
"I had no idea that they came after me. Maybe Alviss was the Mazoku presence I felt at the human castle, but how did they know where I was?"
"I think you'll have to ask them. Last place I saw Elvira was with Alviss in the hospital. I'm sure she would like to talk to you." Conrad smiled and Ryan glanced at his father who nodded and motioned with his head to the door. Ryan got up slowly and left the conference room shutting the heavy oak door behind him. Yuri turned back to the others with a sigh. Wolfram had been silent throughout Ryan's talk but he took a deep breath and glanced around the room.
"What do we do now?"
:-:
The hospital wasn't nearly as full as Gisela had been imagining it would be after the attack. Most of her patients just needed a bandage or two then they could go home. She had been told by one soldier that the Prince was healing everyone using some strange new power. Gisela heard the door open and she glanced up to see Ryan walk into the room. Gisela smiled, speak of the devil, she thought as she stood up and walked over to him.
"Evening Ryan, are you injured?"
"No I wanted to see Alviss if that is ok?" Ryan asked his voice quiet as if he didn't want to wake someone. Gisela nodded.
"Of course, come this way." Gisela led Ryan past several beds with soldiers sitting up and talking in them. "I was expecting a lot more dead and seriously wounded soldiers to come in." Gisela remarked, "I believe I have you to thank for that."
"I am so sorry." Ryan looked away and Gisela frowned at him.
"I was told that you healed all the soldiers of their most serious wounds, why is that something to be sorry for?"
"I am not sorry about that I am sorry for bringing the humans here in the first place." Ryan sighed, "If it wasn't for me there would have been no battle and no one would be dead or hurt." Gisela didn't know what Ryan was talking about so she paused outside of Alviss's room and reached out and put a hand on Ryan's shoulder. He looked so fragile, like he might break any second.
"Whatever you are blaming yourself for, am I sure it is not true." Ryan didn't smile but continued staring at the floor. "Alviss is still asleep but Elvira is with him and she's been asking for you." Ryan nodded and walked into the bare white room and stared at the figure on the bed. Alviss's skin was still pale but no longer a deathly shade of white. It made his dark blue hair seem almost black in colour. Elvira was sitting on a chair beside him when she heard the door open. She looked up then jumped to her feet.
"Ryan is that you?"
"Yeah it is." There was a moment of silence with Elvira just staring at Ryan as if she couldn't believe her eyes. Ryan opened his mouth but closed it again when Elvira stepped up to him with her hand out. Ryan expected a smack but instead Elvira placed her hand gently against his cheek and looked into his eyes.
"Is it really you?"
"Elvira, I'm so sorry." Elvira threw herself forward and hugged him tightly. Ryan stumbled in shock then wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back. He didn't even realise he was crying until he heard Elvira laugh weakly.
"Ryan you're getting my top wet." Ryan blinked then sighed heavily, a weak smile tugging at his lips as he stood back wiping his eyes. "We were looking for you for so long I can't believe your standing right here in front of me."
"I can't believe you would come after me." Ryan countered reaching out to take Elvira's hands in his. "Why would you do that?"
"Because Alviss and I are your friends, and friends never abandon each other." Elvira hugged Ryan again and this time he returned the hug right away. He breathed in deep and smiled at the familiar scent of his best friend. "Sorry I know I stink but I haven't had a chance to shower yet." Ryan gave her a wobbly smile before glancing at Alviss. His chest was rising and falling deeply and evenly. Ryan stepped forward and gently pushed a dark lock of hair off his forehead.
"What happened to you guys after I was taken?"
"Well Alviss blamed himself of course." Elvira sighed glancing at her friend. "Then we took the note that had been written by your kidnappers to a couple in the town who told us to go to the dragons and find a sliver dragon who would take us to the human kingdom."
"That huge sliver dragon I saw before? You flew all the way to the human kingdom and back on that?" Ryan asked in amazement. Elvira smiled.
"Sliver is all bark and no bite, she wouldn't harm us."
"The dragon's name is Sliver?"
"I know not very imaginative right?" Elvira laughed and Ryan nodded before glancing back at Alviss. "He's going to be ok you know."
"Yeah I know I just wish I could use my healing powers to heal him but I don't think I have anymore power to use. I need to rest to regain my strength." Ryan turned away from Alviss's bed with a curse. "What's the point of having powers if I can't help people? All I've done so far is aided an attack on my own people!"
"Ryan from what I've heard you also healed every soldier injured in the fight against the humans." Elvira lay a hand on Ryan's shoulder and felt him trembling. "That must counter whatever harm you did."
"What about the ones that died? How can I possibly make this right for them? If I hadn't been so weak they would still be alive right now!" Ryan felt tears gather in his eyes and he brushed the moisture away angrily.
"Ryan why don't you tell me what happened to you?" Ryan sighed and sat down on the chair that Elvira had been sitting in before. Elvira picked up another chair from the corner of the room and sat in front of him. Ryan took a breath then launched into his story once again. This time he left nothing out, telling Elvira about Henry's claim that they were to be married and the kiss they shared. Elvira listened without interrupting and Ryan was glad to get it off his chest. Talking to his closest friend was different then talking to his parents and the others. He felt more relaxed and less afraid that she would hate him afterwards.
"How long was I gone?" Ryan asked after he finished his story.
"About five weeks." Elvira said with a sigh. "Everyone was very worried about you."
"Tell me what happened, after I was taken." Ryan asked and Elvira nodded.
"Well soon after you were kidnapped Alviss and I decided to go after you. Your parents, Conrad and the others had too many duties tying their hands to mount a full scale rescue for you although that's what they wanted to do. They had no idea where to look for you and the note said that you would already have been killed."
"You mentioned a note before what note?" Elvira told Ryan everything, from the moment she and Alviss heard his scream to flying through the portal on Sliver. Ryan listened quietly glancing at Alviss every now and again as if to convince himself that he was still breathing. When Elvira finished it was getting very late and Ryan could feel the strain starting to take its toll on him. Unable to hide a yawn he saw Elvira smile at him.
"We should go to bed if we are to be of any use to anyone tomorrow." Elvira commented and Ryan nodded glancing at Alviss. "He will be fine; Gisela will have someone watching over him tonight."
:-:
As soon as Ryan had left the conference room the silence had hung over everyone with Wolfram's question ringing in their ears. "What do we do now?" They all knew that this problem would not just go away nor could it be forgotten about. There had to be a response of some kind.
"The ten Nobles are going to want to talk with Ryan. I suggest he remains in the castle for the time being to prepare himself." Conrad said shattering the fragile silence between them.
"They are not going to like this at all. It doesn't help that the girl who tried to poison Yuri managed to escape during the battle." Gwendal scowled.
"Has anyone found her yet?" Yuri asked but Gwendal shook his head.
"No and the Nobles will want a reason for that too." Gwendal muttered rubbing his forehead as if just thinking about the Nobles gave him a headache. "They may well want military action against the human kingdom that instigated this unprovoked attack."
"I am not going to war with them," Yuri said firmly, "There are no winners in war."
"Usually I would agree with you Your Majesty but this time it is different." Gwendal sighed. "They kidnapped your son, a child of royal blood, and then they used him to attack us without any provocation from our side."
"I am aware that they took Ryan." Yuri growled, "And for the pain they caused me and Wolfram as well as our son I wish the most horrible things to happen to them. However, I am a Maoh and as such I must put my people before myself. A war will not solve this dispute."
"We understand Your Majesty." Gwendal said.
"I will not sit back at let this go unpunished however, yet if we were to take our revenge on them it would not erase what they have done nor wipe it from our memory." Yuri sighed and rubbed his temples.
"Other countries will want to see some form of penalty against the human kingdom." Conrad advised sombrely. "If you were to ignore the attack then you will be seen as weak and it could break the alliance we have tried so hard to forge."
"The leaders of the countries will most likely come to see us to discuss the punishment towards the human kingdom." Wolfram added. "Maybe we can appease them by forcing the human kingdom to remove its military and to replace its Lord with someone from our side."
"That is a wise suggestion Your Majesty." Gunter said glancing at Wolfram in surprise. "If they have no military they will not be seen as a threat to the alliance yet will we not be seen as taking no action against them."
"I doubt their Lord will be too happy about having no military or being replaced." Yuri muttered and Wolfram sighed.
"We will just have to convince him." Wolfram said and Yuri knew that by convince Wolfram meant force. "We are stronger military wise and we could easily take over the kingdom in a matter of days. I too am not very willing to forgive what they did to my child." There was a brief silence after that announcement then Yuri sighed.
"I understand Wolfram I really do, better than anyone else could. Yet killing more men and causing more families to loose brothers, husbands, fathers and sons would not make me feel any better. If we feel this angry at our son being used then think of how other fathers will feel if we kill their sons. No if we do take away their military and replace their Lord I want to do it without too much bloodshed."
"If the Lord has any sense he will already know that he has lost." Josak pointed out, "He would be foolish to try to fight back now."
"Josak is right Yuri," Conrad agreed, "I doubt the Lord will put up much of a fight and my guess is that he will be very unpopular with his people right now. He was the one who sent the soldiers to war not us."
:-:
Kirai glanced around the dark gardens before running across the open space like a living shadow. Once hidden in the thick bushes he closed his eyes and used his mental link with Ashi to tell her to follow him. Within seconds she was by his side her green eyes glinting like shards of ice.
"I still think we should kill all these worthless demons while we have the chance." She hissed but Kirai shook his head.
"Kage and Yami are both dead, what makes you think that we could beat them? David was wrong from the start there was no way we could have won this war. He sent us here to die get that into your thick skull." Kirai snapped glancing around to make sure the guards didn't hear them.
"I think the boy throwing out the spirit and turning into the tiger might have put a stop in David's plans." Ashi snarled sarcastically. "His plan would have succeeded if it wasn't for that."
"Whatever makes you feel better but David used us like tools and threw us away when he was finished with us." Kirai glanced around then looked back at Ashi. "My beast is unhurt so either you come with me and get the hell away from here or you stay and get yourself killed." Kirai took off down the garden keeping to the shadows. At first he truly thought that Ashi was going to stay when he heard her following him down the garden. Kirai had never liked Ashi very much but she was the only one left and he needed someone. No one else understood them like they did. If Kage had been the only one alive he might have been brave enough to face the world alone. But he needed contact, even if that contact was Ashi.
Kirai had managed to locate Ashi easily enough and take out the guards who guarded her cell. Then it was easy to open the lock and to run back to the courtyard. They had arrived just as Ryan threw the spirit from his body and collapsed on his knees. David was pinned under the sliver dragon's claws and Kirai knew that they had already lost. Ashi had wanted to save David but Kirai stopped her just as the white tiger appeared. They watched in horror as the portal was opened and the human soldiers were thrown through it back to their own kingdom. Kirai had expected David to go too but the tiger announced that David was to be punished for what he had done and Kirai found himself agreeing.
Kirai's beast was waiting for them by the wall hidden in shadow. It had hidden shortly after the fight turned sour and had managed to avoid the dragon's detection. Kirai had hidden inside the castle with Ashi for night to fall so they could escape. Ashi has been persistent in saying that they should try to rescue David but Kirai had resisted. He hated David now more than ever and the bastard deserved all that was coming to him. Ashi had retreated into sulky silence after realising that nothing could convince Kirai to help her rescue their master. Ashi would have gone by herself but she was weakened from her stay in the Mazoku dungeon and could not hope to succeed alone. Her silence was a welcome relief to Kirai who had other things on his mind, like the kiss between the demon and Ryan.
He had seen the blue haired demon kiss Ryan and it had created a strange feeling inside him. Kirai had wanted to go down and rip them apart and kill the demon for daring to touch what was his. Yet Ryan wasn't his in any sense of the word. Yes they had kissed but Ryan was being controlled by a spirit at that time, it meant nothing. Right? Of course the kiss meant nothing; Ryan most likely didn't even remember it.
Kirai shook himself out of his thoughts as he approached his beast and climbed onto its back. It growled lightly as Ashi got on but made no further protest. Each beast was loyal to their rider and their rider only. Other riders could not control them and often beasts would become jealous if their rider were to use another beast instead of them. But seeing as Kirai's beast was the only one left alive after the battle, it would have to make do with the extra passenger.
Kirai gave a silent command and the beast took off into the night flapping hard to gain as much altitude as possible before they were spotted. It seemed the guards were looking away however since no warning shout went up and Kirai, Ashi and the Night Crawler managed to sneak away into the night.
*End chapter*
So Kirai and Ashi get away to fight another day…well so they can appear in the sequel.