Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, only the plot.

Beta'ed by: MysteryPT

Hiya all, happy CNY!

"C'mon, I'm not a weakling, Ouka. It is not that painful and there's nothing you should be crying about."

It was a conversation he had once with Ouka. It was the first time Ouka lost the control over her power. Teito was hurt badly even after Ouka put lot and lots of the magical salve. It then, it still hurt a lot. But Teito kept it to himself. Tears were already running down her eyes like a broken tap.

That day and for a week after, Teito was in so much pain. Still, he managed to blink any tears away. He thought he was strong and a bit pain was nothing. But the pain he felt right now was too much.

Searing pain burned his insides. Teito bit down his cry and bled his lips in the act. He tasted his own blood and hoping that it might somewhat lessen the pain. But it did nothing. He felt his limbs fell numb. Yet his insides were being torn apart.

Teito's fingers flew up to his neck automatically. He scratched his neck. Feeling slight sting when he scratched the skin on his neck, trying to get oxygen into his burning lung. He gasped. His breath fell short and his eyes were blurry from so much pain.

Teito trashed in his bed. His pained cry echoed and then he heard rushing feet. But he was too busy keeping his sanity intact, he didn't bother to check who had barged into the room. He heard voices talking to him, calling his consciousness. Teito wanted to answer but a big lump formed in his throat, blocking his breath. He bit his lips, hard. And he tasted blood again.

His day as of late consisted of only fainting or waking up to burning pain. Days went so fast in his head and Teito bet it had only been a few days in reality. Forcing his eyelids open, Teito winced. The back of his head throbbed when light filled his vision. It was bright but blur at the same time. Next, he tried to speak, but could only hoarse coughs.

"...-to."

Teito tilted his damp head to the side. He saw blotch and blurs of gold. Then he closed his heavy eyelids and slipped into darkness again.

The next time Teito woke up, he was in a dream. Standing beyond a gate twice as tall as him, Teito saw a hazy white building. It looked like a church with a large bell on top of one of the tower. It felt familiar. It called him. Teito's hand extended toward the church-like building.

As his hand passed the boundary, all white swirled into darkness. Suddenly, long set of stairs expanded in front of him. They were grey colored stone stairs with a lot of cracks to the base. There was no pillar whatsoever, just a never-ending flight of steps.

Teito hesitated. The steps looked so frail, like a soft touch of his bare feet might make the stone crumble like sand. He fought the urge to turn back and run, if not for the insistent tugging. For he had no choice but to go, the brunette took the first step. It was a very cautious step.

Crumbling beneath his feet, the step was as fragile as he thought. The moment his bare feet touched and firmly planted, the stone turned into uncountable bits of golden dust. Surprise was probably an understatement. Teito yelped a bit too loud but too shocked for shame to color his cheek. Reflex immediately took over. And then he ran. With every collapsing step, he took more steps higher and higher. Strangely though, he felt no sweat drenching his cloth. His breath was as normal as it could be. And then, he was on the top.

This time, the ground was firm. The steps were all gone when he turned back to find an escape. Teito was trapped in the world of stretched darkness. Swallowing his nervousness, Teito turned and steeled himself to the most peculiar place he had ever seen. Strangely shaped pillars of stone erected randomly. Strange, but it made a natural pathway. They guided Teito. He felt the urge to run once again resurfaced. Scared was evident but all he could do now was to move forward. Not that his feet allowed him to run either. They were guided, forced, to move to the center of this dizzying place.

The road come to an end as Teito fed his curiosity. In the center of his dream was a large and round platform. More stairs - but shorter - lead him to a thick wall. It had the same rough structure as the pillar. Teito was awed. And scared still. In the middle, there was a man. Or was it a statue? Well, it looked alive somehow. Teito found it alien and familiar at the same time. He knew this statue; this man, somehow.

You came.

Shocked, Teito failed to suppress a loud gasp. The statue talked! Well, specifically, it talked inside his head. Telepathy? Or something like that, probably. He took a step closer, and another step, until he stood face to face with the statue man. On a closer look, Teito was painfully aware of the sharp jaw and out-of-place goggles. It looked like half goggles and blindfold. Funny.

"Who...are you...?"

Teito felt a smile formed on the statue's lips. But of course, that was just his imagination. Or not. He could literally feel the statue freaking smile! And then, the wall framing the statue crumbled and at the same time fire licked them all clean. Teito stared, eyes unblinking as the red swept all gray off and left only fluttering red locks. He stood in front of the boy; the statue. And he smiled. It wasn't his imagination after all.

"Who are you?" The brunet found his voice back and repeated the question. This time, aloud.

The flame-haired smiled knowingly and reached to cup Teito's face in his big hands. They were hot. Almost as if he was flame itself. Except that the heat never hurt the boy. In fact, they were like wind, caressing and coursing inside of him like his own blood.

"You're me." Teito stated, almost too excited, but managed to keep it down.

The man smiled again. This time, shaking his head. "I am inside of you, but I am not you. I am but a power granted to you. Protecting you."

Teito frowned back. His head tilted ever so slightly and said, "But I feel you, as if you're my own body. My own soul."

"I may be," His thumb caressed the Teito's cheek and down to his collarbone, feeling the bone under his skin. Shiver ran down his spine, but Teito stood still and held his breath, waiting for the man to continue. "I may be not. I am inside you but I am not you."

"Then what are you?" The question came in nothing but a husky whisper. And the answer was equally low, Teito had to strain his ears to listen.

"I am Mikhail and you are my master, Teito Klein."

"Mik...hail?"

"Yes, master. Now, please stop resisting me and let me flow into you."

"But I-I don't need your power. I don't need this...this power that can only hurt."

Mikail's fingers gently pressed the hollow of his neck. "Then...I apologize in advance."

What do you mean? Teito was about to ask. He had already opened his mouth. Words were on the tip of his tongue but Teito swallowed it down, seeing flame engulfed the man in front of him. Red and orange flickered, licking the man's body into a burning mass. Teito took a step back, half turned, ready to take his flight.

"There's no exit, Master."

Teito had taken a few steps back, ignoring Mikhail's warning. Believing someone had turned into disaster for Teito. After this event, Teito had no doubt, no one would blame him for not trusting anybody ever anymore. But, that was probably not in his nature. Even now he felt strangely hurt at the prospect of not believing people.

Halfway towards the broken stairs, Teito finally paused and looked back. Mikhail hadn't moved from his place. Fire was burning still, enveloping his whole body. It was a very strange scene. Mikhail's body was whole and he didn't look burnt. On the contrary, he looked...pleased. Almost as if the fire did nothing but protecting him. Which sounded crazy, even for Teitos's desperate mind.

"You're not...burnt." Teito approached the man again, adding extra cautiousness.

It wasn't the first time that his curiosity took the best of him. Ouka found it annoying most of the time, but Mikhail smiled knowingly. Thinking back, Ayanami and Frau seemed to find this highly amusing. At the thought, images flashed in his mind. Teito felt a pang of hurt. He had missed them already.

"This fire will never hurt me, nor you, so come."

The invitation was tempting. A weird tug was pulling him forward. It was the same fascination that kept him from averting his eyes. Invisible rope pulled him closer until he was only a step away from the burning man. Teito held his gaze, barely breathing as Mikhail bent down.

Teito fought back the urge to pull his hand when Mikhail's aflame palm took his in most gentle grasp. Before Teito could decide to finally pull his hand, Mikhail's lips descend to his palm. Almost whispering, the said to Teito's palm, "I vow to you my endless loyalty, my most precious master."

Like a snake coiling around Mikhail's arm, the fire danced. It swirled around Mikhail for a moment before moving and warped Teito in its haven.

"Master, you will be safe here. Please stay put until I clean your body from this wretched poison."

"Mikail, wait!"

But the man never waited. With a loud snap, he was gone. Teito looked around. The place was black and gray. And the stairs were still dusts somewhere in the bottom of the abyss. Trapped in a cage of flame, Teito gritted his teeth. There was nothing he could do. He was powerless, as always.

It had been a long while since Frau felt hatred to the blue sky and blinding light of day. The last time, it was during his coronation. The councils were a bunch of noisy old men. They thought just because Frau was just a kid, they could use him like a rag puppet. He couldn't believe in anyone and almost desperate. It was around that time that Castor and Labrador saved him.

Thinking back, that was probably when they became best friends. They took the role as his teachers, brothers, friends, guardians, protector, well basically everything. For a very long time, they became his world. Standing in the midst of hungry wolves in his own home, Frau trusted only the two. He trusted them with his life.

Nothing probably worth more than these two, he once thought. At least, until he met a certain brunette. Like a storm on a calm day, Teito invade his peaceful life. Forcefully at that. Frau wasn't ready to accept anyone. Not after being betrayed over and over again. Still, the King couldn't stop the boy from breaking through his wall.

Teito never spend more than a few hours a week to speak with him. Fully understanding a man was definitely impossible. That much he knew. But Teito was an open book. There was no deception to his innocence. And Frau felt closer already. Too much, in fact.

"Frau."

"I know." The king said without looking back. He knew Castor's voice by heart. They were literally the only persons to call him by his name. The rest was too afraid or not so close to call him his given name.

"Sitting here won't help him."

"I know that," the king repeated with slight annoyance. "I'm just..." he sighed.

"Just worried. We all feel the same."

"I'm sorry, Castor."

The red-haired flashed him a small smile. "I've found the suspect died in one dark and dirty alley down in the town."

Narrowing his eyes, Frau scowled and turned to his friend. "Any clues?"

Castor folded his hands across the chest. He looked older than usual, with bags under both eyes. Looked like he had rough days as of late. They all had.

"Untraceable poison, probably the same as one ingested by Teito. It's a miracle the boy still struggles."

Frau never felt fear for death. For as long as he was alive, Frau was surrounded by death and betrayal. Started with his father, then one by one people started to leave him. Everything around him started and ended in a bad, horrible death. More than often, Frau thought he was cursed. Even now he still think so, despite what Castor and Labrador said. If he wasn't, why had Teito consumed the poison instead of him? They all knew the poison was meant for Frau. It was hardly a surprise because he had been target of assassination ever since the coronation.

The king's gaze lingered back to the boy. By now the brunette was half-drenched in his own sweat. He moaned in pain, but nothing Frau did could ease the suffering. All he could do was watch in helplessness as his life slipped away fast.

Another pained moan from the boy caught Frau's and Castor's attention. The king reflexively caught his grasping hand. It was wet from sweat but surprisingly very cold. Castor came to his side and watched with calculating gaze.

"Frau, I don't think he will survive."

No, he must. He had to. But without a cure, eventually the boy would die. Right now, he had no way out.

"I..." he tried to argue. I will save him, he almost exclaimed, knowing fully well he had no way to do so. Still, he couldn't let go.

Answering his plea, Teito's hand slowly warming. His fingers twitched as if he was conscious. Feeling the move, Frau's grip tightened.

"Let go of my master's hand, mortal." Teito's eyes opened in a snap. Replacing the lush green was red. Flame's red. His voice was still the same but the way he talked changed so much, it took Frau by surprise. And the king let go of his grip.

He had almost apologized. It took nearly his all to stop his mouth from running. For the boy to wake up so suddenly was shocking enough. Adding another personality was sure unthinkable.

"Who are you?"

The red-eyes narrowed into a slit. This Teito was cautious, unlike the ignorant original.

For a while, red-eyes Teito glared at them. Probably, he was trying to determine if Frau and Castor were enemies of his so called 'master'. It wasn't hard to conclude that this master he meant was the real Teito. Then, who was this red-eyes?

As if reading Frau's mind, the possessed stop his gaze at Frau. His gaze fixtate on Frau for a full minute. The hair on the back of his neck stood. He literally shivered. To think that there was anyone alive who could instill fear in him. It had been so long since felt this way. Truly, this boy brought nothing but surprise to his days! Though, it was highly doubtful that the current surprise was anything but pleasing.

Understanding finally dawned after a moment, the red-eyes flashed them a cocky grin. "I see, you're...a friend." The boy finished with a satisfied nod. "Have you found the culprit?"

"What?" Frau casted a look to Castor, but the other was focused on the boy. Knowing he wouldn't find answer from his friend, Frau turned back to Teito. "What do you know?"

The red-eyes pushed himself to a sit, face-to-face to the two men. "That someone will die a horrible death from fire for harming my master," said Teito with a sweet smile. He was serious. Alarmingly serious.

"We share the sentiments. However, we aren't sure whether you can be trusted. For one, we don't even know you."

That was a bit too much of a provocation. But damn that. Frau was eager to know who and how this possession could save Teito. For one, the red-eyes sat using Teito's body. He was supposed to lie down and writhing in pain. But he moved like nothing ever happened.

The boy, as usual, read his expression and gave a smug grin. That actually hurt his pride a little bit. For so long he had lived in political world, his countenance was a rigid mask. For one brat to be able to read him like an open book was a big stab. Perhaps, this Teito wasn't as young as he thought.

"I won't hurt my master. That much you can be sure of. That reminds me," the red eyes sat straighter and raised his right hand to his eye level. "You're targeted by some very annoying pests, King. The poison's a trouble. You're lucky my master ate it instead of you. Or you'll be inside a coffin right now."

With a loud snap, Frau stood. He was...what? Angry? Troubled? For his long years being a King, it was probably the first time Frau felt his face turned to another level of red. His mouth opened and closed like a suffocating gold fish. He almost retorted. Almost. The temptation was strong still, but this red-eyes spoke the truth.

Huffing a pout, Frau sat back and crossed his arms. "How do I call you?"

Red-eyes Teito blinked, surprised by Frau's sudden cool down and casual question. A spontaneous response wasn't necessarily a bad thing, though. It was very amusing, in fact. Smiling still, he said, "Mikhail. I'm Mikhail."

"Mikhail." Frau nodded, putting the name into the top order in his head. He made a mental note to run some checkup on the name soon. "So, can you cure Teito?" he asked a bit hastily and almost asked more. Biting his lower lip effectively stop his mouth from running away.

Mikhail gave them incredulous look, as if the question was the most silly question ever asked in the history of humankind. Frau scowled, but decided to not to retort back. They had much more important thing to discuss. Like Teito's life.

"Well?" The King asked impatiently.

Cocking his head, Mikhail jumped down. His bare feet touched the cold stone floor but he never flinched. "Step back, human."

Both men heeded the order, albeit grudgingly. They back off a few steps, until the back of Frau's knees hit the drawer near the wall. Their eyes never left Mikhail. When the latter felt the distance was enough, he nodded in approval. In that very second, flame flickered from his feet. From small ball of fire, it swirled up, snaking around the lithe body, covering him in red ropes.

Seeing the flame suddenly burst, Frau reflexively took a step. He needed to save the boy. That was his fervent thought. If Castor wasn't there, the King would have hurt himself in the process.

"I'm sorry. And thanks, Castor." The King pulled his arm from Castor's grip and squeezed his friend's hand lightly. "I'm okay." He almost missed his friend's rare smile as he turned his attention back to the boy.

Fire burned strongly even without fuel. Mikhail stood casually as if the fire never hurt him. And then, he lifted his right hand, palm facing the ceiling. The fire that was one coiling around his body aimlessly suddenly moved toward one direction and compacted. Before long, Mikhail had gathered it above his palm as a round ball of red and orange. It was no more than 6 inches. Small, but deadly.

Frau felt sweat formed on his temple. Imagining Mikhail throwing that ball of fire to them, Frau could only see plain destruction. No one, not even him will be able to escape this alive. Fortunately, intention for massacre was far from Mikhail's mind. As he concentrate harder, the flame on his hand turned from reddish glow to blue. After a long moment, it burned in green light. Weird smell literally oozed out like smoke from the flame, producing weird smell.

The two men hastily covered their noses. Not only it smelled bad, it stung their eyes as well. Frau had to bit his tongue to stop coughing. Mikhail on the other hand, was unperturbed. The King and his aide watched him silently from the end of the room. The fire on his hand flickered again. This time from green, back to blue, and finally back to red. With a loud pop, the fire disappear along with the smell and smoke. The two men breathed long and slow.

"Well, that was...smelly."

Mikhail flashed him a sharp look. "Whoever used this poison really has a bad taste," Mikhail huffed and flopped down on the bed. His legs were crossed. "It's the first time in my very long life that I had to cleanse my master from this kind of...poison."

Castor raised his eyebrows, breaking his silence. "You've been here for a while? And your name is Mikhail." Castor stepped up beside Frau and held his friend's shoulder. His hand was shaking. "Are you, by any chance, related to the story about the Two Eyes?"

"Heh-ha ha ha. You asked an interesting question, young human."

Castor exchanged glances with Frau. The latter shrugged. "Am I right then?"

"I'm not only related, human. I'm one of the so-called Eyes. Though it's mostly because of this," Mikhail raised his right hand. A stone shining brightly red was half buried in the back of his palm. Its glow was ethereal. Almost mesmerizing. Then, with a proud grin, Mikhail added, "I am but a protector of my master, Teito Klein. And that means, I'm protecting him from you as well, young King."

Frau blinked confusedly. "Huh? Why would I harm him?"

By now, Mikhail probably thought of him as the most idiotic human he had ever met. Because everytime Frau opened his mouth, Mikhail heaved a sigh. "You aren't going to harm him physically, King. I protect everything about my master. And that includes his mind."

"Ah." Castor clasped his hand, like what Mikhail said was the easiest thing on earth, but Frau understood nothing about their weird stare. So he simply shrugged.