OMG!!! I actually managed to get this chapter out semi-on time!! This is a huge deal!! Woot!! XD
NinthFeather:...
Me: Feather-chan? Are you ok? Normally this would be the time where you insult me with some kind of sarcastic comment.
NinthFeather:...I'm still in a state of shock that you actually finished something...on time.
Me: I find that slightly insulting.
NinthFeather: I'm sorry, remind of the last time you actually honored a deadline?
Me:...
NinthFeather: My point exactly.
Me: -.-' Shut up.
NinthFeather: You're just mad because you know I'm right.
Me: I said shut up!!
NinthFeather: You know, if you just got things done on time, we wouldn't have to have this argument so often.
Me: Are you my best friend or my mother?
NinthFeather: Well, since being your best friend usually means playing your mother, I guess I'm both.
Me: Well, before you turn this conversation into yet another lecture, let's get on with the fic.
Warning: Not much bishie x bishie romance, but there is a hell of a lot of bishie abuse here, so no like, no read.
NinthFeather: Can you ever just have a normal chapter with no need for a warning?
Me: But where's the fun in that?
Disclaimer:...
NinthFeather: *smacks me over the head*
Me: Ouch! Ok, fine...*sigh* I do not own the bishies of Saint Beast...
NinthFeather: Now was that really so hard?
Me: Yes!! TT_TT
********
During those brief, yet unimaginably painful seconds, Ruka's senses seemed to be unnaturally heightened. He could clearly see the relief on Rei's face turn to agony as the first of the boulders crashed into his delicate body. He could hear the sickening crunch as another crushed his right wing, sending him spiraling toward the ground. And he could swear he felt the excruciating pain that Rei felt when he slammed into the ground as if it were his own.
His own voice rang in his ears as Ruka screamed the smaller angel's name. It took the combines strength of both Yuda and Gou to keep the hysterical angel from sprinting over to his unconscious lover as half the cliff-side collapsed on top of the wounded angel.
When the boulders had finally stopped falling, there was a moment of dead silence in the valley. Ruka had ceased his struggles against Yuda and Gou's hold and just stared at the spot where Rei had landed, which was now covered in mountain of rocks and debris.
He couldn't process it. He just couldn't. His small, beautiful angel could not be buried under all that. He just couldn't be, because if he was, that would mean...
That would mean...
"No!" Ruka shouted, tearing his arms from Yuda and Gou's grip and running over to the pile of rocks. Getting down on his hands and knees, he frantically began digging through all the debris. "Rei! Rei are you alright? Rei please...please answer me! Say something Rei! Anything! Please..."
Ruka felt someone come up beside him and start digging next to him. He turned, expecting to see Gou or Yuda, and was faintly surprised to find Gai kneeling next to him.
The small angel was digging almost as desperately as Ruka was. "Rei, come on! This isn't funny! You've got to answer, otherwise, how are we supposed to find you? Come on Rei, please? I promise, I'll never tease you and Ruka again, so just please..." Gai's voice broke as tears slid down his face. Honestly, Ruka could not remember a single time he'd seen the little blonde angel cry.
The rest of the Saint Beasts soon came over and began digging and Calling Rei's name along with Gai and Ruka, but Ruka barely noticed when they did. All he knew was that he had to find his angel, his love.
His Rei.
********
The first thing Rei became aware of was the unbelievable pain that seemed to burn throughout every pore of his body. Rei moaned quietly and slowly opened his eyes, but even that small movement seemed to bring the wounded angel pain.
Still, he knew he'd have to at least sit up, if only to establish how bad the damage to the rest of his body was. Going at an almost agonizingly slow pace, Rei pushed himself into a sitting position using his arms. Almost instantly his right shoulder, as well as his entire abdomen, began to shriek in protest. Rei let out a muted scream of pain and turned to look at his arm. He knew immediately that his shoulder was dislocated. His arm hung almost limp at an unnatural angle, and his entire shoulder had already begun to turn various shades of purple and black.
His abdomen wasn't that much better. It only took one glance for Rei to deduce that most, if not all of the ribs on the right side of his body were broken, and the skin itself was in the process of turning the same color as his shoulder.
Rei sat up straighter and, trying his best to fight back the wave of dizziness and nausea that threatened to overwhelm him, surveyed his surroundings carefully. He soon realized that, while, he was still alive, he was completely encased in a veritable cage of boulders and debris. Really, the only reason he was still alive was that he'd had the good fortune to land underneath a slight outcropping of rock from the cliff wall, which effectively shielded most of his body from the worst of the collapse. It was also why most of the damage he suffered seemed to be concentrated on the right side of his body.
Rei then noticed, with some degree of shock and panic, that he couldn't feel his right leg. He soon found out why. His entire leg up to his knee was pinned under a large boulder. Rei sighed. While he was worried about what not being able to feel his leg might mean, at least it wasn't causing him any pain.
Rei also noticed that, although he had not consciously done it as he usually did, his wings had disappeared back into his body. This both confused and worried him, because even though they were completely gone, he could still feel a throbbing pain coming from his right wing. Normally, he would not feel anything from his wings once they had disappeared.
Rei knew he should probably be more concerned about the extent of his injuries, but for some reason, he just couldn't seem to gather up the energy to care. Maybe I should just rest my eyes for a little while...Rei thought groggily to himself. He took a deep breath and slowly lowered himself back onto the hard ground. Yes, if I just rest for a short while, then I can think of a way to...to...but already, Rei was having a hard time remembering what it was he should be doing. A small part of his mind was screaming at him not to fall asleep, but he was just too exhausted to remember why it was a bad idea.
Just as he was about to slip into the black comfort of unconsciousness, he heard what sound like distant voices calling his name, along with the loud, grating sound of boulders being shifted. So noisy...Rei thought sluggishly, I can't...sleep...
Then, for some reason, one of the voices struck a nerve in Rei, and felt the overwhelming urge to answer that call. He knew the voice belonged to some important, but he just couldn't seem to remember who...
Suddenly the answer snapped into his pain-muddled mind. Ruka! It's Ruka! His brain shouted at him. You need to answer him! You absolutely must!
Rei gathered up what little strength he had left and called out as loud as he could manage, "R-Ruka! Ruka, I'm here!"
Suddenly the grating noises stopped. "Rei?" called Ruka. "Rei is that you? Please, call out again Rei!"
No sound had ever sounded so beautiful to Rei as the sound of his love's voice right then. "Ruka! I-I'm here! I'm here, Ruka!"
The grating sounds started up again, this time closer and even more frantic. "Rei, I hear you! Just hold on! Just hold n for a few more minutes!"
Rei tried, but those few minutes felt like a few hours to him. Shouting for Ruka had also taken up every ounce of energy he'd had left, and he just felt so tired...
Just as his eyes were about to flutter shut, the boulders above his head were suddenly ripped away, and a bright light shone directly on his face, causing him to wince and shut his eyes. Then he felt something warm and familiar brush softly against his cheek and a soft voice call, "Rei?"
With some degree of difficulty, Rei managed to fight his drowsiness and forced his eye lids back open. When he did, he was greeted with the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. Ruka was leaning through the opening he had made above Rei's head, and was smiling gently, albeit worriedly, at the wounded angel below him as he gently stroked his cheek. The sunlight filtered through the edges of the opening, giving Ruka golden aura around his head, almost like a holy glow.
To Rei, Ruka had never looked more like an angel than he did at that moment. His beautiful, wonderful, guardian angel. Rei's last thought before the blackness engulfed him was how grateful he was that it was him lying under these boulders, and not the beautiful creature above him.
********
And there it is! Chapter 7. I know it's another cliffhanger, but at least it's not as bad as the last one!
NinthFeather: You know, one of these days one of your readers is just going to kill you out of frustration from all these cliffhangers.
Me: O.O My readers wouldn't do that!! They like me!!
NinthFeather:...You just keep telling yourself that.
Me: I shall!! ^-^ Now, on to the shameless review begging...ahem...REVIEW!!!! I NEED REVIEWS!!! IF I DON'T GET REVIEWS, BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN!!! SO IN ORDER TO AVOID THE MASS DESTRUCTION THAT WILL ENSUE SHOULD I NOT GET MY REVIEW FIX, PLEASE JUST REVIEW!!!!
NinthFeather: Wow, in all caps this time. You must really want reviews.
Me: Yep! Now, I have other stories besides this one that I have been neglecting terribly these past couple weeks, so I must work on them as well! Hopefully I will have the next chapter of this out by Friday, but no promises.
NinthFeather: *sigh* You really are much too cruel to your readers.
Me: Yep!! But they love me anyway...I hope...*sweatdrop*
Adios, mi amigas (and amigos)!!
~Neko-chan~