Distance 8
TITLE: Distance
CHAPTER: Seven
PAIRING: Ohno x Sakurai, Aiba x OC
RATING: PG13
SUMMARY: "...If you were trash, Jun would have killed you when he first saw you twenty years ago. You are here for a reason, don’t you ever forget that. You will do great things…”
In a flash, both Ohno and Sho were on their horses. They pushed the animals into a gallop; their horses almost level with each other as they pushed through the trees to get towards the mountain Elve's territory.
All of a sudden, Ohno pulled up short, and Sho quickly followed.
"They've surrounded us," Ohno hissed, his bow leaping into his hand. He notched an arrow to the string and pulled it back taunt as Sho drew his sword.
"Who are you?" A harsh voice called, stepping from the trees. The pair were completely surrounded by a tight ring of ragged looking elves, all with vicious looking hunting knives in their hands.
"If you want our names, introduce yourself first," Sho said. His horse began to dance around nervously underneath him at the tension in the air, and he patted its neck in an attempt to calm it down. Ohno still had his arrow aimed at one of the elves in the circle, his icy eyes unblinking.
The elf smirked, "Fiery one, aren't you, human. You have no business going into the mountain dwellers home. We can't let you past. And now that you've seen us, we can't let you turn back, either,"
Ohno narrowed his eyes, "You're the traitors who poisoned the king?"
The elf smirked again, "And what if we are? Are you on your way with the antidote? You're from the forest, aren't you, boy? Even more reason not to let you past!"
Ohno inched his horse closer to Sho, and leant over subtly, "Sho-kun, when I give the word, charge forward. You're on horseback, you'll be fine. Get the antidote to the King,"
"What about you?" Sho mumbled, his eyes widening.
"Don't worry about me. Just get to the king. I'll be right behind you,"
"Stop your scheming," The elf snapped. He turned to the rest of the circle, "Kill them,"
"Now!" Ohno cried, releasing his arrow and hitting the elf square in the chest. Sho spurred his horse into a gallop, and in the slight panic of the surrounding elves, the horse leapt over the fallen body and thundered into the tree's towards the mountain.
A few elves tried to chase after Sho, but were stopped by arrows from Ohno's bow. Sho glanced back when he heard a yell, to see Ohno being pulled from his horse by three of the elves from the circle.
"Satoshi!" He yelled, yanking his horse to a halt.
"Sho-kun!" Ohno cried, "Just go!"
Sho gritted his teeth, trying to decide whether to do as Ohno said, or to go and help him.
Ohno struggled in his captives grasp, trying to free his arm enough to allow him to draw his sword. He whimpered as his arm was twisted up behind his back viciously, and his body thrown forward onto the floor.
Suddenly, he felt the grip on his limbs released, and he sat up in confusion, to see Sho standing over him, his breath coming out in heavy pants and his sword in his hand. He reached out and grabbed Ohno by his wrist and jerked him to his feet. He dropped his sword on Ohno's way up, and pulled him into a hard embrace, wrapping his arms around Ohno's body and burying his head in the elf's neck.
"Sho-kun.." Ohno mumbled.
"Don't.... ever... expect me to leave you..... especially if you're in that kind of situation!"
"Sho-kun.." Ohno repeated, pulling his arms out from Sho's embrace and slowly putting them around the man's neck, "... I'm sorry... But I just didn't want you to get hur-"
"Don't make that excuse," Sho snapped, pulling away and holding Ohno arms length away from him by his shoulders, "I don't want you hurt, either!"
"I'm sorry.."
---
Crystals eyes snapped open and she sat up quickly. She touched her hand to her cheek and closed her eyes again.
"That was messed up," She mumbled to herself.
Instead of waking up after her premonition like usual, the elf maiden had slipped off into another dream; quite an intimate dream involving the older elf Aiba.
She sighed and climbed out of Aiba's bed, realizing that it was already dark.
"Great," She sighed, "Jun-san made me sleep all day, so now I won't be able to sleep at night," She padded over to the bedroom door and made her way out into Aiba's living room, where the older elf was napping.
She moved silently to him, observing his chest slowly rising and falling in his sleep. Before she knew it, she was knelt on the seat next to him, leaning into his face, staring at his full lips.
"You're not planning on stealing a kiss from me while I'm sleeping, are you?" Aiba said quietly, his eyes still closed.
"Uwah!" Crystal cried, stumbling backwards and landing clumsily on the floor, her legs sprawled to the side and her short, flimsy night gown up by her stomach.
Aiba chuckled and popped an eye open, "So you're trying to kiss me while I'm asleep, and when I wake up, you flash your underwear at me?"
Crystal shrieked and scrambled to cover herself up. Her face was burning and her eyes were brimming with tears.
"Ai... Aiba-san!" She gasped, "I.. I..."
Aiba got to his feet and offered his hand to Crystal, "It's alright. I was just teasing," Crystal pouted and took the offered hand. Aiba pulled her to her feet, and once she was up, they both stood opposite each other, unmoving.
Aiba broke away first, clearing his throat slightly and sitting back down on his sofa, "You can have my bed," He said, "I'll sleep here,"
Crystal blushed and sat down next to him, "I'm not tired, Jun-san made me sleep all day,"
"The fact that you could sleep all day means that you need sleep," Aiba pressed, "Go back to bed,"
"I'm not tired," She insisted, not moving.
Aiba covered his eyes with his hand and sighed deeply, "Please," He begged quietly, "With you sitting so close to me wearing virtually nothing and looking so cute, I don't think I can take it for much longer. And it doesn't help that you've been sleeping in my bed, either,"
"W.. What?" Crystal stammered, her blushing face turning an even deeper shade of red.
---
Sho and Ohno rode up the thin mountain trail in silence. Sho was still blushing from their show of affection earlier, and they were both eager to deliver the antidote and get home as fast as they could.
About twenty minutes of riding up the mountain, the trail came to an abrupt end.
"Who goes there?" A voice called from above them.
Both Sho and Ohno glanced up above them, to see a small elf sitting on a ledge, half concealed by a huge rock.
"Ohno Satoshi and Sakurai Sho, from the land of the Forest Elves to the east," Ohno said clearly, "We bring the an-"
The elf on the ledge dropped down lightly next to them, bowing deeply, "We've been expecting you. I trust the journey wasn't too troublesome,"
"We survived," Ohno replied.
The elf nodded, "Obviously. Let's take you to our King," The elf stepped to the side and headed towards the sheer rock face of the mountain where the trail stopped, "You may need to dismount," He suggested.
He lifted his arm and traced an intricate pattern on the wall, and there was a sudden rumbling sound as the rock face split into two.
"Welcome to the Kingdom of the Mountain Elves," He said softly.
---
When they entered the mountain, a group of elves appeared to take care of the horses, while Sho and Ohno continued by foot, following the elf from the entrance.
Sho looked around the cavern wildly, before reaching out and gripping on to Ohno's clothing. Without a word, Ohno removed Sho's hand from his clothes and took it in his own smaller hand with a squeeze of encouragement.
"We will be out of the tight space soon, please don't worry," Their guide said kindly with a quick glance at Sho's panicked expression. Sho nodded, but still kept hold of Ohno's hand.
After a few moments of walking, the tunnel widened and opened up, revealing the inside of the mountain. Sho gasped as he took in the sight before them.
The entire mountain had been carved out, with an opening right at the top, miles above their heads. Houses had been carved into the stone around the edge of the mountain and up the walls, and towns and houses made of stone ran along the floor of the mountain. At the other end of the huge cavern, was a large building that they presumed to be the palace.
"Let us make haste to the palace," The guide said, "The sooner we get there, the better,"
Sho and Ohno kept up easily as the elf sped swiftly along the higher levels around the mountain. When they finally reached the other side, they went down to the bottom-most level and then to the palace gates.
"Our king doesn't have a palace as big as this," Sho noted to Ohno while the guide spoke to the guards, "Don't you think it's a little bit.. too much?"
Ohno hummed in agreement, "Why would he need a house so big?"
"It's this way," The guide said, leading the pair inside the palace gates. As he led them through the winding corridors of the palace, and up towards the top floor, the elf began asking them questions.
"Did you come across any of the traitors?"
Ohno nodded, "Yes. They tried to stop us getting here.. but..."
"But?"
"We dealt with them," Sho said darkly.
The guide nodded and came to a halt outside a pair of huge doors, "Good. You will have our gratitude for that," He said, "We are here,"
*******
TO BE CONTINUED..
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I hope you're enjoying~ Even though it's dragging!