Round 1, Challenge #1: "A Life and Time Defying Vow"
Title: A life and time defying vow.
Rating: R
Word Count: 2,377
Summary: Yunho and Jaejoong chose to defy the code of the warriors.
Warnings: Deaths
Yunho traced Jaejoong’s jaw line with the back of his fingers, savoring everything he could get from it for it would be the last of the lasts. The battles the latter had been through surely have taken their toll on his skin. Patches of dirt now covered his once porcelain-white, faultless skin, making the path of his crystal tears clear. The beautiful man before Yunho, the wonderful boy he used to be, the little kid he had found curled up in a ball along the snow-covered street that winter morning, was finally there with him.
-----
A boy around twelve, clad in a newly sewed hakamashita which marked his status as a samurai apprentice, marched along the cold street cheerfully.
“Yunho! Slow down!” The boy’s master called while chuckling, amused at his student’s overexcitement.
“Minamoto-sensei! Faster! We need to get back and train as soon as we can.” He turned around to face his master and flashed him a smile glistened with enthusiasm. “I’m dying to learn your sword techniques.” He turned back and hopped his way forward before coming into a halt as he spotted a small boy lying on the ground. By the looks of it, the boy was nowhere near okay. In an instant, Yunho ran towards the boy to shake him awake. “Wake up!”
Sensing the mishap, Yunho’s sensei trailed behind him. “We’re taking him home.” And they did.
-----
Brighter than the morning sunshine peaking through the slightly opened sliding door was Jaejoong smile. “Yunho-kun! Wake up.” He spoke gently, slightly shaking the older boy.
Yunho remained immobile despite the call.
“Yunho-kun!” Almost whining, the younger shook the sleepy head once more but got the same unresponsiveness from the other. He pouted although no one could see him, at least he thought. “Alright! I’m training alone and will get ahead of you in no time!” Knowing that the word ‘training’ could ring the hundred bells in Yunho’s ears, he stood up, expecting the other to emulate his action in a flash. He was about to exit the room he and the Yunho was sharing when he noticed the other was still motionless. He stomped his way back to where the futons were only to give Yunho a playful wake up punch.
“Good morning to you as well.” Greeted Yunho with a sly grin when he caught the younger’s wrist just in time before the other ‘s fist touched his chest.
“You tricked me, again!”
-----
Ever since Jaejoong was found on the street, the Minamoto clan took him in and trained him along with Yunho. The said clan was well-known in whole of Japan to be among the best of samurais that ever graced the planet’s surface. When they took Jaejoong in, he had not a single memory of his past, making those in higher position doubt his identity. But with the help of Yoshimitsu, Yunho’s mentor and a carries a direct bloodline, the poor boy was accepted by the whole clan.
From then on, Yunho and Jaejoong trained together. They did everything every single day together, simultaneously, with the exception of waking up since Jaejoong had always been a minute or two ahead of Yunho. They would have a light breakfast first thing in the morning; both boys would pick the chopsticks up in sync and move them towards their mouths at the same angle. During training, what Jaejoong lacked in strength, he made up with speed, making him and Yunho a perfect match. The rest of their everyday activities went along the same; they would do things together in synchrony, well, except bathing.
-----
Jaejoong leaned his head back on the border of the wooden tub as he as he enjoyed the soothing warmth the he engrossed himself. He closed his eyes to void his sight, enhancing his other senses in return. Relaxing was all he did until he had to throw a wooden pail at Yunho.
Yunho opened the sliding door just enough to slip his head in, unaware of the flying object coming his way. As soon as he swallowed his not so good situation, he immediately slide the door closed. “You and your sharp senses.” He chuckled at the other side of the door as he leaned his back against it.
“You and your quick reflexes. And oh, your perversion.” Jaejoong laughed, amused at Yunho’s attempt. “You’re not trying to peep, again, are you?”
“Maybe?” Yunho answered, which wasn’t really an answer, as he slide the door wide open. He slid past it and closed it behind him. “Ye I am if you call this peeping.” A grin appeared on his face as he pretended to see under the foggy surface of the water.
“You!!” The younger screamed as he curled up into a ball inside to the tub to hide what needed to be hidden. “What are you doing here anyway?” He asked with knitted eyebrows.
“Taking a bath?” He replied in a not-very-much-of-an-answer tone.
“Then wait ‘til I finish!”
“Don’t want to.” Yunho plainly answered, trying not to let the grin cross his features.
“And why?” He was starting to get irritated but he knew he could never be mad at the other so he might as well give up.
“Because it’s my birthday?”
“Would you give me a straight answer for once?”
“Only if you let me bathe with you.”
-----
That was how Yunho ended his birthday. As for Jaejoong, the boy didn’t have a particular day he could regard as his birthday. It had been a sad truth he had learned to cope with. It hadn’t been that hard for his new found family was everything he could ask for. They took care of him as if he was a part of the family, never making him feel like an outcast. And the boy had been more than willing to do his share; he will take down the Taira clan, along with Yunho. The Minamoto’s had his life pre-arranged for him but he didn’t mind it the least for he had been aware of the fact that he would’ve been lifeless if it hadn’t been for them. Unfortunately though, the clan had not foreseen what was coming their way, putting everything they had done for Jaejoong to waste.
-----
The two were almost at their twenties when they were finally through with the wooden samurais. Yunho and Jaejoong were given twin swords which were personally forged by a well-known blacksmith, Byakuya and Kanshou, respectively. For them, it was an occasion that called for a celebration but only the two of them were invited.
“They look very much a like, don’t they?” Yunho asked as he lifted Byakuya wich was tied around his waist, resting on his side, while they were walking.
“Must be that skilled blacksmith.” Jaejoong replied walking side by side with Yunho. “I wonder why they gave me the black one.”
“So it would be in contrast with your white skin?” The taller glanced at his companion, taking in the aforementioned skin Jaejoong had. He had always been fascinated with it; how smooth it was in the roughest situation, how it seemed to glow even in the darkest of nights, how it shone in the dullest moments.
“Seriously Yunho, when will you ever give me an answer for real? Or will you ever do?” Jaejoong could only sigh in return, unaware of the meaning the other held in his gaze.
“We’re here!” Yunho exclaimed, running towards the river. He placed their belongings under a tree by the riverbank. “Come on!” He called. “Help me find some twigs to start a fire. I’ll die in hunger if you remain standing there for another second.”
“Now, now. You make me wonder how you survived all those training.” He began picking twigs up on his way towards Yunho.
After having the fire set and their dinner finished, the two sat under the tree with their backs resting on the trees and shoulders against each other. Wrapped around in a comfortable silence, they stared at the stars distorted reflection on the river’s surface.
“How long have we been together?”
“Why did that question sound a bit off?”
“Why don’t you ever stop asking questions?”
“Because you never answer them.”
“Then why do you even bother to ask?”
“Fine! I’ll never ask again.” Jaejoong pouted, acting as if he was offended, which he actually was.
“Stop pouting!”
“Stop telling me what to do!” The younger argued, pouting deaper. He was used to these little arguments, which had him at the losing end, mostly if not always.
“I said, stop it! You make wanna kiss you.” The last sentence Yunho spoke came out almost a whisper.
“Then do so!”
“What?”
“I’m not allowed to ask so you’re not as well.” Jaejoong turned his head away from Yunho in a snap. He didn’t get a reply from Yunho for a while, making him think that finally, he won an argument against him. But he was proved wrong when he felt a hand on his chin, forcing his head to turn.
It was a chaste kiss, sweet and pure. It was their first, lingering and forever.
“Two years from now, let’s go back here.” Yunho spoke gently. He didn’t dare touch the situation they were in at the moment, not because he was afraid but because there was nothing to talk about. They had known it all along, it was fate waiting to be delivered, an event bound to happen, a secret yielding to be confirmed.
They remained resting against each other in pure bliss for who-knew-how-long. They were too caught up in their own world that their senses seemed to have left them and failed to recognize the uninvited party.
Before Yunho realized it, the warmth that Jaejoong had given off was torn away from his side. The next thing he noticed were two unfamiliar men, one of which was a ninja judging by his clothes, and the other wore flashy looking clothes. Noticing the crest on that man’s arm, Yunho gaped. “Munemori Taira.” He spoke, brining his hand on his sword.
“Pleased to meet you.” Munemori grinned, evil emanating off his entity.
“Let him go.” He ordered, directing his gaze on the ninja who held Jaejoong captive.
“Never again.”
Yunho merely knitted his eyebrows as a reply.
“I’m not letting my son go, not again.”
-----
A war broke out after Jaejoong’s abduction. Munemori was dead serious when he had said he wouldn’t be letting the boy go. Being the current head of the Taira clan, it made Jaejoong the heir to the throne. It was said that everything was planned; Jaejoong had been intentionally dropped off the street that cold winter morning near the Minamoto’s residence just so they would take him in and teach him. When he had gained enough knowledge, he would taken back to where he originally belonged, the Taira clan. Jaejoong had been forced several times to spill the techniques of the enymy but he refused to do so. This enraged his so called father, making him lose his temper. The head of the clan ordered for him to be punished until he did what he was told to do. But they never came to that. Jaejoong remained loyal to the Minamoto’s, the real family he considered. As a last resort, Mumemori trained his son in his own way, starting from scratch. It had never been difficult since Jaejoong was good to go in the first place.
The Minamoto clan on the other hand decided to break loose for good, they were intending to anyway. Despite the lack of an ace, they continued the fight. The war had been going on for two long years and still counting.
-----
It had been two years, two long years. It amazed them to no end as to how the memories their past held remained vivid at this moment. The look on each other’s eyes told a lot of painful stories of the past years they had spent apart when the fact that they had not been together for two years alone hurt. If they had enough time, they would be reading every single word written in each other’s eyes. Sadly, time was against them, it wouldn’t be long until they would be found by either the Minamoto’s or the Taira’s.
“You kept your promise.” Jaejoong tried to keep his voice firm despite the tears that graced his face.
“I guess I did.” Yunho smiled reassuringly as his hand remained cupping the other’s face.
“You do not deserve the wrath of my sword.” The shorter shook his head as if to confirm what he said.
“And so do you. Like us, our swords don’t want to go against each other.” Yunho took out his Byakuya, urging Jaejoong to do the same. He moved the blade of his sword against the other’s, forcing them to collide. But they never did and repelled each other instead.
Amazement lit Jaejoong’s face up. “What are we going to do now?”
“I’m glad to hear your question, again.” The taller teased despite the truth his words held. He really missed this side of Jaejoong.
“For once, I’m glad to hear you not answering my question.” He smiled through his tears.
Yunho then lifted up a bottle of potion, knowing that the other was aware what exactly it was. “Only if you want to.”
“Of course. Anything as long as it is with you.”
“Let’s meet again. Different life, space and time for these weren’t for us.”
“Will you look for me?”
“More than gladly.”
“I will wait for you, no matter how long it might take.” Jaejoong was more than happy to finally hear an answer from his long time friend and family.
Yunho took half a mouthful of the potion. Instead of going straightly for Jaejoong’s lips, he nipped at the other’s neck, making sure to leave a mark. He then finally met the other’s awaiting lips. They shared the bitter liquid, sucking as much of it as they can, as if their life was on the line when literally, It was.
Rating: R
Word Count: 2,377
Summary: Yunho and Jaejoong chose to defy the code of the warriors.
Warnings: Deaths
Yunho traced Jaejoong’s jaw line with the back of his fingers, savoring everything he could get from it for it would be the last of the lasts. The battles the latter had been through surely have taken their toll on his skin. Patches of dirt now covered his once porcelain-white, faultless skin, making the path of his crystal tears clear. The beautiful man before Yunho, the wonderful boy he used to be, the little kid he had found curled up in a ball along the snow-covered street that winter morning, was finally there with him.
-----
A boy around twelve, clad in a newly sewed hakamashita which marked his status as a samurai apprentice, marched along the cold street cheerfully.
“Yunho! Slow down!” The boy’s master called while chuckling, amused at his student’s overexcitement.
“Minamoto-sensei! Faster! We need to get back and train as soon as we can.” He turned around to face his master and flashed him a smile glistened with enthusiasm. “I’m dying to learn your sword techniques.” He turned back and hopped his way forward before coming into a halt as he spotted a small boy lying on the ground. By the looks of it, the boy was nowhere near okay. In an instant, Yunho ran towards the boy to shake him awake. “Wake up!”
Sensing the mishap, Yunho’s sensei trailed behind him. “We’re taking him home.” And they did.
-----
Brighter than the morning sunshine peaking through the slightly opened sliding door was Jaejoong smile. “Yunho-kun! Wake up.” He spoke gently, slightly shaking the older boy.
Yunho remained immobile despite the call.
“Yunho-kun!” Almost whining, the younger shook the sleepy head once more but got the same unresponsiveness from the other. He pouted although no one could see him, at least he thought. “Alright! I’m training alone and will get ahead of you in no time!” Knowing that the word ‘training’ could ring the hundred bells in Yunho’s ears, he stood up, expecting the other to emulate his action in a flash. He was about to exit the room he and the Yunho was sharing when he noticed the other was still motionless. He stomped his way back to where the futons were only to give Yunho a playful wake up punch.
“Good morning to you as well.” Greeted Yunho with a sly grin when he caught the younger’s wrist just in time before the other ‘s fist touched his chest.
“You tricked me, again!”
-----
Ever since Jaejoong was found on the street, the Minamoto clan took him in and trained him along with Yunho. The said clan was well-known in whole of Japan to be among the best of samurais that ever graced the planet’s surface. When they took Jaejoong in, he had not a single memory of his past, making those in higher position doubt his identity. But with the help of Yoshimitsu, Yunho’s mentor and a carries a direct bloodline, the poor boy was accepted by the whole clan.
From then on, Yunho and Jaejoong trained together. They did everything every single day together, simultaneously, with the exception of waking up since Jaejoong had always been a minute or two ahead of Yunho. They would have a light breakfast first thing in the morning; both boys would pick the chopsticks up in sync and move them towards their mouths at the same angle. During training, what Jaejoong lacked in strength, he made up with speed, making him and Yunho a perfect match. The rest of their everyday activities went along the same; they would do things together in synchrony, well, except bathing.
-----
Jaejoong leaned his head back on the border of the wooden tub as he as he enjoyed the soothing warmth the he engrossed himself. He closed his eyes to void his sight, enhancing his other senses in return. Relaxing was all he did until he had to throw a wooden pail at Yunho.
Yunho opened the sliding door just enough to slip his head in, unaware of the flying object coming his way. As soon as he swallowed his not so good situation, he immediately slide the door closed. “You and your sharp senses.” He chuckled at the other side of the door as he leaned his back against it.
“You and your quick reflexes. And oh, your perversion.” Jaejoong laughed, amused at Yunho’s attempt. “You’re not trying to peep, again, are you?”
“Maybe?” Yunho answered, which wasn’t really an answer, as he slide the door wide open. He slid past it and closed it behind him. “Ye I am if you call this peeping.” A grin appeared on his face as he pretended to see under the foggy surface of the water.
“You!!” The younger screamed as he curled up into a ball inside to the tub to hide what needed to be hidden. “What are you doing here anyway?” He asked with knitted eyebrows.
“Taking a bath?” He replied in a not-very-much-of-an-answer tone.
“Then wait ‘til I finish!”
“Don’t want to.” Yunho plainly answered, trying not to let the grin cross his features.
“And why?” He was starting to get irritated but he knew he could never be mad at the other so he might as well give up.
“Because it’s my birthday?”
“Would you give me a straight answer for once?”
“Only if you let me bathe with you.”
-----
That was how Yunho ended his birthday. As for Jaejoong, the boy didn’t have a particular day he could regard as his birthday. It had been a sad truth he had learned to cope with. It hadn’t been that hard for his new found family was everything he could ask for. They took care of him as if he was a part of the family, never making him feel like an outcast. And the boy had been more than willing to do his share; he will take down the Taira clan, along with Yunho. The Minamoto’s had his life pre-arranged for him but he didn’t mind it the least for he had been aware of the fact that he would’ve been lifeless if it hadn’t been for them. Unfortunately though, the clan had not foreseen what was coming their way, putting everything they had done for Jaejoong to waste.
-----
The two were almost at their twenties when they were finally through with the wooden samurais. Yunho and Jaejoong were given twin swords which were personally forged by a well-known blacksmith, Byakuya and Kanshou, respectively. For them, it was an occasion that called for a celebration but only the two of them were invited.
“They look very much a like, don’t they?” Yunho asked as he lifted Byakuya wich was tied around his waist, resting on his side, while they were walking.
“Must be that skilled blacksmith.” Jaejoong replied walking side by side with Yunho. “I wonder why they gave me the black one.”
“So it would be in contrast with your white skin?” The taller glanced at his companion, taking in the aforementioned skin Jaejoong had. He had always been fascinated with it; how smooth it was in the roughest situation, how it seemed to glow even in the darkest of nights, how it shone in the dullest moments.
“Seriously Yunho, when will you ever give me an answer for real? Or will you ever do?” Jaejoong could only sigh in return, unaware of the meaning the other held in his gaze.
“We’re here!” Yunho exclaimed, running towards the river. He placed their belongings under a tree by the riverbank. “Come on!” He called. “Help me find some twigs to start a fire. I’ll die in hunger if you remain standing there for another second.”
“Now, now. You make me wonder how you survived all those training.” He began picking twigs up on his way towards Yunho.
After having the fire set and their dinner finished, the two sat under the tree with their backs resting on the trees and shoulders against each other. Wrapped around in a comfortable silence, they stared at the stars distorted reflection on the river’s surface.
“How long have we been together?”
“Why did that question sound a bit off?”
“Why don’t you ever stop asking questions?”
“Because you never answer them.”
“Then why do you even bother to ask?”
“Fine! I’ll never ask again.” Jaejoong pouted, acting as if he was offended, which he actually was.
“Stop pouting!”
“Stop telling me what to do!” The younger argued, pouting deaper. He was used to these little arguments, which had him at the losing end, mostly if not always.
“I said, stop it! You make wanna kiss you.” The last sentence Yunho spoke came out almost a whisper.
“Then do so!”
“What?”
“I’m not allowed to ask so you’re not as well.” Jaejoong turned his head away from Yunho in a snap. He didn’t get a reply from Yunho for a while, making him think that finally, he won an argument against him. But he was proved wrong when he felt a hand on his chin, forcing his head to turn.
It was a chaste kiss, sweet and pure. It was their first, lingering and forever.
“Two years from now, let’s go back here.” Yunho spoke gently. He didn’t dare touch the situation they were in at the moment, not because he was afraid but because there was nothing to talk about. They had known it all along, it was fate waiting to be delivered, an event bound to happen, a secret yielding to be confirmed.
They remained resting against each other in pure bliss for who-knew-how-long. They were too caught up in their own world that their senses seemed to have left them and failed to recognize the uninvited party.
Before Yunho realized it, the warmth that Jaejoong had given off was torn away from his side. The next thing he noticed were two unfamiliar men, one of which was a ninja judging by his clothes, and the other wore flashy looking clothes. Noticing the crest on that man’s arm, Yunho gaped. “Munemori Taira.” He spoke, brining his hand on his sword.
“Pleased to meet you.” Munemori grinned, evil emanating off his entity.
“Let him go.” He ordered, directing his gaze on the ninja who held Jaejoong captive.
“Never again.”
Yunho merely knitted his eyebrows as a reply.
“I’m not letting my son go, not again.”
-----
A war broke out after Jaejoong’s abduction. Munemori was dead serious when he had said he wouldn’t be letting the boy go. Being the current head of the Taira clan, it made Jaejoong the heir to the throne. It was said that everything was planned; Jaejoong had been intentionally dropped off the street that cold winter morning near the Minamoto’s residence just so they would take him in and teach him. When he had gained enough knowledge, he would taken back to where he originally belonged, the Taira clan. Jaejoong had been forced several times to spill the techniques of the enymy but he refused to do so. This enraged his so called father, making him lose his temper. The head of the clan ordered for him to be punished until he did what he was told to do. But they never came to that. Jaejoong remained loyal to the Minamoto’s, the real family he considered. As a last resort, Mumemori trained his son in his own way, starting from scratch. It had never been difficult since Jaejoong was good to go in the first place.
The Minamoto clan on the other hand decided to break loose for good, they were intending to anyway. Despite the lack of an ace, they continued the fight. The war had been going on for two long years and still counting.
-----
It had been two years, two long years. It amazed them to no end as to how the memories their past held remained vivid at this moment. The look on each other’s eyes told a lot of painful stories of the past years they had spent apart when the fact that they had not been together for two years alone hurt. If they had enough time, they would be reading every single word written in each other’s eyes. Sadly, time was against them, it wouldn’t be long until they would be found by either the Minamoto’s or the Taira’s.
“You kept your promise.” Jaejoong tried to keep his voice firm despite the tears that graced his face.
“I guess I did.” Yunho smiled reassuringly as his hand remained cupping the other’s face.
“You do not deserve the wrath of my sword.” The shorter shook his head as if to confirm what he said.
“And so do you. Like us, our swords don’t want to go against each other.” Yunho took out his Byakuya, urging Jaejoong to do the same. He moved the blade of his sword against the other’s, forcing them to collide. But they never did and repelled each other instead.
Amazement lit Jaejoong’s face up. “What are we going to do now?”
“I’m glad to hear your question, again.” The taller teased despite the truth his words held. He really missed this side of Jaejoong.
“For once, I’m glad to hear you not answering my question.” He smiled through his tears.
Yunho then lifted up a bottle of potion, knowing that the other was aware what exactly it was. “Only if you want to.”
“Of course. Anything as long as it is with you.”
“Let’s meet again. Different life, space and time for these weren’t for us.”
“Will you look for me?”
“More than gladly.”
“I will wait for you, no matter how long it might take.” Jaejoong was more than happy to finally hear an answer from his long time friend and family.
Yunho took half a mouthful of the potion. Instead of going straightly for Jaejoong’s lips, he nipped at the other’s neck, making sure to leave a mark. He then finally met the other’s awaiting lips. They shared the bitter liquid, sucking as much of it as they can, as if their life was on the line when literally, It was.