[Lamento] 50 Sentences for Asato/Konoe
Title: 50 Sentences for AsatoxKonoe
Fandom: Lamento - Beyond the Void
Pairing: AsaKono (duh XD)
Rating: overall R
Warnings: a little bit of sex, a little bit of angst
Disclaimer: Nitro+Chiral owns it, and I'm quite content with that.
Notes: Massive thanks to sexual_ennui for betaing, and to akuma_no_kage for helping me with the little details of the English language. XD
50 Sentences
1 - Air
He had never known this, this breathless heady sensation that made him feel like he did not quite know what he was doing anymore, but when Konoe took his hand, it was easy, easy to forget fear and awkwardness and to simply not stop, to be rolling around in the grass and shedding dignity like clothing, kissing like air was optional, hoping that thought and reason would never return.
2 - Apples
Sick or not, it seemed so terribly wrong for Konoe to be waiting on him, but Konoe had begun to look rather displeased whenever Asato attempted to get out of bed, and he hated going against Konoe's wishes even more; "Don't make such a face," Konoe scolded gently as he finished cutting the apple into slices, "Sick kitties should stay in bed. Now, open up."
3 - Beginning
Asato knew that it was rude to stare, but he could not seem to help himself-he had never seen such a pretty cat before, with a tail black like his, only much prettier, and the most amazing eyes; he had already tried to apologize for attacking him, but the pretty cat had smiled and said that Asato had just been doing his job; Konoe-Asato tried out the name in his mind, KonoeKonoeKonoe-was pretty and nice, and so he kept staring until Konoe shifted uncomfortably and pointedly stared back at him; feeling his cheeks grow warm, Asato mumbled an apology and bent over to busy himself with the dishes, quietly hoping that the pretty cat wouldn't notice that from underneath his lashes, he was still looking at him.
4 - Bugs
The early summer evening saw fireflies flitting through the hills; Konoe smiled when Asato said that he was going to catch some for him, and pulled him back down when he tried to stand-a moment later, the familiar gently wistful melody filled the air, white-green light surrounding them both; when Konoe stopped singing and the world returned to darkness, it was not really dark anymore-there were clouds of fireflies dancing all around them, hesitantly touching to their ears, their shoulders, one even lighting on the tip of Asato's nose, and when Asato went cross-eyed at the daring insect, Konoe's sweet laughter rose to join the cricket song.
5 - Coffee
Asato's mornings used to be slow, spent blearily groping around for food and items of clothing; now the earthen mug shattered on the floor, forgotten, as Konoe demonstrated the best way to wake up before dawn.
6 - Dark
Konoe loved interlacing their fingers to observe the contrast of white against dark, rubbing the thick calluses on his palms, the small scars on his fingers; these hands treated him with such care, such gentleness, like he was a fragile thing bordering on breaking apart at the seams-sometimes he wished they would grip him tighter, harder, fingers and nails digging into his skin, but he knew Asato wouldn't, couldn't-he would need to learn that he was allowed to touch first, before he could learn that he was allowed to bruise.
7 - Despair (companion piece to #25)
He did not want to hear the foul song that was telling him to listen, obey, but even though he was clamping his hands over his ears as hard as he could, it was still ringing through him, sounding in his head, singing of hatred and fear and darkness, and something in him was answering, something senseless and primordial was rearing up and tearing at his restraints, twisting through his flesh and mind, and he opened his mouth to warn Konoe, but all he could do was scream.
8 - Doors
Asato, Konoe thought, had to have a strange fetish for seeing him dirty-he would have attributed last night's attack to the fact that it had been kuim jam (still warm) splattered liberally across his face, but now it was just earth and dust, and yet Asato had him backed up against the door of the small tool shed, nuzzling and licking him in a manner that had nothing to do with getting clean.
9 - Drink
The clothes sticking to their skin were soaked with perspiration and their tongues were as dry as leather by the time they finally found a spring, but Asato still thought that licking the droplets of sweat from Konoe's face and neck took priority to quenching his thirst.
10 - Duty
He remembered sitting through a bonding ceremony as a child, staring at all the festive decorations, beautiful dresses and the solemn priest; it had seemed to him a grand affair then, the ultimate proof of love, but when he had asked Kagari why she had never bothered to exchange vows with a man, she had looked thoughtful (and a little bit angry), and said, "Love changes into duty all too often"; now, he remembered and thought the words in silence-...the earth I walk only with thee... thy heart shall be shielded by my heart...-but saw no reason to say them out loud; there was no need to enchain something which was freely given.
11 - Earth
All he did was take a break from digging for roots, sitting back and wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, unmindful of the dirty streak he was leaving... and Asato was at his side faster than he could blink, resting a steadying hand on his back, eyes full of worry-Was Konoe feeling alright? Did Konoe want a drink? Did Konoe want to rest? Konoe should rest, he would finish up here, Konoe really should not strain himself so much-and Konoe had to stop himself from rolling his eyes; there was no use resenting Asato for actions motivated by guilt, so all he did was bump their foreheads together and kiss him into silence.
12 - End (companion piece to #19)
Kagari was furious when she found out that Konoe had suggested a wake in Kaya's flower field-she knew Asato would do anything to please his lover, but she never would have believed Konoe to be so thoughtless; "How could you?" she asked, tightly controlled anger in her voice, "Asato has hated that man for as long as he has lived. And you expect him to forgive?"-Konoe shook his head, "Not forgive. I just want him to find peace"-"Peace?!" Kagari exploded, "I, for one, will never forgive that man! Without him, Kaya would still be alive!"; Konoe's eyes narrowed unexpectedly, and although his voice was soft, his words managed to startle her into silence all the same-"Without him, where would Asato be?"
13 - Fall
Konoe had meant to do something useful with the neat pile of dried leaves in the backyard, but Asato had other ideas-he lifted Konoe up by the waist, spun him around, and let himself fall backwards into the pile, laughing and wheezing when Konoe landed on his chest, their faces nose to nose.
14 - Fire
Asato knew that Konoe did not like fire, but there were few things more beautiful than Konoe stretched out on the floor, the flickering light of the flames painting his body dark and golden, the redness on his cheeks due to more than just the heat.
15 - Flexible
There was a crick in his neck from sleeping with his head tucked underneath Asato's chin, his left arm and leg were all pins and needles from being wedged under Asato the whole night, there was a lump digging into his lower back and his nose was feeling itchy-but he was willing to sacrifice comfort to savor this closeness for just a little while longer.
16 - Flying
As a child, he used to watch the birds lift off into the sky, used to wonder what it felt like to be winged, weightless, to leave this earth-bound life behind; now, he knew it could not nearly be as nice as this: the slide of Asato's muscles under his hands, Asato's fingers digging into his skin, desperate to hold and have and know, his legs locked around Asato's hips, to drive him harder, deeper, the pleasure and happiness singing along his nerves almost too much to bear-this was ecstasy, this was flying.
17 - Food
It had been a long time since he had last been able to eat to his heart's content-honey-sweetened sauce, fresh fruits and soft, delicious meat-so Konoe did not hesitate, closing his eyes and purring in bliss as he sampled Bardo's cooking; he never heard the choked noise from the other end of the table, never saw Asato, cheeks flushed, desperately trying to find something of interest on his own plate.
18 - Foot
"Ah, not my toes! They're dirty!"; Konoe made a show of inspecting them and grinned, "Very dirty," thoroughly enjoying the completely floored look on Asato's face when he drew the first one into his mouth.
19 - Grave (companion piece to #12)
After a while, Kagari began to help Konoe work on making two small wreaths out of blue and white blossoms, because watching Asato solemnly assemble stones in a small mound was just too painful; her hands were unexpectedly clumsy at the task, and after a while, she let the sad attempt at a garland sink into her lap, sighing; Konoe turned to her at the sound, which made her feel ashamed; "Finding peace is... hard," she finally explained, not knowing why, or what she was hoping for, but finding something strangely comforting in Konoe's small, gentle smile.
20 - Green
Every once in a while, when he managed to get himself hopelessly tangled while getting dressed, or had to stand and stare helplessly at an item that needed lifting, he envied Asato his two arms, envied him the everyday ease and grace with which he carried out those tasks, but only for a moment-if it meant saving Asato's life, he would make the same choice all over again, because it wasn't a choice at all.
21 - Head
He did not know what he had been expecting when he had lowered his sword on that fateful night, but it certainly had not been what he received-a gentle thump on his shoulder, looking down and seeing Konoe's forehead resting momentarily against his collarbone, before the younger cat withdrew and smiled at him in a way that made Asato feel tongue-tied and stupidly, deliriously happy.
22 - Hollow
They visited Karou in late autumn of the same year-Asato had had his doubts about going, but Konoe felt he needed to see what had become of his hometown; they stood for a long time, staring at the barren earth Hollow had left behind, when Konoe suddenly tapped him on the shoulder and pointed; Asato squinted against the light, but then he was able to see it, too-amidst the dead, wilted plants, a single yellow flower was blooming.
23 - Honor
They told him to hunt down the spy and kill him, or to be driven out of the village-as good as a death sentence, and he knew it, for there was nothing outside Kira's borders, only empty land for miles, and the thought of being alone was more frightening than the thought of starving-so he did as he was told, heart heavy with the realization that the first person to be nice to him had been a fake, a liar-of course he was a liar-and turned his face into the wind to pick up the intruder's scent; this was the only way to redeem his honor.
24 - Hope
Lying here in the darkness, Asato warm and yielding in his arms, it had never felt harder to believe that this man with his gentle eyes and hands should become a monster, senseless and cruel-Asato sighed his name, nuzzling closer, and he tightened his hold; he did not know what to do to prevent this, he did not know what he would do when it finally happened, but he knew that as long as there was breath left in his body, he would not give up on Asato.
25 - Light (companion piece to #7)
Dark, dark, blackness all around, nowhere to go, nowhere to turn, fear-scared, so scared-alone, all alone, and then: a voice, from far away, calling someone-calling him?-shouting something-his name?-there had been someone, hadn't there?-Tell me! Is this Kira?-a cat, a pretty cat, prettyprettypretty-Your tail is much more beautiful-a strong, courageous cat-There is more to the world than Kira. Don't you want to see that world?-a kind cat, so kind, kind face, kind hands, kind voice-It's okay to be scared. I understand. I'm... the same as you are-he wanted to reach the owner of that voice, that owner was important-You belong to me-he had promised, promisedpromised to the pretty kind cat with the beautiful voice-I'm yours, always yours. I... belong to-a name, there had been a name, he needed that name, his most important person-I belong to you... Konoe.
26 - Lost
Pressing his scarf to his bleeding shoulder, he made his way through the underbrush, returning to the tree against his better judgment-they might smell him, even if he was careful not to leave a trail of blood, they might still be nearby-but his heart was thumping wildly in his chest when he thought of Konoe, kind beautiful Konoe asleep in the tree, waiting for him to come back, and this thought was stronger than his reason; even from a distance, he could see that the tree was empty, but he crept closer regardless, led by the foolish hope that Konoe might be hiding nearby-the bushes parted and his heart lurched, a split-second before a shadow flew at him, blades drawn, and he did the only thing he could do: he turned and blindly ran back into the forest, the other cat hot on his heels, but the only thing on his mind was the fading hope to see Konoe once again.
27 - Metal
"Spar with me"; he stopped running the rag across his sword, sure that he had misheard, and turned to Konoe, who was looking at him with an intense expression; his eyes darted from the sword that had never left Konoe's hip, not even after he had lost the ability to wield it, to his arm, hanging loosely at his side, useless-this hand could not even grasp a weapon; Konoe caught his gaze, holding it-Asato knew that he did not want pity-and drew the blade with his left hand, unwavering-"Spar with me," and his eyes were as fierce as the day they had met even if his voice was gentle, so Asato knew better than to do anything but oblige.
28 - New
Sparring with Konoe took some time getting used to; at first, he had been terribly afraid that Konoe had no idea what he was asking for, when he was demanding for Asato to go faster, harder, that he would fold under the onslaught-but every day, Konoe improved, becoming stronger and quicker, so all that was left for him was the lingering guilt when Konoe sank into bed at night, bone-tired, and the fear that he would be discarded before long-he had spent so long protecting Konoe, what would become if Konoe did not need him anymore?-Konoe, however, saw through him as always, cupped his cheek and said, "I don't want to stand behind you. I want to stand beside you."
29 - Old
From time to time, Konoe unstrung his father's ring from the chain around his neck and held it up to catch the light; it was peculiar how its shine never faded, how the silver never darkened-he did not receive any more visions when he touched it now, but he was sure that the warmth he was able to feel emanating from the ring was not just his imagination, nor was the faint gladness he could feel coming from the other side of his heart.
30 - Peace
For Konoe, exchanging letters had no longer been enough-he had wanted to see his friends again, so Asato did not tell him that he was feeling anxious about returning to Ransen; he and Rai, especially, had parted on bad terms, the white cat's stony gaze too much for him to bear under the circumstances, which had led to some nasty words he would rather forget-but when Konoe broke away from his side to not quite run the last few steps, joy in his eyes and laughter in his voice-"It's so good to see you again!"-he knew that this was worth a little discomfort.
31 - Poison
The mark was burning hotly against his throat; he could feel the curse eating into him, searing through his flesh and heart, and he was afraid, afraid of what he was going to become, what he was going to be twisted into-but when Konoe's hand, blemished by the very same black bruise, gently stroked across his neck, he felt glad to know that he was not alone.
32 - Pretty
He was happy when the curse was lifted from Konoe, but he was also confused; the glossy black ears and tail were really white, with soft brown tips, and he could not help but be a little sad to know that he was alone again, alone with his ill-luck blackness-but the strangest thing was that he still thought them very pretty, he still wanted to reach out and grab that waving tail and comb it, smooth the fur with careful fingers and lick it clean, slowly, from root to tip, to make it shine-gulping, Asato averted his eyes and decided that it was probably safest to just sit on his hands.
33 - Rain
A gust of wind was whipping sheets of wetness after them even as they stumbled inside as quickly as possible, slamming the door shut; Asato wanted to start a fire, but Konoe yanked him close, shaking his head and peeling them both out of their soaked clothing; Asato let himself be pushed down onto the bed and Konoe followed, tugging the blanket over them both; they lay in silence in the darkness of the covers, shivery skin close to shivery skin, wet tail tangling with wet tail, and Asato found unexpected pleasure in the thought that the air he was breathing in this moment was the same Konoe had just exhaled.
34 - Regret
For a long time, he could not look at Konoe's injuries without wishing that he could tear himself to shreds, as he would have done with any enemy who would have dared to wound Konoe so; Konoe, though, accepted neither guilt nor shame, so all that remained for him to give was love, only love, and he gave it gladly, even if it seemed to him to be the most inadequate thing of all.
35 - Roses
He did not know how to go about this, had nobody to ask on the rules and regulations for this sort of thing; it had been agreed upon that he should never be allowed to breed-and how he hated that ugly word; he did not want to breed, he wanted to tell someone his feelings, ask to be with him-he thought a gift might be good, though the only person he had ever felt close to was Kagari, and she would have preferred a sturdy hunting knife to anything else-but he liked soft pretty things better, like flowers... he smiled; Konoe might like flowers, too; now the only thing left for him to do was to find the prettiest there were.
36 - Secret
It was Asato who breathed frantic oaths against his skin, sobbed his love against his throat, his shoulder, rasped out desperate pleas in the sound of his name, and it was Konoe who answered silently, with lips and teeth and tongue.
37 - Snakes
Even years later, dreams of a scaly body wrapping itself tightly around his body and squeezing were visiting him on odd nights; it took all his self control not to sob hysterically and go running for the water barrel to check his reflection; he even repressed the desperate urge to examine his arms and legs for intricate bruises, black and possessive like cattle markings-he would not allow the midnight ghosts to rule him.
38 - Snow
He had never seen snow in his life, but it was soft and pretty, white and delicate like flower petals-he did not have time to concentrate on the dancing flakes, though; Konoe was shivering, Konoe was crying, another sight he had never seen before, but he desperately wanted this one to stop and did not know how-so all he could do was hope that his body was big enough to warm Konoe, and that his embrace was strong enough to make the tears stop.
39 - Solid
For the longest time, he had convinced himself that he could survive alone, that he did not mind living life all by himself, until he discovered, with no small amount of shock, how used he had become to having other people around him, and how much he would miss Asato's faithful, steadfast presence at his side.
40 - Spring
The change of seasons brought radiant pink and pearly white blossoms, warm light and sweet scents; Ransen was alive and buzzing with a different energy, an undercurrent of relief and gladness so strong that it was almost tangible; Konoe was sitting on the roof of the inn, listening to the happy thrum of the city, and all too aware that for the longest time, a part of him had thought he would not live long enough to see spring again.
41 - Stable
Whenever he thought he might go mad sitting around, waiting for Leaks to make the next move, Asato was there, distracting him with his wide-eyed enthusiasm for the world he was discovering; Asato kept him calm, kept him sane, and he knew the reason Asato was seeking him out to drag him along was much the same reason why he was allowing himself to be dragged: to avoid thinking about the heavy certainty settling in his heart, that somewhere, something terrible was going to happen.
42 - Strange
Sometimes, Konoe went very still and his gaze became distant, looking not outward but in, listening for the sleeping soul inside him, and Asato did not quite know how to feel about the fact that the man he used to hate existed inside the man he loved.
43 - Summer
The long days of summer were spent in the forest underbrush-the moist heat enveloping them like a thick blanket-crawling around looking for blueberries; they had to wave the swarms of midgets away with furiously lashing tails, before they could bend down to pick the sour-sweet berries off the shrubs and feed them to each other by handfuls, laughing at the way they were staining their fingertips, lips and tongues.
44 - Taboo
Leaving Kira was forbidden; ignoring orders was unthinkable; questioning the teachings was blasphemous-but staring into those defiant amber eyes, Asato realized that he wanted nothing more than for Konoe to convince him to do exactly that.
45 - Ugly
Sometimes, when he caught sight of his reflection, he wondered how Konoe could want this body, which had housed a monster, and still housed the man too weak to fight it; when Konoe caught him at it, he embraced him with a sigh of affectionate exasperation, pressed a kiss to his lips, and said, "It's okay, we all have our blind spots. This just happens to be yours."
46 - War
The beast roared, its enraged bellow shaking the foundations of Toride, and Konoe struggled to think past the blinding pain flaring through his body; the beast roared again, its dark gaze without sense or mind, let alone recognition, and Konoe tightened his grip on his sword-no matter what Leaks thought, this was not over.
47 - Water
Although swimming had become slightly difficult, he still loved the water: loved floating aimlessly, for minutes, small eternities at a time, loved admiring the way water dribbled off Asato's body when he lifted himself up on the riverbank, loved curling up on the smooth, warm rocks, Asato's chest to his back, letting the day-moon's rays and the breeze dry them both.
48 - Welcome
For the longest time, the tightly-knit community of Kira had been his entire world, and even though he had always lived on its periphery, more tolerated than anything else, he clung to it for security and comfort; leaving the village behind was the hardest thing he had ever done, exchanging stability for fear and uncertainty, but daring to anyway because the tolerance of many was nothing compared to that one cat's friendly, warm acceptance.
49 - Winter
All seasons were nice, offering so many vastly different things to experience, but Asato secretly liked winter best, because it would sometimes force him to spend an entire day inside, wrapped snugly in a bundle of blankets, holding Konoe close and being allowed to warm his cold feet between his legs, while the storms raged on outside.
50 - Wood
Asato had always loved trees; they provided him with shelter and solitude, fruit for eating and sturdy branches to swing from-however, the discovery that he could comfortably kiss Konoe on the branch below when hanging upside down was a fairly recent one.
----
A/N: RaiKono, AsaKono... so obviously this means I'll have to do BaruKono next. XD
Also, BONUS: Sendspace download for Sarah McLachlan - Sweet Surrender. It's such an AsaKono song. ♥
- So finally, we have an official romanization of this fruit. It is, indeed, "kuim". XD
- #3: I wrote this way before I ever translated that part of the game, and was surprised how close it was to what was actually happening. So please forgive the similarities. XD
- #23: Judging from what the translator spit at me, Leaks convinces the Kira cats that Konoe is a Meigi spy, and that they have to kill him. They actually force Asato to go after him, despite his initial protests.
- #25: Some lines paraphrased from the game. And yes, Asato really says he belongs to Konoe.
- #44: Asato really believes that there is nothing outside Kira; it seems the village is an extremely closed off and self-sufficient community, since Asato doesn't even know the concept of money, only being used to trading things in Kira.
-#38 and #49: Shisa is an island surrounded by a coral reef, and snow seems to be a novelty there. The game is set in the winter season, and all the characters are seen running around in t-shirts and bare midriffs, so it's probably a fairly warm island all year round.
C&C makes me love you and lets me know what you think. So don't be shy! Tell me. XD
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Fandom: Lamento - Beyond the Void
Pairing: AsaKono (duh XD)
Rating: overall R
Warnings: a little bit of sex, a little bit of angst
Disclaimer: Nitro+Chiral owns it, and I'm quite content with that.
Notes: Massive thanks to sexual_ennui for betaing, and to akuma_no_kage for helping me with the little details of the English language. XD
50 Sentences
1 - Air
He had never known this, this breathless heady sensation that made him feel like he did not quite know what he was doing anymore, but when Konoe took his hand, it was easy, easy to forget fear and awkwardness and to simply not stop, to be rolling around in the grass and shedding dignity like clothing, kissing like air was optional, hoping that thought and reason would never return.
2 - Apples
Sick or not, it seemed so terribly wrong for Konoe to be waiting on him, but Konoe had begun to look rather displeased whenever Asato attempted to get out of bed, and he hated going against Konoe's wishes even more; "Don't make such a face," Konoe scolded gently as he finished cutting the apple into slices, "Sick kitties should stay in bed. Now, open up."
3 - Beginning
Asato knew that it was rude to stare, but he could not seem to help himself-he had never seen such a pretty cat before, with a tail black like his, only much prettier, and the most amazing eyes; he had already tried to apologize for attacking him, but the pretty cat had smiled and said that Asato had just been doing his job; Konoe-Asato tried out the name in his mind, KonoeKonoeKonoe-was pretty and nice, and so he kept staring until Konoe shifted uncomfortably and pointedly stared back at him; feeling his cheeks grow warm, Asato mumbled an apology and bent over to busy himself with the dishes, quietly hoping that the pretty cat wouldn't notice that from underneath his lashes, he was still looking at him.
4 - Bugs
The early summer evening saw fireflies flitting through the hills; Konoe smiled when Asato said that he was going to catch some for him, and pulled him back down when he tried to stand-a moment later, the familiar gently wistful melody filled the air, white-green light surrounding them both; when Konoe stopped singing and the world returned to darkness, it was not really dark anymore-there were clouds of fireflies dancing all around them, hesitantly touching to their ears, their shoulders, one even lighting on the tip of Asato's nose, and when Asato went cross-eyed at the daring insect, Konoe's sweet laughter rose to join the cricket song.
5 - Coffee
Asato's mornings used to be slow, spent blearily groping around for food and items of clothing; now the earthen mug shattered on the floor, forgotten, as Konoe demonstrated the best way to wake up before dawn.
6 - Dark
Konoe loved interlacing their fingers to observe the contrast of white against dark, rubbing the thick calluses on his palms, the small scars on his fingers; these hands treated him with such care, such gentleness, like he was a fragile thing bordering on breaking apart at the seams-sometimes he wished they would grip him tighter, harder, fingers and nails digging into his skin, but he knew Asato wouldn't, couldn't-he would need to learn that he was allowed to touch first, before he could learn that he was allowed to bruise.
7 - Despair (companion piece to #25)
He did not want to hear the foul song that was telling him to listen, obey, but even though he was clamping his hands over his ears as hard as he could, it was still ringing through him, sounding in his head, singing of hatred and fear and darkness, and something in him was answering, something senseless and primordial was rearing up and tearing at his restraints, twisting through his flesh and mind, and he opened his mouth to warn Konoe, but all he could do was scream.
8 - Doors
Asato, Konoe thought, had to have a strange fetish for seeing him dirty-he would have attributed last night's attack to the fact that it had been kuim jam (still warm) splattered liberally across his face, but now it was just earth and dust, and yet Asato had him backed up against the door of the small tool shed, nuzzling and licking him in a manner that had nothing to do with getting clean.
9 - Drink
The clothes sticking to their skin were soaked with perspiration and their tongues were as dry as leather by the time they finally found a spring, but Asato still thought that licking the droplets of sweat from Konoe's face and neck took priority to quenching his thirst.
10 - Duty
He remembered sitting through a bonding ceremony as a child, staring at all the festive decorations, beautiful dresses and the solemn priest; it had seemed to him a grand affair then, the ultimate proof of love, but when he had asked Kagari why she had never bothered to exchange vows with a man, she had looked thoughtful (and a little bit angry), and said, "Love changes into duty all too often"; now, he remembered and thought the words in silence-...the earth I walk only with thee... thy heart shall be shielded by my heart...-but saw no reason to say them out loud; there was no need to enchain something which was freely given.
11 - Earth
All he did was take a break from digging for roots, sitting back and wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, unmindful of the dirty streak he was leaving... and Asato was at his side faster than he could blink, resting a steadying hand on his back, eyes full of worry-Was Konoe feeling alright? Did Konoe want a drink? Did Konoe want to rest? Konoe should rest, he would finish up here, Konoe really should not strain himself so much-and Konoe had to stop himself from rolling his eyes; there was no use resenting Asato for actions motivated by guilt, so all he did was bump their foreheads together and kiss him into silence.
12 - End (companion piece to #19)
Kagari was furious when she found out that Konoe had suggested a wake in Kaya's flower field-she knew Asato would do anything to please his lover, but she never would have believed Konoe to be so thoughtless; "How could you?" she asked, tightly controlled anger in her voice, "Asato has hated that man for as long as he has lived. And you expect him to forgive?"-Konoe shook his head, "Not forgive. I just want him to find peace"-"Peace?!" Kagari exploded, "I, for one, will never forgive that man! Without him, Kaya would still be alive!"; Konoe's eyes narrowed unexpectedly, and although his voice was soft, his words managed to startle her into silence all the same-"Without him, where would Asato be?"
13 - Fall
Konoe had meant to do something useful with the neat pile of dried leaves in the backyard, but Asato had other ideas-he lifted Konoe up by the waist, spun him around, and let himself fall backwards into the pile, laughing and wheezing when Konoe landed on his chest, their faces nose to nose.
14 - Fire
Asato knew that Konoe did not like fire, but there were few things more beautiful than Konoe stretched out on the floor, the flickering light of the flames painting his body dark and golden, the redness on his cheeks due to more than just the heat.
15 - Flexible
There was a crick in his neck from sleeping with his head tucked underneath Asato's chin, his left arm and leg were all pins and needles from being wedged under Asato the whole night, there was a lump digging into his lower back and his nose was feeling itchy-but he was willing to sacrifice comfort to savor this closeness for just a little while longer.
16 - Flying
As a child, he used to watch the birds lift off into the sky, used to wonder what it felt like to be winged, weightless, to leave this earth-bound life behind; now, he knew it could not nearly be as nice as this: the slide of Asato's muscles under his hands, Asato's fingers digging into his skin, desperate to hold and have and know, his legs locked around Asato's hips, to drive him harder, deeper, the pleasure and happiness singing along his nerves almost too much to bear-this was ecstasy, this was flying.
17 - Food
It had been a long time since he had last been able to eat to his heart's content-honey-sweetened sauce, fresh fruits and soft, delicious meat-so Konoe did not hesitate, closing his eyes and purring in bliss as he sampled Bardo's cooking; he never heard the choked noise from the other end of the table, never saw Asato, cheeks flushed, desperately trying to find something of interest on his own plate.
18 - Foot
"Ah, not my toes! They're dirty!"; Konoe made a show of inspecting them and grinned, "Very dirty," thoroughly enjoying the completely floored look on Asato's face when he drew the first one into his mouth.
19 - Grave (companion piece to #12)
After a while, Kagari began to help Konoe work on making two small wreaths out of blue and white blossoms, because watching Asato solemnly assemble stones in a small mound was just too painful; her hands were unexpectedly clumsy at the task, and after a while, she let the sad attempt at a garland sink into her lap, sighing; Konoe turned to her at the sound, which made her feel ashamed; "Finding peace is... hard," she finally explained, not knowing why, or what she was hoping for, but finding something strangely comforting in Konoe's small, gentle smile.
20 - Green
Every once in a while, when he managed to get himself hopelessly tangled while getting dressed, or had to stand and stare helplessly at an item that needed lifting, he envied Asato his two arms, envied him the everyday ease and grace with which he carried out those tasks, but only for a moment-if it meant saving Asato's life, he would make the same choice all over again, because it wasn't a choice at all.
21 - Head
He did not know what he had been expecting when he had lowered his sword on that fateful night, but it certainly had not been what he received-a gentle thump on his shoulder, looking down and seeing Konoe's forehead resting momentarily against his collarbone, before the younger cat withdrew and smiled at him in a way that made Asato feel tongue-tied and stupidly, deliriously happy.
22 - Hollow
They visited Karou in late autumn of the same year-Asato had had his doubts about going, but Konoe felt he needed to see what had become of his hometown; they stood for a long time, staring at the barren earth Hollow had left behind, when Konoe suddenly tapped him on the shoulder and pointed; Asato squinted against the light, but then he was able to see it, too-amidst the dead, wilted plants, a single yellow flower was blooming.
23 - Honor
They told him to hunt down the spy and kill him, or to be driven out of the village-as good as a death sentence, and he knew it, for there was nothing outside Kira's borders, only empty land for miles, and the thought of being alone was more frightening than the thought of starving-so he did as he was told, heart heavy with the realization that the first person to be nice to him had been a fake, a liar-of course he was a liar-and turned his face into the wind to pick up the intruder's scent; this was the only way to redeem his honor.
24 - Hope
Lying here in the darkness, Asato warm and yielding in his arms, it had never felt harder to believe that this man with his gentle eyes and hands should become a monster, senseless and cruel-Asato sighed his name, nuzzling closer, and he tightened his hold; he did not know what to do to prevent this, he did not know what he would do when it finally happened, but he knew that as long as there was breath left in his body, he would not give up on Asato.
25 - Light (companion piece to #7)
Dark, dark, blackness all around, nowhere to go, nowhere to turn, fear-scared, so scared-alone, all alone, and then: a voice, from far away, calling someone-calling him?-shouting something-his name?-there had been someone, hadn't there?-Tell me! Is this Kira?-a cat, a pretty cat, prettyprettypretty-Your tail is much more beautiful-a strong, courageous cat-There is more to the world than Kira. Don't you want to see that world?-a kind cat, so kind, kind face, kind hands, kind voice-It's okay to be scared. I understand. I'm... the same as you are-he wanted to reach the owner of that voice, that owner was important-You belong to me-he had promised, promisedpromised to the pretty kind cat with the beautiful voice-I'm yours, always yours. I... belong to-a name, there had been a name, he needed that name, his most important person-I belong to you... Konoe.
26 - Lost
Pressing his scarf to his bleeding shoulder, he made his way through the underbrush, returning to the tree against his better judgment-they might smell him, even if he was careful not to leave a trail of blood, they might still be nearby-but his heart was thumping wildly in his chest when he thought of Konoe, kind beautiful Konoe asleep in the tree, waiting for him to come back, and this thought was stronger than his reason; even from a distance, he could see that the tree was empty, but he crept closer regardless, led by the foolish hope that Konoe might be hiding nearby-the bushes parted and his heart lurched, a split-second before a shadow flew at him, blades drawn, and he did the only thing he could do: he turned and blindly ran back into the forest, the other cat hot on his heels, but the only thing on his mind was the fading hope to see Konoe once again.
27 - Metal
"Spar with me"; he stopped running the rag across his sword, sure that he had misheard, and turned to Konoe, who was looking at him with an intense expression; his eyes darted from the sword that had never left Konoe's hip, not even after he had lost the ability to wield it, to his arm, hanging loosely at his side, useless-this hand could not even grasp a weapon; Konoe caught his gaze, holding it-Asato knew that he did not want pity-and drew the blade with his left hand, unwavering-"Spar with me," and his eyes were as fierce as the day they had met even if his voice was gentle, so Asato knew better than to do anything but oblige.
28 - New
Sparring with Konoe took some time getting used to; at first, he had been terribly afraid that Konoe had no idea what he was asking for, when he was demanding for Asato to go faster, harder, that he would fold under the onslaught-but every day, Konoe improved, becoming stronger and quicker, so all that was left for him was the lingering guilt when Konoe sank into bed at night, bone-tired, and the fear that he would be discarded before long-he had spent so long protecting Konoe, what would become if Konoe did not need him anymore?-Konoe, however, saw through him as always, cupped his cheek and said, "I don't want to stand behind you. I want to stand beside you."
29 - Old
From time to time, Konoe unstrung his father's ring from the chain around his neck and held it up to catch the light; it was peculiar how its shine never faded, how the silver never darkened-he did not receive any more visions when he touched it now, but he was sure that the warmth he was able to feel emanating from the ring was not just his imagination, nor was the faint gladness he could feel coming from the other side of his heart.
30 - Peace
For Konoe, exchanging letters had no longer been enough-he had wanted to see his friends again, so Asato did not tell him that he was feeling anxious about returning to Ransen; he and Rai, especially, had parted on bad terms, the white cat's stony gaze too much for him to bear under the circumstances, which had led to some nasty words he would rather forget-but when Konoe broke away from his side to not quite run the last few steps, joy in his eyes and laughter in his voice-"It's so good to see you again!"-he knew that this was worth a little discomfort.
31 - Poison
The mark was burning hotly against his throat; he could feel the curse eating into him, searing through his flesh and heart, and he was afraid, afraid of what he was going to become, what he was going to be twisted into-but when Konoe's hand, blemished by the very same black bruise, gently stroked across his neck, he felt glad to know that he was not alone.
32 - Pretty
He was happy when the curse was lifted from Konoe, but he was also confused; the glossy black ears and tail were really white, with soft brown tips, and he could not help but be a little sad to know that he was alone again, alone with his ill-luck blackness-but the strangest thing was that he still thought them very pretty, he still wanted to reach out and grab that waving tail and comb it, smooth the fur with careful fingers and lick it clean, slowly, from root to tip, to make it shine-gulping, Asato averted his eyes and decided that it was probably safest to just sit on his hands.
33 - Rain
A gust of wind was whipping sheets of wetness after them even as they stumbled inside as quickly as possible, slamming the door shut; Asato wanted to start a fire, but Konoe yanked him close, shaking his head and peeling them both out of their soaked clothing; Asato let himself be pushed down onto the bed and Konoe followed, tugging the blanket over them both; they lay in silence in the darkness of the covers, shivery skin close to shivery skin, wet tail tangling with wet tail, and Asato found unexpected pleasure in the thought that the air he was breathing in this moment was the same Konoe had just exhaled.
34 - Regret
For a long time, he could not look at Konoe's injuries without wishing that he could tear himself to shreds, as he would have done with any enemy who would have dared to wound Konoe so; Konoe, though, accepted neither guilt nor shame, so all that remained for him to give was love, only love, and he gave it gladly, even if it seemed to him to be the most inadequate thing of all.
35 - Roses
He did not know how to go about this, had nobody to ask on the rules and regulations for this sort of thing; it had been agreed upon that he should never be allowed to breed-and how he hated that ugly word; he did not want to breed, he wanted to tell someone his feelings, ask to be with him-he thought a gift might be good, though the only person he had ever felt close to was Kagari, and she would have preferred a sturdy hunting knife to anything else-but he liked soft pretty things better, like flowers... he smiled; Konoe might like flowers, too; now the only thing left for him to do was to find the prettiest there were.
36 - Secret
It was Asato who breathed frantic oaths against his skin, sobbed his love against his throat, his shoulder, rasped out desperate pleas in the sound of his name, and it was Konoe who answered silently, with lips and teeth and tongue.
37 - Snakes
Even years later, dreams of a scaly body wrapping itself tightly around his body and squeezing were visiting him on odd nights; it took all his self control not to sob hysterically and go running for the water barrel to check his reflection; he even repressed the desperate urge to examine his arms and legs for intricate bruises, black and possessive like cattle markings-he would not allow the midnight ghosts to rule him.
38 - Snow
He had never seen snow in his life, but it was soft and pretty, white and delicate like flower petals-he did not have time to concentrate on the dancing flakes, though; Konoe was shivering, Konoe was crying, another sight he had never seen before, but he desperately wanted this one to stop and did not know how-so all he could do was hope that his body was big enough to warm Konoe, and that his embrace was strong enough to make the tears stop.
39 - Solid
For the longest time, he had convinced himself that he could survive alone, that he did not mind living life all by himself, until he discovered, with no small amount of shock, how used he had become to having other people around him, and how much he would miss Asato's faithful, steadfast presence at his side.
40 - Spring
The change of seasons brought radiant pink and pearly white blossoms, warm light and sweet scents; Ransen was alive and buzzing with a different energy, an undercurrent of relief and gladness so strong that it was almost tangible; Konoe was sitting on the roof of the inn, listening to the happy thrum of the city, and all too aware that for the longest time, a part of him had thought he would not live long enough to see spring again.
41 - Stable
Whenever he thought he might go mad sitting around, waiting for Leaks to make the next move, Asato was there, distracting him with his wide-eyed enthusiasm for the world he was discovering; Asato kept him calm, kept him sane, and he knew the reason Asato was seeking him out to drag him along was much the same reason why he was allowing himself to be dragged: to avoid thinking about the heavy certainty settling in his heart, that somewhere, something terrible was going to happen.
42 - Strange
Sometimes, Konoe went very still and his gaze became distant, looking not outward but in, listening for the sleeping soul inside him, and Asato did not quite know how to feel about the fact that the man he used to hate existed inside the man he loved.
43 - Summer
The long days of summer were spent in the forest underbrush-the moist heat enveloping them like a thick blanket-crawling around looking for blueberries; they had to wave the swarms of midgets away with furiously lashing tails, before they could bend down to pick the sour-sweet berries off the shrubs and feed them to each other by handfuls, laughing at the way they were staining their fingertips, lips and tongues.
44 - Taboo
Leaving Kira was forbidden; ignoring orders was unthinkable; questioning the teachings was blasphemous-but staring into those defiant amber eyes, Asato realized that he wanted nothing more than for Konoe to convince him to do exactly that.
45 - Ugly
Sometimes, when he caught sight of his reflection, he wondered how Konoe could want this body, which had housed a monster, and still housed the man too weak to fight it; when Konoe caught him at it, he embraced him with a sigh of affectionate exasperation, pressed a kiss to his lips, and said, "It's okay, we all have our blind spots. This just happens to be yours."
46 - War
The beast roared, its enraged bellow shaking the foundations of Toride, and Konoe struggled to think past the blinding pain flaring through his body; the beast roared again, its dark gaze without sense or mind, let alone recognition, and Konoe tightened his grip on his sword-no matter what Leaks thought, this was not over.
47 - Water
Although swimming had become slightly difficult, he still loved the water: loved floating aimlessly, for minutes, small eternities at a time, loved admiring the way water dribbled off Asato's body when he lifted himself up on the riverbank, loved curling up on the smooth, warm rocks, Asato's chest to his back, letting the day-moon's rays and the breeze dry them both.
48 - Welcome
For the longest time, the tightly-knit community of Kira had been his entire world, and even though he had always lived on its periphery, more tolerated than anything else, he clung to it for security and comfort; leaving the village behind was the hardest thing he had ever done, exchanging stability for fear and uncertainty, but daring to anyway because the tolerance of many was nothing compared to that one cat's friendly, warm acceptance.
49 - Winter
All seasons were nice, offering so many vastly different things to experience, but Asato secretly liked winter best, because it would sometimes force him to spend an entire day inside, wrapped snugly in a bundle of blankets, holding Konoe close and being allowed to warm his cold feet between his legs, while the storms raged on outside.
50 - Wood
Asato had always loved trees; they provided him with shelter and solitude, fruit for eating and sturdy branches to swing from-however, the discovery that he could comfortably kiss Konoe on the branch below when hanging upside down was a fairly recent one.
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A/N: RaiKono, AsaKono... so obviously this means I'll have to do BaruKono next. XD
Also, BONUS: Sendspace download for Sarah McLachlan - Sweet Surrender. It's such an AsaKono song. ♥
- So finally, we have an official romanization of this fruit. It is, indeed, "kuim". XD
- #3: I wrote this way before I ever translated that part of the game, and was surprised how close it was to what was actually happening. So please forgive the similarities. XD
- #23: Judging from what the translator spit at me, Leaks convinces the Kira cats that Konoe is a Meigi spy, and that they have to kill him. They actually force Asato to go after him, despite his initial protests.
- #25: Some lines paraphrased from the game. And yes, Asato really says he belongs to Konoe.
- #44: Asato really believes that there is nothing outside Kira; it seems the village is an extremely closed off and self-sufficient community, since Asato doesn't even know the concept of money, only being used to trading things in Kira.
-#38 and #49: Shisa is an island surrounded by a coral reef, and snow seems to be a novelty there. The game is set in the winter season, and all the characters are seen running around in t-shirts and bare midriffs, so it's probably a fairly warm island all year round.
C&C makes me love you and lets me know what you think. So don't be shy! Tell me. XD
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