There will be magic, chapter 26, Ruki/Kai, Ruka/Yomi, Aoi/Reita
Title: There will be magic
Author: yukigafuru
Chapters: 26/?
Pairings: RukaxYomi, KaixRuki, AoixReita for now
Bands: Gazette, Naitomea, D... (and a surprise)
Rating: PG-17, for this chapter
Warnings: will be angst, yaoi, a bit of gore here and there
Genre: AU, Angst, Romance
Disclaimer: I am not connected to the real persons. This is just a figment of my imagination and I don't make any money nor profit in any way out of this (well, except gathering your love that is).
Summary: The age of magic and mystery is coming towards its end. But what if someone that has the gift to see the future can join forces with others who have the power to stop it? What will be born then? What will be found?
“Because he simply takes your breath away.”
Chapter 26
“If you are in love with him, then how can you possibly just wait there, while at this very moment he might be fighting for his life?” Yomi practically screamed, angrier than ever at Aoi. He just couldn't understand him and couldn't accept this situation.
“I never said anything about love. I said he interests me, fascinates me even. But you see, I'm very possessive. So the more fascinating the subject, the more I want it, and if I don't get it, then I make sure no one does.” Aoi replied, seemingly detached from the topic of the discussion.
“Fine. If Reita comes out of there in one piece and IF, he will respond to your feelings, whatever those are, I will not interfere.” Yomi sighed and agreed. And since he and Asagi were in effect the only ones that had raised any opposition to Aoi's demand, it became a sealed deal. Now, all waited to see what Aoi would do.
“Right. So, first, we don't need these two any more, now do we?”
In the silence of the church, the pleading voices of the sextant and the woman gained force, their pleas of <> filling the air uselessly for Aoi was obviously not one to be dissuaded easily.
He simply looked fixedly at the two and they had turned into stone, which later, they would find, had turned to dust, leaving no trace of the two.
“Right. Now then, if you'll excuse me.” He said and approached the confessional. With one powerful hit, the wood split right down the middle. The two new-formed parts of the confessional, with nothing to support them, fell helplessly to the ground, revealing the trap door beneath. It was of course sealed and now that the confessional had been destroyed, the mechanism for opening it had probably been rendered useless also. Aoi didn't fret and neither did he care for the gasps of everyone else. He just executed a complicated pattern with his right hand, blew across his palm and the stone beneath started to crumble and turn into dust.
“What is he?” The dragon king asked, awed at the display of power, and even more surprised that this man could effectively use magic without being harmed in any visible way.
He did not get his reply for Aoi was descending down the staircase that led to the catacombs and the other chambers below the church. The others, excepting Ruki, Asagi and the dragon king, who remained so he could protect the two, descended after Aoi.
After descending about 20 steep steps, you reached the bottom of what resembled a pit of about one metre in diameter. At the bottom of the tunnel, the disembowelled body of a man lay, reclining against the cold walls. Teeth marks could be seen all over the bent at weird angles members, so it was quite obvious who had been the perpetrator of the deed. Reita had obviously did a very good job of killing the immortal. Light from the entrance had made their journey down easier but their journey deep within the bowels of the earth was not nearly completed. From there, a tunnel of about 150cm height cut perpendicularly into the rock, and this time, there was no light to guide your steps.
Aoi took the lead again, and lighting a small magical fire above his head, steered them further and further away from the entrance. The tunnel got tighter and tighter until you were forced to crawl on the wet cold stone bottom. Besides water, small stones and dust would slither inside your clothes and crawl on your skin, making you feel as if hundreds and thousands of termites were suddenly marching all over you. It was an eerie feeling, and the travellers contained their complaints and their shrieks of fear only because they kept thinking of their lost friend, who had had to go through there alone. They were reassured by the fact that Reita had been in his tiger form and so, more in touch with his senses than either of them were with theirs at the moment.
It seemed as if they had been walking for hours and hours in the small tunnel before finally reaching a cross-road and being forced to utter the first words since going down the steps: <>. It was all up to intuition for the watery floor did not allow any footprints to form, which meant they could not track Reita. While they were voting for each way to go, everyone thought they heard a faint cry sounding from the left side and they immediately abandoned what they were doing and rushed towards the left.
The tunnel this time got wider and wider, reaching their height and then surpassing it. Rectangle shaped cavities appeared along the walls and inside the cavities were stone or wood coffins, some beautifully engraved, others fetching in their simplicity. After such a long time trotting through tunnels even death seemed beautiful. The cavities gave way to small or big chambers, in which bones were piled one on top of the others, creating a macabre spectacle of shadows and lights, for Aoi's magic fire still showed them the way and their surroundings.
The faint cry they had heard earlier had never been repeated and all they could do was trust that they had chosen correctly and were not losing precious time. Being at the front, with everyone watching his back, but unable to see his expression, Aoi was hardly pressed not to start running, desire visible in the way he bit his lip, to the point of bleeding, or clenching his fists. Finally, he may have wanted to scream, when the tunnels ended and they found themselves in a large, natural cave. Drips of water from the ceiling created an eerie melody, which would have sounded lovely, if not for the objects lined across the walls and floor, revealing the purpose of the cave: a torture chamber. If until now, even death, the most natural of processes, could have been thought beautiful, they were suddenly faced with all the ugliness that human beings could have created. Irons and spikes and saws, cat's paws, spiked chairs, wheels, iron maidens and racks lined the walls, along with other more 'homely' apparel whose purpose had been reinvented, like hammers and forks, kettles and cauldrons and chains. And there was still no sign of Reita.
With dread, they even searched inside the iron maiden, although it was obvious that an animal's body could not have fit in there. Just about the time when they were ready to give alarmed cries, Aoi noticed a peculiar play of shadow and light in the farthest left side of the cave, where fewer torture devices were displayed. With care they approached that part once more, and found another small tunnel in the rock, this time small enough that even the tiger would have had trouble entering. Aoi got on his hands and knees and started going in, before he ordered the others to stop. It seemed as if this tunnel was no longer than a couple of meters and it ended with a pit. When Aoi approached the pit, even he could not help the cry of anguish that left his lips upon taking a look at its' insides.
He had finally found Reita, a very human Reita, pierced through by a multitude of sharp iron spears, embedded in the bottom. Aoi forgot himself for a minute or maybe he finally found himself, for with an inhuman cry, resembling the hiss of a snake, he slit his wrist pressed the deep wound on the stone walls, and in a mighty woosh and chilling tremble, the rock around him started pulverizing, widening the tunnel up to the point where a medium height male could stand. Aoi collapsed and at the same time, the others barged in . It might have been comical how closely their reactions mimicked Aoi's and yet there was nothing comical about the situation. It was a miracle that Reita was still breathing and their eyes were fixed on the proof of that miracle: his slightly rising and descending chest.
“Get him out!” Aoi growled and Yomi made to use his magic for the first time in days.
“No, wait! You can't use magic!” Ruka stopped his lover. “You have no idea what will happen!”
“I can't let him just die!” Yomi screamed.
“Your magic might just as well kill him if it goes rampant.”
Aoi was breathing heavily, leaning against the wall. He brought his hand to his neck and removed from under his shirt a silver serpent wound around himself, resting upon an azure medallion.
“Use this. It will allow you to use your magic without any adverse effects.” He instructed and gave the medallion to Yomi.
The kitsune did not wait. He put it around his neck and then gathered his magic around his body, like a big ball of yarn, his hands performing complex movements, as if he were weaving. In doing so, within moments, dozens and dozens of threads, like those that had held Reita and Ruka immobile in the forest, descended in the pit and wrapped around Reita's body so thoroughly it seemed as if Reita had been enveloped in a cocoon of sparkling thread. Once Yomi thought there were enough threads, he proceeded in lifting the body up, gently, without any sudden movements, effectively extricating the battered body from the deadly spears. Reita was obviously unconscious for he made only soft noises, even though the pain must have been excruciating.
Yomi did not lower the body to the floor even when Reita had been taken out from the hole, but kept him in the air, asking Kai: “Use that cream of yours on the external wounds, Kai. That way I'll be able to lower him and pass you the medallion, without risking an infection.”
Kai did not argue and quickly, he applied the paste over each and every one of the holes left behind by the spearheads. The cream would be absorbed into the skin and tissue around the wounds and prevent infection on the inside, as well as reform the skin on the outside, but it could not repair the muscles and tissue torn. Once the cream had been absorbed, Yomi gently laid Reita on the ground and quickly passed the medallion to Kai, who in turn, did not procrastinate and started mumbling spells and chants to heal the wounded man.
The others could do nothing but watch the soft light spreading, wrapping the body in its cocoon.
“I did all I could.” Kai declared and even though he had stopped chanting, the light lingered on Reita's body.
“Some of the wounds cut as deep as his liver or lungs. A few barely missed vital spots. It's a miracle that he landed in that position in the first place. He must have fallen in while still in tiger form and due to the severity of the pain and wounds, he somehow transformed. That probably saved his life for the position of the organs shifted and adjusted. Or at least, that's the only theory I can come up to as to why his heart was a few millimetres to the left. See where his head was? That's the only place in that hole where some of the spears are missing. The fact that that's where his head landed, well, how else can you call that but miraculous. Sheer blind luck!”
“He almost died! How can you call that luck?” Aoi huffed.
Kai seemed to grow smaller at the comment. He had indeed chosen not the best expressions.
“Anyway, I healed the wounds, but he lost a lot of blood and not only that... I can't even imagine the amount of pain he might have been put through, especially if he didn't fall unconscious immediately. There's a possibility that he just doesn't want to wake up. And if that's the case... Unless he eats and drinks something within the next couple of days, I'm afraid there will be nothing we can do to save him.”
“First, let's take him out of here, into the sun.” Were the first sympathetic and considerate words Ruka used in respect to Reita.
It was Yomi's turn again to wear the medallion and with its' help, they retraced their way, this time upwards. Aoi, supported by Kai, followed. It took longer to get out of there and back inside the church and they didn't stop, but told the dragon king and Asagi, who were anxiously waiting them, to get out of the church. They simply acknowledged that the bodies of the bound sextant and the woman were gone, without bothering to inquire further.
Once out in the soft light of the sun, and the scorchingly powerful wind, which announced a storm, they finally felt alive. They took a good look at their dirty, depressed faces, the bandages and rips in their clothes, traces of blood, the paleness of cheeks and the brightness or redness of their eyes and promised themselves never to go through anything like this again.
With a peculiar whistle, the pegasus were landing safely by their side and they took out the satchels, picked the shadow of one of the neighbouring houses and made camp. Storm or no storm, they were in no condition to keep walking, mental or physical and they decided to pass the night as they were.
Finally safe, once they had decided on the watch turns, Aoi going first, everyone except the dark stranger fell instantly asleep, therefore not witnessing Aoi getting closer to Reita, tenderly stroking his hair and touching his eyelids and cheeks, softly whispering things that not even the wind could hear, words just for the two of them. They did not notice the soft eyes, the lonely tear or the feeble trembling that Aoi allowed himself to display.
And so, the night passed, in the end, without the storm coming to disturb their rest.
A/N: I loved writing this chapter, and although I know you'll be worried sick for Reita, for due reason, I hope you'll liked it too. Hugs to all my readers and squishes to all my lovely commentors.
Author: yukigafuru
Chapters: 26/?
Pairings: RukaxYomi, KaixRuki, AoixReita for now
Bands: Gazette, Naitomea, D... (and a surprise)
Rating: PG-17, for this chapter
Warnings: will be angst, yaoi, a bit of gore here and there
Genre: AU, Angst, Romance
Disclaimer: I am not connected to the real persons. This is just a figment of my imagination and I don't make any money nor profit in any way out of this (well, except gathering your love that is).
Summary: The age of magic and mystery is coming towards its end. But what if someone that has the gift to see the future can join forces with others who have the power to stop it? What will be born then? What will be found?
“Because he simply takes your breath away.”
Chapter 26
“If you are in love with him, then how can you possibly just wait there, while at this very moment he might be fighting for his life?” Yomi practically screamed, angrier than ever at Aoi. He just couldn't understand him and couldn't accept this situation.
“I never said anything about love. I said he interests me, fascinates me even. But you see, I'm very possessive. So the more fascinating the subject, the more I want it, and if I don't get it, then I make sure no one does.” Aoi replied, seemingly detached from the topic of the discussion.
“Fine. If Reita comes out of there in one piece and IF, he will respond to your feelings, whatever those are, I will not interfere.” Yomi sighed and agreed. And since he and Asagi were in effect the only ones that had raised any opposition to Aoi's demand, it became a sealed deal. Now, all waited to see what Aoi would do.
“Right. So, first, we don't need these two any more, now do we?”
In the silence of the church, the pleading voices of the sextant and the woman gained force, their pleas of <> filling the air uselessly for Aoi was obviously not one to be dissuaded easily.
He simply looked fixedly at the two and they had turned into stone, which later, they would find, had turned to dust, leaving no trace of the two.
“Right. Now then, if you'll excuse me.” He said and approached the confessional. With one powerful hit, the wood split right down the middle. The two new-formed parts of the confessional, with nothing to support them, fell helplessly to the ground, revealing the trap door beneath. It was of course sealed and now that the confessional had been destroyed, the mechanism for opening it had probably been rendered useless also. Aoi didn't fret and neither did he care for the gasps of everyone else. He just executed a complicated pattern with his right hand, blew across his palm and the stone beneath started to crumble and turn into dust.
“What is he?” The dragon king asked, awed at the display of power, and even more surprised that this man could effectively use magic without being harmed in any visible way.
He did not get his reply for Aoi was descending down the staircase that led to the catacombs and the other chambers below the church. The others, excepting Ruki, Asagi and the dragon king, who remained so he could protect the two, descended after Aoi.
After descending about 20 steep steps, you reached the bottom of what resembled a pit of about one metre in diameter. At the bottom of the tunnel, the disembowelled body of a man lay, reclining against the cold walls. Teeth marks could be seen all over the bent at weird angles members, so it was quite obvious who had been the perpetrator of the deed. Reita had obviously did a very good job of killing the immortal. Light from the entrance had made their journey down easier but their journey deep within the bowels of the earth was not nearly completed. From there, a tunnel of about 150cm height cut perpendicularly into the rock, and this time, there was no light to guide your steps.
Aoi took the lead again, and lighting a small magical fire above his head, steered them further and further away from the entrance. The tunnel got tighter and tighter until you were forced to crawl on the wet cold stone bottom. Besides water, small stones and dust would slither inside your clothes and crawl on your skin, making you feel as if hundreds and thousands of termites were suddenly marching all over you. It was an eerie feeling, and the travellers contained their complaints and their shrieks of fear only because they kept thinking of their lost friend, who had had to go through there alone. They were reassured by the fact that Reita had been in his tiger form and so, more in touch with his senses than either of them were with theirs at the moment.
It seemed as if they had been walking for hours and hours in the small tunnel before finally reaching a cross-road and being forced to utter the first words since going down the steps: <>. It was all up to intuition for the watery floor did not allow any footprints to form, which meant they could not track Reita. While they were voting for each way to go, everyone thought they heard a faint cry sounding from the left side and they immediately abandoned what they were doing and rushed towards the left.
The tunnel this time got wider and wider, reaching their height and then surpassing it. Rectangle shaped cavities appeared along the walls and inside the cavities were stone or wood coffins, some beautifully engraved, others fetching in their simplicity. After such a long time trotting through tunnels even death seemed beautiful. The cavities gave way to small or big chambers, in which bones were piled one on top of the others, creating a macabre spectacle of shadows and lights, for Aoi's magic fire still showed them the way and their surroundings.
The faint cry they had heard earlier had never been repeated and all they could do was trust that they had chosen correctly and were not losing precious time. Being at the front, with everyone watching his back, but unable to see his expression, Aoi was hardly pressed not to start running, desire visible in the way he bit his lip, to the point of bleeding, or clenching his fists. Finally, he may have wanted to scream, when the tunnels ended and they found themselves in a large, natural cave. Drips of water from the ceiling created an eerie melody, which would have sounded lovely, if not for the objects lined across the walls and floor, revealing the purpose of the cave: a torture chamber. If until now, even death, the most natural of processes, could have been thought beautiful, they were suddenly faced with all the ugliness that human beings could have created. Irons and spikes and saws, cat's paws, spiked chairs, wheels, iron maidens and racks lined the walls, along with other more 'homely' apparel whose purpose had been reinvented, like hammers and forks, kettles and cauldrons and chains. And there was still no sign of Reita.
With dread, they even searched inside the iron maiden, although it was obvious that an animal's body could not have fit in there. Just about the time when they were ready to give alarmed cries, Aoi noticed a peculiar play of shadow and light in the farthest left side of the cave, where fewer torture devices were displayed. With care they approached that part once more, and found another small tunnel in the rock, this time small enough that even the tiger would have had trouble entering. Aoi got on his hands and knees and started going in, before he ordered the others to stop. It seemed as if this tunnel was no longer than a couple of meters and it ended with a pit. When Aoi approached the pit, even he could not help the cry of anguish that left his lips upon taking a look at its' insides.
He had finally found Reita, a very human Reita, pierced through by a multitude of sharp iron spears, embedded in the bottom. Aoi forgot himself for a minute or maybe he finally found himself, for with an inhuman cry, resembling the hiss of a snake, he slit his wrist pressed the deep wound on the stone walls, and in a mighty woosh and chilling tremble, the rock around him started pulverizing, widening the tunnel up to the point where a medium height male could stand. Aoi collapsed and at the same time, the others barged in . It might have been comical how closely their reactions mimicked Aoi's and yet there was nothing comical about the situation. It was a miracle that Reita was still breathing and their eyes were fixed on the proof of that miracle: his slightly rising and descending chest.
“Get him out!” Aoi growled and Yomi made to use his magic for the first time in days.
“No, wait! You can't use magic!” Ruka stopped his lover. “You have no idea what will happen!”
“I can't let him just die!” Yomi screamed.
“Your magic might just as well kill him if it goes rampant.”
Aoi was breathing heavily, leaning against the wall. He brought his hand to his neck and removed from under his shirt a silver serpent wound around himself, resting upon an azure medallion.
“Use this. It will allow you to use your magic without any adverse effects.” He instructed and gave the medallion to Yomi.
The kitsune did not wait. He put it around his neck and then gathered his magic around his body, like a big ball of yarn, his hands performing complex movements, as if he were weaving. In doing so, within moments, dozens and dozens of threads, like those that had held Reita and Ruka immobile in the forest, descended in the pit and wrapped around Reita's body so thoroughly it seemed as if Reita had been enveloped in a cocoon of sparkling thread. Once Yomi thought there were enough threads, he proceeded in lifting the body up, gently, without any sudden movements, effectively extricating the battered body from the deadly spears. Reita was obviously unconscious for he made only soft noises, even though the pain must have been excruciating.
Yomi did not lower the body to the floor even when Reita had been taken out from the hole, but kept him in the air, asking Kai: “Use that cream of yours on the external wounds, Kai. That way I'll be able to lower him and pass you the medallion, without risking an infection.”
Kai did not argue and quickly, he applied the paste over each and every one of the holes left behind by the spearheads. The cream would be absorbed into the skin and tissue around the wounds and prevent infection on the inside, as well as reform the skin on the outside, but it could not repair the muscles and tissue torn. Once the cream had been absorbed, Yomi gently laid Reita on the ground and quickly passed the medallion to Kai, who in turn, did not procrastinate and started mumbling spells and chants to heal the wounded man.
The others could do nothing but watch the soft light spreading, wrapping the body in its cocoon.
“I did all I could.” Kai declared and even though he had stopped chanting, the light lingered on Reita's body.
“Some of the wounds cut as deep as his liver or lungs. A few barely missed vital spots. It's a miracle that he landed in that position in the first place. He must have fallen in while still in tiger form and due to the severity of the pain and wounds, he somehow transformed. That probably saved his life for the position of the organs shifted and adjusted. Or at least, that's the only theory I can come up to as to why his heart was a few millimetres to the left. See where his head was? That's the only place in that hole where some of the spears are missing. The fact that that's where his head landed, well, how else can you call that but miraculous. Sheer blind luck!”
“He almost died! How can you call that luck?” Aoi huffed.
Kai seemed to grow smaller at the comment. He had indeed chosen not the best expressions.
“Anyway, I healed the wounds, but he lost a lot of blood and not only that... I can't even imagine the amount of pain he might have been put through, especially if he didn't fall unconscious immediately. There's a possibility that he just doesn't want to wake up. And if that's the case... Unless he eats and drinks something within the next couple of days, I'm afraid there will be nothing we can do to save him.”
“First, let's take him out of here, into the sun.” Were the first sympathetic and considerate words Ruka used in respect to Reita.
It was Yomi's turn again to wear the medallion and with its' help, they retraced their way, this time upwards. Aoi, supported by Kai, followed. It took longer to get out of there and back inside the church and they didn't stop, but told the dragon king and Asagi, who were anxiously waiting them, to get out of the church. They simply acknowledged that the bodies of the bound sextant and the woman were gone, without bothering to inquire further.
Once out in the soft light of the sun, and the scorchingly powerful wind, which announced a storm, they finally felt alive. They took a good look at their dirty, depressed faces, the bandages and rips in their clothes, traces of blood, the paleness of cheeks and the brightness or redness of their eyes and promised themselves never to go through anything like this again.
With a peculiar whistle, the pegasus were landing safely by their side and they took out the satchels, picked the shadow of one of the neighbouring houses and made camp. Storm or no storm, they were in no condition to keep walking, mental or physical and they decided to pass the night as they were.
Finally safe, once they had decided on the watch turns, Aoi going first, everyone except the dark stranger fell instantly asleep, therefore not witnessing Aoi getting closer to Reita, tenderly stroking his hair and touching his eyelids and cheeks, softly whispering things that not even the wind could hear, words just for the two of them. They did not notice the soft eyes, the lonely tear or the feeble trembling that Aoi allowed himself to display.
And so, the night passed, in the end, without the storm coming to disturb their rest.
A/N: I loved writing this chapter, and although I know you'll be worried sick for Reita, for due reason, I hope you'll liked it too. Hugs to all my readers and squishes to all my lovely commentors.