Rekkusha
Author’s Notes: o_o....
-----finding.five.1.
“Shit!”
Shuu hissed the curse and stuck his finger in his mouth, sucking at the thorn-prick with a bitter expression. His free hand jerked at his skirts, tearing them free from the clawing branches. “The hell did you lead us, Sanada?”
Ryo glanced over his shoulder and gave the rotund boy a detached look. “I was told to take you the quickest way to the next town, en? Tha’s what I’m getting paid to do, en?” The raven-haired guide permitted himself a bit of a smirk. “I wouldn’t have thought tha’ a miir like you couldn’t handle a few miles of tough trekking. Those dresses you all wear aren’t so damned pretty now, en?” More snickering. Shuu formed a fist, thankfully hidden by the voluminous robes that, wrapped around his thick form, did look uncomfortably dress-like. On thinner miirs, like Shin- smiling, aloof Shin who was even giggling at him now- they actually looked more like the intended garment: noble and respectable robes.
And damned cumbersome.
Shuu tugged at the layers again, growling deep-throated profanities at the bushes to no avail until the satisfying rip of fabric was heard. He stumbled forward before recovering and clawing desperately at his remaining dignity, inwardly sulking that he had dropped back until he was almost step-in-step with the last member of their party.
A piercing, cool blue eye turned to regard him detachedly and Shuu met it only briefly before averting his gaze. Its mate watched him too, but was hidden behind thick blonde hair that partially obscured the man’s vision. It should have been a point of concern for Shuu and Shin- they were paying for the man’s services, after all, and what good was a body guard with only half sight?- but neither of them questioned their decision in company. Both had traveled together with Seiji as a guardian in the past, and they had seen what the blonde could do. Shin trusted him with his life, Shuu swore by him. And so neither had argued with Seiji’s suggestion for a guide on this particular journey, despite having heard slightly discomforting stories about Sanada Ryo and his business.
“Soon we’ll stop for the night.” Ryo broke into his thoughts just before Shuu walked into Shin, who had stopped as their guide paused at a post. The larger miir blinked, shaking short dark bangs grown long out of his eyes.
“En? But...wait...” he glanced around at their seclusion. There was echoing, uncomfortable silence in the woods- the kind of silence that stems from a lack of human beings, or a presence of a lone few.
“There’s an inn near?” Shin asked when Shuu didn’t finish his sentence, looking a bit confused. Ryo laughed a little bit, good naturedly but it stung a bit to be laughed at. Shin smoothed a fold in his robes and frowned, just barely.
“No inns near here, not for about ten miles.” Ryo was watching the sky through the treetops, measuring the time between the early fall of dusk- now- and total black. “Maybe we should set up here; it’s a post and there isn’t a safer place when there’s nowhere else.”
Shuu snorted. “A great philosophy.”
“Thanks, I thought it up myself.”
Shin sighed a bit, obviously a bit apprehensive of another night on the road. He slid his bag half-off his shoulders and rifled through it. “Is it safe to build a fire, do you think? This isn’t dangerous country.”
“Everywhere is dangerous country.” Ryo’s tone did have a serious edge at times, Shin mused, a bit off from his regular bitter irony. A cut to his voice that hadn’t healed in a long, long, time. “But build a fire anyway. Nights get chilly.” He winked in Shin’s direction and the brown-haired miir flushed faintly. A past evening had found a soaking wet Shin shivering under Ryo’s blanket, his own as drenched as he was from a slip into a river. A placid river, but a cold one. The guide’s warmth was much appreciated. The locations of his hands were not.
As much.
Shin’s blush deepened.
“Are you going to stand there basking in warm fuzzy feelings or do the rest of us get to, as well?” Shuu interrupted, raising an eyebrow. Shin scowled and knelt, off to the side of the road a bit, and pulled the fire skills from his bag. Ryo crouched by him, lending a hand and stirring flame into life much sooner than it would have taken Shin alone.
Dropping his own bag to the ground without heed for where it landed, Shuu plopped onto the rough, dry-packed soil with grace befitting a jackass. His hand bushed his bangs back from his eyes and he made a face at them, slipping his hand to his side in order to claim his dagger and do something about them.
The dagger was snatched out of his hand as he raised it to his dark blue locks, and he blinked at his empty palm for a moment before raising his eyes to Seiji, who stood over him in tense, totally immobile soundlessness. The entire group had fallen silent. Shuu looked over the blonde, trying to figure out where his dagger went. Seiji’s arm was poised in the last stage of release, and Shuu slowly began to figure out that the guardian had let his blade fly through the trees, towards whatever brought on his anxiety. By the time he reached this conclusion, however, the lithe body had already fallen from the tree and landed crouched on its feet on the edge of their clearing, and blue eyes shimmied over each person with an uncomfortably feral spark.
***
Shin’s heart raced, stopped, and began to pound again; blood rushing in his head. He stared, wide-eyed, at the intruder, and shrank back a bit instinctually. He would have reached for his dagger if he thought he could move and if he could remember where it was.
“See?” Ryo’s voice hissed, but in the silence it echoed like an explosion. “No place is safe from them.”
“Shut up, Ryo.” Seiji said coldly, his voice strange sounding in the air.
“Hell if I’ll shut up, Seiji, I’m gonna kill it!” Jumping from his tensely crouched position to a ready stance, he drew his blade with the gliding sound of the metal scraping out of its sheath. The intruder’s eyes widened a bit at the blade, but not quite in fear.
They couldn’t feel fear, he supposed. For the best.
“Goddammit, Ryo, put that away. He’s already wounded.” Seiji snapped. It pulled Shin back to a rather confused reality. Seiji never seemed emotional. He never cursed, really. He didn’t speak, if you wanted to get right down to it.
“I don’t effing care!” Ryo snarled. The pain was back in his eyes.
“Ryo...”
Ryo and the being took action simultaneously. He darted forward, past Seiji before the blonde could hold him back, swinging his blade in a rather untechnical but still quite effective maneuver known as “wildly slashing.” Meanwhile the thin little body had sprung into life- started forward but cut off by Ryo’s blade, it jumped. Straight up, without hands or leverage or a moment to gather tension. Like a cat, like a beast, like a demon. And it landed on the flat side of Ryo’s blade, pausing for less than a fraction of a second before springing again and knocking the black-haired boy off his balance and to the ground. Blue braids, varying around a foot or so in length each, flew around its head as it landed in between Shuu and Shin, perched on its heels with its fingertips splayed on the soil for balance. Shin recoiled in horror of the purely demonic movements, his hand going back to support him and landing in the hot ashes of the dead-before-birth fire. He cried out in pain at the burns and yanked his hand to him, shuddering. The figure stiffened at the screams and whirled to look at him, and Shin met the brilliant sapphire with aquamarine and felt a tremor go through him. His distraction of the being gave Ryo the needed moments to scramble back up and recover his knowledge of how to use his sword. He bounded forward, covering the distance in one leap that was almost animalistic in itself, and swung his blade with more precision. It struck, the flat side, on the side of the creature’s head before it had time to react, and it went sprawling across the ground, away from Shin to his relief. Ryo was next to it in another instant and brought his sword down on the thin figure again.
Not cutting, though. Not killing. Beating. Shin stared in horror, not noticing as Shuu took his hand while exclaiming over the burns, as Ryo struck the being with his sword until it was down for more than a second, then set upon it with fists and feet.
“Ryo!” Seiji grabbed at the flailing limb, trying to force him to a stop. “Ryo, goddamnit, stop it!”
Ryo slowly let his blade slip from his fingers and stared dully at the figure curled into a fetal position at his feet, nursing its stomach, the landing point of numerous blows. He stared for a moment, then licked dry and cracked lips and looked up at Seiji.
“It deserved it.” He said slowly, in a tremulous voice. Seiji’s eye(s) were hard.
“He didn’t do anything to you. And he’s already wounded.”
“Let me kill it.” Ryo’s voice was pleading, and thirsty for the creature’s blood.
“No, Ryo.” Seiji pulled his friend back by the wrist, away from the temptation of the downed blue-haired thing. “Sit down, and I’ll take care of him”
“Y’gonna kill it? Let me kill it, Seiji.”
“I’m not going to kill him, Ryo.”
“It, goddamit, it.”
Seiji didn’t reply to that one, instead forcing Ryo down into a sitting position by Shuu, who regarded him warily, and turned towards the prone figure curled up a few feet away. He stepped closer, regarding it coolly and without fear. Shin drew a sharp breath when Seiji knelt down next to the thin body and brushed the many blue braids out of its face.
“A kaefriin,” Shuu muttered in an icy tone. “What the hell is one of them doing out here? The nearest kaefriin territory is...”
“Over a hundred miles.” Seiji replied, as a slightly awed Shin watched him fearlessly uncurl the obviously unconscious kaef.
It could almost pass for human, he thought. Almost. Kaefriin’s bore more than slightly striking resemblances to humans, and shared many aspects of their appearances and being. In which case this one would be a male. Shin regarded the kaef boy with a bit of curiosity.
“I’ve only seen them in captivity before.” he said in a bit of surprise. “Never a wild one.”
“Nor’ve I.” Shuu gave Shin back his hand, wrapped in bandages torn from a fold of extra fabric in his skirts.
“Unless someone’s figured out a way to break them, all of them are wild.” Seiji said quietly, pushing the vibrant blue braids back from the boy’s brow. He had a narrow, pretty face, and though his eyes were shut Shin remembered in striking clarity the potent blue they held. A thin, waif-like body that seemed scarcely to hold the muscle to perform the physical feats they’d seen, clad in kaefriinis clothing: a loosely collared, oversized shirt tight enough to form creases over the torso, but with uneven sleeves (one to mid arm, one past the wrist) and far too long in length so that the thrice-slit hem almost hid the short pants that bared attractively pale thighs. Shin’s stomach twisted in disgust at his own body’s betrayal as he trailed his eyes over the kaef boy’s figure. High boots brought an end to the baring of legs at the knees (to Shin’s relief, although it was too little too late), laced and buckled up the sides. Long and thin fingers were bare although his palms were covered with gloves- dark, black-blue gloves with small rusty stains on them. His passion died down rather quickly. Old bloodstains do that to you.
“What do we do with it?” Shuu asked abruptly, shaking Shin out of his mesmerized state. “Kill it? Take it into town with us for a reward?”
Seiji’s deft fingers were darting over the marks Ryo and Shuu’s dagger had made. “Neither.”
A moment of lost silence echoed before Ryo, silent and morose, looked up at Seiji accusingly.
“Hell if you let it go. Hell if you let it go.”
“He didn’t do anything to us; he’s lost, or escaped from a slavemaster...and remember we attacked him first. He doesn’t deserve to have us sell him.”
“Fucking right, it deserves to die.” Ryo’s face was drawn into total fury, or something resembling it. Shin felt a fear akin to what he’d felt only minutes before when the kaerfriin had first fallen into them.
“Ryo.” Seiji’s voice was sobering and Ryo slumped.
“Let me kill it Seiji...I wanna kill it.”
“We’re going to let him go. Leave him here, off the road a bit, and he’ll wake up and go on his way.”
“He’ll...it’ll...get killed anyway, or captured and sold.” Shin broke in, hesitant at interrupting the two. They looked at him vacantly. “This far away from a kaefriin territory...?”
Seiji met Shin’s eyes head on and the miir flinched. His eyes were disbelieving. “You’re suggesting we kill him. For his own good, and all that.”
Shin hesitated, and mulled about it a bit. He wondered if he could nod yes. It had made more sense in the logic part of his brain before his stupid emotions decided to give his suggestion a run-through. Slowly, contritely, he shook his head. “No...never mind. It’s not my place to make a suggestion.” He sounded meek. Seiji’s eyes seemed to soften.
Better he’s not as changed as I feared.
Ryo’s eyes, though, were almost accusing. Shin turned his gaze.
***
A more immediate problem was what to do with the pretty little kaef boy in the time being. Ryo and Shuu, and Shin as well, had all seemed quite against tossing him in the bushes next to their camp and going to sleep. Seiji had bemusedly agreed that this would not be a terribly clever thing to do, especially since the kaef would wake up awfully sore and a sleeping Ryo would be a right spot for revenge. But it was too dark to leave the kaefriin behind and go on ahead a safe distance, not without needlessly endangering themselves more. The end result was that nobody slept really well, and Ryo didn’t sleep at all, while the blue-braided kaefriin got quite a long rest under everyone else’s watchfull eye.
Seiji watched the skinny little figure in the dancing firelight, expression reserved. Ryo was next to him, dark rims under his eyes reflecting a bit of his stress. Shin and Shuu were both in uneasy but definite sleeps, on the opposite side of the fire from the kaefriin. Ryo poked the flames with a stick, nudged the logs and watched the sparks.
“Why won’t you let me kill it?” his voice was almost painfully innocent and desperate in its begging. Seiji closed his eyes for the briefest instant, careful not to let it get too long or he’ll get tired.
“We’ve nothing to gain and he’s everything to lose.”
“Stop calling it he, damnit, as if it were a human or a cat or something.”
Seiji raised an eyebrow at his black-haired companion. “So, humans and cats are at the top of the list and kaefs--”
“--are insects.” Ryo concluded pitilessly.
“Awfully human-looking for insects.” Seiji said somberly, keeping his voice gentle. “And easy to hurt. They bleed, too, and cry. Insects don’t bleed or cry. Cat’s don’t cry, not really.”
“Shut up. What are you trying to do, humanize kaefriins to me? Fuck that.”
“Ryo.”
“Fuck that, Seiji. I want them all dead. All of them. The whole stinking species.”
Seiji cast his eyes over onto his friend, who was glaring at him venemously. Letting out a soft sigh, he slid an arm around Ryo’s shoulder’s, light and comforting. The boy stiffened under the contact and then relaxed slowly, finally leaning against the blonde tiredly.
“I just...” Ryo muttered, his voice cracking a bit. Seiji shushed him with a soothing kiss on his brow and they sat in silence.
***
The kaefriin was concious when Shuu woke up. Alive and kicking.
Quite literally.
“Is THIS why I fuckin’ let you keep it alive, so it could kill me?!” Ryo was screeching. Seiji was sitting, looking vaugely at a loss at what to do about the braided kaefriinlin that was snarling, snipping, and letting out extremely vulgar sounding exclamations in his native tounge- all of which he was accompanying with swift kicks at Ryo’s shins.
“You did...you know...try to beat him to death and all.” Shin was uncomfortable with the whole situation.
All the more reason to get away from that the sooner, he decided.
Ryo growled a bit in response and slapped at the kaefriin’s hands, not trying to be gentle but visibly a few staircases up from yesterday’s blind rage. In response he got some nice-sounding words that Shuu wasn’t sure whether he wanted defined or not. Seiji seemed to be fighting a smile, of all things.
“Breakfast?” Shin held a plate to Shuu with a slightly nervous and visibly forced cheerfulness. When the other miir took the plate he let his fingers stray over Shin’s in a bit of a comforting caress, and the slender, older boy smiled palely.
“Love some. Has our guest eaten yet?”
Shin shrugged. “I was told not to give him anything.” he cast a look towards Ryo. “I think that means he was already fed.” it was a hollow suggestion, said for the principle of the thing- don’t accuse your comrades.
“Ah.”
Long as that was clear. Ryo shot him a look. Crystal.
He certainly looked thin though; the kaefriin did. On the arm with the shorter sleeve the bony wrist plainly jutted out, and the long slender form his clothes held shape to was appetizing but painfully underfed. He glanced at Ryo again, who had turned his eyes to Seiji and seemed to be sparring with him in silent words.
Seiji looked over at him. “Shuu, give the kaef a piece of bread.”
Oh, so that’s how it was. He was mildly amused. Shu didn’t smile as he peeled a slice off the loaf and passed it over, but he had a bit of a grin in his mind.
***
The kaefriin stared at them, quite an adorable befuddled expression on his face. It was such a wide contrast with the feral stare of the night before that it was hard to believe it the same being. Seiji sighed, rubbed at his brow, and pointed off into the trees.
“You can go now.”
No verbal response and no glimmer of understanding. The blue braids tumbled down the kaef boy’s back and over his shoulders. Seiji frowned.
“Go, off, away with you.”
Blue blink.
“Hell.” Seiji took a step forward, grasped the kaefriin’s wrists in his grasp. The boy immediatly began to thrash, hissing things at him in the slitting language of his species while Seiji dragged the boy off a bit, released him, and gave him a shove towards the bushes.
More blinking, but now of disbelief.
He’s wondering, Are they actually letting me go? Shin mused. The expression certainly seemed to fit, but it didn’t last long before the kaefriin grasped the oppertunity presented and darted into the underbrush.
“Aww, it didn’t say goodbye.” Shuu said teasingly, nudging Shin in the ribs with his elbow. Seiji rolled his eyes coolly and looked at Ryo, who was silent and pissy looking again.
“Ryo. Which way were we headed again?” He raised his eyebrows.
They moved on.
-----finding.five.1
Author’s Notes: o_o don’t ask me. I’ve got other fics in the makings that should take precedence...but this...kinda clawed up all the others, tore chunks of them off in its mouth, and left them mangled and warped on the floor. >< damnit.
Sorry for my inarticulate author’s notes at the beginning of the fic... ^^;; I was..er...tired o_o I’m more tired now. Anyway. ^^ I’ll tell you now what I shoulda said then. By this point, I’m assuming you got a coupla things-- that it’s a) painfully AU and b) yaoi. Just in case “pale attractive thighs” on a boy didn’t give ya a hint about that last one. The AU-ness of it is only gonna center around the guys, and maybe a special appearance by byakuen later. Dun expect any of the series’ villians, though, or Nasutei and the annoying short kid. Or that guy with the hat. xB *giggles* o_o don’t think I don’t know their names, I’m just reeeaallly tired and out of energy drinks. *gropes madly at a can of kmx just beyond her reach* x___x;;
AU thingies you might wanna know about the au ness of the AU and stuff.....@-@ erm, Shuu and Shin are called “miirs”. (has developed an odd fondness for double i’s) Unlike “kaefriins,” which I’ll get around to explaining and giving detail to in the story, I’m probably not going to go into miir-ness and all that, so I’m telling you now. S’like a government position of a sort, so think of Shuu and Shin as government officials on their way to a place where they do government officially things. I might give them a purpose to life later. =_= once I wake up.
And I know Ryo is being awfully mean to the pretty little blue one o_o he’s bitter. I’ll esplain it all later.
Guess who’s the blue braided boy anyway, mm? :B In other universes hair isn’t always the same length. Frequently the same color, though. ^^ Hey, I’ll give you to the count of three to guess. Betcha can’t. Betcha can’t. One....Two.....*falls asleep*