The roar that filled the night haunted his soul; no matter what, he could not set himself free from it. In despair, Hayashi tried to run away from it all, but it was everywhere. It was massive, pervasive, and furious. It spread forth, breaking the quietness dramatically, indicating the uprise of a line of ghoulish demon plants from below the walled city's horizons.

It was like a gigantic army composed of warriors made of leaves, stalk, sap, petals and thorns which stood up menacingly at all the four directions, blocking and attacking, extending long, wide leaves over the walls and buildings. It was a cloak of dark and slithering terror that seemed unstoppable.

The fear and shock Hayashi experienced when he watched those nightmarish vegetable monsters charge the city, served to give him a stronger urge to escape. He must leave that band of barbarians and bloody killers one for all.

He ran as fast as he could, a little disoriented by his nervousness and the darkness. The ground had started to tremble violently, and here and there some building blocks and stones had already started to be shaken off and fall from the buildings. But it was not the power of those earth-moulding blue-eyed youko which caused the tremor. It was all caused by the titanic roots of those freak-plants. In their advance they tore their way down along the city's foundations in order to gain more energy to grow and sprawl wider yet all over.

Soon he heard the first terrified cries and pleads for help. He had left the narrrow alleyways and crossed one of the main avenues, eager to find a way out of the living nightmare his brother and those greedy youko thieves were about to create. They were painful, anguished cries, that started to come from all directions.

In the gloomy city, the terror of those voices was loud and sharp. They werer finding out about the invasion, waking up to a reality of dead soldiers, sentinels and citizens. Buildings, walls and houses were being crushed by the medusae-like vines and stalks of those invading plants.Appalled by it all, they sounded like death-announcing shrills and wails from malefic ghosts.

Hayashi stopped for a moment and looked over one shoulder to behold the terrorizing view. Monster flowers sprawled all around the city, growing dented petals and long poisonous-sap-dripping pistils and vines. They were like a multitude of dragons, whose hideous jaws started to chew a roaring way among the buildings, smashing stone, earth and youko's bodies all alike, as it creept, filling the avenues and all spaces with its monster roots and stalks.

The attack had been too sudden. Precious instants were lost as the blue eyes youko tried to grasp what was happening to their stronghold. Initially there was no defense, no counter-attack, and the demon plants were free to grow amuck, devouring the city, expanding and thus conquering more and more room yet to destruct and demolish.

All of this Hayashi observed on fleeting glimpses as he ran, already in youko form, finding his way amidst the darknss and the chaos. He had to try to escape and throw his sick brother off his track.

He turned many corners, always trying to mislead his trail taking the narrowest lanes and paths amidst the buildings. Like he had done many times before, Hayashi decided he must be radical if he wanted to kick Hiroshi off his track. He found a muddy, dirty gutter on his way, and in a hurry, he dug the grime with eager fingers, and started plastering the dirt on his hair, arms, legs and feet. He covered himself with the mud and sewage, nervously determined to wrap up his own scent with that foul smell. He even painted a kind of war-mask on his face with the stinking mud.

It was disgusting, but fuck it! He was not in a Most Popular Guy contest. He was in it for survival!

Now he must try to remain calm in order to cover up his you-ki and then find a way out of that collapsing city.

The ground started to tremble more yet. To avoid being hit by the faling debris, Hayashi ran to the open, wide spaces of the many stone gardens and avenues. As he moved deeper into the city, the frightened cries became louder. But he also detected , more disciplined, anger voices, and even battle cries that resounded together with the clanging of weapons and armors. His ears twitched, catching the tumult, and even within that growing uproar he sensed his brother was on his heels, dangerously close to him.

the tattooed youko started to quiver. And it was not of fear, but of nervousness. His sensitivity was so high, he could feel on him the distant suffering of all of those being crushed, impaled, hanged and devoured by the monstruous flowers that blossomed all over the city.

He hated the bloodshed. He loathed all that violence. He absolutely despised war.

Hayashi could distinguish children's voices in the distance; they gave out cries of fear and pain. The commotion grew, and he started to feel the city's emanation be contaminated by all that agony. The wealth and beauty was being corrupted, torn to pieces, transformed into a black, rotten shroud that sprawled throughout. The terror enveloped everything, and he could sense despair coming form every part.

He could hardly take it. He was a healer, he was too sensitive to stand such a wicked, negatively charged environment. Cruelty, death, destruction... He started to feel sick, as his senses started to absorb all the panic and terror that arose from the ravaged city. He could feel the suffering of each and every dying youko echo in his own aura, hurting him deeply, wounding his very soul.

He was so disturbed, he did not realize he was crying as he ran. The tears cut clear trails along his mud-painted face, and he felt so heavy-hearted about all that tragedy he was not sure where he was heading to. He remembered Hikaru had taught him about some hidden exits through the walls. He also knew of a few underground passages that could serve as short cut within the city's limits. But he was so distraught he became disoriented and lost.

Hayashi kept on, hopelessly. Disoriented by all the tumult and by the suffering he felt inside, he struggled to find a path out of those high walls. But instead of finding his way, he ended right in the middle of the main garden, before the palace's entrance. The rich, beautiful plaza was taken by turmoil.

He took a deep breath in and summoned all the renmants of willpower and energy he still possessed. Hayashi decided then he must escape that massacre and do all he could to flee his brother's dominance for ever.

Painfully he recalled that his Blue Eyes had died to try to save him... Hikaru had died dreaming to find them both a better life, in which they could share their love in peace. All he could do to honor Hikaru's memory was to escape, and be free. Therefore he could keep that ephemeral love they had experienced in his memory and his heart for all eternity...

He looked up at the imposing palace and the rich mansions of the nobles on its surroundings. Torches, lanterns and lamps were carried along as fugitives descended the long staircase, and hurried down along the gardens and boulevards, all of them running for shelter.

Warriors and hunters tried to organize troops to counterattack the invasion. Shocked, they raged furiously at what was happening, but even ready to try to fight back that loud, monstruous foray, they still seemed headless, lacking command.

It was when he heard a rumbling sound, and felt a sudden heat fill the night. He glanced behind, to watch a landslide of rock, earth and lava form a wave to engulf the plant which attacked the front part of the citadel.

The roar of those forces colliding was loud, like a clash of titans.

He kept his eyes downcast, walking in the shadows to avoid be recognized by any of those fugitives or warriors. Servants and nobles alike left the palace desperately, led by the same panic, to look for protection in underground shelters. Trops and fugitives merged n a roaring, tormented crowd that was loud and terrorized, as disoriented by fright like Hayashi.

The tattooed fox stopped, hiding behind one of the many statues in pedestals that sided the avenues. He did not want to be seen. He could not risk being caught; even too busy with the evacuation of the palace, they would slay him, no questions asked, if they found him in the city again.

On a glimpse, he identified known faces - He was sure it was Hikaru's haughty brother that led the column of fugitives, dragging a female by one arm, perhaps Hikaru's ex-fiancee. It was dark; there were a few oil lanterns and torches lit, and the night impaired recognition, but inside, he knew it was them - Hikaru's brother was scandalously running away instead of making a stand and fighting the enemies...

He covered his face with one arm, always trying to follow on under the darkness. struggling to find his way across the terrified mass of fugitives.

It is then Hayashi took a missing gaze towards the palace. he beheld the upper levels, on the eastern wing of the palace. His golden gaze followed the columns, the terraces, searching for a very specific balcony...

His youko heart missed his companion so much it seemed to be bleeding with grief. He was to utter a single prayer, to his lover's soul, that Inari might guard him well till they could meet again in a future life.

A sun of joy and hope burst inside his chest when he found Hikaru's quarters were lit.

At once he started stammering a more fervent prayer to whatever powers might be, thankful for that gift. Tears appeared in his eyes, and he joined his hands, supplicating  the hope that dim light offered him was not vain. Hikaru ought to be there; he had to be still alive!

A sudden surge of energy revitalized his body. He felt power and confidence grow anew inside him, and before he could even think on what he was doing, he darted  forth, moving swiftly and nimbly up the front stairway, breaking into the palace through a massive group of fugitives and guards.

All of them were too terrorized or busy to notice him, and Hayashi elbowed and pushed for passage. It was hard, and he felt like a tiny boat struggling against a tidal wave. Nevertheless, he insisted, and he found his muddy camouflage very useful - Not only it served for him not to be recognized, because it covered his tattoos and his face, but that group of noble, haughty blue-eyed-youko parted in two, giving him way in order to avoid contact.

He laughed, despite the intense emotion that seized his heart. Now, renewed by hope, he felt happy enough to smile, to laugh, to celebrate. But he wished to celebrate in his gorgeous fox's arms, and to do that he must hurry. He had to arrive at Hikaru's quarters as soon as he could.

The palace trembled softly under his steps. The conflict was enveloping the city, moving from the perimeter of the walls to the center, and now the palace was starting to be affected by the invasion. The tall columns oscillated, objects, vases and statues fell off their pedestals, and Hayashi found it was hard to step up those long stairs while the earth was shaking under the building foundations.

The whole palace was trembling, slowly, as if it were a boat, a ship, floating on stormy waters, and not a rock-based stronghold. He needed to tap the walls and support himself on them as he advanced not to be delayed.

It was dark. There were just some oil lamps lit here and there, and the darkness added to the grievous, terrorizing atmosphere. But it mattered not; he knew the way by heart. He advanced boldly, but always in the shadows, stopping here and there for a mere instant to check whether it was dangerous or not to proceed.

He passed the first, the second, the third, and entered the fourth store. He burst into the corridor keeping his wide-eyed stare straight ahead. He counted the doors and colunms, hurrying down the decorated hall. The corridor was long and he could even see the walls swinging, swaying slowly, as the palace's foundations rumbled and trembled beneath his feet.

Everything was empty. The rich palace was submerged in the gloom, deserted... The few ones he met were in such a hurry to run away they did not even care to look at Hayashi in the face, let alone question him about what he was doing there.

He passed more doors, more rooms, and then turning the corridor, he found the antechamber of Hikaru's quarters. That corner was exquisitely decorated - There were rich plate and chainmail armours in exhibition; armours Hikaru was supposed to wear and seldom did. The walls were embellished with paintings of distant natural landscapes, and quartz sculptures adorned niches and tables.

Hayashi let it all behind to ram forward, throwing himself at the quarter's entrance. He clasped desperately to the beautiful door, carved of a block of milky quartz and decoreated with pyrite inclusions. It was beautiful, delicate, but extremely heavy. It seemed as unmoving as it was rich. Hayashi embraced himself to that rock, tightly, and even before he tried to push it open, he knew his effort was in vain.

He was too weak, and that damned rock was too heavy. Only blue-eyed youko, with their powers over rocks and earth could move away such heavy giant. He suffered when he remembered how easily Hikaru pushed and pulled that door open...

If he could at least summon any demon-plant, like other youko...

Hayashi invoked all deities, all powers, and he gathered his you-ki, to try to use it as an extra-force against the block of stone. He pushed, holding his breath and focusing all his energy and will in trying to propel that rock out of the way. His arms trembled, but he insisted, till the tension became pain. He pushed it so hard he had the impression his back was about to break, and his shoulders on the verge of collapse. He applied even more pressure, gnashing his teeth with the effort. His mud-smeared face was contorted in a grimace of agony.

Nevertheless, that huge block of stone did not move an inch.

Not a single, tiny inch.

"Hikaru! Baby! Are you there? It's me! Hayashi! I came to save you! Are you there?"

Hayashi cried it out again and again, and in despair, he started to punch the rock-door, loudly. He cried yet, ten he tried to push the door open again, and hit it with his fists a little more. His clenched fists and his arms let marks of mud and blood on the perfectly white crystal surface of the door. He tried it with such exertion, with so much courage that he cut his hands, causing his blood to stain the clear unmoving rock.

"Hikaru! Please, Give me a sign! Can you hear me?"

The palace trembled; this time it was a stronger quake. Danger was coming nearer.
Soon it would not be safe to stay indoors, no matter how solid that palace had been built.

He looked around, a little lost, trying to find something he could use to lever that stone. There was nothing...

Hayashi took a glimpse towards the corridors, praying he could find someone to push that door open for him, but he should know... The palace was already emptied.

His tears started again. How could he be so close and yet so far away?

He put his ear close to the wall, to try to hear inside.

"Hikaru! We need to run away, and I can't open the door! Help me if you can! We have to get out of here or we're gonna get killed!"

He heard carefully. He covered his mouth with his hand, not to be distracted by the sounds of his own crying and breathing. It is then he had the impression he had heard a soft moaning sound, coming from inside.

It was Hikaru! It had to be! Such desperate hope was the only thing that gave Hayashi a meaning, a reason to live!

Yes, but why did he have to be so useless? Why his life was serving others, always, following orders, saving, healing, helping, and when he begged for one, just one intervention in his favor, Fate denied it to him?

He heard it again. This time, there was no doubt - It was a very soft groan... Hikaru must bee weak, but he was still alive!

"I'm here, baby! I won't leave you! Hang on!"

Impotent, misery smothered his heart, and he felt his spirit being tied down, torn in shreds, as he was forced to defeat...

Crying, gripping fervently to that block of quartz, he searched again, perplexed with his own impotence. His crying became louder, impossible to hold back. He could not believe that...

But there were the balconies!

The Crystal City inhabitants never worried about fabricating fortified windows and terraces. They had always trusted the high walls around the whole city were protection enough.

Overwhelmed by his remembrance, he wiped away the tears and the mud from his face with the back of his hand. The balconies were open, and the venetians and blinds shutting the large windows were build of thin layers of delicate rocks, such as micca, feldspar, and kyanite. The windowpanes were of a thin layer of a translucid crystal, so fragile that he could scrap it with his nails...

Some room next to Hikaru must be open! He only needed to reach the balconies and walk the ledge till Hikaru's quarters. He could break in through easily through the balconies!

"Hold on, Gorgeus! I'm coming for you!" Hayashi cried out loudly, lively.

He headed back to the corridor, and found next door opened to another empty bed chamber. Its occupant must have already fled from the palace. Hayashi burst in the room, and when he found the large doors that led to the balconies wide open, he even smiled.

At last Fate was on their side!

He did not hesitate. He hurried to the wide, decorated balcony, pushing aside a  delicate crystal screen, and moving over the balcony's parapet, keeping his balance with care, holding tight to the railing  till he reached the ledge that ran along the outer wall.

He tried not to look down, he tried not to sense the building was trembling under his feet and hands. If there happened a stronger tremor, he would not be able to balance himself on that narrow, ledge.

He took fleeting glimpses at what was happening in the city below while he followed that difficult course along the wall.

He saw explosions, buildings collapsing, and more of those gigantic demon plants filling the horizons and tearing the city's walls and avenues apart. Destruction, fire, lava, earthquakes and demon-eating plants... He turned his eyes from it all, and held tighter to the wall and the edges.

He needed to keep his balance and tap his way along the ledge just a little more, till  he finally leaped over the parapet of Hikaru's quarter's balcony.

Hayashi  wasted no time. He battered heavily agaisnt the blockade. He hit the  decorated windows with powerful, insistent blows, but it was only on his fourth attempt that the whole structure fell inward.

It was the loud crashing sound. Part of the windowpanes and venetians collapsed with a loud smashing clamor, followed by a  muffled bump and a loud huff.

Hayashi, rolled, and got himself rid of the curtains and debris that fell on him as he broke in. He shook his head, and huddled, muffling a groan of pain. He had used his shoulder and head to ram for passage, using all his might, and it hurt him.

A slow trickle of blood flowed from his head. His brow was visibly bruised, and he seemed a little dizzy. But his disorientation lasted just for an instant - Soon Hayashy struggled to reach Hikaru.

"Blue eyes! I've got it!" He exclaimed, hurrying across the dark bedroom to find his lover. "I missed you, love! Now nothing is gonna set us apart! I swear it to you!"

The satisfied smile that shone on his face faded away when Hayashi's eyes met the haggard, wretched sillhouette of the enshrouded blue-eyed prince.

Hayashi kneeled down by Hikaru's bedside, and silent tears slid down his rough face as he reached out, extending a trembling hand, to feel the other youko-s aura. He was in such a bad state.. He seemed to be dead, but ...

"Hikaru... What happened to you?" He asked, struggling not to burst in tears. "Can you talk to me, gorgeous? Please?"

Hayashi bent over Hikaru, and his hands groped for his body under the covers. He was just skin and bones. And he was cold; dead cold...  He reposed with his arms crossed at his chest, enveloped in a white shroud. His eyes were closed and he had been left alone, by family and servants alike.

Even a deceased was given a wake. He could not understand why, still alive, Hikaru had been abandoned that way. It was too sad. It broke his heart.

The palace still trembled. The roar caused by the raid approached them from every direction, surrounding the palace and the Temple to Inari next to it. Those bastard pillagers were almost getting at their goal.

Not to mention Hiroshi...

Hayashi caressed Hikaru's face, pulling off the translucid silk veil that enshrouded his ghostly-pale front. His dirty fingers traced a caressing way all along his features, sensing his shut eyes, his nose, and his lips.

Even in the dim-lit room, he could see how serious it was. There was no trace left of Hikaru's beauty; his face was emaciated, bruised, covered with lesions. He could smell death and decay arising from his body. Hayashi had no idea his brother could summon such a destructive plague... What was left of Hikaru was so grouse Hayashi lowered his eyes, and needed to take a moment to try to keep his calm and his temper before staring at his lover again.

It was very serious. His brother had surpassed his own cruelty that time. Hayashi trembled, Something hurt inside his chest, sharp and deep, like a knive stuck deep in and twisted right in the middle of his demon heart.

Hikaru was cold and emptied; he was almost completely devoid of you-ki - like a corpse. If Hayashi had taken just a little more to arrive at his Blue-eyes bedside he would not be able to save him.

Hayashi feared the outcome. He had never been able to cure someone completely from the maledictions invoked by his brother. There were always consequences, scars, traumas, sequelae of every kind... It was hard to admit, but Hiroshi was far more powerful than he was. He just hoped he could put Hikaru back to what he once was again - To do this, Hayashi was ready to use all his lifeforce, all his energy, everything he had, to make the best he could for his Blue-Eyes.

"Don't give up, baby. You have to keep on living! Do it for me!"

Hayashi embraced the body of his lover very tightly. He started to blow his breath on Hikaru's half opened hips, like a butterfly-kiss. His hands fumbled for his arms, his hands, trying to sense life and warmth on his still, corpse-like body. His hands clasped the bony form of Hikaru's chest. Then the brown youko started to rub him, always exhaling his own breath into his mouth through whispered words or light kisses, in a ardent attempt to infuse life back into him.

Perhaps Hikaru's state was already irreversible... Not to mention Hayashi felt weak by all Hiroshi and Kurama had made him pass...

"I need you, gorgeous.. I came back for you. Don't die on me, please..."

He lay the palm of his right hand right on Hikaru's plex, and the oher he placed on his cold abdomen, right over his navel. Then he focused all his energy, all life he had, and leaned on Hikaru for a kiss - A deep kiss. It was a kiss of life; one that could search and rescue the weak renmants of you-ki under all that wreckage of disease and decay; a kiss that could raise him back from death to life.

The energy was so intense around them it was clearly visible in the dim candle-lit recess. A twinkling indigo aura started to pulsate around their embracing bodies. Hayashi rested his body on Hikaru's, and merged completely into their kiss, focusing all his energy and drive and pushing it in throught their meeting lips, infusing, blowing, pushing life into his mouth, down his windpipe, to fill his body in and liven it again.

He sensed the movement as Hikaru breathed in, and then out. He paused the kiss they shared to smile, and remained there, embraced to him, the closer he could, passing all his hope, all his lifeforce to his lover.

The blue-eyed fox felt warmer. Hayashi noticed life pulsate again deep inside him. A renewed energy started to pound inside Hikaru's chest again, and it was slowly spreading all over his body, filling him with life and dragging away the disease.

"I love you, Blue Eyes... Please, fight for life... Stay alive for me..." Hayashi whispered, before keeping on the healing kiss they shared.

The hand he kept on Hikaru's belly moved around his waist, in a slow caress. Then, still while they kissed, Hayashi grasped the shroud and the sheets, tearing it off Hikaru, and then slipped his hand in amidst the covers, to caress the youko's naked flank. His fingers sensed the bony contour of his ribs, covering them with a caress.

Hikaru was too weak... He was so emaciated Hayashi became afraid not to be able to heal him completely.

"Hang on, gorgeous... We need to escape together; You and I."

Hikaru had not yet opened his eyes. But the auburn-haired youko felt his lover's breath blow a very distinct, yet soundless word around their kiss - He had called his name. It was very low, very soft, very thin, but Hayashi sensed it and smiled with that soft air, shaped in words, that reached his lips like a warm caress.

"You're gonna be alright... I can heal you; I know..."

He felt a very hesitant touch on his back.. It was Hikaru. He had managed to move his right arm up a little, and his first gesture was to try to hold to Hayashi. Even with shaking fingers and a very weak grip, he managed to circle Hayshsi's back, slowly.

"Be near me..." He murmured, in a voice so low, so soft, it was just a blow of silence. Hayashi only grasped the meaning because he read it on Hikaru's thin, hurt lips.

Hayashi acquiesced. He pulled the covers aside and felt shock and pain hit him, hard like a punch, when he stared, perplexed, at Hikaru's miserable state. His bones protuded cruelly from his pale, lesioned skin. His back and buttocks showed bedsore marks. Hikaru trembled intensely from cold and weakness, yet he struggled to open his eyes.

They looked one at the other - golden eyes locked on blue eyes. Hayashi smiled then. The strain left his face, and all he showed was an expression of the purest happiness.

But his smile was obscured by sorrow.

"I'm sorry, Hikaru. I tried to come for you, but my brother..."

Hikaru could barely speak. He took a deep breath in before uttering a pained murmur.

"No... I know... I know everything..."

"He told me you were dead. I tried to find you and rescue you, but I could not escape Hiroshi." Hayashi drew a caress along Hikaru's face. He was horrified with his lover's appearance. Disease had given him the appearance of a rotten carcass. "I was confined and beaten. They forced me to give away all I knew about the city..."

Hikaru stared at those golden-eyes, flooded with tears. The ragged-ear youko refused to look back at him.

"It is my fault, Hikaru. I feel so miserable... They poisoned me; I was impelled to tell everything..."

Hayashi leaned his head on Hikaru's shoulder. He sobbed, as he turned his face from his lover, not to let him see his crying face. He was ashamed of his weakness, ashamed of his powerlessness, and his heart became tight and cold in his chest, hurting inside, heavy like a dead weight, when he realized his guilt.

"Hayashi..."

The brown youko heard Hikaru's soft pleading voice calling him, and all he did was to cuddle tighter, not to allow his lover to stare at him eye to eye.

"They are outside, ravaging the city, slaughtering everyone, and it is all my fault..."

"No... It is not your fault..." Hikaru sighed out, in an exhausted blow of voice.

Hayashi felt a feather-soft touch on his back. It was Hikaru's hand, stroking him for comfort. He could yet barely move, and the touch of his hand was hesitant and feeble, but he could sense all the love present in his caressing hand.

Hikaru gasped.

"I told you all you knew. I am the only one to blame..." Hayashi shook his head vehemently, trying to refute Hikaru's statement. But the blue-eyed youko touched his lips, not to let Hayashi say anything. His fingers were cold, quivering, hesitant... But his voice was warm with affection. "I love you..."

Hayashi felt such a deep pain inside... It had been involuntary, but all in all, he had betrayed Hikaru's faith, and yet he insisted in conceding him his love, his higher feelings, his deepest hopes...

The brown fox smiled bitterly against Hikaru's pale, cold shoulder. Then he focused harder on trying to heal his partner. He concentrated all his efforts, all his might in infusing his restoring you-ki into Hikaru's weakened body.  He aimed so much of his you-ki on his lover that he even felt sick with the sudden drainage.

"I love you too, Hikaru... I missed you...so much..."

Hayashi smiles, and slowly slid his hand along Hikaru's body, caressing his thigh, his side, his arms...

Hikaru grimaced. He seeemd to be crying yet, his eyes shed no tears, and he let out no sound. It was a hurt, silent cry, and Hikaru struggled to try to cover himself again...

"I look horrible... Don't look..."

The brown youko smiled. He did not mind the undesirable appearance of his lover then. How could Hikaru mind that then? Poor vain prince...

"Don't worry, Blue Eyes. You're gonna be beautiful again. I assure you."

Hayashi caressed the area at the middle of the other youko's chest, where he still kept his right hand, transferring energy and warmth from his body to Hikaru's. He needed to recompose all the mess that plague had done to him, and fast. He stroked that gaunt area between his breasts with sweet insistence, always smiling.

"You're gonna be my gorgeous again... You'll see..."

The tattoed youko moved to the bed, lying down next to Hikaru. The mud that covered his legs and arms smeared the white sheets, but none of them cared about it. Hikaru clinched as tight as he could to Hayashi, abandoning himself on his arms.

"Baby... Just rest...I'm gonna take care of you... It will be fine; everything will be fine..."

Hayashi closed his eyes, embracing Hikaru affectionately. He was very aware of the  roar that approached the palace. He also knew by then his brother must have found his track. Nevertheless he remmaied there, quiet, kind, loving, holding dearly to Hikaru. He had rested his own chest on Hikaru's, and he could feel his energy passing from his core to his lover's body in a direct, strong flow. Hayashi knew then he was ready to give his whole life and energy for his partner's recovery, if he needed to.

Their arms drew tight circles one around the other, and they clinched fervently. Hikaru closed his eyes again, but it was only to enjoy the warmth, the energy, the healing breath Hayashi was offering him. He flowed in his arms, like he would in a warm pool. He yielded himself wholly in that embrace, giving himself to Hayashi, and being given his love and life energy in return. For a long moment, it felt like all the loving moments they had spent together reunited, merged in one single instant of adoration and perfect dedication. Hayashi started to fondle Hikaru's hair, always caressing his cheek with the tip of his nose, or with his own lips. He kissed his mouth, pushing more of his healing breath in, and then stopped for a moment, to observe his lover's face, watching the changes. His paleness started to give way to a subtle rosy hue, the glint of his blue eyes that was returning, little by little, as well as the steadyness of his breathing...

Slowly, with a touch that was more like a caress, he suppported the small of Hikaru's  back with the palm of his hand, fondling the sinuous, sexy curve of his spine.  soft stroking touch was enough to fix the broken bones and the ruptured nerves of his spine.

The grey youko moaned softly and smiled when he felt himself whole again. His first gesture when he found he could move his legs agsin, was to rub his knee on Hayashi's thigh, caressing him, and drawing him closer yet.

"Hayashi..."

"Relax and just let me cure you, gorgeous... "

They smiled together, and kissed again. They were so close, so united, that they seemed one soul merged in one single body.

It was then the whole mountain where the palace was founded at trembled. It was like a raging storm blowing from every direction. Everything shaked, everytheing started to crumble around them.

Hikaru tried to struggle and escape Hayashi's arms. But the tattooed youko held him tighter, and yet with sweetness.

He did not want Hikaru to worry about what was going on around them. Now they should focus on his healing, and keep the rest of the world outside.

"We're gonna escape together, gorgeous. Don't worry about anything."

"But.. what is..."

"Hush.... Hush, now... Don't worry..."

"Hayashi, how did..."

Another kiss, and Hikaru could say nothing more. He was warm, and the bruises and marks on his skin started to fade away, very slowly. His breathing was now deep and sound. With much of his strenght back, his hands clutched to Hayashi's back with a lover's determination.

"Hang on, precious. We're gonna get outta here. You and I..."

Hikaru agreed, and cuddled softly to his lover's bosom. A smile appeared on his pale face when he felt Hayashi's familiar, soothing warmth spreading all over his body.
 

Hikaru kept a long silence then. Quietly, he turned his back to Yomi, and huddled. He lowered his head, and heaved a painful sigh in.

"He healed me. In a matter of minutes he relieved me from all the pain, all the suffering I felt. The scars and marks disappeared from my body, and I felt strong again in his arms."

Yomi extended his arm, trying to bring Hikaru close again, but the youko refused the contact.

Gandara's King allowed Hikaru that moment alone. He understood it. It was the most precious moment he had shared with his loving Hayashi. Memories of a long gone love sometimes were the hardest ones to be forgotten.

"I felt then he would give me his life, he would let my sick body drain him of all his life-force, if it were to cure me. Hayashi had an unconditional love for me. I felt it in the tenderness and dedication he offered me then."

Hikaru paused again. In his blindness, Yomi knew why. The youko was struggling not to cry. Yomi just served more sake for himself, and drunk it calmly.

"We remained there as long as it took to restore my strenght. While we cuddled, he told me what was happening in the city, and I was shocked and confused..."

"Did you run away then?"

Hikaru waved his head, in a very gentle negative.

"My life began collapsing around us. It was not only the palace I have been born in, but everything it stood for. The walls started to come down, and as the quake became stronger, we found we were supporting one the other, because the floor trembled under our feet. The balconies and part of the walls tumbled down. Hayashi wanted us to leave the palace and ran away..."

Hikaru sobbed and sighed in, visibly touched.

"I wished I were not born a noble. I had been taught to honor the traditions, to fight for my kingdom and my people. If I were just a bastard, a low-life youko, I would have ran away with Hayashi. But I couldn't do it. It was my city. My people. I knew my father was outside, fighting for us, and even though he had disavowed me, I felt I had to help."

Yomi furrowed his brow when he perceived what Hikaru meant. He could not believe it. Even incredible, somehow it seemed the only course of action a character like Hikaru would have taken.

"Do you mean you gave up running away with Hayashi to fight a lost battle for your people? You quitted your best chance of happiness to defend the same traditions that had condemned you and Hayashi to death penalty."

Hikaru acquiesced softly.

Yomi kept silent, even though he ached to speak his mind. Somehow he imagined saying something might make it most difficult yet for Hikaru to share his suffering. Because it must be too painful to engage in a fight he knew it was already lost. Yomi was shocked. He finished the sake in his cup and filled it up again. Then he poured Hikaru another dose. He bet the youko needed it.

"My honor moved me to fight. I was not a rat that abandons the sinking ship. I had to make a stand. I could quit neither my family, nor my lover, and yet I could not keep both. It was a torturing cul-de-sac."

Yomi agreed with a soft movement of his head.

"I was ready to use to the last of the life Hayashi gave me back, the last glow of my you-ki to help. I told Hayashi to leave and save himself, but he refused it."

Yomi smiled softly. It was just like Kuronue. His friend would not leave his side in such a situation. He would stick by his side, till the very end, no matter how bitter and sad it was. Somehow, it was no surprise. How could he expect Hikaru to abandon his country and his family at their deadliest hour?

Standing for a lost battle required not only honor, but courage.

Yomi was fascinated... Somehow, Hikaru seemed to be exactly the opposite of  Youko Kurama...

"You are a noble youko, Hikaru. Hayashi was a honored demon too. I am sure you made a perfect pair."

Hikaru sighed in as he was offered the sake.

"Thank you. We did." He sighed out, painfully. "Unfortunately, it did not last."

Hikaru's voice was filled with a vibrant emotion, soft but intense; it was a suspiration filled with grief and bitterness, yet, Yomi thougt it was a beautiful voice. Noble, unbreakable, determined... The sad fate Hikaru suffered had also served a purpose, just like the blindness which impaired him. They both had emerged stronger on the other side of that dark tunnel of their pasts.

That which does not kill you, makes you stronger. Was it the exact Makai saying he remembered? Something like it, probably. That sentence fitted the both of them perfectly.

But deppression and hopelessness was always lurking by, waiting for a chance to envelop them, and turn their victories in bitter defeats. Life, for either he or Hikaru, had always been a permanent struggle between hope and despair, faith and distress...

Perhaps they could be together and comfort one another from there on...

Gandara's King smiled, and leaned forward, to caress Hikaru's shoulder with a very soft touch of his hand.

"At least you two were together then. It was a short time of happiness, but you made every second count. Hayashi helped and remained by your side all the time, yes? In the end, this is all that matters."
 

As soon as Hikaru was able to stand on his feet, they decided it was time to leave the palace. They spoke just the sufficient. There was no need of too many words for them to understand one another. Every time their eyes met, everytime the ground trembled under their feet and they sensed the commotion coming from the battlefield the whole city had become.

And as to enphasize the extreme entanglement of their love, their hands were always locked, their bodies touching, their arms entwined one around the other. And even if they needed to be apart, it was their gazes that fixed one on the other, forming a invisible but very real link between them.

They were together, again, and even though they did not have time enough to deepen all they felt one for the other, every touch, every gaze, every gesture they shared was passionate and meaningful as if they were making love.

Hikaru was still weak. All marks, and much of his drawn appearance had disappeared, but he was not fully recovered yet; it would yet take some hours till Hayashi's healing energy reached its peak inside his body.

Hayashi helped him dressing up a plain tunic and trousers, boots, and found him a coat. All the time, he supported Hikaru, sensing he was bewildered by all the turmoil around him.

They reached the corridor, in a hurry, but holding hands tightly yet. Everything trembled around them. The decorated walls, the pillars, the columns, everything was being torn down. Thick cracks appeared along the granite floor and the walls danced, affected by the earthquake.

It was dark. The oscilation had put down the lamps and tumbled the candles to the floor. Hayashi needed to support himself on the walls as he follwed on, watching them crack under his touch. The crystal was split and cleaved by the intensity of the seism that attacked the city . The brown fox was frightened; even counting on Hikaru's powers over the earth to guide and protect them, it was obvious his lover was still weak and vulnerable. And the whole palace was coming down right on their heads...

They ran down the corridor, while debris fell on them. The columns and the stone beams supporting the ceiling started to crack. The descending stairway was not safe anymore; part of it had collapsed on a pile of rubble, blocking the lower floors.

It was then the walls across from them were shattered by a long, tortuous stem, thick and vicious like a giant tentacle.

Flabbergasted, Hayashi took the lead, desperate, trying to protect Hikaru behind his back, standing on the way of the plant's attack. But Hikaru grabbed his partner by one arm, forcing him to step back.

He needed to keep Hayashi close. It was the only way to protect him from being hit by the collapsing debris.

"No! You're still weak!"

"Stay near me! I can protect us!" Hikaru insisted. He focused a very determined stare at Hayashi. resolve and love showed in the glint of his eyes at the same time.

The grey youko summoned his you-ki to form a twinkling barrier around them. The energy served as a force-field, preserving them from all the rubble that fell on their heads.

Decisively, he kept Hayashi behind his back, turning to challenge that devious demon-plant. Vines and twinning tendrils started to sprawl along the walls and the floor, growing forward and around, groping, probing for territory, spreading like weed all over the walls and floor.

Hayashi stepped back. He gave up protesting  when he faced the prowling monstruosity that challenged them. And he also perceived he was underestimating Hikaru's strenght - The only thing preventing that whole pavement to crumble down was Hikaru's you-ki. The grey fox seemed to be holding the whole floor together with the touch of his right hand on a huge crystal pillar net to them; it was what kept the crackling shaft that supported that part of the floor steady and whole.

"Watch out, Blue-Eyes! Beware the plant's tentacles!"

He screamed out, scared, when he watched the plant's vines reach out for Hikaru... Roots and stalks anchored the plant on the cracks and clefts ripped on the walls and floor, while a viscous stem appeared, showing a bloosoming flower with poisonous pilstils he knew would jump on Hikaru, tie him down, lift him from the floor and devour him, in a blink of an eye...

Hikaru aimed a fleeting glimpse at Hayashi. He acquiesced, assuring him, and crouched down, touching the floor with his both hands.

Hayashi swallowed hard, nervously. He held his breath and stopped in the middle of the hall when he saw the sudden explosion of you-ki that burst forth around Hikaru, like a sudden short-lived sun. It emitted a vast but quick amount of energy, that lit the dark hallway for a second.

Then, Hayashi watched the plant froze. Its attack on Hikaru was paralysed, and the stems and vines that crippled and reached out at him were suspended in their worming motion.

Hikaru had turned the whole plant into stone. It hanged over the grey youko, like a menacing statue, immobile, still and silent.

A smile showed in Hayashi's face when he saw Hikaru get on his feet, and come in his direction. The petrified enemy plant was starting to succumb, crumbling down to pieces, together with the ceiling and the wall, which were not supporting the heavy weight of that multitude of stalks and stems turned into stone.

Hikaru reached out for Hayashi. His hand hesitated a little; Hikaru a lille unbalanced, a litte worn out by the effort and the sudden drainage of his barely-restored you-ki. However he showed an unbreakable firmness of purpose as he addressed his lover.

"I can protect us if we escape through the underground! I need to join mi peers and fight back this invasion!"

Hayashi did not have the opportunity to either agree or disagree. A massive darkness enveloped them when that whole section of the hallway fell down.

The tattooed youko screamed, in terror, and tried to protect himself, crouching down and huddling tight to himself. Fr a second he was sure he was about being buried alive under tons of rock and marble debris.

The thundering sound, the huge closud of dust, the intense quake... Hayashi trembled and curled together, paralyzed by panic, expecting to be crushed down at any instant. Tense moments passed. The catastrophe that had engulfed the palace seemed to have ended. And yet, he was alive!

It was too dark and dusty to be sure of anything. He breathed slowly, notto suffocate on the dustied, packed atmosphere. Slowly, he murmured a prayer for him and for his Blue Eyes.

Everything had collapsed; but Hikaru had to have escaped...

Hayashi felt his knees tremble. He called Hikaru's name in the dark, and groped around him, trying to find his lover. He tapped nothing but air, dust and debris. Scared, uncertain, he was about to cry, when he felt a very soft, cold hand reach out for him.

"I'm here, love..."

Hayashi chuckled and threw himself into those circling arms.

"My Blue-Eyes..."

They kissed, and nestled softly one in the embrace of the other. They breathed calmly, and cuddled together in the narrow space formed by the collapsed hall. The ruined hallway had collapsed altogether, but they were preserved in a in a cave-like recess.

It was suffocating and narrow. Darkness was overwhelming. There was no apparent way out. They werer surronded by debris, and yet, Hayashi feared nothing because his gorgeous grey youko was there, with him. They remained embraced, quietly, just trying to listen what was happening beyond those crumbled walls and that collapsed ceiling.

It was then Hayashi noticed the faint, almost imperceptible glow coming from Hikaru,  like a translucid aura. His you-ki was the only force preventing the rest of the structure to bury them alive.

If he kept on burning his you-ki like that, his state might regress; he was not fully recovered yet.

"Hikaru, it's too much for you. You're still weak and I..."

"Hush... I'll be fine..." He murmured, bringing Hayashi closer in. He stroked him, fondled his ensnared hair, and softly rested his head on the curve between his neck and shoulder. He gave out an audible sigh. "I have to try to stop them, Hayashi..."

Hayashi shut his eyes tightly, not to let tears roll down again. Somehow he was expecting that from Hikaru; his Blue Eyes was not a coward whatsoever; once cured, he would forget everything to fight for his people. And even though he saw it coming, it was still too much painful to bear.

Yet, how could he oppose his lover's decision? He had been the one to betray Hikaru's trust...  He could not oppose any decision coming from him, no matter how hurt he became.

He embraced Hikaru firmly, with all his love. His only fear is that his Blue Eyes might not resist the fight to the end - he was convalescent yet.

"They're gonna kill, you, gorgeous..."

Hikaru shivered with the sensation those rough hands caused on him. Hayashi caressed him with such a fervent adoration it would be easy to forget the rest and just hide there, under he palace's ruins, till all danger had passed.

But somehow, even desiring deeply to remain by his lover's side, Hikaru could not do it. Something inside him impelled him to fight. It was stronger than his instinct of self-preservation; it was stronger yet than the bond of love he shared with his golden-eyed lover...

"I have to try to stop them."

They heard the muffled sound of each other's cry. They shed tears together, while locked in caresses in the packed cave the debris formed around them.

Hayashi knew it had to be that way though. Even if he somehow convinced Hikaru to run away with him, his Blue Eyes would not bear with the suffering and guilt of merely quitting everything and fleeing danger. He had abandoned his people already, but it was different... The city was not suffering such monstruous threat. Not to mention Hikaru felt guilty for giving away the city's secrets.

A moral dillema challenged Hayashi then. Why should he try to save the same people that almost hanged him to death? Hayashi wanted to help Hikaru, and he was aware of his faults; he knew he was the only one to blame... After all, he had been sent on a recoinassance mission, in the first place. He he had been the pawn used in all the scheme engendered by those vicious youko led by Kurama and Hiroshi. He and Hikaru, and the love they shared escaped any control, any forecast. Now they were mere preys of those terrorizing circumstances...

But Hayashi knew there was just one course of action - He should persist on it for love.

"I love you." Hayashi spoke, candidly. And in that single sentence he expressed such a confusing, strong blend of feelings... It was a three-word sentence that meant so much that they could not put it in words.

It meant hope, faith, commitment, confidence...

And Hikaru slowly touched Hayashi's face in the dark, sensing the reliefs and curves of his manly features. He stroked his lips, his aquiline nose, the wrinkles around his eyes, his chin, his sun-tanned cheeks...

"You understand, don't you? I cannnot leave now.. I cannot abandon my people to devastation and run away." He slid his fingers along a wet, warm trickle that rolled down Hayashi's face; a tear. "I want you to escape. Leave the city... You have done too much for me already. You have risked your life to come here and heal me. You gave me the strenght to fight against our enemies. Now, I want you safe and sound, away from this chaos."

"No... Don't send me away, gorgeous... Let me stay with you..."

Hikaru threw himself in Hayashi's arms. The tattoed fox circled his waist with his arms, bringing him in for an embrace.

"I need to help my people, Hayashi. Whatever the cost, it is my duty."

Hikaru was still weak. He struggled hard against the sickness. It was natural consequence; he would yet feel indisposed for days... Hayashi had cured him, but it would take a gradual return to his full health and you-ki levels. His nervousness, his decision to fight the invasion at every cost would not help his convalescence.

"Your brother ran away. I saw him flee, like a coward."

Hikaru agreed.

"It is no surprise. But  am the first born son. I must stay and fight." He declared. Then he cupped Hayashi's face with his hands and leaned on him for a kiss. "You must leave." He added, with sorrow, m but yet moved by a strong determination.

They held their breaths and merged one in the other's arms, deepening their kiss in a slow, sensual surrender. They enjoyed the taste of their mouths while their warm tongues rubbed wet circles one around and on the other. Hayashi stroked his lover's  soft, silky hair, and in return Hikaru rubbed his body on Hayashi's enjoying his slender but virile, muscled frame. They relaxed in their embrace, pleased with the perfect way their bodies matched, thighs round thighs, chest on chest, abdomen rubbing abdomen, and their mouths entangled in the most romantic kiss...

It was too dark. They could yet feel slight tremors running along the succumbed walls as they held one to the other. But even in the dark, their eyes met, and they felt the intensity of energy their gazes transmitted one to the other. It was too dark, but they could feel their meeting eyes, as thir spirits shared that decisive instant of love.

"I need to make up for my treason. I am to blame; I gave away all the secrets you have confided me. "Hayashi murmured, tenderly, and yet with sorrow. "I cannot fight, but my healing powers miaght be useful. Please, let me help, gorgeous..."

"No... I don't want to risk you. I love you too much to put your life in danger."

"I say the same... My brother is lurking the palace. What if he attacks you again?"

It was a draw. For a moment Hikaru did not know what to say, or what to do. His only certainty then was he must enter the battlefield, and fight to death, if necessary, the villains that had dared to invade his homeland.

'If I die, can you promise me you will carry on? I want you to be happy..."

Hayashi cut Hikaru's gloomy words.

"You won't die. I won't let it happen." He smiled, and to let Hikaru sense his hopeful gesture, he brought his hand to his mouth, and made the tip of his fingers caress his softly smiling lips. "I'll be by your side. I can heal you from any wound or mend your broken bones. I can infuse the breath of life inside you again, in the case you fall..."

"It is not your battle; It is not your people; please, save yourself..."

"No. I am not fighting this battle for the city or for the blue-eyed youko, gorgeous. I am fighting it for you. If you stay, I'll stay too."

"No..." Hikaru tried to pull away from Hayashi's arms. "I need to dig a tunnel out of these ruins. Once outside, I'll join the resistence, and you must leave the city at once!" He ordered, decisively, struggling himself out of Hayashi's circling arms.

But instead of letting his lover go, Hayashi clinched tighter yet around Hikaru's waist.

"I won't let you go alone!"

Hikaru sighed in, slowly, painfully. Then, after one long moment of silence, he just whispered:

"Thank you, my love..."

They caressed one the other, with intensity. Their hands moved along and around their bodies in avid caresses. In the dark, they cuddled tighter, absorbed in the feel of their love, willing to forget the world beyond those caved in ruins. Nevertheless, whatever happened outside, they knew their bond was undeniable, unbreakable, unforgettable...

The fact such promise of love could mean either to live together, or to die together was not spoken aloud, but was sweetly, and silently understood.
 

To be Continued...