Chapter Text
“We’ll stay together forever, right?”
“Of course we will. I promise we will.”
Leo could hear their conversation echoing in his head through the many battles he fought in the foreign land of Valla. The soldiers seemed to never fall and they just kept coming no matter how far they were beaten down. The battle felt as though it had no end.
He kept Takumi close, as being on horseback gave him an advantage. Leo pulled him atop the horse so that he could get a better shot at the enemies from above. They didn’t falter and they didn’t bleed. It was as if Takumi had been firing at ghosts in the air. He stood on the edges of the saddle, and it was mystifying to see Takumi balance himself on it like that.
Leo had been trying his best to steer his horse in the right direction, while keeping Takumi balanced. It was evident why Takumi had chosen to be a sniper rather than a kinshi knight. He had no way of keeping balanced on a mount on his own for long periods of time. He constantly leaned against Leo for support, placing his hands on Leo’s shoulders at any given interval. Leo slowed his horse as he approached a cliff, heart pounding in his throat. The anxiety from the fight was getting to him.
The lack of terrain was detrimental to the both of them, eventually getting cornered on one of the floating islands in the sky. Takumi gently hopped off the horse and held Leo’s hand gently for a moment, as if telling him it was going to be okay. Leo gently grazed his thumb over the steel band on Takumi’s finger that he had forged. Takumi had wanted a physical object to signify their promise, and Leo had snuck into the forge one late night to make his dream a reality.
The two had promised to make their bond official when all the fighting was over, and it was that promise that kept Leo fighting as hard as he did. He wanted to be with Takumi forever. There was nothing else he wanted.
“We’ll be fine,” Leo said, his voice wavering. His anxieties were starting to mount up as he hopped off his horse, still holding onto his lover’s hand.
“I know we will be,” Takumi replied, tightening his grip. Leo couldn’t help but melt a little in Takumi’s smile.
Takumi’s eyes then darted to the skies, watching for anything on the horizon. From where they were located, no foot soldiers could reach them. Leo felt as though he could breathe a sigh of relief as Takumi’s grip on his bow loosened.
“Looks like we’re okay for now… unless reinforcements arrive,” Takumi said with a half hearted sigh.
“That’s a likely happenstance,” Leo said, straightening out his saddle. “We’ll have to use a dragon vein to get back to the main island.”
“Wait a second Leo,” Takumi said, placing his hand over Leo’s on the saddle.
“We can’t just leave the others right now, we’re still in the heat of battle,” Leo said, turning his head to see Takumi give him a soft smile, follows by a soft kiss. A quiet chuckle escaped Leo.
“They can handle themselves for a moment,” Takumi said, cupping Leo’s face in his hands. “We’ve been at this for hours we need a moment to breathe.”
“I can’t believe you wore your ring under your gauntlets,” Leo said, a laugh to follow.
For a moment he swore he could feel Takumi’s hands trembling. Leo placed a hand over Takumi’s and cooed softly. “What’s eating you?”
“I just… have this sinking feeling,” Takumi said, his gaze shifting to the dirt at their feet. “A sinking feeling that… we’re not going to make it home.”
“Nothing bad is going to happen Takumi. I swear to you,” Leo said, lifting Takumi’s chin with his free hand. He then kissed Takumi out of reassurance. “I’ll protect you when the need arises. I don’t doubt that you can fight your way out of anything because you are quick witted and strong, but if things look bleak I will be there to fight life and limb for you.”
“Leo…” Takumi murmured, resting his forehead in the nape of Leo’s neck.
The distant sound of flapping wings caught Takumi by surprise and he bolted around to see a Falcon Knight along the horizon. He quickly grabbed his bow from the ground and fired an arrow in the direction of the Pegasus. The flier quickly avoided the arrow and started to fly in from a different angle; at Leo. He was struggling to on his horse, due to the flapping wings spooking the horse. Once he saw the naginata the knight was using, he knew he had to act fast. A single strike would kill Leo if he didn’t act fast enough.
Takumi fired another couple of arrows at the knight, missing by mere inches. Leo cast his tome quickly in the direction of the knight, tripping over a large root and missing. He flinched, putting up his arm in pitiful defense. Takumi bolted directly in front of him out of panic.
Leo opened his eyes to see Takumi standing in front of him as a dark shadow. He could only make out the tip of the naginata through Takumi’s stomach. A cold feeling of dread began to wash over Leo as he saw the Falcon Knight retreat, leaving its weapon behind. The weapon soon vanished as well. Takumi then collapsed backward into Leo’s lap, blood pouring out of the wound. Leo tried his best to act fast, tearing a part of Takumi’s sleeve to put over the wound with pressure.
“You’re going to be okay, I swear to you you’re going to be okay!” Leo said, his hands shaking over the makeshift bandage.
Takumi weakly put his hand over Leo’s. Leo‘s attention darted to Takumi’s face. The sad smile that Takumi gave him was enough to drive him to tears, desperately clutching Takumi’s hand with his own.
“Why did you do that? Why take the hit?” Leo said, practically choking on tears.
“I couldn’t let you get hurt,” Takumi said with barely enough strength. “I wanted to protect you.”
“No, no more talking please save your energy I cannot lose you,” Leo pleaded, squeezing Takumi’s hand tighter. “I won’t lose you! I refuse to lose you!”
“Leo…” Takumi said, trying to grip onto Leo.
“Not after what we promised… not like this…” Leo said, resting his head against Takumi’s chest crestfallen.
“Leo… theres something I want you too…” Takumi paused, choking on blood rising in his throat. “No… I need you to do something for me.”
“Anything! I would do anything!” Leo cried.
“Then… I want to see you smile for me… one last time,” Takumi said, his eyes drooping slightly.
“It won’t be the last time please hang on for me!” Leo said, dropping Takumi’s hand to cup his face with both hands. He left bloody handprints on Takumi’s face to not fault of his own.
“I can’t Leo…” Takumi trailed off.
Leo then kissed Takumi, unbeknownst it could have been the last time no matter how much he refutted it in his mind. He couldn’t help but choke down the taste of blood in Takumi’s mouth; it was bitter and hard to take. As much as he didn’t want to, Leo pulled away and could only see the light start to slowly fade from Takumi’s eyes.
“I love you…” He said, weakly placing a hand on Leo’s face.
Leo was too overwhelmed with tears to respond back coherently. He couldn’t help but burst into loud sobs. “I love you too.”
It tore Leo’s heart out to see the light in Takumi’s eyes fade. He sobbed harder against Takumi’s chest, gripping onto the silken fabric of his armor as tight as he could. The loss in his heart was too much for him to bear, he cried out loudly only muffled by the layers of fabric.
Soon the familiar flapping returned. Leo swallowed his sobs and looked up to see that the Falcon Knight had returned. Anger soon replaced his sadness, and it burned inside of him. He picked up his tome and looked up at the flier with eyes of fire. The Vallite illusion looked at him curiously as he flipped through the tome biting his lip hard enough to bleed.
“Curse you… How dare the likes of you take him away from me…” he murmured before slamming his hand down on the correct page. “I’ll torch you alive!”
He bothered not with an incantation. His despair fueled the fire spell enough to surround the flier in a whirlwind of flames that has swallowed it whole. Soon enough, the Pegasus and its rider had been torched to cinders. The ashes fell to the ground and scattered around Takumi’s bow. Leo hesitated before picking it up and holding it close. Rage burned behind his eyes until it stung. He yelled out in anguish and the echoes eventually disappeared into thin air.
His gaze shifted to Takumi, his eyes still hauntingly open. Leo swallowed a sob and closed them with his fingers delicately. He then placed the bow next to his tome. He brushed Takumi’s bangs off his forehead and kissed his forehead softly. Takumi was still so incredibly warm, and it ate at Leo more and more.
He then looked at his tome. It had been glowing alongside Fujin Yumi for some time now. It was as if Takumi’s weapon had been trying to tell him something. It had been unclear, but he soon grasped the concept.
“You… want me to save your wielder…” he murmured, picking up the bow. “You very well know I would have tried other way…”
He placed the bow gently on the ground and picked up Brynhildr. He figured if it gave him mastery over space… then time could have been an option as well.
“You’ve granted me mastery of gravity… therefore space…” he murmured to the tome, flipping through its pages. “Grant me power over time. That is my one request of you.”
He flipped through the pages over and over, begging the divine weapon to provide him with a feasible solution. Fujin Yumi only began to glow brighter and brighter the more he begged his own weapon.
“What do you want I’m trying!” He cried to the bow.
Soon the pages of the tome flipped on their own to a page with an option; a hope. However it was black magic at its finest, requiring sacrifice in order to be cast. He read over the page carefully, and the risks suddenly didn’t seem that heavy.
“A blood sacrifice upon incantation… and a circle,” he murmured, flipping the page over to see if there was more to it.
“A blood… sacrifice,” he looked at Takumi, colour starting to fade from his face. Leo bit his lip, trying to fight back tears as much as he could. “A blood pact then.”
Leo fished around in Takumi’s sleeve for the wakazashi he kept handy in times of close combat. It was where he thought it would be, readily unsheathed. Leo removed his gauntlet and pierced his hand with the blade, barely flinching at the pain. He then placed his bleeding hand into the pool of blood that had been slowly forming around Takumi’s body.
“With this act I swear to you…” he began, struggling to keep his voice clear and calm. “With this act I swear to you that I will go back in time and save you from this fate. That is my sworn duty to you and my sole promise.”
His gaze shifted to his own ring, soon covered in crimson. “I will make our dream come true!”
A harsh light soon surrounded Leo, much to his shock. The pages of Brynhildr began to turn on their own in a harsh gust of wind. Leo brought an arm to his face, shielding his eyes from the harsh light. Soon he realized that he was being lifted away from Takumi’s body. He blinked away tears, realizing that his incantation would fix the situation in the end.
It was all he could pray for.