Work Text:
the kitsune growled as his eyes darted around him, stances on the ground as he bounced off of two enemy soldiers and resteadied his bow in his hand. he caught sight of an ally to the left being pierced by an electrified arrow, crackling and shrieking in agony before collapsing to the ground; and another, being pushed back by a soldier in a dull amethyst armor. gorou immediately taught his bow and released the string in quick motion, flying towards the latter to jab the opposing soldier in the thigh.
another scream tore through the field, mixed in with the chorus of roars and battle commands and clashing of arms. gorou could not aid those who had fallen- it was not his job and not his forte, no matter how much it pained him. he was to keep up the fight, and to fight without the intent of causing mortality.
gorou’s gaze shot up as he noticed bubbles rising from the sands in the direction of the wrecked ship, calm and serene, completely out of place in the bloodied battlefront. he watched with great awe as kokomi descended with a gentle tap against the tattered wood of the once-grand ship
“her excellency!” he gaped, his tail bobbing cheerfully, his ears quirking to hear a soldier sneaking up behind him. he spun around and quickly bounced up to shoot the figure in the calf. gorou strained his ears painfully as the yell tore right through him, hurrying out of the way and towards the direction of the stranded ship wreck, looking back towards the elegant figure who had entered the premises of the battlefield to offer a gift of hope.
i hope. i hope. i wonder if i hope too much.
gorou crouched readily from the shadows of the boat as he taught his bow again. he suddenly caught sight of a woman adored in gaudish red with matted copper hair, swinging her hefty claymore and taking out herds of enemy forces within singular blows- someone he recognized, with all open possibility in tow. gorou’s ears perked as he jumped back into the crowds, dashing towards her while still taking note of his responsibility if there was anyone in need of fighting aid. gorou slid to a rough stop as he appeared at beidou’s side, an albino figure dressed in darker maroons and afternoon reds seeming like a ghost fighting by her side.
the fugitive suddenly caught sight of gorou as he took a step backwards and readjusted his sword, smiling thinly as his eyes darted between the kitsune and the battlefield. “we meet again.”
it felt so cruel and unplaced, to permit himself to feel such searing joys in a place so prone to suffering. gorou wanted to scream back to him, run to him, adorn him, but he had to protect the others first and win against the decree that had caused so many people to despair. and then maybe, he decided with a scoff, i should protect my heart next.
he nodded to kazuha with a bubbling grin, spinning around to kick an incoming soldier in the guts and sending them flying to the ground, before firing an arrow into the crevice of their knee. gorou fled the scene and beidou’s side before he would let himself register the incoming shrieking, running to search for other forces to aid, but the enemy was finally starting to run dry.
gorou turned back to the direction that kazuha had been, suddenly jolting to a horrified expression as he saw that the fugitive boy was stumbling, clutching his sword wearily as he balanced weirdly on one leg. beidou was nowhere in sight, and a group of opposing soldiers were headed straight towards kazuha, with kazuha himself being likely unaware of the figure sneaking up behind him.
gorou couldn't get there in time. there was no way. he could run, and cry, and try, but time had never stopped for him, so why would it now?
“KAZUHA!”
maybe that was even worse than saying nothing at all.
kazuha turned his eyes away from the approaching group of soldiers to look towards gorou with a desperate expression, before an awful jolt ran through him as he was jabbed straight through with the glinting silver spear. his face ran pale before he collapsed to the ground and out of sight, the sea of bodies blocking the view.
gorou’s job wasn’t to help the fallen, no matter how much it pained him. but he ran anyways, and he ran and ran and howled harshly at the approaching soldiers, firing a swift arrow into the ribs of the attacker and maiming another with a shot to the ankle. it was enough to make the rest scatter and to tick his untamed anger, to make them someone else’s problem, because gorou didn’t have time nor sanity to fend off a million other soldiers.
he quickly kneeled down next to kazuha on the ground, who was clutching his stomach and breathing sparsely, as gorou noticed a wound shot clean through kazuha’s lower leg. no arrow or spear could’ve done that. there has to be unwelcome guests. but why him? why?
kazuha coughed harshly to where you could swear he was about to spill his guts on the ground, but he held his wits while gorou’s stomach bubbled with wrenching guilt. gorou quickly tore a piece of cloth with his teeth from the unconscious soldier he had close to fatally wounded. he wrapped the harsh material around kazuha’s stomach area before screaming out to the crowds of soldiers, his cries going unheard even to his own ears over the thundering in his head, as the healer he hoped for never came to aid. only a forlorn soldier noticed the collapsed pair on the ground, rushing over to their side and holding her spear out against the crowds to make sure they were somewhat protected.
everything was too loud. too loud. he couldn’t hear. he couldn’t breathe. all he could feel was the awful bubbling feeling in his fingertips as the blood from the wound leaked through the fabric, and kazuha gasped ever more softly.
a body fell at gorou’s feet, the ally soldier panting desperately as she suddenly looked hopeful at a commanding yell that had come from the opposing army. the crowds seemed to subtly thin.
gorou had lost his wits, shaking uncontrollably as his eyes threatened to burst with the stress. he looked down at kazuha, calm but quivering, as if he had long accepted this fate, and knew that gorou never would. kazuha wouldn’t let his wits get to him, not if he could avoid it. he never had.
“you never should have come back. i wish i never got to see you again, if it means you could live.” gorou cursed harshly, glaring down at kazuha with searing rage in his eyes, though his desperate emotions were worn prominently on his face. “i’d rather never know if you’re still alive than be sure that you're dead.”
“im sorry.”
“and? you’re sorry and? you have to live, you have to. you said it would all be as eternal as the raiden's dreams.”
“and i love you.”
“you cruel bastard.” gorou choked out through his undetected tears, clutching his claws into the ground and into his palm. “this isn’t the time.”
“but it’s better than no time at all, isn’t it?”
“you’re not dying.”
kazuha opened his mouth to speak again only to be interrupted by a wracking cough, clutching his chest and gulping down heavily before wiping his arm across his face to hide the red smear on his lips. gorou shivered as he kept his mouth agape, looking up slowly as a shadow was cast over his vision. beidou stood over him with a desperate expression, whispering unheard, as a man that was seemingly a medic bent down beside kazuha. he inspected the wound and gently pressed on the fabric covering kazuha’s stomach. kazuha hissed and coughed rashly, covering his mouth with his hand again as he struggled to keep consciousness.
“…im sorry.” the man whispered, looking at gorou as the medic apologetically held up a cloth and a dagger, as if presenting one of two options. the fugitive in gorou’s arms looking up at gorou with a dying smile.
make him suffer or make him die. he dies either way in the end.
i don’t want to do this.
gorou shakily reached out his one hand and took the cloth, and then the knife before the man could pull away. the medic looked at him with a concerned look, but gorou shook his head, and waved his arm holding the weapon. “everybody leave.” beidou looked at the kitsune with a somber look, her eyes shallow. “everyone but captain beidou.”
the crowd that had huddled nearby had dispersed, leaving the bloodied sands nearly empty besides the fallen soldiers and those who had rushed to their aid. they could assume that the opposing fleet had retreated, but gorou didn’t feel relieved or happy or released of the hell that felt that his identity could be stripped away from him at any second. if it wasn’t in the form of his vision, it would be in the form of losing… him.
beidou lightly shook gorou’s arm to break him from the trance he was slipping into, forcing him to look at her, his expression quiet and deadly. she stared back at him with a hint of anger, before motioning to the weapon. “pass it over.”
he did so without hesitation and handed the cold weapon to her against his moral will, holding the cloth before pressing it gently against the wound on kazuha’s stomach. he couldn’t account for the wound on kazuha’s back that was likely seeping all over his own clothing. gorou noticed that the fugitive had been quiet for a while now, and he was ridged with fear, until he opened his mouth in a gasping whisper.
“it’s alright, it’s alright.”
gorou pressed his forehead against kazuha’s, eyes run dry and feeling that he had no emotions left to bear. he couldn’t let him leave, but he couldn’t have him stay. he knew it only hurt him to.
“i hate that i have to love you.”
the kitsune quickly kissed kazuha’s forehead and lifted his gaze, wiping an arm across his eyes in an attempt to smile wearily and look happy. beidou looked towards kazuha, who nodded to her with a sorrowful smile before giving up his physical strength. she then looked to gorou and exhaled shakily as she carefully placed the blade to kazuha’s throat.
he read her eyes clearly. im sorry.
gorou closed his eyes.
and with an awful fleshy sound and a bubbling gush, the figure in his arms went still.