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The wrought iron gate creaks when it’s pushed open. Tall and stately, it matches the edifice it guards—an obsolete post, considering how long it’s been since the last inhabitants stepped foot on these grounds.
Shu and his partner form a lone presence here tonight, accompanied only by the wind whistling through the nearby groves of trees. Once, no doubt, kept and maintained by an expert hand, they’ve now grown wild and unwieldy, casting long looming shadows over the manor grounds.
Shu chuckles at the almost palpable atmosphere. “Ominous,” he says.
Claude furrows his brows, eyes scanning their surroundings. He adjusts the large, claw-like gauntlets on his hands. “Let’s just make this quick. I don’t want to stay here any longer than we need to.”
“You mean you don’t want to explore the abandoned ruined mansion at night all by ourselves?”
“Not particularly, no,” Claude answers with a wry laugh.
Shu can’t really blame him, even if a part of him does want to see what other treasures this place may be hiding.
If his research has pointed him here, then there’s a nonzero chance someone else has also discovered this location too. And while Claude may have joined him here as backup, neither of them are really looking for a fight tonight.
Of course, there’s also the possibility that what they’re looking for may not be here, but Shu refuses to think about that. It would be incredibly embarrassing to have dragged Claude all the way out here for nothing.
Even if he had insisted on coming along, Shu would still feel bad for wasting his time.
And that’s besides the fact that this might be the most powerful artifact on their list so far. Shu shudders to think of what might happen if it were to fall into the wrong hands.
As if reading his thoughts, Claude places a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Okay, what about this,” he says. “If we find it fast enough, then we can go exploring after. How does that sound?”
There’s enough of a hint of teasing to his tone that Shu isn’t entirely sure if he’s joking or not, but he accepts the offer anyway and ignores the knowing grin on Claude’s face when he does.
Together, the two of them climb the flagstone pathway from the gate all the way up to the front steps of the main building.
The double doors are so rotted that Shu can’t even tell if they were locked or not, because they almost fall off their hinges the second he turns the knob.
“Careful,” Claude warns, raising the back of his cloak up to protect both of them from the rain of dust and mildew that falls from the door frame above them.
“Ah,” Shu blurts in surprise. “Thanks.”
Instead of saying anything in response, Claude gestures for them to enter.
They step into what looks like a large foyer, with twin staircases on either side that join together in a bridge at the top of the exposed upper floor.
Claude grimaces at the dilapidated state of them, wood splintered and paint peeling, they look about as stable as the door Shu had nearly just pulled apart. “Please tell me it’s on the ground floor,” he grumbles.
“No guarantees,” Shu laughs nervously. “I didn’t think this place would be in such bad shape…” He pulls out a beaded bracelet from his pocket, sighing in relief when he sees the faint glow coming from the single lilac colored pearl in the center. “Well, there’s something here at least,” he tells Claude. “Wish we had two of these so we could split up, but you’ll have to stick with me.”
Claude doesn’t look too bothered by this prospect at all. “Hey, if we find this thing,” he says with a grin, “we can make like ten of those no problem!”
Shu laughs. “It’s an amplifier, not a duplicator.”
Claude just hums smugly, like he’s won the argument despite there not having been one. It’s nothing Shu isn’t used to, in fact, he might almost call it endearing.
He leads them down a side corridor to begin their search of the house, Claude following closely behind.
Unfortunately, the first floor is a bust.
He and Claude scour every nook and cranny they can find, Shu waving the bracelet around in the air like someone trying to get better cell service, only to come up empty handed.
The brightness of the indicator bead doesn’t increase, but it also doesn’t decrease, and that can only mean one thing.
“It’s not on this floor,” Shu sighs.
Claude echoes his sentiment with a groan, and they make their way back to the ruined stairs in defeat.
They look even worse up close, entire boards missing in some places and jutting out of place in others, like one wrong step could send you tumbling back down to the bottom. Claude inspects both sides before deciding the left to be the safer one, clearly seeing some difference Shu can’t.
“I’ll go first,” he announces.
“Are you sure?” Shu asks. “You were more nervous about these than I was.”
“Exactly why I should go first, right?”
Shu purses his lips, but he knows he can’t really argue with that one.
He watches as Claude begins his slow ascent, trying to take note of where he’s placing his feet so that he can copy the same path.
Claude gets about halfway up the stairs without incident, when suddenly, he stops short.
“Everything okay?” Shu asks.
Instead of responding, Claude shifts his foot back and forth on the step he’d just placed it on, like he’s feeling around for something. He gives the wood a solid stomp, before turning around.
“Do you hear that? This one sounds different.”
Now that he mentions it, Shu can hear a difference. The noise resonates too much, almost as if…
Shu’s eyes go wide when he sees Claude raising his right hand, palm aimed toward the peculiar sounding step. “Wait, Claude, what are you—”
His words immediately get drowned out by the blast of energy released from the center of Claude’s glove.
It’s relatively small, considering the type of damage Shu has seen him do before, but it’s still enough to blow a decent sized hole in the stairs right in front of his feet. The brand new gap is wide enough to jump through, which is exactly what Claude does next.
There’s another small burst of magic from below that Shu hopes is Claude using one of the tricks he’s invented to slow his descent and land safely.
He scrambles up the staircase after him just to be sure, all caution forgotten in his panic to keep up. Shu peers over the edge of the gap and breathes a sigh of relief when he sees Claude standing at the bottom, less than two floors below, and perfectly unharmed.
“Toss me the indicator!” Claude calls.
Shu does as requested, dropping the bracelet down into the hole for Claude's waiting hands below.
The beads hit his gauntlet with a satisfying clatter, and the subtle glow instantly becomes a blaze, bright enough to illuminate the entire cavern around him.
Shu can’t help the excitement that shoots through him. “It’s here!” he yells, practically bouncing on his feet. He gets ready to jump down as well when Claude waves his hands frantically to stop him.
“Wait! Hold on a sec!”
Somehow, Shu manages to contain himself and calm down long enough for Claude to undo the latches on his wrists. A heavy clang echoes up from the hollow as the gloves hit the hardened ground.
Claude stretches his arms out, hands now bare and empty looking. “Okay! Now go. I'll catch you!”
Shu doesn’t hesitate, leaping over the edge with a small yelp.
He falls through the air for only a split second before Claude catches him just as he promised.
Shu can’t help the giggle he lets out, the dire stakes of their task momentarily forgotten in favor of the giddy feeling of being held in arms this strong. Claude holds him like he weighs nothing at all. It makes Shu feel lighter than air, in more ways than one.
“Hey, there,” Claude chuckles softly.
“Hi.”
“All good? Anything hurt?”
Shu shakes his head.
“Awesome.”
Claude gently lowers him onto the ground, handing the bracelet back before reaching down for his discarded gauntlets.
While he re-equips them, Shu tries to snap himself back into work mode, remembering that they’re here for a job and not just to mess around.
He takes stock of the small, damp chamber they’ve found themselves in.
There's only one way to go from here—a narrow passage stretching onwards in front of them, leading deeper into the darkness, seemingly without end. Unburnt torches hang from the walls, but the combined light from the bracelet and Claude’s gloves is more than enough to see by.
Most noticeably though, all of it—from the path under their feet to the ceiling arching low over their heads—is made of solid stone, nothing like the wooden floorboards and panels above.
Shu doesn’t need an indicator to feel the power emanating from the tunnel before them. Even the air down here feels ancient.
He can tell from the way Claude is studying the wall next to him, clawed glove scraping along the surface, that he’s thinking the same thing. “Where do you think this leads?” Claude asks him, head tilted up to inspect the stone bricks lining the top of the entryway.
Shu shrugs even though Claude isn’t looking at him. “No idea. Nothing I read ever mentioned anything about a secret underground bunker.”
Claude takes a deep breath. “Well,” he says, finally turning around. The apprehension is clear in his eyes, betraying the casual smile on his face. “After you.”
Despite its age, the passage is surprisingly clean and free of obstacles. It’s narrow though, and so they’re forced to walk single file, Shu leading the way with the light of his bracelet and Claude covering their tail.
They follow the path for long enough that Shu has a feeling they’re not underneath the mansion anymore.
He’s trying to think of something to say to break the growing unease he can feel coming from Claude behind him when the tunnel finally ends, opening up into a large rectangular chamber, about the size of a basketball court.
The ceiling is slightly higher here, held up by several columns of stone scattered throughout the room.
“I’m guessing that’s the exit,” Claude muses.
Shu follows his gaze and spots a flight of stairs at the end directly across from them. Besides the tunnel, it’s the only other way in or out of this place.
He looks down at his hand. The indicator still shines as brightly as it had when he’d first dropped it down here. Shu groans in frustration. “Maybe we missed something…”
“Should we go back?” Claude asks, turning around to peer at the opening in the wall they just walked out from.
And it’s because he’s turned around that only Shu sees the dark shape barreling its way towards them out of the corner of his eye, like it’s come straight out of the shadows themselves.
“Claude, watch out!” Shu shouts. He moves on instinct, rushing for Claude’s back and tackling him to the ground.
His magic crackles to life around them, sparks of violet flames encasing them in a dome shaped shield just in time for the formless entity to crash into it.
The shield shatters instantly.
Shu hears Claude shouting his name in panic as he immediately casts a stronger, more powerful shield. He has to use his hands to maintain this one, outstretched above them in the air, but it doesn’t break this time.
Whatever is attacking them remains persistent though, pounding into the barrier over and over.
Each collision sends spikes of agony lurching down Shu’s arms. The pressure of it crushes down on him, accompanied by a wave of overwhelming nausea. He has to fight against the spots in his vision just to keep his eyes open.
“Shu!” Claude’s voice pierces through the pain. “Shu, stop! You’re hurting yourself!”
Shu shakes his head. “N-no, I got this,” he grits out.
He can’t stop.
His shield is the only thing protecting them right now. He has to keep holding it.
But Shu can tell he’s going to pass out if this continues.
He doesn’t want to admit it, but while his shield may have saved them, it has also trapped them. All he can do like this is keep their attacker at bay, and even that will only be for so long.
Meanwhile, the desperation in Claude’s cries continues to grow. His pleas sound almost angry now. Except, no—that’s not anger in Claude’s voice, Shu realizes.
It's fear.
It's so rare to hear Claude this scared, he almost didn’t recognize the sound. And it doesn’t help that most of his focus right now is dedicated to staying conscious. The shadowy form is still slamming itself against the top of the shield, where cracks have begun to spiderweb across the surface.
He hears Claude take a deep breath and feels the heavy weight of a glove on his back.
“Shu, trust me,” Claude says, voice suddenly much calmer than it had been a second ago. “I have a plan.”
Shu can barely get words out at this point, but his eyes meet Claude’s steady gaze, and a sense of understanding passes between them.
“On my call,” Claude tells him, “release the barrier, and get behind me.”
Shu manages a tiny nod, letting Claude know that he heard him, and then he waits.
Claude’s hand remains rested on his back, a soothing presence despite the harshness of the metal. Shu concentrates on that instead of the dark cloud above them rearing back to strike again.
“Now!” Claude shouts, voice ringing through the air.
Shu drops his arms, all but collapsing onto the ground in a heap. At the same time, Claude jumps to his feet, magic erupting from his gauntlets.
It hits his target dead center, larger and more intense than Shu has ever seen it before. Brightness engulfs the entire room like a mini star has gone supernova in Claude’s palms.
Shu shakily stands up behind him, attempting to catch his breath now that he’s been freed.
He can’t see Claude’s face like this, just his silhouette backlit by the incandescent glow. With his hair flying and cloak flapping behind him, he looks otherworldly, like something out of a dream.
Shu can’t help but stare in awe at the raw display of power. He forgets sometimes—how much Claude holds himself back normally.
And at first, it looks like it’s working, the dark swirling mass of energy appears to be retreating, pushed back by the light emitting from Claude’s hands. The vice squeezing tight around Shu’s chest begins to loosen.
But then, something snaps.
It happens so fast, Shu barely has any time at all to register what he’s seeing, but suddenly the darkness shifts, and Claude’s magic recoils like a rubber band. It explodes in his face with a thundering clap and a blinding flash, lifting him off his feet and throwing him through the air. He flies all the way across the room, slamming against the opposite wall in a cloud of dust and rubble.
“Claude!!!” Shu shrieks. The name rips from his throat, barely carrying any semblance of his own voice. He watches in horror as Claude tries to get up, and falls shuddering back onto the floor, coughing in pain.
A haunting sound cuts through the panic blinding Shu’s senses.
Someone is laughing.
Shu whips around, seeing red when a tall figure steps out of the darkness, delight clear on his face. He crushes the shattered remains of one of Claude’s gauntlets under his shoe.
“You really thought that would work?” the stranger cackles in a deep, hollow voice. “I’ll be honest, I was hoping to fight someone smarter tonight.”
Shu snarls back at him. “You’re dead.”
“Me? No, I don’t think I am…” The man makes an expression of fake contemplation that Shu wants to rip right off his face. He doesn’t think he's ever felt so furious in his life, and the anger only grows as the man keeps talking. “Now your friend on the other hand… He’s not looking too good.”
And Shu knows he shouldn't be taking his eyes off the enemy right now but he can’t help but spare a glance towards Claude’s prone form at the other side of the room.
He’s not moving anymore.
“Claude!” Shu calls anyway. Now that the dust has settled, he can see Claude’s hands are soaked in red. Fear strikes through him, cold and sharp enough to make his legs feel weak. He needs to get over there. His healing spells are useless all the way over here.
He moves to run, but something curls around his legs, and he stumbles forward instead, catching himself with his hands before his face can crash into the ground.
Shu rolls onto his back to find the large figure of their enemy looming over him, still with that saccharine smile on his face. He’s holding something in his hand, whatever he used to trip Shu just now. It looks like it’s made of the same dark mass of magic that had caused Claude’s gauntlets to explode, but more concentrated and solid now.
“Not so fast,” the man tells him. “I have—”
Shu doesn’t let him finish before kicking his legs up. There’s a satisfying scream when they find their target, but the feeling doesn’t last for long. The man recovers quickly, pulling on his end of the thing wrapped around Shu’s legs until it tightens, burning through the fabric of his pants.
He rolls on instinct, and the weapon twists out of his opponent’s hand, clattering to the floor.
They both lunge for it, but Shu is faster. He jumps to his feet holding what has now transformed into a twisted black wooden staff. A large amethyst gemstone embedded at the top makes his breath catch in his throat.
It’s the exact relic they came here for.
In hindsight, Shu guesses it should have been obvious. The level of magic this person had been attacking them with would only be possible with an amplifier this powerful.
Shu levels the staff at the man’s head, as threateningly as he can, and summons all his fury into a single, scathing order.
“Leave.”
“Give that back to me and maybe I will,” the man snaps angrily at him. He doesn't even wait to hear Shu’s response before advancing on him again, armed with his own magic this time. But it’s far less intense now without the aid of his artifact, and easily countered with a single swipe of Shu’s hand. The attack flies off to hit the nearby wall instead.
Unfortunately, even in this weakened state, his opponent is persistent, and continues to hurl spheres of dark magic at Shu’s face every time he tries to get around him. They’re not very large or strong, but there’s so many, and thrown so fast that he quickly becomes overwhelmed.
Shu grits his teeth. He doesn’t have time for this. He needs to get to Claude. And if this man is going to stand in his way then—
Bam!!!
What was meant to be a warning shot ends up blowing a hole clean through one of the columns. Shu stares in shock, he hadn’t expected that channeling his magic through the staff would make that much of a difference.
It does manage to succeed in stopping the barrage of attacks coming from his enemy, though. “Idiot! You don’t know what you’re doing with that thing,” the man howls, patting furiously at his singed coat. “You’ll bring this whole place down on top of us!”
As if to emphasize his point, the walls around them begin to rumble with the sound of shifting stone.
It’s a terrible plan, something Claude would truly berate him for if he were conscious right now.
But Shu sees the man’s reaction to the broken pillar, and it gives him an idea.
He adjusts his grip on the staff and sends another blast forward, this time directly at one of the remaining columns.
“Stop!” His enemy screeches in protest, but Shu only does it again.
And again.
As he takes aim a fifth time, the man finally seems to have had enough. “Fine! If you want to die in here, be my guests!” he screams, darting into the tunnel back towards the mansion.
Shu doesn’t even try to stop him. He has something more important to worry about.
The chamber trembles violently, threatening to collapse as he rushes across the room. Maybe he should have stopped at three columns, Shu laments, but he stops thinking about that the second he sees Claude’s face.
His hair has fallen out of its regular ponytail and braid, the pretty green ribbon lying in tatters to the side and making Shu’s heart clench.
He gently rolls Claude onto his back, trying his best to not jostle him too much.
Shu pushes the bloody, dirty mess of a cloak off his shoulders, and presses his hands to Claude’s torso. He can sense right away that the injuries here are twofold—first from the explosion, and second from his impact with the wall.
But they don’t have time for Shu to heal all of that right now. So he focuses on the vitals—stopping the bleeding, internal and external, mending any broken bones, alleviating what is sure to be a nasty concussion.
He makes quick work despite his shaking hands, muttering to himself and praying Claude hears him begging him to wake up.
Pieces of the walls and ceiling continue to fall around them, so Shu encases them in another thin shield just in case.
It feels like ages—but in reality was probably only a few minutes—when finally, mercifully, Claude's eyes blink open.
“Claude!” Shu cries in relief.
“Shu— fuck,” Claude groans. “Shu, what happened?”
Shu shakes his head. “Later. We gotta get out of here first. C’mon.”
He keeps one hand on Claude’s chest, continuing the healing spell, but uses the other behind his back to help him sit up.
Claude’s eyes widen the second he’s upright, face turning pale. “Whoa, I think I’m gonna be sick.”
God, Shu feels awful. He'd never make someone move in this state under normal circumstances. But at the same time, he’s so relieved to see Claude awake and talking that he thinks he might cry. “Sorry, sorry,” he soothes. “I'll heal you more when we get out, I promise.”
Claude really isn’t in any shape to stand right now, but they have no other choice. Shu has to practically lift him up to get him on his feet, slinging one of his arms around his shoulders to keep him there.
They stagger up the stairs together, Claude clutching his ribs, a pained grimace pulling at his lips. Shu does his best to support his weight, but it proves difficult while suffering from exhaustion himself.
Somehow, they make it to the top to find a plain wooden door waiting for them. Shu pushes it open, thankful to find it unlocked, and the two of them tumble out of it onto a grassy field.
Shu had been right. It doesn’t look like they’re anywhere near the mansion anymore. Surrounded by nothing but trees and fresh air, the house is nowhere to be seen.
Above them, the moon carves a bright crescent against an inky, star-studded backdrop. It might be the second most beautiful thing Shu has ever seen.
He turns to the first. “Oh my god, we actually made it.”
Claude laughs besides him, but it quickly turns into a wince, holding his side.
Oh, that’s right. Shu had almost forgotten.
“Here,” he says, moving Claude’s hands out of the way to replace them with his own. “Let me finish.”
Claude smiles softly, wrapping one hand around Shu’s wrist in a gentle hold. “My hero,” he says, voice light and lilting playfully.
Shu barks out a laugh, shaking his head, but there’s a warmth in his chest that feels nice after everything that’s happened tonight.
“Can’t believe I missed your big fight,” Claude murmurs. “Bet it was super badass.”
“Um…” Shu stutters, face hot for some reason. “I guess?” It certainly didn’t feel particularly badass, as Claude put it. Terrifying, would probably be the better word, but that fear had nothing to do with the opponent he was facing. He doesn’t know how to say that out loud though, so Shu keeps quiet.
Claude must decide he’s done talking now too, because he closes his eyes, and allows Shu to continue his work in silence.
He looks so nice like this, handsome features relaxed and painted silver under the moonlight.
Shu doesn't know why he does it, but it just feels right in the moment to brush Claude’s hair off of his face, to lean down until their noses brush, and to press a soft kiss onto his mouth.
Claude gasps, eyes flying open.
It causes Shu to quickly pull back, hoping desperately that he hasn’t made some kind of mistake.
But then Claude smiles. “Do that again,” he whispers.
Shu obeys gladly.
And this time, Claude kisses him back, arms wrapping around his neck and tugging him down until they’re almost on top of each other. His lips are chapped, but yield easily against Shu’s own.
It’s a little clumsy and uncoordinated, both of them so exhausted mentally and physically from the previous fight. But as far as first kisses go, Shu couldn’t ask for anything better.
They’re both equally breathless when they break apart, and Claude smirks up at him, cheeks flushed a subtle pink. “Is that also part of the healing treatment,” he teases.
“Shut up,” Shu giggles, flopping over to lie down in the grass next to him. His pinkie finger grazes against the back of Claude’s hand.
There’s still blood on them, Shu’s magic able to heal but not clean.
It reminds him that they do need to eventually figure out where exactly they are, so they can get home and wash up, and also probably sleep for an entire day at least.
But for now, Shu is content to keep lying here staring at the stars above with Claude by his side.
And maybe kiss him some more, too.