Chapter Text
Declaring that he would only settle for the best was a common occurrence for Tsukasa Tenma. The best clothes; the best comrades; the best knight. The best soulmate, even. He just knew it, with the beautiful words etched on his forearm.
「Oya? What is a handsome knight like you doing here?」
The words played a part in him choosing his path. How could he not, if it would be to his soulmate's liking?
When presented with something that conflicted with this, he would work hard to correct it.
He never thought something would be this unsalvageable.
The battle was already in full swing, knights going after the enemies and dancing delicate battles with them. And amidst this Tsukasa charged straight through, a man on a mission. Being so far away from the centre of battle would usually be foolish, but he as the star knight needed to take on more than just the front men. He needed to take out the people who fought from the back.
In particular, the scouts had said that there was a mysterious aura around the back. One that reeked of magic. This couldn't be allowed to continue if they wanted the upper hand.
So Tsukasa ran through, fending off enemies and easily dodging any attacks. The amount of knights thinned out, until he only saw one person stood alone at the back lines. They didn't notice him, too busy with muttering to themselves while staring heavily at their hands.
Well anyone who used magic like this must be insane.
Tsukasa didn't bother with words as he dove in for the kill. He had hoped the other was too occupied with whatever to counter, but it seemed he had miscalculated. The magician snapped out of his trance at the last second and dodged, only getting nicked by the end of the sword before jumping back out of reach.
"Oya? What is a handsome knight like you doing here?"
Tsukasa gritted his teeth. "Fuck off and fight me!"
It was only his arm begun to sting that he'd realised what had happened. His head almost started spinning with the wave of emotion from.. no. He had to snap out of it, this was the battlefield where every second counted.
This was the battlefield, why was his soulmate so happy? He must be sick in the head. Crazy. Insane. Tsukasa looked his soulmate in the eyes and saw no light.
"What a pleasure to meet you here, though already you can't say the same. Fufu, what pleasant first impressions don't you think?"
Tsukasa didn't like the pain in his shoulder. A reminder that any hit he made would go directly back to him. Any move he makes should be to kill.
He took a step forward and ran, sword in hand. Already, he hated how he knew this magician so much more than the other enemies that he'd shown no mercy. As he parried their magic, he could feel the burn in their arm. There was no doubt their magic was the illegal type.
The joy the magician felt while pushing Tsukasa back was worse; he could be nothing short of psychotic to be enjoying their circumstances. Magic hit Tsukasa's abdomen, and he swore he could taste iron as he fell back.
"'Fuck off and fight me', hmm? How rude to have imprinted those words on my arm, my dear knight."
Tsukasa tried his best not to look winded. "I am not your dear anything. I'll kill you."
"Strong words, perhaps you should have started with that dearest."
"Fucking call me Tenma, anything but your mockery of affection."
The magician's lips curled, Tsukasa felt more of that sickening euphoria. "Alright, Tenma-kun. Make your attempt on my life, but I warn you that it has already been a while since I lived."
"I'll see you until your last breath." Tsukasa spat.
"I'll hold you to that." The magician replied as Tsukasa ran forward again.
He took notice of the gathering magic in the magician's hand, baiting him into firing while in the range to dodge. What he didn't expect was for the other to lift his other hand and raise it to his arm. Tsukasa was confused for all of a second before the magician pulled at the skin around his injury, making his own arm sear with pain. It stunned him long enough that he didn't react to a spell being fired him, and he took the full force of energy to his chest, truly winding him.
Manic joy haunted his head.
"Tenma-kun~ Will you truly be able to fulfil your declaration?"
Tsukasa hadn't known he was looking down until fingers tilted his head up. His vision blurred too much to focus on the other's eyes.
"We've been waiting for this for a while hmm? My first words were so sweet, and yet I had to live knowing you'd always hate me soulmate."
"You're the one who's insane..." Tsukasa could barely talk through his laboured breaths, yet alone make sense of the situation. The magician moved his face in closer, and he could just about see that his expression hadn't changed throughout their talk.
"I'm only following what fate had in store for us."
Could this magician not feel what he was feeling? Were they truly soulmates? Tsukasa couldn't believe it, but he was the one feeling the magician's pain and sick joy.
"Any last words?" The grip on Tsukasa's face tightened. His vision swam through the citrine, lilac and cerulean. So vibrant they might as well be colours of danger. He could hear the battle rage behind him. Footsteps.
"...Your name?"
"I didn't think you'd care... it's Kamishiro Rui."
Tsukasa felt himself smiling, he knew he'd hate the name the moment it left the other's mouth. He'd imprint it on his heart as the name of his sworn enemy.
"Satisfied?"
"Very. Go to hell Kamishiro."
Tsukasa played the magician's game and thumped his own abdomen. As he felt the grip on his face falter, he turned his head and bit the hand that had sullied his face. Kamishiro reflexively put some space between them, and Tsukasa used it to grab the hilt of his sword and struck it against Kamishiro's own stomach. He winced as he felt the pain on himself, but he had been prepared for that.
He could deal the finishing blow right here with his own blade, by putting both hands on the handle and swinging. With the adrenaline overriding his pain, it didn't matter if his ribs had been fractured or his stomach blown in. This hit would make his legacy as a future star knight.
Rui fell back.
Tsukasa slashed.
The adrenaline fell immediately as he felt pain sear through his own chest, but he could also feel that it hadn't been deep enough to kill. That bastard had fallen out of Tsukasa's range and avoided him. He wondered if Kamishiro could feel his rage as well as Tsukasa could feel his pain.
By the time Tsukasa could recover to take a second swing, Kamishiro had set up a shield.
"My knight is rather persistent."
Tsukasa could see him shake. It wasn't a comfort, his own legs could barely hold him either.
"..."
"I find it amusing that I still can't understand what's going through your head. Then again, this is exactly why I never bought into that soulmate stuff."
"As if you could really be my soulmate!" Tsukasa punched his fist against the shield, looking through to the man behind it. Kamishiro's face went completely blank, as if that would hide his emotions to the one who shared his heart.
Tsukasa could feel a tightness in his chest. He didn't care.
"Are we really in denial now?"
"Fate may have tied me to you, but only to be the one to cut you down. I refuse to believe we are meant to be compatible."
Kamishiro's blank face was deceptive, but that didn't mean Tsukasa could figure out the mix of emotions he felt. All the feelings that made him him, they must be truly a terrible mix.
"...Then we are in agreement. The war will rage on then Tenma, but for now you can say I forfeit the battle."
Tsukasa was about to disagree before the shield blinded him with light, the man behind it disappearing. Gone. Tsukasa had fail this time.
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and looked at the crimson smear left behind. Even worse than that was the feeling of bearing two sets of pain; he hadn't trained to deal with that. He soon would need to.
Why couldn't his soulmate have been someone normal?