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The air, thick with the metallic tang of fear and the acrid smoke of spent magic, pressed in on Tsukasa. His armour, once gleaming, now bore the grim patina of countless skirmishes, each dent a memory of a life he had taken or almost lost. The banner of the Kingdom, a vibrant crimson against the bruised sky, whipped above his head, its sharp edges a stark contrast to the enemy’s sigil. He gripped the hilt of his sword, the familiar weight a cold comfort in his hand, his eyes scanning the chaotic melee. This was the fifth moon cycle of the border wars, and the lines blurred, not just between friend and foe, but between right and wrong.
A sudden, searing blast of azure energy ripped through the ranks of his fellow knights, tossing men and horses aside like discarded toys. The ground trembled, a guttural roar rising from the earth itself. Tsukasa's breath hitched. Only one sorcerer wielded power with such reckless, devastating grace. A figure emerged from the swirling dust and arcane residue, cloaked in robes the colour of twilight, his silver hair a stark beacon against the encroaching gloom. Rui.
Tsukasa’s heart, a drum against his ribs moments before, now thudded a slow, agonising rhythm. He had not seen Rui in three years, not since the treaty negotiations had dissolved into accusations and threats, since their kingdoms had declared each other anathema. His… well, he wasn’t quite sure what to call who they used to be. More than friends, an unspoken bond for certain. A wordless trust that went above what a usual bond would normally contain. Shared body heat, actions and murmurs that mimicked that of typical lovers. Their last night had been spent beneath a sky ablaze with a thousand stars, their bodies intertwined, promises whispered into the quiet air. Now, those stars were hidden by the smoke of war, and their promises felt like ash in his mouth.
"Rui!" The name tore from his throat, a raw, desperate sound lost amidst the clash of steel and the cries of the wounded.
The sorcerer’s head snapped towards the sound, his sharp eyes, once so full of warmth and mischief, now held a chilling, distant resolve. A flicker, barely perceptible, passed through them – recognition, perhaps, or a ghost of a memory. Then, the mask of war settled firmly back into place.
"Tenma." Rui’s voice, carried by the wind, was a low, resonant hum, devoid of its usual playful lilt. "Still fighting for a lost cause, I see."
The name he uttered was like that of a stranger. For some strange reason, his heart cried.
Tsukasa pushed through the fray, his sword a blur of silver, deflecting blows, parrying thrusts. He moved with an almost frenzied urgency, leaving a trail of fallen soldiers in his wake. He needed to reach Rui, to understand, to… what? He didn’t know. The thought was a tangled knot of conflicting desires.
"Lost cause?" Tsukasa scoffed, his voice tight with a pain he refused to acknowledge. "We fight for peace, for our people! Your King seeks only conquest."
Rui’s lips, once so soft against his, curved into a bitter smile. "And your Queen seeks only to crush any who do not bend to her will. The rhetoric of war, Tenma, is always the same." He raised a hand, and the very air around him began to crackle, drawing energy from the earth, from the dying light. Tendrils of shadow stretched, coalescing into spectral hounds, their eyes glowing with malevolent intent.
"Rui, don't!" Tsukasa pleaded, his voice cracking. He saw the flicker again, a brief hesitation in Rui’s posture, a slight tremor in the hand that commanded such destruction. Yet he continued.
The hounds lunged, their ethereal forms phasing through the knights’ shields, their spectral teeth tearing at flesh and spirit alike. Tsukasa growled, a rough sound of grief and fury. He couldn't fight Rui, not like this. But he couldn't stand by as his comrades fell.
He met the nearest hound with a desperate lunge, his sword slicing through its smoky form. It dissipated with a wail, but another immediately took its place. Tsukasa’s heart ached with each swing, each parry. He was fighting Rui’s creations, turning his blade against the very magic he once admired, the magic that had once danced playfully around them in quiet moments, back when he was conjuring ephemeral blossoms or shimmering lights to amuse him.
"This isn't you, Rui!" he shouted, his voice hoarse. "This isn't the magic you promised to use for creation, for wonder!"
Rui’s eyes narrowed, a cold fire igniting within them. "Circumstances change, Tenma. Ideals shatter. You know this as well as I do. You stand here, blade in hand, ready to spill my people's blood, just as I am ready to spill yours."
He unleashed a torrent of emerald lightning, a writhing serpent of pure energy that struck the ground near Tsukasa, sending shards of rock and earth flying. Tsukasa dodged, the shockwave rattling his teeth, the smell of ozone stinging his nostrils. He felt the heat of the magic singe his hair, a stark reminder of Rui’s terrifying power.
"I didn't want this!" Tsukasa cried out, his voice choked with emotion. "I wanted to find a way, a compromise!"
"There is no compromise in war, Tsukasa," Rui replied, his voice flat, devoid of its usual warmth. "Only victory or defeat. Only survival."
He gestured again, and the ground beneath Tsukasa’s feet began to shift, to ripple like disturbed water. Dark roots, thick as a man’s arm, erupted from the earth, coiling around Tsukasa’s legs, attempting to ensnare him. Tsukasa hacked at them with his sword, the enchanted steel humming as it severed the magical tendrils. He broke free, but the effort cost him precious seconds, forcing him to momentarily turn his back on Rui.
A shadow fell over him. He spun, his sword flashing. Rui stood before him, closer than he realised, his hand outstretched, a sphere of crackling dark energy pulsing in his palm. It was a potent, destructive spell, one that would tear him apart.
"Rui, please!" Tsukasa’s voice was a desperate plea, his eyes locking onto Rui’s. He saw it again, that fleeting tremor, that moment of vulnerability. It was his chance.
He didn't hesitate. His sword, heavy and true, arced upwards, not at Rui's hand, not at his head, but at the sphere of magic itself. The clash was deafening, a shriek of tortured energy as blade met spell. The sphere exploded, a concussive force that threw both men backwards.
Tsukasa landed hard, his armour scraping against the stony ground, the air knocked from his lungs. He struggled to rise, his vision swimming. Rui, too, lay sprawled, his robes torn, a thin trickle of blood escaping from his temple where he had struck the ground.
For a moment, the world seemed to hold its breath. The battlefield around them faded into a distant murmur. Only Tsukasa and Rui existed, gasping for air, their gazes locked.
"You… you’ve grown” Rui whispered, his voice weak, a small hint of a grimace in his tone. "You’re certainly stronger than… back then”
"I don't want to fight you, Rui," Tsukasa rasped, pushing himself to his knees, his body screaming in protest. "Just… stop this. Come back."
A melancholic smile touched Rui’s lips, a ghost of the one Tsukasa remembered. "Come back to what, Tsukasa-kun? A kingdom that views me as a weapon? A.. ‘love’ that is now a casualty of war?" He pushed himself up, slowly, painfully. His eyes, though still distant, held a deeper sorrow now. "There is no turning back from this."
Tsukasa watched him, his heart twisting. He saw the resignation in Rui’s eyes, the way his shoulders slumped beneath the heavy robes. He knew, with a chilling certainty, what was coming next. Rui would not surrender. Rui would not yield. And Tsukasa, as a knight sworn to his kingdom, could not allow the sorcerer to continue unleashing such devastation.
"Then I will stop you," Tsukasa declared, the words tearing at his throat, each syllable a shard of glass. He rose to his feet, his sword held steady, the point aimed, not at Rui’s heart, but at the ground between them. He hoped, prayed, that Rui would understand, that he would find another way.
Rui’s smile vanished, replaced by a grim determination. He raised his hands, not to cast a spell, but to summon a shimmering, translucent shield of pure arcane energy. It pulsed with a soft, dangerous light, a barrier of last resort.
"I know," Rui said, his voice barely audible above the rising wind. "And I understand."
They circled each other, a macabre dance on the edge of destruction. Tsukasa, knight, and Rui, sorcerer, once closer than what the sins would allow…now nothing more but faceless enemies. The air thrummed with unspoken words, with the weight of shattered dreams and unfulfilled promises.
Tsukasa lunged first, a feint, his sword flashing high. Rui reacted, his shield flaring, deflecting the blow. But Tsukasa was already moving, his feet light despite his heavy armour, his movements a blur of practised precision. He shifted, his body twisting, bringing his sword around in a wide, sweeping arc, aiming for Rui's side, where the shield was thinnest.
Rui anticipated the move, his shield shifting, but the speed of Tsukasa's attack caught him off guard. The blade bit into the magical energy, weakening it, sending cracks spiderwebbing across its surface. Rui stumbled back, his face contorted in a grimace of effort, maintaining the failing shield.
"Give up, Rui!" Tsukasa pleaded, his voice raw. "Please!"
"Never," Rui spat, his eyes blazing, a renewed surge of energy flowing into his shield, making it pulse brighter, stronger. He wouldn't yield. He couldn't.
Tsukasa saw the resolve, the unyielding spirit he had once loved so fiercely. He saw the path laid out before them, a path paved with blood and regret. There was no other way. His heart screamed in protest, but his knight’s training, his oath, his duty, took over.
He attacked again, a whirlwind of steel, his sword a silver streak against the darkening sky. He hammered against Rui's shield, blow after blow, each strike a brutal echo of the pain in his own chest. Rui staggered under the onslaught, the shield flickering, struggling to hold.
Finally, with a desperate, guttural cry, Tsukasa put all his weight, all his power, all his despair, into one final, devastating thrust. The sword, imbued with the force of his anguish, pierced the shimmering barrier. The shield shattered with a deafening crack, fragments of arcane energy exploding outwards like glittering dust.
Rui gasped, his eyes wide with shock, with dawning horror. Tsukasa’s sword, slick with magic and a terrifying new wetness, plunged deep. Straight through Rui’s chest.
The world seemed to stop. The cacophony of the battlefield faded to a distant hum. Tsukasa felt the hilt of his sword against Rui’s chest, felt the warmth of his blood gushing onto his hand, felt the soft give of flesh, the brutal resistance of bone.
Rui swayed, his eyes fixed on Tsukasa’s, a look of profound sorrow, of unimaginable betrayal, dawning in their depths. A single tear tracked a path through the grime on his cheek. His lips parted, a choked sound escaping.
"Tsuka…sa”
Tsukasa pulled the sword free, the sound a wet, sickening shlick. Rui crumpled, his knees giving way, his hands clutching at the gaping wound in his chest. Blood, bright and crimson, welled up, staining his robes, his fingers.
"Ah… no..! Rui!!!’ Tsukasa’s voice was a broken sob, the words tearing from his throat, raw and anguished. He dropped his sword, the clatter on the stone ground echoing the shattering of his own soul. He fell to his knees, catching Rui as the sorcerer collapsed, cradling him against his chest.
Rui’s body felt impossibly light, fragile. His breathing was shallow, ragged, each exhalation a painful wheeze. His eyes, though clouded with pain, still sought Tsukasa’s, a flicker of their old warmth struggling to ignite.
"Rui!! Rui please… I didn't—I didn't want to—" Tsukasa’s words dissolved into choked sobs, his tears streaming down his face, mixing with the blood on Rui’s robes. He pressed his hand against the wound, a futile attempt to stem the flow, his fingers shaking uncontrollably. "Please, Rui, do something! You can do something right?? Please - please stay with me - please don’t leave me…Rui!!”
Rui coughed, a wet, rattling sound, more blood bubbling at his lips. He raised a trembling hand, his fingers, once so deft with magic, now weak and uncertain. He reached for Tsukasa’s face, his touch feather-light, barely there.
"It’s…alright, Tsukasa…kun" he whispered, his voice a mere breath, a fragile whisper against the roar of the war. Every word clearly an effort, each sound more of a wheeze. A small, serene smile, one that Tsukasa remembered from countless quiet nights, touched his lips. It was a smile of forgiveness, of understanding, of acceptance. "You did…what you had to…do."
Tsukasa shook his head, burying his face in Rui’s blood soaked hair, his body wracked with shuddering sobs. "No, I didn't! There was another way! There had to be! We could have avoided this!!”
Rui’s fingers, cold and frail, traced the line of Tsukasa’s jaw, the curve of his cheek. His touch was almost imperceptible, a final, tender caress. His eyes, though growing dim, held a semblance of peace.
"Let… the next life…be kinder to…us," he murmured, in a final strained breath, his voice fading, becoming one with the wind.
His hand slipped from Tsukasa’s face, falling limp against his chest. His eyes, once vibrant pools of endless imagination, glazed over, fixing on a point beyond the smoke and the chaos, beyond the pain, beyond this world. The light in them extinguished, leaving behind only the dull, vacant stare of death.
"Rui?" Tsukasa whispered, his voice broken, barely audible. He shook Rui gently, then harder, a desperate, frantic movement. "Rui! Wake up! Please! Rui!!!”
But there was no response. Only the chilling stillness of a body that no longer lived, no longer breathed, no longer loved. Rui Kamishiro, the brilliant sorcerer, his mischievous…lover, was gone. And Tsukasa Tenma, the knight who had killed him, was left cradling a shattered world in his arms. The war raged on around him, but for Tsukasa, everything had ended. His scream of anguish tore through the battlefield, an utterly graphic sound of despair that silenced even the clash of swords for a fleeting, terrible moment.
——-
The late afternoon sun, warm and welcoming, spilled across the rooftop of Kamikou High School, painting the weathered concrete in shades of gold and amber. A gentle breeze rustled through the loose strands of Tsukasa’s blonde hair as his head rested comfortably against Rui’s shoulder. The distant murmur of city traffic, the occasional chirp of a bird, and the faint, rhythmic thrum of the school’s air conditioning unit provided a soothing backdrop to their shared silence.
Tsukasa’s breathing was soft and even, the slow rise and fall of his chest a comforting weight against Rui’s side. He had drifted off a while ago, exhausted from a particularly intense morning rehearsal for the cultural festival play. Rui, ever the patient one, had simply allowed him to settle, shifting slightly to make Tsukasa more comfortable.
Rui’s gaze drifted over the familiar landscape of Tsukasa’s face. The slight furrow between his brows, even in sleep, spoke of a mind always working, always striving. His lips, slightly parted, were soft, relaxed, a stark contrast to the determined smile they usually held. Rui found himself smiling in return, a quiet, tender curve of his own lips.
Their hands were clasped together, Tsukasa’s fingers loosely intertwined with Rui’s. It was an unconscious gesture, one they often fell into. Rui gently squeezed Tsukasa’s hand, feeling the warmth of his skin, the familiar texture of his knuckles.
Tsukasa stirred, a soft sigh escaping him. His eyes fluttered open, blinking against the bright sunlight. He yawned, a lazy, languid movement, before his gaze found Rui’s. A slow, sleepy grin spread across his face.
"Did I fall asleep?" Tsukasa mumbled, his voice thick with drowsiness. He shifted, nestling his head deeper into Rui’s shoulder.
“You did," Rui confirmed, his voice a low, melodic hum. "You were quite absorbed in your dream - your eyebrows were quite furrowed!”
Tsukasa chuckled, a warm, rumbling sound that vibrated through Rui’s chest. "It’s your fault. You’re too comfortable." He squeezed Rui’s hand, his fingers tightening their grip. "And your shoulder is the perfect pillow."
"I aim to please," Rui teased, a playful glint in his golden eyes. He leaned his head against Tsukasa’s, their hair mingling, a soft brush of blonde against purple. The scent of Tsukasa’s shampoo, faintly tropical, filled his senses.
"We should probably get back," Tsukasa sighed, though he made no move to disentangle himself. "The teachers will be wondering where we’ve gone."
"A few more minutes won’t hurt," Rui murmured, closing his eyes, savouring the quiet intimacy of the moment. “They’re probably appreciating every second without us there.” He felt the gentle rhythm of Tsukasa’s breathing, the warmth of his body pressed against his own.
Tsukasa hummed in agreement, before his eyebrows cocked in confusion. “Eh - what’s that supposed to mean?!” He exclaimed, his head slightly rising from Rui’s shoulder to give him a look of accusation.
Rui laughed, heartedly. He moved Tsukasa’s head back into its rightful place, allowing him to nuzzle close. “Just a jest, Tsukasa-kun. Come now, let’s enjoy our quite solitude for a bit longer”.
Tsukasa grumbled, but the blanket of drowsiness still covering him made it easy for him to once again slip back into his land of dreams, a soft snore already escaping his slightly parted lips. He was truly endlessly entertaining.
Rui couldn’t resist the urge to sneak a quick, soft kiss. His beautiful star. With their entwined hands sharing their warmth, he indulged in this wordlessly blissful peace.