Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ Ateratraatrum Noxnoctis ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

Ater Atra Atrum Nox Noctis

Chapter 4

Deep within the area of France, circa Dunkirk, claimed and conquered by Germany, a panzer division, had come to rest after driving the French and British troops into the tiny corner of the beach at Dunkirk. They intended to remain for a long while, which they had. They had been replaced recently with a faction of the air force that launched nightly air raids on London. These troops also guarded the front from any invasion that might be launched by the ambitious British, French, Canadian and/or American soldiers, who would dare to try and reclaim this land.

One of the posts that this particular Panzer division claimed had a small hospital that had served the French army. It had been converted into a depot for German supplies, as well as a hospital for their troops from any brigade or infantry faction that would traverse the area on patrol.

The medical staff was composed of mostly females who had joined the army as medical officers, ready to serve the French army and its allies. Now, they had their position converted for the sole purpose of the Nationalists who they felt, felt the urge to throw their weight around. A scant few had formed a group: La Résistance. They had been encouraged and led by a strikingly gorgeous young woman.

She had a certain air to her that gave her unmatched elegance. She didn't even try, for it came naturally to her. Her posture was impeccable. She had deep, thoughtful grey eyes, with complimenting streaming, waist length burgundy hair that she kept tied in a traditional French braid. She had a few loose strands that framed her face. She was remarkably taller than the others she worked with, yet were, she didn't seemed to stand out because of her unique, unmatched magnificence.

On base she wore her military uniform. It was a knee length skirt with a proper matching jacket, similar to that of the ceremonial wear of the male. She too had her nameplate on her uniform, as well as her rank. She was an officer; a Major, as she joined up before the start of the war because she wanted to go into medicine and this was the only way that she could.

Fingering her nameplate as she adjusted her uniform, straightening it out, she fingered the tag that had her last name. Written out with correct accents and everything, it read: Beauregard. She sighed; how she missed her family. They were back in the Rhine Land, which was the first place annexed by Germany, she was in the Dunkirk prefecture.

She sighed and moved to where the window was. Pressing her palm against it, she lamented, thinking about how this great place for growth had become her prison in a few short years. She then pressed her forehead against it.

'My saviour, Nakago, where are you? You're out there, somewhere, but where? I need you to save me like you did before, I need to see you're beautiful angelic face, your deep thoughtful eyes. I need to hear your reassuring voice. I know you never said you loved me, but I felt it in how you held me when I did wrong. You never punished me for failure like you did with all the other Seiryuu Seishi…'

"Je vous aime... comme avant, comme maintenant et pour toujours." She uttered, her voice no louder than a wistful whisper.

* "I love you…like before, like now and for always."

"Aimée, que rêvez-vous environ?" One of the other young women asked, wandering by. She had noticed her colleague standing at the window, looking out into the dark of the starless sky, as she did every night before they retired.

* "Aimée, what are you dreaming about?"

"Je rêve de la liberté…" Aimée Beauregard replied with a gentle sigh. Her hands tugged at the hem of her skirt, as she turned from the window. She cast a wane smile as she gazed at her friend. "It's nothing, no need to worry, mon ami."

* "I dream of freedom…." - "…my friend."

"If you say so." The young woman shrugged, still very concerned. Ever since the Germans had taken over, Aimée seemed more distant than before. She appeared even more wistful; she had become something of a dreamer in her off time.

Casting one more concerned cursory look over, she departed the area for the barracks at the hospital/base. She joined the other young and middle-aged women that worked as field nurses, serving the French Armed Forces, the Navy and Air Force. They less than willingly served the German Armed Forces, the Heer. Namely, it served the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) and the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) also used this base for refuelling and medical needs and supplies.

When La Résistance was formed under the guidance of Aimée Beauregard in response to the German occupation she and her female colleagues' band together. She had heard legends of other factions like this and hoped that she and her colleagues could gain freedom from the Germans by holding their own resistance. They worked strategically to set up radio links to Britain and report back in. They went underground for these activities to avoid the long reaching arm of the Gestapo. As a further act of rebellion, they saw to that the medical supplies were often doctored so that the Reich soldiers wouldn't have state of the art medical supplies on field with them. It wasn't much, but it certainly would help the Allied Forces. If they could incapacitate the Axis in a subtle way, it would strengthen the Allies.

She touched the blade she kept under her uniform. She had gone another day without using it. She only contemplated her alternative method of escape when all hope began to diminish. But the last couple of weeks, ever since America declared war on Japan and Germany, she had kept away, in hope. She prayed every night for the silver lining in the black cloud that lurked in her future.

Clasping her hands, she bowed her head in a silent prayer to her God. She asked for peace and for her beloved blonde shogun to be guided by his light to this base. All she the hope she could ever need would come from seeing him; to see that he was now happy in this life. Even if he didn't need her, as she needed him.

~~~~

At the head of his infantry division, one of many that made up his regiment; the Lieutenant sighed, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the early morning sun. Slowly it crept over the horizon, lighting up the landscape of the area. He had his main infantry division with him in the relatively sizeable city of Caen, near the Sword' Beach. His regiment was also in charge of patrolling as far south as the Juno Beach vicinity. They hadn't had much in the way of fighting, since France fell so easily into their hands, maybe a little too easily some of the lower ranking officers of the Lieutenant's regiment had thought. They had also voiced this on several occasions.

He, Lieutenant Johann Van Eyke, led his regiment through the wild of France and through many small towns. The successful conquers had been small potatoes, but it had all added up in the end. He was now getting ready to move his troops out to the post out near Dunkirk. The divisions regularly rotated in order to keep the vanquished inline. A change meant that any resistance that was occurring would get broken down because the rebels would have to face new-armed guards.

Inhaling deeply, Lieutenant Van Eyke opened his eyes. His piercing golden eyes riveted to the horizon, watching the sun cast a shadow to the west as it came up over the eastern side of the plains. Each day meant another victory. It meant more than just life. This was existence, it was ruled by the rising and setting of the sun.

Pulling his silky greyish-black hair back from his eyes that fell about chin length he tucked it back under his hat and pushed his shades up the bridge of his nose. As he did so, his slender finger ran over bare, pale skin. This skin had once been tarnished by Kabuki make-up, giving this man an overly garish appearance. Now his beauty, despite his age, which was in the mid-twenties, was still very youthful.

Stretching back, he cackled softly. 'The next to fall - the British - shall fall just as easily as the French, Dutch, Polish and all others. They have no backbone, after all, the retreated so quickly, especially after the two repeated incidents of losses for them. They are truly pitiful.'

The ground shifted, as a soft blue light grazed the horizon. 'Be prepared for my awakening, as I shall be awakening soon. I'll find my shogun and we shall try and conquer together once more. We had Kutou within out clutches, now we have the world. I'll give it to you; I gave you my life before. I'll give you what it takes to win your respect and admiration, Nakago-sama.'

~~~~

Two blades shone beneath the rising sun of the early morning. They touched, lightly clicking together. Catching the light, the two swords burst into a fray of parries, thrusts, blocks and attacks. The skilled men behind them moved agilely on their feet, as they saw and responded to the moves that were initiated by his enemy.

In the early morning hours of dawn, the two captains let their fury loose as they battled out wills in a classic duel, using their swords. They had used the previous encounters as incentives to go forth with this sparring match. Yet, both knew it was more than that, there was blood for the victor and death for the defeated.

That remained concealed from the observers. Both infantry troops from the American and British Corps watched this unfolding duel in awe and fear. They didn't quite know what to make of it. All they knew was that two men that were supposed to be allies were landing strikes and attacks with swords. There seemed to be no reason; or so it was.

Perspiration dripped from the face of Captain Stonewall. His eyes flared hatefully as he faced Captain Andreas. He had no recollection of what had been meant by the words uttered the last night, yet he had some knowledge as to why they were fighting. He knew it spanned greatly beyond merely a rivalry. A past life enemy seemed about right. After all, that's what the motive for Captain JC Andreas came across as being.

Something sparked in the mind of the dark haired captain. As that did, a red aura forged around him. A sensual, tingling burning erupted on his neck, as the character of sei flared to life. A certain glint returned to his eyes, as he scathingly growled, "you will not take me down, this time! I learnt from my mistake, Nakago!"

Captain Andreas smirked in satisfaction, "Konan-koku no Heika-sama has awakened to find himself once more facing the door of death in his prime."

There was more echoing sounds of metal clashing, as the two battled it out before a growing congregation of spectators. They paid no mind to it, for each had one goal, to disarm the other and be the victor.

With each sword clash, the bright, stainless steel silver blades caught the brilliant light of the sun, sending light into the eyes of the patrons. The swords didn't fall from the hand of either duellist. The only thing that fell from both was the moisture that laden the body and face of each duellist, as each perspired from the heat of the moment and the increasing temperature of the morning,

A moment breaker was the whistle that shrieked from the General. He was very unimpressed by the misconduct of high-ranking officers in the time of war. The men were supposed to be allies, and here they were, duelling in a very childish manner. They even had the gall to do it on base. They failed to have enough common sense to take it off base and go elsewhere.

His stern eyes imploringly stared hard and long at both captains, who immediately snapped to attention, returning their swords to the sheaths attached to their belts. Once doing so, both saluted the general, not moving, for fear that either would get dishonourably discharged from the force and that would be an utter disgrace if it happened.

"Captain Stonewall, Captain Andreas, both of you in my office post haste!" The general barked his order out, as the two captains simultaneously replied with a positive response and quickly moved to his office without another word and without casting a death glance at the other.

The general removed his hat as he wandered away, brushing his fingers through his brush cut. His hair was a striking black and stood straight up despite being crushed by the weight of the cap he wore with his uniform. His eyes were narrow, but not from anger, just by genetics. His face was strong, his jaw long. His height was great, but not looming in a lanky form. He was built with strength. Though he looked like a giant, around women and children he was a gentleman. Near officers committing crimes of dreadful misconduct, he was a stern man that no one dared to trifle with.

Entering his oval office at the main building of the base, he travelled up a few flights of stairs, stopping at the desk outside his office where a meek young woman with large green eyes and auburn hair tied in a ponytail on her head sat. She appeared to be no more than twelve or thirteen, but intellectually she was above her years, so it made up for her shortcomings in her appearance.

She gazed up at him warmly. "Trouble on the field, General Marshall?" She asked.

"Nothing more than a pitifully petty duel between Captain Stonewall and Captain Andreas, Miss Llwellyn." General Dwight Marshall replied stoically, as he paused. "When they come up, direct them right to my office."

"Yes sir." The young woman named Chelsea Llwellyn, scribbled down the information quickly before she turned back to her type writer and continued to write up what she had been handed by various commanding officers in the area. She did it with proficiency giving her a legacy in the area. She had also claimed a reputation for being the most superior in intelligence. She was often matched up against some of the senior officers when they gauged her smarts.

~~~~

Squinting at the light that invaded his senses, Jeremiah groaned. It was morning already, but it didn't feel quite the same. He was used to reveille to awaken him from his stupefied sleep. Waking up naturally was unheard of. Also, the touch, the gentle hand he felt on his face, he wasn't used to it.

Sighing softly, his opened his eyes. His deep blue eyes came to rest on Séamus, who knelt next to the couch, his hand on his face. He smiled warmly. "Your hair was in your face mate. So, you're up, want some tea with bang'rs and mash?"

Jeremiah arched an eyebrow. "Uh, what's that?" He asked groggily, still managing a wane smile, as he sat up. This was nice. He hadn't known family would be like this. Looking at Séamus brought a flood of memories from his past. 'Shun-chan.'

His eyes teared up as he let the memories touch his mind. But, he didn't quite realise that he was until he felt his brother touch a hand to his face, brushing away the tears. He then touched his hand to his brother's, grasping it tightly, as though it was his only life preserver in the world.

"Shun-chan…" Jeremiah softly whispered, his other hand gingerly touching Séamus' face.

The young man blinked, a little a taken back. Contrary, he reflexively replied, "hai, Aniki?"

"You really believe that we're not just who we are now, but that we were once two other beings entirely that lived in a place reminiscent of Ancient China." Jeremiah whispered, his face right in Séamus', as he spoke. His voice was soft; his eyes glinted mischievously. He chuckled mirthlessly; yet found himself stunned to hear the sound of his own laughter. It seemed foreign to him.

He grew serious. "Do you think we're any different than before, if this is a second chance we were given?"

"Surely we are because we weren't born knowing who we were before, so we had a chance to grow up and redeem ourselves for our past sins. We are different than before, after all, we weren't born knowing that we were warriors of the past, we were born knowing what we knew before we acquired memories of our past lives." Séamus explained, sitting next to Jeremiah, pulling him into an embrace.

Melting against his twin, Jeremiah sighed. It felt nice to be held by someone, even if it was his brother. The warm arms around him gave something to hide in, forget about the rest of the world and the evil that always seemed to prevail. He felt a tingling sensation course his body as he found the much needed solace he obtained from being near his twin. The sensation was similar to that of earlier ones, only stronger now.

'What is this? Why is it happening now? What does this mean?' Jeremiah shivered with fear. How he loathed this relishing, erotic sensual feelings that claimed his body without warning. His hand tightly clutched the fabric of his brother's shirt, as he tried to ward off these sinful feelings; these sensations that were too tempting.

In a small voice, he queried, "uh…did you ever feel strangely? You know, feel tingles in your body for no reason?"

"I try to forget that I do. It's revolting, but it keeps happening. There isn't anything I can do about it. If you get the same, just fall in stride, ride it out and it'll stop plaguing you, at least for a short while." Séamus offered, sounding unsure.

"There isn't a way to stop this?!" Jeremiah shut his eyes, burying his face against the crook of Séamus' shoulder. "Does it make us bad if we feel this? Or…is this what it felt like in our other life…"

"No, it's just something we have no control over. Whether or not we felt it before is irrelevant, my brother." Séamus whispered, inhaling his twin's scent. He wanted to learn everything about his brother; memorise everything before it was too late. He wanted to pretend that he had known his brother all his life. It was a sad illusion, but it would give him some hope to cling to.

His hand found Jeremiah's chin. Gently cupping it, he gazed into the deep blue eyes of his brother. They were mirrors of each other; both had pained happiness in their eyes. His other hand came to brush the loose strands of sandy brown hair from Jeremiah's face. As he did so, he didn't realise quite how close his face was to his twin's. Nor did he think about what went through his mind as he brushed his lips over Jeremiah's without any iota of a second thought.

The reaction of Jeremiah was anything but negative. It seemed as though the mouth that had cupped itself over his was the answer and solution to the forlorn tingles and sensations he felt in his body, calling out for a sedative. In further response, he brought his hand to touch Séamus' cheek.

After a minute, each pulled back, slightly stunned. Neither seemed repulsed by what had just happened. Despite their blatant Catholic background and the sin that came with what they just did, they didn't show any remorse for it. They sat facing each other. They said nothing, as a wave of mutual understanding dawned on the pair.

Séamus stood up, stretching. He began to speak his reaction to what had happened, yet made no move to apologise for his actions. "Aniki…" His voice was barely a whisper. "I understand again. I understand why I felt those sinful sensations that I shouldn't have ever felt…"

Standing up, Jeremiah moved so he stood directly in front of the young man that he accepted to be his twin brother. He placed both hands on Séamus' face, gingerly brushing his thumbs over the young man's face. His voice was just a brushing hiss, as he replied, "maybe there is a reason that we do understand, Shun-chan. Maybe it has to do with what just happened. I remember having dreams of a boy identical to me that I grew up with in Ancient China that I had sinful, unbrotherly feelings for my twin. Maybe you had the same as well. It seems that if that was the case, it carried over into this life."

"Aniki…do you think there is more to the memories that we get than we think? I keep seeing more and more. There is a girl, but I don't know what to make of her. She seems too detached. There was also other people…and one who forced the one that was my twin to go to a bad country while a threat for a war loomed…"

"I think we were warriors for a god and we had a girl that came from another world to summon our god. You're right, there was a war; I remember seeing two different countries and getting sent to the enemy for the sake of ours…"

"And…and now history's repeating itself again! You…you're going away. Again…it's for a war." Tears randomly fell from Séamus' eyes, as he pressed his forehead against Jeremiah's. "I have my brother back, now I have to stand losing him again." His choked out an insignificant sob.

"Shhh…it's okay, don't cry, brother. I'll try and see if I can avoid leaving. Even if it means being on duty here, I'll do it. This time I won't willingly leave you." Jeremiah breathed against his twin's mouth, his lips brushing over Séamus' as he spoke.

Mewing plaintively, Séamus sighed. For a strange reason, he had a vague recollection of feeling this in his past. He thought he might have had a relationship like this with his twin, as subtle as this, nothing voiced; all in actions. Yet, now he was unsure of that. He wasn't sure if this had happened or. If it had, was now completely irrelevant, and what mattered was now he did have his brother back.

Raising his hands, grasping his twin's face, he placed both hands on his brother's face. Lightly he pressed his mouth against Jeremiah's, savouring the salty sweet taste of his twin's lips against his. As he did, a tear slid down his face; as though he was missing something still…