Harukanaru Toki No Naka De Fan Fiction ❯ Unbroken ❯ Implication ( Chapter 3 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Unbroken
A Haruka Naru Toki No Naka De Fanfiction
By SailorLight22
Chapter 3 - Implication


I do not own these wonderful bishies, only the plot to this ficlette..
my first Haruka fic, should i continue, or does it suck enough to be yaoi without an ending? xD
ANY replies would be appreciated, be easy though, k?



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Yasuaki stirred, his eyes opening slowly. After a moment of disorientation, he remembered what had happened. After the beasts had been defeated, Eisen had carried him here, and tended his wounds.

The pain in his back had diminished somewhat, but it would be many days before he could move without discomfort. Looking around, he saw that he was lying in a cave, a small stream flowing peacefully nearby. The sight reminded him of his parched throat, and he shook off the last bits of sleep.

As he tried to shift himself, he noticed an unfamiliar weight holding him back. He glanced downward, and saw an arm thrown across his body. He recognized the slender wrist and elegant hand of his partner, but why would the younger man be holding him this way? Pushing down the blanket, he understood.

While sheltered and convenient, the cave had a decidedly damp chill in the pre dawn stillness. The other man must have tried to keep him warm by sharing the only source of heat available to him at the time.

Satisfied with the logic, Yasuaki dismissed the issue in favor of another. Would he be able to move himself far enough to reach the water, without waking his companion? Or would he need to wake him for assistance?

After the obvious effort it must have taken to bring him here, the priest was reluctant to disturb the man. Slowly, he levered himself onto his side, hissing softly as his torn muscles protested the motion. He carefully lifted the man's arm, moving it until it no longer covered him.

Eisen stirred in his sleep, mumbling softly as he rolled onto his back. He threw the arm that had been draped over his partner up to cover his eyes, his full sleeve sliding down to expose his forearm.

Yasuaki froze as he took in the welts and deep scratches that spanned his partner's pale skin. Balancing his weight on his good arm, he reached across the younger man's body to slide up his other sleeve. His left arm was also scored terribly, and closer examination showed that the markings extended past the elbow on both sides.

Turning quickly, Yasuaki looked for the first time at the open throat of his partner's garment. His brow furrowed slightly, and he gently pushed the fabric aside. There were marks there as well, several long scratches covering the hollows of the man's collarbone. They descending to his chest, and possibly beyond.

Yasuaki jerked back in confusion. Where had they come from? Had Eisen carried him through a briarpatch? He shook his head at the thought, dismissing it almost instantly. Surely the youth had more sense than that, he thought. Had it happened while he'd fought the demon beast?

His thirst almost forgotten, Yasuaki attempted to explain the mysterious wounds logically, but could find no reason for his partners injuries. As he lowered his head in thought, several strands of his hair brushed his face, and he absently raised his hand to push them away.

When his hand grasped the errant lock, a sharp smell halted his movements. Peering closely at his fingers, he was stunned to see flakes of skin and blood trapped beneath his short nails. A quick look at his other hand revealed a similar state. A jolt of awareness followed on the heels of the sight.

He had done this.

And the younger man had allowed it, allowed himself to be torn and hurt, and had still taken the time to assure Yasuaki's comfort and safety.

For the second time in his life, Yasuaki felt the sharp sting of moisture gathering in his eyes, and he drew in a sharp breath as his partner turned his head to reveal yet another wound, a long red line that stretched from his left eye to his throat.

This one had bled, he saw. Faint smears of crimson had smudged over his cheek like tears. Yasuaki closed his eyes and turned away, ashamed to see the marks he'd made. He had very little understanding of emotion, but that did nothing to slow the rising sickness he felt at the evidence of what he had done emblazoned across the younger monk's tired face.

He had never really seen that face at rest, he realized. Oh, he'd been near the man as he slept, many times, but he'd always seemed troubled and uneasy, even while asleep. The sight of his unguarded expression was enough to undo him. Over the last several months, he'd begun to notice things about his partner, things like the way he tended to avoid crowds, and the way he chewed his lower lip when he was thinking. After a fight, he usually went off somewhere alone, taking nothing but his flute, and played to relax himself.

Eisen was quiet, but his thoughts were written plainly on his beautiful face for anyone who cared to look. Yasuaki often caught himself watching that face, an odd sensation filling his chest as the younger man sent shy glances his way. The feeling had grown steadily, becoming difficult to ignore, and the longer the priest dwelt on it, the more it confused him. He knew that the others noticed these silent exchanges, but only Tachibana had commented on them, an amused expression on his face as he spoke.

After several stifled attempts at conversation, the eldest Hachiyou had finally cornered him in the gardens one evening. He never treated the other guardians with open disrespect, but as the man began to ask carefully worded questions, the priest had abruptly demanded to know why this was such an interesting subject for discussion. The teal-haired man had appeared surprised, but smiled. 'No reason', he'd said, and walked away, still wearing that infuriating grin.

Since then, Yasuaki had avoided several more attempts at 'talking' from the older man. Nothing he said made any sense to the stoic priest, and his pointed remarks went unheeded. He didn't see the need to discuss his...Interests.. with anyone, so the intrusion was discomfiting. The man had spoken many times of his partner's appearance, noting that many gazes lingered on the young monk as he passed. Yasuaki had only raised an eyebrow at this statement, saying that even a fool would look to the skies in awe of the starlight. This seemed to amuse the man, and he'd replied that while the fool might look, he could never hope to touch. He'd left then, obviously thinking that he'd made some obscure point.

The parting words had shaken him, and his thoughts seemed determined to replay them over and over. After several days, he'd managed to dismiss it as nothing, but his scrutiny of the younger man had not abated. If anything, he watched him more closely, sensing that if he could but grasp the meaning of this feeling, he would understand everything.

Now, staring at the damage he'd caused, he felt his insides twist with self loathing. Even though he seemed aloof and unaware of the younger man's inner self, Yasuaki truly saw his partner as the rest of the world saw him: An elegant mix of masculinity and beauty, strength covered with fragile wrappings.

And somehow, he had marred that beauty, had shredded the covering of his strength with his own dirty hands.

He must have made a sound, some guttural noise that disturbed the young man's rest. The youth flinched, opening hazy eyes full of sleep as he looked up at his partner in gentle confusion.

"Yasuaki-san? Are you all right?", He mumbled, blinking back his urge to yawn. Concern narrowed his deep lavender eyes as he took in the stricken expression on the priest's face.

"Yasuaki-san, what is it? What's wrong?", he asked, his voice rising slightly in panic. He seemed to be in a trance, staring at the younger man's face. Slowly, Eisen raised a hand, waving it in front of the priest's wide eyes.

They neither blinked nor tracked the movement.

Eisen sat up, moving to kneel before him. He pressed his hand gently against his partner's forehead, frowning at the heat beneath his palm. He placed his hands on the taller man's shoulders, careful to avoid his wound.

"Yasuaki-san, you're burning up. Please lie down, I'll get you some water. Please, let me help you." The man started, his eyes piercing.

"Why do you do this? I've harmed you, why don't you let me suffer?" He demanded, his voice rasping.

Eisen stared at him. "You mean these?", He asked, gesturing to his arm. "You didn't do it on purpose, you couldn't have stopped yourself. I knew that when I held you!"

Yasuaki shook his head. "I remember almost nothing. When did it happen? After you brought me here?"

Eisen nodded. "After I checked the cave, I brought you in and cleaned your wound.. There was a lot of dirt and i was afraid it would become infected, so I has to sterilize it." He looked away. "It..It was rather painful. I couldn't just leave you like that, I thought you might hurt yourself. All I could do was hold onto you."

Yasuaki stared. "Did you not feel me doing that to you? You should have released me, I have no memory of it. The pain would have passed, and you would not have been injured yourself." He shook his head. "You had no reason to do that. The pain was part of the healing, it was to be endured."

Eisen was painfully aware of his red face as he replied. "No reason? Yasuaki-san, I wasn't going to just sit here and watch you hurting like that! You're important to me, you're my partner, and my friend!" He closed his mouth with an audible snap. He stood and retrieved a cup from his pack, filling it with water from the stream. He saw that daylight was still several hours away.

"Drink this," He said, thrusting the cup at his partner, "And lie back down. You have a fever, and you shouldn't be moving around just yet."

The older man nodded his thanks, and drank. The water was cool and refreshing, and he felt his thirst fade. Placing the empty cup on the ground, he tried to stand. A wave of dizziness and pain stopped him, and he stumbled.

Eisen gripped his body, halting his fall. "See? You aren't well enough for that, Yasuaki-san." He lowered the man's body to rest on the futon. "I need to make something for your fever, so please just lie down. It won't take long."

Yasuaki opened his mouth as if to protest, but closed it again with a sigh. He still didn't understand why the youth would be so concerned for him, but nothing could be done. He lay still, watching the other man move in the almost complete darkness as he prepared the medicine.

Eisen busied himself as best he could, avoiding his partners steady gaze. While he was relieved that the priest no longer seemed about to protest, he was very worried at how high the man's temperature had risen in such a short time. His mind was telling him that he'd overlooked something, something very important about the wound, and the blade that had inflicted it..

Yasuaki noticed a gradual feeling of wrongness, a sense that things were not as they seemed. He drew a breath, preparing to speak to his companion, but the words refused to come. His eyes widened slightly in alarm as the odd feeling intensified, his muscles tightening painfully as the air left his lungs in a choking cough.

Eisen turned quickly at the sound, a question dying on his lips as he saw the look on the priest's face. Kneeling beside him, he barely controlled his urge to panic as he asked what was wrong. Yasuaki only gasped, his wide eyes becoming unfocussed as he began to lose consciousness.

Eisen placed a hand on the man's chest, feeling the heartbeat slowing beneath his palm. His chest hitched spasmodically, then stilled.

He was dead.

Eisen screamed, gathering his partner's body in his arms as he shook him, his wound forgotten in his grief.

"No! You can't die, I won't let you!" He shook him again. "Please, Yasuaki, please come back..." He sobbed harshly, his face pressed to the man's chest. He jerked away, laying him flat on the ground. He remembered something that Yorihisa had said to him once, about a village boy that had fallen into a pond and drowned. The boy's father had been a sailor, and he had forced air into his lungs, breathing for him until his life had returned. Akane-Sama had called it 'Rescue Breathing', and said that in her time it was used on people who had drowned, or couldn't breathe because of some injury.

Eisen placed his hands over the priest's heart, and felt the tiniest flutter of movement.

Straining his memory, he tipped the priest's head back slightly, opening his throat. He held his nose firmly, and quickly drew in a deep breath. With his free hand, he opened his partner's mouth, and pressed their lips together. He blew out steadily, seeing the man's chest rise with the breath. Then, he pulled back and took another breath, sealing their mouths together again as he tried to establish a normal pattern.

After several more breaths, he listened for a heartbeat. It was faint, but stronger than before. He moved back to the priest's face, holding his hand over his mouth to feel for breath. When none came, he once again covered the man's mouth with his own and breathed out twice.

Silently, he prayed, begging any gods that would listen to help him save his partner.

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My god, couldn't you all just KILL me for leaving it there? (ducks various pointy things) Ha, but never fear! The next chapter is close to being done, you'll have it in you virtual hands within the week, scouts honor!

Reviews, anyone?