S-CRY-ed Fan Fiction ❯ Lost Ground, Lost Souls ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: No, I don’t own s.CRY.ed, dammit… If I did, I would have found better things than fighting for the boys to do together ^_^

A/N: This story will contain yaoi, which for the uninitiated and uninformed means two boys doing the hoop-de-doop. Don’t like it? Bugger off and go read something else. Don’t like it and read it anyway…go ahead and flame me--I don’t give a damn. This story will also contain mature themes, disturbing imagery, and possibly character death. Consider yourselves warned.

Lost Ground, Lost Souls

Chapter 1

Three days behind him lay the remains of an almost totally demolished village; ahead of him, seemingly infinite desert, the only other signs of life, a series of footprints leading off in a drunken line to the west. Tugging the hood of his sand-colored cloak further down to protect his face and eyes from the blistering rays of the mid-day sun, the lone figure pursued the footprints and the man who had made them like justice personified, swift and inexorable.

When he first arrived at the nameless village, Ryuhou had thought at first that it had simply been another victim of the violent upheavals of almost four years ago--upheavals that he had been partly responsible for. As he picked his way carefully through the rubble of the outlying row of ruined houses, however, he noted that much of the wreckage was still smoldering, indicating that whatever had happened here had happened recently, probably only a day ago, two at the most. A brief search of the area turned up a small pocket of survivors in what appeared to be an abandoned barn: an elderly man, two middle-aged women, a teenaged boy and girl, and several small children.

Although it had taken a bit of persuading to convince them that he meant them no harm, once he had managed to do so, the adult members of the group were willing enough to tell him what had befallen their village.

“Native Alter, o’course,” the old man spat as if he’d just uttered the vilest of curses. “Bastard with wild, spiky hair…some sorta armor-like stuff covering his entire body… and a grin that’d make the devil’s blood run cold…”

Although he, for the most part, managed to mask his surprise, he could still feel his eyes widen in disbelief. Surely it can’t be… Not even he would…

“I think it was the devil,” one of the women whispered, her eyes wide, glassy with fear.

“Hush, Reiko,” the other woman replied fiercely as a few of the smaller children began to whimper and sniffle as well. Wrapping her arms comfortingly around the small bodies that huddled closest to her, she whispered a few soothing words to the frightened children before turning a flint-hard gaze back towards Ryuhou.

“He was no devil,” she stated in a flat, weary monotone, “Just a crazy who killed my man…Reiko’s man…Every man, woman, and child in this village except for us,” she added, sweeping an arm out to the side in a gesture indicating herself and the others.

“Now…What I want to know,” she continued, fixing Ryuhou with a sharp, almost angry gaze, “Are you going to bring him down like you brought down our pathetic excuse for a rebel group four years ago… HOLY?”

Ruby-hued eyes widened slightly with surprise as the Alter suddenly realized which village he was in…and how the woman had recognized him. He hadn’t, after all, kept a very low profile when he’d come through before, searching for the members of HOLD being held captive by the rebels. As he recalled, he’d done a fair amount of damage himself on his last pass through.

“Ex-HOLY,” he murmured, his voice barely audible even in the near silence of their surroundings. Briefly meeting the woman’s hard, knowing gaze, Ryuhou lowered his own, bowing his head slightly. “I will.”

Satisfied, the woman nodded stiffly, “Then go to it.”

Although he offered to request aid for them, the remaining villagers stubbornly refused. Apparently sending him out to exact their revenge on their destroyer was all the aid they were willing to accept from him or any other Alter user. Given the circumstances, Ryuhou couldn’t really blame them, and so despite his misgivings, he honored their request.

The rogue Alter had left no discernible trail leading from the doomed village to his current hiding place, but Ryuhou didn’t really need one; he already knew, more or less, where he could find the fugitive, and so, turned his own footsteps to the west, towards the central mountain range that covered most of the Island’s interior - or more precisely, towards the network of caverns that lay at their base. Once in the general area, it didn’t take him long to find the set of footprints pressed into the hard-packed sand of the desert floor, leading directly to one of the ubiquitous caverns carved into the mountains’ base. Unfortunately, by the time he arrived, his quarry was nowhere to be found. Making his way back outside, he followed the base of the mountains, searching the ground until he once again picked up the trail…which only led to another now-empty cave. * * * * * * * *

“Ryuhou-san… I’m worried… about Kazu-kun… I haven’t seen him in so long…”

“You know why he keeps his distance, Kanami… And you know that he can take care of himself.”

“Yes… but…”

“Don’t worry - he’s fine… You know how stubborn he is..”

“But I haven’t dreamed of him in over a year! The only other time that happened was right after the second upheaval! That horrible time when you and Kazu-kun were both missing! Something’s happened to him - I know it! Something…terrible… Please, Ryuhou-san… you’ve got to find him…help him…”

“Even if you’re right… I… doubt he’d accept my help…”

“Please, Ryuhou-san!” * * * * * * * *

“You were right, Kanami-chan…” he murmured, his gaze fixed on the oddly shaped footprints leading him towards yet another cavern, “Something terrible has happened…” The Alter still couldn’t quite credit it. Why would Kazuma do something like this? If it had been a mainland or a HOLY fleet, he could have understood it, but would the younger Alter really unleash his fury on an Inner village in such a fashion, and for no discernible reason? As idiotic and volatile as his rival could be at times, Ryuhou still couldn’t quite believe it. Not the Kazuma he knew.

But then… did he really know Kazuma anymore? Had he ever really known him? After their final, no-holds-barred fight, he and his rival had gone their separate ways, only meeting on occasion when they both happened to show up at the same time to deal with any new mainland incursions. On those occasions, they simply dealt with the interlopers before once again separating; and now that he thought about it, it occurred to him that he hadn’t seen the Alter in almost two years, himself. As far as he knew, no one else, including Kanami, had seen or heard from him in all that time either. Why had Kazuma hidden himself away all this time? What had his rival been up to?

A faint frown settled over his features as he gazed down at the all too clearly marked trail at his feet, and Ryuhou began to wonder if perhaps this would turn out to be just another dead end after all. The tracks were blurred, elongated, as if whoever had made them had been dragging their feet through the sand. Not the way the man he sought walked. Of course, he could be wounded, the green-haired Alter user reminded himself; it wouldn’t be surprising if he were, considering the way he’d have to have been living all this time. Even if he was following the wrong trail, he had no other leads to follow, so he’d continue to follow this one until it proved to be futile.

After all this time…why am I still following you? Is it Fate? Destiny? The thought brought a faint smile to his lips. No doubt you’d say that was nonsense…well…knowing you, you’d probably use a more…colorful…term…

Pausing for a moment, the former HOLY officer leaned against a boulder and reached into the small duffle bag he carried, retrieving his water bottle. Taking a sip, he rolled the cool liquid in his mouth before swallowing, all the while scanning the area. The tracks seemed to lead to a large outcropping of rocks rising above the desert floor to the west. Ruby eyes squinting from the sun’s glare, he peered through the shimmering heat at the jagged edifice, searching for some sign of life or movement, but saw nothing. After a brief rest, the Alter once again shouldered his bag and set off in the direction the tracks led.

You lead…I follow… Just like old times, eh? …Somehow, I would have thought we’d have worked past this sort of thing by now… I’m sure I’m not the one holding us back… but then, you could never let go of anything, could you…you…jackass… But this…this is over the top… even for you…

The tracks disappeared at the entrance of a small cave hollowed into the rock. Lowering himself down onto his hands and knees, Ryuhou peered into the darkness, but could see nothing.

“Hello…?” he called softly, “Kazuma…? Are you in there?” Upon receiving no answer, he frowned, not sure whether to be annoyed or worried. Unzipping his duffle bag, he withdrew a small flashlight, shining it through the cave entrance. Still seeing nothing but more darkness, he crawled through the small gap in the rocks. Once inside, Ryuhou discovered that what he’d taken to be a small hollow, was actually a rather large cavern, high enough to stand upright in, and wide enough for deep shadows to swallow the walls. Even the beam from his flashlight failed to reach the rock surface on the far side of the cave from where he stood.

“Kazuma?” he called again, carefully moving forward as he swung his light around the darkened interior, “Dammit Kazuma! Answer me if you’re in here!”

A low, warning growl sounded from the back of the cave, and swinging his light in that direction, he could just make out a hunched silhouette shambling towards him. In a heartbeat, Zetsuei appeared before him, the violet ribbons unfurling to wind around the attacker, slamming him - or it - face first into the cavern floor. Moving cautiously, Ryuhou approached the prone figure who now lay panting in the dirt, tangled in the ribbons of his Alter, the beam of his flashlight slowly revealing his unknown assailant.

For a moment, Ryuhou didn’t realize that his search had, indeed, been successful, so changed was the figure laying stunned at his feet from the man he remembered. The once proud, muscular frame now appeared gaunt, wasted, the limbs and spine twisted and hunched. Through the tattered rags covering the misshapen form, the Alter could clearly see that his long-time rival’s scars had spread alarmingly, now extending up the right side of the younger Alter’s neck and covering half of his face. The once glossy auburn hair now nearly brushed the other youth’s shoulders and was filthy and matted, shot through with grey. Although the man at his feet was not yet 20, he had the appearance of a man well over twice that age.

Dear God…could he have really destroyed that village? Can he even Alter anymore in the shape he’s in?

Of all the things he’d ever expected to feel when gazing upon his rival, pity had to be the last on the list, and yet that was exactly what he felt as he stared unblinkingly at the pathetic wreckage of a man sprawled upon the cave’s floor. Pity…and something closely akin to grief. The twisted, ravaged figure was suddenly no longer his long-time rival, no longer the same man he’d fought with and fought against, whom he’d hated - and at the same time, almost…loved - for almost four years. The sudden, sharp pang of grief he felt bit into his soul, far worse than the pain he’d felt even over Shiirice’s death. Somehow, Ryuhou knew that he’d lost something precious, something vital to him. Something that could never be replaced.

Hard on the heels of his grief, a bitter, burning rage took its place, and the ruby eyes narrowed to slits as he gazed down at the unconscious man. With barely a thought on Ryuhou’s part, Zetsuei’s ribbons twined snake-like around Kazuma’s throat, digging in slightly although without breaking the skin, the younger Alter’s breathing becoming more labored as a result. As he gazed down at his unconscious rival, Ryuhou’s hands clenched into fists as he prepared to give Zetsuei the silent command to finish the other man once and for all. Why was he hesitating? Whatever Kazuma had been before was gone, and now the other man was truly nothing more than the savage, bestial creature that Ryuhou had always accused him of being -- as the village he’d destroyed could attest.

Several minutes later, he was still standing there, unable to bring himself to end his long-time rival’s life. It was…foolish, but he simply couldn’t do it, not while Kazuma lay sprawled and helpless at his feet. With a heavy sigh, he dismissed Zetsuei, sinking to his knees beside the motionless figure. “How could you?” he hissed, hooking his fingers in the tattered remnants of his rival’s trademark one-sleeved jacket, “How could you have let yourself turn into this…this…shadow?!” Roughly yanking the still body up from the cavern floor, crimson eyes like twin laser sights glared into the ravaged face. “Wake up!” he growled, shaking the limp body like a rag doll, “Wake up and…fight me, you obnoxious bastard!”

Panting raggedly from his efforts to rouse his apparently comatose rival, Ryuhou gave the other man another contemptuous shake and was on the verge of letting the unconscious Alter fall back onto the cavern floor when another stab of grief, unexpected as the blade of a stiletto, again knifed through his chest, tearing a loud, sobbing gasp from him. His face crumpling, he pulled the too-still body back into his arms, burying his face in his rival’s shoulder as he crushed the frail body against his own, his hoarse, jagged sobs echoing through the cavern.