Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ When An Angel Cries ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

A/N: okay..this is my first Esca fic..well not counting the parody carols I did for Christmas. This is Yaoi of course and can be quite violent. The pairings may vary so I won't list them except for Chesta/Gatti…that is a definite. Anyway I do hope you enjoy…

Disclaimer: okay…now this is where I bawl because I didn't get Dilly-sama for Christmas like I wanted. Oh well…what can a girl do I'll just have to try and buy him instead XD…..But until then I do not own him or his slayers…..yet ^.~ ( and you can keep most of the rest)

Chapter 1

The young blonde teen had an almost innocent air about him as he walked down the brightly decorated streets. The annual festival was incredibly boring again, as it seemed to be every year that he had attended. There were same old booths where merchants tried to sale off junk as treasures, there were lame side show acts and of course numerous women that propositioned themselves for the right price.

Then there were soldiers from other armies that always wanted to pick fights with him and his companions. It always seemed to Chesta that these other men always had something to prove by causing trouble for Zaibech's most famous elite fighting force. It was usually troublesome for the Dragonslayers because it never failed that at least one of them eventually ended up getting reprimanded for fighting while trying to protect the honor of what he believed in.

The Dragonslayers and even more so their captain had always been a source of controversy in the Zaibech government. Dilandau Albatou was far from conventional when it came to running his young army, but he never failed to get even the most impossible job done. It was his gift.

Chesta had found out recently that a dreaded rumor that had been circulating through the ranks was true. General Quu of the Iron army had been given permission to form his own elite group and had done so months ago. It was no secret that General Adelphos and General Quu were bitter rivals so it really came at no surprise. Rumor also had it was that this new group was also supposed to show just how incompetent the Dragonslayers really were. Chesta at one point a couple of weeks had to restrain his fellow Slayer Dalet from killing a soldier. The unfortunate and rather idiotic fellow had told Dalet after several drinks that now they will see that the Dragonslayers are just a bunch of pretty kittens with no real bite. Of course Dalet tried to show the poor soul just how much bite he had and it took both Chesta and Gatti to pull him out of the room.

Chesta snickered out loud as he thought about how the guy almost fainted when he realized how close he came to death, this though caused Gatti the second-in-command and his best friend to give him a strange stare. Chesta just shrugged it off with one of his angelic smiles as he looked at the nearest booth to see what the merchant was selling and nearly cracked up laughing. The buffoon was trying to sale what he proclaimed to be an honest to goodness dragon claw that was obtained deep from within the Fanelian borders. What really got Chesta though was that there were actually some fools who believed him. The blonde wondered what they would do if they knew it was nothing more than an Asturian Buzzard's foot.

Hearing a sigh beside him the blonde slayer looked over at Gatti who's eyes were fixed down one of the rows. Turning to see what had caught his friend's undivided attention Chesta's eyes went wide in disbelief. Walking towards them were four men dressed in gray and black armor similar to their own with the most arrogant of looks on their faces.

"Who are they?" Chesta asked as he took in the scowl they had given them as soon as he and Gatti had been noticed.

"They Chesta are General Quu's army answer to the Dragonslayers, their known as the Dark Destroyers." Gatti said in disgust.

"Dark Destroyers? What in the hell kind of name is that and they're so much older than us?" Confusion was starting to set in on the smaller of the two. How was this supposed to compare to Dilandau-sama's famous fighting force?

"Well their General felt it would have been better not to have soldier's as young as ourselves….it seems they never understood General Aldepho's idea in using "boys" as I heard that they call us."

"Boys…" Chesta sneered, "I should let my sword show them how much of a boy I am."

Gatti let out a soft laugh and put his hand on Chesta's shoulder as much to comfort as anything else. Gatti was the opposite of their beloved captain; he was calm, rash and caring. There were times when he had sat by their sides after a particularly brutal training session that would leave one of them in the hospital for days. Always one to put other's before himself there was little wonder why Dilandau-sama had chosen him to be his second.

Pale blue eyes twitched a little as Chesta watched the four Dark Destroyers approach them and he could easily see the disdain in their eyes. Chesta had a hard time controlling the smirk on his face as a thought struck him, `their jealous of us. They are jealous of what we our to Zaibech and they were jealous of the fact that know matter what they do they will always be considered second best.

"What do we have here? Two lost pets looking for their master's ass to lick?" The tallest said as he approached them but his eyes resting on Chesta.

Feeling Gatti tense Chesta put a hand on the hilt of his sword and but kept his voice calmer than he felt. "Why are you even talking to us?" The young blonde felt Gatti's hand squeeze his shoulder almost painfully as a warning not to be taunted into a fight. Folken had made explicit instructions not to fight with other armies or disciplinary actions will be taken against them. This is one of the few things that would actually scare a dragonslayer because that usually meant the one thing they feared the most….expulsion.

"Normally we wouldn't you little pissant, but your standing in our way." The Dark Destroyer said with a challenging gleam to his eye, a gleam that was making it hard for the two fierce warriors to ignore.

Chesta could feel Gatti trying to control his emotions and almost hear him count backwards from ten as the insults hit them both. Then in his calm and clear voice the handsome second finally spoke.

" The row is big enough for even you mammoth's to go around us unless you are looking for a fight. Then if you are I must tell you that you will not find one here. If you attempt to even start one then I will be forced to report you. It is against the laws to fight amongst ourselves and you know that."

"You little chicken shit, a coward that's what the bunch of you are. You would run and tattle like a little girl instead of taking care of things like men." The man who had been sneering at us turned and looked at his comrades, "I guess this what it means to put boys into a man's position."

Chesta's blood was boiling fiercely, there was nothing more he wanted to do then take his this idiot's head off but the price was too high. His own voice was soft and almost a whisper. "No unlike you idiots we know how to follow orders which is what soldiers are supposed to do. Without doing that then you ware nothing more than mercenaries or worse, we have our instructions and follow them without question or pause."

"That's what makes us different from you and why you will never surpass us. We are the perfect soldiers…you are the almost perfect soldiers." Chesta was surprised when Gatti had spoken up his voice chilled and almost arrogant in it's own way. Deep blue eyes narrowed dangerously

The Dark Destroyer looked like he wanted to kill us both and his face kind of reminded Chesta of an energist about ready to explode causing the youngest slayer to almost laugh in his face. `Maybe we should talk to Folken about using soldiers with foul tempers as new energy sources for our Guymelefs,' Chesta thought but didn't say out loud even though he wanted to.

Gatti having had enough of them and not knowing if he could control his friend or his own temper simply turned Chesta around and walked away without a word. Gatti wanted nothing more than to teach them exactly who they were but knew that his hands were tied. "One day," he mumbled, "one day they're going to learn."

Chesta thought he heard them talking about them and telling them to watch their back but he just shrugged it off. They didn't scare him as much as they would have liked, and he figured he could handle himself without any problems. Looking over at Gatti, Chesta could see the same expression on his face that Chesta knew was on his own, it said….they are mutts and we are the top dogs.

Each army had set up camp outside the fair grounds to make it easier to come and go as the soldier's needed. The Dragonslayers of course had their own little place away from the others so that they would not be disturbed. Chesta and Gatti made it back to the camp without any more incidences. They were both quite relieved and were looking forward to just relaxing for the rest of the night.

They were both deep in their thoughts as they strolled past the different tents when they stopped suddenly and their ears perked up. There was quite a racket coming from one particular place, and that place was Dalet's tent. Chest glanced at Gatti and the two nodded to each other and decided to see exactly what was going on.

Walking into the tent Chesta almost turned right around and walked out not wanting to get involved. It seemed that Guimel had gotten the idea to pick up some girls who were now dancing around Dalet's tent in nothing more than their underwear. Viole and Dalet were busy taking bets on who would lose all their clothes first and Guimel was just watching while sipping on some warm spiced wine.

"Do you have any idea what Dilandau-sama would do to all of us if he found out about this," Gatti said jokingly as he walked in.

Dalet and Viole both jumped and bumped in to each other at the sound of Gatti's voice. The scene was actually quite funny and caused Guimel to almost snort his wine from laughing so hard. Of course this earned a deadly glare from both of his comrades.

Shaking his head Chesta definitely decided it was time to leave before this got him in to trouble. The thought though was soon swept out of his mind though when he felt a slender arm around his waist. "Hello cutie and just who are you?" The woman asked sounding so much older than him.

"Ch-Ch-Chesta…" Chesta said wincing inwardly at how it came out. Chesta was by in no means innocent but aggressive women always made him nervous.

"Chesta, what a nice name…" She purred and Chesta's eyes went wide as her hand's wandered to places that they just should not go. Jumping away from her his face a very nice shade of red causing the rest of the boys to snicker.

"Listen, thank you very much for taking interest in me but I'm really not into this." Chesta sighed, `What else could I say,?' He thought, `hello my name is Chesta and not only am I secretly in love with my captain but also his second in command. That would have gone over really well wouldn't it?' Not that it was unusual, after all Dalet and Viole were very close. It had never been proven but rumor had it that they shared a bed from time to time.

"Chesta I promise I wont bite you…"

`Oh my…I do believe she's coming closer again. Can't she take a hint!' The blonde's thoughts were going wild on trying to figure out what to do next.

"What in the hell is going on in here?!"

Chesta's heart sank suddenly at the smooth voice he loved and feared so well. They had been caught and as Chesta slowly looked over his eyes went even wider. There stood Dilandau and what made it worse was that he had an accompaniment of generals with him. Looking up into those blazing eyes and seeing the embarrassment and disappointment in them….Chesta felt shame like he had never had before.

Miguel walked up beside Dilandau, Chesta guessed he had been attending the meeting as well. Miguel was more glaring at the girls then his comrades though, as he was the extremist of the group. He truly felt that anyone outside the Slayers wasn't even good enough to lick their boots let a lone touch a Slayer. Chesta guessed that's why Dilandau-sama found him so interesting.

Gatti looking the worse for the wear walked over to Dilandau and kneeled suddenly in front of him. Seeing him do this brought the youngest member out of his panic and was soon on his knees as well. The sound of leather and armor hitting the floor told Chesta that the others were quickly doing the same.

"Well I hope that you have a good excuse for this Gatti, I hope for your sake that this isn't what it seems. My Dragonslayers would not risk MY reputation by having an illegal celebration in their private tents would they Gatti?"

Chesta could see the slight tremble go through Gatti's body and he felt for him. The fear that Dilandau could put into a person with just soft-spoken words was amazing and as much as Chesta wanted to tell Dilandau that this wasn't his fault he kept his mouth shut. To do so would only have made Dilandau angrier and would have done nothing to help his friend. Their actions would be taken out on their sub commander no matter what they said, that was just the way it worked.

" I haven't exactly explored the reason for the girls being here yet sir."

Chesta bit back the sigh, what else could Gatti say, he wouldn't have had his job for the world. Gatti was held responsible for things that he didn't even know about at times and usually punished worse than any of them. But the young blonde couldn't help but look up to him as well as he took it on with pride and dignity, each blow almost a reward for his hard work.

Dilandau shook his head at them and Chesta saw him lean down whispering something quietly to Gatti. The look on Gatti's face made him shudder, whatever punishment their lord had decided obviously it was only for between them to know and not the generals that were with him. Turning his eyes to the rest of the Slayers now, the anger barely restrained and his voice tight. "I doubt that I should have to say this twice, I want things back in order, the women returned from wherever you got them and then report back to my tent dressed and polished …is that clear."

Most commanders would have yelled and barked that command, but not Dilandau. His voice was soft and almost light, but it held more force behind it then the loudest and meanest curse. It's a voice that is deadly and calm full of menacing promise.

Still on his knees Chesta's heard himself snap with a "Yes Sir!" Then as quick as he came Dilandau was gone like a shadow with the others. Chesta knew they had embarrassed him greatly, the one thing that he would not tolerate from anyone. Looking over at Gatti and seeing the pain in his eyes Chesta wondered what on Gaea Dilandau-sama had said to him.

Miguel walked over to Chesta giving him one of his very rare smiles. "Come on Chesta, let's get things in order before we make him even more irate then need be. Let Gatti handle whatever is coming on his own, that's the way it should be."

"It wasn't his fault Miguel," the youth looked up to the eldest of them almost pleading. Though why he didn't know, after all what could Miguel have done. "We had just gotten here and this was already going on, Gatti didn't even know about it."

"When has that ever mattered Chesta, you know that. Dilandau-sama is quite angry and unfortunately he is taking it out on Gatti."

Sighing Chesta knew that Miguel was right, there was absolutely nothing anyone could do for him, and it would be insulting to Gatti's pride if they even tried to intervene. Chesta understood him though; he would have been insulted as well even if the good intentions were there. Dragonslayers prided themselves on being able to handle anything that came their way, even if that included Dilandau's famous wrath.

Gatti suddenly turned to Dalet and Guimel who had been arguing on who had to take the girls back to town. Viole of course was taking Dalet's side; he took his side in everything unless it was opposed directly to what he wanted to do.

"I don't give a damn who goes, but if one of you aren't out of my sight in two seconds with them then I swear I'll make it so you won't have need of a woman for years to come." Needless to say Gatti had finally lost his temper with them.

The two paled hearing the worlds coming out of the normally calm slayer, knowing that he had finally reached his limit. Without another word Dalet motioned for the now very quiet girls to follow him. They did without hesitation wanting to get away from the tension as quick as possible.

Miguel sighed as he looked around the tent before leaning over and speaking softly into Chesta's ear. "Go get dressed Chesta, let the other's handle the clean up in here, make sure your uniform is perfect though."

Giving Miguel a soft smile of appreciation and nodding Chesta hurried out of the tent with a small glance at Gatti. He could have sworn the deep blue eyes of the second softened just a little as they locked with his own pale blue one's, but that could have also been his imagination.

Chesta found that getting presentable didn't take that much time and was soon hurrying towards Dilandau-sama's tent. Walking into his captain's tent he felt like his heart was going to jump out of his chest he was so nervous. Seeing the other's he quickly ran over to them the entire Slayer squad looking spotless and sharp. Dilandau hadn't gotten there yet and it made it that much worse for them wondering what was going to happen. Dilandau did this on purpose usually just to make them even that more anxious.

The whispers soon turned into a sharp silence and the quick sound of snapping as they suddenly dropped to their knees as soon as Dilandau walked into the tent. Lowering his eyes to the ground Chesta couldn't see him but he could hear him as he walked past, his boots making a soft sound on the floor. Chesta resisted the urge to cringe as he passed by him closely, his body instinctively wanting to prepare for the sharp slap that very well could happen at any moment.

The slap never came though, at least not for him. Chesta heard him suddenly turn on his heels and stalk another way followed by a loud crack. The sound of the body skidding across the soft floor was muffled compared to if they been the Vione where it would have made quite the racket.

"You dare embarrass ME like that in front of the generals!" There was a low thump and a bitten back cry of pain knowing that Dilandau had just taken his foot to the person's ribs. At least Chesta didn't hear a crack that could have been a rib or some other bone.

"I'm sorry Dilandua-sama please forgive me!"

Chesta bit his lip, Dalet was the one that had been slapped to the floor. Chesta hated it when any of them got hit or beat, he didn't think it was all that fair, but he would dare not say anything in fear of the next beating might be his. Risking a side-glance to Gatti to try and judge how his friend was doing caused a slight frown to come on to his boyish face. Gatti's eyes were perfectly fixed on the floor and expressionless.

There were times Chesta wished he could be much more like him, `look at him' he thought `the perfect soldier.' The sound of boots approaching caused his own eyes to focus on the a bit of dust straight on the floor. He held his breath but thankfully they passed him on by and from the sound of it, Dilandau-sama was now letting Guimel know just how unhappy he was.

Once his tirade was over the slayers were quickly called to stand at attention, which they did in an instant as the command was given. Even Dalet and Guimel stood with blood pouring down their face from noses and lips. They all would of, after all if they couldn't take a little pain then they wouldn't be Dragonslayers as Dilandau-sama had once said.

Watching Dilandau pace back and forth like a caged snow leopard Chesta tried not to admire him. Even at this serious moment he couldn't help it though, after all there wasn't a creature neither as beautiful nor as deadly as the one before him. " I have never been so embarrassed as I had been today. Just earlier I was telling them how well disciplined my men were and you just proved that I was either a liar or a fool. Now tell me am I either one men?"

"No Dilandau-sama!" The cry echoed across the night and Dilandau seemed to stop to listen to it as it did. Chesta himself wanted to crawl into a hole and die, they had done the unthinkable…they had shamed him.

`I see…" Those two words just sent a chill through his veins; those two words could mean so much. Then after a long pause his spoke barely above a whisper, "Everyone is dismissed."

Now that surprised Chesta and he couldn't help but wonder what was he up to? They snapped to attention giving him a salute but before anyone could leave his voice clear and calm rang out "Everyone that is but Gatti… you stay."

Chesta threw a panicked look over at his second command and wanted to say something. Gatti's face was pale but resolved. `He knows,' he thought, `he knows whatever Dilandau-sama has in store for him.' The respect Chesta had for Gatti's bravery at that moment was never higher.

Chesta didn't want to leave, he wanted to turn and beg Dilandau-sama not to punish him. Though with the knowledge that not only would it do no good but also it would probably make it worse he decided against it. So he did the only thing he could, he turned and followed the others out. Walking sullenly back to his tent Chesta thought about what happened earlier that day with the Dark Destroyers so he didn't have to think about the beating he knew one of his closest friends was getting.

He was so lost in his thoughts that the blonde almost jumped out of his skin though when he felt someone's hand on his shoulder. "What's on your mind Chesta?"

Letting a smile creep over his lips he turned and faced the ever-stealthy Miguel. "Just about some people we met today the ones that supposed to be our equal." Chesta couldn't help but chuckle at Miguel's short laugh; it was absurd to think that anyone could be so ridicules.

"That's what they wish, but there is no way that anyone could match us and they know that. It makes them bitter you know that "kids" our age can better them in all ways."

Chesta nodded, "yes Gatti and I had this conversation already earlier. But it wont stop them from trying you know. I guess we could take it as a compliment."

"It's a pain in the ass is what it is," Chesta turned and saw Guimel who was trying not to limp come up to him.

Miguel nodded in agreement to the curly haired slayer and then somehow blended in with the shadows leaving silently. Miguel didn't speak very much to anyone; why he spoke to Chesta the youth would never know. Chesta used to be jealous of him, after all out of everyone he caught Dilandau's eye the best. He wasn't sure what went on in their late night meetings but he had a feeling if he ever knew for sure it would break his heart.

"What do you think is happening to Gatti?" Guimel asked looking back towards the area where Dilandau's tent stood. There was dried blood still caked on his lips but at that moment Guimel didn't seem to care. His main concern was the same as Chesta's the fate of their friend.

"Do you really want to know?" Chesta asked hoping that he would just drop the subject. The fact is both of them knew he was probably getting the daylights beat out of him. "Any word on Dalet?"

Viole had helped Dalet over to the medical tent after they had left. Dalet had suffered more in his beating then Guimel did and required medical treatment afterwards. This wasn't anything new for any of them; Chesta remembered several times that he himself had been sent to the Medical Center sometimes for days.

Guimel shook his head, "no but from what Viole was saying it's not all that serious. He will probably be kept over for observation and nothing more."

Chesta nodded and turned down a path that headed to his tent. "Well I'm off to bed and after tonight if you were smart you would do the same."

"Yeah, the last thing I want tonight is to get in trouble for breaking curfew as well," Guimel joked as he absently ran his tongue over his split lip. Chesta chuckled and with a wave left the curly haired slayer walking into his tent.

Sighing he undressed and carefully hung up his armor making sure that in the morning there wouldn't be much to do to make himself presentable. Dilandau-sama always required them to dress to perfection, which was one of the top rules for being a Slayer.

Flopping down on the bed Chesta sighed trying to will himself to sleep, but he knew it was going to be a long night. Every time he closed his eyes he could picture Gatti's face and would strain his ears hoping to hear him stumbling to his tent that was next to his own. Chesta waited all night for the sound of his best friend and without result.

The next morning Chesta was up and dressed before the rest wanting to find out what exactly happened. Sliding his sword into his sheath as he was finally ready he opened his flap and jumped back in surprise. Without even thought he dropped down to one knee as he had always been trained to do when in the presence of his Captain.

Dilandau let his eyes wander over him and smiled slightly, a smile that was devoid of all warmth. "You are worried about Gatti aren't you Chesta?" Chesta cringed, he could hear the mocking in his voice and at that moment he thought he hated him as much as he loved him. Keeping his voice low so as not to risk a slap he answered, "Hai."

"What do you think I did to him?" He asked again almost lazily as he looked down at his hand examining a glove. "Do you think I put him in the medical center for failing me…maybe expelling him or….killing him?"

Chesta shivered at his words. It had not really crossed his mind that Dilandau would even go so far as too hurt Gatti that bad. After all, the light brown haired slayer was one of the best only equaled by Miguel. But then again Dilandau had been seriously embarrassed yesterday…and if he was in the mind to do it then ….

Chesta soon found himself across the ground and his cheek stinging as he realized he had been slapped. "Why do you not answer me? Did you not hear me?"

Chesta realized he had been too lost in his thoughts and had not answered his captain. "No sir! Forgive me Dilandau-sama and I am sure you punished Gatti as how you deem fit and deserving." Chesta hoped that the answer would make the temperamental Dilandau satisfied.

"Rise" The soft-spoken voice said and Chest was on his feet standing in attention in a heartbeat. "Follow me…" Dilandau said with a slight gleam to his eyes and started walking back to his tent.

`I'm dead…' Chesta thought as he followed Dilandau obediently. His stomach seemed to turn to iron as the large tent came into view. `That was the wrong answer…but what was the right answer? Would anyone have known?' The blonde's thoughts were threatening to make him panic and only out of sheer will power born from the Slayer's training did he keep his composure.

When he walked into the tent though his eyes went wide. There sitting at one of the large tables was Gatti and Miguel going over paperwork of some kind. Gatti glanced up at Chesta and he could tell the second supported a black eye and a bruised cheek but nothing else seemed more serious.

He could almost feel the chuckle coming off of Dilandau rather than hear it. "Gatti, Miguel and I were discussing these Dark Destroyers that seem to have caught the Emperor and his council's eyes. Gatti was telling me last night on how you two ran in to two of them and their attitude."

Gatti gave Chesta a quick smile and it hit him. They had spent the entire night learning what they could on this new elite group and finding out if they were truly a threat to the Dragonslayer's existence or not. Chesta couldn't help the slight smile that played on his lips. "Hai we saw them and they were quite rude.

"I see…" Dilandau said as he walked over sitting down at the table. A motion that meant things went from being formal to informal. Chesta walked over and sat across from Gatti very relieved that he wasn't in the hospital or dead

"From the rumors around the palace they say that General Quu really sold these guys and now most people think they will replace us. Or at least hoping so." Miguel said as he looked over a report. How he managed to gather the records that he did Chesta didn't know nor did he want to.

"That's absolutely ridicules," Gatti added his eyes blazing little.

Dilandau just snorted in response at the thought that anyone could be better than his slayers. Chesta though felt a little worried, it was true one on one they could not be defeated. But what if another general backed them, what if they felt that Dilandau had become too much of a lose cannon.

Suddenly fear sparked through Chesta, would Zaibech try to take Dilandau-sama out of the field even though he was the best. It was known to happen if they didn't think they could control him anymore, did Folken-sama want this?

Miguel glanced at Chesta wondering what in the world was on the youngest slayer's mind. Fear clearly showed in those eyes and a slayer didn't fear anything except…he let his eyes travel to his captain and lover, was he afraid for Dilandau. Miguel knew that Chesta had good intuitions and made a mental note to ask him later about it.

"Chesta I want you to go back to the festival today…" Dilandau's soft voice said all joking put aside now, time to get down to business. "I want you to gather as much information from the streets. You'll need to do this a lone I don't want them suspicious. Which is also why I'm choosing you."

Chesta didn't take it as an insult he knew that Dilandau didn't mean it that way. The fact that he was the youngest and most innocent looking one of them all wasn't anyone's fault. "Hai Dilandau-sama" He said automatically.

"Very Good, Gatti I want you to go back to your tent to gather the other's and explain to them that they are to stay on campsite all day. If anyone other than Chesta is caught absent then I will personally see them expelled for treason to my slayers…is that understood."

"Hai Dilandau-sama" Gatti said with a sharp nod. Chesta sighed, this was serious Dilandau was definitely not playing around at this. He must be worrying about what was going on in the higher ups as much as he was.

"Very well then both of you are dismissed, when your assignments are completed come back and see me. Oh and Chesta dress out of uniform, go as a commoner, you may be able to get better information."

The three Slayers were stunned, never had Dilandau ever asked them to wear anything else beside their armor. In fact normally they would have been punished immediately if they had been caught in anything else. `Very worried,' Chesta nodded and stood up bowing. Gatti stood up as well giving a respectful bow and did an about face. Walking out with Chesta neither said a word as they left the tent.

Miguel watched them go then turned his deep sapphire eyes onto crimson ones. "Chesta is scared for you," he said simply.

Dilandau smiled a little, "I know and he may have good reason to be. Not all of the councilors approve of the way I do things. The fact I get things done is of no concern to them and their politics." He spat out the last word like it was a dirty sock.

Miguel nodded and knew he would have killed any one of those councilors if they had so much muttered anything wrong about Dilandau. He loved Dilandau like he loved no one else, though he had to admit he was quite fond of Chesta. Dilandau though was his life and would always be his life. He also knew countless times he would have been dead without his captain there, both outside of combat and in it.

"No matter, they will soon learn that they can not do without me." Dilandau said airily. "Fetch us some wine Miguel and then we'll look over these reports one more time." Miguel quickly did as he was asked and soon the two were engrossed in trying to find a weakness in the Dark Destroyers.

Chesta was looking down at his feet as he walked, there were so many things he wanted to ask Gatti but didn't dare. Gatti seemed pretty healthy actually and it just didn't seem to make sense.

"He likes to play mind games don't forget that Chesta," Gatti said absently.

Chesta blinked and looked up at him, "What?"

"I know you too well and I caught a glance of your face when you were leaving. You were wondering if I was going to live through the night and after what Dilandau-sama told me I was wondering too. Most of it thought was just a mind game and nothing more, too put everyone on their toes."

Chesta smiled a little brighter, "like this morning when he came to my tent and made me wonder if he had killed you."

Gatti laughed, " yes just like that." Chesta laughed a little as well, Dilandau definitely had a warped sense of humor. "Chesta…be careful."

Chesta glanced up into Gatti's eyes seeing nothing but caring and worry there. "What is there to be careful about Gatti? I mean it's not like I would actually have anything to worry about when it comes to them is it?"

Gatti shook his head, "don't be overconfident Chesta. Like any dog, alone they may have to cower to their better but in a pack they can be deadly." Chesta let Gatti's words sink in and slowly he nodded.

"I see what your saying Gatti and yes I'll be careful."

Gatti gave him a grateful smile before pushing him towards his tent, "well hurry it up Chesta, you don't want Dilandau-sama angry because someone reported back about how long it took you to leave." Giving Gatti a wave Chesta agreed quickly and hurried off to change for town.

The festival was the same as it was the day before except that out of uniform Chesta found that people didn't give him quite the respect. He had left his sword back at his tent to give himself a more credible look but kept a dagger tucked safely in his boots.

"I never knew exactly what being part of Dilandau-sama's slayers did for you, "Chesta said to himself as yet again he argued with a merchant over a price of fruit. Yesterday the same merchant would have probably rushed and told him that it was his for the taking as not to want trouble.

There were defiantly advantages of being a Dragonslayer outside the just pure pride of it. Of course you had a few disadvantages but Chesta always had a hard time remembering what those were.

It wasn't long until he made his way into a tavern figuring men like those of the Dark Destroyers would best be found there. Walking in and taking a seat in the corner of the room that was covered in shadows, Chesta waited. The owner of the tavern had at one point come over not to ask him what he needed but to try and throw him out for being too young to be in there. All Chesta did was turn to him pull out his dagger which had the Slayer's emblem on it and play with it as he spoke. The keeper recognized it immediately and backed off quickly getting the slayer a glass of his best vino free of charge.

Smirking Chesta only sipped at the stuff though since he was on assignment. He couldn't help but think about how Gatti would have laughed over the fat keepers face when he had realized he had tried to throw out one of Dilandau's men. The man probably thought Dilandau-sama himself would show up and strike him down for such insolence.

Soon Chesta's prey walked into the room, five Dark Destroyers. Most of them were huge and looked like they would definitely be someone to reckon with. Chesta sat back in the shadows watching and listening for anything that may help his captain.

"Keeper!" one of the Dark Destroyers called, "get your lazy fat ass over here now!" There was a chorus of laughter from the other men as the poor Tavern Keeper ran over to them. It was obvious by his armor being more elaborate then the other's that this man was their Captain.

"What took you so long?" The Dark Destoyer Captain said with a gleam in his eyes. "You wouldn't have kept one of Folken's brats that long…..Stupid slob." Chesta tensed and hoped that the keeper wouldn't let on about his presence there.

"I apologize sir…it won't happen again,." The Keeper soon found himself on the floor holding his stomach where he had been hit. "Damn right it won't happen again you lazy slob, my men and I our thirsty now get us your best and be quick about it."

Chesta steamed a little, sure the slayers tended to be a little bit arrogant but they never bullied. It was against their code, Dilandau-sama wouldn't let them appear so weak as to do so. They were soldiers that were to hold themselves higher than that plus they had better things to do.

The Tavern keeper hurried around waiting on the soldiers with whatever they asked even if sometimes it was ridicules. Chesta was starting to actually wonder if this was all they were going to do today when something suddenly caught his ear

"They say it's just a matter of time before they finally pull that monster off the field and take care of him. They say he's too dangerous and is getting in the way of what Zaibech actually wants. From what one of the documents said seems that Adelphos and Folken are running out of reasons to protect him. When that happens then those boy's will become ours and they will be sent away back to the orphanage where they belong."

"Are you serious? They would actually kill Dilandau ?"

"It's a possibility, I'm just hoping that it's us that gets to do the honors. Maybe if were lucky some of those boys will try and get in the way and we can finally show them what a man is like."

The rest at the tables were laughing and Chesta felt sick to his stomach. Dilandau-sama was worth more than this whole bunch at the table if not their whole army. He is the reason why Zaibech was as great as what it was and yet he gets no credit it for it. How dare they…Chesta's hand twitched almost looking for the sword that wasn't there. He would teach them the meaning of talking about his captain that way.

But unfortunately it wasn't there, or maybe fortunately for Chesta as Dilandau would have not have taken it so kindly for him to have been so careless. Instead he knew he had to get out of there, and report what he over heard to the group. Deciding that passing by the group would not be a good idea the blonde made up his mind to go out the back.

Getting up quietly he glanced at the back door and then back at the group to make sure they were busy talking to each other. Deciding that he wasn't noticed he quietly stood up and headed for the door. He was so busy concentrating on trying not to be seen by the group that he failed to notice the figure standing at the door watching him go.

The figure hurried over to the table and whispered to his companions who turned in time to just see the young slayer close the back door. The Tavern keeper paled as he watched the entire group stand and head out the front door to try and meet up with the little snoop out in the back alley.

Chesta had finally got to the door closed and was hurrying down the alleyway when a shadow fell across him. Looking up he saw the tremendous physique of the captain of the Dark Destroyers in front of him. Scowling Chesta pulled his dagger and backed up a little as soon more Destroyers showed up.

"So Dilandau has a little song bird does he, don't deny it my man remembers seeing you from yesterday."

"I'm not going to deny it I'm proud to be a Dragonslayer, much prouder than I would be under your command. Your not even worthy of licking Dilandau-sama's armor let along trying to take his place." Chesta said with a new surge of anger.

"Is that so ?" The Dark Destroyer captain said as he approached the much smaller Chesta. "I see the rumors are untrue that Dilandau keeps all of you on a tight leash. I know if any of MY boys talked to their superiors like that then I would have had to beat the crap out of them. Seems like I'm going to have to do what Dilandau can't."

Chesta was seeing red now, how dare he insult Dilandau-sama. With a scream built of pure rage he charged the Dark Destroyer captain who was clearly surprised that the boy would do so. Quickly one of the men under his command made the mistake in trying to intercept him.

Chesta cut him down in a matter of seconds; the man had absolutely no chance. Chesta made sure that he wounds were not lethal though he didn't want to be accused of murder along with all the other problems they were going to have.

The Dark Destroyer's paused for a moment as the fierce blonde turned his blazing eyes at them. "Who's next…" he seethed. Chesta though would soon regret those words as the entire group descended on him.

Before the blonde knew it one Destroyer had his right arm and another had his other arm. Star's started to flash in front of his eyes where someone had actually hit him in the head with the blunt of their sword. He could feel the blood pouring down the side of his face from the blow at the temple and for a moment his vision swam.

"That was stupid boy." The captain growled, "now I guess I will definitely have to teach you a lesson the night Destroyer way." He nodded to two of the warriors that were just standing by. "Go stand watch at the end of the alley, don't let anyone down here.

Chesta watched as the two saluted then left reducing the number to only four Destroyer's now. The Destroyer captain walked over to Chesta and backhanded him with all his might. Chesta laughed, "is that the best you can do I've been hit harder as a love tap from our captain."

This absolutely enraged the captain as he pummeled what he considered an insolent brat and Chesta'a awareness only knew pain…nothing mores. Blood was running down his face and into his eyes causing them to sting, but not once did the proud little warrior utter a word.

Chesta only hissed through his lips as his was beaten just about everywhere on his body, he could feel a few of the ribs crack. His quietness though only seemed to anger him further and when he stopped, Chesta almost laughed in his face again having been beaten far worse by Dilandau's own hands before. The laugh though was quickly cut off by a scream that was ripped from his throat as he felt a blade jab into his side and slid down slowly.

The Captain seemed to enjoy the fact now that he could make the young boy scream and stuck the sword in a different place this time. Chesta tried to hold back the sounds again but couldn't stop the painful whimpers as it felt like his side was on fire.

The Captain seemed to be getting frustrated again that he was unable to make him scream again no matter what he did. The boy was a bloody mess and most people would have been crying by now, and this Slayer just glared at him. Then a thought hit him and he heard his companions' chuckle as they caught on by the look.

"You want to fuck with the big boys brat…then be prepared to be fucked back."

Chesta understood immediately what he meant and his eyes got wide in fear. He started to try and fight free again even though each movement hurting almost past his threshold. Chesta didn't care though he was starting to panic and it only got worse when he felt his pant's being untied. "I will kill you….I will hunt you down and slaughter each and everyone of you."

The Captain just smirked as he got out a cloth that he used to clean his boots and stuffed it into Chesta's mouth. The larger man laughed as he walked around Chesta and the frightened slayer heard the familiar sounds of armor being removed.

The next few hours went by as a blur, Chesta had never been with another man before as he had been saving himself for one of two people. The blood and the pain became synonymous and he lost count of how many times he was actually taken. It wasn't until one of the Destroyers had gotten too carried away and hit him in the back of the head that he finally fell into sweet luxurious oblivion.

Gatti's meeting had been over for a couple of hours and the sun was starting to set with yet still no word on his friend. He knew Dilandau-sama was staring to get impatient and he hoped for Chesta's sake that he would hurry up.

He sighed as he sat back in his chair as he thought about what could happen in the next few days. There were so many possibilities, but the positive thing he knew for sure was that most of Adelpho's men would support Dilandau-sama. Anyone who actually knew the Dragonslayer Captain usually trusted and respected him.

"Any word Gatti?"

Gatti stood in a moment and saluted, he had not heard his captain enter the tent. "No Sir!"

"At ease," Dilandau sounded tired. Gatti frowned; normally he did that only when he was worried about one of them. The second sat back down as Dilandau leaned against the desk set in his tent. "You don't think he has been found out do you?" Gatti hated asking that question because that could mean bad things between him and their captain.

" If I knew that then I wouldn't be here would I, " Dilandau snapped and Gatti was convinced more than ever that he was worried about their youngest member.

"Would you like me to go into town and search for him sir?" Gatti asked trying to sound nonchalant and not really pulling it off. Gatti held his breath as the crimson eyes seemed to gaze into his very soul.

"Yes, you, Miguel and I will go. He's my slayer after all and if he's lost I should be the one to find him." Gatti nodded and stood knowing that if Dilandau-sama was going he would want to go right away.

Quickly the two headed for Miguel's tent and after a brief discussion they soon found themselves in town. Dilandau was in a volatile mood which meant danger for anyone near him. Searching the festival didn't help his mood either and twice his two slayers thought he would behead someone who was dumb enough to step into the path of their pissed off captain.

When they got near the tavern they were starting to get really concerned. It was night now and they didn't know where else to look. The one thing they knew for sure was that Chesta was not a deserter so that meant something had to have happened. They were about to turn and walk back to the other end of town when a fat tavern keeper came running up to them.

Bowing quickly he looked up at Dilandau, "I'm sorry to bug you but you wouldn't' happen to be looking for that young Dragonslayer would you be."

Before the Keeper knew it though Dilandau had him by the collar and despite his immense weight being held off the ground by one hand. Hissing his eyes seemed to be made of the fire he loved so much. "What do you know of my slayer?"

Gulping the keeper spoke quickly, "he's in one of my rooms I found him laying out in the alley. He's in bad shape and as soon as I had closed up I was going to take him to medical center.

With a cry of rage Dilandau through the tavern keeper into he wall. "You dare think this dump is more important than one of my men he should have been sent immediately. I should gut you and hang you by your entrails for making him wait."

The innkeeper almost wet his pants at the look the infamous Dilandau was giving him. He knew the man could kill him and not bat an eyelid. "I won't waste my time on you though where is he?"

The keeper quickly explained where the injured slayer was and the three stalked into the tavern to retrieve him. When they opened the door both stopped dead in his tracks. Gatti was the first to break the silence and run over to make sure he was still alive. Thankfully finding a pulse he nodded at his captain.

"Get him to the hospital," was all Dilandau said in a very Icy voice. With that he turned and walked back out of the room. Miguel went over and helped Gatti gather Chesta in blankets and both stopped when they heard the pain filled cry of the misfortunate tavern keeper as Dilandau took his rage and grief out on him.

"Will he be okay?" Gatti asked Miguel as they carried him out.

"I hope so Gatti…I hope so." Miguel's voice was soft as they walked towards the medical center but his eyes held the same thing his comrade's did. The Dark Destroyers were now their enemy and that would be the worst and last mistake they would ever make.

TBC

*****

Well I hope so anyway, I'm not too sure about this fic yet and if it's not too dry or boring. I'm very undecided about this… but I decided to put it up anyway and work on a second chapter. It should be out very soon…at least I hope so…. Life has been very chaotic……anywayz…Thanks for Reading ^^