WARNING!
This story contains the following: Shonen-Ai, Yaoi - Lime and Lemon, Violence, Language, Male/Female sex.
*....* denotes italics
/..../ denotes thoughts
DAY SEVEN PART THIRTY-SEVEN The next morning dawned, shedding golden light on the tiny town of Talaith. The rays shined right through the curtains in Aya's room, spilling over his face to wake him from a deep slumber. Groggily, he sat up, running his hands through his hair. "What a dream," he whispered, blushing as he remembered. Once again, it was Yoji making love to him, whispering all the lovely nothings the mage longed to hear that set his body on fire. He shivered and then tried to put the thoughts out of his mind while he dressed. A knock came on his door and he froze. Pulling his robe on, he opened the door, peering out cautiously. Before he could protest, Cordelia swept into the room, bearing a tray filled with breakfast. The smell made Aya's stomach grumble, reminding him that he had slept all of yesterday. Cordelia laughed. "I figured the mighty mage might want some food soon." Aya sat down in his customary chair near the window. "You must have read my mind," he said with a grin. "I'm good at that," she said with a wink. As she pulled open the curtains, Aya was struck with the thought of how alike she and Aya were. For a moment, he could almost believe it was his sister standing there, talking animatedly to him while he ate. Cordelia was silent until he finished. She sat on his bed, across from him, hugging the pillow tight to her chest. "You're leaving today, aren't you?" Aya looked over at her in surprise. "How did you...?" "I can tell." She frowned. "Do you... have to?" Aya sighed. He put a hand over his face. "I'm an assassin, Cordelia," he suddenly blurted out. "A what?" He had to tell her sometime. Why it chose this moment, he didn't know. But he *had* to tell her before he left. He couldn't lie to her anymore. It was if he were betraying his sister somehow. "An assassin. I kill people for money." He sighed and looked at her. "If Aya ever wakes up, I can't see her because I can't face her after what I've done. The money I get from these jobs pays for her hospital bills. I kill... for her." Cordelia watched him, her green eyes wide. "Ran...," she whispered. He could tell that she was having trouble digesting this information. "I'm not a mage in my world. We have no magic like this. I fight with a sword. I kill people." Cordelia slowly shook her head. "I wouldn't have thought that you... that *you* would kill people..." Aya turned away. "I'm a different man in my world." He stood and faced the window, watching the people bustle around down below him. He heard a rustle of clothing and expected to hear the door open as Cordelia left. Instead, he felt her arms around him. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "For what?" he asked. He closed his eyes tight. He knew that if she kept this up he would be reduced to tears, weak like a baby. "That you had to turn to that lifestyle." She turned Aya around and reached up to touch his face. "I forgive you. And I know that Aya would, too." Aya's face broke down and tears collected in his eyes. He wrapped his long arms around the girl in front of him, burying his face in her hair. "I'm so sorry," he whispered brokenly. "I don't want to leave this world and go back to my own. But Aya needs me." Cordelia cupped his face in her hands and leaned up to kiss him lightly on the lips. "Then go back to your world, but make the best of what you have. Just think of how Aya would want you to live your life." They stood in silence for long moments. "You know I'll never forget you." "You'd better not," Cordelia said with a smile, tugging on his hair. ~~~~ The new light spilled on Ken's face and he woke slowly. His body felt stiff but at the same time nicely relaxed. He opened his eyes and looked down at the girl in his arms. A smile touched his face and he leaned down to kiss the top of Omi's head. She smelled good, like what a summer morning should smell like. His brown eyes roamed over her, her skin bare to the sunlight. He gently shook her awake, and with a yawn, she surrendered to him. He was about to slide out of bed, but Omi captured his face with her hands and pulled him down for a kiss. "Mm," he sighed. "I think you gave me a reason to stay in bed." Omi wrapped her arms around his neck, snuggling into his warm embrace. "There's no reason to leave anyway." They knew that they were leaving today. Aya had told them about the spell he had found, and that they should get everything ready today. Omi, more fearful than Ken, had wanted their last night to be spent in love. Omi knew that when they returned to Tokyo, she would once again turn into a boy. She traced Ken's sleepy features, wondering how he would take it. /Will he still love me? He's so against boy-boy relationships... Will he still accept me?/ Omi's brow became furrowed with worry as she thought more about it. Ken reached up, pulling her body flat upon his. "Stop thinking, Omittchi," he said softly. "I'm not..." "Don't lie," Ken laughed. "You get that look in your eyes when you're thinking really deep. So stop thinking. It's just the two of us, together, and that's all we have to think about." Omi smiled, kissing his neck. "Yeah," she breathed in agreement. She laughed softly as Ken groaned from the pleasure he felt from her kisses. "Oh Omittchi," he sighed, closing his eyes tight as his lover's lips kissed a path on his chest. "Will you always love me, Ken?" she asked softly, stopping her ministrations. Ken ran a hand through Omi's golden hair. His eyes were dark and loving as he looked into her uncertain cerulean eyes. "Of course I will." He pulled her up to kiss her soft lips. "I told you that before, and I'll always tell you that. I love you, Omi," he whispered, punctuating each word with a quick kiss. "And I always will." She smiled, running her hands over his back. She rested her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. "Thank you, Ken. That's all I needed to hear." ~~~~ The sunlight disturbed Yoji, and he groaned as he woke up. It wasn't something he wanted to see. Dawn had come to soon, cutting his preciously short time even shorter. He didn't care if some people saw the dawn as a happy promise of a new day. For him, he saw it as the beginning of his suffering, away from Seth. He rolled over, and his arm fell over Seth. The boy snuggled closer to the older man, although he didn't wake from his contented slumber. Yoji looked down at the ebony haired boy. He sighed softly, reaching out to hold the boy close. He leaned down and kissed Seth's sleeping lips before creeping out of bed. He stood over the boy and longed to wake him to talk, but decided against it. He smiled slightly. Seth was such a deep sleeper, especially after they had made love. Turning away had to be one of the hardest things Yoji had ever done. But he did. He pulled on his pants and sat down in the chair on the other side of the room. From one of his pouches, he pulled out a scrap of parchment and a charcoal stick. He looked back at Seth, who had turned over so that he slept on his back. His mouth was open and he snored slightly. Yoji suppressed a laugh. He just looked so cute. /I don't want to leave you,/ Yoji thought, gazing at the boy he loved. /I've never done anything so hard in my life. I have to leave you, because I can't stay here. They won't let me. But I can't take you with me, because you'd never understand my lifestyle./ Tears came to his eyes the longer he looked at Seth. One escaped the others to make a shiny trail down his cheek. With a soft sigh, Yoji turned, and began to write. ~~~~ Aya stood, gathering his pack as he watched Yoji slowly walk down the stairs. Ken and Omi had been down in the tavern for a while, and they were only waiting on the thief. Aya noticed the pain in the older man's eyes, and he knew how hard it must be for him. Yoji walked over to Cordelia and handed her a folded piece of parchment. "When he wakes," he said softly. Cordelia nodded, putting her hand over his. "I will." "Are we ready then?" Aya asked, looking around. Ken and Omi stood, holding hands. Yoji stood apart, his arms wrapped around himself as if he were trying to seek warmth from them. Everyone nodded. "Then let's go." Aya kissed Cordelia on the cheek. She smiled and pushed him away. "I'll try to contact you if I can," Aya said, hoping to hold onto a shred of the world they were leaving. Cordelia wiped at one of her eyes. "I won't hold my breath though." With a wave, he exited the tavern and didn't look back. "Where are we going?" Yoji asked as they strolled down the street. "Back to the clearing where we first arrived. That might be the gate back to our world." "And if it doesn't work?" Aya shrugged. "We try again. And again. And then we try it in a different place." He smiled up at Yoji. "Don't worry, we'll get home." Yoji smiled tiredly. "I was kinda hoping that we wouldn't." Aya reached out and took Yoji's hand in his own. "I'm really..." "Don't." Yoji's eyes were pained and he pulled his hand away. "I just want to be alone." Aya nodded, distancing himself from the thief. He watched as Yoji closed himself off from the others, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to reach the thief for a while. Ken and Omi walked along jauntily, swinging their joined hands. "It's a good day for traveling," Omi commented. Ken nodded, leaning down to steal a kiss. Omi laughed and stole another. Aya walked by them, his eyes narrowed. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't do that a lot." Omi blinked, her eyes wide. "But why?" Aya shot a glance behind him. "You know what happened with Yoji. He's in a lot of pain right now." "Ran." Aya looked up, flushing slightly as Yoji's voice called him. Yoji smiled, trying hard for it to look normal. "Just let it lie. I don't mind what they do. It's actually kinda sweet to watch." Omi blushed, lowering her head. Yoji pulled out a cigarette and stuck it in the corner of his mouth. He pointed at Ken. "And don't you ever leave her. You see what I'm going through. For you guys, it would be worse." "Yoji, the protector of love?" Ken asked in amazement. "That's something I didn't expect." Yoji shrugged, grabbing Aya by the back of his robes. "Gimme a light," he commanded, and the mage obliged, lighting his cigarette. He took a long drag and let it out. "I figure, if it's forbidden for me to be in love, then I should at least try to protect everyone else in love." "Kudou Yoji, otherwise known as Cupid." Omi winked back at the thief, and Yoji could do nothing but smile. "I try," was the nonchalant answer. Aya looked up at Yoji, smiling timidly. He was glad that Yoji was trying to feel better, and that he wasn't taking it as bad as the mage had thought it would be. Yoji caught his look and smiled down at the red-robed mage. "Stop worrying," he said. He put his arm around Aya's shoulders. "It'll give you wrinkles." Aya reached up and plucked the cigarette from the thief's lips. "And this'll kill you," he said, throwing it away into the bushes. Yoji sighed. "I'm never allowed to do what I want." ~~~~ They reached the clearing by mid-afternoon. They all remembered it clearly. The surrounding trees, the grassy glade, the faint dirt path. It was exactly how they had left it. "Do you remember where you woke up?" Aya asked. Yoji stepped forward until he was under the canopy of a very leafy tree. He pointed at other spots. "Ken was over there, and Omi was a few feet away from him. And Aya, you were over there by that tree." Aya nodded, and they all took their positions. The mage pulled out the black spell book and opened it, flipping to the right page. He looked around at the others. "Everyone, think of Tokyo. Think of the courtyard behind the flower shop and in front of the apartment building. Imagine it as vividly as you can. That's where we're going to reappear at." The others nodded, closing their eyes. Ken reached over to take Omi's hands and they held each other tightly. Aya looked over them once more. It seemed as if everything was in place. He held the book in front of him. The words were written in a spidery script, but they were clear to him. He began to recite them, drawing symbols in the air with his other hand. His finger left a blazing trail of sparkling motes in the air that danced for a moment before fading. The spell was a long one, and he had to turn several pages before he was finished reciting. He put the book under his arm and drew one last complicated symbol in the air with both hands. Instead of fading away like the others, it stayed, blazing bright white in the still air. The boys were arranged in a crude circle with an expanse of green grass between them. In that circle of grass, the magical character in the air began to draw itself. The grass burned away at the touch of the burning motes, leaving the symbol burned into the grass. As it drew itself in the grass, it slowly disappeared from the air. The other three opened their eyes, looking around them. "Is something wrong?" Yoji asked, frowning. The symbol etched on the ground took that moment to burst into flames that leapt several feet high. Aya smiled as the others cried out in surprise. "No," he said blandly. "I think everything's going as planned." Yoji shot him a look but said nothing more. They waited in silence a few more moments, but nothing happened. "Is it broken?" Ken asked. The others sighed, but Omi explained to him patiently, "Spells don't break, Ken. If it doesn't work in a few moments, then we have to try again." Aya opened the book again, muttering the last few words of the spell again. Yoji wandered over to peer over his shoulder. He scratched his head. "Hmf, doesn't make sense to me." Aya jumped at his voice. "Yoji! You're supposed to be in your place! It might not work with you over here." Yoji shrugged. "I'm sure it'll work fine." Aya turned around. "Listen Yoji, I know..." The world suddenly decided to spin, leaving all of them dizzy and disorientated. Aya turned, losing his balance as he did so. Instead of falling, he felt Yoji's strong hands on his shoulders holding him tight. The mage's dark violet eyes watched as the clearing blurred again. Ken and Omi hung onto each other tightly, while Yoji held him steady. The flames from the symbol began to spread out, connecting together to make a circle of flame around the companions. "It must not be broken," Yoji muttered to himself. "Everyone! Think of the flower shop!" Aya called. A wind had sprung up, whipping at the flames. They all cowered together, hoping that they would be home soon. The wind ripped at their clothing and obscured their hearing. The flames crackled loudly, creeping closer to all of them. And then, suddenly there was silence. They felt themselves falling a great distance. A great weight hung on them, and Aya feared that they would be crushed before ever seeing Tokyo again. He tried to open his eyes, but it was if they were glued shut. He couldn't move a muscle. The air was torn out of their lungs, causing them to gasp desperately to breathe. Aya had the sudden thought that they were in a vacuum, and if they stayed any longer, they would be the size of soda cans by the time they reached Tokyo. *If* they reached Tokyo. And then, as soon as it had started, it was over. They lay on the grass, gasping for breath. Aya still felt Yoji's hands on him, and without looking, he knew that Ken and Omi were still together. A sweet smell was in the air, one that Aya recognized. /Flowers.../ He heard birds chirping happily. But most of all, he heard the voices of young girls, all bemoaning the fates of their lost idols. Although he could barely catch his breath, he started to laugh. His body shook with the effort, but he couldn't stop. It hurt, but the feelings that welled up inside of him were stronger. He had never felt such intense joy before. They were home.