Chapter Text
The quest to stop the petrification disease points towards the next destination – the faraway continent of South America. In order to reach it, Ishigami Senkuu’s party journeys to Kanagawa prefecture to get a ship. Unfortunately, renting a decent ship isn’t fucking cheap, let alone buy one. It’s so expensive that they even consider building their own ship, but even if they have a ship, they still have to hire a captain qualified to take them halfway across the world.
While he is scratching his head over this dilemma, Senkuu is approached by a flashy noble guy, who is followed by a red haired retainer.
“Haha! I heard you were looking for a ship and a ship captain. I’ll lend you my ship and my service as your captain at half the price others offer, how about it?”
“There’s no way such an amazing deal would fall right into our waiting hands.” Asagiri Gen bows his head behind his sleeves. “What’s in it for you?”
“Hmph, you’re quick to catch on.” The nobleman snaps his fingers in a strange way. “Ishigami Senkuu, I’ve heard of your feats. You’re the alchemist who broke the curses of the warrior Shishio Tsukasa and the priestess Ruri without fulfilling either of their conditions.”
“Hoh, I wasn’t aware that my reputation preceded me. So what, you want my help breaking a curse, is that it?”
“That’s right. More precisely, I want you to break the curse that has been put on me.”
The deadline for the curse breaking is the end of the voyage. Only an idiot would pass on this golden opportunity, Senkuu agrees to the deal right away.
“Nanami Ryuusui? Now that’s a name I’ve been hearing a lot.” The alchemist says when Ryuusui shows the party to the ship they will be sailing on. The whole party is blown away by its magnificence. It has to be more than double the price of the other ships, no, like, ten times more valuable!
Ryuusui quirks an anchor shaped eyebrow. “Oh? All good things I hope?”
“They said Ryuusui-chan is a playboy prince who spends money like it’s water~” Gen answers. “You’ve been commissioning your own ships and sailing them since you were a wee brat, right? But because of that, your sailing skill is undeniable.”
“Kukuku, getting a top-of-the-line ship and the most skilled captain for cheap, this is the best deal ever.”
“Hmph, don’t forget, you have to hold up your end of the deal.”
“About that, I’ve been meaning to ask.” Gen pipes up. “Does that curse have anything to do with those horns on your head?”
The boy in yellow next to Gen nudges him. “Isn’t it clearly the circlet he’s wearing?”
Francois bows with a hand on their stomach. “This gentleman is correct. The royal family are descendants of dragons. Out of all his siblings, Ryuusui-sama has the strongest dragon blood.”
“Normally I would suppress these traits, but right now I can't do it fully thanks to this.” Ryuusui points his thumb at the intricate circlet on his head. It resembles thorny branches, and a large red gemstone is inlaid in the center, with smaller stones decorating the twists of the dark metal. “It constantly drains mana, and gives me a nasty headache, which makes it harder for me to concentrate. It’s active even as we’re talking right now.”
“Whoa, really?” Ishigami Senkuu’s apprentice blurts out. “You don't look like you're in pain at all!”
The party regards him with a mixture of astonishment, awe and unease.
“Hmph, I had no choice but to grow used to it. To think that a present from my precious brother would turn out to be so troublesome.” He chuckles humorlessly.
“How long have you had this curse exactly?” Ishigami Senkuu inquires.
“Hm, about seven months.”
He picks his ear. “And what's the condition of the curse that you think it's so impossible you have to go to me?”
“Hmph, the only way to break this curse…” He snaps his fingers, “is a true love kiss!”
……………
………
……
“Erm, how do I say this?” Finally, Gen reluctantly speaks up for all of his comrades. “You're good-looking, and your personality so far doesn't seem horrendous, not to mention, you're the prince! Surely it's not that hard to find a fair maiden and fall in love with her?”
Ryuusui shakes his head. “Of course it’s not that simple.”
“Are you sure? Usually by ‘true love’, they just meant romantic love, so as long as you have genuine feelings for the other person then it's a-ok. Or does the enchanter mean something else?”
“No, I tracked down the person responsible for this curse to question directly, and it's just as you said – a romantic partner. But that's impossible for me, because I love everyone in this world!”
Before their blank eyes, he declares such an unbelievable thing that anyone who isn't tuned in the conversation has to be now.
“What in the hell are you talking about?” Senkuu looks at him like he's looking at an idiot.
“I mean exactly what I said.” Snap! He smiles valiantly. “Everyone in this world is my lover, because I desire this entire world, and that includes you as well!”
There it is, the prince's greed, another thing they've heard so much about. Apparently, he desires everything in this world, and he's completely serious when he says it.
“So you see, there's no ‘one true love’ for me, because Nanami Ryuusui belongs to everyone.”
While the party is busy being speechless, the retainer adds in. “Ryuusui-sama’s brother fully knows this, which is why he decided on this specific condition in the first place.”
“He’s very cunning, that one,” Ryuusui smiles, stroking his chin, “I want him!”
“You want the guy who’s trying to kill you?!” The apprentice (his name is Chrome, he thinks) exclaims. “Are you out of your mind?!”
“Haha, didn’t I tell you that everyone in the world is my lover?” His mouth curves up into a wry smile. “I love everyone, even my own brother who put this curse on me.”
“In the beginning, I tried kissing Francois here and some other people, you can probably guess it was no use.”
“Of course it wasn’t going to work!”
Ishigami Senkuu clicks his tongue. “Ok, I get it. I’ll take your case, not like we can get a better ship anywhere else .” He mutters the last part under his breath. “Just stop talking about all this love stuff or I’m gonna fucking throw up.”
“Ha! I can already tell this is gonna be a tough case for you, Senkuu!” Their fighter, Kohaku, says.
He holds his head with a long suffering expression. “It was never my intention to start a career in curse breaking, how did it come to this?”
It’s a beautiful night. The sea is tranquil, rocking the ship with gentle waves, and the moon shines brightly in the clear inky black sky. Ryuusui stands at the bow of the ship, leaning his arms on the railing and feels the light breeze caress his skin.
It's the end of the second day of the voyage. Earlier, Senkuu gave him a potion to try. It didn't do anything except tasting so sour he couldn't feel the pain for a moment, so safe to say their first attempt at breaking the curse was unsuccessful. His heavy eyelids lower halfway. He's tired, yet he can't get comfortable enough to…
“Can’t sleep?”
His tired eyes blink wide open as he swivels around. The perpetrator is in turn startled by the sudden movement and jumps, timidly holding up his hands.
“Uhm, sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
A soft face with big green eyes that's doused in awkwardness. This is Saionji Ukyou, a member of Senkuu’s party. Ryuusui doesn't really know much about him. Apparently, he’s a forest spirit from the Millennium Tree Forest who is here to aid Senkuu in his quest. He's never sailed before, yet his supernatural ears can detect underwater reefs and schools of fish to help chart a path, which sparked an idea in Senkuu and his apprentice to create a machine that can assist with that. Of course, Ryuusui loudly declared he wanted that talent the moment he witnessed it.
Ryuusui has sharp intuition, and has to be even more vigilant now that he's sacked with this curse, yet he didn't notice another presence at all. That's dangerous. Or maybe he was simply too tired? Hopefully that's the case.
“It's fine.” He tells the other, relaxing his tense body. “Shouldn't you be on night watch? What are you doing here?”
Wide-eyed, Ukyou fumbles to answer. “Oh, uhm, I'm not shirking my duty, if that's what you're thinking. I can keep track of the surroundings with my ears, so I thought it's fine to leave the crow's nest.”
“Hmph, I have no reason to doubt your ability, having seen it in action. And that's not what I meant to ask, anyway. I mean to ask why you came to this corner of the ship.”
“Well,” the large jade eyes are directed at the circlet on his head, “that thing of yours is very loud, it’s hard to ignore.”
“You can even hear curses?”
Ukyou nods. “Mh, I can hear magic in general. This one in particular… it's quite malicious. I can’t even imagine what you must be feeling right now. Does it hurt in your sleep too?”
“Actually, no. It's only active when I'm conscious, the problem is the falling asleep part.”
His brows lower and his mouth twists. “It must be hard. And yet you’re energized all the time, how do you even manage that?”
“It’s nothing special. I just use energy potions.” Ryuusui chuckles wryly. “I also have to use cleaning potions, since I can’t take off this circlet to wash my hair.”
“I was wondering about that… Is it ok to drink so much potion?”
He sighs, a big deep thing. “It’s not. I try not to use it unless I really need it, but it can’t be helped.”
“I see…” Ukyou brings a hand to his chin as he seems to mull over something. “Erm, can I try something? It’s not gonna break your curse, though, just something to help you fall asleep. Hopefully.”
Intrigued, Ryuusui agrees. “Sure.”
“Really?” Ukyou blinks his round eyes, then bow his head slightly. “Thank you.”
Ryuusui laughs. “Why are you thanking me?”
“Well, I thought you would be wary of me at first.” The man holds out his hands, and a wooden lyre materializes from thin air in a soft light. It falls into his waiting hands snugly. He takes off his bow and quiver to sit down on the floor, crosses his legs and gestures for Ryuusui to do the same.
“Please take a seat.”
Is he going to sing a lullaby? Ryuusui thinks as he settles back against the railing. “I can tell you mean no harm, a sailor’s intuition is spot-on!”
He punctuates his sentence with a nice sounding snap.
“Sailor’s intuition, huh?” Ukyou mutters while adjusting the strings of the lyre. Once he deems it satisfactory, he nods to himself.
“Well then,” he plucks the strings, “please listen.”
His thin fingers start to dance on the strings, producing a gentle melody. The throbbing in his head subsides just by hearing it, and Ryuusui has the false yet distinct sensation of leaves rustling by his ears. He stares at Ukyou, who is looking down at the lyre with a soft expression as he plays. And then, the man parts his lips and sings.
When this sapling has taken root
I think I’ll be more of an adult than I am now
When it’s grown extremely tall
Will I be alive?
What a beautiful voice. His eyelids fall slowly, then struggle to open. Before he knows it, he’s fighting to stay awake instead of embracing the sleep he’s been craving. The thought ‘I want it’ sparks in his sluggish mind, and the ache that usually flares up alongside his desire gets drowned out by the soothing melody that flows and wraps around him.
When Ryuusui wakes up, the sun is already high in the sky. He lies in bed, staring into nothing in particular. That was the deepest he’s slept in a long time that it's hard to believe what's happened. But the moment he glances at the clock, which shows the time of almost noon, he jumps out of bed.
He needs to wake up five hours ago. A captain needs to be a model for the crew. If he doesn't follow the rules and protocols on his ship, how can he expect anyone to do the same?
He gets dressed at lightning speed and gulps down the breakfast Francois has left for him, which is still warm, before rushing to the bridge.
“Ah, you're up.” When he almost kicks the door down, Ukyou greets him pleasantly, sitting at a desk.
Chrome, who has taken his place at the rudder, does so as well. “Yo, Ryuusui!”
With wild eyes and heaving breaths, he replies to them. “Sorry, I overslept.”
“It’s ok.” Ukyou tells him. “Francois asked everyone to let you get some rest, and we saw no problem with it.” He smiles and points at the temporary helmsman. “I even got Chrome here to steer the ship in your stead.”
Chrome flashes a thumbs up. “I’ve only steered fishing ships back in my village, but there’s no problem with Ukyou showing me the right direction to go!”
Well, the weather is mild today, and the sea is temperate, so letting an amateur at the helm is fine. Still, Ryuusui is the one supposed to be working these hours as the helmsman.
“Thanks for that, but it’s my duty to steer the ship. I’ll take it over from here. You’re dismissed, Chrome.”
After some back and forth, Chrome bids them goodbye and skips out of the bridge, presumably to the lab.
“And you.” Ryuusui takes hold of the rudder.
“Huh? Me?” Ukyou, who has been happily waving after Chrome, turns to him with big round eyes.
“Don’t play dumb, bastard. Who else is responsible for me oversleeping?”
“Oh, that, err, well, to be honest, I didn’t expect it to work so well. You were out like a light,” the archer chuckles, “I had to ask Tsukasa, who was on the shift after mine, to bring you to your room.”
That’s one question of how Ryuusui got to bed answered. Now he just has another one.
“I’m astonished, is that forest magic or something?”
“Haha, I suppose you could say that. The songs of the forest have inherent healing properties and can soothe pain.” He mimes playing the lyre, a gentle smile on his face. “If you want, I’ll play music for you every night to help you sleep.”
“What a tantalizing offer! I’ll take that up, if you don’t mind. Of course, I’ll be sure to compensate you handsomely.”
“Oh, you don’t have to!” Ukyou waves his hands frantically. “You’re the captain, it’s only logical that you should be in top shape to ensure a successful voyage.”
“Ha! How can I allow that? Good service deserves to be rewarded accordingly, that’s the essential rule of business.”
“But I’m not looking to do business with you or anything. I mean, I’ll return to the forest once everything is over, so even if you pay me, I have no use for money.”
Ryuusui smiles knowingly. “Hm? That’s because you haven’t found a use for it yet. As long as we continue to be on this voyage, I'll personally make sure you learn what fun we humans have.” With one hand on the rudder, he turns his whole body around to face Ukyou, who regards him with bewilderment. His head starts to throb violently. “And then you'll wish that you have the means to get it, like money. I won't take no for an answer, so don't bother arguing.”
“Wow…” Ukyou laughs nervously. “That's scary. You can be very intimidating sometimes. I guess I have no other choice.”
Ryuusui also laughs. “I didn't mean to intimidate you, but if that's what gets you to accept it, then so be it! By the way, Ukyou, can you play some music right now?”
“Huh?” Pushing his chair back, Ukyou stands up. “Is it really bad?”
“My head feels like it's gonna split in half.” He complains flatly as the other walks towards him.
“I think it's better to get it done quickly in this case. I can do some healing magic, please stay still.”
Ukyou clasps his hands together, fingers intertwining, and closes his eyes as though in a prayer. Ryuusui’s eyes are glued to the hand glowing a faint light that reaches out to hover over his forehead. The magic that courses through him has the same feeling as the music, and the pain simmers down in an instant.
“Better?”
He rubs his forehead and pouts. “Yeah, but I wanted to hear you sing.”
Ukyou blinks, eyebrows flying up, before his hand comes up to pull down the brim of his cap. The way his defenseless ears turn red at the tips is endlessly fascinating.
“What if you fall asleep?” He jokes weakly. “Then I'll have to call Chrome back to take the wheel.”
“I'm fully energized now, there's no way I'd go to sleep again so soon!”
Ukyou’s voice is small as he replies. “Ah, well, just wait until tonight, you'll get to hear it again.”
“Oh…” Ukyou covers his mouth with one hand, while the other is holding a bitten slice of stollen bread, and tears spill out of his shiny eyes. “I didn't know bread could even taste even more delicious.”
When Ryuusui spotted him in the mess hall, he thought, ‘why not?’ They’ve never dined together before, now’s as good a chance as any. After the main course, Francois comes along to serve today’s dessert. And so they, along with Ryuusui, are able to witness such an emotional reaction.
“Haha, you have such active tear ducts, Ukyou-chan~” Sitting next to him, Gen conjures up a handkerchief and dabs it around his wet eyes. Ukyou can’t say anything while chewing, instead he makes a low noise in his throat akin to the whimper of a small animal.
Ryuusui is thoroughly captivated. He eats his food with gusto and a happy expression that would surely bring a smile to Francois’ face. Just watching him makes the food taste better. And then he weeps at the taste of sweet bread.
Noticing the staring, Gen turns to them and flourishes his hands. “Did you know Ukyou-chan likes bread the most~? He got teary when he tasted it for the first time too~” He picks a slice on his own plate and bites into it. “Though, I can’t blame you, Francois’ cooking tastes divine~”
“Don’t tell them that…” Ukyou pushes his shoulder half-heartedly, eyes red and sniffling his nose. Isn’t this more than ‘teary’?
Francois breaks out of their trance and bows elegantly. “I’m honored that you’re moved by my cooking.”
“Would you like some more?” Ryuusui pushes his own plate forward, eyeing Ukyou’s empty one.
For a moment, his jade eyes sparkle, then he seems to catch himself and shakes his head. “Ah, no, I can't, it's Ryuusui’s portion!”
“Not to worry, Ukyou-sama.” Francois assures. “I'll procure more right away.”
As soon as they finish their sentence, they depart in the direction of the kitchen right away, not letting him get any word in.
“Haha! Francois, what other pastry is there, bring it out!” Francois doesn't visibly react, but Ryuusui knows for sure they've heard it.
He turns back to the table with a smile, folding his arms on top of it. “If you love bread, you should try other pastries too. Francois and our chefs definitely won’t disappoint!”
“Is that really ok?” Ukyou asks hesitantly. “Aren’t those reserves for the voyage? I wouldn’t want to deplete our supply.”
“Don’t worry about it, I always stock more than necessary for these voyages in case of emergency, eating a little more than usual won’t hurt, and Francois would know what should and shouldn’t be served anyway. What’s important is,” he leans forward with a grin, “do you want it?”
“Do I want it…?” Ukyou blinks. He puts a hand on his chin and looks up in contemplation. Ryuusui can just imagine the food that floats above his head with sparkly effects. Seeming to recall the taste of what he’s had, his eyes melt and the corners of his mouth lift up unconsciously.
“Haha, that’s it!” Ryuusui snaps his fingers, startling him out of his trance. “Grab onto your desire and don’t let go! If you desire something, desire it with all your heart!”
“Woah, back up a little here!” Gen holds out two flat palms, a drop of cold sweat running down his temple. “What are you doing teaching Ukyou-chan your weird ideology?” He puts his arms around Ukyou. “He’s a pure forest spirit, you know! I won’t let you corrupt him!”
Ryuusui scoffs. “Corrupt? Bah! I’m doing no such thing. Desire is justice! Humanity only moves forward because we have desire, so what’s wrong with me helping him assert his desire?”
“There you go again, saying such unbelievable things. Don’t listen to him, Ukyou-chan!”
“I think I’m starting to get it.” To Gen’s horror, Ukyou nods with a look of understanding. “Eating delicious food, this is one of the delights of living as a human. Is this what you said could be achieved with money, Ryuusui?”
“Haha, that’s right!”
He crosses his arms, lips pursed. "Hm, but even if I use the money you pay me to buy food, there's still too much left.”
“Hmph, there's a lot you've yet to learn. Give it some time.”
“Ukyou-chan!”
After another failed attempt at curse breaking, Senkuu passes the stage to Gen. Sitting in the lab, he flutters his sleeves and speaks to Ryuusui.
“You commissioned Senkuu-chan to break your curse, but you wouldn't mind if it gets broken the mentalist way, would you Ryuusui-chan~?”
“Haha! I don't mind what method you use, as long as it's within reason!”
“Good, good~” The mentalist holds up two fingers together and closes one eye. “So, the condition for the curse to be lifted is ‘a true love kiss’. This is impossible because you proclaim that ‘everyone is your lover’. Now, Ryuusui-chan, I don't mean to offend, but is it possible that – your idea of love is skewed?”
Ryuusui furrows his brows. “What do you mean?”
“For starters, ‘everyone in the world is my lover’ – no normal person would say that with a straight face. So at the very least, perhaps your idea of love doesn't align with that of your brother or the enchanter. In that case, it's not that it's impossible, and we can get around the rule to free you.”
“Hmmm…”
“So!” Gen thrusts a finger in his face. “Your homework for today! I want you to think very carefully about what you think love is, then report back to me!”
He's dismissed with that assignment. It has him deep in thought for a whole day.
As far as he remembers, he’s always been like this, harboring desire for anything and everything. Every person in this world has a value, something that makes them uniquely them. Because of that, every person is desirable in his eyes. It’s not a love that needs reciprocation. He knows full well that not everyone has the same love, and he can’t expect them to return his love. It’s much more satisfying to polish a gemstone until its shine is unmatched than to simply wear it. Likewise, he’d rather expand the value of each person and reap the profit than to keep them by his side.
“Ukyou, what do you think love is?”
He’s never entertained the option that his concept of love could be wholly different from other people. In his confusion, he decides to consult another person – namely, his now personal musician in the captain chamber before he retires for the night.
“Oh, I’ve heard about it from Gen.” Ukyou says as he tunes the lyre, seated in a chair pulled up next to the bed. “You seem to be taking his order very seriously.” He smiles. “Are you having trouble?”
“Actually, I’ve been thinking…” He mindlessly plucks the strings. “Ryuusui’s love is similar to the Millennium Tree.”
What?
It’s such an outrageous statement that Ryuusui has to take a moment to process it. “How so?”
The forest spirit hums. “The Millennium Tree… loves every being in the forest, no matter who it is. Even if we are bad children who misbehave, she’d never shun us. All she wants is for us to live in harmony with each other. Isn’t it similar to how a king loves his subjects? Ryuusui is a prince, right? It makes sense that you would have such an immense love for everyone.”
Wow. Gen claimed that he always says the most unbelievable things, but he should hear what’s just come out of Ukyou’s mouth. Comparing Ryuusui to what’s basically a god – if he were a less tolerable man, he might deem it blasphemous.
“I think you’ve got it wrong.” Relaxing his shoulders, he shakes his head. “Not all kings love their subjects. Well, some do, but you’d have a hard time finding a king like in your imagination. What you described is the love of a god.” A wry grin makes its way onto his face. “I’m not that forgiving, or benevolent.”
“Really? I think you're quite benevolent.” Ukyou looks at him with insightful eyes. “For example, what would you do if the voyage comes to an end and Senkuu never manages to break your curse?”
Ryuusui goes quiet.
“It's a deal that's beneficial for us in every way. I'm not well-versed in business, but in that situation, isn't it better to have Senkuu break your curse before holding up your end of the deal?”
The random intermittent notes begin to form a melody. Ukyou smiles at him gently. “You're worried about the petrification disease, aren't you? Enough to embark on such a dangerous quest with a handicap and a bunch of people you don't know. You love everyone after all, surely you can’t turn a blind eye to their suffering.”
Ah, no wonder he's in charge of insight. This man is seeing right through Ryuusui. How unnerving that he has such a pleasant expression on his face while unmasking him.
“...I think you’ve got the wrong idea.” In the end, he can only give a halfhearted reply.
Ukyou laughs lightly. “Is that so? Well, I'm a forest spirit after all, I can’t claim to understand the human mind as well as Gen.”
“...”
“You don’t have to look so troubled. Here, why don’t you listen to this? The next song is about love, maybe it can help you figure something out.”
One night, Ukyou suddenly stops in the middle of the performance. A moment later, there comes a knock from the door. He stands up, puts the lyre on the chair, and goes to answer it, revealing Gen on the other side of the door. The man apologizes for the disturbance in his usual showy manner before getting to the heart of the problem. Apparently, Senkuu has stayed awake for two days, they had to wrangle him into bed, but now he can’t fall asleep, and Gen has to get Ukyou to lull him to sleep before Kohaku knocks him unconscious.
“Sorry, Ryuusui, I’ll be right back!” Ukyou picks up the lyre and, without waiting for his reaction, rushes out of the room after Gen.
The door clicks shut, leaving him in the now quiet room. Ryuusui stares blankly at where Ukyou has left. After a while, he comes to terms with the fact that Ukyou won’t be coming any time soon, and settles back into bed, hands cushioning his head.
They need Ukyou to play the lyre and lull Senkuu to sleep. It’s only rational, since if Senkuu got sick, the quest would be delayed, which is not a desirable outcome. Ryuusui is a man who looks at the total value and chases after the biggest profit possible. The forest songs are effective painkillers and sedatives, they should be put to use generously should anyone be in need of them. The crew’s spirit would be lifted, and consequently, productivity would increase. That’s their potential maximum value.
But when he thinks about Ukyou accompanying and singing to someone that’s not him, a dark feeling creeps up in his heart. Is this jealousy? Is he really feeling jealous over this?
He’s greedy, but he’s not selfish. Good things should be shared. So why is he feeling like this?
It’s probably just the fatigue making him have strange thoughts. Yeah, that’s probably it. Maybe he should try to sleep. He’s been getting good sleep regularly recently, maybe he can do it by himself this time.
He closes his eyes and tries to clear his mind.
At this very moment, Ukyou is in Senkuu’s room. It can’t even be called his room, he has to share it with three other guys. Does Ukyou share a room with Senkuu? He doesn’t remember. Right now, is he standing, sitting in a chair like he does in the captain’s quarter, or is he sitting directly on Senkuu’s bed? He would smile and strum the strings of the lyre, then he would let loose his voice. His melodic voice, which is trilling sweetly for Senkuu’s sake… and not only him, but the other guys in the room also get to hear it…
“AAAGGGHHH!”
His eyes fly wide open, and he clenches his teeth comically.
What the fuck. What the fuck! His headache spikes into the stratosphere. There goes any chance of falling asleep.
Later, when Ukyou quietly pushes the door open, Ryuusui is lying on his front, completely motionless.
“Ryuusui?” He whispers. “Are you asleep?”
“No!” Ryuusui lifts his head from the pillow as Ukyou flinches from the sudden noise.
“Ah, I thought you fell asleep already…” Laughing awkwardly, he opens the door wider and steps into the room.
“Hmph, how can I fall asleep without your songs?” Ryuusui huffs as though in a bad mood, shuffling to lie on his back. In doing so, he misses the relief that flashes across Ukyou’s face for a short moment. What he does see, however, is Ukyou frantically shaking his head afterwards. One of his bold eyebrows quirks up.
“What?”
“Nothing!” Ukyou answers with a nervous smile as he hurriedly makes his way to the chair. “It must be a hassle to you, having to go to sleep this way every time.” He laughs lightly. “Senkuu was complaining about it when I came to help.”
Ryuusui frowns at the mention of Senkuu, but Ukyou takes it as his attitude towards his own situation, and the archer goes on to talk about how Senkuu was demanding to get back to his research while Kohaku sat on him.
I don't want to hear about him serenading Senkuu!
“Ukyou.” Ryuusui calls.
Ukyou stops his retelling to reply. “Hm? Oh, sorry! You must be tired, and I keep taking up your time…” He materializes the lyre in his hands. “Here, I'll–”
“I don't care about that.” Ryuusui cuts him off.
“Eh?”
“What if I ask you…” His head feels like there are thousands of spikes digging into the inside of his skull. Guess this is what he wants now. He doesn't understand why, but he’s not one to deny his own desire anyway. “...to play for no one but me?”
Ukyou stares at him in confusion. “I’d refuse obviously?”
“...Yeah.” Ryuusui rests his head back, gazing up at the ceiling. “I figured.”
It’s too unreasonable, after all. In the first place, Ukyou is part of Senkuu’s party, so Ryuusui has no right to give him that kind of order.
“If someone is in pain, I can’t not offer my help.” Ukyou says.
Ryuusui closes his eyes. “Yeah, as you should.”
“But…” Ukyou looks down at the lyre in his lap, “I’ll make you a compromise. I’ll play for anyone who needs it, but I’ll only sing for you.” He lifts his head, an unsure smile on his face. “How about it?”
Ryuusui stares. When their eyes meet, Ukyou blinks repeatedly before darting his eyes around, cheeks turning red.
At last, Ryuusui says to him. “...Thanks, Ukyou.”
“Oh, it’s no problem!” Ukyou turns back to him hastily. “Ah, but if the situation is too dire, I might have to do everything in my ability to help, so I can’t guarantee it, ok?”
“Haha, that’s fine by me!” Ryuusui pulls his arm out of the cover to snap his fingers high in the air. Then he realizes something.
“Wait, then did you not…?”
“I didn't.” Ukyou shakes his head, before chuckling. “There was no need to. Senkuu was much easier to lull to sleep.”
So none of the scenarios that have been bothering him is real. He mentally lets out a breath of relief. Looking at Ukyou's unguarded happy expression, Ryuusui feels as though his heart is expanding, and he impulsively blurts out.
“My curse responds to desire.”
“Huh?”
He explains nonchalantly. “Whenever I get the desire for something, it acts up like crazy, even more so when I say it out loud. My family hates my greed, even though those bastards are just as greedy as I am, so they devised this intricate curse just for me.” At the end of the explanation, he smirks at the irony of it all.
Before a concern-written face, he discloses the full extent of his trouble. “The more that happens, the faster my reason is taken over, until eventually, with my dragon blood, I’ll become a mindless beast. At that point, they would have no problem ordering me to be slain.”
“That’s– that’s horrible!” Ukyou exclaims as he leans forwards, bracing his hands on his knees. “How long do you have left?”
“Three years, but with how greedy I am, who knows how much that time frame has been shortened?”
“You– how can you be so nonchalant about this?! Your life is on the line! You know what’s gonna happen and yet you’re still going around declaring your desire for the whole world to hear? At least reign yourself in a little!”
Ryuusui scoffs. “Ha! Why should I prolong my suffering? In this situation, the most efficient solution is to get rid of it quickly, am I wrong?”
Ukyou purses his lips, and his brows furrow. He looks ready to protest, so Ryuusui hurries to say. “Look, it's just how I am. I can't help what I feel. To me, it's much more painful to live like another person denying myself what I want.”
Locked in eye contact, neither of them says anything. It seems they are at an impasse. Eventually, Ukyou breaks the silence.
“That's true.” He concedes, and a corner of his mouth lifts up helplessly. “I can't imagine a Ryuusui who doesn't assert his desire.”
Happy that the other understands, Ryuusui laughs. “Haha, you've got that right! So don't look so down, Senkuu will definitely break this curse! You trust him, don't you?”
The forest spirit sighs. “Yeah, if anyone can do it, it's Senkuu. I just wish I can help out somehow…”
Ryuusui wants to wipe the sadness off his face, so he tells him. “You can help out now, by playing the lyre and singing for me.”
“I suppose so.” He smiles and adjusts the instrument in his grasp, yet his smile is wilting around the edges, and Ryuusui doesn't know what to do to make it disappear.
They cross half the globe and arrive in South America. After he is done with the docking procedure and registering his ship in a foreign harbor, Ryuusui is walking the streets with Francois when he spots Ukyou. The archer is stopped on his way by a little girl dressed in ratty old clothes tugging on the tail of his yellow tunic. The little girl and her two other friends look up at him with pleading eyes, and Ryuusui watches as he shares his ration with them.
The closer they are to the source of the petrification disease, the more devastating its effect is. The city is almost deserted, no doubt because people have either fallen ill or evacuated, and the harbor they’re docked in barely has any other ship in it. Witnessing the sight before him, the resolve to get to the bottom of the petrification disease quickly solidifies even more.
“I’m sorry.” Ukyou smiles apologetically at the children. “That’s all I have.”
“Ukyou!” Ryuusui calls out. “If you need more food, I’ll be all too happy to provide!”
Ukyou turns around, not a hint of surprise on his face. At the same time, the children jump at the loud voice.
“Ah, Ryuusui, you’d do that? That’d be great. Hm? What’s wrong?”
He looks down at the kids, who are cowering behind him. They even hold out his flowy coat tail to hide themselves. Their big eyes full of fear, directed at no one else but Ryuusui, tears at the prince’s heart a little.
Ukyou places his hands on their heads. “Are you scared? What is there to be scared of?”
He follows their gaze to Ryuusui’s blank face. “Him? You don’t have to be scared of him.”
“I’ll tell you something.” He crouches down to be at their level and holds up one finger, a secretive smile on his face. “That big brother might look scary, but he’s actually one of the kindest people you’ll ever meet.”
Huh? Ryuusui blinks. Behind him, even Francois is taken aback. That comment washes over him like the wind at sea that suddenly picks up and blows wildly, messing up everything in its path. The kids look just as incredulous as he is. When they glance over at him, he tries his best to appear harmless, which is not very hard considering he’s pretty baffled right now.
Still, one of them, a boy, speaks up haltingly. “He has horns… Only demons and monsters have horns.”
Ryuusui furrows his brows, swallowing his saliva.
“Eh?” Ukyou tilts his head, eyes round. “That’s just not true, isn’t it?”
Before their wide eyes, he calmly explains. “Goats have horns too. Do you know goats?”
They nod.
“Do you like goats?”
“Not really…”
“Really? I like goats. Goat milk is delicious, it’s so rich, and the cheese made from it is just as tasty.”
Their mouths start to drool.
“Not only goats, but sheeps have horns too. Have you ever seen a sheep?”
“Only in pictures…”
“Don't they look fluffy with all that fur? They’re like clouds with legs!”
Through gentle coaxing, Ukyou gradually gets the kids to loosen up. Holding the hand of the girl who has tugged on his coat in the first place, he leads her to Ryuusui. Staring down at her nervous face, he feels a little shaky himself, but the prince puts that aside to kneel before her on one knee in a manner similar to a knight.
“!”
He gently takes her small hand and leaves a kiss on it, before putting on his most charming smile. “It’s a pleasure to make acquaintances with such a beautiful woman.”
The girl blushes brightly, while her friends are in an uproar.
“Me too, me too!” The other girl runs up to him. Ryuusui laughs and happily does the same for her.
“What about this dashing young man?” He eyes the little boy standing next to Ukyou, who startles. The boy shakes his head with a grimace, sticking out his tongue.
“No way, that’s gross!”
“Haha, that’s fine! But if you ever want to, I’ll gladly give you a greeting kiss!”
“No way, no way!”
When he snaps his fingers to order Francois to bring out the food, the kids become even more excited, and then they’re asking him to show them how to snap like that while the butler conjures up various dishes.
Ukyou announces that he’ll head to the inn first and departs. After they bid farewell to the children, Francois excuses themself to take care of replenishing their supply, and so Ryuusui ends up walking by himself to the inn. When he passes by an alleyway, there’s a weak voice calling from afar.
“Hey, that gentleman over there. Can you spare some pity for little old me?”
He peers into the alleyway. A woman with short pink hair, who has dirt all over her clothes and skin, is waving her hand weakly to get his attention. Keeping his guard up, Ryuusui takes some steps closer and smiles winningly.
“Of course, how can I help you?”
Her eyes get a little teary. “Oh, you will? I'm so happy.” She buries her face in her hands. “I've lost all of my family to this horrible disease, I don't have anyone to turn to anymore.”
“How can such a cruel fate befall such a beautiful woman? Come, wipe away your tears and tell me what you need.”
He holds out his hand with the gnarly blue scar. Her face when it lifts up shows an expression of relief for a second, before she's walking up to him. Suddenly, she stumbles forward, and Ryuusui has only brought his hands up halfway to catch her when she's stabilized again.
“Careful.” A pleasant smile on his face, Ukyou holds her by the shoulder and pulls her back up.
As the woman stutters out a thank you, he grabs her thin wrist.
“May I ask what you were planning to do with this?”
“W-with what? I, I don't know what you're talking about…”
All the cheer falls off his face, and with a blank look, he twists her arm around. “This thing.”
Nestled in her palm is a tiny syringe, with a circle at the end of the plunger worn on her middle finger, presumably so that she can easily inject the ominous dark substance in the barrel once the needle pricks him. How deadly. Ryuusui laughs.
“So you are an assassin! I must say, your acting is a little stiff!”
Her mouth drops open in offense as Ukyou scolds.
“Ryuusui! This is a serious matter!”
“I'm taking this seriously.” He replies. “Don't worry about it, Ukyou, I'm used to this. Poison, huh? It's not a popular method, since it's hard to predict how my body will react to all kinds of poison.”
“What?” The woman blurts out.
“Tell me.” Ryuusui tilts her chin up with his thumb and two fingers. “Who sent you? It can't be my eldest brother. Is it my sister, my other brother? Or my father even?”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” She exclaims in pure exasperation.
“Kukuku, interesting thing you've got there.” Senkuu slides up on her other side out of nowhere. “Mind telling me what it is?”
As Ukyou hands the syringe over to him, Kohaku runs up to them, dragging two strangers under her arms.
“Senkuu! I found these suspicious guys snooping around here!”
“Agh, you two!?”
“I’m sorry, Miss Luna!”
“It was all his fault!”
“Riiight. You three are all coming with us.” Senkuu takes out a roll of rope and throws it towards Ryuusui. “You’re the best at tying knots, tie these guys up.” He gives the three terrified strangers a lazy grin. “You know what to do, be obedient and we’ll go easy on you in the interrogation.”
Ryuusui approaches the supposed ‘Miss Luna’. “Excuse me.” He grins, then starts tying her hands together while Ukyou holds her in place.
The rope is tied around the three people’s wrists, connecting them together. One end of the rope in hand, Senkuu leads them away, and Kohaku follows holding the other end. It makes for a hilarious sight of a five people choo choo train walking through the street. Lastly, Ryuusui and Ukyou trudge along at a considerable distance away from them.
“Thanks for back there, Ukyou.” He thought that Luna girl was pretty suspicious, although he was expecting a stab to the guts, not poison. He probably would have evaded her attack, but he thanks him for intervening anyway.
“Mh.” The only reply he gets is a curt nod. Ryuusui glances at his companion. At this angle, the yellow cap hides away half his face, and the way he keeps his head down certainly doesn’t help. Now that he thinks about it, Ukyou has been strangely quiet since back in the alleyway.
“What’s wrong?” He decides to cut straight to the chase.
Silence. Just when he thinks he might never get a response, Ukyou speaks up in a low voice.
“You’re really used to this, aren’t you?” He lifts his head, his jade eyes peering up at Ryuusui through his lashes. “You’re not rattled at all, even though you’ve just had an attempt made on your life.”
Ryuusui’s eyebrows raise at the question that he didn’t expect. “I told you, I’m used to it. In fact, this is actually one of the most pathetic assassination attempts I've had.”
Ukyou doesn't deem that with a reply and keeps walking. Ok, that wasn't funny. Ryuusui sighs.
“Do you want to know something, Ukyou?”
“What?”
“I'm actually the youngest, and I'm also the king's illegitimate child.” He drops that bombshell like it's nothing.
“Eh?” Ukyou blinks. “Eeeh????” His eyes widen as he frantically looks around them to make sure no one is listening in. “Are you serious?”
“Very.” The corners of his mouth curl up. “My old man messed around with a castle maid and had me. I was raised by my uncle since I was a child.”
Ukyou gapes at him.
“The youngest child, not to mention an illegitimate one, I shouldn't even dream about the throne, right? But here's the thing, the heir to the throne is chosen by the royal blood in them.”
The prince crosses his arms. “The royal family has the blood of the dragon, and I happen to have the strongest dragon blood out of all, which makes me a legitimate contender for the throne.”
He turns back to Ukyou. “And there you have it, why I came to have this curse in the first place, why I've had attempts made on my li…”
The words he wants to say die in his throat when he sees Ukyou's face. His brows are lowered into gentle slopes, his lips are pressed together tightly, and there are specks of light in his big eyes that shine vividly, like the moon reflected on the ocean surface.
Subconsciously, Ryuusui reaches out his hand. The joints of his index finger brushes the skin under one of Ukyou’s eyes, making him jolt and back away. His eyes round as he asks.
“What are you doing?”
Ryuusui's hand is still hovering in the air. “I thought you were going to cry.”
Ukyou startles as though he's been caught. Warm color spills on his cheeks as he brings a hand up to his face, angling it away and blinks his eyes rapidly.
“...I wasn't going to cry.” He mutters sullenly.
But Ryuusui can't forget the way his glassy eyes looked ready to spill any moment. Here before him is someone who is ready to shed tears for his sake. Something unnamed starts to bloom in his chest.
“Ukyou.”
“What?” Ukyou says, expression still a little sulky.
Ryuusui mulls over his words carefully before he speaks. “Even though my life is like that, I don't want to change anything.”
“Huh?” Ukyou tilts his head to the side slightly.
Ryuusui stares straight into his eyes. “I am only the person I am now because of my past. It's impossible to change it, and I see no need to.” A sudden breeze passes by, sending his cape fluttering. “I only have the freedom to do whatever I want because I was born from a love affair, I only have the money and means to do whatever I want because I’m still a noble.” A wide smile stretches his lips. “If not for my royal blood, Francois would never have been assigned to take care of me. And if not for the struggle for the throne, I would never have gotten to know you.”
“!”
Ukyou gasps, eyes wide. Hm, is what he’s saying so shocking? The face before him slowly becomes red, and then–
Ukyou runs off.
Huh?
Ryuusui stares in confusion at the empty space where the other has been just a moment prior.
“What did you do?” Kohaku asks when he catches up to her.
Later, Ukyou tells him that he ran off because he heard Gen calling for him.
There’s something I have to apologize to you
I couldn’t take your revenge…
“This song…” Ryuusui mumbles in a half asleep state, “is the accompaniment to that love song, right?”
“Did you notice?” Ukyou plays a mellow tune. “That’s right. This is the other side of the story. The forest spirit and the human were in love with each other, but they were separated in the war before either of them could tell each other.”
“What happened to the human girl afterwards?” The prince blinks his eyes slowly.
“She lives out the rest of her life peacefully in a town by the harbor. Even though she couldn’t be together with her love, she was able to find happiness. Actually, they–”
Ukyou stops when he sees that Ryuusui has fallen asleep. He can’t help but smile at the sight. Spiriting away the lyre, he stands up and makes his way over to carefully tuck the blanket around the sleeping prince.
He looks much younger when he’s asleep. Free from the curse that plagues him, if only temporarily, the lines of his face loosen. His expression, no longer so intense, seems to have a touch of vulnerability to it.
The faint moonlight filters in through the window, glinting off the intricate circlet. His golden hair glows hazily. Ukyou unconsciously reaches out his hand to touch it.
He always appears so strong and fearless in the waking hours, but he has his own hardships that he struggles with in secret. And yet, he can still laugh freely and move forward. Ukyou doesn’t know when, but somewhere along the way, he has fallen in love completely.
But…
He pulls his hand back.
This love could never be returned.
He presses his hand against his rib cage, and closes his eyes that have begun to sting.
When his heart has settled down, he opens his eyes again. He picks up his bow and quiver resting against the wall, and quietly exits the room. He makes his way onto the roof of the inn, even though he’s not on night watch tonight, sits down on the ledge over where that person is sleeping, and keeps his ears out for any strange noise.
How has it come to this?
They discovered the source of the petrification disease, a massive nest of malicious magical life forms seemingly without awareness. However, in the process of doing so, they came into a clash with Dr Xeno’s party, who plans to seize control of the petrification in order to overthrow the world order. Their cat and mouse chase lands them in the place of the final showdown, Araxá.
“Senkuu, this is bad. Hyouga is badly injured. We have to retreat.” Tsukasa reports through their communication device.
“Stanley and their men are too strong.” Kohaku’s staticky voice is strained. “You need to get away from our base, or you’ll all be dead when they get there.”
Senkuu curses. “Roger that. Get yourselves somewhere safe, report to me if anything happens, got it?”
“Roger that!”
“We can’t retreat now!” Chrome yells once the line disconnects. “If we retreat now, Xeno will get control of the petrification life forms!”
Ryuusui adds, face hard. “Even if we make it out alive, our forces have suffered too much damage. There’s no telling what will happen in the time it takes to recover.”
“No.” Senkuu says before all of them. “It’s not completely hopeless. If we manage to disable the petrification right now, then Xeno won’t be able to do anything.”
“But to do that we need–”
“A diamond battery, I know.” He grits out, running his hand through his hair. “Making it is impossible with our present equipment. But.” His brows furrow harshly. “If we can’t make it, we can get it from somewhere else.”
“!”
“Where?!”
“Xeno.” His piercing sharp eyes glint. “I know for a fact that many of his machines use it.”
“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten, Senkuu.” Ryuusui tells him. “Where Xeno keeps his machines – his camp, is so strictly guarded that stepping near it is inviting death upon yourself!”
“Of course I haven’t forgotten! That’s why I’m racking my brain over here!”
“Senkuu, can you describe what this diamond battery looks like?”
That single sentence cuts through the tension in the room like a hot knife through butter. All eyes are directed toward the radio where it comes from.
“Is that Ukyou?” Chrome says. “Does that mean… he has a way to get it?”
How? Ryuusui thinks as Senkuu answers the radio.
“Ukyou? A diamond battery is a hexagonal piece of diamond the size of your fingertip. But it’s inside the machine, you’ll have to take it apart to find it.”
“Understood. Can you tell me how to do that?”
“You– Where are you right now?”
“In Xeno’s camp, of course.”
“!”
“You idiot!” Senkuu yells into the receiver. “Are you trying to kill yourself?! How did you even get in?!”
“With a little discretion.” Comes the offhand reply. “I was able to sneak past the guards and traps. Please hurry, we don’t have much time. This is our only option, right?”
At that, Senkuu quickly gets over the shock and starts to give instruction through the line. Meanwhile, with complicated thoughts swirling in his mind, Ryuusui tells Chrome to make a call to Gen.
Chrome, who has been gaping at the radio, questions. “Huh, why?”
“Once Ukyou have the batteries, he’ll need to get them back here, obviously? Last we’ve heard of him, Gen was in the area around Xeno’s camp. We’ll need him on standby to help Ukyou escape as soon as possible. And while you’re at that, connect to everyone out there, we need to buy more time.”
He's not sure what to feel about Ukyou’s suicide move, but right now they have to bet it all on this.
In the middle of Senkuu’s explanation, there is the sound of yelling on the other side, followed by the sound of an explosion. The whole room is plunged into silence, only Senkuu is calling into the receiver to no avail.
“It's disconnected.” He throws the funnel onto the table. “Call Gen right now!”
Ryuusui hates waiting. He'd rather go out there and grab what he wants than stay still in one place until it comes to him. The time he spends waiting for the news of what happened while surrounded by chaos may be the worst time of his life. His nerves are stretched thin, but he has to power through the agitation to give orders with Senkuu.
After what seems like an eternity, a distressed voice comes from the distance.
“Luna-chan! I need medical attention right now!” Breathing heavily, Gen runs into the base, and leaning against him, with one arm slung over his shoulders–
“Ukyou-chan is seriously injured!”
The sight makes Ryuusui freeze on the spot. The front of his shirt has been dyed almost completely a dark red, his feather belt and coat tail are singed, and his body is littered with numerous wounds and burn marks. Blood drips down on his temple and eyelid from a wound on his head, clumping up the white hair and staining it in a gruesome color.
Then Gen stumbles on shaking legs, and Ryuusui snaps out of it to take the limp body from him. Ukyou's half open eyes look at him in recognition, and the man is still breathing, yet he doesn't know if he should feel relief or despair.
“He's lost a lot of blood, and his pulse is very weak.” Luna nervously diagnoses once Ukyou is transferred onto the examination table.
“What were you thinking infiltrating that place on your own!?” Senkuu yells, pacing next to the table.
Ukyou croaks out a reply between his dry lips. “There was… no other way…”
“At least you could have waited for backup!”
Ukyou tries to shake his head, but Ryuusui stops him, brows furrowed in concern. “Don't do that.”
The forest spirit glances at him, before looking back at Senkuu. “I saw a chance… a crack in their defense… so I took it. It's my mission… to help you however I can.”
“Your mission isn't to commit suicide! Look at you! All those wounds and what do you have to show for it?!”
As soon as Senkuu finishes speaking, something hits him in the forehead. He reflexively catches it in his hand. What he finds when he looks down is a machine part, a container that still has torn wires connected to it.
“This is–”
“The battery you need.” Gen steals the words right out his mouth, thrusting out his hands in a wide arc. From his wide swishing sleeves, similar scraps fall out like rain before everyone’s astonished eyes. What did Ukyou do to get this many?
“Ukyou-chan… gave these to me on our way here…” A painful smile tugs on his lips, and his eyes shine wetly. “He told me to leave him and run, but there's no way I could do that, could I?” Tears overflow from his eyes as his lips tremble. “So you have to make it count ok, Senkuu-chan? Because there's no other choice.”
Stunned, Senkuu stares at him, before he grits his teeth and snatches up the mechanical parts.
“Chrome! Kaseki! Get to work!”
As they leave in a rush, Gen finally slumps down on the examination table. He props his elbows on the cold surface and puts his face in his hands. Along with his shaking shoulders, it creates a picture of pure devastation.
Why does he look like that? There's still hope left. Just as Ryuusui thinks that, a hand tugs on his own, the grip on his fingers hopelessly weak.
“Ryuusui.” Ukyou calls out, barely more than a whisper, and he suddenly feels dread run through him like a cold shiver. “I love you.”
Has the world gone silent, or is it that his ears have been filled with white noise that he can't hear anything but the words out of Ukyou’s mouth?
“Your greed, your compassion, your inner strength…” The wobbly breathy words struggle in their path to reach his ears. A thick film of water begins to cover those eyes whose color has started to dull, and the light reflected in them trembles. “I love everything about you.”
“Stop it.” He manages to muster, grabbing onto the thin wrist. Glowering down at Ukyou with all his might, Ryuusui orders him. “Don't waste your breath, you have to conserve your energy.”
Ukyou's brows pinch together slightly as his lips curve up, and Ryuusui feels that his soft face has never been more painful to look at than in that moment.
“I'm happy…” a single tear leaks out of each of his eyelids falling shut, “that in this life… I got to meet…” his voice grows smaller and smaller until it’s barely audible, “...you…”
“Ukyou?”
No. This can’t be…
“Ukyou! Ukyou!”
Ryuusui pats him on the cheek. When there's no response, he puts both his hands on the motionless shoulders and shakes them, desperation creeping into his voice.
“S-stop!” Luna grabs onto his arms. “He's not breathing anymore! He's….”
It's as if the ceiling has caved in and fallen on him. The world in his eyes shatters. He can't hear anything, can't feel anything, can't see anything. The only thing in his vision is the smile that's forever etched into Ukyou's face as he rests, mocking him endlessly.
A malicious air radiates from him and spreads out, alerting the others in the room. Having been keeping their heads down, they look to the source with apprehension. Luna and Gen, the people closest to him, back away, though he doesn't seem to notice them at all. Scales appear on the skin of his face and hands, and a tail that wasn't there before drags on the floor from under his coat. The air becomes suffocating.
“Oi, Ryuusui.” Senkuu walks up to him and cautiously calls out.
No response. When he calls again and gets the same result, he resorts to slamming a hand on the other's shoulder.
Ryuusui swivels around in less than the blink of an eye, honing in on him with the full intensity of his wild eyes. They’re blazing a vivid red, and his round pupils have turned into slits. Despite it all, Senkuu holds his ground.
“We need to leave. Stanley is coming any second now.”
Ryuusui glares down at him without a single word. Just when they worry that he might have gone beyond reason, he closes his eyes.
Ryuusui takes a deep inhale through the nostrils. When he opens his eyes again, the stifling foreboding recedes as his expression returns to normal.
“Got it.”
Everyone breathes a sigh of relief before hurriedly packing up to vacate the base. Gen is sniffling while fixing up Ukyou’s bloody appearance when someone comes up behind him. Wordlessly, he steps aside, then watches as Ryuusui gently gathers Ukyou in his arms. His expression, quiet as though in mourning, is like the surface of still water without a single ripple.
They run into the thick vegetation of the South American rainforest, where they meet up with their comrades scattered around in the area. Hyouga is, fortunately, alive, if having to lean on Tsukasa as a crutch, and Francois and Suika are unharmed. But they’re all rendered speechless when they lay eyes on the limp body in Ryuusui’s arms. Kohaku has to quickly turn Suika away.
“Here it is.” Senkuu throws out a bunch of cylindrical devices the size of an average person’s forearm. “Anti-Medusa Toxin version 3.0. With the new dispersion system, this thing is sure to wipe out most of those little fuckers.”
“Thanks to Ukyou, we have more than enough to cover all of the vital spots.” Picking up a stick, he makes a simplified drawing of the Medusa nest on the ground – a fucked up volcano that's constantly spurting pathogen into the air. “This is the most important part.” He taps the center of the nest with the stick. “Someone will have to take care of the heart, by dropping the toxin in through the mouth of the volcano, and they'll have to do it with this.”
He juts his thumb towards Kaseki behind him, who is holding a device as big as a football. “The Ultimate Anti-Medusa Toxin. Well, it's just a stronger version of these ones.”
“But how are we gonna get up there?” Kohaku asks, looking up into the sky. Looming in the distance is the volcano, a thick cloud formed over it from the smoke it emits, taking up a major portion of space in the sky.
“I'll do it.” Ryuusui speaks up, drawing all attention to him. “I can fly in this form.”
As soon as he finishes saying that, two massive wings sprout from his back, spreading out to the full extent of their expansive wingspan. Their flapping motion, cutting through the air, creates a clear wooshing sound. It’s such a shocking sight that some of their comrades reel back.
“Great.” Senkuu says, unfazed. “We’ll cover for you from the ground.”
Before he takes off, Ryuusui turns away from others, looking down at the figure in his arms. Ukyou’s skin, now dull and gray in color, has started to crack here and there like dry earth. Ryuusui thought it was a sick joke at the time, but now he finds he doesn't mind the smile worn on his face so much.
At the very least, I want you to look happy in your eternal slumber. He holds Ukyou close and lowers his head to press his lips against the cold forehead.
Leaving him on an even and empty patch of the ground, Ryuusui entrusts Francois with taking care of him. And then he is kicking his feet off the ground with the anti-petrification device in hands.
There is no place to hide in the sky, so he is spotted by the enemy in no time. But he can also fly freely in the sky, dodging the missiles aimed towards him. The crater comes before him. Everywhere he looks up, there is only the smoke ceiling, swirling with malicious energy.
When did he start to declare his all-encompassing love? No matter whatever hatred is hurled at him, if he responds with words of love, then even just for a second, it feels like he couldn’t be affected at all. The look on the other person’s face, as they sputter and struggle to find the words to retaliate, brings him a perverse sense of satisfaction. It's love, but it’s also a form of revenge. He will readily admit that he's not familiar with affection that doesn't hide anything behind it. Why is it that when he was finally shown sincere love, he let it slip out of his hands?
“If you want, I’ll play music for you every night to help you sleep.”
“Really? I think you're quite benevolent.”
“That big brother might look scary, but he’s actually one of the kindest people you’ll ever meet.”
You never know what you have till you've lost it. He never thought this saying could be applied to him, because he always desires everything passionately. Only now does he know the name of these feelings that will never bear any fruit.
Ah… so this is what being in love feels like.
“The next song is about love, maybe it can help you figure something out.”
The gentle voice that sang sweetly when his fuzzy mind floated on the boundary of consciousness echoes back from somewhere faraway.
If I could meet you again, there’s something I want to tell you
If only we could be reborn
If I could be reborn…
Inside the crater, countless life forms swarm and swirl in an endless vortex. From the depth shines a bright light. Ryuusui activates the device and throws it. It falls, along with drops of clear liquid.