wishchapter44 by seat 7.12.1999 Daring a glance at the stiff-faced Royal Guardian, Ryutaro explained in a timid voice. "I…..I didn’t know what to do…once Prince Atsushi woke up from his coma…..he…..he started screaming for..…for Sugi…..and…..and when I told him the First Guard wasn’t in the Palace…..he…..he went into rage and…..all the guards attempted to calm him.….but I…..I was afraid that the Prince might hurt himself…..so I immediately contacted you..…" Imai fixed his eyes on Prince Atsushi who lay in bed motionless with his back facing the Royal Guardian. With a wave of his hand to dismiss Ryutaro, Imai sat by the bed and said in subdued fury, "Atsushi, you disgrace the Royal Family with such ridiculous behaviour. I am so ashamed of you." "Leave me alone." Atsushi said hoarsely. "I cannot. It is my duty to strike some senses back to your head. How much longer do you intend to lose yourself and the honour of your Kingdom to a foolish obsession? How could you be so blind to facts and deaf to reasons? Sugi is only a servant, and he is a servant of our enemy. Now two kingdoms are at war and you, as the Royal Heir, only care about your love game. And you put your life and subsequently the lives of all your people in jeopardy. At the end, what do you gain? Nothing except a near-death experience and a withering Kingdom!" "No, it was not Sugi’s fault. It was Rayla who wanted to kill me." Atsushi retorted. "Yes, Rayla is a deadly threat to us, and I have already ordered our Dark Spies to send him to his grave. But you must realize one thing, Rayla would never have succeeded in harming you if he had not Sugi’s help. Twice you were almost poisoned to death and even though Rayla was the one who did it, Sugi was the one who opened the way for him. Can you not see that Sugi is your weakness, which is as fatal as the poison itself? For your sake, and for the good of our Kingdom, I must be rid of him once and for all." "No, you may not!!" Atsushi jerked up and held Imai in a fierce gaze. "Sugi is mine, don’t you dare to touch him?!" Imai felt mounting anger. "And what are you going to do with him?! Will you tear yourself apart for someone who does NOT love you?! Will you die willingly when he wishes to kill you again?! Will you damn your people to the malignant hands of Rayla?!" A string that had been held dangerously taut in Atsushi’s mind snapped at that moment. "I don’t care! For my entire life, I have been pushed around by duties and obligations, but what about my feelings? Does anyone ever care about my feelings? Do you care?" Atsushi gritted bitterly. "Of course not, I am nothing but a tool of power to you. The Royal Heir should have a heart of stone, as you always told me. You, the forever clear-headed and proper Royal Guardian. Your lectures are always harsh and reprimanding, your rules are strict beyond humanity, and no matter how hard I try to fulfill your demands, my performance is always a disappointment to you. Countless number of times I pondered how I might please you, how much I strove to beg for a kind remark, an encouragement, but with all your hardheartedness that I failed to soften, my effort had always dissolved into frustration. Even though it may draw your contempt, I confess that I am merely flesh and blood, and your coldness stung me, your cruelness daunted me, and your indifference to my feelings hurt me deeper than I could bare." Atsushi looked away from Imai who sat stunned still and speechless, and went on. "You have no idea how much Sugi means to me. It was Sugi who saved me. He was the first ray of light breaking the darkness in my heart. In his bright laughter I found what it means to be genuinely happy. His company made me realize that the insufferable melancholy which tormented me incessantly before was in fact loneliness. He filled the emptiness in my soul that I never knew exist. In those sleepless nights that I felt cold and depressed, when you seemed so far away and unreachable even though we were only a few rooms apart, Sugi would come like an angel, to warm my bed and make me laugh. Only Sugi understood and answered to my need for passion." Atsushi looked up at Imai with his eyes glazed in emotion. "Are you to deprive me of the only being from whom I can find a resemblance to love, when you cannot return the love that I truly long for?" "Atsushi….." Imai whispered. Abruptly Imai lips curled back from his teeth, an agonized cry escaped him as he reeled aside with a knife in his back. At the next moment he crumpled and fell over into Atsushi. The Prince saw a black-clothed figure leap backward on silent feet across the floor and opened the door to let in three more figures into the bedchamber. "Rayla!!!" Atsushi spotted the small figure who held a malicious smile. "Beautifully done, Kouichi!" Rayla laughed as he walked towards the bed, and snatched up the Black Diamond that lay next to the pillow. He flashed Atsushi a venomous grin and said, "So this is the reason why you are not dead and the Dark Kingdom is losing its power. How dare you sabotage the property that doesn’t belong to you? I’m here to take back what you stole away from me so shamelessly, and I won’t let you lay a harmful finger on my Kingdom. Kazushi !" A black-hair figure came to Rayla’s side. "Take it back to the Sacred Temple at once." Rayla handed the Diamond to Kazushi. "The magic barrier for preventing intruders should be down now. But leave immediately after you have placed the Diamond on its altar, before the barrier reactivates and traps you inside the temple. Kouichi and Junji." The assassin and the other long-hair figure kneeled before Rayla. "Stand guard outside the room. I don’t want to be disturbed until I call for your presence." "But your Highness, your safety….." Kouichi darted Atsushi a worried glance. "He is weak, there is nothing to fear from him. Now go." Rayla ordered. When the door clicked shut, Rayla turned back to Atsushi who was paralyzed in shock and stared fixedly at the quivering body of Imai. "Time has come, my brother." Rayla said softly. "The murderer of his own kin must pay the long overdue debt of blood, and his helper must not be allowed to escape from his self-invited doom." Rayla’s hands closed on the handle of the knife, and shove it deeper into Imai. Blood ran hot over his hands, and soaked the bed into larger area of crimson. Imai shuddered violently in pain. "Stop!!!" Atsushi screamed and reached out to grab Rayla’s shoulders. "Stay back!!" Rayla snapped. Atsushi froze immediately, for he knew his strength had not recovered enough for a fight. Rayla mused as he looked at Atsushi’s face which was sick with worry, as if he was going to break any second. A sudden understanding came to Rayla and he smiled evilly. "I didn’t know you care about your Guardian this much, my brother." Imai struggled to raise his cheek from a puddle of blood and whispered to Atsushi between painful gasps. "Do…..do not yield…..my Prince….." Rayla snorted in contempt and gave the knife a vicious twist. "Atsushi, give up your heirdom!!" He jerked out the knife and a fountain of blood gushed out from the wound. "And give up Sugi !!" Atsushi released an outraged cry and dashed to Imai’s writhing body. "Take whatever you want!! Just leave us alone!!" Rayla laughed hysterically in satisfaction of ultimate triumph. "Finally!! Finally you yield!! But after all the suffering you inflicted on me, do you really think I will let you two live even if you succumb to me?!!" Rayla held up his knife with his hand shaking in pleasure, and stepped forward. Battle shouts erupted outside the room, the next moment the door was cracked open and a figure burst in. Rayla spun sharply and hissed as he saw the intruder. "Sugi!!" Kouichi and Junji followed into the room and threw to Rayla’s sides. Kouichi apologized to his master, "We couldn’t stop him." Sugi’s gaze swept across the room and took in what had happened. He gave Rayla a cold accusing look. "Ryu, your hands are bloody….." "Not bloody enough!!" Rayla flung his right arm backward and drove the knife towards Atsushi. Sugi sprung forward and grabbed hold of Rayla’s wrist with one hand. When Kouichi and Junji’s simultaneous attack came, he pulled out his whip with another hand and fended off with a slash, sending them to fall back. Rayla refused to let go of his knife and tried to wring free of Sugi’s grip. Sugi flung Rayla forcefully away from Atsushi. Rayla lost balance and fell hard on the floor. "Are you alright?" Sugi asked Atsushi as he took position in front of the bed, shielding any further attacks. But Atsushi seemed not to hear, and remained completely oblivious to his surrounding. He held the unconscious body of Imai and never once looked up since Sugi had entered the room. Burning in humiliation and anger, Rayla’s face held a mask of ice as Kouichi helped him to his feet. "Sugi, are you going to stand in the way?!" "I don’t intend to get involved in the power struggle of your family, but I can’t let you kill your own brother." said Sugi coldly. "But he DID try to kill his own brother!! He deserves to die!!" Rayla blurted out in hatred. "It’s time to forget and forgive what Prince Atsushi had wronged you. Let bygones be bygones, Ryu. You should be living for the present and the future, what good does it do to dwell on the past and lose yourself to all this bloody revenge? You have almost killed Atsushi twice and now Imai is seriously injured. I think that should make it even." Rayla laughed scornfully. "You are so naive, Sugi. But I am not so forgiving or forgetful as you hope. The murderous look of his face when he pushed me into Lake of Damnation gets more vivid in each nightmare that haunts my sleep. And my hatred for him grows in each day that he still breathes. Our blood feud can never be settled unless he dies in my hands!!" A mischievous grin spread across Rayla’s face. "And his death IS my future. He must cease to exist for the heirdom to become mine to take!" Sugi shook his head and sighed deeply. "Your mind is corrupted by hunger for power, and hatred has twisted your heart beyond redemption. I have nothing to say to you anymore. Leave now, I may not wish to bring myself to hurt you but if you insist in causing harm to anyone, I will have no choice." The air stilled in utter silence. Rayla’s face contorted into a frightening mask of ice cold fury. His fingers clenched white at his sides, one hand still holding the knife. He knew that his goal, his ambition, his desire and his future had all gone to dust. All the striving and struggling had been for nothing. He felt his entire being consumed by rage and he barely managed to suppress a scream of insanity. Kouichi knew the First Guard would not be dissuaded from his stand. He turned to ask his master for permission to assault. Suddenly Kazushi dashed in through the open door and barked a warning, "Prince Rayla, Imai’s aids have come back!!" A scant second after he finished his sentence, Rika, Rayzi and Shono flew in with staggering speed and surrounded Atsushi and Imai in a protective semi-circle, eyes fixed on their enemies in battle-ready pose. Rika risked a tap on Atsushi’s shoulder. "Are you hurt, your Highness?" But the Prince did not response. Sugi had leaped to give way for the Dark Spies before they neared the bed. Now he saw Atsushi and Imai are no longer in danger, he decided to stay out of the conflict. Without a backward glance, he headed for the door. "Wait." Rayla said coldly. Sugi ignored it and walked on. Rayla broke down and screamed hysterically, "You don’t love me anymore?!" Sugi did not stop. Rayla’s scream became deafening. "You don’t care about your child? You are abandoning both of us?!!" Sugi slowed down in hesitation, but he knew relenting now would mean disaster all over again. He bit his lips, picked up his pace and did not look back. Sharp cries pierced the room, and they were from Rayla’s followers. Sugi spun and saw Rayla crumpling into the floor, his own hands loosen from the handle of the knife that buried deep in his heart. The thud of his body striking the floor mingled with Sugi’s scream of horror. He flung himself on his knees by Rayla’s side in a bound, too late. He reached out to brace the shivering body. Rayla’s face looked too pale to be real. Grief and stunned disbelief struck him into stupor. Rayla smiled at Sugi, his eyes unfocussed and ominously bright. "Are you loving me again, Sugi?" "Why…..why….." Sugi choked in a spasm of grief and could not continue. "If I cannot have you, I would rather kill you, and if I cannot kill you, then I would have no choice but to kill myself." Rayla’s face shone in satisfaction. "Let your heart mourn for my death until the end of your days, let sorrow and regret eat away your capability to love ever again, let you be mine and only mine at long last." Sugi felt the slim fingers going limp inside his own. "Don’t go, Ryu!!!" "Sugi….." Rayla murmured, and then, heartbrokenly, "I love you." as darkness took him. "No!" Sugi shouted, clinging on in a rage of denial. He cradled the cold body against his own shivering one, as if by sheer force of love he could restore him to life. "No!" Sugi said in strangled pain. The finality of the sudden ending left a bleeding wound in his heart. He looked upon the sight of the lifeless body with every fiber of his own braced in horror. He felt something crumpled inside him like an avalanche. He felt numbed and punished beyond tolerance. "No!" Sugi said weakly as tears finally rinsed his cheeks and he tasted bitterness that knew no limit. He shuddered in bleak horror at the contemplation of tomorrow, and the days after. "Rayla….." Atsushi’s voice came. "Have……have I driven you into insanity? Have I pushed you into this damnation……like I brutally did once before?" Guilt gave Atsushi a strong blow to his conscience, and he covered his face in shame. Sugi gathered Rayla’s body in his arms, and left without a word. Kouichi stared at the blood that snaked across the floor, and locked in his dark thoughts. With the tragic passing of his master, he felt his resolve for revenge vanish. The hatred that always haunted him when he thought of the injustice Imai had done to him and his brother, now did not exist in him. He suddenly felt sick at the sight of the dying body of his enemy, which was his own doing. He looked aside and met Junji’s eyes. A silent understanding passed between the brothers. "Let’s go back to earth." Junji said softly. "I miss home." The brothers exchanged a smile, and left the room. A soft gasp of surprise sounded outside the door. "Kouichi and Junji? How…how come you are here? Hey, wait….." A moment later, Ryutaro came in with a look of puzzlement. He eyes widened in shock when he saw the disastrous scene. "Master?!!!!!" He dashed headlong to Imai, almost tripping over the slippery floor covered in blood. "Prince Atsushi?!! What…..what happened to…..to my master?!!!" Ryutaro stammered in confusion. "He…..he is dying….." Atsushi said with pale lips trembling in despair. Ryutaro gasped. "Then…..then we must save him as soon as possible!" Atsushi’s eyes sparkled with hope. "You…you are his apprentice? Can you save him?" Ryutaro stuttered hesitantly. "I…..I have never done the healing spell alone before…..I need to consult the magic scroll……but please let me try……" Atsushi carried Imai’s body carefully in his arms and got out of the bed. "Show the way to your place of practice! Quick!" Ryutaro jumped up and led the way hurriedly, and Atsushi immediately followed. Rika, Rayzi and Shono moved in unison one pace behind Atsushi. The Prince turned back sharply and faced his spies. "I am not your master anymore. I…..I have dishonoured the family with my crime. To bring myself to justice, I must disavow my right to inherit the crown. So, do not follow me." Rika panicked. "Prince Atsushi, you cannot forsake your Kingdom!!" "Yes I can. Because I have come to realize what is the most important thing in my life." Atsushi tightened his embrace of Imai’s body and headed towards the door. Silence fell in the room. No one knew what to do or what to say. Kazushi looked at his once colleagues and most intimate friends, and broke the silence. "Are we still enemies?" Rika laughed slightly. "With Prince Rayla dead and Prince Atsushi gone, we have all lost our masters. What is left now to make us enemies anymore?" Shono raised the question that was in everyone’s heart. "What should we do now?" Silence fell between them again. Kazushi asked thoughtfully, "What is the first duty of the Dark Spies?" The others answered in unison. "To protect the Royal Heir." Kazushi continued. "There is only one Royalty left who can inherit the heirloom." Four of them looked at each other in comprehension. "Princess Jun!!!" Kazushi raised his voice determinedly. "Let us search for the Princess and bring her back to be the future ruler of Dark Kingdom. The Heiress will be our new master to serve." With a common consent, the Dark Spies vanished into the dark at the start of their new mission. **************************************************** For days Sugi roamed between worlds aimlessly. He had no focus in life beyond the small, fragile form that lay in final rest in his arms. Distress tore at his heart, he wished to do something, to go somewhere, and to walk himself into exhaustion. Even tossing fitfully in restless nightmares was more bearable than the awareness of his loss, and crushing necessity of facing the reality of endless pain. He could not let go of the body already turned cold long time ago, for being able to touch him, to see his delicate face, and to speak soft tender words were the only release he had to ease his agony. At times he would come to a lake side, or a river, not to refresh himself, but to sprinkle clear water lightly on the pale face of his beloved, to cleanse away the dust of the roads with caring fingers, and to stroke back a fallen wisp of black curly hair. But then it would seem a crime against nature, that the blossom should still be so lush, and the lakeshore so verdant and beautiful, when the lover in his arms so bloody and broken and still. This night he had come up to a highland and sit under a leafless tree by a cliff. Whether it was the earth, the Moon Kingdom or the Dark Kingdom that he was in, he had lost track completely. His eyes stayed painfully dry as tears had ceased to dull the ache. The rigid body in his embrace was colder than the wind that howled over the steep heights. Willing himself not to break for the thousandth time, he closed his eyes and slipped into stupor. Hours passed. Sugi shivered in his tormented sleep, only that moment conscious of the presence of someone else at his side. He snapped open his eyes and recognized the figure sitting next to him as the Magician Furu-furu. "Furu-furu ask for your well-being, my friend." The magician greeted. Sugi sighed in frustration. "What is it that you want?" "I came to help you, only if you let me." "Ah yes, you can help me to put an end to my life, thereby ending all my misery." Sugi said bitterly. Furu-furu chuckled in amusement. "That would be too easy to achieve, considering your present state. But that is not my intention. I can help you to bring back the life of your lover." A pang of mixed hope and fear for disappointment struck Sugi to speechlessness. The Magician smiled softly and explained. "Two souls resided in the same body, and they belong to Prince Rayla and the human boy Ryu. One spirit has been shattered by the knife-stab in the heart, and the other one has remained, but it is fading into utter oblivion in each second. If you so desire, I can attempt to rouse the dying soul into awareness, leading to the revival of your lover." Sugi gaped in awe and hope. "Please do so!! I beg you!!" Furu-furu said playfully. "But I cannot guarantee the outcome." He pointed a finger on the handle of the knife protruding from the pulse-less heart, and cast a spell in an alien tongue. A spark of light glowed in his fingertip, and the point where he touched the handle started to dissolve into a mixture of whirling colours. The light slowly scanned across the handle, transforming it into magic substance of floating colours, and the line of light continued to spread onto the metal buried inside the flesh. Furu-furu finished his spell with a high-pitch chant and drew back his hand. "Now you must pull out the transformed knife from his heart. If your love for him is strong, he will wake and live again." Sugi reached out trembling hands to take hold of the handle, which felt strangely warm and throbbing, as if it had a life of its own. A hesitation held him from action. "Which…..which one will come back if I succeed?" The magician shrugged slightly. "This you should ask your own heart. Who do you really love? Rayla or Ryu?" Sugi felt his throat close. Scenes of the past events flashed through his mind, and a pair of eyes shining with innocence appeared from the memory of the fated encounter on earth so long ago. He whispered a prayer and pulled on the handle. For a moment nothing happened, Sugi’s heart stopped, and his hands turned cold as the knife vaporized into a wisp of smoke. Then the face features of Rayla started to change slowly, the hardness subtly transformed into a soft, tender complexion, the ghastly whiteness of the skin had the pink hue growing with life, and with a spasm that shook the body, the pale lips parted to suck in air and started breathing. Tears streamed uncontrollably down Sugi’s face in relief. Frantically blinking to clear his blurred vision, he circled his arms around the small body and whispered, "Ryu……" By the mercy of gods, the human boy had come back to life. For a long time Sugi lost himself in maddening joy of the return of his love. When he finally raised his head, he saw the magician smiling at him. "Thank you." Sugi said wholeheartedly. "It is my pleasure." Furu-furu said plainly. Sugi placed tender hands on Ryu’s abdomen and asked hesitantly. "What…..what about my child…..?" Furu-furu shook his head. "I am sorry. The child is no more. His spirit was unformed and hence too weak to sustain through the death of its mother." Grief for his lost child marred Sugi’s joy. He held Ryu tightly and mourned in silence. Furu-furu got to his feet, brushing the grass away from his robe he said, "The human boy should regain consciousness any minute. You have no need of my help anymore. Farewell, Sugi." "Wait!!" Sugi flustered in embarrassment as Furu-furu turned back with an inquiring look. "Why…..why did you help me…..?" Furu-furu smiled. "There is no why. I wished to help you at that moment and so I did." "But…..but what do you gain in this? What is your purpose?" Furu-furu laughed. "If you insist in asking, I can tell you that I only wish to show a bit of my gratitude to Prince Rayla for springing a revenge so exciting and intriguing to follow, and eventually directing a scene so bloody and dramatic to witness. As a bystander watching closely every unexpected turn of event, I was entertained enormously indeed." Sugi gaped in unmasked disgust. "And what about the prophecy?" "Ah that……" Furu-furu blinked wickedly. "As a matter of fact, I was hoping that the one you truly love was Rayla, so that he could be brought back to life. And perhaps the game of love and hate and betrayal could continue…and who knows? My prophecy of Rayla ruling the Dark Kingdom might really come true at the end." Furu-furu giggled as if he had just told a joke. "Oh well, it does not matter. A game that drags too long might get boring. Somehow the preying game on my cute little Princess Ino seems bothersome now. I guess I am just more suited to be an idle pryer than an active role-player. Actually, it’s probably time for me to find another world with interesting setting for my new prophecy!! Hahaha!!" Furu-furu winked at Sugi evilly and in a display of bright lights, vanished into the dark. **************************************************** next.... previous... wish index... back to zealous