Title: Fantasia

Author: Regina Wren

E-mail: wren13 @ gmail.com

Fandom & Pairing: Janne Da Arc; ka-yu x yasu

Keywords: yaoi, romance, AU

Rating: Teens

Words: 19,435

Status: Complete

Disclaimer: I don't hold any rights over anyone contained herein, except for the story, which is mine. And just because I should probably point this out legally: this is a fantasy, plain and simple, it's not meant to harm anyone directly or indirectly, I'm not making any profit from this, and it's only meant for entertainment and enjoyment purposes.

Fantasia
By Regina Wren

Part 8



"Yasu."

"Hm?" He turned to glance at You.

"What exactly are you planning when we find that demon?"

After leaving the village the most natural route lay along the trail of destruction the demon had left behind, following in its footsteps. Wilted flowers lay across the forest floor, and trees, brown and dead as winter stood all around. Morning mist still hung between the trees, giving the whole place a ghostly appearance, and even the sunlight seemed pale and weak today.

Yasu took a breath. "Our ancestors banished that thing centuries ago. The only reason it's come back now is because humans invaded the part of the forest that it was confined to, right? So we need to confine it again."

You stared at him. "Yasu, that took vast amounts of ancient magic, and most of those spells were forgotten a long time ago. You think there's a power left that can still do that?"

"There is." Yasu nodded. "Last night I froze instead of doing anything," there was an uncharacteristically grim look on his face, his voice heavy with both remorse and stubborn resolve, "and I'm not going to let that happen again. When I was in the outer woods I found a place where apparently some cruel fey got confined a long time ago. Humans call it the Cursed Vale."

Ka-yu frowned. Not even he liked going near that place. There was something unsettling about the way the wind never moved between the beetling crags. But Yasu was already continuing.

"The spells are simple enough to follow. I just need to get close enough to the demon," his lips tightened.

Ka-yu had never seen him look this serious. Not for the first time he wished there were at least the sounds of birds in the trees to cheer the journey, but the forest remained still around them. From the corner of his eye he saw You and Kiyo glance at each other.

"Kiyo and I are going to scout ahead and check out the landscape ahead," You said. "We'll let you two know what we find."

Yasu seemed to be too lost in his own world to hear, but Ka-yu nodded at the others, and a second later they were disappearing among the trees as quickly as shadows in the sunlight, leaving him and Yasu to continue walking by themselves.

At once the silence seemed thicker and more oppressing, Ka-yu concentrated instead on the slight breeze and the faintly rustling dry leaves. The wind was nothing more than a ghostly whisper, but if he focused on it then the place might not seem quite so desolate and more like a forest was supposed to sound. As if on cue the wind picked up and the change in the air almost lifted his spirits. That wind brought with it the faintest scent of pine and fresh water, proof of living plants and maybe a river nearby, and even though it faded again quickly even that small hope was reassuring.

* * * * *

While they waited for Kiyo and You to return, Ka-yu couldn't help but notice the questioning glances being cast at him, as though Yasu were turning things over in his head. After a while he spoke up.

"Ka-yu? Why are you coming along?"

The hunter watched those deep liquid eyes focus on him quizzically, a dull ache rising in his chest. Dare he say anything? What would it improve now that everything was ending? And how much more would it hurt to acknowledge what he was feeling?

He shrugged, trying to seem impartial in his answer. "Because I want to, Yasu, that's all. I want help in any way I can, even if it means using me as a shield, if I'm the only one that demon's touch can't kill."

"But why?" Those captivating eyes held steady, demanding an answer. "I watched you for weeks on end, and then I brought you here at the first chance I got. I didn't give you a choice then, but you have one now. Why are you still coming with me of your own free will? And don't tell me you feel indebted to me, or that the Duke would want you to, because that's not your only reason." He knew the answer, didn't he? Or at least guessed and wanted to know for sure.

It may have been a virtue sometimes, but at the moment Ka-yu's honest nature seemed more like a plague prodding persistently at him. He couldn't very well lie to that face, but the demand staring at him told him he couldn't just keep quiet either. Ka-yu cursed himself silently and prayed he wasn't making things even harder for them.

Then he stopped walking so that he could face Yasu properly. "Alright, Yasu, listen. I know I'm probably damning us both by this, but I'm not going to lie to you." He exhaled. "I like you. More than I should, and more than is probably good for either of us."

For once Yasu seemed to be struck speechless. Ka-yu couldn't tell what was going on in his head because Yasu's eyes gave nothing away, only searching the hunter's face as though looking for affirmation behind the words. Then his eyes suddenly softened, becoming gentle in their expression.

But instead of speaking he reached out to brush his fingers over Ka-yu's cheek, then leaned forward to kiss his mouth.

And Ka-yu accepted it willingly, catching Yasu's lips with his own, though his heart was aching. Yasu felt so warm and so sweet against him, but the troubling twinge inside wouldn't let him forget the cold fate that surrounded them.

"Yasu," he murmured, their breath mingling in the inches between their mouths. "We don't have any time left." It hurt. To say that. He had known from the beginning that he would have to face being hurt in one way or another, still it hurt more than he thought it would when he said it out loud.

But unexpectedly the fey's mouth curved in a smile of pure happiness, and it that made Ka-yu's heart melt despite the heaviness settled there. "We have all the time in the world. You're in my world now, remember?"

Ka-yu shook his head, not quite understanding. "I only know that if I left now, I would look forever to find a way back here. I haven't known you for the longest time, but it feels right having you around. Somehow I knew it the first time I met you," he finished embarrassed at how corny he sounded.

Yasu's eyes glittered. "Then, you have my heart, Ka-yu. Always," he said, and Ka-yu felt a tingle go down his back as though a spell had just been cast, or was it just his imagination? Whatever it was, he found he couldn't regret anything he'd just said, even though he felt like he should. And that thought was reassuring, even if he didn't dare to hope.

Their lips met again in a promise of love, enduring, despite everything that lay between them.

They only parted when a subtle cough interrupted them, and reluctantly Ka-yu stepped back slightly, his hands falling away from the fey's waist. When had that happened anyway?

You had returned from his scouting, and when he had the others' attention he reported on what lay ahead. "All the woods for miles East are dead and dry. The demon is on the move, so it won't stay where it's been. It came to our village from the South so that leaves only the woods to the North and the West of us. But wherever it's gone, it's too far ahead to catch up today."

"The Canyon of Fortune lies to the North," Kiyo's voice put in as the chubby faerie stepped from the trees. "It may have gone there, considering nothing grows there normally. It'd be a good place to rest, or hide. I couldn't find anywhere else it may have gone."

"Then I suggest we go West. If it's heading that way we'll catch it up. We'll approach the canyon from that direction and either meet it head on, or find it in the canyon," You told the others. As the only trained soldier among them, he naturally took command of their plans and no one protested.

Brusque and back to business, they set off West, somehow more relaxed in the knowledge that the beast was no where near them.

Yasu was obviously feeling frisky again, and he flitted among the trees and along the rocky landscape like a frolicsome butterfly, darting in and out of view, a constant smile on his face. His agile dancing on the rough terrain left Ka-yu unable to follow, forcing him to keep up at a more leisurely pace on flat ground. But Yasu always returned again to his side with a heart-warming smile ready for him. It made his escapades seem more like those of a lively child letting off excess energy than anything else.

Ka-yu grinned. Trying to tame that bundle of life would only break his spirit. It was in his nature to run free, as much as his exuberantly care-free and heartfelt approach to life was. Ka-yu couldn't help it, he'd grown to love Yasu, despite all his heart told him that he shouldn't. When did feelings ever listen to reason anyway?

Even though neither of them said anything, no one could miss the glances they shared or the smiles they exchanged. It was obvious to anyone watching that something had changed between them. Death and difference be damned, they were together now and that was all that mattered.