Chapter 5

    Hikou breathed shallowly, his face pale from blood loss. Fortunately, Kouji had met up with Tasuki and Chichiri as they returned to the bandit stronghold and the three began to tend to Hikou’s wound quickly. Having done what they could, Kouji shooed the two seishi to bed, promising to wake them if the water mage’s condition worsened.
    Sitting in a chair beside the bed-ridden mage, Kouji could only wonder who had attacked him and why. It was nearing midnight before Hikou made any noise and then it was only to cough lightly. The bandit rested a hand on the older man’s face, feeling a fever developing. A tear ran down his cheek and he hurried to get a bowl of cool water. He tore a piece of material from his tunic and dipped it in the water and wiped Hikou’s face with it.
    “Come on, Hi-chan,” he whispered to the mage. He carefully poured a small sip of water into the man’s mouth and smiled when he swallow it. “You’ll be alright, won’t cha?” He climbed under the blankets and wrapped his arms around Hikou’s smaller frame. “Gotta keep ya warm, ne?” he smiled gently, resting his forehead against his temple. He pressed a light kiss to his cheek and sighed. “I love ya, Hikou. I have ever since I met cha dat day. I’ll stay right here and keep ya warm, ok?” He closed his jade-green eyes softly and rested a hand against Hikou’s bare chest to make sure he kept breathing through the night.
    Hikou’s eyes fluttered open as the sun began to peer over the horizon. He felt a little better than he had when he had passed out and tried to sit up only to find an arm holding him down. His eyes widened and he turned his head to find Kouji’s face beside his.
    “Kouji?” he breathed quietly. ‘But why is he here? Why is he in bed with me, for that matter?’ Then he remembered something whispered that he thought had been part of a lonely, fevered dream during the night.

    “I love ya, Hikou. I have ever since I met cha dat day…”

    ‘Love?’ he puzzled. It was an emotion he had once thought was an illusion; one that he had never thought he would attain.
    He felt a smile playing at the corners of his lips and wrapped his arms around Kouji, pressing a soft kiss to his lips before slipping away. His shoulder still hurt, but the pain was bareable. He found a long-sleeved red tunic and pulled it on as he left on cat’s feet. Already the stronghold was falling prey to Arcadia’s magic, the floors and walls cold to the touch despite preparations for the cold. Hikou crept to the wall where the bandit’s kept their weapons at ready and took a swallow (ok, my friend and I see him fighting with a swallow 9 times out of 10-_-;;) that Kouji had given him in case the stronghold was attacked so he could hold his own. He’d practiced with the weapon and, while he wasn’t perfect with it, he could handle it well enough. He then went by Kouji’s room and “borrowed(1)” a pair of boots. That done, he went to the main doors, bent on handling this situation alone.
    He was opening the door when a strong hand from behind him pushed it closed.
    “No way are ya goin’ out there alone again,” Tasuki stated, grabbing Hikou’s uninjured shoulder.
    “Dat’s right, Hi-kun,” Kouji smirked. His eyes held a weary look to them, but he also seemed determined to stop the mage from hurting himself.
    “Let us help you, no da.”
    “I…can’t,” Hikou sighed. “I know her and she’s not someone you want to deal with. Especially not you, Jun-chan.”
    “Demo doushite, no da?” Chichiri queried.
    “Her name is Arcadia. She what you’d call a fallen angel,” Hikou began.
    “A fallen angel?” Tasuki asked, glancing at Chichiri.
    “Someone with a good heart that is swayed by evil, no da. Usually it’s a term the refers to an angel of one of the god’s who is persuaded to join Ashura(2).”
    “Ashura or not,” Hikou continued, “the term “fallen angel” can also refer to one who serves the Darkness(3)…as I did.” He turned his gaze to the ground recalling his time spent as Kanki, the demon god of drought and rain. He shook his head and sighed. “Arcadia is the name of a demon who devoured a girl’s soul in hopes of ensnaring you, Houjun. She was supposed to pull you down into the Darkness and turn you into a fallen angel as well so Suzaku couldn’t be summoned.”
    Houjun backed away a step, his eyes widening at what Hikou was saying.
    “Her name, as you have probably guessed by now…was Kouran.”

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Dun dun dunnnnnnnn
Sorry to those who, like Lady Genrou, hate cliffhangers, but this is a cliffhanger just like all my other chapters, no da! This story won’t be nearly as long as Fushigi Akugi, no da, but Arcardia (name I got from both a friend and from Final Fantasy Tactics) will be appearing in other stories and I’d much appreciate her not being stolen, na no da.
Until next time, no da,
~Mysia Ri

(1) as in “borrowed without asking”
(2) I believe Ashura was the name of Buddha’s enemy and is kind like the devil, so I’m using the name.
(3) Darkness: evil organization of both fallen angels and demonic spirits who use and/or bend fallen angels to their will