Chapter 11: Ablaze

by Karma

"Shadows" was written by Angel C. Thanks a million!!!!!!!

To view it in its true form, check it out on the Arslan/Soryuden Fanfiction main page.

Thanks also to Cai, for spotting out silly grammar mistakes.

"My lover, my heart's contender: both protector and tormentor of my soul...
let it be not, let it be so... for, being bonded through eternity, was never my goal

you and I, are one and the same...
pawns in this unending political game
to further both their gains and achieve their devises
we were offered as unimportant sacrifices

still, I cannot begin to comprehend my family's acceptance
they, my supposedly defenders, all slipped into silence
I wanted to punish them, to make them share my grief--

how could they be the reason to my agony, my sorrow
they are the reasons I dread to see tomorrow
such irony that at the same time, I want to hide in their arms
to be held and protected from all that would do harm
I trust them and I resent them
I want to abide them and torment them

never did I want to love you nor fall in love with you
better to be protected by my dignity then to be played a fool

yet the choice was not mine...my heart protested and cried out in denial...
and yet we both knew that resistance was futile

I could not help, but protested and refused to yield:
to be tied with a complete stranger...to have our souls be sealed--
a thought that incased my mind in horror and heart in ice
only to be informed that it was my legacy's price

you are not my heart's first choice...as I was not yours...
armed with this knowledge I continued to refute our heritage's chores
not wanting to be bounded in misery and eternal disdain...
to be forced to link our souls and share a stranger's pain...

perhaps it was my destiny, a path that I could not help but walk:
with my bloody heart for comfort and my mind in numbing shock--
as my soul is shackled to yours through the rest of eternity..."

The minstrel finished his song, leaving his audience gawking in breathless wonder. For a moment, no one said anything, and then Guibu spoke in his normal, melodic voice.

"That was called 'Shadows.' It was written a long time ago..."

"That's it?" Alfreed asked. "What happened?"

Guibu smiled mysteriously, while Hajime watched him with an expression of shock.

"That was beautiful," Matsuri said. She sighed contently.

The minstrel waited for the spell of the song to end before gathering his wits, his courage, and his memories.

"And your story...?" Farangis asked. Like the others, her voice also held a note of approval and admiration in it, although it was subtler. The fact that he had her attention made him smile inside.

"Once upon a time, long, long, ago..." he began.

Arslan soaked in the bathroom tub. This feels...so good. The combination of the quiet, empty room, and the soothing, warm water was just what he needed. He reveled in it, enjoying the feeling of being clean. How amazing. The water is warm, and yet, the room isn't overcrowded with servants. He ducked his head into the water once more, and then resumed in simply soaking. The Ryudos are so lucky... Back in Palse, warm baths were taken in tubs heated by fire, and the servants were simply everywhere. Here, the Ryudos were allowed to enjoy the bath themselves.

He scanned the small room and his gaze stopped at a small pile of neatly folded black clothes.

Tsuzuku had taken him to Owaru's room to show him which clothes he was welcome to try on: opening all of the drawers and closets and declaring that anything was up for grabs. Before Arslan could really look around, however, Tsuzuku had then taken him to the bathroom and shown him how to use the bathtub. Last, he took Arslan back down to Owaru's room, and left him there. That way, the prince would be able to take his time picking something suitable to wear, and then head straight for the bathroom without having to ask the red dragon for help, as the latter planned to occupy his time looking for anything of use in the house.

Arslan sighed, and ran his fingers through his damp and tangled blue hair. What are we going to do now? Tsuzuku wants to go out and buy food on our way to the bridge. I guess then, that we're going to some kind of market. I wish I had money in his currency...I feel so helpless. Though I'd feel worse if he was condescending. But he's not. He's actually very nice.

His eyes returned to the pile of clothes. I don't usually wear black, but the material is soft, and it's one of the few things that fit me. Arslan's build was slimmer than Owaru's, so many of the latter's shirts had a tendency to hang oddly, or the sleeves were too long, or the shirts were simply too large. Older clothes were too small; it looked like Owaru had hit a growth spurt from a small body to a more built one, without stopping in between. How strange that it's the only kind of clothes that he has like these in his closet...

"Once upon a time, long, long, ago...there was a king.

"The Imperial Dragon King married a princess of the sea. Eventually, she perished in battle, but not before she bore him four, lovely sons.

"The oldest had the most responsibilities, and was, therefore, the most mature. He had hair that was the color of the deep blue seas, eyes like the ocean depths, and could make objects fall or fly at his will. He often presented the wishes of his brothers to his father, and helped the latter in administrative responsibilities.

"The second son was not as mature as his brother, although his tongue was sharper and wittier than the rest. His hair was a dark shade of auburn; his eyes appeared like the dying embers of a fire-- a dark crimson, almost brown. Appropriate, since he could create fires or withdraw warmth at will. While the eldest brother spent most of his time helping out their father, the second son tended to spend more of his time disciplining and raising the last two.

"The third son was the most brash and impulsive. His hair was a dark brown; almost as dark as night. His eyes were the color of finely polished oak, and he could control wind. He was the most outgoing of the four; and he had a tendency to speak exactly as he felt.

"The last son was the treasure of the family; and each of his brothers took an equal delight in raising him and showing him the events of the world. His fair face and innocence made him a most charming being. His eyes were a dark stormy blue, his hair the dark golden hue of the sun's rays. Appropriate for a son of the sea, he had the gift of rain, thunder, and lightning."

"Your turn," the soft voice said, interrupting the Ryudo's thoughts. Startled, Tsuzuku turned around to its source.

No way...he's wearing Owaru's leather clothes...

In a torn, dirty tunic, the prince had still managed to look attractive. Cleaned up, in modern clothes, he looked stunning. He was dressed in black leather pants, a soft, loose gray shirt, and a long leather trench coat. His light skin and pale blue hair contrasted sharply with the clothes that he was wearing, giving him an almost ethereal look.

Tsuzuku did not have the heart to tell him that Owaru had gotten the clothes for a costume party Matsuri had once thrown. Owaru wanted to dress up as a Hong Kong gangster ala Chow Yun Fat. The white dragon figured that gangsters have clothes that were little larger than usual, in order to look "cool." Thus, he bought clothes slightly larger than his normal size.

That had been, however, a few years back, and so, the clothes were now probably some of Owaru's smaller ones. The prince, whose frame was naturally slim, fit perfectly in the old leather clothes. That was probably the reason that he had chosen them, out of all the others.

Chosen out of practicality, rather than looks... Or did the prince know how gorgeous he looked in black?

Pulling back into reality, Tsuzuku nodded.

"Feel free to look around my room and take anything you think might be useful," he told the prince. Normally, he hated anyone looking through any of his stuff, but these circumstances were...extraordinary, to say the least.

Arslan smiled in return.

Tsuzuku left the room to take a shower.

With nothing better to do, the prince half-heartedly poked around in the room.

I feel so nosy, even though he DID give me permission to look around...still...

Sighing, Arslan sat down on the edge of Tsuzuku's bed. It was soft and plush. Almost like my bed back at home...and I was a prince! And here, these types of beds are common...imagine that...

He got up and poked around the room, looking for anything of mild interest. Tsuzuku's bookshelf had several gaps; as if someone had taken a few books out. His eyes rested on a book that was placed neatly on the shelf. It stood out by its sheer size, several times larger than the other books on his shelf. It was in fact, closer to the size of most of the books in the Palace Library.

Now curious, the prince carefully pulled out the book and examined its cover. He could not read the writing printed on the outside, indeed--

Shrugging the mystery aside, the prince opened the book and almost dropped it in surprise.

Portraits. It was a book full of portraits.

Puzzled, Arslan flipped through the first few nonchalantly and saw the same four or five children over and over again, occasionally with adults in the background. Gradually, as the children began to look older and older, the prince realized who he was looking at:

The Ryudo Family.

How is that possible? The portraits are so realistic, so life-like, and so SMALL, a thousand times better that of the best Palsian artist.

Accepting this as another one of the facts that he did not understand, Arslan began to flip the pages slower.

Tsuzuku, Owaru, Amaru all standing together before their house. Tsuzuku was a prepubescent, the rest of them still children.

Matsuri and Hajime waving from the door.

/flip, flip/

Tsuzuku, a little older, standing alone by the ocean. The rest of the family could be made out in the background, waving. Several adjacent pictures were of them, zoomed in.

/flip, flip/

Tsuzuku wearing a handsome dark uniform. He was older, perhaps at about Arslan's age now, standing by a gate.

The next shot was of someone that Arslan had never seen before. A pretty red-haired androgynous male with sharp dark lime-colored eyes and a winsome smile on his face. Tsuzuku, beside him, had a faint smile upon his face. The redhead's right arm slung casually over the Ryudo's shoulder.

Who's that?

Arslan looked at the picture of the boy, puzzled. It was the only picture of him so far. Next to it was a picture of a rose bush, carefully planted, its red flowers in bloom.

/flip, flip/

No redhead. Other pictures, of older-looking Ryudos.

/flip, flip/

Towards the end of the book now, and everyone starting to look more like the people Arslan knew. There was a small collection of individual portraits of each of the family members, taking a nap. Hajime asleep by a bookcase, Tsuzuku resting on a hammock, Owaru sprawled on the grass, Amaru on a bed, and Matsuri by a pink bed. Several other individual portraits: Tsuzuku, for example, surrounded by white birds. Amaru hugging a little red dog, Hajime holding a cat, Owaru with rabbits all over him and a carrot stuffed comically in his mouth. More shots of the four brothers together, sometimes with and sometimes without, their cousin. All of them, close together, some more cheerful than others.

The family shots were the ones Arslan liked the most. How nice it must be, to have a group of people who know you and love you for who you are, who accept all your mistakes, who know your limits, who act as true to you as you do to them...

Blinking in surprise, Arslan found himself on the verge of tears.

Don't cry...you'll ruin his pictures...

Wiping carefully at his moist eyes, the prince looked at the last of the pictures wistfully. One of all the Ryudo brothers eating together.

Still, he reasoned. You have no reason to be so upset, Arslan. You do, after all, have many friends.

But they all act around me...

"The true form of the brothers was like those of their father. They were dragons, and each could appear so if they chose to. Each of their dragon forms was of a different brilliance, and so could be called by their color. Respectively, from oldest to youngest, they were the Blue Dragon, the Red Dragon, the White Dragon, and the Black Dragon.

"While the oldest was kept away the most by work, the younger three were not. When they were younger, the responsibility of watching over the youngest two fell upon the second son, and so, while he loved his brothers very much so, there came a period in his life when he no longer enjoyed the same games that they did. He was, after all, more mature than the other two, being that he was the one that cared for them more than anyone else. As a result, he found himself growing bored and...isolated. He did not enjoy the games of his younger two brothers, and felt that his company was a burden upon his oldest brother, who aided their father so often.

"Now, the world that they lived in was very different from ours. Because the Imperial Dragon married the princess of the sea, the sea became his domain. As charming as the sea was, the king wished for his sons to see the sites of the world, land and sea alike. Being a king, he owned some land, but he felt that it was not sufficient enough to show his sons. And so, when they were younger, their father took them traveling. They saw countries far and near, before they returned home."

They took the train to a nearby shopping center, after a thorough search of the house revealed that there was nothing to eat.

As they walked down a crowded street between two rows of shops, Arslan noticed that a lot of the other people around were giving them strange looks, and politely kept out of their way. The people of this world are strange, he concluded. He avoided making eye contact and instead took in all the strange sights his eyes could see.

Great. The blue hair, the black leather clothes, and the light skin clearly mark him out as a "gaijin." Or maybe just someone REALLY into the visual rock and kei scene. Sighing inwardly, Tsuzuku tolerated the looks. He did not, after all, wish to make the prince uncomfortable by drawing his attention to the many heads turned to watch them.

Gradually, however, as they passed a crowd of giggling girls, it dawned to Tsuzuku that heads weren't turning because they looked strange. It was because they looked good. Being a recipient of such looks quite often, he wondered why he had not realized it before. Granted, Arslan did look a little strange in a homogenous society like Japan's, but the unmistakably shy looks that girls were giving them left him no doubt. I guess I assumed...that since he was from another world, other people would somehow be able to see it. What a ridiculous notion. We are, after all, in Tokyo. If there were one place in Japan where out-of-the-ordinary people can be seen, it would be here.

They stopped in a small restaurant, where a pretty waitress happily took their order. Tsuzuku ordered for both of them, since Arslan didn't know any of the items being served, and then turned his attention back to the prince while they waited.

It must be more of a culture shock for him here than for me there, the red dragon realized sympathetically. He hides his surprise well, but I really thought his eyes would pop out of his sockets when he saw the train. For me, in his world, I felt like I just stepped into a fantasy anime. Still, he's holding up pretty well.

The prince turned his head to take a quick look around their surroundings, while Tsuzuku studied him. You'd think that black wouldn't be his color, but he looks pretty good in it...

"The bridge from here is about a fifteen minute walk," he told the other boy, to distract himself from his odd train of thought. It was actually more of a six-minute walk for the Ryudo, if he used his normal pace. But that pace he only used with his family; if he used it here, he would leave his companion behind in an instant.

Arslan nodded, and then changed the subject. "You live in a very interesting world..." He smiled, his eyes still bright with amazement as he took in the odd sights. "I suppose you must've missed it terribly while you were in mine..."

"Not really."

Surprised, Arslan gave him an inquisitive look that begged for an elaboration.

"Tokyo is where I was born, and it IS my home," the red dragon clarified. "But I'm not tied to it. If the need arose, there'd be no reason for me to not be able to leave it. If Hajime chose to move, then I'd follow him anywhere he chooses to live."

"I see." Arslan envied Tsuzuku in that moment. Not bound by duties or the land like I am. His only loyalty lies with his brother...

The waitress brought their dishes and blushed slightly as she served them. "Excuse me," she said politely, catching their attention.

"Yes?"

Her blushed deepened. "Umm... Are either of you looking for a girlfriend?" As they both looked at her with equally surprised expressions, she lowered her gaze. "I don't mean myself. I already have a boyfriend. I just have this friend, you see, she just went through a rough break-up, and both of you are so handsome... I was wondering if either of you were interested...?"

Seeing Arslan speechless with a startled expression that was an adorably comical combination of surprise, embarrassment, and shock almost made Tsuzuku laugh aloud. Instead, the red dragon met the waitress' eyes and shook his head politely. She got the hint, bowed her head slightly while mumbling a feeble apology, and left.

Trying hard to hide his amusement, Tsuzuku glanced out the window. His met the gaze of one man on the street, whose eyes widened in recognition.

Oh no. It's Matsuri's dad.

"Tsuzuku!" Mr. Toba shouted. He ran to the window in anger and excitement. The glass muffled his voice, but his words could still be heard.

"Tsuzuku! Where's Matsuri? What have you all done with her? Why haven't you come to school? Do you know how embarrassing it is to have the Director's relatives ditch school? Where's Haijme? Why hasn't he notified me of his absence? He has an obligation as a teacher! How can you embarrass me like that! This is MY school, why I ought to kick you all out!"

He continued to shout words of outrage while Tsuzuku turned his back to him in silent fury. HIS school! He thought of the school which his brothers and he were heirs to, Kyowa Schools, an elevator private school district that offered various schools from elementary to the university level.

My grandfather built that school and the only reason Toba has any position in it is because he married my aunt! "Let's go," he said in a tight voice to the prince.

They grabbed their food and left.

"Not too long after, the lands erupted into warfare. Different clans of different races fought each other. By virtue of his territory, the king was drawn into the battle as well, leaving his sons at home while he went to war. His wife went with him, and it was there where she died in battle.

"Eventually, a victor emerged. He united the warring clans by commanding respect from the leaders-- the kings. For each king had a clan and ruled over a different part of the land. The Imperial Dragon, decided, for the safety of his own dragon clan and out of a desire for peace, to submit as well. And thus, did the Golden Emperor become the ruler of all the clans.

"Now the Dragon King would never have agreed to such a treaty had the Golden Emperor not made the conditions before hand. Each king and clan leader was allowed to keep what was previously theirs and still held the responsibility for their respective people. Any lands in dispute, the emperor simply took.

"The arrangement worked well. In essence, no party lost or won the war. They were allowed to keep to themselves, keep everything they had before, in exchange for acknowledgment for the leadership and superiority of the Golden Emperor.

"And the Golden Emperor had a magnificent palace of many sights built. His land became the center of culture, and, in order to ensure the proper treaties were held and maintained, he required that a representative from each of the clans spend a portion of their time in his palace. His palace, grand and brilliant, held thousands of rooms, where he housed his visitors and events.

"Not wishing to leave his domain or to separate his sons, the Dragon King arranged for his four sons to live at the palace for a few months out of every year. Lessons were arranged to be taught to them, and in their free time, they were free to join any of the activities of their will.

"He also had another reason. The Dragon King, you see, was one of the more powerful clan leaders. Because he respected the Golden Emperor, and was loyal to him as well, he arranged a marriage between the Emperor's son and one of his own. The alliance would, after all, strengthen the ties between both parties.

"But the father did not wish to give up his oldest son, who already had so many responsibilities. And his youngest two, he felt, were simply too immature. The youngest was too young, the second youngest, being so open with expressing his feelings, was likely to make the marriage very unpleasant for his husband. And so, the duty of marriage fell upon the second son.

"What he did not know was that his second son already had his heart belonging to someone else. The Imperial Dragon chose not to enlighten him of the news until after he became adjusted; like the rest of the boys, to life at the palace.

"And so, the second son, finding his brother's games too childish and finding his older brother too busy, spent the majority of his time alone.

"But his older brother noticed his behavior, and out of an attempt to find something for his brother to do, he hired a musician to teach his younger brother the fine art of playing instruments.

"And this was who the second son fell in love with."

Eventually, they found themselves by the lake under the bridge. By then, dinner was completely consumed, and the night view was relatively peaceful. The cool night was calm and comforting in its darkness.

They walked around the lake, scanning the sights in the dark for any indication of the monster's presence. Artificial lights illuminated their paths, as they walked silently together.

Arslan looked around uncertainly. "What if we find him? Are we going to fight him?"

"We'll see if he's willing to talk first." Tsuzuku turned his gaze from the ground to the prince beside him. The Palsian, he realized, was very tense. "What's wrong?" Perhaps he's cold? But he's wearing a leather jacket...

"I'll be virtually useless if there is a battle," Arslan noted wryly. "Seeing how I don't have a weapon and I can't exactly duke it out with the beast with my 'brute strength.' " He grew irritated when the other boy started to chuckle softly. "Well excuse me for worrying," he mumbled defensively. "I just remembered how foolishly we came here with no plans and no weapons."

"This IS our plan," Tsuzuku said smoothly, shaking his head slightly and trying to hide his amusement. "Besides, I wasn't really expecting you to fight in the first place. You were trained with a weapon, so how could you be expected to fight without one? Just watch your step carefully. I'll protect you if something happens, all right?" I am, after all, a dragon while Arslan is human... He returned his attention to the ground.

"Oh." said the other voice in the dark. "Thanks..."

"No problem." Tsuzuku stopped when his eyes spotted large footprints. Ah ha...

He motioned the prince to come over, and pointed to the muddy ground beneath them. There were footprints that were obviously made by feet much too large to be human. The second dragon brother moved to follow the trail when, suddenly, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. He turned just as he heard Arslan cry out.

"The musician was actually no more than a slave that had a gift for music. The oldest brother had bought him off of someone else after seeing him treated so poorly, with his talent wasted. Treated kindly for the first time in a long while, the musician gladly assumed his role of mentor to the second son. And he learned to love his master, although he never dared to speak a word of it.

"And what the Dragon King did not know was what the Golden Emperor did not tell him. The Emperor, you see, knew that he still had many enemies, clan noblemen that resented him for his power. Not wishing for his son to be used as a target against him, he never actually publicly presented his son. So at banquets and at formal dinners, rumors fell that the prince attended them, but having never met him themselves, no one knew who the prince actually was. There were after all, so many nobles and princes from so many clans, and so many of the clans still hated each other... In the palace, no one person knew every member of each clan.

"And so, the identity of the prince was kept a secret. Not wishing to look like a fool, no one dared to ask another who the actual prince was, and in this way, the prince was kept safely away.

"Thus, the Dragon King sent his sons to the palace, hoping that they would have a chance to meet the Emperor's son. But they never did-- not officially, because the prince never made an official appearance.

"What the two youngest boys did find was another companion. A shy youth that they assumed to be a noble ashamed of his clan, a boy with hair like the sky and beautiful, deep, emotional blue eyes.

"The news of the marriage was announced, and the prince was revealed. He was the shy youth. The ceremony took place against both their wills, a bond forged that would link them together forever.

"And the Dragon King announced that he would retire. He split his land among his sons, making them kings of their own respective parts. With four kings, he announced that the oldest son, who had more experience, would be the clan leader.

"And, by virtue of the marriage, the prince was sent to live with the new kings. The Dragon King arranged an agreement with the Golden Emperor so that they no longer had to stay at the palace. With his son married to their family, the Golden Emperor had no more fears of rebellion from them, so he permitted them to return to their own lands.

"And not wishing to disturb his master's life, the musician asked for his freedom. It was granted. So he left.

"But, perhaps being isolated from the Golden Emperor's palace was their first mistake. For dark times brewed ahead that none of them were prepared for."

Tsuzuku cursed mentally. Before him, in wet and torn clothing, stood the Gyuren. He had his hand around Arslan's neck again; it was amazing how villains could never strike a new pose.

That stupid cow...

The bull creature smiled upon seeing Tsuzuku's expression of anger. "Do you feel helpless, dragon?" he sneered.

Using what strength he had in him still, Arslan shot out his left arm and jabbed the bull where Jaswont had injured him earlier. The beast cried out in pain, and the prince pulled out of his grip.

Yes!

Tsuzuku rushed in to punch the monster. His fist almost made contact when unexpectedly, the bull ducked and gave him a powerful uppercut. He fell back from the strong blow.

"Tsuzuku!"

The red dragon slammed his back again the ground a few feet from the monster. Hard.

"You're too much trouble when you're awake," Bodon decided, speaking to Arslan. He threw a punch at him with his right arm, which the prince ducked. He dodged another blow, backing slowly away from the monster as if one was moving away from an annoying and unwanted acquaintance. Worried, Arslan stole a glance at Tsuzuku, who was getting up.

That look was his undoing.

His attention away for only a fraction of a second, Bodon took that moment to move his feet quickly and kick the prince, hard, in his left shin.

Arslan cried out in pain, just as Tsuzuku heard an equally sickening /crunch/. The bull, taking delight in Arslan's pain, raised back his fist.

NO!

Tsuzuku charged.

The enemy's fist made contact with flesh, slamming its powerful force against Arslan's unprotected chest. So strong was the bull that it knocked the boy off his feet and caused him to crash against the grass at an odd angle.

The red dragon shoved the bull away from the prince, sending him flying into a different direction. He rushed immediately to Arslan's side, the delicate prince crumpled on the ground like a fallen doll.

Carefully, he turned the Palsian's face, which was facing the ground, towards his own.

Arslan's eyes were closed, his pretty face pinched in pain. He winced again, as if every breath taken hurt him.

He's alive.

Gently, Tsuzuku put the prince down. Rage filled his senses, an anger that before only came when danger was threatening his brothers. It blinded him, encompassing all his senses.

That bastard...

Vaguely, he felt heat rising. But he took no notice. Nor did he see that he was starting to glow an aura of red. He felt only a terrible smoldering anger, his senses shaded. And through the anger, he felt a fine sense of calmness, of fine focus.

Calmly, the red dragon approached the bull, frighteningly the latter with his expressionless face. When the Gyuren saw Tsuzuku's glow deepen in its hue, he began to scramble backwards in fear.

"You insane freak..." The second son hissed softly. "We remember nothing that happened 3000 years ago. But if you ever, ever hurt someone a Ryudo vowed to protect, then you'd better be prepared for the consequences."

Dimly, Tsuzuku became aware of images that flashed in the back of his mind.

Other images.

"Just watch your step carefully. I'll protect you if something happens, all right?"

The aura intensified and he continued to walk forward, moving himself and the retreating bull farther and farther away from the prince, so as to not put him in danger. When he was a reasonably safe distance away from Arslan, the red aura around him thickened, intensified, and became fire.

There was an explosion.

And his body was on fire. It hurts it hurts it hurts~! It was pain; it was fire. He felt as if every part of him was going to dissolve. And yet, he felt a growing excitement. He was on fire, but he felt so good.

Refreshed.

Free.

Arslan woke up to the sound of someone screaming.

Dizzily, he forced himself to lift his head. Immediately, he felt a wave of fresh pain in his torso, and it took every bit of will he could muster to remain conscious. Gasping slightly, he found that the very action of breathing was painful.

In the distance, the screaming was cut off.

The prince became aware of a great heat of wave that came and passed through him. Gathering his strength, he leaned against his left elbow and forced himself to sit up.

Another wave of pain slammed through him. His head felt so heavy. He willed himself to endure it, and he turned his attention towards the commotion.

On the ground in the distance, dancing as he burned, was the vague black silhouette of a somewhat overly large humanoid figure.

The heat came again, getting worse. The sky was an intensely bright color, as if Tokyo was lit by the morning sun.

Or on fire.

Realization slowly sinking in, Arslan lifted his chin and looked up.

Graceful, beautiful, immense, powerful, bright...none of the words would do the view of a red dragon justice. A creature of eloquence, it floated above the city of Tokyo, its mere presence bringing light to the dark sky. Amaru's dragon had been an impressive black, crackling with the green glow of lightning. Because of the darkened sky and rain, however, it had been rather difficult to see.

Not like this one.

The Red Dragon brought its own light, and with it, it shone in its own beauty.

Arslan licked his lips, finding them chapped and dry. Indeed, the entire area was hot and arid.

The dragon opened its dazzling jaw and shot a perfectly comet-sized fireball back on the spot where the bull had been standing earlier. The bull, no longer moving, collapsed into a darkened heap. The fire continued to burn, consuming the flesh of the cow.

The dragon shot another fireball, as if for good measure. It burned a hole surrounding the immediate area where the bull had been.

Isn't that enough? If he doesn't stop now, he'll end up burning his home city!

"Tsuzuku," he barely managed to breath out. The words were too difficult for him to speak loudly, let alone shout.

Frustration pent up within him, a keen sense of helplessness. Arslan knew that if Tsuzuku did not get control of his powers within minutes, things would get out of hand.

The grass immediately surrounding the hole caught on fire.

"TSUZUKU!" His mind screamed in frustration and terror.

He did not expect to get a response.

"Arslan?"

"Tsuzuku!" Relief flooded his senses. "Are you all right? You have to stop! The bull's dead! Anymore and you'll end up burning your own home!"

The dragon closed his mouth, but continued to float in the air.

Arslan wheezed; the smoke was making it harder to breath. His eyes watered, and he fought to remain conscious. "You have to change back! Your breath is fanning the flames. You're lighting up the sky of Tokyo with your own presence!"

The response was faint. "Arslan...I wish I could... but I don't know how to change back."

"Just do the opposite of how you changed!" The prince thought desperately. He coughed once.

"I wish I could." He was getting fainter, almost like a dream slipping away. "But this is the third time that I've done this and the first time of my own will by myself. It's...getting harder to retain control...

"Wait!" Arslan thought desperately.

"Sorry I wasn't able to protect you..."

"Tsuzuku!" he shouted inside.

"I never did this before on my own without Niisan to guide me...I guess I wasn't ready..."

The grass fire, fed by wind, began to spread. It was getting hotter and closer.

"You have to change back!"

And the flames came closer. In vain, Arslan struggled to move away from the heat, but a sharp pain in his leg stopped him. It was taking all of his strength to sit up, let alone attempt to stand up. His attempt put pressure on his injured leg, causing him to cry out.

He could do little more than watch as the fire came closer.

It was getting harder to see and even harder to breathe. Closing his eyes, Arslan forced himself to take shallow breaths. "So...this is how I'll die...burned to a crisp by the fire from a dragon's breath."

"What?" Faintly, from a distance.

The prince ignored the small voice. "Not the way I thought I would go."

The fire came across a half-empty can of beer, and it burst with the renewed alcohol fuel.

"Arslan!" The voice in his head was getting stronger.

"I suppose this is better than being cut open by a sword. But I wish I wasn't alone..." Arslan continued to wallow in self-pity.

In the sky, the red dragon turned its face and looked through the fire.

Then: "Why did you not say something earlier?"

Instantly, the fire extinguished. It was sucked away and replaced by cold air. The atmosphere cooled.

Arslan exhaled in relief and watched with mild interest as his warm breath was seen against the chilly atmosphere. He shivered once. "Can you change back?"

The dragon circled in the air.

"I can try."

A pause.

"I don't know how."

Arslan curbed his frustration. "How did Hajime turn you back?"

There was a crackle of red energy, and a bright flash of blue--

Darkness.

"Tsuzuku!"

His voice was getting farther away, even though he was not moving.

"Tsuzuku!"

He blinked once, and stared at Arslan. The boy prince was anxiously watching him for a reaction, his eyes watery and worried. His hair was a mess, considering what he had just went through, and light blue strands dangled in his face. There was some dirt on his cheek that Tsuzuku found that he really wished that he had the strength to wipe off, but he did not have any. He felt weak, drained.

"Tsuzuku!" Arslan's voice echoed in a strange way, and as he struggled to remain conscious the last thing he saw was Arslan's beautiful face, close to his.

"Tsuzuku!"

Arslan's face blurred and everything blackened into darkness.

Chapter 10: Realizations

Chapter 12: Nostalgia

Back to Arslan/Soryuden Fanfiction