(no subject)

[rabenhorst]

Title: Fragment of Time
Author: fonulyn
Rating: PG 13
Pairing: Kaoru x Die
Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of the persons mentioned in this nor have any connections with them. I do NOT get any money from this, and it's written solely for entertainment purposes meaning no harm.
Comments: This is an odd one^^ They all are thieves and it’s situated somewhere in the history. Hehe, an evil Count rules the country [cliché^^] and this tells the story of a bunch of poor filthy thieves. This is the first AU thing I’ve ever written, so be kind to me^^ Still, constructive criticism is always welcome too.



Fragment of time

A skinny boy with a mop of red hair was running along a street, trying to avoid running straight to any passers-by. He held a bread in his left hand. A bread he had just stolen. See, he was an orphan. A hungry eighteen-year old orphan with no home, who had no choice but to steal if he wanted to eat. At first he’d gotten caught every single time he tried to pilfer something, but now he’d gotten better. Slowly but steadily. Actually he was a bit proud of himself. He let himself to be lost in his thoughts for a moment too long and the next thing he knew was that he’d run straight into a boy about his own age. The collision caused both of them to lose their balance and they found themselves sitting on the ground.

“Uhm, sorry.” The redheaded boy muttered and got on his feet before offering the other his hand to help him up. “I should’ve watched where I was going.” The other took the offered hand and dragged himself into a standing position. He ran his fingers through his dark hair and then turned to gaze at the redhead, not saying anything. “Uhm, well, I’m Die.” The boy offered his name, hoping the stranger would say something. The dark haired one stared a moment at Die, who felt a bit odd being stared at like that. “Did you just steal that bread?”

Die almost fell to the ground again, surprised by the question. “Y-yeah…” He muttered before realizing that it might not have been wise to admit that to a complete stranger. But an attractive stranger that was. The dark haired one had extraordinary facial features and a pleasant voice. He used that nice voice of his to form another question. “Do you have a home?” The redhead shook his head, surprised by the odd question. “No. I have no family and no place to live in.” This was really weird. The dark haired one nodded. ”Come with me.” Somehow the thought of disobeying never even crossed Die’s mind. So he followed the stranger.

They walked for a while before reaching an old house. It had a basement of some sort, and that was where this dark haired boy led the redhead. They walked in and Die was surprised by how big the room actually was. A short boy with blonde hair was sitting on top of a huge box. He stared at the entering two not so kindly. “So, you brought someone here?” His voice was unusual, and it made Die startle a little. “Yes. He’s going to live with us from now on.” The redhead didn’t understand what was going on anymore. So, this amazingly gorgeous looking young man stumbled into him on the street and took him to the place he lived and offered him a place to stay in? A place to call home?

”That skinny kid? He’s only going to be in our way! What if we ate him or something? Although he’s all bones, we could make stew out of him.” Die stared at the small blonde and couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He had to be kidding. But on the other hand, the blonde looked devilish enough to be serious, and he wasn’t smiling a bit. Die ran his fingers through his red hair and looked nervously at the young man who’d brought him here. The dark haired one seemed to be a little irritated judging by the way he waved his hand at the comment. “Stop that, Kyo. He stays.”

The blonde, apparently Kyo was his name, wasn’t happy with the decision and rolled his eyes protesting. But he decided not to argue and slipped down to the floor. He came towards the redhead, staring intensely. Suddenly he nodded approvingly. “Okay, since we’re stuck with you I might as well introduce myself. Heh, Kaoru already said that, but I’ll repeat it in case you are as dumb as you look like. I’m Kyo.” Die might’ve gotten hurt by the comment about his intelligence but he was too busy looking after the dark haired boy. Kaoru. So that’s his name. Somehow the name seemed to fit the other perfectly.

“Helloo?” Kyo waved his hand in front of the redhead’s glazed eyes. “Oh, sorry. I’m Die.” Die tried to smile as friendly as possible to win the other’s trust. The smaller one snorted and covered his mouth with his hand to control his laughs. “Die? What kind of name is that?” The redhead felt offended, and pouted instead of replying. After a while the small blonde wiped away the tears from his eyes, caused by hard laughing. He looked curiously at the taller man. “Aren’t you mad being laughed at?”

“Of course I am! But...” Kyo’s expression immediately turned into an irritated one. “No buts. If you are going to live on the street you can’t let people walk all over you. At least try to look tougher than you are.” The redhead hung his head ashamed. He realized that he had much to learn, since he had been living a quite sheltered life until his parent’s death. But he was determined to survive. Kyo let out a small laugh. ”I wouldn’t call that puppy-dog –look tough.”

Die looked up from under his hair and smirked at the blonde. “Maybe I can make all my enemies love me so that I have nothing to fear.” Kyo chuckled approvingly, but shook his head after a while. “You know, love is far more dangerous than hate. Believe me.” Die didn’t fully understand the other’s words but he decided not to make himself look even more idiotic by asking something. So he only smiled.

*

During the next few days Die got to know the gang better. There were four of them, five now that Die had joined the company, all thieves and with no family. The dark haired boy, Kaoru, was the oldest and apparently some sort of leader to the others. He controlled everything and was a kind of father-figure to the two youngest ones of the group. Something about this young man attracted the redhead, he was drawn like a moth to flame. He could sit for hours and look at the other’s well chiselled jaw framed by the dark and fluffy hair, the nicely shaped nose and the lively eyes.

Kyo was the most strange little creature Die had ever seen. He could be hyperactive and in mere seconds fall asleep. No one was as talented in balancing on rooftops as this small blonde. He could snatch a ring from a passer-by’s finger without getting noticed. This boy was really multi-talented, you could say. Die and Kyo soon found out that they shared a similar sense of humour, so they began to like each other more and more with all the passing days. It didn’t take long for them to be almost best friends.

The two remaining members of the small group were called Toshiya and Shinya. Toshiya was a tall boy, with a happy nature and incredibly crooked teeth. He laughed a lot and was easy to get along with. He was like a brother to all the others, including Die. But behind all his happiness, he was sometimes quite melancholy, and Die heard from the other’s that Toshiya had gotten beaten up regularly when he was younger. That’s why he had so bad teeth also. Shinya was quieter of the two, speaking only rarely. It took Die weeks to hear Shinya speak a whole sentence. But otherwise the boy seemed to be nice and sensible.

All in all, they got along really well, all five of them. It was good to have someone to rely on. And they surely trusted each other.

*

Along the weeks Die got to know his new friends better. He had become like an older brother to the two youngest ones of the group, and with Kyo he’d become very close friends. Kaoru was fun to be with, and Die searched for his company whenever it was possible. But in a way the oldest one remained a mystery to him. He was friendly and reliable, and although there was a certain authority in him he could be really funny at times. The strangest thing to Die was the way Kaoru looked at him at times. The look made him shiver and blush, like he was some little girl.

All in all Die felt very attracted to the leader of the group. He was both angry and afraid when he realized it, since it was strictly forbidden. He had heard rumours of men loving other men, whispered in the darkness of night. But never once had he really thought about the matter. If he still had his parents and a home he might’ve never even admitted his feelings. Now he had nothing to lose. After all, he was only a pitiful thief living on a street, or in a basement to be exact.

It had been a tiring day. They hadn’t had luck for days and everyone was feeling a bit stressed and very hungry. Die came back to the basement with nothing at all. He was surprised to find Kaoru there, since the oldest one was usually the first who left in the morning and the last who came back in the evening. He was sitting in the corner, but rose up immediately as he saw the redhead. “I wanted to talk to you.” Die nodded, since he couldn’t figure out anything else to do.

Kaoru came closer, so that he was standing only inches away from the other one. “You see, there is this one thing I’ve wanted to do for a long while now. And I think it’s time to risk it.” Die arched an eyebrow, curious of what the other might be talking about. He opened his mouth to ask what was on Kaoru’s mind but got interrupted by a soft pair of lips descending on his own.

His eyes flew wide but he was too shocked to react in any way. The older one ran his tongue briefly along the redhead’s full lips before backing off a little. His face was a bit flushed and he seemed nervous judging by the way he licked his lips. A moment of silence passed between them.

“I’m sorry.” The older one looked at his feet. Die only smiled.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

*

Toshiya laughed out loud and jumped from the roof of a building onto another rooftop. “Hey Shin! Look at me.” He enjoyed whole-heartedly and glanced at his friend who was a little behind him. They were all just running around. Kaoru had called it practicing, since whenever they stole something they had to be pretty quick with escaping. But to Toshiya this was just a fun game he liked, running and jumping from roof to roof. “Shin, let’s race! Last one home is a pitiful loser!” He didn’t wait to find out if Shinya followed him before running off, bouncing happily.

When Toshiya reached the gap between two buildings he looked back over his shoulder to see if his friend was behind him. Shinya was far behind, and Toshiya was sure he’d win. He prepared to jump. But he underestimated the distance and his leap was too short. His eyes flew wide as he realized that he didn’t hit the roof, but instead only air was under his feet.

A high pitched shriek escaped the boy’s throat as he fell. Luckily, he got a grip of the edge of the roof, but his hold was far from steady. Die plummeted towards his friend, grabbing his hand tightly. “Hold on, Tosh!” His fingers were slipping though, and to his horror he felt that Toshiya began to fall lower, inch by inch. Kyo noticed the situation and immediately rushed to help. He took a hold of Toshiya’s shoulder and began to pull the other up. Together Die and Kyo got their panicking friend dragged up to safety. They all just sat for a minute, trying to calm down.

Toshiya giggled nervously, brushing his fingers through his hair. ”Whoa, that was close.” Die smiled at his friend. “But you’re okay and that’s what matters.” The other smiled too, showing all of his awry teeth. He still seemed to be nervous and he was glancing over the roof’s edge every once in a while. They all breathed in deep, relieved that everything was okay. But then a shadow cast over them. Kaoru stood there, looking at Toshiya angrily.

”Do you realize what might’ve happened, you idiot!?” Kaoru’s voice was harsh and he seemed to have lost his temper. “What if you had broken your neck? Then what? I have told you a million times to be careful, and not to lose concentration like that!” Toshiya blushed and looked utterly humiliated. He had realized his mistake and now Kaoru was shoving it to his face. However the dark haired one seemed to be so angry that he kept on yelling. “It’s a simple thing to do to look at your feet! Even a five-year-old girl could do that!”

They had all listened quietly, but when Toshiya started to get tears in his eyes they thought that Kaoru had gone too far. Kyo and Die exchanged meaningful glances. “Hey Kao…” Die began. “I think that he’s had enough.” The dark haired one looked at the one who spoke. “What? Are you trying to tell me how to lead this group?” The anger blazed from his eyes and he raised his chin a little. It looked like his pride had been offended.

Kyo hurried to help. “No, but can’t you see that Tosh already knows he did wrong. You don’t have to be so rough on him.” Kaoru still didn’t seem to relent, instead he now looked murderously at the small blonde. The situation was beginning to get out of hands fast. Even though Shinya usually kept quiet during conversations, especially during fights, he opened his mouth and spoke with his low voice looking firmly at the leader. “I’m sure Toshiya learned his lesson already. And nothing bad really happened since he’s okay.”

The dark haired one seemed to hesitate. But he wasn’t ready to give in just yet. “The point isn’t if something happened. You need to be aware of certain things, and I’m not going to watch you all die out of your stupidity.” Toshiya’s tears fell freely now, being the sensitive boy he was and taking the words quite hard. Kyo completely lost his temper at the sight of his crying friend. “You really have gone too far with this whole leadership-thing, Kaoru! Leave him alone already. You’re acting too childish to ever be a real leader.”

Kaoru stiffened even more. The angry sparkle in his eyes died down leaving behind only a blank stare. “Fine.” He stated and turned on his heels before rushing off. Kyo was already going to run after the oldest one, but Die held him back. “Kyo, let me do it. Let me go find him and talk to him.” The blonde looked sceptical for a moment, but then nodded. “Okay. I’ll take care of Toshiya.”

*

Kaoru was sitting in a dark alley, curled into a ball and hugging his legs close to his chest. He was feeling sad, and really wanted to be alone so he could calm down and organize his thoughts a little. Therefore he wasn’t happy when he heard soft footsteps head his way. He didn’t look up, but the presence felt familiar and when someone sat beside him he already knew who it was. “Finally I found you.” Kaoru pressed his face against his arms. “So you found me. Now you can go away.”

“I don’t think so.” The redhead gently took Kaoru’s arms and forced him to straighten up a little so their eyes could meet. “Are you okay?” The older one shook his head and blinked some tears away from his eyes. He hadn’t cried in years, and he would definitely not start now. His voice was only a broken whisper. “No.” Instead of answering Die only took the other in his arms and held him.

A long while passed by before Kaoru spoke again. This time he sounded calmer, although his voice was a bit muffled by the redhead’s chest. “Do you all hate me now?” Die soothed the other’s back and hugged him closer. “No. You went a little too far, but no one hates you. We still respect you and think that you are the only possible leader for this group of filthy thieves.” Kaoru smiled against Die’s firm chest. “What an honour.”

“It is. Be proud.” They both chuckled a little. But then Kaoru’s voice had a serious tone again. “I’m really sorry. I was just so scared, scared that Toshiya would fall and kill himself. Maybe I overreacted… But you know, I feel like I’m responsible of you guys, and I couldn’t bear it if anything happened.” He raised his gaze to meet Die’s, and the redhead felt his heart swell at the sight. “I know Kao, I know.”

They sat there together for a while longer, staring into nothingness and listening to each other’s heartbeats. When they stood up to leave, Kaoru wrapped his arms around the other’s neck and looked him straight in the eye. He had never felt so fragile before. “Die? Can I kiss you?” The redhead didn’t say a word, he just leaned in and connected their lips in a hungry, open mouthed kiss.

*

Kyo leaned back, his stomach full and mind content. He let his gaze wander over all of his friends. Toshiya was sitting cross-legged in the corner, smiling happily, obviously quite pleased with himself. He had insisted on having ‘a party’, which meant that he had stolen heaps of food and they had been eating like pigs. Shinya was still eating his share. He had always been quite slow, not wanting to rush or eat ravenously. Kaoru was lying partly on Die’s lap, resting his head on the other’s abdomens. Those two seemed to have become quite close lately. How close exactly, Kyo didn’t know and he didn’t want to, since it was none of his business.

Die was absentmindedly playing with a strand of Kaoru’s hair. “Hey guys. Have you ever thought of what you’d want from life?” The redhead didn’t avert his gaze from the one who was leaning against him, and curled some of the dark hair around his finger. Toshiya giggled. “I know. I would like to get a lot of money, and then I could buy a big house for all of us and we could buy everything we want.” They couldn’t help but smile at the enthusiasm in the boy’s voice. “It’s so nice of you to count us in, too.” Kaoru commented smiling at Toshiya. The younger one blushed but smiled happily. “What about you, Shin?”

The quiet boy stopped eating and thought for a short while. “I think I’d like to get a home. A real one that holds the rain outside.” His wish was greeted with soft laughter, but not in a hostile manner. It was just so typical of Shinya to be so practical. Kyo wanted to voice his hopes next. “I want to get a hold of that Count’s throat and twist it so that he can’t breathe so easily anymore.” The evil grin that played on the blonde’s lips was really something you didn’t get to see every day. But they all silently agreed with Kyo’s statement. “By the way, I found out that there’s a small passageway behind the count’s mansion that is practically unguarded. We could go and take a look some day.” Kyo’s eyes were so full of hope that one could’ve guessed that truly was one of his greatest dreams.

Next it was Kaoru’s turn to tell the other’s his wishes. He pondered for a while, and didn’t eventually come up with more than “I want us all to be happy.” The wish was greeted with agreeing mumbling and they all turned to look at Die, who was still playing with the oldest boy’s hair. “I don’t know.” The redhead began. ”I think that I have all I want right here.” He looked up at his friends and smiled. And judging by the stunning smile, the others came to the conclusion that Die wasn’t kidding. He really felt happy.

*

It wasn’t really a peaceful time they were living in. The country had just survived a bloody civil war, and it was divided into small regions. Each region had a count in charge of everything and the local count was really an evil man. And that was the understatement of the century. He was greedy and sadistic, and it would be safe to say that probably even his own mother didn’t like him.

Kyo in particular had something against the count. What exactly it was, no one ever found out. Kyo didn’t really want to talk about his past, and his friends were kind enough not to ask him any embarrassing questions. Why let the past shadow the present time? But sure as hell the small blonde hated the man who was in charge of the town like no one had ever hated anyone. Whenever he got the chance to steal or break the count’s property, he was satisfied. Therefore he was in a really good mood when Kaoru had finally given in and they all decided to break into the counts mansion.

When they arrived at the count’s mansion Kyo led them to the secret passage he had mentioned earlier. It was surprisingly easy to get in, they saw only one guard and he was easy to pass by. Once inside they split up. Toshiya and Shinya took one side of the house, Die and Kaoru another and Kyo took whatever was left. He always wanted to do his searching alone, so no one was paired with him. Kaoru and Die headed for the second floor, to the bedrooms. The redhead slipped into the first one he saw and the older boy decided to take the next room. They spent a good while rummaging through the cabins and drawers they found, and after that they met each other in the last and the smallest one of the rooms on the second floor.

”So what do you have there?” Kaoru looked suspiciously at the brown wrinkled paper Die held in his hand. ”I don’t know why I took it, it’s worth nothing. Just a piece of paper that’s all. But it was in this jewellery box I opened and when I heard noises I kinda panicked and grabbed it before I ran.” The redhead hurried to explain. Kaoru smiled at him. “It’s okay, I got some of the golden stuff that was there.” Die grinned happily, making the older boy’s heart skip a beat. “Maybe I should…” The younger one began, but Kaoru heard a ruffling noise from the next room and quickly covered the other’s mouth with his hand.

The dark haired one held his hand on the other’s lips, preventing him from speaking. He held his breath and listened carefully. A rough voice was heard, apparently it belonged to a man of high standing judging by the way he was giving commands. “What? There are intruders in the house? Thieves? Are you sure they got it?” Someone answered, but the voice was so quiet that Kaoru couldn’t find out what the answer was. But it didn’t take long before the rough voice continued. ”We need to get that contract back. Never mind everything else, just find those stinky thieves and bring that paper back to me!”

They both stared unbelievingly at the crumpled piece of brown paper. So this is what they want to get back so desperately? This worthless paper instead of the golden jewellery? Kaoru breathed out whispering quietly. ”Apparently that piece of paper holds a great meaning to someone.” Die sighed out of frustration and tore the paper before throwing it away over his shoulder. “But they’re not going to get it back. And they’re not going to catch us.” The older one smiled and ruffled Die’s red bangs. “Big words. I like that.” He winked and grabbed the redhead before heading out through the window. Then they ran like hell.

*

”I think we lost them.” The redhead panted, leaning against the nearest wall with his hand. The older one looked around the corner and made sure no one was to be seen. “Well I certainly hope so.” It was quiet, the sun had sunk below the horizon a while ago. Kaoru considered the different options they had, and decided that since it wouldn’t be wise to head for the basement they were living in, the best thing to do was to spend the night somewhere inside four walls. It could never hurt to protect oneself from rain and other not so pleasant ways to wake up.

He gestured the younger one to follow. “Come.” Die followed him blindly, trusting the other’s opinion. Kaoru led them into an old building, ready to collapse. It was completely rotten and the stench was incredibly awful. Still, better than sleeping outside. Or that’s at least what they thought at that moment. The floor creaked when they walked in, and Kaoru took a quick glance around. The room was empty, except for the two rotten chairs in the corner. Die chuckled. “See, we both can have a chair of our own.”

The redhead went to the chair and sat in it with a thump. Immediately he realized that it hadn’t been such a clever thing to do since he found himself sitting on the floor in the middle of the remains of the rotten chair. “Whoopsie.” Kaoru laughed at Die’s expression wholeheartedly. The redhead only grinned and kicked the pieces of the chair further.

Die leaned against the wall, stretching his long legs. “Man, it stinks here. Why didn’t we pick someplace else to hide in?” Kaoru seated himself in front of the other running his palms along the other’s legs. “Because we have no other choice.” The redhead sighed. ”I suppose you’re right. As always.” He studies the hawkish features of his companion and smiled at his thoughts. “You know what, Kao? You look like a nobleman. Aristocratic nose and all.” Kaoru raised his eyebrows and inched closer to the other. “You know, I really am a prince, and I was supposed to inherit the country some day. But then this evil lord killed my father and I was forced to run for my life.” At this point his face was only inches away from the redhead’s face. “And since I now don’t get my princess to marry, I’ll have to go for the filthy thieves I find from the street.”

The redhead chuckled and leaned closer connecting their lips briefly. “Oh, your royal highness, I’m not worthy of your noble company.” Kaoru grabbed Die’s arm and pulled him to sit on his lap. “That’s right, normally you’re not. But this is your lucky day.” A passionate kiss was exchanged in the dimly lit room. The younger one smiled into the kiss and kneaded the tense muscles of the older one’s back. A caress followed another, a kiss was initiated seconds after the first one broke, they both searched for contentment in each other’s embrace. That night they gave in completely to the emotion that controlled them.

Their ultimate commitment to each other.

*

In the morning they woke up in each other’s arms. Neither of them remembered a time in their lives this far, that would’ve held as much warmth and devotion as this one. Die rested his chin on Kaoru’s shoulder and inhaled deeply the scent he’d come to love so much. The older one brushed his fingertips lightly over the soft skin of the younger one’s cheek. He looked deep into those eyes which were showing all of their owner’s soul, and felt like he could’ve died happy that moment. But his rational self took control. “I think we should be heading back.” He played with a strand of Die’s red hair. “You think so? And we can’t stay here for all eternity?” Kaoru only smiled at this and kissed the other softly.

It didn’t take long before they were back at the basement. The two youngest boys had spent the whole night there, but it turned out that Kyo had arrived there only moments before they did. Fortunately everyone seemed to be all right. “Did anyone follow you?” Kaoru asked curiously as soon as he had made sure he had everyone’s attention. Kyo shook his head. “Nope.” Toshiya and Shinya looked at each other briefly before Shinya answered. “Someone followed us for a while, but we managed to lose him, I think.” The oldest one nodded accepting. “We have to be extra careful from now on. I don’t know what it is, but we managed to really piss those guards off this time.” He received agreeing nods. They all were silent, aware of the danger.

Suddenly they heard loud noises from outside. Speak of the devil… “Guards…” Toshiya whispered loudly, eyes wide in shock. Instantly Kaoru grabbed Shinya’s arm and shoved the thin boy towards the small opening in the wall. “Quickly, go out.” Shinya crawled out as fast as he could. Meanwhile Kyo was standing at the door, trying to listen to the sounds that still echoed from not so far away. “Hurry!” He hissed. Toshiya was next to go, but he had some problems due to his tallness. However he managed to stumble out, and Die kneeled to the floor, ready to follow his two friends next. But it was too late.

The door swung open and a dozen of heavily armed soldiers marched in. “You are under arrest. Now surrender without causing any troubles.” Kyo however disagreed with the soldier’s statement and aimed a strong kick at the guard’s crotch. The man howled with sudden pain and fell to the floor, curling up into a ball. The thieves only had time to realize something flashing through the air when one of the guards swung his weapon. The blade cut deep into the small chest, causing masses of blood to burst out. “No!” Kaoru shrieked panicking. Droplets of red flowed from the left corner of Kyo’s mouth before the tiny body collapsed onto the floor.

Kaoru wanted to go to his friend, but two of the soldiers grabbed his arms and held him steady. Die was still on his knees, looking too terrified to move. The older boy could only watch helplessly as the rest of the guards attacked the redhead, hitting and kicking. Die tried to shelter his head with his hands, and curled up desperately not wanting to get hurt. It only took a few moments before every inch of his body was beaten, and he was lying still on the floor. Desperation flowed through Kaoru and he was frantically looking for any sign that the younger boy was still alive. His panic gave him extra strength and he yanked himself off of the guards’ grasp and threw himself over the still figure on the ground.

The dark haired boy tried to shelter the unconscious redhead with his own body, taking most of the hits aimed at them. He heard a scream from somewhere far away and hoped that Shinya and Toshiya had been able to get away. He turned his head a little and looked at the small bundle that was Kyo lying in the doorway in a pool of blood. There had been nothing they could’ve done, the blonde was dead the second the sword hit his chest. Kaoru felt tears burn in his eyes. He had lost everything, all of his life had been torn apart. All he had now was the redhead lying beneath him. And he held on for his dear life. A strong kick that hit his head ended his thoughts for a while as everything faded to black.

*

Kaoru woke up with a hammering headache. The first thing he did once he opened his eyes was to find out where Die was. The redhead was lying on his side, left arm curled under his head. Kaoru dragged himself nearer and made sure that every bone of the redhead’s body was undamaged. He sighed relieved when he found out that the other was okay. He leaned against the wall and let his gaze wander around the room. Only one old man was sitting in the far most corner of the cell, eating a maggoty biscuit. When the man noticed that he was being stared at he raised his gaze and smirked at Kaoru.

“Morning, young man. You’ve been unconscious for a good while now.” The man smiled and showed his four teeth, all rotten. Kaoru coughed and moved the still unconscious redhead to lie partly on his lap before muttering his answer. “Morning.” The man eyed those two young men curiously. “You seem to be quite close with your friend there. You were calling him in your sleep you know. Or at least I assume that it was him. Die, right?” Kaoru blushed slightly and nodded. He felt like he should explain a little. “We are really good friends. I’m just worried about him, we got beaten up quite badly.”

The man smirked again showing his teeth. “Friends? Right. Don’t be afraid, I won’t hate you although I don’t approve what you two seem to be. Men are supposed to be with women, you know.” The man took a bite of his disgusting biscuit. Kaoru decided that it would be best to ignore the man’s words. Instead he tried to change the subject. “How long have you been here?” The man looked out of the small window, blocked by bars. “I don’t remember anymore. But today is my time to go. Or tomorrow, I have lost the count on the days.” The dreamy expression faded from the old man’s features and he looked at Kaoru again.

“You’re doomed too. Some day Cyclops will come and take you to your end.” Kaoru arched his eyebrow. “Cyclops?” The man laughed, a dry and empty laugh. “The guard.” At that moment Kaoru felt movement on his lap and noticed that Die was gaining consciousness and blinking his eyes. “Kao…” His voice sounded rough. “Where are we?” The dark haired one didn’t have time to reply before a croaking voice broke the air. “You’re in the purgatory, sonny. On your way to eternal damnation.” The redhead startled and swung his head to look at the corner. The man was grinning at him, obviously feeling himself happy for being so intelligent. “Don’t mind him.” Kaoru whispered and helped Die to sit up a little, letting the other lean against his chest. The younger one looked at the older. “So they got us? What about the others?”

Kaoru sighed deeply. “I think that Shin and Tosh got away. But Kyo… He’s gone.” Die felt a lump in his throat. The small blonde had been his best friend, and now he was dead. Before he even realized, big tears were falling from his eyes. He didn’t even remember when he’d cried last. Kaoru raised his hand and wiped away the tears from the other’s dirty cheeks. “Shh, don’t cry.” Die swallowed and inhaled deeply, trying to calm down. Then the moment was interrupted by a harsh voice. “Stop that. You’re beginning to get nauseous.” The old man was grinning happily from his corner. Kaoru was just about to reply something when a creak attracted their attention.

The door opened and a huge man entered the room. Instantly Kaoru realized why the old man had called him ‘Cyclops’. The man had only one eye, the other was only an empty hole covered by the eyelid. Cyclops didn’t even say anything, he just walked to the old fragile man, grabbed his arm and pulled him halfway to his feet. The man started screaming and babbling incoherently, begging the big man to leave him alone. The guard still didn’t utter a single syllable. Instead he dragged the old, whining man out and slammed the door closed once again.

“I guess it was his time to go.” Kaoru stated quietly. He felt sorry for the poor man, although he didn’t even know why he’d been there in the first place. Now he moved his attention back to Die. “You okay?” The redhead nodded. “Yeah. And you?” Kaoru smiled and leaned his forehead against Die’s head. “I’m okay.” They held each other and stared out of the window, looking at the people running and being busy with their every day life activities. Several moments later Die decided to break the silence.

“Kaoru?”

“Yes?”

“What will they do to us?”

“I don’t know.”

“Will you be with me till the end?”

“Of course I will.”

*

It was already late when the door creaked open again. Cyclops came in followed by four other guards, all holding their swords in their hands. “The count wants to see you two rats.” Die stood up from the floor and helped Kaoru to get up as well. Blindly they followed the guards along the cold, long corridor, up the stairs which seemed to have thousands of steps and to the audience hall where the count was waiting. The count was a tall man, clad in red and gold, sitting on his throne. He had a thin moustache that curled upwards from the ends. Kaoru and Die were forced to kneel in the middle of the floor and keep their heads bowed. When they were still, the guards took a few steps backwards so that the count could see the one’s he was talking to.

The count stood up and took a few steps towards the two young men kneeled on the cold floor. “So…” His voice was high pitched and nerve-wracking. “…which one of you dirty little bastards has the letter?” Die bit his lip, forcing himself to keep silent like Kaoru had told him to. He could feel the warmth radiating from the dark haired boy who was just beside him, and it gave him the courage he needed. “Answer me!” They both startled when the count suddenly screamed. Kaoru coughed shortly and answered. “We don’t have it. It’s gone.” The count looked sceptical, but since nothing had been found from the prisoners nor from the place they had been living, he decided to buy it. “Well then, which one of you stole it?”

The count’s bodyguards were standing only a few steps away from them, swinging their swords lazily, but keeping a close watch ready to kill whenever the count was even remotely threatened. When neither one answered the count’s question, one of the gigantic men took a step closer, pressing his sword lightly on Die’s neck. Die shivered when the cold steel touched his skin, and let out a barely audible small sigh. Kaoru interpreted the sigh as the sign that the redhead was going to confess and tell everyone that he was the one who stole the precious letter. That would result in Die getting executed, if not immediately then in a few days. Panic flooded through him and he heard himself speak.

“It was me.” Die’s eyes shot open when Kaoru’s words echoed into the silence. His pulse sped up, and his mouth dried up. No. No, Kaoru, don’t do it. He wanted to stop the other’s words but he was too petrified to do a thing. And the dark haired one continued. “I found the letter in your house, snatched it and ran like hell. It was only later when I bumped into that redhead. I’ve never seen him before so he has nothing to do with this.” Die turned a little to look at Kaoru, who shot a warning glance towards the younger one. Don’t you dare to spoil this by saying something. Die hung his head and swallowed hard. It felt like his heart was in his throat suffocating him.

The count looked pleased. “That’s more like it. So, your life will end tomorrow morning after the sunrise. Take ‘em away.” The count turned on his heels and marched out of the room. Then guards grabbed both prisoners and dragged them down to the dungeon. This time they were all alone in the muddy cell, since the old man had been taken away in the morning. Probably the poor man had already lost his head by now. Kaoru leaned against the back wall and looked out of the window. The last rays of the setting sun were slowly fading into blackness.

Die dropped himself to sit beside the dark haired one. “Why on earth did you do that?” Kaoru looked at the other through his hair that had fallen on his face. “You were going to confess. And then they would have killed you.” He stated like it was the simplest thing on earth. Small tears of frustration formed into Die’s eyes. “And now they’ll kill you. How is that a better thing?” The older one cupped the other’s face gently and leaned in to kiss his lips softly.

After the chaste kiss ended, Die rested his head against the other’s shoulder. Kaoru smiled and hugged his beloved one, finding comfort in the warmth. He nuzzled his face into the red hair which muffled his voice when he spoke. “I want you to live.” Die buried his face into the dirty fabric of the dark haired one’s shirt and pressed himself even closer. His following words were suffocated by Kaoru’s chest so that the older one didn’t hear them. But I don’t want to live without you.

*

The morning Sun greeted them with its gentle rays. The younger boy had tried to stay awake all night but being exhausted he had fallen asleep a little before dawn. Now he leaned against the older one clutching his shirt desperately. Kaoru wiped off a dirty strand from the other’s face and pressed his lips against that red mass of hair inhaling deeply. It was scary how fragile the skinny boy in his arms seemed to be. What would happen to him while he had no one to take care of him? Kaoru didn’t feel as bad for losing his own life as for having to leave his beloved behind. Feeling sudden sorrow flow through himself Kaoru clutched Die closer against his own chest.

Startled by the sudden movement the redhead woke up and opened his eyes blinking at the light. “Good morning.” The older one smiled affectionately at the dirty little creature lying on his lap. “Did you sleep well? It surely is a beautiful morning.” Die looked up at the other, tears already falling from those big eyes. His lower lip was trembling and he tried hard not to cry. “How can you call the morning beautiful? Nothing in this world is ever going to be beautiful anymore… Not after you’ll…” The older one pressed his index finger gently on the younger one’s lips. “Shhh… Don’t. You’ll be okay.” Die shook his head stubbornly and began to say something but got interrupted by the older one again.

“Listen to me, Die. After I’m gone the Sun will rise just as it has risen every day. Just don’t give up. Figure out a way to get the hell outta here and run. Run as fast as you can and start a new life somewhere else.” He hugged the other even tighter. The redhead still shook his head. “No, no, no! I don’t want to, I’ll…” Kaoru took a firm grasp of Die’s shoulders and forced the younger to look him in the eye. “Shut up! You will do as I said. Understood?” Die collapsed against the one who was holding him and clutched him knuckles white. “Y-yes…” He was sobbing and Kaoru felt like crying too. But he had to be strong, for both of them.

They heard a rustling noise when the door was unlocked. Soon three heavily armed guards walked in, sword creating a cling when hitting the soldier’s boot with each step. The two figures in the corner of the cell pressed even tighter together if possible. The biggest one of guards, the one with bushy moustache, stood three steps away from the prisoners. His voice was harsh and echoed in the room when he talked. “Time to go.” Kaoru gently forced the younger boy to let go of him and kissed him one last time before standing up, shaking a little. The guard raised his arm and hit the young man forcefully, so that he fell against the wall. “No. Not you. The count has changed his mind.” Die had bent down over Kaoru to check if he was hurt, but now he turned his head and stared at the man unbelievingly. “What? So you won’t kill him?” He was ready to fall down on his knees and thank the man for his kindness, but the following words washed away all his hopes.

“Yes, we won’t kill him. Count wants to see the real criminal’s blood spilled instead.” Who had told them? How did they know? The guard grabbed Die’s arm and dragged him to a standing position. Kaoru was already conscious again and he tried to take hold of Die, intending to cling on and never let go, but the two other guards both aimed a few strong kicks at his ribs. Soon he was lying on the ground, only trying to breathe. Desperately he locked his gaze at the redhead. Die looked at him, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. But he held the tears back, trying not to let his fear show. “I love you, Kao.” He whispered so that the dark haired boy barely heard him. No. Not this. Don’t take him away. Kaoru tried to scream but the voice never left his throat.

The guards dragged the redhead out and slammed the door shut before locking it again. Kaoru ignored the dull pain and dragged himself to the window. He grabbed the bars and pressed his face against it, trying to see as far outside as possible. After a moment he saw two of the guards practically carrying Die between them towards the market place. He couldn’t see the scaffold from his cell, but he followed with his gaze as long as he could see even a tiniest spot of red. The iron of the rusty bars burned his skin as he tightened his grip. He continued on staring at the horizon until he couldn’t see a thing due to the tears that filled his eyes.