By De Mouse

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STANDARD DISCLAIMER: All the characters used in this fanfic solely belongs to KONAMI and are used without permission. No profit is made out of this fanfic since it's only for personal entertainment. The original plot of the story is copyright to the author. Any duplication of it is strictly prohibited without the author's permission.

WARNINGS: Yaoi content. A mild spoiler for the game if you haven't played Suikoden II.

NOTES: The main character (hero) is named Yoichi. The army he is leading is named Liberation Army.

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Running.

Yoichi was running pretty swiftly compared to his normal quick pace.

The fact that he had more than twenty Highland soldiers pursuing him with a fierce intent on using his blood as floor decoration gave him a very good reason to hurry down the hallways at top speed. That and the rest of the group had separated leaving him quite alone. Yoichi knew he liked to keep to himself but that didn't mean that he was stupid.

And staying to fight a group of fully-grown men who had an advantage in numbers was definitely idiotic.

Sweat trickled down his brow before mixing with the blood that was oozing out from a cut just above the gold ring he wore around his head. A small wound given by a passing arrow. His lips twisted into a mild gesture of worry remembering the slight metallic sound when the arrow whizzed by. The gold ring would most probably contain another scratch. He hoped that is wasn't too deep to mar the smooth surface. It was the only thing his long gone mother had left him.

However Yoichi was still thanking the gods that it was just a graze and not a direct hit.

Panting, the Liberation Army leader skidded into yet another corridor. Wasting a lung-full of breath on cursing that would have made Nanami whack him soundly on the head if she ever heard him, he ran down across the long passage. Brown eyes did not spare a glance at the luxurious oil paintings that hung along the walls of L'Renouille Castle. Yoichi appreciated good art and was quite ready to spend a few minutes in awe at the gorgeously done work. Unfortunately his current situation did not permit such time wastage. The furious yells from the soldiers were louder than ever.

Judging from their frustrated sentences, perhaps he had managed to loose them in the maze like castle. He smiled, taking caution not to allow his footsteps to echo down the hall.

Turning a sharp corner, Yoichi found himself staring at a similar hallway. But unlike the previous one, this had several doors at each side of the marble wall. He had no idea how many minutes had passed since he spilt up with his friends. All he knew was that time was running out. He needed to get out fast.

Not very comforting when facing a possible death threat at every corner.

"Is this place made of corridors and nothing else?" the brown haired youth muttered under his breath.

Deciding it a split second, the Liberation Army leader picked a door at random. He hastily opened in and slipped in; taking care not to slam it shut. Any noise might lead the hunting soldiers to his trail. Soldiers could be sometimes better than bloodhounds when given a trail. Yoichi knew because he was trained to be one of them so long ago.

Closing the door firmly behind him, Yoichi sighed and leaned on the hard wood. He was tired. His entire body felt like it weighed a ton, even the Twin Destiny Fang at his side seemed to gain an extra hundred pounds.

He opened his eyes to stare around his new surroundings and froze.

The room was lavishly furnished with very expensive furniture. Silk sheets were lying on the four-poster-bed while a real fur carpet sat in front of the large fireplace. Yoichi had little doubt if Shiro was here with him, the wolf would be growling at the murder of his own kind. The most important point was the windows located at the other side of the room. The clear glass offered a chance of escape. Brown eyes flickered at the elegant furniture once more. He knew such rooms were only given to officers of status.

Hands gripped the Twin Destiny Fang a little tighter feeling he had traded fire for a large portion of molten lava.

A movement arrested his attention.

Yoichi glanced at the sheer lace that hid a small part of the room away. The lace lifted with the appearance of a pale hand and another youth stepped into the room. A face he was quite familiar with stared back at him in surprise. Gone was the blue cotton shirt, replaced with a pure white suit. It made him look more important and more alien to Yoichi. The brown haired youth found little comfort seeing the pale hair still pulled back in its customary tail.

"Yoichi, I never thought you would come visit me," a smile that contained only icy coldness appeared on the pale face.

The room's temperature seemed have dropped.

"Jowy," Yoichi answered, his voice quiet as it always has been.

Not the normal way he would have greeted his friend but the circumstances now was so very different.

The Liberation Army leader stood his ground, not wanting to back away towards the door. Across the room, the large windows were a tempting route to freedom. The taller youth must have noticed his gaze because Jowy moved into the middle of the room, a barrier between the door and the open air outside. His hands were empty but he did not have to hold a weapon to attack Yoichi. Help was just a shout away, and Jowy knew it. That placed the younger youth into an uncomfortable situation.

"Why did you come?" Jowy asked, his smile turning almost pleasant.

Almost.

"You should know," informed the younger youth. It still bewildered him why his best friend would turn to the Luca Blight's side. The betrayal in that single action hurt. Although he still thought of Jowy as a friend but the incident in Muse City was too fresh in his mind. It made him wary of the other's actions.

"Hmm, yes I did get reports of a few people breaking into the castle."

Funny if he ever recalled the way they played and trained as children. When Shu told him that war had an effect on people, he had spoken the truth. There was living evidence standing right in front of him. It was scary how much Jowy had changed inside yet somehow not changed at all.

Nanami turned her back on the chance that Jowy would ever returned to them. Yoichi never stopped hoping.

"How is Nanami?" Jowy took a step closer.

"She's well," a roughly accurate answer. The last time he had seen his sister was right outside the walls of the castle. Just before they went into another part of the war.

"And yourself?" another step. Just a breath away from invading his private space.

"Fine," Yoichi peered up at him tying to read the blue eyes, trying to find traces of the old Jowy he knew. The boy that laughed while they sat on the riverside catching fishes that gleamed silver. The friend that stood by him as the bullies sneered at his poor background. The bestfriend who entered the army as his brother in arms.

The gaze gave nothing away.

Not even the echo of the friendship they both shared long ago.

The Liberation Army leader looked away in dismay. Nanami was right; the old Jowy was lost ever since he stepped into the Highland grounds. Numbness spread like ice on his chest. Freezing away every single hope that his pale haired friend would come back with that familiar smile on his face.

"Really?" Fingers brushed against his forehead. His tone curious. "Even when in such a situation?"

Yoichi winced when the gentle touch came into contact with his cut. Automatically he jerked his head away and backed up against the door. A slight hiss of pain slipped past his lips causing Jowy to frown and lightly push away the errant brown bangs to reveal the wound. Jowy's lips thinned. An expression that shown only when he was angry, which was not often.

"Who hurt you?" he demanded, voice angry. Blue eyes flashed dangerously promising violence.

Shaking his head, the younger boy wondered why on earth did the pale haired youth cared. Had he forgotten that they were enemies that were directing their armies for each other's throat? Yoichi clutched at the slim chance that his friend had not entirely changed.

"Who?" two hands firmly grasped Yoichi's shoulders.

"In war people get hurt," a soft answer which served as to bring the other to his senses. Yoichi bemusedly wondered if he had been around Shu's presence too much lately. Somehow the war adviser's sense of irony had made a tiny influence in his thinking. Not to mention the hundred and one wise sayings that Shu poured so endlessly on his head. The complex meaning hidden in those words made Yoichi's head ache just to think about them. He was never scholar material to start with anyway.

"Yes, they do," Jowy murmured just as softly in agreement. "But they will die a slow and painful death."

It took a minute to digest that and another to comprehend the meaning of the words. His mind detached itself from his body to wonder what on earth did Jowy meant.

Two minutes too slow.

The pale haired youth took the advantaged and claimed Yoichi's lips for his own. Soft yet demanding, one pale hand pulled possessively at the red cloth while the other slipped around his waist. Yoichi gasped under the unexpected assault. The sensation was alien for he had never been kissed before. He found breathing a rather difficult matter as though he had been running for miles, which he certainly had not. He was shivering but not because it was cold. In fact he was feeling like he had just came out from the hot baths back at the castle.

Jowy smelt like the forest in the morning. The faint musky pine scent together with the freshness of morning dew. It reminded him of the time when they ran into the woods just to watch the fireflies hovering in the weak morning light. Perhaps Jowy captured the scent when he came out of the woods that day. Kept it with him while desperately trying to remember where did the lost Yoichi disappeared to. Then forgot to return it after Genkaku brought the lost dark haired boy back.

"Remember me, Yoichi, remember this," a gentle request trickling his ear.

Brown eyes widened noticing how close they were. Two bodies tightly pressing against each other. He could feel the warmth radiating from the taller youth. The sweetness of being held close to another. Clouded blue eyes lazily watched the blush staining his cheeks. Yoichi's own eyes fluttered closed as he lost himself in the sensation of another searing kiss. All thoughts scattered like dried leaves in response to the burning fire that was ignited. His traitorous fingers somehow had wandered into the realms of silky white hair. Control was rapidly spinning out of his grasp.

A knock on the door pulled the duo back into reality.

"Sir?" a painfully polite voice muffled by the thickness of the door. "Sir, may we come in? There might be an intruder that slipped into your room."

Jowy glanced at the 'intruder' which he was still holding in his arms. A faint smile crossed his face. "No," he said in a clear voice. "There is nobody here but me."

Confused, Yoichi glanced up at the taller youth. He didn't know why Jowy was letting him go but he knew that this was a dangerous game they were playing. It was like gambling. Except what was being gambled were two human lives instead of money. The dice was already rolling, too late to stop.

They won one round but would they win again?

His heart took a leap when he realized that the game had just started and he was already addicted. The prize for winning the gamble was great. At the back of his mind, he wondered if it was worth it considering all that was being risked.

Jowy took his arms away, allowing his captive freedom.

"Go now," there was a hint of regret in his voice. "Before I change my mind and keep you here."

The large window swung open easily.

Yoichi glanced back over his shoulder. Jowy stood in the middle of the empty room. Something in his chest prompted him to return to the arms where for an instant, he had found warmth. But he pushed himself out of the room. Pausing, he took one more look at his friend.

Friend? Was he still a friend or something more now?

The Liberation Army leader caught the blue gaze and smiled. Yoichi could still catch the faint musky pine scent blending with the freshness of dew. Under all that coldness, Jowy was still there. The grass bent easy under his feet while he ran under the sky. Blue eyes followed him out of the gates. Yoichi wanted to wave but didn't because that would mean goodbye. No parting between them, the similar emotions they shared moments ago proved it.

The crossed marks on the rocks of Tenzen Path near the waterfall were deep.

That promise was to be fulfilled another time.

Right now his friends were waiting.

~OWARI~