Title: Insanity In Flight
Chapters: 2/?
Author: seannabirchwood
Genre: fantasy/erotic romance/dark romance
Warnings: Bad language, character death, mentions of sex (in this chapter), and rape over all
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: Uruha/Aoi (onesided), Kai/Shou/Kai, Tara/Yuu/Tara

Characters(so far): Gazette[Uruha, Aoi, Reita, Kai, Yune], Alice Nine[Shou, Hiroto, Nao, Saga], 176Biz[Yuu, Tara], Nightmare[Yomi], An Café[Bou, Kanon], Miyavi
Synopsis: In a land of humans a creature was created a long time ago. That creature was supposed to be the turning point of humanity, but only served to further destroy it. This is what is left. Can our J-rockers survive? With me writing? I doubt it.
Comments: “Shinya let his wings spread wide as he pounded across the courtyard, managing to boost his light form into the air with two firm down strokes. He loved taking to the air, unless he was on a mission or training for a mission, he wasn’t allowed in the sky. It was the greatest of his passions and the greatest of his strengths.”

Disclaimer: I own nothing TT_TT

Chapters: 1 http://seannabirchwood.livejournal.com/5372.html#cutid1 , 2

You can flee as far,

As your heart wishes,

You can think me traitor,

But with you I will remain.

*

     In his room again, bathing in the red light the sun was illuminating it with through the crimson tape. The red soothed him, kept the stains on the floor black instead of their natural colour, kept the man in the mirror relatively passive. They were talking, he and the man. Kouyou found he did not need to think much about anything anymore, the black winged man in the shadowed mirror did it for him. He enjoyed the intelligence of the other man, and he feared it.

     “Tell me, Kouyou,” the man purred. “What are your forces doing to suppress the rebellion in the east?”

     Kouyou tilted his head to his side. “What rebellion, Uruha?”

     “Consider that a warning.”

     There was silence for a moment. Kouyou then dipped his head to the man in the mirror. “Thank you. I will send a brigade out at dawn tomorrow.”

     “Too small.”

     “Really?” Kouyou chewed at his lip. “A battalion with Calvary?”

     Uruha nodded. “Yesss,” he laughed. “Make sure you have long ranged missiles, it will be the perfect time to damage the Winged people.”

     Kouyou grinned, his own laugh bubbling through his throat. “I will send the troops out at this moment.” He stood and walked toward the door.

     “Remember not to be too hasty, little Kouyou.” Uruha whispered as he shut the door on him.

     Kouyou walked down the hall, excitement brewing in him. Where was Ogata at? He glanced at a polished doorknob.

     “In the banquet hall,” Uruha whispered from the shiny surface. “It is the noon time meal, Kouyou.”

     He nodded and changed directions. His graceful step led him bounding down the mains stairs, a thin cape flowing out behind him. Kouyou could not remember if the cape was Uruha’s idea or his useless advisor’s. Do I really need the advisor?

     Uruha laughed, his face reflecting in the glass of a picture frame. “I am wiser than any old man, especially the one who tries to advise you, Kouyou. You should allow me to get rid of him.”

     Kouyou shivered; he did not like being unable to remember certain days or certain hours, when Uruha had his fun.

     “Eventually you will remember, Kouyou, I promise. And you will grow to enjoy it, as well.” Uruha murmured, looking delighted in the spoon sitting on the table.

     He shook his head to rid himself of Uruha, he needed to concentrate. Kouyou gazed at Ogata, his captain, his most trusted man. They would need to act swiftly to bring down the threat, and maybe then they would be closer to reclaiming the world for humans.

     Maybe.

*

     Shou left the hospital after Kai had fallen back asleep. He needed to try and find rest in their shared home near the walls of the city. Maybe if he cleared his mind and took a break from worrying, he would be able to rejoin the night guard. Yeah, right, like he could stop worrying about his partner when the man was getting weaker by the day.

     The fair haired man hugged himself, walking alone through the halls and into the early morning. The operation could not happen fast enough, it really couldn’t. The longer they waited, the closer Kai got to fading away…forever.

     Outside was cool and crisp, and he breathed in deeply, as if he were flying, to stretch his lungs. It helped to soothe his anxiety as cool fingers do a pained brow, the ache soon returned. It wasn’t fair, even in battle, Kai had never harmed another creature; he would fly scouting, he would fly to make their numbers appear greater, but never partook in the fight himself. Now it seemed he was being punished for his kindness.

     Shou gazed up at the moon, almost in an angry way.

     His people worshipped the moon spirit, it was an insult to him that it was letting his partner wither away in that fucking hospital bed. Why can’t you help us when we fight for you and die for you and live for you? Why can’t you help, why don’t you help us?!

     The moon wasn’t about to answer him.

     With a huff, he walked inside the house he shared with Kai. It was small and sparse; they spent most of their time in the air. The wars had orphaned them both at a fairly young age, so they had no heirlooms to adorn the place. The males had no room for tact or decorating, it was as homely as they needed it to be, and that was that.

      He sat down lightly on their bed, letting his thoughts drift to the activities they had done after dark in this room, when he had been captain of the night guard. Shou could pick any night to take of, and make sure Kai had that night off too. Being captain had been great.

     “Shou,” the king had approached him. “After last night, well, I’m appointing Miyavi as the head captain.”

     “What! What have I done to be demoted?”

     “Shou-san, please, both of us know you mind can’t be focused on two different things if you’re to lead our sky warriors.” The king had said. “Focus your attention on Kai, let Miyavi handle the guard.”

     Anger had flashed through his eyes. “Fuck you! Miyavi’s been after my place for fucking years! I’m the strongest!” He had cleared the dinner table of its contents with one sweep of his powerful wing.

    It had pissed him off more to see that the Flightless king hadn’t flinched. “You have proved my point; you’re emotionally unstable. Go get some rest.” And he had walked away, leaving the seething Shou behind to stare at the broken dishes and spilled food.

     Maybe if he hadn’t reacted so angrily, maybe he could still be captain. He sighed, Kai needed to return to him in full health before he could think of knocking Miyavi from the sky. Cocky Miyavi with his cocky grin. The upstart’s wings weren’t even as powerful as his. The only thing Captain Miyavi could do better than him was forest flying—his wings weren’t narrow enough to dart between the trees like the snowy loser. What kind of night guard captain had white wings, anyway? It was like, hey, I’m over here! Come shoot me!

     Shou flopped over, hugging the pillow. Would Kai’s injured, night sky coloured wing heal without a limp? It would kill him to be dismissed from the guard after beating the illness affecting him now. Kill him. He sighed deeply into the pillow, he couldn’t stand the waiting, he couldn’t figure out how Kai hadn’t gone insane with it yet.

     He hated waiting.

     He didn’t know he wouldn’t have to wait much longer.

*

     Tara ruffled his mottled white and black wings, trying to get comfy in bed and miserably failing. Dark circles were etched about his eyes; he couldn’t sleep without Yuu around, it was impossible. His heart ached every second of the day and burned every moment of the night. They were bound together, closer than blood, and Tara wondered if maybe he would just fade away to nothing without him.

     Beyond his room, Bou was mingling with the Winged and Flightless population of the city who had taken them in, Kira was bossing around Yune and Yune was taking it. None of them had been changed on the outside, and all of them would last to see the next sunrise, but Tara didn’t think he could do it. Tara didn’t think the blood binding was something one could just overcome like that.

     And the tears came again. He felt his inner most cavity, his soul, being eaten away. He needed to find Yuu.

     He wasn’t sure when he had consciously made the decision, but he suddenly found himself in the air, flying as fast as his wings could take him back from where they came. Tara circled the small city once before taking off north, flying to the city of his birth. Navigation was bred in his bones, and, even if it wasn’t, his heart would have led him to Yuu.

     Tara urged his wings to beat faster, urged his lungs to work harder, and urged his heart to sing stronger. Wind whipped around his head, chilling his ears, as he closed the gap between him and his love. He did not cast his gaze on the ground but stared straight ahead. Yuu was there, somewhere, beyond his sight, and he would reach him before the sunset.

*

And even if you die,

Plummet to the earth,

As a fallen angel would,

I will follow you.

*

     Shinya Sano shook out powerful, dark golden brown wings. A glittering amber gem was centered in his forehead. He snapped his head forward and back quickly, messing up the thick black hair. Shinya did not have enough time to style his hair before he was required to attend the king.

     Strapping on a dull chest plate to protect from arrows, and wrapping the bright red cloth around his middle to signal to the Flightless of his side he was a friend, Shinya exited the room quickly. As he walked down the hall of the barracks, he paused outside the furthest door and peered in the window at the man lying on the bed. He was supposed to be the traitor from the kingdom in the south.

     The light brown haired man didn’t seem all that dangerous to him, with his blue-jay coloured wings, but maybe that was because he was asleep. Shinya wondered what kind of man could betray his own people. Well, I guess those in the south are all traitors anyway. With that thought, he bounced off energetically down the passageway, heading for the king’s personal chamber.

     Knocking once, he entered without being acknowledged, something even Ogata-san wasn’t allowed to do. Inside the room, Takanori-sama was speaking in low tones to himself. Shinya shuddered, but did not interrupt the discourse. The last man who disrupted Kouyou was made a bloody example off in the courtyard. Shinya was sure the body was still there or the rags of its clothes at least.

     Kouyou looked up at him. “You took your time, Kanon.”

     Kanon smiled slightly. “You know how I enjoy keeping you waiting, Kouyou.”

     They stared at each other in silence for a long moment, almost as if they were reading each others’ thoughts. Their eyes matched perfectly, down to the glints of insanity at their core. The man in the mirror, whom only Kouyou could see, was laughing softly, the sapphire black in the red shadows.

     “The south, really?” Shinya was the first to speak.

     Kouyou nodded. “Yes, according to our informant, the poison Saga-kun laid didn’t do as it intended. However, the Winged people had to select a new leader, and are at their weakest.”

     Shinya grinned. “And no hospital is ever guarded very strongly.”

     Kouyou chuckled. “I’m glad you understand.”

     “But why attack someone if they’re dying anyway?” Kanon wondered.

     “You’ll see. You and I, we both work better by instincts than by knowledge. You will know when your job is complete.”

      He dipped his head. “Should I see if your informant will give up anymore information?”

     Kouyou laughed softly. “He is resting from my session with him. He won’t be able to speak to anyone for a few hours. Go, you have been charged with a mission.”

     Shinya saluted with a wing tip. “On my way, Kouchan.”

     “I should have you beaten for referring to your king with infantile nicknames! Shichan.”

      Kanon laughed, but got the hell out of there. He wasn’t sure if his king was serious or not.

     That was the fun part of having an insane king.

     Shinya let his wings spread wide as he pounded across the courtyard, managing to boost his light form into the air with two firm down strokes. He loved taking to the air, unless he was on a mission or training for a mission, he wasn’t allowed in the sky. It was the greatest of his passions and the greatest of his strengths. Where he was stronger than a human on the ground, he was three times that in the air; of course, there were no humans around up there to prove it.

     Oh well.

*

     Kai shifted restlessly in the white hospital bed. Not for the first time, he wondered why hospitals were always painted the true colour of death. His wing was doing one of its random hurting sessions. His stomach felt like it was about to explode in a fiery blast of blistering fire. He detested nights like this, when he couldn’t sleep and when he did, he dreamed of terrible things.

     Swords clashing. The doctors binding him to the table. Shou crying out in pain. Insane laughter.

     “You’re the one he sent me for, aren’t you? You’re the one.”

     “Sew that fucking thing into him, hurry!”

     “There’s no time for the aesthesia to work.”

     “I don’t care! I’d rather him be sore than dead!”

     More screams of pain. More laughter. Then the screams were his own.

     He had woken with a start to his wing burning and his midsection feeling like broken glass was being twisted around and around. Kai blinked and twisted half off the bed as his stomach emptied into his mouth. Humiliation racked at him as he was sick in the bucket laying there. He could taste blood in the back of his mouth, and on his tongue, mixed with the harsher taste of the acids.

     Couldn’t two weeks be over yet? He had lost track of how the time passed, he had stopped asking the date. Miyavi had kept Shou from him for two nights, and Kai had explicitly warned Shou not to visit him on sleeping days. The last thing he needed was to know his partner wore himself down just to visit him.

     A door opened. Kai moaned a little, cleaning his mouth on the arm of his disgustingly white hospital robe.

     “Uke-chan?” The worry was so blatant; Kai could almost feel it brushing against his skin.

     He looked up at a distraught Shou and tried to smile, but he felt so horrible. The stock of painkillers had run out earlier in the day. They were saving the last of them just for him and his operation—there wasn’t a large amount of sick people in the city. The pain was almost anguishing enough that he wanted to say “forget the operation, give me the meds!” but, he didn’t.

     “’m fine,” he murmured, his voice hoarse. Kai wished his weakest moment didn’t coincide with when his lover decided to show up.

      Shou sat down lightly on the edge of the bed and combed through his hair with his fingers, trying to be of comfort to him while Kai recovered. When Kat sat up, he was engulfed by Shou’s arms and his warmth. “It’s this morning, when the Flightless can see properly.”

     Kai looked at him wordlessly for a moment. Could he imagine that soon after sunrise, he wouldn’t be in pain anymore? He smiled. Shou smiled. “I’ll be able to fly again!”

     His lover sniffed. “You’ll be able to sleep with me again.”

     Kai laughed. “That too.”

     It made him feel better to see Shou with a real smile on his face, it almost diminished the pain.

     “Have you been throwing up a lot?” Shou asked, the worry etching back into his voice.

     Kai shook his head. “Just the last few nights.”

     Shou nodded and bit his lip. Kai always thought he looked cute when he was thinking. He snuggled up close and with his fingers found the spot along the fair haired man’s wing joint that caused him to squirm with laughter.

     “Kaiii, don’t…” Shou whined; there was an even bigger smile on his face.

     He grinned triumphantly. The pain in his stomach increased threefold, and then he was doubling over, throwing up blood into the bucket.

     “Kai!” Shou cried out in fear. Kai felt him detangling himself from him and the bed. “Doctor!”

     Kai’s head spun. He lost it again. His knuckled were white where they gripped the bed. Fear set in as he gasped for breath. Had they waited too long? Blood trickled from his nose. Had a vessel erupted or was it trying to find other ways out besides his mouth? Kai let his yellowed eyes close tiredly, praying to the moon that his stomach didn’t decide to wreck another moment.

     The moon chose not to answer his pray. He cried, tears streaking his face, as he lost more blood. Why was he bleeding?! Where was Shou?

     A doctor’s cold hand touched his forehead, bringing his senses into a better focus. “His fever’s getting worse.”

     Another doctor’s voice. “It could be failing…”

     A third? No, it was the first doctor again. “What luck, if only it could have waited a couple more hours… then he wouldn’t have had to deal with this.”

     “We don’t need your if-only-s.” That was the third doctor. “Get torches burning, get any source of light we have, and help me get him to the operation table.”

     “I’ll help… I can see in the dark…” Shou sounded so lost, so hurt. Kai felt pain well up in his chest. How could he worry his lover so much?

     And then he was looking at the sky, at the quarter moon. It was so bright. He felt his arms being restrained to something, and then his legs. Of course, they wouldn’t want him to struggle. Winged people were often known to fight in their sleep, it was bred into who they were. He could hear their conversation too.

     “The pain killers should kick in soon, twenty minutes minimum…”

     “Make sure everything is sterilized. Is Nao-san okay?”

     “Nao-san is resting peacefully, we can bring him in for the exchange any time now.”

     “Go get him.”

     He felt Shou’s warm fingers, so different from those of the doctors’, stroking the top of his hand. He turned his head to look at him and smiled a bit. A daze was settling over him, he had done this before, somehow. Shou smiled back comfortingly. Kai sighed and looked back at the sky through the glass panes, the moon was so soothing.

      A glint caught his night flyer eyes. He narrowed them, trying to pick up any movement. A beat of wings. The glint of armour. A hint of red? No, none of their night guard wore red. Terror suddenly seized his throat and he pulled at the bindings, feeling the drug slowing his reactions, addling his brain. “Shou,” his voice was oddly muffled. “Shou!” He was straining, even his wings were tied down!

     The glint was getting closer. He could make out the full out bodily form, the massive wings and the lithe shape. Had he ever seen wings that big? No, not even Shou’s wings were that size. Kai watched Shou follow his gaze out the window, he watched as his lover’s eyes narrowed unseeingly. Sure, Kai’s eyesight was sharper than average, but the form should be within Shou’s range, surely? Maybe the drugs were making him hallucinate.

     No…Shou was yelling something at the doctors.

     “Sew that fucking thing into him, hurry!”

     Kai watched as, almost in slow motion, Shou drew the light weight sabre the Winged people typically carried. Its blade shone in the moonlight illuminating the room, displacing light into hundreds of diamonds for a second. And then the sky erupted into a thousand shards of glass, as dark wings cut out the moon. Kai felt little bits of glass touch his skin, he couldn’t tell if it cut him or not. He felt the breeze from a final downbeat of wings wash over him.

     There was an insane laughter ringing about the room as a sharp pain laced through Kai’s stomach. The laughter froze his heart, made him wish himself somewhere else, anywhere else but the operating table with a maniac standing so close.

     “You’re the one he sent me for, aren’t you? You’re the one.” Kai watched as the largest wings he had ever seen were furled close to the man’s body. “I can wipe out three important doctors, and three of you pathetic traitors and take off. I understand now.” He was laughing, fending off Shou’s sword attacks easily with a blade that no Winged should have been able to carry into flight.

     Kai screamed as a blade cut into his stomach.

*

     The sun was rising, and the dawn’s beautiful fingers were creeping in through his stone window. Yuu sighed heavily. Why couldn’t they just execute him or something already? He was growing tired of watching the sky change colours and sitting there in the pigeon-shit-filled room. His heart ached for his lover, ached so badly some nights he could, and did, vocalise it.

      Beyond his cell, he could hear a commotion stirring in the courtyard. Yuu groaned; it was always commotion with these people. No one could find a reason to be happy and just enjoy life for once, could they? A shadow crossed over his window and Yuu blinked, craning his head to see what had caused it, and seeing nothing.

     How odd, he thought, pulling against the chains. He was naturally curious, and hard to suppress when his curiosity was aroused. Why would a Winged person come here willingly? And then his very blood seemed to quiver in excitement. Tara!

     “Tara! Tara, no, go home!”

      He watched his lover cross the courtyard, flying toward his window. He watched arrows sinking into his lover’s wings, tearing at his flesh. Yuu could feel his pain and he screamed in chorus with Tara, their blood so interconnect bruises appeared on Yuu’s skin.

     He watched his lover crash through the narrow window, his wings bent back at a horrible, bone cracking angle. Yuu tried to move his hands to hug him, anything, as tears coursed his cheeks, but he could only sit and watch as Tara hugged him, as Tara bled. Yuu swallowed, trying to stop the tears from flowing.

     “Tara…you idiot…why have you done this?”

     “I couldn’t live without you.” His weak voiced response.

     “Tara…I sacrificed myself so you could live.” He cried, wishing he could sink into the warmth Tara’s arms offered. “How could you be such an idiot?”

     Tara sobbed. Yuu could see the blood, feel the blood, and couldn’t chastise him anymore. He had risked and gave his life to see him again. How many times had Yuu wished he had had the luxury to do that?

     “I love you Tara…” He whispered, bending his neck to kiss the other’s head.

     A door opened.

     “I love you, too, Yuu.” Tara’s voice sounded as broken as he felt. “I’ll see you later.”

     Yuu winced as the Flightless blade split Tara’s skull, spilling more of his warmth over Yuu’s trembling form. He felt his head tilt back as his other half was ripped from him, pain blinded his sight and silenced his scream. There was no doubt in his mind: Tara was going to take him with him.

*

You cannot escape from me.

No one has ever said

True love is free

Of pain and misery.

*

A/N: Is this making any sense yet? I doubt it, lol. There was no Aoi/Uruha character building in this chapter! I am appalled with myself. In the next chapter, I think you will get a sense of what is really going on in the POVs. If there are any questions, tell me about them, please!