The war, my life, my feelings.. Which first?

You... told me the truth...

You never lied to me...

Is that why I love you?

Seto POV

BOOM!

There it was. And a thousand little lights exploding behind it.

The Russians.

Seto and Jou looked up. There were lights exploding off in the distance.

"What--!?" Jou said, looking confused.

"Russians." , Seto breathed.

"Russians?"

"They've come to liberate the camp."

"Liberate? You mean were getting out!?" Jou looked exited as the words escaped his lips.

Seto looked down at Jou, a sad expression in his eyes.

"What...?"

Seto paused before talking again. "Not exactly."

"What--?"

"Jou..." Seto put an even sadder look in his eyes. "Do you really think that we would let everyone get liberated?"

"Oh... so... I guess your right... I'm... were... not getting out... are we?"

"I'm sorry, Jou..."

"Heh... that's okay... this is better than being dead, right?"

Jou looked at him... even though he had a small smile on his face, but his eyes betrayed his true emotions.

"You need to go."

There was yelling all over the camp. Jou leaned in and kissed Seto.

"Bye..."

And he watched Jou sneak back to he barrack.

He was sure that he would be able to make it back alright, but he wasn't so sure the moment he heard a voice yelling at Jou.

Well, at least Jou wouldn't be punished considering the fact they were liquidating the camp.

"Hey! Hurry up!" A voice said. Seto looked behind him. It was another guard.

He grabbed the gun the guard tossed at him and hurried to join the guard.

And they ran out of the camp.

Jou POV

They were going to Poland.. no, Checoslovisia... no...

Nobody would admit it, but they had absolutely no idea where they were going. They could only keep going where they were told to go...

Like cattle...

Jou wanted so much to stop, to just stay there, or run the other way... but he would be swiss cheese before he could get far...

And if that happened, he wouldn't see Seto again.

So he kept on running.

He was tired. Exhausted. The guards would be replaced when they grew tired, but nobody replaced Jou or any of his fellow 'prisoners'.

The use of that word raised hate in Jou's heart.

He had asked himself this question as frequently as he had breathed in air- Why were his people prosecuted by Hitler? What had they done wrong? There was no reason to hate them, in his mind at least. Who knows what Hitlers messed up mind was thinking or how it worked.

Jou knew he shouldn't resent anyone, but for Hitler, resent couldn't be helped. But sometimes, Jou resented himself for doubting that God was taking care of things, and that this was a test, or something like it, to see how loyal his people were, how much they trusted him.

Jou trusted God completely, but there were still doubts. And for that, he resented himself.

He recited Kaddish under his breath for anyone dead to make up for the times he forgot. How strange when your life's in danger you do things you normally wouldn't think of doing.

He laughed to himself, but quickly stifled it, remembering where he was and the situation him and his brethren were in.

They must have ran at least nineteen, twenty kilometers. Maybe more.

And they kept going. Jou thought the whole thing was getting ridiculous. They had put so much distance between them and the camp the russians would have a hard time catching up, even with a car.

They finally stopped in a deserted village. Dilapidated houses dangerously close to falling in on themselves.

Jou and his fellow jews looked around, taking in the sight of it all.

This, in a sense, was better than Aushwitz.

There were no electrified fences, no separation from anyone, no two sides or camps to it all. Everyone was together.

Slowly, the mass of people drifted apart, groups looking for loved ones or friends and shelter. Jou found a house that looked sturdy enough. Slowly, he went inside, he was followed by about ten other people. The house had two stories, but nobody trusted that the second floor was strong enough to hod any weight other than what it already held.

Jou, however, being the naturally curious person he was, decided to go up and test it.

Sure enough, the tenth stair broke under his weight. But he kept on going up. He reached the top, and tested the floor. When he was sure it was sturdy enough, he walked into one of the rooms. Part of the roof had fallen in, making a little bank of snow in one corner of the room, pieces of broken rotting wood sticking out at odd angles.

Jou looked around the rest of the second floor, and went back down, being careful not to break another stair.

Everyone else in the house was asleep.

Jou, however, hadn't had the freedom to go wherever he wanted for a while. He chuckled to himself. Like the Nazi's would let him go anywhere But he wanted to at least try. So, he walked around the condemned town finding a hiding place every time a Nazi walked by, patrolling the empty streets making sure no one escaped. But, as we all know, you can't stay hidden forever. A guard had found Jou.

"You, what are you doing?"

Jou turned to look at the guard.

"Well... uh... um..."

"Trying ot escape, were you?"

"No!"

"Then get to somewhere! I don't care where, just go! If I see you out here gain, I'll shoot you!"

Jou turned and went into another house.

Seto POV

They had been running forever, until they reached a condemned village.

He had been put on guard, making sure that no one would escape the camp. This reminded him of Berlin at the start of the war. Except for the fact that there was nobody in the streets, jewish or not.

He heard voices behind him, one of them being Jou's. He looked around the corner he was on to see Jou getting scolded by a guard. Rolling his eyes, he thought-

'Does he never learn?'

He looked back in time to see him go into a dilapidated house. Making a mental note of where it was he continued his rounds around the empty town.

xXxXxXxLaterxXxXxXx

Seto and the other guards that were patrolling were relieved of their duty, another set of guards taking their place.

He quickly walked to the house where he saw Jou seek refuge in.

He scanned the room, seeing Jou asleep slouched against one of the walls.

Walking over to him, he smiled slightly. Sitting down next to him, he pulled Jou closer, burying his face in the blonde's hair.

He felt Jou move slightly n his arms, a small noise issuing from his mouth. He saw Jou's eyes crack open, tired and dazed-looking.

"Wuh...?" Jou looked up, his eyes meeting Seto's.

"Mmnh... S- seto?"

"Yes?"

Seto felt Jou move closer to him, holding onto his uniform tightly.

"Seto... what...?"

"Happened?" Seto finished for him, a sad look in his eyes as well as Jou's.

"Yea..."

Seto was silent. He didn't know it then, but this would be a question that Jou would ask constantly in the future.

Neither of them talked, sleep reclaiming Jou.

Seto, however, remained alert. He looked out a broken window, looking around too see if anyone was there. Seeing as it was deserted, he picked up Jou, holding him tightly in his arms.

Slowly, quietly, he waked out of the town, stopping only a few times to avoid being caught by any of the patrolling guards.

Walking out of the town in the dark, Seto had no idea where he was really going. So, he kept walking carrying Jou.

Jou POV

Jou felt something move him, pick him up. But he didn't really care. Just as long as whomever it was left him alone and let him sleep.

he let himself drift back to dream land.

xXxXxXxLaterxXxXxXx

Jou cracked one eye open. He was moving up and down slightly.

He moved to look ahead of him, but quickly shut his eyes, trying to hide from the overwhelming brightness that fell down on him.

Wait... light?

Grudgingly, he opened his eyes, looking around him.

There was a dirt road, and a clear blue sky.

There were no Nazi's. No 'prisoners'. Nobody.

He looked up to see Seto looking strait ahead, like he was trying to see something that wasn't there.

Jou tried to move, and as a result, he almost fell out of Seto's arms.

"Ah!"

Luckily, Seto kept him from falling, and instead let him down.

"Your awake?" He asked, keeping one hand around Jou's waist.

"Y- yea... Where--?"

"I don't know."

"Where's everyone else?"

"Miles behind us."

It took Jou's brain a moment to process this information. Finally, he got it. He was free. No more prisons. No more fear.

Slowly, his face twisted into a smile. It was all too good to believe.

He looked up at Seto, laughing slightly.

"Were free..."

He hugged Seto, holding onto his waist as tightly as he could.

It would have been a wonderful moment, but Jou's stomach ruined it.

Grrrrrrrllllllll.

Seto and Jou both looked at Jou's stomach.

Jou poked it, provoking another noise.

"Pfft... hehahaha!"

Jou looked up to see Seto smiling, laughing at the noise.

Jou started to laugh too.

That lasted for about 30 seconds before Seto reached into a bag, pulling out a ration of bread and butter and handing it to Jou.

"Will this help?" He asked, still smiling slightly.

"Thnks!" Jou said, speaking through a mouth full of the food handed to him.

Jou almost choked on the food from trying to swallow it before he chewed it completely. It was as if he thought it would run out of his mouth if he didn't eat it fast enough.

After Jou finished eating, they resumed walking.

"Hey..." Jou broke the silence after a minute or while "What happened to your swasti- thing -a - majig?"

"You think I can walk around with anything that will mark me as one of them when I just deserted the army and took you with me?"

"Heh... guess you can't."

The walked in silence for an immeasurable amount of time, Seto's arm still around Jou's waist.

Just then, they heard a noise behind them. Turning around, they saw a convoy coming down the road.

They stood on the edge of the road, watching the convoy move closer. Jou stuck his head out to get a better look at what was coming nearer, but was pulled back by Seto who held him to his side protectively.

Jou relaxed as soon as he saw what was on the side of the truck. There were decals of russian and american flags on the sides of the cars.

The convoy stopped, an soldier stepping out of one of the trucks. A patch of an american flag on his sleeve.

"Guten Tag."

"Hello." Seto said, showing the officer that he spoke english. The officer's face lit up at the fact that Seto spoke english.

"Hello. What're you two doing?"

Seto was silent for a minute, obviously reluctant to speak.

Of course, Jou looked confused. He had learned english in school, but never really paid any attention to it. He felt sorry for not paying more attention and actually applying himself in the class.

He understood words like 'Hi', 'Hello', and some simple phrases like 'How are you?', but that was about it.

"You two okay?" The american said, changing the subject.

"I am... But I don;t know about him." Seto motioned to Jou, who looked up at the american, obviously confused.

The american looked back, wonderingly. "He speak english?"

Seto looked at him. "Do you?" He asked in german.

"A little. Not much. I understand things like hi, what's your name, y'know, simple statements, but nothing other than that." He said.

Seto translated what he said for the american.

Jou heard them converse a little bit more, and then the american looked back at him.

He said 'Fine' and motioned them to follow him back to the trucks.

When he pulled out a package of rations from the back of one, Jou's face lit up.

After the american prepared the rations, Jou ate like he hadn't in years. The american walked over with a clean pair of pants and a shirt, setting them down beside Jou.

The rest of the people in the convoy came out of the trucks, and after a little chatter in languages Jou didn't understand, they started to unpack tents and set up camps on the side of the road.

Jou turned to Seto, obviously wanting to know if they were staying or not.

"Are we gonna stay with these guys?" He asked, his mouth still stuffed full of food.

"Yes. We are."

"Okay. Will... they... catch up with us?"

"Katsuya..." Seto said, looking toward him, a smile tugging on the ends of his mouth, "First of all, chew your food before you swallow so you don't choke. Second of all, I doubt that they're gonna find us. Were a long ways away from them, and were in a totally different place."

"Oh... 'mkay." Jou took Seto's advice to heart, being sure to chew his food and not try to stuff it down his throat. When he had finished the food, he felt better than ever.

"Change your clothes." Seto said, handing the clean garments to him. Jou climbed into the secluded back of a truck and put on the clean clothes, which were a source of relief after the rough clothes provided at Aushwitz.

Jou stepped out in a uniform two sizes to big. He resembled a small child his parent's pajama's.

Seto and the rest of the soldier's watching laughed slightly.

With darkness slowly setting in, Jou cuddled up to Seto's chest, smiling slightly.

He felt Seto take his face in his hands turning it towards him.

Slowly, he moved his mouth to Jou's, their lips touching slightly, moving against each other. Jou didn't stand for that. He pressed his lips to Seto's, moving his tongue into the other's mouth.

Jou felt Seto do the same. Moving his arms around Seto's neck, moving his head to an angle, trying to deepen the kiss. He felt Seto move his arms around his waist, pulling him closer. For that moment in time, they forgot everything. There was just them, their love.

And that was the was Jou wanted it.

Fin

Wow, I left it hanging... Haha!!! sorry 'bout that...

So, I'll leave it up to y'all to decide how the story ends. Oh, yes, I forgot to say- most of this fic is based on a book called NIGHT by a person who was in a concentration camp (Forgot his name...), so, yea...

I listened to techno polka music while making this... wow, I'm weird!!!

At least, I think it was polka music... it was loituma techno remix. Well, if it's not polka music, it;s definitely finnish!!

YAY Finland!!!