Warning: This story contains shounen ai, which implies male/male love, graphic violence, and angst. Please do not read if such ideas upset you. Please use your good judgment.
Rated R for violence, strong language and sexual situations.

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A Stitch In Time

Chapter Five: Reunion



        A blanket of warmth enveloped him as awareness returned to his previously unconscious body. Blue eyes fluttered opened slowly, reclosed tightly against the scintillation of white light, then cautiously reopened to greet the sun.
         Ryo lay dazed, his tired body crumpled exhaustedly on yellowing leaves of grass. His limbs were too heavy to lift, numb, perhaps from laying in one position for too long. Somewhere, in the recesses of his fog laden brain, he knew that was not why he could move.

        "Silly boy, falling asleep in the field."
        The gilded voice sent waves of champagne gold crashing upon his ears. Sparks flew inside his mind, sending an urgent need for his eyes to focus.
        "Come on then," the golden utterance prompted. Fingertips of velvet stroked his cheek. "Ryo, are you all right?"
         It sent a jolt to his brain.
         "Nasuti?" An impossibility escaped his lips. Sprawled on his back, Ryo watched with bewildering detachment as the object of his obsession cocked her head to one side and smirked.
        "None other." Her hand, maddeningly soft, rested carelessly on his face.
        Finding use of his limbs once again, Ryo brought his hand up to meet hers, then slowly slid it up the length of her arm. He found himself sitting up, gripping her shoulders tightly.
        "Nasuti."
        Surprise flickered briefly across her pretty features, but was soon replaced with a coy, discerning smile.
          Proof of her existence was sealed with a sweet kiss on her cheek and a crushing embrace.
         "Must have been some dream..." She muttered as he pulled away from her.

         Ryo's memory was sluggishly returning to him fragments at a time, and he was still missing considerable pieces of the puzzle.
        Nasuti read his confusion, but could not possibly understand how to make the pieces fit.
        "Are we dead, Nasuti? Are we dead?" Ryo implored.
        Had she not known, on some basic, instinctual level that Ryo was struggling to comprehend something important, Nasuti would have teased him, answering that they had indeed died and gone to heaven.
        But, as she knew the warrior of virtue so well, instead replied, "No, of course not!"
        "Then... then this is real?"
         "Certainly it is!" She snapped, suddenly irate that her emotions were being toyed with. "Ryo, what is wrong with you?"
        Her biting tone crashed garishly against his ears, shattering the once gold inflection. Flinching away from her, Ryo didn't understand what was going on, his mind smitten with turmoil.
        Regretting her harshness, Nasuti asked him, "Is something the matter?"
        "No," came the whispered reply. "I'm just tired, that's all."
         More pieces of his fragmented memory were returning.

        "Let's go back, then." She said pressing the back of her hand against his forehead. "You've been in the sun too long."
        She stood, offering to help him up. Ryo took her outstretched hand tightly and wondered what sort of derangement could have caused him such a nightmare-- for that surely is what these memories were. Nasuti was not dead.
        As the two made their way through the field of flowers and wild grass, Nasuti bent down and pulled a bunch of wild, red flowers from the earth. Red petals fell down the yellowing grass, like blood drops weeping in blond hair.
        A horror so cold came over him, it froze the warm blood flowing through Ryo's veins to a halt. His memory was overwhelmed with the brazen, metallic scent of life.

        "Ryo?"
        He couldn't move as the final pieces fell into place-- as the whole truth suddenly scourged him.
        "What's wrong?" Nasuti implored, knowing full well that she wasn't going to like the answer.
         "Oh no..." Ryo whispered as he searched along the armor link and found that Kourin was not present.
        Realization stole his breath away. Kourin was-- gone? Did that mean that Seiji was--
        "Ryo?" Nasuti asked again, turning back to face him. "What is the matter with you?"
        A dull ache formed behind his eyes-- he could hardly discern one thought from another. "Seiji..."
        Nasuti frowned, and put her hands on her hips. "What about him?"

        Ryo's eyes were closed in tight concentration, his right hand balled into a fist held over his heart. His armor orb illuminated through his clenched fingers, glowing bright red.
        No, not completely gone... Ryo thought. But so faint--
        Suddenly, his orb broke free of his palm, hovering briefly in front of his eyes before it shot off in a trailing flow of red luminescence.
        Ryo followed after it, knowing that the orb was seeking it's missing bond, the armor of Kourin.

        Long, yellowing blades of grass bowed to his speed as he ran to the figure sprawled lifelessly in the distance.
        Ryo stooped to his knees beside the body, tears blurring his vision.
        "Seiji."
        Pulling the fallen warrior into his lap for the second time, Ryo prayed "God please..."
        Seiji did not stir as he was held. Ryo ran his trembling hands along Seiji's torso, checking for the mortal blow. His body was intact, no gaping wounds, no spilled blood, but there was no apparent life in him.
        Breathlessly, Nasuti came up beside them. "Ryo, what--." She stopped short when she saw Seiji lying unconsciously in Ryo's panicked embrace. Her hands came up to her face to stifle a surprised gasp.
        "Is-is he--."
        "Nasuti, get the others." His voice was low, unsuccessfully hiding his sorrow.
         "Oh, God," She whispered, stunned. "How did this--."
         "Go now!" Ryo shouted, his voice quivering.
        She nodded slightly before running off towards the house.

        Ryo clutched Seiji tightly, murmuring tenderly against his temple, "You can't be dead... please, you can't be..."
        The warrior of light remained still despite Ryo's desperate pleas.
        Lips resting gently, touching silken wisps of blond hair, above his ear, Ryo spoke softly. "You can't leave me now, Seiji. Do you hear me?"
         What kind of cruel irony was it that he had to trade one loved one for another?
        Suddenly furious, Ryo screamed, "Damn you! Abandoning me twice! You can't leave me--."
        His face crumpled with emotion. "God, I can't take it." He breathed, gathering Seiji firmly to him. "How can I ever live with myself knowing that I'm the one who killed you? I'm the one... "
        Guilt swept over him, leaving a raw bitterness that froze Ryo to the marrow. Seiji was dead because of him.
        With one hand buried in Seiji's golden hair, the other wrapped securely around his body, Ryo rocked back and forth like a child in agony, lost in despair, unknowing how to get past this tragedy.

        Fingers consolingly ran through Ryo's black hair, to rest at the base of his neck. "...I'm here."
        Startled to feel Seiji's body moving against him, Ryo held him out at arms length.
         Two hauntingly beautiful, violet eyes stared back at him.
         "Seiji..." Ryo gasped.
        "Are you all right, Ryo?" Seiji's voice was subdued, his mind still reeling. "Arago didn't hurt you...?"
        Relief sucked the strength from him, and Ryo sagged forward, only managing to whisper, "Thank God... thank God..." Tears spilled down Ryo's face as he gave silent prayer for this miracle.
        Just as Nasuti's simple caress had woken Ryo, it had taken Ryo's familiar touch to awaken Seiji from the clutches of such a deep sleep.
        It seemed that events of the past had changed so greatly that as the time continuum worked itself out, Seiji's life had been spared.

        Seiji sat back a little, arm draped across his stomach where Ryo's sword had run him through. He couldn't tell if it actually hurt or if he was merely remembering the pain. Either way, it took a lot of concentration to keep his breathing even.
        Ryo placed his hand over Seiji's and murmured, "I'm sorry."
        "No, Ryo..." Seiji shook his head, trying to recall. "It was my choice, not yours."
        "I killed you!" Ryo shouted, sickened with himself. "I killed you..."
        "You did no such thing," Seiji said steadily. "Don't do this to yourself, Ryo."
         "Don't do this to myself?" Ryo asked incredulously, examining Seiji through maudlin eyes. An ethereal beauty still emanated, like an aura around him, yet Ryo knew something was missing from Seiji's violet eyes. A light had been stifled, snubbed out, possibly forever.
         "I've hurt you in a way that can never be healed." Ryo remarked morosely. Covering his face with his hand to hide his emotion, Ryo lost it, tears streaking down his cheeks. "I should have been stronger! I-I couldn't stop myself... I murdered you with my own hands."

         No amount of assurances would get through Ryo's thick skull, Seiji was certain of that. This situation required a bit of finesse and a softer approach.
        "I died. And yes, it was by your hands, but it was not by you."
        Seiji put his arms around him, guiding Ryo to his shoulder. As Ryo acquiesced, Seiji felt the warm wetness of his tears as they seeped through the thin material of his shirt.
         "Ryo, listen to me," he spoke quietly in his ear, lips barely hovering over the lobe. "Anything I've lost is not because of you."
        "But you have lost something..." Ryo mumbled into his shoulder. Being the warrior of virtue had its downfalls and this was one of them. Always wanting to help, to make better, to be righteous-- Ryo suffered greatly when he could not undo wickedness against another, especially when he felt that he was the cause of it.
        "You make me strong, Ryo," Seiji admitted quietly. "And I know that it will be you who strengthens me once again."
        Feeling Ryo's entire body seize, his breathing suspended for a sheer moment before returning to a more normal rate, Seiji persisted, "You have to let this go. Arago will have won if you don't."

        Pausing for a long moment, Ryo found solace in Seiji's soothing presence, in the steady and satisfying drumming of his heart.
        "How do you stay so calm?" Ryo asked as he listened to his gentle heartbeat.
         "Practice," Seiji chuckled. "Lots and lots of practice."
        Sitting back, Ryo pulled himself away from Seiji's warmth, suddenly self-conscious. "Look what I've done to your shirt," he said brushing his fingers over the wet stain his tears had made.
        "Don't worry about it."
        Ryo smiled meekly at his comment, but then frowned, reaching for the collar of Seiji's shirt, and folded back the white material to expose his shoulder.
         "Seiji... your scar is gone."
        "What?" He demanded, staring down at his body. Sure enough, the white scar that had marred the skin for five years had indeed disappeared. "It... it is gone." Seiji breathed.
        "By stopping Nasuti's death, we altered history-- so that must mean a great many other things have changed too." Ryo smiled.
        "A butterfly flaps its wings and half a continent away the weather changes..." Seiji mumbled.
        "Seiji, that means we never fought-- that means, you never went away! Have we stayed together for all these years?" Ryo asked. "The six of us together in Nasuti's house?"
        "I don't know... that's not the past I remember..."
        "Seiji, do you feel--."
        "Yes," he breathed, "I feel the others coming."
        Squinting in the sun, Ryo strained to see past Seiji's shoulder. "That looks like Touma! The last time I saw him was five years ago..."

        "Ryo!" Hard of breath, the blue haired warrior fell beside them. Touma gasped, "Seiji..."
        He grabbed his roommate by the shoulder, relief smoothing his features. "Seiji, you're not--."
         "Touma..." Seiji whispered simply staring at him with amazement. He couldn't help but stare-- he hadn't see Touma since he was fourteen.

"Nasuti said that you--."
        "I know she did," Ryo interrupted. "We have so much to talk about."

         "Is everything all right?" A quiet voice asked.
        Spinning around, Ryo looked up, disbelieving his eyes. "Shin..."
        Tall, with a gentle smile on his face, he asked, "Ryo, what's the matter?"
         "You know me?"
        Shin was a bit startled, replying, "Of course I do."
        Springing to his feet, Ryo pulled Shin into his arms. "You know me!" He exclaimed, delighted. "You're okay-- everyone is okay!"

        "Whoa, dude, what is up with Ryo?" Shuu remarked, grinning at Ryo's outward display of joy.
        "Shuu! You're here too!"
        "Course! Why wouldn't I be?" Shuu asked. "Man, he is one fruit short of a basket." He commented, whistling.
        For some reason, Ryo found this hilarious. "You don't know the half of it, Shuu!" He couldn't help but grin, the five where whole again.

        "Ryo, what on earth is going on?" Nasuti, who did not have the benefit of an armor orb, asked as she finally caught up to the warriors. "What is this all about?"
        Not quite suppressing his startled gasp, Seiji whispered, "Nasuti..."
        She turned towards him, a vision of perfect health, with a questioning eyebrow raised-- she couldn't help but feel a prick of annoyance that the boys were acting so strangely around her.
        Blinking his tears back into submission, Seiji said, "It is good to see you, Nasuti."
        Nasuti was about to comment when the giant roar of a large cat interrupted her. Byakuen bounded through the forest and leapt at Ryo. Unprepared for the white tiger, Ryo found himself lying flat on his back, his face wet with tiger drool.
        A small, hysterical sob escaped the warrior of virtue as he threw his arms around his beloved white tiger.
        "I think... I think this is a little too much..." Ryo said, his breath coming in short gasps.
         "It's okay, Ryo. Just breathe," Seiji commanded, helping him to sit up. "You'll be okay."
         "Ryo, what's going on?" Shuu asked, confused. "Seiji, what's the matter with him?"
        Turning to his four friends, Seiji realized that they were strangers now. Five years still distanced them.  Though it was apparent that the lives of the other troopers had changed, for the better he hoped, his and Ryo's had not, as the memory still lived on in them.      

"It has been a long, long time for us. But you wouldn't know that, and I suppose it's better this way." Seiji said. As he stood, he pulled Ryo up with him. "Let's go back to the house. We have much to discuss."






There is much more to this story!
Please stay tuned for future installment in this series :)
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~Li