Re-birth

Prologue
By His Side

He remembered that day clearly.

The painful memories were engraved in his head, fighting and yelling for attention. He had tried so many times to forget them without avail. They had left a scar on his heart which would not fade away.

He remembered the way that his darkened eyes were illuminated by the moonlight cast across his face, easing the darkness from his features. At that moment, his lifeless eyes looked alive again.

These were the eyes he had missed seeing of the one who had saved him and guided him in the past. To him, he had been a leader; strong and kind, although he never showed it. Aichi did not realise this at first, but he now knew that Kai was always by his side, watching him and making sure that he did not choose the wrong path. However, in the end, Kai had chosen the wrong path himself.

The thought was unbearably painful and it had brought the tears forming in the corner of his eyes to fall down his cheeks, allowing him to grieve for his friend.

Because this was the end.

The wind carried the clouds in a subtle movement, covering the shine of the moon. Aichi shivered, clutching his cards closely to himself, almost as if he wanted to gain the warmth and courage from his precious comrades. His vision was blurred with the tears that he tried to hold back and the memories of his time with his most important friend surfaced, holding him back from attacking.

He thought he had gotten rid of his weakness a long time ago but he couldn't do it, after all. Kai was his friend.

My precious friend... like everyone.

Through the falling tears, a small yet warm smile grazed his face.

I can't possibly...

And when he had gathered enough courage to face his opponent one more time, he slowly raised his head.

... defeat you.

His ocean blue eyes were instantly locked with the dark green ones, widening in confusion, fear and hurt.

The light withdrew from Kai's face, and darkness crept in, replacing it. Once more, the moon was covered by the clouds, casting an emotionless shadow dancing across his face.

His eyes were distant and lost, and a dark smirk had made its way across his face.

Aichi cautiously took a frightened step back, almost stumbling if he hadn't quickly regained his balance. He felt like he wanted to run away, far away from this torment, but Aichi stood still on his trembling legs, his hands gripping strongly onto the table to support him from falling.

He knew that there wasn't any time left for both him and Kai. He felt his own body grow heavy and weak as the energy was drained from his body, and he noticed that he had been panting heavily and shaking uncontrollably, perhaps with rage, but his current mind was focused on the only person before him.

A laugh resounded in the empty area at the rooftop, and Aichi turned to look away from him, shutting his eyes close. He didn't want to see him so weak and desperate. His laughter was dark and taunting, but it sounded empty and sorrowful, piercing through Aichi's soul.

Stop it... Kai-kun...

Kai was laughing and Aichi was crying, for him.

He dropped his cards and his hands slowly reached towards his ears, as if wanting to block that laughter. He wanted to hide or disappear from existence so he wouldn't be forced to face this Kai; this Kai-kun he didn't know at all.

Stop it...

And as if his desperate plea was answered, the cold laughter stopped. Aichi removed his hands from his ears, reaching to wipe his tears furiously with his sleeve.

He hated this. He hated how weak he was.

"...chi."

Aichi's head shot up to the direction of the voice, only to face Kai's emotionless expression. Had Kai just called him? Aichi smiled bitterly at the thought; Kai had never referred to him by his name since they had started their final fight.

Not anymore.

"Aichi."

At first, Kai didn't like the way the foreign name to him sounded as he pronounced it for the first time in a while. It sounded too familiar and made him feel strangely warm. Those feelings were soon replaced with disgust and pure hatred, reminding him that this boy was the cause of all the anger and hurt he felt.

He had studied the expression of the Fighter before him, as he wiped his eyes furiously and steadied himself. He watched as his bangs covered his eyes; the only sign that told him he was still conscious was the movement of his shaking body and the uneven breathing.

Kai knew that he was losing, and didn't care anymore; all he had obtained lasted in a short amount of time, however, he had lost something irreplaceable in exchange of this fake happiness.

He didn't care.

His attention returned to the boy before him. It seemed like he didn't hear his name being called.

The second time he said the boy's name, it came out toneless and cold, reflecting the way he was feeling right now. No, he didn't feel anything.

Seeing the boy who he once considered a precious friend to him crying so desperately and painfully didn't get any sort of reaction from him. He felt empty, and nothing else. No hint of regret, pain, confusion or anger.

Nothing.

He didn't know if he was human anymore.

He had let the power consume him without caring about anyone or his own life. Right now, nothing mattered to him. He'd die alone because he had pushed away everyone close to him.

And that thought didn't even leave him saddened.

"K-Kai-kun..." He heard that boy's weak voice speak up, waiting for an explanation to why he had called his name so suddenly.

Kai smirked darkly, his voice calm and emotionless. "I'm waiting."

Waiting? What is he waiting for?

Aichi furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he looked fearfully at his opponent, whose expression was unreadable with a strange glint in his eyes. Aichi flinched under the piercing glare and the widening smirk that grew visible in the darkness.

Aichi didn't want to know what Kai wanted to say right now. His expression was still robotic but there was something about it that caused Aichi to feel cold and hopeless. Aichi quickly shook his head; if Kai needed something, Aichi would do it for him, even if he was not the same person he knew. He needed to know what Kai wanted.

Between small sobs and avoiding eye-contact, Aichi finally breathed out. "W-what...?"

Kai raised his hand and pointed to his own chest, to the location of his heart. "Finish this fight quickly."

Aichi looked at Kai with wide eyes, who smirked in return. "Kill me."

Aichi shook his head repeatedly, feeling his body tremble violently as anger took control over his emotions. "NO!"

"I can't kill Kai-kun!" He yelled, a fit of coughing interrupting him. His face was getting paler and his body grew weaker, but he didn't give up. He could feel the pain prickle his skin and shoot up to his head, like daggers, but the person before him was more important.

The image of Cray disappeared, and in Aichi's hands a heavy silver blade glinted beneath the light. He brushed his fingers against the cold metal, tracing the carvings of the hilt which fitted perfectly in his grasp. His legs moved, with pain and unease, towards the person who was now no more than a blurry figure in Aichi's vision.

Kai didn't react as he heard Aichi's soft and slow footsteps coming towards him. He looked to his direction to see the boy dragging his body forcefully, stumbling as he walked. Kai simply watched him as his body collided with the hard ground, letting out a sheepish and weak smile overtake his pained expression.

He tried to lift himself up from the ground, coughing violently as he spoke slowly, breathing in and out. "If I could... I would have killed you, Kai...kun."

Kai witnessed as Aichi was able to push himself off the ground and stand up on his feet, struggling before regaining his balance. His features softened as he gave Kai a true genuine smile.

"But I can't..." His pained voice mismatched his kind and warm smile, and Aichi found himself standing in front of the person who he had admired for a long time. However, that person was gone a long time ago but to Aichi, Kai would always be Kai-kun no matter how emotionless and inhumane he grew.

"I'm sorry..."

Tears streamed down his cheeks as he buried his face in his friend's shirt and cried. "I'm sorry... Kai-kun."

Deep inside, he hoped he would be able to see the real Kai once again. He was hoping that Kai would come back to his senses somehow and stop hurting himself and him.

Kai's face stayed emotionless, like a marionette being manipulated with strings of metal chain. "You're an idiot."

It sounded toneless.

Aichi knew but he wanted to believe it was one of Kai-kun's ways of expressing himself when he was feeling annoyed, like he always did. Aichi nodded and buried his face deeper into Kai's shirt, not wanting to see that cold expression on Kai's face nor wanting to show him his endless tears.

Kai's hand moved. The sound of metal scratching the surface of the ground was heard as he moved over to pick the sword up, but Aichi remained still, not wanting to move.

Kai was lonely and consumed by his need for power, and if he needed someone to stay with him, he would stay, even if the whole world was against him, he would stay with him...

By his side.

"Goodbye, Aichi."

So, um, how was it? Good? Bad? Terrible?! I promise I'll try to explain things in the next chapter. You can consider this to be like a sequel to "A Fall From Grace" even though it isn't finished. A lot happened and I'm finally writing again! Thank you for reading!