Dying to Live

Disclaimer: I do not own Kyo Kara Maou.



Thanks to my readers and reviewers for having patience. My beta 2stupid also gets my thanks for helping me work through the issues I saw with this part of the chapters, as well as listening to me groan about not getting this chapter right the first time. Enjoy!



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Shori and Gunter stood in a dungeon. Wet pops filled the air as a whip met its target repeatedly. Gunter slid down the dark dungeon wall and sat on the floor, hugging his knees to him his eyes unseeing. Shori looked down at Gunter and knew that whatever was happening in the room behind them was important.





Making his way slowly around Gunter’s form Shori peaked in the doorway. Men in masks were standing around while another repeatedly hit the pregnant form of Hisao. Gunter sat in a chair, bloodied and broken. One of the men held his hair back so he could see the whip landing on Hisao’s pregnant belly.





Blood slowly began to drip from Hisao’s passage as his body gave up the fight to save the baby. Hisao had long sense stopped screaming and Shori couldn’t help but be sick. Shori dry heaved repeatedly before he could get himself under control enough to watch again.





A petite man came forward and ran a hand across Hisao’s face, slapping lightly. “You shouldn’t have run from your responsibilities. This would have never happened if you had just married me but now you have nothing left. No baby and soon you shall have no spouse. He won’t remember this but you will never forget.”





The petite man walked out the door passing Shori and the trembling form of Gunter. Shori slid down the wall beside Gunter, staring unseeing at the other side of the hallway, his breathing shallow. “I can’t see another memory, what happened after this?” Shori whispered.





“I managed to escape.” Gunter sniffed. “I got Hisao out and came back.”





“Did you kill the small one?” Shori asked still staring unseeing at stonewalls.





“Yes I took all the air from his body.” Gunter smiled slowly. “I told Hisao what happened and he was oddly silent. I tried to hold him but he would not let me touch him. He went from so loving to so cold.”





Shori maintained his silence and began to study his hands as he felt Gunter slowly unclench himself. “We drifted apart, Shori. Hisao wanted revenge and I wanted to forget. Hisao and I couldn’t be together any more. Hisao started to train to be a better fighter. A strong user of the elements, he even went so far as to inject himself with something to give him partial control of other elements besides his own.”





“You broke apart…” Shori was thoughtful.





“Hisao was becoming more and more unstable and was particularly savage to those who were petite.” Gunter stopped. “I gave up. I left him. I couldn’t do it anymore.”





“If the same thing happened to you and Gwendal would you have stayed.” Shori asked.





“I don’t know.” Gunter replied truthfully. “I am older, supposedly wiser but what if that has just made me blind?”





“It hasn’t you are still with Gwendal, trying to make it right.” Shori argued.





“I am waking up now.” Gunter looked up sharply, his eyes glassy.





“So you and Gunter are meant to be.” Shori nodded.





“The baby will have Hisao’s soul.” Gunter spoke quietly.





“What?” Shori swung to look at Gunter, whose figure was beginning to fade.





“Hisao wanted another chance to live and be near me.” Gunter qualified.





“How do you know this?” Shori asked skeptically.





“Study the knife that hit me. You will see some interesting markings on it.” Gunter faded more and Shori stood.





Shori felt everything begin to fade around him. He was hurtling through space and time again. The doorway appeared just in front of Shori and he smashed his face right into it. Blood gushed and Shori felt his eyes water uncontrollably.





“Shori!” Murata yelled tossing the book and running to the door as Shori stumbled out. Shori collapsed against Murata panting for breathe. Somehow, Murata managed to wrangle them both over to the bed. Murata whispered words of calm and efficiently dabbed at Shori’s bleeding nose.





Shori did not acknowledge the treatment he could only blink his bewilderment at the last part of his conversation with Gunter. A frantic knocking on the door pulled Shori from his thoughts. Yuuri stood in the doorway panting for breath.





“Hisao is dead.” Yuuri gasped and Murata’s arms tightened around Shori.





“The bastard died smiling.” Wolfram rasped from behind Yuuri waving the parchment with the news on it.





“Is Gunter awake?” Shori croaked coughing slightly. Sitting up Shori took note of Yuuri and Wolfram’s reactions. Wolfram looked relieved but Yuuri looked troubled.





“Gwendal managed to wake him up not to long ago even though for a moment we thought he had died.” Wolfram conceded. “Now we can all get on with our lives.” Yuuri did not speak but looked Shori in the eyes. Murata noticed the look and sought to give the two time together, alone.





“We should go see if we can’t have a celebration of some sort.” Murata threw out standing and leading Wolfram away. Yuuri shut the door behind them and leaned back against it.





“Are you okay?” Yuuri asked evenly studied Shori’s bloodied appearance.





“As alright as I can be under the circumstances.” Shori sighed running his fingers through his hair. “I can’t figure if things are more complicated now that Hisao is gone or not…” Shori trailed off and Yuuri waited patiently but Shori spoke no more.





“I will only ask one question and then I will leave you to your will.” Yuuri coughed running his fingers through his own hair as he gathered his thoughts. “Gunter is going to be okay, isn’t he?”





“Is anyone ever okay?” Shori snorted standing and looking down at what had been a white shirt, now speckled with his blood.



Sorry it took so long please review and tell me what you think.