*** *** ***
*** *** ***
April 10, 1912
"It's magnificent."
Taishakuten looked over at Ashura-oh, dressed to impress in a pristine white suit with a gold vest, and a half smile touched Tai's lips. The huge ship, the Titanic, which was docked before them, was not nearly as magnificent to him as Ashura-oh was, but he simply nodded at Ash and watched as his eyes lit up.
"I'm glad you like it," he said, but Ash shook his head and sweetly said, "Liar. Things like this don't impress you anymore."
"True, but I did promise you a vacation." Tai ran his fingers through Ash's black liquid hair with affection, then motioned to a kneeling man with red hair. "Bishamon-ten, bring along our luggage!"
The redhead groaned inwardly as he began pulling out an endless variety of suitcases and packages and boxes out of the coach (all Ash's stuff), and then hefting one last, large suitcase onto his back (Tai's stuff ^^) before plodding up the ramp to the ship behind the graceful Ashura-oh and the rather amused Tai.
***
Yukina stood stock still while Kurama tried his best to restrain Hiei from exploding onto the man who had been chatting with the ice maiden. Hiei struggled and flailed at Kurama, cursing and promising all sorts of harm, but the redhead managed to get both arms under Hiei's armpits and literally lifted him up and carried him off.
"Stop struggling Hiei! We're going to be late and we'll miss the ship."
"Ch! Who cares about the ship?! I'm going to kill that bastard..."
"Please, Hiei-san... it's all right, I wasn't hurt," begged Yukina, blinking at Hiei from under ice blue bangs and a navy blue hat. She reached out and touched the fiery little koorime on the arm with a gloved hand, and Hiei instantly calmed down.
"Fine fine... let's get on the stupid boat already, grumble grumble..."
***
He was so young that he was nearly a child still, but the flute he carried in the little black case meant that he was working as an adult, and should be treated as such. Short brown hair fluttered over the neat collar and cuffs and dark navy suit as he hurried off, pausing only to look behind him to make sure that the little spiky haired boy wasn't following him.
"Amiboshi, hurry up! You should already be on board AND performing!" barked a gruff man, directing the various crew members and entertainers scrambling around.
"Sorry, sorry... I didn't think it would be so crowded," he said, and ran up a flight of stairs and through some wood doors to take his place among the other musicians. He quickly removed his precious flute from the case and put it up against his lips, relieved that the spiky haired kid in the sailor suit wasn't following him anymore; he didn't think he had been behaving inappropriately towards the lovely young lady in blue, but apparently her little friend disagreed. Picking up on the other's cues, he began piping out a cheerful string of notes and watched the passengers went by.
***
Many other people were watching the other passengers boarding, or simply waving to friends and family below. A tall man casually leaned over the railing and watched the string of people going up and down the ramp far below with a predatory interest. He was dressed in a monochrome getup: a grey coat so dark that it was nearly black and a black shirt with the collar turned up, which only served to set off the striking silver hair loosely tied in the back. The only coloring he had were his unusual glowing eyes, Mako eyes, like backlit emeralds with a touch of blue. And the hawk-like eyes of the great Sephiroth were riveted on the boarding passengers.
From a tiered walkway above him, another man stood gazing at the passengers, and at the silver-haired fellow below him. Kujaku had abandoned his black wings, loose tunic and staff for a crewman's uniform, pressed and spotless. He had taken a brief moment away from working to see if he could spot some of the people he had seen in his vision, and was pleased to see a young lady, a steerage passenger, come into view from a distance moments before he had to get back to work. She wasn't very striking, with black hair tied back in a simple braid and a drab brick red dress, but she carried herself well and stood up for herself. *I will see destiny changed again, I'm sure...*
***
Steerage was beyond crowded, and the young lady in question had to beg and push and struggle to get herself through. She carried two unwieldy burlap sacks, which carried everything she owned, and only had the strength left to sigh softly when she realized that she had to share her quarters with 7 other people, including a couple which sat quietly on the bunk below the only remaining bed in the room. All eyes were on her as she carried her possessions, one bag at a time, up to the top bunk, and fell onto the bed in exhaustion, wincing as it creaked beneath her. After a moment, she rolled over and looked beneath her. "Sorry bout that... it's pretty crowded in here, isn't it?"
The man looked up. He had incredible blonde hair, falling long and lush past his shoulders, brilliant against the dull blue shirt he wore. "Yes, it is. But what can you expect from steerage?" The woman at his side sighed and leaned closer to him. "It's all right," she said in a low voice, "at least we are here together, my love."
"My name is Ayame, and you are...?"
"Nakago. And this is Soi."
Soi blushed and added shyly, "We just got married."
"Oh? Congratulations... I wish I was so lucky."
"They call this the ship of dreams... maybe you will be lucky."
As the ship pulled away from the docks, plied by the endless cheers of the spectators, and slowly set out to sea, the passengers began settling in and unpacking their belongings. Breezy days and clear nights went by as the Titanic set her pace and headed for the United State's eastern shore.
*** *** ***
April 14, 1912
In the first class rooms, the wealthy lounged in spectacular rooms while their servants bustled around busily. Ashura and Taishaku lounged lazily on their bed and watched as Bishamon tried to organize Ashura's endless pile of luggage, which kept getting messed up despite Bishamon's daily attempts at keeping it neat.
"Ohh, you even brought that?" asked Tai as Bishamon dug up some handcuffs and a pair of black patent leather thongs studded with silver stars, all of which had been buried under some of Ash's clothes. Ashura merely blushed, much to Tai's amusement. "Wanna go for a drink?"
They chose a fancy little lounge not too far away from their room and Tai ordered two martinis. As they waited for their drinks, Ash noticed a handsome trio walk into the room. Two man dressed sharply in black suits, bowler hats and matching vests, and a lady in a carmine dress with a black hat. One of the men, the burly one, pulled out the chair and sat the lady down, calling her, "Kikyo."
Kujaku brought out Ash's and Tai's drinks, settling them down on the table with professional grace, then went to the next table and took the order - mineral water and two brandies.
"Really Sakon... which one of us will get married first?" Kikyo asked the smaller man, a redhead, her voice lilting in amusement.
"Ryoma, of course," Sakon said, motioning at the bigger man. "I'm sure Kayo will be happy to see when we dock..."
"... She'll throw her arms around you, and shower you with roses," Kikyo giggled. An arm reached past her, and Kujaku placed their drinks on the table, pausing briefly to look at Sakon before moving on.
Ryoma smiled, lifting his goblet of brandy. "To us, and to our futures..."
"... May my brother have a long and happy life with his dear Kayo," said Kikyo, raising her flute of water.
Sakon raised his goblet, but was suddenly distracted by something outside.
"Sakon? Heh, and may Sakon find the girl of his dreams, who is apparently somewhere on the other side of this window right now."
"Huh? Ryoma..." He smiled handsomely and shook his head. "No, it's nothing..."
***
On a balcony below the window of the lounge, Ayame leaned over the railing and watched as the ship plowed through the water, the water breaking in foaming white waves around her mighty hull. She could see Nakago and Soi farther ahead, taking a leisurely walk together, Soi's head resting on her husband's shoulder. *What a sweet couple,* she thought. She could hear the soft notes of violins mingled with a flute floating above her from the first class lounges. The breeze played gently through loose tendrils of blue-black hair as she leaned a bit farther over the balcony to see slender dolphins racing alongside the ship. It was just too perfect...
Ayame didn't even see Sephiroth's dark grey and silver form until he had already bumped into her hard and knocked her up and over the railing.
***
Sakon and his friends were just coming out of the lounge when they heard a woman suddenly scream. Ayame was hanging off the balcony by one hand, trying to hook the other over the railing, but her efforts were thwarted by the silver-haired man who stood over her. In an instant, Sakon was jumping down from balcony to balcony - he felt compelled to help her the moment he laid eyes on her, but he didn't know why. He was glad he had always been supremely athletic, but as he neared the silver-haired man and began to draw his sword, the man fixed Sakon with a cold green glare and virtually floated back to melt in with the crowd of people around them.
"Damn it, lost sight of him," he said tersely, backing up slowly in case Sephiroth was still out there, then rushing over to help an androgynous redhead and a spiky haired little boy who were trying to pull the young lady back over the railing. Ayame thanked the pair and turned to her rescuer. Their eyes met.
"Thank you so much sir... but, do I know you?" Ayame asked, her dark brown eyes wide.
Sakon shook his head, but he felt the same way. Had they met before? And if so, how? He was a wealthy young man and she was apparently just a poor girl; their paths could not have crossed before. "Are you all right then? What happened?"
She shuddered and looked around. "That strange man with the silver hair just came along and started forcing me over the balcony. After I went over, he was trying to force me to let go... Oh! How rude of me. My name is Ayame. It's a pleasure to meet you." And she gave a quick bow.
Sakon waved his hand. "Don't bow to me. I'm Sakon Hayateno, and that's..." He motioned to Ryoma and Kikyo who were still up on the balcony. "...my friend Ryoma and his sister, Kikyo."
Ayame nodded. "And your sword... I have one like it, isn't that odd?"
"Really? I inherited this from my father."
"And I from my brother, who got it from our father..."
"I'd like to see it," Sakon began to say, but he was suddenly aware of everyone staring at him and so he let his sentence trail off. "Take care, okay?"
Ayame nodded, a bit disappointed, but she wasn't surprised. He shouldn't even have jumped in to save her, now that she thought about it. Sakon gave her a slight smile and began walking back up to the first class area.
*Ayame, Ayame... you know it isn't possible. But why does he seem so familiar?*
***
"I never thought of you as the heroic type Hiei," Yukina giggled as Kurama told her about how they had helped the lady in distress.
"Ch. Kurama was having a hard time pulling her up; that's why I helped."
Kurama suddenly grabbed the little koorime and hugged him hard. "Hiei, you DO care!" he squealed, planting a light kiss on Hiei's little neck.
"No, no... I..." he protested, but it was too late. Kurama pulled up Hiei's shirt and began nuzzling the smooth patch of skin between his neck and shoulder.
"Yukina... would you mind if we spent some time alone in here?" Kurama asked in a low voice, but when he looked up, he saw that the blue-haired ice maiden was already gone.
***
"Do you mind if I sit down?" Soi asked delicately, even though it was her bed that Ayame was sitting on.
"Soi. Sorry, I hope you don't mind..."
"No, it's okay." The girl sat down and watched as her new acquaintance went back to what she had been doing; wrapping up something long and slender in several pieces of cloth. "What is that?" asked the redhead.
"A sword... I wanted to show it to someone, but I don't think I can just walk around the ship with it."
Soi smiled to herself and said, "You wouldn't be referring to the red-haired gentleman who fought on your behalf earlier on, would you?"
A faint blush colored Ayame's cheeks. "Um... actually, yes. But I don't know how I am going to manage to sneak into first class." She fiddled around under her skirt and strapped the sword against her left calf, tucking it securely into the side of her boots.
"Does it show?"
"Turn around... no, it doesn't. Well, if you are really going to sneak into first class, good luck. Be careful and don't get yourself in trouble."
"Thanks Soi." Ayame took a deep breath, then pulled a shawl down from her bunk, pinning the cream material at her shoulder and checking her hair in a small hand mirror. Plain... she looked very plain, but there wasn't much she could do about that. She smacked her cheeks lightly to get some color into them, then gave a soft sigh before sweeping out the door.
***
Of course, it came as no surprise to Ayame when the crewmen stopped her at the entrance to the first class areas and she knew there was no way she could pass herself off as a lost first or second class passenger. She begged and argued and pleaded, but the crewmen were firm and turned her away. Disheartened, she began to walk back to the room she shared with Soi and Nakago and the 5 other people when a young girl dressed all in blue stopped her and said, "Aren't you the young lady Kurama-san and Hiei-san were helping earlier?"
"Kurama and Hiei?"
Yukina smiled. "A redheaded man, very pretty, and a shorter man with spiky black hair and red eyes. They pulled you over the railing when you fell over."
"Oh. Do you know them? I'm afraid I didn't thank them enough. I..."
"... only had eyes for that dashing gentleman who rushed to your rescue?" The girl giggled. "I'm Yukina... come with me, I might be able to do something for you."
***
A little while later, Ayame was back on her way up to the first class area, now dressed in a long violet dress borrowed from Kurama, of all people... Yukina explained it by saying that it was considered inappropriate for Hiei and Kurama to have a relationship, being that they were both male, and so when they went out, Kurama sometimes disguised himself as a lady. The dress she had borrowed was Kurama's best, and was first class all the way despite the fact that Kurama, Hiei and Yukina were only able to afford second class passage. Ayame found that she had no problem entering the first class areas after explaining to the kindly violet-haired crewman, "I got lost; this ship is so big."
The young man nodded and opened the gate. "Of course ma'am."
As she stepped into the grand stairway, she was dazzled by the incredible appointments in the area - new marble, gold leaf, rare woods and fine porcelains... she couldn't help but look around. She stopped a moment to listen to a small group of musicians playing, taking particular note of a young flutist who smiled sweetly and asked, "Is there a particular song you'd like to hear, miss?"
"Not really... I was just enjoying your playing. Please, continue."
She listened for a few moments, then continued looking around and wandering. Ayame wasn't even sure where the first class cabins were located, and she definitely didn't know where Mr. Hayateno's room would be. She went down a hallway and took a corner, walking squarely into a striking twosome - Ashura and Taishaku.
"Er, maybe one of you could help me? I'm looking for a Mr. Sakon Hayateno. Would you know where his room is?"
Tai chuckled lightly and began walking away, but Ash paused and said, "I believe his room is down this hallway, to the right. One of those..."
"Thank you for your help, sir." Ayame followed Ash's directions and knocked on a few doors until she finally came to a cabin near the end which was answered by a pretty girl with brown hair - Kikyo.
"Hi. Um, are you Kikyo? Is Mr. Hayateno here?"
"Mr. Haya... Ah! Sakon, there's someone here to see you." She stepped out of the way and held the door open for Ayame, ushering her in and whispering, "He's been wanting to see you, miss."
Ayame blushed and gave Kikyo an incredulous look. Sakon came out of another room a moment later and smiled at Ayame. He was wearing a smoking robe of lush navy velvet and again, Ayame had that odd feeling that she knew him somehow. "Um, sorry to bother you... I just wanted to show you something," she said as she fumbled under her skirt for something.
Sakon blinked as Ayame pulled out a long wrapped parcel from beneath her skirt and unwrapped it to reveal a short sword.
"My kodachi is similar to your katana. Look, the craftsmanship is the same."
Sakon ran his fingers lightly over the blade, which seemed to glow under his caress. "Hmm..." He went and got his sword and compared the two weapons for a moment before calling out, "Ryoma, come in here and bring your halberd."
The burly man came in, a quizzical look on his face, but he did as Sakon said. "Those blades are the same as my halberd's," he said, as the three weapons touched for the briefest of moments...
The three weapons suddenly sparked, throwing Ayame, Ryoma and Sakon into the corners of the room.
***
On the deck of the ship, Sephiroth pulled his coat tightly around his shoulders, shivering in the near-Arctic night. There was a thick fog surrounding the ship, a perfect opportunity for Sephiroth to carry out his plans. The silver-haired man gingerly fingered a small marble of some sort in his palm, then a moment later...
"Ice 3!" he called out. From the distance, there was a near inaudible splash. Sephiroth smiled and waited, waited and waited.
"Iceberg right ahead!" rang out a man's voice in alarm. The ship lurched as the helmsman tried to steer it around the immense iceberg that suddenly loomed up, ghost-like, before the ship. It was too little, too late. The ice ripped into the ship's belly and sent icy water flooding into the bulkheads, gashing it with a sickening sound not unlike the sound of the million souls moaning in unison. Sephiroth watched in satisfaction as chunks of ice fell from the berg and onto the ship's pristine decks as the ship rolled in the water, wounded.
"Mother, it is done," he whispered, and vanished from the ship with a soft laugh.
He did not notice that Kujaku was watching him from the crow's nest with narrowed eyes.
***
"Stupid fox!" Hiei snarled as Kurama's nude body suddenly flipped on top of him in bed. But for once, it wasn't the redhead's fault. The ship was rocking and creaking and then grew ominously silent.
Kurama sat up and blinked as Yukina came rushing in. "What was that?"
"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling, Kurama-san."
"Yukina, stay here. Hiei and I will go find out." Kurama was already shrugging on a pink robe and tossed Hiei's blue and white sailor suit at him, ignoring Hiei's sudden protests at having to wear the stupid outfit.
By the time Kurama dragged a wiggling Hiei into the hallway, there were already several other confused people milling about. Rumors flew about icebergs, but was this the mighty Titanic? Wasn't it unsinkable?
***
In the first class area, Ash looked around sleepily from beneath his thick lashes. Something had woken him, but he wasn't sure what... he was still exhausted from Tai's version of marathon sex. Tai's head lay on his chest, his fingers tangled in the thick black strands which covered the opulent sheets. Ash fingered Tai's blonde hair thoughtfully, then furrowed his brow as he realized that indeed, someone was knocking on the door.
Not wanting to wake his lover, Ash managed to somehow slide his slender body out from under Tai and opened the door to see a concerned Bishamon-ten standing there attentively. "Ashura-oh, there was an emergency. We are being asked to go up to the deck and put these jackets on."
"We aren't going anywhere, and we aren't putting those things on," sniffed Tai from behind Ashura. "What atrocious lifejackets; they won't look good on Ash."
"I didn't know you cared!" Ash purred. "Tell them we aren't going, Bishamon."
The redhead bowed, then went to the front door of the cabin and turned away the purple haired crewman that stood there.
"That's better," said Tai, shutting the door behind him. "Now where were we?"
"Err.... What do you mean?"
Tai smiled wickedly. "Where'd you hide the handcuffs Ashura? I shall have to punish you..."
"Eeep!"
***
Nakago held Soi tightly as they lay side by side in their small bed. Nakago ran his fingers gently through his wife's red hair, caressing it with a tenderness he had never shown before. He knew what was happening, they both did; he was too much of a realist to expect anything better from this life than from the one before. But at least this time, he had Soi. And at least this time, they would be together come hell or high water till the end.
"Nakago, I love you."
His lips brushed her brow. "We're going to die again, I'm afraid."
"I don't care." She held him even tighter. "I fear nothing as long as you're here. But I hope that Ayame found her young man." She turned her eyes up to look at the empty bunk above them.
***
Ayame knelt down and picked up her sword, still a bit shaken from the jolt her weapon had given her. But for the first time in her life, everything seemed so clear to her and now, she knew why Sakon seemed so familiar.
"The moon is full. And... it's so quiet. Those were the last things you said to me, Sakon... Why did you have to die back then? You left me all alone."
"I didn't mean to leave you, but it was you or me, and I couldn't let you die. Ayame, you were always a better person than me." He said this with a wry smirk, bemused by the irony of having Ayame in steerage and him and Ryoma in first class.
"That's not true Sakon, it never was, but you never believed in yourself either."
Ryoma suddenly broke into a huge grin and clasped his large hands onto both Sakon's and Ayame's shoulders. "Ayame, Sakon... nevermind that. We're together again, and the black demon is gone. So we should enjoy the rest of this journey, and nevermind the past."
There was someone knocking at the door, and Kikyo went to get it. She exchanged a few words with the man standing there, then came back with him to tell the others, "Something is wrong. We are being asked to put lifejackets on and go up on deck."
"Titanic struck an iceberg, so if you would please..." said Kujaku, holding out lifejackets for all of them. Everyone just stared at him in confusion. "This ship can sink, and it's going down. I just want to see the four of you get off."
Ayame frowned. "You've been watching me, haven't you? You're no ordinary crewman..."
Kujaku sighed and unfurled his black wings, brushing his hair out of his forehead to reveal the third eye beneath it. "I'm just a member of the crew, concerned for your safety. Please, put these on and get onto the deck." The four old friends looked at each other, then did as they were told. "And remember to bring your weapons. I have to go, I have other cabins to visit, other people to save. Good luck."
***
The deck was a mingled mess of confusion, disbelief and apathy. It was mostly first class passengers and some second class people too, but a few steerage passengers wandered about too. Some well dressed ladies were already gingerly stepping into the lifeboats, looking terribly annoyed but putting up with it, although they protested when the crewmen tried to put some of the steerage women in with them. "Women and children only!" the crewmen shouted over the soft din of murmuring and the strains of music that still could be heard playing, a lullaby in the night. Ryoma steered Kikyo to one of the boats and sat her down in it with a quick kiss on her cheek.
"Big brother..."
"It'll be all right, but I need to make sure you're safe first, in case anything happens. Ayame, you should go too."
The raven-haired woman shook her head. "I'd rather stay on with Sakon," she said flatly, gripping a slender package in her hand.
"Well..." But before Ryoma could say anything more, a crewman tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Can you row sir? We are short one crewman and you look strong enough."
The big man hesitated. Sakon stepped foward. "Go ahead Ryoma, take care of Kikyo," he encouraged.
Ryoma nodded and got in the boat too, taking up an oar as the boat was slowly lowered into the water. He gave a grim smile to Sakon and Ayame as the boat disappeared over the side and into the water with a light splash.
More people were coming up on deck now, and Ayame even spotted little Yukina standing in the stairwell, looking lost.
"Yukina!" She ran up to the tiny girl and took her hand. "You should get on a boat too... I'm not sure what's happening, but it can't be good."
The blue-haired koorime looked around and said, "Have you seen Hiei-san or Kurama-san? They said they were going to find out what was happening, but I haven't seen them since."
"No, I haven't, but I'll keep an eye out for them. Why don't you..."
"I can't leave without them - I have to let them know."
"I promise, I'll go find them. I'll make sure they find you, okay?"
Yukina nodded reluctantly, and let Sakon usher her to a boat and help her in. "Ayame, you're not getting in?"
"Miss, please." A crewman held his hand out to Ayame, but she pulled back into the crowd. "Not yet Yukina, I'll see you later. I have to stay with Sakon and see this through. We have a lot to discuss."
The girl smiled softly. "I'm glad to see things worked out for you, Ayame... Tell my friends that I'm okay."
"I will..." she said as Yukina's boat was lowered too. Ayame leaned over the railing and followed progress of the tiny girl until she could only see the faint blue of her hair, bobbing upon the sea.
***
"Sorry sirs, no men are allowed aboard the lifeboats yet."
Taishaku considered spearing the man before him, but Ash seemed to take the news in stride and suggested that they go for a drink instead. "You should have let me kill him," said Tai coolly as the two strolled past a group of musicians trying their best to bring some calm into the storm of panic. Against the flow of traffic, the headed down the grand staircase with a bit of difficulty. The ship was already tilting even though it had only been a little while since the passengers had received their first warning.
"Nonsense. We don't need lifeboats. Like you said," and Ash pulled the lifejacket off and over his head, "these jackets don't look good on me."
Tai grinned and motioned to Bishamon, who was walking a few feet behind him. "Get us two brandies, and some seats. We'll just wait this out." The redhead scurried off and grabbed some chairs, setting them at the base of the grand staircase before running off to fetch the drinks. Kujaku came over in a bit and delivered the drinks to the two men.
"So you're still here, Kujaku?" asked Ashura.
"Yes. I'm going to see this through. Enjoy your drinks." He could see the water creeping in from a little beyond the staircase, but the two men sat there, unruffled. SO Kujaku left them to their own devices and headed back up to the deck to find Ayame.
***
Sakon tried to keep up with Ayame as she rushed about the ship, looking for Kurama's red hair and Hiei's characteristic spike, but amongst the crowded mass of people, it was nearly impossible to move. Ayame and Sakon were getting jostled about, pushed, cursed at. And to make matters worse, Titanic was already tilting violently in the water.
"Nevermind them, you have to get off this ship!" Sakon yelled in vain, but Ayame shook her head.
"I promised Yukina... she helped me so much, I have to try." It was then that she saw a flash of red and green, a familiar face that could only be...
"Kurama!"
"You're that girl we helped earlier, Ayame... have you seen Yukina?" He had one hand holding his flapping robe closed, and the other holding the scowling Hiei by his hand.
"She's safe; she took one of the earlier boats off. I promised her I would help you. Um, I'm sorry about your dress."
"Nevermind that... we've got to get off!"
Ayame suddenly got an idea, and went barreling through the crowd, tugging Kurama along behind her.
"There's a woman and child here still! Let us through, there's a woman and child here!" The crowds reluctantly parted and Ayame pushed Kurama and Hiei foward towards one of the boats. The shaken looking crewman stood there and eyed the pair.
"This lady and her little brother... is there room to let them on?" Kurama began to protest, but Ayame shoved him jsut hard enough to make him choke on his words. The man stared at them hard, then waved them on.
Ayame sat the two down firmly and said, "Just shut up and sit down. There's no way they'll let two men on otherwise."
"We're taking away someone else's chance to live," Kurama said stiffly, but Ayame shook her head.
"Then put Hiei in your lap and think of it as taking my seat." Ayame jumped off the boat as it was slowly lowered and gave the two a fond farewell wave.
"Ayame! Aya...!" Kurama choked back a curse as the packed lifeboat was lowered. He wanted to stand up, jump off, announce to everyone that this was a mistake, but the lifeboat was already wobbling and trembling, and if he moved around too much, he'd upset the entire boat and send all the people in the lifeboat into the ocean. So he sat there, hands clenched into fists and eyes squeezed shut, and not even Hiei could console him.
***
Far down in steerage, past the panicked masses of people scrambling up on deck, past the screams of third class passengers still struggling to get onto the deck itself, Nakago and Soi lay shivering together in bed. The water was already swirling around their mattress, and they were damp from the ice cold sea spray. They shut their eyes, held each other close and waited for the inevitable.
"Soi... wo ai ni..."
***
"Tai, let's do this again sometime," Ash murmured over his glass of brandy. The water was rushing all around them now and people were screaming from cold and fear.
"What, watch a ship sink?" Evil grin.
"No, I meant going on vacation... it's one of the nicest things you've done for me."
***
Ayame and Sakon watched with sinking hearts as people made a mad dash for the remaining lifeboat even as water washed over it. Ayame noticed that the small band of musicians were still playing on, despite the desperation. Even the young flutist she saw earlier was there.
"Musicians to the end," she noted bitterly, but Sakon had grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her a little.
"Don't say that, we'll get off somehow. Ranmaru was far more of a threat to us... this ship can't defeat us. We came this far; I won't leave you again, Ayame... Come on, this way." Sakon began leading her towards the front of the ship, struggling against the sloped decks and the rest of the people still aboard and scrambling to get to safety. Not even 3 hours had passed, but already the ship was groaning as if in pain, water washing over the stern of the massive vessel. The two clawed their way to the bow of the ship and hung onto the railing as tightly as they could. Kujaku was perched precariously on the railing beside them, his crewman's uniform gone and his black wings outstretched.
"What are you, the angel of death?" Ayame breathed. Kujaku merely gave her a cheery smile and said, "No, I've just come to see destiny changed." The ship was upending itself now. Kujaku stood up and perched atop the very tip of the bow while Sakon and Ayame struggled to get over the railing. For a whole two minutes, they clung on in fright, seeing the entire cold ocean spread out far below them.
"You have your swords, right?"
"Wha... yes, yes, we do..." Ayame gasped. Her fingers were so numb from the cold, and she could feel her tears roll down her cheek only to freeze on her chin.
Kujaku unfurled his wings completely. "Good luck then," he said and he spread his wings and took off as the ship began hurdling straight into the sea.
"Ayame, wrap your arms around my neck, and don't let go." The girl did as she was told, taking both hands off the railing and wrapping them around Sakon and pinning her sword between her hands and his back. Sakon wrapped one arm around her waist and held onto the railing with the other. *Patience... hold on, hold on... NOW!* At the last moment, Sakon let go of the railing and the two plunged into the icy cold Atlantic.
Ayame lost all orientation. She had managed to hang onto Sakon, although her grip had been loosened by the impant, but she felt as though the two of them would never breech the surface. It was so cold, like a million pins pricking her skin, and she kicked and kicked for the surface, her lungs burning, and somehow, their heads suddenly popped out of the water and they took deep, gulping breaths.
"Sakon... it's so cold," she said, her teeth chattering like crazy.
"We've got to get out of the water." Easier said than done. All around them, hundreds, maybe thousands of people, were floundering, screaming... there was debris everywhere. Sakon kicked the two of them over to a table that was floating nearby, and threw Ayame up on top of it, but it was too unstable for him to pull himself up onto it.
"At least you'll... be okay," he managed, but he could barely feel his legs anymore.
"No, you're coming up here too." Ayame unwrapped her sword and stuck it into the wood, then rolled off the side and back into the water, her hand on the sword's pommel. "At the count of three, pull yourself up."
"I can't. I can barely move."
"Give me your sword." Sakon couldn't undo the strap with his hands so numb, so Ayame swam over and tugged it free with a violent yank, then stuck it into the table. "Use it for leverage." Sakon grabbed on as tightly as he could, and nodded.
"One... two... three!" They both pulled themselves out of the water and onto the table, landing with a sloppy thump and exhausted, rolling into the center where they huddled together. Ayame pulled her kodachi out and concentrated as hard as she could, causing the sword to glow faintly.
"Ryoma will come for us, and when he does... he can find us this way. Sakon, do you remember...?"
"Yes... and we have to stop meeting like this..." But he went ahead and did the same with his sword, the twin glows and the endless cries of the other passengers amongst the debris the only evidence of the passage of the Titanic.
***
Kikyo was crying, and nothing Ryoma said could console her. "We have to go back, we have to..." she kept saying, and the more Ryoma thought about it, the more he agreed. Sakon and Ayame and hundreds of other people were still back there, and their lifeboat had set out half empty. When their boat caught up with another one, just as empty as theirs, Ryoma got angry and said, "We've got to go back... look at us. These lifeboats are half empty!"
"We can't go back," a man complained, "We'll get swamped."
"No one could have survived, it's a waste of our energy."
Ryoma shook his head. "I refuse to believe that. Kikyo, you and the other ladies get into that other boat. We've got to go back." The crewmen looked doubtful, but Ryoma said, "You don't have to come... just leave it to me and this lifeboat."
"No, I'll join you," came a voice, and two other men agreed.
"Then the four of us will go back, and the rest of you... take care of these women. We'll be back, and we'll have survivors. I promise you that."
***
Ayame tried to stay awake, even though sleep and exhaustion tugged at her, but she was afraid to close her eyes. The moon mocked her from the sky. She thought she heard splashing, the yell of concern from a rescue ship, but whenever she looked up, there was nothing.
"Sakon... Sakon..." No response. *He's too quiet... Sakon?* His sword was no longer glowing.
"SAKON?!!"
***
"No, this one's dead too..."
Ryoma felt sick, seeing the frozen bodies bobbing around in the sea. No survivors, just hundreds of frozen bodies... no Ayame or Sakon either. *Am I too late?*
He gripped his halberd tightly, and yelled, "Ayame, Sakon... answer me!" The weapon flared to life and a powerful light cut through the fog like a beacon.
Through her tears and the overwhelming fog, Ayame saw a faint light. It was familiar, this feeling... she remembered the final battle, and how Ryoma had sacrificed himself to defeat Ranmaru. She tightened her hand once more around her sword, and it flared to life. Then, much to her surprise and relief, Sakon's sword did the same.
"I told you... I wouldn't leave you..." came a soft, tired voice.
"Sakon... you fool!"
He would have smiled at her, but his face felt frozen. "I'm sorry..."
She just pressed her body to his as much as she could and the two of them watched in relief as the light came closer and closer. When Ryoma finally appeared like an angel in the night and took them aboard the lifeboat, Ayame finally allowed her eyes to shut and held Sakon, her heart aching for the victims and at the same time, singing in joy. She had found Sakon, and that was all she could have wished for.
*** *** ***
THE END!!
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Author's notes: Bleh, that went by too fast. Nice buildup, and then the ship just sank. Never made it out of the harbor ^^. Well, that's how it seemed. I enjoyed just being able to use many of my favorite characters in one story though - thank you all for reading :).
To address other issues: I had to make Sephiroth the antagonist, to make things roll, but you all know I love him, right? And I love Nak and Soi too, but someone had to tragically go down with their lovers. I tried to keep everyone in character the way I saw them, but had to make a few tweaks to work the characters into the storyline.
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