Of Fire and Water

Disclaimer: Touda and all the other members of YnM are not mine, they all belong to Matsushita-sensei. ~_^

Note: This chapter takes place several months after chapter two, with nothing relatively important happening aside from SohRyu and Touda continuing their love affair. I also used a made up name for Soh’s wife because I honestly don’t know what her name was. Thanks to Tsu for giving me a couple of names that I could use! Warning!! Lots of things will go wrong in this chapter, so hold on tight. o_o;; Oh yeah and… “-“ denotes thoughts to ones self…

“How long has it been Touda?”

“Hm?”

“How long has it been for us, being like this?”

Soft lids closed over crimson orbs, and black hair fell backwards into a soft pillow as the divine figure that was Touda leaned back into the bed, another arm draped over his bare chest, an arm that belonged to SohRyu, the regal water dragon, and next in line to rule in GenSouKai.

The serpent god couldn’t quite understand the relevance of the question, but he shrugged stiffly, “Three and a half months, or close enough to it…”

SohRyu sighed loudly and nuzzled his face into Touda’s neck, closing his own eyes.

-Three months and I have yet to ask you if you really feel anything more for me than it seems…-

“Three months…not so long I guess…”

“Not in the scheme of things I would suspect…”

SohRyu lay his head back down onto Touda’s chest, his eyes glittering softly, there was something that SohRyu had always avoided saying for all those three and a half months. It was a question that was eating away at the dragon lord, one that he feared to hear the answer of, for the simple fact that he knew what that answer would be, or at least some part of him felt that way.

Touda was asleep now, his chest rising and falling evenly in time with his deep breathing. SohRyu smiled softly to himself, stroking Touda’s shoulder gently, the snake god always looked so peaceful when he slept, and it seemed during that sleep, all the rough edges and sharpness of the snake’s personality slipped away in that silence. As Soh watched him sleep he thought how sad it was that Touda looked so perfect as he lay there, motionless, with a haunting likeness to death.

Seeing the snake god lie there made the water dragon believe that there was much more to him than Touda let on. He knew the snake was such an abrasive creature, hard to talk to and much harder to understand because he was impossible to read. But then, when he slept like this, SohRyu felt as though he could read everything that Touda was thinking, or dreaming, and he felt that, though the snake’s inherent power was destruction, Touda wasn’t lead around by that nature.

Yes, that had to be it. A hand caressed the side of Touda’s face gently, who flinched slightly and turned his head away from the gentle touch, albeit not too far. The dragon god sighed softly, he admitted quietly to himself that he knew he loved Touda, and that perhaps that was wrong, but somehow, he just didn’t care as much as he knew he should have.

“What is it about you Touda…how is it that you complicate me just by existing?”

The regal dragon sighed softly, knowing that Touda couldn’t very well answer something like that, nor would he ever be willing to, to the snake, it seemed such things were trivial. And perhaps he was right. Perhaps things were felt better when you didn’t worry about the ‘how’s and ‘why’s and simply just ‘felt’.

Perhaps he was reading into things too much.

Soft lids closed over cerulean orbs and darkness finally took the dragon, and he slept fitfully within the arms of a sin he didn’t mind committing.

---

Touda settled quietly into his tree, it had been several hours since he’d awoken in SohRyu’s private quarters. The dragon was still asleep when he’d left, but he was sure Soh was used to waking up without him next to him. It had been that way for the past few months, and neither of them really seemed to be bothered by that fact.

Touda was complacent with his part in the love affair, somewhat relieved to have something to satiate his more carnal needs, and then there was the aspect of how ‘wrong’ the entire relationship was that really brought a smile to his lips. It wasn’t so much because they were both men, no, that never would have been a problem in and of itself, not among the gods. It was taboo, however, to carry on a relationship with another while one was already married, especially with another male. It wasn’t uncommon to have more than one wife, but to sleep with another man and be married at the same time?

Oh what a commotion that would cause, and of course it would put so much shame on the wife’s head. He thought of the undeniable beautiful goddess, Nuwa. She was every bit the perfect wife for SohRyu, so very quiet, obedient, and gentle. She was such a good wife, and with any luck, a good mother. But, it seemed that no matter how ‘good’ she was, she didn’t seem to have what it took to please SohRyu. Or at least that’s what Touda was assuming. He found it so amusing that someone as regal and reserved as SohRyu could stoop to such a level as finding pleasure with him rather than with his wife.

But wait…hadn’t SohRyu simply stated that this affair was born out of stress that he was having because of problems with Nuwa, and everything else? Tsk. Tsk. Another mark on them both. There were many words that came to mind that Touda could have used to describe the way the two water dragons were acting, and his own part in this most unseemly affair. But then, Touda wasn’t exactly a creature to cast blame on anyone, or judge them in any way. He always maintained a neutral position on everything, including his opinion’s of others. But more often than not, his blunt observations made more enemies than friends.

-Too bad…it’s such a pity people can’t accept themselves for what they are- the snake god thought to himself in his musings. He looked up into the sky and breathed in sharply, taking in the crisp and cool air.

It felt so good to be free of such emotional baggage.

---

SohRyu groaned unceremoniously as he stretched the last vestiges of sleep from his muscles. He’d been face down in his plush pillows since Touda had left, and so the dragon god awoke with several interesting patterns visible on his face from the wrinkles on the pillows.

Flipping over onto his back, he spent the next few moments untangling himself from his own hair, then lay staring up into the ceiling, his eyes adjusting quickly to the brightness of the room.

It was midday, and he’d slept in a little longer than he was intending to. A soft growl of disappointment escaped from his lips, aimed mostly at himself, but some of it was aimed towards a certain snake god who didn’t think it prudent to wake him up when he left. Of course, expecting Touda to do something like that for him made SohRyu wonder just how much he was beginning to rely more on the snake for odd and end details that were normally left to a doting wife.

He blushed softly, perhaps he should see the woman, and speak with her. Despite them having a few problems, she was still his wife, and he *did* love her. Guilt began to course its way through the dragon’s body, and he realized just how much his love affair with Touda could break Nuwa’s heart if she ever found out. She didn’t deserve something like that, no matter how hard things had gotten for both of them; he couldn’t allow her to be hurt in such a way.

Sighing, SohRyu rose from his bed to make himself presentable; perhaps he should sit down and discuss things with Touda later.

“Dammit!” the dragon lord cursed in frustration.

For the first time in months since starting his love affair with Touda, he only now just began to realize how difficult things were going to be, trying to juggle the deep love he already had for his wife, and now, a very real and growing affection he had for the snake god.

He couldn’t keep his focus when he made his way to his father’s chambers, and then through a meeting between several of the clan’s. His mind was too busy trying to figure out a way to untangle him from the web he’d just foolishly spun around himself. Even now as he was being publicly humiliated by his own father as the man berated him for not paying attention to the more important matters at hand.

*Where is your head at boy?!* Truly, where *was* his head at?

*What have you to say about your situation?!* Oh father, if you *only* knew what your son was up to…

*Is there nothing you can do that is helpful with regards to this problem?!* A good question…what could I *possibly* do to fix this….

When he could not give any answers to his father that the man would accept, he’d simply sighed and made to leave when ordered to do so, gathering his long robes about him and shuffling out of the room in silence, his expression not even showing the proper amount of humility that he knew he should have given the elder gods, but that didn’t seem so important anymore.

None of it did.

He could hear them murmuring disapprovingly behind him as the door shut, and for a moment, the regal dragon thought to turn about and apologize, but then, as he made to turn about, his eyes caught movement around the nearest corner, and he knew who was staring at him as he stopped in the grand hallway.

Nuwa regarded him with a soft and pleasant smile, her eyes alight with affection. And in that same moment SohRyu’s heart broke, anger and guilt were rising through his conscience, so much so that his features nearly betrayed those dangerous confessions in the making. Gritting his teeth, and forcing a smile onto his lips, he strode forward to take the woman into his arms. She squeaked softly, not used to him being so publicly affectionate, but couldn’t deny the joy she had from the contact and wrapped her own slender arms around his strong frame.

He seemed so distant from her in the last few months, and she’d begun to fear that things were falling apart between them, and not knowing what else to do, she had finally decided that she should apologize for not being more understanding to his situation. Training oneself to become the new ruler of GenSouKai for Enmadaioh-sama was not an easy task. SohRyu sensed that she was here for some reason that pertained to their troubled relationship, and his grip around her tightened, pulling her into a deeper hug as he hid his face against her neck. When he felt her begin to struggle in his powerful hug for lack of breath, he let her loose, and stepped away, regarding her with loving eyes.

“I am sorry love…” he smiled softly, a hand reaching out to push a lock of hair behind one of her ears.

She always looked so beautiful, wearing the softest and most elegant robes, her long light blue hair tied up into such intricate patterns, all of which to keep its massive length from dragging on the floor. Truly she was a beautiful creature, her physical beauty surpassed only by the gentleness of her spirit.

“I am so sorry…” he whispered much more privately, noting how her head tilted cutely in confusion at that second apology.

SohRyu, in response to her questioning look, simply shook his head and wrapped an arm around her, forcing her to walk with him as he continued to move. He would spend the better part of this afternoon with her, and then, then he would go to Touda and try to straighten things out. He loved Touda, and he didn’t know how he could choose between Nuwa and the snake. Perhaps if he finally asked the question that had been burning inside of him for so long, concerning the Hellfire snake, knowing that answer may make deciding on the next course of action that he should take that much easier on all three of them.

That had to be it, that had to be the answer…there just wasn’t any other way, and he couldn’t afford to be distracted by his personal feelings. It was time to grow up, and take responsibility for his hasty actions.

But though he felt a little better for finding a way to straighten out his thoughts and come to a relatively descent conclusion, part of him still worried that things weren’t going to turn out as well as he would like. And though he knew he should not be so selfish in wanting to keep both of them, he still felt a bitter pang in his heart if he had to lose one or both of them.

Oh that it were so easy to disregard those complicated emotions like so much excess baggage and simply feel with all his being.

---

SohRyu forced himself to breath evenly. His fists clenched in anger, nails digging into the sensitive flesh and almost breaking the skin. His cerulean eyes regarded a very relaxed and indifferent Touda with hostility.

“What do you mean to say that this means nothing to you?!” he roared, loud enough to send many birds in the nearby trees flying from their perches in fear.
Touda’s own crimson eyes remained calm, and he watched the regal dragon before him, the clear expression of hurt and anger reflecting in SohRyu’s features. Everything about the dragon echoed with the lingering emotions of fear and rage.

Touda sighed softly, his shoulders drooping slightly as he let his arms fall from their position folded across his chest.

“You asked me if the affair meant anything to me, and I gave you my answer. I did *not* say it meant nothing…I said I was merely responding to your needs and my own at the time.”

SohRyu shook his head stubbornly, a growl escaping his lips, “You may as well have simply said the entire thing meant nothing to you! For all the sheer amount of assurance that you have in your tone…”

The dragon was seething, and his rage only seemed to be heightened with the way Touda continued to regard him with such apathy. There was no question of how much SohRyu felt betrayed in that moment, how vulnerable he felt, and he knew that Touda was enjoying that somehow.

“What did you expect me to say…or more importantly what did you *want* me to say?”

SohRyu remained tightlipped for a long time, and Touda tilted his head to the side. He couldn’t understand why SohRyu was so pissed with his answer. He had assumed that SohRyu understood their relationship wasn’t anything more than a passing fancy. But then, with the way the dragon handled that *obvious* answer, he suspected that SohRyu felt there was more developing between them.

“I see…you wanted to hear me say something like ‘I love you’?”

SohRyu’s shoulders slumped, and he turned his head away, refusing to say anything more, and whats more, he needed to hide the tears that threatened to overcome him. He had never thought that he would be so easily cast aside, especially after all that the two of them had shared, he thought he was finally able to understand the reclusive snake. But of course, Touda turned his world upside down once again, and the taste of that truth was bitter beyond mere words.

“You couldn’t have possibly expected something like that from me Soh… especially with the way you asked! This relationship was a farce and you know it, it was merely brought about by convenience and the simple fact that you were curious. I humored you, and yes, I did enjoy exploring the concept of complicating you in such an intimate way, but I think it’s a little hypocritical of you to assume that you could love both me and Nuwa, and then expect me to love you in return.”

SohRyu reeled visibly, his arms raising upward as if to block the blows of Touda’s words, all done in vain, and he took a step backward, fighting the urge to vomit as he stood there listening to Touda continue his onslaught. Each word struck him like a stab from a blade, never had Touda’s ability to be so damned brutally honest caused so much pain. He tried to find comfort in leaning against a nearby tree, his head hung low, pressing against its cool bark, and he gritted his teeth, his body shaking as he tried to fight his breaking mind for a proper response to such hateful words.

“You speak of nothing you truly understand Snake!!” was all the dragon could respond with at that moment.

Touda grunted and crossed his arms over his chest again, “No, that’s not the problem at all *Dragon*. I understand fully well what you wanted now. To be honest I expected smarter of you SohRyu. And just what brought about this sudden question anyway? Are you just *now* feeling guilty for betraying your wife’s love? Did the sight of her ever present devotion make you sick or something? I knew that it would amount to this at some point SohRyu, so why would I waste my time falling in love with you if I knew you wouldn’t be able to continue this relationship out of guilt?”

SohRyu hissed and turned on Touda in rage, words now filling his mind in haste and he felt no need to hold them back, “As if *you* would know ANYTHING about guilt! As if you would even have the slightest shred of a notion of what love is! You care for nothing Snake, you make yourself vulnerable to no one, never have you *ever* sacrificed anything of yourself for the sake of another simply because you want to protect them! You sit complacent here among the trees and the forest, going about your business and killing anything that may cross you, and living by whatever whims come over you in that given moment! You have *no* concept of devotion, or any idea of loyalty! How dare you speak of such things to me, berating *me* for lowering myself to such a standard, to have *dared* to reach out and love *you*!”

Touda blinked, and said nothing. It was hard to tell if anything SohRyu just said had any affect on him. His face was a mask of apathy, and he simply regarded SohRyu with that same calm and measured stare.

Seeing him stare at him that way, SohRyu felt the sudden urge to slap the other across the face and scream, “Do something you cold-blooded bastard! Scream at me, tell me I am wrong! Prove to me that you can *feel* anything!” But, of course, Touda did nothing, he simply stood there in silence, seeming to wait for SohRyu to say something else.

And SohRyu groaned softly, turning his head away again, and leaning onto a tree for support, “…So I made a mistake, I thought perhaps you were worth loving…I guess I was wrong, you don’t need my love. You don’t seem to need *anything* remotely human in nature.”

Touda shrugged in response, “I am what I am, that will never change…this much at least, I can promise you.”

SohRyu turned and snarled at him, beginning to pick up his robes and make his way away from the forest, “I don’t need a promise from the likes of *you* snake! Your words mean as little as your ability to feel love!!”

And with that, the regal dragon lord made his way quickly out of the forest, his mind being made up for him on what decision he should make.

Touda watched the other go in silence, he watched him until he could no longer make out the other’s figure in the distance, then he quietly said to no one in particular,

“You have to know what I am first, and then you just might appreciate hearing me make such a promise…”

---
SohRyu slipped into his quarters quietly, settling into his couch and hiding his face into the cushions. It was so hard to control the anger and grief that was welling up in him. On the one hand, it should have been so easy for him to drop his relationship with Touda after such a hateful exchange. And in truth, there never was a better chance for him to pull away from the web he’d woven around himself involving the snake.

But what he couldn’t understand was, despite the fact that he was so angry with the way Touda had handled that entire conversation between them, he couldn’t easily convince himself that he no longer loved the snake. He was beginning to fear that there was nothing Touda could do to make the dragon hate him.

Perhaps he was misjudging Touda’s words, Touda was always one to be so blunt, but then, he knew that Touda didn’t judge anyone. He simply stated the obvious, and as much as SohRyu hated to admit it, Touda did speak the truth. But then, he sighed and rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling in complacent sorrow, it seemed the truth was never kind.

As if things could have gotten any worse than that situation he’d just been through. But while he was there, content in trying to deal with his current pain, it seemed that fate had something far crueler in mind for him.

He was completely startled when the sound of his door splintering off of its hinges reached his ears and he sat up just in time to see the angriest form of his father he’d ever witnessed in ages.

The older dragon roared, “SohRyu you damned fool of a son! Where have you been?! All Hell has broken out in GenSouKai and you decide to take a stroll in the forest?! Have you truly lost your mind?!”

SohRyu’s eyes widened in horror as his father towered over him and continued to throw insult after insult down on to him for his inability to have paid attention to the things that were going on around the city. He took the assault as well as he could, suspecting that as soon as his father calmed down, he would tell him just what he’d missed, but, with the events that have unfolded so far, and with all the rumors running about, he knew that it was *not* something he wanted or needed to hear at the moment.

The older water dragon finally calmed down, relatively speaking of course, but when he spoke, his voice was as cold as ice, “If your head hadn’t have been stuck up in the clouds most of this day you would have *noticed* that we are preparing ourselves for *war*!!!”

SohRyu’s eyes widened in shock and he sat up hastily, “What?! No! This is ridiculous, who would be foolish enough?!”

He watched his father’s eyes narrow to slits, and his entire frame begin to shake slowly, “Those fools of fire dragons have decided that they should be the ones to rule GenSouKai for the Golden Emperor, they feel that because their power is so much more destructive…they deserve that highest place of honor before Enmadaioh-sama…And Kurikara leads them!!”

SohRyu sighed heavily, falling back into the cushions of his couch. It seems things were going to get so much worse for him, and he felt that somehow he wouldn’t be able to reconcile with Touda. The thought of a war with the fire dragons made him far more weary than he’d imagined. GenSouKai didn’t need a war right now, or perhaps…perhaps he felt as though *he* didn’t need a war right now. But to think something like that was foolish, and he looked to his father, obediently.

“And what have we decided…?”

His father cocked an eyebrow and regarded his son with amazement, “What do you think? We will not stand by and allow those foolish dragons to shame us with their claims!! We fight! And we will make sure they remember the folly they have made for themselves!”

His father was smiling, there was much pride in his voice and stature, it was too bad that that was the last time SohRyu would be able to see his father. But of course, the regal water dragon had no idea just how bad things were going to be for him, and for Touda.


((Aand that’s chapter 3…much uhm…making of stuff up involved there, but I did do *some* research as far as how some of the events will unfold. –grins- Unfortunately, Matsushita-sensei doesn’t get too in depth with that particular war…or at least she doesn’t in a language I can understand. T-T Anyway, hope you liked this installment, and please respond! I love comments! ))