When the Smoke Clears

It had been entirely unexpected. He had heard the whispers of something brewing, something bad. Kadaj had followed them to the biodome on his own, his ever curious nature drawing him to what turned out to be a horrible battle. It was forced on most of the participants, and Kadaj had been dumbstruck until Sesshomaru moved. Then his blood boiled, and he had launched into the fray to protect the honor that he still so cherished somewhere in the deepest part of his heart. The rest had happened so quickly, that he didn't know which exorcist had pummeled him into the dirt. The blow to the head had left him unconscious for several long minutes before Aqua eyes shot open, one blinded by blood that was flowing freely from the gash in his scalp.

Where was he? He couldn't breathe. The biodome...right. A hand groped blindly in the grass as he wheezed, desperate to try and get up. His chest burned like it was on fire and the world was spinning. Copper in his mouth. The remnant was sure that his right arm was broken, he'd landed on it with a sickening crunch. He spit blood on the grass and took a struggling, rattle of a gasp. Something was wrong. Was he going to die like this? He was getting more light-headed. Mello. Where was Mello? The blonde man never seemed to be far behind. Kadaj prayed he wasn't though...

And then fear struck him. Was he dying? He could feel something wet and sticky trickling from the corner of his mouth, more blood rising from the lung that had been punctured by his shattered right ribcage. With a strangled cry, the remnant took handfuls of grass and tried to push himself up to no avail. The chaos was raging on all around him, and he couldn't keep track of it. Maybe he really was going to die.

"Mello." Mello was all he could think of. "Mihael..."

ello's mind was flooded with the memory of the mafia base, rising in smoke around him as he ran to the surveillence room, anything to get away from Soichiro Yagami his men. That was the fastest he'd ever run in his life, and rightfully so. It had been necessary to save his own skin, despite the fact that the explosion that followed so soon after had destroyed much of what skin had been exposed.

The sounds of a fight had made him throw everything aside. He didn't bother locking or even closing his door as he ran down to the source of it all, and though he saw many friends fighting, he found himself torn. He wasn't suicidal, by any means, and being human set powerful limitations when it came to fighting. What bothered Mello was the fact that he saw allies fight allies, and hadn't the slightest clue which side he should help; there seemed to be a lot of people working out personal vendettas.

A flash of black and silver made cold, observant eyes widen, and Mello's gaze was torn to where Sesshomaru was protecting his brother from the exorcists. Mello's eyes narrowed again. Kadaj. He looked ready to collapse.

Mello's eyes shot open again when someone managed to land a heavy blow to Kadaj's skull. Through the chaos, Mello couldn't see who, and in the long run that'd probably be a good thing. A lot of people seemed badly injured, and a couple had already fallen to be trampled by those too busy to help. Mello snarled and pushed his way into the fight.

He fought very little, catching the edges of a few attacks and managing to dodge before they hit. He entire body was tense, coiled like a cat ready to spring, and the mind of a surviver worked fast from the adrenaline pumping through Mello's veins. When he reached the fight between the exorcists and the demon dogs, he eyed the flurry of movement warily, fingers flexing. A heavy blow caught him in the ribs, but he didn't look to see who had caused it. There were too many people, and they didn't matter now. Mello shook himself and reached down to brush bloodied bangs from Kadaj's eyes, cerulean expressing caution.

He didn't hesitate to carefully gather Kadaj in his arms and attempt to remove him from the fighting. His arms suffered from the backlashes of many attacks, but Mello was unfazed. He glanced down at Kadaj, who was breathing shallowly, blood dripping from his hair and mouth, his right arm curled awkwardly against Mello's chest.

"Kadaj, stay awake," Mello murmured, hoping to be heard over the chaos.

Excruciating pain rocked Kadaj's already ailing conciousness. Someone was touching him, moving him. He was so god-awfully tired, what the hell did they want from him now- and then he heard that voice, more welcome than breathing, than life itself.

Aqua eyes shot open, one stained red and unseeing. He would have gasped if his body had allowed it, the remnant's misery written blatantly on his face as they began to move through the din. A blow glanced off of Mello's arm, and he barley reacted.

It was hard to think. So many things spiraled through the remnant's mind, and there wasn't enough time. His shattered arm screamed at him with each vibration, and his lung was still filling up fast. Kadaj's breath rasped violently as he panted, trying to breathe, and more blood bubbled past his lips. That fear, so fresh, so irrational seized him all over again.

"I don't...want to die..." He breathed in desperation. "Please...don't let me die...Mihael..." There wasn't very much of his leather-clad body that wasn't slicked in blood at this point. His hair was soaked through, blood from his scalp dripping from the ends. Kadaj's body shuddered and he struggled desperately for consciousness.

Mello didn't respond right away. Bright and wild eyes were wide and he scanned the biodome cautiously, looking for hazards and the safest escape routes. He'd had trouble getting to the center of it all uninjured; an agonizingly sharp pain in his left side made him suspect broken ribs, but he simply readjusted Kadaj carefully so that the remnant's head could rest against his chest and began to move for the exit, head lowered and eyes sharp. It wasn't only his own blood running down Mello's arm, and the knowledge only made Mello that much more alert.

"You won't die," Mello said, his tone low and edgy. "Don't talk, and don't fall asleep. Try to take slow, even breaths. Don't--"

He cut himself off and ducked under a swinging leg swiftly, backing off and quickening his pace. The effort made him cough; his heart was beginning to show warning signs, but there was no time for that here and now.

"Don't panic about breathing. It'll only make things worse."

Mello snarled as something sharp caught his exposed right arm, slicing through flesh and making blood drip down his forearm, as if he and Kadaj weren't soaked in enough. A few moments later, he'd managed to get back into the corridors, and he made his way back to his room, eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Don't fall asleep, Kadaj..."

"So tired..." The action around him was a blur of voices and chaos, bodies falling and the sounds of suffering. He was jolted almost to his senses by the pain and the sudden quiet of the white hallways. Others seemed to be rushing to see what the commotion was, and Mello was fighting against the flow. It wasn't far now. Was this his room or Mello's? Kadaj's addled mind couldn't tell.

He choked violently, wretching as a fresh gush of blood rose in his throat. The remnant turned his head away weakly, letting it spill over his lips and drip sickeningly down the side of his face. There was too much blood. Too much. His body felt like lead... how could Mello be carrying him?

"Miha-" He stopped, suddenly unaware of what it was he was going to say, and silver lashes fluttered closed for a second- just to rest his eyes...

At this point, Mello had gotten so used to Kadaj crying out his birth name that he no longer saw it as personal. Everyone knew, and Kadaj got himself in trouble enough to call for him constantly.

When those bloody lips murmured part of his name and didn't finish, cerulean eyes snapped open and Mello froze, staring down at Kadaj with utter uncertainty gripping his body.

"Kadaj, listen to me. Don't fall asleep. You told me not to let you die, so don't kill yourself!"

Mello wanted to jostle him, to move him in a way that would bring him to a more alert condition, but it was too risky. Instead, Mello lifted Kadaj a little closer so he could press their foreheads together, both hands too occupied to slap him. Mello's gaze was furious, but there was an unmasked layer of terror there that he hated.

"Stay awake..."

Kadaj panted, shallow breaths passing bloodstained lips as he struggled to keep his good eye open. The other one stung from all of the blood. He wasn't sure if it was actually injured or not at this point, but couldn't think on it for long anyway.

"Don't know...if...I...can." He struggled through gritted teeth. The pieces of his arm were screaming at him, now not to mention the mind numbing fire in his chest. Nothing had ever hurt this bad, not even the last time he had died. The remnant fought to stare back at Mello in all of his fury, having been jostled enough by those words and actions to keep his eyes open a few moments longer.

Kadaj had never been so tired before in his life. So tired that he could have slept forever.

"Just let me sleep." He murmured, his voice and breath rattling as more blood filled his mouth. He was swallowing enough of it for it to start to make him nauseous, and thought fast enough to let this new mouth full past his lips.

Mello looked up at the open door in suite thirteen and carried Kadaj into it, gently putting him on the bed and moving his broken arm to his side. Mello's breaths were harsh and ragged, but he ignored the searing pain in his side for now.

"Keep your eyes open, Kadaj. Don't sleep. Trust me."

He left Kadaj's side for only a moment to grab his laptop, then sat beside him on the bed and pressed his fingers gently to where the source of the blood seemed to be coming from; between the fast-congealing blood and the matted hair, it was hard to tell, but Mello was sure he felt the edge of a nasty injury.

"If you have a concussion, you might never wake up if you fall asleep." Fierce eyes locked with tired aqua ones seriously. "Don't do that to me."

"Trying." He hissed as his broken body desperately tried to adjust to its new position on the bed. For some reason it got even harder to breathe now that he was flat on his back, and in a panic, the remnant struggled to get back up, gasping desperately and choking on blood.

Kadaj couldn't speak, only looked at Mello in desperation, his mangled arm laying useless next to him. There had never been fear quite like this written in those aqua eyes. It was a different kind of fear, one that ran deep and dark and made him tremble.

I don't want to die...

Mello let out a low noise of irritated uncertainty and shifted until he was sitting on his ankles at Kadaj's left side. He pulled the remnant halfway into his lap, his head resting against Mello's chest.

"Keep holding on, Kadaj," Mello muttered, eyes flickering at he used his free hand to log onto the laptop. "From what I saw, you're not the worst off. You may have to wait some time to get a healer, but please, stay awake."

"...Trying." He repeated weakly.

Kadaj felt undeserving of this care. It left him trying to smile, desperately trying to show Mello that he was still there, that he was holding on as best he could. It probably lost its effect with all of the blood though,

Mello was there. As long as that was the case, Kadaj could keep breathing; or at least he told himself. Right now, even just existing seemed nigh on unbearable. If he died, he'd come back like the others...right? Part of him just wanted to be put out of his misery.

Mello tensed, his eyes twitching once at the smile Kadaj was forcing onto his pained face. He brushed blood from Kadaj's left eye and then pulled back, lips spreading into a twisted smirk as realization finally struck him. It was like looking into a mirror, back then...

"Don't you look familiar, meine Liebe," he said, chuckling softly. His eyes twinkled and he turned away from Kadaj, turning on the laptop's camera and beginning to record his plea for help.

That was the only part that was different, and it left Mello fighting off a laugh.