He wasn’t on the pathway anymore. That much he knew. Here, there was no pain and there was no aching sorrow. But the shock of Tetsuo’s dagger nicking his arm still haunted him. That weary look that Tetsuo had given Mitsui when he single-handedly killed his brothers to protect Kogure.

It was over.

It was over!

He was in a stone room. No, it wasn’t a room, it was just a flat, grey place. There was no colour, no sky, just an endless, boundless stretch of grey.

Kogure..?

Without his prophet, he knew not where to go, or where to turn, or where the north was. Here there was no direction.

Where am I?

Mitsui stood helplessly in the centre of the grey plain, confusion written into every line of his face. Here his daggers would be of no use.

I don’t have the right to carry Tetsuo’s daggers anymore... He thought ruefully.

What would I be if I could no longer be a Brother of the Dagger?

He stared down at his own feet. Where would he go? There was no place for him to belong to; he had no more identity. What could he do? Be a farmer?

"Don’t be ridiculous."

"... huh?" Mitsui looked around, searching for the owner of the voice. He (she?) sounded amused, as if there was some private joke that he didn’t know.

"Art thou well?"

The language stuck right into Mitsui’s memory. A voice that held power like none other. A voice that once made him want to dive for cover and cower in fear.

He was strangely not afraid anymore. Not after the Gift of Freedom.

"I am well."

Why is it that once we confront our deepest and darkest fears, and come face to face with them, only to realise at the end; that they are not as frightening as they seem at first?

"Thou hath done me proud." An approval that came in the form of a smile. Mitsui didn’t know how he knew that, he just knew.

Mitsui suddenly flushed. A kind of warmth spread through his body as the words of praise sank into his consciousness. Not knowing what to say, he opted to stay silent.

"Oh brother of the dagger, what wouldst thou have for thine gift?"

The answer to that question was painfully obvious. There was only one thing on this whole earth that he wanted.

"... ..." Mitsui was smart enough to know that gifts came with strings attached. No, it would be wiser to hear what the voice had to say first.

The voice chuckled.

"Ah, thou art wise. I hath chosen well."

Mitsui folded his arms across his chest. He had had enough of gifts and strange voices. What he badly wanted now was Kogure.

"I offer thee a proposition."

"What would I gain?" It was habit from years of negotiating in the harsh world.

"Spoken like a true mercenary." The voice acknowledged the fairness of the exchange and continued.

"I offer thee a burden and a responsibility."

Mitsui kept quiet, his eyes staring off into the grey distance. Of all the contracts that he had made in his life, this was clearly one of the strangest.

"I don’t know what you are talking about."

"Yes you do." The voice said quietly.

Has this got something to do with... Mitsui’s thoughts were sinking rapidly as his suspicions crystallised.

"Thou art the Flag-Bearer, Mitsui." It was the first time that the voice had addressed him using his given name.

"... ..." Mitsui was suddenly struck by a vision of a young man standing proud and tall in the midst of a battlefield. He had the strangest hair..

"Thou hath no choice."

Mitsui clenched his fists. He hated being pushed into something that he didn’t want to be part of.

"How can you call it a proposition when I don’t even have a choice?!"

"Thine gift awaits thou after the accomplishment of thine new mission. That wouldst be mine gift, Mitsui."

"Are you trying to bribe me? ^^;;"

A light laughter echoed.

"Ah, I call it a proposition."

Mitsui pursed his lips before quietly asking: "... what about Kogure?"

"My prophet can take care of himself." Was there a hint of an amused chuckle?

Mitsui didn’t know what it was about that remark, but it did make him a little irritated.

"Fare thee well, Flag-Bearer."

"Wait! We haven’t settled the thing yet.." Mitsui called hurriedly.

"Thou hath spoken thine mind to mine ears a long time ago."

"I didn’t say anything.." Mitsui turned round anxiously. There was a strange feeling in his chest. It was there - the place that Fukuda had thrown his dagger at. The exact same place.

"Accept mine dagger; thou art mercenary no longer." The same voice was taking on a formal tone. All around him, Mitsui could feel a gradual light that was encompassing everything else.

A dagger was floating with the sharp edge towards him; a dagger that looked similar to the one he had. A dagger that was common in every other aspect, except that it was the thing that was giving off the light.

Mitsui looked on, unable to do anything as the dagger slowly penetrated the wound that Fukuda had given him. He should be shrieking in pain but he was instead filled with a strange sense of wonder. Wordlessly, he allowed the dagger to penetrate him fully. As the light disappeared with the dagger, he fingered the wound gingerly. He could feel nothing; there was no blood and no scar.

He was healed.

"May thine dagger always find thine target..."

That was the traditional form of farewell the Brothers used amongst each other, before they went off on their individual missions.

"May thine dagger always shine with eternal light..." Mitsui returned the courtesy softly.

Everything reeled and the world turned black and Mitsui opened his eyes. He was in the real world again.

Have I slept long?

He knew where this was. He was lying somewhere in the forest Kiel, just a few leagues away from the city where the House of Sakuragi ruled.

...Kogure...

Mitsui sat up and gazed at the sleeping youth beside him.

...to have carried me all the way from the Hall of the Brothers, he must have been exhausted. He thought as he gingerly fingered the place where the dagger had penetrated him. It was as if he had never been wounded.

So that odd voice has his uses too.

And then he was struck by how Kogure looked while he slept. He couldn’t help it. He shifted Kogure until he was lying comfortably on his lap. Stretching out one hand, Mitsui let his fingers brush lightly against his cheek, savouring how Kogure felt under his touch.

"...Mitsui.." Kogure stirred.

Bemused, Mitsui looked on as Kogure woke up in his arms.

".. He healed you!" A shock, then a quick flash of something in Kogure’s face.

Enjoying the sound of Kogure’s voice and the life that sparkled in his eyes, Mitsui didn’t say anything.

"You are all right.." Relief filled Kogure like the rain quenching the thirst of the desert.

It was then that he realise how close they were now. When had he been lying on Mitsui’s lap? Embarrassed, Kogure fidgeted, attempting to get out of Mitsui’s arms.

"No.. please, don’t go." Mitsui said. His voice was low and husky. Kogure recognised that tone; Mitsui used the same tone on the night they nearly kissed -

-which immediately brought about a blush that tinged his cheeks a deep red.

Mitsui’s arms turned Kogure until they were facing each other.

"Are you comfortable?" Mitsui asked softly.

Kogure was more than comfortable. The fact that he had actually been sleeping on his lap and the feel of Mitsui’s arms around him was making feel very warm.

"Good." Mitsui’s eyes seemed to be penetrating into his very soul even as he drew nearer. He was now so close that Kogure could feel his breathing.

Was it quickening? Because his was. Kogure could feel his heart go out of control at that something he saw in Mitsui’s eyes.

One hand reached up to softly brush back Kogure’s hair. It slowly lingered at his cheek and then it lazily brushed past his lips. Kogure wasn’t aware of anything else. Nothing. Just Mitsui.

"I wanted to do that a long time ago." Mitsui whispered as his lips touched Kogure’s.

The warmth that was in Kogure was now a slow burning heat that threatened to give way to a huge storm of fire. He felt it then as Mitsui’s moist tongue caressed his own playfully. Teasing him, stroking the sweet fire that was growing uncontrollable. Kogure returned the favour stroke for stroke; his own tongue penetrating deeply as he tried to find out what Mitsui tasted like.

Their mission could always start on another day.

Surely, the child of the sun would not mind...

Note: At last, the end of The Mission. Well well, what can I say? To all the people who have stayed till here, I would like to thank you a million million times! Like I said; this story was meant to be just a side story explaining the arrival of Kogure and Mitsui to The Prophecy. Instead it seems to have gained a life of its own. What do I feel now? Relief? A lil sad? I hope you have enjoyed the story as much as I have enjoyed writing it.. at least most of the time...

May thine dagger always find thine target,
And may thine dagger always shine with eternal light.