The White Tower
This story is rated PG-13 for sexual situations
Chapter 13 - Raine
One of the guards who were assigned to the portal from Otherworld escorted the couple to see the Queen. He kept glancing surreptitiously at the man, trying to figure out who he was. Long brown hair fell past his shoulders framing a human-looking face with human brown eyes, but there were dark blue demon markings on his forehead and cheeks. Who was he? The woman looked completely human.
The guard took them to the throne room, where only one of the thrones was currently occupied. Boushin nodded to the guard who brought the pair closer.
"Welcome to Suzaku. You are from Otherworld?" The young ruler asked, also not recognizing either visitor.
"I am here to see my son. I was told that he was brought here."
"Oh, you are Yusuke. Of course!" Boushin motioned to the guard. "Take them to the room where Raike is." Then he turned back to Yusuke, "Queen Vara is with him. I am sorry that your first visit to Suzaku was not under better circumstances."
Again the guard led the pair through the corridors of the palace. So this was the son of Raizen and the only other living Battle Demon. He didn't look that powerful, but the guard had heard the tales. This young man had won the Dark Tournament when he was only 16 and had fought with his father against the Demon World hordes during the Three Worlds War. He was a living legend!
The guard knocked on a heavy door and then opened it, and stepped aside, allowing Yusuke and Keiko to go in, and then hurried back to his post. He couldn't wait to tell his fellow guards who the visitor was.
Vara had been sitting next to the sleeping boy, but she stood when his parents came into the room.
"Can you tell me exactly what happened? We heard only that he was badly wounded and had been taken here to Suzaku." Yusuke moved closer to his son. "Why is his hair green?"
"Raike was not just wounded -- he was killed."
Keiko turned ashen, "Killed? My son…."
"Forgive me, but there is no other way to explain what has happened to him. He was accidentally killed by one the Great Dragons, a green one named Shun. Shun somehow merged his essence into Raike and brought him back to life. The hair color is just one of the changes that he has been undergoing."
"Will he be alright?" Yusuke asked his brow furrowed with concern.
"We don't know. He has been asleep since the incident."
"We would like to stay with him until he awakes, if that's okay." Keiko said, taking her son's hand, tears falling down her cheeks.
"Of course! I will have a room prepared for you right across the hall. Kyo and I have been taking turns watching over him. We did not want him to wake to strangers. Now, that you are here, it will be even easier for him when he wakes."
"If he is still my son and not a Green Dragon." Yusuke said grimly. "Does Kyo have any idea what he is going to be like?"
"No, unfortunately, Kyo has never seen this magic done before; he had only heard of it from ancient times past."
Five more days passed and the watch over the boy was made easier with four instead of only two, but still the boy slept, almost comatose. On the sixth day -- the eighth day since the incident -- he stirred in his sleep, muttering softly, incoherently, and then his eyes fluttered open.
Yusuke was at his side and he called for his mate. In turn, Keiko sent servants for the Queen and Kyo. Soon all four were standing at his side. Yusuke sat down on the bed next to his son.
The boy was still barely awake, eyes half-closed. Yusuke poured some water into a small cup and lifted his son's head so that he could drink. The eyes opened more and Yusuke saw that they too were now dark green. How much of his son still existed? "Raike…"
"No," came a small voice struggling around a parched throat. Yusuke gave him more water. The boy cleared his throat and indicated more water. After finishing his third cup, he finally found his voice. "I am not Raike."
Keiko thought her heart would break and tears began to fall. Yusuke looked grim.
"Shun?" Kyo ventured.
"No. I am not Shun either. I am both and I am neither. I don't know who I am." He said with a heavy sigh.
"If you do not wish to be called with Raike or Shun, what shall we call you?" Vara asked.
"I don't care. Make up a name and call me that."
"As soon as you are well, we will take you home." Yusuke told him.
"No, Otherworld is no longer my home. And neither is Demon World. I belong nowhere," the boy said, and his voice filled with sorrow.
"Then Suzaku shall be your home as long as you wish." Vara said quickly, trying to ease his discomfort. "This country is made of many lands and many people."
"If you wish it, I will stay here."
"I only want you to feel welcome." Vara said, taken back by the apathy in his voice. "Now for a name. How about a combination of the two names: Raine."
"That is as good as any other." He said without inflection.
"Then Raine it shall be." Vara said, trying to tinge her voice with a happiness she did not feel. She was afraid to use her power, not wanting to make things worse. And her power did not work on the Great Dragons, so she was not sure it would work on Raine.
As the days passed, Raine got stronger and began to take walks around the garden, but his mood did not change. He seemed to care about nothing. Yusuke was frustrated, not able to help his son in any way, and Keiko was miserable, feeling that she had truly lost her only son. This boy was not Raike. Raike was not a happy soul, always tending to be moody, but at least he felt something! Finally, the couple returned to Otherworld; they were accomplishing nothing here in Suzaku.
Kyo was also at a loss. His friend Shun did not seem to be part of Raine. He now looked more like Shun than Raike, but his personality was not that of the Dragon at all. It grieved him that Shun had been lost and he felt in part responsible. If only he had been able to control himself none of this would have happened.
All around her was unhappiness. Vara desperately wanted to do something, but she didn't know what to do. She saw Raine beginning one of his walks and hurried to catch up to him. She joined him, walking at his side, but he said nothing, barely acknowledged her presence.
"Raine, I want to help you. I want you to be happy." Vara ventured.
Raine did not answer, merely kept walking slowly through the gardens. Vara grew frustrated with the taciturn young man and a spark of anger flared out. Raine looked at her suddenly in alarm, and then turned away. He had felt her anger! Her power worked on him!
They were passing a stone bench and she pulled him to her and then down so that he was sitting next to her. She took his hands in her and poured her power out, surrounding him with love and belonging. He started as if warding off a physical blow, then whimpered softly. Tears slid down his cheeks and she pulled him to her, embracing him, comforting him, and poured even more power into him. He moaned as if in pain.
"Accept the love, Raine. You are not alone. You are not lost." She murmured as she stroked his shoulders. For a long time, she held him, letting him sob, releasing all the fear and uncertainty that he had been holding inside. And during that time, Vara realized with complete certainty that he was more Raike than Shun. Was the Green Dragon lost forever?
Finally, Raine raised his head, his newly-green eyes shining. "My Queen," he whispered. "I am forever in your debt."
"I only wanted to stop your pain." Vara said, smiling gently at the boy.
"But you gave me more." Raine exclaimed. "You gave me love."
"Yes, love and comfort."
"Love," he repeated, and then looked at her, his eyes bright. "Yes, and now I love you."
Vara looked at him in alarm. What had she done? Had she accidentally made him fall in love with her? No! That was not her intention -- she had only wanted to comfort him. But as she looked deeper into his eyes, she saw the truth. He looked at her exactly as Souten and Suzuki did. She had misused her power!
She rushed Raine back to the palace and, after a hasty goodbye, hurried to find Chichiri.
"We must go to Otherworld immediately! I must talk to my mother!" She dragged the surprised monk to the portal. "I made a terrible mistake and I need her help!"