This was where he held me, sobs racked the redhead's body as he hugged his knees. The sound of the water lapping gently at the sands soothed him, but only for a moment. This was where he kissed me…

Seagulls dipped and danced in the poetry of the blazing sun as it filled the horizon and colored the clouds from brilliant rose to deepening orange. The sunrise. He had been out all night. An occasional cry broke the silence, but he was crying too hard to pay much attention. He sat, curled up, on the stone ledge that overlooked the gentle, rolling waves that tossed and foamed beneath. Why did I ever let him go?

The tears came again, hotter and more painful than before.

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After running so hard, he was nowhere closer to locating the one he needed to find. The beach was the last place he knew. He ran, breathing heavily, sweat dripping off him, until he came to the base of a tall rock face which framed the beach. He knew as soon as he looked up, the silent silhouette of a familiar boy.

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There were so many specks on the roiling surface of the ocean. So many things lurked within the deeper currents, unknown dangers and wonders that spun the stories of legends in the darkest parts of the deep. Birds flew over the waters, seemingly unaffected by the vast expanse of changing water beneath them. An occasional fish would break the surface, and he could just see if he looked hard enough…wait, what was that? Distracted, he stumbled as he uncurled, leaning over the edge to look closer. It was a snatch of dark hair, and pale, pale limbs that stretched out lifelessly on the water, floating with abandon. A wave pushed the body further out to sea. His stomach suddenly tightened, and a fierce trembling take over his arms and legs. That looks like…it can't be…oh no, oh no…he stood detachedly as his feet began to run, his heart pounding faster in fear. Kitsune.

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He ran, seeing but not seeing, into the turquoise waters as they lapped about him, until the sea enveloped him to the waist, then deeper, until it circled his chest and he reached the prone figure. Please don't let it be him, please don't let it be him…

He flipped the pale body over, catching it to his body and holding it tightly. Long dark lashes swept across the pale face, and shock threatened to wash him under.

"KITSUNE!!!!"

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Rukawa, wake up! Rukawa, please don't die, don't do this to me! He cradled the body to him tightly as tears cascaded down his face, entangling one hand in the wet black hair which framed a loved face. Damn it, wake up, kitsune! Don't leave me here alone!

He gasped as something gripped him from behind, pulling him violently forward.

end of part 6