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Chapter Twenty-Three - Demon In Nightmares (Part One)

"Yukiomaru," Jun's voice spoke softly to him. Jun was resting against the headboard of their bed in the small cabin. He had been writing a message to Tang using his PawPad while he waited for the arctic fox to dry his fur after a shower. However, when Yukiomaru stepped out from the bathroom, the arctic fox was distracted by the red glow of the setting sun. He had walked over to stare at the window, his thoughts distracting him from Jun's voice.

The arctic fox's golden eyes reflected the distant setting sun. From this viewpoint he could see the entire mountain range, and the large valley down below them. Standing next to the window in his fur, the arctic fox did not express his emotions, but Jun could sense that something was on the fox's mind.

"Canidera is safe now," Jun mentioned, staring at the fox hoping that his mind would calm. "The planet is recovering really fast, and nothing will damage it again. The war is over, and we can rest now."

"It is over," muttered Yukiomaru, but the setting sun continued to hold his gaze. He felt his paw stinging a bit, but he did not dare look at the cut that he desperately tried to cover up.

It was true that the war was over, but Yukiomaru still had a dangerous organism in his blood. If it spilled, he still wondered if it would spread or possess some sort of threat. Countless tests have been performed on his blood that he knew it wouldn't, but when he accidentally cut himself just moments ago in the shower, he was reminded of that organism and all its affects.

How it had prevented him from aging since Jun had rescued him from that incubation pod on Velmaria. It was not natural, and it only reminded him of those horrible dreams that had plagued his mind. Finding a way to remove the infection would be the only way for Yukiomaru truly be at ease. He also hoped that it would remove all memories of that dream that corrupted his soul.

"Yuki," Jun muttered softly again, but the fox did not respond. He was too deep in his thoughts that he only heard Jun but did not register that he was calling for him.

The battle against the Perfected Infections had resulted in ending the war, but the Elder Creeper had built an incredible military force. Where have they all gone? The war was over but how long would the peace last? He didn't know if he could trust the Creepers, or how much they'd try to get involved on the planets that other races governed. Even if the Creepers remained docile...

Tender as the feeling was, Yukiomaru flinched when he felt Jun wrap his arms around his chest in a gentle hug. Jun stepped forward and rested his jaw on Yukiomaru's shoulder before pressing his body against the fox's and tightening his hug. Yukiomaru relaxed his composure and into the marten's hold.

"Rest for tonight," Jun whispered quietly. Yukiomaru's composure relaxing was enough to tell Jun that the fox would now resign his worries for the night. He didn't squeeze the fox or hold too tightly, but he held a firm grip on Yukiomaru.

"I'm sorry for worrying you, Jun," Yukiomaru said softly. "The war is difficult to forget, but let us get some rest now." Yukiomaru turned in Jun's grasp to face him before giving him a tender lick across the nose. The arctic fox stepped out from Jun's embrace and went over to lie on the bed.

Jun hesitated as he looked out at the darkening sun that Yukiomaru had been staring at. He wondered if Yukiomaru still perceived a threat hidden out beyond the sun. After such a devastating war, it was difficult to look at the sky without worrying about what other threats might lie out there waiting for them. Pushing the thought from his mind, the pine marten joined Yukiomaru on the bed.

Yukiomaru felt Jun cuddle up against him, but his thoughts still persisted. He wanted to have no more worries, and the only way the fox saw that being possible was to deal with all his doubts. Ensuring that no war would threaten the Huli system, whether it is by the Creepers or any other race, was the only way that Yukiomaru could be at peace.

With a slight squeeze on his chest, Yukiomaru was again distracted from his worries. Focusing on the comforting touch, the arctic fox mind started to settle. For now, he did not have to worry about these things. He could enjoy Jun's company, and rest for the night. And so he did; the fox fell asleep quickly after he had forced the worries from his mind.

Darkness had surrounded the arctic fox, that not even his radiant white fur could be seen through the thick veil that covered his eyes. Without sight, sound or scent, Yukiomaru could still sense that he was not alone in this dark pool of nothingness. That other presence that shared the darkness with him was familiar to the arctic fox. It was a presence that terrified him more than the Perfected Infections that he had fought.

The moment he recognized the foreign presence, he noticed that his body felt out of proportion to him. His balance was off, senses dulled and he felt more vulnerable.

Yukiomaru was invaded by fear; a fear that he had returned to the hell that he experienced in the Creepers captivity. His heart race, and he put a paw to his chest trying to feel if he was really there, but his mind could not comprehend his sense of touch. He searched frantically in the darkness, any source of light that would provide confirmation. There was nothing.

"You are between two worlds, one who calls himself Yukiomaru," a shrill, high voice said in the darkness. Yukiomaru turned toward the voice, which sounded muffled to his dull senses.

No light had been offered to him, but his enemy had found a sliver of it and was illuminated for Yukiomaru's dilated eyes to see; even if his vision was blurred.

"What is it that makes you think your life on Canidera is not the dream?" Kazamde asked, his voice heavy with the tone of being rude. "What makes you think that you won't go back?"

Yukiomaru was filled with dread of that possibility. He cursed the Velmarian, who he could not even see anymore. He had forgotten what he looked like, as if he never had existed in the first place.

"You are being woken," his voice rung out, no longer recognizable as Kazamde. The language had changed. Yukiomaru knew this but he didn't know how it had changed, or what it had changed from. Had he forgotten his own native language?

I'm slipping, Yukiomaru realized. Memories of his own body faded, memories of his own language faded, and even memories of his friends faded.

The darkness started to feel heavier, as if he were at the bottom of the ocean. He could even sense small microscopic life forms floating around him. Each one added to the sense of suffocation.

Yukiomaru knew that these parasitic organisms were to blame. He screamed at them but his voice was mute. His anger turned inward, and his heart rate accelerated.

Light appeared as if it was the light at the end of a very dark tunnel but Yukiomaru denied it. He forced his heart rate to continue accelerating until darkness consumed him again, and he forced himself out of the nightmarish hell.

Comforting warmth spread to conquer the darkness of the nightmare that plagued his mind. Disorientated and drowsy, the arctic fox realized that he was breathing very heavily. His heart rate was still accelerated, and he had been panting in his sleep.

He did not stir or open his eyes while his mind woke up, and his body felt the comfort pressing against his body. Relief washed over him, but did not completely wash out the fear that held firm in his heart. He was still the same Yukiomaru though, and the same Jun that he loved was still there. With his heartbeat slowing down, his own breathing calming, Yukiomaru focused more on the comforting warmth that had helped him conquer his nightmare.

Lying still in his large bed, Yukiomaru could hear the muffled breathing of the pine marten that held onto him tenderly. One of his ears were pinned underneath the marten's cheek, who had fallen asleep with his jaw resting on top of Yukiomaru's head and between his ears, but that fact allowed Yukiomaru to hear the soothing deep breaths of the pine marten.

Each breath accompanied with the soft movements of Jun's chest rising and falling. His chest pressed against Yukiomaru's back, and the fox was held firmly in place by Jun's embrace that had one arm wrapped around his chest, and the other around his waist. Jun's hips even had the fox's tail pinned so that it could only find escape back between the marten's legs.

With Jun matching Yukiomaru's slightly curled position, his chocolate fur meshed and blended with the arctic fox's snowy white fur.

Yukiomaru focused on the sound of Jun's lungs filling with air before slowly releasing that breath. Combined with his breathing, and the soft but strong heart beats of the pine marten, Yukiomaru was able to forget about the fear for now. Here, in the embrace of the pine marten who had pressed his body close against Yukiomaru's, he felt content. It was always in Jun's embrace that he felt better than he has ever felt before.

Jun's paw moved slowly from Yukiomaru's waist toward his cheek, but it was so sudden that it startled Yukiomaru slightly. He had not known that the marten was awake. The paw gently caressed the fur on his cheek.

"You had another nightmare," Jun whispered incredibly softly. The marten gently tightened his grip around the fox's chest.

"Yes," Yukiomaru replied, almost inaudible. He hugged onto Jun's arm that was wrapped around him.

"I am not going anywhere," said Jun, still speaking soft. "I'll be here all night with you, Yuki."

Yukiomaru realized that his nightmare had woken and worried Jun. He hated that it was his lack of ability to control his emotions was causing for the marten to worry more. Jun had worried enough throughout the entire war. Yukiomaru felt that he should not add any more concerns to him.

"Thank you, Jun," replied Yukiomaru. "I'm sorry for waking you."

"Never apologize, Yuki," Jun responded. He still gently caressed the arctic fox's cheek, but in his movements it was obvious that he was fighting off his sleepiness.

Yukiomaru didn't respond. He was sorry. Not just in the sense that he felt he owed Jun an apology, but in the sense that he was filled with regret. Regret that he had provoked an alien race, regret that he failed to defend his home against that race, regret that had been captured, infected and his soul twisted by a nightmarish hell, and regret that he had caused Jun to be filled with worry and grief. Yukiomaru felt sorry for so much.

He tried to push the thoughts out of his mind, and again focused on Jun's touch. Knowing that the marten cared for him, loved him and did what he could to comfort him made Yukiomaru's emotions swell with comfort. It is all that he needed, and he'd never sacrifice it for anything else.

With his thoughts remembering the enjoyable moments he had spent with Jun, Yukiomaru again drifted back into sleep. This time the nightmares did not plague his mind. His dreams were memories of battles that he fought, but those were mild in comparison to the nightmare. Still disturbing were the dreams of his recent battles, specifically with the Perfected Infections that had nearly defeated him, but Jun and the crew of Drach'n Fury helped him defeat them.

That night the arctic fox slept peacefully on his bed with the pine marten hugging him tightly in a spooning position. Their sheets had fallen to their ankles, leaving them exposed to the cold air but neither was bothered by it with the warmth they provided each other. Throughout the night, Yukiomaru did not wake up disturbed again.

Several hours of the two sleeping comfortable, the arctic fox slowly woke from the heavy curtain of his dreams. The soft breathing of the pine marten was still felt, along with the comfort of having his fur meshed with Jun's.

Despite the content and comfort that Jun's cuddle made Yukiomaru feel, his ear was still pinned under the pine marten's cheek. The arctic fox had his ear pinned all night, and it had grown sore from its position. He was still firmly held in place by Jun's embrace, but Yukiomaru slowly raised his head allowing for his ear to slip out from under the marten's cheek.

The slight movement of Yukiomaru had caused a reaction in Jun, as his hug tightened around the arctic fox. He didn't resist to the marten's reaction, but he did bring a paw up to his ear and gently rubbed it. It only made his sore ear feel more painful, but it did also help soothe the soreness.

Jun's grip loosened and tightened his grip again, his arms around the fox's chest and waist. Yukiomaru could feel the marten inhale a large breath, before he stretched his body, pressing against the arctic fox's, and letting out a morning sigh. After stretching, the pine marten relaxed again, and retightened his grip on Yukiomaru.

"You slept better," Jun muttered, burying his nose in the fur of the fox's neck.

Yukiomaru stopped rubbing his ear. "Sorry for waking you last night."

"That's what I'm here for," responded the pine marten. "Do not apologize, Yuki."

He wanted to apologize for apologizing but he obeyed Jun this time, and remained silent. The arctic fox pushed himself up from the bed to sit up. Jun relaxed his gripped and let the arctic fox sit up before Jun also pushed himself up.

Yukiomaru rubbed his eyes lightly before stretching too. He had been familiar with waking up fully alert, no matter how little sleep he had gotten. Now, he found it difficult to bring himself out from the comfort of sleeping that Jun had brought him.

Regardless of his restful night, Yukiomaru was disturbed by the nightmare he had that originally woke him up. What was most terrifying about it is that he felt himself slipping away into that nightmare. If he had fallen back into that same nightmare he lived through, when he was captured in that flower pod Creeper, he knew that he would not be able to escape it again.

A soft and warm touch on his ear distracted the arctic fox. He hadn't notice that he was rubbing his sore ear again absent-mindedly, but Jun had. The marten licked his ear again, distracting Yukiomaru from his thoughts. He looked over at Jun, and smiled when he looked into those ice-blue eyes.

"I slept on your ear again, didn't I?" asked the marten, returning Yukiomaru's gaze with a friendly and yet slightly guilty smile.

Without answering, Yukiomaru smiled and leaned against Jun. "I don't mind. It feels better now."

Jun responded by gently giving the arctic fox's ear another lick. The soft touch on Yukiomaru's ear tickled slightly but it felt good so he didn't pull away from the marten. Closing his eyes, Yukiomaru focused on the touch of Jun's warm tongue against his ear. The moment his tongue would pull away, the arctic fox's damp ear felt a little cold in the air. Each time the warmth brought from Jun's tongue soothed away the cold feeling.

After over a minute, and too soon for the arctic fox, Jun stopped licking.

"I'll start the shower," Jun said. With one final lick across Yukiomaru's cheek, Jun motioned to move off the bed. Yukiomaru supported himself and sat up again to allow Jun to get up. "We'll hike to that lake further down the mountain later."

"Let's eat first," Yukiomaru suggested, watching the pine marten stand from the bed. "And can we go in the hot spring after that?"

"Of course we can," Jun replied. He turned to give the arctic fox a friendly smile. "I'd like that."

Yukiomaru smiled back at Jun and watched the marten's tail disappear around the corner that led in to the bathroom that was built a bit deeper into the mountain side than the room was.

The arctic fox sighed, and turned back to look at the rising sun on the far side of the valley below him. He remembered the dream that he had last night, even though it was probably the first and shortest dream that he had all night. It was not because of how terrifying it was that made him remember it, but it was how vivid the dream was. In a sense, that was also what made it so terrifying.

Leaning over the side of the bed, Yukiomaru set his hindpaws on the ground. It was soft and comfortable but he did not stand yet. He placed his elbows on his knees and rested his head in his paws. He knew he had to find a way to get rid of the dreams. Not only did he hate them with every piece of his soul, but he hated that he could not hide the dreams from Jun. The pine marten always knew when Yukiomaru was having one, and it was worrying him. Yukiomaru sighed again at that thought. The last thing he wanted to do was cause Jun any distress.

In reality he wanted nothing more than to stay in bed all day with Jun. Having Jun there with him, cuddled with him, is what made Yukiomaru forget about the dream but every time Jun pulled away, those dreams always returned to Yukiomaru's consciousness. He knew that they could not stay in bed all day though, because they would become restless, and sore from that.

Yukiomaru could hear the running water in the adjacent room. Jun already had the hot water that was heated by the same source as the hot spring running. The marten would be in under the water of the shower by now.

The arctic fox pushed the thoughts of his dreams and annoyance out of his mind before he finally stood from the bed. He followed Jun's tracks around the foot of the bed, and around the simple wall that separated the room from the bathroom.

To the left was the small cubicle of the shower. Steam was misting around the overlapping walls despite that most of it was being sucked up into a vent for the water and heat to be recycled. Yukiomaru took a moment to go through his morning routine before he stepped back to the overlapping walls, and went around them into the shower.

There the pine marten was, his bare fur drenched in the shower as he was lathering some soft shampoo in his fur on his hindpaws. He was focusing on washing his hindpaw, but when the arctic fox entered, those icy blue eyes rose to greet Yukiomaru.

"Do you mind?" Jun asked, straightening up. The marten had a guilty expression as he turned his back to Yukiomaru. The arctic fox knew that he wanted him to wash his back, because it was difficult to reach between his shoulders and scrub his back.

"Not at all," answered Yukiomaru. Grabbing the fur shampoo, Yukiomaru poured a small amount in his paw before rubbing it into Jun's fur. Using his claws, Yukiomaru gently scrubbed the frothy substance around Jun's back.

The marten's shoulders hunched at the feel of Yukiomaru's claws. Not that it hurt, but instead because it felt nice as if Yukiomaru's claws were combing his fur.

"You always did like me washing your back," observed the arctic fox while he continued to wash Jun.

"That's because you do it so well," Jun responded, trying to sound sarcastic.

"Like how you comb my tail," said Yukiomaru cheerfully.

"You're obsessed with having me comb your tail," Jun remarked. "You know, it's long enough that you can easily comb it yourself whenever you feel like it."

"I'd rather have you do it," Yukiomaru said. The thought of being combed was enough to raise the arctic fox's attitude. Yukiomaru quickly finished running his claws through Jun's fur with a light, massaging touch. "There, you're all finished."

"So eager to be combed," commented Jun, quietly enough to sound as if he was talking to himself. He rinsed the suds from his fur, and swished his black-tipped tail around to make sure that the soap did not just slide down.

Yukiomaru had another drop of shampoo in his paw, and was slathering it on the top of his head around his ears and carefully around his eyes and muzzle. With a quick rinse, he continued to soap up his neck. Jun held out a paw, gesturing for the arctic fox to surrender the bottle of fur shampoo. Yukiomaru obliged, and Jun returned the favor by washing the white fur on the arctic fox's back.

After both the marten and fox were thoroughly washed from the tip of their ears to the bottom of their hindpaw pads, they rinsed and turned off the shower. In the dryer, the warm air rushed their fur and evaporated any traces of water, making the two incredibly fluffy, and ready to be combed.

Yukiomaru's excitement was obvious, and he did little to hide that fact. He hurried back out to their room, with a comb in paw, and he climbed onto the bed. He kneeled, supporting himself on his paws and waited for Jun to start brushing him.

Jun had remained silent, but he was always so happy to see Yukiomaru express his excitement. It had been so rare during the war, and rare still so recent after the war's ending, but every time Yukiomaru knew that he was to be brushed, he always showed how excited that he was.

Jun crawled up on to the bed with the arctic fox, and kneeled behind him. He started by lightly running the comb across the short fur on the top of the arctic fox's head. Once the brush went to the back of Yukiomaru's neck where the fur was longer, it pulled a bit and some loose strands of fur was caught in the brush.

Yukiomaru grinned widely when he felt the soft bristles of the brush slide through his fur. It pulled the fur on the nape of his neck, tugging on his skin in a very massaging manner. Each slight pull on the nape of his neck, the arctic fox felt his tail twitch.

The brush went down across the arctic fox's shoulders, continuing the massage. Jun went slow, brushing every millimeter of the arctic fox's fur. The brush even created small tracks through the thick fur of Yukiomaru. Jun has brushed Yukiomaru several times to know where the fox enjoyed being brushed, like the nape of his neck, so the marten would often brush over that spot several times.

With the tracks that the bristles created overlapping each other several times, Jun brushed his way down Yukiomaru's back. The brushing was slow and took many times longer than normal, but neither of them did mind because they enjoyed it. It was nearly twenty minutes later when Jun had started brushing Yukiomaru's tail. His tail was still twitching occasionally but he did his best to keep it under control with the brush ran across his thick fur on his tail.

Before Jun was more than a quarter of the way finishing with Yukiomaru's tail, he had emptied the brush of the excess fur twice.

"Your tail always amazes me how thick your fur can get," commented the pine marten. He continued to run the brush through the fox's tail.

"Your fur is quite thick too," Yukiomaru muttered. He was now lying on his belly as Jun brushed him. "Your tail sheds twice as much as the rest of your body."

"Yours sheds four times more than your body," chuckled Jun, focusing on the brushing.

"I hope you don't mind brushing it," Yukiomaru commented, resting peacefully.

"You know I don't," replied Jun. It was true; Jun always found it a fun challenge to brush all of Yukiomaru's tail. Sometimes it was not easy because it was very long fur.

It nearly took another ten minutes before Yukiomaru's tail was fully brushed. More than thirty minutes had passed before Yukiomaru's full body was brushed. A small pile of white, loose fur had built up next to the bed.

"My turn," Jun said excitedly. It was clear that he enjoyed being brushed as much as the arctic fox. Yukiomaru smiled, pushed himself up back to kneeling and accepted the brush that the marten held out for him.

They switched positions so that Yukiomaru could return the favor and brush Jun. The arctic fox placed a paw gently on Jun's shoulder to steady himself as he brought the brush to Jun's fur. Jun reacted gleefully to the touch of the brush, but Yukiomaru also enjoyed brushing Jun because his paw was resting on the marten.

He could feel the marten breathe, twitch and sometimes even his heart beat when he brushed his fur. Jun was real, he was alive and he was there at that moment. That was all that Yukiomaru needed. Those dreams seemed insignificant irrational fears of an hyperactive imagination when he could feel Jun alive in front of him.

The arctic fox did not want to be anywhere else, go anywhere else. Isolated in the tall mountain range with the one that he truly loved was all he needed.