We didn't say much in the morning.

I sat on the floor, he sat behind me, brushing my hair. I closed my eyes, focussed on the magical sensation. It was as if there were nerve endings in each hair that reacted to the elven touch in the same way my skin did, even if hair was dead tissue, and the sensation travelled up to my scalp. It was like drinking gallons of iced water in the worst heat of summer when you'd been starved of water for a day.

"I have experienced so many of the things the amethyst has shown me", Tobirama said out of the blue.

"What do you mean?" I asked, frowning as he started using his fingers in my hair.

"Me screaming at you that I trusted you. Us making love last night. Me braiding your hair right now."

"You're braiding it?" I asked, one eyebrow raised, trying to turn around to look at him in surprise.

"Yup!" he said happily. "Now, sit still!"

"So everything is true?" I whispered.

"Almost", he said. "Some things differ. For example, I think it was you who screamed at me that you trusted me in the vision. But in war, it was me. Sometimes, it has shown me metaphors."

I swallowed.

"I don't want to fight you", I said.

"Izuna", Tobirama said, leaning his chin on my shoulder from behind like he'd done the first time we met, but this time, he leaned his cheek to mine as well. I realised what a powermove it had been of him to be so close to me without allowing me to feel the elven touch that first time, that he had actually tortured me without me understanding. I closed my eyes, breathed in what was left of us as he continued speaking.

"You don't have to fight. The humans have given you nothing. Quite the opposite; they've taken away your community. I love you. Erika loves you. Nicholas loves you." I felt a pang in my heart as he still said Nicholas' name in present tense. "All elves respect you. They don't blame you for joining the humans. They think you're honourable. Please. You don't have to join the elves. But I don't want any more of my soldiers slaughtered."

"You're all going to die anyway", I whispered. "You're too outnumbered. I just want as few humans as possible to lose their lives until it's done. Why don't you just give up?"

"I would, but it's not the way of the elves", he explained. "We're too proud."

"Fuck your pride!" I screamed and turned round, looking at him angrily.

"I agree", Tobirama said calmly, putting one hand on my shoulder. "My army, however, does not."

He massaged the knots out of my shoulders, and I allowed myself to relax in his love after all the hatred the humans had poured over me.

"Is there any way I can convince you not to fight?" Tobirama asked.

"No", I said, turned around and kissed him.

He closed his eyes, taking the kiss for a while as if wanting to treat himself to be the receiver before he gave it back to me. I leaned over him, pushed him onto his back on the floorboards, the lights floating around us moving away for us, kept kissing him, unbuttoned his trousers.

Unbuttoned mine.

Rode him.

It finally came.

The hour me and Tobirama would stand against each other finally came.

On day two, the elven army had been cut in half, and there was only one-fourth left of the humans. And I knew I had to defeat him; he was killing too many people.

I stood on a hill on the battlefield in the valley, looking at him as he sliced his enemies, grunting of exertion. A shiver went through my entire body as I saw him fight like a monster. He's a beast, and I am but a feather.

He caught sight of me, standing in my ripped-apart cape that I'd put on again before leaving the safety of the timber cottage and of him, the braid that he had made whipping around me in the fierce wind. The thunderstorm was still above us, and the rain was crashing over the valley, torturing our faces as lightning bolts danced their deadly dance along with our swords. And as mine and Tobirama's eyes connected through the raindrops, I knew he knew, too, and he cantered towards me, sword raised.

We clashed swords as a thunder went off straight above us, and I grunted in exertion; the amethyst in my sword and the magic of the crystals surrounding Tobirama's made us equally strong, making me believe this fight would come down to skill alone. He cantered around me, and I had to dance with him to protect myself, going defensive.

"Get off your horse!!" I screamed over the whining wind. "I don't want to injure him!"

Tobirama's eyes lightened up by a flicker of recognition, making me wonder if that was something I had said in the vision the amethyst had shown him. He jumped off his horse and stared clashing swords with me from the ground. We kept our eyes locked, reading the next movement of the other in the eyes alone. As opposed to me, he could exert himself to push more power into his sword by pouring more magic out, whereas I could not, the power coming down to what was in the amethyst alone. He was stronger than me, and I noticed he was pushing me towards a cave. As soon as we got into it, the rain stopped and it became dead still around us, the only sound being emitted coming from our swords and our lungs.

I frowned. It was as if the entire outside world was muffled out, no sound coming into the cave, even if the opening was still right next to us. And soon, I understood why as glimmering lights of blue emerged on the walls, becoming denser and denser the further in we fought our way, and I recognised it as the lights of the giant cave with the big lake and orbiting planets. There was magic in this cave shutting the outside world out. Tobirama wanted me in this cave. I did not know why.

The great stone... Something about a blood sacrifice...

Soon, we were at the giant lake. He backed me up to the lake and I shivered, remembering how deep it was. Tobirama jumped up onto a small planet, balancing on it with one leg forwards. I swallowed my fear of the deep water, or at least refused to let it consume me, and jumped after him onto another planet, close to his but faster in orbit, and we clashed swords as the planets moved and mine passed his. When I was getting out of reach, he jumped to another planet that was closer to me, clashed swords with me again.

And I screamed out in pure pain.

I fell down to my knees on the planet on which I was standing, my sword's arm slumping down, and I hid my face in my other hand. Everything hurt as if someone had poured acid over me. I didn't understand. I felt Tobirama grabbing me by the collar of my cape; he'd jumped to the planet I stood on. At first, I thought he was going to throw me into the water, and I felt panic surge through my stomach, but then, I understood he had prevented me from falling. In all of this, he was protecting me, and with a sinking heart, I realised he had no intention of actually trying to defeat me.

"Transparent gas planet", he explained in a murmur. "You went straight through it. Some are poisonous. Don't worry, it won't kill you. You will just be in agony for a while."

We stood there, his hand grabbing me harshly.

"I don't want to hurt you", I whispered. "I just can't let you kill all these humans. You've probably killed half of the ones who've died. Can't you stop?"

"No", he said. "Can you?"

"No."

And with great effort, I jumped to the next planet. The poison was still burning my skin and eyes, but I didn't allow myself pain. Tobirama followed, and we jumped from planet to planet, more and more to the centre. My fright of passing through another gas planet and falling into the water was soon distracted as I felt the most eerie sensation as we came closer to the centre of the orbiting planets. It was as if my blood was boiling, trying to escape my vessels. I allowed myself a glance in towards the middle of the lake, and saw...

The great stone stood looming and majestic, watching over us and I was certain that it was the source of the unpleasant feeling. The great stone... With a final jump, I landed on the little island where the stone stood, and when Tobirama jumped down, I twirled, lifted my sword...

And put the tip of it right at his throat as he landed.