BOOM

[sensori]

Title: Boom
Fandom: Samurai Sentai Shinkenger and Kamen Rider Decade
Genre: Slash/Romance/Action/Drama
Characters: Takeru/Tsukasa
Rating: T
Summary: The sound was deafening...

The sound was deafening.

Takeru held his breath as he forced his way through the screen of heavy smoke and ash leading him to the shadow flailing in the distance, crying out in pain. Through blurred vision, Takeru hurled himself forward, arms outstretched with just barely enough time to catch him.

Tsukasa gasped as he found himself collapsing into the samurai's arms in the middle of the decimated street, as the noise of car alarms and crackling flames lingered in the thickening air.

The Rider could not believe it. In a matter of seconds, the glowing bullet had burrowed its way into his armor and through the flesh of his shoulder. He winced from the sting of the injury, gripping tightly to the red mess as he finally realized who it was that had caught him.

"T-Takeru!"

"I'm here," Takeru said. His voice was so gentle. Even as the pain of his own wounds threatened to snatch him away into a dismal unconsciousness, he knelt there in the street, holding him.

And his touch was so warm that Tsukasa knew that it was true. That what Takeru had told him in the middle of the night, when there were no others to watch or judge his feelings, how much he had really meant to him.

But just as quickly as Takeru had caught him, he began to stumble. Takeru could not believe it. Never before had he been so distracted during a fight. He had allowed the foot soldiers to injure him. And though he did his best to conceal it from his love, Takeru's trembling eyes told Tsukasa that there was a much more severe wound hiding somewhere beneath his jacket, bleeding restlessly. If he didn't receive medical treatment soon, he may not survive.

Tsukasa draped a hand over Takeru's face, nearly brought to tears by the red warrior's determination to protect him, at the risk of his own life.

"We have to get out of here," Tsukasa said.

The sound of devilish laughter filled the air as the two senshi realized that the creature was about to find them. The one from Magiranger World, whose people had forged an alliance with Tsukasa's enemies and joined in the fight against him and his allies. The nefarious, gun-wielding Hell God known as Cyclops.
Into the air, twelve shots were fired blindly, lighting up the skies with glowing bullets that sheered the clouds and blasted the towering buildings above. Within another minute, the creature would be upon them. And though he suffered an injury from Tsukasa's last desperate Rider Kick attack, he was determined to seek out his prey with his own eyes and eliminate them both.

"Come on," Tsukasa cried. But as he tried to force himself up, the pain of his wounds brought him back down again. He looked over at Takeru with peril in his eyes, certain that the lord was not much stronger than himself at that moment.

"There's no time," Takeru breathed, staring out at the shadows that loomed in the distance. Curtains of flame stood between them and the monster that threatened to destroy him. Only a few moments remained.
"Tsukasa."

And the Rider was startled by the look in Takeru's eyes.

"Listen to me," Takeru spoke. "No matter what happens, no matter what anyone tells you, you are not the Destroyer of Worlds."

"Takeru--"

"I never realized how much one person could love another, until the day you stepped into this world. And without you I might never have felt it for myself. I want you to know that I'm grateful. And that I don't regret it."

"Regret wha--"

But before Tsukasa could utter another word, Takeru's lips were upon him. Tsukasa shut his eyes as the rest of the world seemed to fall away. It was as though a thousand dimensional walls had erected all around them, shutting out the noise of battle, and danger, and uncertainty. And in that moment, there was nothing and no one but the two of them, and this kiss.

At long last, Takeru released him from the daze of his touch, and looked deeply into his eyes.

"I love you."

And within half a second, Takeru's body was apart from him. Whirling around with a furious battlecry, the Shinkenmaru blade tightening between his bloody fingers. And before Tsukasa could breathe a word of protest, Takeru dashed fearlessly in the direction of the approaching enemy.

"Takeru!!"

But the samurai lord refused to stop. Even as the sound of gunfire echoed through the air with horrifying intensity, he ran. Bursting right through the wall of flame that stood before him.

Cyclops let out a laugh as he unleashed a barrage of shimmering bullets upon the warrior that rushed toward him. But the monster gasped in shock as he realized that his target was not cut down by the initial blast.

With the twist of his sword, Takeru had begun deflecting the bullets. Even as the pain of recent injuries surged through him, sapping his strength, he forced his body to keep moving. He was fighting for more than himself. He was fighting for the man lying on the ground behind him, crying his name. And he simply would not allow his body to give in until that man was safe.

Tsukasa watched in horror as a bullet flashed past Takeru's face, ripping a scar across his cheek in an instant. Tsukasa's heart stopped as he realized Takeru had begun to stumble, just as he came within three feet of his enemy. Cyclops lowered his gun to fire. But this was all Takeru needed to make his final stand.

Takeru hurled himself into the air, narrowly dodging the bullets that blasted holes into the ground below him.

"Now you die!" Takeru shouted, spiraling down from above.

All Cyclops could see was the faint after-image of the samurai as it dropped out of the sky and stabbed the Shinkenmaru into his back. The creature howled in terror as it looked down to find that the blade was poking downward through his stomach.

A storm of lightning burst out from the monster's body as it began to lose control. Only a split-second remained before it was ripped apart by an enormous explosion.

Tsukasa jumped up onto one knee, with widening, tear-soaked eyes. He expected that Takeru would simply run and leap out of the way. But he finally realized why Takeru had spoken those precious words to him before running out into the battlefield. Because he knew that there was no way he was going to survive. He had poured every last ounce of his body's strength into his attack. And there was none left to make the tiniest attempt at escape. His enemy was about to explode.

Takeru turned toward his love from across the battlefield and a warm smile stretched across his face. The next word that escaped his lips carried no trace of fear or regret. Only satisfaction. And love.

"... Boom."