Authoress' Note: Oh, by the way… Despondency mean "A depression of the spirits from loss of hope or courage". I liked it, hence the title. Yes, I went searching through the dictionary for a title. (laughs)…Oh! And the death cup is a type of poison … Ahaha…
Warnings: Violence, shounen-ai, and language.
There was a war raging on in Bernadine. It was against their 'sister country' Linnea. The war was settled in the Valley of Orrin… It had gotten so bad that they were starting to call it the "The Death Cup". The war had been going on for many years, with maybe a month of peace or so in between. The war, technically, had been going on for hundreds of years…It was always just off and on.
Bernadine and Linnea were founded at the same time by two brothers, the story goes. The two countries began to populate, and all was well. But when the righteous brother of Bernadine found out about the deviltry going on in Linnea, he stopped sending the country Bernadine's goods. His brother soon found out that it was not just a problem with the ships…But that his brother was doing it intentionally. The leader of Linnea sent a letter to Bernadine and his brother, requesting a meeting with him.
The righteous brother, thinking it might settle some problems, agreed to the meeting and headed over at once. But, as soon as Bernadine's leader arrived, he was attacked by his own brother's troops…and ed. Now, the people of Bernadine were beginning to wonder what had happened to their leader. When they discovered the murder , they were outraged! A new leader was elected, and he sent over troops, declaring war on their sister country.
The war had carried on and on, finally reaching present times. The current people of Bernadine conducted an experiment. They would use witchcraft to stop the war. All they needed was someone with magic. The only person then knew of was Miss Mayuna Yoshiko, a descendant of the original founder of Bernadine. Also the sister of respected warrior in training, Seiichi Yoshiko.
"But she's only seventeen!" Seiichi protested, when they approached them.
"It's okay, brother, I can help them," Mayuna smiled kindly, "It is for our country after all. I'll do anything to stop this war."
Seiichi sighed. Mayuna had always been a pacifist, wanting peace for everyone. She was against his training to become a warrior for Bernadine… He had always told her that he was doing it for her sake, to keep her safe. Little had he known that his good intentions would kill her.
It was a cold, dark night…Yet Seiichi still insisted on training. After all, he wanted to make Yuji proud. He was right in the middle of practicing, when Mayuna ran out into the clearing where he was.
"Brother! There's been a report of a Linnean spy in the village… You'd better come inside," She advised.
"A Linnean spy?" Seiichi muttered. Why would a spy be in their small town?
"Yes! Come on, brother!" Mayuna tugged at his sleeve.
He followed her inside, sneaking glances into the surrounding forest on the way there. Mayuna looked up at him.
"You better not go looking for him," She said, "Promise me you won't."
He stayed silent.
"Brother! Promise me!" She cried.
"…Fine. I promise," He mumbled, turning his head in the opposite direction.
"Thank you," She smiled, "I'm going to go into my room, okay?"
He nodded, "Are you sure you want to be alone?"
"I'll be fine, brother…" She told him, "But thank you for worrying about me."
What could he say? He was always worried about her. He was sure she could defend herself, but she wouldn't. She would try to talk her way out of it… And end up . He didn't like to think about that. As soon as she disappeared into her room, Seiichied slid the door open. No matter what he promised he needed to find the Linnean spy.
Mayuna had just entered her room when she head the front door slide open. She slid open her own door and ran out, seeing her brother out in the forest. She stuck her head out the door and shouted to her running brother,
"You promised! You know what mom used to say about breaking a promise!"
Seiichi cringed. She always had to bring up mom. He kept running. He was going to kill this Linnean spy. He was doing it for the country. He was doing it for the village. He was doing it for his sister. Mayuna sighed, letting her head fall against the door. Her stubborn brother…
It was now raining, and Seiichi had reached Yuji's house. He was banging on the door. Yuji opened it, and saw the younger boy.
"No, I'm not helping you kill the Linnean spy. Good night," Yuji said, and shut the door in his face.
Seiichi cursed. He really d Yuji right then. He banged on the door again, and Yuji opened it again.
"At least let me in," Seiichi said.
Yuji sighed, opening the door a bit more. Seiichi stepped inside…it was warm. He shut the door, and with a devious grin, wrapped his arms around Yuji's neck.
Yuji looked away, "No matter what you do, you're not going to get me to help."
"Come on…" Seiichi begged, drawing himself up to Yuji's height and pushing their foreheads together so their lips would brush every time they spoke.
"Stop!" Yuji exclaimed, pulling away, "I'm not helping you, and that's final. I don't want you to even go out there in try!"
"I have to! What if he found out about our plan? What if he's here to kill Mayuna!?" Seiichi cried, balling his hands up into fists, "I can't just let him do that!"
"Oh, so you're worried about Mayuna and left her home alone? Smart choice, " Yuji replied, in a snide way.
"Be quiet!" Seiichi yelled, "I'm going after him!"
And with that, he ran out the door. Yuji had been no help. Yuji sighed, putting his head in his hands.
"That idiot…He's going to get himself killed," He mumbled, He knew of the strength of Linnean warriors. He headed towards his sword.
Seiichi wad going to have to do this by himself. He ran into the forest and drew his sword.
"Well, Mr. Linnean Spy? Where are you? Come and get me!" He called out, "Or are you afraid!?"
"Oh, I'm certainly not," A voice came.
Seiichi's head swung around…There was no one to be seen, "Show yourself!"
"I'm right here," The voice answered, right in Seiichi's ear.
Seiichi swung around, holding his sword out. He saw the man now…The man wielded a large sword and looked well trained. Seiichi was no match for him…But he could still try.
His attempts didn't go very far. Several minutes into the fight, Seiichi was on the ground, the man's sword held to his neck.
"You know, I fought your littler friend too," The man told him, "The one with the gun."
Seiichi looked up. He was too weak to get up and quickly grab his fallen sword, "…Isamu?"
"Was that his name?" The man grinned, "I didn't ask. And that …"
Seiichi froze. Mayuna?
"The supposed savior. The one was going to stop the war…" He laughed, "She tried to talk to me. Too weak to defend herself. She was easy to kill."
Seiichi trembled, "You…You bastard !"
He couldn't stop it, the tears rolled down his face immediately. They had killed Mayuna, and it was his fault. It was his fault that he broke the promise and went out looking for the man. He had left her alone.
"Oh, how unladylike of you," The man snickered.
"Be quiet," Seiichi mumbled.
"It'd be such a waste to kill a pretty little like you…"