NOW
Memories of Another Day : Prologue : The Graveyard
He couldn't move.
Much as he wanted to step up, place his hands on the cold surface of the gravestone, say his prayers and then run away as far as he can from that place, he couldn't - couldn't do anything except stand there unsteadily, supported by one of Lilika's trembling hands on the small of his back and Jirou's almost painful grip on his shoulder. Dark shades framed his eyes instead of the clear spectacles he often wore, to prevent anyone and everyone from seeing their red, swollen state. Last night - and the nights before - he cried so hard that he nearly fainted of exhaustion from it, but now no tears would come as if he had drained himself empty of them already. He couldn't move, couldn't do anything, couldn't even cry.
The crowd of gearfighting fans - mostly young girls - eventually began to disperse. Soon, the only people left were the members of the Tobita Club, of the Griffon Team, and a beautiful pale-skinned flaxen-haired woman - all of them possessing identical feelings of sorrow and grief.
Dark clouds gathered overhead. It's going to rain.
~*~
Annoying.
Mitsuke and the others stood by the door to his workroom, unnerving in their efforts to get him out of the house. He shook his head and mumbled a definite, final 'no!' before completely turning his back on them, doing his best to ignore them and concentrate on the gear in front of him. He had work to do! Moments after and the sound of footsteps walking away finally replaced that of insistent urging. Kyousuke smiled slightly, his eyes narrowing as he continued his research on his best friend's gear, the Shooting Mirage.
Five minutes into it and he made a wrong move, knocking some of his tools off the table. He bent to pick them up, only to come to an abrupt stop when he spotted the pair of dark shoes off to the side. He straightened, a bit surprised to see the blonde gearfighter leaning against one of the walls, magnificent blue gaze on him.
"What are you doing here?"
"Waiting for you," Kuroudo answered, pushing away from the wall behind him with his two hands and taking a step towards the seated gear master, kneeling down to his level. "I've asked the others to wait outside. Please, Kyousuke, come with us."
He blinked, staring at the adorable pleading look Kuroudo was giving him, committed it to his memory, and then finally nodded his head as a sign of agreement. The gearfighter smiled at him before standing up. He got to his feet as well, following the other out - his tools left scattered on the floor, forgotten.
And strange. If it had been any other person, such things wouldn't have happened. Why..?
~*~
The Tobita Club, excluding its key members, bowed their heads as one, the group's unofficial leader of sorts taking a step forward and speaking for all of them in a soft, unnaturally shrill, trembling voice: "Ku-kuroudo-san...we thank you for everything. We will never forget your patience and kindness in training us, and the lessons you have taught us. May you be...be happy wherever you are now..."
The small group of less skilled gearfighters slowly moved backward, almost all of them trying to suppress the sobs that shook their bodies, most of the females already crying with tears streaming down their cheeks. Those who couldn't take it anymore ran away, soon followed by the rest as their leader motioned for them to leave the people who had been much closer to Kuroudo-san than they had been.
The first few raindrops started to fall.
~*~
His best friend's laughter rang in his ears.
"What's so funny?" he asked irritably.
"Nothing, I'm sorry," Kuroudo quickly replied, still grinning. He looked to where the others stood in a hardly recognizable straight line, kidding around and laughing. "Hey, Kyousuke..."
"No, no, absolutely not," Kyousuke answered, shaking his head. "Whenever I try it, I get incredible hang-overs and mom makes me stay in the bed the whole day the next day. I can't afford to get sick now, you've got a fight tomorrow, Kuroudo!"
The blonde just rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand. "In any other day, you'd do it? So it's for me then?" he asked. Kyousuke silently nodded his head. "Well...Kyousuke, look, we're the only two who haven't ridden it yet, and I'm not going without my best friend. It's already the third for Mitsuke and Kesuya, and they're laughing their heads off at us. Come on, please, just once?"
Kyousuke stared at him in utter disbelief. "I've already told you the reason, Kuroudo! And I'd rather be thought of as a chicken than miss your match tomorrow!" His resolve, however, has already began to evaporate with that 'best friend' bit...
Kuroudo unexpectedly frowned down at him and he was about ready to grab the sleeve of the other's white shirt and drag him towards their teammates when the blonde's smile returned. "Oh please, Kyousuke? Please? Just for me?" He sounded just like a small child asking for candy that Kyousuke almost smiled himself.
"Oh, alright," the gear master relented, not wanting to see his best friend frown again. Beaming at him, Kuroudo took his small hand with his slender one and they both walked to join the rest of the Team - who were then all standing in line for the roller coaster ride.
And strange. If it had been any other person, such things wouldn't have happened. Why..?
~*~
Mitsuke moved forward and kneeled down in front of the gravestone, right index finger absent-mindedly tracing the name engraved on its surface while he looked up to the small angel sitting on top of it. The rest of the Griffon Team stood behind or beside the Tobita Team, with Kesuya holding and supporting the blonde woman who was crying so hard she looked ready to collapse.
"You were always there for us," he whispered, words barely audible but didn't go unheard by the others. "Our adviser, our comrade, our leader, our...friend. You were the hero of the Griffon Team, the greatest of gearfighters, the one we always asked help from and the one who always got us out of trouble - even after you left the team."
"...But you never did leave, did you, Kuroudo? You were always there for us, always," Mitsuke said, voice shaking, standing up as raindrops mingled with the tears flowing freely from his eyes. "You were and will always be a part of Griffon, Kuroudo...We will all miss you."
Kesuya handed the woman he was holding to the care of the Tobita team's manager as Mitsuke stood up and faced them, telling them that it was time to leave even as tears pooled in his eyes and sobs racked his entire frame. With a last look at his friend's grave and a squeeze on the gear master's shoulder that was meant to comfort the both of them, the dark-haired gearfighter turned and followed his leader in leaving.
"Thank you...Good-bye."
~*~
We did it! If you win this match, you'll be the Crush Gear Singles Champion!
He watched as his best friend walked up to the arena, his hands turning into fists in anticipation. Excitement chased the feeling of nervousness out of him and he smiled reassuringly as the blonde gearfighter looked back at him for encouragement, before raising his gear above his head as was the first stance in his release.
What? Oh. Yeah... I guess.
He waited, but Kuroudo never released his gear. The gearfighter had his eyes closed, concentrating, and Kyousuke knew for sure that he was listening to the sounds of the Shooting Mirage. He flinched and the gearmaster couldn't help but flinch as well, wondering what was wrong now. He had made certain the purple gear was in perfect condition today. Perhaps even too perfect.
Don't worry about it! With my talent in fixing Gears and your skill in Gear Fighting, no one can ever beat us! You can do it! Here!
His best friend lowered his right hand to his side, and with it came his gear. Then came the words that had frozen their friendship in ice for over a year after that day, words that neither of them will ever forget for the rest of their lives...
"Forgive me. I'm cheating."
Shouts and confused murmurs came from the audience, deafening. Kyousuke covered his ears with his hands to block off the sounds, a part of him already worrying over his best friend who had the keenest sense of hearing among those he knew. He still didn't know the reason for the uproar as Kuroudo slowly stepped down from the arena, or perhaps he was just refusing to acknowledge it.
"Kyousuke."
He looked up to the owner of that sweet melodious voice, his right hand coming up on reflex to catch the miniscule object thrown at his direction. He glanced down at his hand, quickly spotting the green microchip on his open palm. The situation they were in then hit him with such a force that he almost lost his balance, the microchip fell to the floor as he walked towards his best friend with stumbling steps.
"Why, Kuroudo, why?" he asked, grabbing the front of the gearfighter's white polo shirt and purple vest. He took a step closer, shutting his eyes close as he lay his head on his two fists and on his best friend's chest. "Why? I've only made sure that you'll win!"
Their position didn't last long. With his left hand on the gearmaster's shoulder Kuroudo pushed him away, turning his back on him without a word. Kyousuke didn't do anything to protest, he just turned around himself and picked the fated microchip off the floor, running out of the stadium as fast as he could.
That was when he lost his will, and for over a year no one in the gearworld heard of the genius gearmaster Kyousuke Jin.
And strange. If it had been any other person, such things wouldn't have happened. Why..?
~*~
Lilika Tobita glanced worriedly at Kyousuke and then at Jirou, the latter understanding the look as he nodded his head and tightened his hold on the former. A little reassured, she slowly released the gearmaster and handed him over to the largest gearfighter in the Tobita Team, moving to take from Kaoru the blonde woman, Francine Marume. The young girl who was crying nearly as hard as Kuroudo's mother found solace in the arms of the leader of the Tobita Team moments later, as the two older females moved forward and said their inaudible prayers, the younger ones managing to catch only a single word, accompanied with so much pain it could have rivaled an endless requiem: son.
Kouya carefully stepped up beside the women, Kaoru sobbing into his rain-soaked shirt. Finally, the brunette unburied herself from her friend's arms and with a tear-stricken face not so obvious in the rain, spoke softly: "Why did you have to leave us? Why now? It's too early for you and...the team, Kuroudo, we...why...why..?"
Sobbing uncontrollably, she completely separated herself from Kouya and ran away, followed shortly after by two tall, slender figures, leaving Kuroudo's closest friends, his gearfighting comrades, in front of his grave.
~*~
I do things I normally would not for him...
Grant him all he wishes and give in to all he asks of me...
I've done my everything so that he could win all of his battles...
Thinking up means no other in the gearworld has ever thought of...
And no matter what he does, I can never be angry with him...
No matter how much he hurts me, I still love him...
And strange. If it had been any other person, such things wouldn't have happened. Why..?
~*~
The three of them stood unmoving, staring at the name engraved on the stone, but not really seeing it, not really believing it. They've heard the others crying, they themselves were crying, but still...
The four of them of them have been through a lot. True, Kouya had only forced the other three into joining the team, but years have passed already from that time and now it almost feels like they've been friends their whole lives. And to let go of one of the four...
Jirou finally broke the deathly silence swirling about them, as cold and as painful as the raindrops falling heavenly upon them.
"We'll meet again someday, right? I wish you well, Kuroudo, good-luck."
"We'll always be soulmates, Kuroudo. I'll never forget you, I promise," Kouya said quickly after Jirou, placing his hands into the pockets of his jacket.
And Kyousuke...
And strange. If it had been any other person, such things wouldn't have happened. Why..?
"But it hadn't been any other person, it had been you, Kuroudo," Kyousuke said through his sobs, falling upon his knees at the same time he spoke the gearfighter's name. "I've done everything because of you, because you're my best friend."
And everything went black.
~TBC~
SDA or Standard Disclaimers Applied - in laymen's terms, I do not own CGT.
Dedication/s: To my friends at the crushgear community - Kouya, Kaoru, Kyousuke, and Takeshi - most especially to my dear friend Kuroudo. [If you are wondering, yes, I am the one who ended up as Jirou, the story of such I care not to relate here, taking into consider its longevity.] Sorry if it took so long, guys, you know the deal I am in now. I've posted this one but I still say that the first draft had been better...
Note/s: First, Armelle is not Madam Marume's real name. I just ripped that off Kaz's fic, Amidst the Silence, for the heck of it. Second, I disclaim the previously mentioned subject, I neither own it nor was I the one who thought of the name. Third, I had been planning on 'Cause you're my best friend' for the last part, but realized that that was the exact title of klyukaizer's past fic and therefore changed it to a more lengthy one - which is in my opinion less melancholic. Fourth, similarities may be spotted between this fic and those of klyukaizer's and Kaz's- their fics I am quite fond of, true - but I assure you that no plagiarism has been committed. So there. ^^