"I'm more concerned about him," Sei turned to the other side of Aoba, previously so full of destructive rage but now simply looking forlorn.
"Please, Aoba, destroy me," Sei pleaded, reaching out his hands to meet his brother's.
With the very ground he was standing on crumbling beneath his feet, Aoba rushed out of the building, Ren in his arms, and his brother's lifeless body left behind in the soon-to-be rubble. 'I'm sorry, Sei.'
He stared in shock at what was once The Oval Tower. They had done it. Still collapsed in a heap, he turned to look at each of his friends individually. He then turned to his Allmate. "Ren?" he asked hesitantly.
...
...
...
"Aoba," the reply came from the Allmate's mouth the same it always had.
"Oh, thank god," Aoba exclaimed, bursting into tears the moment he heard Ren's familiar voice. "Thank god you're alright, Ren."
Aoba was met with a strong hug from his grandmother upon returning home, shortly followed by a scolding. The two were so relieved to see each other safe.
He was completely exhausted, physically and emotionally.
Clear and Koujaku promised to stay close in case Aoba needed anything. Mink had already disappeared, to locations unknown.
Aoba quickly ran up to his room after reuniting with Granny, and flopped down on the bed. He stayed there for a moment, before pulling Ren out of his bag and booting him up.
"Aoba," came Ren's voice, as reassuring as ever. And with that, the tears began to flow from Aoba's eyes.
Sei... He was gone, so soon.
And Ren, forever trapped in the body of an Allmate... They could see each other through scrap, possibly, but... It wasn't reality. The blue-haired boy curled up in a ball and sobbed.
Dismal Desire
A year had passed since the Oval Tower incident, and Aoba's life had gone back to the way it was, though with a few improvements. The feeling in his hair had slowly faded into nothing, and the headaches stopped, as well as the voice of his other self. After the tower fell, life on the island had changed dramatically. Toue no longer had control over everything, and the island was opened up again, so residents and visitors could travel freely to and from the island. Rhyme and Allmates were bought by a new company, and Usui was no longer used. After all, Usui had been a part of Sei's consciousness…
Haga-san had been kind enough to keep Aoba's job for him, even after his time away from work. Ren was still by his side. Granny was well. Mink was still missing, but Clear and Koujaku visited Aoba regularly. Noiz came around occasionally, mainly looking for a Rhyme match. Mizuki was recovering. And the faint feeling of loss and grief still persisted ever so slightly within Aoba.
Aoba was getting ready to leave work when he received a phone call. He listened to what the caller had to say carefully before hanging up and rushing out of Heibon. "Family at the hospital? It's not Granny is it?" Worried, he looked over to Ren. Who else could it be? Was she alright?
Aoba rushed toward the hospital with Ren giving him directions, when a distinct beeping sound alerted Aoba of an incoming email. As he opened it he gasped. This particular sender had sent him many emails in the past.
Captive Princess.
The words Silent Oath greeted him as he opened the message, accompanied by very retro graphics.
No... It couldn't be...
Heart pounding, Aoba rushed into the hospital and entered the room the receptionist referred him to. As expected, the person in the bed wasn't Granny, but a young male. His dark eyelashes contrasted against his smooth, pale skin. Such a familiar face, almost like looking in a mirror... His hair was still dark, although it had grown out to be quite long. It had been a year, after all.
Aoba's nervousness increased as he saw the other's eyelids begin to twitch. He reached out to gently stroke the boy's cheek. His eyes fluttered open, slowly, revealing a pair of eyes so...
Bright.
Those eyes were bright. Glowing, almost as if they were on fire. Aoba withdrew his shaking hand, shock spreading over him.
"N-No," he whispered.
"Surprise," came the smooth, seductive voice from behind an unforgettable smirk.
[AN: So here's the prologue, short but finished. I'll try and update as soon as I can but I'd some opinions first as I'm not 100% sure what I want to do with this fanfic. So mainly I'm debating about whether or not I should bump this up to an M rating (for more sexually explicit content) or if I should just leave it as a heavy implication. If you review, I'd like your opinion on what you'd like to see in this regard, and I'll seriously consider what you say.
Also I was debating Sly/Aoba ship, but now I really want Sly/Aoba ship, so that'll probably be a future thing... Possibly (Probably) Sly/Koujaku as well... If anyone suggests any other ship for some kind of reason I could probably try to slip it in there as well if it fits.]