Disclaimer: Neo own nothing. The plot belongs to KILL BILL and she's merely borrowing it. she does not claim any of the following as her original work.
Music: Bang-Bang. Kill Bill soundtrack.
Rating: T. for mature content and language.
WARNING: Read at your own risk, Neo is not responsible for the consequences.
Revenge of the fallen.
"When fortune smiles on something as violent and ugly as revenge, it seems proof like no other, that not only does God exist, you're doing His will."
- Kill Bill Vol. I
They say it began in Tennessee. It was the two pines wedding chapel massacre, which put this whole gory story into motion. What happened there, and why? How many were killed and who killed them? The story changes with who is telling the story. This tale grew with telling, but where its beginning lay, no one knows.
In actual fact, the massacre didn't happen during a wedding at all. It was a wedding rehearsal.
Joseph absent-mindedly fidgeted with the army tag in his hand, turning it about in his hand. It was unusual for him to be sitting still for so long, and he felt restless and uneasy. More than six months back, he would not have imagined himself within a hundred yards of a church. Things had changed, however, and it was time he left his past behind. He was not in fact listening to whatever the wedding planner was saying, he'd backed out when she'd had mentioned swans. A girl sat besides him, listening intently, occasionally putting in a word or two.
"Now, we usually have one row for the bride's side," the wedding planner was saying, "and one for the bride-groom's."
Joseph shuddered at the word, it sounded alien and disgraceful when mentioned in his accord. I'm getting married, he though, feeling as if he was going to explode or pass out.
"But since the bride's side has far too many people coming," the wedding planner noted, "and the bride-groom's side has no one coming-"
The boy twirled the army tag in his fingers, feeling nervous, and glanced, once, at his fiancé. What her name was, I do not know, but she had long, blond hair and honey colored eyes- such pretty eyes they were.
She just smiled at him, telling him, silently, not to go there. She knew there was no one coming, but why, and how it was his own fault, he won't say.
"It's safer that way," Joseph had said and she didn't ask anymore, it didn't matter anyhow.
"So I guess the bride's and the bride-groom's side can share." The wedding planner went on talking endlessly.
Joseph sighed; he had not been very patient to start with. And he was, after all, hardly nineteen. He leaned closer to his fiancé and whispered, "This bitch is starting to piss me off."
The girl rolled her eyes at his crude language, but didn't say anything. Behind her, her best friend snickered at some joke she hadn't heard. Her friends sat in the chapel, cracking jokes and laughing, too young and immature to actually take a wedding seriously.
"I gotta get some air," the boy went on, "she's suffocating me." And with that, Joseph got up and walked out to the porch.
It was a cold evening; the sun was sinking, the sky was a swirl of orange and pink. A few trees dotted the horizon but apart from that, the land was bare, and the roads empty.
Joseph leaned against a wooden column, his back to the cement bench, on which sat an older boy, someone he knew but had not expected in the least. He had been trained, however, to disguise surprise as well as fear.
"Joseph," the other boy said scornfully, "I haven't seen you for quite sometime now."
"Kidou," Joseph scowled, turning to face him. They had once, quite long ago, been comrades, but as I told you, time had changed. Joseph was startled before, but now he was worried.
Kidou eyed his former friend curiously; he spoke only after a long, dead silent moment, "As you know, I'm quite keen on comic books. Especially the ones about superheroes. I find the whole mythology surrounding superheroes fascinating. Take my favorite superhero, Superman."
Joseph snickered, "How long are you going to keep me?" he asked, pretending to look bored.
"Long enough for me to finish my point." Kidou said, "you see, Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he's Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red "S", that's the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kent's found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears - the glasses, the business suit - that's the costume. That's the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent? He's weak- he's unsure of himself-he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race."
He paused, "Kind of like you and this alternate personality that you have created for yourself."
"And so he comes to the point." Joseph snapped.
"You can wear a costume, and pretend to blend in with the crowd, J., but you are a Royal, and every morning you wake up, you will be a Royal, and nothing in the world is ever going to change that."
Joseph looked hard at Kidou, "are you calling me a super hero?" he asked, bitterly.
"I'm calling you a killer." Kidou said, shaking his head, "a natural born killer. You always have been and you always will be. Moving to Tennessee, working in a record store, getting married, that's just you trying to disguise yourself."
Joseph paused, and then said, "I'm done. Kidou, I left. I'm going to get myself a life. This-" he threw the army tags in Kidou's face, "was not."
"You do realize, what you're doing, don't you?" Kidou said picking up the tags, if only he could have convinced the stupid boy, he would have saved quite a few lives that evening, "people like us, we don't have a choice."
"There, you're wrong." Joseph said, "There's always a choice."
"And consequences." Kidou said, his voice was calm but Joseph looked up at him, and now, he was just plain scared, "I'm an assassin, J., a murdering bastard, you know that. And there are consequences of betraying a Royal."
And there Joseph stood, frozen on the spot, as he heard a gunshot from inside the church room. His head started spinning, and he felt as if he was sinking into ice-cold water, he could hear screams and more firing, but then everything faded to black.
A/N: Reviews and constructive criticism are always welcome, and I will use Genda's English dub name Joseph. Rest will be Japanese.