Full Summary (I didn't get enough room to paste the whole thing urgghh—): It all began without a goodbye. And things only seemed to escalate from there. "Yer screams...they sound so lovely..." "I knew you'd come for me..." "I'm not him! Can't you see?! I'm just me!" "Just wait a little longer." "Goodbye, everyone. I'm going far, far away. But I'll be alright." "All because of you, Alba is...!" "Shion...why won't you say anything?!" "I just wanted...to have a happy ending." Not for the faint of heart. Involves many dark themes, including suicide/character death. AlbaXRos/Shion, minor AlbaXTeuffel, highschool AU, lots of angst!
EDIT 7/16/15: THIS STORY FINALLY HAS A COVER IMAGE! If you wanna see it, go here:
shimasteam2112
.deviantart.
com/art/Shadows-Are-Darker-in-the-Light-546900874
Just erase the spaces, alright? And yes, I drew the cover art myself. -winks-
Author's Note: -prances in and scatters petals everywhere- I HAVE RETURNED!
Alba: Yeah, for, like, this one story.
Shima: Shush, you. AHEM! Hello, everyone! The name's Shima, but you may call me whatever you like! And I have returned to FFNet for a short amount of time to post this fanfic! Now, don't be alarmed. I won't be gone forever. I just decided to come back and post this since it's already three quarters of the way finished and once I get caught up in posting chapters it WILL be finished, so I don't need to worry about leaving it hanging and unfinished for two years.
Ros: You are a horrible author, Shima.
Shima: -sobs- I'm SORRY, okay?! Life happens, so I stopped writing Fireworks! Don't get angry! Anyway, I'll try to make this as short as possible, so...
Welcome to Shadows Are Darker in the Light! The title is a work in progress. I was feeling really angsty due to the recent Senyuu chapters and was struck with inspiration, so I wrote this! I'll probably be posting chapters every three or four days so you won't have to wait too long! The chapters will vary in length depending on where I want to end it at a cliffhanger. -cackles evilly- There aren't any spoilers for the show/manga, unless you count Teuffel, who is a major character in this fic, so if you don't know who he is, go read the manga and catch up!
WARNING WARNING WARNING: This fanfic WILL make you cry. You will scream. You will hate my guts. You will throw bricks and rocks and tables and whatever else is convenient to you. This is NOT for the lighthearted. I may have to bump it up to an M rating if things get too bad. I AM WARNING YOU. You will not be happy with me. This story starts out nice but it only gets worse. It never, EVER gets better. Nope. SO! It contains dark themes like suicide, death, depression, ANGST ANGST ANGST, torture, and even more fun stuff. So, if that's not your cuppa tea, and if you hate seeing your favorite characters spiral into insanity, I suggest you turn back now, because I may end up scarring you for life, and I don't want to be responsible for that. DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU. 'Kay? :)
Alba: Wh...what did you do?
Shima: ...ALBAAAAAA! I'M SO SORRY I DID THIS TO YOU BUT I LOVE YOU SO MUCH OKAY? OKAY?! I LOVE YOU!
Alba: Oh god please help me she did something oh my god—
Shima: FORGIVE ME ALBA PLEASE! -sobs-
Ros: Even you're a sobbing mess.
Shima: I cried when I wrote this, not even joking. Anyway, guys, I think once I'm done I'll post an alternate timeline ending where everything goes RIGHT instead of WRONG and then it'll be a happy ending. Okay? Will that make up for what I've done?
Alba & Ros: Yes.
Shima: Okay enough rambling! Alba cutie, disclaimer?
Alba: Shima doesn't own Senyuu in anyway! All the rights go to Haruhara Robinson! The only thing she owns is the idea for this story and a cookie!
Shima: You got that right! YOSH, let's get rolling to breaking people's hearts!
Ros: Roll the chappy...
Chapter 1
The Last Time He Saw Him
"Good morning, Ros!"
Ros glanced over from his position against the lamppost, crimson red eyes settling on a young teen with light brown hair and sparkling eyes.
"Good morning, Hero."
Alba gave him a huge grin. "Were you waiting for me?"
"Of course not, Hero. I was actually daydreaming about you tripping and breaking your neck on the sidewalk. I guess I lost track of time." He commented casually, beginning to walk in the direction of the school.
"That's so mean!" Alba cried, racing to catch up with him.
"So, won't you do it?"
Alba finally caught up, panting from the effort. Ros could walk really fast! "Do...do what?"
"Trip and break your neck on the sidewalk."
"Wha—no! Why would I even think about doing that?!"
Ros sighed dramatically. "Oh, Hero. You're really pathetic."
Alba stuck out his lower lip in a pout. "And you're really sadistic! Geez!"
Ros rolled his eyes, hiding a fond smile. "Come on. We're going to be late for first period." He paused for a moment, "...On second thought, you can be late, so that way the teacher will yell at you in front of everyone."
Alba made a face and smacked his arm playfully. "No way!"
The chuckling pair finally arrived in the classroom not too long after. They were greeted by the sight of all of their friends, sitting in a circle around desks and chairs.
Rchi lifted her head to greet them. "Oh! Alba-san, Ros-san! You're here!"
"Hi, Rchi-chan!" Alba smiled and took a seat beside her, Ros sitting down next to him. They glanced towards Hime, who was currently in the middle of a heated argument with Ares.
"I never said that!"
"Ah, but it's so obvious."
"Sh-shut up! There's no way that I can possibly li...li..." Hime trailed off, looking at Foyfoy (who was clueless as to what was going on) and her face turned bright pink.
"Nooooo!" She screamed, lashing out at him. Foyfoy cried out in shock when her fist connected with his face.
"It's a lie! Not true, not true! You must be mistaken, Ares! Yes, that's got to be it! Eeek!" She shrieked, continuing to rain down punches on Foyfoy, who was unconscious from the initial impact.
Alba heard a sigh come from his left, and he spotted Teuffel curled up in a chair not too far away.
"You're too loud..." He mumbled, strangely swirly eyes meeting Alba's.
Alba watched in curiosity as his cheeks colored, and then he quickly turned away.
"So, Alba-san," Rchi spoke up, tugging on his sleeve, "who do you like?"
"E-eh?" He blinked in surprise. "Li...? What do you mean by that...?"
"I mean, who do you have a crush on, Alba-san? That is what we were talking about just now," Rchi questioned again, tilting her head to the side cutely.
"Wh-wha? I..." He glanced at Ros out of the corner of his eye, who was now on his phone and ignoring the entire conversation. Alba could feel his cheeks turning red, and he inwardly begged himself to stop blushing. "I don't...I d-don't like anybody."
Rchi didn't buy it for a second. "Oh, really? Because it seems to me that you like R—"
Alba shot up out of his chair, startling everyone around him. "O-oh, look! There's the teacher! We'd better get in our seats!"
The teacher, who had just walked in, regarded him with amusement. "Thank you, Fruhling-kun. As he said, everyone, take your seats!"
Alba sunk down into his chair, face burning. He could hear Ros snickering beside him. A few seats away, Rchi's gaze bored into him, imploring. He'd barely avoided her question—and her suspicions. Hopefully she'd forget about it and wouldn't bring it up again later.
What a great start to today, he thought sourly. Let's just hope it gets better...
The day passed without any more life-impacting events, much to Alba's relief. He walked down the familiar road to home, Ros at his side. The sun was setting, splotching the sky with pinks and oranges, casting a soft yellow glow on everything it touched. He couldn't help but notice how the sun's rays lit up Ros' hair, or how it made his crimson eyes bright and a beautiful, deep red color.
Feeling that strange warmth creep into his cheeks again, Alba quickly turned away and directed his attention towards the path in front of him. Both of them were strangely silent today, he noticed. Usually Ros would be teasing him about something and he'd be whining back. This time, though, a quietness had descended upon them, but Alba didn't mind it. It was nice and comfortable. He secretly found himself wishing that days like this would never end...
But it was over too soon when they reached the dreaded intersection where they'd have to part. Alba slowly turned towards the way he was supposed to go, feeling a weird sensation in the pit of his stomach. Why did he have such a strange feeling of...foreboding? Like something bad was going to happen?
Ignoring it to the best of his ability, he smiled at Ros. "'Bye, Ros!"
Ros didn't respond; instead, he stared at him, face gaining an expression Alba couldn't place.
"Alba."
Alba blinked at him, eyes wide. Ros only ever called him Alba when he was really serious about something.
"Ros...?" Alba whispered. "I...is something wrong?"
He didn't have time to react before Ros suddenly swooped forward, gathering him up into his arms in a tight embrace.
Immediately, Alba's face burst into flames. "Wh-wh-wha—"
"...Hero," Ros said quietly.
Alba remained there, frozen. "Y...yeah?"
Ros squeezed him a little. "I...need to tell you something..."
"Wh...what is it?" Alba squeaked, heart pounding loudly in his ears.
Ros didn't respond for a long time. Then, "Ah...nevermind. It's not important." He pulled away from Alba.
The brunette sputtered for a few moments, unsure of how to act. Ros gave him a smile, one that was sort of bittersweet.
"You'll be alright, I'm sure." He said, more to himself than to Alba.
"H-huh?"
Ros straightened out, and then his expression returned to normal. "Don't worry about it, Hero. For now, just focus on getting home safely and not getting hit by a car."
Alba's jaw dropped. "Wha—why, you!"
Ros laughed loudly, grinning. Then, he turned away. "...'Bye, Hero."
Alba sighed but decided to humor him anyway. "See you tomorrow, Ros."
His heart gave a strange little thump when Ros didn't answer him. Instead, he started walking away, towards his own house in the distance. Puzzled by his recent actions, Alba shrugged and went his own way home, humming to himself along the way.
What he didn't know was that this was the last time he'd ever see Ros.
Shima: DUN DUN DUN~
Alba: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HIM?!
Shima: I'm not telling.
Alba: -eye turns red- What was that?
Shima: U-u-um...you'll have to read the next chapter to find out! But it's okay! I'm posting it now as a gift! Two chapters at once, hooray!
Alba: ...Fine.
Shima: Hey, lovelies, leave me a review, okay~? It makes my day to hear what you think! You don't even need an account on this site to do so, so anons are also welcome! But NO FLAMES. I did warn you what this story contains, so I don't want to hear anything about how horrible I am or that I'm messed up in the head or something. Keep your hate to yourselves!
Alba: You're not messed up in the head...you're just anime crazy...
Shima: I know! People need to get their facts straight!
Well, until next time, everyone! Love ya all!