MESSAGE
- a 'Clover' fanfiction -
written by: RinoaDestiny
Warning: non-con and violence
Pairings: Barus x Gingetsu, implied Gingetsu x Ran
encoding
Wizard Kou is the one that calls him in, that briefs him on the situation occurring in Azaiea, and tells him flat-out that the Lieutenant Colonel is in danger. There's something wrong – something that shouldn't have taken place, and Kazuhiko Fay Ryuu is out of headquarters, assisted by Kou's handpicked troops. He attaches a weaponry module to his artificial hand, securing it in place and hopes that for the other man's sake, Gingetsu stays alive.
message
Barus, the Leopard idly walks over to him, where he lies temporarily paralyzed from the aftermath of being struck in the peripheral range of a detonated device. He doesn't know how his unit got decimated so quickly but his mind's forming conclusions and they don't look good. He tries to maintain his calm, assessing his injuries even as the other man approaches him, purring out a form of greeting.
"Lieutenant Colonel Gingetsu of the Secret Colors Battalion." A smile that's too bright in the shadows. "What a pleasure to meet you again."
The pieces of the puzzle fall into place, locking into the gaps of his drawn conclusions. He realizes he's been sold out – that someone deliberately led him into this trap. An inside job and Barus's gaze wanders all over him, inducing a chill that he immediately suppresses. Shrapnel in his leg and a gash in one arm, lancing across muscle and bone. Blood in his hair, on his cheek and dirt and concrete beneath his back. His sword gone; absorbed back when the blast hit, flinging him off his feet, crashing his wounded body onto the ground.
A sharp stab of pain, boring a hole through his shoulder; he gasps, muscles tightening.
"Can't have you spoiling the fun again, eh, Lieutenant Colonel?"
He remembers this – remembers Ryuu and that last time when the shock pulse sunk his ex-deputy officer into deep sleep – and jerks against the weapon pinning him down. "Barus," he snarls, his voice quiet and cold and the bespectacled man laughs, low and dangerous.
"A different toy this time, dear Lieutenant Colonel. Don't want you falling asleep."
His stomach seizes, an agonizing tautness and he understands.
"See, you're not like the prince. He's cute, naïve, even a bit of an idealist. You, though..." Light glinting from the circular frames and Gingetsu's aware of his own visor, unscathed by the explosion. "You're too aggressive, too quiet. You're no fun. But you'll be perfect for sending a message to that charming friend of yours."
He doesn't ask. Keeps silent. What message?
A low chuckle. Fingers at his uniform, unsnapping the first of many clasps. "He'll know. This message is just for him."
morse code
Azaiea is as he remembers it – bustling city, flying craft overhead, and the shuffling of people, each preoccupied with their own schedules. With a pang, Kazuhiko thought of light green eyes and lace-white hair. Delicate mechanical wings and conversations that when he thinks back, starts to unravel meanings in their hints and subtlety. But Suu is long gone – dead for a year now – and when he blinks, the station becomes ordinary again and voices crackle at his ear. "Agent Ryuu, you understand your primary objective, yes?"
Wizard Kou over his communication line. "Search and rescue of Lieutenant Colonel Gingetsu. Retrieval of any important documentation. Assessing damage, survivors, and casualties."
"We have information that the mission was spearheaded towards the southern range. It's a distance further from where you stayed in that hotel with Suu. We have given you the resources necessary to obtain transportation and the soldiers with you were instructed to follow your orders. You must find him, Kazuhiko Fay Ryuu. We cannot afford to lose such a soldier."
Bastard promised he wouldn't die before me, too.
"I know." The first of many maps projects onto the screen of his glasses, giving him location, range, and countdown of military time. "I'll find him."
firewall
Clasps coming undone and fingers move across the fabric of his uniform, reaching for another enclosure to open. Fingers that aren't Ran's – that aren't slender and smooth, pale and innocent. He grabs at what he's learned; remembers it from his early years in military training and recites it in his head as a mantra. A soldier copes with high-tension situations, whether they are combat-related or in the worst case scenario, torture. A soldier never speaks to give in, whether to save their own skin or to betray information. A soldier resists pain as much as he can, because they've all undergone extensive experimentation to get to that point.
A hand slips under his shirt, hot to the touch against his skin. He flinches – an involuntary action – and Barus laughs, exploring other areas of his body. It's not Ran and the silver-haired soldier closes his eyes behind his visor, willing himself to calm. Willing the words in his head to banish the unwelcome sensations. Tries not to think about Ran. Tries not to think about anything but that being a soldier, he must endure this in silence and survive. Let the minutes pass but let him survive.
"Oh, so quiet, Lieutenant Colonel?" Fingers working on his belt. "The prince would be squirming in my hands by now. Not so much for you, eh?"
Silence. Keep quiet. Just survive.
"Shame." Hands tight on his shoulders, closing around his wound and Gingetsu bit back a curse at the sudden pain. "Just wait until the constrictions set in. Won't be so still, then."
Barus's breath hot on his skin and suddenly, a tongue in his mouth and down his throat, so that even if he wanted to scream, he couldn't.
He wasn't about to.
analysis
The maps all show him the same thing: a residential area left abandoned, spanning across several hundred feet and the red spot indicated on the primary source revealed the main location of attack. Apparently, Gingetsu's force had intercepted their enemy in a tightly woven cluster of empty apartments; only then, to be routed. The question was: "How?" Gingetsu was an exemplary soldier, worthy of his rank and Kazuhiko never knew him to fail. In anything.
So then, that left a disconcerting situation. Under what circumstances did his former superior fall? To what unknown enemy? To what unforeseen plan? What was it that destroyed an elite unit commanded by none other than the Lieutenant Colonel himself?
He wouldn't know until he got there. Two and a half hours on the clock, at the most. If he guns the engine, perhaps he and Kou's troops could reach the place in one. He shifts through most of his material, memorizes what he needs, and moves the interface aside so that he can take in the surroundings. He needs to start becoming alert – to bring back the days when he used to serve under Gingetsu in times of chaos and war.
More to the point, he needs to reassure himself that he can do this again.
transmission
Barus enters him, harsh and unyielding...
...the interface crackles...
...dissipates into motes of static.
interference
Black and white squares and the amber flow of warm tea, in which the splintering crash of ceramic still rings out like a hundred different screams.
decipher
Kazuhiko knows a battleground when he sees one. So far, there are no signs of any destruction and the maps are back again, visible on the screen, allowing him to calculate the mileage. He computes how far they've already traveled, how much distance the vehicle can cover per gallon, and decides that with the solar back-up; they can reach the targeted location in the time he wants.
One hour. No more. Less would, of course, be preferred.
The engine roars, flaring to life, and the ex-deputy officer activates faster speeds. Apologizes in turn to the silent statues sitting behind him, whom remain dutiful and watchful and looks straight ahead, steering himself into the epicenter of disaster.
scramble
A hand at his wrist. His cuff slides down. A low whistle. "Interesting little thing you've been hiding, Lieutenant Colonel." The fingers seem to burn and Gingetsu doesn't react, even as his muscles spasm. "Pity then, that we aren't the best of friends."
Silence. Silence. Silence. His inner mantra takes on a desperate beat, just as the one inside of him proceeds to do the same.
disconnection
"Damn it, Gingetsu. Don't you dare die on me."
Whispers from a checkerboard: "Gingetsu...what's happening to you?"
dial tone
He has no voice and Barus is not going to hear him scream.
wavelength
This side of Azaiea starts to look war-torn; more so than what he saw before and Kazuhiko stops the vehicle. Takes caution and remembers the lessons he's learned. Rule #1: Never tip off the enemy to your arrival – in this case, arriving in a vehicle that holds armed men. Rule #2: Always maintain a radius of separation and infiltrate slowly. Rule #3: Haste makes mistakes. Look over everything. Comb the area, small and large, inconsequential and significant during a search and rescue. You never know what you will find.
There are twenty men with him; Wizard Kou wasn't taking chances. "I'll go alone. The rest of you, split into groups. Report to me if you find survivors." The documentation is his to handle; only a former agent may proceed to do so. Activates the weaponry module and releases the blade from his hand. Rather, transforms it and the polished steel reminds him of other times. Of small light wings and Fairy Park.
No time for memories. No time for anything but what's ahead of him.
He has a mission to do.
static
Weight lifts off him and Gingetsu lies there,
compartmentalizing his mind, as if that would keep him safe.
frequency
The place is in ruins and Kazuhiko steps carefully around the beginning remnants of rubble, noticing the signs. It all started here, between the wide corridor of buildings and as he looks, that invisible hall starts to shrink, narrowing into an indefinite gap between tightly squeezed apartments. It would be there, then, that he should head.
"Any survivors?" he asks, having seen some of the carnage and chances are slim that they will find anyone alive.
Crackling over the line. "No one, Sir. It seems they were all slaughtered."
The man standing alone tightens his lips at the news. "This is from the entire unit?"
Hesitation. It is brief. "Yes, Sir."
He looks at the buildings again, at the broken chunks and powdered bits of concrete and straightens. The entire unit slaughtered and Gingetsu nowhere in sight. Kazuhiko starts walking, trench coat swaying blithely even as his mood darkens.
S.O.S.
"I'm amazed, Lieutenant Colonel...or should I call you Gingetsu?" Barus speaks, his voice grating the very air he shallowly breathes and the soldier never takes his eyes off him. "Not a sound. No wonder people fear you."
He wonders why the man keeps talking, walking around as if nothing has happened and when the Leopard of Azaiea stops, boots by his head; Gingetsu forces himself not to panic.
"So, you're one of them. Like the girl. Not very special, though, are you if we can take your men down? I wonder what those farts in Parliament ever saw in you. Impressive tattoo, I must say."
Keep silent. Stay in control. Don't speak.
"Oh, still not talking?" A light nudge into his side, where the bruises purple; Gingetsu grits his teeth and swallows the pain. "See, this is why you're no fun. The prince would be amusing me with his little cries by now. But you're always so cold." A white grin, lethal in the silent darkness. "Oh, but you'll carry my message well. Very well, as a matter-of-fact."
There are darker bloodstains on his uniform.
Gingetsu tries not to think about them.
reception
Kazuhiko halts, seeing a pattern in the mess that surrounds him and scans the area before proceeding. The bodies here are flung carelessly, as if tossed aside and the acrid stench of smoke in the air along with the scorched blast marks on the fringe tells him he's close. This was where everything went wrong – where Gingetsu and his unit lost. As excellent a soldier the other man is, surviving an explosion at near-point blank range isn't possible.
There are blood smears and gore on the concrete and brick walls, accentuating that gruesome point and the dark-haired man hopes that his mission isn't for naught. That the silent commander of the Secret Colors Battalion isn't lying dead, torn to pieces or without half a body to carry home. The fact that he hasn't found such a body is what pushes him on – is what drags his feet in the direction he's going.
That, and Gingetsu always seems to have incredible luck.
blank
The wounded man finally moves and only when the footsteps are gone.
Gingetsu raises his head, fingers shaking and swears.
encryption
Rubble crunches under his feet and Kazuhiko looks up, seeing a pale sky. It's strange seeing this country in this desolate corner, removed from cities and flying aircrafts and the conveniences of modern life. More so when blood stains walls and buildings seem to enclose around him, as if offering him to some dark mystery. It's only a thought but it jostles loose something else and the former soldier isn't about to let it escape.
How could Gingetsu walk into a trap of this enormity? It wasn't as if they hadn't been trained on ambush or the warning signs of something related to that nature. In order for Gingetsu to have been caught – snared between a wall and another wall – that must've taken some ingenuity and mastery on the planner's part.
Kazuhiko stops, suddenly cold. That, or...
Or whoever planned this must have known Gingetsu really well. Too well.
All of a sudden, Kazuhiko's afraid.
S.
He can't close his shirt because his fingers shake too much.
interruption
But that meant that it was someone from their country. Who else would know the Lieutenant Colonel so well? And who else but someone from the branches of government? A dark seed forms in his mind, shocking him. There's only one possible conclusion he can draw and it's plausible. Too plausible. It sickens him.
Parliament. The Council. The Wizards.
But who there would want Gingetsu dead?
O.
He takes a step and then two. Only remains of glass shards are in his pockets.
He has no more painkillers left to imbibe.
formulation
Wizard Kou is out. After all, Kazuhiko reasons even as he searches buildings and piles of debris for a single survivor, she was the one who sent him. Their meeting was private, like usual but if his suspicions have any truth to them, it casts a dark shadow over everything. Twenty soldiers and Kou had given him authorization for several aspects of the mission. Had not mentioned the briefing to anyone else – if the Wizards did discuss each other's agendas amongst themselves – and the communication link device this time was miniscule.
A secret. It was undercover and under similar noses. Under other equally cunning minds.
It was a Kou job, after all. It was never meant to be easy.
But if it wasn't her, then who?
S.
Two soldiers from Barus's outfit surprises him. His reaction is automatic.
deduction
He thinks of Wizard Shuu – Gingetsu's superior – and dismisses the idea. That would be too transparent. He doesn't believe Shuu could stand to gain from losing Gingetsu; instead, just as he's valuable to Kou for his expertise and drive, Gingetsu's shining record was every bit a reason to keep him. So that meant two Wizards down – two considered not guilty of betrayal and an attempt at assassination.
That left the others, then. The ones he wasn't familiar with – had never spoken to before. He's never even seen their faces. Does not know them at all. And that frightens him, because it could be any one of them. Could be and how does he know which one?
Even if he did, what could he do?
formation
There's too many of them all of a sudden and Gingetsu can't fight them all.
Barus wrests his sword away even before the blood dries.
revelation
"Sir! Sir!" His communication link sputters and crackles; waves of sound and voices crashing over each other and Kazuhiko freezes.
"What? Have you found something?"
"Sir, we found an aide not yet dead. He said that Commander Gingetsu rushed into the fray moments before the explosion went off. You're in that blast range, right, Sir?"
"I am." His voice trembles. Stop it, he tells himself. "And?"
"I don't know if you have a thermal indicator installed, Sir. Commander Gingetsu might be found on the other side of the blast radius. You're probably close enough to it as it is, barring several hundred feet."
A sharp scattering of voices, broken and cleared and when the tumult over the line ceases, Kazuhiko feels his stomach twist, dropping. The silence over the device is deafening, if absence of sound counts as such and it's a full ominous minute before the other man speaks.
"Sir?"
"What?" There's dread in the other voice and Kazuhiko already knows.
"Dammit, Sir. There's another one dead. There's no one else alive except the Commander now."
fragment
Barus stands in front of him, running a thumb over the honed edge of his sword. Gingetsu struggles, blood wet on his skin and soaked in his clothes and two strong arms hold him up so that he doesn't fall. They drag him back into the shadows, into the place that reeks of blood and his leg is on fire from the shrapnel. The agony is staggering but he clenches his teeth against it, refusing to allow the other man even a slightest glimpse of discomfort on his face.
He refuses to be intimidated.
"Oh, Lieutenant Colonel, you never learn, do you?" His weapon shines – suddenly too bright – and Barus's voice comes from behind him, light and cheerful as if all of this was simply play. "You can't go slashing people around without consequences. You know I don't like that, Gingetsu."
He bites back a curse, opting instead for stony silence.
"You see, last time we met...oh, how long ago was that? A year ago? You cut me up back then, Gingetsu and I did not like that."
He knows where this is going but no matter how hard he fights, the two crack troops next to him remain immobile and his strength is draining fast. Barus laughs – raspy and delighted – and without warning – none whatsoever – agony shears straight through him and it's worse than what was done to him before.
"Hold him still. Don't let him fall, boys."
His knees drop out from under him, snapping his head down and he realizes - overwhelmed with pain – that he's staring at the tip of his sword protruding from his perforated stomach. His nerves catch up a minute too late, slamming a scream against the edge of his teeth and his vision goes blurry.
He almost blacks out.
cipher
Kazuhiko twists the frame of his glasses one inch. He does have infrared built in.
He's forgotten about that, actually.
error
Pull out. Withdraw. Blood drips from the tip of a sword.
"Okay, boys. Let him go."
Gingetsu collapses, uniform sodden with blood and lies in a broken heap.
"Take this away. It'll be a nice souvenir, like the prince's hand. Make sure the blood dries first."
No more voices and so much heat. His vision's growing black, hazed at the fringes.
Gingetsu can't see anymore.
computation
His signals pick up something...faint...and Kazuhiko starts. Almost forgets how to run.
Then does, almost forgetting how to breathe.
splicing
His limbs don't know how to respond. How to move. He doesn't feel the pain of the shrapnel or the gash in his arm – not when compared to the one that spears him through. An irony. His own sword used against him. Blood on his trousers and his mind, somehow, feels it necessary to tell him that all of his uniform is stained. He knows the color. Doesn't need reminding.
A voice. Not Barus. "Gingetsu?"
Ah, Ryuu. Somehow, that doesn't surprise him. Nothing does any more, it seems.
anagram
Kazuhiko stares, shocked at the sight of the man crumpled on the ground before him. Falls to his knees. Brings the soldier to his lap, cradling the tortured form. "Gingetsu," he repeats again, as if the second time will drive away the horror of this reality. "What the hell happened to you?"
He doesn't like the sensation of so much wetness...so much damp...and his mind reels at the sight of so much blood. Gingetsu's uniform is thoroughly soaked – the fabric turning to rust and the blacks darker – and no matter where his fingers fall, it leaves behind a smear of red. "God, Gingetsu," he says, at a loss for words.
The visor turns in his direction but slightly and he realizes, heart breaking, that it doesn't matter that he found him. The other soldier is dying – he places a hand over the open wound gushing blood – and doesn't want to think about who or what nearly eviscerated the Lieutenant Colonel. That's when he hears the whisper of words and realizes through the mist of his tears that Gingetsu's trying to speak.
unravel
"Barus," he says, forcing the word from his throat. Feels Ryuu tense immediately, hands clenching hard. It doesn't matter. He no longer feels pain – it's cold instead – and he doesn't have much time left. "He left a...message...through me...for you."
"He did what?" Pause. The implication sinking in, too horrific for words.
He doesn't have time to explain. The autopsy will make it apparent; although, he thinks Ryuu already knows. The two have a history and he's seen it before. That...that seems like a long time ago. A limit on his words – no farewell speech. A timer counting down. Not much time left at all.
"A mole..." Tries to breathe and tastes tainted metal. "Betrayed."
"I know." A shudder. Ryuu's crying. He's never seen him cry before. "I guessed it."
Ran...dark blue hair and pale grey eyes...the warmth of tea...
"Please...take care of Ran."
Five words. The only ones left for him, allocated for that time. For this particular use. He no longer sees. He no longer feels. He no longer tastes.
Then, he no longer hears.
blink
Blue upon white. The liquid has long since cooled. The squares stare up, as if remembering.
An absence, raw and hollow. Emptiness that once wasn't present.
A bird in a gilded cage, never again seeing or hearing the voice of its companion.
"Gingetsu..."
Ran sobs and the floor receives his tears.
It's not enough. It never will be, now.
decoding
"Sir?" The static over the line crackles, crinkling into bits and pieces of sound. Kazuhiko sits through it all, unhearing. Gingetsu lies still in his arms, warmth fleeing and he doesn't feel like moving. Outside, the light shifts, changing the shadows in the partially destroyed building. It does nothing for him. It's as if he's lost sensation, too. Lost everything, as a matter-of-fact.
"Sir?" The voice repeats, calling to him. "Have you found the Commander, yet?"
Oruha. Suu. And now Gingetsu. His friend. His superior. Don't you think about dying before I do. His mind snags the last part, squelches it silent. Inappropriate. Barus. He doesn't think he has any more tears left to weep.
The line falls dead. Quiet. Thank you. Kazuhiko doesn't think he can answer right now.
Doesn't know how he'll answer to Kou. Doesn't know what he'll say. "I've tried" seems a pitiful excuse. If only he'd come sooner. If he'd gunned the engine earlier. Faster. It doesn't seem fair that Gingetsu died such a brutal death. Barus. A message, stamped in the other man's skin. He knows Barus all too well – knows how he likes playing his games – and it makes him want to scream at how this was orchestrated. If only...if only...
If only Gingetsu had died in the blast, perhaps it wouldn't have come to this.
He has no tears left but everything feels washed out and he's dizzy with grief.
A moment passes. Nothing. No sound. Just him and Gingetsu in this place and the walls that still stand are clean. He stares at it – the fallen soldier's head heavy in his lap – and closes his eyes momentarily against the pain.
How was he going to break this to Ran? To Gingetsu's boy?
He doesn't even know where to begin or what to say.
Beat. "Sir?" Urgency and this time, he hears the agitation in the fuzzed-out voice over his communication link. "How stands the mission objective?"
He remains silent one minute longer, tears drying on his face and eventually, he'll have to answer. He's a soldier and he knows what to do. What he needs to do.
His voice is steady when he speaks and only he hears the pain.
"Mission objective complete."
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
When you try to figure out story plots at 4 A.M., things are bound to
end up being completely insane. Somehow, my mind snagged onto
the pairings issue and I started ticking off all possible ones. Did the
canon typical (Kazuhiko & Suu, Kazuhiko & Oruha, Gingetsu x Ran,
Barus x Kazuhiko, A x C) and then hit upon one that I've never thought
about before. Barus x Gingetsu and it was like an anvil dropped down
and smacked my brain bloody wide open. After that, I had to try giving
that concept and that screwed up pairing a shot. Because we all know
how much Barus likes Kazuhiko but hates Gingetsu because he's not
"cute". *shudders* That led up to this and believe me, it's quite something.
The only possible way how I could see it working in that perversely Barus
way was for it to be a completely non-consensual situation. Take it for
granted that Barus wants to ravish Kazuhiko and apply some twisted and
fucked up psychology behind it when he finds a wounded Gingetsu, who
is now easy to kick around. Of course, in attempting to keep Gingetsu
in-character, Gingetsu's not the type to cave in and start screaming or
crying. I see the man as such a well-trained veteran that the thought of
him begging and crying made me go as far away from that as possible.
The story, from that beginning, already had shades of tragedy and
I decided to utilize it in full. Character death is never easy for me to
write – especially for favorite characters – and Gingetsu was probably
one of the hardest. I find his stoic character interesting and it's how
he expresses those rare moments of veiled emotion that makes me
weak-kneed. I can only hope I did him justice, giving him dignity
even until death and a quiet and brave serenity to face what he does.
- RD