My Silent Heartbeat Chapter 1: Violence
Hey! Welcome to my second new story! This one is going to be much different than Shape of My Heart in that this'll be my first time writing Kazuto in female form, so that'll be a nice departure from the norm. We'll see if the concept sticks. Enjoy!
"When the violence caused such silence,
We must be mistaken.
It's the same old theme,
Since 1916,
In your head, in your head, they're still fighting.
With their tanks, and their bombs,
And their bombs, and their guns,
In your head, in your head, they are dying..." - Zombie, The Cranberries
Was it supposed to be like this?
I'd heard vague descriptions in the past, idly listening to some droning news anchor mentioning then as I did the laundry. I'd seen mockups a thousand times over in movies, seemingly competing for the grandest display in the production.
But this?
This was nothing like the movies I'd seen.
There was no backing track, no grand heroic entrance by some lavishly costumed hero, no daring caped crusader coming to the rescue at the last moment. Not even some well timed commercial break seemed to see fit to pull me out of this chaotic whirlwind.
No. God, no.
It was just...bang after bang. Explosion after explosion, drowning out the cacophony of screaming crowds and shrieking sirens blaring like harpies into the smokey sky.
And the smell. No one told you about this absurdly foul smell that hung around you like a shroud. A sickly combination of smoke, smoldering rubble, and some distinctly cloying scent, like leather burning across an open flame.
I could practically taste it on my tongue, it's pungent profile only exacerbated with each breath I took, churning my stomach like a cement mixer as a fresh wave of the nauseating odor hit my nostrils.
Of course, if my stomach was churning due to the smell, the sounds of the crowds that broke through the roar of the streets flipped it like a coin.
Mothers clutched their sobbing children against their bosoms, fathers shielded their families with their mangled bodies, brothers and sisters desperately clung to each other for comfort, crying out for-...
Sisters...
Where was Aiko? Was she safe? She had to be, right?
Men just ran by; men with guns. They were shouting. So much shouting.
The police? The police. The police were here. They'd make sure Aiko was okay. They'd make sure we'd all be okay...right?
...
I heard it only moments before my eyes fell upon it.
It was so subtle, so innocuous; so deceitfully innocent. That I even noticed it's little melodic beeping was practically a miracle in of itself. It was little more than a twinkling red light strapped to some strange device, hidden carefully beneath a thick layer of newspaper that had been cast away by the preceding shockwaves.
I felt myself hit the ground, impacting painfully against the glass-ridden asphalt below me, swiftly followed by the sensation of a comforting warm pressing down against me, like a mother bear shielding it's cub from the world.
And as the light flashed green, I felt the briefest instant of complete clarity; and in that clarity, I saw you-...
Just as a torrent of fiery pain tore me from the waking world, and I was forever surrounded by silence.
Minutes earlier...
Was it supposed to be like this?
She'd heard stories of how grand the Summer Solstice Parade could be before. She'd even watched it religiously on TV every year, for as long as she could remember. It was a bit of a tradition for her family, to have their dinner in front of the TV while watching the parade.
But this year?
This year this tradition had been thrown into overdrive; this year she and her 'family' were here, seeing the grand spectacle play out before her, in all it's glory.
All in all, it was a grand night.
Her waist length purple hair swayed wildly as she attempted to catch a glimpse of each and every float and performance meandering down the street of the city. It seemed as if the entire world was alight around her, bathing the night sky a sea of neon colors.
Of course she wasn't exactly the antithesis to the celebratory chaos around her. Dressed in little more than an overly glitzy tank top and punk jeans, with sparkling glitter staining her cheeks, she couldn't exactly prop herself up as being a bastion of cool, collected civility.
Soon though she was brought back down from her excitement as soft hand lay on her shoulder, urging the violet haired young woman's shoulder, "How is it, Yuuki? Everything you expected?"
"Forget what I expected! This is awesome, Aiko!" The young woman, Yuuki, laughed as she finally found it within herself to tear her gaze from the procession, "How's your crepe?"
As she spoke her gaze fell upon another purple haired young woman, smiling calmly at her.
Her sister, Aiko. Her family.
Unlike Yuuki, Aiko's hair was tied up neatly in a much more controllable ponytail and sashayed to and fro with each step the elder sister took, which neatly complimented the much more conservative summer dress she wore; betraying her as the clear elder of the two.
"Eh, a little tart. Could've used extra-..." She cut herself off, gesturing back to the parade with wide eyes, "Ooh, ooh, look!"
Yuuki turned back to the parade, only to find an overly gaudy float trundling by at a snails pace, spewing an almost ridiculous amount of confetti on the onlooking crowds like some strange colorful hose, while overly cheerful pop songs blared from speakers attached to the makeshift vehicle. The crowds cheered as it drove by, chanting along to the lyrics of whatever song was blasting from its speakers, as if in a trance.
"I don't even wanna think'bout that must've cost." Yuuki finally mumbled, just as enchanted as the rest of the crowd, a dopey smile plastered across her face.
"More than me." Aiko agreed, idly munching away on her crepe.
"You aren't what I'd call a cheap date." Yuuki deadpanned.
"That's pretty rich coming from the girl with a bag of new games." Her sister retorted, motioning to the black and red plastic bag, loosely hanging from Yuuki's wrist.
"They were on sale!"
"So how many did you get, then?"
"...One'r two..." Yuuki mumbled, her cheeks tinted pink as her own eyes trailed down to the game store bag slung around her wrist.
"One or two?"
"Yeah. One'r two."
"I must be really bad at math then, because I'm pretty sure I saw close to half a dozen games in your arms when you went up to pay."
"Sale!"
"Face it," Aiko flung her free arm around her sister's neck, prodding her cheek with a single well-manicured finger, "You buy just as much as me, Lil'Imp."
"Again with that nickname? You know I hate it!..." Yuuki whined, attempting rustle the woman off, "We're not kids anymore."
"But I'm still your big sister; and as your big sister I dub thee Lil'Imp."
This verbal joust between the siblings seemed to drag on for ages, childish nicknames, swiftly followed by good natured retort.
That world found itself brushed away in but a moment however, as Aiko finally released Yuuki from her 'chokehold', before taking a few steps back; only to find herself meeting the ground with her posterior.
Snapping her gaze up, the woman found her concerned younger sister staring up at a hastily retreating figure in a long black coat, her face set in a scowl.
"Hey, buddy!-..."
Her cries went unheeded, and with the speed and agility of a fox escaping a dumpster with food in maw, the black-clad figure vanished into the sea of bodies, vanishing like a shadow in the sun.
"You okay?"
"Uh, yeah-..." Aiko mumbled, only for her own expression to diminish to a scowl as her eyes met the dirty mess of creme, fruit, and gravel loosely dripping from between her fingers, "Crap, no. There goes my friggin' crepe..."
"Want me to go after that guy?"
"And do what? Sass him into submission?" Aiko smirked, offering a dismissive wave when Yuuki just about made to actually follow the man, "It's alright, they're not expensive. I'm gonna grab another; you ok here?"
"Yeah, go ahead."
Yuuki could only click her tongue contemplatively as Aiko, too, vanished away into the crowds, her purple tresses melding almost seamlessly with the rainbow of colors that made up the parade.
It was strange, just how mature her sister really was.
Sure they were both adults, what with Yuuki's 18th birthday passing just recently, and Aiko's 21st fast approaching, but to think they'd been like this for the better part of half a decade was almost mind-boggling.
Half a decade. That was how long ago they'd lost their parents to an unfortunate accident that left she and her sister orphaned as teenagers.
Their surviving family had of course been quick to help. Their aunt in particular had been somewhat of a guardian angel for them; taking up the remaining mortgage on the Konno's residence, so that the sisters would at least be able to land on their feet. She'd also offered to take up the houses utility bills, but Aiko, being the ever responsible one, declined her offer, instead pulling herself up by her bootstraps to find herself a job as a librarians' assistant, which she kept even after graduation.
She still worked there, at that library; the library which now provided the paycheck that assured Yuuki's admission into college come the fall.
To say that she owed Aiko her future was no real understatement.
She would have to get her something special for her 21st birthday, that was for sure. Maybe she could go out of her way and get-...
Thump!
Yuuki's contemplation came to an abrupt end as she suddenly found the ground to be a within a much more intimate distance, the thump of her body impacting against the dirt only slightly duller than the despairing sound of her precious games clattering against the cold hard ground.
"Again?! Are you?!-..."
"Oh, sorry!..." A panicked female voice was quick to react to her protests, it's owner scrambling to their knees in a clearly desperate attempt to salvage both the games and the situation before Yuuki had a chance to truly blow up at them, "I'm sorry..."
It was while they scrambled around like a lunatic that Yuuki was finally able to get a nice long look at her accidental assailant.
A black haired young woman, no older than Yuuki herself, clad in an innocuous black and grey hoodie, with glasses that framed her thin, though well proportioned face horribly. She was almost unhealthily pale; a clear indication of this particular young lady's penchant for the solitary comfort of the indoors, with a nervous look etched into that pale face, only further accentuating the less desirable features that stuck out to her like a sore thumb.
If Yuuki was the image of vivacious radiance, this young woman was like some stark contrast of listless misery.
All in all, to say the girl in front of her was unimpressive...was probably being charitable.
It was too bad, really. If she didn't seem so unhealthy, so bereft of sprightly zeal, she may have actually been a bit cute...
It was only after the young woman let out an awkward cough that Yuuki finally realized that she'd been staring forward for the better part of a minute, causing the violet haired girl to spring into action.
She remembered reaching out to reclaim the game with an embarrassed cough of her own. She remembered opening her mouth to thank her for her kindness. She remembered seeing the young woman's face light up in relief as a friendly smile was shared between them.
And she remembered when it all was swallowed in a whirlwind of chaos.
A thunderous roar ripped through the square, sending a massive cloud of burning dust and debris into the air, it's rumbling echo drowned out by another explosion soon after...and another...and another...
All around her smoke plumed forth, bathing the area in back soot as she haphazardly scrambled to her feet, doing her best to ignore the chill run down her spine as her eyes trailed over to her bag of games, it's contents crushed under the weight of a rock.
No. That wasn't just some rock... It was a chunk of wall.
She vaguely registered something- someone- tugging against her waist. They yelled at her; something about using her belt as a tourniquet, though if anything else had been shouted her way, it was immediately lost in the cacophonous dirge of screaming people all around her.
It was all so chaotic. So loud. So confusing...
...
She heard it only moments before her eyes fell upon it.
It was so subtle, so innocuous; so deceitfully innocent. That she even noticed it's little melodic beeping was practically a miracle in of itself. It was little more than a twinkling red light strapped to some strange device, hidden carefully beneath a thick layer of newspaper that had been cast away by the preceding shockwaves.
She felt herself hit the ground, impacting painfully against the glass-ridden asphalt below her, swiftly followed by the sensation of a comforting warm pressing down against her, like a mother bear shielding it's cub from the world.
And as the light flashed green, she felt the briefest instant of complete clarity; and in that clarity, she saw her-...
Just as a torrent of fiery pain tore her from the waking world, and she was forever surrounded by silence.