Sometimes
Sometimes, you just need someone to pull you back up from the ruins, even if you are that someone most of the time.
Mega: 'Sup, minna? I decided to write a new story, and I totally did not choose to do it now because I'm trapped in my house due to snow. Totally not…
Kirino: You are so lying, Mega…
Mega: Pay no attention to the girly pink-haired boy.
Kirino: Hey!
Mega: What? You were asking for it.
Shindou: Mega has a fair point, Kirino…
Kirino: I hate you all… *runs off*
Shindou: NOOO! Kirinooooo! *runs after Kirino*
Mega: Oh well. This is going to be a one-shot (hopefully) with the IE Go characters in a world that I created called Ignitus. See my new story, Tenebris Lux Chronicles - Book one: Congregatio, for more information on Ignitus, Magimen, and the elemental categories. I also recommend listening to 'Stop and Stare' by One Republic and 'Bad Day' by Daniel Powter during the first part of this one-shot. Enjoy the one-shot!
Sometimes
Sometimes you just need someone to pull you back up from the ruins, even if you are the one to do it most of the time.
Yes. That was what he needed now, someone who could save him from all of this, someone to fix him, to repair his broken soul. He would find that person, or at least that was what he had told himself so many times before.
His life was simple. He lived in the Transire dorm with his dorm head, Ichirouta Kazemaru, and attended the prestigious elemental school, Magica Elementorum Academia. He was alone most of the time, his only company being Masaki Kariya, a strange boy that seemed to care about him, but with Kariya, you could never be sure what his real motives.
He did have a few other friends, but they never were around when he needed them. Kariya was the closes thing he had to a real friend. Sure he could be a jerk at times, but at least he stuck around when everyone else left. Even Kariya had become distant now, though. He was off with Hikaru or some of his other friends, now.
He should have seen this coming, though. After all, who would want to be friends with a Tenebris user when there were so many better options? Honestly, he was lucky that Kariya had stuck around this long. Most people had left him after being around him for a week or so, but Kariya had stuck with him for a few years. It not only made Kariya his closest friend, but he was also his oldest friend. That just made losing him all the more painful.
Sure Kariya would pop in to check on him on occasion, but he missed the days when he would come over and talk for hours about the school day. He wanted everything to go back to the way it was a year ago. Before Hikaru transferred to Magimen, back when he had someone to turn to when he felt so lost and alone. Back when he wasn't as alone as he had thought.
Now, though, his worst fear had been realized. He was alone. Not just forgotten or abandoned by society, but truly alone.
How sad was it that a broken child must now face the reality of being completely alone?
He could always talk with Kazemaru about it, but what was the use? He'd send him to Shirou Fubuki, the school therapist, and his student assistant, Fei Lune.
Truly, the only person he could talk to about what he felt was Ryuuji Midorikawa, a fellow Tenebris user that was often off campus due to his job as the secretary of Hiroto Kira, his fiancé and one of Magimen's head administrators, and his element. Therefore, he almost never got the chance to talk with him, but when he did, he felt so much better. Like a great burden had been lifted of his shoulder, and suddenly, he was free of its unbearable weight. It was such a relief, but he rarely had the chance to meet with the secretary.
It hurt a lot, being a Tenebris user. The dark thoughts constantly eating away at your mind, fear of losing control, fear of hurting other, it was just too much for many Tenebris users, hence why they either fled from the eyes society or allowed their souls to be consumed by their darkened thoughts and fears. He had nearly lost himself many times as a child. It had resulted in the death of his parents, or that was what he was told, anyway, and him being placed in the care of his demented relatives.
He had hated himself for a long time, after that. His only escapes from his horrid life with his relatives were his books, the small collection of songs he had on his iPod, and the mist. As strange as it was, he had always felt so much better when the condensed water droplets were around him. Even now, if he was given the choice, he would disappear into the comfort the white blanket provided.
His relatives didn't like him. He had figured that out pretty quickly. It wasn't hard to notice, really, with the way they would talk to him and act towards him. Most of the memories he had of that time were either starring out the window of his tiny room or trying to keep warm in the woods behind his relatives' house. They had tried many different types of torture as punishment, but they soon came across one they were quite fond of. When they didn't like the way he behaved, they would just kick him out of the house and send him to sleep in the woods. It wasn't that bad during mid-spring and summer, but it was torture during the other times of the year. They would also refuse too fed him on occasion, but compared to their favorite form of torture, that was nothing. Eventually, his relatives' abusive nature had gotten so bad that he had fled in the middle of the night.
He spent much of that time on the run. If he ever was offered food or a place to stay, he would accept, but he was extremely cautious and would disappear as soon as he deemed it safe.
His relatives lived in Silvester, a small rural village surrounded by a thick forest, but he knew the forest well and was able to flee from the tiny town without any problems. He slowly made his way across the country. He did hitchhike sometimes, but he typically would just stowaway on a train moving away from the small village.
After his first month of being on the run, he finally reached Summus, the capital of Privus, the country on which Silverster and Magimen were located. He had quickly found a place to stay, a small apartment that had been abandoned years ago, and had found a job working at the library located a few blocks away from his crumbling apartment. He wasn't payed much, but it was enough for him to buy food and all the other basic necessities.
People were suspicious at times due to his living situation, but people would never voice their suspicions out of curtsy and the fact that it was so hard to get a true reply out of him. Beginning when he was left with his relatives and ending when he finished his basic therapy he had to go though at Magimen was what he called his "mute" period. During that time, he hadn't spoken much, if at all. He supposed that he had picked up the voluntary muteness from living with his relatives. After all, being beaten and starved every time you spoke was a powerful incentive that could keep even the chattiest of people quiet.
The "mute" period had carried over into his first few weeks at Magimen. It had taken multiple intense therapy sessions and meeting and befriending Kariya to end it permanently.
Even after his "mute" period had ended, he still wasn't a huge talker. He would argue with Kariya often, yes, but around strangers and people he wasn't close with, he could be quiet as an actually mute person. It was normal, considering what he had gone through, but it still felt terribly awkward when he met a new person.
Oh well. What was a broken child to do? Change the past? It was unlikely that he would ever truly come to enjoy the company of others. Maybe he could join a club? The music club sounded like fun, but would they let a Tenebris user join? He didn't think so. Maybe he could help Kariya with his little soccer club thing. Yeah… Maybe he'd do that…
"Ranmaru Kirino! Answer the question!"
He jumped at his teacher's harsh yell, effectively snapping him out of his little daydream.
He glanced at the board briefly before answering, "The most effective type of magic to use against an Ignis user would be Aqua."
"Correct," Fudou growled. Ranmaru looked at the ill-tempered teacher and laughed inwardly. Fudou may not be the nicest of his teachers, but they got along well most of the time.
'Looks like I'll be hearing about this from him after class. Kazemaru, too, if he is really irritated.' He thought before resting his gaze on the board yet again.
It was a miracle that they let him attend Fudou's class. While it was not a "magic" class, it did teach basic combat and strategy for users. He was forbidden to attend the sparring and combat part of the class, but they allowed him to stay for the nonphysical part of class. He actually was one of, if not THE, best students in the class, so Fudou had taken a shine to him. What could he say? Teachers seemed to like him in general, if his prior experiences were anything to go by.
Fudou's class passed with surprising speed after that. He was, as he expected, asked to stay after class for a brief talk. He wasn't surprised. This wasn't the first time he was asked to stay after for a short talk with his teacher. It had happened in the past, but it was becoming a more frequent event.
"Kirino, do mind explaining why you weren't paying attention in class today?" Fudou's voice snapped him out of his musings yet again.
"I'm sorry, sir. I just have been feeling a little out of it, that's all," he explained to the ill-tempered man. It technically wasn't a lie. He had been feeling a bit out of it, but that wasn't the real reason why he had zoned out.
Fudou's hard gaze softened. "You should get some rest, then. Maybe you should take tomorrow off."
Ranmaru nodded, "maybe I'll do that."
He waved to his instructor and darted out the classroom door. He swiftly moved through the hallways and exited the Middle School Division Building. He walked briskly towards his dorm and entered it silently.
He had expected the dorm to be empty, as Kazemaru was usually busy with his own class, and no one else lived in the dorm. His expectation was wrong, though. The moment he entered, he heard two voices, one belonging to Kazemaru, and the other to someone he didn't know.
"Welcome! We're glad that you decided to join Magimen, Mr. Takuto Shindou." Kazemaru said to the stranger, his voice warm and welcoming.
"I'm glad to be here! It's good to know that people at Magimen are so kind and welcoming," the stranger replied. Ranmaru couldn't help but be drawn in by the stranger's voice. It was so warm and calm, yet it flowed so smoothly, like honey.
"If you'll come with me, I'll show you to your room," Kazemaru said and began guiding the stranger towards one of the many vacant rooms in the Transire dorm. The two quickly disappeared into the room adjacent to his.
Ranmaru carefully slid away from the door where he had been standing and quietly opened the door to his room. He entered it silently, yanked out his hair ties and tossed them onto his dresser, and then flopped onto his bed, allowing the sleepiness he had been feeling all day to finally win. He closed his eyes and fell into an exhausted slumber.
~Sometimes~
When the pinkette awoke, it was because of his dorm supervisor. Kazemaru was standing over him, shaking him gently.
"Wake up, Kirino. It's time for dinner, and there's someone I think you should meet."
The pink-haired boy got up begrudgingly, brushed hair, redid his pigtails, and made his way into the dorm kitchen. He slid onto his seat silently, keeping his eyes downcast to avoid the newcomer's gaze.
Kazemaru brought out food for all of them. It wasn't anything special, just some chicken ramen. "Shindou, this is Kirino. Kirino, Shindou." He said, addressing both of them.
"It's nice to meet you, Kirino." Shindou's statement was brisk but polite.
Ranmaru lifted his gaze to look at his new dorm mate. He was a fair skinned boy with chin length brown curls. 'They look nice with his eyes,' Ranmaru thought, glancing at the boy's dark brown eyes. He was a complete opposite of Ranmaru, whom had carnation pink hair and sky blue eyes.
He nodded curtly, "same."
Kazemaru looked pleased. "Now that you've gotten to know each other a bit, why don't you get acquainted a bit more?"
Ranmaru froze briefly before replying. "I think that we should wait on that. It's late, and I'm tired." That wasn't entirely true, but there was no way he was going to try to get along with a Lux user like Shindou. Of course Kazemaru hadn't told him that Shindou was a Lux user, but Ranmaru could tell that he wasn't a Tenebris user, so he had to be a Lux user if he was staying at the Transire dorm. What else could he be?
"Kirino's right. I'm kind of tired, too." Shindou agreed. For saying that, Ranmaru could hug him.
Kazemaru seemed defeated, "Fine. We'll continue this tomorrow."
The three ate the rest of their meal in silence. When they had finished and cleaned up the kitchen, Ranmaru fled to the safety of his room.
Lying on his back on his bed, he allowed himself to relax in the darkness. He spent a few more minutes just relaxing before he decided that it was time for him to go.
Carefully, he opened the only window in his room and crawled out of it. He made his way down the building, moving down some makeshift steps he had discovered years ago. Once he had reached the bottom, he walked behind the dorm and sat down. Allowing himself to release a small amount of his magic, he formed a small cloud of mist.
He inhaled deeply as he felt the condescended water droplets ease and begin to remove the dark insanity ebbing away at his mind. He remained in the cold autumn night for at least an hour. He had a tendency to lose track time of time when he let the mist heal his mind.
After he felt the insanity leave his mind completely, he slowly rose from where he had been sitting. Tiredly, he made his way back up to his window and into his room. He crawled back into his bed, exhausted by the day's events. He fell asleep in seconds, not even caring that his hair was still tied into his signature twintail style.
~Sometimes~
They were back, those monsters formed from insanity at the back of his mind. Ranmaru used to be scared of them, but now he just would wait for them to appear, no longer fearing them, but rather just expecting them.
They were based on his fears, his past, and just about anything that could be tainted by the insanity. Even his happy thoughts and memories weren't safe; he had learned that quite quickly as a child.
The insanity had changed tactics now. Instead of giving him monsters and demons to face, it now would force him to watch what could happen if he lost control like a movie. Most of the "movies" weren't too horrible, but some were like R-rated horror films. He hated those most of all. One of the worst was seeing his parents die, the one he was watching now.
The house he had so few memories of was on fire, ablaze with black flames. His parents were huddled together behind a wall of flames.
"This is your fault!"
"What did we do to deserve such an evil child?!"
"I hate you! I never wanted a child!"
"You should just die already, you demon!"
The screams of his parents often haunted him days after he had the nightmare. The dream was disturbing and was, sadly, most likely true. He could picture his parents screaming those exact words to him on the night they died. He also believed them to an extent. How could he not? He was a monster, and he had known that since the beginning. It hurt, but it was the truth, or that was what he told himself.
The dream shifted, but the next dream wasn't any better. Instead of his parents screaming, it was his peers. Even Shindou was there, which was unusual. His dreams almost never added new people, but he soon realized that this wasn't an old dream, but was instead a new dream altogether.
Shindou was standing in front of him, screaming in a mix of anger and disappointment. Ranmaru wasn't even sure what he was saying, but he could tell that it wasn't anything terribly nice. Shindou then took it a step further and shoved him backwards onto the hard ground.
Ranmaru stared up fearfully at the brunette boy towering above him. Shindou smirked before pinning the pinkette down forcefully. He began to say something, and this time, Ranmaru could understand him perfectly.
"Just die, Tenebris scum!"
~Sometimes~
Ranmaru woke with a start. Fearfully, he glanced around rapidly for any signs of the brunette, but found none. He was relieved, but jumped when a firm hand placed itself on his shoulder.
"Relax, Kirino. Everything's okay. Just take it easy," Kazemaru's voice broke through the haze of confusion and fear that had consumed Ranmaru's mind.
"W-wha?" He asked the blue-haired man.
Kazemaru just smiled pressed a hand to his forehead. "You had a nightmare, Kirino, and I'm pretty sure that you've spiked a fever."
"Oh," he sighed, glad that nothing else had occurred. The blue-haired man nodded as he pulled the hair ties free from the pink locks.
"Just get some rest. I'll call the school to tell them that you won't be attending classes today," said the Ventus user as he stood up from where he had knelt next to the Tenebris user and left the room.
Deciding to listen to the elder male, he tugged the covers around himself and allowed himself to drift of yet again.
~Sometimes~
He was awoken by Kazemaru shaking him yet again. He grumbled tiredly before cracking open his eyes.
Kazemaru was sitting on the edge of his bed holding a medicinal cup full red medicine. "I'm sorry for waking you, Kirino, but you need to take this."
He pressed the small cup to the pink-haired boy's lips. Ranmaru obliged tiredly, opening his mouth and allowing the stick syrup to flow down his throat. Kazemaru smiled before he rubbed the boy's head.
"Good, Kirino. I have to leave for school now. There's some soup in the fridge if you get hungry, and if you start feeling sicker, there's some more medicine in the bathroom."
"Thank you," the boy whispered softly.
Kazemaru smiled before he got off the Tenebris user's bed and waved to him as he left the boy's room. "I'll see you after school, Kirino. Get some rest."
The pinkette nodded, "goodbye."
"Bye, Kirino!" The man called as he darted out of the room and out of the dorm completely.
Ranmaru didn't really do anything for most of the day. He slept for most of it, and only got up once or twice to use the bathroom or get some water.
By noon, Ranmaru was feeling much better. Bored with lying around, he pushed himself up and crawled out of bed.
He wandered around the dorm for a bit before deciding to go somewhere else. He debated his options for a moment before settling on the music room.
He ran to his room, pulled out his cello case, and left the dorm. He walked briskly down the sidewalk until he reached the school building. He entered it silently and made his way towards the music room. Thankfully, no one else was around. 'They must be at lunch.'
He was about to enter the music room, but froze when he heard music coming from inside the room. He opened the door slowly and gazed at the room's sole occupant.
'Why is Shindou here? He should be at lunch with everyone else!'
He entered the room and crept over to the brunette. He waited until the song was finished out of curtsy for the other boy and sat his cello down. Once the boy had finished playing, Ranmaru applauded quietly.
Shindou jumped at the sound and whirled around to face Ranmaru. "W-what are you doing here?! I thought that you were sick!"
Ranmaru laughed at the other boy's questions. "I am sick, but I decided to get some air."
"I don't think that coming all the way from the dorm to the school building counts as "getting air"." Shindou sighed.
"Does it matter?" The pinkette said airily.
"I guess not," he eyed the cello at the pink-haired boy's feet. "Do you play?" He asked, pointing to the cello.
"A question for a question, Shindou. What is your element?" He countered.
"My element?" He paused briefly before continuing, "They say that it's a form of Lux, but yet it's not."
"Are you going to explain it any further?" Ranmaru questioned.
"I guess that I can. You know how Lux users manipulate light, right?" Ranmaru nodded, and Shindou continued, "Well, I can manipulate sound, so they've grouped me with the Lux users. You're a Tenebris user, aren't you?"
Ranmaru nodded, "I am."
"I thought so," he smiled. "Anyway, shouldn't you answer my question now?"
"I guess that I should," he grinned. "I do play." He replied. "Do you want to play something?"
Shindou shrugged, "Why not?"
Together, they sat down and began to play. What they played, they weren't sure, but they did know one thing. That day was the beginning of a beautiful friendship that would evolve into something more.
~Sometimes~
Ranmaru sighed as he fell back onto Shindou's bed.
"Rough day?" Shindou inquired from where he leaned against the headboard.
Ranmaru groaned tiredly. "You could say that."
Shindou looked intrigued. "Care to elaborate?"
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," he paused before continuing, "Do you know what today is?"
"I can't say that I do. Would you mind telling me, Kirino?"
The pinkette nodded and began to elaborate. "My parents died today years ago."
The brunette froze, "oh."
"Yeah…" The pinkette trailed of, trying desperately to hide the forming tears.
"I'm… sorry, Kirino. I had no idea." Shindou told the Tenebris user.
"D-don't worry about it. I didn't tell you, so how could you have known?" He choked out, tears threatening to fall from his blue eyes.
"Kirino…" Shindou breathed as he pulled the tearful boy into his arms, embracing him tightly.
"What, Shindou?" He whispered as he continued to fight the tears.
"You shouldn't hold things like that in," he stopped before continuing, "I'm sorry that I've made you so upset."
"No, Shindou… It wasn't you… It's just…" He paused before he began sobbing. "I can't do this… I'm not strong enough to deal with this…"
Shindou frowned before hugging Ranmaru tighter, "Deal with what, Kirino?"
"I killed them, Shindou…" He whispered. "I killed my family."
"No you didn't, Kirino. I know you didn't!" That only made the pink-haired boy cry all the harder.
Shindou continued to hug the other boy, allowing him to release all the anxiety, sadness, anger, fear, and whatever other emotions he had been holding in for so many years.
They stayed like that for a while. Ranmaru continued crying until Shindou, deciding to do something, forced Ranmaru to face him.
"Kirino, please stop crying…" He whispered to the despairing pinkette.
When Kirino's sobs did not cease, Shindou sighed before grabbing the pink-haired boy's face and pulling it closer to his own. Gently, he pressed his lips to Ranmaru's. The kiss only lasted for a few seconds, but that was all it needed to.
Ranmaru pulled away slowly. "Shindou…" He breathed, unsure what to do next.
"Kirino…" He took a deep breath before continuing, "I love you."
Ranmaru froze before he leaned closer to his best friend and pressed his lips to the brunette's. He pulled away seconds later and looked at his best friend.
"Shindou… I…" He was cut off as new tears began to cascade down his cheeks, "I love you."
Shindou smiled lovingly, "Call me Takuto, Kirino."
"Okay," Ranmaru said as his tears began to slow, "but you have to call me Ranmaru."
Takuto chuckled, "That's fine with me."
"Good." Ranmaru smiled tiredly before he leaned back onto the bed, pulling Takuto down with him.
Takuto laughed again. "Tired, are we?"
Ranmaru yawned, exhausted from his breakdown. "Yeah…"
"I guess that we can take a nap if you want," he told the Tenebris user as he shifted so he was lying beside Ranmaru and wrapped his arms around the tired boy's waist.
"That sounds nice," Ranmaru hummed as he snuggled up against Takuto. "Night, Takuto."
"Goodnight, Ranmaru. Sleep well." He whispered into his boyfriend's ear.
Ranmaru yawned tiredly and closed his eyes. "You too, Takuto."
Takuto smiled as his beautiful lover entered the land of slumber. He gently ran a hand through one of the other boy's pigtails. He pressed a soft kiss to the back of Ranmaru's neck before allowing himself to join his boyfriend in sleep.
Sometimes, you just need someone to pull you back up from the ruins, even if you are the that someone most of the time.
~Fin.~
Mega: What did you think?
Kirino: Meh. I didn't like it too much, but I did get magic powers, so it's okay.
Shindou: I don't know. What do the readers think?
Mega: Why don't we ask them? Hey, minna, what did you think? Did you like it? And if so, do you want a follow up fic or another fic like this, just with different characters?
Kirino: That's a lot of questions.
Shindou: Yeah…
Mega: Oh well. Moving on, Kirino, Shindou, if you would?
Kirino and Shindou: Don't forget to follow, favorite, and review! Bye, everyone!
Mega: Sayonara, minna! See you next time!