Title: Once More
By: Sissy
Chapter 1: Water of the Gods
"This is the lonely, lonely story of the young misunderstood Izaya." He began the rant while his best friend looked at him as if he were mad. Although it was already normal between the two. "It is a story of passion! Betrayal! Love! And death!"
Izaya was throwing his hands in the air as they stood on top of the corner of the roof of the broken down building. They had been told again and again not to go out of the village without supervision but the two couldn't help it. Well, Izaya couldn't help it. His best friend, Kasuka, was usually only dragged along for the ride. Sometimes he went along willingly.
"Let's begin from the very beginning. His father is not the annoying man who takes care of him now. No, no, his father was a proud man though Izaya never knew him personally. He was a man that lived for the sake of others. And most especially, his mother. Yes, his poor mother. The news of his father's death devastated her. At that moment, that annoying man came." Izaya grinded his teeth but continued on. "Yes, the annoying man! He proclaimed his undying love for Izaya's mother and the woman, still devastated, took the bait and loved this annoying man back!"
Many times Kasuka had heard the story and by now it bored the living daylights out of him. So he brought out the book he took from the village's library. He needed to ration his thirst for knowledge since there weren't many books so he brought a book to read every month and reread it as much as possible in order to understand every single line.
"But Izaya's mother was loyal to her husband! Why was that? Because she was pregnant with his child! It was only very shortly before his death that Izaya was conceived. However, the birth left his mother weak. And this was when she gave everything of hers to the annoying man! The prize was finally in his hands! And oh, how Izaya felt being raised by this annoying man!" He dropped to the floor, biting into a handkerchief he brought out. "The amount of care given to him felt so fake, so forceful, that Izaya had no choice but to keep his mouth shut! But he swore! Yes, he swore! One day! One day he'd take his revenge!"
As his friend laughed like a maniac, Kasuka closed the book with a loud enough noise to catch Izaya's attention. Pouting, he turned to Kasuka and took the first step in his direction. "Have you had enough?" Kasuka asked calmly as Izaya bent down to his best friend.
"Fine, fine. So, what's the deal today? It's pretty rare for you to bring me out yourself." Izaya asked curiously, looking around the surroundings. This was a different section than the one the two regularly visited. Izaya didn't mind the trek to this new unexplored area, he was just curious as to the reason why.
"Last week's tremors. There's something that's been bugging me this whole time since then. I thought it might interest you." Kasuka explained as he stood up and began walking out of the roof. Izaya followed willingly, his bright smile showing his clear interest.
"Then, you've found an interesting smell?" Izaya asked, his smile turning into a grin.
"Well, something that was similar to you. Don't really know what it is yet." Kasuka replied cryptically but his best friend completely understood. The two had known each other for a long time now.
"How nice. And here I had been thinking of researching the chaos and mayhem that was left by that recent event. You know me so well, Kasuka!" Izaya was almost dancing with joy as he skipped to the side of his best friend. "Then, in your honor, I give you the second half of our show! The heroic tale of the young but smart Kasuka!"
Kasuka rolled his eyes but remained quiet. It had been a while since Izaya narrated his life.
"Kasuka's story begins with his mother's. This poor woman who came from a different village was kind. Oh, but I should correct myself, seeing as the woman is not dead yet." Izaya quickly spoke that last line after noticing his friend's stare. It was scary when it became like that. "Yes, this woman! She came from mountains beyond, carrying her newborn child in her hands. Welcomed she was to the village! Cared for she was by none other than Izaya's mother, only a short period of time before her death at birth!"
Since there was nothing to do until Izaya finished his story, Kasuka simply remained quiet and led the way through the many nooks and holes. There was a destination for the two, but how important it was, not even Kasuka knew.
"The story was retold to the village head. Yes, it was a story of farewells! The mother was but the second wife to Kasuka's father. But still, the mother loved him nonetheless, with all her being. Yet, the reason for this dual marriage was not just the love Kasuka's father had for both women, but the necessity of it. For you see, Kasuka's father, the village head of that place beyond the mountains, was the leader of the Priestesses! The very Priestesses that protect all villages in the country!" Izaya, who had been very melodramatic with his hands, suddenly brought them closer to his chest as if he were in pain. "So you see, Kasuka's life was no longer necessary. A male cannot cast the unique charm all Priestesses can. Therefore, with tears in her eyes, the mother bid her husband goodbye!"
Kasuka looked back at his friend, who had brought out his handkerchief the moment he stopped and was now using it to wave at the horizon. If only Izaya worked alongside the people of the theater, Kasuka thought sadly but kept the idea to himself. There weren't that many keen on having Izaya help them.
"This very story moved the heart of the village head and he welcomed her with open arms. From that day forward, Kasuka and his mother belonged to the village and because of their ties Kasuka and Izaya became the very best of friends! They shared everything! From thoughts to ideas to secrets until finally, even all their…!" At this line, Kasuka knew he couldn't allow Izaya to go forward. Sometimes his best friend had no decency or a method of stopping himself so his stories could continue on forever. And in the most shameless of ways too. "…So are we there yet?"
With a smile in place, Izaya had recovered and quickly joined the pace of his best friend. Kasuka shook his head and continued leading the way. Izaya didn't mind the silence; it gave him time to think of other fun projects. Almost three hours later, as Izaya got to the good part of another scene he made up, something that even Kasuka seemed to be expecting, they arrived at one particular building.
"So the road cleared up because of the tremor from before? Doesn't look too stable though." Izaya commented as he followed Kasuka in. Whether it would hold them was something to be seen but neither seemed to actually care that much. "Que sera, sera." The younger of the two friends repeated their lucky words and saw Kasuka smile.
"I think it's coming from this way." Kasuka suddenly commented and headed up the stairs, followed by Izaya. There seemed to be loose steps so the two made their way upwards with care. "There seems to be lots of things we can pilfer." The suggestion was made after seeing a broken wall that revealed the contents of one room.
"Good, good. I'm rubbing off on you. We can try to pilfer anything that we can carry after checking out this thing you're so interested in." Izaya pushed Kasuka up the stairs and the boy nearly fell through a crack. "Whoops. Sorry."
Kasuka didn't look too angry, though normal people couldn't really tell, but Izaya could and Kasuka surprisingly really didn't look too angry. "Try not to do it again, Izaya." Then Izaya realized his mistake. His best friend was seriously pissed. The older one had a sixth sense about things so Izaya was probably going to screw something up in the immediate future. Not like he could do anything about it though. Izaya had long since learned to pick his battles. And Fate was not a kind adversary.
"Oh, look. No more stairs. Time to find an alternate route!" Izaya commented happily, turning to the hallway filled with rubble. There was a convenient opening and Izaya began climbing but Kasuka stopped him. Before he could say anything though, Kasuka spoke first. "There are pochis up there." Although it was a serious matter, Izaya couldn't help but smile brightly.
Realizing his mistake, Kasuka just warned Izaya to be careful or their treasures that were to be pilfered in the future could be destroyed. He also gave Izaya a friendly reminder that if any book was damaged because of his stupidity, he would leave him in the bottom of a well. Of course, he said this in a nicer way but that was just how Izaya interpreted it.
The two climbed up in silence and took a peek at the floor above. Effectively, there on the floor, very close to them, were the things that both kids liked to call pochi. The adult form didn't differ much in regards to the head but the baby versions looked too innocent to the two. Of course, they did know that they were dangerous and everything but usually never cared about small details like those. Watching, they noticed that the pochis were most likely sleeping. Although the ears that doubled as eyes, in a very literal sense, were closed, their tails and only pair of legs twitched every so often.
"Risk it?" Izaya asked with a grin to Kasuka, who nodded. The two jumped above to the floor and eyed every single sleeping pochi before making a small dash in the direction Kasuka pointed to. They made sure not to wake a single one or to hit them accidentally as they climbed another set of stairs.
"This is the place." Kasuka noted once he found a broken door. Making sure he didn't knock over the rusted door, Kasuka was the first inside. Izaya followed soon after, noticing how his best friend was frozen in place. He had been gazing in admiration at all the books displayed in the room. Most of the seemed to be in good conditions but he needed to check them to be sure.
"Oh, these are apartments, right? Sensei talked about them before." Izaya commented and took a look around. He didn't know what Kasuka thought he might find interesting here but knew he had to wait while his best friend got over the initial shock. "Look! Computers! Sensei might find these interesting!" He poked around the machines that had been on the floor.
Kasuka finally seemed to gather his bearings and turned to Izaya. "I think it's over here." He commented and climbed the bookshelf with ease. Izaya watched him take out what seemed to be fake wall that had been cracked. It was most likely this opening that caused the expedition but Izaya could never be sure. "I'm not sure what this is. Here." Tossing what he took out to Izaya, the other was caught by surprise and almost let what Kasuka handed him fall to the floor.
"What…is this?" Izaya stared at a tube filled with liquid. He tried to look at it from all sides but all he saw was a keyboard pad on what could have been the top. "This is what you said might interest me?"
"Well…" Kasuka dropped down next to Izaya and looked at the tube for a while. "I think so?"
"So you're not sure? Well, opening it will be tricky. Care to help?" Izaya looked up at Kasuka, his grin widening with every second. His best friend only sighed and stared at the tube with intent. Calmly, he pointed to four letters on the keyboard. "Well, the combination shouldn't take too long. Give me a few. Look for something you might want to take back first."
Kasuka nodded and began to inspect the shelves. There was just so much for him to see and choose from. But he tried glancing over them all first. Everything called out to him but he tried to be selective in his choice. If there was something he hadn't heard of before, then he'd probably take that. Kasuka had memorized at the very least all the titles in the library back at the village.
"Got it! Though I don't know what it means." Izaya cheered but Kasuka had not heard him as he had picked up an interesting book. Shrugging his shoulders, Izaya slowly began to open the top of the tube. There was a bit of smoke that got caught by Izaya's face and Kasuka had immediately dropped the book in his hand. He jumped away from the smell and covered his nose. Though to be specific, it wasn't a real smell but Kasuka had smelled it nonetheless.
Izaya fell forward, somehow closing the top with his body and Kasuka noticed he was unconscious. But what worried him wasn't that. He looked towards the door of the apartment with extreme worry. Gulping, he picked up three books as fast as he could and put them away in his backpack. Then he checked that the tube was sealed before placing it in Izaya's backpack. "You're going on a diet after this, Izaya!" Kasuka grumbled as he threw Izaya's arm around his shoulder and ran over to the front door.
As soon as he was on the other side, in the hallway, he heard the growling and the heavy breathing. He didn't have to look to the side to know what was there. In his mind, Kasuka cursed his best friend but also himself for allowing this to happen. But there were times when he just couldn't help but try and make his best friend smile. His mother said it was normal but he hated it, especially on days like today.
"Pray you survive this." Kasuka murmured as he jumped over the railing without looking up. At the very least, the pochi had not followed them. Yet anyways, Kasuka couldn't help thinking. The fall felt like forever but in between the fall, Kasuka felt Izaya stir.
"Danger! And excitement!" Izaya yelled and Kasuka noticed his eyes. They had turned golden but more than that, Kasuka didn't recognize his friend. He seemed so different it could almost be someone else entirely. "Come on Shizu-chan, use the wall for support!" He suggested while separating from Kasuka and using the wall of the building behind him as support in his landing. Kasuka followed behind him and very soon, both landed safely. "That was fun! Wasn't it?"
"Give Izaya back." Kasuka suddenly had Izaya by the throat and the boy noticed the color recede to its original color. Izaya suddenly looked to be in a bit of pain and also confused. The other immediately let go of him in surprise. "S-sorry, Izaya. You were acting weird."
"I know. Don't worry." Izaya said calmly, rubbing his neck. "Those fumes were really strong. It's like I was outside my body for a second. I saw an older guy controlling it but I couldn't tell who he was. I've no idea where he went off to either. But I am thankful he's gone. He seemed a bit crazy."
Though his friend was smiling, Kasuka was not and Izaya could tell. Shaking his head, he helped Izaya back up. "Anyways, let's not do that again." Kasuka suggested but noticed the look on his friend's face. Knowing he was going to regret it sometime in the future, Kasuka sighed. "At least, not in a place like this."
"Alright! Now, shall we head home, dearest best friend?" Izaya gave Kasuka a wink, knowing it bothered Kasuka whenever he did that, and saw said best friend nod in response. "Alright! Now, since we're heading back to the village while running away from the pochi who are most likely awake thanks to everything, how about I recite another story? Let's see, let's go with the tale of the brave and noble Eijirou!"
Full of joy at spreading his father's tale, Izaya followed Kasuka's lead as they ran away from the area. A lot of pochis were behind them but since in their young state they were pretty slow, both boys managed to outrun them. By the time Izaya finished his tale, they had entered the forest that lead back home to their village.
To Be Continued
Sissy: Well, I did say I was going to do this. Though, unlike the other projects floating around (which I am working on, I swear!) Imma be posting this whenever I can. There's no fixed plot, or rather, idea of how this will end. Most likely, whenever I feel like I've said enough. It'll be a slice-of-life kinda thing in a post-apocalyptic setting.