No Evil – Ch. 1
"GILBERT!" Kiku's cry rose as he caught sight of his sometime-antagonist sprawled across the dirty alley, blood trickling from his mouth. A sudden hand clasping around his ankle made him cry out again.
"The light… it's so bri-AAAAGGHHHH!" yet another cry rose into the quickly darkening sky, this time not from Kiku, but from Roderich.
Gilbert, hearing his comrades screaming, staggered to his feet in a feeble attempt to protect them from the nameless fiend at the end of the alley. He charged toward it, his lips parted in a soundless battle cry.
Kiku shook his head to clear it of these awful memories. His close friends came it, Gilbert leading Roderich by the hand.
This was the first day that the trio had been home since the incident. It was so early in the day that none of their family was up.
All three at on the sofa, quietly brooding, until Kiku came up with a suggestion.
"Roddy! You should play the piano to wake everyone up!"
Roderich just nodded.
The trio trooped to the piano room, where Roderich's most prized possession still stood – an 88 key concert Steinway piano, as ebony and long as the night.
Gilbert led Roderich to this musical treasure, and sat him down. Roderich's hand trembled as they rested on the keys. Then, as he started to play, tears fell from his now blind eyes.
Ludwig awoke to the sound of discordant piano harmony floating into his room.
"…Piano…?" the confused German rolled out of bed.
He ran quickly to the piano room, where his brother, his cousin and close friend were. The first thing he saw were the tears, streaming from his cousin's eyes as he sat at the piano, hands pounding at the keys.
Slowly, the other occupants of the house came downstairs to seek the source of the music. All stood still, in shock, at the sight that greeted them.
Gilbert turned to face Ludwig, and something in the former's deep red eyes frightened the German very, very much.
"Bruder?" as blue eyes met red, both began tearing up.
"Ich liebe dich, meine bruder," mouthed Gilbert silently.
"Why will you not speak to me?" demanded Ludwig. Gilbert just shook his head in sad negation. "Oh Gott… you can't speak!"
Gilbert slowly nodded his head and mouthed, "Ja."
Among the other inhabitants was a small man named Yao. He ran to Kiku's side, jabbering rapidly on in Chinese. Sensing Kiku's blank stare, Yao switched to English.
"Kiku! Are you all right-aru? You can speak-aru?"
Kiku still stared blankly back. From the piano, Roderich called, "He can't hear you." Horror dawned on Yao's face as he pulled Kiku closer.
Over at the piano, Roderich was being tended by a Hungarian woman named Elizaveta.
"Mr. Roderich! Please tell me! You can hear, can't you?"
"Ja, Eliza, I can hear." Roderich was starting to get exasperated.
"But… the piano…"
"Elizaveta. I can hear. I know it sounds awful." At this Roderich began to cry once again.
"Then..." she waved her hand in front of his eyes. He didn't even blink. "You can't see… oh my god…" Elizaveta was finally struck silent.
"So, where are you going? Asked Ludwig.
"We are going to find the bastard who did this to us."