Disclaimer: Blue Exorcist does not belong to me. Ao no Exorcist manga, anime and all related articles belong to their respective owners.
Spoiler Alert for Chapter 30: "Omen" of the manga! Hit back button if you haven't read it! :)
A/N: I do not intend to insult anyone through this fanfiction. An advanced apologies if the reader or anyone feels offended by the following story.
Predicting Fate
Oneshot
[Rin's Point of View]
It's dark. I'm telling you I'm not scared but it's chilling cold that I'm having goosebumps. And it smells undeniably of old smoke inside the claustrophobic place . I gulp, looking around. There are shadows everywhere. And dust — thick, thick layers of dust.
"Niisan, are you alright? You're shaking," asks a voice just beside me. A humorous smile. "Are you scared?"
"W-What? I'm not!" I immediately fist my hands and keep them hidden at my back. But I know that Yukio noticed them just the same and kept the smile to himself.
We're in Madame Lalalala-Lelelele-Something-Or-Another's tent, with a lot of females and some dudes lining after us outside. The fortune-teller's rumored to be a good reader of fate or something, and Shiemi got me and Yukio to join her to have her future told to her. She asked us to line up for her because she has some errands to do. But then she called a while ago to cancel the meeting because of something she explained over the phone but I didn't get to understand due to her flustering. And the attendant thought that we brothers will have the reading ourselves and quickly ushered us inside.
So we go from the brightness of the carnival outside to the dark world of Madame What's-her-name-again. It's not completely blackness though because there's a bright crystal orb atop a table in the middle of the tent. It swirls with some kind of clouds and frilling strands of electricity, emitting light amongst the lit candles in the place and producing an eerie atmosphere. I watch with fascination as a young woman dressed in a way that only her fair oval face, slight curls of dark brown hair and small hands with well-manicured nails are showing. No wonder she wants the inside of her tent as cold as this.
She looks at us with her steely blue eyes under the covers of her wine-red robes.
"My name is Lionidania," she says, almost as if with a smile in her voice. She gestures towards the two chairs beside her circular table covered with dark felt cloth. "Do take your seats, young ones."
"Sure thing," I mutter as Yukio said his thanks politely.
"I rarely get customers like you two," she continues, her hands shifting upon her crystal. "If you may, ask me anything."
I look at Yukio and he looks at me with eyebrows raised. He's clearly as lost as I am when it comes to things like what to ask during fate reading. Heck, I don't think he even considered coming to this place had not Shiemi ask the favor.
After all, it's all the clown's idea to set up a carnival on the True Cross Academy grounds for the school festival. I don't know what got to his mind, but I don't hate the idea. I like riding that ferris wheel when it malfunctioned. It was exhilarating! Not to mention that the way Yukio clinged to me when the ride dipped too fast was ridiculously close and tight. He doesn't do that often. The look of terror on his face and the way he said Niisan that time won't be too bad if that happened again.
Of course I was the only one who enjoyed since the said ferris wheel is closed for maintenance. I hope it won't get fixed so I can have a ride again. But when I told that to Yukio, his look of daggers kept my mouth shut for uncounted minutes.
I look at the lady in front of me. Ask her anything, huh?
"Tell me what's best for dinner tonight," I say.
Yukio scratches the back his head, looking at me as if I said something really funny. But the woman just laughs.
"Some light meal will do," she says. "Prepare some finger foods too because your brother will be awake for the whole night to finish his work. You're really good at cooking, aren't you?"
Yukio looks at her in surprise and I just gape, a smile slowly forming a while later.
"D'yah know us, lady? Or is this part of yahr..." I gesture dramatically with my hands. "...powers?"
She smiles. "Maybe."
I give her my look of pure amazement. I want to ask her more, just to test her and be more astounded.
"I'll become an exorcist, right?" I ask, beaming. "And I'll surpass the achievements of my little brother!"
But to my surprise, her expression turns to shock — and then to downright fear. This wipes the grin off my face as she visibly began to sweat. She stands from her simple wooden padded chair.
"I-I'm sorry." Her composed facade is gone the instant my question left my mouth. She looks paler than when we two first enter, waving her hands at us and avoiding our questioning looks. "I can't answer your question... You can leave you want..."
"But we're yahr customers!" I say.
Surprisingly, Yukio also stands up and places his hands upon the tabletop.
"Please, tell us what you saw," he tells in his commanding tone, instantly capturing the woman's attention.
"But..." she answers. "It's better if you two don't know about it."
Yukio stands his ground. "Niisan and I won't leave until we get our answer. And if it's something too dangerous, won't it be better for us to know so we can prepare beforehand?" he reasons.
The lady looks like she can collapse any moment. Whatever it was she 'saw', she still has no intentions of telling the two of us.
"C'mon, Yukio," I say with finality, standing up. "Let's take her advice and go home."
Yukio blinks, as if realizing that he uncharacteristically took a fortune-teller too seriously after hearing some facts she somehow manage to know and tell about. He gives an apologetic nod to the lady before following me out.
Well, that was a waste of time.
I hear a sharp intake of breath before I manage to grab hold of the curtains covering the door from where we came in.
"Wait, you two!"
We turn around. The woman looks like she knew she'll regret what she'll say but is determined to tell it nonetheless. She withdraws a hand to her chest, sighing.
"The answer is no, because... one of you shall die," she say, looking alternatingly at Yukio's turquoise eyes and my own blue ones. "And that will be caused by the other."
A silence stretches almost impossibly long as her words sink in. I decide to break it.
"W-What?!" I point a finger rudely at her direction, injecting as much anger and disbelief in my voice as I can. "Yah're a lying old hag! That's freakin' impossible! We brothers will never hurt each other!"
I'm about to tell her more about how she can sound so ridiculous when Yukio put a hand on my shoulder. He turns to the lying old hag and says, still freakin'politely, "Thank you. We'll be leaving," and guides me out the door.
"I'm sorry," she says. "That's all I can tell you."
We're already out of the tent when I shrug off Yukio's hands stirring me out of the tent. I turn to him, saying in a loud voice that got the attention of those still in line, "What, Yukio? D'yah believe her? How can yah just leave like that after her telling such an unbelievable thing?!"
Yukio just looks at me calmly. "As you say Niisan, it's something unbelievable and that Madame Lionidania is a 'lying old hag'. You don't have to take her seriously."
"But she said I'm a good cook and she's right!" I counter. "Yah know that not all people know that!"
"Calm down. It's not true, alright? We won't hurt each other," he says. "Come on, I'll buy you sukiyaki so that you can take your mind off what she said."
"Still..." I want to continue arguing but he's starting to walk towards the booth to pay for the stupid session with Madame Liar. I stand back to wait, half-listening as I hear him talk to the attendant. He comes back looking puzzled.
"What's up?" I ask as he pockets his wallet.
"They say that it's for free," he answers.
"Good thing coz if it's paid, not only did we waste time but also the hard-to-come-by money!"
"But that's odd," he continues, keeping that hard-thinking look. "She's a really popular fortune teller. Many people even come from far cities just to have their fortunes read."
I tap him lightly on the shoulder. "Whatever. Yah said somethin' about buying me sukiyaki, right? Right? RIGHT?"
He just smiles. "What she said is already out of your mind now, huh? Then the purpose of buying you snacks is defeated."
"NO! MY SUKIYAKI!" I moans. Another chuckle from Yukio at my display of childish act.
"Alright, since I already promised."
"Yay!"
[Yukio's Point of View]
I watch Niisan as he chews the snack with a look of fulfillment. I can't believe he's still like that after finishing many sukiyaki yesterday before that fatally dangerous ride on a seemingly possessed ferris wheel.
Personally, I hate that time when I lost my cool. But Niisan was so happy after we unboarded and was planning to ride again — and tagging me along — even though the other people were practically running away and cursing from the ride. He would've rode again had not the mechanics put up an apologizing sign for the inconvenience.
I look at Niisan again, hearing the seemingly amplified sound of my beating heart on my ears.
'One of you shall die... and that will be caused by the other.'
The words echo in my head as I run a finger on my right eyebrow absently. Not mine... blue... fratricide...?
"Those eyes... are not yours."
I notice that I held my breath as I look down at my feet. I sigh, shaking my head slightly. What is the use of worrying over what a fortune teller told me and my brother? No matter how popular she is, she's bound to make a mistake sometime. She might not be telling the whole truth either.
A grunt surprise me out of my thoughts.
"What, Yukio?" I hear Niisan ask, mouth full of sukiyaki. "Are yah sayin' something?"
Oh. I didn't realize I said that line told to me by a traitor aloud. I need to compose myself and forget that disturbingly elusive moment.
I turn to Niisan, smiling. "Are you done eating? Where should we go next?"
More A/N:
MephyLand is an amusement park outside the Academy, right? If not, there are two carnivals in the Academy in the setting of the fanfiction. ^^;
Just a teaser/companion fanfic for my upcoming multi-chapter fanfic if I manage to finish writing it. I sure hope I do~ I gotta finish first with the other fanfic in another fandom. :) In case I don't finish writing it, then this stays just as a oneshot.
I'm still trying to improve my writing because I notice that my narrative seems to be hurried. So reviews are really, reaLLY, REALLY FREAKIN' UPLIFTING MY SPIRITS FOR WRITING! :)
Edit:
The multi-chapter fic of this is entitled "Just Some Memories Of..." I just finished uploading the chapters recently. :)