"Hurry up Lovi~! I can smell the pasta!" Feliciano beckoned as he tugged on Lovino's arm and dragged him out of the school's front entrance into the parking lot.
"Idiot, you can't smell pasta from all the way out here. And let go of my arm, I'm coming!" He pried Feliciano's fingers off of him and angrily straightened out the sleeve of his hoodie. "Anyway, you're running too fast! You're going to get hit by a car, so at least slow down until we make it out of the parking lot."
"Aw… Okay." Feliciano's head drooped, but only slightly. Nothing, not even his bad-tempered brother was going to ruin his mood. Grandpa Vargas was visiting today, and whenever he came over on the weekends he always made his world-famous pasta to greet them after a long, hard day of school. Feliciano's mouth started watering as he pictured the steaming angel hair drowned in olive oil…
"Are you okay?" Lovino's eyebrows furrowed in concern as he watched his brother loudly and heavily pant. "Do you need your inhaler?"
Feliciano waved him off and laughed, not having noticed until Lovino brought it up and immediately tried to even out his breathing, though it proved unsuccessful. Despite feeling light-headed and not being able to get enough air into his burning lungs, Feliciano protested, "No, I'm fine, really! Besides, the mist from the inhaler tastes as bad as the food Arthur always tries to make me eat and I don't want to take it if I don't need it that much because it'll ruin the taste of the pasta!"
Lovino narrowed his eyes at him, not buying it. Feliciano's breathing was so loud that it was attracting the attention of every student in the parking lot and he had a far-away look in his eyes, like he might pass out any second. "Stop lying, you bastard! Here, just take it!" He pulled the inhaler out of his backpack and shoved it into Feliciano's hands but his brother only stuffed it away into his own backpack, grimacing in distaste.
"Damn it, it's not going to ruin the taste of the pasta! All that garlic will wash away the putrid taste so just use your fucking inhaler!"
Feliciano sighed and his smile wavered. It wasn't easy for anyone to ruin his mood, but arguing with his brother about his asthma was a sure-fire way to do it. Every time Feliciano was even only slightly out of breath, Lovino would insist that he use his inhaler, which would happen every ten minutes since Feliciano happily skipped everywhere he went, consequently sucking the air right out of him. It was annoying to hear his brother say the same annoying thing over and over again; fighting over a health issue that Feliciano believed wasn't even that serious to begin with, despite numerous fainting spells pre-diagnosis. But Feliciano loved his brother and didn't want to argue with him, so he did not add fuel to the fire and kept his mouth shut while Lovino continued to rant.
"You look like you could use a ride, da?"
Lovino and Feliciano whirled around to face a man wearing a motorcycle helmet which shielded his face with impenetrable darkness. Next to him was a shiny green motorcycle and Feliciano couldn't help but stare at it in awe. He had always wanted to ride a motorcycle. Ludwig had one of his own and drove it everywhere he went, but he never let Feliciano ride with him because apparently it was too dangerous and he didn't want him to get hurt. But surely it couldn't be too dangerous if Ludwig rode it all the time and he had never injured himself!
"No, I think we can manage on our own. Come on, Feliciano." Lovino growled at the stranger and crushed Feliciano's wrist under his grasp, but Feliciano stayed put. "I said, come on." He pulled harder but Feliciano still didn't budge. Damn that boy for being strong when he wanted to…
Feliciano tried his best to look faint, wanting very badly to have an excuse to ride that motorcycle. He wanted the wind to lash at his face, a clear view of the scenery without stupid smudged windows dulling the world outside. But most importantly, Ludwig had told him that it was very easy to breathe on the motorcycle, and Feliciano desperately wanted to know what it felt like to not have to gasp for every breath he took. If it meant upsetting his dear brother and the possibility that said dear brother will tell his parents and get him grounded, so be it. He just had to ride that motorcycle… just one time…
"But Lovi… I feel sick… I don't think I can make it home." He started breathing heavily again and rolled his eyes back in his head like he was going to faint. He let his knees give out under him and the stranger caught him, easily holding him up with his brute strength. Feliciano tensed under the bruising grip, but tried to maintain a look of delicacy.
"Ah, you really wouldn't want to be walking home in this condition. You wouldn't want to burden… err… 'Lovi'… if you pass out on the sidewalk, now would you?" The stranger inquired to what was supposed to be an unconscious boy who couldn't hear him, but Feliciano's eyelids fluttered in response.
Lovino scowled and yanked Feliciano away from the stranger, trying to hold his bastard of a brother up himself but his muscles ached after mere seconds under the weight of what appeared to be a small, light boy, but he apparently weighed much more than he looked. "It would be even more dangerous if he passed out on a motorcycle! And Feliciano, if you don't want to pass out, then use your inhaler!"
"But the pasta…" Feliciano croaked.
Lovino rolled his eyes. "I don't give a shit about the pasta! You are not getting a ride home from a stranger just because you're being a childish fool! He probably won't even take you home anyway! He'll just take you to an alley somewhere and do to you the things that the potato bastard dreams of doing!"
Feliciano cocked his head to the side, confused as to what his brother meant about Ludwig, but brushed it off. "I'm sure this man is very nice though! Not everyone is a bad person like you think, and I can make my own decisions. You don't have to look out for me all the time." He wiggled out of Lovino's arms and skipped over to the stranger, who had already mounted the motorcycle. Feliciano jumped onto it as well and wrapped his arms tightly around the man, obviously snapping out of his 'fainting spell'.
"FELICIANO VARGAS YOU GET OFF OF THAT MOTORCYCLE RIGHT NOW!"
Lovino stomped over to motorcycle, but the engine roared to life and the sudden burst of sound spooked him, and he jumped backwards. It gave the stranger enough time to cruise out of reach from the hot-head.
"I WILL CALL DAD AND TELL HIM WHAT YOU'RE DOING! YOU ARE GOING TO BE IN SO MUCH FUCKING TROUBLE, FELICIANO! YOU WON'T EAT PASTA FOR MONTHS!"
But Feliciano couldn't hear him over the rumbling of the engine as it tore away from the school's parking lot and onto the road.
Feliciano's hair whipped his face as he giggled. He really could breathe so much easier while slicing through the air, just like Ludwig said! He took a deep breath and immediately his lungs relaxed, and he reveled in the feeling of having enough oxygen to sustain him. He couldn't remember the last time his lungs didn't feel like they were on fire. On top of that, he had a clear view of the beautiful high-class neighborhood full of mansions that they were passing through.
In fact, this was the neighborhood that Ludwig lived in wasn't it? Feliciano stared at every single house that they rode by, wondering which one belonged to Ludwig, since he never let Feliciano come over. He chuckled as he imagined Ludwig living in the bright pink house with a lawn that was drowning in red roses. He was so engulfed in his imaginings that he almost forgot…
"Excuse me nice stranger! My house is actually in the opposite direction. It's the neighborhood behind this one, and there aren't any turns or anything, so all you have to do is go straight until you see the only orange house on the street!"
The stranger nodded, "Yes, I know that. But I'm not taking you to your house, Feliciano."
"But you… huh?" Feliciano must have heard him wrong. Didn't the kind man offer him a ride home? Well, the wind was making it hard to hear, so of course, the nice stranger must have said something else.
Before the man had time to answer, a car tapped the back of the motorcycle. The impact almost flung Feliciano head first onto the gravel, but the stranger quickly clamped one of his hands onto Feliciano's arm, retaining the boy's grip on him.
"Hang on as tight as you can." The stranger ordered as he sped up twice as much, going what had to be at least 70 mph on a tiny and dangerous road.
Feliciano glanced behind him at a huge black SUV with tinted windows which was easily keeping up with the motorcycle's speed, despite the many twists and turns in the road, and aggressively tailed them. It was only centimeters from bumping into the motorcycle again.
"W-what's going on?" Feliciano stammered, but he was only answered with silence and another tap from behind. Feliciano's head slammed into the man's shoulder and he nervously shouted his apologies, though doubted that the man could hear him, since Feliciano couldn't even hear himself.
Feliciano violently shook in fear, his grip on the stranger faltering due to his trembling hands. He wasn't sure if he was going home and he wasn't so sure about the goodness of this man anymore. There were bad guys chasing them like in those movies and he couldn't shake the image of his body crashing to the ground after another hit from the car. He shut his eyes, hoping that when he opened them he would find that everything was a dream.
When he did open his eyes quite a while later, he saw that the motorcycle was now riding bumpily on a dirt road. They were surrounded by dense trees and bushes, no buildings in sight, only the forest. Feliciano didn't recognize this place, and doubted they were even in the same urban and closely packed town anymore.
He could still hear the SUV behind them. Maybe they were good guys after all, and were here to save him. Feliciano peeked at the ground beneath him, wondering if he could safely jump off, but decided against it after envisioning himself being crushed by the wheels of the car behind him.
"Brace yourself." The stranger said through clenched teeth as he took a sharp turn into the thick brush of the woods. Feliciano shrieked as they narrowly missed crashing into a tree. The stranger slowed down considerably and looked behind him, giving a satisfied grin when the SUV was nowhere in sight. Of course, a car that size would never be able to drive through here.
The stranger continued on into the woods for what seemed like an hour to Feliciano, but what was probably only twenty minutes, before coming to a halt in a clear patch of grass and turning off the engine.
"Get off." The stranger commanded menacingly, and frightened, Feliciano did as he was told.
The stranger climbed off of his bike as well and turned to face a shivering Feliciano. He took off his helmet to reveal a face that didn't look native to this country. His hair was almost white and his eyes were a piercing violet, which only scared Feliciano even more as he covered his face with his hands and muttered every prayer he could think of under his breath.
"There's no need to be scared, little Feliciano. You'll be safe soon, I promise." The stranger said warmly and gently, as if he were talking to a toddler.
Feliciano nodded, but though the man's voice was softer now, it had eeriness about it that was hard to ignore.
"W-what are we doing here? Can you t-take me home?" Feliciano stuttered, trying to remember what Ludwig had told him to do if he were ever in danger, but the memory was gone, and Feliciano was helpless against this stranger whose trust he wasn't sure of.
The stranger smiled slightly, "In a way, yes, I am taking you home, but not to the home that you are thinking of, little Feliciano." He reached into his pocket and pulled out something shiny that blinded Feliciano as it reflected the sunlight.
"What do you mean? What is that? Oh! You didn't even tell me your name! And uh…" Feliciano tried to stall as long as he could. Ludwig's instructions were on the tip of his tongue…
"You'll see in a moment. And as far as my name goes…"
Something that Ludwig said only Feliciano could do… Something that he was especially good at…
"I haven't told many people, you know. I think there are only two people in the entire world who know my real name. I have many nicknames though. 'The Plague' is one of my favorites. 'Grim' is another. I'm sure you'll hear the others in the future but for now, you may call me by either of those."
There was a click from the shiny object and the stranger… 'Grim' as Feliciano would now remember him by… pointed the object at Feliciano. He froze, mind racing, frantically trying to remember…
… Oh. That's right.
He took off, running as fast of he could away from Grim and within seconds a blast from behind erupted in his ears. A gunshot. Feliciano ran his hands over his chest, searching for a wound and was relieved when there didn't appear to be any. Besides, he would have felt the bullet hit him.
Now he purposefully ran in zig-zags and weaved in and out of trees, which would hopefully block anymore bullets. His lungs felt like they were going to collapse but even so, he ran faster, ignoring the tightening of his chest and the unbearable pounding of his heart. But all of that was in vain when he heard the motorcycle sputter to life again.
As fast as Feliciano was, there was no hope of him outrunning the motorcycle that gave the speed of the SUV a run for its money. He needed to hide somewhere, but out here in this forest there were only trees and bushes.
Feliciano glanced behind him. The motorcycle was only a speck on the horizon now, so there was no way that Grim could see him. He dove into a large thick bush and prayed to God that the leaves covered him completely.
Soon enough, the motorcycle was so close that Feliciano had a chance of being squashed by it, but the engine cut off and leaves crunched under Grim's feet.
"Alright, I'm not playing games. You are going to come out on the count of three. One…" There was a click from the gun and Feliciano prayed that it was only a coincidence that Grim stopped here, right where he was hiding, to search.
"Two…" Grim paused before speaking again. "I am being generous Feliciano. We could do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice. I'll give you a moment to think about it." Surely Grim was bluffing. He had no way of knowing that Feliciano was here, unless the bush really didn't hide him that well, but it was so thick…
"I think that is enough time. It is clear that you have made your choice." Feliciano peeked through a break in the leaves and saw a violet eye only inches from his face staring right at him. Feliciano opened his mouth to scream but nothing came out. "Three."
There was a deafening bang and a sharp excruciating pain in Feliciano's head, but both only lasted milliseconds before everything went dark.