Hi there =)
It's been a while since the last time I updated something i this fandom ;)
So, I've been planning a story for Kuroto and his old partne Oboro already for quite a long time. I was always curious of their relationshiop and of how Kuroto was before his partner died. And so, this story developed =)
I tried my best not to make Kuroto that much out of Charackter, this is just the way I imgained him when his life is still perfetly fine and everything.
I hope you'll enjoy =)
Disclaimer: I don't own Uragiri wa boku no name wo shitteiru
It's dark outside. The hour is late and the night is at its summit. I'm alone; the car radio is the only sound in my ears. I listen to some late-night music, from a no-name-band singing a no-name-song. The light is off. The voice of the singer is full of hurt and doubt and love and all this other sentimental crap.
"…Slow down, the world isn't watching us break down
It's safe to say we are alone now, we're alone now
Not a whisper, the only noise is the receiver
I'm counting the seconds until you break the silence
So please just break the silence
The whispers turn to shouting
The shouting turns to tears
Your tears turn into laughter
And it takes away our fears
So you see, this world doesn't matter to me
I'll give up all I had just to breathe
The same air as you till the day that I die
I can't take my eyes off of you
I'm longing, for words to describe how I'm feeling
I'm feeling inspired
My world just flip turned upside down
It turns around, say what's that sound
It's my heart beat, it's getting much louder
My heart beat, is stronger than ever
I'm feeling so alive, I'm feeling so alive…"
A slight shiver runs down my spine. My eyes slide close and I remember a day, from a long time ago. A day I haven't dared to remember for quite some time.
...
It's my first life on earth. I'm sixteen and the thrill of living rushes through my heart and makes it jump and jolt in joy. It's night and it's calm. The Giou Residence amidst endless forests and mountains, full of secrets and mysteries, is fast asleep. I see and hear the guardians at the entries to the residence's grounds. From time to time they talk with each other, sharing their quiet words, heavy from the hour.
I sit on the verandah, my back leaning against one of the posts. The moon above my home is full and silver and glows brilliantly, bathing in its own unique beauty. Though the surface of the moon is rough and full of calderas, I believe there's nothing more fascinating than the moon up there. My black sword rests right next to me. My sword, which is faster than the wind, carried by my legs, which are faster than a bolt.
It's fall; the trees are colored in gold and red and yellow and orange, in far more kinds of ways one could ever imagine in the span of a single lifetime, as if they were mirroring the eyes of the Giou clan. Now, though, they're painted in the colors of the night, blue and grey and endless, endless black. I turn my head to the side, as I notice quiet steps on the verandah, approaching me.
"…Can't sleep?" my best friend asks me, leaning against the same post, but on the other side.
"…Don't want to"
We stay silent. When I know that he isn't looking, I study his pale profile, enlightened by the moon and a few lanterns hanging nearby. His eyes are really light golden, lighter than mine. I like the idea of his eyes becoming brighter because he likes to stare up at the bright glowing moon all night.
His brown hair is long and he wears it in a plaited braid with a few pearls in it. I really do love his hair; when he's moving and even when he doesn't it seems to move back and forth, from side to side, sometimes fast, sometimes slowly, noticeable, but only if you look really close. He says that he doesn't treat it in a special way, but it's always smooth and smells after summer and rain, forests, night and honey, all kinds of things that we both like.
"Wanna go to 'our place'?" he asks and I startle slightly. My thoughts have been far away, though the one I've been thinking about is right next to me.
"Sure"
I stand up and we walk along the path that leads through the garden, until we pass one of the entries and we enter the forest.
...
He's one year older than me, but we're best friends since childhood and since I got to know that later, I'd become a Zweilt, to me it was clear that he'd be my partner; I wouldn't accept anyone else. And when I told him, he just answered
"Why're you telling me only now? I know it already since forever"
And at that moment I felt like the luckiest person in the world.
...
'Our place' is rather close to the Residence, yet it takes some time to get there. Actually it's only a small cliff from where you can look down into the valley. An old tree is standing there. Every year it gets less and less leaves. But it's still alive.
We sit down between the knobby roots. Our eyes lock on the gigantic moon above us shining from the depths of the universe down to us. I feel kind of lonely now; as though the two of us were the only humans left in this world, overrun by wars and conflicts and battles between humans or demons. Then I look to the side and see him sitting there. And I suddenly feel that I wouldn't mind it that much.
"You know what?" I once said to him, while we were sitting in one of the common rooms, reading a few reports about the latest confrontation between a few of our guardians and some demons.
"Hmm?" He replied then.
"I wouldn't have chosen anyone else. Only you"
He smiled and shook his head after I said that.
"I'm flattered"
"Hey, I was serious!"
"So am I"
Then he returned to his notes but I still saw the smile on his face.
...
Only a few inches, a distance you can bridge with a glimpse of a second, which lies between my hand and his. I look at his hand with his long, long fingers which would never ever hurt me, the hand that has always been there when I needed someone to pull me forwards. I feel insecurity rising in my chest, I feel the unknown of what do to, of what I want and of what I want him to want.
I lower my gaze. Is it normal to feel this in such a moment? I'm alone with the one who means most to me in this world. I'm the one closest to him and he is the one closest to me. But I want to be closer, now. My heart is beating really fast and I don't know what to do though I know that I actually know what to do but I don't know how to do it so that he understands.
Only a few inches. And it could very well be also a great ocean between us, of the distance from here to the moon that separates his hand from mine. I shyly look at him and then away again. He still looks up to the moon but I guess that he knows that I feel and think strangely right now. I close my eyes. I open them. Then I look away and move my fingers over the cool earth and the knobby roots. And it feels like a journey of decades, until I feel them feel something smooth and warm and welcoming.
My heart jumps almost out of my chest and I feel a blush on my cheeks, as his fingers close around mine and hold them tightly. My lips turn into a smile, my eyes turn into a smile, my whole face is a smile I could only smile for him. I look at him and he looks at me, his beautiful, beautiful face is happy and cheerful and so much smiling, maybe even brighter than mine.
We both look down to our intertwined hands; they fit together perfectly, a connection through which we can even share our bouncy, jolty heartbeats. I move closer to his body and he moves closer to mine, until we sit shoulder to shoulder, arm to arm, wrist to wrist and holding hands. And that's the way we sit there until the moon says Goodbye and slowly fades into the brightening sky that welcomes the rising sun and greets the new morning.
As we walk back to the residence, we still hold hands. We talk quietly with each other, the tiredness creeping into our conversation. Down in the valley, where our home lies, it's still dark. But we let go as we pass the entries. Though I don't want to let go and I can't wait for the moment I can hold his hand again. As we stand in front of my chamber, he blows out the lantern close to us. I look up to him. I can hardly see his face, but I can feel his breath on my skin.
"Oboro…" I whisper, my heart jumping as I say his name. My fingers find his cheeks. I feel his smile beneath my tips. I feel his hands on my waist.
...
"Kuroto!"
I open my eyes and turn my head to the side. Senshiro is gesturing me that I should open the door.
"What is it?" I ask annoyed; the cold night air gives me goose bumps.
"This'll take at least half an hour more. Do you really want to stay in the car?".
"Yeah, I want to" I answer snappishly.
He sighs. "Ok. We'll be done, soon"
"Yeah, whatever. Just go inside again, I'm fine".
He nods and I close the car door again. I watch him walking back to the dorm of his university. He and a few of his friends still have to do some project in some kind of subject and it takes longer than expected. As he disappears inside, I get a bad conscious. I know that I'm nasty and I know that I'm unfair and I know that someone like me doesn't deserve some like him. I know that I'm important to him and I know that he's important to me. Of course I like him; there's no other way after all his family has done for me and all that has happened.
But he can't fill the gap he has left in my life.
I can't expect him to even try. Senshiro is this guy I allowed to be my partner; this guy I allowed to be a part of my life. I like or probably even love him enough to let him be my closest in the world. But every time he manages to make my heart jump and jolt, I feel guilty and as though I was betraying him. The one whose death was the reason why I became this hostile, nasty little brat with an empty life and a heart full of hurt and hatred.
...
It's the first time I feel the lips of someone pressing against mine; I'm slightly overwhelmed with this sensation and I feel really young and insecure of what do to. I don't even know how kissing works. My lips are shaking and I feel dizzy from the heat running through my body. I pull away and tell him that I'm sorry.
He asks me "What for?"
And I answer shyly "For not knowing".
He laughs but he doesn't laugh at me.
"Don't worry. I don't know how it works, either"
And I have to laugh, too, and then I pull his head slightly down to me and I press my lips against his and his lips press back.
It's not the first time we hold each other or hug each other or caress each other, but we've never kissed before. Sometimes I thought about it, but since I already am the one he holds and hugs and caresses, I am confident with whom I am without having to be the one he kisses, too. But now I want to be the one he kisses and I want him to be the one I kiss. And so we stand there in the dark and kiss and smile and smile and smile.
We say Goodnight and I disappear in my chamber, already missing him, though his chamber is maybe two sliding doors away. There's still a small smile on my face and I can't stop smiling it. I can feel that he thinks about me now. And I feel that he feels that I feel it, too. As I lie beneath my blanket and close my eyes, I see his face in front of me. And it's the most precious image in my mind. So I keep it in place and fall asleep.
...
We act as though nothing really important happened. The next few days we act as usual which makes me think if we have to act differently now, when we're together or together with our friends. I don't feel like it's somewhat wrong the way we behave, since nothing has changed. But I wonder if Oboro feels that way. But every time I try to ask, I don't find the right words, because I can't even tell if I am right with the way I feel.
It is late evening, when I am still doing my sword practice close to a small river in the forests. It's calm and quiet around me. My eyes are closed as I fight a non-existent opponent. I'm deeply caught in my movements, as my sword suddenly hits something hard and bounces back from the impact.
"Please don't open your eyes", a familiar voice says playfully. So I keep them close.
"Let's try out if know me as good as you think you do", Oboro suggests and I hear how he's moving backwards on the grass, increasing the distance between us.
"Ready?" he asks.
I nod. There's a sound of feet rushing over the ground and it doesn't matter that I have my eyes closed. I know how he starts a fight. I know in which angle he'll try to hit me first. He'll aim at my right hand, the one which holds the sword itself; then he'll try the left wrist while pretending to aim at the collarbone and flip his blade upwards to the shoulder, before drawing it down in a swift, fleeting, quick movement, almost unable to dodge.
Now I am the one to attack and I rush towards I expect him to stand. I hear the rustle of clothes and spring around and lift my sword. The impact makes my body tremble, as his blade hits mine. A quick flow of dodging and attacking follows, I jump back and forth, my feet barely hitting the ground, thrusting my sword forwards, turning it as a moving barrier around my upper body, cutting the air where seconds before Oboro has been, colliding our swords together and ripping the connection apart with the next start of movements in order to win.
Since I still have my eyes closed and simply act according to what I hear and feel and my memories of all the times I have watched my partner fighting, I can hardly really react when he suddenly tries something entirely new. Our swords are pointed to the earth, he dodged my thrust to his knee, suddenly he draws his blade upwards in a fast movement I didn't expect, in a half circle so my sword is almost flying out of my hand and he thrusts me backwards so I stumble and fall onto my back. I am to stand up again, as I feel the razor-sharp end of his sword at my throat.
...
I keep still and don't move an inch. Then I follow the pressure and lean back into the warm grass. The sword rests on my skin, slightly touching the surface without cutting it. I breathe out and relax.
"You were pretty good" Oboro says playfully and I hear the smile in his voice.
"You, too" I answer.
"But you didn't see the last one coming".
"No, I didn't".
"But you were still pretty good. I'm impressed by your skills with closed eyes".
I smile and the blade vanishes from my throat; a rustling of clothes follows together with a sound as though he has laid his sword into the grass more or less next to me.
"Don't open your eyes yet" he says and I keep them close.
Black and red mists of darkness are swirling before my inner eyes. Suddenly it becomes darker and slightly cooler, as if something or someone was standing in the sun and the shadow was falling over me. I wait. I feel the warm wind on my cheeks and growing warmth radiating from something above me, heating me up instead of the last few sun rays coming to our earth before the rising night. Then some soft strands of hair tickle my cheeks, my nose, my forehead.
And then he's there.
...
I wince at the sound of my buzzing cell phone. The buzzing is so loud – much worse than an aero plane or something. I look at the LCD and slide it open.
"What is it?" I bark into the microphone. I am angry. It sucks when one memorizes something really important and an idiot you call 'friend' even disturbs you doing it.
"Kuroto, we're all waiting for the two of you to come home. Where are you?" Tsukumo asks.
Probably he hasn't even noticed my mood.
"Still standing in front of the university dorms" I answer with growing annoyance in my voice.
"And where's Senshiro-san?" "
Still inside of the university dorms. He still has to finish the stuff he and his class mates are working on, then we'll come home" I mumble and look out of the window, my finger tips tapping onto my knees.
"Ah, ok. Then bye and –" "
Yeah, bye" and I hang up.
I almost expect him to call anew, but he doesn't. My cell stays silent. And the car radio seems to turn up the volume on its own. I close my eyes again, the lyrics washing over me and carrying me away like a tidal wave.
"…I picture you in the sun wondering what went wrong
And falling down on your knees asking for sympathy
And being caught in between all you wish for and all you seen
And trying to find anything you can feel that you can believe in
Always
May god's love be with you
Always, always
May god's love be with you
I know I would apologize if I could see your eyes
cause when you showed me myself, you know, I became someone else
But I was caught in between all you wish for and all you seen
I picture you fast asleep
A nightmare comes
But you can't keep awake
Always
May god's love be with you
Always, always
May god's love be with you
Always, always
May god's love be with you
Always, always
May god's love be with you…"
...
The kiss is lighthearted, full of cheerfulness and serenity. As he pulls back, I reach up my hand and gently stroke his smiling lips with the tips of my fingers. His smile turns wider and I smile back. Everything seems just right, just in place. Then I say something and he starts laughing and it's the most wonderful sound I have ever heard. He ruffles my hair and I try to ruffle back and we tussle and scuffle like a pair of young animals, without evil thoughts, without any ideas of wanting to hurt the other.
Eventually, we lay in the grass next to each other, looking into each other's eyes. His very light golden orbs always make me dreamy and I feel like falling into them, diving into this golden ocean, flying into this golden sky. I move closer and he smiles and turns onto his back.
"Kuroto" he whispers, before his lips are melting into mine.
...
His hands are stroking down my back, I feel him feeling the subtle lines of my shoulder blades and spine and muscles. I enjoy his touch and slide my hands over his warm chest, which rises and falls with every breath; he slightly pulsates from the living beat of his heart. The upper parts of our yukatas are pulled off; our clothes are only held together from the belts around our hips.
The skin I feel is warm and soft and familiar; familiar is also the scent I breathe in, so familiar I sigh and for a few seconds I bath in all my senses, what my eyes see, what my ears hear, what my nose scents, what my lips taste and what my skin and heart feel at once. "Let's stay here for a while" Oboro suggests, his face mirroring what I feel. I nod. And we sink deeper into the grass.
...
He lies behind me; his arm resting around my waist and hiding inside the fabric of my clothes, stroking over my still sensitive skin; his touches almost hurting me because his hand is so unbelievable gentle to me. I give myself over to his hand and close my eyes. His face nuzzles into my neck, his chest presses against my back. Our legs are intertwined. I play and caress his other hand. His skin feels slightly warmer than mine.
"Oboro?" I ask, with the last of my tired voice.
"Hm?" he says.
"You will… never leave me, right?"
"Never"
"And you will always be at a place where I can run and find you?"
"Always"
"And it's a promise?"
"Yes. It's a promise".
I smile "Ok" and relax.
"And now sleep, my dearest friend. I will hold you when you fall asleep. And I'll hold you when you wake up, all night long, till the rise of the sun brings you back to me" he whispers, a smile in his words, all his love in his voice.
"You… know, you're… the one I will always run to see" I murmur.
"…I know. And now sleep…"
...
"Kuroto, listen. I will be send to Kyoto. The battle there escalates more and more. They need me" Oboro says, his face hard and worried.
I blink several times. "Yeah, but – why don't they send me off, too?"
"I don't know, probably because you're still stricken from the last battle…"
I bite my lips. "When are you leaving?"
"As soon as possible. My stuff is packed already. I'm just waiting for the command to depart".
Suddenly, there's a harsh voice calling for attention at the main entrance to the residence. We run over; many of our friends have gathered there already; a few are crying. I hardly listen to the report of what exactly goes on now around Kyoto and Osaka.
"Kuroto…"
I look up to him. "Be careful"
"I will"
"And you will come back to me, you hear me?" I say and my voice becomes louder.
"I promise".
He reaches out one hand and strokes my cheek. His eyes saying everything he isn't able to. Then he's gone.
...
I dodge the attack and a burning pain flares up in my right shoulder. I almost let my blade fall to the ground as I cry out; red spots dance in my view, my surroundings seem to spin. The Duras screams and gurgles up blood and poison and collapses. Everywhere is blood – on my hands, my arms, my clothes, my face, my feet slither and stumble over the blood-soaked battle field.
And everywhere I see our friends fall from the hands of the Duras. "Oboro!" I shout and I search desperately for him. Another blow, this time from two lower class demons. I finish them off, but they claws bite into my sides, slowing down my body, spilling my blood over them and the flash of my brave sword the last thing they see.
"Oboror? Where are you?" I shout again, coughing and spitting out a clump of black and red.
"Kuroto!" His voice cracks and the ground trembles at a sudden impact not far from me.
The noise around me grows louder and louder, demons die, humans die, the sky seems to be ripped apart and explode into a hell of fire. Then I see him, all alone, against a higher class Duras, I can tell just by his aura, his radiating wickedness and malignity. I ran toward them and my legs never have been faster. I stop beside him. He pants and I see his shaking legs and arms. He's injured and tired. I can't even imagine for how long this battle has been going on already.
"So this is your partner?" the demon smiles and his sharp teeth flash as white as snow. I grit my teeth.
"Who are you?" I ask with a growl.
"My name is Cadenza. And I suppose, I'll be the last thing you'll see before I finish you off"
"As if. I'll kill you, you unworthy demon who killed our friends. I'll send you to the deepest depths of the earth"
Suddenly he's in front to of me, his sword right at my throat. He's faster than wind, faster than light. Faster than me.
"Then come and try" he whispers.
...
I crash into the ground and slide like six meters over the broken and destroyed earth. I hear my partner crying out my name and then being silenced all of the sudden. Then another scream, long and horrible, terrified and makes me tremble and shake. I lift myself up onto the elbows and I can hardly see. I have countless wounds; I see my blood flowing out in countless rivers, soaking my clothes, the earth. There he is, Oboro, being held by his throat like a meter above the ground, Cadenza's claw clenched around his throat, his triumphant eyes searching for mine.
"Oboro" I say, dust on my tongue, blood in my mouth.
"Kuroto… run…" his voice is weak, almost inaudible. His golden eyes become darker.
"No, Oboro!"
New power, the strength of despair pulls me up.
"Say Good bye to your friend" Cadenza smiles, smiles, from ear to ear, lifting his sword.
"No! Oboro!"
"Run, Kuroto, run! And live- for the two of us!"
A flash – a scream – my partner, my best friend, my lover – the sword, this awful sword cutting right through his upper body – the flames – the fire – the last flash of his dying eyes before they look at the Me they can't see anymore.
It feels like my heart is ripped apart from me. I cry out and fall to my knees, my fingers clawing into my skull, into my hair, my voice screaming at the top of my lungs. The fact hammering itself into my brain.
HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD HE'S DEAD
And never before in my life I have felt hatred, this hatred, burning up my soul, leaving only ashes behind.
"Come on, just kill me" I hiss, as he stands in front of me, his feet on one level with me eyes.
"No"
"KILL ME!" I shout desperately and he laughs and my head hurts, my body hurts, my heart is bleeding, the sadness threatens take over me.
"If you hate me that much then come and kill me. I'll be waiting for you to take revenge for your dead partner" he smiles and walks away, leaving me laying among all the corpses, soaking in all this blood, the ashes of my dead partner snowing down on me.
…
"He will never really recover from the loss" I hear them say.
"There will be a gap in his life – in all the coming lives. And nothing will be ever able to fill it up again"
"And there's no way to bring his partner back?"
"No. He's dead, gone into the stream of souls of the Giou Clan. He will never come back. Kuroto will be alone from now on"
…
"Hi, my name's Senshiro" the blond boy smiles, the light eyes behind the glasses flashing curiously at me.
"I don't care" I say and turn away.
The moon behind me seems to laugh and cry and smile.
The End.
So, I hope you liked the idea and the way I worked out Oboro's character ;)
The first song lyrics are from 'Twist in my Story' by Secondhand Serenade, the second are from 'In the Sun' by Joseph Arthur.
I hope you enjoyed and please leave a Review =)