A/N: Due to my inability to write a long coherent novel length fanfiction on this AU, I decided to create a series of oneshots or something similar just to express this idea fbehjbdhjbdhnd This is a snippet piece of a larger AU.
" – The boy collapsed during his classes, we've just rushed him into the hospital to determine what's wrong, and we've found some... disconcerting information." The speaker paused, for an anxious moment.
"Disconcerting information!? Such as?"
"It would be more appropriate for you to come here to discuss such matters." Akari bit back a remark, fuming and concerned for her brother in an overwhelming fashion. She forced herself to speak out a calmer tone, but it still sounded chipped and upset. The speaker on the phone sounded somewhat frightened by her outburst.
"Of course, of course. We're on our way immediately. Thank you." She shut off the phone without waiting for a response. Haru was already waiting to accompany her. She held a somewhat solemn, serious air despite herself.
They left without any further preamble, sharing concerned looks every so often.
"Tsukumo, Yuma? Ah.. Ah.." The receptionist quickly scrolled through a digital list it appeared. "Room 214, on the second floor. A doctor will be waiting for you outside the door," she noted duly.
"Thank you very much," Akari bowed slightly, Haru followed suit and they left the hectic receptionist area. There was a sense of discomfort at the very air of the place, the young woman felt. She never liked hospitals for some reason.
A quick elevator ride and few paces and they anxiously saw a doctor waiting by a room concealed by a bright blue curtain. He appeared somewhat bemused and upset, but partially calm. There was a relieved look, followed by something unidentifiable as he placed his eyes upon the approaching two.
"Ah, are you two associated with Tsukumo Yuma?" He inquired, studying them for a moment. Akari spoke up, "We are. I'm his older sister and this," she gestured towards Haru, "is his grandmother. We were told his condition was somewhat serious."
"In a sense yes. Please," the male opened the curtains and gestured them into the large dimly lit room, "I would ask you see for yourselves before we commit to any major questioning."
"Questioning?"
"Please," he insisted towards the room. They hesitantly stepped through, the sound of shoes clicking against the smooth flooring reverberating against the almost empty room.
And for a moment, she was uncertain what they were referring too. Her baby brother seemed to be in good health, no dreadful tubes and wires covering him, no bandages or casts; nothing that she was expecting was –
She choked, a confused noise coming from her throat. The woman stumbled to get closer to the boy, eyes wide and horrified looking over him. "Oh my god," the words dropped from her mouth and she didn't seem to realize it.
Scars.
Her baby brother was covered in scars.
They marred nearly everything, stretching over his body like an angry, infection burn. Angry marks, without direction and meaning fell from the right side of his face, draping over his torso and most likely down his back and onwards. Some reflecting the light pink of rose petals, the others white and others an angry red. Fresh, and still healing. The contrast was startling against untouched patches of pale skin; night and day.
Some markings stood out with some sort of echoing consistency, as if they had been redone but their figures unrecognizable by the overlaying skin.
Her hands were shaking, and she couldn't stop staring. Was this some sort of illusion, some sort of trick? He had been home this morning – perfect in health with no such things. Certainly...
Akari glanced back at her grandmother, who seemed to be uncertain as she. The doctor spoke up at that moment, "If you would like to leave the room so that we can leave the patient to rest, and more so discuss this."
Throat dry, unable to speak, the woman nodded. Haru grabbed her hand soothingly as she approached the door and they walked out together as they were lead to what appeared to be a private lounge of some sort. Pastel, and soothing colors greeting them.
"It appears that you had no knowledge of this, and I apologize for rushing you on inquiring about this – and not giving you enough time, but however we are prompted –"
Akari cut the man off, "It's fine, we're just struggling to understand the situation as much as you. Along with sentimental values getting in the way," she took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes for a moment, gathering herself. "But I would like to know what you know about this, and vice versa. So please."
The doctor, she caught the name on his name tag now – Dr. Hiroshi, Sugata – and tucked it away, nodded.
"The boy, as you were probably told, fell unconscious without explanation during the changing of one of his classes. Yuma hit head violently on one of the walls during his collapse, and there was concern about this. He was rushed here," the man began the explanation, taking a breath.
"His head was then checked for injuries, and did appear to have some blood on his face, for unknown reasons." Akari looked at the doctor, gaining a hardening look at the news, but more so that of concern.
"Regardless, one of the nurses made an attempt to clean it off –" there was a dramatic pause, "– and concealer came off of his skin, at the attempt. Some sort of skin base to cover..." He trailed off, the frightening image of her brother's current state flashed through Akari's mind, and she wondered if she would ever be able to see the child again without being reminded.
"If we hadn't been using alcohol to clean it though, the combination of whatever he was using wouldn't have come off. We tried using water," the man stated, more perplexed than anything.
"Ah," Akari swallowed, "...Did you find something like makeup base in Yuma's room earlier today, Grandma? And then you asked if it was mine..." She trailed off, the realization dawning. "But it wasn't."
"I see," Hiroshi nodded in comprehension. He coughed awkwardly for a moment, after the room soaked in a tense silence, the two recipients considering everything they had been told. The two drew their attention towards their host.
"So you knew nothing of these scars prior?"
"No, of course not." Akari replied, still appearing a bit shaken.
"And what of him being injured, at all? Has he ever come home with any injuries? Any noticeable limps or broken bones? Or appearing to be in pain?"
The woman opened her mouth to say no, but nothing came out of her mouth as she remembered something she deemed insignificant. Just a stumble, a wince of pain for what was deemed no reason. A reassuring smile afterward, a look as if nothing had ever happened. The doctor caught on.
"Yes?"
"...Once." She told him, "but I... I hadn't thought anything of it." Akari seemed somewhat distressed by this.
"I see, that's understandable. How long was he around you two? Daily?"
"A few hours, maybe. Including dinner time, and such. Some days not at all though," She spoke recalling, "he would just disappear, and worry the life out of us until he came back. Though we got used to it after a while, saying he got caught up with a friend. Which is understandable..." Her voice was unsteady. The man jotted down a few notes at this, but nodded.
"Had he met any new friends as of late?" The woman laughed in response, "Too many. Three, four maybe."
The doctor opened his mouth to speak again, but suddenly a noise sound interrupted him. A buzzer, some sort of alarm went off and he fumbled to answer it. He studied the information on his pager for a moment, eyes scrolling.
"He's woken up," he said after a moment, quietly. There was nothing to be said, they all stood up and the two followed the doctor out of the room. For a moment it appeared as if he were going to make an attempt to dissuade them, but he caught the look in Akari's eye and dropped it.
The walk to the boys room dragged on for what seemed like forever, the woman thought. When they reached the room, there was a nurse standing anxiously by the door frame. She caught the doctor's eye with a relieved look, seeming to mouth thank god quickly.
The doctor went by the doorway, glancing to what they could see of the patient. Akari caught up, taking the boys appearance in. Sitting up, with a seemingly dazed look as he held out his hands and arms in front of him, as if in disbelief. He ran a hand through his hair and swallowed, a distraught murmur passing through his lips.
She ached to go to him.
Akari looked at the doctor as he spoke to the nurse in low tones. She had missed the discussion, caught up in her own mounting worry. The man turned back to her, and spoke to her in the same voice, "I would like for you two to approach him at this time. If that's alright? Be gentle though, he seemed to have reacted poorly to the nurse," he said looking away, distraught and biting his lip. "I implore you to make an approach towards him before anything else we do," he said.
She nodded and welcomed the suggestion, but was left bemused at his later statement. He reacted poorly?
It didn't matter, because, oh god her baby brother. She turned and softly entered the room.
The child's head snapped up in an instant, eyes turned towards her; a livid, wild gaze consumed her for a moment. A frightened animal, backed up against a corner. The male seemed to look away, anxiety seeping through, and lips moving in an attempt to speak. Nothing came out.
He covered his hands over his eyes, curling up into a ball, distressed. She moved next to him, and tried to put a hand on his upper arm, or shoulder, in the comforting way that would be familiar. The hand was slapped away, pushed away by some force. She stared, and the boys hands dropped from his face by a few inches, revealing a panicked expression.
"Don't," the boy said softly, it half sounding like a sob to her ears. "God, don't you can't – not now." The hands dropped limply at his sides, and there was just a pained expression faced towards the ceiling.
"I'm so sorry you had to – this," He tried to tell her, but the boy was failing his voice coming out more broken at each word, "I'm so sorry, nee-chan." Yuma surrendered, his head bowing.
"Yuma," she spoke as strongly as she could, "what is this?" She implored him, almost desperate. She nearly touched him again to gain a similar impact, but merely grasped at the bed in front of her.
"I never wanted you to see this – I never wanted you to be put through this. God, I'm so sorry." He repeated, and she spoke up riveted;
"Sorry for what!?"
"I took him away from you!"
Akari looked back up at him, startled.
He had spoken with the same fire, same loudness as she. But with a regret and bitterness that she could not match.
Yuma sobbed, a dry aching sound. He murmured another apology, gripping his torso with both arms. A suddenly she realized the empty depth in his eyes.
She waited for him to explain.
"...I took him away from you – I never wanted to do that. Over anything, that was the one thing I wanted to... protect. That you never deserved to be put through."
"I don't understand..." She told him, a desperate tone seeping through.
"The child, the innocent child that is supposed to be here in my place – I never meant to take him away from anyone," the boy said.
"What are you –"
"I am not the Tsukumo Yuma you know."
The initial overwhelming distress turned into sobs faded into a cold, agonized and steady speaking.
"I am... another. An older soul from a distant future. A lost future."
"Impossible," was the only word that came from Akari's mouth.
"I had to stop it – you don't understand it but – I have to stop it," he told her, his voice strong and gripping. "I won't let everyone's sacrifices be for nothing."
There was a moment of silence, of comprehension. Ohmygod.
There wasn't even a question if the boy was serious or not.
"I never wanted you to miss him, to suffer the loss of him, to have to have that precious me replaced by this," he held up his hands, and there was a flash of self-loathing that she had never seen in crimson orbs before.
Suddenly everything about the boy was so different.
"I'm so sorry," he choked out again. Another silence reigned, and the child looked whipped for a moment. As if he were about to be punished.
And she grabbed onto him suddenly, with a speed unmatched, and held the boy. He made a noise of surprise, a gasp, as his struggled to stare at the woman beside him. As he struggled to respond vocally, " – don't," he started, "you don't want to..." he said appalled.
"Listen to me," Akari started in a low, shaky voice. "I don't know why or how any of this is –" she began but stopped, and started again after a breath, "but I know, despite everything that might have happened now, despite the fact this is a thing, and my younger brother suddenly isn't so young or at least mentally or something," she spoke as she seemed to try to gather her own thoughts on the matter, "that you're still my brother. You're still my family."
And the raven haired boy seemed speechless, trying to respite but failing as tears came into his eyes, trembling. "..but you don't.. you don't know... what I've – I'm not..." he seemed to be clawing for words, but Akari broke him off.
"I don't care what you've done, or who you've become, because even then you're still my baby brother, aren't you?" She looked into his eyes, deep and shaken. "I will want to know everything that's happened to you, sure, but it doesn't matter when it comes to anything like this. It's not your fault then if –"
"But it is," the boy choked out. "I knew what was going to happen, I knew I was going to have to overtake his soul if I wanted to do this. It's my fault."
"But you're doing it for the right reasons, aren't you? Because then if you hadn't done this, then my brother still would have turned out to be you, wouldn't he?"
"I deprived you of your remaining moments with him then," the boy continued to blame himself earnest.
"Look at me," she directed his eyes more forcefully towards hers, for the second time, "and listen to what I'm saying. I don't hate you." She told him.
"I'm confused and upset, but I don't you what you expect me to do. You're still my brother, and I still love you."
"Are we even related by blood anymore?" The boy bit out, "Akari, I'm not even human anymore, how could you, how could I..?" the distress came back, frazzled sobbing and hysterical reaches came into his voice as he spoke. "I never had so much time to think about it as I have now, but –"
"Family isn't made by blood ties, you idiot." She ignored the comment all completely, unsure of how to take it and more shaken then anything. What was this future. What had they done to her brother.
"We grew up together, we still have this bond – and through it I will always love you, no matter what happens to you, no matter who you become; do you understand?" he whole speech was debatable, but she didn't care. Akari just wanted him to stop. To stop blaming himself for this. He was hurt enough.
The loss of the child she had seen this morning was lost on her, perhaps from shock, or from the reasoning that this was Yuma still. She would miss the innocence of the boy, but he was still here.
Barely here, for that matter.
"Do you understand?" She asked again, and the boy seemed stricken at a loss.
"I..." he choked, "..do you.. mean that?" Akari soothingly stroked his head in response, lessening her suffocating grip on the boy in favor for something lighter.
"Of course I do," she murmured.
The male wept.