This is a prologue of a ten-chapter length I made based on my listening to Lamentation over and over again, desperately trying to GET the words clearly... thanks a lot for the lyric!
This is a semi-crossover fic. You'll find people from other animes walking around, some merely passerby and some hold the key to the fic. But all in all, this is an MoB fic. The inserted characters happened because I don't know many people in MoB world...
sigh...
I've only watched the thirteen episodes of MoB, so I'm going to ignore everything that happened after (or before) that... I'll try not to ruin anything, though...
This happened a few weeks (or months) after the 'pier incident'...
R/R are greatly appreciated!
Lamentation
Prologue
Naoe Nobutsuna has a secret.
It is a secret so well kept, that not even Uesugi Kenshin knew about it.
It is a place where he can retreat to whenever things get too rough or too much for him to handle.
It is a place where he can mope and sulk and pout and whine and curse and scream and cry as he'd like, as much as he'd like.
For four hundred years that place had been his sanctuary. After all, no one can come there unless he lets them.
He let some accompany him there, of course. But only his kind can enter the place, and there weren't plenty. And from those not plenty, only some actually had the chance of getting into his sanctuary.
It was his paradise, considering that he's not allowed to die.
Then again, even if he dies, he'll never go to heaven.
He loves the green grass and tall trees there. He loves the wind and the smell of flowers. He loves the roaring sound of waves and the trickling sound of river. He loves the high mountains and the cold snow.
He loves how he can make it the way he wants it to be.
Too bad he can't make people there.
But it's okay. The place gives him a time to be himself. To be unburdened by his duties, even if only for some time.
And Naoe's very much drawn with the thought of staying there forever.
You see, Naoe Nobutsuna is a Yumemi.
A dreamgazer.
He was driving when it hit him.
There was a screeching sound so loud. There were broken glasses everywhere around him. There was chaos everywhere. There was fire, and the smell of gasoline.
There was a bright light in front of him, and the world spun around him.
He tried to find something to hold on to, but darkness crept into his eyes.
Is it time?
His only regret was that he'd never see his master again.
Gomen, minna-san… Sayonara, Kagetora-sama… Takaya-san… A… i… shi… te…A firm hand grabbed his, and he was pulled up.
"Takaya?"
Ougi Takaya blinked, and looked at his best friend, Narita Yuzuru.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. It's just…"
"What?"
"I seemed to hear someone call me…"
"Eh? I heard nothing."
Takaya shook his head, "It's probably nothing anyway."
Yuzuru looked uncertain, but he let it go.
Takaya himself wasn't sure that it was nothing.
The voice called for Kagetora-sama. For Takaya.
The voice said goodbye.
The voice declared love.
It sounded like Naoe.
Takaya heard the sound of ringing phone, but he ignored it. Yuzuru and Saori were bent over a table with him, working on another school project. Yuhiko was sitting beside Saori, helping them by reading a book out loud, carefully outlining the history of the Uesugi family.
Takaya had a fit when their history teacher gave their group THAT family to do report on.
Fate works in a cruel way.
There was a knock on the door, and Miya's voice called, "Niichan! It's for you!"
"Eh?" Takaya was surprised. Not many people call him. The only ones who do call him are…
Miya opened the door and gave the phone to her brother, then plopped down beside Yuzuru, looking at the red-dots he's putting on a map, "So, how far had you gone?"
Takaya grumbled about the Gods being against him, and put the phone next to his ears, "Hello, Ougi Takaya speaking."
"Ougi-san?" a man's voice which he'd never heard before spoke haltingly.
"Yes. Do I know you?"
"Eh… no… but… I know you. I mean… I've heard about you. Not really, though…"
Takaya frowned, the man was not making much sense, "Well… Can you give me your name, then?"
The man hesitated, "It's… Tachibana."
Something clicked inside Takaya's head, "Are you… related with… uh... Tachibana Yoshiaki?"
"Ah," the man sounded relieved, "So you do know my son."
HIS SON????!!!
Whoops…
"Yes, Sir… I know Na… eh… I mean… Yoshiaki-san…"
His friends and sister had stopped whatever they were doing, and were looking at him curiously.
Takaya shrugged his shoulder, "Is there anything I can help you, Sir?"
"Yes… maybe…"
"If you want to ask me where Yoshiaki-san is, I'm afraid I don't know. I haven't seen him in weeks."
"No… No. I know where Yoshiaki is. It's… it's about something else."
"Yes?" Takaya was intrigued.
"I think… I think we should meet, Ougi-san. There's something… there's something I need to talk to you about face to face."
"Eh?" Takaya was confused, "Can't we talk on the phone?"
"No… it'll be too… odd. We really need to meet, Ougi-san."
"Okay… when?"
"What about now?"
"EH?!? But it's already late…"
"You can tell me your address. I'll send a car to pick you up."
"Pick me up to where? I have a school tomorrow, Sir…"
"It won't take long… I hope."
Takaya shook his head, "Okay, then. But I'm bringing my friends. They also know Yoshiaki-san."
"Yes… that'll be very good. May I have address?"
Instead of giving the man his home address, Takaya told him to meet them in a restaurant near their school. After all, he doesn't know who the man is. Anyone could easily use the Tachibana name and lure him out.
Something in him screamed in alarm.
Yuzuru looked at him as he put down the phone.
"Who is it?"
"A man who claimed to be Naoe's father," Takaya answered warily, "He wants to meet me."
"Eh?"
"He's sending a car to the café near school."
"I'm going with you," Yuzuru reached out for his bag and stuffed his books in.
Saori and Yuhiko did the same, "We're coming, too," Saori chirped.
"Eh?" Miya looked surprised.
Takaya looked at his sister and felt something tugged in him.
"You're coming too, Miya-chan. Change your clothes. Wear jeans and jacket."
Miya didn't bother to ask. When her brother tells her to do something, she simply obeys. After all, it's not like Takaya had ever told her to do anything before…
Takaya took the phone beside him and dialed Haruie's number.
When the car came to the round-the-clock café, Haruie and Nagahide had joined them. Takaya, Yuzuru, and Miya rode in that car, while Saori and Yuhiko rode with Nagahide, Haruie following on her motorbike.
Takaya tried to ask the driver for any information at all, but all he said was that Tachibana-sama asked him to pick up a man named Ougi Takaya and his friends.
The rest of the trip was spent in silence.
In the café, Nagahide had voiced his concern of a possible trap, and Haruie had tried to contact Naoe to both his house and his cell, but no one answered.
Takaya had waved off their concern, saying that even if it's a trap, he had both Nagahide and Haruie to protect him. And it's not like he can't take care of himself, damn it!
Miya simply listened to the conversation, and her eyes shone as she heard the name Kagetora. Takaya could see how his sister's bright mind worked to put the puzzle together.
Frankly, he didn't care. She'd bound to know, sooner or later.
The car made a right turn, and entered a parking lot.
"Eh?" Yuzuru looked startled, "Takaya… It's a hospital…"
They were asked to wait in a waiting room.
Takaya couldn't sit still. The alarm bell in his head is ringing very loud, and his heart's beating twice as fast. He fidgeted, he walked around the room restlessly, he bit his nail…
Naoe's father asked for a meeting with him in the hospital.
Takaya was worried.
Haruie, fiddling with her jacket cuff, looked almost as anxious as he was. Nagahide sat, no, sprawled, on a chair, his long legs stretched out in a relaxed posture, but there's something in the way his shoulder tensed that told Takaya that the older man was not as relaxed as he seemed to be. Saori and Yuhiko kept on stealing glance at the door, and Yuzuru was looking at his every movement.
Takaya was more than worried. Takaya was anxious.
The door opened, and a mid-aged man entered with a silvery white-haired doctor.
"Ougi-san?" the mid-aged man asked.
Takaya strode over to him and took his proffered hand, "Ougi Takaya desu. You are Tachibana-san?"
"Yes. I'm sorry that we have to meet like this. I'm at my wits end, and the only one I can think of is you."
"It's Yoshiaki-san, isn't it?" Takaya heard his own voice quivered, "Something's wrong with him."
"Tachibana-san, Ougi-san, why don't we take a seat?" the doctor gestured at the empty seats around them.
Takaya instinctively took the middle chair, Haruie and Saori at his right side with Yuzuru, Nagahide and Yuhiko on his left side with Miya, the Yasashuu taking both ends of the half circle.
Tachibana-san and the doctor sat in front of them.
"These are my friends, Narita, Morino, Takeda, Chiaki, and Kadowaki. This is my sister," Takaya introduced his companions quickly.
"I am Tachibana Yoshiaki's father. This is Muraki-sensei He's the one who's… er…"
"I was the one at was on duty when Tachibana Yoshiaki-san was admitted yesterday morning," the doctor said coolly.
Takaya's heart sank, "Admitted?"
"Yes. Yoshiaki-san was… quite severely injured."
"Injured?" Haruie inquired, her eyes wide, "What happened?"
Muraki-sensei looked at Tachibana-san, who sighed heavily.
"We found your name from Asaoka Maiko-san, whose cell-phone was listed in our temple's contract book. Unfortunately, she only remembers your surname, so we spent 24 hours calling every Ougi-san listed in the area phone book."
"What happened?" asked Haruie again.
"Yoshiaki… he…"
"Yoshiaki-san had an accident. His car was hit by a truck," the doctor said sympathetically.
Takaya's breath caught in his throat.
"How is he?" asked Nagahide, the ever-practical one.
"I won't lie to you. His condition is not good. But… that's not why we called you."
"Oh?"
Muraki-sensei looked at the people in front of him closely, "In the wreckage of his car, the police found an old katana, and a will tied to it."
"A what?" Yuzuru looked alarmed.
"A will. This," Tachibana-san took out a long white envelope from his jacket, and offered it to Takaya. Takaya didn't move.
Nagahide took the envelope instead, his eyes as hard as steel. Carefully, he took out a folded simple paper from it. Looking at Haruie, who nodded, he unfolded the letter, and read the words loud enough for them to hear.
My dear family and friends,
When you read this letter, I can safely assume that I'm already dead. Please understand, this is not something I can avoid, and I've known that when this day comes, I'd be alone. This is my wish, this is what I deserve.
Tousama, Kaasama, Aniue, Niisama, Neesama, I thank you for your kind acceptance and understanding. You're the only true family I've ever had. With all of my heart and soul, Nobutsuna thank you.
Nagahide, Haruie, I thank you for your companionship all this long, for keeping up with me even when I don't deserve it. Take care of Kagetora-sama, for I cannot do it anymore. Tell Irobe-san that I'm sorry for my inability to carry on the sacred duty given to me…
My time is up, I'm done for. It's time for my atonement. But those two… they are young.
Live on. And tell him… tell him to live as he wants. This old dog won't be around anymore to remind him of what he doesn't want to acknowledge. If you can… let him live his life peacefully. Set him free…
They're not only young, Nagahide, Haruie. They're children…
There's a key in this envelope. It's the key for a safe deposit box in Nakayama Bank. I put all of the wealth I have there. Give some to him, so he can support himself and his sister, and the rest… Just do what you want with it. Distribute them equally among my family and you, or put them into charity…it's a wealth I never deserve to have.
Tell him… tell him I'm sorry… It's time for me to pay for my sin, a sin that cannot be forgiven, even after a thousand years. I don't expect him to forgive me, but I have to ask.
And tell him…
Tell him I love him…
I'm sorry, for not holding on… For leaving… For giving up… But I cannot help it. And I… I will not be seeing you anymore.
I'm too tired, Nagahide, Haruie… Call me a coward if you want… But it's too much… Far too much…
In the end, I am merely a soul ceased to exist long ago.
It's time for me to go.
I thank you all. For the life. For the love. For the friendship.
Naoe Nobutsuna is forever indebted to you.
With all of my heart and soul, I salute you one last time.
Tachibana Yoshiaki.
Haruie clamped her hands on her mouth, tears in her eyes. Saori and Yuhiko were looking at each other, eyes wide. Yuzuru leaned over to grasp Takaya's arm, while Miya entwined her fingers to her brother's cold ones. Nagahide folded the letter neatly and replaced it in the envelope; his hands shook ever so slightly.
Takaya himself was beyond shocked.
Tachibana-san looked at the people in front of him, their reaction a telltale on how far they'd known his son.
They'd known him well.
"Yoshiaki-san… " Yuzuru's voice trembled, "how is he?"
"He's… it's hard to say. The wounds themselves were not fatal, but… it seems like his body is slowly shutting down by itself… in a gradual process of sorts. He's still unconscious… It's not a coma… but it's close... It's more as if… As if Yoshiaki-san simply doesn't want to wake up."
"I don't understand…" Takaya's voice was barely above a whisper.
Muraki gestured to the letter in Nagahide's hand, "In the letter, there's a mention of a lover, or a beloved one, maybe it's the one Kagetora, I don't know… maybe… If we can… If this Kagetora can talk to Yoshiaki-san…"
"What?" whispered Haruie.
"Like I said, the wounds were not fatal," Muraki explained patiently, "Yoshiaki-san's supposed to be awaken by now, but he's not. So, we think that maybe, just maybe, he doesn't want to wake up. He'd certainly expected to die; after all, he has a will carried around."
Tachibana-san spoke up, "It's a long shot… but… Human body is essentially controlled by the soul. If we can… say… give him a will to live… a purpose… maybe… just maybe… he'll wake up."
Muraki continued, "From his letter, I can tell that he's… weary. Of what, I don't know. I'd go as far as saying that he's weary of life. He is still young, though, his body is strong, he can survive these kind of internal wounds. But if he doesn't want to live… If he gives up…"
"Why… why are you telling us this?" asked Takaya.
"Who else will I tell?" asked Tachibana-san, "Who else will I tell beside his friends? Yoshiaki doesn't have many friends, my wife remember Ougi-san only because he'd called to our house before, and when Asaoka-san mentioned your name, we knew that we had to find you…"
"Me?" asked Takaya bitterly, "He doesn't even contact me, Tachibana-san. It's been weeks since the last time I saw him, since the last time I've ever heard of him… months, even…"
"All the more reason we have to find you, Takaya-san… I know my son. I know his tendency to mope and sulk. I know how fragile he really is. I know… I know that he blames himself for every bad thing that happened in this world. But it's not all his fault… Yoshiaki is not a bad man, I know that! He's only… he'd seen too much, felt too much, hurt too much… I know my boy, I know that he wants to die, and I can't let him!"
Takaya looked at this man in front of him incredulously.
"What do you want me to do, Tachibana-san?" the boy finally asked, "I'm not a miracle worker…"
"No, but if you'd only talk to him… Even if you can only safe his soul… Even if he has to move to another body… Please, you're our only hope! He will listen to you, he won't leave you, not if you ask him to stay… he's loyal to you, isn't he? Despite what happened in the past, despite his… obsession… his… he… my son loves you, Kagetora-san. Please, I beg you, please…"
"What?" Takaya was startled.
"Please, I beg you…"
"No… what did you just call me?"
"Kagetora-san…"
There was silence.
"There's no secret between my son and us, his family, Kagetora-san. I presume that I am right, aren't I? You are that Uesugi Kagetora?"
Haruie looked at Naoe's current father and the doctor beside him. While it was possible for Naoe to tell his parents, but this doctor…
Muraki sat there, an amused smile on his lips, as if he's watching something interesting on TV…
"You are, right? The Kagetora my son had served for four hundred years?"
Nagahide decided to cut the conversation, "Tachibana-san… is it possible for us to see Naoe? I mean… we can assess his soul condition better if we see him."
Tachibana-san looked at Muraki, who stood up and nodded.
"Yes, yes…" Tachibana-san stood up with him, and gestured at his son's friends to follow him, "If it is necessary for him to move… It will be better if you're around, I think."
Nagahide and Haruie looked at each other. Naoe really told his secret to his current family…
Miya tugged her brother up, and Yuzuru guided him through the halls, following the two older men. He let himself be led to God-knows-where… To Naoe…
Takaya was drowned in his own world of hazy gray and blue, the voices around him were steady hum without meaning.
All he heard was the words he thought he imagined.
Sayonara, Kagetora-sama… Takaya-san… A… i… shi… te… TBC…Some author's note:
I don't know Yoshiaki's father's name... or his mother's... or his brothers' and sister's... can anyone tell me?
I think everyone can guess that some people from X-Clamp will pass by eventually...
I need a doctor who knows about onmyojitsu and magical and ghost thingies. I need a doctor who can take all babbles about kanshosha in stride. I need a doctor who's still alive and not a kanshosha. Hence Muraki's appearance.
Any misspelling of names and words are solely my fault...
Thanks for reading!
THR