Hello again!
I'm sure it's obvious my whole "finish this fanfic by the end of summer" plan fell flat on its face, but that doesn't mean I'm giving up on it yet! :D Thanks for staying with me all of you who did! It means a whole lot to me!
Concerning the possibility of Franada and/or UsUk: Okay, I have no idea if they'll happen or not. The story gets out of my hands sometimes, so we'll just have to see together if either pairing occurs. If you're only reading this fanfic for those pairings, sorry to disappoint, but you really shouldn't be reading this anyway. ^^;
Main characters this chapter: America and Canada (last chapter it was France and Canada. I meant to write that, but I didn't, so I'll just put it here instead).
Bonus note: Want to hear a song that I feel captures this fanfic pretty well? Listen to Stranger In This World from the musical Taboo. The musical itself doesn't really fit, but this song by itself does and sometimes it makes me tear up a little. I'd suggest listening to it to set up the mood for everything. ^w^
Alright, I'll stop bothering you now and let you read the long awaited second chapter. =w=
Reflecting back on his previous observations about the ghosts in the building, Mathieu, now sitting next to his zoned-out twin in Mr. Wang's math class, found that he had been wrong. Very, very wrong. He wasn't exactly sure if it was because he had been too nervous yesterday to notice or if all the spirits scattered due to so many new people coming and going, but, no matter the reason, saying the décor had scared the undead away was incorrect and something Mathieu would have to tell Monsieur Bonnefoy about later. That is, if he could make it through the day without going insane.
Sixteen years of living wasn't enough to prepare anyone for the hordes of screaming ghosts eerily congregating around the other students and the teacher. The crowd around the Vargas twins was easily the biggest and loudest, their bone-chilling cries mingling with one another and making it impossible to pick out one distinct plead, even if Mathieu did speak Italian. It was harder to tell whether other ghosts were haunting a particular person or the location itself since they were coming and going so rapidly. His polar bear's presence seemed to thankfully be keeping most of the wanderers away from Mathieu and his brother, but he couldn't find an explanation for why the Asian student –Kiku was it? - was also left untouched. Honestly, he wasn't sure if remaining untouched made the young Asian more or less unnerving than the rest of the class.
With the ghosts blocking his view of most of the things he needed to see and drowning out what he wanted to hear, Mathieu felt helpless and lonelier than usual. He doubted anyone else was witnessing what he was, and there was no way he could ask the spirits to go away. Oh no, that'd be suicide with so many restless spirits around. Mathieu wasn't even letting his eyes drift to them, lest they figure out he could indeed see them. Not even his polar bear stood a chance if they all decided to swarm around him and tug and pull at his body, their icy touches brushing against his own soul and-
"Yo, Matty?" Mathieu gasped and went rigid when he felt a hand on his arm. Oh God, oh God, oh God. Did he give himself away on accident? Was this the end?
"Helloooooooooo? Dude, are you alright?" As whatever was touching him began to shake him violently, Mathieu whipped his head to the side and saw with wide, still-frightened eyes that it was none other than his brother Alfred trying to get his attention. Sighing in relief, the younger's body went slack and a small smile crossed his lips.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry Al. I just… you know…" Alfred's blank expression showed he didn't know. Sometimes Mathieu wondered how much his brother knew about what he saw every day. He had told Alfred about it a long time ago while he recovered in the hospital after one of the first attacks, but he doubted his brother remembered when the Alfred's expression was always so…so… (Dare he say it?) dense. And if his twin didn't know, Mathieu wouldn't bring him down with the information. Besides, white lies never hurt. "Math is hard, a-and I-"
Alfred's loud and obnoxious laughter cut Mathieu's explanation short. "I hear ya bro!" Alfred smacked his brother's back much harder than necessary, leaving the teen breathless for a few moments. "I stopped paying attention halfway through, too! We'll have to ask another student for help later, that's all! But right now we have to go to Arty's class!"
"…Ar…ty…?"
"Yeah! He's my advisor!" Alfred started packing his supplies into his blue canvas backpack with white stars on it (as if any more obnoxious blue and white was needed within the building), a huge smile on his face. For Alfred, a smile like that was very unusual while he was still in school.
Mathieu tried to remember Alfred's teacher's full name as he also put his things away, which wasn't too difficult since the man had found a way to stop his brother from talking at the opening ceremonies. "You mean Monsieur Kirkland? Is… he okay with you calling him 'Arty'?"
"Nope."
"Al!"
"Whaaaaaaaaaat?" Alfred groaned.
"He's your teacher and your elder! You should treat him with respect!" The younger and easily more mature twin huffed as he stood with his broken brown backpack in hand.
Alfred followed suit soon after, a mischievous grin on his face. "Ah, but it's fun Matty! It really ticks him off! You should try it!"
"Um…thanks, but no thanks."
It sounded like Alfred was trying to get himself expelled, which wouldn't end well for either of the twins. If Alfred did get kicked out, Mathieu could foresee two possibilities for his own outcome: either his father would take him out as well and blame him for what happened or he'd make sure Mathieu stayed at the school alone.
"Booooo! You're so lame Matty!"
Mathieu chose not to reply to his twin's latest comment, concentrating more on watching the other students leave and making sure he didn't run into them or their ghosts. This was, as one might expect, exceedingly difficult when you also want to make sure the ghosts aren't aware you're aware they're there. If Mathieu was six instead of sixteen he'd probably cling to Alfred's arm, but he was a bit old for that so instead grabbed his own arm and squeezed it tightly.
'You can do this Mathieu!' He mentally encouraged himself. 'If you make it through today you can talk to Monsieur Bonnefoy later, a-and maybe he'll know what to do! Plus the next class might not be as infested as the first two! You never know! Think positive Mathieu!'
The blond twins walked down to the next class together, Alfred standing tall and Mathieu nervously slouched over, and the moment the younger of the two stepped into Mr. Kirkland's classroom he knew he had once again spoken (or, perhaps it would be more accurate to say in this case, thought) too soon.
The previous classes had been uncomfortable, as any room filled to the brim with the undead would be, but this room was a completely different experience. For Mathieu, entering the room was akin to submerging himself in water; his body felt heavy, his eyesight was getting fuzzy, and his breath refused to come without choking him. He lost his balance and fell against the doorframe and slowly lifted his head, trying to find the source of the weight practically crushing him. A particularly dark shadow stood at the front of the class, the black aura surrounding it cloaking all hints of humanity it may have had.
Alfred, who had already taken a step in before Mathieu, moved toward the figure, his smile still wide. Primal panic welled up within Mathieu and he weakly reached out, his hand latching onto the back of his twin's shirt and stopping him. Alfred looked back, the confusion on his face clear.
"Al…" Mathieu's voice was softer than usual, the words nearly lost in the six inches of air separating them. "Don't go."
"Matty…?" Alfred's confusion morphed into concern as he turned back to face his brother. Mathieu's gaze, however, was now focused on the thing approaching them with an arm-like appendage reached out toward them.
Mathieu bolted, his backpack dropped and forgotten at the doorway. He had to get away from the creature. He had to get away from Alfred. Surely the thing knew Mathieu saw it (he was fairly certain they had made eye contact even though he couldn't see its eyes) and if he ran the thing might leave Alfred alone. Nothing else processed in his mind except "RUN".
By the time Mathieu ran off, everyone in the classroom was watching the event unfold with varying amounts of interest. Alfred launched into big-brother mode and was taking the first step toward going after his twin when the ominous arm that had terrified Mathieu caught him.
"Don't you dare Mr. Jones." As was quickly becoming the norm whenever Alfred was around, Mr. Kirkland's voice sounded annoyed and exasperated. "We don't need a third of the class running out before it's even begun."
Alfred met his teacher face to face with a fire in his eyes no one could put out, even Mr. Kirkland, who always seemed to make him feel more lethargic than usual. "But I have to go find Matty! You probably scared him because of that weird grim reaper robe you're wearing!"
The Brit's eyes narrowed as Alfred struggled with less energy than one would expect after hearing him yell at a teacher. The teen got nowhere, his teacher's robed hand keeping him within the confines of the classroom that was admittedly eerie to anyone. None of them were crushed by the atmosphere like Mathieu had been, but the skeleton in the corner and the dusty bookshelves filled with glass bottles were fairly off-putting. If Alfred hadn't been so focused on his brother he would have been surprised by the room's décor, for the place had looked like an average classroom the previous day. His teacher had also looked normal, if not a little fancy. The writing on the chalkboard offered little explanation, seeing as none of the other students had ever heard of a Science 101 classroom and teacher being decorated in such a macabre manner.
Finally it dawned on Alfred how useless his struggling was and he stopped, but only so he could turn his head and give Mr. Kirkland a fierce cross between a pout and a glare. Unfazed, Mr. Kirkland turned Alfred completely around, pushed him further into the classroom, and closed the door with enough force to cause a bang, Mathieu's backpack laying forgotten on the other side.
"I understand your concern," Arthur said, silencing the protests his student was all too ready to vocalize. "But my class started two minutes ago, meaning you've wasted two minutes of everyone's time with this."
"You-!"
Arthur held up his hand. "I am willing to cut another minute out of my class to call your brother's adviser and let him know what's happened, but the total three- probably now four minutes will be paid by you later Mr. Jones."
Sighing, Alfred agreed reluctantly. Whether he ran out of the classroom or stayed he was going to get in trouble, and he wasn't even sure what he could do for Mathieu. Despite how dense he appeared to (and could) be, the older twin knew quite a bit about his brother's problem with spirits. When he was younger he had tried to help fight the things off, but he was greatly hindered by the fact that he couldn't see the dead like his brother could. His "help" would end up causing more problems for Mathieu, and it was with a heavy heart that Alfred decided it would be best if he stayed on the sidelines assisting his little brother in ways he wouldn't notice like giving him a charm bracelet meant to ward of spirits. He had no idea if the small things he did helped, but trying made the clawing sense of uselessness less painful.
As Alfred sat in a desk neither close to nor far from the four other students, Mr. Kirkland reached into his cloak and pulled out his cell phone. His message to Mr. Bonnefoy was short and to the point, and those closer to the front of the class could hear a French-accented voice shout through the device before their blond teacher cut the call off without so much as a goodbye. The phone was stashed and finally class could begin.
"Hello students." The greeting was given as Mr. Kirkland straightened out his back to give himself an air of authority. "Now that that is out of the way I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Arthur B. Kirkland, and it is with great enthusiasm that I am allowed to tell you that instead of teaching you science like Mother originally planned," He walked over to the chalkboard, erasing what was there and replacing it with "Intro to Alchemy". He smiled at the words proudly and turned back to his class. "This year I will be teaching you the basics of a scientifically and mathematically based magic: Alchemy. It's not my strongest field, but this should be-"
"You're a wizard?!" Alfred shouted the question that everyone was thinking but no one dared to interrupt Mr. Kirkland to ask.
Mr. Kirkland shot the American a look that could kill, but now it was Alfred's turn to be unfazed. The question may have sounded like a joke, but there was a serious look in the teen's eyes that forced Mr. Kirkland to answer without snapping at him.
"Yes, I have the ability to practice many forms of magic, my primary study being the dark arts, which I will never teach to any of you here. Far too dangerous." A nearly inaudible sigh escaped his lips as he folded his arms over his chest. Of course his student had to be the one constantly interrupting his class. "As I was explaining before I got interrupted, alchemy is relatively safe as long as you listen to me and the rules you are given and don't try anything stupid."
Like a proper student should, Ludwig, sitting in the first seat in the front row, raised his hand. Appreciating the respect, Mr. Kirkland allowed him to speak. "You mentioned that Mother originally planned on having us learn science. Is there any particular reason she changed her mind?"
"Well, Mother and I talked about it for a while, and, since one of the major reasons I'm here is to provide magical assistance whenever possible, we decided that it would be useful if this year's students, you all, could learn some basics about magic so that you might be able to understand your individual problems better." Arthur walked to his desk, positioned at the front and to the left of the room from the student's perspective, and sat on the corner of it to get off his feet.
"No matter what happens here during your time at this school," He continued. "You should know everything is done in hopes that it will benefit you in the end. It is part of human nature to struggle with life, but the things thrown at the people inhabiting this school are something else. It's impossible to expect someone who's been cursed to live the same 'normal' life as a person who only hears about curses in stories told at bedtime. This place and its goals are unlike anything I've seen during my lifetime, so I beg for you not to take its kindness for granted."
Silence filled the air as Mr. Kirkland allowed time for his words to be absorbed by his students. To his pleasant surprise not even Alfred made a peep, which allowed the class to continue moving forward. Tattered textbooks were handed to each student, two being given to Alfred so that he could give one to Mathieu later. Opening the leather-clad front cover revealed the words, "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost." scrawled in golden ink. The words stirred up something inside of Alfred, but, unable to figure out why, he pushed the feeling aside and did his best to actually listen to what was being taught this time.
It wasn't until the five students were dismissed that Alfred saw his brother sitting in the lunchroom with who he could only assume to be Mr. Bonnefoy beside him. The older man's head lifted when he heard the other students enter while Mathieu only curled up more, horribly embarrassed by his prior actions. Alfred went straight to the table his brother was seated at, doing his best to smile wide and offer his special variety of seemingly-oblivious comfort.
"Hey Matty! How are ya doin'? You ran out super-fast and I wanted to follow ya but stupid old Arty wouldn't let me!"
Mathieu lifted his head only after Mr. Bonnefoy softly shook his shoulder, but even then he couldn't meet his brother's eyes. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. I…I just…" He fidgeted nervously, a clear sign that he was lying and going to continue to do so. "Felt a bit sick a-and didn't want to make a mess in the classroom. I'm s-sorry if you ended up getting in trouble because of me."
"Stop lying to me Matty." Alfred mentally begged. "Stop taking on all the blame. None of this is your fault and I'd think no less of you if you told me you saw a spirit in the classroom that scared you. Who wouldn't be scared by something like that? Can't you trust me Matty?"
"Don't worry about it!" He interjected enthusiastically instead of voicing what was really on his mind. "Arty didn't make too big of a deal out of it because he was so excited to teach us about alchemy."
"A-Alchemy?"
"Excusez-moi." Mr. Bonnefoy said as he stood. Mathieu looked up at him, the fear from before briefly returning in his eyes. The Frenchman smiled sadly down at him and stroked the teen's hair to try and calm him back down. "I apologize, but I do have some business I must attend to. I'm afraid my class is the last of the day, but would you like to at least try getting through Gilbert's and Antonio's classes Mathieu? They're good friends of mine and I believe you should be alright. If something does go wrong you're welcome to come find me."
Alfred watched the exchange in awe. It was odd seeing anyone pay much attention to Mathieu besides him, and it stirred up a few different emotions, some not as pure as he would have liked. Alfred couldn't help but be wary of a man he didn't know, but if Mr. Bonnefoy was being kind because he actually cared then that made the older brother happy.
He watched as Mathieu slowly nodded and dropped his head. Both teacher and student seemed equally reluctant about separating, but reluctance didn't mean Mr. Bonnefoy's business was going to disappear so he still had to leave. This left the twins alone sitting only a foot away from each other though the distance felt much greater.
"So-"
"Y-You should go get something to eat Al. I'm sure you're hungry."
"Uh…" Time to smile again. Something was eating at Mathieu and there was no need to make him feel worse knowing it was so obvious and worried Alfred. "Damn! You caught me Matty! You always know bro!" His laugh echoed through the room, bringing more attention to the twins that Mathieu didn't want. "Would you like me to come with me and get something too?"
"O-Oh, no, I'm fine, th-thank you. I'm still not feeling the best."
Mathieu wasn't looking at him as Alfred's smile grew strained. Did his brother want to be alone or just away from the older twin? "Ah, I'll get you something just in case! Even if you don't eat it, I sure will!"
Mathieu's reply was drowned out by more of Alfred's loud laughter as he walked away toward the buffet set up for the students. When he passed the open door leading to the hallway he heard loud bang coming from Mr. Kirkland's room. He stopped at the doorway, curiosity starting to get the better of him. Mr. Kirkland had admitted he was a magic user, so was he performing a spell as the students ate?
Looking back he saw no one reacted to the noise besides him. Unable to stop himself, Alfred left the lunch hall once he was sure Mathieu was distracted with his thoughts and went to inspect his teacher's classroom.
He poked his head into the entryway only to quickly retract it when he saw the cause of the noise. Inside the classroom Mr. Bonnefoy had Mr. Kirkland pressed against the wall by the collar of his shirt. What the hell?!
"Bastard!" The Frenchman barked. "How dare you do such a thing! Do you even know what he's been through?! He didn't need this on the first day!"
"It was necessary." Arthur replied, an irritating calmness in his voice. "I had to test a theory that turned out to be correct. I'm sorry there ended up being a consequence I hadn't anticipated, but now I can help both of them."
"How about asking moi before trying something like that?! He was shaking Arthur! Shaking and terrified and believing he had seen death itself wandering around your classroom!"
"Listen to me you frog!" Shuffling sounded from the room, but Alfred didn't dare to see what was causing it. He wouldn't get caught when he was so intent on hearing what these men had to say! "There is a problem much greater involving your student that I doubt he or his brother know about!"
"Oh? And do you plan on sharing that information with me, or are you going to keep it locked away in that thick skull of yours?"
A sigh and the sound of drawers opening. "July, sixteen years ago. Twin boys are born to Mr. and Mrs. Jones, but there are complications during the birth. The older twin is strong and healthy, but the younger dies. The heartbroken mother holds her dead child close and is reported to chant in an unknown language before drawing her last breath. The once dead child opens its eyes, tears falling even though not a sound is made. Mrs. Jones is buried a week later, her two sons left to be raised by a single father."
"I already knew this Arthur. Why are you telling me again?"
Paper shuffled.
"May, thirteen years ago. Three-year-old Mathieu Jones is admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at St. Josef's hospital. His body is covered in animal-like scratches uncommon for the area. The child claims he was attacked by a shadow figure, and the claim is quickly dismissed as a child's way of coping with whatever actually happened. Nurses note that Mathieu appears to be much happier when his twin, Alfred, is around, but also gets severely weaker, his heartbeat often slowing down to dangerous speeds and his injuries cause him extreme pain despite no matter how much medicine they safely administer. For the good of the patient his twin is prohibited from the hospital room and Mathieu recovers within a week.
"August, thirteen years ago. Both Mathieu and Alfred are admitted to the hospital, their injuries similar in severity. The boys share a room and Alfred recovers after three days. Mathieu's recovery takes three times as long and dramatic improvements in his health take place only after his brother is released.
"January, twelve years ago. Mathieu-"
"Get to the point Arthur!" Francois snapped. Alfred then heard paper get smacked onto a solid surface. A desk perhaps? He still couldn't see what was going on, but when he heard paper shuffle again he just assumed Mr. Kirkland picked up whatever Mr. Bonnefoy threw down.
"I should have known telling you the details would be a waste of breath." The drawer was opened and closed again. "All you need to know is that it would be best for your student to keep him away from mine."
"Arthur!" Alfred was pretty sure the next bang was caused by Mr. Bonnefoy slamming his hands down on the desk the papers had been put on previously. "I have the right to know what's going on! Stop being the stubborn ass you are for once in your life and tell me what's going on with Mathieu and his brother!"
"He's being absorbed."
"Wh…What? Who are you talking about?!"
"Your student, Francois. Alfred has a very powerful spiritual energy within him, one that needs constant replenishing. Based on the many medical reports I've read and what I've seen, Alfred is unaware of what he's doing and is continuously taking the energy of others, similar to how a flower will get its energy from the sun. Even left unregulated, the condition isn't usually a problem because all living things naturally cut off the energy coming off them so all of it doesn't get taken away. However, Alfred and Mathieu, being twins, have the same spiritual wavelength and can't shut down from each other. It is because of this that I believe Mathieu died sixteen years ago."
"You… You're saying…"
"That coming into the world required a lot of energy and Alfred accidentally took so much from his brother that he killed him? Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying."
Alfred slowly slid down the wall, his eyes wide. No… no, no, no, no! That couldn't be true! Alfred would never do something like that to his brother! He loved Mathieu! Killing him, absorbing his energy?! All of that was insane!
"The only reason Mathieu's alive today," Mr. Kirkland continued. "Is because Mrs. Jones, a fairly prominent woman in the magic world, gave up her life in exchange for his."
"Mon Dieu, that… that's horrible. How are you planning on telling them?"
"Are you mad? I'm not telling them."
"Not even Alfred?! But this is all because of him and it won't get better until he knows what he's doing to Mathieu!"
"Tell Mathieu if you like, but I refuse to tell Alfred. Imagine, if you will, having the knowledge that you killed your brother and, indirectly, your mother weighing down on you for the rest of your life because of a power out of your control. He'd never be able to show off that… that dumb smile anymore." The Brit's voice had gotten soft in a failed attempt to hide the sadness leaking through his words.
Alfred felt the need to laugh bitterly. What was it about him that made people think he couldn't handle the truth? He had more of a right than anyone to know that nightmarish creatures plagued Mathieu during the day and that his attempts to help were killing him! Alfred didn't know what to think anymore other than he was fucking tired of all the bullshit he had to put up with.
Nobody trusted him with the truth?
Fine.
He'd return the favor and keep the truth from them as well. He wouldn't let on all the information he knew. He wouldn't let his smiles or obnoxious laughter falter. He'd convince them all he was an oblivious idiot while he did all the research he could to fix his problems by himself.
"One day you'll see." He muttered under his breath. "You'll all see what I'm truly capable of. Until that day," Alfred put on his signature smile. "I'll be dumb ol' Al."
Alfred stood back up and walked back to the lunchroom, unable to stand listening to the "private" conversation of his teachers any longer. There wasn't much time to eat left, but he got food anyway and placed a full tray between him and his brother. The sound of the tray clanking against the table snapped Mathieu out of his thoughts and caused him to look up at his brother.
"Where have you been Al? You left," Mathieu glanced at the clock and scrunched his face in confusion. "Twenty minutes ago. Is everything alright?"
Alfred sat down and dug into the food he had gotten, hoping that eating would provide him with energy and keep him from taking too much away from Mathieu. "One-hundred-percent cool bro!" He exclaimed, little bits of food landing on the table. "There were just so many options that I couldn't choose!"
Mathieu rolled his eyes, but a small smile formed on his face as he grabbed a piece of cornbread. "You're something else Alfred F. Jones."
The older of the two feigned a look of hurt. "But I'm still your brother, right Matty?"
"Always Al."
Alfred's happy smile returned while his heart twisted in pain. He'd deserve to be Mathieu's older brother one day…
Translations:
Monsieur (French)- Mr.
Mon Dieu (French)- My God
I… don't remember too many foreign words in this chapter, so if I miss any that you just can't figure out the meaning of, please don't be afraid to let me know!
Notes about this chapter:
-Okay, yes, my rule of alchemy is from FMA. I looked up the real rules and they were much longer and more complicated than necessary for this fanfic, so I went with simple stuff I knew pretty well. If any of my readers practice alchemy and get horribly offended, um… sorry.
-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAANGST. So much Alfred AAAAAAAAAAAAANGST. I love it. I love it quite a lot.
Whelp, that's the end of this chapter~ I think we'll be focusing on characters other than the Jones twins next time, so please come back! I don't plan on taking months to write this time! ;w;
Favs, comments, follows, and shares are loved~ Oh! And I uploaded a few quick sketches based on this fanfic to my dA account, which is linked on my profile here. You can check them out if you like~ ^^
