Viper or Mammon?
Chapter Six

Ahh, finally an update~! I should really stop saturating myself in yaoi, it's probably not that healthy...
I'm talking about 'Royal Winter' btw, I dunno how many times I've mentioned it.
... I should write...
And I'm skipping a few years! There will be a short summary however...

Saturday- 7:00 PM- four years after I left off.

Chrome leaned into her fiancee and closed her eyes. She had matured over the years- she was now nineteen and fairly content with her life. She had recently had worrisome dreams, however.

Dreams in which a cloaked man was reaching out, trying to touch her. She would back up, and always find herself pulled into an embrace of Fon's from behind. Fon would say something to the cloaked man, but she wouldn't understand what he said, then the cloaked man would just... disappear.

She vaguely remembered seeing such a man, years ago. But... she'd forgotten who he was. And if she ever asked her brother, he would just frown and tell her that 'he is no longer part of' her life. She couldn't help feeling a bit lied to- and she faintly suspected her to-be husband of pulling something. Fon wrapped an arm around her shoulders and rested his head on her own.

"Tired already, dear? It's not that late yet..."

"Sorry, Fon," she murmured, "we got up very early this morning... so I guess it's just getting to me..."

"Ah, alright, would you like me to carry you to our room?"

"Mm... sure..."

Fon picked her up bridal style and walked gracefully through their house, headed to the main bedroom.

The next morning, Chrome woke up beside her lover, as always. She sat up and looked at the window, which was letting in a bright, white light. She had had another dream, this one particularly vivid.

The cloaked man had come very close before she'd run into Fon; this time he'd gently brushed his hand over her cheek, and said something in a serious voice, but she couldn't make out any of the words. An almost vice-like grip wrapped around her wrist, and pulled her back: Fon. 'She is no longer yours,' he spoke in a voice that was almost unrecognizable from the level of aggression in it.

The other man frowned and stepped back, then looked down, and whispered something else in a voice that just sounded like rasps of air before completely disappearing. Chrome found herself shouting out to him as he began to vanish, though she hardly knew what she was saying when she called out,

'No! Viper! Come back!'

The dream had jostled Chrome quite a bit this morning. She was unsure about what she should do now, and almost scared that Fon would find out.

"Good morning."

She jumped slightly at the voice, but calmed when she saw it was only Fon, who had turned onto his back so that he could see her. "Morning," she replied quietly. He sat up and looked at her oddly.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," he murmured. "Bad dream?"

"Not the best," she answered half-honestly, "uhm... can we go to that old bar this morning? I don't know, I just feel like visiting the place..."

"Oh, sure," Fon said, though he looked slightly thrown off-guard.

"If you don't want to... I mean, I heard you have to work late today, so you can just get more rest if you want...," Chrome told her lover. He smiled and leaned in to kiss her softly.

"Well, that's very considerate of you, Chrome, just promise me you'll be careful, alright?" he asked, softness in his black gaze.

"I promise," she said, grateful that he wasn't suspiscious of her. She returned his earlier kiss to his cheek and got out of bed to get changed for going out. "If you're not back in five hours, I'll be coming to look for you."
Chrome laughed lightly, "Okay."

When Chrome entered the old place, she suddenly felt herself thinking about roses. She had no idea what was the connection between the two things, but the place had just brought the image of a blossoming, indigo-petaled rose to her mind.

... What was with that?

She sighed and walked up to the bar, and took the seat that she used to always take. She glanced around her, and froze completely when she saw the hooded man from her dreams. Her heart began hammering in her chest as she took in the image. It was that same man, dressed in a black cloak, a black hat casting a hood over his eyes, purple triangles just under where his eyes would be, and short indigo hair that reached to his shoulders. He was in the seat beside her, calmly drinking from a glass of water. He caught her gaze and seemed to tense slightly as well.

"Uh... there something you need, little girl?" he asked in a somewhat soft, but guarding voice.

"Uhm... d-do I know you from somewhere...?" she asked, the image of the indigo rose becoming more profound with every detail she noticed. He was so real.

"... You may," he answered mysteriously, "I do a lot of traveling."

'As an illusionist,' she completed the sentence in her mind.

"My name is Chrome," she said, "Chrome Dokuro."

He fell silent for a moment, in which he seemed very uncomfortable. "My name is Mammon."

The image of the indigo rose suddenly shattered like glass. "Mammon...?" she whispered, feeling strangely disappointed.

"Yes."

"But I thought... I mean... your name isn't... Viper...?" she asked.

"Viper? That's a peculiar name, but it is not my own," he told her, before taking another silent drink.

"Oh...," she whispered, before standing, "sorry... I thought... you were... someone... else..."

She walked out then, and clutched her aching head. 'Why...?' she thought as she struggled to reclaim her memories. 'Why do I feel this way, even though I agreed to marrying Fon? What is this longing?'

She began striding blindly in any direction as tears made their way into her purple gaze. She began to run as doubts and confusion overcame her, and suddenly tripped, finding herself falling into a mess of rocks that would surely kill her. She yelped with suprise as she got closer to the deadly boulders, but suddenly froze in midair. She was trembling, suspended halfway between the ground and the stone below, when she felt an arm wrap around her waist and pull her back. She felt a warm breath- a sigh of relief- brush against her ear.

"I almost thought I lost you."

She looked behind her and saw 'Mammon,' who had apparently played the hero role for the day. "Lost...?" she choked as she was set back on firm ground, "Who are you?"

"Don't you KNOW who I am?" he replied in a hushed voice.

"Not if your name is Mammon," she snapped, "I know a man named Viper. An illusionist trying to find his way out of the big city for a more peaceful life. He's a little greedy, but has a kind heart. He left me four years ago today and, as promised in a note, he NEVER came back!"

She suddenly felt herself being pulled into a kiss with this other man. A comfortable, cooled, not even arousing sort of kiss that lasted less than five seconds. He pulled back from it a bit early and looked at her. "There is no Viper, anymore. But there IS a Mammon."

"I'm to be married next week," she told him.

"Well, I didn't think you'd want to take things so fast, but-"

"Not to you."

He stiffened, "What...?"

"I'm marrying a man named Fon. A man who WON'T leave me. I don't know you. I don't want to know you. I don't care who you are, but you are not the man I love," Chrome informed him, coldness in her eyes.

"B-but I-"

"I don't know you," she repeated, "if you aren't Viper."

With that, she walked away, bitterly realizing that she had run down that forest trail again. How many times had she done that now?

'I suddenly remembered so much...,' she thought, before holding out her hand. An indigo rose had appeared there without her even noticing. It was fragile, not only was it quivering slightly, but it gleamed like a piece of glass. Like a dream that was too big to accomplish.

"Chrome," spoke a deep voice. She looked up, and saw Fon. He looked... angry with her. He wasn't smiling as he always had, he didn't have any trace of a gentle expression on his face. He saw the rose in her hand- the glass illusion of a rose- and he saw the other man, who had been trying to catch up with her. "Who... is this?" he asked, pulling her into his arms, but turning her so that she, too, faced the cloaked man.

"My name is Mammon," the man said. "Who are YOU?"

"I'm soon to be her husband," Fon hissed, "my name is Fon." The indigo rose, once again, shattered in Chrome's hand, just as it had in her mind.

"Hey, Chrome, do you remember who you shared your first kiss with? That was me!" the cloaked man said, seemingly no longer intrested in Fon.

"That was Viper!" Chrome countered, "and he left me!"

"Mukuro told me that this 'Viper' broke Chrome's heart, and I will not allow such a thing to happen again!" shouted Fon. "She is no longer yours!"
Chrome felt herself suddenly remember another flood of things.

'I've got my hand closed around every 'magic trick' in the book.'

'I came down here from Northern Italy, and I even changed my name.'

'You are intrested in me.'

'Nice to meet you.'

'I hope you realize just how hard you've been gripping my hand this whole time.'

'Let's go out again tomorrow, 'kay?'

'See you soon!'

'It's an illusionist thing.'

'Try to fold your knees up so I can help you.'

'I wouldn't do that! You're my friend.'

'You would make a beautiful black cat, Chrome.'

'You'll fall for me like a fly in insect killer.'

'Imagine a... hmm... let's start simple. A rose.'

'Focus on every detail you can.'

'Are you impressed with this result?'

'Chrome, you have a lot of room to grow into a powerful illusionist.'

'What if the die has the same number on every side? For that would be my die.'

'Seeing as Chrome is the only girl I've ever been in a relationship with, the number on the die remains constant.'

'Being an illusionist, I really like to twist imagination into reality.'

'He got close to me without warning, I acted on instinct.'

'Take note of the wind, it's one of the reasons for an illusion to fall apart.'

'Because of the wind, this one here is evidently an illusion.'

'Here, I can teach you...'

Chrome remembered every encounter vividly now. Three points stood out clearly.

Viper was a changed name.

Viper had thought of her as a good illusionist.

The wind could bring fall to the illusion.

She looked up at Fon. The man who was graceful and always nice. He was the wind.

She looked at 'Mammon'. A man with a changed name, who recognized and held his own talent, who vanished when the wind was present, but showed when his will was strong. The illusion.

-End Chapter.

Wow, it's not like me to have this much symbolism in a fanfiction, but oh well~ It works, right?
FON IS NOT THE BAD GUY! Okay? He cares a lot about Chrome and wants whats best for her. He, like Mukuro, doesn't trust Viper/Mammon. Alright? I don't want anyone turning against Fon because of me; he's a good guy. Are we clear? Yes? No? Whatever. I'll be updating soon~!