Of Promises and Lies- Chapter 11
"Have you decided yet?" C.C. asked a silent R.R. "You've been thinking for the past hour now." They were still standing in front of the door. She and V.V. both already knew what his answer would be, but still waited out of courtesy. R.R. tipped his head to the side. He supposed he had made them wait long enough. At least they had the consideration to wait, even though he had decided what to say a long time ago.
'I will never join you and C.C.' he said neutrally. 'Nothing more, nothing less.' V.V. nodded expectantly, sighing, not surprised. This was the reason why he had led them to the experimental building in the first place after all.
"The labs it is." Then, as if from an unknown signal, three men came up from behind R.R. and grabbed him. He felt his straightjacket become buckled up. He didn't protest or move to fight as his arms were strapped against his body and sleeves sealed. The men's actions were by no means gentle, purposefully jostling and tightening the lab-issued coat more than was needed. His head jerked back as the straps were tightened unmercifully around his lower face, securing his mouth unnecessarily.
'I will escape from here again. Watch me.' He vowed to V.V. and C.C. 'Just like I did before. I will get a way from this cursed place!' V.V. raised an amused eyebrow.
"Oh?" he asked. "Then we'll just capture you again. It will be an endless game of cat and mouse. You run and we catch. Entertaining, don't you think?" R.R. felt the urge to spit on the ground in front of the other in a hateful and uncharacteristic manner and would have if it wasn't for the restriction around his lower face, just for the satisfaction of expressing his extreme disgust for V.V. and the start of his rebellious behavior.
'Yes,' he hissed. 'It'll be as entertaining as your face when you realize your plan to take over the world is impossible and fails.' V.V.'s expression grew colder and less polite when R.R. uttered those words. His hand moved and R.R. found himself bending over in pain. One of the men handling him had punched him at V.V.'s signaled command. He looked up at the shorter immortal, catching his breath.
"Do not underestimate Charles." V.V. said tonelessly. "I have faith in him." R.R. found an opening to say a few words, out of spite.
'Oh really, V.V.? If you say that, then why do you doubt him now? I know you do.' V.V. looked shocked at this accusation. He probably hadn't realized it consciously yet. R.R. mentally winced, knowing he shouldn't have said that. He had probably sped up Marianne vi Britannia's death, but it wouldn't effect the original timeline that much. Her death was bound to happen soon anyway, he calmed himself. He felt a guilty pang, but ignored it and pushed it to a dark corner of his mind. He focused back on V.V. The other was staring at him in hatred.
"I do not doubt Charles." V.V. said. He gave a pointed look to the men waiting for orders. "Take him to get labeled and then in a holding cell." The men saluted.
"Yes, Master V.V." R.R. didn't struggle as he was roughly escorted away through the door to the prison cells. He sent a last message to V.V. and C.C. before the door closed, however.
'One day,' he said. 'One day I will escape from here, and see that you and this organization are destroyed, utterly and completely!' The last thing the other two immortals saw of him was a pair of vivid violet. Then, they were gone. The door shut with a loud sound, seeming to echo around. V.V. smirked.
"I'll be waiting for you then, R.R." He started to walk away from the building. "C.C." The girl dutifully followed the other back to the city's headquarters, which was conveniently located at the other section of the underground city, away from the labs.
R.R. had a stony face the entire time he was escorted to a holding cell. His new dog tag shone brightly against his dark clad chest in the dim lighting. He hadn't had any time wasted in obtaining it from on of the guards. They had even had a pre-made one to label him with, so confident they would recapture him. Well, R.R. wanted to bitterly chuckle, they had been right in that matter. He was brought out of his musings when there was a loud click and metal sliding. He sighed, rolling his eyes. They had even saved his old cell, just for him. He was unkindly pushed in and he stumbled to the ground.
"This will be the home of the rest of your existence." One of the men said from behind the other side of metal bars. R.R. resisted the urge to childishly stomp on the other's foot. That's what the prison guard from fourteen years ago said when he was first captured. He played with the thought of the organization having no progress after all this time. He sighed. If only that were true… Then, the guard had left, leaving him with the others imprisoned in the place.
Slowly, whispers had started, all wondering who he was, who he could be, why he had a straightjacket, how dangerous he could be, how come he was so old yet still a 'new' lab rat, and other such things. There were a lot of names being thrown around, as to who would actually confront him. R.R. just simply ignored all the hush-hush talk with practiced ease. He was used to it, expecting something like this happen. He was different, as always.
During his previous stay, he had grown popular after the discovery of his immortality among the other prisoners, for that's what they were prisoners of science. Previous to the discovery, all the scientists, researchers, C.C., V.V., and the other prisoners had all wondered what his Geass was and thought it was defective, mutated, or dormant for some reason. However, it was something unique only to R.R., something different, something worth studying. If it weren't for the unmasking of his 'scars', which really was his Geass mark in disguise, the pretense of his nonexistent Geass would've continued.
Although, he was famous after they all knew he was an immortal, he was also infamous for his failed attempt at escape from the Geass Directorate. His other marking attribute was his white and violet eyes.
There had been many speculations and rumors concerning his appearance. His eyes were just like the emperor's. Some had said he was a great-great grandfather of the current emperor, Charles vi Britannia. Others had disagreed and thought he was a previously unknown long lost brother of the man. R.R. didn't agree nor disagree those rumors, knowing they would only confuse his actual identity, but he did gag when somebody mentioning he was the emperor's secret, hidden lover. He then stepped out from his self-inflicted shell made it quite clear he didn't appreciate the thought to the poor gossiper.
There had been also questionings of his sanity, but R.R. had brushed away those thoughts, leaping to find another matter to think about.
When he had escaped a year ago, he had foolishly shed his old name, N.N., and renamed himself R.R. Even if it was vague it was still a hint as to who he was in the past. He didn't need V.V. link the pieces together and have more leverage against him.
R.R.'s eyes glanced to the side and he tensed when he saw the person in the adjoining cell to his shift towards him. The cells were just bars on the sides and outside, so the prisoners could converse with each other. The child stopped at his movement, but then continued to move forward. There was a lull in the other's conversations, all listening in.
"Um…" the child was hesitant. "Who are you? I'm Rolo Haliburton." He asked in a soft voice. R.R. was silent, and the boy thought he didn't hear him so he repeated his question, leaning forward. R.R. sucked in a breath and backed a bit when he saw the boy's face. It was younger than what he was used, but it was still unmistakable. The light brown hair and light lavender eyes cried at him, tugging at his heart.
'Rolo…' he thought. The boy visibly jerked back, his eyes widening. His hand went to his waist in an instinctive gesture, which R.R. caught the meaning of. He meant to draw a firearm he didn't currently have at the moment.
"What was that?" R.R. shifted to face the shocked boy. "How did you do that? Your lips didn't move!" A woman concernedly called out from one of the other cells.
"What are you talking about, Rolo? What just happened? Did he do something?" Rolo shook his head, uncertainty in his eyes.
"He just said my name without talking!" Another female voice butted into the conversation, but this time harsh.
"What are you talking about you brat? He didn't say anything! Are you getting soft with your special treatment?" It jeered.
"You shut up! Can't you see Rolo is suffering the most out of us all? He's just a child, yet he's sent out to kill people!" The woman shouted at the voice. "He's so young, but he has so much blood on his hands already!" There was a barking laugh.
"Well, the sooner the better I say! That way you'll actually survive in a place like this!"
"You know you don't really mean that, Azure! A child's innocence is something you only lose once!"
Then, the guards yelled from the entrance for them to stay quiet. The first woman had yelled back, but noticeably quieted. R.R. transferred his gaze from where it had strayed to the boy the short argument had been on.
Rolo was a quivering ball on the ground. He was curled up, hands covering his ears to block out the yelling. He was shivering. R.R. felt his heart twitch at the little boy. He wanted to comfort Rolo, to atone and amend for the heartless treatment and words that would be thrown at the boy in the future. But, there was slight problem: he wasn't supposed to know the boy.
So, against what he wished he could do, he kept his distance.
R.R. woke quietly to whispers and the sound of gentle crying. It had been five months, three weeks, and fourteen days since he was captured. He sat up and looked at the stone floor with disinterest, having seen the same ground countless times before. Despite the mundane and regular appearance of the ground he was staring at, he knew something had happened, something big. He listened in to what was being said.
"The poor women, she never stood a chance."
"She was such a kind, caring soul. Why did it have to be her of all people?"
"What do you think is going to happen to the little boy now?"
"I don't know. They were close, Rolo and Arien. Now with her gone, who's going to take care of him and make sure he's safe?"
Hearing the conversations whirl around him, R.R. didn't know what to do. Should he follow his mind, or his heart? His mind was screaming at him to just ignore whatever was happening and go back to sleep. It was not his concern, and he should not act familiar to any of the other prisoners. Doing so would be unwise.
His relationship with Rolo was tentative at best. They've talked and shared stories, even if it was mostly R.R. telling and Rolo listening. But, R.R. wasn't sure how Rolo considered the bond between the two. Did he see R.R. as a friend, a brother? The man didn't know and didn't really want to risk whatever it was because of a moment of weakness.
However, his heart was urging him to comfort Rolo, to offer a shoulder for the boy to cry on. R.R. knew that burdens were easier to hold if they were shared from personal past experiences. He glanced back at the boy and made a decision. He looked up and slowly moved towards the boy.
His hand gently touched Rolo's should in a gesture of sympathy and the boy threw himself towards the man. R.R. was silent as he held a tearfully sobbing Rolo in his arms between the metal cell bars. He was still listening to what was being said around them, but kept his eyes on the small child. Though, he didn't really seeing anything, focusing on his hearing instead.
When R.R. had deemed he heard enough, he focused on Rolo. The boy's small form was shaking and shivering in sadness. He was swept with a sense of déjà vu, remembering how he held another boy in a very similar fashion, but for completely different reasons.
The man sighed and thought about what he had just found out from the other prisoners. The woman who had defended the boy on the first day had just been reported as a failure. In other words, she was dead.
R.R. could faintly understand the boy's pain, having felt it before in the past when someone very dear to him was almost undoubtedly gone. He had found out later that she was alive and silently rejoiced, despite the fact that they were enemies. That was the difference. The woman, he learned was named Arien Blanc, wouldn't be coming back. She had always been weak physically in the beginning and her heart was so strong that the other prisoners had hoped she would survive just a bit longer. Alas, it was not meant to be.
The man couldn't help but lips the corners of his lips at the irony. Arien Blanc meant pure white. She, a woman he barely knew, had unexpectedly earned his eternal respect. Her death even touched him. The women had been a fallen angel, in a sense, a fallen angel that fought valiantly against all odds with the intention to win. All she had were a pair of crippled wings, but still she stood strong defiantly until the bitter end.
Now that she was gone, she was finally free from her restraints. She didn't have to suffer at the cruel hands of the Geass Directorate. A pure-hearted being such as her didn't belong here. Arien was still light-hearted and kind, despite the treatment she received on a constant basis. She kept everyone's spirits higher than usual with her witty comments and quick comebacks to the guards yelling and complaining.
Now that she was gone, everyone grieved her death. Even Azure, being the cynical woman she was, mourned her.
R.R. waited patiently until Rolo's cries and hiccups began to subside gradually. Then, when they were gone, Rolo whispered something. R.R. leaned forward to hear it.
"Why did she have to die?" he asked.
'Death,' R.R. began, stroking Rolo's light hair. 'Death is a part of life. In order for somebody to be born, there also must be somebody who dies. Sometimes you don't get to choose when you die. Other times, you do. Arien just one of those who are unfortunate and don't have a choice. Do you understand?' Rolo was silent.
"I think I get it." He looked up at the man. "Do you think she's in a better place now?" the boy asked sadly. R.R. gave him a small smile at the question.
'Yes,' he answered. 'I believe she is, and laughing at the way we are now, sobbing like fools.' His mental responses didn't seem to bother the boy. Neither did the fact that only he could hear R.R. disturb Rolo.
"Do you," The boy paused. "Do you know anything that might help make her way to the afterlife easier?" R.R. forced his face not to twitch at the reference the 'afterlife'. Telling the boy that there was no 'afterlife' like some people believed there to be was not a good idea at the moment. He thought of what to say for Arien's departed soul.
'Arien Blanc, may you rest in peace.' He breathed. R.R. nearly winced at his words. They weren't very original, but he didn't know what else to say. He was relieved when he saw Rolo nod in agreement to the statement.
"I like that." He said. "Do you only say that to people like Arien, or can you say that to anybody?" R.R. blinked and chose his answer carefully.
'You can say it to anybody who's departed. It's just a matter of if they deserve those words that you need to worry about.' Rolo nodded in understanding. They elapsed into a moment of silence.
"Thank you, R.R." The man smiled, closing his eyes.
'There's no need to thank me. I'm just doing what's right.'
A few months after R.R.'s disappearance, back in Japan, Suzaku was in his room pondering on what his father had just told him. In a week, two Britannian royals were coming to stay at the Kururugi Shrine. One of them was about his age. He wondered, in a slim possibility, if they knew R.R. He missed the man terribly, but still determinedly waited everyday. He sat in front of his room's exterior door every late afternoon, staring into the woods from where he had first met R.R. He sighed sadly as the man's voice was brought to the forefront of his mind.
'Patience, my dear little Suzie-chan. If you don't wait, how will you achieve anything in the end? How does a crane receive its meal everyday? By waiting time and again. By being patient, you can do almost anything and get anything you desire.'
"Anything you desire?" Suzaku absentmindedly asked the air in front of him. "That sounds nice." He said with a wistful quality.
The boy looked down at the object in his hand. It was supposed to be his Christmas present to R.R., but the man had left before he could give it to him… It was a necklace, not unlike the dog tag Suzaku was wearing. The only difference between them was what was inscribed on the metal. While R.R.'s dog tag had been a label, Suzaku's had the kanji for forever etched on the necklace, the boy's hand clenched around it.
When he saw R.R. again, whenever that may be, he would be sure to give this to him. But for now, he would hold on to it, waiting. That was okay… right? He blinked furiously to hold back the tears. He wasn't crying. There was just something inside his eyes. It was fine, that he was all alone now. Nothing was wrong, he said in his mind. Everything was well. Everything was completely and utterly… fine…
Suzaku barely held back a sob.
Inside the house, Toudou closed the cracked open door, unable to watch the boy any longer.
And here's Chapter 11! This was a sad one to write. There wasn't a lot of dialogue, but more thinking and R.R.'s past. I hope you guys don't mind. And I've included Rolo in this too! I couldn't help it. I was closest to crying when he risked his life to save Lelouch and died, not when Lelouch was pierced with his sword by Suzaku. My friend said I'm heartless because of that... but oh well.
Thanks to everybody who voted! I'll keep writing in this story. Though, do you guys think I should change the summary since it deals only with the first part?
Was this format okay? A part of this and a part of that? What do you guys think should happen next chapter? Lelouch and Nunnally arriving at the Kururugi Shrine for half of it and the rest back at the Geass Directorate with R.R. and Rolo? Does the order of the two matter?
And if anybody's noticed a review floating around this story, signed by a 'Shinigami's Brush' (me), that was my sister. Not me. When I first saw it, I was freaking out and thought somebody had hacked into my account. But, I couldn't figure out their motive, since it was a nice review... (suspicious, much?) In the end, I learned that I apparently I forgot to logout...
Thank you for reviewing: nequam-tenshi, shiai10, starlight luna, Airiko-the-Angel13, slivblue, Shinigami966890, fan-fan31, Spartan Eragon, Rathka95, 2stupid, key46812, Devil's Melody, ame-no-itteki, HaremBishie, arrogantbear, LelouchForever, Bea, Nusku, Regina, Crazy animal lover, ochibi-chwan, lilyrose225, yajni06, SecondtoNon, and chaos-winged-valkryie. I love your reviews! They make me really happy! ^_^
Lots of love,
Shini
