A/N: Thank you to the following people: digifreak51794,avalongrand,sakurabear23 And to the latest reviews from: Youkai Of Hearts ,Lil-Miaka ,iLoli ,aka-chan. Please continue to support me. To all the readers of this story, make your presence known, tell me what you think, I will be glad to hear them out. Though I update very late, please bear with me. =3
Chapter 13: "Mirage"
Cold.
Drip.
A sound of a droplet of water hitting a larger body of water invaded his ears that it shattered the silence he had grown quite accustomed to. His eyes remained closed, somewhat hesitating whether to open them or not, for fear of what dreadful sight he might be met with, and then he heard it. A cold voice, though soft and melodious, belonging to that of a male's, and he was being called by that stranger.
"...Are you awake now? Do you remember everything now?" The voice eagerly inquired. He then felt the person's body near him as the other examined his face closely. "Open your eyes. Tell me. Did you have a pleasant dream? Did your memories come back? Do you…remember everything now?" The voice pressed on, apparently not afraid of infuriating the other by venturing to repeat his question which perhaps indicates their closeness.
Closeness.
'Who are you? I can't seem to recognize that voice...I don't know you...Stay away.'
Unable to fight off his curiosity any longer, he opened his dark eyes only to be met by a pair of intense scarlet orbs blinking back at him. "Haruka? What's wrong? You look pale! Did you have a bad dream?"
He tried to back away from the silver-haired lad whose face was merely centimeters away from him but found that he can't. As he looked around him, he found himself lying on the roof of the Ichinomiya residence. His usual hangout. His sanctuary. The roof. But then that voice, its owner seemed nowhere to be found.
"Haruka?"
Upon hearing the folklorist's voice laced with worry and confusion, Haruka tensed then realized that this wasn't the same voice from a while ago. Maybe he's still dreaming at that time? Because the black-winged tengu can be sure that voice is entirely different from Kantarou's.
"Haruka! What's up with you? Are you alright? Can you hear me?" Kantarou meanwhile, began to be impatient, though in his face, anxiety was written all over it, which prompted the taller man to respond.
"I'm fine Kantarou, just a little tired."
"Tired? Well that's just too bad. I am sad to inform you though that there's no room for exhaustion. I actually came up here looking for you since I was hoping you could accompany me in that old burnt out temple up in the mountains. We have an unfinished business there." Kantarou stopped as he tried to observe how the other would react, seeing as how memorable that said place was. But as expected, Haruka's face remained stony, impassive. "Well, we'd better get ourselves ready. I was told that a powerful demon is wrecking havoc in there. And since it was described as powerful, I'm guessing I'll be needing your help in exorcising it." Without any further elaboration, Kantarou began climbing the ladder down, leaving the tengu no choice but to follow.
"Powerful demon huh." He murmured to himself as he stared at his hands.
--
"What is your innermost wish? Tell me and I shall grant it."
"Ridiculous. You are a demon and as such, why should I believe your words? I know you're only going to deceive me in the end."
"I only ask of you to free me and then you shall be granted a wish, any wish at all, anything that you desire, be it material or not. And in your case, I can tell it's something intangible, is it not?"
"Shut up! I won't listen to you! I-"
"Why? Why won't you grab this opportunity? You might regret it in the end, being unable to do anything at all when in fact, you could've prevented it. Think about it, think wisely."
"I am being wise by not listening to you! Now stand back and don't move! I'm going to start sealing you! Don't attempt to fight, you'll only hurt yourself."
"Seal? Are you sure you're capable of sealing someone as strong as me? Absurd!"
"Right, that's what you think! You'll regret ever belittling me!"
"No, you're the one who's going to regret underestimating me. How pathetic. I feel sorry for you. That's why I'm going to give you another chance, a last chance that is."
"W-What do you mean?"
"You probably know by now that I got the upper hand here. And yet here I am being kind and generous to some worthless weakling like you. But you see, this is one way of how I show my gratitude."
"Gratitude? What are you—"
"It was because of that event that I became unsealed. That fire, it wasn't directly you that destroyed the seal though, however, studying your little group made me come to a realization. I have seen the conflict within and I somehow became interested to play a game with all of you, which would be a nice exercise after hundreds of years spent in slumber, don't you think so too?"
"But I—"
"I'm not done talking yet, don't you dare interrupt! So, as I was saying, I was able to see through your heart, that I now know what it is you want to happen and believe me, I completely agree with you. I understand you only care about those pitiful humans' welfare, don't you?
"I—I guess you could say that, but what do you plan then? How will you …How will you grant my wish?"
"Oh I can see you want no harm to befall on either of them…"
"Yes, that's right! There is no need for violence, so don't hurt them, just…just…"
"You're hesitating, can you be any more weaker? Fine if that is what you wish, then that is what I'll do."
"So you promise? Can you vow to me not to hurt either of them?"
"Yes I do. I won't hurt them. Not with my own hands, rest assured."
--
"Nii-chan, this isn't what I want."
Droplets of tears fell on the pond's surface, creating delicate dripping sounds. That voice. It was him, again. But this time, he was inexplicably younger. Once again, Haruka was forced to open his dark eyes and as he did so, his gaze fell upon a lone figure of a small child sitting by the pond, sobbing silently. For some reason, Haruka felt compelled to approach the boy and comfort him. "Nii-chan…" He froze, as his breath was caught in his lungs. Only one person calls him in such manner. And that person isn't the same as this boy sitting by the same pond right now. This boy has coffee-brown hair and fair complexion. His eyes? Haruka can't see its hue clearly since the boy's head was lowered, staring intently at the pond, as though waiting for his 'nii-chan' to emerge from the pond's dark waters.
"Nii-chan…" The child groaned again, his tone almost coaxing him to come nearer. "Why…Why does he treat me this way? Am I…not important to him at all? Doesn't he…doesn't he value me?"
The sound of wind chimes, of tiny bells clanging and of a breeze howling filled Haruka's sensitive ears while he struggled to think of whom the boy was talking about, yet try as he might, it was to no avail. He can't seem to remember anything. "Nii-chan, I'm lonely…and I'm scared…He might one day just throw me away for being useless…to seal me into some big stone and then, I won't be able to stay by his side anymore…" Finally, the child lifted his head sluggishly, then his forest green eyes immediately captured Haruka's dark ones.
"I don't want to be…alone anymore…alone anymore…alone anymore…"
"Haruka!!!"
'Kantarou!'
Haruka's eyes instantly flew open, wide with panic as he scanned for the source of voice amidst the sudden explosion within the old burnt out temple which further wrecked the structure. Just in time for him to see Kantarou lying on the ground helplessly, his foot appeared to be caught under a huge stone debris. Above him, the ceiling threatened to collapse and crush him.
"Kantarou!"
'I'm coming' He thought as he flew towards his master. In a flash, he was by Kantarou's side, removing the large and heavy stone. Then without speaking, Haruka gathered his injured master in his arms swiftly, then flew to safety, a few feet away from the crumbling temple. Once they were able to land properly, the two watched in stunned silence as the temple gave way, disintegrating onto the ground.
As the commotion gradually subsided, Haruka looked down on his master in his arms, quickly examining for injuries. He found nothing life-threatening though, just some minor cuts and bruises, and a swollen foot, no broken bones fortunately. Kantarou on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying his position as he feigned weakness by clutching on the tengu's chest and shutting his eyes tight, claiming he was dizzy. Surprisingly, the black-winged tengu didn't seem spiteful towards the issue of body contact right this moment as he managed to endure keeping Kantarou clinging to him like a leech for more than a minute. He, for some reason, lasted longer than was expected, and Kantarou was thankful for this exception.
'Yes, just this once, let me hold on to you Haruka. For we might never get the chance to do so someday…' Kantarou thought with bitter sadness as a small surreptitious smile of glee ironically crept upon his face, betraying his concealed loneliness. Even so, moments like this doesn't last long, sad to say.
"Kantarou, what happened back there? Did you have an encounter with the demon?"
The folklorist didn't answer right away as he momentarily felt disappointed with the interruption. "Oh that, yes I think I did. I wasn't able to see it clearly since it moves fast and swift and the next thing I know, the temple was collapsing while I was inside. And the thing just vanished." Kantarou explained, fighting the crimson heat stubbornly invading his cheeks as he became aware of Haruka's full attention directed at him. Awkward.
'Say something more! Anything to avoid lapsing into one icy silence!' The silver-haired lad thought as he frantically tried to come up with anything to say. "H-Haruka! T-Thank you…" He finally blurted out while the other only looked back at him with a perplexed expression on his face.
"Thank you?" He repeated.
"Yes! Thank you! For-for saving my life for who-knows- how many times. I knew you would…and I'm happy you did…because I'm sure you are…and I knew you were…but then before I don't…but now I do…and so you did! Though at first I won't…eventually I did! And I—"
Haruka sighed in resignation as he closed his eyes trying to prevent his head from aching. Here goes Kantarou again and his weird babbling. Haruka doesn't have a single clue of what the other was talking about, or of what he wish to deliver with those jumbled words!
"Humans…" He muttered to himself as he roughly set Kantarou back on his feet, no longer buying his pretense of dizziness.
"Haruka! How mean of you! Wait up! Twisted foot here—can't walk—swollen and broken—Haruka! Seriously it hurts! I can't walk, wait! " Kantarou continued to hop on one foot to show his injury while the other merely turned his back on him and proceeded forward. With tearful big puppy eyes and trembling pouty lips, the sulking folklorist followed Haruka, still whining and ranting about.
"Ne Haruka, a little carrying won't kill you. I'm just as light as a feather! Come on! I hate to remind you that I'm your master, by the way."
"Kantarou, you and your endless rotten tactics…" Haruka mumbled more to himself while shaking his head, not looking back lest he be tempted to surrender to his conscience and be deceived by the master of all drama and not folklore who is none other than Ichinomiya Kantarou himself.
Yet somehow, Haruka's feet slowed down on its own, letting Kantarou to catch up with his pace.
--
It was unusually silent. Something is definitely amiss. The Ichinomiya residence is an epitome of chaotic mirth and joviality, especially with the presence of Kantarou and of him constantly in a fight with Sugino over Muu-chan. It never fails to entertain the audience, add Hasumi in the picture fighting with his rival Kantarou over petty matters and the house would be even more alive and loud. However now seemed different, the place was unbelievably quiet. From the outside, Haruka can feel something eerie within that house. Whatever it is, the black-winged tengu intends to find out, that he entered the place without a minute's hesitation. Once inside, he was instantly welcomed by a cold sensation of abandonment. He inexplicably felt as if intruding, forcefully gaining entrance into a place wherein he wasn't welcomed at all. It was indeed odd. Since when did a person become unaccepted in his very own home? Not unless he was evicted, something he doubts the owner of the Ichinomiya residence can do.
The sound of someone clearing his throat cut through Haruka's thoughts. As he lifted his eyes from the ever-so-familiar pond, it came to rest on two cold scarlet orbs, its gaze detached and devoid of emotions. Blank, glassy, bottomless. Like it belonged to a ghost.
"Leave."
The silver-haired lad said in a velvety voice, but commanding with such authority and certainty that Haruka was forced to step back, overcome by pain and confusion. Pain from those cold and condemning eyes, pain from that aura of estrangement and that one single word so strongly spoken, confident and without any tinge of regret or uncertainty, or even any hint that it might have been forced somehow.
There can only be one explanation for this: He was cast away by his very own master.
Something Haruka failed to see, believing it won't ever have a chance of happening. '
Kantarou would never…push me away…he wouldn't, of all people…' He swallowed hard, then clenched his fist tight. 'Or won't he really?' He now thought with disdain as he somehow felt angry…hurt…and most of all…betrayed.
"I've found a replacement to fill in for you. So now, I'm giving you what you want. Your freedom, it's all yours. Enjoy." With a mean smirk, Kantarou turned and retreated to his room, the sound of his socked feet against the wooden floor slowly fading away, until it was shadowed by another pair of feet.
Replacement. Haruka was replaced? Unacceptable. Unforgivable. But most of all, it was unbelievable, unbelievable that Haruka felt this much pain with the way he was treated. How come? Shouldn't he be happy? He regained his freedom now for crying out loud! His memories…his power…his very own self. He will have them all back! Nobody owns him anymore! And he owes no one at last! That alone is worth rejoicing for, isn't it?
"Nii-chan, I don't want to be alone anymore…"
Haruka stiffened. That voice. It was the coffee-brown-haired boy's! Turning slowly in the direction of the pond, he once again saw the fragile form of the green-eyed child, and he was saying the same thing over and over again, like an old broken record.
'No one wants to be alone after all…Perhaps…' He thought, slightly befuddled by his very own statement as he stared at the child. "Who are you? Why do you keep on showing yourself to me?" With that, the brown-haired boy smiled, or more like, sneered. And it felt creepy, of how easily his expression of fear turned to that of a diabolical sneer, as though his emotions were rehearsed beforehand.
"Who am I? Should you really ask that, nii-chan? Focus harder and you'll find the answer yourself. You know me, just as much as I know you. Because…we're the same."
"The same? As far as I can see, we have no similarities at all."
"Oh but we do nii-chan."
The black-winged tengu was anything but enlightened with that statement as his brow furrowed, slowly losing his patience and further being submerged in a pool of confusion.
"You see…I am you…and you are me…"
With a contorted expression on his face, the boy stood up and turned to Haruka while laughing crazily. Then suddenly without warning, Haruka felt invisible strong hands squeezing his throat, cutting off his air supply. He struggled to break free, but the invisible attacker held firm. Seconds later Haruka's body grew still, his head drooped, his eyes closed, his hands motionless at his sides as he allowed himself to be consumed by darkness.
--
"Haruka! Haruka wake up please! Open your eyes…Haruka…"
With tears on his somnolent scarlet eyes and a heart madly beating as if it would burst right out of his chest, Kantarou continued to shake the black-winged tengu roughly. Kantarou's hands were soaked with blood, his cheeks hot and wet with tears, his back wound still stung though he never once paid it any attention since the pain he's feeling now is nothing compared to the pain of possibly losing Haruka, and it has engulfed all of his senses wholly leaving no room for being prone to physical pain.
"Haruka!" Kantarou shouted, nearly on the verge of hysterics when it struck him of how useless he had become. Here he was clutching the most important person in his life, grieving and weeping like there's no tomorrow, unmindful of the current danger they're in when he should be thinking of a way for survival, of preserving the safety of the people he cares for. He might be forgetting, Haruka isn't the only one in danger here, all the others are as well, and they are all counting on Kantarou, their master, to save them somehow.
They still have a chance, if he can only pull himself together again.
Suddenly, a surge of hope like a newborn flame seemed to spring into life within him at the thought of losing Haruka. Intolerable. Kantarou will find a way to save Haruka even if it cost him his very own life! But just as he was about to confront their enemy, a child's voice intervened. Rosalie's voice to be precise.
"That's as far as you go…"
Kantarou whirled around towards the newcomer's direction. 'Rosalie, what's she doing here?' And that was when he saw it. It wasn't Rosalie at all. It was—
"Time to return from whence you came…"
--
Up Next! Chapter 14: "Unrequited"
"Why won't you just tell him directly that you were only trying to protect him by not being close to him?"
"What are you talking about?"
"And lastly, why can't you just admit the fact that I got all those right? I possess the Sight anyway so there is no way I can be wrong."
"The Sight?"
"Straying away from the topic again. So, let's get personal, shall we? I'd like to ask you one more thing."
"What is it?"
"Do you…love him?"
"Come again?"
--
3 more to go. :-)