[Pain is a funny thing. Many people will go through hell to avoid pain, while others actually seek it out. I don't like pain, myself. It tends to make me go numb, and after a while, I stop feeling it, though the scars never fade.]
Three months later, Takeru sat on the bench of a picnic table, his back against the wood. He was looking at nothing, his blue eyes glazed over. The others were looking at him in worry, but attempts to talk to him had been met by an empty stare, and an equally hollow, "Nothing's wrong."
Matt and Kari were both glaring at Tai, who acted as if nothing was wrong. He sat across from his 'roommate', ignoring them. If the others knew that they were living together, they didn't connect his attitude with their living conditions.
When Tai stood up, Matt did too, and pulled him aside.
"What the hell is going on, Tai?" They stood facing each other. Tai considerably calmer than the furious blonde.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Matt." He lied, straight-faced. He made to walk past, but Matt shoved him back.
"Don't fuck with me, Yagami. What the hell did you do to my little brother?"
"Why don't you ask him, Ishida?" He fairly snarled.
"I did. He won't talk to anyone about it. Is this because I...because of what happend three months ago?" He looked back to make sure the others couldn't hear.
"Because I told you I loved you, and you called me a sick, perverted freak? One that you hated, and that disgusted you? Because you broke my heart, and nearly killed me? Why would that have anything to do with me and your brother?" He smiled innocently, brown eyes smug.
"You asshole. Let him go. Whatever you're using to make him stay with you, let it go. Please. I'll trade him spots, take over for him."
"Why would I want you, when I can have his pert little ass under me every night?" Matt grabbed him by the collar, and hauled him close, until they stood face to face.
"Leave my brother be, Tai. Let him go."
"You want to know what the irony is? I'm blackmailing him with your happiness. I told him that I would ruin you if he didn't do everything I said. And now, you're offering me your happiness for his. It's almost too sweet for words. I finally get offered what I wanted in the beginning, and now, I don't want it."
"Bastard!" He flung him backwards, and turned back to where the others were still sitting. Takeru was gone. He looked around the park, and finally saw him walking slowly towards the road. They were parked across the street.
His head was down, his hands in his pockets. Matt ran to catch up with him, ready to tell him that it was over. He didn't care what Tai had against him. He would save his brother from that bastard if it killed him.
Takeru wandered across the road, not looking up. Matt stepped off the sidewalk, and looked left, then right. his brother just passing the center line.
"Takeru!" He called out, not wanting his brother to put more space between them. He distracted the younger man, causing him to stop and look up. He never saw the car heading toward him. The driver was on their cellphone, and looking at the shops along the road.
Matt took it in, and leapt forward, pushing his brother backwards, out of the way.
[There are different kinds of pain, some that fade quickly, and others that don't. Those are the kinds that throb thirty years later, when the weatherman says it won't rain, but you know otherwise. Because you can feel it in the ache in your bones.]
Takeru stumbled backwards, sprawling in the gutter. His brother had pushed him across one and a half lanes of traffic. He heard the car squeal to a stop, but couldn't see it. A low-hung minivan had stopped between him and the accident.
He stood up in a daze, not bothering to dust himself off. "Yamato?" It was a broken whisper, as a single tear rolled down his cheek. No reply came, but he hadn't expected one. No blonde head stood on the other side of the van, no blue eyes peering at him over the hood.
He closed his eyes, feeling the tears well up. It was over. He was free.
[I'd rather face hell, than go numb. I'd rather suffer the pain, than the relief. For the problem is oftimes better than the solution. Life has taught me that.]
He had his arm around Sora, comforting her as the minister droned on. Funerals were depressing. His own eyes were dry. He had shed his tears that day. The day his brother was taken from him.
Looking over the head of his brother's ex-fiancee, he gestured to Izzy. The redhead came over, and wrapped his arms around Sora, who went willingly into her arms. She hadn't stopped crying since she had ran up, and saw his body, lifeless on the road.
Takeru walked away, his shoulders squared. He had seen to all the funeral preparations. His mother and father had asked him to do so. They were very distraught, and had had a hard time dealing with it. He had been the pillar of strength for everyone.
All feeling seemed to have died with him that day, as if his heart had died, too.
Maybe it had. His brother had been everything to him. He would have done anything for him. He had sacrificed so much for his brother, only for him to be taken away. He had sacrificed his body, for his brother to sacrifice his life.
Life was an ironice bitch.
He got into his brother's car. His car, now. All of Ishida Yamato's possession had reverted to him. He had given Sora first pick of everything, but she had passed over his automobile.
With familiarity, he drove down street after street, taking as direct a route as possible toward his destination. His freedom had come with a high price, one that he had yet to fulfill in its entirety. There was still a little left to finish.
He stopped in front of an expensive apartment building, and stepped out, leaving the keys with a valet. He walked past the doorman, who adressed him by name with a smile. The receptionist nodded his way, as he stepped into the elevator. He pushed the button for the eight floor, and waited for it to get there.
When the doors opened, he stepped onto a plush carpet, and turned left. There were only three doors on the eight floor, leading to three very large apartments. You could hold a rock concert in one apartment, and never hear a sound in the other two.
He walked to door 8B, and inserted the key. The door opened silently, and he walked in, removing his shoes by the floor. With quiet tread, he walked to the back bedroom, socks not making a sound. The door was ajar, and he pushed it open the rest of the way.
He stopped at the foot of the bed, reached into his pocket, and pulled out the objects with in.
Tai never moved on the bed, asleep in an alcohol-induced slumber. Takeru loaded the gun with two bullets. He held it out at arms lenght, his hand steady.
"Hello, bitch." He growled out, jerking Tai from his sleep. Brown eyes met blue a mere second before the trigger was pulled.
He watched with a sick fascination as Tai's body jerked, then fell back against the bed. Takeru looked at his lifeless body for a moment, remembering the way his brother had fallen after being hit by a car.
He put the gun against his head. He felt nothing. Empty. He had nothing left to live for. The hollowness threatened to swallow him whole.
He lowered the gun, letting it slip to the floor as he pulled off the gloves he had worn. He walked to the phone, and dialed the police. Then he walked to the front door, exited, and shut it. He kicked it in, making sure it looked like a break in. With the time that he had left, he ransacked the apartment, taking the more valuable items. These, he loaded into a bag, and put it in the service elevator.
When the police came, they took down all of his information, looked at the evidence, and left. They ruled it a burglary, and didn't even bother to ask him to go to the station. When they were gone, he took the bag out of the service elevator, went back downstairs.
After repeating the waves and hello's that had accompanied him upstairs, he got into the car, and drove back to the cemetary. They had lowered the coffin, but hadn't covered it yet. He dropped the bag into the hole, and stood over it.
"I love you, brother. I would do anything for you. And, in your memory, I will live." He felt tears threaten. "I gave up everything for you, so that you could live happily. You gave up everything so that I may live. I wish you hadn't. I'd rather be whipped and raped and beaten every night, just to spend another day knowing that you're out there, that you're happy. I never wanted you gone. I would have killed myself first. I would rather live in a prison than be in the world without you. You gave me a reason to live for, when there was nothing else."
Two men came back, and started shoveling dirt on top of the casket.
"Anything for you, brother." He walked away as the heaven's opened, and it began to rain.
[Love can heal the pain. We learned that, too. By standing together, we could survive anything. Love takes the emptiness away, makes the world better. That's why Matt and I are so close. We can heal each other. It's part of our bond as brothers. We give each other a reason to live, a reason to keep going. We would do anything for each other. We would live and die for each other. He is my world, the only thing that keeps me sane. I don't think that I could live without him. I hope, because I know that he'll always be there. He is the power behind my crest. My strength.]
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Author's note: No, Takeru does not commit suicide. That would dishonor his brother's memory. Matt died, so that he could live. Allison-Michelle, I hope you liked this. I hope any other readers enjoyed it, also.
Three months later, Takeru sat on the bench of a picnic table, his back against the wood. He was looking at nothing, his blue eyes glazed over. The others were looking at him in worry, but attempts to talk to him had been met by an empty stare, and an equally hollow, "Nothing's wrong."
Matt and Kari were both glaring at Tai, who acted as if nothing was wrong. He sat across from his 'roommate', ignoring them. If the others knew that they were living together, they didn't connect his attitude with their living conditions.
When Tai stood up, Matt did too, and pulled him aside.
"What the hell is going on, Tai?" They stood facing each other. Tai considerably calmer than the furious blonde.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Matt." He lied, straight-faced. He made to walk past, but Matt shoved him back.
"Don't fuck with me, Yagami. What the hell did you do to my little brother?"
"Why don't you ask him, Ishida?" He fairly snarled.
"I did. He won't talk to anyone about it. Is this because I...because of what happend three months ago?" He looked back to make sure the others couldn't hear.
"Because I told you I loved you, and you called me a sick, perverted freak? One that you hated, and that disgusted you? Because you broke my heart, and nearly killed me? Why would that have anything to do with me and your brother?" He smiled innocently, brown eyes smug.
"You asshole. Let him go. Whatever you're using to make him stay with you, let it go. Please. I'll trade him spots, take over for him."
"Why would I want you, when I can have his pert little ass under me every night?" Matt grabbed him by the collar, and hauled him close, until they stood face to face.
"Leave my brother be, Tai. Let him go."
"You want to know what the irony is? I'm blackmailing him with your happiness. I told him that I would ruin you if he didn't do everything I said. And now, you're offering me your happiness for his. It's almost too sweet for words. I finally get offered what I wanted in the beginning, and now, I don't want it."
"Bastard!" He flung him backwards, and turned back to where the others were still sitting. Takeru was gone. He looked around the park, and finally saw him walking slowly towards the road. They were parked across the street.
His head was down, his hands in his pockets. Matt ran to catch up with him, ready to tell him that it was over. He didn't care what Tai had against him. He would save his brother from that bastard if it killed him.
Takeru wandered across the road, not looking up. Matt stepped off the sidewalk, and looked left, then right. his brother just passing the center line.
"Takeru!" He called out, not wanting his brother to put more space between them. He distracted the younger man, causing him to stop and look up. He never saw the car heading toward him. The driver was on their cellphone, and looking at the shops along the road.
Matt took it in, and leapt forward, pushing his brother backwards, out of the way.
[There are different kinds of pain, some that fade quickly, and others that don't. Those are the kinds that throb thirty years later, when the weatherman says it won't rain, but you know otherwise. Because you can feel it in the ache in your bones.]
Takeru stumbled backwards, sprawling in the gutter. His brother had pushed him across one and a half lanes of traffic. He heard the car squeal to a stop, but couldn't see it. A low-hung minivan had stopped between him and the accident.
He stood up in a daze, not bothering to dust himself off. "Yamato?" It was a broken whisper, as a single tear rolled down his cheek. No reply came, but he hadn't expected one. No blonde head stood on the other side of the van, no blue eyes peering at him over the hood.
He closed his eyes, feeling the tears well up. It was over. He was free.
[I'd rather face hell, than go numb. I'd rather suffer the pain, than the relief. For the problem is oftimes better than the solution. Life has taught me that.]
He had his arm around Sora, comforting her as the minister droned on. Funerals were depressing. His own eyes were dry. He had shed his tears that day. The day his brother was taken from him.
Looking over the head of his brother's ex-fiancee, he gestured to Izzy. The redhead came over, and wrapped his arms around Sora, who went willingly into her arms. She hadn't stopped crying since she had ran up, and saw his body, lifeless on the road.
Takeru walked away, his shoulders squared. He had seen to all the funeral preparations. His mother and father had asked him to do so. They were very distraught, and had had a hard time dealing with it. He had been the pillar of strength for everyone.
All feeling seemed to have died with him that day, as if his heart had died, too.
Maybe it had. His brother had been everything to him. He would have done anything for him. He had sacrificed so much for his brother, only for him to be taken away. He had sacrificed his body, for his brother to sacrifice his life.
Life was an ironice bitch.
He got into his brother's car. His car, now. All of Ishida Yamato's possession had reverted to him. He had given Sora first pick of everything, but she had passed over his automobile.
With familiarity, he drove down street after street, taking as direct a route as possible toward his destination. His freedom had come with a high price, one that he had yet to fulfill in its entirety. There was still a little left to finish.
He stopped in front of an expensive apartment building, and stepped out, leaving the keys with a valet. He walked past the doorman, who adressed him by name with a smile. The receptionist nodded his way, as he stepped into the elevator. He pushed the button for the eight floor, and waited for it to get there.
When the doors opened, he stepped onto a plush carpet, and turned left. There were only three doors on the eight floor, leading to three very large apartments. You could hold a rock concert in one apartment, and never hear a sound in the other two.
He walked to door 8B, and inserted the key. The door opened silently, and he walked in, removing his shoes by the floor. With quiet tread, he walked to the back bedroom, socks not making a sound. The door was ajar, and he pushed it open the rest of the way.
He stopped at the foot of the bed, reached into his pocket, and pulled out the objects with in.
Tai never moved on the bed, asleep in an alcohol-induced slumber. Takeru loaded the gun with two bullets. He held it out at arms lenght, his hand steady.
"Hello, bitch." He growled out, jerking Tai from his sleep. Brown eyes met blue a mere second before the trigger was pulled.
He watched with a sick fascination as Tai's body jerked, then fell back against the bed. Takeru looked at his lifeless body for a moment, remembering the way his brother had fallen after being hit by a car.
He put the gun against his head. He felt nothing. Empty. He had nothing left to live for. The hollowness threatened to swallow him whole.
He lowered the gun, letting it slip to the floor as he pulled off the gloves he had worn. He walked to the phone, and dialed the police. Then he walked to the front door, exited, and shut it. He kicked it in, making sure it looked like a break in. With the time that he had left, he ransacked the apartment, taking the more valuable items. These, he loaded into a bag, and put it in the service elevator.
When the police came, they took down all of his information, looked at the evidence, and left. They ruled it a burglary, and didn't even bother to ask him to go to the station. When they were gone, he took the bag out of the service elevator, went back downstairs.
After repeating the waves and hello's that had accompanied him upstairs, he got into the car, and drove back to the cemetary. They had lowered the coffin, but hadn't covered it yet. He dropped the bag into the hole, and stood over it.
"I love you, brother. I would do anything for you. And, in your memory, I will live." He felt tears threaten. "I gave up everything for you, so that you could live happily. You gave up everything so that I may live. I wish you hadn't. I'd rather be whipped and raped and beaten every night, just to spend another day knowing that you're out there, that you're happy. I never wanted you gone. I would have killed myself first. I would rather live in a prison than be in the world without you. You gave me a reason to live for, when there was nothing else."
Two men came back, and started shoveling dirt on top of the casket.
"Anything for you, brother." He walked away as the heaven's opened, and it began to rain.
[Love can heal the pain. We learned that, too. By standing together, we could survive anything. Love takes the emptiness away, makes the world better. That's why Matt and I are so close. We can heal each other. It's part of our bond as brothers. We give each other a reason to live, a reason to keep going. We would do anything for each other. We would live and die for each other. He is my world, the only thing that keeps me sane. I don't think that I could live without him. I hope, because I know that he'll always be there. He is the power behind my crest. My strength.]
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Author's note: No, Takeru does not commit suicide. That would dishonor his brother's memory. Matt died, so that he could live. Allison-Michelle, I hope you liked this. I hope any other readers enjoyed it, also.