Deceptions of Truth Saga
By: Strata-chan
***
That's it! I have flipped! I am going to read through this entire chapter BEFORE submitting it. This stupid grammatical check does not catch everything for some reason. Anyway, please review this story. I'd really like to know what you think.
WARNING: There were some hints of Shounen-Ai (male x male) in the previous chapter, if you didn't notice, and there are some hints of it in this chapter. In fact, there are going to be several hints as the story comes along. If you are a person who is against these types of relationships, then please leave now and don't flame me about it. Also, this fic used to be called, "Where Do I Belong", but I changed it because it no longer fit the story very well.
***
When I'm all alone and no one else is there,Waiting by the phone to remind me that I'm still here.
When shadows paint the scenes where spotlights used to fall,
And I'm left wondering, "Is it really worth is all?"
There's a peace inside of us all; let it be your friend.
It will help you carry on.
In the end, there is peace inside us all…
Lyrics from "Inside Us All" by Creed
***
"Ha ha. Very funny, Koushiro," Yamato answered sarcastically as he looked at Koushiro.
"What I'd like to know is who are you……and you," Koushiro asked as he pointed at Yamato and Jyou. His eyes showed that he was utterly confused as to where he was as well.
"Umm…Koushiro? You're at Nichinan (Yes, this is a real city within Japan.) Hospital. I'm Yamato and he's Jyou. Don't you remember anything that happened to you before now," Yamato asked while scratching his head. Koushiro displayed a look of confusion as he tried to remember anything he could.
"It's all so foggy that I can't make head or tails of anything. I can barely remember my name. All I can remember are emotions from things and not the event itself…" Koushiro paused as a look of depression crossed his face. He sat down on the floor and ran his hands through his hair while staring towards the wall. "It's just so puzzling. I can FEEL the sadness and anger from something, but I can't remember much of anything. There are a few memories that are very clear now, but the others….It's like a person with poor vision is trying to read my memories from a distance. I'm…I'm really sorry that I can't remember either of you. I must have really been important to you guys, but…" Koushiro trailed off once again as he began to stare into space.
Jyou just stood in place as he gazed upon Koushiro's crouched form. 'Why am I not doing anything? Why? Is it because…no. That's just not right. I'm just being selfish again. I have to do something to comfort the poor guy,' Jyou thought as he walked over to Koushiro and placed a hand upon his shoulder. "Koushiro, don't strain yourself over it. I'm sure that you will be able to remember later."
Koushiro looked up into the eyes of the person above him and gazed into his eyes. 'They're so dark and turbulent. They sort of remind me of my own.' Koushiro looked back down. 'I wonder what types of secrets they are hiding behind them.' He stood up while still looking down at the floor. "Yeah, I guess you have a point. Things are bound to get better sometime soon, right?" As he said this, he saw the blue-haired man's eyes brighten and a smile appear on his lips, which made Koushiro actually believe the words he said. 'Maybe things will get better.'
Yamato had just stared at his two friends and had been thinking to himself what could possibly be going on. 'Jyou is acting really over-emotional. I mean, for him anyway. Ever since Koushiro left, he's just bottled himself inside and had begun to talk in medical jargon 24 hours a day. Now, it's like something has been let loose again. Jyou always was afraid to let others know his true feelings about everything and it's just strange that Koushiro has this effect on him. I guess losing your best friend can do that.' Yamato closed his eyes and walked over to the group and opened his arm wide. "Come on, everyone! Group hug!" Yamato then grabbed Jyou and Koushiro and squeezed as hard as he could.
"Let….go…..must..breathe…" Koushiro gasped as he was being squeezed. He began to laugh when the blond-haired man chuckled at his predicament. 'What a funny person,' he thought as the arms around him tightened. Jyou, on the other hand, was beginning to blush profusely and didn't seem to enjoy being so close to everyone. Yamato let go and Koushiro was still chuckling a bit when he landed on the floor, but Jyou was just backing away from the situation while blushing even more.
"What's wrong, Jyou?" Jyou seemed surprised at that remark. He stood up and brushed himself off and looked at Yamato.
"Umm…nothing's wrong. I'm….I was just surprised, that's all." Jyou gave Yamato a fake smile and then found a nearby rut in the floor interesting.
'He's hiding something,' Yamato thought as he looked at Jyou, then Koushiro, who was still giggling a little, and then back at Jyou, who was now using his foot to see how deep the groove in the floor was. "Jyou, are you sure that you are okay?" He didn't receive a response. "Jyou?" Still, no response. Yamato walked over to Jyou and tapped on his shoulder to get his attention. When he did that, he jumped several feet off of the floor and got into a lame fighting stance.
Yamato burst out laughing as he saw that and leaned against the wall in order to not fall backwards. Jyou looked hurt by these actions and Yamato tried to stop laughing, but it was so hard. "I'm sorry, Jyou. It's just…it's just that was so priceless. Anyway, are you sure that you are alright? I'm sorry if I did anything wrong." Jyou's eyes looked like they were going to burst out in tears at any moment.
"No, you didn't do anything wrong. I'm just not used to all of these things, you know? This doesn't happen everyday and it's just a shock to me." Jyou said as he weakly smiled at Yamato and then down at Koushiro, who still hadn't removed himself from the floor. He looked into Koushiro's ebony eyes and was mesmerized by the depth they held. It was like staring into the blackness of space. So cold, so peaceful, yet so turbulent at the same time…Jyou pulled away before any other thoughts could come to his mind. "I'm…I'm very sorry, but…" He looked down at Koushiro again and then spoke very quickly. "…I have to leave now." Jyou ran out of the door as fast as he could, which caused him to slip as he ran down the hallway. A couple shouts and crashes were heard shortly after.
'Now, I KNOW something it wrong with him,' Yamato thought as he looked out of the door to discover several medical carts had been tipped over.
'He looked at me. He looked at ME before he left. I must have done something wrong for him to do that. I guess he must have remembered something that I had done to him. Did I hurt him in some way in my past? Why would I do something like that to such a nice man,' Koushiro thought as the smile on his face vanished and his eyes returned to their normal dismal confused appearance. 'Why can't I remember?'
Koushiro felt a hand upon his shoulder and saw that the blond-haired man had come from behind him. "Hey, Koushiro. I know what you are thinking and he didn't leave because of you. He's just not used to showing a lot of emotion with anyone. When he does, he feels like he has done something terrible and selfish. Ever since you left, he's been bottling everything up inside of himself. It was bound to be released someday." Koushiro looked as if he was trying to compute all of that information.
"It's still my fault though. I had to have done something wrong for him to look at me. I didn't see sadness in his eyes before he left. Instead, I saw pure fear and panic. That became obvious to me when all of the crashed was heard from the hallway."
'He died, yet he's still as sharp as ever.' "Well, that's right Koushiro." He saw the red-head's eyes fall. "It's not your fault though, Koushiro." Yamato bent down to place one hand under Koushiro's chin and lifted his face up. "Koushiro, you are a wonderful person and you never did anything to cause this."
Koushiro's eyes widened as he saw someone else's face replace the blond man's for that last sentence. It had long auburn hair and a pale face with rose-colored lips and her hair flowed as if she were swimming in the sea. Koushiro backed away towards the wall. As he stared at what was once the blond-haired man, he realized that the woman was like a hologram over his body. 'I know that face and that flowing silk ensemble! Where have I seen it before?' Then, the woman smiled at him and as soon as it appeared, the apparition disappeared.
"Koushiro? What's wrong? What did I do?" Yamato walked over to Koushiro, hoping that he hadn't hurt him in any way.
"You….you didn't see what just happened to you? I mean, there was this beautiful woman overlaying your body and as you told me that I was a wonderful person, she was the one saying it instead of yourself. Didn't you see that?" Koushiro was practically begging for Yamato to say that he did.
"No, I didn't see anything. You're probably seeing things, Koushiro." Yamato covered his mouth as he finished his last sentence. 'Moron! Why'd I do that?'
"Are you saying that I'm psychotic? Hmm? That's so kind of you." Koushiro turned his eyes towards Yamato and the blond could see the infuriation within him. He slowly advanced on Yamato as he backed away. That's when he ran into the wall.
Yamato's eyes darted around the room, looking for a way out. He looked back upon Koushiro, who seemed like a completely different person now. One filled with rage instead of peace. 'Is this what Jyou was trying to tell me earlier?' Yamato's thoughts were cut off as he felt two hands on his shoulders. "Koushiro…" he managed to squeak out before a hand around his throat cut him off.
"I. Am. Not. Psychotic. You understand, blondie?" Yamato could have sworn that he saw a crimson light flash in Koushiro's eyes as he tightened his grip around his throat. Yamato tried to cry out, but no sound would come out. 'Koushiro! What are you doing? You don't want to do this,' Yamato pleaded mentally as his vision began to become blurry and distorted. 'Koushiro…please..'
Koushiro watched as Yamato's eyes began to close. 'Yeah, this'll teach everyone to not call me psychotic. He'll pay for that.' Just as Yamato lost consciousness, he saw that his face had changed from it's normal state into the woman's once again. Koushiro's eyes widened as the rational half of himself regained control and he released the body from his grasp. He watched as her flowing gown descended to the floor and remained still. It was like a flower whose petals had been plucked from their proper place and then discarded onto the floor like worthless pieces of trash. The hologram disappeared, which showed the form of Yamato on the floor. 'No…what have I done? I'm a monster!' Koushiro looked at his hands and watched as they began to tremble in fear. 'I have to get out of here..' Koushiro looked at Yamato once again and then ran from the room. 'Murderer. Aloof. Cold-hearted. Deserter. Traitor. Victim. Menace.' Those words ran through Koushiro's head as he ran from the hallway and into the lobby. 'No! This can't be happening all over again!' Koushiro frantically dashed out the door, but not before Jyou saw him leave.
"Koushiro! No! You can't leave! Come back!" Jyou ran out the doors and didn't even notice all of the stares that he was receiving for his outburst. 'I just hope I can catch up to him,' Jyou thought as he kept an eye on Koushiro's head. 'I can't lose him again. He'll really be killed this time if I don't catch him.' Jyou picked up the pace even more and realized he was gaining ground on Koushiro. 'Yes! Now, a little faster!' That's when Koushiro dodged into an alleyway and suddenly stopped Jyou stopped some feet away and wondered what had caused Koushiro to stop so suddenly. He did hear him mutter the word "Kaida" before he slowly began to move again, except quite slowly this time.
"Koushiro?" The red-head looked at Jyou and widened them in fear as he slowly stood up and backed away.
"No! Stay back!" Koushiro pointed at Jyou, who was slowly advancing on him. "Leave me and Kaida alone!" Jyou slowly looked at the dog, which seemed to be saying 'take him with you' with his eyes. "I'm warning you…" Koushiro's tone became lower and more threatening that time and his eyes began to narrow as his survival instinct took over. He looked around him and began to dash down the alley.
"No! Koushiro! I don't want to hurt you! Please, come back!" Jyou collapsed onto his knees because he couldn't run anymore. 'Damn it! I've failed him again!' Jyou smashed his hands into the pavement, causing them to bleed. He lowered his head into them, which caused his face to be covered his own gore.
What Jyou did not see was when Kaida chased after Koushiro and leaped several feet in the air to land in front of him. The dog barred its teeth at Koushiro and let out a menacing growl.
"Kaida? What are you doing? Let me…" Before Koushiro could finish, Kaida had grabbed part of Koushiro's hospital robe and was dragging him towards Jyou. "No, Kaida! I can't go back there! You don't know what a monster I am now. I've…I…" Koushiro trailed off as the form of Jyou became clear. 'Oh gods. I'm deserting and betraying him.…..but, he won't care when he knows what I've done to…to…whatever his name was. He'll want me dead.' Koushiro lowered his head as they approached Jyou.
"No…I've done it again. I've let him leave again. How can I live with myself…" Jyou felt a cold nose try to lift his head from his hands. He lifted his eyes to discover that the dog he had seen earlier had Koushiro with him. The dog's head beckoned for Jyou to take Koushiro back with him.
"You can take me back and arrest me now. I don't care anymore. Why you even chased after me, I will never know. You'll hate me later." Koushiro's eyes turned to look at Jyou's, who didn't show the slightest sign of anger at all. "Why aren't angry with me? I just KILLED one of your friends! Did you not know that? Then, I remember everything I've done in the past. EVERYTHING! Everything from when I caused my parents' deaths up to Yamato! Can't you understand that?" Jyou smirked at Koushiro and shook his head. "Are you crazy?" Koushiro walked up to Jyou and shook him. "Well?"
"Koushiro, you didn't kill anyone."
"Yes I did! You haven't seen the evidence yet." Koushiro looked away in shame.
"You hold lots of anger, but you don't have the ability to kill anyone. I know you, Koushiro…."
"No you don't! No one knows me! I'm two different people now. One is peaceful and rational and the other….the other is just plain demonic! I can't control when each one could strike! I can't stop it! If you don't stay away, I might kill you too!" Koushiro sat upon the ground and bowed his head.
"Koushiro. Running won't help your problems be solved." Jyou pleaded as he reached a hand down to the broken Koushiro. "You have always been in control of your emotions and that's what I admire in you." Jyou looked at Koushiro with tears sparkling in his eyes. "I've always admired how you could always stay in control when I panicked. How you stayed steady when I cried. How you released anger when I bottled it inside. You always knew what to do and it pains me to see you this way. I want to help you Koushiro. I want to help you become the person that you were before. Come with me and you will see that you are not as evil as you feel yourself to be. I….I…" Jyou tried to say what he truly wanted to say, but he couldn't.
Koushiro looked up from where he sat and gazed into Jyou's eyes. 'He really does care.' Jyou's face then turned into the angel's once again and instead of backing away in fear, Koushiro embraced the warm feeling it emitted and took the hand she extended towards him. Once he took the hand, the face of Jyou returned and helped Koushiro from the ground. He felt Jyou's arm go around his waist and help support him. "Umm..you don't have to do that. I can walk."
"Well, if you want to look strange, then I'll let go. I don't want people to make fun of you since you are only wearing a hospital gown. If I'm helping you, they'll think that you are just getting your daily walk for recovery from an injury. You did have a broken leg, remember?" Koushiro shook his head. "Oh well. You did have one. It'll be worse on you." Jyou's eyes sparkled as he looked at Koushiro as he nodded his head in a gesture that said 'thank you'. 'Like I said before,' Jyou thought, 'I'll do anything to protect you from whatever I can.'
As the duo walked away, Kaida looked on down the alley and began to walk away. A hologram of the giant wolf-like angel appeared over Kaida as he leapt into the next alley.
***
"Damn that Kido fellow! I almost had Koushiro in my grasp then he came along and ruined everything. I could have destroyed him once and for all."
"Well, doesn't that go to show you that I can win even though you are stronger than I? Some opponent you are." The wolf-like creature stated as it emerged from the shadows.
"I wouldn't provoke me, Nanako. First, you take away my ability to use Koushiro's father's form, then you destroy my emotion sequence and then, you have the GALL TO USE THIS KIDO GUY AND DESTROY MY PLEASURE! I don't even know why I don't destroy you now."
"Because of the balance, you imbecile. If you destroy me, that mean you will be destroyed as well in order to keep the natural balance of life. Did you not remember that?"
"All I remember is that I can destroy you through Koushiro and NOT disturb that pattern, oh wise one," the demon stated sarcastically as he waved off Nanako.
"You are forgetting that I can do the same to you through this child, only I won't destroy him in the process!"
"That's what you think," the demon muttered under his breath as he disappeared into the darkness.
***
"Yamato…"
'What's going on? Oi….my head hurts.' Yamato thought as he opened his eyes to a fuzzy room.
"Oh sleeping beauty…Are you going to awaken sometime today?"
"Go 'way," Yamato mumbled as he turned his head away from the sound. "I'm not gonna go nowhere. Whadja want? If ya want me to move, then forget getting anythin' outta me." Yamato spoke with a clear slur in his speech and with broken grammar. He felt someone lift his top half from some type of solid surface and hold him.
"Someone wants to say something to you."
"Jyou? That you?" Yamato squinted his eyes towards the person who was holding him up. "Who wants what?" That's when he saw a red blur come up to him and sit on the floor.
"Umm…Yamato? That is your name, correct? Umm…I'm eternally sorry for what I did. I was out of control and…and I just couldn't stop myself. I promise that will never happen again, and if it does…" Jyou covered Koushiro's mouth before he finished that sentence.
"If it does what?"
"Umm…he means that it anything like this happens again, he will do everything he can to make it up to you," Jyou said, nervously, as he received a glare from Koushiro. Yamato gave Jyou a suspicious look and then turned his attention to the sulking Koushiro.
"Koushiro?" Yamato attempted to sit up on his own, but didn't do very well. "Look, I forgive you for what you did to me. I mean, at least you didn't kill me. Damn it! I did it again!" Yamato wanted to slap himself in the forehead for that. 'Mimi's usually the one doing this type of thing, not me.'
'Smooth move, Mr. Yamato,' Jyou thought as he gave a death glare to Yamato and then turned to Koushiro. "Look, if you want to cry, then go ahead. We're right here for you." Instead of getting his expected result, Jyou saw that Koushiro burst out in a fit of laughter. Jyou and Yamato looked at each other and then turned back to Koushiro with confused looks.
"You two are just too much. I haven't made myself out to be that delicate, have I? I thought that was actually pretty funny." Koushiro the began to laugh again.
'Either his sense of humor has been twisted or he's just completely flipped,' Yamato thought as he rolled his eyes. He then looked at Jyou for support, only to find out that he was now laughing as well. "What is so funny?"
"Your look is priceless, Yamato! I wish I had my camera, or at least my notebook so I can record this moment down in history," Jyou managed to blurt out as he looked at Yamato. Yamato then looked at the two laughing maniacs in front of him and sweatdropped several times.
"IT'S NOT THAT FUNNY!" Yamato's face turned into one of frustration as his looked down to Jyou and Koushiro, only to have them stop laughing for a second and then begin chortling even louder. One of could have sworn that smoke was coming from Yamato's head at that point and that his face could have been a tomato. Yamato the sighed in defeat and laid his head back on the pillow while running a hand through his hair. 'I just hope that Koushiro can stay this joyful.'
***
While there was happiness coming from the inside of the hospital, a cloaked figure waited outside in one alley and watched. 'That Kido boy must be removed, otherwise this job is going to become harder than it should be,' it thought as its cloak floated through the wind like ebony snakes. 'He'll be easy to dispose of. Then, Nanako and Koushiro will be mine to control and then destroy. Then, I many finally live in my world in peace.' The figure walked away and then disappeared into the shadows.
***
SC: Ahhhhh!! Writer's Block struck halfway through this chapter! Ugh…my brain is tired now.
Yamato: What is with you and trying to kill us off lately?
SC: *grins* It's fun writing about it. I bet a whole bunch of authors can agree with me, right?
Voices from other authors: YEAH!
Koushiro: Well, at least you aren't being described as a psychotic maniac! *fumes*
SC: Awww….I'm sorry Koushiro. I do this because I just love you so much! *grabs Koushiro and starts to squeeze him really hard*
Koushiro: Air….must have air…ack!
Jyou: *sniffles* You mean, you don't love me?
SC: *releases Koushiro, who tries to run away, but is caught by the shirt* Of course I love you! Come here!
Jyou: Umm…I don't think that…ack! *joins Koushiro in his struggling*
Yamato: *rolls his eyes* Anyway, please review this fic. More chapters are coming, so please, be patient.
SC: You sound like one of those annoying "you are on hold" machines that play the nice elevator music.
Yamato: I DO NOT!
SC: Whatever. Anyway, this fic used to be entitled "Where Do I Belong", but that name didn't suit my purposes anymore, so I changed it.