So, this fic is another thing spurred by the end of Season 2 Cour 2. For someone who loves this series, it sure is a piece I didn't like as much that gets me writing huh- Anyway, I'm using the death scene we see as the death of Lunatic, rather than the death of Yuri himself. Image of Thanatos (the cover here on FFnet) by my boyfriend Grimtomes on twitter and BionisInterior on tumblr! The title comes from the phases of the moon, as this is pretty Yuri-centric.
Ships are: Eventual Yuri/Kotetsu/Barnaby and Antonio/Agnes, pre-established Keith/Nathan.
Kotetsu T. Kaburagi is starting to accept he can no longer legally be a hero (despite Doc Saito and Mattia talking in vague terms of maybe that changing one day soon) when things go to hell for him. It's a fairly normal day in Sternbild, but a fairly normal day in Sternbild means crime.
It just so happens the ex-hero is currently caught in a hostage situation, waiting for his old colleagues to come and save him. Hero TV blares on, the perps wanting to keep tabs on who is where.
Kotetsu tries not to look at the dead body next to him, someone shot to prove they were serious about their demands. One dead every hour their demands are not met. The sounds of crying behind him makes his fingers twitch.
He still has the mask, settled in his pocket just in case camera crews find him when he's with Barnaby or one of the others. Even now, his identities being separate in the public eye was important to him.
A piece of him is tempted to throw it on, to hell with the lack of his NEXT abilities. If he could just make an opening, that would be enough. He looks at the television screen again and tries to ignore the wails of the scared people.
The heroes are all outside, unable to make a move without risking the people inside. He sees Barnaby on the screen and feels he has to do something, has to act. He puts on the mask and in one fell swoop is running towards one of the men.
He doesn't expect to get a punch in before they start firing. They point their guns at him, Kotetsu prepares himself.
The flames of a dead man cut him off from the perps.
Kotetsu had spent hours after Yuri Petrov, or as most of the public knew it, the masked Lunatic, after his jump. Down at the bottom of the bridge, at the bay, anywhere he could think to find him. There had been nothing, and thanks to the wounds from facing down L.L. Audun he had been declared dead.
It hadn't been long after that that Judge Yuri Petrov had been declared missing - though most were still looking for him. Most didn't know he was Lunatic, after all. That was a well-kept secret between him and his partner.
He wonders if Barnaby's head is racing to the same scene as his right now. The final look at Yuri, flame enveloping him before he jumped. Never to be seen again.
The flames in front of him dance in patterns or blue and green. They can be seen from outside, if the television feed is anything to go off of. Even Mario is asking if Lunatic wasn't dead like they thought.
Kotetsu wants to reach through them, touch who created them. Wants to tell him he doesn't have to do this - doesn't have to kill anyone anymore. His sense of justice doesn't have to be like this.
But then, he sees the man behind it. The colors are all right, but everything else is all wrong. All he can do is stare and wonder if he got his own hopes up - stupid and naive and wanting to believe someone he clashed with so hard didn't have to die.
The neon blues and greens mix and flame licks at the ends of the man's hair - long, grey hair that's awfully familiar. Kotetsu works his mouth open, tries to find words, but there are none. He stares at the cape, the way it hides the body. He wonders if it'll burn away like before.
The masked man looks at him and makes a noise of recognition. Kotetsu feels frozen to the spot, reaching out helplessly from behind the flames. He silently begs for the man to say something, anything.
"Repent, sinners," he says and Kotetsu knows. "Your judgment has arrived."
"Lunatic!" He calls over the roar of the fire, the words of the other finally spurring him on. "You don't have to-"
"Lunatic is dead, Wild Tiger," Yuri once again looks at him. "You saw him die with your own eyes."
Words catch in his throat and he feels cold, despite the heat right in front of him. He reaches and reaches until glass shatters and Barnaby pulls him back, holds him back.
A scream that doesn't come out wracks his body as the flames cover his vision and the man speaks.
"Heed my voice, hear your fate!"
He can barely stand when the flames clear.
Barnaby Brooks Jr. was there the day Lunatic died, and he'd assumed Yuri with him. As he holds his partner, watches as the flames dissipate, he wonders if he can even trust that memory. If he can call it real.
He supposes he can at least trust his eyes right now. Trust the way Kotetsu shakes in his grasp and the burning smell in his nose. It reminds him of that night, the night he'd only recently grown used to seeing clearly.
The hostage takers lay there, bound in flames, but alive. He doesn't even flinch when Dragon Kid and Magical Cat swoop in to save the hostages, or when Sky High and Fire Emblem replace those restraints with something less deadly. He tightens his grip on Kotetsu only when Blue Rose stops next to him.
"Was that…?" Her voice shakes. "I thought he died."
"He did," Barnaby replies despite his uncertainty. "But that…"
"Lunatic died," Kotetsu mumbles. "But the man behind him didn't."
Barnaby's heart squeezes in a mixture of emotions he can't quite place. Lunatic had died, but Yuri Petrov had refused to die that day. Instead, he's been reborn, right in front of his eyes.
In front of all of them.
He shakes the shock off for the time being and helps Kotetsu out of the building. Cameras are on them in no time - for Kotetsu's stupid move and Barnaby's rescue and the man with the blue flames
He can barely focus on answering the questions, trying to piece everything together in his own head still. He keeps a grip on Kotetsu the entire time, as if it'll bring him closer to grasping whatever this situation was.
By the end of it, the only thing anyone knows for certain is that man isn't quite Lunatic. Similar, perhaps even the same man under the mask, but with one major difference. The only casualty was a civilian.
Kotetsu dubs him Thanatos in a daze, and the media eats it up. Barnaby understands why he chose that, those last words he said.
The voice of Thanatos really had been his own all along.
He sits Kotetsu down after the cameras mostly vanish, and kneels in front of him. He doesn't know where to start, only knows they have to. If Yuri is still out there, who knows how hurt he is?
But before he even can, the other heroes descend upon them. He can't blame them for getting shaken by this - they more than anyone believed what he and Kotetsu had recounted. Only he and Kotetsu were more confused, he's sure.
"Well, Lunatic looks more friendly now," Fire Emblem begins.
"Nicer on murderers than before, too," Sky High adds. "I had been so sure it would end badly…"
"Speaking of ending badly," Rock Bison makes it towards the front of the group. "You okay, Kotetsu? Must've been a hell of a shock for you."
"I'm okay, just thinking," Kotetsu replies after a minute. "Maybe… this could be a good thing."
"Well if it is Lunatic he is turning a new leaf…" Mr. Black mumbles. "I'm not sure I trust him, though."
"I don't even trust it is Lunatic," Ryan chimes in. "Could just be a copycat with similar abilities, right?"
"That's unlikely, but not impossible," Thomas agrees. "It's not like strangers sharing abilities is unheard of."
"You have a point," Barnaby says, though he hates to admit it. "I didn't see him as much as Kotetsu, though… What do you think, old man? Could it be someone else?"
"No, it was him," Kotetsu says, conviction in his tone. "It has to be him."
"You sure?" Blue Rose asks. "Even though you saw him die?"
"I'm sure, I don't know how it's him, but it's gotta be," Kotetsu looks up at the group. "Pretty rude of him to come back now of all times, though!"
Barnaby raises an eyebrow, Kotetsu always did know how to ruin a moment. "And why is that?"
"I was just starting to get used to retirement and now here he comes! I can't just sit around and do nothing!" Kotetsu explains. "Sure I can't do anything when he shows up at a crime scene…"
"But you can keep an eye out and try to track him down?" Barnaby asks, getting a nod in reply.
Thomas leans towards the others at this point, mumbling. "It feels like he just wanted an excuse to get back in the saddle."
"Yep," Magical Cat nods.
"Definitely," Dragon Kid agrees.
"That's our Wild Tiger," Origami Cyclone adds.
"H…hey, you four! Don't go gossiping about me like that!"
Barnaby sighs, this was all so much, but… Well, when were things normal with Kotetsu around?
"Are you okay?!" Is the first question out of Kaede's mouth when Kotetsu picks up the phone. "I saw on TV and I got so worried-"
"Daddy's fine, sweetheart," Kotetsu assures. "Not a scratch on me!"
"Only because Thanatos showed up!" She scolds. Man that name caught on quick. "Not to mention Barnaby had to keep you from running head first into the fire!"
"Okay, so I was a little stupid today-"
"Not a little, very!" Kaede replies. "You need to be more careful, Dad! You're not invincible!"
Kotetsu readjusts the phone as he pulls up his internet browser. "Believe me, honey, I know."
"Good," Kaede huffs out. "Stop making me and Grandma worry so much, okay?"
"Okay, I'll behave and find a nice safe job, I promise!" As soon as he was done finding Yuri, that is. "It's late, isn't it? You should get to bed, okay?"
"Okay," Kaede says after a moment. "I'll call you later, take care."
The smile he sometimes has to force on when talking to Kaede falls, and Kotetsu finds himself staring at the screen. He's not exactly good with these searches and kind of wishes he could do things more his way. You know, out and about, looking for any sign of the vigilante.
Barnaby and the others made it clear they wouldn't stand for that, though. Him almost getting himself shot was enough excitement for one day and he needed to think about it. Even Agnes had gotten in on grilling him…
He heaves a sigh, he'd told Yuri (and himself) he could take on a world with no NEXT ability for him, but man it was hard. Especially when he was a gut first, brain later kind of guy.
"Had to come check up on me, huh?" He chuckles to himself. "At least have the decency to say hi next time."
It's blindly, but he starts to search. No point in just sitting around now, right?
Barnaby is still reeling from earlier events when he makes it home. He only has the lights on long enough to tend to his plants before shutting them off again. Sitting down, he looks out the window and he frowns.
Yuri Petrov was alive, Kotetsu was excited, and Barnaby didn't know what to do. He didn't want Yuri dead, mind you, but he wasn't sure he wanted him out and about, either
At least he's not killing anyone this time, he supposes. He just hopes Kotetsu is thinking ahead to when they find him and catch him. He can't be the only one to.
He goes over all the people dead to Lunatic's hand in his head, but has to stop when he comes to Maverick. The man who had used him, Barnaby finds himself thinking on him more often now. It's hard not to, with Ouroboros still on his mind.
Everyone who worked for them ended up dead before they could share too much. Gregory Sunshine's transport suddenly veering into the ground below had confirmed silenting their own people wasn't out of the question. Even silencing the silencer.
He wonders if Maverick used his own ability to avoid that, only to die to those flames. Engulfed in flames just like his home, his family…
Barnaby swallows hard and focuses back on Yuri. Back on the person still alive, that he could maybe get some answers from.
Not on Ouroboros, mind you, but on why he was like this. Why Barnaby had come dangerously close to being just like him in the past.
He has questions, and he plans to get answers.
"Lunatic is back, Kotetsu's shoving his nose where it doesn't belong…" Antonio stretches with a yawn. "Just like the good ol' days, huh?"
"Only Lunatic is saying he died and he's someone else," Subaru says. "Doesn't seem good or old."
"More like a start of a new chapter," Thomas muses.
"Start of a new chapter, indeed," Ivan nods. "I wonder if that means it's time for you to move forward, Bison…"
"Origami-"
"Move forward?" Subaru asks, hands behind his head. "What do you mean?"
"Well," Ivan begins.
"Origami," Antonio warns.
"Bison has a crush on Agnes. I don't quite get it myself, but I think it's about time for him to be honest with himself," Ivan says. "And with her! He even bought her a present, but last I heard he didn't give it to her!"
Keith looks at Antonio with pity. "Is that true?"
"Well, with the Kotetsu retiring and Lunatic dead and Judge Petrov being missing stuff…" He scratches his cheek, refusing to meet his gaze. "I just sort of forgot."
"In other words," Thomas says. "He got too embarrassed to actually do it."
Ivan sighs. "Yep."
"H-hey!" Antonio frowns. "You have no proof of that!"
"Well, it's never to late to confess now!" Keith assures. "Why not give her that gift you bought her?"
"Actually," Ivan says. "Maybe he shouldn't… I don't think she'd like the stuff I like, and he asked me for advice."
"Dude," Subaru frowns at Antonio. "It's like you want her to reject you."
"Listen, I'm doing my best, man!"
"It's alright, we just need to think outside the box, then!" Keith replies. "If we find the right setting, even the worst gift will be well received!"
"A very Sky High way to look at things, huh?" Thomas says.
"There's an area around here where my first love in Sternbild blossomed," Keith starts to lead the rest of the group. "So-"
"Wait, first?" Antonio asks. "Has there been a second?"
"Hm? Fire Emblem is the second one, of course!" Keith replies. "Oh! I should tell them about this…"
"Good idea!" Subaru says. "If anyone'll know how to woo Agnes, it'll be someone like Fire Emblem."
"Exactly!" Keith smiles, but Antonio feels like crawling in a hole and dying.
Usually girls' nights out is filled with chatter about anything from personal lives (in somewhat vague terms) to things about fellow heroes to latest trends. The only thing they usually don't touch on, Nathan finds, is the villains they face. Not that they can blame the girls for not wanting to talk about that - these are meant to be a break from all that business, anyway.
But tonight, all the talk is about Thanatos. They suppose their mind is on him, too. There was something about him that they couldn't put their finger on that seemed so damn familiar, and not in a Lunatic way, either…
They tap their nails against the table. "Well, at least he isn't killing anyone anymore, and he's being upfront about being around. Better than the first time he popped up."
"Oh, yeah, before anyone actually got a chance to see him," Pao-Lin says. "Weren't you a potential suspect."
Nathan frowns. "Sure was, until a man died right in front of me."
"I remember that," Karina sips at her drink. "Tiger and Agnes were with you, right?"
"Yep," they nod. "And Tiger tried to follow him, not that it did much good."
Lara is staring at her lap, and Nathan notices this. They reach out a hand and pat her head. She jumps, but looks up at them and smiles a bit. They smile back, hopefully she'll feel safe enough to talk about whatever's on her mind.
Pao-Lin reaches over and holds her hand. "What's up, Lara?"
"Well," Lara says. "Wild Tiger and Lunatic have a history, but it doesn't seem to be a good one."
"Yeah, I think outside of the L.L. Audun incident he helped him once, but that was when he thought he was just Kotetsu," Karina frowns deeply, running a finger along the rim of her glass.
"Back when Maverick was still the big man in charge," Nathan nods. "...I wonder if there's more to it then we think."
"Yeah, that's what I wonder, too," Lara nods. "Tiger doesn't seem to want to catch him to throw him in jail…"
"Mmm…" Nathan thinks again. Who does he remind them of…?
Their phone goes off, distracting them for a moment, with the message distracting them even more. They gasp, eyes going wise. Oh, now this was juicy, and a topic the others needed to hear about right now.
Mattia thinks he's starting to really understand what Dr. Saito has to say, even if he thinks he misses a word here or there. It helps that they've been working together to develop such a state-of-the-art suit. Something a non-NEXT could use to be on the same footing as NEXT.
"I'm sure Wild Tiger can't wait to see it!" He says. "Don't you agree?"
Saito says something, probably about them not being nearly as close to done as Mattia thought…? Ah, he did get too excited too quickly sometimes, didn't he. He flushes and looks down.
"I'm sorry, you're right."
Saito sighs, and turns away. He rummages through a box and… pulls out some sort of hat with an amplifier on top? Mattia frowns and opens his mouth to speak, only for the loudest voice he'd ever heard to come out of the doctor.
"I said we only got a few tests left! Then we'll knock Tiger's socks off!" He says, and Mattia wonders if he needs earplugs now. "Then, it's just getting it approved."
"Ah, the hard part," Mattia sighs. "Do we even know who's in charge right now?"
"I think it's just a group of judges and the type, they're still hoping Judge Petrov'll show up again any day!" Saito says. "If you ask me, we should probably start moving on."
"Mmm, well, I get wanting to hold onto hope," Mattia replies. "It just… isn't fair to everyone, no matter how they do it."
"Exactly! Might as well get this approved faster, though," Saito says. "If we don't, he's sure to get his hands on this and do something, anyway!"
"You think he'll steal it?"
Saito gives a laugh. "I think I'll end up giving it to him if I feel his help is needed."
"Ah…" Mattia forces a smile.
Man, Barnaby's new group of friends sure can be weird.
"That's what's become of your hero, of Lunatic. Letting the criminals go, sad, isn't it?"
"N… no! That can't be him. He wouldn't let sinners like that live, he would… This is fake, isn't it? How did you fake this?!"
"It's not a fake, it's straight from Hero TV itself. What will you do with this information, I wonder…"
"He must have been tricked, Lunatic would never do this, I…"
"Hm?"
"I'll show him he's wrong! Just so long as your offer still stands."
"Happily, welcome aboard, Stefan."
The man leaves his office and he sits back. This was just step one - Lunatic would be a useful asset, if he could be pinned down. More valuable that way than as a vigilante or rogue murderer, at least.
Clean up loose ends, people getting too close. Keep the heroes in line, the snoopers in check. An undertaker for those who have crossed the wrong people, even if they hadn't realized it yet.
If he could get Lunatic to perform the cleanup he needs… Well, it just might become the start of a beautiful new chapter for Ouroboros.