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The Longest Day
A Spiral Suiri no kizuna Fanfiction
Disclaimer: Suiri no Kizuna is produced by J.C Staff Co., Ltd. Written for the "seasons" challenge
at tempsmort, where you can't mention the season, but had to set it during one.
It was the longest day of the year.
He sat at his piano fingering the keys idly, wondering if he should go back to bed. Dawn was minutes away, and with light came danger. But for him and his kind, danger was a constant factor of their existence, so it really didn't matter. He preferred to sleep during the day, but he rarely had the chance, due to his concerts and practices.
But then, his preferences were unimportant. He had learned that, hadn't he?
He wasn't particular fond of this time of year, but that was probably because he didn't deal well with the heat. He preferred when things were cooler, and it was easier to think. The heat clogged up his thought processes and slowed him down, something that he hated. Anything that slowed him down even the slightest bit took away a vital edge that could cost him his life.
He remembered how Kanone had laughed at him once when he had actually admitted his dislike of heat, but Kanone had been the one person who he had been able to tell anything to. Rio, Kousuke and Ryoko may have shared his fate, but that didn't mean that he shared himself with them.
But Kanone...
Kanone had been the one who had protected him until he could protect himself. Kanone had been the one who understood what the others couldn't.
"You look so cold, like ice," Kanone had teased him once. "Like an artist's ideal Christmas angel," he said.
He touched his side, feeling where the missing rib should have pressed against his skin. "A fallen angel, maybe," he said softly. "We're all like that," he said.
Kanone had gone quiet, and the laughter had faded from his cat-like eyes. "I know," he said softly. "We're all damned, but sometimes we like to pretend."
Kanone had wrapped his arms around him, and for a brief moment, he had allowed himself to lean into the embrace before pulling away. Kanone's face had been carefully neutral, but something flashed in those lambent eyes, an emotion that fled too quickly for him to read.
Today was for celebration, and he knew he shouldn't dwell in memories. He would perform in a concert for tonight, of course, and he knew that many of his fans would be celebrating the start of their holidays. The American tourists were coming, and he knew that his face was attractive to them. So many people were entranced by his icy demeanor and marvelous skills, but wouldn't they be disgusted if they knew the truth?
That was the strange dichotomy in what he was - they were. Blade Children entranced, but shouldn't exist. Still, they fought for all they were worth, their instinctive drive for survival forcing them to confront the ones who sought to erase them with fury and ruthlessness.
Sometimes he wondered what he would have been like, had he been normal.
"Why are we the way we are? Why am I like this?" he had demanded once, the last time he had ever cried. "Why can't I be normal?"
"Don't wish for that," Kanone had told him. "Don't regret the past, because we can't change that," Kanone had said. "Accept what you are, and live to fight the next day."
They had been thirteen then, and it had been only the second time he had ever killed one of the Hunters. Usually Kanone killed them, but when he entered junior high, Kanone had changed, forcing him to take more and more responsibility for his safety.
He had wanted to struggle against his fate, but something in Kanone's soft voice had caused his shoulders to slump forward, and he leaned his head into his hands, unable to deny the truth to the words that Kanone had forced on him.
It had been hot that night, too, and the scent of blood was burned into his memory. The Hunter had smelled strange, like sweat and fear, and he would never forget the terror and realization of death in the man's eyes as he had thrown the knife that had ultimately ended the Hunter's life.
Kanone may have been the knife expert, but he made sure that the ones he loved could protect themselves.
He never knew how Kanone became the expert, and their protector. He wished he thought to ask, but that wasn't his nature. Both of them were quiet as the first snow, rarely needing conversation to communicate. Body language sufficed.
Kanone's touch was gentle and sure, always questioning. /Are you okay? Did you see them? Are you afraid/
He was hesitant, rarely seeking contact. /I'm fine... They were there... I missed you.../
As he grew in skill as a concert pianist, Kanone learned other skills, skills that served to protect the others. First there was Kousuke, then Ryoko... then finally Rio. But Kanone was their anchor, and he was the quiet lieutenant, always making sure that everyone was accounted for and safe.
Oh, there were other Blade Children, but none managed to last. Stupidity, carelessness, ill luck... they fell like deer during hunting season, and they learned not to mourn for the lost ones. /Care for yourself, care for the others... and don't look back.../
And then Kanone left.
One day, he was there, and the next, he was gone.
He didn't know what to do, at first.
Had he driven him away? he wondered.
Was Kanone running, using himself as bait for the Hunters?
Or had Kanone decided survival was easier by himself, that the others no longer needed them?
He didn't know. Inside, he felt alone for the first time since meeting him.
The others were afraid, but he maintained the distant calm they always associated with him. They had known he and Kanone had been close, but none realized what that really entailed.
"We're going to split up," he announced. "We'll scatter, and they'll have a harder time coming at all of us," he said.
Ryoko had been all for it, and Kousuke had been easily convinced, but Rio had been reluctant. It was only by promising to come back when the time was right that she had agreed.
They would survive, he knew. They were strong.
So he went away as well, to England. It was cold there, and he could feel the loneliness in his heart freeze. But promises had to be kept when made between Blade Children, and he knew when things began to stir that returning to Japan was his only choice, though he had been reluctant.
Perhaps his coloring fit the colder seasons better, which was why he liked living in England better. Japan rarely received the same blistering chill his other homeland did, but he had reason to believe that Kanone would return to Japan, and he fully intended on being there to meet him when he did.
And then there was the matter of Narumi Kiyotaka... and Narumi's younger brother...
He would think on that later.
Today he had a concert recital.
His fingers played a few melancholy notes before he realized that the day was about to begin, and he had to make his decision - to sleep or commit to seeing the day through. The sun was rising, and he pushed himself away from the piano to go over the window to watch it. Kanone was out there somewhere - the Hunters hadn't found him yet.
Eyes Rutherford would find him first.
END