Quick Notes: I thought people would know this stuff, but upon posting this elsewhere I find that they don't.
Tracer is the long-haired fellow from Vol. 4. He teases Tomonori while he smokes. Yes, I'm sure that is his name.
The Polestar Empire is mentioned in the manga, but they don't really show up in the story line until the 2004 movie. You can find their card game info easily, if you want the general idea of who they are. Or you can just wait for me to explain. I will tell all, eventually.
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Horizons
Chapter 2: On a Rainy Night
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It had been raining for sometime now. The water cascaded down on the roof in hard, icy sheets. It echoed through the empty house like thunder off in the distance.Tsukasa was not sure of the time, or just how long he had been sitting in front of the door. He knew that it was after two a.m., and Tomonori had said he would be home by midnight.
After a phone call shortly before dinner, he had immediately left without saying where he was going. (Something that had happened the last two nights.) Of course, he didn't have to say. Tsukasa knew, had always known. There was only one time, since he had come to live with Tomonori that left he house without telling Tsukasa where he was going. When he was meeting with his cell of WIZ-DOM.
Tsukasa shivered, and wrapped his arms around his knees trying to keep warm. He had always stayed up till Tomonori got home; though he did his best to make sure Tomonori didn't know it. Even before he remembered his past he had hadn't asked where Tomonori went. Even when Tomonori came back tried, bloody, and looking very haunted. He never asked. Before it was because of fear. Fear, of what Tomonori would think of him if he found out what a monster he was. What he might do if he knew Tsukasa was one of the things he worked so hard to fight... If he didn't know for sure what Tomonori did when he went out, he could pretend that, if Tomonori ever did find out, what he was it wouldn't matter.
But even in the end, it didn't. Tomonori still loved him, despite it.
Now, it was for worry that he didn't ask. The look Tomonori kept in his eyes after retuning from a meeting, or a mission. A haunted, sad, angry, bitter look. The look of a person who had seen too many bad things - been though too many bad things. If he ever asked he knew what he would hear, 'Don't worry about me Tsukasa.' And of course Tomonori would say this with a face that said, 'Oh, please, please worry about me!' Asking would only make Tomonori remember whatever caused that look.
Tsukasa stood from his spot against the wall to peek out the small widow in the door again. Nothing, only an unending, roaring, darkness. The rain sounded like it has turned to hail. Tsukasa hoped Tomonori wasn't outside. He hoped that he would call soon...hoped that something bad hadn't happen to him...he hoped that he wasn't lying in the street somewhere hurt, or...
"Don't think like that…" Tsukasa whispered to the air. He rested his head against the cold glass of the small window. He's fine. He always comes back, doesn't he? Tsukasa looked over at the long, black, over coat that hung on the wall. In his rush to leave, Tomonori had not even taken the time to grab his coat. But he took the time to tell you to sleep well. That he would be back soon. Not to worry. A few tears leaked out of Tsukasa's tightly shut eyes. He furiously wiped them away, backing away from the window.
Tsukasa took the heavy coat of its peg on the wall. It still held onto small drops of water from the walk home from school that evening. Tsukasa sat back down against the wall, wrapping Tomonori's coat around him.
"Tomonori-san...please be okay."
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Tomonori groaned, and clutched his head. He struggled to push himself up on the cold cement floor he found himself laying on.
"Hey! Father! If you aren't dead you better get your butt off the ground, and help me!"
Tomonori slowly opened his eyes. A blur of swirling black and white stood in front of him. His fogged brain tried to work out what was going on. He had been hunting a Darklore that was terrorizing a still under construction apartment complex just outside of downtown. When he arrived he had met Tracer, who had also been tracking the same Darklore. Since neither of them had much of an idea of what they were fighting, they agreed to go in together - just this once. (Tomonori chose to ignore the fact they had said that the last few times.)
The creature had not been a Darklore. In fact, Tomonori was not exactly sure what it was. Only that no attack, by himself or Tracer, affected it very much. Somehow, they managed to get it cornered in one of the many unfinished rooms of a still under construction apartment complex. Once realizing it was trapped, the creature had deiced to start throwing things. Things including: a long metal rail, a light fixture, several chucks of floor, and a toolbox.
Oh, that was it.
Tomonori pushed himself up on the wall. He tried to focus on the blur of light in front of him, but everything still seemed fuzzy. He crumpled to the floor, closing his eyes. "Tracer, what's happening?"
"It's still - gah!" There was a loud clang, and the creature screamed, " -throwing things. "
Tomonori opened his eyes. The world was back in focus, though the giants in his head were starting to pound harder. The first things he saw were dark red lines painted on the floor below him. He traced a gloved hand over the thick line, following it with his eyes up the wall, and on to the ceiling. The entire room was covered in lines, circles, and small symbols.
Alchemy.
"I know what it is!" Tomonori shouted, trying to make himself heard over the creature's awful cries.
"I don't care! How do we stop it?"
"Just distract it."
"Distract it, he says." Tracer mumbled, as he raised his shield to block another large chuck of wall.
Tomonori stood, eyes fixed of the rampaging creature. The roof above it was partly gone due to the construction work being done in the building. If he could only knock the rest down on top of it...but he would have to get close enough to make sure it hit. All it would take is one hit with those massive, hooked claws to...well no use thinking about that right now...
Tracer had been doing his best to block all the debris flying in their direction, and now was trying to throw some of it back at the creature by bouncing it back on his shield. That would have to do for a distraction. The creature seemed to have a blind spot on its right side, where it's face was cut, and swollen over its eye. Tomonori pressed himself up against the wall, and crept as quickly as possible across it. If he could stay to the right side of the room he could get close enough to knock in the ceiling.
Tracer was making little progress with throwing things back at the creature. Tomonori watched as a chunk of flying wall met with one swipe the creature's claws, and was ripped into tiny pieces. He locked his eyes on the bit of roof he was planning to knock down. Beads of sweat trickled down his face on to his neck, and his hand tightened in its fist around the thin sliver chain in his pocket.
With a quick flick of his wrist he let the cross fly, the silver chain flashed in the city lights before bright energy flared along it. There was a blinding white flash, and then the rumbling sounds of falling cement, and steel beams. Tomonori slummed against the far wall, exhausted. A few more pieces of cement from the walls fell on to the pile trapping the fallen creature. Dust filled the air like a thick fog making is hard the breath, and impossible to see.
Tomonori slid against the wall till he reached the floor. He pulled his knees up, resting his aching head on them. He heard a few coughs, coming closer.
"Hey," a few more ragged coughs, "Hey!" Tomonori made no effort to answer too tired from the energy lost to want to move.
"Hey, I'm talking to you," the voice was closer now. He saw, from the corner of his eye, Tracer knell beside him, collapsing against the wall. "You could have warned me before you did that. Or were you trying to flatten me too?" Tomonori still gave no response. After a few moments Tracer chuckled, causing him to cough a few more times. "You look like a ghost more than usual with all that dust on you."
"Shut up already, and let me rest." Tomonori managed to mumble out.
"Cranky, aren't we? Bet you're awful in the mornings," Seeming more at ease, if Tracer was ever one to be tense, he leaned his head back on the wall. Dusty hands reached in to a few different pockets before pulling out a crumpled pack of cigarettes, and small sliver lighter. After moments inspection of a slightly bent white stick he stuck it in his mouth. "Police will be here soon."
"I know," the other man whispered.
"I can call your people for you, but I have to know what to tell them."
Tomonori's weary mind tried to draw what energy he had left together. WIZ-DOM would have to be connected, preferable before too many police showed up, and started asking questions he couldn't answer. This was far messier than his usually work. Police would have to be dealt with, property cleaned up before anyone arrived in the morning, and then to troublesome problem of finding out who created that beast.
"It was a Chimera." Tomonori lifted his head to rest it against the wall. The world swirled for several seconds before his eyes came to focus on the pile of gray rock pierced with steel beams before him. He glanced over at Tracer, unwilling to move his pounding head so soon again, to find the other man staring at him.
"That isn't possible. No one has even attempt Alchemy like that for over three hundred years."
"No one has been caught doing it. Transmutation circles on the walls roof and floor. No one has been in here for two days. Nothing we did hurt it much. It wasn't a Darklore. And it was smart. Human intelligence. It fits all the physical qualifications for a Chimera too."
"Big, furry, and ugly?"
"Yes." Tomonori sighed into his pants.
"Aha. I'm going have a time explaining this on the phone. 'Just flatted an unheard on monster down here. Could you come clean it up?' I'm out of here as soon as I'm off that phone."
"Thank you for your assistance." Tomonori mumbled again.
"Ah, well," Tracer stood, patting his robes, making the white dust there fly in a frenzy to get away, "At least it has stopped raining."
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It didn't stop raining for long. By the time Wiz-Dom arrive, the police dealt with, and endless questioning by three different people, Tomonori was soaked. Still exhausted, he had taken refuge under the small over-hang of the shop across the street.
"You look like you need this."
Tomonori looked up to see a steaming, paper cup thrust in front of his face. Gratefully, he took the warm cup. A kind, wrinkled face smiled down at him. The other man's short gray hair dripped down into his face as he sat down beside Tomonori. They sat in comfortable silence for a while, watching people scurry about as the final police car drove off.
"So, who will be investigating?" Tomonori asked after another long sip off coffee.
"Ah. Always so to the point with you." The man said fondly. He smiled, and for a while longer they sat in silence, a less comfortable one. Tomonori watched as the smile faded from his old friends face. "That is what I came over to tell you," he said softly, "It won't be investigated."
"What?" Tomonori said sharply. He was beginning to find energy he didn't know he had.
"The creature is dead. And there isn't enough left if the room to give any clue as to who may have done it."
"But, I've heard about--" Tomonori stopped as a near by Wiz-Dom member stopped walking to stare in his direction. Realizing that his voice was staring to carry, he started again, "I've heard about other alchemic attempts at Chimera being found around the city recently. They can't ignore this."
The sound of squeaky breaks drew Tomonori's attention to the cheery yellow cab that was pulling around the corner.
"Ah, finally," the older man's smile had returned, though it looked strained, "I called a cab to take you home. I thought defeating one raging monster tonight was enough. No need to add the city bus to that list." The old man stood, stepping out from under the eve into the heavy rain, "Now, you better get going, or that kid of yours may start to worry."
"But-" Tomonori stood, desperation leaking into his voice.
"Go, Tomonori."
Tomonori found his eyes once again drawn to the Wiz-Dom member that had been listing to their conversation before. He was leaning against a burnout lamppost directly across the street from them. He appeared to be intently admiring the storm drain. Something was wrong...
He tensed as a strong hand briefly squeezed his shoulder. "Things are changing, old friend," the older man whispered to him, "Leave this alone. Forget it happened." His shoulder was released as the other reached down to pick up his forgotten coffee cup.
A laugh, a genuine one, came from the gray haired man a moment later as he turned to face him, "You should hurry home, and get some sleep. You still have to teach tomorrow."
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Tsukasa knew he must have fallen asleep, because he was having the most wonderful dream. In this dream, he was standing beside someone. Someone with warm hands, a kind smile, and compassionate, dark eyes. It was an amazingly realistic dream. He could even hear the person's voice saying, "Tsukasa…Tsukasa?"
"Tomonori-san…" He murmured back.
Tomonori's figure was starting to fade. He could feel himself slipping out of the dream. But if he was waking up, then why was Tomonori's voice becoming clearer?
"Tsukasa, wake up!" the voice sounded worried.
"Don't want to wake up," he mumbled at the voice. "I like this dream…"
"Then go have it in bed. You'll be warmer," the voice sounded warm, and...amused?
Realizing that the voice wasn't coming from his dream at all, Tsukasa's eyes shot open. He turned to see someone standing beside him. He couldn't help, but stare at the dripping wet priest inches from his face. "T-Tomonori-san?"
Tomonori backed away, and stood up, "Why are you sleeping on the floor?" He smiled kindly down at the boy, still hunched against the wall, covered in his coat, and starring. He knew why Tsukasa was there. He knew Tsukasa didn't sleep unless he was in the house. Still he had hoped that this time...
"I-I got worried when you were late, an-and I just...deiced to sit here...and wait...for you." Tsukasa mumbled in to the heavy fabric. He had quickly directed his eyes to the warm coat he was covered in, when Tomonori had asked.
"Are you okay?"
"I..." Tsukasa seemed to struggle to find the right words, "I just got worried." He looked up, smiling weakly at the other.
Over the few years on his teaching career, Tomonori had seen many students become very embarrassed very quickly, but it was still a marvel to see Tsukasa turn red so fast. He slowly bent closer, and gently kissed him on the forehead, "I'm sorry," he only whispered it, but Tsukasa's smile was as brilliant as it was quick, "Now, off to bed with the both of us." Tomonori looked down at his clothes, and the puddle gathering in the floor. "Well, maybe I'll change first."
Tsukasa laughed, and nodded. Tomonori tried to stand from where he was crouched beside the boy, but a sharp pain stabbed at the back of his head. He staggered back into the wall. He felt Tsukasa's thin arms go around his shoulders, as black spots threatened to cover is his vision.
"Tomonori-san! What's wrong?"
"I...I just got dizzy when I stood. That's all." He gripped the top of the coat rack on the wall, weakly trying to prove he was fine now.
Tsukasa slowly released the tight hold he had on the older man. He kept a firm hand on Tomonori's shoulder though, just in case. He frowned, "What happened Tomonori-san?" He hadn't meant to ask. It just slipped out.
"Don't worry about it. Let's just get to bed."
He had known it was coming. Had not even meant to ask. Now that he had asked though, now that he heard the answer, Tsukasa could not keep his frustration in anymore, "Just how am I not supposed to worry about you?"
The voice was soft, but harsh. Tomonori inwardly cringed. He didn't dare to look back at the face that was now leaning against his shoulder. He was far too afraid of what he would see there. Whatever it was would only make him spill apologizes incoherently. That was something he really did not want to find himself doing.
"I'm sorry."
This time Tomonori did look back. Tsukasa face...wasn't the face he knew. It looked infinitely old, far older than his. There were lines there. Had there always been? Was he just seeing them now because he was so close? But they were gone as soon as they had come, when Tsukasa opened his eyes, and smile at him, "Let's go to the kitchen Tomonori-san. I'll take a look at your head."
NEXT CHAPTER: It just isn't Itsuki's day.
I've rewritten this about six times, and I'm still not happy with it. If I didn't post it now, I deiced I never would. You think having worked on this so much I would have caught all the mistakes, but no. I know there are still some here. Hopeful, I've caught all the terrible ones. Please forgive me(or beata for me)!
Thank you to: neurofeces, juvenile, and mokonamidoki! Cookies to all of you.
Please Review! Say I'm good. Say I'm bad. Tell me my writing sucks, and I shouldn't try anymore (but do that anonymously and I'll just delete you). I could really use some feedback, even if you only have bad things to say.