Chapter Eleven
I like this ending better. This is the original ending idea but I wanted to post the other one first. And here it is. The very.. last.. chapter.
Note: This contains the same parts in the beginning and switches as it goes. Part of this chapter doesn't change at all.
Kouji sat on the roof of his house, staring at the stars. His parents had cried and hugged him when he'd returned and the Kanbara's smiled and welcomed him home. Mrs. Kanbara gave her son a knowing look.
Takuya had smiled and watched Kouji interact with everyone. He seemed.. Happier now that he was free. He wondered what happened in Knight that changed Kouji.
Kouji looked to the ladder leading to the roof as it shook. Someone must be coming up. No sooner than he'd thought it, did Takuya spring his head up into view.
"There you are!" he exclaimed. He hopped over and sat by Kouji. "What are you doing?"
"Watching stars." Kouji laid back against the roof. Takuya sat silently for a minute and then began to twitch.
"Why? They don't move or nothin.." a shooting star whizzed past.
"Like that?" Kouji laughed. Takuya blushed in embarrassment and scowled slightly.
They both lay there on the roof for quite some time before Takuya remembered why he'd come up.
"Kouji.. What happened to you inside Knight?"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"You just.. Changed."
"Hm?" Kouji looked over curiously. Takuya sat up and held his hands up in defense.
"Not that it's a bad change!" he said quickly. Kouji looked back at the stars and sighed shortly.
"I saw illusions of the past and an illusion of the present." Takuya looked lost but Kouji didn't look at him to see if he was following. "In the past.. You were cut on the cheek and blood slowly came from that cut. In the present.. Everything was over and Knight was gone. We were going to go home together and be together forever. But when I reached out to grab your hand.. Knight appeared and I just sat on the ground when he grabbed you in his hands."
Takuya had sat up but Kouji didn't notice. He was reliving it and Takuya saw tears in his eyes.
"I swear I tried to help but he told me to sit and so I sat. I didn't try to get up again, or fight at all. And he just smiled and told me to watch and see how useless I was. And then he.." Kouji stopped.
"He what?.. What did he do!" Takuya asked. It was getting interesting.
"It's not important." Kouji sat up and shifted to look away from Takuya. It might have been an illusion, or maybe this was the illusion and Takuya really had died.. Maybe this was the world he'd made up to escape from it all. And he couldn't stand looking at Takuya and seeing him dead on the ground, staring at him with dead eyes.
A hand caressed Kouji's cheek and he opened his eyes to Takuya. Takuya had wiped away tears he didn't know he'd shed.
"Kouji?" Concern was in his eyes. In his touch. In his voice. Kouji looked away and climbed down the ladder, jumping the last few. "Kouji!"
Takuya was quick to follow and caught Kouji by the time to boy tried to close himself in his room.
"Don't run away from me!" Takuya ordered. Kouji paused. He did a mental sweep of the hallway and house. Kouichi was at the other end of the hall, probably reading. Their parents were out doing who knows what, who knows where. So that left Takuya standing in front of him with little chance of someone coming to save the day by changing subjects.
"I'm not running."
"Yes you are. You always have!" Takuya stood defiant. He stared straight into Kouji's eyes. Takuya's, bold and determined, were surprised by Kouji's scared and pleading ones.
Whatever happened inside Knight that made him so afraid to look him in the eyes? Kouji looked away.
(For skimmers.. Start reading here. Original Ending begins here)
"Don't you trust me?" Kouji looked up, surprised.
"Takuya.. I.." Takuya gasped and he was rapidly embraced by Kouji. Kouji buried his head into Takuya's shoulder. "I saw you die... and I couldn't forgive myself... I'm so sorry."
'Since when do you give up to anyone! What could he have possibly done to make to do that?'
The illusions made Kouji think he was useless and alone in the world. Nothing mattered in the world. Kouji felt so stupid and weak that he didn't care what happened, as long as he could forget Takuya's death like eyes..
Takuya embraced him and then pushed away slightly.
"It's okay now. I'm alive, right?" he smiled and Kouji whipped his eyes.
"Right." Kouji started to turn into his room but decided better of it. Instead, he turned and kissed Takuya. Catching the boy off-guard and wrapping his arms around his shoulders.
Takuya blinked rapidly and felt his eyes flutter closed. He kissed Kouji in return and Kouji's heart felt strong for a moment. He broke the kiss and backed away.
"I love you.. Takuya.." he said softly.
"Kouji?" Kouji looked up and smiled at him.
"Call your mom. You're sleeping over." Kouji announced, turning into his room. "Just like old times."
Takuya's face heated up.
'Old times? In the 'old times' we slept in the same bed and were.. Like.. 6...' his mind wandered.
'Takuya. Those are nasty thoughts.' Kouichi's voice entered his head.
'Hey!' Takuya blushed, forgetting Kouichi could read minds now.
Kouji changed clothes as Takuya called his mom. As he changed, he too thought of childhood sleep overs. Takuya walked in as he began to pull on his shirt.
"Oh. Takuya." he paused.
'Kouji.. That's..'
'Stop abusing your power, Kouichi. It's not nice..' Kouji closed his eyes and forced his brother from his mind. Opening his eyes, Takuya pulled the shirt off of his arms and kissed him. Kouji's mind raced and he noticed Takuya taking off his shirt, but only in the back of his mind.
That night, they slept in each other's arms. Maybe one day, they'd to move on to physical relationships that everyone else had. For now, this small physical contact satisfied their tastes. They were still young and had their whole lives ahead of them to advance their relationship.
There was no need to hurry. Love that survived this..
– –
Kouichi sat up, awake in his room. He smiled. The two boys down the hall were sleeping peacefully. Without looking up from his book he spoke.
"Are you happy now?"
'Happy? Never.'
"You were always moody." Kouichi sighed, flipping a page.
'Heh. Sure.'
And the ghost of a teen named Shinya left the room, a scorch mark let where his feet had touched the carpet.
Kouichi made a mental note to ask Kouji to fix that tomorrow before he closed his book to go to sleep. He put his bookmark in his page. It said 'My Brother's Keeper' on it and he smirked evilly at the thought. Of course, Kouji was more powerful than him and he was probably still capable of finding more and more powers deep withing himself.
Kouichi laid down and pulled the covers over himself. Thoughts of people as they went to bed around the neighborhood entered his mind and he squinted as he shut them out.
Life was good. Maybe it could stay that way.
– –
Onee-Chan 1: Who does Kouichi pair well with?.. Excluding his brother and Takuya.
