Thank you again for all your encouraging reviews. Again, I apologize for the lack of updates in a timely matter, but the fall semester is getting very close. I will try as hard as possible to continue writing.
Hopefully, it's starting to become clear that this is a dark fic. It won't only be angst but probably a lot of explicit material later on.
-Disturbed-
In the early morning, a lone figure sat before one of several headstones decorating the quiet hall. The rays of light seeped in through the many windows, shining their brilliance onto the solemn scene.
The man had been there long before the sun had shown itself from behind the horizon. Staring at the marker in front of him, he merely sat in silence as he had always done the many times he had come to visit.
Down the row of tombstones, an older man walked slowly towards the hooded stranger, coming to a stop beside him.
"Good morning, my boy," greeted the elder, "You must have been here very early to have beaten me here."
The other man turned to him and gave him a weak smile. "Good morning, Mr. Fuji."
The greeting came out dry but at least it seemed genuine. He returned his gaze to the headstone, his smile slowly fading from his face. The two sat quietly, the younger man too distracted to carry on the conversation.
The caretaker coughed into his fist. "Here to visit your friend again, I see," he continued, kneeling down beside the man, "She's very lucky to have such a faithful friend as you to see her so often."
A short pause followed before the cloaked man let out a half-hearted chuckle. "I've been here since around four a.m.," he added slowly, "I thought I should try to make this a longer visit since I know I won't be able to come back for a while."
"A while?" The question was simply answered by a quick nod. Mr. Fuji sighed knowing that the visitor wasn't the type for straightforward explanations. "That's a shame. I'm sure she will miss you keeping her company." Silence took over once again as the old man took the opportunity to pay his respects.
Finishing his prayer, he glanced over at the other man who continued to stare blankly forward. Mr. Fuji's mouth opened and closed as if he was struggling to decide what to say next. Turning back to the marker, he kept his eyes glued on the elegant curves of the words on the stone as he slowly spoke. "…I must say, I admire how much you come to visit your Pokemon's grave," he said cautiously, "but why do you always sit here so mute when you come by? Surely you have something to say to her since you care to come by the grave so much."
There was no immediate answer. After a few seconds, the younger man suddenly stood, making the older man squeak in surprise. Mr. Fuji held his breath hoping that he didn't offend the other by his comment. His company turned to him, another absent smile plastered on his face.
"Some things don't have to be expressed with words."
The caretaker looked confused, hesitantly smiling out of despondent acceptance. How irritating.
The visitor took his leave from the grave, slightly peeved that his visit was interrupted by the old man's unrequited presence. Behind him, the caretaker watched him walk away, bothered by his strange behavior. "Are you leaving already?" called out Mr. Fuji. The only response was a nonchalant wave of the hand, the man not even bothering to turn around as he neared the exit.
Hidden under the cloak, a disturbing expression of bitter amusement appeared on the stranger's face. He inwardly sighed, knowing that the older man was still contemplating his last few words, but the old man couldn't ever possibly understand. Then again, no one could understand…that is, unless they shared a bond that he once had. Disappointing. To be so dependent on such a tired practice was that of such a primitive accord.
"Izaya."
The man faltered in his step, the sound of the name forcefully ripping him away from his thoughts. He stopped with the door a mere two meters in front him, slightly turning his head to the side.
"Come back to us soon."
Mr. Fuji watched the man walk out of the building, disappearing into the morning light as the door closed behind him. With a final sigh, the caretaker turned away and also departed from the grave.
Forever Remembered, Forever Missed.
Rest in Peace, Dear Friend.
….
He peered up at the rising sun then back down at the ground, a slight frown still present on his face. "Izaya", he mused. Stuffing his hands in his pocket, he walked briskly through the city. "What a troublesome name."
A frigid wind blew through the empty streets: a gentle greeting from the premature winter season. Holding his cloak closed, he embraced the gust, letting it dissipate his annoyance into a neutral semblance. He didn't have time to worry about such useless things.
He looked to the west, spotting the large mass of gray taking over the sky in the distance. Chuckling darkly, he stopped and took a moment to admire the threatening formation from afar. It was all too perfect; even the weather seemed to complete the stage for this world he would take by storm.
-X-
Back on Mt. Silver…
"Please leave."
Blue looked over at the raven-headed boy, unsure if she heard him correctly. During the long story of what had happened to their friend, the two had both ended up sitting on the snowy ledge: one recounting the event while the other sat quietly. The whole time, the boy had kept his eyes on the graying sky, his body leaning lazily back on his hands in an almost distant ambience.
Now, Red stared back at her, an unreadable expression on his face. "Excuse me?" asked Blue in astonishment.
Red sighed, drawing up one leg to rest his arm across his knee. "I asked you to leave," he declared in his usual confident tone.
The girl sat there for another few seconds as the boy's words began to sink in. "Leave?" she snapped, "Were you even listening to me this whole time? I just basically told you that Green has been kidnapped!"
"I know," answered Red with a lop-sided grin, "You should probably join the others already."
Blue froze, relaxing her fingers that were beginning to dig into the ground by her sides. Confused, her gaze lingered on the strange expression on the Pokemon champion's face. Red stretched his arms, nodding his head to silently signal his Pikachu that they were leaving. "Looks like it's about to rain," he said coolly. Pikachu jumped off his shoulder when Red stood up and began to walk away from the stunned girl.
The girl stared at the vacant spot that Red was in a second ago, obviously confused. It took her a while to notice that the boy wasn't in front of her anymore as her eyes shot up to her departing friend. She quickly pushed herself towards the other trainer and grabbed onto his wrist. "Wait! Where are you going?"
Red looked back at her innocently, lightly tugging his arm out of her grip. "Eh? Back to the cave I'm staying in, I guess."
"To get your stuff together so we can head out?" she asked expectantly, "I'll come with you and we can leave together." Red didn't respond. "I already told you that the others split up into groups," continued Blue, "so I was thinking maybe we can be a group and work together to find Green."
"…No," Red whispered.
"It will work better that way, and we can watch each other's backs," said the girl, oblivious to his answer.
"Blue…."
"That guy who took him seems dangerous, right?"
"Blue."
"So, you'll need someone with my cunning to get us out of some sticky situations if we ever run into them."
"Blue."
"And we can use your battling strength for…."
"BLUE!" yelled Red, abruptly cutting her off.
Above them, ever-darkening clouds loomed in an ominous warning of the brewing storm. The girl stared wide-eyed at the boy, her mouth hanging open in shock by his loud outburst. He looked back at her with an apologetic expression, speaking again in a softer tone.
"I'm not going with you."
Pikachu looked up worriedly at the two trainers as an uneasy silence fell between them. Steady droplets began to fall around them, the storm announcing its arrival with a low rumble that shook the large mountain.
Blue searched Red's face, trying to find reason in the champion's strange attitude. Instead, she found nothing on his blank façade. Something wasn't right. She expected him to have a different reaction; one where he would be angry with their supposed enemy and become determined to find his best friend. Never did she think he would be so calm and adverse.
"You better go and join one of the other groups," he said, giving her that same crooked smile before turning away from her again. Pika hesitantly ran after him, looking back at the girl anxiously.
Watching his back, the girl stood rooted to the ground from the shock of his decision. He was still acting normal, smiling and being his usual friendly self, but then again, he wasn't. Unable to grasp the situation, she was only able to whisper the question that was repeating over and over in her mind.
"Why?"
Red could barely hear her over the falling rain. Not even acknowledging the question, he remained silent and continued to walk up the side of the mountain. Blue balled her hands into fists as she felt a combination of frustration, doubt and betrayal building inside her.
"What's gotten into you?" she called out, "You're being so selfish. Green would have never ignored you when you needed help and he very well proved that when you were captured by the Elite Four!"
Her last comment stopped him in his tracks, but he still refused to say anything. Trembling with anger, Blue turned away from the young champion pulling out a Pokeball.
A red flash of light appeared as Articuno's sharp cry rang out from behind him. Red listened to the sound of Blue's feet pushing off the snowy floor, closing his eyes to the cool gust of wind blowing against his back from the bird's wings.
The girl looked down at him from the angry sky, glaring down at him in utter disappointment.
"Some best friend you turned out to be!"
His eyes snapped open to her words. Whipping his head around, he only saw her receding form fly away atop the legendary bird. Turning his gaze to the snowy floor beneath him, he stood there unable to bring himself to watch her silhouette disappear into the curtain of rain.
He didn't move for a few moments, silently brooding. Pika cautiously moved towards the conflicted trainer in concern as Red's shoulders began to shudder. Slowly baring his teeth, Red let out a low growl and clenched his hands by his sides.
Rain continued to fall as a streak of lightning danced through the clouds. The flash reflected off the streams of water falling down the boy's soaking body.
Fur standing on end, Pikachu flinched away as his fist flew out and punched into the rocky slopes beside him. Red suddenly threw his head back, the bitter rage deep within his crimson eyes rivaling the glare of the threatening sky above.
"GREEN, YOU IDIOT!" he screamed, his voice lost in the heavy downpour.
-X-
East side of Johto…
Gold slowly rolled along the dirt road on his skateboard, the red-head trailing behind him on foot. They had left Yellow's house early that morning and split up into their respective groups on their mission to find the missing dex holder. Only moments ago, the two boys landed in the Route 29 on their flying Pokemon to search for Green in their home region.
"Slow down!" called out Silver quickening his pace, "we don't even know where we're going." He sighed when Gold finally leaned back on the tail of his board coming to an abrupt stop. Catching up to the other boy, Silver looked at him expectantly causing Gold to groan in detest.
"Fine, I'll put it away," Gold grumbled, kneeling down to strap his skateboard to his backpack, "I hate walking."
Silver quirked a smile in triumph as the two continued down the path side by side. Unfortunately, the smile soon dropped, leaving the boys in an uncomfortable silence down the road.
"Well, at least we get to search around Johto," said the raven-headed boy trying to spark conversation, "nothing like a home-field advantage to get this show on the road, right?"
"Yeah, but how do we know he's even in Johto?" asked the Exchanger, "Our only plan was to split up in the possible directions he could go in from Mt. Silver. For all we know, he could be long gone in any of the further regions too."
Gold sighed at the discouraging comment, turning away from Silver who stared at the ground, clearly unhappy with the blind plan. Why did the guy always have to be such a downer?
His brows knitting in deep thought, Gold leaned his head back into his hands as the two retreated to their own thoughts. The two didn't say anything for awhile, a peace that Silver probably greatly appreciated.
Minutes down the road, Gold shifted his gaze to his friend taking note of the troubled look on his face. He wanted to say something, but the way the other boy looked so distracted by his thoughts made things extremely awkward to break the silence. Then again, the silence itself was getting pretty annoying to him too.
"…Hey, what's up?" asked Gold somewhat teasingly, "You've got that funny serious face on again."
Silver looked up wide-eyed as he was knocked out of his thoughts. Shooting a glare over at the other boy, he huffed when he saw Gold's amused smirk. "Nothing," muttered Silver, "just thinking it's still a waste of time we're looking here, that's all."
He knew that the Exchanger was lying, but he let him get away with it, not wanting to pry. "Oh, well I was just thinking the same thing too and I think I came up with something to prove you wrong!" Silver looked at him skeptically but nodded his head urging Gold to continue.
"I was thinking, Skarmory and Ursaring both can be found in Johto," said Gold, slowly choosing his words, "so who knows, maybe he's from here or something." Silver looked over at the Pokemon Breeder in astonishment. "What?" asked Gold raising a brow at him.
"Nothing...just didn't think you could figure something out like that on your own," said Silver with a shrug.
Gold pouted, about to say something in defense.
"…I still can't believe it."
The last statement took him of guard but he couldn't say he wasn't expecting it. Despite not addressing it directly, Gold knew exactly what the other boy was talking about. He could only guess it was what Silver so absorbed in a moments ago. The raven slowly calmed down, looking back up at the blue sky.
"Yeah…Gotta say, it's pretty crazy that something like that could happen to Green."
"I wonder what he's going through right now."
Gold looked at the other boy in shock. "Hey, hey, let's not think about that right now," said Gold, letting out an uneasy chuckle, "I'm sure Green is fine."
Silver opened his mouth to say something, but the sound of voices from ahead caught his attention.
The Pokemon Breeder turned to the noises, relief written all over his face. Already uncomfortable with the conversation, Gold ran ahead of him towards the commotion: the subject immediately dropped. The red-head sighed as he calmly followed the boy into a large patch of tall grass amidst some heavy brush. Weaving through the foliage, he reached a clearing where he could see Gold rushing into the upcoming town in the distance: Cherry Grove City.
-X-
Rock Tunnel…
The man stared into the darkness around him, clutching on to the fur of his Pokemon as he walked through twists and turns in the black tunnel. Being blind to the world around him was quite annoying but the last thing he wanted to do was attract attention by sending off a flash in the area. It was so convenient to have Luxray's eyes for these issues. Being spotted or even worse, followed by a passing trainer would be such a nuisance, especially today.
They had been walking for half an hour already, deep inside what he knew were the furthest unknown niches that the cave had to offer. Their destination was close. Ahead of him, he could finally see a thin gleam of light forming a line from the cave's ceiling to the floor.
He let go of his Pokemon guide and knelt down beside the lion's form, a pure smile adorning his face. "Good job, Luxray!" he said gingerly, "Thank you for getting me back here again." The Pokemon roared happily as it nuzzled into his open palm. He chuckled lightly while he pulled out a Pokeball from his waist, the soft sensation disappearing from his hand with a short flash.
The smile was quickly erased as he stood again and reached to the side, running his fingers down the wall. He paused over an off protrusion, lifting the stone panel to reveal a lighted keypad. Dialing the obscure code, a small ring declared the slow division of that wall in front of him.
Walking through, he made sure to close the deceptive gate lest there be another unwanted escape. They didn't need another interruption. The man didn't waste time as he strode across a small extension of the cave: dimly lit by the light coming through a large window that framed the familiar white room. Butterflies rose in his chest as he set his sights to the intended room behind the glass. Four doors were ignored, all passed up in favor for one isolated at the end of the tunnel.
He kicked open the door into the lab, cringing from the intense brightness flooding into the dark cave. Adjusting to the light, his eyes fell upon the centerpiece ahead of him. He only walked in just enough for the door to close, unable to move his body any further into the room. He couldn't help but grin.
Across the room, he could see the unconscious boy lying on the examining table, this time restrained by numerous straps across his chest and limbs. Arms and legs stretched out individually on extensions of the table, Green's body was vulnerable to blatant scrutiny.
The boy was still a mess, even more so than when they brought him in the first time. Bandages, decorated with the occasional stains of crimson, covered almost every inch of his form, hiding the marred skin from sight. What skin that was visible was a much paler shade than its original hue, drained of all signs of life. The way Green looked now, he could have been very well mistaken for being dead. Regardless, the child was still alive.
Shuddered breaths escaped his lips under the oxygen mask tightly wrapped around his head, the hose snaking down to the newly installed gas tanks. A film of condensation formed on the inner surface of the mask, appearing rhythmically with each shallow rise and fall of his small chest. The simple task of breathing seemed so strenuous for the boy. It was such a pitiful sight, but at the same time, an amusing one to boast.
"Good morning, Mr. Ageku."
The man sighed, his daze of admiration for the body before him disrupted by the simple greeting. He glanced to the side, spotting the doctor busily rummaging through a drawer.
"Reynolds."
The old man was un-phased by the unemotional response as he brushed past him towards the boy with a collection of bandages and ointments in his arms. Ageku slowly followed him over to the table, watching with mild interest as the doctor began to carefully unravel the bandages soiled by the boy's blood.
"Did you enjoy your visit today?" asked Reynolds, cringing at the revealed wound.
The younger man stared absently at the red liquid, watching it roll down the unsightly blistering skin. "I guess so," he muttered. Moving closer to their patient, he tried to get a better view of the injury being tended to. "Looks pretty bad."
"Thanks to your stunt of electrocuting the poor boy," lectured the doctor, dabbing the stitches on Green's side with antibiotics, "You're lucky you didn't kill him!"
Ageku sneered at his elder as he ran his fingers over the strap constricting the boy's wrists. "Maybe if he wasn't free to move around, I wouldn't have had to use force to bring him down."
"It doesn't matter! He's still just a young boy," retorted Reynolds roughly pulling at a spool of fresh bandages, "His internal organs may have avoided taking on damage but his skin was burned, as tends to happen when you electrocute someone covered in sweat and blood."
"Twice," reminded Ageku, obviously ignoring the doctor's accusing remarks, "I knew not restraining him would be a bad idea; you were too quick to pity when I brought him to you."
The doctor glared at the other man from over his work. "Oh, I'm sorry but when you said you had already found a test subject I wasn't expecting you to bring back a child!" he shot back sarcastically, clearly annoyed by his partner's behavior, "Once I'm finished here, you're on your own…but unfortunately for you, he's not going to be awake for you anytime soon to carry out your little experiment."
The young man stiffened as the doctor smirked at him, now finished tying the new bandages around Green's midsection. Reynolds shuffled back over to the counters with the bottles and unused dressings, laughing lightly at the man's reaction. "Can't properly abuse someone's central nervous system without them being conscious, huh?" he teased, an underlying bitterness in his tone.
Eyes glued to Green's body below him, Ageku clenched his fists to the doctor's biting words. The old man reappeared beside him, casually checking the machinery wired to the boy's body since the other man had gone silent. Looking down to write a few details on Green's charts, the doctor was startled when Ageku suddenly turned away from the examining table and lunged towards the counter.
Reynold's watched with anxious confusion as the other man rummaged through the cabinets below, running one hand over several bottles while his other pulled a syringe out of an unmarked drawer. The old doctor crept towards the hooded man, raising a brow as the other seemed to find what he was looking for. "What are you…"
"Get out of my way!" Ageku roared, pushing the old man to the side, "I won't stand for any more delays." The needle stuck through the cork plug, extracting a single dose of the clear liquid of the bottle in his hand.
Reynolds chased after him, latching onto his arm to prevent him from getting any closer to the boy. "Are you crazy? You could kill him with that drug," exclaimed the struggling doctor, "he's just a kid and you could completely miss when administering the shot!"
"Will you stop using that damn case of his age!" growled Ageku, elbowing the elder to the ground, "He is perfectly capable of anything that I can and will throw at him." Standing over Green, the man freed the needle and raised the syringe over his head. With a crazed smile, the syringe was brought down into the sleeping boy's chest.
"NO!"
A sharp gasp slipped through Green's lips, his head thrown back as his body arched as far as his restraints would let him. A sensation of unwanted energy jolted through his tired body, awakening every inch of his weary form. His mind flew across a variety of thoughts he could not pinpoint while his gaze unconsciously tried to make out his white surroundings. Everything was moving too fast for him to recognize, understand or feel. …No, that wasn't true. His brain was able to register one certain perception. The only thing that was definite was how much he hurt. The pain was unbearable.
Ageku watched as the boy began to scream in anguish. With such malicious content, he couldn't help but be entertained by the sharp sounds that Green elicited from behind the mask. Only when the old man pushed him aside to tend to the boy was he once again brought out of his blissful daze.
"You idiot!" yelled Reynolds, his voice hoarse with concern, "I put him in an induced coma so he wouldn't have to endure this part of his healing process!"
Ignoring the doctor again, the hooded man walked around the table to stand beside the boy's head while the doctor pulled the needle out of his chest. Green's eyes were still tightly shut from the pain while his whole body jerked in protest against his restraints. He watched the strained movements in awe as Ageku snaked his hand around the smaller male's face and rested his palm on the boy's cheek.
The grin still present on his face, he nudged Green's face towards him. "Hello there," his voice chimed, "Welcome back."
Eyelids snapped open, he felt the virulent glare of those brilliant emerald orbs:
Beautiful.
Short yet appropriate in length this time around. Red seems to be acting strange, right? Well, everyone is actually. At least one person in each of the formed groups will have some strange issue revolving around Green and all of them were just introduced.
Yes, the stranger's name is Izaya Ageku. He will later be addressed with either part of his formal name. The origin of his name does not come from Izaya Orihara of "Durarara!" though. There is a reason I chose the name.
Please review and thank you for reading.
