The Cradle Will Fall
By Katia-chan
A/N: The second drabble! I feel. . . kind of proud of myself.
I don't think this one turned out quite as well as the first unfortunately, though it is a lot longer. . . but I do hope yall will still enjoy it. I really am trying to write a lot of this before the writers block kicks in again.
Thanks to Adi88 and Windswift for their wonderful and continuation inspiring reviews! They are keeping this thing alive.
Disclaimer: Denial is too a bloody damned river in Egypt, and has nothing to do with the fact that I'm pretending that I have character rights.
Enjoy, and review for the love of my health!
XXX
Baby mine, don't you cry
Baby mine, dry your eyes
Rest your head close to my heart
Never to part, baby of mine.
Little one when you play
Don't you mind what you say
Let those eyes sparkle and shine
Never a tear, baby of mine.
He looks like a little boy who has been kept inside for most of his life. Kyou's skin is clear of the bumps and bruises that come from being a young child. All his marks are on the inside. He can feel them always; long tracks made by the fire that hurts him. It's always burning, always making his insides hurt. It makes his head ache and sometimes he can't even see right.
Mother tries to help. She is always there to comfort and coo over him when the burning gets too bad and he has to hit something or yell. She tries, she really does, but it isn't enough. Her hands shake when she hugs him and her voice isn't steady when she coos over him, and so she makes the fire worse. It flares up inside of him whenever she pretends to be good.
He will explode, and so mother takes him outside to play. The wind and air does more for him than she ever could. He can feel it as he runs ahead of her.
Run along the path, up the hill, through the gardens. Keep running till his lungs hurt and he feels like he can fly. If he keeps running then he'll take off, and what will they do then? Keep going till he reaches the top of this hill, then he'll go into the air and fly away, up and up.
Away from here.
He doesn't see the little garden wall until it's too late and he topples over it at full speed. There is a bush on the other side and he falls into it very hard. The thorns bite at his skin and scratch him. He doesn't like being caught, and so he fights against the tangled branches. This makes it worse and he yells in pain and frustration. He wants out.
Mother is there in a matter of seconds, reaching in and pulling him out quickly, before he can get more hurt. And for a moment he can think she is a good mother and that she cares about him. Then, as she pretends to look at a scratch on his arm, he sees her eyes first flick to his beads. He knows she doesn't care, but she cares about keeping the bad him inside. That's all that matters to her, because she cannot love him because of the bad one. She's just like the rest of them, no matter what she tries to pretend.
He pulls from her grasp and runs for the house, and the fire roars up inside of him once again, taking something else with it.
It hurts, and yet he'll keep it burning.
Kyou has bruises now. He stopped trying to keep the fire inside, and he yells and punches when he likes. It takes nothing more than a strange glance from the right person to set him off.
Mother isn't here any longer to nurture the flames inside of him. He knows this is his fault, he knows he burned her alive. He does well enough on his own though, on his own and with the rats help. Yuki makes the fire go out of control, and it doesn't bother either of them.
He picks himself up off the ground after being once again beaten and looks up, shouting in frustration. It always goes like this, and he hates it. He's older now and no one even bothers to try and shut him up, because they don't care enough.
He goes to Kazuma later, burning and angry and hateful. The older man talks with him, tries to make him something to eat. He's not very good at managing a house, or at keeping Kyou tidy and presentable, but he's the only one who can make it stop hurting for a little while. When Kyou is with him the aches subside to a dull throb in his chest instead of the blinding pain.
They both know it's useless though. Kyou will always be angry; Kyou will never win. He's tied to the curse like the rest of them are. Yuki is condemned to be the doll on the shelf, though Kyou might not see that as a condemnation, and he himself is condemned to lose, and then to die alone after years of seclusion. Kazuma can try to help. He can make the pain barable and be there, but in the end he's as helpless as the rest are apathetic. So they'll both accept the final decision; though they hate it, because that's just what they have to do.
And the fire will continue to burn, because it's better to fight a hopeless battle than to let it die.
And they are the only two who care.