WARNING: This is a shonen-ai those who hate it, please don't kill me. Rating may go up.
DISCLAIMER: Most of the characters are not mine.
CHAPTER III
There are no coincidences; just fated meetings.
Run. There was nothing left to do but run. This chance was all that Juubei had and he was willing to risk it. Now or never; do or die.
"You can't run away forever, Juubei! No one's ever escaped the organization and lived to tell the tale!" a man with glossy black hair was running after him. This man was wearing a tuxedo like Juubei's and was armed with a gun.
BANG!
The bullet came pelting towards Juubei's direction. It barely missed his arm! In a state of panic and fear, Juubei ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Though blind, Juubei's four other senses were particularly sharper than that of a normal man's. It was because of this that he was agile as a cat and stealthy as a puma in the jungle. Juubei should be proud of this, but if he was to be killed then and there, how can he cherish those skills?
"Kazuki... Give me strength..." the brunette whispered in bated-breath. He kept on running and running, not even minding where his legs were taking him or when he'd be able to rest. He just ran and ran. It didn't matter to Juubei how far he was from civilization as long as he's far away as possible from the ones after him. He was still 22, for goodness' sake! He's got a long life ahead of him! He at least wanted to enjoy it! And if, by some miracle, Juubei was to survive this, he promised to devote his life to two things: helping other people with all his might-- and Kazuki Fuuchoin.
In a distance, Juubei heard a motorcycle. He heaved a swift sigh of relief. Finally! Someone who could help. Jubei ran to where the noise was coming from. It roared louder; meaning, it was getting closer. Juubei's body ran faster. He wanted to live!
WHAM!
Juubei was hit by-- something. Could it be a bullet? No. He could feel no blood. Whatever it was, it hurt. It hurt BAD. Juubei could feel that he was floating in midair. It went on for a split second and then, with a loud THUD, Juubei hit the ground, face-first. The man couldn't get up. Not only was he weak because of the blow, the drug injected by the syndicate was now taking its toll on his body. The side effect of the drug that would weaken the intaker after releasing a large amount of energy. Even Juubei's high and mighty willpower was useless against the Ultimate Drug.
He was now losing consciousness. Was this the end of Kakei Juubei?
"Sir, are you okay? Sir!!" A familiar voice said from somewhere near him. He couldn't open his mouth to reply to the call. Instead, he groaned lazily hoping that the man would understand that he was alive.
"Ju--Juubei.." The same voice called out. Kazuki! Juubei was sure it was Kazuki! That sweet, calming voice could only belong to him and him alone! Kazuki held Juubei softly in his long, lean arms. He called out Juubei's name again. Juubei was in heaven. He had no regrets; if he was to die, at least Kazuki was with him.
Suddenly, Kazuki let go of Juubei. He was saying something, though the latter couldn't hear what it was. All he could hear were muffled words. When he felt that Kazuki was about to stand up, Juubei almost lost his mind! He didn't want Kazuki to go. At least, not now. With all his might, Juubei lifted a shaking and weak arm to pull Kazuki's garments with very slight force.
"Ka...zu...ki...". Then, everything went blank.
RIIING!!
The sound of the alarm woke a sleeping Kazuki up. Exactly what day is it?, Kazuki though. He lazily turned his head to the door where the calendar was pinned: Saturday-- his day-off. Whew! Thank goodness he wouldn't have to work today! He breathed deeply.
"Oww!" was the Bishie's first word of the day. He didn't know why but his whole body hurt: his arms, his legs, his back, his neck, his ass. Huh? Has he been sitting the whole night away? He groaned. He won't be able to walk straight for a full day! Reluctantly, Kazuki attempted to get up and cook his meal.
But he couldn't. There was something heavy on his shoulder! He looked up: IT WASN'T A THING! It was an arm!
"Juubei!!" Kazuki yelped. His loud, feminine voice woke up the other man who lay on the bed. Right. A lot happened last night. He had met up with the one thing he wanted to get back,but there was a surprise package that came with it. Something spelled D-E-A-T-H. He was sure the "men in black" would come after them. Despite that, he was thankful Juubei was with him again-- at least there was a good side.
"Kazuki, why are you shouting?" Juubei asked loudly. He was now trying to sit up. Another bell rang. Right, again. Last night, Kazuki forced Juubei to wear his old sleeping clothes. He seemed uncomfortable, though. Two of the buttons were undone and the sleeves were rolled up to his elbow. But what struck Kazuki most was that he didn't realize how thin Juubei got!
"Juubei... You're thinnner than before..." Kazuki ran long finger across Juubei's collarbone and arms where the red pinpricks were.
Juubei's body grew hotter as Kazuki's skin touched his. He didn't know why. Was this a reflex because he missed him so much?
"I'd like you to tell me exactly wht happened all the while that you were gone. Please..." Kazuki's soft voice was imploring.
Juubei held onto Kazuki's hand. "Before I tell you, there's something you have to know: There's a big chance that they're going to come after you..." Juubei tightened his closed eyes. He knew this was more than possible. They would probably kill Kazuki! if that were to happen, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.
"Don't worry, Juubei..." Kazuki squeezed the other man's hand. "This time, I'm going to protect you..."
Everything that Juubei said struck a sword though Kazuki's heart. It seems that Juubei had gone through so much. A year of misery had passed, anyway. That would be obvious.
At the time when Juubei caught the criminal two years ago, the latter splashed some sort of chemical which took a direct hit to Juubei's eyes-- which caused the scream Kazuki had heard before. Because of this, Juubei was blinded. After that, he was taken to a place that was far off from town (or so he said). There, he was constantly punished and was forced to take harsh training that made life in there a living hell.
Not only that, he was also drugged. This "ultimate drug" that they called was very dangerous. It could increase the user's strength by tenfolds and it would temporarily erase his memory until the drug was completely used-up. Side effects included vomiting, weight-loss, headache and weakening. For one year, Juubei was forced to take this drug; for one year, he was completely anonymous; for one year, Juubei has been the syndicate's one-man army; for one year, Juubei has forgotten Kazuki.
"But... How did you remember me?" the latter said.
"I never did..." Juubei said, fidgetting. "I just forgot to remember you. Once in a while, you would appear in my dreams though I don't know who you were, exactly and why you were there..." The man's words brought a sweet, tingling sensation to Kazuki. Dying to hear more, Kazuki told Juubei to continue.
But the more that Kazuki listened, the more his hatred for the syndicate grew. He wanted to catch them, harshly punish them, and get back at them for turning Juubei into a criminal. He clenched his fists. Then he felt Juubei's hand on his shoulder.
"The upside of it is, my four other senses became particularly sensitive. It's like I can see with my ears. And feel with them, too." Juubei explained. "Yesterday, they let me walk around in the city alone. I don't know why I wanted to, I just did... And that's when I bumped into you... I had the feeling in my gut that I knew you, so I looked for you. Little did I know that you would be the one to help me escape that cold prison. And I felt everything... come back to me. I had to escape because I knew where I had to be... I finally managed to escape and... that's where I coincidentally crossed paths with you..."
"It's not coincidence, Juubei..." Kazuki said sweetly. "I'm pretty sure it was destiny..."
Yaay?! well, that took me a while...
Sorry... R&R please?
