warning: AU, oocish, crack
inspiration: "Lets hear it for rock bottom" by the offspring, and "get over it" by OK go
rating: pg
disclaimer: not mine, never shall be~!
very dramatic much? it gets worse XD i'm sorry this took so long, i lost interest in the idea for a little while...but thankfully, i'm back on the pairing kick, so it should be okayish for now. anywayz, i hope you all enjoy this overdue chapter!
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It crushed him like a boulder. It buried his common sense and peace of mind like an avalanche. Nothing but a sickening sense of fear remained after the initial words, which held him in a vice grip. Staring across the blue realm, in the seven years he'd known it, it had never been so suffocating before. Yamato blinked, telling himself he hadn't heard that clearly. There must be something in his ears, he must be high or sick, because there was NO way, NEVER a way, that Uru would say something like that.
The redhead smiled at him, eyes lighting up in joy. "So Uru was right. Thats why you wouldn't come with him."
"No, thats not it at all!" I have to lie, make him think otherwise! He couldn't ever let that happen to her, he refused to allow Uru to endanger her. "Its cuz I just don't wanna die!" Yamato defended, eyes narrowed and heart pounding.
The smile never left once, it only grew. "Uru knows what you're really thinking." the redhead sang. "Its because of HER. Uru can fix that."
000
The sun was low in the sky, the dying rays casting the world in shades of gold and orange. Days had gone by, every day a little more of the dream world vanished from Yamato's mind. He hardly thought of Uru, and he was happy about that. The less he had to deal with the boy, the better. The brunette just wanted a normal life, one he could share with friends and enjoy. And Uru was far from normal.
He grinned a little, adjusting his grip on the swing set. Next to him was Lune, as per usual, kicking at the wood chips. His strange new pink shoes dug in a little, the white soles dusty with dirt.
"What're you grinning about?" he asked curiously, taking note of the brunette's odd behavior as of late. He seemed so much more...perky. It was strange.
"Nothin nothin." Yamato replied, grin still in place.
Lune was unconvinced, but let it drop. It had been a long time since he'd seen the brunette so happy. The sound of clinking chains and chatter filled the playground, and everything was at ease. Parents returned from work, and eventually the few children still out left. Lune left as well, waving a goodbye and promising to help Yamato study for the test in a few days.
Sitting on the swing set, Yamato debated going up the stairs and home. It was getting dark out, but he didn't want to go just yet. There were still adults going up the stair well, a few waving at him, most just mindlessly climbing with tired legs. They reminded him he was getting tired to, and he sighed heavily. Yamato let the swing come a stop, digging his heels into the wood chips and hopping off when it was slow enough.
Up and up the stairs seemed to go, and he wondered if they could go up any higher than his own floor. After he reached the locked apartment door, he dug around for his key, cheering silently when he found it. He quickly unlocked the door, hurrying inside and paused. Something felt...off. Frowning, Yamato wondered what it could be. Maybe he was just tired? That was probably it, he decided.
After the week of restful sleep, the bags under his eyes were all but gone, only a light grayish purple reminding him of the sleepless nights that brought them. Even so, he still felt oddly...tired. Maybe it wasn't so odd, he thought. He had been awake for so long, right? It was probably normal to be so sleepy after that. The rest of the night went by normally, not a hint of that strange feeling from before showing its head twice.
It was soon forgotten.
000
The overwhelming sadness crushed him almost. It was so sudden, Yamato hardly had time to realize where he was or what was going on. Even if he'd had the time, he couldn't tell anyway, he couldn't see. Thick black drops and indigo melded together in a pool that seemed to be everywhere, the brunette's head sinking below the harsh waves often. But the few times he chanced a glance over the choppy waves, he'd sworn he'd seen...a flash of red.
It was only a flash though, and Yamato wasn't sure it had even been there to begin with. Kicking and flailing, he tried to keep above the waves, but the thick dark substance was liking Jello. He just couldn't move quickly enough or seem to make any progress, the surface gradually vanishing as his strength did as well. Soon, all Yamato could see were blobs of blue and black, his lungs failing him shortly after. The futility of the situation at hand was frustrating, almost as frustrating as this deep sadness he couldn't place.
He woke up gasping, desperate to get the smothering substance from his lungs. Pausing his gagging, the brunette realized there wasn't anything to cough up. He stared at his bedspread, eyes wide and face clammy with sweat. A dream...it was just a dream. More like a nightmare, he thought bitterly, raising a hand to scrub at his damp cheeks.
Yamato stopped and pulled his hand back quickly, staring at it like it was diseased. Raising it again, he carefully prodded his eyes, twitching slightly when he felt dampness that was NOT sweat there. When did he start crying? WHY? How weird...Weirder still was that dream. What was up with that? He'd never had such a horrible dream. That smothering feeling, the drowning...
But what was worse, was how real it felt. Maybe too real. And it brought back memories from a few weeks prior. Yamato's mind flitted to the flash of red, and wondered if there was a connection. No, Uru had told him he would leave him alone. He was too honest and nice it seemed, he wouldn't lie or try to kill him.
Right?
Yamato wasn't so sure.
000
"Yamato, wake up!"
Groaning, the brunette sat up in his seat a little. Lune sighed, watching his friend with a frown. "If you don't stay awake, I cant help you study."
Yamato nodded drowsily, biting back a yawn. "Right..."
The blond pouted for a moment longer before turning his attention back to the notes between them. He'd promised to help with the make up tests Yamato had to take, but the brunette just wouldn't stay awake. He kept dozing off, and Lune's patience was slowly vanishing. Yamato, for his part, was honestly trying to stay awake. The words on the paper were swimming, and he just couldn't seem to keep his eyes open...
Glancing up from the books, the blond bit his lip. "Whats wrong? Stay up too late?"
Yamato shrugged, not sure if he should go into it. "Sorta..."
Silence draped itself over the two. Lune watched the other, concerned. Yamato had looked a little disturbed all day. What could be causing it? "You can tell me if you want...I'll listen."
"Its...weird." the brunette said, frowning and uneasy.
"Couldn't be weirder than your boy dream." he teased.
The brunette shot Lune a look. "You promised you'd never mention that again...!" he groaned.
Lune fought back a smile at the familiar response. Yamato huffed, sulking in his chair dramatically with a blush and muttered to himself. Relaxing a little under the more comfortable silence, the brunette glanced at his friend nervously. He'd always told him secrets before. Lune was the first one who knew about his crush on Sayama, or that embarrassing dream about the drunken pink elephant. He'd never made fun of him past the first ten minutes of laughing. It'd be fine, right?
Shifting in his seat, the brunette eyed his half eaten lunch and began to mess with it. He stirred his spoon through the strange soup, and frowned. "Promise you wont tell anyone? Or laugh?" he mumbled, glancing up at the blond.
Blinking quickly, Lune nodded. "I promise."
"Do you swear on the life of your pink sneakers?"
He gulped. "Y-Yes..."
"Or the life of your pink coat-?"
"Is this about that boy dream?" the blond asked, desperate to save his other articles of variously shaded pink clothing.
Yamato went stiff, eye twitching. "It has something to do with that." he said in a noncommittal tone.
Making a face, Lune opened his mouth to question him further, but was cut off abruptly by the bell. Glaring up at the ceiling, the blond cursed its timing. Yamato let out a relieved sigh, though he was a little disappointed. He'd been hoping to get it off of his chest. Moving the desks back in order, the class resumed and Yamato and Lune got nothing done study wise or confession wise.
The rest of the day proceeded with the same sluggish pace it had started with. By third period, Yamato had passed out on his text book, much to the teacher's annoyance. A total of three pieces of chalk, one eraser and a notebook later, she'd managed to wake him up, only to have him fall back asleep. Across the room, Oume snickered at him.
000
Eye twitching, Fushimi stared at the paper and tried to debate if this was better than the other grades. Yamato often brought back fifties, maybe a lucky seventy, but a forty...She tried to think if that was considered a good grade for him. He had explained the grade was mostly due to the fact that he hadn't been awake in class for two weeks.
"The guilt trip, eh..." she mumbled in annoyance.
She watched him play with his strange little blond friend outside from the living room window. The two were playing some strange form of tag, and laughing loud enough that she could hear them all the way from here. Watching them, she realized that until recently, she hadn't heard her son really laugh since he'd stopped sleeping. Hand still clutching the paper, the bright red forty percent all but jumping off the page, she sighed.
"How can I be pissed off when he laughs like that..." Fushimi said to herself.
At least he laughed now. The guilt ebbed away when he did. Nothing could really compare to the guilt a parent felt when they ignored their child's problem. She was just glad it was starting to go away.
000
A loud crash echoed from the bathroom, startling the blond woman. Frowning, Fushimi stood and hurried to the door, knocking on the barrier. "Yamato, are you okay?"
Inside the room, the boy stared long and hard at his reflection, horror spread over his face. He paid the raps no mind, focused on the faint flashing of color inside the mirror, which were hauntingly familiar. The sink faucet was running, but he couldn't look at the water, which was a deep blue that filled the basin quickly and sloshed slowly like blood.
Finally, the door was shoved open, and Yamato was forced to look away as his mother shook him frantically. "Yamato? Are you okay? Whats wrong? What happened?"
Blinking quickly, the boy realized he hadn't responded at all. Glancing away from the woman, he watched the faucet gush almost black water. Fushimi didn't seem to notice it, or the color. She did notice the shattered glass on the tiled floor though. "What happened?" she demanded again.
"D-Don't you see the water!?" he cried, eyes wide and confused.
The woman blinked and frowned. She glanced at the water, but saw nothing amiss. "What are you talking about? What about the water?"
"Its black! Its black, don't you see?!"
"No, I don't." Fushimi said, confused. "Its not black. Did you get into the pill cabinet again?" she asked, voice lowering.
Yamato look frustrated, and snapped back, "No I didn't! It is though, I-" he looked back and stopped abruptly.
The water was clear again. There was no slow swish to it, only choppy waves as the water began to rise higher. He stared, disbelief covering his face as he watched it. "But...it was...." he fumbled for the words, confused and outraged that it dared to change now.
Holding back a long sigh, Fushimi ran a hand through her hair and stood. "No, it wasn't. Maybe you swallowed too much toothpaste." she mumbled, turning off the faucet with a quick twist.
"I didn't!!" Yamato cried, grimacing. He hadn't washed his mouth out yet, and the taste of the toothpaste drove him up a wall. It was too minty and bitter.
"Right..." his mother sighed. "I'm going to bed now. Be sure to clean up the glass, dont cut yourself."
She left without another word, confused and annoyed. Yamato watched her leave, a deep frown settled on his face. He looked down at the shattered glass, and mumbled to himself, setting about the task of carefully picking it up. He could swear he'd seen black water. He hadnt bothered to mention the flickering face in the mirror, because something told him only he could see it to begin with. Yamato had little doubt of who it was.
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The next day, Yamato plunked down in his seat tiredly. He closed his eyes, tired but unable to sleep. After last night, his peace of mind vanished. He couldn't prove a thing, but that face in the mirror could only belong to one person. And after the full week of peace, the sudden appearance scared him, especially with how it happened. What would Uru need to do something so dramatic for?
Was it even Uru? Who could say Yamato wasn't just losing it. Black water that no one saw, faces in the mirror? Definitely the signs of insanity. And if he was insane, he couldn't tell anyone! They'd definitely ship him away! The brunette couldn't lie, the whole affair was frightening. And what was worse, was the steadily forming cloud that seemed to hang over his head.
Thankfully, school distracted Yamato well enough, that by the time it ended, he'd almost forgotten his problem. He couldn't help but worry though as he climbed the steps of his apartment complex. What if he WAS crazy? He didn't want to debate that...
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(headesks) sorry it took so long, i lost interest to some degree...hopefully, this'll make up for that for now?