Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own this franchise or any of its characters.
The Sin of Greed
"Now let the trial begin." I laugh as Brave chews his lip nervously. "Why so scared dear?"
"Please Crow fight whoever or whatever is in your head making you do these things. Please fight the corruption." Begs the treasure hunter.
"No." he that is me laughs callously.
The scene rather than melting as before falls apart to reveal a young man standing in my room.
The man places a sparkling necklace in my bag.
"Sorry Crow." Memory Brave apologizes.
Brave bites down harder and blood starts dripping from the wound.
"You stole something?" Jack asks dumbfounded.
"Well obviously." Breo rolls his eyes.
"Brave please explain whom or where you got that from." Harald asks with a slight grit of the teeth.
"I stole it from Team Taiyo's room, it looked expensive and stuff." Brave replies.
"So why did you put it in Crow's bag if he wasn't going back to wherever you guys live with you?" Jack asks.
"Because I was gonna come back afterwards, and sides they were broke weren't they? Where the hell did they get it from?" Brave answers with a pout.
"Your lips bleeding." Andore mentions pointing to Brave's face.
"Yeah I noticed." Brave snaps.
"Calm down. I do not blame you for stealing it. I merely want to know what you thought you were doing." Harald sighs.
"Alright you caught me, I was hiding it so no one could have it." Brae explains.
"You little miser." Dragan snarls.
"Why are you fighting?" Harald asks. "Can you not see that he is doing this to divide us all?"
"I'm sorry." Dragan apologizes.
"Yeah I am too." Brave frowns.
"Alright."
Brave runs out and walks over to Harald and Dragan who are sitting just outside the building.
"Hey guys, did something happen?" Brave asks.
"No." Dragan growls.
"Certainly not." Harald smirks.
"Dragan are you upset?" Brave asks to his angry and prideful comrade.
"I don't get upset."
"Okay."
"This was a simple act of Greed. Do you know the definition of Greed? It's the desire for material things and the fear of not having enough. Shall we go to where the fear started Brave-kun?" I ask, mocking the affectionateness we have for each other.
"Yes." Brave says boldly.
"Mmn, feeling brave, Brave?" I laugh with a hint of a question that isn't a question at all.
A little boy is running through the streets of some unknown country with a fistful of money. We all notice it's Brave but very young.
"COME BACK HERE SCOUNDREL!" Screams a man at him.
He leaps over a fence and runs off again. The man shakes a fist and then gives up chase. Brave runs to a small junkyard and climbs over the tall fence and with all the sorts of courage I expect from a man called Brave he jumps onto a large mattress.
"Ha." He says triumphal.
"Brave did you bring the cash?" Asks a teenager with bags under her eyes.
"Yeah did you?" Smiles a teenage boy with a small lighter flicking on and off.
"Yes Flick, yes Clockwork." Brave replies with a hint of pride.
The girl stands up and pats him on the head, ruffling his bright red and orange hair.
"Yeah know Brave, your hair kinda looks like FIRE." Flick grins with an inflection on the word fire.
"I know!" Brave chirps.
Clockwork stands up and grabs the money from his hands. She gets up and walks away with Flick.
"Hey! If I don't have any I can't eat and you promised I could have it!" Brave screams.
"Well get used to not having enough kid." Clockwork informs him.
"We're using this to start back up our Corruption business." Flick mentions.
Brave stands up and tries to grab the money from the older girl's hands. Flick smirks and takes the lighter and burning the hand that reached for that corrupting money kicks him as well. Brave gets up from the dirt and they have already left the bruised and battered boy and he attempts to climb the fence.
"Next time I'll have enough." He laments as he cuts himself scraping up the fence.
"Was it necessary to remind me?" Brave whispers. "I learnt about being careful who you trust not Greed. Don't call me greedy when some of your friends aren't better themselves, just look at Aki's fucked up face. Don't call me greedy, don't, don't, don't, DON'T!"
"Brave please calm down. I am sure that there was worse." Harald states.
"There was but I don't want you to think I'm greedy and no good." Brave explains. "I'm sorry Crow, if you can hear me."
"Yes we can hear you." I smile.
The scene falls apart yet again and shows a slightly older Brave digging in a desert with no one around him.
"Almost got it." He remarks.
The tone toned treasure hunter in grubby clothes with tears in the legs and arms of about only fourteen digs and I am ashamed.
How did I not notice that he wasn't rich like his pals?
Brave digs and pulls out a small ruby.
"There we go. You're beautiful aren't you?" He asks to the jewel.
Brave stands up and allows the dirt and dust to fall. He takes a closer look at the ruby and stands still for a moment.
"Wait how did I know you were here?" He asks himself.
Digging some more he hits a chest and opens it, the chest is full of jewels, coins and all manner of shiny things. Brave shrugs and he carts it to a small town.
"Look at what I found." Brave smiles to a man dressed in a suit.
The man looks it up and down. He has a brown ponytail and a pair of small glasses on the edge of his nose. The man's eyes are brown as well, quite plain.
I stare at the mirror the suited man pulls out. I try to feel my face, to feel the black marks that erased my yellow and the hair that falls over my face. My eyes are grey still and I look enough like me to fool anyone.
You mean we. I mean you are discussing me saying this as you saying them. Shouldn't it be Yami no Crow says rather than I say but you like this don't you?
Shut up. We're not here to listen to you.
Ah yes my apologizes, love.
Yeah don't call me that.
"Here you go." Memory Brave smiles.
"Excellent, it is quite radiant, isn't it?" The Pelican asks holding up the ruby.
"And there's plenty more where that came from but I need insurance." Brave grins.
The man takes a duffel bag and unzips it.
"There you go. But not for the jewels or coins but for the cards and the ruby to remember our deal." He smiles almost kindly.
"All this for three pieces of paper Mister, didn't catch your name." Brave leads.
"That's because I didn't throw it." The Pelican laughs and brushes a stray piece of hair into his ponytail.
"Well, well, will you throw it now?" Asks our treasured hunter.
"It's Rubin Lewarek and yours is dear?"
"Brave."
"And that's all?"
"Not before but now, I don't need any other name I mean everone knows which Brave you're talking about right?"
"Why yes they do. Thank you for Shunn, Vor Halalusn and Dzerrk'Yery."
"So why are they in Armenian?"
"Because the main seven belong are in a dead language and the lower seven are in a still in use that makes sense dear."
"But you only have three of the seven."
"Another three are in America and the seventh isn't a card we should use."
"You want me to get the other three then?"
"No, no, I'm fine. Goodbye Brave, I pray that our paths meet again but under pleasant circumstances."
Lewarek walks off leaving Brave with all this cash.
"Still not enough." Brave mutters to himself.
"So we learned that there were yet more dark signers. So?" Dragan asks. "What's the point?"
"The point is to show your sins mixed with your triumphs and then to prove that everything you've ever done has only feed your sins." I say.
I again I see.
Shut up.
"This is so stupid." Breo comments.
"Yes it is, we still don't see the point." Jean agrees.
"You see you can't beat my stronger and none, how do I say, parasitic brothers. You can't beat them until you realize your sins and you understand what they will do to stop us." I rant.
"You just said we." Yuusei pipes up.
We. I am you we're separate.
No we are not. I am you and you are I. Crow I AM you.
You're insane.
We're insane.
The scene alters yet again to see Brave speaking to Harald on a roof. The taller man is frowning.
"So you were only in it for the money?" Harald asks.
"Yes, I had to make sure that I would be alright, I didn't have enough." Brave admits.
"You gave the fourth card regardless as security?"
"Yes, I still don't have enough."
"Never enough is it Brave?"
"No, I need to make sure that nothing bad will ever happen that I can't afford."
As they talk Harald gets more upset and stands by the edge of the roof.
"Thank you for the card." Smiles a man with a polish accent as he brushes a strand of loose hair back into his grey rimmed hood.
"What? No. Don't thank me. Don't you dare." Brave murmurs.
"Alright, of course now we have a spot to fill. I will give you all the security ou ever need, I'll completely freeze all your bank accounts unless you do as I say."
"I'm not that in need."
"Yes you are, one of your children has cancer do they not?"
"Y-yes."
"Well no treatment unless you kill you friend over there."
"NO!"
"You've only known him a month and your children mean the world to you don't they?"
"Yes."
"And besides he will resurrect and if I do it myself I might make it unnecessarily brutal." Smiles the man.
Brave like a bullet shoves Harald off the roof, sending the man's thin and fragile body to the ground. I look and see his skull smashed in, in rivers of red and orange and brown mush. His bones are splintered and cracked and Brave vomits on the roof. The vomit has a tinge of red like he vomited up blood. I would too.
"Why did I?" Ask Brave. "Why? Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid."
Brave smashes his skull against the rooftop.
"And Brave here is your greatest sin, letting your Greed kill your friend." I finish.
"I am sorry!" Brave shrieks.
"It is alright, I would have done similar. You did not think I would really be dead." Harald explains. 'He told you that I would be resurrected and you wanted your child to live. I understand fear."
"Well of course you do, you live it, spread it, breathe it. Don't you?" I ask. "And now for the final act, why you did it."
"Sangue please don't die." Brave begs as he holds the hand of a small girl.
"I won't Papa." She coughs.
"I did something horrible for this so please don't make his sacrifice in vain." Brave sobs.
"What did you do?"
"I killed my friend."
"Is he alright?"
"Outside yes, inside no."
"Then fight him and make it better.
"What if I can't?"
"You can. You and Mister Dragan can."
Brave strokes the girl's forehead.
"And what if he can't?"
"Then keep fighting and never let the soul that fights for him die Papa."
Her eyes fade.
"NO! PLEASE!"
"I'm sorry Papa don't be mad."
And Brave holds her hand until she fades to sleep.
"Dirty man." Harald sneers. "How could you show him something like this, it proves nothing."
"Alrighty then, well it's time for you Wrath anyway." I say.
"Me, Wrath?" he smirks.
"Why yes."
And with that the scene falls apart and all that's left is a crying treasure hunter, an angry prideful man, four people without outed sins, the sinners I have already seen and of course me, myself and Yami no Me.