Time of Dying
A Hagi story based off the song "Time of Dying" by Three Days Grace
Aldedron: *yawn* I'm tired…
Saya: Why?
Aldedron: *shrug* Uh duh know. Why're you asking me?
Saya: *annoyed* *eye twitch* Because you're the one that SAID it…
Aldedron: *shrug* I'm always tired. I go to bed at ten or eleven, but don't actually go to sleep 'till TWO and I have to get up at six…
Saya: Doesn't that make you an IDIOT?
Serin: Aldedron's weird and only needs six hours of sleep a night. It's a genetic mutation. Like red hair, which she also has…
Aldedron: Cool! I'm mutated!!
Serin: It was on the news…
Saya: Hai… … Wait… then why's she still only getting four?
Serin: Because she's an idiot
Aldedron: I thought you were DEFENDING me!!
Serin: No
…
Aldedron: Anything more you wanna add onto that sentence?
Serin: No
…
Saya: O…kay…? I'll move it on to the next chapter for the sake of everyone else's sanity
Aiya meticulously scrubbed the marble floors of the entryway. She had been working at Goldschmidt Manor for a full week now and had already received praise from Goldschmidt-sama concerning her hard work. He now held even higher expectations for her. This was a good thing, because he increased her pay for it, but also a bad thing because there would be higher consequences should she fall below the car. It would be a higher fall… Such is getting fired when she had only just avoided it, thanks to Master Hagi reader her schedule to her. But it was all for not.
She sighed, climbing to her feet. This place was so big… And Goldschmidt-sama still had yet to hire any other staff… Why was he taking so long? And why did he fire all his staff so suddenly this year? She understood getting rid of everyone at the time of the Bordeaux Massacre to avoid gossip, but there was no real reason to now.
And she hadn't seen Master Hagi since her first day. It felt sort of lonely without someone else there. She hadn't heard any more "Prelude by Bach", either. She missed that song, even though she'd heard it but once. She longed to listen to that lovely melody again, not to mention why it was filled with such heart wrenching emotions. She knew it had something to do with that girl who apparently wasn't well, but nothing more. She still wondered who that girl was, too. And still, she knew next to nothing about Master Hagi. He seemed… alone. Even though she had been right there with him that day, she had still felt an oppressive sense of isolation. And it felt purposeful, too. Like he was deliberately isolating himself. But who would want to do that?? It didn't make much sense. The key to this whole mystery was the girl, so she had to find out who the girl was to receive any answers. And not just concerning Master Hagi, but also her fallen uncle.
She scanned over her work. The floor was squeaky clean and shone in the candlelight. To think it was night already. Hai, she definitely needed more help. One maid wasn't nearly enough to clean this mansion. Hopefully Goldschmidt-sama would hire more staff soon. She was getting a sense of isolation as well and she didn't like it. She had always had other girls to talk to and now there was no one. She sighed depressingly and turned to look out the window. A waning, crescent moon just barely peeked through the clouds to shine its silver light inside the mansion. It reflected beautifully off the shiny floors, making them seem to glow around her.
She turned with surprise at the sound of the front entrance opening. Master Hagi stepped through, quietly closing the wooden door behind himself. He seemed surprised to see her there and pulled out a bronze pocket watch.
"It's nearly midnight," he said calmly. A stoic demeanor masked his emotions. He clicked the watch shut, tucking it inside his jacket.
Aiya's eyes widened in shock. She saw red speckles on his white blouse. Small tears, as well. Not to mention the glint of silver which looked suspiciously similar to a dagger. But she quickly calmed herself. It was probably a small handgun. Aristocrats often had small guns on their person to avoid being mugged whenever they went out. And Master Hagi seemed like the kind to go out alone. He had come in unaccompanied, further supporting this assumption. But the real question was why he had left.
All these thoughts flashed through her mind in less than a second before she bowed, saying, "Welcome home, Master Hagi." As she bowed, another thought occurred to her. The silver could be explained, but not the red. "Are you injured?" she inquired as she straightened.
Hagi remained apathetic. "Iie," he answered slowly, cautiously. "Is Joel II still up?"
"Goldschmidt-sama desu? I believe not."
Hagi's eyes brightened slightly at that. He seemed inwardly overjoyed. She finally noticed the giant silver and black object slung over his shoulder. The black object, his black attire, and the dark room had hidden it from her sight and she had to strain to see it even now. He was gripping the strap tightly with his right hand. Out of nowhere, he slung it off, setting it gently on the floor. She was unable to tell what the object was, though, so she was deeply confused as to what he was doing. He dropped to one knee and clicked open the object to reveal the same instrument she had seen him playing the week before. He lifted the body out of the case slightly, pulling out a couple papers from underneath. He closed the case again, grabbing the handle on the side as he stood and approached her.
He held out the papers to Aiya, saying, "Next time you see Joel II, please give these to him."
She just stared at him in shock. "Watashi desu ka?" (before I forget, that means "Me?") He seemed serious, though, so she quickly took the documents to avoid further embarrassment. "Hai, Master Hagi."
At this he frowned. "Please don't call me that. Hagi desu."
"But you are a partner with Goldschmidt-sama!" she objected. She knew it was rude to rebel against a superior's orders, but this was just too much. She had been raised to call those of higher class "sama" or "master" and she was gonna do it, dammit!
"Iie. At the old Goldschmidt Manor, I was but a servant and I am still a servant, just not in the conventional sense."
Now she was confused. Master Hagi… a servant? He didn't dress like one, talk like one, could play that thing, and could read! She had served the higher classes almost her whole life and knew what a fellow servant was like. He in no way fit the mold. But then again, he also didn't fit that of a typical aristocrat…
"I… don't… understand."
"I serve one particular person: the second "survivor". Joel II has no say whatsoever in what I do or not, nor do I on his life. What do you call it… an impasse?"
Another door opened and Isaac appeared in the entryway. "It's about time you got back," he scoffed. "What took so long?"
"I do not pay attention to time, Isaac," Hagi answered slowly, narrowing his eyes. He seemed defensive towards Isaac. He took the papers back from Aiya and threw them at Isaac, but they were tightly bound together and didn't go flying everywhere. "There's your baka report."
Aiya looked between the two. They knew each other?? Isaac-sama had only arrived a few hours beforehand. Wait… report?? Report on what?
Isaac scanned over the papers nonchalantly before turning back towards the door he had entered through. "Sayonara. This was all I came out here for." He stopped. "Oh… and did Saya give you any orders before she went to sleep?" he inquired. He obviously had a hidden motive. "Like… while you two were headed to pick up David?"
His defense was blatant now. "It's nothing that concerns you."
Isaac's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "It wouldn't happen to be that you're scheming to take up Diva's dream after her death, would it?"
He frowned. "Of course not. It is Saya's duty to protect others and mine to protect her. Why would we both go against this just to kill people? It doesn't even make rational sense."
"How should I know how you think?" Isaac snapped in annoyance.
This seemed extremely insensitive to Aiya. These two obviously knew and hated each other. They couldn't understand one another, nor did they appear to even attempt to. No… Master Hagi appeared to at least be trying to understand Isaac-sama, but he was somehow incapable. But he also didn't assist Isaac-sama in understanding him, with the continuous sense of isolation emanating from him. Isaac-sama seemed to take that isolation as him saying "I don't understand you and won't even bother trying to", even though Aiya sensed that wasn't what it meant.
Hagi sighed sadly at that. "It is sad that I could say the exact same thing about you." He disappeared into the darkness while Aiya was still preoccupied with her thoughts. She wouldn't even realize he had left.
Isaac scoffed, slamming the door behind him. At this sound, Aiya snapped out of her thoughtful trance to look around with surprise. Where had they gone!?
Aldedron: Today was a half day today, so I got extra time to work on this chapter
Serin: And yet it still took you till now to finish
Aldedron: Uruse, smartass
Saya: You seem a bit rude today…
Aldedron: I was just reading this awesome fan fic and they kept saying Hagi was "waxing" his bow. Seriously?? You do not coat horse hair with WAX. It's called ROSIN, people! If you're gonna go into detail, do it right!!
Lulu: Cello freak—
Aldedron: Yes! I'm a cello freak!!
Serin: Any particular reason you gave your two best Hagi / Saya pictures to you MATH teacher??
Aldedron: He's the host for Anime Club and he's gonna thumbtack them to the wall! The wall of our brand new classroom!
Serin: Oh yeah, you guys got a new school this year
Aldedron: It's heaven, I tell ya!! Working drinking fountains, locking bathroom stalls, lockers that don't jam, sinks in the science classrooms, no holes punched into the wall or gum under the desks, or ceilings collapsing right where I sat just last period…
Saya: That sounds like a very pathetic school…
Serin: It WAS pitiful
Aldedron: But now we're not allowed to chew gun anymore!! Could all we wanted last year. No more! If you're even SEEN with a stick of gum, you've got an afterschool detention
Serin: Uh… that makes SENSE. You just said there was gum under the desks…
Aldedron: … Beside the point! Oh! The first day of Anime Club was awesome! Julian danced to Love & Joy and she is just an awesome anime dancer. That's a four and a half minute song, by the way
Serin: And yet as you speak of Love & Joy, you are listening to MY BOY by Buono!... You realize how little SENSE that makes, right?
Aldedron: You speak as though you have a point
Serin: *frown* …
Saya: Oh just get on with the story!! This is so depressing so far!!
Aldedron: Blood+ IS a depressing story. And I have to keep everyone IC, too. Do you have any idea how HARD it is to keep Hagi IC?? He's got the most challenging personality to keep in synch with in the world
Serin: Saya, that's a compliment towards Hagi, not an insult, by the way
Saya: *confused* I'm not sure whether that fact comforts or alarms me...