A/N: I have no excuse. I am terribly sorry. I was just so freaking lazy this whole holiday. – A – And then I started just a quick summer job and somehow it's the end of the holidays and I had done nothing. /sobs From here on in, I swear I will update regularly. Sorry to everyone for making you wait. m(_ _)m
Hiroomi stepped lightly on the roof of an old, Japanese-style confectionary shop and leapt once more onto the ladder rails of the telephone pole, before vaulting himself onto top of said pole and balanced easily on the top. He scanned the area, searching for the familiar silver glint that would lead him to his sister. But amidst the clutter of jutting roofs and high rise buildings, he could barely see anything at all. He clicked his tongue in annoyance; he had hoped he hadn't needed to do this.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Balancing on the pole carefully, he focused his mind and slowly let his consciousness spread throughout his body, feeling every resonance, every minute disturbance down to atom-level. He closed his eyes, feeling a familiar peace settle over him like a trance before tentatively letting his mind creep outwards, spreading the same consciousness into the city. Through the cement of the road, through the fence of the park, through the grassy leaves of the trees and into the jumble of the city; tracing his way through every leaf and grass and tile and suddenly he was zipping down alleyways and main streets, through street vendors and restaurants, through the masses of people and through the loiterers on the edge of town. He existed everywhere and all at once, spreading himself; his atoms, his consciousness, a little piece of his soul among the scrambled mess that was his home, all the while searching for a familiar scent or sight.. And still, he could not find Mitsuki.
In the next second he was in a car, watching as Fujima Miroku travelled along a seaside road and Mitsuki argue cautiously with the former. He couldn't hear well like this, but snatches of conversation could be heard.
"Society has its eye on…Nase family…information…you're…kept in the dark…." He saw the man drum his fingers on the steering wheel, sneering and leery and he saw the distinct irritation rise in his sister's eyes. He saw the car go down a coastal path leading to a beach and he had seen enough.
Time to go…!
All at once, he retracted his entirety, compacting what had covered a whole city back into his body – tiny in comparison. He felt the very atoms in his body squabbling for space, unable to find unity. His eyes snapped open and he let out a shuddering gasp. Dizzy, he swayed lightly on his feet and reached an arm out, grabbing desperately for an aid, only to meet air. His foot slipped on the pole and Hiroomi almost fell, only catching himself in the last second. He took a few more breaths and when he could see a little clearer, laboriously made his way down the pole. Doing it up there had been a mistake.
He tried to regain his composure but he was feeling faint and ash white; a sheen of sweat glistening on his brow. Sitting down, back to the pole, Hiroomi breathed heavily. This was something he learned from Izumi, on one of those rare times she had taken him out with her. It was a way of reconnaissance, being able to look over vast distances but it was risky. For one, if his body was harmed in any way, his consciousness would be lost and be left to run free in the world. It was like living but not living. He shuddered at the thought.
Another, it was incredibly taxing, even for Izumi, although it wasn't as bad as his fatigue. That's why she never used it anymore; she preferred to do things more…physically.
"Ugh…" He sat for a few more minutes, evening out his breathing and letting his body adjust and he could feel all the way down to the tiny discordances within him. A wave of nausea hit him and he doubled over, clutching at his stomach, dry retching. He clutched at the nearest thing, the pole, and waited painfully until it had subsided. His head was dizzy and everything around him was a bit of a blur. He focused on his breathing and tried to get some fresh air into him.
A few seconds later, the nausea passed and the sensation was gone but he still felt a little queasy. No matter how many times he did this, he never could get used to the after effects. This was another reason why Izumi never used it.
Heaving a final breath, he stood up, using the pole as an aid. Leaning against it, he breathed another deep breath and shifted his weight off of the pole. He was relatively refreshed now and made his way as quickly as he could over to the beach. So he burst into a run.
Everything was dark. So, so dark. Muffled and far away; nothing seemed real. He groped at the air in front of him. Nothing. Even his voice was muted in this vast expanse.
Where am I…?
Safe.
Who are you?
You.
Where…where are you?
I'm right here.
And slowly, a smidge of light appeared in the horizon, its gentle glow enveloping him in its embrace and he felt warmth spread throughout him. Slowly, as it approached and came closer, it enveloped him, illuminating his surroundings, or lack thereof.
It was, predominantly, white. Or perhaps just non-existent. The space stretched onwards to infinity, with no defined edge and everywhere you turned, the furthest thing was the horizon. Looking out, there seemed to be no definition of distance and Akihito felt nauseous. So he focused on what he could see.
There were three landmarks. To the right, there were various balls, floating above the ground, and anchored using a piece of rope. As the blond squinted and looked a little more carefully, he could see that they were, in actuality, bubbles. Surprised, he noted that the area above it (Was that the sky?) was a very pale, almost-white blue and the places it was anchored to (The ground?) was tinged with green. A soft glow emanated from everything and it was like the lights of the fireflies down by the river on the nights he went bug-catching with Hiroomi. Smiling slightly, he veered his gaze left.
A castle stood, rising out of the ground towering and intimidating. Akihito was sure he'd never seen anything like this castle before; he basically never left the town after he had come into the custody of the Nase family so long ago and although the Nase house was impressive, it was nothing compared to this cement monstrosity. The stone looked old and aged, various cracks running through the masonry and a black vine-looking plant had taken hold of the outer walls. They grew along the ground, spreading outwards and eventually thinned. It looked like it was going to rain, with storm clouds gathered above the castle and the ground looked splintered, like parched desert soil. Perhaps the rain was welcome.
And there, right in front of him, was a house. It was very generic-looking, with a red roof and white walls and brown door but it looked as though someone had attempted to bleach it, unsuccessfully. It made the red look almost pink and the brown look faded. Akihito supposed the only reason the walls were white was because the previous colour had been something like yellow or perhaps cream.
Directly in front of him was a road that gradually split into three, one road to each landmark. Apart from those, there was only infinite white; stretching on without boundary or limits, giving him a little vertigo.
Akihito frowned.
Where are you?
Right here.
A low, gruff voice echoed and the blond was startled. He had thought that to himself and he had gotten an answer. Was the voice in his head? Or was the voice outside? Were his thoughts even inside his head? Or were they, too, outside?
Both.
Once again the voice rang clear and Akihito was definitely unnerved. He took a deep breath and said loudly, "Where am I? Why are you listening to my thoughts?" He felt a waver towards the end and silently cursed himself.
The voice laughed, a deep, low rumble. Come closer and I will tell you.
The blond furrowed his brow. "Come closer where? Where are you?"
The house. Come to the house.
And the voice ceased. Akihito was a little shaken. Should he go? Was it a trap? Walking around in an unknown place was never a good idea. But what else was he to do? But to these misgivings, the voice remained silent and he knew he had to make the choice himself.
"Well," he muttered, as much to himself as to the voice. "Standing around isn't going to help." He breathed in slightly and started walking down the road that wound to the house. He walked for what seemed like hours but he wasn't tired, nor was he anywhere nearer. The house still stood in the horizon, just as he had seen when he first arrived.
For the most part, Akihito was just frustrated. He needed to get to the house and he was sick of walking. He just wanted to get to the blasted house.
Then, all of a sudden, he blinked and there he was, right in front of the faded brown door. Surprised and a little taken aback, he stepped backwards, a little unsure. How did he end up here? And so quickly?
You only need to want something and you shall have it. That is how things work around here. The voice greeted him. Welcome. Please do ring the bell. I will be with you shortly.
Akihito was thoroughly confused and a little curious. And so, he reached a hand up to the doorbell and pressed it. The doorbell buzzed and a quiet, almost inaudible click was heard from the door. Quietly it creaked open and there, standing in the doorway, was Akihito.
Two people stood on a beach. A man and a teenage girl, illuminated by the setting sun and shadows thrown over them like cloaks. The man rocked back and forth on his feet, looking decidedly light hearted while the girl stood as if his opposite, unmoving and stern. The man looked up sharply, his eyes like a hawk. The girl narrowed her eyes slightly, cautious and wary. Suddenly, he jumped back and the sand between the two people was separated as if by magic, narrowly missing the feet of the man.
Hiroomi appeared in front of his sister, his scarf fluttering in the breeze. Putting a hand out protectively in front of his sister, he glared daggers at the man.
"My, my. And so, the brother appears huh?" Fujima Miroku looked down, chuckling a little and as he looked back up, pink tentacles materialised, wrapping them around his body. He smiled a smile that made the blood in Hiroomi's veins run cold and he gritted his teeth.
In a flash, the scarf was flung at the man like a vicious whip and the mass of pink dissolved into nothing. A laugh lingered in the air. Clicking his tongue, Hiroomi ran straight at the derelict ruins of a nearby bus. He leapt on the stairs, the dull metal echoing with his footsteps. Fujima sat on the back seat, a juice popper in hand and he looked up, the frames of his glasses catching the remnants of the deserting light.
"Following your sister all the way out here…" The man smirked and cocked his head. "Makes you look like a siscon."
In response, the green-eyed male merely flung his scarf once more and the man moved to counter it with another flurry of pink tentacles. Pulling a gun from his back pocket he pointed the muzzle at Hiroomi and pulled the trigger.
A streak of light erupted from the end of the gun, making its way towards the raven-haired male at a lightning fast speed and the scarf was thrown up like a shield.
"Too slow!" Miroku shrieked, laughing. The bullets deflected but left the scarf riddled with holes.
Hiroomi was livid. "What do you want?!"
Fujima Miroku swayed on his feet, bending his head left and right. "Hmm…" The pink tentacles appeared once more, creating a hazy mess of pink in the narrow space and Hiroomi was hyper-aware. "I wonder. You should ask your sister." Fujima smirked and all of a sudden, a ticking filled the air and Hiroomi could only watch as the man's lips moved to utter words that would be lost in the frenzy and realised what would happen. Eyes wide, a crude barrier materialised, only nanoseconds before the blast.
Mitsuki watched, horrified and frustrated, and could only yell as the bus went up in flames, the orange and yellow hues contrasting starkly with the fresh dark, neither males seen.
A/N: Hope you liked that, because there definitely will be more. Ugh I'm so sorry. /rolls of cliff