Chapter 10
A/N: Yeah, no more cheesy chapter names after this. (Yaaayy! :D) I've got nothing, so here's one of the longest chapters so far.
Kiku's POV
I tugged my long sleeves back down, hiding the bandage which covered the long gash all the way up my arm. I knew someone was probably going to realise it some time, but the further away that was, the better. I glanced to the clean, wood flood which was once covered in a pool of my own blood. Now, Kuro stood in the exact spot, leaning on one legand looking as smug as ever. He didn't look and different, but it wasn't about what my eyes could do.
"I can punch you now, if I wanted to right? Like, out of this room and house as well?" I confirmed, tilting my head to the side. Kuro sighed.
"Yes, though I don't think you would like to lose your limbs." he threatened. I ignored his comment, and twisted the door knob.
'Proving my.. in..sanity..? Yeah right, as if that'll turn out right..'
I swung the door open slowly, examining the spacious room before me. Luckily, Yao was resting on the couch near the other end of the room, and Elizaveta (who I first assumed was cooking something in the kitchen right by the couch) was no where in sight. I sighed, and walked out of the room, glancing over my shoulder to make sure Kuro was following.
"I'm not a child, I can walk on my own." I immediately turned my head forward again, trying to ignore my idiotic 2P behind me.
"Just.. don't be loud... kudasai.*" He scoffed.
"I don't take orders from you, of all people." he replied in a raised voice. I brought my finger to my lips.
"Seriously. For once."
"I was listening to you earlier and it was torture.." he whispered. He probably didn't mean for me to hear, but in the unwelcoming silence, I couldn't miss it. I reluctantly walked over to the kitchen, resisting the urge to check on Yao. After looking around, I realised I had no idea what I was doing.
"So.. what am I here for..?" I questioned.
"Don't act so dumb. Grab a knife already." he ordered.
"Wha..? Why a-"
"No questions." I was taken a back by Kuro's sudden interruption, but shrugged it off afterwards. I began frantically searching the kitchen for any knife, opening all drawers in sight. They were all sorted in such an alien way, making it difficult to find anything. Eventually, I slid open a small drawer dedicated to eating utensils. As my eyes widened in surprise, I grabbed the sharpest knife in the draw. I stared at my reflection in the clear blade with satisfaction. Finally, a time where I could look at myself and not worry about Kuro being there. It was... nice.
I suddenly heard footsteps behind me. None that belonged to Kuro. In panic, I whirled around, hiding the knife behind my back. I sighed in relief as I realised it was only Elizaveta wondering what I was doing.
"Oh, you're finally out, Kiku." she greeted politely.
"A-Ah, hai... I casually replied, trying to hide the worry on my face.
"What were you doing in there..? It was quite loud just before, is everything okay?" she worried. Kuro flashed in my mind, and so I quickly glanced around for him. He wasn't anywhere in sight. I tried to push it off, but the thought of him running around freely stuck to me. I averted my gaze back to Elizaveta, and stepped back in surprise. He was there. Standing behind Elizabeta, fist up and ready to strike.
"E-Elizaveta..!" I warned, pointing behind her. She looked at me cluelessly, glancing behind her. Her attention pushed right past Kuro as if he wasn't even there. She turned back to me in confusion, cocking her head to the side.
"Is.. something wrong, Kiku?.." she questioned cluelessly. I blinked a few times.
"W-What? Of c-course! S-stop pulling my leg here..!"
"If anyone's pulling a leg, it's you. If you're going to pull a joke on me, make it believable and don't be so loud.. you could've woken up Yao." My eyebrows fell in confusion. She had to be joking... right? Kuro was there, and had been the whole time..!
I gazed at Kuro, who was smirking at me. "What? Surprised? I'm not done yet." he snickered, pulling his fist back further. In a rushing motion, he swung his arm forward, colliding into Elizaveta's head.
Or not.
It passed straight through, like he was some sort of ghost. I stared forward, absolutely lost.
"Kiku.. stop staring, please.." Elizaveta asked.
"G-Gomenasai.." was all I could blurt out. Still slightly dazed, I relaxed my body, dropping the sharp knife on the floor. The noises it made when it hit the ground shook me back to reality. Before I could pick it back up, Elizaveta suspected me.
"What's that..? Kiku, what were planning on doing with that..?" she questioned, with fear riding in her voice.
"I.. i-iie! It's not what it looks like! I swear! I was-"
"We're not close, but I can tell you've been acting very weird lately. I'm sure I'm not the only person to notice this." she warned, glancing over at Yao. I looked down with guilt.
"I-I'm sorry.. I'll try and be... normal.." I hesitated before the last word, as I glanced up at Kuro. I saw him mouth: 'Sure, because you're not normal!' He stepped around Elizaveta, and walked right over to me. He placed his arm on my shoulder, and leant on me, throwing me off balance slightly.
"..h-hey!.. Yamete!*.." I whispered to Kuro, trying to stay 'normal' to Elizaveta. He chuckled at me.
"And why? I'm still not finished, Kiku.." he teased. He picked the knife off the ground, admiring the curved blade. He nodded his head in approval, and glanced back at me. "This'll do fine." he commented.
"W-Wait, what are you-" Suddenly, he grabbed my wounded left arm, and sliced through the inside of my sleeve, barely missing my arm. It cut open with ease, falling to either side of my arm, and revealing the long bandage. I quickly pulled my arm away, shoving Kuro and stepping back towards Elizaveta. I backed up into her, and nearly caused us both to fall.
"Kuso!*" I yelled, pulling my ripped sleeves together. As much as I tried, it was too late. Elizaveta had already noticed the bandage, and was at my side examining it.
"H-Hey! When did you get this? You're meant to tell us when you get injured! Here, let me have a closer look." she insisted, beginning to unwrap the tight bandage. I quickly pulled my arm back, letting some of the loose bandage hang.
"S-Sorry, I cannot let you do that right now..! If you unwrap it now, it won't heal..!" I bluffed, picking the first excuse that came to mind. She had discovered the bandages, so I had to try my absolute best to hide the wound itself.
"But we need to-"
"No, y-you can't! Not right now! ..Kudasai*..." I pleaded, ignoring the evil laughter in the background. I didn't notice, however, the footsteps gaining closer.
I felt a sharp pain all along my left arm. One thing flashed in my mind: Kuro. The bandages fell to the ground, and I clutched my new wound in pain. 'That rokudenashi*.. he doesn't get enough of cutting and hurting people, does he..?'
Elizaveta quickly rushed to my side, panicking.
"K-Kiku! Ar-Are you okay!? Come on, look at me, let me see it!" she ordered, lightly guiding my right hand away from my left. I looked away from my wound, not bothering to resist to Elizaveta's protests. "T-This is very deep! As well as the other one! ...we need to treat it properly, now!" she ordered, rushing to the kitchen in search of something useful. She came running back with a clean, damp towel, and pressed it against my arm. It stung, but I didn't let her notice any of my pain.
"I'm sorry if it hurts. I don't know how to treat it too well. I should wake up Yao, but.." she trailed off at the end after confirming Yao's state. He was sleeping away peacefully, breathing heavily like he always did. (Why I noticed, I may never know)
As if on cue, Yao groaned and rolled over. His light eyelids slowly opened, as he scanned the world in front of him. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, both to clear his vision. Luckily, because we were both kneeling down and behind a few chairs, he didn't see us upon first glance.
"Rìběn...?" he muttered, searching the room for any sign of life. I tried to push myself off the floor so I could check on Yao, but as I struggled, Elizaveta walked over and sat next to him. I was about to give up, when another thought ran through my mind. 'He was calling for you. Show him just how important he is to you while you can!'
I somehow placed on a smile, and used all of my energy to force my arms into the ground, aiding me to stand upright. I was on my feet. I felt my legs begin to wobble and lose balance, and quickly held onto the kitchen bench next to me. I looked up, straight at Yao. I pulled my body along, and eventually reached the other two. I smiled in satisfaction. I could just feel Kuro's confused glance upon me, though I ignored it completely. I managed to sit on one of the chairs surrounding the large table, still holding the (now stained) towel on my fresh wound. I cast my gaze upon Yao, giving him a soft smile.
"How are you feeling, Chuugoku-san?" I asked.
"I-I'm feeling quite fine now, aru.. b-but.." His eyes fell to my wounded arm. "How are you feeling, aru? It doesn't look like you're 100% right now, aru." he questioned, with concern written all over him.
"Gomenasai.. I-I injured myself.." I sheepishly replied. It was half true.
"How do you injure yourself that badly, aru? What's going on?" As I expected, he didn't really believe me. I checked under the towel, and found it was still slightly bleeding, though the lower wound wasn't. I applied more pressure over the towel.
"With a knife.. but really, it's nothing. I've handled worse." At that moment, because Kuro decided to drop in and lean on me once again, I missed what Yao replied. I swatted Kuro's arm off my shoulder, but despite my efforts, he didn't move at all. Unfortunately, Yao also noticed how I was muttering 'to myself' and swatting 'nothing'.
"What are you doing, aru? Nothing's there, you don't have to worry, aru.." he uncomfortably confirmed. At this comment, I began to worry.
'Am I the only one who can see Kuro? Or maybe he's just a figment of my own imagination, and I really am insane?' I thought about Hatsune Miku to get rid of the terrifying thoughts. 'Yes, I believe they're making a new Project DIVA styled game.. 'Megpoid the Music', was it?'
"Hello? Are you even paying attention, aru?" Yao's voice steered my thoughts off completely, and I finally payed attention to the real world.
"Eh..? Oh yes, right. I-I'm paying attention." I said, scratching the back of my head and looking elsewhere. Yao sighed.
"Aiyaa.." I turned back to face Yao, and was instead greeted by a knife blade right in front of my face. I pushed my chair back, staring at the end in fear.
"You look so scared." Kuro teased, drawing the knife back.
"D-Damare*.." I whispered, trying not to gain attention.
"I'm sorry, what was that? I can't heaar you.~"
"I said damare!" I yelled, standing up from my seat.
"Oh, looks like someone's getting aanngry!~ All you're doing is causing trouble for them, you know? Especially that.. Yao-san guy."
"Yamero*... Yamero! Sudeni damare!*" I shouted, shaking my head and holding my head.
"Nawww, pooor Kiku... can't do anything for himself..."
"DAMARE!" I picked up the chair I was sitting on, and threw it at Kuro, in a fit of rage. He stealthily dodged out of the way, shattering a pot behind him. I couldn't care less about it, though. "Let me be normal!"
"K-Kiku..!" Yao called behind me. I gripped my head harder, ignoring Kuro's constant snickering and teasing.
"Let me live my life, dammit! Let me fall in love, create memories, jump over my own hurdles without you!"
"You can't do those things anyway. You're just a weak, useless coward." I stepped back, eyes wide and mouth ajar. The painful words kept on repeating in my head. 'You can't do those things... you're just a weak, useless..
Coward.'
I ran for the chair again, shoving Kuro over as I pushed past him. I picked it up, dashed towards him, and constantly started beating him. He couldn't block, dodge or counter any of my blows for once. It was finally easier.
"Go to.. hell.. already!" I yelled, out of breath. I suddenly felt a strong pull from behind, and dropped the chair on Kuro. I was being held back by the arm, and reminded me of when Francis dragged Arthur away that one time. Like the Brit, it turned out to be the person I cared most for- Yao.
"C-Calm down, aru! No one's there, aru! Just s-stop it, aru..." he ordered. He had grabbed me underneath my arm, so I couldn't move. I flailed my feet, but I nearly lost balance and declared it a bad idea. "I don't know what's gotten into you aru, but I will fix it, aru." The Chinese dragged me back, and forced me to sit on the couch. He gave me a few minutes to calm down, adding a few soothing words of his own, and stroking my head softly. It really helped get my mind off Kuro for a while.
Soon enough, he began to speak.
"So.. now that you're.. back, aru.. I need you to tell me.." He looked at me directly in the eyes. "Tell me everything, aru." he ordered, his gaze not faltering once. I sat in silence, refusing to speak at all. It was too much to give away already, and I was afraid of the things Kuro would do to me if I leaked it all now. Yao sighed.
I began watching Elizaveta come back into the room. I didn't notice she left, but I assumed she was on the phone, was holding one. She looked very disappointed.
"I-I'm so, so sorry you two.. Roderich called and there's something I must attend to, so I must take my leave.. I hope you two are okay on your own though. Hopefully you'll both get better. A-Anyway, see you guys soon!" she explained. She gave us boths hugs, before giving us a wave before rushing out the door. Though I was very confused, I didn't dare question her.
"..rough day, huh aru? It's your turn to take a rest, aru. It looks like you're in more need of care than me, aru." he said, in a soothing, quiet voice. I softly nodded my head. I felt my eyelids begin to close, but I tried my best to fight it. It seems this didn't go unnoticed either. Yao warmly smiled at me.
"Don't fight it, aru. It's what's best for you, aru." Like I was told, I gave up, and let my eyelids slowly drop closed. "Oyasumi nasai*, Nihon." It was the last thing I heard him say, before he kissed me on the forehead, and I drifted off to sleep.
A/N: Finally some degree of NiChu. HELL YEAH!
(I keep forgetting the translations.. ^^;)
Japanese-
*Yamete- Stop
Kuso- Dammit
Rokudenashi- Bastard
Sudeni damare- Shut up already
Oyasumi nasai- Good night
Oh, and while it's fresh in my mind, I listen to music when I write chapters. I was inspired to write about being a coward when 'A Born Coward' began playing, and when I actually started to write about it, 'Coward Mont Blanc' played. Also, I was talking about 'Megpoid the Music' earlier, and both songs are Gumi/Megpoid songs... O.o I'm scared.
Please don't forget to review, it helps me, motivates me, and really brings a smile to my face. Any constructive criticism, feedback or general ideas for the story are well appreciated.