Summary: While scheming to befriend Itou, Takasugi unwittingly plays a part in breaking his family curse.
Warning: This chp starts out in an angsty mood ( Cuz it's Itou ^^;) But it lightens up after that :)
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Takasugi & Itou
DECAY HEAT CHAPTER 13: BREAKING 2 Part 1
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( A fragment of Itou's dream; early morning, same day )
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Trust...
That's supposed to be a test, too?
A test set by life?
Why didn't anyone tell me that? I'm sure I would have passed with flying colors.
-
An impressive results slip fluttered from the fingertips of the Ten year old Itou-kun as he charged eagerly down the inner corridor toward his brother's room, footfalls thumping loudly on the wooden floor. A moment later, the paper was crushed into a ball and dropped from rigid fingers before rolling a few feet to the closed shoji door. A woman's voice could be heard speaking from within. His mother.
"Why is Kamotaro so healthy while poor Takehisa suffers so much? It's as if he's taken away the happiness of his older brother when he was born. Oh I wish…he'd never been born."
-
Deep in the family garden blossomed a massive forsythia hedge. Its branches were quivering violently. Lowering his head and shielding his face with his arms, Itou-kun was pushing his way toward a hollow space formed between two separate plants. Tiny yellow flowers surrounded him on all sides. He just couldn't go back to his room after the shock, not to all those books; so dead, so cold. The morning mist chilled him to the bone, but it made the leaves look greener and more alive. His cheeks were deathly pale and shimmering wet.
When he awoke an hour later, he found himself covered by a ring of yellow petals, as if an angel had placed the lightest of blankets upon his sleeping body.
Looking up, his eyes widened.
It was beautiful. It was simply one of the most beautiful spring days he had ever seen. The sky shone blue and crystal clear. Sunlight streamed down from the intertwined branches, leaving a maze of shadows nestled upon his skin. Blown by a high breeze, white clouds skated across the sky, curvaceous profiles distinctly forming and dissolving. Stretching his hands into the light, he snapped off a sprig of the golden flowers. Should he bring it to show Takehisa? Sit down by his bed to talk awhile? He always enjoyed that.
No, why should he? His older brother already had so many people fawning upon him it was disgusting.
He stalked toward his brother's room, intent on confronting him.
"Takehisa."
Itou slid the door open an inch. His brother was lying on a white futon and covered by a blue padded kimono as a blanket. His breathing was shallow, as if still weak from last night's fever. But he was awake, and waiting for him.
"Kamotaro…so you've come back."
Takehisa was Fifteen. His voice was deep, calm and oddly soothing. But Itou refused to be swayed.
Come back? You'd wish I hadn't. Itou crouched by his bedside and used the twig to hit his brother on the chest.
"Ouch."
"I hate you, Takehisa, I hate you so much I ought to kill you."
An ironic smile spread across Takehisa's face. Despite becoming reduced by his long-drawn illness to the bodily equivalent of a newly born kitten. It was obvious that he was once an extraordinarily good-looking youth. His almond shaped eyes were long, narrow and beautiful. His gaze was like a pool of clear water; only Takehisa looked at him like that.
"Go ahead and kill me. I don't care about that at all."
"Kisama..." (T/n: Damn you. ) Itou prodded the flowers at his brother's nose. It was a cheap shot, but he couldn't help it. "I heard you talking about me." He accused.
"I heard you too. Your footsteps were so loud I could hear them a mile away. After that, you ran away. Why didn't you come in?"
Itou was outraged. "How could I? After what mother said?"
"Forgive her, Kamotaro. She didn't mean it." Takehisa struggled to lift himself onto his elbows.
Itou tensed up and wanted to lean over to help, but he was angry at his brother's excuses. "That's a lie! Mother hates me, everyone knows that."
The other youth managed to sit up by supporting himself with his left palm and looked at him with intense eyes. "Did you know how I responded to mother? But you were already gone by then, so you never heard what I told her. "
"I said—" Takehisa gripped Itou's arm and squeezed tightly, locking him in eye contact.
"You're my brother." He uttered. "If for any reason someone wants to hurt you, I would give my life to protect you." The heat of his palm seeped across Itou's sleeve, burning the cold surface of his arm."You know I would."
Itou's head started to reel, he flinched away, lower lip trembling, doubt filling his eyes.
Suddenly, his arm was pulled forward with unexpected power. He tumbled into Takehisa's lap and was covered by a bear hug. Itou found his cheeks pressed against his brother's chest, which throbbed faintly with a weak heartbeat. His shirt rustled from his steady breathing, releasing a scent reminiscent of the dojo built from pinewood, on the summer afternoons when Takehisa used to train with him, before he was taken away from him. In a daze, Itou closed his eyes, feeling the overwhelming pull of sleep.
"If for any reason I'm sick because you are healthy," Takehisa's deep voice rumbled from above his head and in front of his face, "Then I'm willing to be sick, as long as you can stay healthy."
Itou shivered, feeling the walls dissolving between them, yet not trusting that he wouldn't be hurt in return.
"Because I'm your brother, I'm supposed to protect you."
"I wish I can protect you forever."
-
Itou's face turned white, he opened his eyes and woke up coughing. He was back in his dorm room. Sitting up, he buried his face in his hands and his shoulders started shaking. A dream. It could only be a dream because Takehisa had passed away a year ago, while he was away in the country, before they ever had such a talk.
But this wasn't an ordinary dream, it was too real for that. It was dream that spoke his true feelings. And when that happened, he had been healed. "I understand, Takehisa."He clutched his hand into a fist.
I feel whole again.
When this dream becomes reality,
My family curse will be broken.
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( Later in the evening, shortly before Six pm )
Itou's shots were unfailingly accurate. He not only knocked down the box of sweets using only one or two rounds from the air rifle, but each hit gave off a satisfying boom, proving that he had hit the sweet spot.
The target room of the shooting gallery was Two meters long and mirrored on both sides. At the back was a red curtain and three shelves laden with prizes. A scroll of rules hung beside the gun counter.
Shoot down the box of sweets with 4 bullets, get 25 cents
Shoot down the fancy dolls with 3 bullets, get 20 cents
Shoot down the regular dolls with 5 bullets, get 10 cents
Shoot down the ceramic cat on the top shelf, with 3 bullets, get 18 cents and a box of sweets
…& more combos, etc.
Almost everyone plays for the box of sweets on the top shelf, almost no one tries for the dolls or cats, or sweets on paper strips. On the contrary, Itou tries for whatever prize that strikes his fancy. But strangely enough, he never took anything home.
This evening though, he was feeling a little irritated by his companions at the shooting gallery. The two boys were atrocious amateurs and made an insane racket, laughing and shouting whether they hit anything or not. How did they even communicate at all? Itou wondered. He couldn't overhear a single scrap of intelligible conversation yet they were obviously great friends. That notion dampened his spirits. Here he was, surrounded by humans, yet totally alone. There at school, he worked and worked yet no one recognized his true abilities. In his evenings, he wined and dined with all kinds of people, yet no one understood him.
Life's a --
"How come you shoot and shoot, but never get any of the presents?" Asked a boy standing beside him.
--bitch...?! Itou suddenly tensed up and placed his gun down on the counter. His mouth fell open and his eyebrows knitted painfully upwards, shocking Takasugi-kun into wishing he never spoke. But it was only for a split-second, and Itou was back to his usual cool, aloof self.
"Why, Itou-kun is our resident sharpshooter." The old lady at the counter interrupted with a laugh. "If we had to give out a box of sweets each time Itou-kun hits them, we'd go broke. So I let him play without paying the entry fee; he just pays Two cents per round. My, I think he even won a contest by the riverbank. Didn't you, Itou-kun?" She seemed inordinately proud of him, although one would think that the better the marksman he was, the worse it was for her business.
Itou-kun looked embarrassed and adjusted his glasses with his index finger. "I've been coming here for three years already. Maybe I should stop."
For a patron of three years, he speaks with a complete lack of sentimentality, Takasugi-kun thought. Is he really so cold? He felt his interest grow. "Wow! I knew you were good, but I never knew you were that good!" He chimed, then smiled brightly at the stall owner.
"Isn't that so?"
"He sure is!"
"In that case, do you mind if I ask you a question?" Takasugi pretended to look helpless. "I always hit the target a little too much to the left but I can't seem to correct myself." Actually, he hated people telling him what to do, Shouyou-sensei being the only exception. But in this case it was simply a tactic to draw the other person closer to him.
"Oh, alright." Itou picked up his own rifle to demonstrate. "Yeah, I already noticed your problem, a lot of beginners make that mistake. Your shoulders here aren't steady, see, and your arms are awkward too. And then you flinched when you squeezed the trigger. Are you upset by the sound?"
Takasugi-kun flushed red, sweat dropping. "Ah…really. Ah…no…"
"But your friend seems to be doing very well. HEY, YOU!" Itou pointed at Bansai and gave him a thumbs up. "Sugoi!" (T/N: Awesome!)
Bansai had stopped playing and was digging curiously through at the mountain of exotic sweets he had won. He returned Itou's gesture with a cool nod and smirked. Pleased, he popped something into his mouth and bit down. A shadow suddenly creased his forehead and he turned greenish-white. He blanched, slapped his hands over his mouth, and ran off.
"What's wrong?!" cried the old lady, anxiously rushing out to examine the sweets, "But I got them fresh from the bakery!"
"Uh…I don't think it's the sweets, maybe he just doesn't like them."
"Doesn't like them?! But why wouldn't he?"
Takasugi waved his hand dismissively, "Oh, I wouldn't worry about it." He giggled. "On the other hand, I like them. Yum! Here," he took the liberty of holding one out for Itou, "Let's help him finish it."
Itou chuckled. "Sweets are silly."
"What?"
"Sweets are for kids." He added snidely.
Instead of getting irritated, Takasugi laughed, thinking of Gintoki. He ought to bring a box home to the boarding house. Imagining Gintoki's rusty-red eyes widening and the silly blush he gets when he sees the sweets would be worth it. He chuckled.
"Silly can be cute. Shooting games are for kids too, so doesn't that make you a kid, too?"
"Itou-kun is my favourite." The old lady smiled indulgently again.
"She's very fond of you," Takasugi-kun noted.
"Ah. So it seems." Itou pretended to look flattered. "Thank you, ma'am." He said politely, but Takasugi couldn't sense any real affection in his tone.
"Why are you here anyway? I would never have expected someone from your school to be hanging out in a spot like this."
"Oh…just killing time." Itou replied, touching the crest of his kimono a little self-consciously. But there was a calculated reason why he wore his college student outfit of dark grey kimono and black hakama. ( T/N: divided skirt ) They attracted girls (sometimes guys) to him like bees to honey….But of course this wasn't something he would mention in conversation with children. Ahem.
"The Bakufu Military Academy. The most elite school in our country." Takasugi-kun said with a gleam of genuine admiration. At this point in time, rebellion was the farthest thing from the future terrorist's mind. He was willing to play the game to reform the country from within. "You're lucky to be an officer cadet of the Bakufu. I'm interested in the army too, but with my background, I'll never be accepted."
"Unfortunately, yes." Itou agreed.
There was a hint of regret in his tone which was not lost on Takasugi-kun. "Why unfortunate?"
"Because the Bakufu would be better off recruiting men of talent into their ranks. But, they lack the ability to do so."
"Why?"
"Because they lack the talent?" Itou grinned.
Takasugi laughed."Well, I don't think I have a single talent, but I'm willing to do anything to help my country."
"Hey hey, aren't you the regular patriot?"
"You mean you're not?!" Takasugi looked offended.
Itou shrugged. "I don't call the shots. I'm only called upon to give advice when needed. If I'm needed, that is."
"Of course you're needed. Don't you feel your country's fate is important to you?"
"No. Not really."
"Really?" Takasugi was intrigued. His voice softened. "Then...what's important to you?"
Itou wavered a little. What's important to me? Brothers. Bonds. But he failed to bond with anyone. He quickly changed the subject to divert attention away from the truth. "You see…I'm an advisor, I don't take sides. I merely help my clients see their options. I hold up a lantern for them to see the way, but it's up to them to choose where to go."
"And...that's important to you?"
"It's very important." Itou nodded gravely. "It a very important task. You'd be amazed at the difference an advisor makes to any situation. You can't imagine how many respectable samurai turn into raging zealots once they've poured a couple of cups of sake down their throats. They just lose it! If someone's not from the same clan or class as them, they start yelling, arguing and even physical violence." Itou held up both palms with an apologetic smile as if to soothe the ruffled feathers of two quarreling parties. "They just don't get it. You can't just sweep an issue under the carpet and hopes it goes away. You can't just challenge them to a duel to settle it. You can't just chop off a few heads and say the problem is solved. No, because behind every conflict is a viper's nest of issues. And each one of those things have to be named and tagged before we can even get anywhere. Now I know some of my associates think that I am being overly analytical, but I know this much from personal experience. If I can only get each person from each side of the conflict to agree an issue even exists, then I'm covered for the night. There won't be a fight breaking out in my room."
"Your room?" Takasugi, although fascinated by Itou's long rant, couldn't help interrupting.
"My room at the Sakuranya. Well it's not exactly my room but if clients ask for my support I usually suggest that we meet at the Sakuranya. Then I go from room to room, meeting people, explaining things to them, almost like a geisha! A male geisha, if you will, hehehe!" Itou laughed by himself. Takasugi looked surprised.
"Um, alright...You're a male geisha, you say…?"
"Nooo! Of course not! It's a joke."
"Oh…ah." Takasugi could care less what Itou chose to call himself. But did this mean he was his ticket into the Sakuranya? The old hope flared up again."I should like to see the inside of the Sakuranya… " he thought, if only to show Katsura-kun. But he decided he couldn't rush it. First of all, he had to get Itou on his side, and he was an interesting person in his own right.
"By the way, my name is Takasugi Shinsuke, what's yours?"
"Itou Kamotaro."
They bowed;Takasugi schemed. He wanted to form a relationship with Itou, but what could an ordinary student like him possibly offer to an elite cadet like Itou? Hmmm…? He had no idea. But everyone has his strengths and weaknesses. He just needs to find out Itou's weakest point...
To be continued...
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How was this? I hope you'd leave a comment to let me know, thanks! :)
