/= "Autum Leaves Dancing in the Heaven Far" by HetaOni =/
He really had to learn how to show restraint.
Rizal dusted off his hands as he finally let Yong Soo go from the beating he clearly deserved. He thought that he would at least have some form of decency when it came to women, though he figured that he already learned his lesson (if not, Charice knew who to call). He decided to return to class, knowing that he already strayed too far from the room.
YoU cAnNoT rUn FrOm YoUr FaTe…
He turned his head in confusion.
"Hello?"
There was no response, alerting him to grab his yo-yo and head toward the sound. Rizal quietly peeked around the corner and saw nothing there, only the sunlight dripping in through the window panes. He sighed before heading back to class. For all he knew, it was Gilbert pulling something on him.
/=+=/
RuNiNg WiLl GeT yOu NoWhErE.
Rizal rubbed the back of his head as he headed into the hallway, seriously wondering where the heck that voice was coming from. He decided that it was nothing and continued down the hallway, wondering if this school was possessed or something. Seeing as how one of the members is Arthur, he wouldn't put that choice away from him…
"Great, I'm going insane. That's just what I needed."
He turned a corner, and saw with surprise that there were a few doors that were Japanese oriented (maybe Kiku had something to do with it). He could barely hear someone inside one of the rooms, and for some reason he couldn't remember whose voice it was. Of course, logic calls to say that it had to be Kiku…
LoGic? HaSn'T lOgIc FaIlEd YoU aLrEaDy?
[Failed me? What is this thing talking about?]
yOu KnOw WhAt I'm TaLkInG aBoUt.
Rizal froze. This voice was reading his mind.
I kNoW eVeRyThInG tHaT yOu ThInK aNd BeLiEvE.
[Please. I know you…spirit or whatever. You can't possibly know everything.]
oH, i KnOw.
Rizal looked up in confusion and saw that there was a figure standing in front of one of the doors. He wasn't there before, and due to the lack of a shadow he isn't really there. The Filipino quietly stepped forward and froze as the figure turned and stared at him in faint surprise. It was Ludwig.
I tOlD yOu. I aLrEaDy KnOw EvErYtHiNg.
[You know nothing about me.]
oH? tHeN wHo Is He To YoU?
[He is just a friend of mine.]
dO nOt LiE tO mE.
[Or what? What can you possibly do to me?]
i CaN dO mAnY tHiNgS tO yOu.
[Like what, haunt me? I can get Arthur to get rid of you in a flash.]
YoU wAnT a TaStE oF mY pOwEr…DoN't YoU?
[What do you mean?]
OpEn YoUr EyEs.
[My eyes are o-]
Rizal blinked, and he found himself in one of the rooms, staring at the front of an internal shrine. His hands felt wet when he rubbed his fingers together, and he looked down in confusion, freezing. It was red with blood. He darted his head around and saw a body lying down on the ground, his neck cut open.
"…Kiku…"
YoU dId ThIs.
"No I didn't."
YoU dId ThIs.
"No I didn't…"
YoU'rE hApPy AbOuT tHiS. tHiS iS aLl ThIs BaStArD dEsErVeD.
"…he…he slaughtered my people…"
yOuR aNgEr NeEdS tO bE fReEd. LeT iT gO.
He held the blade firmly in his fingertips…and took a deep breath.
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The fact that he had that moment terrified the young boy. What made everything even weirder was the fact that Kiku showed up for class a few hours later, not even lightly worried about anything. He didn't even turn to look at the murderer in the eye, almost as if he was judging him…or it never happened.
[I never killed Kiku…that never happened…I must've…I must've had a moment or something. Yeah, that's a good thought.] Rizal nodded. [It's just a daydream I had, nothing real. Huh…never thought I would have such a fucked up mind. But growing up with sadists, I guess I'm not that surprised.]
With that, he was at ease.
/=+=/
Arthur never asked for help. It just wasn't in his nature…or blood…or pride, or something. Whatever it was, he needed help and had asked Rizal for it. The Filipino had to admit that everything sounded a little sketchy from the get-go, but he gave up trying to think about it as he waited at the edges of the lake for him to arrive. Maybe he'll be able to help him with the creepy voice that's stalking him.
i'M nOt StAlKiNg YoU. i Am YoU.
[Which part of me, then? Identify yourself, if you're not scared of me.]
i Am ThE tRuE yOu…ThE oNe YoU oH sO dIlIgEnTlY tUcKeD aWaY.
[Bloodlust…] Of course…he hadn't gotten into a war anytime soon. His commanders always knew him as the man that loved the smell of blood. [That was the old me.]
tHeRe Is No SuCh ThInG aS oLd AnD nEw, RiZaL. tHeRe Is OnLy OnE oF yOu.
[And that "one" me is not a psychopath or a serial killer. Now stop giving me bad daydreams before I have to deal with you personally.]
Oh? HoW wOuLd YoU dO tHaT?
[My friend is a mage skilled in the black arts. I can get him to send whoever the hell you are to the depths of hell, old me or not.]
yOuR fRiEnD? yOu MeAn ThE oNe YoU jUsT kILlEd?
Rizal lifted his hand in accusation before he realized that his fingers were covered with blood, all over again. He blinked in shock before turning his head down and seeing that Arthur was there, bloody and lifeless beside him. He nearly screamed and backed away at the massacre that was next to him.
YoU'rE mInE nOw.
He didn't even bother to listen to him. Before he knew it, he had thrown the body into the river, unable to look at him directly. These deaths were starting to become more and more violent, more and more real. This had to be another dream…of course this has to be a dream…hopefully, he gets to see him later.
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"Hey, Rizal."
All he had to do was take a deep sigh of relief, turning his head around to see Arthur standing behind him with a rather peeved look on his face, wearing his costume for the upcoming musical (which, to tell you the truth, made him look adorable). Rizal turned around and smiled.
"You look nice."
"Don't flatter me, Rizal."
"Why? Alfred telling you that too many times?"
"Will you-? Besides, what happened back there?"
He froze.
"You didn't meet me at the park!"
Oh. Right. Thank god it wasn't real. "Something came up, so I had to take it…you make it sound like I stood up you up on a date or something."
"We are not dating! I just happened to have a boyfriend!"
"When? A few seconds ago?"
Arthur started stammering for a few minutes before saying something illegible and stomping away. Rizal blinked for a few minutes before turning his head around and seeing Ludwig talking to Li Xiao and Ion about a few things he wanted to work on in the show. He looked rather nice in his outfit…brave…masculine…of course, it's not like he wanted him that much or anything.
ThAt'S rIgHt. SiNk DeEpEr InTo YoUr SoRrOwS.
[Shut it. You're throwing illusions at me. No big deal.]
WhAt MaKeS yOu ThInK tHaT yOu'Re JuSt DrEaMiNg?
[You show me killing someone. I meet up with them a few hours later, not even aware of what happened. I know what you're trying to do: making me think that I'm going insane. It's not going to work. I'm no longer under your spell, bastard.]
WhAt If YoU'rE jUsT dReAmInG tHiS mOmEnT?
Rizal wondered what he meant before he blinked. Instantly, he was in his room, covered with sweat and shadows. He darted up, looking around in confusion. The time on his clock read 3:27 AM. He looked outside the window in confusion. Just a few seconds ago, he was in the lobby…this had to be a dream…
"…the sheets are real…" He looked down. "What the hell are you planning?"
i Do NoT pLaN. i AlReAdY wOn.
/=+=/
"Oi, Rizal! What brings you to the lovely little creek down the river?"
"I walk when I'm bored, Gilbert. That's more than I can say about you."
The albino Prussian can only cackle with laughter as Rizal stood there wondering just how in the world this man could be related to Ludwig in any way. Then again, it wasn't as if they were TOTALLY related with their older counterparts. He certainly wasn't related to Antonio even though he took them over.
"Don't you have plans or something?"
"Please. Someone as awesome as me gets plans thrown on me!" Gilbert waved his hands around. "We have that rehearsal later, though."
Rehearsals. Right. That means that he can go ahead and see Ludwig again. Well, not really. They are friends, after all. He folded his hands and muttered to himself, wondering if all this suffering was even worth it. He only had a crush on Ludwig because he was muscular and good-looking. Don't they all love him because of that? Geez, how shallow could he get? He really needed to get over it.
"Hey, Rizal. You worried about something?"
"Eh?" He looked at him. "No…well, maybe about a few projects, but nothing too major. Why?"
"No? Because it looked like yOu WeRe A lItTlE tEnSe ThErE."
He froze.
"I'm…I'm not tense."
"nO? dOn'T lIe To Me. yOu'Ve BeEn TeNsE tHiS eNtIrE tImE. yOu'Re HiDiNg SoMeThInG, aReN't YoU?"
"I'm not hiding anything!"
"KeSeSeSeSe! I kNoW yOu'Re HiDiNg SoMeThInG! wAs It WhEn YoU kIlLeD kIkU iN cOlD bLoOd? Or WhEn ArThUr dIeD wItH yOuR hAnDs ArOuNd HiS nEcK?"
"What the hell are you talking about? Those things never happened!"
"tHeY hApPeNeD! i WaS tHeRe, YoU kNoW!"
That was it. He was clearly going crazy. Gilbert was saying something so demented that there was no way that he could say these things, even if he was a nutjob in the first place. Hell, he was probably wondering what the hell Rizal was going on about. He had to clear his name before he goes nuts.
"I-I'm going crazy, Gilbert. I'm hearing voices."
"vOiCeS? i'M oFfEnDeD tHaT yOu WoUlD pUsH yOuR tRuE sElF sO lOw!"
"I've been hearing them this entire time…I don't know what's going on, but leave. Before I do something…"
BeFoRe? YoU aLrEaDy DiD.
Rizal blinked in confusion before he realized that he was in the woods, his fingers covered with blood and holding onto a nearby tree. He looked up in confusion and nearly screamed at what was there: writing. Before he could say anything, he heard voices coming up from behind him. He quickly turned around and ran, not once looking back.
/=+=/
The voice never came back, which was good enough. Rizal couldn't help but worry when he didn't see Gilbert during the rehearsal, but when he wandered into his dormitory and saw him royally plastered with his other friends, he couldn't help but sigh. He was going insane for no reason, and the last time he thought about getting help, he killed him too. Somewhat.
That day, he decided that he wasn't going to worry about it that much. It was going to be a normal day as always. His psychotic moment has finally left him, and he can just go back to being an ordinary student at a rather nutcasey school.
Speaking of nutcasey, wasn't that Francis escorting Charice?
The look on his face was more than enough for Francis to know that this was the farthest that he was going to escort her. He blew her a kiss (which she cringed at) and walked away, as she finally went to join him.
"…Francis didn't touch you?"
"No, not really. It's shocking, really."
He knew that was an understatement, but it was nothing that he could really take into account. As he and his sister continued to walk down the hallway, they saw Ludwig walking toward them, clearly tired. Before he knew it, he was escorting Ludwig back to the dormitory. Him. Alone. With Ludwig. That alone made his head burn.
"You really should be sleeping more, Ludwig." He mentioned as casually as he could. "The last thing you need to do is collapse on something."
"I'm sorry…I just have so much to do, no time to rest…"
"Seriously, now? Work over personal being? Even I think that is nuts."
yOu'Re OnE tO tAlK. iNsAnItY iS aLl YoU aRe.
Rizal cringed. The last thing he needed was for that psychotic voice to come back. Oddly enough, the voice was quieted down, like it was muffled. Like the presence of Ludwig himself was the one that was keeping the voices away. He was glad that he was here then…just to get them all away.
I cAn GeT hIm AwAy FrOm YoU.
[I'm not leaving him, you jackass.]
yOu HaVe No ChOiCe.
Before he knew it, he heard a scream that snapped him back to reality. Rizal's eyes blinked, and he saw with shock that Ludwig was on the ground, a knife dug deep into his stomach and his hands still holding onto it. The Filipino's eyes widened to the point where his fingers quickly pried themselves off and he threw himself back.
"W-what…what the hell happened?"
YoU kIlLeD hIm, Of CoUrSe.
"No…I couldn't have done this…YOU did this! Not me!"
"R-Rizal…"
"…oh my god…" Ludwig was still alive? Seriously? "I didn't do this, I swear!"
He WaS uNhEaLtHy, RiZaL. hE mUsT bE eLiMiNaTeD.
"I don't give a fuck what you're telling me anymore! Don't you dare hurt him anymore! I WON'T LET YOU HURT HIM!"
sO nAiVe, RiZaL. yOu HaVe No ChOiCe.
"Why not? Ludwig is in my reality, you fuck!"
BeCaUsE i'M yOu…AnD i AlReAdY wOn.
Five seconds later, he found himself in front of another murdered body. Rizal paused for a minute before realizing with horror that it was Feliciano, eyes wide open and looking like he had been killed right in the middle of a scream. Something was wet and squishy in his hands, and his mouth felt full, and he turned his head to his hand…and screamed.
YeS…yOu LiKe ThE tAsTe Of A mAn'S hEaRt In LoVe, RiGhT?
"You made me eat his heart! What kind of sick fuck-?"
tHaT iS oNlY tHe FiRsT oF mAnY.
"What are you…?"
i Am YoU…yOu ArE a FaIlUrE.
aNd I aM fReE.
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"I…I understand now, Rizal…if only a little bit…"
All Ludwig had to do was open his eyes, and the nightmare was over for him.