Disclaimer: I own nothing in this Fanfiction.
Chapter I: Unbound
It was certainly a very fast sequence of events from Akiha Tohno's perspective. Her brother came back home after a long time living with some relatives, then he started acting abnormally and escaping at night. It got even worse when he began to sustain wounds on those nights he did not spend at the mansion. And on one of those rebellious escapes, he got dragged back home unconscious by a strange blue haired nun who simply disappeared without saying a word except 'Sorry'. Definitely not just a random nun, that much was for certain. Shiki, then proceeded to stay in a death-like state until a woman they never saw or heard of before came to their doorstep, informed them she must take him with her or the world will end, then proceeded to poof him back to life like it was the most natural thing to do.
Well, it would be a lie to say Akiha wasn't hot-tempered. But what else could she do? She should have expected her brother would get himself associated with some crazy folks. It's her brother after all, the boy who died for her and lived because of her... For a while at least.
Strangely, while he was unconscious, she noticed that her life force was not shared with him anymore. At first, she was worried that the worst had happened or that the connection was cut off, but reconsidered when she was blown away by a new source of energy within him when she tried to share her life force with him again. She realized that Shiki, somehow, got back his own life force and no longer needed hers to stay alive.
Now. He stood face-to-face with her, bidding her goodbye and promising to come back as soon as he could while the idiot has no idea where he was going or to do what, also having packed nothing to take with him except his knife and glasses. Everytime she thinks she saw his worst, he proves her wrong.
"You're the worst, Nee-san. You're literally the worst!" She screamed at his face, making him cower behind Aoko who just stood there with a smug expression.
"Come on, Akiha... I have to do this!" Fired back Shiki from his safe spot behind his Teacher, "I-If I don't go... There's no telling what may happen! Tell her Kohaku-san!"
Shaking her head, Kohaku let a devious smile draw across her face, "Shiki-san must take responsibility for his choices." she claimed, "Even if that means receiving Akiha-sama's wrath."
"Not you too, Kohaku-san..." Shiki disappointedly sighed, turning his gaze towards Hisui, "Then! Surely, Hisui-chan unders— URP"
Shiki's words remained incomplete as he noticed Hisui's presence expand hundreds of times. It was a bone-shivering scene, for a second he could've sworn that that he saw an avatar of her furious face engulf the entire room, "It's good that Shiki-san knew better than to ask me to support him." she whispered mechanically, "Especially with the amount of trouble he caused me while he was in the dreamland." Hisui cracked a hollow smile which terrified shiki even more as she spoke.
"HA! HA! HA!" A made-up laughter took ever the room to capture everyone's attention towards the redhead in the room, "I'm sure everyone here would like to take a piece from this idiot behind me, but! A deal is a deal, I will be taking him with me now. So, say your goodbyes, Shiki!" Turning around, Aozaki Aoko addressed the black haired teenager behind her. In response, Shiki Tohno obeyed, moving to face the three girls, and to everyone's surprise, he fell into a Dogeza on the floor, "Everyone... I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble and worry... I've been nothing but a liability since I came back... But I promise, I will make it up to everyone when I get back... I know it's not in my place to ask but... Just give me a little more time!"
Silence took over the room, no one knew how to react until Akiha intervened; "Sigh... I guess you'll never learn..." she said, coming closer towards him and placing a hand over his back. It prompted him to rise up and sit on his legs as she continued, "There's nothing I can say to express what I want to express at the moment, but what I can say is... You're always welcome here, Shiki. This is your home."
Wrapping her arms around his shoulder, she pulled him into a goodbye hug, "Don't worry about such trivial things, what you should worry about is coming back to us as soon as possible." she whispered as she tried her best to prevent her voice from cracking and her eyes from crying.
Shiki hugged her back with a bitter smile drawn across his face. He hummed positively, "Yes. I promise I'll be back... I'll be back as soon as possible."
.
Moments passed and with the brother and sister separated. Shiki went to his room one final time. He had one last loose end to take care of. On the shelf, hung the blue ribbon, it sat there for almost two months as the circumstances did not present themselves suitable, and honestly? He felt relieved that he did not return the ribbon, because he would've gave it to the wrong person anyways.
Shiki took the ribbon in his hands, inspecting it. An image of the girl looking from that window towards the courtyard made echoes in his mind, echoes which reflected upon the memories he newly unlocked.
« When I was a little boy playing in the garden with my sister and a pink haired girl, I used to see another girl watching over us from a window. I used to see her around the house sometimes too but we never had a chance to talk. When I was told I was going to live elsewhere because of my illness, the little girl came to me and gave me this ribbon. "Promise me." She said, "Promise me to return this ribbon to me when you come back." And I agreed... But when I came back, had I not been so busy with the insanity that happened lately, I would've gave the ribbon to Hisui. But... Hisui was not the one who gave it to me.
She was Kohaku-san. When I was in that... empty place... That void... I saw many things that my other self saw and did. And one such memory was a summer evening, I saw her go into a room and my curiosity made me follow her in. It was really surprising to me when I found both the pink haired girls in there. They did not seem to notice me standing in the doorway as they conversed, one was arguing with ferocity while the other calmly deflected her arguments back at her. "You're not yourself anymore Nee-sama... I don't want him to rob you of yourself! There's no way I would just continue my life normally while he does those horrible things to you!" The ferocious girl fired out of the bottom of her heart, tears in her eyes and desperation on her face. The other girl however, simply hushed her, "They will hear us if you raise your voice." she said with an empty expression, "Besides, there is nothing we can do. It's pointless to be upset, Hisui-chan."
The energetic girl staggered visibly upon hearing her sister's words. She did not know how to react at first, but then, I noticed her hand tightening into a fist as if she was gathering courage. The young Hisui stepped forward and took her sister's hand, "Let's switch places!" She told her as if she had just swallowed a rock, "I won't... I won't sit by idly as they take you away from me... Not you too..."
The expressionless Kohaku finally showed human emotion on her face, as one tear formed on her right eyelid, "No! I won't let you see what I saw... Feel what I felt... Never... But... BUT!" She collapsed while trying to retaliate, her voice cracked and tears started to flow down her cheeks. Hisui immediately crouched down next to her and placed her hands on her shoulders.
At this point, a servant in the mansion started opening the door, I heard the footsteps approaching so I simply pretended to be about to leave. I cannot remember whether they were a man or a woman but they were looking for me specifically. That's why when they found me, they did not bother to check the rest of the room.
It is rather apparent now, they did exchange places. Hisui became the cold, expressionless twin, while Kohaku took on Hisui's energetic role perfectly. All because of Makihisa. The old man is six foot under now, but his actions left marks on those two girls as well as everyone else in this family that probably will never stop haunting us. »
Shiki held the ribbon tightly for a bit, then gave his room one last look; he hadn't accumulated many memories in this place but he was going to miss it regardless. His eyes went over the old wooden desk, the bedside cupboards and the bed, then the wardrobe before simply withdrawing from the room, shutting the door behind him.
.
.
Shiki went to the room where he used to visit to watch Television, Kohaku's room. Two soft knocks on the door were heard, "Kohaku-san, are you in there?" he called out simultaneously.
"Yes! I'll be there right away!" The cheerful voice came from the other side shortly, followed by footsteps and the sound of a door opening, "Shiki-san! How nice of you to visit me again before leaving!" The maid who was no longer wearing a maid's outfit exclaimed happily, "Is there something I can do to help? Perhaps you want to watch TV again?"
Shiki smiled at the display of energy, "No... Nothing of the sort actually, Kohaku-san. Do you mind if I come in?" he assured and requested, "I only have half an hour left in this house. I already talked to Akiha and well... I don't think Hisui would want to see me again so soon."
Kohaku's expression visibly changed from her usual bright smile to one of clear surprise and hesitation, "Of course, get in." she said allowing him inside her room.
"So..." Kohaku chirped nervously, placing two hands together as if clapping, "Is there something wrong?"
Shiki sat on a chair he used to sit in whenever he visited as Kohaku made herself comfortable on the bed, "It has been a long time, hasn't it?" he said, cracking a vacuous smile.
"Whatever you mean?" Kohaku inquired with a raised eyebrow. Shiki finally revealed the blue ribbon he has concealed inside his jacket upon hearing her question, which made her immediately stagger in shock.
"I believe you gifted me this ribbon before I left the mansion, right?" he continued with a bitter expression on his face, "You made me promise to return it, and here I am fulfilling my promise."
Kohaku's face slowly lit up in happiness, her eyes suddenly overwhelmed with tears, "You... You remember?" she whispered with a cracking voice, "How... How do you remember when he..."
Shiki extended his hand with the ribbon to her, "Long story." he said, "Now it is my turn to make you promise."
Kohaku did not know how to react to these news, she simply stared at his hand without knowing whether she was happy or sad, "But... But you're not supposed to... I'm not supposed to have this... It's no longer me..."
The black haired teenager expected this reaction, but did not really plan for a response. Instead, he just took her hand and place the ribbon on her palm. "I don't care." he said straightforwardly, "You started this, you'll have to play along. There's no backing down now, Kohaku-san!"
The girl held unto his hand tightly with one hand as she used a handkerchief to wipe her tears with the other, "Please... Don't make me do this... It's not fair... Not after all of this... This... humiliation, I'm already too far gone... I can't be that girl again... Everything... You know of me... is fake... I... I..." she tried to argue back, spitting half sentences and begging words which, really, changed nothing in Shiki's mind.
"Then... don't?" he replied with a puzzled, almost mocking voice, "You don't have to do anything. No one is forcing you to do anything anymore, you're free to do whatever you want."
Kohaku suddenly froze, both physically and mentally. She had many desires, some of them were nasty, others were pure, but which of them were hers truly? Which of them was what Kohaku really wanted?
"Maybe it's not in my place to say anything, perhaps it makes no sense from your prospective. But I want to ask you; who are you really?" Shiki continued with a somewhat annoyed voice tone, "To me, Kohaku-san is the cheerful maid who works in the Tohno mansion as the personal maid of the head of the household, that's the you who I came to know since I arrived, and whether it was made up or honest did not make a difference to me because I thought it suited you. Why does it have to be fake? Who decides that? Don't you want to be that Kohaku-san?"
The girl's mind was racing but her thoughts were in shambles, and the questions which Shiki posed her pierced through her like knives. However, when she heard that last question; "Don't you want to be THAT Kohaku-san?" the first answer came out directly from the bottom of her heart, and then the answers started overwhelming the questions one by one;
« Yes I want to be that Kohaku. »
« I want to be here in this mansion with Hisui-chan and Akiha-sama as well as Shiki-san everyday. »
« I want to cook for them delicious meals so that they praise my cooking all the time »
« I want to help Hisui-chan with her insecurities and help her surpass them »
« I want to see her smile again! »
« I want to travel to where Shiki-san used to live and plant a sunflower field. »
« I want to live and be happy so that I can spit on that bastard Makihisa's grave and tell him that he failed to break me. »
That... That was what she wanted, that defined who she was. She was Kohaku Fujou, older twin sister of Hisui Fujou and servant to the headmaster of the Tohno household. And she had only realized it then and there.
Shiki noticed her silence, and was about to speak, but... "I am Kohaku Fujou." her lips whispered with newfound determination, "I want to live as Kohaku Fujou, but I cannot do it without you, Shiki-san. That's why... That's why I will promise... I will promise to wait for your return." she tightened her grip around the ribbon and smiled, but it was different that time... Shiki saw it, it was real.
He lifted a hand to the back of his head and smiled back, slightly red, "Now that's what I'm talking about!" he chimed along somewhat embarrassed, "Now then, I should be heading out. Tell Hisui I'm sorry... For everything."
Kohaku nodded positively and then stood up when Shiki did to escort him to the door. "Take care, Shiki-san. I— Uh... We... will miss you." she said with a hint of red flushing her cheeks mid sentence, a sight which he did not get to see because he was facing away. "I will! Don't worry!" he waved at her as he quickly as he scurried across the hallway towards the stairs.
.
"Now that was not my plan! Hopefully I wasn't rude about it..." he muttered to himself as he reached the bottom of the starway.
"Shiki-san is always rude one way or the other." a voice came from right next to him unexpectedly. So unexpectedly it almost made him tumble down the four remaining steps.
Hisui's small figure revealed itself from behind the decorative end of the stairs' handrail, "Do not worry, Shiki-sama. I do not bite." she said mechanically, placing down the broom she was holding and bowing in respect.
"Ahhh, Hisui-chan... Sorry I did not see you behind there..." he replied absolutely stricken by his horrible luck.
"And body-shaming too, Shiki-sama's rudeness knows no bounds." the maid fired back calmly, staring the black haired teenager in the face with all the emotion of a solid rock.
"No! I didn't mean it in that way I swear!" replied Shiki screaming for dear life, "I would never say anything bad about you or your body—"
"I was only joking." Hisui interrupted, "Shiki-san must learn how to take a joke better."
This stopped him dead in his tracks. Shiki stood in place for a solid thirty seconds simply staring at the maid who also just stared back silently.
"Um... Hisui... Are you angry at me?" he finally asked.
"Why would I?" She immediately replied.
Shiki sighed in relief, but it was very short-lived... Hisui raised a hand and started using her fingers to count, "I mean, other than not abiding Akiha-sama's rules, putting me in trouble because of your continuous escapes at night, not making your bed or organizing your clothes, and not to mention having almost died—"
"Okay, Okay! I understand! I'm honestly really sorry for every problem I caused you, and I wanted to tell you that I really appreciate you and what you did for me when I was unconscious. I will forever be in your debt." Shiki finally let it all out interrupting the maid.
The diamond-eyed maid stared at him even longer, then raised a hand to her chin as if pondering something, "Apology not accepted." she said straightforwardly without a shred of hesitation.
"W— WHY?!" Shiki immediately fired back. Absolutely losing it, he could not have thought of a better choice of words for an apology if he tried.
"Three reasons." Hisui replied making a gesture with her hand that indicated the number three, "First, I never said I was mad at you. Second, I was only doing my job whenever I took care of you while you were still conscious. Third is that I never did anything to you while you were unconscious, Akiha-sama herself ordered me not to touch you except to take your vitals."
Shiki took a moment to process what he was told, then he started scratching his hair in confusion, "Then why are you giving me attitude if you're not upset?" he naturally asked.
"Because Shiki-sama is an idiot, respectively." she again stated without flinching at all, "And I find his confusion rather amusing."
Shiki's head immediately dropped down, he felt absolutely outplayed. "Alright, I've been defeated, white flag and all." he said trying to keep a shred of face. "I'll still thank you though, you are great company, and a great maid too."
"Tch." Hisui hissed to herself, "Fine, but you must hurry back from your honeymoon. Or else I may get unemployed by Akiha-sama."
Shiki laughed it off, there was no way she actually thought he was going on a honeymoon, right? "I'll try my best to get back as soon as possible, I'll be counting on you as the sanest one of the three, please keep them in check."
She then simply bowed and gave him a small wave as he stumbled towards the exit with whatever remained of his dignity.
.
.
« She is standing out like a sore thumb! » Or so thought Shiki when he saw his teacher sitting on the bench next to the bus stop. It was right down the road from their mansion, so it didn't take him that long to find her. Aoko screamed out an exaggerated "YAHOOO!" and started energetically waving at the first sight of the teenager. It was midday, and even though the residential area was not that crowded, the redhead still managed to attract the attention of a couple of passersby. The teenager immediately ran over towards her, "What do you think you're doing?!" he asked, clearly irritated.
"Eh? What do you mean?" the magician inquired right back with an innocent expression, "I was just calling out for you to notice me."
Shiki's head visibly dropped in disappointment, "Sensei... You're literally the only person in the bus station." he remarked, "Besides, I could notice you if you stood in a crowd."
Aoko blinked once, then twice before she looked around in panic."Woah! I could've sworn there were people here just a second ago! My bad... Hahaha!" the magician replied apologetically before breaking into a soft laughter, she then raised her hands, forming a fist with one and slapping it on top of the other's palm, "But now since you're here... It is time for us to get going!" playfully, she announced.
This easy-going attitude made Shiki wonder if he made a mistake by believing what she said, "Where are we going anyway?" he asked naturally.
Aoko assumed a more serious expression all of a sudden, "That would be Fuyuki city." she answered, placing a hand in her jeans' pocket and taking out what Shiki saw to be... Car keys? But most importantly, "Fuyuki city? Why? What's there?" he inquired.
"Long story! Come, follow me." The magician announced as she started walking away, "I'll tell you on the way." Shiki had no choice but to follow. Eventually, they arrived to a usually empty alleyway. Except that this time, it wasn't empty at all.
"Woah— That's a nice car!" Shiki exclaimed at the sight of the red convertible sports car which unlocked and flashed its lights, opening up its retracting roof in response to Aoko's keys.
"Isn't she pretty?" Aoko followed, "I wish I could keep her forever..." She then opened the door and gestured at Shiki to get in. "Wait, it isn't yours?" Shiki said as he put on the seatbelt, but the last of his words was muffled by the sound of the engine roaring as it started.
"What are you? An idiot? How would I ever be able to afford it?" Aoko replied, "Now strap in! It's gonna be a wild ride!"
Shiki had no idea what he was about to experience, those words were the last thing he heard before Aoko pressed the accelerator with full force, causing the car to aggressively hit the road with great speed, it was only moments then that they only became silhouettes in the distance to anyone watching.
.
Author's note:
Well, this chapter was the smallest one in the original fic, now remastered and cleaned up to make more sense and hold more meaning. It was filled with conflicting emotions because it made me go through the original Tsukihime again, which uh... Was a wild ride too... going from Akiha's obsessive nature, to Hisui's stony attitude, to Kohaku's identity crisis and thirst for revenge... It was certainly fun and heartbreaking at the same time. But it made me realize that somehow, Shiki not getting involved with the far side of the moon characters romantically made them somehow have a better ending, even with most of their traumas unsolved. Kohaku continued being Kohaku even after Shiki did the old one two on her in Ciel's route, and Hisui never complained in any route actually, she was completely O.K. with everything. As for Akiha... Her overprotectiveness was nothing when confronted by a higher authority, that being the voice of a Magician. Generally, I consider this chapter to be both good and bad, both in terms of context and presentation. But it's merely the start, and the story will definitely pick up at some point.
But for now I bid you Vale... Until we meet again (next chapter lol).