FIC: Amaryllis - Chapter 6: Don't ask
Title: Amaryllis - Chapter 6 - Don't ask
Author: Anae
Beta: Tegthe
Fandom: Uragiri wa boku no namae wo shitteiru - Betrayal knows my name
Characters/pairing: Shusei/Hotsuma
Rating: eventual M/NC-17 (because it's gonna take while - boys need to grow up, plus well, manga wasn't too helpful for hot scenes)
Spoilers: overall thorough the manga/anime
Disclaimer: After finishing and re-working with this, I would deserve the boys, but no. Not mine. The song used belongs to Shinedown.
Summary: Both Shusei and Hotsuma struggled with their fates, with themselves ever since they were kids. This is how it happened - how two children grew up to be Zweilts, partners, and eventually, grew to understand and love each ther.
A/N: A quite short chapter, but somewhat necessary. After all, the boys need to know who Yuki is - and to do that, they need to meet Takashiro. Hope you enjoy!
Ps. Do you know the symbolic meaning of Amaryllis? "Success won after a struggle."
Chapter 6: Don't ask
Don't use a weakness
Don't change the subject
Don't ask the questions if you fear the answer
It was a month after the two boys had gotten their rings when Shusei finally got his chance to talk to Takashiro. The man had come over to visit them at Shusei’s place - the boy’s parents were away, which gave them the perfect opportunity to talk in peace.
Not that his parents would’ve cared - they paid less and less attention to Shusei as he grew up. They had always known what they were raising - it gave them more funds, but that had never been their goal; once upon a time, they had wished to help the clan, wished to have a child of their own. But somewhere along the passing years, they had lost that love - for each other, for their child.
Takashiro pulled Shusei to the present. “I see that you have made your pact. Well done”, the man said, looking upon the two Zweilts. It had been only a month since he had last seen the two of them, but years since he had really had change to talk to them. Of course, he had kept an eye on the boys, but hadn’t interfered with their lives - it was still too early, and it was good for them to grow up in somewhat normal environment as long as possible.
Because Takashiro had carefully kept an eye of the two, he was aware of the hardships Hotsuma had gone through in school because of his powers. But the head of Giou clan hadn’t worried too much about it - of course it wasn’t pleasant, but the kid had Shusei.
Besides, things had started to get a little bit better recently - the two had started high school. The rumors of the fire years ago had faded away, and even if some of those children still went to the same school as Hotsuma, they didn’t say anything about it in fear of looking ridiculous in their new classmates’ eyes.
However, even if there was no more bullying, the incident had left deep scars on Hotsuma. The kid didn’t let anyone but Shusei get close to him. Shusei on the other hand - well, he had always kept his distance.
“Have you been able to summon your weapons yet?” Takashiro asked as he took a sip of the coffee.
Hotsuma shook his head, blonde locks dancing around as he toyed with his earring, newly pierced. “Nah, not yet. But I know how it looks like.”
Well, that was progress as well. Takashiro hadn’t really expected either of boys to manage, not after a mere month. He turned his gaze on the older boy. “Shusei?”
The brunette closed his eyes, stretching his hands to his sides. Two light blue spheres, decorated with black crosses appeared above his hands, a faint glow radiating from them. Shusei opened his eyes, golden gaze directed on Takashiro. As Hotsuma stared in amazement, about to comment and praise his friend, Takashiro waved at him to stay silent. The simple task of calling the spheres still required great amount of concentration on Shusei’s part.
“Can you get more?” Takashiro asked. It might’ve been pushing boy’s limits, but then again, those spheres were the most important weapons Shusei had - with them, he would be able to trap a Duras in a cage and create a shield to protect them from attacks.
Shusei didn’t answer, just closed his eyes again, focusing on the task.
Two more spheres appeared.
“If you can, go on”, Takashiro encouraged, leaning back on his chair, joining his fingers. Those words resulted in glare from Hotsuma’s part, but the boy didn’t dare to stand up to Takashiro, especially since Shusei was up to the task and seemed to be doing fine.
For a moment nothing happened - then the glowing spheres started to float around Shusei, forming a fast moving circle around him. It wasn’t what Takashiro had been looking for, but this was good as well - Shusei was able to control the movements of the spheres.
But it ended abruptly as the youth very nearly dropped to the floor - his knees would’ve hit the floor if Hotsuma hadn’t moved fast and caught him by the shoulders.
“Shusei!”
“I’m fine.” Shusei was breathing heavily as he touched Hotsuma’s hand, trying to ensure the other boy that nothing bad had happened. He opened his eyes, offered the other boy a reassuring smile before lifting his gaze to meet Takashiro’s.
The man nodded as an acknowledgment. “Good.” He rose up from his chair, eyes on the two kids. “I suppose the swords are still out of question?”
Shusei diverted his gaze as he rose up as well - taking a little bit of support from Hotsuma who refused to let go. “Yes.”
Takashiro nodded again - the boys had made more progress than he had expected, even if they were still a far cry from what they used to be. “Keep up the good work”, he said, presenting his back to the boys, ready to take his leave. He made it almost to the door before Shusei called his name, not forgetting his manners as he did so.
As Takashiro turned, he was presented a question he hadn’t expected.
“Who is Yuki?”
Apparently the memories were starting to rise up, at least with Shusei. It wasn’t uncommon for Zweilts to start remembering their pasts, especially not in the form of dreams, but those dreams were usually vague. Before long, they would be able to tell names and some of the most emotional moments in their past lives - both good and bad, but human brain had an unfortunate habit to remember the worst over the best.
“Yuki is the Light of God”, Takashiro told them. Now that Shusei had remembered even the name, there was no reason not to tell them - after all, Yuki was more valuable than any of the other Zweilts. “He’s our lifeline. He is the only one able to heal the damage received from a Duras.” He paused, letting the words sink in. “All of you Zweilts exist to protect him. It’s in your blood.”
“He?”
Both Takashiro and Shusei shifted their gaze to Hotsuma who shook his head, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with their undivided attention on him. “Uh, I mean…” He scratched his head. “I don’t know. Isn’t it a she?”
Shusei wasn’t the only one struggling with his memories - Hotsuma hadn’t seen the dreams as vivid as other boy, and he didn’t remember anyone named Yuki. Not before this at least - the name rang a bell and made his chest tighten, but moreover, it sounded weird when Takashiro referred to Yuki as a ‘he’.
The Giou clan leader chuckled softly, making a note not to underestimate the Zweilt’s memory. “In this life, it’s he.”
With that, he turned his back on the boys again, waving his hand as he went.
The boys had still long way to go before they’d learn everything, but they were on their way.
Author: Anae
Beta: Tegthe
Fandom: Uragiri wa boku no namae wo shitteiru - Betrayal knows my name
Characters/pairing: Shusei/Hotsuma
Rating: eventual M/NC-17 (because it's gonna take while - boys need to grow up, plus well, manga wasn't too helpful for hot scenes)
Spoilers: overall thorough the manga/anime
Disclaimer: After finishing and re-working with this, I would deserve the boys, but no. Not mine. The song used belongs to Shinedown.
Summary: Both Shusei and Hotsuma struggled with their fates, with themselves ever since they were kids. This is how it happened - how two children grew up to be Zweilts, partners, and eventually, grew to understand and love each ther.
A/N: A quite short chapter, but somewhat necessary. After all, the boys need to know who Yuki is - and to do that, they need to meet Takashiro. Hope you enjoy!
Ps. Do you know the symbolic meaning of Amaryllis? "Success won after a struggle."
Chapter 6: Don't ask
Don't use a weakness
Don't change the subject
Don't ask the questions if you fear the answer
It was a month after the two boys had gotten their rings when Shusei finally got his chance to talk to Takashiro. The man had come over to visit them at Shusei’s place - the boy’s parents were away, which gave them the perfect opportunity to talk in peace.
Not that his parents would’ve cared - they paid less and less attention to Shusei as he grew up. They had always known what they were raising - it gave them more funds, but that had never been their goal; once upon a time, they had wished to help the clan, wished to have a child of their own. But somewhere along the passing years, they had lost that love - for each other, for their child.
Takashiro pulled Shusei to the present. “I see that you have made your pact. Well done”, the man said, looking upon the two Zweilts. It had been only a month since he had last seen the two of them, but years since he had really had change to talk to them. Of course, he had kept an eye on the boys, but hadn’t interfered with their lives - it was still too early, and it was good for them to grow up in somewhat normal environment as long as possible.
Because Takashiro had carefully kept an eye of the two, he was aware of the hardships Hotsuma had gone through in school because of his powers. But the head of Giou clan hadn’t worried too much about it - of course it wasn’t pleasant, but the kid had Shusei.
Besides, things had started to get a little bit better recently - the two had started high school. The rumors of the fire years ago had faded away, and even if some of those children still went to the same school as Hotsuma, they didn’t say anything about it in fear of looking ridiculous in their new classmates’ eyes.
However, even if there was no more bullying, the incident had left deep scars on Hotsuma. The kid didn’t let anyone but Shusei get close to him. Shusei on the other hand - well, he had always kept his distance.
“Have you been able to summon your weapons yet?” Takashiro asked as he took a sip of the coffee.
Hotsuma shook his head, blonde locks dancing around as he toyed with his earring, newly pierced. “Nah, not yet. But I know how it looks like.”
Well, that was progress as well. Takashiro hadn’t really expected either of boys to manage, not after a mere month. He turned his gaze on the older boy. “Shusei?”
The brunette closed his eyes, stretching his hands to his sides. Two light blue spheres, decorated with black crosses appeared above his hands, a faint glow radiating from them. Shusei opened his eyes, golden gaze directed on Takashiro. As Hotsuma stared in amazement, about to comment and praise his friend, Takashiro waved at him to stay silent. The simple task of calling the spheres still required great amount of concentration on Shusei’s part.
“Can you get more?” Takashiro asked. It might’ve been pushing boy’s limits, but then again, those spheres were the most important weapons Shusei had - with them, he would be able to trap a Duras in a cage and create a shield to protect them from attacks.
Shusei didn’t answer, just closed his eyes again, focusing on the task.
Two more spheres appeared.
“If you can, go on”, Takashiro encouraged, leaning back on his chair, joining his fingers. Those words resulted in glare from Hotsuma’s part, but the boy didn’t dare to stand up to Takashiro, especially since Shusei was up to the task and seemed to be doing fine.
For a moment nothing happened - then the glowing spheres started to float around Shusei, forming a fast moving circle around him. It wasn’t what Takashiro had been looking for, but this was good as well - Shusei was able to control the movements of the spheres.
But it ended abruptly as the youth very nearly dropped to the floor - his knees would’ve hit the floor if Hotsuma hadn’t moved fast and caught him by the shoulders.
“Shusei!”
“I’m fine.” Shusei was breathing heavily as he touched Hotsuma’s hand, trying to ensure the other boy that nothing bad had happened. He opened his eyes, offered the other boy a reassuring smile before lifting his gaze to meet Takashiro’s.
The man nodded as an acknowledgment. “Good.” He rose up from his chair, eyes on the two kids. “I suppose the swords are still out of question?”
Shusei diverted his gaze as he rose up as well - taking a little bit of support from Hotsuma who refused to let go. “Yes.”
Takashiro nodded again - the boys had made more progress than he had expected, even if they were still a far cry from what they used to be. “Keep up the good work”, he said, presenting his back to the boys, ready to take his leave. He made it almost to the door before Shusei called his name, not forgetting his manners as he did so.
As Takashiro turned, he was presented a question he hadn’t expected.
“Who is Yuki?”
Apparently the memories were starting to rise up, at least with Shusei. It wasn’t uncommon for Zweilts to start remembering their pasts, especially not in the form of dreams, but those dreams were usually vague. Before long, they would be able to tell names and some of the most emotional moments in their past lives - both good and bad, but human brain had an unfortunate habit to remember the worst over the best.
“Yuki is the Light of God”, Takashiro told them. Now that Shusei had remembered even the name, there was no reason not to tell them - after all, Yuki was more valuable than any of the other Zweilts. “He’s our lifeline. He is the only one able to heal the damage received from a Duras.” He paused, letting the words sink in. “All of you Zweilts exist to protect him. It’s in your blood.”
“He?”
Both Takashiro and Shusei shifted their gaze to Hotsuma who shook his head, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with their undivided attention on him. “Uh, I mean…” He scratched his head. “I don’t know. Isn’t it a she?”
Shusei wasn’t the only one struggling with his memories - Hotsuma hadn’t seen the dreams as vivid as other boy, and he didn’t remember anyone named Yuki. Not before this at least - the name rang a bell and made his chest tighten, but moreover, it sounded weird when Takashiro referred to Yuki as a ‘he’.
The Giou clan leader chuckled softly, making a note not to underestimate the Zweilt’s memory. “In this life, it’s he.”
With that, he turned his back on the boys again, waving his hand as he went.
The boys had still long way to go before they’d learn everything, but they were on their way.