Haunted - Epilogue
Title: Haunted
Author: phoenix_zeal
Pairing: Akame, HayaRyu
Rating: R
Genre: Angst, Romance, Ghost Story
Disclaimer: I do not make any profit from this.
Beta: Myself
Summary: It had been a couple of years since Jin and Kazuya met. The mansion was no longer haunted and their relationship seemed strong. Then they got an opportunity to live in a Scottish castle for awhile. Everything seemed to be normal at first but then odd things began to happen.
Warnings: Mentions of suicide [Non-descriptive]
Notes: Sequel to Reflections. When Jin and Kazuya are around the British characters they're speaking English unless specified otherwise. They speak Japanese when they're alone.
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6
The entertainment business wasn’t so bad after all. Jin had thought about it a lot after the vacation to Scotland, and decided that he wanted to continue working as a singer. He could share his music with others and that was a great thing. It hadn’t been his dream but along the way it had become something that he loved doing. He’d lost sight of that because of Hayato’s thoughts and feelings, but now he was alone and confident.
A lot of things had happened in the year that passed after the vacation. He’d had the opportunity to expand his career to America. Things were going surprisingly well; he’d already had quite a lot of fans in the US even before releasing a single there. Perhaps it shouldn’t have been so surprising, considering that he even had a fan that lived in a castle in Scotland. He still kept in touch with Alice as much as he could through emails.
When Jin and Kazuya had finally left their suite the day they had to go home, Alice had asked:
“Are you guys a couple?”
Kazuya had shaken his head and replied that they weren’t. That was when Jin had really realised what was happening and he’d almost started to cry. Luckily he’d managed not to and Alice hadn’t seemed to notice. Instead she’d smiled brightly and hugged his arm. The memory made Jin smile a bit. There was still some sadness connected to it but over a year had passed since then.
Jin hadn’t spoken to Kazuya since everything had been settled with the mansion and he’d moved out. They’d agreed to at least wait a couple of months before contacting each other. Time had flown by as Jin became increasingly busy and before he knew it, six months had already passed by. Back then he’d felt too awkward and guilty to contact Kazuya and now, after over a year, it felt even worse. He tried to console himself by thinking that Kazuya had made no attempt to contact him either. It definitely didn’t make him feel better.
Sometimes he missed Kazuya so much that he was incapable of doing anything, besides curling up on the sofa with a blanket wrapped around him. He’d even written songs about longing and loneliness and the third word beginning with an L. Jin loved Kazuya, of course he did. He had no idea why he’d been so uncertain about his feelings for him. Actually he did but it seemed stupid now.
Even though he was sure of his feelings, he didn’t know if a relationship between them could ever work out. Maybe Kazuya didn’t want them to be together anymore and even if he did, Jin was still a singer. Dating was difficult enough when it was with a girl. When it was with a guy it was like walking through a mine field. In Jin’s opinion, love was love and he didn’t care if people were straight, gay, bi or something else. Unfortunately there were still a lot of people in Japan, and the rest of the world, who thought differently.
Obviously Jin hadn’t cared that much about the risks as he’d been Kazuya’s boyfriend before. Now when he really wanted to go for his career, they’d have even less time to spend together. Not to mention the fact that he hadn’t completely given up on the thought of having children, even if it didn’t feel as urgent as it had a few years ago.
Maybe he was over thinking things because now, for the first time in over a year, he was possibly close to meeting Kazuya. Jin parked his car outside of Tatsuya’s house and made sure that his hat and sunglasses were covering his face before getting out. Perhaps people were less likely to recognise him without the hat and sunglasses, as that was what he tended to wear in public appearances, but that was what he was most comfortable with wearing.
Tatsuya still lived in the same house as he did when Jin had bought the mansion. It was weird to be back in the village - he was almost painfully aware of the fact that Kazuya might be close by. Tatsuya never mentioned him but Jin knew that they stayed in touch. Jin didn’t know if Kazuya still lived in the mansion, though, or anywhere near the village. He sighed and rang the doorbell, having to jump back as Tatsuya opened the door almost violently.
“Someone’s in a good mood”, Jin said, raising his eyebrow.
“What? Oh, yeah, I’m so happy that I finally get to see you again.”
Jin wasn’t sure if Tatsuya was serious or not but he decided not to ask and entered the hallway. He kicked off his shoes while Tatsuya glared disapprovingly at him. At least he hung his jacket properly instead of throwing it on the floor.
They went to sit on the living room sofa and Jin noted that everything looked pretty much the same. He thought back on the night before he’d met Kazuya, when he’d gone to Tatsuya’s house because of how terrified he’d been. Then he wished that he hadn’t when he remembered the fact that Yuichi had been there. Apparently they’d never had a real relationship and that just made it even creepier to Jin. He finished his inspection of the living room and turned his attention back to Tatsuya.
“You shaved off your hair. When did you do that?”
“Your observation skills are extraordinary as usual”, Tatsuya said dryly. “Maybe they’d be better if you stopped obstructing your vision by wearing sunglasses while you’re indoors.”
Jin shrugged but took off his sunglasses and let them hang from the neckline of his t-shirt. Honestly he only kept them on to annoy Tatsuya who hated when he acted like an ‘idol that is completely full of himself’. It was too bad that Kazuya wasn’t there so they could annoy Tatsuya by calling each other ridiculous endearments. Then again, they probably wouldn’t do that even if Kazuya did happen to be there.
“How have you been?” Jin asked.
“Isn’t there something else you’d rather know?” Tatsuya smiled.
“Well, yeah, but it’d be rude to ask without polite small talk first.”
“Since when do you care about being polite?”
“I do care about you, you know”, Jin said.
“Yes, I do know and that’s exactly why you can be rude to me. Go on, ask me.”
“Why don’t you just tell me since you already know what I’m going to ask?”
“Because I want to hear you say the words”, Tatsuya said with a smile that made Jin want to punch him, though that would just result in Jin getting his ass kicked.
“Does Kame still live in the mansion?” Jin asked, his heart beating faster as he waited for the reply.
“Yeah, he’s made it into a Bed and Breakfast. It opened last week so if you need a place to stay, you should go there.”
Jin was a bit surprised. When they’d first met, Kazuya could barely be around people and now he was always doing things that enabled him to meet new people every day. It made Jin proud to think about how far Kazuya had come all on his own. Jin didn’t know if he’d be able to do that, he’d always had help from others. Not that Kazuya didn’t have friends but Jin knew that he didn’t like relying on others too much.
“Is he… I mean, how is he?” Jin bit his lip.
“He’s not seeing anyone and he’s fine”, Tatsuya said, knowing exactly what Jin wanted to know. “He’s got two dogs that I help take care of sometimes when he has to travel because of work. He’s happy.”
“Does he ever talk about me?”
“If you want to know that you should go talk to him.”
“What if he’s angry because I didn’t contact him?”
“Do you think that Kame would be angry because of something like that?” Tatsuya asked.
Jin shook his head, “No, I suppose not.”
***
At first Kazuya hadn’t known what to do with the mansion. It really was too big to live in all by himself and it was difficult for him to maintain it on his own. When he realised that he was a medium in possession of a large mansion it suddenly seemed too obvious. He’d been in charge of making the haunting of a castle as realistic as possible, so why couldn’t he do the same for the mansion? A haunted hotel of sorts was the perfect idea.
It hadn’t always been an easy process to get the permission needed and dealing with the costs for renovations, but it was definitely worth it. The fact that he had a small amount of fame did make it easier, and would probably make more people want to stay at his B&B. Planning everything had taken his mind off things and months passed by.
Kazuya didn’t forget about Jin - that was impossible - but he thought that he wanted to have something to show to him when they spoke again. It wasn’t a competition, Kazuya knew that, but he still wanted to prove to himself and others that he could do things on his own. All of his life he’d been haunted by the things he’d been told by his parents. They’d never believed in him and that made him constantly want to prove something.
In a way, both Kazuya and Jin had been haunted by their parents albeit differently. Kazuya’s parents hadn’t believed in him, and Jin’s parents had believed in him so much that they forced him to become a performer. It had some kind of weird poetry to it, Kazuya thought, that the two of them had ended up together. They weren’t together anymore but he still loved Jin. How could he not?
He wasn’t angry at Jin for not contacting him personally, because he could hear the longing in Jin’s songs. Perhaps it was conceited to believe that the songs were about him but he hoped that they were. Even if they never became a couple again, at least there was hope that they’d meet again and be able to be friends.
Kazuya stood at the reception desk, reading some documents. It had only been a week since the B&B had opened but he’d had quite a few guests. For some reason people seemed to love getting frightened, as long as they could think that the ghosts weren’t real. If the haunting became too realistic, people would be too scared to stay there. He had asked a few friends to stay there before it opened to see if it was too much or not.
The door opened and he looked up to welcome the new guest. His gaze landed on a familiar face, covered by sunglasses and the welcome got caught in his throat. The nervous half smile and the way he hunched his shoulders was almost too familiar. Kazuya had to laugh a bit at the sight and Jin shuffled closer.
“Is there something on my face?” he asked and Kazuya had trouble replying; he’d missed hearing that voice in person.
“No, there isn’t. Would you like to book a room?”
“Yes, please.”
“Can I have your name, please?”
“Yabuki Hayato.”
Jin took off his sunglasses as they talked and when Kazuya looked up from the computer screen again, their gazes locked. The expression on Jin’s face was a mixture of amusement, shyness and hope.
“Fitting, I suppose”, Kazuya said. “Is that the name you use when you stay at a hotel in secret?”
“What can I say? It brings back memories.”
“Yes, yes it does.”
Silence spread between them but they’d already said everything that needed to be said. The memories didn’t haunt them anymore. They were needed and wanted.
---
A/N: I know that I told some of you that I'd post this on Friday, just like the previous parts, but I decided that it was unnecessary to wait. Thanks to everyone who's been reading and commenting this fic. I was kind of nervous before I started posting it because it's been such a long time since I last wrote a fic but you've all made me feel better. :)
As I wrote in another post before I started posting Haunted, this is probably my last Akame fic. I can't say for sure because I should never say never but it's pretty definite. I'll always continue to write but my Akame muses are fading while others are taking over. It doesn't mean that I don't still love Akame but I've already written a lot for them and I want to explore new things now.
Again: a big thank you to everyone who's read Haunted and any of my other fics. You guys make me happy. :D ♥
Author: phoenix_zeal
Pairing: Akame, HayaRyu
Rating: R
Genre: Angst, Romance, Ghost Story
Disclaimer: I do not make any profit from this.
Beta: Myself
Summary: It had been a couple of years since Jin and Kazuya met. The mansion was no longer haunted and their relationship seemed strong. Then they got an opportunity to live in a Scottish castle for awhile. Everything seemed to be normal at first but then odd things began to happen.
Warnings: Mentions of suicide [Non-descriptive]
Notes: Sequel to Reflections. When Jin and Kazuya are around the British characters they're speaking English unless specified otherwise. They speak Japanese when they're alone.
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6
The entertainment business wasn’t so bad after all. Jin had thought about it a lot after the vacation to Scotland, and decided that he wanted to continue working as a singer. He could share his music with others and that was a great thing. It hadn’t been his dream but along the way it had become something that he loved doing. He’d lost sight of that because of Hayato’s thoughts and feelings, but now he was alone and confident.
A lot of things had happened in the year that passed after the vacation. He’d had the opportunity to expand his career to America. Things were going surprisingly well; he’d already had quite a lot of fans in the US even before releasing a single there. Perhaps it shouldn’t have been so surprising, considering that he even had a fan that lived in a castle in Scotland. He still kept in touch with Alice as much as he could through emails.
When Jin and Kazuya had finally left their suite the day they had to go home, Alice had asked:
“Are you guys a couple?”
Kazuya had shaken his head and replied that they weren’t. That was when Jin had really realised what was happening and he’d almost started to cry. Luckily he’d managed not to and Alice hadn’t seemed to notice. Instead she’d smiled brightly and hugged his arm. The memory made Jin smile a bit. There was still some sadness connected to it but over a year had passed since then.
Jin hadn’t spoken to Kazuya since everything had been settled with the mansion and he’d moved out. They’d agreed to at least wait a couple of months before contacting each other. Time had flown by as Jin became increasingly busy and before he knew it, six months had already passed by. Back then he’d felt too awkward and guilty to contact Kazuya and now, after over a year, it felt even worse. He tried to console himself by thinking that Kazuya had made no attempt to contact him either. It definitely didn’t make him feel better.
Sometimes he missed Kazuya so much that he was incapable of doing anything, besides curling up on the sofa with a blanket wrapped around him. He’d even written songs about longing and loneliness and the third word beginning with an L. Jin loved Kazuya, of course he did. He had no idea why he’d been so uncertain about his feelings for him. Actually he did but it seemed stupid now.
Even though he was sure of his feelings, he didn’t know if a relationship between them could ever work out. Maybe Kazuya didn’t want them to be together anymore and even if he did, Jin was still a singer. Dating was difficult enough when it was with a girl. When it was with a guy it was like walking through a mine field. In Jin’s opinion, love was love and he didn’t care if people were straight, gay, bi or something else. Unfortunately there were still a lot of people in Japan, and the rest of the world, who thought differently.
Obviously Jin hadn’t cared that much about the risks as he’d been Kazuya’s boyfriend before. Now when he really wanted to go for his career, they’d have even less time to spend together. Not to mention the fact that he hadn’t completely given up on the thought of having children, even if it didn’t feel as urgent as it had a few years ago.
Maybe he was over thinking things because now, for the first time in over a year, he was possibly close to meeting Kazuya. Jin parked his car outside of Tatsuya’s house and made sure that his hat and sunglasses were covering his face before getting out. Perhaps people were less likely to recognise him without the hat and sunglasses, as that was what he tended to wear in public appearances, but that was what he was most comfortable with wearing.
Tatsuya still lived in the same house as he did when Jin had bought the mansion. It was weird to be back in the village - he was almost painfully aware of the fact that Kazuya might be close by. Tatsuya never mentioned him but Jin knew that they stayed in touch. Jin didn’t know if Kazuya still lived in the mansion, though, or anywhere near the village. He sighed and rang the doorbell, having to jump back as Tatsuya opened the door almost violently.
“Someone’s in a good mood”, Jin said, raising his eyebrow.
“What? Oh, yeah, I’m so happy that I finally get to see you again.”
Jin wasn’t sure if Tatsuya was serious or not but he decided not to ask and entered the hallway. He kicked off his shoes while Tatsuya glared disapprovingly at him. At least he hung his jacket properly instead of throwing it on the floor.
They went to sit on the living room sofa and Jin noted that everything looked pretty much the same. He thought back on the night before he’d met Kazuya, when he’d gone to Tatsuya’s house because of how terrified he’d been. Then he wished that he hadn’t when he remembered the fact that Yuichi had been there. Apparently they’d never had a real relationship and that just made it even creepier to Jin. He finished his inspection of the living room and turned his attention back to Tatsuya.
“You shaved off your hair. When did you do that?”
“Your observation skills are extraordinary as usual”, Tatsuya said dryly. “Maybe they’d be better if you stopped obstructing your vision by wearing sunglasses while you’re indoors.”
Jin shrugged but took off his sunglasses and let them hang from the neckline of his t-shirt. Honestly he only kept them on to annoy Tatsuya who hated when he acted like an ‘idol that is completely full of himself’. It was too bad that Kazuya wasn’t there so they could annoy Tatsuya by calling each other ridiculous endearments. Then again, they probably wouldn’t do that even if Kazuya did happen to be there.
“How have you been?” Jin asked.
“Isn’t there something else you’d rather know?” Tatsuya smiled.
“Well, yeah, but it’d be rude to ask without polite small talk first.”
“Since when do you care about being polite?”
“I do care about you, you know”, Jin said.
“Yes, I do know and that’s exactly why you can be rude to me. Go on, ask me.”
“Why don’t you just tell me since you already know what I’m going to ask?”
“Because I want to hear you say the words”, Tatsuya said with a smile that made Jin want to punch him, though that would just result in Jin getting his ass kicked.
“Does Kame still live in the mansion?” Jin asked, his heart beating faster as he waited for the reply.
“Yeah, he’s made it into a Bed and Breakfast. It opened last week so if you need a place to stay, you should go there.”
Jin was a bit surprised. When they’d first met, Kazuya could barely be around people and now he was always doing things that enabled him to meet new people every day. It made Jin proud to think about how far Kazuya had come all on his own. Jin didn’t know if he’d be able to do that, he’d always had help from others. Not that Kazuya didn’t have friends but Jin knew that he didn’t like relying on others too much.
“Is he… I mean, how is he?” Jin bit his lip.
“He’s not seeing anyone and he’s fine”, Tatsuya said, knowing exactly what Jin wanted to know. “He’s got two dogs that I help take care of sometimes when he has to travel because of work. He’s happy.”
“Does he ever talk about me?”
“If you want to know that you should go talk to him.”
“What if he’s angry because I didn’t contact him?”
“Do you think that Kame would be angry because of something like that?” Tatsuya asked.
Jin shook his head, “No, I suppose not.”
***
At first Kazuya hadn’t known what to do with the mansion. It really was too big to live in all by himself and it was difficult for him to maintain it on his own. When he realised that he was a medium in possession of a large mansion it suddenly seemed too obvious. He’d been in charge of making the haunting of a castle as realistic as possible, so why couldn’t he do the same for the mansion? A haunted hotel of sorts was the perfect idea.
It hadn’t always been an easy process to get the permission needed and dealing with the costs for renovations, but it was definitely worth it. The fact that he had a small amount of fame did make it easier, and would probably make more people want to stay at his B&B. Planning everything had taken his mind off things and months passed by.
Kazuya didn’t forget about Jin - that was impossible - but he thought that he wanted to have something to show to him when they spoke again. It wasn’t a competition, Kazuya knew that, but he still wanted to prove to himself and others that he could do things on his own. All of his life he’d been haunted by the things he’d been told by his parents. They’d never believed in him and that made him constantly want to prove something.
In a way, both Kazuya and Jin had been haunted by their parents albeit differently. Kazuya’s parents hadn’t believed in him, and Jin’s parents had believed in him so much that they forced him to become a performer. It had some kind of weird poetry to it, Kazuya thought, that the two of them had ended up together. They weren’t together anymore but he still loved Jin. How could he not?
He wasn’t angry at Jin for not contacting him personally, because he could hear the longing in Jin’s songs. Perhaps it was conceited to believe that the songs were about him but he hoped that they were. Even if they never became a couple again, at least there was hope that they’d meet again and be able to be friends.
Kazuya stood at the reception desk, reading some documents. It had only been a week since the B&B had opened but he’d had quite a few guests. For some reason people seemed to love getting frightened, as long as they could think that the ghosts weren’t real. If the haunting became too realistic, people would be too scared to stay there. He had asked a few friends to stay there before it opened to see if it was too much or not.
The door opened and he looked up to welcome the new guest. His gaze landed on a familiar face, covered by sunglasses and the welcome got caught in his throat. The nervous half smile and the way he hunched his shoulders was almost too familiar. Kazuya had to laugh a bit at the sight and Jin shuffled closer.
“Is there something on my face?” he asked and Kazuya had trouble replying; he’d missed hearing that voice in person.
“No, there isn’t. Would you like to book a room?”
“Yes, please.”
“Can I have your name, please?”
“Yabuki Hayato.”
Jin took off his sunglasses as they talked and when Kazuya looked up from the computer screen again, their gazes locked. The expression on Jin’s face was a mixture of amusement, shyness and hope.
“Fitting, I suppose”, Kazuya said. “Is that the name you use when you stay at a hotel in secret?”
“What can I say? It brings back memories.”
“Yes, yes it does.”
Silence spread between them but they’d already said everything that needed to be said. The memories didn’t haunt them anymore. They were needed and wanted.
---
A/N: I know that I told some of you that I'd post this on Friday, just like the previous parts, but I decided that it was unnecessary to wait. Thanks to everyone who's been reading and commenting this fic. I was kind of nervous before I started posting it because it's been such a long time since I last wrote a fic but you've all made me feel better. :)
As I wrote in another post before I started posting Haunted, this is probably my last Akame fic. I can't say for sure because I should never say never but it's pretty definite. I'll always continue to write but my Akame muses are fading while others are taking over. It doesn't mean that I don't still love Akame but I've already written a lot for them and I want to explore new things now.
Again: a big thank you to everyone who's read Haunted and any of my other fics. You guys make me happy. :D ♥