God Bless Catastrophe - Chapter Fifteen | You Live and You Burn
Pairing: Tora x Saga, allusions to Shou x Hiroto, Shou x OFC
(throughout entire story | BOLDED = specific to chapter)
Rating: R (solid)
Genre: Suspense, Drama, Action, Angst, Dark, AU, Chaptered
Story Summary: Sanity comes in many forms, but so does insanity. We all walk the line of both, a delicate balance of the pieces that constitute our make up - mentally, emotionally and physically. How many pieces can be removed, or added, before the balance is entirely destroyed? Where does the catalyst come from? Is there a bridge to repair damage done? Hiroto is both plagued by and coming to understand that maybe these sorts of questions can’t be answered.
"I’m not crazy…are you?"
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There was an eerie silence that hung about the room as the four of them were still in their spots, all round and disbelieving eyes set on Payton. Tora stood, with his arms crossed loosely over his chest and his lips pressed tightly together in shielded emotion, beside Saga. It wasn’t until Saga seemed to sway slightly that Tora moved to catch his elbow in the hopes of keeping him upright. Saga, however, had pulled away swiftly, his eyes snapping up frantically towards Tora before his shoulders relaxed and he slipped his hands deep into the pockets of his pants.
There was a heavier frown etched in Tora’s face as he didn’t understand the weighted tension that existed between them in those few seconds. He wanted to help Saga, in the same way he wanted Saga’s help for himself, and he was worried that neither could be achieved. Through no reason he could tangibly see.
Shou had kept a close eye on Hiroto; just as he was prior to his own sorrow. The youngest seemed oddly quiet and that scared Shou. Hiroto was usually energetic and though he’d been consumed by worry since the night he found the dead body in the alley he still seemed to have wells of pent up zeal. The fact that he was stoically calm terrified Shou. Payton had not left, he had insisted that they all stay together. Nao, the thought of him, was on all their minds.
“Then why are we waiting-we have to find him, we have to get him.” Saga said quietly, licking his lips before he shook his head. “I don’t…does this mean he is one of them, one of those monsters? This isn’t Nao, this isn’t something he’d do-he wouldn’t want this, he wouldn’t let it happen.” His voice was distant in its soft mumble.
“It is not his choice; it’s never a choice of whether or not they want it. They are raped of their blood, bits of their own taken away only to be replaced by the addictive vampire’s. They are ruthless beings; they are creatures of manipulation and persuasion. If they want you, they will have you. But no, Nao is not one of them…they don’t reproduce their own kind without serious consideration as to what they’re doing. It takes a good deal of effort to make one, they have to share more than half their blood after they’ve drained the human within inches of their life. It’s not a game to them, its business. He…and Ash…” Payton rubbed his forehead roughly, his voice dipping into a low sigh before he shook his head. “…they’re just a fraction of the puzzle. There is something you must realize.”
“We don’t have the power, magical or not, to simply get them. It’s not that simple…I’ve tried before, I’ve tried many times. And…and I have failed every time. They are not human; there are few that could possibly rival their strength and we’ve already lost one to them. These monsters transcend reality and can kill any of us faster than we can find a way into the rooms they will keep Ash and Nao in. It’s-“
“What do you expect us to do then?” Saga had interrupted him, his words blunter than usual and he had moved a step forward, eyes set firmly on Payton. It was something he would not usually do, simply because it lacked the copious amounts of respect Saga had for anyone, but he was too far panic to practice common curtsy in that moment. Saga’s normal shy and calm demeanor was entirely gone, replaced by passion to help. “Do we wait until he walks back here, until he decides to find us? That might be a decent plan for you, you might want to risk Ashton’s life on that hope but I’m not so willing-you tell us our friend is going to die and then discourage any effort to stop it?!” Payton stood stark still, his eyebrows knitted together before he moved to answer Saga, though the man didn’t intend to allot time for it.
“What is this?!” Saga’s voice had gotten sharper and more frantic, louder too so that it made Shou jump a little in his spot, his attention having finally been pulled fully to his friend. “What do you want us to do? I…I don’t want to sit and wait for him to be alive the next morning. We have to do something, you have to do something. You brought this to us-get us out.” Saga had barked at Payton, whose chin was tipped in against his chest. Tora, however, had reached out to ease Saga’s spark of fury. “Saga-san-“ the moment Tora’s finger tips touched his arm, Saga rounded him in turn, eyes dark and narrowed.
“Don’t.” Saga told him quickly, shaking his head. Nao and Saga were friends in the very same way that the others were but it ran a little deeper than that; they leaned on each other for their opinions and advice and one could easily pick the other up when the world was crashing down. “You like it-you like what these things are. Do you hear him?! Do you hear what they’re doing to us? To Nao!? Misunderstood…I think it’s clear enough that they’re not misunderstood creatures, Tora. They’re killing Nao-they’ve been hurting him for weeks and you still defend them.”
“You don’t care if we live or die so long as you get another glimpse at their world-don’t try to disregard that. It’s not okay anymore; it’s not something I’m willing to forget. Not when they’re destroying us-they’re destroying him, Tora.” Saga was on the defense and as he heard himself speak the words that fell so readily from his lips, a large part of him regretted it. He regretted the heavy blank expression that crossed Tora’s face. He watched, for a moment, as Tora drew his fingers back into a fist and let his hands fall down to his side.
“Stop-all of you, please just stop.” Hiroto had finally spoken, his calm tone in stark contrast to Saga’s. He reached up a hand to his hair, tugging lightly on the strands of dark locks before he shook his head. “It’s not Payton-san’s fault that Nao is hurt-that any of us are here at all. He can help, Saga-kun. Let him speak.” Shou’s eyebrows knitted together, his eyes stayed on Hiroto; there was no doubt the composed, serene look across the youngest’s face was not fitting. He was, without a doubt, the most openly emotional of them all. When he was upset, he felt it wholly and completely and used any means he possibly could to fix that. When he was happy, Hiroto’s natural energy was contagious enough to earn a wide, brilliant smile even across Tora’s seemingly uninterested face. Therefore, much like the day many weeks ago that they stood in the same room, worried about Hiroto’s lack of focus, Shou didn’t quite trust his complacency just then.
Payton shifted slightly in his spot, pillows of pink crossing his cheeks. “I need time…please. I don’t have the power to find and rescue either of them and neither do you. But Shiki and Daichi and their flight-the other visiugo-they can help us. I just need time to gather them together. Two will not stand a chance, not if Nao is taken by the same vampire Ash no doubt is. She is too strong, too prominent, and too important to them to simply steal from. I ask that you trust me-I will help, I don’t want Nao or Ash to be destroyed by this. Please…I ask that you give me time.”
There had been a heavy beat of silence before Hiroto agreed, bowing softly to Payton before urging the others too. “We have to trust him.” Hiroto had uttered quietly to Saga before he slipped by him, drawing Tora away from the other two. It had been then that he asked for the book, explaining that perhaps there was more he needed to understand if this was to be their fate.
He had lied to Tora. The fact that he intended to use it for nothing but his own personal gain, to find a way to rid their lives of vampires and not understand how to live with it, was of no importance to Hiroto. He still appeared calm and measured; his intent to kill, to end this once and for all, was not at all written across his face. In fact, Hiroto himself was only vaguely aware of what it was he wanted when he had asked for Tora’s help.
It was only a few hours until darkness after that moment; he had insisted that Tora give him the book now as there might not be time later. Payton urged them to stay inside, preferably together in a well lit area, during the night hours to keep themselves safe. They had agreed in tense, restrained nods and simple words that they would find themselves in the Lionels’ apartment for the night again as it was the safest place they knew of at the time.
Hiroto, however, never intended to go. He had agreed with a small bow of his own but the moment they parted ways, in order to gather up belongings for the night, he didn’t return to his own home and he did not plan to meet them either. Instead he had found himself back in the heart of Toyko’s redlight district, seated in a seedy shop. The book, which was in pristine condition despite the fact that it was clearly centuries old, was laid out before him. He had read the section he needed a million times over and every time he did, a sort of warm and exciting calm would wash over him. It was, as if, he was knew it would end and he could be rid of this forever.
Weeks of no sleep, weeks of guilt and weeks of fear were going to be stopped as far as he was concerned. There was giddiness about him as he sat there, waiting patiently for the sky to spread from orange to red to dark blue until it was saturated in black. It started first with the dead body in the alley way, a life mercilessly taken away for no apparent reason. From there it fell on the sadness and guilt he felt when Shou had been hurt, lying in a hospital bed because of something he had pulled them into.
The dead bodies pinned to the wall, the image of watching ravenous beasts try to tug his friend up onto a bar top in order to feed from him as if he were a trough, all led to this very moment. The second he had heard what was happening to Nao, that it was his fault it was happening at all, everything that had been building up to his explosive meltdown was triggered by that piece of information. He wished it was him, he wished that she had taken him instead of Nao because he certainly deserved the pain.
Hiroto, however, wouldn’t sit idly and wait until they could find Nao only to allow the vampires the chance to steal him again. Instead he wished to settle it on his own terms; he had the means with which to do it lying in front of him, printed on crisp paper and all the supplies he needed in the canvas bag resting in the chair next to him.
As the sun fell below the horizon, covering the street and the ones beyond with darkness and signaling the streetwalkers to their midnight excursions, Hiroto’s eyes stayed glued to the doors of the club not far from where he sat. The station was not far from there, the same place he had met Ash and Payton not so long ago-the day he had yet again led his friend into danger and with it came grief.
He had briefly wondered where Nao had been that day; had he been with them? Had Shou and Tora and Hiroto been too consumed by the party raging around the metallic walls not to consider that Nao might have been clutched in their claws, hidden behind the doors and pouring forth pints of blood in euphoric craving?
The sun had finally fallen and the shop he was in was fairly empty, the dim light about him was overpowered by the neon flashes that glowed about the rest of the street. He, however, waited until the soft hum of music could be felt underneath the heels of his feet. He was fairly certain that the floor of the club extended out well beyond the building and that below him was no doubt a sea of tortured bodies, pinned up underneath him like discarded meat carcasses.
A maniacal smile crossed over his face when he felt it, sure that it was the same steady vibration that Tora had explained to him before. He scooped up the bag and the book, slipping from the shop without a look back to the few people inside. The area around the club itself was fairly dark, the buildings on either side weren’t lit and therefore a heavy shadow was cast on the sidewalk around him. Hiroto used it to his advantage, employing the shadows in the very same way that Shiki had before; only this time it was to get inside, not to escape unnoticed. He wasn’t sure what drew him forward, what sort of bravery he had when he knew what lurked beyond, but it seemed his fear and worry was completely diminished by the idea of what these creatures had done to Nao.
He intended not to let them cause any more pain to any of them ever again and he would do it in the only way he possibly could.
The bag was heavy on his shoulders and he let it fall softly to the ground once he was close to the door to the exclusive club. He couldn’t recall how Aiko had gotten them in before but he had enough confidence that he could find his way inside. He reached into the bag, pulling out the metal lighter fluid that rested comfortably inside of the bag. He trailed around the length of the door, squeezing the container and letting the clear liquid spray out all over the front of the building. It splashed against the walls and fell to the sidewalk; Hiroto drenched the entirety of the building as best he could, careful to keep it from falling against his clothes as he worked swiftly.
Hiroto then reached into the bag again, extracting the glass bottle that rested inside. He emptied the rest of the fluid into it before ripping off a strip of his shirt and stuffing it deep into the bottle’s neck. There was a wild, almost elated look on his face as he stood still before the building, the glass bottle in one hand. He was heavily laden with lack of sleep and guilt and so much pain that it was all clumped together in his desire to simply end it all. He moved quickly forward, using his sleeve to cover his free hand as he touched the soaked door and forced it open. The music from inside echoed louder out to the street, flooding it with sound and it only invigorated Hiroto that much more.
For a man that lived for the gentle beat of music, the soothing nature every note had, it only fueled him that much more.
He lit the end of the fabric with a match before he chucked it forward, into the dark entry way he knew led to the psychedelic and flashy rave. He had thrown it with all the strength he possibly could, stumbling backward from the way every emotion he felt right then was poured into his throw. It crashed against the wall and Hiroto hadn’t a moment to think before the glass exploded, the fabric catching on fire instantly and fire engulfing the floor as the lighter fluid spread quickly and ignited.
Sharp, gut wrenching laughs were escaping Hiroto. They were hardly in amusement but instead seemed full of intense fulfillment. He moved as expediently as he could as the sound of the fire crackling grew louder, the flames growing in size. He managed to stumble out to the street, ripping his shirt off, as it was covered in flammable fluid too, and throwing it haphazardly at the fire that spread. Under one arm was the book, which belonged to the Lionels, that he slipped into his hands. He looked at the cover briefly. He was still despite the babble of the fire in front of him. Without warning he wheeled back and lobbed the book with all his might toward the building where he smacked the outside façade. One corner of its old and brittle nature, despite being in well kept condition, grabbed a sliver of the flames and lay dying on the ground as it slowly inched across the surface of the book and then took the whole thing in a brilliant flash.
There were screams, loud and echoing screams that erupted from above that only made Hiroto laugh hard enough to make his stomach hurt. He was outside, towards the middle of the street as the flames started to lick up the through the door and caught against exterior. That too ignited in explosion, one that Hiroto could feel hot against his face and he turned away instinctively as the boom of the explosion rang in his ears. The entire street was lit up from the orange and red flames that destroyed the vampires’ clubhouse.
Hiroto fell down to his knees before the building; the sound crackling fire and frenzied screams were overwhelmingly loud. His laughter was slowly morphing itself in to wrenched sobs that made his shoulders shake. Every breath was hard to take in as the smoke from the fire filled the air, dark and spiraling up towards the inky black sky. His eyes squeezed shut as he took in just the feel of the hot fire and the emotional outpour that came with it. There was some release in that moment and Hiroto felt both defeated and victorious all at once.
Had he been watching the sky above, he would have seen the silhouette of large birds against the smoke, their massive wings churning it around heavier than it already was. He was barely aware of the hands that pulled him up to his feet, ripping him away from the exhilarated freedom he felt in that moment. He was unaware of how exhausted he was, how much energy he had exerted in his impulsive actions, and felt almost limp against the arms that tugged him up and dragged him away from the fire that ragged before him.
“It’s over…it’s all over.” He mumbled though his voice was hardly distinguishable, hidden underneath the frenzied creatures that poured from the building, their bodies, physical and spiritual, eaten away by the horrific fire in an instant as they caught flame. They went up like old newspapers and dried tinder. When one would be caught by the blaze it only took a matter of seconds before it would burn into a pile of ash.
“Hardly…” it was Shiki’s voice that answered but Hiroto, in his own frenzy, didn’t hear him.
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Nao had not felt anything when he'd left Saga in the hallway. He had meant what he said, though it was because he knew no other way. It was because Nao was nothing more than a shell of his former self, he had no drive and no initiative; and no desire to change any of that. His emotional self was suppressed and almost entirely invisible in the recesses of his soul as he sought nothing more than his next fix.
There was a Nao that lived weeks before which would have been horrified to see himself as he was. He would have been both ashamed and disappointed. Though he was those things now, the version of himself that was tucked away, the empty addict he'd become - the slave - was all that thought and acted in the place of Nao's former self.
Though that part of him, the small sliver of the true Nao which was hidden beneath layers of lust for his next fix and longing to please his mistress to achieve said fix, was begging the dominate and careless version of himself to just yield and let him have is body back. He wanted to be himself again; somewhere beneath the thick of his pain. But it was no part Nao could access.
He scratched at the flesh on his arms methodically as he fidgeted nervously; awaiting his time.
“Stop.” Ash mumbled. He was tired and weak. He had been drained some, but refused any offer the vampires made at turning him back into a doll. Nao had gotten jealous at Elisa's offer of herself to him while he was in the room and had threatened Ash the moment she left. It was the first time he'd shown any real emotion in a long time; but it brought Ash no hope or joy. The vampire herself had just laughed and told him that in time he would change his mind. Ash could blatantly see the way she treated them like discarded bits of trash.
It had made Ash's teeth grind in the back of his mouth, first at her arrogant opinion that she would best him (partly because he was terrified she was right, each time she extended the offer he truly considered taking it) and then as an immediate encore was Nao's attack. He'd told Ash he was foolish and he'd even pinned him to the wall demanding that next time Ash suggest that his dose be surrendered to another instead. “No.” had been Ash's only reply on that day.
She liked to put them in the private room together. She liked to make Ash watch as Nao relished in what he was foregoing. She knew it weakened his resolve, it allowed her a measure of control over the young American and she knew it simultaneously disgusted him. Each night they were placed in one of the rooms that lined the club and Nao frantically paced awaiting his turn. “Nao-san stop...” Ash implored him. Though it was as if Nao didn't hear a word Ash had said.
Ash sighed and shook his head. “What if it wasn’t about dying? Clearly you’ve accept that as a suitable alternative. What if it was about living?”
Nao’s walk slowed almost to an entire halt. Each night, Ash had spoken to Nao though he’d never really paid attention; Nao was too enraptured by the idea that he would soon get his own feeding…his own fix. Ash’s talking was nothing more than background noise that blended in with the thuds of the base and music which was pouring out onto the dance floor just beyond the door.
“Everyone always thinks in the negative. My brother does, and everyone assumes I do too because I don’t laugh and I don’t seem happy. I don’t understand why. I’ve been happy, I know what it’s like. That doesn’t mean I always smiled and looked that way to others. But I have been. That was what brought me back. It does no one any good to die, not even the people who have gone before you. Friends perhaps. Loved ones. Family. So instead of thinking of the dying that could happen from this, why not think of those you could live for Nao-san? Not what your death would do to them, but what your life offers them. How you enrich them.” Ash stood up and ran his fingers around the chain that pinned him to the wall by a spiked collar around his neck. Nao was not a danger to run off; Ash, on the other hand, was - or so the vampire Elisa though.
Ash had insisted he wasn’t leaving, no matter what she did. He had meant it too. Ash had no intention of leaving without Nao.
Nao’s feet moved again, carrying him across the floor which was covered in blood stains that had seeped into the concrete and now permanently discolored it. Ash felt his shoulders sink when the drummer started to move again in a steady pace. He stood up and maneuvered himself around the bind he had linking him to the wall and reached out lightly, grabbing the fabric of Nao’s shirt sleeve, drawing him to a stop. Ash’s thumb and forefinger held to Nao’s shirt a minute longer. Finally their eyes met. “I told you once that I understand. I do. My resolve is stronger than yours because I’m making this decision of my own accord. I’m not leaving without you. I’ll stay with you and everyday I’ll tell you this. I just hope that someday…someday you understand me Nao-san. Before its too late.”
Nao’s eyes were glassy and seemingly bored but there was a brief flicker in them that Ash didn’t miss. The Nao that lived somewhere, beaten and pushed to the back of Nao’s head, was still alive and had registered what Ash had said. That was enough to give Ash some semblance of hope. Nao almost immediately bowed his head, but there was a gentle nod in his motion and Ash’s finger slipped away from the shirt.
It was in that instant that the music stopped and both Ash and Nao’s eyes went instinctively to the door. The room as small with nothing in it but the places for the torture and binding gear to be placed. There were magical combination locks which the chains and binds were placed in so the victims could not escape without knowing the ancient, archaic magical language the locks were written in. Nao was not bound in anyway, though his skin was raw on his forearms where he’d scratched at the exposed flesh in anticipation for his nightly hit.
“I’ve never heard it stop.” Nao said, bewildered.
“That’s because it doesn’t. Something’s wrong.” Ash said dipping down in his spot trying to get a better idea of what might be going on by hearing more closely to the ground. However, it was as he got nearer to the ground and his attention swayed away from Nao that he realized there was blood everywhere in this room. The small hosting rooms were used for private feedings, usually not for blood dolls but Elisa was high enough in her status that she could easily claim one room as her own.
Nao’s eyes were set on the door as he started to panic, fearful that he might not receive any attention for the night which meant he wouldn’t get the vampiric blood drug he so desperately desired. Nao didn’t care what could be going on out there; all he cared about was how he could get his fix. He was starting to pant in worry as he moved closer to the door, wringing his hands as he moved.
“Nao! DON’T!” Ash had started to say the second Nao’s hand landed on the doorknob. In that second the door burst open and a vampire flung himself into the room. Heat swam in when the door swung forward and the creature barged in. It was a male and it was in serious frantic and spastic panic. Nao had caught a glimpse of the fire raging beyond the door and saw the creatures running and shouting in terrified fear. However, his mind went immediately to Elisa and her wellbeing. If she was unwell then he would be too because she couldn’t supply him with what he needed.
He was stunned and really didn’t care that one had slipped into the room with them as a means to escape the frenzy that fire instilled in vampires. They couldn’t think and nothing about them acted rationally when fire was present, simply because it destroyed them so easily. Their flight and fight modes switched on simultaneously and they simply became irrational killing machines. Nao, who had turned back to the door with the intention to leave and find Elisa, was hastily caught by the vampire who had entered.
In an attempt to bloat himself and gain all possible strength, the vampire carelessly and without reservation dipped his teeth into Nao’s exposed neck, hurriedly taking in the blood that poured out of the wounds the second he teeth burrowed into Nao’s fleshy neck. Usually it would be a serious foul for another vampire to touch a branded blood doll, but in the vampire’s frenzy and instinct to build his strength he had no care for what or who Nao was.
A loud, painful whimper echoed against Nao’s vocal cords as he tried futilely to wiggle out of the vampire’s grasp. It hurt to have the sharp fangs drawing blood from him; it hurt in the very same way his first night with Elisa had. Blood dolls were branded, claimed by a specific vampire, and the moment his skin was punctured by a vampire that he did not belong to, it was as the bite was tainted.
“NO!” Ash, who had been fumbling with the locking mechanism that his chain was bound to, howled. He scooped up the chains and flung them around the vampire’s head. They landed heavily on the creatures shoulder and with all his might Ash pulled, crossing the chain behind the vampire’s head so his neck was held in the loop of metal Ash had created. Using the wall as leverage and the chain magically locked to the wall, he placed his feet against the adjacent wall and pulled with all his might. Though the vampire had no breath, he still clawed at the chain around his neck when it tightened.
It didn’t take long for Ash’s efforts to prove of effective as the chain cut into the long dead flesh of the vampire’s neck. The creature started to get frantic as it realized what was happening. His other hand released Nao, who collapsed to the floor in a heap, and scrambled to get at the chain. Though all he succeeded in doing was digging deeper divots in his skin. Ash gritted his teeth and gave one final hard pull; the chain crossed itself as the vampire’s head came clean off and sent the former body into a pile of dust around Nao’s limp form.
Ash, having been bracing himself against the wall with his feet for extra strength, collapsed too - with nothing left to resist against. He landed hard on the floor, and though it was covered with blood and mess - fresh from Nao and old from years of use - Ash didn’t notice where he normally would be horrified. Later he would linger on the fact that he had been that close to filth and grim; but right then Nao was his only concern. He too had seen the fire raging on the other side.
“Nao. Nao-san.” Ash mumble and he pulled himself over to the fallen man. A small sigh of relief escaped him as he noticed that Nao was still breathing. The fire was closer than before because Ash could feel its heat pouring under the crack of the door. “Come on, you have to get up.” Ash looked around frantically. His vest had been left open and though he’d been wearing it for days, seemed to be the only suitable thing to help stop the bleeding in Nao’s neck. He didn’t hesitate as he pulled it off and clumped it up, as carelessly as Ash ever was, and pressed it against Nao’s neck.
“You must get up Nao-san. You must - you have to leave here. Now. If you don’t...this place is on fire!” He said quietly, but sharply.
Nao’s eyes fluttered open and he offered Ash a weak little smile. “No Ashton-san…no. Our understanding is mutual. I will not leave you.” Though his hand lay helplessly on the ground in his weakened state, is fingers toyed with the chain which still kept Ash bound to the wall. He even gave it a mild little tug, reminding Ash that he was in fact stuck there.
Ash shook his head. He had no words but he pushed the vest harder against Nao’s neck. He had been gathering a defense and an argument to convince Nao to leave when the door was flung open a second time. This time the flames licked into the room and Ash leaned over Nao, meanwhile Nao coward in closer to Ash on reflex.
“Ashton-san! Nao-san! Quickly!” It was Daichi who ducked in next to them, his massive wings spread out and his body was larger and more rippled with muscles. “There isn’t much time. I must take you both.”
“No…no, just take Nao. I…I can’t be saved - the chain. Don’t wait, take Nao.”
Daichi swiftly reached out and caught Ash but the collar of his shirt and hoisted him easily off the ground and placed him on his feet. “NO!” He snarled, pushing Ash toward the magical lock. “You have the knowledge.” He pressed Ash closer to the wall. “Release yourself, or the three of us will die together at your indecisiveness.” He demanded.
Ash swallowed hard. The heat from the fire was getting more intense and the flames’ song was close now. Ash’s attention swayed for a moment, fearfully as he glanced over his shoulder towards Nao but Daichi, as Ash faltered, let out a low growl that turned Ash back to the wall. “Okay…yes, okay…” Ash said raising his hands and swiftly running them over the runic symbols. He blinked a few times, trying to gather his concentration. He finally gave a small nod and swiftly moved his hands over the symbols, rearranging them and adjusting them until they all glowed an unnatural green and the chain simply fell out of the wall.
“You could have always left…?” Nao asked in astonishment, his eyes had been on Ash and Daichi, to distract himself from the heat and fire.
“Come on.” Ash said bending down and pulling Nao to his feet. “I’ve already explained this, but yes.” No further words were issued as Daichi took no time in grabbing them both with both of his arms and hugged them into his chest. He took flight, shooting right through the flames and flying with as much speed as he possibly could in order to get out of the burning building.
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Authors' Notes
Mandy: Wow - this chapter was long. We had planned on posting it yesterday...we had goals. One Friday, one Saturday and one Sunday for the final three chapters. ^_^ Yes, that's right, I said it...the last. We're on the home stretch friends.
Well now we have no goals, haha as both of us were sort of exhausted yesterday. Jackie made the graphic and I sort of messed around with some of the elements in this chapter but we were both pretty spent. She was sick and I was just worn out from a rather long week so we crashed instead. But today we came in with energy and excitement for this installment. Hence it being longer than normal. (However, I do sort of expect the next two chapters to be similar in length.)
With that said I think we both really like this chapter. There is some sort of release for me, I feel for Hiroto in this chapter. He's been a trooper for how tough we've been on him. I just thought I'd share with you my favorite line from this particular section that Jackie wrote. Hiroto’s natural energy was contagious enough to earn a wide, brilliant smile even across Tora’s seemingly uninterested face. Hers that I wrote was this: “You could have always left…?” Nao asked in astonishment, his eyes had been on Ash and Daichi, to distract himself from the heat and fire. Yes, we sort of fangirl over what each other writes...for each other - it's ahhh, an entertaining little circle we get in. *^_^*
And to be honest I was a little bummed about the fact that we're almost done. So I mentioned it to Jackie and here was her response. I hope you find it as entertaining as I do. XD!!
Mandy: I'm not ready for it to be over.
Jackie: Its not. :-D
Jackie: This is the tip of the iceberg.
Jackie: Part of the *saga* is over :-P And not even--we still have two more chapters left on it
Jackie: *Nao* buck up because the *shou* isn't over.
Jackie: .....0_0. Do you see what being sick does to me? My gosh...it should be a crime to make those sort of comments public. :D though I was particularly proud of my use of 'Saga' then...he's harder to work in than Shou and Nao. :D Mandy said a vast majority of what needed to be said. I was really hoping we could get this out this weekend and then this sickness just consumed me, left me bed ridden all day and I hated it so much. I don't think I've ever whined at Mandy as much as I did last night--I wanted to write so bad but chances are if I did, Saga would have done something that made no sense at all and then Mandy would have to fix my mess. :D So for the sake of her sanity, perhaps yours too, its a good thing last night ended early. It just means this probably will be done come Monday or Tuesday (if Sunday is super busy).
Again, thank you for reading--I love this chapter and I just hope that our excitement over it is justified. ^_^ Thank you for reading and thank you to everyone who has stuck with us so far. We appreciate it.