Arashi: An Ever Expanding Sky (38)
AUTHOR: Marineko/mylittlecthulhu
FANDOM: Arashi
PAIRING: Sakuraiba, Juntoshi
RATING: PG
DATE: December 23rd, 2011
WORD COUNT: 3,140
NOTES/DISCLAIMERS: 1. This is a work of fiction, 2. Beta-ed by arashic0804
Chapter Thirty-Seven | Chapter Thirty-Nine
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Sho had had a long day, attending meetings with the Council elders with Oguri, the latter convincing the rest of his innocence. Still, he was put on probation, and his movements were to be watched by the Guard until the matter was cleared in the annual, “official” meeting. It didn’t matter to him either way; whether or not they believed in his innocence, he was not under the illusion that his life, and Aiba’s, depended on anyone other than Oguri himself.
He was given his old room, but there were Guards posted at his door, and he wasn’t allowed out unless called by Oguri. He discovered that most of the Guard and servants who had previously worked under his household had been replaced by Oguri’s men. He was given a new steward, to keep up with appearances. He was allowed to converse in private with Matsuyama for a couple of hours in the morning and evening, but he knew that in the end, it was Oguri’s orders that Matsuyama would follow.
It was awkward, the first time they met - Matsuyama greeting him like one would the head of a household, but both of them knowing how powerless Sho really was.
The first thing he discovered, upon reviewing the paperwork and reports Matsuyama had prepared for him, was how the Sakurai estates were slowly being bled dry to finance the Guard. He had always suspected that Oguri seemed to be spending more than Milna’s budget allowed the military, and now he wondered if the Ninomiya and Matsumoto houses’ wealth had also been seized by them. He remembered that Jun’s personal finances, at least, had been secured by Ohno, although it was a small comfort.
He cursed. “I wonder what they’re going to do once they’re done stealing from my House,” he muttered, not caring that Matsuyama could hear him. The steward looked down.
“It’s a shame,” Matsuyama said. His voice was low, as if he was afraid of being heard by the Guards waiting outside. “Sakurai-sama, I…” he took a deep breath, before continuing. “I had to follow Oguri-dono’s orders, because it’s the only way for me to be here. But I’ve been doing what I can to save the Sakurai House. There are still some here that are loyal to you, and as long as I’m here, I’ll be at your service.”
})i({
Sho had been working with Matsuyama ever since, trying to save as much of the household that he could. Oguri seemed determined to bleed the household dry, with the amount that he’s spending, but the two of them managed to create pockets here and there, taking a little from each of Oguri’s transactions. Sho thought it was ironic that he was stealing from his own household. They have also been trying to locate Jun, but hadn’t had much progress in that department until Aiba’s visit.
Matsuyama had a certain degree of freedom in the household compared to Sho, but even he had trouble with the Jun issue, because it wasn’t a concern related to his duties. But he had contacted Ikuta Toma on Sho’s behalf, and by working with Ikuta’s men, he had managed to pinpoint Jun’s location, as well as Sora’s. They had spent most of their time since preparing for Sho’s “grand reveal”, although if Sho were to be honest, he hadn’t thought of what would follow.
Perhaps the more accurate thing to say was that he refused to think of it - he had known that Sora and Jun’s existence would prove a lot, but he didn’t know much sway the truth would have over the Council.
“Sora,” he said. His father would have probably been proud, a part of him thought. He sounded commanding; perhaps even harsh. “You can drop the act, now.”
The transformation in Sora was amazing. Even he thought so - one moment Sora was him, and the next, he wasn’t. Gone was the air of confidence, the look of determination, as Sora’s eyes widened, and his posture slackened. Sora might have been groomed to be him, Sho thought, but whoever that had coded Sora’s life threads hadn’t bothered to give him Sho’s temperament, or personality.
Then again, when he thought of Aiba, he wondered if such things weren’t possible to code after all. Windups may not be human, but they were people, individuals in their own right.
“What’s the meaning of this?”
Sho didn’t know who was it that had spoken first. But soon enough everyone was talking at the same time, and Oguri was still quiet. A foreboding feeling starting to come over him, but he quelled it, looking at Ogura expectantly.
“Ogura-dono,” he said, ever respectful. “I’m sorry to cause a disturbance in today’s meeting, but I do believe that Oguri Tetsuya should be tried before the council.”
Ogura looked somewhat dazed, as if he was still trying to process what had happened. But then he shook it off, calling for the Guards sharply. The Guards that were outside entered the room, and the Guard representatives of the council stood, but none of them moved forward when he told them to escort Oguri to the holding room. The room almost instantly fell into silence, as the arguing council members turned to look at each other, or at the Guards, in confusion.
Impatient, Kuroki asked, “What are you waiting for? Get him out of here, now.” She sounded just as Sho remembered her from the Academy - strict, calm, no-nonsense.
Still, they did not move.
“Ah,” Nino said, then. He sounded amused; incredulous, Sho stared at him. “It’s mutiny. Isn’t it?” He turned to the rest of them and said knowledgably, “We sky pirates see this a lot, you know.”
Never mind the fact that he only flew with Rin and Aiba, and none of them had ever turned on the others. Sho resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
Ueto moved, in panic or defiance, Sho couldn’t tell. But in that instant the Guards’ weapons were immediately pointed towards all of them.
Even as the initial shock running through Sho’s system was giving away to despair and frustration, and he starts to block what was going on around him, he could hear Nino calmly advising everyone to do what the Guards tell them, if they wanted to live.
})i({
It was said that the people of Eero respected windups, and the strange combination of magic and science that made them possible. Many of the windup experts would disagree - for them, it was all science. When one studied life threads enough, one could then figure out how to rearrange them to one’s liking. The fact that the windups’ origin came from nomad lore was nothing but an uncomfortable history that these experts would rather forget.
Many of the people of Eero, too, might disagree. Or at least, Kamenashi figured, they ought to. Windups were abundant in Eero, and expendable. They were treated like any other livestock - as anyone who had been to the auctions would attest.
It was an ugly experience, being in the auction. Kamenashi remembered barely being able to breathe, with too many of them being kept in too small a space. There was hardly room to stand; some of the smaller ones were carried because of the lack of space. More of them were just stepped on. He had heard of a windup boy that grew up in the auctions, and lived in it for five years, before the windup that had been taking care of him had been bought. The boy, having never set foot outside the cages, didn’t even have the ability to stand on his own two feet. He heard that the boy was eventually disposed of, but he didn’t really know the truth.
When the brothel that had commissioned for him had went bust, Kamenashi was sent straight to the auction, along with four others like him. Two of them had been bought quickly, by buyers from other brothels.
It was funny, he had thought then. Before, when he was still at the nursery, he had wanted so much to be a different kind of windup. He knew what he was made for, and he knew the kind of life that lay ahead of him. Anything else would be better, he had thought, then.
But it took just one day in the auctions for him to change his mind. He didn’t care who buys him, and for what purpose - anything would be better than where he was.
Then Akanishi came along, and everything changed.
})i({
Aiba was out, somewhere, probably worrying himself sick over what was going on at the council meeting. He had said that he wanted to be alone, so no one else went with him, although Kamenashi suspected that Takizawa would have sent two of the younger windups to tail Aiba.
If what they were saying was true, then Aiba wasn’t an ordinary windup. If he had been reborn, then it must mean that he had a soul. It was difficult to believe, because Kamenashi had spent more time alone with Aiba than the other windups, and he didn’t see anything that made Aiba different from himself, or the rest of them.
Of course, he didn’t know everything. What he knew was what he gleaned from Aiba, or things he had deduced from listening to various conversations. No one would tell him anything - he was merely a brothel windup, after all.
Akanishi was away with Rin, again, so he was left to his own devices. Usually he’d use the time to read - it irritated Akanishi when he read in his master’s presence, even though Akanishi never asked him not to do it - or finish up any minor tasks that needed doing. But he couldn’t concentrate on anything, either, and he wondered why he was so concerned about the outcome of a meeting that would not affect him personally at all.
Still, he burrowed in the deep chairs of Takizawa’s library - it wasn’t a big room, but it was almost maze-like with floor to wall ceilings creating pathways through the space, books practically spilling out of them, with the occasional stool or chair tucked in a corner. As much as he resented the way Takizawa and Tsubasa were dismissive of him, he couldn’t help but prefer this library of theirs to the sparse coldness of Milna’s public library.
He had been reading the same line several times over when he heard the voices of Takizawa and Tsubasa as they walked into the library.
“What are you doing?” One of them - probably Tsubasa, Kamenashi thought - asked the other.
“Making sure no one’s here,” Takizawa replies. He sounded a lot nearer than Tsubasa did; Kamenashi froze, wondering if he should make his presence known. But he was curious about what they needed privacy for, and he knew that he was hidden from view, thanks to the shelves surrounding him.
“None of the younger ones spend time here, unless we make them.” Tsubasa sounded a little annoyed by this fact.
“It’s always better to err on the side of caution, though, don’t you think?”
“Whatever.” Kamenashi could almost see the exasperated look on Tsubasa’s face, just from hearing his voice. He supposed that this would be a good time to announce his presence, and leave the room, but something told him to stay still.
“Have we progressed with Aiba?”
“No.” Tsubasa sounded disgusted, this time. “He’s too attached to that human of his. It makes me sick to think of it, a being as pure as him clinging to a human -”
“That Ninomiya,” Takizawa interrupted. “We do need him lobbying for our rights, though. And with Aiba by his side…”
“Please. Don’t tell me that you’re starting to believe in your own fiction. They’re never going to acknowledge us as people. You know that as much as I do.”
“Ninomiya - and that Ohno -”
“Are human,” Tsubasa said, finishing Takizawa’s sentence. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten the things they’ve done to you, Hideaki.” His voice had grown softer then - somehow both sorrowful, and furious. “What they’ve done to all of us, before they left us out to die.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” Takizawa snapped. “I just thought - those two didn’t seem as bad as the rest of them. Maybe they could change.”
“Do you really think that?” Takizawa didn’t answer. Tsubasa waited a long moment, before continuing, “It’s unfortunate, true. I would prefer to have Ninomiya out there in the Council myself, at least for now. But we can’t leave Aiba attached to a human; you know that.”
Kame started at that, an unknown part of him rebelling at the thought of anything happening to Aiba’s owner. It was just that Ninomiya was Akanishi’s cousin, and therefore he didn’t want Ninomiya harmed, he thought. But if a windup wasn’t cast away and didn’t run off on their own, risking the compulsion, the only other way to gain freedom that he knew of was the death of their owner by another windup.
As he straightened up, and tried to sit back down, the book in his hands fell to the floor.
The murmuring voices of Takizawa and Tsubasa halted, then, silenced by the interruption.
“Kamenashi-kun,” Tsubasa said, a few moments later. “Just the person we want to see.”
})i({
Ohno felt so useless. He cursed the fact that due to his caste, he was not allowed to be trained in combat or to wield weapons. It was stupid, he thought. If it was going to be part of his job to oversee the Matsumoto heir, then shouldn’t he be equipped with the knowledge that would help him protect said heir? But things were the way they always had been, and only the nobles were allowed - which did not turn out to be a good thing, after all, he thought bitterly. All of the Guards were of noble blood, and it seemed like a large number of them were traitors to the Milnan Houses.
So Ohno watched, and waited, and worried.
He never wanted his job, or his station in life, but he made the best he could out of it. He had never expected to fall for the prince he was supposed to care for, but to him that had been a good thing - a miracle in a world that otherwise would seem devoid of hope, or freedom. It didn’t mean that it hadn’t taken Jun a long time to convince him that it was all right, and it didn’t mean that he never thought about how much easier things would be if he - or Jun - had made different decisions.
Toma had told him to stay out of the way, to leave things to his men - but Ohno didn’t know if the mercenary was to be trusted, even if he was Nino’s cousin. But he was just a steward, and as Toma had told him, he could always find another household to work for. “Usually I’m all for revolutions,” Toma had said, “but I like you, and you have to smart in situations like this. We don’t know how things are going to end; you don’t want them to charge you for treason if anything goes wrong. Leave it to us, and you’ll get out of this whole thing reasonably okay, even if everything else goes to shit.”
Ohno knew that Toma only meant half of what he was saying; he had seemed distracted by his own worries, about Nino and Akanishi and Rin being involved. It didn’t matter how much Toma said that he’d sworn off their family ties - he still cared for his cousins. Ohno asked Toma if he wouldn’t take his own advice, and he gave Ohno a half-smile.
“My situation’s a little different,” he said. “I have - bonds - keeping me here. You don’t.”
Ohno looked away, then, biting his lips before he said anything that would give him away. It didn’t matter what Jun had said when they were on Nino’s ship. No one could know about them, because it was the kind of knowledge that would dishonor the Matsumoto House.
})i({
“Nino.”
Nino looked up from where he was chained. Sho was bound to the other side of the holding room, with Kuroki. “Yes, Sho-kun?”
“Your grand reveal - it ended badly.”
Kuroki snorted, when she heard Sho’s choice of words. Nino smiled.
“Your reveal, too. I had no idea you were going to pull - what you did.”
“No one was going to believe you. I had to do something.” Sho then mumbled something else, that sounded a lot like “Aiba would’ve wanted me to.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Why are you so calm?” It wasn’t that Sho didn’t appreciate it, because Nino’s blasé attitude was certainly helping him calm down, but it was strange.
“Am I not supposed to be?”
Kuroki sighed, loudly. “Ninomiya,” she said. “You know something. We know you do. Just spit it out, already.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Fine,” Sho snapped. “But if you’ve got Aiba involved…”
“He’s not your problem anymore,” Nino snapped back, his early coolness disappearing in an instant. “Besides, I’ve got this all covered, so just sit back and relax, Sho-chan.”
“It’s not like I have a choice, do I?” Sho muttered under his breath. “We’re stuck here until Oguri decides what to do with us. Again.”
“Oh, it isn’t Oguri who will be deciding,” Nino replied. Sho gave him a hard look, but he just shrugged, indicating that he was guessing, so Sho didn’t ask him anything else.
})i({
Aiba watched as the Guards escorted the Council members to the holding areas. It was a strange feeling, like everything was focused and the rest of the world was fading away - the only thing he could think of was Sho and Nino were in Oguri’s hands. He stilled himself, though, even as they were divided into smaller groups, and taken out of sight.
He sighed softly, thinking of how a simple job had blown up into something so big. Now he was perched outside the window, hiding in the shadows in case a winged Guard came too near. There was still a lot that he didn’t know, but he wasn’t even sure that it was important anymore.
Takizawa had asked him if he could keep them updated on the council meetings, but he wasn’t too keen on seeing the other windup right then. He liked the other windups; it was just that he didn’t think they understood his attachments to Nino, and Rin, and Sho. He could talk to them later.
He tugged on the straps of the wings he’d stolen, testing them. He wasn’t a winged Guard, and had no training on the usage of the wings. But he toyed with one of the dials attached to the strap, and the wings spread out, and he jumped.
First, he needed to contact Ikuta.
~ to be continued ~
Chapter Thirty-Seven | Chapter Thirty-Nine
Marineko's Notes:
I just realised that the last time I updated this fic, was in May. orz
To everyone who reads this fic, I'm sorry for taking so long to update.
Think of this as a... Christmas gift? ^^;
After the very, very, very long wait, I hope this doesn't disappoint.
FANDOM: Arashi
PAIRING: Sakuraiba, Juntoshi
RATING: PG
DATE: December 23rd, 2011
WORD COUNT: 3,140
NOTES/DISCLAIMERS: 1. This is a work of fiction, 2. Beta-ed by arashic0804
Chapter Thirty-Seven | Chapter Thirty-Nine
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Sho had had a long day, attending meetings with the Council elders with Oguri, the latter convincing the rest of his innocence. Still, he was put on probation, and his movements were to be watched by the Guard until the matter was cleared in the annual, “official” meeting. It didn’t matter to him either way; whether or not they believed in his innocence, he was not under the illusion that his life, and Aiba’s, depended on anyone other than Oguri himself.
He was given his old room, but there were Guards posted at his door, and he wasn’t allowed out unless called by Oguri. He discovered that most of the Guard and servants who had previously worked under his household had been replaced by Oguri’s men. He was given a new steward, to keep up with appearances. He was allowed to converse in private with Matsuyama for a couple of hours in the morning and evening, but he knew that in the end, it was Oguri’s orders that Matsuyama would follow.
It was awkward, the first time they met - Matsuyama greeting him like one would the head of a household, but both of them knowing how powerless Sho really was.
The first thing he discovered, upon reviewing the paperwork and reports Matsuyama had prepared for him, was how the Sakurai estates were slowly being bled dry to finance the Guard. He had always suspected that Oguri seemed to be spending more than Milna’s budget allowed the military, and now he wondered if the Ninomiya and Matsumoto houses’ wealth had also been seized by them. He remembered that Jun’s personal finances, at least, had been secured by Ohno, although it was a small comfort.
He cursed. “I wonder what they’re going to do once they’re done stealing from my House,” he muttered, not caring that Matsuyama could hear him. The steward looked down.
“It’s a shame,” Matsuyama said. His voice was low, as if he was afraid of being heard by the Guards waiting outside. “Sakurai-sama, I…” he took a deep breath, before continuing. “I had to follow Oguri-dono’s orders, because it’s the only way for me to be here. But I’ve been doing what I can to save the Sakurai House. There are still some here that are loyal to you, and as long as I’m here, I’ll be at your service.”
})i({
Sho had been working with Matsuyama ever since, trying to save as much of the household that he could. Oguri seemed determined to bleed the household dry, with the amount that he’s spending, but the two of them managed to create pockets here and there, taking a little from each of Oguri’s transactions. Sho thought it was ironic that he was stealing from his own household. They have also been trying to locate Jun, but hadn’t had much progress in that department until Aiba’s visit.
Matsuyama had a certain degree of freedom in the household compared to Sho, but even he had trouble with the Jun issue, because it wasn’t a concern related to his duties. But he had contacted Ikuta Toma on Sho’s behalf, and by working with Ikuta’s men, he had managed to pinpoint Jun’s location, as well as Sora’s. They had spent most of their time since preparing for Sho’s “grand reveal”, although if Sho were to be honest, he hadn’t thought of what would follow.
Perhaps the more accurate thing to say was that he refused to think of it - he had known that Sora and Jun’s existence would prove a lot, but he didn’t know much sway the truth would have over the Council.
“Sora,” he said. His father would have probably been proud, a part of him thought. He sounded commanding; perhaps even harsh. “You can drop the act, now.”
The transformation in Sora was amazing. Even he thought so - one moment Sora was him, and the next, he wasn’t. Gone was the air of confidence, the look of determination, as Sora’s eyes widened, and his posture slackened. Sora might have been groomed to be him, Sho thought, but whoever that had coded Sora’s life threads hadn’t bothered to give him Sho’s temperament, or personality.
Then again, when he thought of Aiba, he wondered if such things weren’t possible to code after all. Windups may not be human, but they were people, individuals in their own right.
“What’s the meaning of this?”
Sho didn’t know who was it that had spoken first. But soon enough everyone was talking at the same time, and Oguri was still quiet. A foreboding feeling starting to come over him, but he quelled it, looking at Ogura expectantly.
“Ogura-dono,” he said, ever respectful. “I’m sorry to cause a disturbance in today’s meeting, but I do believe that Oguri Tetsuya should be tried before the council.”
Ogura looked somewhat dazed, as if he was still trying to process what had happened. But then he shook it off, calling for the Guards sharply. The Guards that were outside entered the room, and the Guard representatives of the council stood, but none of them moved forward when he told them to escort Oguri to the holding room. The room almost instantly fell into silence, as the arguing council members turned to look at each other, or at the Guards, in confusion.
Impatient, Kuroki asked, “What are you waiting for? Get him out of here, now.” She sounded just as Sho remembered her from the Academy - strict, calm, no-nonsense.
Still, they did not move.
“Ah,” Nino said, then. He sounded amused; incredulous, Sho stared at him. “It’s mutiny. Isn’t it?” He turned to the rest of them and said knowledgably, “We sky pirates see this a lot, you know.”
Never mind the fact that he only flew with Rin and Aiba, and none of them had ever turned on the others. Sho resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
Ueto moved, in panic or defiance, Sho couldn’t tell. But in that instant the Guards’ weapons were immediately pointed towards all of them.
Even as the initial shock running through Sho’s system was giving away to despair and frustration, and he starts to block what was going on around him, he could hear Nino calmly advising everyone to do what the Guards tell them, if they wanted to live.
})i({
It was said that the people of Eero respected windups, and the strange combination of magic and science that made them possible. Many of the windup experts would disagree - for them, it was all science. When one studied life threads enough, one could then figure out how to rearrange them to one’s liking. The fact that the windups’ origin came from nomad lore was nothing but an uncomfortable history that these experts would rather forget.
Many of the people of Eero, too, might disagree. Or at least, Kamenashi figured, they ought to. Windups were abundant in Eero, and expendable. They were treated like any other livestock - as anyone who had been to the auctions would attest.
It was an ugly experience, being in the auction. Kamenashi remembered barely being able to breathe, with too many of them being kept in too small a space. There was hardly room to stand; some of the smaller ones were carried because of the lack of space. More of them were just stepped on. He had heard of a windup boy that grew up in the auctions, and lived in it for five years, before the windup that had been taking care of him had been bought. The boy, having never set foot outside the cages, didn’t even have the ability to stand on his own two feet. He heard that the boy was eventually disposed of, but he didn’t really know the truth.
When the brothel that had commissioned for him had went bust, Kamenashi was sent straight to the auction, along with four others like him. Two of them had been bought quickly, by buyers from other brothels.
It was funny, he had thought then. Before, when he was still at the nursery, he had wanted so much to be a different kind of windup. He knew what he was made for, and he knew the kind of life that lay ahead of him. Anything else would be better, he had thought, then.
But it took just one day in the auctions for him to change his mind. He didn’t care who buys him, and for what purpose - anything would be better than where he was.
Then Akanishi came along, and everything changed.
})i({
Aiba was out, somewhere, probably worrying himself sick over what was going on at the council meeting. He had said that he wanted to be alone, so no one else went with him, although Kamenashi suspected that Takizawa would have sent two of the younger windups to tail Aiba.
If what they were saying was true, then Aiba wasn’t an ordinary windup. If he had been reborn, then it must mean that he had a soul. It was difficult to believe, because Kamenashi had spent more time alone with Aiba than the other windups, and he didn’t see anything that made Aiba different from himself, or the rest of them.
Of course, he didn’t know everything. What he knew was what he gleaned from Aiba, or things he had deduced from listening to various conversations. No one would tell him anything - he was merely a brothel windup, after all.
Akanishi was away with Rin, again, so he was left to his own devices. Usually he’d use the time to read - it irritated Akanishi when he read in his master’s presence, even though Akanishi never asked him not to do it - or finish up any minor tasks that needed doing. But he couldn’t concentrate on anything, either, and he wondered why he was so concerned about the outcome of a meeting that would not affect him personally at all.
Still, he burrowed in the deep chairs of Takizawa’s library - it wasn’t a big room, but it was almost maze-like with floor to wall ceilings creating pathways through the space, books practically spilling out of them, with the occasional stool or chair tucked in a corner. As much as he resented the way Takizawa and Tsubasa were dismissive of him, he couldn’t help but prefer this library of theirs to the sparse coldness of Milna’s public library.
He had been reading the same line several times over when he heard the voices of Takizawa and Tsubasa as they walked into the library.
“What are you doing?” One of them - probably Tsubasa, Kamenashi thought - asked the other.
“Making sure no one’s here,” Takizawa replies. He sounded a lot nearer than Tsubasa did; Kamenashi froze, wondering if he should make his presence known. But he was curious about what they needed privacy for, and he knew that he was hidden from view, thanks to the shelves surrounding him.
“None of the younger ones spend time here, unless we make them.” Tsubasa sounded a little annoyed by this fact.
“It’s always better to err on the side of caution, though, don’t you think?”
“Whatever.” Kamenashi could almost see the exasperated look on Tsubasa’s face, just from hearing his voice. He supposed that this would be a good time to announce his presence, and leave the room, but something told him to stay still.
“Have we progressed with Aiba?”
“No.” Tsubasa sounded disgusted, this time. “He’s too attached to that human of his. It makes me sick to think of it, a being as pure as him clinging to a human -”
“That Ninomiya,” Takizawa interrupted. “We do need him lobbying for our rights, though. And with Aiba by his side…”
“Please. Don’t tell me that you’re starting to believe in your own fiction. They’re never going to acknowledge us as people. You know that as much as I do.”
“Ninomiya - and that Ohno -”
“Are human,” Tsubasa said, finishing Takizawa’s sentence. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten the things they’ve done to you, Hideaki.” His voice had grown softer then - somehow both sorrowful, and furious. “What they’ve done to all of us, before they left us out to die.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” Takizawa snapped. “I just thought - those two didn’t seem as bad as the rest of them. Maybe they could change.”
“Do you really think that?” Takizawa didn’t answer. Tsubasa waited a long moment, before continuing, “It’s unfortunate, true. I would prefer to have Ninomiya out there in the Council myself, at least for now. But we can’t leave Aiba attached to a human; you know that.”
Kame started at that, an unknown part of him rebelling at the thought of anything happening to Aiba’s owner. It was just that Ninomiya was Akanishi’s cousin, and therefore he didn’t want Ninomiya harmed, he thought. But if a windup wasn’t cast away and didn’t run off on their own, risking the compulsion, the only other way to gain freedom that he knew of was the death of their owner by another windup.
As he straightened up, and tried to sit back down, the book in his hands fell to the floor.
The murmuring voices of Takizawa and Tsubasa halted, then, silenced by the interruption.
“Kamenashi-kun,” Tsubasa said, a few moments later. “Just the person we want to see.”
})i({
Ohno felt so useless. He cursed the fact that due to his caste, he was not allowed to be trained in combat or to wield weapons. It was stupid, he thought. If it was going to be part of his job to oversee the Matsumoto heir, then shouldn’t he be equipped with the knowledge that would help him protect said heir? But things were the way they always had been, and only the nobles were allowed - which did not turn out to be a good thing, after all, he thought bitterly. All of the Guards were of noble blood, and it seemed like a large number of them were traitors to the Milnan Houses.
So Ohno watched, and waited, and worried.
He never wanted his job, or his station in life, but he made the best he could out of it. He had never expected to fall for the prince he was supposed to care for, but to him that had been a good thing - a miracle in a world that otherwise would seem devoid of hope, or freedom. It didn’t mean that it hadn’t taken Jun a long time to convince him that it was all right, and it didn’t mean that he never thought about how much easier things would be if he - or Jun - had made different decisions.
Toma had told him to stay out of the way, to leave things to his men - but Ohno didn’t know if the mercenary was to be trusted, even if he was Nino’s cousin. But he was just a steward, and as Toma had told him, he could always find another household to work for. “Usually I’m all for revolutions,” Toma had said, “but I like you, and you have to smart in situations like this. We don’t know how things are going to end; you don’t want them to charge you for treason if anything goes wrong. Leave it to us, and you’ll get out of this whole thing reasonably okay, even if everything else goes to shit.”
Ohno knew that Toma only meant half of what he was saying; he had seemed distracted by his own worries, about Nino and Akanishi and Rin being involved. It didn’t matter how much Toma said that he’d sworn off their family ties - he still cared for his cousins. Ohno asked Toma if he wouldn’t take his own advice, and he gave Ohno a half-smile.
“My situation’s a little different,” he said. “I have - bonds - keeping me here. You don’t.”
Ohno looked away, then, biting his lips before he said anything that would give him away. It didn’t matter what Jun had said when they were on Nino’s ship. No one could know about them, because it was the kind of knowledge that would dishonor the Matsumoto House.
})i({
“Nino.”
Nino looked up from where he was chained. Sho was bound to the other side of the holding room, with Kuroki. “Yes, Sho-kun?”
“Your grand reveal - it ended badly.”
Kuroki snorted, when she heard Sho’s choice of words. Nino smiled.
“Your reveal, too. I had no idea you were going to pull - what you did.”
“No one was going to believe you. I had to do something.” Sho then mumbled something else, that sounded a lot like “Aiba would’ve wanted me to.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Why are you so calm?” It wasn’t that Sho didn’t appreciate it, because Nino’s blasé attitude was certainly helping him calm down, but it was strange.
“Am I not supposed to be?”
Kuroki sighed, loudly. “Ninomiya,” she said. “You know something. We know you do. Just spit it out, already.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Fine,” Sho snapped. “But if you’ve got Aiba involved…”
“He’s not your problem anymore,” Nino snapped back, his early coolness disappearing in an instant. “Besides, I’ve got this all covered, so just sit back and relax, Sho-chan.”
“It’s not like I have a choice, do I?” Sho muttered under his breath. “We’re stuck here until Oguri decides what to do with us. Again.”
“Oh, it isn’t Oguri who will be deciding,” Nino replied. Sho gave him a hard look, but he just shrugged, indicating that he was guessing, so Sho didn’t ask him anything else.
})i({
Aiba watched as the Guards escorted the Council members to the holding areas. It was a strange feeling, like everything was focused and the rest of the world was fading away - the only thing he could think of was Sho and Nino were in Oguri’s hands. He stilled himself, though, even as they were divided into smaller groups, and taken out of sight.
He sighed softly, thinking of how a simple job had blown up into something so big. Now he was perched outside the window, hiding in the shadows in case a winged Guard came too near. There was still a lot that he didn’t know, but he wasn’t even sure that it was important anymore.
Takizawa had asked him if he could keep them updated on the council meetings, but he wasn’t too keen on seeing the other windup right then. He liked the other windups; it was just that he didn’t think they understood his attachments to Nino, and Rin, and Sho. He could talk to them later.
He tugged on the straps of the wings he’d stolen, testing them. He wasn’t a winged Guard, and had no training on the usage of the wings. But he toyed with one of the dials attached to the strap, and the wings spread out, and he jumped.
First, he needed to contact Ikuta.
~ to be continued ~
Chapter Thirty-Seven | Chapter Thirty-Nine
Marineko's Notes:
I just realised that the last time I updated this fic, was in May. orz
To everyone who reads this fic, I'm sorry for taking so long to update.
Think of this as a... Christmas gift? ^^;
After the very, very, very long wait, I hope this doesn't disappoint.