[drabble] Death and Age
Even creatures that are not technically alive can mourn.
Aren and Yuu had clung to one another until their sobs quieted, but there were no amount of tears that would bring back the ones they called "Mama" and "Papa".
One by one they had been losing their "family" over the years. The Order was no place for children, and sheer amount of death that clung to the organization was too much for even the twins to be sheltered from.
Yuu had cried into Aren's shoulder when one of her favorite Finder friends was killed by an Akuma. He had brought her blue flowers the day before, and she had planned to ask him the name of the flowers when he got back. "Uncle" Lavi had offered to name the flowers for her, but Yuu had waved him off and pulled away from everyone. It was much later that night when Aren found his sister outside his room, eyes red and cheeks raw from tears.
For a few years they had been afraid to make new friends among the Finders. Afraid because the Finders died so often--what if their friends died next?
Papa had sat with them, since they were too big to sit on his lap by then, and told them not to think in terms of death. People die, but people live too. Living their lives limiting their hearts to those who would not die would leave them lonely. It was better to celebrate their friends and family while they can, and not worry about death until it happens.
So they opened their hearts, and as the years went on, they learned to dry their tears and stand back up to face the day even when their hearts were torn. Yuu grew harder on the surface and Aren learned to smile even when he didn't feel like smiling.
People around them grew old and gray while they remained young and strong. It wasn't until Papa died that they finally knew what he had really meant. People died. Humans could only live so long until the strain on their bodies caused them to slip away. Papa's body gave out while protecting the rest of their family, taking the Earl and the Noah's demons with him.
Mama had screamed and yelled and cursed. It wasn't fair, how could he leave them? He had a family and he was loved. How could he do something so stupid and leave them?
Aren and Yuu held on to Mama when he finally broke down and cried.
The war wasn't over. There were still Akuma to be destroyed and ex-Noah left unhinged. Sleeping Innocence dimmed and grew cold, waiting for the chessboard to be remade. Aren and Yuu decided to stay awake. After all, they had unfinished business.
And they couldn't leave Mama all alone.
They never told him, but he probably knew their decision regardless. They said their goodnights to Mugen when it decided to sleep. The remaining Exorcists worked long and hard to rid the world of the monsters--until the day would come when they could put away their own monsters and try to live normal lives again.
Everything seemed the same, really, except there was a gapping hole in their hearts because Papa was gone and he was never coming back.
The Akuma grew fewer and fewer, but fights grew more and move vicious as the remaining Akuma made up for their lack of numbers by their abundance of levels.
And then Mama died too.
Healing seal finally cracking under the strain, his body couldn't take it anymore and there wasn't really anything left but shattered pieces like a marble statue.
As we find ourselves back at the beginning of this tale, Aren and Yuu found that it still hurts even when there aren't any more tears to shed. They clung to one another and mourn as thousand year-old beings who only just learned how to be alive. They mourned as timeless creatures without a purpose. They mourned as adults who suddenly find the world too big and lonely. They mourn as the children they always were, who lost their everything.
What now?
It was the question they asked themselves again and again. What do they do now? Their purpose is gone, their family is gone, their worlds are dark.
It's Yuu who stands up first to face the day again. Aren watched her, like a flower hiding from the sun, as petal after petal closed up tight and protected her against the world.
They still have Akuma to fight. That's right.
Aren stands up too, wiping away his tears with his sleeve, just as he did so many years ago when he was just a child--and underneath all the years, not much has changed.
They find strength in each other, one bond that cannot be broken by time or age.
And if they find new purpose in a pretty smile they see in passing, then so be it. After all, they are their parents' children.
Aren and Yuu had clung to one another until their sobs quieted, but there were no amount of tears that would bring back the ones they called "Mama" and "Papa".
One by one they had been losing their "family" over the years. The Order was no place for children, and sheer amount of death that clung to the organization was too much for even the twins to be sheltered from.
Yuu had cried into Aren's shoulder when one of her favorite Finder friends was killed by an Akuma. He had brought her blue flowers the day before, and she had planned to ask him the name of the flowers when he got back. "Uncle" Lavi had offered to name the flowers for her, but Yuu had waved him off and pulled away from everyone. It was much later that night when Aren found his sister outside his room, eyes red and cheeks raw from tears.
For a few years they had been afraid to make new friends among the Finders. Afraid because the Finders died so often--what if their friends died next?
Papa had sat with them, since they were too big to sit on his lap by then, and told them not to think in terms of death. People die, but people live too. Living their lives limiting their hearts to those who would not die would leave them lonely. It was better to celebrate their friends and family while they can, and not worry about death until it happens.
So they opened their hearts, and as the years went on, they learned to dry their tears and stand back up to face the day even when their hearts were torn. Yuu grew harder on the surface and Aren learned to smile even when he didn't feel like smiling.
People around them grew old and gray while they remained young and strong. It wasn't until Papa died that they finally knew what he had really meant. People died. Humans could only live so long until the strain on their bodies caused them to slip away. Papa's body gave out while protecting the rest of their family, taking the Earl and the Noah's demons with him.
Mama had screamed and yelled and cursed. It wasn't fair, how could he leave them? He had a family and he was loved. How could he do something so stupid and leave them?
Aren and Yuu held on to Mama when he finally broke down and cried.
The war wasn't over. There were still Akuma to be destroyed and ex-Noah left unhinged. Sleeping Innocence dimmed and grew cold, waiting for the chessboard to be remade. Aren and Yuu decided to stay awake. After all, they had unfinished business.
And they couldn't leave Mama all alone.
They never told him, but he probably knew their decision regardless. They said their goodnights to Mugen when it decided to sleep. The remaining Exorcists worked long and hard to rid the world of the monsters--until the day would come when they could put away their own monsters and try to live normal lives again.
Everything seemed the same, really, except there was a gapping hole in their hearts because Papa was gone and he was never coming back.
The Akuma grew fewer and fewer, but fights grew more and move vicious as the remaining Akuma made up for their lack of numbers by their abundance of levels.
And then Mama died too.
Healing seal finally cracking under the strain, his body couldn't take it anymore and there wasn't really anything left but shattered pieces like a marble statue.
As we find ourselves back at the beginning of this tale, Aren and Yuu found that it still hurts even when there aren't any more tears to shed. They clung to one another and mourn as thousand year-old beings who only just learned how to be alive. They mourned as timeless creatures without a purpose. They mourned as adults who suddenly find the world too big and lonely. They mourn as the children they always were, who lost their everything.
What now?
It was the question they asked themselves again and again. What do they do now? Their purpose is gone, their family is gone, their worlds are dark.
It's Yuu who stands up first to face the day again. Aren watched her, like a flower hiding from the sun, as petal after petal closed up tight and protected her against the world.
They still have Akuma to fight. That's right.
Aren stands up too, wiping away his tears with his sleeve, just as he did so many years ago when he was just a child--and underneath all the years, not much has changed.
They find strength in each other, one bond that cannot be broken by time or age.
And if they find new purpose in a pretty smile they see in passing, then so be it. After all, they are their parents' children.