Phosphorescent Lights: Prologue
Every secret has a price…
Title: Phosphorescent Lights
Summary: A photographer with no memories whose goal in life is to seek out what he has lost; a businessman who swore revenge for the death of his lover while desperately trying to escape his fixated reality. Two entirely different men with entirely different lives bound together by the threads of destiny. But little do the two know that they are bounded together by more than just simple destiny…
Genre: Romance/Drama
Pairings: Akame (primary), Ryoda (secondary) mentions of Jinda, Pin, Ryopi, Kokame, Kamaki
Other Characters: Jin, Kame, Ueda, Yamashita, Ryo, Koki, slight appearances from Taguchi, Nakamaru, Tegoshi
Content: Romance, drama, AU [Alternate Universe]
Author: Nerd-san
Disclaimer: I am not in any way affiliated with Johnny Entertainment
…are they willing to pay it?
Phosphorescent Lights: Prologue
“Let me explain.”
Jin grunted as he bent down to pick up his over-packed suitcase. “There’s no need.” He stated simply, heatedly walking out of his boyfriend’s car and leaving his feet to take him to wherever they wanted. Anywhere was fine with him; so long as it was away from that man.
Ueda stumbled out of the driver’s seat, turning on his hot heels to face the retreating man. “Jin, no - wait!” He cried out, but Jin paid him no attention. He refused to look back as Ueda began after him. “Jin!”
The uneven sternness of the voice finally caused Jin to stop in his tracks. Complying with the older man’s desires, he turned around. He kept his eyes fixed solely to the ground beneath him as Ueda’s eyes bore into his own.
“Leave me the hell alone Tatsuya!” He scoffed, kicking an angry pebble in the opposite direction. Unconsciously, Ueda flinched. Jin’s gaze finally let up as he locked eyes with the too-familiar chocolate ones of his boyfriend.
Jin forced out a strangled laugh. “What?! Did you think I wasn’t going to find out?!”
“Just hear me out-”
“Keep your excuses for yourself!”
Understanding the man’s confusion, Ueda did nothing. He simply stood where he was, halfheartedly leaning against the car’s trunk for support. He watched Jin’s retreating back in regret. Perhaps if he had never met this man, things could have been different.
Jin let up a few stray tears, listening to the deafening sound of his suitcase’s wheels marching over the harsh floor. He dared himself to glance back once, simply once, at his boyfriend’s - ex-boyfriend’s - figure.
When he did he wished he hadn’t. He wished he hadn’t in the same way he wished he had never met the man. Jin frowned narrowly; Ueda wasn’t looking back. Jin wiped away another tear.
We’re over, he thought.
Ueda reluctantly got into his car, opening the door hesitantly and hoping for an excuse, any excuse, that would permit him to look back a last time. At last he found one, and slowly he tilted the rearview mirror to catch a glimpse of Jin’s back.
Ueda smiled disappointingly. We’re finished, he thought as a single tear escaped his eyes. He didn’t even look back once.
◦●○◦
“Mom!” The boy cried out, tears of shock clouding his eyes. He yelled as loudly as he could, running towards what figments remained of the woman’s presence. “Mom!”
A second boy, taller and far more rowdy, grabbed the screaming teen by the waist, pulling him into himself. “No…ngrh,” he struggled to keep the boy in place. “…you can’t go!”
It was futile and he knew it. The boy in his grasp was surely to break free; the power of wanting to see his mother overruled whatever force the older boy exerted on him.
The second boy felt a sense of unclaimed guilt wash over him, looking at the mess of the crying one. He refused to let go of his hold. “Mmrph, don’t…go!” His reasoning fell upon deaf ears as; finally, the smaller boy broke free.
The next few seconds were a blur. There was police tape, an unhealthy number of policemen, the rowdy boy could even see his father in the mess; his face however was clouded by the entourage of news reporters willing answers out of him.
Amid the confusion he stood alone in the crowd, remaining to be the only thing separating the crying boy from seeing the mess that was his mother. Hurrying to his senses, he took two large steps ahead of him and once again grabbed hold of the boy, just in time.
“No! Let me go!” The resisting boy cried out, throwing pathetic punches at the older boy. In response the older boy simply grunted, but refused to dispel the hold.
Tears streamed down faster, his actions became more frantic and his movements more frenzied. “Let me go!” He yelled again, and if under any other circumstances the shout itself would be enough to attract a crowd.
But in the midst of the commotion, his screams went unheard. “I want to see my mom!” The rowdy boy felt a pang of angry guilt stab away at his heart. And for a second, a mere second, he dropped his guard. Seizing the opportunity, the smaller boy pushed the latter from himself and dared to cross the yellow police tape.
Frantic, the rowdy boy flaunted after him.
◦●○◦
Okinawa. His father had told him that this was going to be his new home; that they had moved from the urbanized Tokyo after something his father was not yet willing to stray upon. Funny, he thought; he couldn’t remember a thing about living in Tokyo.
Asides the curious pamphlets he had picked up here and there, he hadn’t the faintest idea of how that city had looked like. He had asked his father about this, who in turn told him nothing.
He had asked if he had a mother and if so, where she was. He asked about who he used to be, what he used to like - what he used to be like. His questions were met with silence or on the occasion, a short untidy mumble.
Eventually, he had given up trying to find out about his past.
It was of no relevance to who he was now. He sighed, gripping the hold on his knapsack tightly, cautiously walking through the halls of the foreign school grounds.
Amid his mess of thoughts, he felt another careless student brushing past him. Their shoulders met and through the coarse contact, and gently the shorter boy lost his balance. He shut his eyes and prepared himself for the graceless fall.
“Kame?”
Stunned, the boy in question lifted his tightly compacted eyes, opening them and staring blankly at his savoir. He fished himself out of the latter’s hold, straightening himself and steadying his schoolbag.
“Who are you?” He blurted, staring at the other student. He was dressed casually as most other students were in their uniforms, although he had an intensely sharp, devilish look to him. “Why do you know my name?”
The devilish-looking boy laughed and scratched the back of his neck with hesitant fingers. “Ah…” He gave the younger boy a once-over before returning his gawk to the boy’s eyes. “How’re you doing?”
“Did you…did you know me from before?!”
“This isn’t like you, Kame,” the boy tried to make light of the situation with his tentative laugh, but the smaller boy didn’t seem pleased, “being this direct isn’t like you at all.”
“So you did know me.” The latter accused, the hand that gripped his knapsack tightened greatly. “You…you did know me!”
The devilish-looking boy shrugged his shoulders carelessly as if brushing off the question altogether. “More or less.” He said simply. “It’s not like we were friends or anything.”
“Oh.”
Disappointment clouded the teen’s features. Dejectedly, the boy turned his back and began off to class. “Well then, you and I should have nothing to do with each other.”
He sketchily made his way past the taller student, making no attempts to turn back to face the devilish boy as he did so.
◦●○◦
“I’m not going.”
“Stop being stubborn. Yamashita would have wanted you to.”
Aggravated, he jumped out of his seat, black tie falling in the process. “Pi would have wanted to be here!” He screamed, aware that he was making a scene in front of his relatives that occupied the main floor of the house.
Ashamed at her son’s outburst, his mother placed a shoulder on his hand and directed him towards the kitchen. “Jin.” She spoke firmly and yet her son refused to meet her gaze, keeping his eyes steadfastly glued to his black shoes place harshly against the expensive tiling.
His mother frowned, hands delicately crossed against her thin frame. “Calm down for one minute and think this over.” She put a hand under her son’s chin, forcing his eyes to look at hers. He scowled, but nonetheless met with her expectations.
“It’s not a matter of being stubborn or not. You’re paying your respects to Yamashita’s family and that’s final.” Her words hit him like a pile of unwanted bricks. They were his wake-up call to understating that this was all happening. That this was real.
His mother sighed, and for a moment he wondered why she was acting like she cared. She didn’t even know Yamashita. Not as much as he did, anyway. But putting it like that, no one knew Yamashita like he did.
“You were the last one to speak with him, after all.” More unwanted bricks.
“Last, last, last! I’m sick of it! Stop talking about him like that!” His sudden outburst hadn’t surprised his mother as she merely drawn herself further into her façade of consideration. “Stop…talking about him like that.”
He began to undo the thick buttons to his over-priced suit but his mother’s fingers hurried to beat him to it. “You’re going Jin and that’s final.”
“You don’t understand!” Furiously he pushed back, clumsily hitting the hard kitchen counter. He hissed in recoil. “God damn it as long as you live in this damned house with him you’d never understand!”
“Jin…” His mother’s eyes darted with heavy warning between her son and the on looking relatives. “Stop that this instant.”
“I’m not going damn it!”
He made a beeline to the door but was stopped abruptly by his father’s sudden threatening presence. He grunted at the impact and soon the entire household was covered in a familiar eerie silence.
His father towered over him like a lean billboard, blocking the phosphorescent lights above, leaving the grunting man in his uncanny shade.
“Get your shoes.”
◦●○◦
He blinked twice. And then twice more to make sure that the empty abyss of whiteness was real. “Where am I?” He shivered a little at the voice that emerged from his throat. Did he always sound like this?
Another moment was taken to look around and take in his surroundings. White. He turned to his right. More white. Was his life always this insipid? “Why am I here?” Again he spoke in that musically soothing voice that he wasn’t used to.
He tried to remember what he was doing there or more importantly how he had gotten there but nothing came to mind. The only thing he had to rely on was the churning feeling in his stomach that told him that someone somewhere needed him.
“I’m not supposed to be here!” He shouted desolately, hauling his covers to the side and hurrying to his feet.
A surprised doctor entered the room with a clipboard and upon seeing the patient agitated and ready to strip himself of his covers, dropped the clipboard and hurried over to the side of the bed, gently pushing the man back down. “Please sir, calm down.”
“No!” The man retorted, fighting the doctor’s grip. “I have somewhere to go!” He knew he did. He simply didn’t know where it was or for what reason but he knew that there was somewhere other than here he had to be.
“Sir, please just lie back down.”
“No!” He refused, pushing his way past the doctor with no avail. “No! There’s someone who needs me! Let me go!”
His squirms met with valiance resistance from the doctor and soon enough a couple of nurses entered the room, surprised at the unpleased sight. “Let me go damn it!”
“I’m afraid we can’t do that sir. You’re in a critical state right now.”
“Let me go!”
The doctor turned back to the two nurses who in turn nodded and hurried to his side. “Hold him down!”
“No, no, no, no, no, no!” He shrieked, he fought, kicked and screamed but yet the ones holding him down had greatly outweighed his efforts. “Someone needs me!” He yelled again, hoping for the strangers to understand. “Someone needs me!”
The doctor shook his head solemnly. “Sir, you don’t even know who it is that needs you.”
“I-I do!” He retorted, racking his brain for the name of the person. Or the place. “It’s…it’s…” Why wasn’t anything coming to him?
Sudden realization dawned upon him. The corners of his eyes began to floor themselves with unneeded tears and in his frustration he threw away his blandly white hospital sheets.
“God damn it why can’t I remember?!”
◦●○◦
“I’m Ueda Tatsuya. Nice to meet you.” The man held out his hand for the latter, and gratefully the latter accepted it motioning for Ueda to have a seat.
In the large, clean office only the two men stood out among the plain office material. Interviewer and interviewee, both dressing in their fashionably working suits, both ready to put on their business-like façades for another day.
“Ueda Tatsuya…age 26.” Today’s interviewer, who also happened to be the CEO of the company, looked down at the documents presented to him by his secretary. He looked back at the applicant.
“And you’d like to work here?”
“That’s right.” A confident and cocky answer that was perfectly suited for the job. The CEO nodded; he now understood why the president had gone and personally hand-picked this man.
He was a spitting image of the president, not in looks but in character. He was far too young to be compared to the president by means of looks, but nonetheless he held that regal air that proved well to his words when he spoke.
This had been the umpteenth interview of the day and the CEO was growing rather tired of his work. “Why?” It was an automatic question.
“You and I both know that A. Jewelry is number one in all of Japan. My skills will be fully utilized here. Is there anymore of an answer that is needed?” An automated, smug reply that the president would have loved.
The interviewer frowned. “I mean…why would anyone want to work here?” He looked Ueda in the eyes and questioningly, the latter raised his neatly trimmed eyebrows.
Ueda shook his head, gazing slightly at the man. “I don’t understand.”
His response was a weary smile and sigh, scratching the side of his mouth in caveat. “This place just casts a shadow on everything. You won’t find light here.”
The CEO sighed and flatly placed Ueda’s application forms back on the table with a loud thud. “You’re better off anywhere else other than here.”
“Excuse me if it’s not my place to ask, but…” Ueda picked up the fallen documents, carefully placing the pieces back in order. The latter watched the man work away in a sort of exhausted amusement, waiting for the interviewee to speak.
When he finally did it was in a soft-spoken and understanding voice, giving the man a compassionate look. “Why is it that you work here then?” He asked, “If you can’t find your light, metaphorically speaking.”
The CEO smiled despairingly and passed off the question with his hands, waving them airily before suppressing a yawn. “Sometimes you don’t have a choice,” he spoke lowly and Ueda watched his changing reactions with curiosity, “and sometimes you do it out of selfishness.”
The unanswered answer lingered in the air for a moment and Ueda stood up. The CEO did so soon after, helping the potential employee out of his chair as he would for a woman. Ueda shook his head and smiled, softly refusing the man’s offer.
“Thank you for your time,” Ueda mumbled but bowed out of sheer respect as he began to head towards the door.
The president was going to have his throat, the CEO thought. He had handpicked this man on his own; something completely unspoken of. But he didn’t want this man to face the same fate he had. He didn’t wish that upon anyone.
And still…
“Wait.”
Ueda turned around and cocked his curious head to the side. “Is there something the matter, sir?”
“You start tomorrow.”
◦●○◦
“He should be coming out any minute now.” Ryo hastily looked down at the watch laced to his wrist before glancing back at the closed doors from his car. “Be prepared.”
The larger, bulkier man next to him nodded. Ryo glared back at the doors of the front of the workplace and then back at his watch in anticipation. He felt his fingers shake with worry but paid them no attention.
Don’t come, he silently prayed, dreary eyes continuing to dart from one place to another. Don’t come. But of course he’d come, was Ryo’s second thought. Because he always came when Ryo asked him out. Because the information sent to him couldn’t be wrong.
Ryo inwardly cursed as he saw Jin making his way out of the building with a smile as he sent off a fellow employee. It wasn’t long before he spotted Ryo’s expensive car in the front lot and threw the man a friendly wave before running over.
Ryo gripped the steering wheel, shaking his head unconsciously. His fingers were still shaking and yet he continued to write all that off. Don’t come, he looked on ahead as he felt the door of the passenger seat open and a hearty-looking Jin came in.
Get out now. Three words that remained unspoken as Ryo reluctantly did up his seatbelt. “Where are we going?” Jin asked, suppressing a tired yawn as he threw his head back against the seat.
“Ne Ryo, can it be a movie or dinner or something?” Jin childishly motioned to his legs, “I’m beat. There were so many applicants today-”
“Enough talk. Let’s go.” Ryo cut in hastily and stepped on the pedal. Curious at his friend’s sudden outburst, Jin opened his mouth to say something but abruptly changed his mind.
Jin began to shrug off his suit before he noticed the dawning presence in the back seat. Interested, he turned around to come face-to-face with someone he had seen around before; a big, bulky security guard that he was sure worked for the company.
He stole a glance of Ryo’s nervous silhouette before crossing his arms across his chest. “I didn’t know you had another friend, Ryo!” He laughed and playfully smacked his friend across the shoulder. “You should introduce us, at least.”
Jin turned around to the latter with a bemused look, his usual juvenile innocence gracing his playful features as he did so. “Ryo’s so shy isn’t he?” He burst out into a fit of uncontrolled giggles but calmed down soon after realizing that no one else seemed to be laughing along.
Most of the ride was driven in silence with only the nighttime scenery to greet them from the outside of the windows. Jin wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but eventually he gave up his frontage of patience and began to pester Ryo.
“Where are we going?” He asked, rolling the window down to take a peek at the deserted area. “I don’t even know this district…Ryo where are you taking us - mmrph-”
The car suddenly stopped all of its movement and Jin grudgingly hit his head against the back seat. He groaned and turned to his side; his first intention was to complain against his friend’s horrible driving skills.
But when he saw Ryo hurrying to undo his seatbelt without much success and then fleeing the car, his second intention was to ask where his friend was bringing him.
“I’m sorry,” Jin’s heart began to pick up its pace at Ryo’s words and he hurried to button back his messily placed suit.
The bulky man in the back suddenly came up from his seat as he grabbed Jin uncomfortably from behind. He played with the man’s suit before tearing most of the buttons apart, “you won’t need these. Now hold still. It’ll only hurt more if you struggle.”
Jin’s world had come to an abrupt stop as he tried to struggle out of the larger man’s hold. Panic was the only emotion he was capable of feeling before remembering his friend’s comforting presence just outside of the car.
Ryo, Jin thought quickly, Ryo will save me.
“RYO!” Jin screamed at the top of his lungs but his breath was soon taken away from the larger man’s mouth against his own, coarsely biting down against his sensitive flesh. “RYO!” He felt the corner of his eyes stinging with unshed tears.
“RYO!”
He fought against the older man but his actions were met with much resistance. “Help! Ryo!” Jin tried all he could do. He kicked and punched and even managed to scratch and bring out an angered hiss from the man. But still, none of that was enough.
“RYO!”
Outside of the car, the latter fell to his already coarse kneecaps, bringing a hand over his ears, shutting his eyes tightly and hoping to do away with his friend’s pleas for help. Jin’s screams became louder and Ryo could only shut his eyes tighter
“I’m sorry Jin.” He chocked out a sob, pressing his face further into his knees, “it’s the only thing I can do for you now.”
◦●○◦
“Kazuya, w-what is all of this?” She asked in shock, glimpsing around the expensive-looking restaurant, staring up at the waiter who had just arrived with the overpriced wine Kame had already paid for.
Kame sat on the side opposing her, a large smile fixated on his full lips. For the first time in a long time, he had brought his girlfriend, Horikita Maki, out for dinner. The two seldom went out like this. But today, today was a crucial day for Kame.
He felt his heart beating against his chest as he carefully dug a pale finger into his pocket. He inched lower and lower until finally, his hand brushed over the familiar casing.
They had arrived well over a few minutes ago, their appetizers set against the table, left unattended. Kame steadied his breathing and looked directly at his lover’s glassy eyes that shone perfectly under the restaurant’s lights.
He took a deep breath as he motioned for the small, glistening stub attached to his ear. “This is the matching pair of diamond earrings I was talking about.” Kame looked directly at Maki who could only nod hesitantly in response.
“I found out that my mother gave them to me before her death.” He held out the box now, placing it on the table and slowly moving the small case towards Maki. “I want to give them to the woman I love.”
She felt tears in her eyes, but the latter made sure to keep her emotions in check. Maki began to shake her head in disbelief as Kame’s innocent smile grew and he pointed readily to the diamond in his ear. “I’ve already put one on.”
Maki wiped away a stray tear, unsure of how to take the news. “Kazuya…”
“Maki,” Kame whispered hoarsely, standing up from his seat and moving across the table to kneel in front of the surprised woman, “marry me.”
“There’s nothing much I can do,” he took a strand of his girlfriend’s hair between his thin fingers, delicately caressing the threads between his fingers. “But I have more sincerity that anyone else.” He assured her.
Silence fell across the table. Maki shook her head regrettably and pushed the box away from her. She continued to shake her head, swaying it thickly to the left then to the right as if in some sort of trance. “I-I…can’t.”
That was it.
She stood up, and hurried to push her way past her boyfriend and out into the busy streets. “I don’t want to marry you, Kazuya,” she whimpered throatily, unable to keep the tears in any longer. It was as if the floodgates she had been keeping in for the past few months had finally come open.
Dismayed, Kame treaded after her, and hot on her heels, he shouted. “Why not?”
She didn’t turn around. “There’s someone else,” Maki coughed out, grimed and ashamed.
If time could stop, then it had. Kame couldn’t feel his insides or his outsides, and he was unsure about the numb feeling in his chest. “What are you talking about?” and “What person?” were hot on his tongue, but in the end he was unable to voice either.
They had been together long enough. Long enough for Maki to already understand what Kame had wanted to say. “You don’t understand!” She cried out, leaning against a nearby shop window for support. Kame looked down. One of her high heels was twisted. He made no motion to do anything about it.
“He can give me what I need,” she croaked, her eyes begging Kame for some sort of understanding. She received none. Kame’s eyes were as unusually hard as ever. Bare and without color.
“Being with you…being with you…I can’t do it, Kazuya.” Kame ignored the words and walked up to the girl. Had she always looked this frayed? This defenseless? “He puts me in his center.”
She hurried to stand up, “goodbye, Kazuya.”
◦●○◦
You don’t really have to read the prologue…it’ll be more useful for later, when the story actually goes somewhere, lol. PS, other stories on haitus for a bit ^_^;;