A piece of EroPi for go_chan2011

[pi_chan_mod]

Gift Fic for go_chan2011

Title: The Beginning of an End, or and End of a Beginning
Pairing/Group: RyoPi
Rating/Warnings: NC-17, dystopia
Summary: In a split second, Pi’s life completely changes and he is forced to leave the dystopian society that he has always known. Along the way he meets people with an equal desire for vengeance and feelings develop between him and another rebel, Ryo, but with both of their pasts, what will happen to their future?
Note: This fic is for go_chan2011, I hope you like it! This was definitely something that was new for me, so I drew inspiration from some dystopian films and novels.


Pi worked in the field with the other Degenerates. It wasn’t like there was anything observable that was wrong with them, but throughout the years, they had all fallen through the cracks and the higher ups noticed that they were, “untrainable”. That was the reason for the pills, they were supposed them better fit for society, but even with the pills, Pi was still deemed a Degenerate.

Farming sucked. At least that was Pi’s take. The Degenerates were spaced out and each was allotted a plot of land to farm, cultivate, and harvest. They weren’t allowed to speak to each other and at the edge of the field stood an electrified fence, to keep the animals out, and each were heavily watched by the Learners.

Day in and day out he went out to the fields while others were still in school, and some had even progressed to University. People explained to him that he was dangerous, a threat to himself and others: The definition of a Degenerate. Pi knew from an early age that he was different than the other, while they maintained stoic expressions, he would laugh and grin.

In school he was forced to write the mantra over and over again, but after years of trying to drill it into his brain, they finally gave up on him and labeled him a Degenerate.

It was just another ordinary day in the field and Pi was dying of thirst. He was close to the fence, watering the plants and looked out into the distance. In the brush he saw movement and gasped. In all of the months he’d been out in the field he’d never seen one of the wild beasts that was talked about in schools.

He approached the fence closer and closer, though he was cautious enough to not get close enough to touch it and squinted his eyes to try to distinguish what was out there.

A pair of eyes peered out from a bush and looked at Pi, and with a mix of awe and fear Pi looked back mesmerized by the chocolaty brown eyes that looked back at him. They stared each other down for a while until the other pair of eyes blinked and turned away and for a split second, Pi could have sworn that it was a human in the brush and not an animal.

This curiosity, another reason why he was a Degenerate, made him ponder that for the rest of his shift and it stuck in his mind for the rest of the evening. If there were people out there, shouldn’t they be invited into the city?

At the dinner table, Pi listened to his younger sister tell him stories about events that had happened at school. “Did anything happen in the fields today?” His father asked.

“Some kid disappeared again.” Pi said it non-chalantly, but he knew that tomorrow it could easily be him. It wasn’t unheard of for a Degenerate to disappear one day, but nobody ever bothered to ask any questions or protests. They were the lowest of the low and Pi knew that it was only because his father was an upper level scientist that he was still allowed in the house. “And I thought I saw somebody outside the field.” His father stopped cutting his meat and his utensils dropped with a clink against the plate. He shared a worried glance with Pi’s mother and brushed it off.

“It must have been hallucinations from the heat.” His father dismissed. But seeing his parents stunned reaction made Pi even more convinced that he hadn’t imagined what he saw. There were people out there. There were other people.

Before Pi could continue on his subject, he father reminded him to take his pill, the same one that he took with every meal. It was supposed to help him become normal, to show less emotions, or even to not have them at all. For some it worked and they were able to reintegrate into society, but for him after six years on the regiment it wasn’t working.

Pi sighed and got ready for bed, and just as he was getting ready to sleep his father entered shutting the door behind him. He looked up to the camera that was installed by the government in every Degenerate’s room and leaned down to whisper in his ear. “You must never talk about what you saw today or what you think you saw or they will come after you and then they will come for us.”

Pi moved backwards in shock and motioned to say something but his father reapproached him. “My son, you have a gift that is not celebrated here, and probably they will come for you. If they do you need to run and don’t come back. Run and don’t come back. In the fourth quadrant there is a hole under the gate, you won’t get hurt. If they come, run and outside the city ask for Nishikido Ryo.”

“Dad nothing’s going to happen, it was a hallucination like you said.” Hearing the seriousness in his father’s voice made him want to negate his gut feeling, but he knew that he couldn’t just attribute this to his father’s paranoia. There were others.
Pi went out to work the next day as usual and thought nothing of what his father had said, but when it came time for his lunch break he saw guards head towards the head overseer and Pi had a sinking feeling that they were coming for him. So he did what his father said. He started running for his house thinking that his family would be home for their lunch.

He ran through the streets attracting a few stares and raced into his house. “They are coming!” He announced and his father swore at him for his stupidity at coming back to the house instead of just leaving. His mother peered out the window and saw a body of six guards moving towards them. “They’re coming.”

“Hide!” His father said and shoved him into a closet. Pi cringed when he heard a knock of the door and the guards forced their way inside.

“Where is he?” One asked and he father lied saying that he was still probably in the fields. The other guards walk around the house.

“He knows too much. You were supposed to be the only one who knew these things.”

“I didn’t tell him.” Pi’s father protested and raised his hands showing his innocence.

“He’s not here.” Another guard announced and Pi breathed a sigh of relief. But it wasn’t over yet.

“We’ll come back tomorrow, he probably doesn’t even know that he’s being chased, and once we find him we’ll kill him.”

Pi felt his heartbeat quicken as he watched from the slit in the closet door the events that were unfolding. In the background, there was the broadcast of the chant streaming throughout the City, blaring at a decibel that was impossible to ignore.

We cannot show emotions.
Emotions are weakness.
And weakness will kill you.

It was the mantra that he, himself, had said countless times as he grew up, but now it seemed artificial at best as he watched from the sliver of light that shown in his father being beat up. His mother cowered in the corner with her arms wrapped tightly around his younger sister and watched in dismay as his father became bloodied from the officers’ beatings.

The guards that weren’t occupied dragged his mother and sister out, and after he father collapsed, he too was removed from the house. Pi wasn’t sure how long he stood there in shock, probably a couple of hours, but when he finally gained enough confidence that the house was safe he changed clothes and put on a coat that gave him somewhat of a disguise and began running in the direction of the fourth quadrant. Night had fallen, but he was still wary of patrol guards, but in the cover of night it was easier to blend in the shadows. Just as he was approaching the border of the fourth quadrant, a voice clearly bellowed. “Halt!” He was caught.
Pi started running the perimeter of the fence hoping to find the hole that his father had reference and heard the guard’s heavy footsteps follow. He was never so happy when he felt his foot slip into a large hole and using his hands he clawed himself under. Just when he thought he was safe, the guard grabbed his ankle and started to pull him back.

Pi struggled with his legs and squirmed and was successfully able to kick the guard in the face to free himself for just enough time to wriggle himself under the fence and begin running again. He knew that the guards wouldn’t venture outside the city, and after he had run, he realized that he had a larger problem. He had no idea how to reach this Nishikido Ryo.
Outside the city there was nothing but desert as far as the eye could see and Pi hadn’t brought any water or food so after the sun rose and Pi had lost sight of the city’s fence, his stomach rumbled in pain from hunger and his lips were parched. Every few minutes he would lick them for some temporary relief, but in the end he was just hungry and thirsty.

Probably ten hours since he’d begun running he collapsed on the ground and it was then, and only then that he noticed that somebody had been following him. As the man approach, Pi noticed that he was good-looking, but had hostile eyes. And as he lowered his eyes, he noticed a gun pointing directly at him.

“Who are you?” The man demanded, his eyes seedy and observant.

“My name is Yamashita Tomohisa. I’m looking for Nishikido Ryo.” The man seemed dubious of him, but after hearing Ryo’s name he lowered the gun, though not completely.
“I was told that he could help me.”

“I’ll take you to him.” Was all the other said. Pi started walking and noticed how the other man followed behind him. Occasionally he would tell him to change direction but he never lead him and watched his every move.

Not long afterwards, the man stopped and kicked the ground four times. The sand shifted just enough to reveal a door in the middle of the desert.

The man, who had never introduced himself, opened the hatch and said, “You first.” Pi entered cautiously, looking at the man for reassurance and headed down in the dark tunnel. At first he was completely blind in the darkness, but after his eyes adjusted he noticed a faint light at the end of the tunnel. He started walking and heard the click clack of the other man’s boots behind him. “Go right.” He said and walked past several men who looked him up and down all of whom were heavily armed.

The other man stopped him in front of a door and knocked to which to only reply that was heard was a grunt. The other man opened the door and for the first time Pi trailed behind him.

“Got a new guy. Found him wandering in the desert.” The man who he’d been led by walked behind the table and wrapped his arms around the other protectively. He tilted the other’s head back and kissed him all the while staring at Pi.

“Jin, that’s enough.” The other man, the one Pi assumed to be Ryo said seriously and pushed Jin off of him. Jin left, but not before glaring at Pi one more time leaving the two of them alone in the makeshift office.

“Who are you?” Ryo asked and Pi looked at him, really looked at him. He was about his age. His face was boyish and his hair flopped over his eyes a little, yet he had the same steely look in his eye as Jin did “I’m Yamashita Tomohisa. But everybody calls me Pi.”

My father sent me to you.”

“I knew your father. Are you a Degenerate?” Pi nodded. “Do you have your pills with you?” Pi nodded once more since that was one of the few things that he had remembered to take with him. “Throw them away.” Ryo ordered. “They make your mind jumbled and foggy. They are a means of control.” Ryo pointed to a garbage can in which Pi threw away the remainder of his pills.

“Come on. I’ll show you around.” As Pi and Ryo walked through the hallway with Ryo occasionally pointing out an important infrastructure, but as they were walking Pi noticed several groups of men, two, sometimes three, overtly making out in the middle of the hallway. It wasn’t that Pi had a problem with it, hell he liked men too. It was just that in the city people were more private.

“Are you all…?” Pi’s voice trailed off as he wasn’t sure how to politely say gay without offending Ryo in case he was wrong.

“Gay? No. I am, but most of these guys are straight or bisexual, but as you can see there aren’t too many women around… and we have needs…” Ryo didn’t continue, but Pi got the message.

Ryo showed him to his room, which coincidentally was Ryo’s as well. “I’ll take care of you.” Ryo promised as Pi sat on the bed and left him in private and it was only then that the events that had unfolded earlier were real. His family had been taken away from him. He was in a place with people he didn’t know and in the past 24 hours his life was inexplicably altered and he didn’t know how to get it back. He felt tears trickle down his face and buried his head into the pillow.

When Ryo reentered Pi was sure that he could tell the other had been crying, but he didn’t say anything and instead lay back on his bed and fell asleep. And for that Pi was grateful.
The next day when Pi woke up, he didn’t feel better, but instead he had a resolve. He was going to bring his family back.

Ryo ate breakfast with him and Jin joined them, practically throwing himself on Ryo. After Ryo’s explanation earlier, Pi noticed that their relationship, at least on Ryo’s part was not one of love, but instead a means to an end.

“Who are you anyways?” Pi asked after realizing that he had no idea who these people were.

“We’re rebels.” Jin replied. “We all are originally from the city, but all of us were Degenerates at one point and we’re trying to take down the government.”

“Have you ever held a gun before?” Ryo asked randomly and Jin just chuckled.

“No, but I’m a fast learner.”

“It’s okay, you can stay here and cook and help around the barracks.” Ryo said and Jin grinned.

“Like a mascot.”

“They took my family,” Pi said while staring at the other two. “I’m not just going to sit back and wait.”

“They took somebody from everyone.” Ryo snapped and there was visible pain in his eyes.

“Did they take someone from you?” Pi asked, but instead of answering Ryo just picked up his tray scraped off the remainder of the food and left.

“You shouldn’t have brought it up.” Jin said, and stood up when he saw another man enter the cantine to hug and kiss him as well.

Pi quickly cleaned up and headed back for the room they shared. He found Ryo sitting on the bed holding a picture in hand. Pi cautiously approached but Ryo was too distracted to notice his presence, so when he sat down on the bed Ryo jumped slightly.

“I’m sorry about bringing it up.” Pi said and gently put his hand on the other man’s shoulder. The Ryo that was sitting in their room hardly resembled the strong leader that he had first been introduced to and this person was someone that Pi felt like he needed to protect.
Ryo held out the picture so that Pi could see better. In the picture, there was a younger Ryo with his arm wrapped around the shoulder of another boy, a taller, slightly younger boy. They were both wearing the traditional clothes of the Degenerates who worked in the fields and both were smiling. “His name was Uchi, he was my boyfriend.” The past tense didn’t escape Pi.
“They killed him.” Ryo’s voice was tense and after all these years Pi knew that Ryo wasn’t over him.

“I’m sorry.” Pi said for lack of something more consoling to say. “I’m sorry about your family as well.” Ryo said and cleared his throat and stood up.

“Ready to learn how to shoot?” Ryo asked and Pi felt as though they had reached a mutual understanding.

Ryo led Pi down to one of the lower levels of the compound to a shooting range and handed him a small gun that had been hanging on the wall. “Try it.”

Pi held in in his hands clumsily, in a manner that only a person who had never held a gun before could and fired the first shot as Ryo looked on. “You’re shaking too much.” Ryo moved behind him to show him how to properly hold the gun. Pi was consciously aware of the way Ryo’s chest pressed up against his back and the way Ryo’s strong hands covered his own that Pi became hyperaware of their proximity.

Ryo adjusted Pi’s hands and for a few shots covered Pi’s hands with his own to show him how to properly do it.

“Your turn.” Ryo released his hands and Pi tried on his own again. The shots didn’t hit the targets like they did when Ryo had helped him, but it was a significant improvement from before. Ryo watched and commented as Pi continued to shoot the small gun. After a few hours of practice, Ryo called it quits and headed upstairs with Pi following him.

In the afternoons, Ryo was busy planning the next raid with Jin and a few other leaders and Pi either continued to practice or spent time in the kitchen. Ryo personally took it upon himself to oversee Pi’s training during the mornings and after a few weeks, they had developed an odd sort of friendship.

But in those weeks, Pi had begun to realize what Ryo meant by having certain needs. Perhaps it was just from being around Jin who was willing to fuck anyone with two legs, or maybe it was the other couples who kissed overtly, but Pi was getting antsy and he became even more aware when Ryo would touch him, even if it was innocently.

In the privacy of his room, generally in the afternoons when Ryo was gone, Pi would touch himself to get a small reprieve from the constant desire that he had had since he had almost arrived.

One night while they were lying on their beds though neither of them were asleep, Pi ventured over to Ryo’s bed and shook him. “Help me, please.” Ryo sat up and turned on the light. Pi’s entire body was burning with desire and Ryo could tell just by looking at him. Pi was overcome with lust and throwing caution to the wind, he straddled Ryo and kissed him. Ryo wasn’t responsive at first, but slowly reciprocated after realizing that since Jin had found his new person of the month seeing as how Ryo’s attention was diverted since Pi had arrived, he himself hadn’t had sex in a while.

“Pi, I’m not looking for anything serious. I need you to know that.” It was unspoken but Pi heard I’m not over Uchi. “I know.” Pi replied. “But like you said, we both have needs.” And as he said it, he hoped that it was true.

Ryo nodded, accepting Pi’s reasoning and wrapped his hands around Pi’s waist gently lifting his shirt up over his head and pulling him onto his lap. Ryo kissed him and nibbled at Pi’s neck. Pi fisted Ryo’s silky hair as he threw his head back and moaned. He hadn’t had much sex in the city, but here the atmosphere made everything…more.

Pi pulled Ryo’s shirt over his head and groaned at the loss of sensation until their tongues were joined once again. Pi’s hands roamed over Ryo’s chiseled body and he felt the nooks and crannies of Ryo’s body. They intertwined their bodies so that Ryo lay flesh beneath Pi and they quickly stripped each other of the remained of their clothes.

Ryo groaned and weaved his fingers through Pi’s hair as Pi nibbled and sucked at Ryo’s nipple. His fingers roamed Ryo’s body and when his palm grazed Ryo’s cock, the other arched off the bed at the delicious friction that he hadn’t realized that he had missed. Pi kissed him and Ryo stilled for a moment and then kissed him back and rose up so that he was now sitting on Pi’s lap and kissing him.

After Ryo handed him the lube, Pi reached back and gently inserted a finger into Ryo and watched how his finger disappeared completely into the smaller one. He stretched him continuing to kiss and stroke Ryo even though he knew that the other was hardly a virgin and entered a second finger. His fingers moved in and out of Ryo hitting his spot and causing him to see white.

When Ryo started bouncing up against his fingers, Pi knew that the other was ready and steadied Ryo as he lowered himself of the other’s cock. They both moaned at the sensation that they had both missed for a long time but as Ryo started to move and Pi met up each time with his thrusts causing them both to moan in ecstasy at the incredible feeling.

Pi came first and continued to pound into Ryo until both of their stomachs were covering in his sticky cum. Pi tried to clean up as much as possible, but Ryo just waved him aside. This was the awkward part. Was Pi supposed to stay in Ryo’s bed or move back to his own? Just as Pi was about ready to move Ryo’s hand reached out and said. “You can stay.” Pi settle back into the small bed and though there was physical distance between the two of the Pi felt as though they had become closer. In the bizzare situation that he found himself in, Pi felt as though this was the most normal thing in his life right now.

Ryo quickly fell asleep, but whether he actually fell asleep or if he was just avoiding the post-sex conversation. But as Pi looked over at him and saw the vulnerable side to him just like when Ryo had talked about Uchi, he just wanted to reach out and hold him and stroke his hair and reassure him. But he couldn’t. And this is when he realized it: he was falling in love with Ryo. And worse, Ryo would never love him.

When Ryo woke up it was as if nothing had happened, but he realized that what he had with Pi was different than with Jin. He had heard rumours around the compound that Pi never slept around. It was pretty common to do so, no strings attached and Jin was the prime example of that. But Pi was different which made Ryo wonder why he had asked him, and he himself wondered why he found himself enjoying it so much. He shrugged it off but a voice in the back of head told him it was more than just sex.

Over the next few weeks Pi became exponentially better at wielding weapons and they had progressed to a larger style gun. They had continued their arrangement of sleeping together when needed and Pi soon replaced Jin as the person always be Ryo’s side, but with each and every time that they had sex, Pi felt the craving for more.

One night as they were lying naked, this time in Pi’s bed, Pi asked Ryo how he knew his father. “Your father is one of the few people who actually know what is going on. We met by chance back when I was a Degenerate and he was always nice to me. When Uchi was taken your father tried to get him released, but he wasn’t that powerful, so he gave me a chance and told me how to escape; he save my life.”

“Do you think about him a lot, your dead boyfriend?” Pi knew that he was pushing into forbidden territory, but the question slipped out of his mouth.

“Every single day.” Ryo said bitterly and this was the first time that he had ever showed anyone his pain over that day.

Pi leaned over and hugged him and Ryo leaned his head in the crook of Pi’s neck taking in his scent and leaning into the other’s comforting embrace.

“Do you think that you could ever move on? I mean not forget him but have another person in your life?” Pi asked and the moment the words left his mouth he knew it was the wrong thing to ask. Ryo stiffened and pulled back. They both knew where this conversation was heading and Ryo didn’t like it, but there was no going back now.

“I don’t know if it’s because I actually like you or if it’s because of the circumstances that we are in, but I just think that we could be more.”

Ryo nearly jumped off the bed and frowned. “I told you before it was just sex. Shit, Pi.”

“I’m sorry.” Pi apologized, but it was too late. Ryo was looking at him horrified and he hurriedly pulled his clothes on.

“I’m leaving.” And Ryo did. That night he never came back to the room.

When Pi showed up to practice man-to-man fighting the next day, it wasn’t Ryo who was teaching him, but Jin and instead of his signature smirk, Jin gave him a pitying expression.

“Come on, I’ll help you out.” Despite his sarcastic personality, Jin was a good teacher and for the first few hours they covered the basics. Jin offered that they go to lunch together, but Pi refused and Jin saw how his shoulders drooped as he headed back to his room.

Jin had his suspicions about what had happened and was surprised when Ryo had requested that Jin take over Pi’s training. When he entered the cantine he sat next to Ryo who didn’t look much better than Pi had.

“You look like shit.” Jin stated bluntly and Ryo grimaced. “What the hell happened between you two?”

“He suggested that we take the next step.” Ryo said and Jin didn’t need to ask further what the other meant. It was hardly a secret that Ryo and Pi had been sleeping together and Jin wasn’t surprised that Pi wanted more; he didn’t seem like the type who would have casual sex.

“Not everybody ends up like Uchi.” Jin said and walked away before Ryo could say anything.

Pi waited up for Ryo to return to their room, but he never did. The next training session he had with Jin, he was incredibly distracted and unfortunately they were practicing body flips on a mat. Jin was patient, but he became frustrated at seeing Pi so absent-minded. He had flipped Pi over, Pi was distracted so he didn’t land right and landed on his shoulder. He landed with an audible crunch and Jin cringed, but shortly thereafter Pi started screaming in pain and clutching his shoulder.

“Get help!” Jin yelled out of the practice room.

From where Ryo was at, there was obvious commotion from down the hall where a small crowd had gathered, as somebody walked by Ryo grabbed his arm and asked him, “What’s going on?”

“There was an accident in the practice room.” The other replied. And terror welled up in Ryo. Pi was in the practice room. He started running and pushed people aside so that he could muscle his way into the room. When he barged in he saw Pi writhing in pain on the floor with Jin hovering over him. For a second they made eye contact and Pi saw the look of panic on Ryo’s face.

“What the fuck happened?!” He yelled at Jin. Both of them knew that it was nobody’s fault and accidents like this happen, but Ryo felt his heart clench at seeing Pi in pain. It was just like Uchi.

“It’s just a dislocated shoulder.” Jin raised his eyebrows at Ryo’s extreme reaction. “Help me pop it back in.”

Ryo kneeled by Pi’s head and turned it to the side so he wouldn’t have to watch what Jin was about to do. Pi looked up at him with tears in his eyes from the pain and Ryo reached down to hold his hand and winced at hearing the simultaneous crunch of Pi’s shoulder being set back in place and hearing Pi’s scream while it happened.

“Ice it and you’ll be fine in a few days.” Jin smirked at Ryo as if to say keep pretending like he’s not special to you.

Ryo led him out of the room and guided him to their former shared room, at least back when Ryo returned at night. “Stay here.” He ordered and when he returned, he had prepared an ice pack to put on Pi’s shoulder.

“I thought you hated me.” Pi said. For the first time in nearly a week Ryo was looking at him.

“I do, I hate you more than you’ll ever know.” Ryo said, and Pi looked down at his hands trying to hold back the tears from the sting of rejection.

“I promised myself that I would never care about somebody again, not after what happened to Uchi. But I panicked when I thought you were severely hurt and my mind wandered to the most severe injuries, I panicked because I cared about you. You made me care about you. And I don’t want to go through the constant fear of losing somebody again.”

Pi looked at him with a furrowed brow. “There’s nothing wrong with caring about someone, and part of caring about somebody is worrying about them and fearing for them, but not everybody ends up like Uchi.” Pi said and Ryo nearly laughed out how Pi reiterated Jin’s statement.

“I’d really like to believe that.” Ryo replied.

After that incident, things slowly returned to normal, or a new normal. Ryo still didn’t have sex with Pi, but he returned to sleep in their room and at times he would continue training Pi. As the seasons changed, the atmosphere in the compound became livelier and there was a buzz about it. Rumors were spreading like wildfire that the higher ups were planning a massive attack to overthrow the government, and everybody’s morale had been lifted. Pi would often see Ryo, Jin and a few others hunched over a map of the city making plans.

The day finally came when everybody was told the plans for the attack. Ryo looked nervous and it was the first time that Pi had seen him that way. Even Jin looked serious and, god, Jin was never serious.

“There’s a hole in the fence in the fourth quadrant, where Pi escaped from, we’re going to enter from there and storm the main building at night so it will be harder for the guards to see us. After that we’ll divide into three groups and we’ll communicate through walkie-talkies, the first group will release the Degenerates and others who are imprisoned, the second will destroy the supply of numbing pills and the third will take out the leaders and then we’ll all meet up back here.”

Ryo started calling off the names of the people in the group and soon it became apparent that Pi was not going.

After everybody else left he confronted Ryo. “Why the fuck am I not going?” Pi nearly yelled at the other. “I’ve trained so hard over the past few weeks and I’m ready.” Ryo looked down and said nothing while Jin silently watched the dispute unfold.

“The answer is no and it is final.” Ryo said coldly and walked away.

“Why?” Pi said. Jin didn’t know for sure, but he could guess why Ryo had not selected Pi.

“Talk to him after you’ve cooled down a little bit. And in my opinion, it has nothing to do with your skills.”

Pi took a walk around the compound and exhaled, after a while he felt his anger subsiding. When he returned to his room he found Ryo hunched over on his bed and he approached the other.

“I’m going. My family is there, and I need to rescue them.” Pi said firmly as he reached out and touched Ryo’s arm.

“I know. I… I just can’t lose you too.” Ryo said and buried himself in Pi’s shoulder.

“You won’t. I promise. Besides you’re way too important for me to leave behind.” Pi said cheekily.

“You’ll be with Jin. I’m going to go kill the leaders.” Ryo admitted, “But please, please be careful.”

“I’ll be fine,” Pi reassured but he knew that there was a veritable threat to what they were going to try to do.

The plan was set forward for the following Friday, and after the assignments and the official news was given out, the compound became even more lively. It was common to hear the sounds of fighting coming from the practice room. Rounds were being unloaded as bullets drilled through targets.

Ryo and Pi rarely saw each other as each was busy with their own preparations, but the night before the plans was to be executed, Ryo made sure to be back in their room. “One more time?” Ryo asked lightly, but the gravity of the situation weighed on their minds. As Ryo sat on top of Pi and felt his member penetrate him he gasped at the feeling of fullness inside of him. Ryo pressed his hands against Pi’s chest and bounced meeting with Pi’s thrusts each time, but this time, the sex was different. There was a sense of urgency on both parts and everything that was left unsaid was put out in the way their bodies entangled and a sheen of sweat covered them both.

After they had both come and both struggled to breathe, Ryo lay next to Pi and looked at him silently. Pi just looked back and stared at the chocolate brown eyes that studied him. After some time, Pi fell asleep first and Ryo followed eventually.

The morning came too soon and there were people milling about preparing the weapons. Pi sought out Jin who helped him gear up and gave him the plan of attack. The last time he saw Ryo was that night when Ryo told everyone to meet back at the compound and to keep in contact over the walkie-talkies. They held each other’s gaze longer than necessary and Ryo just nodded.

Pi followed Jin and they approached the city under the cover of night knowing that the others were following shortly. There weren’t a ton of them, but enough to kill the guards and rescue the prisoners. Jin moved forward and scouted for guards and after seeing that there was nobody nearby motioned for the others to follow.

They stealthily approached the prison and Pi threw a rope up to the rooftop and scaled it, with the others following his lead. There were only two guards on the roof and as soon as Pi reached the top, he easily snapped the neck of the one and used him as a body shield until he could shoot the other in the chest.

He created a mental note to thank Jin for his lessons on hand to hand combat and quietly opened the door as Jin gave one of them instructions to stay guard and headed inside with his gun aimed out in front of him cautiously. He paired them off and assigned them each a floor to begin freeing prisoners. As Pi and his partner climbed down the stairs, the sounds of gunshots and doors being broken down echoed throughout the halls.

Pi fumbled with the doors as his partner tried to knock some down as well. But the locks on this level were not rusted over and not able to be broken. Hearing the commotion, the prisoners came to the doors of their cells to look and see what was going on. Pi told the other guy that he was going to get the keys and headed for where he estimated the main desk of the floor would be.

Already having anticipated him, Pi felt the air around him tremble as bullets whizzed by. He stretched his arms out and with perfect aim shot one, two, three guards and extracted the keys from the hands of one of the dead guards and began to free the prisoners one by one. After agonizing minutes all of the prisoners were freed, but Pi’s family wasn’t among them. When they headed up to the rooftop, Pi scanned the freed prisoners, but his parents weren’t among them.

“Ryo and the others are done, so we’re going to evacuate the prisoners and meet up back there.”

“My family isn’t here.” Pi said fearing the implication of what he was saying. Jin shook his head sadly.

“They’re alive, I know it.”

“We couldn’t find them.” Jin said trying to comfort his friend.

“Get everyone out of here. I’ll find them.”

“Then you’re going alone.”

“I know, but I’ll be back.” Pi grabbed a spare weapon and headed back down the floors to the deep recesses of the prison knowing that if his family was alive, that’s where they would be.

When Ryo saw Jin returning to the compound he smiled and seeing the people following behind him he knew that it was over. He had killed the man responsible for everything including Uchi’s death and finally felt as though some closure had been achieved.

The former prisoners dispersed, some to find family members, others to seek food and a place to sleep.

“Where’s Pi?” Ryo asked as he looked through the people who came back.

Jin shrugged with a chagrined look on his face. “He didn’t come back with us. He was going to find his family.”

Ryo seized Jin up by his collar. “You left him alone?!”

“It was his decision.” Jin shrugged him off, but Ryo noticed his anxiety. That night was the longest of his life. Jin had never said that Pi was dead, but with each second ticking by, his hope faded. He remembered Uchi and what Uchi had gone through and shivered, but Pi promised, he had promised that everything would be alright.

Though it was a victory and they had freed the city of sorts, Ryo couldn’t celebrate with the others and the next morning he looked as though he had lost all hope. In the privacy of the room that he had shared with Pi, he held his head in his hands and wanted to cry, but no tears came out. That night they would go back in the city and start over and maybe find the remnants of Pi’s body.

Jin came running into the room, “Ryo you need to come.” Jin ran out as soon as he had entered, and Ryo had to sprint to catch up to him. He followed him up the staircase into the open air and it was the most magnificent sight he’d ever seen.

In the distance was Pi followed by a younger girl, and a man and a woman, his parents. He was limping, his clothes were torn, and there were scratches and bruises marring his face but he was alive. Ryo took off running in his direction and embraced him.

“I saved them.” Pi said proudly as he felt Ryo’s fingers weave in his hair and his face bury in his neck.

“I thought you were dead.” Ryo whispered and Pi realized how shaken the other one was.

“I promised you that nothing would happen to me.” Pi grinned and pulled away to introduce him to his family.

The next days brought fourth a new normal. They moved back to the city and a scientist was named the mayor of the city with Pi’s father on the council.

For some of the rebels, those who had been away for a while including Ryo, the transition was difficult. Places all around the city reminded Ryo of his previous life and the reason he had left, but things were getting better.

The city eventually desegregated and the Degenerates were abolished. The fence was taken down, though few ventured outside in fear of getting lost in the desert. Pi went back to school and Ryo joined him, but he still hadn’t really adapted to the normalcy of this life.

One day Pi found him on the roof of his home sitting and looking up at the sky. “What are you thinking about?” Pi asked as he joined him.

“I miss it. It’s weird right?”

Pi didn’t have to ask to know what Ryo was talking about. “You lived that life for years, it will take a while to adjust.”

“Where does this leave us?” Ryo looked over at Pi searching for an answer. Since they’d returned, their relationship lay in a murky abyss without really knowing where they stood.

“We continue. My feelings haven’t changed for you, but now we don’t have the fear of dying.”

“I like you too.” Pi leaned over and kissed Ryo under the night sky.

It was a new beginning. Everything was changing. The city was no longer the oppressive dystopia, but quickly became full of life and freedom. Ryo and Pi were able to explore their relationship without the restrictions of being in the rebellion and now that Ryo had gotten some closure he was able to move on from the past trauma of Uchi’s death. Not much changed with Jin. Jin was Jin and he always would be.

But though this marked a beginning, it was far from the end.