Something Real -- Chapter 4
Chapter: 4
Pairing: Sakumoto, Ohmiya
Genre: AU, Fantasy
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Plot = mine. Arashi = not mine. Not yet, anyway.
Summary: Sho gets introduced into the dangerous world of the fey -- where not everything is what it seems.
-----------
Sho found himself in the middle of a sunlight field, much like the one he had been in when he first entered the Realm. He spun himself around, laughing as butterflies and other insects swarmed out of the waist-high grass and into the sky. Sho let himself fall into the grass with his arms spread wide, gazing at the clouds and using his hands to block the sun, vaguely noticing how small and young looking his hands were.
“Sho!” A voice called lightly, and Sho immediately perked up, a smile leaping onto his face. He jumped up to stand as the voice called again, “Sho!”
“I’m over here!” Sho waved his arm frantically, grinning, as another boy ran up to him across the field. It was as if it were all in slow motion as the boy ran, halting once he reached Sho. Looking into deep brown eyes, Sho realized it was him. It was the prince. It was Jun.
“Sho.” Jun said, but all Sho heard was a whisper as the memory slowly went dark, and was replaced with pain.
“Sho, you fool, wake up! WAKE UP!”
Sho felt a sharp sting on his face and opened his eyes. He found a worried demon fox getting ready to slap him again, and he immediately sat up, his hood falling down. Nino spoke in a whispered rush.
“We’re in serious danger! Just follow my lead.”
Then Nino slapped him again.
“You idiot slave! Did I say you could faint?! Go on, get out of here!” Nino spoke in a fierce, low tone, shoving Sho toward the exit. Sho noticed that, thankfully, his little disturbance didn’t attract attention from most of the Dark Fey, who were still in such a roused state due to the celebration. The few who did look their way seemed to grumble a bit, but with Nino’s aggressive reaction simply smirked and looked away.
Nino continued to shove him out of the chamber, which Sho finally realized was a throne room -- the Winter Queen’s, naturally - and her sons’. Thinking of the princes, Sho’s memory came back to him full force, but Nino’s shoving kept him focused.
Sho wasn’t sure where to go, since he hadn’t been looking going in, and he followed Nino hurriedly. It turned out to be extremely simple - once they had exited the throne room, they went down a short hallway which opened into a grand courtyard, surrounded by high walls. At the opposite end stood the exit to the castle, and the pair nearly ran to it.
Suddenly, a sharp blade was brought in front of them, blocking their path. Nino quickly grabbed Sho’s wrist and pulled him behind him, as Sho felt once again that magnetic pull. His eyes led him up the gloved arm of the sword carrier and into the unfathomable face of the Dark Fey prince. Jun.
He towered above them, taller, and Prince Jun stared at him openly. No one said a word - the only sound was the heavy breathing Sho and Nino made from making such a quick exit.
As Sho remembered the boy in the field, he stared into the deep brown eyes in front of him. They were the same, except deeper, darker, and more mysterious. They held a promise of pain, terror, and cold - his eyes made Sho feel like he would never be warm again. He continued to hide behind Nino, terrified, but couldn’t take his eyes off the prince.
The prince’s eyes finally moved from Sho to Nino, and Sho could swear the temperature dropped 10 degrees. Jun’s icy aura emanated the feeling of a merciless murderer.
“You disobeyed me, Ninomiya.”
At Jun’s voice, Sho felt a shiver run down his spine, and yet his heart beat faster. The prince’s voice was low and had an edge to it. Sho felt entranced.
“I am sorry, my lord,” Nino emphasized ‘my lord’ as if it were distasteful. “But it was necessary.”
“Necessary?” Jun said this as a question, silkily, but one eyebrow rose as if incredulous. “Give me one good reason not to cut your head off right now.”
“Because you need me.”
Jun scoffed with a sarcastic smile, barely tilting the edges of his mouth up. “I need you? You’ve just done the one thing I told you never to do.” His mouth returned into a hard line, staring daggers at the demon fox. Jun’s hand shot out and gripped Nino’s neck, strangling him.
“You know I wouldn’t have done it either, unless I was absolutely sure it was essential. You know that to be true!” Nino choked out.
“You expect me to trust you?”
“Yes.”
“Well I don’t.” With that, Jun threw Nino across the courtyard, where he skidded on the icy stones, his head making a terrible cracking noise as it hit the solid ground. Sho cried out, moving toward the motionless man, but Jun already had his hand fisted into Sho’s jacket, pulling his face close, forcing Sho to once again look into the dark prince’s eyes.
“Who are you?” Jun growled, his eyes searching Sho’s face.
“S-Sho Sakurai.” Sho trembled.
“You have not yet been claimed by the Dark or the Light?”
“N-no.” Sho hoped his stuttering seemed like it came from the cold, and not the terror.
“Why are you here?” Jun was whispering now, but still in his hardened voice. It was scarier than anything Sho had ever known, but Sho also had the feeling that Jun wouldn’t hurt him.
“To help…to help Nino.”
Jun’s eyes narrowed. “What do you remember?”
Sho knew what he was asking, and he had intended to lie. But it was as if the truth came tumbling out all on its own. “I remember you.”
Jun’s face instantly froze, and Sho scrambled to find something else to say. Before he could speak, however, Jun rammed him into the nearby stone wall, knocking the air out of his lungs. Jun was pressing his body flush against Sho’s, solid as stone, and his arm was jammed against Sho’s neck, further disorienting him and making it difficult to breathe. Jun’s voice was harsh and deadly in Sho’s ear as Sho’s vision darkened from lack of oxygen.
“I don’t know what you think you remember, but it wasn’t me. I have never seen you before in my life, not that I would remember even if I had. I will only give you this warning once. Never step into this castle again. If you do, I promise you a slow, torturous death.”
Jun’s eyes showed that he spoke the truth. Jun released him as Sho slid to the ground, choking and gasping for air.
“You seem innocent in all this, so I will let you go. I suggest you leave the Realm entirely. You aren’t wanted here, nor do you belong. I do not show mercy twice.”
With that, he blasted Sho and Nino back out into the snowy world outside the castle with some unseen power. They landed hard onto a snowbank, red sprinkled on the whiteness - from him or Nino, Sho wasn’t sure. Sho lay there, blindly reaching for Nino’s unconscious form, trying to hang on to reality when exhaustion and pain finally forced him to succumb to darkness.
So he didn’t feel it when two large birds gathered the pair into their claws and soared into the sky, away from the Winter Queen’s castle, nor did he witness the dark eyes watching them yet again from the shadows, full of deadly intent.
Pairing: Sakumoto, Ohmiya
Genre: AU, Fantasy
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Plot = mine. Arashi = not mine. Not yet, anyway.
Summary: Sho gets introduced into the dangerous world of the fey -- where not everything is what it seems.
-----------
Sho found himself in the middle of a sunlight field, much like the one he had been in when he first entered the Realm. He spun himself around, laughing as butterflies and other insects swarmed out of the waist-high grass and into the sky. Sho let himself fall into the grass with his arms spread wide, gazing at the clouds and using his hands to block the sun, vaguely noticing how small and young looking his hands were.
“Sho!” A voice called lightly, and Sho immediately perked up, a smile leaping onto his face. He jumped up to stand as the voice called again, “Sho!”
“I’m over here!” Sho waved his arm frantically, grinning, as another boy ran up to him across the field. It was as if it were all in slow motion as the boy ran, halting once he reached Sho. Looking into deep brown eyes, Sho realized it was him. It was the prince. It was Jun.
“Sho.” Jun said, but all Sho heard was a whisper as the memory slowly went dark, and was replaced with pain.
“Sho, you fool, wake up! WAKE UP!”
Sho felt a sharp sting on his face and opened his eyes. He found a worried demon fox getting ready to slap him again, and he immediately sat up, his hood falling down. Nino spoke in a whispered rush.
“We’re in serious danger! Just follow my lead.”
Then Nino slapped him again.
“You idiot slave! Did I say you could faint?! Go on, get out of here!” Nino spoke in a fierce, low tone, shoving Sho toward the exit. Sho noticed that, thankfully, his little disturbance didn’t attract attention from most of the Dark Fey, who were still in such a roused state due to the celebration. The few who did look their way seemed to grumble a bit, but with Nino’s aggressive reaction simply smirked and looked away.
Nino continued to shove him out of the chamber, which Sho finally realized was a throne room -- the Winter Queen’s, naturally - and her sons’. Thinking of the princes, Sho’s memory came back to him full force, but Nino’s shoving kept him focused.
Sho wasn’t sure where to go, since he hadn’t been looking going in, and he followed Nino hurriedly. It turned out to be extremely simple - once they had exited the throne room, they went down a short hallway which opened into a grand courtyard, surrounded by high walls. At the opposite end stood the exit to the castle, and the pair nearly ran to it.
Suddenly, a sharp blade was brought in front of them, blocking their path. Nino quickly grabbed Sho’s wrist and pulled him behind him, as Sho felt once again that magnetic pull. His eyes led him up the gloved arm of the sword carrier and into the unfathomable face of the Dark Fey prince. Jun.
He towered above them, taller, and Prince Jun stared at him openly. No one said a word - the only sound was the heavy breathing Sho and Nino made from making such a quick exit.
As Sho remembered the boy in the field, he stared into the deep brown eyes in front of him. They were the same, except deeper, darker, and more mysterious. They held a promise of pain, terror, and cold - his eyes made Sho feel like he would never be warm again. He continued to hide behind Nino, terrified, but couldn’t take his eyes off the prince.
The prince’s eyes finally moved from Sho to Nino, and Sho could swear the temperature dropped 10 degrees. Jun’s icy aura emanated the feeling of a merciless murderer.
“You disobeyed me, Ninomiya.”
At Jun’s voice, Sho felt a shiver run down his spine, and yet his heart beat faster. The prince’s voice was low and had an edge to it. Sho felt entranced.
“I am sorry, my lord,” Nino emphasized ‘my lord’ as if it were distasteful. “But it was necessary.”
“Necessary?” Jun said this as a question, silkily, but one eyebrow rose as if incredulous. “Give me one good reason not to cut your head off right now.”
“Because you need me.”
Jun scoffed with a sarcastic smile, barely tilting the edges of his mouth up. “I need you? You’ve just done the one thing I told you never to do.” His mouth returned into a hard line, staring daggers at the demon fox. Jun’s hand shot out and gripped Nino’s neck, strangling him.
“You know I wouldn’t have done it either, unless I was absolutely sure it was essential. You know that to be true!” Nino choked out.
“You expect me to trust you?”
“Yes.”
“Well I don’t.” With that, Jun threw Nino across the courtyard, where he skidded on the icy stones, his head making a terrible cracking noise as it hit the solid ground. Sho cried out, moving toward the motionless man, but Jun already had his hand fisted into Sho’s jacket, pulling his face close, forcing Sho to once again look into the dark prince’s eyes.
“Who are you?” Jun growled, his eyes searching Sho’s face.
“S-Sho Sakurai.” Sho trembled.
“You have not yet been claimed by the Dark or the Light?”
“N-no.” Sho hoped his stuttering seemed like it came from the cold, and not the terror.
“Why are you here?” Jun was whispering now, but still in his hardened voice. It was scarier than anything Sho had ever known, but Sho also had the feeling that Jun wouldn’t hurt him.
“To help…to help Nino.”
Jun’s eyes narrowed. “What do you remember?”
Sho knew what he was asking, and he had intended to lie. But it was as if the truth came tumbling out all on its own. “I remember you.”
Jun’s face instantly froze, and Sho scrambled to find something else to say. Before he could speak, however, Jun rammed him into the nearby stone wall, knocking the air out of his lungs. Jun was pressing his body flush against Sho’s, solid as stone, and his arm was jammed against Sho’s neck, further disorienting him and making it difficult to breathe. Jun’s voice was harsh and deadly in Sho’s ear as Sho’s vision darkened from lack of oxygen.
“I don’t know what you think you remember, but it wasn’t me. I have never seen you before in my life, not that I would remember even if I had. I will only give you this warning once. Never step into this castle again. If you do, I promise you a slow, torturous death.”
Jun’s eyes showed that he spoke the truth. Jun released him as Sho slid to the ground, choking and gasping for air.
“You seem innocent in all this, so I will let you go. I suggest you leave the Realm entirely. You aren’t wanted here, nor do you belong. I do not show mercy twice.”
With that, he blasted Sho and Nino back out into the snowy world outside the castle with some unseen power. They landed hard onto a snowbank, red sprinkled on the whiteness - from him or Nino, Sho wasn’t sure. Sho lay there, blindly reaching for Nino’s unconscious form, trying to hang on to reality when exhaustion and pain finally forced him to succumb to darkness.
So he didn’t feel it when two large birds gathered the pair into their claws and soared into the sky, away from the Winter Queen’s castle, nor did he witness the dark eyes watching them yet again from the shadows, full of deadly intent.