Somewhere Between Midnight and Sunrise: Chapter Five
Title: Somewhere Between Midnight and Sunrise
Chapters: 5/?
Band: The Gazette
Pairings: Aoi/Uruha, Reita/Aoi, Ruki/Kai (bolded are present in this chapter)
Rating: R/Light NC-17
Genres: Drama, mystery, suspense, angst
Warnings: Sexual situations, Violence
Summary: Humanity is a vulnerable condition and only more so when emotional factors are thrown into an already delicate balance.
“So you mean that Reita was forced into this?”
“You could say that.” I wrinkled my nose and laughed. “You could also say he went in voluntarily too--s’all depends on how you look at it. The fact of the matter is he didn’t want it, no…but the way Reita was, he couldn’t not be a part of it. At least not at first. At first, it was a good deed--it wasn’t until later that killing turned from an act to better the world to…murder.” All my words came out in a lazy voice--the fact that they seemed put-off by it only made the smirk on my face grow wider.
“And which part of his psyche are you going to decide is important next?” The fat snapped sarcastically at me. I was beginning to think he didn’t like me all that much. Not that it mattered to me. I smiled even wider.
“Maybe if you asked nicely, I’ll tell you about the woods--yeah, yeah. Go ahead and ask. Now its important.” I leaned forward, flicking a few locks of hair away from my eyes before I glanced between the both of them. “See, he went back alone. Mostly because Aoi was took disturbed by what they’d seen. He just wanted to forget it. But Reita, no no…he couldn’t sleep that night knowing they’d seen something that bizarre. That a woman was now dead because of it. So the next morning, he took a little trip…”
_______________________
Reita was pushing through the familiar path from the night before--he remembered every step he and Aoi had taken. This time, however, the path felt gloomier than before; perhaps it was because he wasn’t wrapped up in the warmth of his lover’s hand in his or the comfortable chatter around them. It was still and eerie in the trees and it made Reita’s heartbeat quicken in fear. The canopy of the trees hid most of the sun light, creating a speckled darkness around him that certainly didn’t help with his nerves.
He couldn’t remember how far they’d gone when they’d found the creature and the woman it had killed. But he kept walking, considering all of the possibilities of what he might find. A foot print or lost feather--something that might indicate what had happened was what Reita was after. Anything to sate his wild mind and, perhaps, make him feel less guilty for leaving as quickly as they had. Their fear had fueled them and he felt as if he disgraced the woman’s body by not covering her properly or otherwise helping.
Reita had laid awake in his bed for the entirety of the night--not because he couldn’t sleep, though he was certain that had he tried, nightmares would have plagued him. But, instead, it was a matter of being distracted and therefore finding nothing more appealing than staying up to work out scenarios and explanations over and over again.
He heard leaves and twigs crunching underneath his feet and he let out a soft sigh at the sound. He could see, however, rumpled leaves and grass from the weight of a body on them as the woman was still sprawled out against the forest floor.
A string of mumbled swears fell from his lips when his foot caught against a protruding branch. It was as he caught his balance that he felt something suddenly jerk him upwards by the collar of his shirt. It was rough and sudden. Reita was pushed against the trunk of a near by tree in an instant, the blade of a knife pressed against his throat. His terrified eyes stared back at dark ones, hidden behind a bandana that covered the rest of the person’s face. They pushed Reita heavily against the bark, their strength taking Reita by surprise.
“What do you think you’re doing here?” They snapped gruffly at Reita as he could feel the blade pressing enough into his skin to be uncomfortable and intimidating but not hard enough to draw blood. “Can you not speak!? It will hurt and it will be very gruesome if you stay silent for much longer. I’m not kidding you, either. Speak.” Reita felt the pressure of the knife increase against his throat and he held his breath for a brief moment as if that would keep it from plunging into his trachea.
“Walking--I was walking.” He choked out, squirming slightly under their grasp but they were quick to tighten the hold on Reita, forcing him harder against the bark so that he felt his feet leave the ground for a moment or two. Reita was strong and certainly agile but he was frightened and too shocked to be prepared for this moment.
“Wrong answer--I’m going to ask you one more time.” The knife didn’t move against his skin but Reita’s eyes fluttered shut in fear that the man would actually cut him. “And I want a real answer because no one just walks here to walk here. Not at this hour. What the fuck are you doing here?”
Reita weighted his options in that moment, considering telling the truth. But he couldn’t bring himself to utter it, not when he was terrified of this man and, perhaps, what the larger scale damage he might do if he knew Reita knew about the woman’s corpse. “If you’re going to kill me, do it.” He answered swiftly, with intense bravado, before he let his eyes open. “And I could ask the same of you--what are you doing here?”
The man’s eyes faltered--it was the only emotion that could be expressed as his rest of his face was hidden. There was a moment of fear that passed over Reita right then and he held his breath in fear of breaking the silence that echoed on around them. “You’re crazy.” The man finally said and swiftly dropped his grasp on Reita. Reita fell to the ground in a sudden heap, catching himself on the foliage before his hands went to his throat and he checked to see if there was blood dotted there. “Fucking insane--you’re going to get yourself killed out here and you want to play games instead. I don’t know why I do this. Get up--” The man urged Reita to his feet before the knife was hidden back in a holster along his waist.
Reita stood shakily, glancing briefly to the other as the seemingly aggressive man started to pull latex gloves onto his hands. “I should have killed you--I should have killed you to save you from this shit you’re clearly too dumb to run from. I’m here because I’m a philanthropist, that’s why. Or at least I pretend to be. I wasn’t going to kill you…” He admitted begrudgingly before he shook his head “…but I should.”
The blonde man stood up straight, finally gaining some of his composure back now that he wasn’t pinned to the tree. His eyebrows knitted together at every word spoken. The idea that he should be dead didn’t make sense to him and, even more so, the idea that this man knew something that Reita didn’t made his stomach queasy. “What are you talking about? What in the world should I be running from?”
The man paused for a second before he snorted bitterly, shaking his head. “Everything. The night, the shadows, strangers, blood, take your pick…” The man shivered slightly before he looked away, focused again on the gloves as he pulled the second over his hand “…you should go. Go home, forget what you saw here--or didn’t see, I don’t care how you spin it. But if you go off and start talking to the wrong people, you’re going to be in a lot more trouble than its worth. Trust me--I’m trying to protect you from what’ll come of all this. The less you know, the better. Get out of here.”
Reita swayed in his spot, confused and frustrated as the man’s words rang in his head. He’d already started to abandon Reita, pushing through leaves and underbrush towards where Reita knew the woman’s body lay. He crouched down next to the body and started to push large leaves off of her, brushing away the foliage around her. Reita was moving an instant, hissing loudly as he did so. “Stop! Stop it, don’t touch her! Did you do this to her?! Was it you? I saw someone hurt her, someone kill her--what are you doing here?!”
The man, who had his eyes settled on the woman, had frozen in his spot, his hands tucked underneath her arm as if he was about to lift it. “You what?” Reita heard him whisper and his own blood ran cold from the way that the man’s voice seemed to falter.
“I saw what happened to her--I saw her die. I saw you kill her.” Reita trailed off as his voice lost its power and he took a step back, suddenly reminded of the fact that this man had a knife, perhaps more than Reita knew of, hidden away on his person.
A low, almost snicker escaped the man as he moved to work again, inspecting her forearm. “You’re an idiot.” He mumbled, shaking his head as he gave no more attention Reita than his words provided. “I didn’t kill her, I don’t kill civilians. I’m not a monster--I’m a man, aren’t I? You really saw?” Reita took another step back when the man’s eyes flickered up to meet him. “Then you know--you know and yet you haven’t bolted yet? Maybe you really are insane, ne?! They’re going to be after you. In fact, every second you stand here, they’re that much closer to snatching you up to. You want to end up like her?” he waved to the woman whose arm he still had a hold of. “By all means, go for it. What the hell are you thinking?”
Reita bit down hard on his bottom lip, overwhelmed by his words. Simply because he didn’t have a clue what was going on nor what it was that this man thought he knew. But it was clear enough to him that there was information to be gained and that playing along would be better than bolting as he was encouraged to do. “If it wasn’t you, if I can even trust that--I don’t know what it was. I just know that it ran away and she was dead when I saw her.” Reita paused for a split second before he stepped forward a little bit.
He refrained from looking at her bloated, dead body--it was a disgusting sight and his stomach wasn’t full of anything to empty in the first place. But the smell reached his nose and it took all of his effort not to gag from it. Reita’s hand went to cover it and it was in that instant that understood why this man’s face was hidden. Once his sense of smell was gone, he could taste it on the tip of his tongue like milk that had long ago gone sour.
“Besides, you’re living, aren’t you? If whatever it was is so dangerous, and I should be scared of it…why aren’t you?” He asked, both eyebrows raised on his forehead as he focused solely on the other man.
“I never said I wasn’t afraid--I’d be an idiot not to be. Not a day goes by where I don’t want to run off in the abyss. But--” He let out a soft groan as he moved the woman off of the leaves she was perched on, having to carry dead weight “--it’s a price to pay. And its not luck that I haven’t died, not in the least bit--that’s the sort of thing you’ll need to rely on, I’m sure. It’s skill--of which you certainly don’t have. If you really don’t know what’s going on, I suggest you turn around and leave. Now.”
He considered, for a split second, heeding the man’s words. Not because he wanted to, but because the entire experience was nerve wrecking to him. He felt like all of his conviction had been sucked out of him and that it was unattainable now that he could still feel the cold blade against his skin. Maybe, just maybe, he really should let it go and let this man, whoever he was, do what he was doing because clearly he knew more than Reita did.
But his eyes flickered down towards the woman, who the man was now bowed before, muttering soft words he seemed to quietly mourn her death. She was stark white as her blood stopped pumping and her natural color was lost. Her hair was stringy and matted with the dirt from underneath her. Her dress was rumpled and she looked sad where she lay--not just because she was lifeless but because of the way she was mangled and left to die.
“No.” Reita spoke before he could stop himself, shaking his head as he did so. He moved forward and knelt beside the woman, across from the man. He covered his nose still from the smell though he bowed his head in the same fashion that the man did. “I won’t leave, not her or whatever it is that she was involved in. Or that you are involved in. You say skill keeps you safe. I can learn, I am equipped for it. I want to know--for her sake, for her memory and dignity…I owe it.” His eyes flickered upwards towards the man. “She died here, because whatever this is. She died and I would be a horrid person if I simply walked away to save my own life. Teach me how to surpass luck.”
Reita leaned forward and carefully pulled her eyelids closed. He couldn’t stand the smell and understood why there was need for something to cover his nose; however he also couldn’t bear the look of her dead eyes staring back at them. That was the most unnerving part of it all - that was what made her look so sad. Once he’d pulled her eyelids shut it was as if he too had offered her his condolences and he could make peace with her soul.
The man had been staring at Reita with a surprised look on his face. He appeared as if he was struggling to find words to answer, perhaps words to tell Reita he was being ridiculous and that he would bodily force him from the woods if need be. But the man bowed his head a moment later, nodding softly before he spoke in an equally soft, surprisingly calm and snark free, voice. “What’s your name?”
“Reita.” He answered swiftly, watching as the other man stood up. Reita hesitated to follow suit.
The man peeled back the latex gloves, a visible shutter washing over him as he took considerable care to detach the glove from his skin without touching the contaminated side. “I’d say its nice to meet you, Reita-san…but that would be a lie. You can me Ruki--it’s all I’ll answer to, anyhow.” Ruki’s eyes looked pained as he spoke, as if he’d been hurt by simply uttering any of his words. He got the final glove off and he reached out to help Reita to his feet as well. “I better not regret this. I can‘t do this…unless your willing to learn how to kill…”
_______________________
”So you see...Reita...like he told all of his victims - just like he told Ruki in that hospital bed...was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He never wanted it."
“You have GOT to be kidding me!!” It was the fat one that responded so brashly, pushing up roughly from his chair. He went to stomping for a moment around the little room we had. I was surprised by it, though clearly he wasn’t a calm man to begin with. His hands went to his hair and he groaned heavily.
“Oh no, I assure you--no kidding, whatsoever. I tried that before and I was nearly--”
“Why didn’t you tell us that Ruki was involved?” My eyes flickered over towards the skinner man and I flashed him a wide smile as I leaned back against the chair they’d given me. It was rickety and uncomfortable, but I draped my arm over the back in such a way that made the heavy man angrier.
“Have you been listening, officer? Because I’m pretty sure I told you he was important, didn’t I? In fact, I think I said everyone was--pay attention, everything is important here. See why you needed to know before? ‘Cause what Reita did with Ruki in the hospital room is because of what happened in the woods. And the years after that too. See…Ruki came from money, right? Well see, his family was in the business of…killing, you could say. Made most of their money from it, to be honest. Fame and fucking fortune. Only it wasn’t about that for Ruki. It was about the principle of what he was doing. He wasn’t killing good guys, not the people you’d want walking the streets.”
I leaned forward, resting my arms crossed on the table. “You know those people who go around killing bad people? You see them in the newspaper sometimes, every once and a while a drug dealer was killed by a hysterical mother taking revenge for what those damned drugs did to her kid. Well...he’s sorta like that. Only…its not drug dealers he was trying to rid the world of. Its something much, much worse. And that day was when a warrior was born--it was like the cause burrowed into his chest before he fully understood it.”
“So…” I watched the smaller man lean forward, his eyes set on me as the fat one seethed silently in his proverbial corner “…does that make Uruha and Aoi bad people? Since he tried to kill them too?”
A smile wide and nodded my head in approval. “I like you.” I paused in momentary reverence of him before I went on more cheerfully “--you were listening, huh? No, they’re not bad people. Well…define bad. Is a murderer is bad? A snob? A empty shell of a human being? Were they the sort of bad people Ruki--and eventually Reita was after? No, not even close. See…there was point in his life when the bad suddenly became good. But not out of his own volition--it was a good five, maybe six years after all this had happened. Mind you, Aoi followed Reita anywhere. It wasn’t long before Ruki had two pupils instead of one. Until the day that Reita was forced into what he didn’t want to do…until he had to change sides…”
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A/N: So I fail at the short chapters thing no matter how hard I try. Second of all this thing started as a plan to do a primarily pairing based story. It has turned into a more plot driven one. Today I wrote the last sentence or two, perhaps the last paragraph. Either way the end of it is now complete and decided on. It was decided after discussing with my beta that the end is apropos. I will be gone soon so the updates will halt for a bit. There is a chance, albeit small, that I will have the chance to post on my trip. I would appreciate any comments you might have.
Previous: One - Two - Three - Four
Next: Six
Chapters: 5/?
Band: The Gazette
Pairings: Aoi/Uruha, Reita/Aoi, Ruki/Kai (bolded are present in this chapter)
Rating: R/Light NC-17
Genres: Drama, mystery, suspense, angst
Warnings: Sexual situations, Violence
Summary: Humanity is a vulnerable condition and only more so when emotional factors are thrown into an already delicate balance.
“So you mean that Reita was forced into this?”
“You could say that.” I wrinkled my nose and laughed. “You could also say he went in voluntarily too--s’all depends on how you look at it. The fact of the matter is he didn’t want it, no…but the way Reita was, he couldn’t not be a part of it. At least not at first. At first, it was a good deed--it wasn’t until later that killing turned from an act to better the world to…murder.” All my words came out in a lazy voice--the fact that they seemed put-off by it only made the smirk on my face grow wider.
“And which part of his psyche are you going to decide is important next?” The fat snapped sarcastically at me. I was beginning to think he didn’t like me all that much. Not that it mattered to me. I smiled even wider.
“Maybe if you asked nicely, I’ll tell you about the woods--yeah, yeah. Go ahead and ask. Now its important.” I leaned forward, flicking a few locks of hair away from my eyes before I glanced between the both of them. “See, he went back alone. Mostly because Aoi was took disturbed by what they’d seen. He just wanted to forget it. But Reita, no no…he couldn’t sleep that night knowing they’d seen something that bizarre. That a woman was now dead because of it. So the next morning, he took a little trip…”
_______________________
Reita was pushing through the familiar path from the night before--he remembered every step he and Aoi had taken. This time, however, the path felt gloomier than before; perhaps it was because he wasn’t wrapped up in the warmth of his lover’s hand in his or the comfortable chatter around them. It was still and eerie in the trees and it made Reita’s heartbeat quicken in fear. The canopy of the trees hid most of the sun light, creating a speckled darkness around him that certainly didn’t help with his nerves.
He couldn’t remember how far they’d gone when they’d found the creature and the woman it had killed. But he kept walking, considering all of the possibilities of what he might find. A foot print or lost feather--something that might indicate what had happened was what Reita was after. Anything to sate his wild mind and, perhaps, make him feel less guilty for leaving as quickly as they had. Their fear had fueled them and he felt as if he disgraced the woman’s body by not covering her properly or otherwise helping.
Reita had laid awake in his bed for the entirety of the night--not because he couldn’t sleep, though he was certain that had he tried, nightmares would have plagued him. But, instead, it was a matter of being distracted and therefore finding nothing more appealing than staying up to work out scenarios and explanations over and over again.
He heard leaves and twigs crunching underneath his feet and he let out a soft sigh at the sound. He could see, however, rumpled leaves and grass from the weight of a body on them as the woman was still sprawled out against the forest floor.
A string of mumbled swears fell from his lips when his foot caught against a protruding branch. It was as he caught his balance that he felt something suddenly jerk him upwards by the collar of his shirt. It was rough and sudden. Reita was pushed against the trunk of a near by tree in an instant, the blade of a knife pressed against his throat. His terrified eyes stared back at dark ones, hidden behind a bandana that covered the rest of the person’s face. They pushed Reita heavily against the bark, their strength taking Reita by surprise.
“What do you think you’re doing here?” They snapped gruffly at Reita as he could feel the blade pressing enough into his skin to be uncomfortable and intimidating but not hard enough to draw blood. “Can you not speak!? It will hurt and it will be very gruesome if you stay silent for much longer. I’m not kidding you, either. Speak.” Reita felt the pressure of the knife increase against his throat and he held his breath for a brief moment as if that would keep it from plunging into his trachea.
“Walking--I was walking.” He choked out, squirming slightly under their grasp but they were quick to tighten the hold on Reita, forcing him harder against the bark so that he felt his feet leave the ground for a moment or two. Reita was strong and certainly agile but he was frightened and too shocked to be prepared for this moment.
“Wrong answer--I’m going to ask you one more time.” The knife didn’t move against his skin but Reita’s eyes fluttered shut in fear that the man would actually cut him. “And I want a real answer because no one just walks here to walk here. Not at this hour. What the fuck are you doing here?”
Reita weighted his options in that moment, considering telling the truth. But he couldn’t bring himself to utter it, not when he was terrified of this man and, perhaps, what the larger scale damage he might do if he knew Reita knew about the woman’s corpse. “If you’re going to kill me, do it.” He answered swiftly, with intense bravado, before he let his eyes open. “And I could ask the same of you--what are you doing here?”
The man’s eyes faltered--it was the only emotion that could be expressed as his rest of his face was hidden. There was a moment of fear that passed over Reita right then and he held his breath in fear of breaking the silence that echoed on around them. “You’re crazy.” The man finally said and swiftly dropped his grasp on Reita. Reita fell to the ground in a sudden heap, catching himself on the foliage before his hands went to his throat and he checked to see if there was blood dotted there. “Fucking insane--you’re going to get yourself killed out here and you want to play games instead. I don’t know why I do this. Get up--” The man urged Reita to his feet before the knife was hidden back in a holster along his waist.
Reita stood shakily, glancing briefly to the other as the seemingly aggressive man started to pull latex gloves onto his hands. “I should have killed you--I should have killed you to save you from this shit you’re clearly too dumb to run from. I’m here because I’m a philanthropist, that’s why. Or at least I pretend to be. I wasn’t going to kill you…” He admitted begrudgingly before he shook his head “…but I should.”
The blonde man stood up straight, finally gaining some of his composure back now that he wasn’t pinned to the tree. His eyebrows knitted together at every word spoken. The idea that he should be dead didn’t make sense to him and, even more so, the idea that this man knew something that Reita didn’t made his stomach queasy. “What are you talking about? What in the world should I be running from?”
The man paused for a second before he snorted bitterly, shaking his head. “Everything. The night, the shadows, strangers, blood, take your pick…” The man shivered slightly before he looked away, focused again on the gloves as he pulled the second over his hand “…you should go. Go home, forget what you saw here--or didn’t see, I don’t care how you spin it. But if you go off and start talking to the wrong people, you’re going to be in a lot more trouble than its worth. Trust me--I’m trying to protect you from what’ll come of all this. The less you know, the better. Get out of here.”
Reita swayed in his spot, confused and frustrated as the man’s words rang in his head. He’d already started to abandon Reita, pushing through leaves and underbrush towards where Reita knew the woman’s body lay. He crouched down next to the body and started to push large leaves off of her, brushing away the foliage around her. Reita was moving an instant, hissing loudly as he did so. “Stop! Stop it, don’t touch her! Did you do this to her?! Was it you? I saw someone hurt her, someone kill her--what are you doing here?!”
The man, who had his eyes settled on the woman, had frozen in his spot, his hands tucked underneath her arm as if he was about to lift it. “You what?” Reita heard him whisper and his own blood ran cold from the way that the man’s voice seemed to falter.
“I saw what happened to her--I saw her die. I saw you kill her.” Reita trailed off as his voice lost its power and he took a step back, suddenly reminded of the fact that this man had a knife, perhaps more than Reita knew of, hidden away on his person.
A low, almost snicker escaped the man as he moved to work again, inspecting her forearm. “You’re an idiot.” He mumbled, shaking his head as he gave no more attention Reita than his words provided. “I didn’t kill her, I don’t kill civilians. I’m not a monster--I’m a man, aren’t I? You really saw?” Reita took another step back when the man’s eyes flickered up to meet him. “Then you know--you know and yet you haven’t bolted yet? Maybe you really are insane, ne?! They’re going to be after you. In fact, every second you stand here, they’re that much closer to snatching you up to. You want to end up like her?” he waved to the woman whose arm he still had a hold of. “By all means, go for it. What the hell are you thinking?”
Reita bit down hard on his bottom lip, overwhelmed by his words. Simply because he didn’t have a clue what was going on nor what it was that this man thought he knew. But it was clear enough to him that there was information to be gained and that playing along would be better than bolting as he was encouraged to do. “If it wasn’t you, if I can even trust that--I don’t know what it was. I just know that it ran away and she was dead when I saw her.” Reita paused for a split second before he stepped forward a little bit.
He refrained from looking at her bloated, dead body--it was a disgusting sight and his stomach wasn’t full of anything to empty in the first place. But the smell reached his nose and it took all of his effort not to gag from it. Reita’s hand went to cover it and it was in that instant that understood why this man’s face was hidden. Once his sense of smell was gone, he could taste it on the tip of his tongue like milk that had long ago gone sour.
“Besides, you’re living, aren’t you? If whatever it was is so dangerous, and I should be scared of it…why aren’t you?” He asked, both eyebrows raised on his forehead as he focused solely on the other man.
“I never said I wasn’t afraid--I’d be an idiot not to be. Not a day goes by where I don’t want to run off in the abyss. But--” He let out a soft groan as he moved the woman off of the leaves she was perched on, having to carry dead weight “--it’s a price to pay. And its not luck that I haven’t died, not in the least bit--that’s the sort of thing you’ll need to rely on, I’m sure. It’s skill--of which you certainly don’t have. If you really don’t know what’s going on, I suggest you turn around and leave. Now.”
He considered, for a split second, heeding the man’s words. Not because he wanted to, but because the entire experience was nerve wrecking to him. He felt like all of his conviction had been sucked out of him and that it was unattainable now that he could still feel the cold blade against his skin. Maybe, just maybe, he really should let it go and let this man, whoever he was, do what he was doing because clearly he knew more than Reita did.
But his eyes flickered down towards the woman, who the man was now bowed before, muttering soft words he seemed to quietly mourn her death. She was stark white as her blood stopped pumping and her natural color was lost. Her hair was stringy and matted with the dirt from underneath her. Her dress was rumpled and she looked sad where she lay--not just because she was lifeless but because of the way she was mangled and left to die.
“No.” Reita spoke before he could stop himself, shaking his head as he did so. He moved forward and knelt beside the woman, across from the man. He covered his nose still from the smell though he bowed his head in the same fashion that the man did. “I won’t leave, not her or whatever it is that she was involved in. Or that you are involved in. You say skill keeps you safe. I can learn, I am equipped for it. I want to know--for her sake, for her memory and dignity…I owe it.” His eyes flickered upwards towards the man. “She died here, because whatever this is. She died and I would be a horrid person if I simply walked away to save my own life. Teach me how to surpass luck.”
Reita leaned forward and carefully pulled her eyelids closed. He couldn’t stand the smell and understood why there was need for something to cover his nose; however he also couldn’t bear the look of her dead eyes staring back at them. That was the most unnerving part of it all - that was what made her look so sad. Once he’d pulled her eyelids shut it was as if he too had offered her his condolences and he could make peace with her soul.
The man had been staring at Reita with a surprised look on his face. He appeared as if he was struggling to find words to answer, perhaps words to tell Reita he was being ridiculous and that he would bodily force him from the woods if need be. But the man bowed his head a moment later, nodding softly before he spoke in an equally soft, surprisingly calm and snark free, voice. “What’s your name?”
“Reita.” He answered swiftly, watching as the other man stood up. Reita hesitated to follow suit.
The man peeled back the latex gloves, a visible shutter washing over him as he took considerable care to detach the glove from his skin without touching the contaminated side. “I’d say its nice to meet you, Reita-san…but that would be a lie. You can me Ruki--it’s all I’ll answer to, anyhow.” Ruki’s eyes looked pained as he spoke, as if he’d been hurt by simply uttering any of his words. He got the final glove off and he reached out to help Reita to his feet as well. “I better not regret this. I can‘t do this…unless your willing to learn how to kill…”
_______________________
”So you see...Reita...like he told all of his victims - just like he told Ruki in that hospital bed...was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He never wanted it."
“You have GOT to be kidding me!!” It was the fat one that responded so brashly, pushing up roughly from his chair. He went to stomping for a moment around the little room we had. I was surprised by it, though clearly he wasn’t a calm man to begin with. His hands went to his hair and he groaned heavily.
“Oh no, I assure you--no kidding, whatsoever. I tried that before and I was nearly--”
“Why didn’t you tell us that Ruki was involved?” My eyes flickered over towards the skinner man and I flashed him a wide smile as I leaned back against the chair they’d given me. It was rickety and uncomfortable, but I draped my arm over the back in such a way that made the heavy man angrier.
“Have you been listening, officer? Because I’m pretty sure I told you he was important, didn’t I? In fact, I think I said everyone was--pay attention, everything is important here. See why you needed to know before? ‘Cause what Reita did with Ruki in the hospital room is because of what happened in the woods. And the years after that too. See…Ruki came from money, right? Well see, his family was in the business of…killing, you could say. Made most of their money from it, to be honest. Fame and fucking fortune. Only it wasn’t about that for Ruki. It was about the principle of what he was doing. He wasn’t killing good guys, not the people you’d want walking the streets.”
I leaned forward, resting my arms crossed on the table. “You know those people who go around killing bad people? You see them in the newspaper sometimes, every once and a while a drug dealer was killed by a hysterical mother taking revenge for what those damned drugs did to her kid. Well...he’s sorta like that. Only…its not drug dealers he was trying to rid the world of. Its something much, much worse. And that day was when a warrior was born--it was like the cause burrowed into his chest before he fully understood it.”
“So…” I watched the smaller man lean forward, his eyes set on me as the fat one seethed silently in his proverbial corner “…does that make Uruha and Aoi bad people? Since he tried to kill them too?”
A smile wide and nodded my head in approval. “I like you.” I paused in momentary reverence of him before I went on more cheerfully “--you were listening, huh? No, they’re not bad people. Well…define bad. Is a murderer is bad? A snob? A empty shell of a human being? Were they the sort of bad people Ruki--and eventually Reita was after? No, not even close. See…there was point in his life when the bad suddenly became good. But not out of his own volition--it was a good five, maybe six years after all this had happened. Mind you, Aoi followed Reita anywhere. It wasn’t long before Ruki had two pupils instead of one. Until the day that Reita was forced into what he didn’t want to do…until he had to change sides…”
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A/N: So I fail at the short chapters thing no matter how hard I try. Second of all this thing started as a plan to do a primarily pairing based story. It has turned into a more plot driven one. Today I wrote the last sentence or two, perhaps the last paragraph. Either way the end of it is now complete and decided on. It was decided after discussing with my beta that the end is apropos. I will be gone soon so the updates will halt for a bit. There is a chance, albeit small, that I will have the chance to post on my trip. I would appreciate any comments you might have.
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