Akatsuki Chapter Thirty-Six
Title: Akatsuki
Genre: AU/Fantasy
Rating : PG-13
Disclaimer: I made the poster from images I got from flickr, heavily influenced by an original, final fantasy/kingdom hearts/legend of Mana but the plot and characterization are my own hard work. The Idols are Johhnys but because they've engraved an irreplaceable position in my heart so I based my characters on them and yeah used their names...the end.
Note: Summaries are different for each Arc.
~Arc Four -Two of A Kind~
Summary:
Amongst the velvety richness of the sky, a storm is brewing, shrouding the growing turmoil below in ever growing darkness. The rushing tides of revolution carry with it the pieces of betrayal, greed and death, snuffing any glimmer of hope in its wake. Two flames have been ignited, hidden from the world but will their light and warmth be enough to protect their crumbling nations? Or will they burn it all to ashes as they pit themselves against each other?
Chapter Thirty-Six - Cleansing Rain
“The weapon is not this energy source… it is me.”
Kouta stared up at the great expanse of the gray sky. It was getting darker as the day came closer to its end. Something was changing, he could feel it. A light breeze had begun to blow from the south, easing the suffocating atmosphere. The crowd literally gaped at the young man, standing straight and staring right back into their eyes, no fear, doubt or uncertainty in his.
“What is this nonsense?” Miura began getting impatient. He felt a sharp edge against his spine and stared in shock at the man next to him. Kouta was staring at Yuto, but one hand stayed behind Miura’s back, holding a blade.
“Move and I will kill you,” Kouta murmured in silence.
“You’ve lost it Kouta, this boy will be the death of you… and the end of everything! Remember the Elder’s prophecy?” Miura whispered harshly. Yuto had started talking again.
“Prediction… theory,” Kouta responded blandly.
“We did not raise you to question our principles this way! You have worked for us, with us all your life… you promised you would do all it takes for the safety of this kingdom, the people…,”
“Don’t you see it!” Kouta argued back now looking him in the eyes, voice as low as he could possibly keep at the height of his emotions.
“I don’t care anymore… all I care about… is him… my King,”
Miura’s eyes hardened as he looked upon the younger man with dread.
“We have lost you Kouta… we have lost you.”
Kouta continued staring at the crowd, mildly interested in their reactions, blade still firm and poised. Miura frowned. Why wasn’t Johan doing anything?
A slight smirk tugged at the corner of Yuto’s lips but it vanished in the blink of an eye as he responded to an accusation from the crowd.
“If you’re a weapon, what good does it do to us? One man alone can’t fight an invading nation; you will need what little of our army is left… and then what about this plague? What about poverty? How will you keep the homeless from freezing to death in the coming winters? By the time you do something about our economy, half the nation would be dead,”
Yuto shook his head and then bowed.
“Give me a chance, one chance... 7 days the most… if I have failed you in this time period… I will accept defeat; any punishment you deem fit… just one chance,”
“Cure us of this plague… and you shall have that chance!” somebody shouted followed by various murmurs of agreement. Yuu could tell the people were uncertain now. They could not comprehend the royal begging for a chance to prove himself head bowed low. They couldn’t just accept him either, the anger was too strong. They had suffered after all.
Yuto straightened up.
“I will.”
In reflex Yuu caught Kaede as the girl swayed; her skin pale and cold. She blinked at her friend a couple of times, as if waking up from a dream; confused and bewildered.
Both girls looked up as Yuto raised his hands, stretching them before himself, palms raised to the sky, eyes falling shut, as if urging something to rise.
“What is he doing?” Yuu whispered. Koki shrugged, looking a little disturbed.
“He’s going to use the crystals,” Kaede deduced as her ring began to glow ever so lightly. Yuu stared at her, flabbergasted.
“Crystals? You mean the blue stones?”
People began to get uneasy as one by one the lamps started glowing with the most beautiful radiance. A comforting warmth spread with the light until the whole city was endowed in a fairy-like blue hue. The pipes and taps located around the capital burst and fountains shot out of wells and soon the city was drenched in the earth-born rain. Chaos spread through the people as they felt trapped within their own numbers, unable to escape the downpour.
The light made the water glint like blue diamonds.
Miura watched quietly, realizing that the castle grounds and their platform remained completely dry.
“Yuu-chan,” Koki called the girl. Kaede watched in amazement as the colour returned to both their faces, the once weak patients of the plague were voicing their surprise as strength returned to their bodies, the water cleansing them of all disease. Wounds and lesions on the skin were healing before their very eyes.
Kaede looked up at her King, whose hair had lost its jet black tint and now fluttered in the wind, a snowy white. His eyes snapped open, a striking blue.
“This isn’t just happening in the capital… it’s happening in the whole kingdom,” Yuto spoke, more to Miura and Kouta.
“Who… who is he really?” said a man near Koki, voice shaky.
“Papa look!” Yuu watched as a young girl hopped around her father happily, her cheeriness garnering much attention.
“I don’t feel sick anymore,”
“He’s… he’s our savior… this Kingdom’s salvation… that’s what the King and Queen were trying to protect… his gift,” Kaede remarked, gazing up at the young King in awe.
“So will you give me a chance then, this is just a small part of what I am really capable of,” Yuto asked aloud. The people took their time, savouring their replenished health and trying to take in the sudden change in Yuto’s appearance all at once.
“He could have easily killed us all in some strange way just like he cured us… he seems powerful enough,” Koki suggested with other nodding in agreement.
“He’s intelligent, he graduated with honors from his academy and he is humble,” Kaede added enthusiastically.
Yuu gave her a teasing glance sideways.
“He’s always been really sweet, even as a kid,” someone added. Koki was looking around nodding at everyone rather randomly.
“Valian stands no chance against someone like him,”
“Your Majesty!” Yuu called out. She felt a shiver as those mystifying blue eyes fixed on her. She bowed politely.
“We are in your care sire,”
Yuto nodded with a smile as the people started cheering.
“Long live the King! Long live King Yuto!”
Miura gulped as Yuto snapped his fingers. All the castle soldiers awoke from Johan’s magic induced trance and within minutes he found himself in custody. Kouta watched as a struggling Miura was hauled away by soldiers accompanied by more cheers from the crowd. He was continuously shouting of how Yuto was going to send the kingdom to its doom at the top of his lungs.
He put up no resistance as the soldiers approached him. He was a traitor after all and he was ready for punishment. He sighed as the soldier’s began to lead him down the platform.
“Kou-nii,”
Turning around, he found Yuto looking at him sternly and so he bowed his head in respect.
“I’m sorry, for everything,” he said simply, feeling as if his spirit was fading away slowly under the King’s judging eyes. As the soldiers began to take him away again, he heard the King say something that made him feel as if he had been struck by lightning.
“You should have listened to Miura, he was right about me.”
~*~
A/N: Yah, well Johan's met a very unfortunate and brutal end... somebody else will find him later on. I'm sorry if it's getting confusing or boring even. I'll untangle all these knots bit by bit. Thank u so much for reading!!