Akatsuki Chapter Fourty
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.
Warning: Some angst, fantasy violence and major chara!death.
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?
Note: In an attempt to avoid any confusion, this chapter is exactly what the chapter title says... only the last bit is current.
Chapter 40 - Flashes of The Past, a Glimpse of the Present
“It’s a prince my King,”
There was a look of blissful surprise on the man’s face as he was permitted into the chamber of his queen to see her resting on the bed, cradling a bundle of blankets.
She gave him a weak smile as he leaned to kiss her brow before taking the baby boy into his arms. He laughed softly, shedding tears of joy. A few days ago he had been told that his baby would not have survived… but it seemed that the potion his mage had made from the crystal’s pieces had healed whatever was ailing his wife and child.
A healing crystal…
“You will be loved and cherished by all my dear Yuto.”
The room appeared to sparkle as the many sprites circled above the baby boy and the child blinked opened his eyes with an adorable smile, irises an icy blue.
~*~
“Keep him away from me!”
“My lady please calm down!”
The room would have been completely silent if not for the terrified screams of the woman, the exhaustion from her labor non-existent as she refused to hold her newborn.
“He is your son sister!” shouted a young woman as she cradled the little one instead, eyes wide at her sibling’s antics.
“He is a curse… get rid of him Amaya… he will be the end of us all!”
Amaya stepped away from her wailing sister, frowning at the redness of the baby’s lips and gasping at the deep blood-like pupils as they stared back at her.
~*~
“What is wrong with him?”
The king placed a reassuring arm around his wife as they watched their sleeping 6 year old boy, breathing labored and skin pale.
“His body is weak, the crystal may have saved his life your majesty but it did not restore his health,” spoke the healer.
Young Kouta stood with his back facing the rest, swiftly pouring a purple powder into the Prince’s porridge.
“I will keep tending to him,” he spoke to the royals with a bow, carrying the hot meal towards the prince, a task he had been doing ever since he came into the family’s service.
~*~
The little boy stood still, skin dirtied by soot and specks of blood on his clothes. There was a terrified silence in the air as the child looked around, bloody red irises searching for the source of whimpers among the ash and dirt… remnants of the people that were harassing the child’s parents earlier.
The whimpering mother stifled her sobs as the father shakily pulled her up. They had watched their little boy’s eyes transform, they had watched as his mere gaze caused the bodies of those thugs to erupt into flames before disintegrating into ash and dust within minutes.
The boy’s eyes found his parents and the blood red cooled to a deep brown as he smiled.
The man rushed to him, covering him in a coat as a crowd started gathering.
“Ryosuke…,” the mother whispered as the boy reached out for her.
“Let’s move,” the father said sternly amongst the hushed murmurs about the demon child.
As the couple began to hastily leave the area, the child turned his head, eyes locking with a stunned figure a few feet away. The boy smiled shyly.
Daiki blinked, watching the family disappear the carnival’s vicinity, heard the whispers of the ‘poor men that died’ and ‘the evil that walked amongst them in the form of a child’.
~*~
“Where are you?”
Yuto’s voice was a whisper in the chilly air. His eyes were anxious as they swept over the green glade, stopping at the fountain in the center. It was eerily quiet, dark gray clouds shifting in the heavens above.
A smile lit up his face as he heard the thump thump of hooves on the ground and turned to spot a majestic steed with a shiny black coat and a golden horn upon its brow making its way into the glade, a very weary looking Ryosuke by its side.
Ryosuke’s eyes widened as he spotted him. Leaving the creature behind the boy strode over to him and punched him in the gut. Yuto gasped, bending over, the pain obvious on his face.
“Where… where were you? I’ve been wandering this maze for days looking for you,”
Ryosuke stiffened as the lanky boy stood his full height before pulling him into a hug.
“I’m sorry,”
Yuto tightened his hold as he felt no response from the shorter guy but then he smiled as within minutes Ryosuke slumped against him, too tired to push away or hug him back.
“You are planning to kill me aren’t you… Yuto?”
Yuto’s eyes widened. With a sad sigh Yuto pushed back slightly, hands still on the other’s shoulders. Ryosuke’s gaze hardened as Yuto stared back, a soft, very affectionate smile in place.
“You’re my best friend… but I need to protect my kingdom,”
Ryosuke harrumphed, pushing his hands off.
“I know exactly what your kingdom is,”
“What about yours?”
Ryosuke took a few steps back, eyes filled with hatred.
“You love that crystal… you believe in it because it believes in you… I want to take control of mine… like it has been in control of my fate so far… neither can tolerate the existence of the other… so one must be destroyed,”
“So you understand,” Yuto said lightly.
“I understand that you… like everyone else will be happier with me gone… and I for one… will not grant you that pleasure!”
Daiki stumbled back, breaking a twig beneath his shoes and gasped and both boys, previously unaware of his presence stared at him in shock.
“Dai-chan?”
Daiki took in a deep breath, recovering from the sudden tug that had pulled him back to where he stood in the tunnel, Yuma scrutinizing the ladder that led down the whole.
He blinked at the sprite, automatically getting on all fours and staring into the darkness below.
“Why did you show me all of that?”
‘You are the true guardian… the only one who can put an end to this war.’
~*~