Avec Tu, Chapter 1
Summary: BDA1&2. Present for Inita. A story told in four parts. Somehow, she became more important than anything else. Jiro x Kluke
A present I wrote for Inita. Four-part piece. The second time I've ever written in second-person. While I'm not overly fond of the ending, I still think it's one of the best things I've written (if not ever, then lately).
Only the opening note in chapter one and the ending note in chapter four will be posted on LiveJournal. For unedited notes, see version of Avec Tu posted on FanFiction.Net.
~.~.~.
I.
For Inita, who is always there for those who need it. For facing her adversaries with tremendous courage, and standing tall despite her hardships. She has never let anything stand in her way, even against the odds, and she will achieve what she aims to accomplish. For some of us, you have comforted and guided us in times of despair. Now, you are about to face a struggle of your own, and it is our turn to be there for you. We believe in you. We are with you. Never give up, my friend.
Things should not have gotten to this point.
To be honest, she is at the root of all the problems. (But also all of the good things, too.) If only she didn't cause these feelings...
But, the fact of the matter is, you do care.
You'd like to say that you never cared about her, that you were at least initially annoyed by her presence because she couldn't even use a Shadow, yet insisted on being brought along. But that would be a lie.
She's interested you since the first time you laid eyes on her, with her brightly curious green eyes and even brighter smile. She proved her worth time and time again, long before any of you even knew she was a Shadow User, and you found yourself being intrigued by not just her immense skill but her, this girl trying so hard to keep up with the rest of the group. And then her kindness began to draw you in, healing all of your old scars and still-open wounds deep down inside without any say on your part - and it made you realize that perhaps you had been waiting for someone to do that to you. (Or maybe you were just waiting for her.)
You were like a moth attracted to a flame (maybe it's that same fire that burns in her heart, the one that makes her so fierce and feisty when her temper gets out of control, yet when she smiles or laughs makes the world seem so bright and full of possibilities) - you tried to hide it, but you couldn't stay away.
And then, somehow, before you knew it (and again without your say), she had become a central part of your life.
Revenge was supposed to be your only purpose, your only reason for existing, and she threw a wrench in all of that (unlike her, as she always keeps her wrench close at hand), because now you actually want her to be a part of your life.
And it ruins everything, because you can't afford to care about anything.
You almost hadn't minded. The feelings were a distraction, but it had never overly concerned you since they never interfered with your goal.
Until now.
You and the others have been ambushed (forcing the mechat to land) while on your way to intercept Nene, who has stolen Bouquet's ruins. Grand Kingdom's king apparently wised up to your approach, and sent his minions out to deal with you (not good; if he's that concerned with your group interfering, then he must have something really terrible planned, so you kind of need to hurry here). Were things going as usual, you'd all be able to handle it with minimal problems. However, the enemy is arranged in such a way that they're forcing you all to choose who to go after. And it doesn't help anything that there's a ticking clock hanging over your heads (whatever Nene's planning, chances are he won't hesitate).
You should be dealing with them strategically, using careful thinking to determine which enemy to go after. You should be cutting the quickest path to Nene.
Instead, you are running towards the group of foes that have Kluke surrounded.
She would be fine on her own, but there are too many enemies and her Power Up is proving to not be as effective as it should, or it may simply be that she's exhausted herself; Kluke's magic takes more out of her than anyone else's.
Kluke is interfering with your only reason for living - and you don't care.
This should not be, and yet it is, and you don't even care.
Even from the distance - yards when it feels like miles - you can see the Protect Feather flickering, the blue barrier fading in and out (your blood runs cold when you see Phoenix clearly for a second) with every attack. She won't be able to hold on much longer.
And then your vision goes red for a moment as you see that one of the main offenders is Szabo, who lifts his machine gun and fires.
Kluke screams as the shield shatters around her.
He's doing it again, taking everything from you again! Everything, everything, everything!!!
You're not even aware of using Rekkuhazan for the second time, and the only reason you will ever know is because someone else tells you long after the battle is over. You don't know, because all you see is Jina (your family, your blood, your little sister, your Jina, your everything, everything) dying before your very eyes and there's nothing you can do to stop it.
The next time you're aware of anything, you see Szabo being flung off into the distance (not the last time you'll see him, you know for certain - by this point, whenever it happens you don't even get surprised anymore); the Kage Kuro units are nothing but wreckage at your feet, the ground around them scored and scorched.
And beyond the remains of the robots lies Kluke, Shadow gone, body still and unmoving (you pray to whoever will listen that she's breathing and you just can't see it from where you are).
No. No, no, no.
Not this, you think. Please. Please, not this. Anything but this. Hoping that you're not about to relive the deaths of everyone you ever cared about, you run towards her, seeing nothing else. Caring about nothing else. You want her to be alive more than you want Nene dead. For the first time in seven months, the Ancient king does not occupy your thoughts at all. He could cause the end of the world right now and you wouldn't even notice - because if Kluke never opens her eyes again, then your world has already ended.
Sharp rocks dig into your knees as you land on them; you barely feel it. "Kluke!" You grab her, start shaking her. You just want her to open her eyes, just once, and then everything will be okay - your head will stop spinning and your stomach will stop churning-twisting-rolling and your heart will no longer feel like it's being mercilessly stabbed with a sword over and over again. Just once. Just one time. Just a single look at emerald eyes to make everything right again. "Kluke, wake up! Open your eyes!" Please. Please. Please. You never say it out loud, but you let the word repeat in the privacy of your mind. These may be her last moments (because of course she isn't dead yet, she can't be dead- please don't leave me, please don't leave me all alone, I don't want to be alone anymore) and you still can't admit to anyone - let alone her or even yourself - that you like her that way. Too weak to save your family, too weak to defeat their murderer, and too weak to tell a girl you have feelings for her. You're so pathetic that you make yourself sick sometimes.
Images of her flash in your mind's eye. Kluke trying to get you to taste her cooking; her blossoming grin when you offer to carry her across the canyon with Minotauros; her concern-sympathy-sadness-kindness when you tell her what happened to Mafe and your family; countless mornings spent assisting her in keeping the mechat in good repair; the way she giggles when you're being stubborn; that special kind of sweet and gentle smile you've never seen her use with anyone but you.
Don't leave me.
A small noise emits from Kluke as her closed eyes suddenly scrunch before opening. She looks around for only a second before seeing you. "Jiro..."
There's a wealth of words on the tip of your tongue. So much unsaid, so many missed opportunities, so many regrets. She probably doesn't even know. She probably doesn't feel the same. You've seen how jealous she gets of Bouquet; if she likes anyone, it has to be Shu. Chances are she'd never look at you as more than a friend. Your heart sinks, but you shove down the hurt realization into a hidden alcove inside you (somewhere in the hallway with the nightmare of your family burning to death). You'll survive it. After all, if you weren't used to pain by now, you wouldn't have gotten this far. "We need to get out of here." You're surprised your voice sounds so steady, since it feels like you're burning inside (everything always ends in fire). Cold and apathetic and only caring about your revenge; is that really the person everyone sees, this stranger of yourself that is nothing at all like the happy little boy about to have his tenth birthday? Needless to say, it's a frightening thought. "This area is still hostile, and you aren't fit for combat right now; you can't stay in the open like this."
She nods, taking no offense to your bluntness - in fact, it seems to instill in her an all-business attitude. Kluke sits up and locks gazes with you. "Understood. Are any of the others hurt?"
"I... don't know." Your heart skips at the thought of Zola (and Shu - you don't want to admit it, but ever since the day you got your Power Up, now Shu too) being hurt and you not even having a clue about it. "We're a little far away from them right now."
Kluke blinks her confusion, then looks around your arm; her eyes widen in an instant. "Jiro, I can barely see them!" Her gaze switches to you just as quickly. "Why did you leave them over there?" You hear the silent, What about Nene? You don't have any right to be, not with how you usually act, but the indignation is still there. But, come on. Really? Is that all people think you care about?
"The others are at least paired with each other. You were fighting all on your own. No one could see you but me." You advert your eyes, feeling awkward and a little embarrassed about the sudden shine of wonder in green depths. "I had to make a call."
"Jiro..." You suddenly feel her hand on your arm, the warmth of it sinking down to your skin (more of the ice that froze your heart so many months ago melts away), teasing your senses with the possibility of how soft the flesh of her palm might feel. You resist the sudden urge to take her other hand in yours and find out for yourself. "Thank you. I... I appreciate it."
You want to tell her those words of thanks are as precious to you as gold. But all you say is (still, your voice is gentle, and it's something, isn't it?), "Let's go, Kluke."