Black Saint - Arc 3 - Chapitre 17
Title : Black Saint
Arc 3 - Thunderbird
Chapitre 17 - Freedom
Author :
zeon_avalanthe
Rating : PG-13 (For languanges in some chapters)
Genre : AU ; Angst
Pairing : YamaJima ; NakaChii ; OkaYama ; more will come as the story evolves..
Disclaimer : Everyone knows that I don't own any of those boys, sadly..
Summary for Arc 3 : Threads are severed, trusts are wavered.. Through all the cold storms and the raging inferno, wrapped inside the unending cries of pain, a tiny part of his heart still waiting for that love he longed..
Author's Note : I've got an announcement~ Please check below for more info.. *winks*
~~~Arc 3 - Chapitre 17 - Freedom~~~
He couldn't remember how long he had been running. He couldn't even remember of whether he had made an excuse to escape from Yuu's room in the first place. But when he started to remember the last scene he saw from the monitor, he could only run faster, all the while wishing that everything will be alright.
Just as he took the last turn, a loud sound was echoing throughout the empty building. And as he recognized the name which was being called after the sound, he felt the blood being drained from his body. He froze on his spot for a while, before reruming his steps and barged into the room where the ruckus happened.
As he opened the door, he quickly scanned his eyes and drowned in his surrounding. There in the very middle of the room, lied an unmoving body on the ground, with Valentine hovering over the body to do what seemingly a quick examination on the body. On the further side of the room, another body slumped to the ground, with someone standing above him, a gun in his hand.
Perhaps, recognizing the sound of the door opening, the two conscious men quickly turned their head to where he is standing, shooting him with a similar surprised look.
"Nakajima-kun." Valentine was the one who regained his composure. "What are you doing here ?"
He shook his head at the question. "Doesn't matter." He said nonchalantly. "More importantly, what had happened here ?"
"Haruhiko-san went mad." Valentine gave him a curt answer, all the while returning his focus to the body he's examining. "He suddenly took a shot at Ryosuke-kun when Ryosuke-kun called him. And then after that, well, everything happened too fast and before we know it, it'd became like this already."
"How is he ?" He asked, referring to the unconscious man as he approached Valentine.
Valentine shook his head. "It's bad. We need to get him to the hospital soon, or else, I'm afraid we can't save him. He was shot at his vital point and it took everything I got to stop the bleeding." Explained the doctor in a worried tone.
"Then let's get him to the hospital soon." He suggested, his hand reaching inside his pocket jacket.
"I've called the ambulance." Valentine added. "Someone just had to wait in front of the building to guide them here.
"I'll go fetch them."
The third man, who was silent this whole time, suddenly volunteered as he left the room without waiting for both Valentine and Yuto to respond.
Valentine was quick to give Yuto a look, in which he nodded his head and follow the other man outside.
"So, what happened, really ?" He asked as the two of them left the room.
The other man said nothing for a while, before he broke it with a sigh.
"Valentine told you," He started. "That my father suddenly release the shoot right after I called out on him. I don't know, maybe I didn't expect my father to actually shoot at me or something, but for a reason, I couldn't dodge. And in a split second, I felt someone pushing me aside and the next thing we knew, my uncle was lying on the ground, unconscious. Then I did the only thing I could think of, that is to knock my father down as well."
Yuto said nothing even after the older man finished his story. For a reason, he felt like there are more he wanted to convey.
"To think that my own father, who share the same blood with me, trying to kill me. Even when he'd went mad, it was just unbelievable. I mean, all my life, eventhough I always said that I loathe my parents, never once I wished for them to be dead. If anything, the only thing I ever want is for them to just look at me properly at least once, to tell me that my hatred is nothing but a silly act of my own, that I thought wrong of them all these times. And after Mother somehow changed and I started to think otherwise, this kind of thing happened. Now I'm not even sure whether Mother's doings lately were sincere or merely an act." An ironic laugh erupted from his lips.
"I know I should have been grateful for my uncle for saving my life, but-" He paused and take a deep breath. "Somehow, I wish he didn't. Knowing that my own father never wanted me, I'd rather di-"
"Don't say that." Yuto cut him off before he could finish his words. "Don't say depressing words like that."
"But-"
"Your father was just blinded by his own greed. I'm sure, that deep inside his heart, he cares for you. And your mother too. I don't think she was trying to fake things. I believe that her love for her sons are real. So don't say things like you'd rather die or something like that. Because if you were to be gone, lots of people will be saddened. Everything just will never be the same without you there. And I think, your uncle knew this quite well too. Otherwise, he won't risked himself to save you, will he ?"
Ryosuke looked up, and saw Yuto sending him a warm smile. Biting his lower lip, he nodded his head, before allowing the taller guy to pull him into a comforting embrace.
A little later, the ambulance finally came and the two of them guide the paramedics inside the building. Perhaps because they're working under Valentine, or perhaps because they're too afraid to, none of the paramedics asked a question concerning this happening. They just listened to Valentine's make-up story and do their job and transport the two Yamadas to the hospital.
After the two ambulances left, Valentine ushered them to his car and rode to the same hospital. Once there, he called some doctors and nurses to take care of the two. After everything is settled, he ushered both Ryosuke and Yuto to enter an empty out-patient room with him following them closely behind.
"Let's take a look at your head for a while, Ryosuke-kun." He said to the boy as he took a seat at the doctor's chair.
"I'm fine. You should just go and examine uncle Akihiko." Ryosuke tried to move away, but Valentine caught his arm and forced him to sit down.
"No, you are not fine. I know you bump your head to the pole when Akihiko-san pushed you away. Now let me take a look at it so that I can decide whether it's serious or not." Valentine told him firmly. "Nakajima-kun, if you will give me hand here ?"
Yuto sighed, before placing both of his hands on Ryosuke's arms, keeping him in place.
"I told you I'm fine already !" Ryosuke whined.
"Ryosuke, just let him do his job, okay ?" Yuto cooed him, which earned him a pout -which Ryosuke denied later- but got him stay still.
"It's pretty swollen, but I guess will be fine after we gave you a compress." Valentine said after a while. "But just in case, I think we should take a CT-scan on you."
"Don't exagerrate it." Ryosuke complained. "It's nothing, really. We should just prioritize on uncle Akihiko's treatment."
"I am prioritizing his case. No need to worry about that." Valentine shook his head as he move backward and scribbled on the paper. "But that doesn't allow me to neglect you or my other patients. It is a must for me to prioritize every patients."
Ryosuke was ready to make another complaint, but Yuto stopped him by giving his shoulder a squeeze.
"Let's just take that test, okay ? Better anticipate for the worst earlier rather than regretting it later on." He told the older boy gently. "And beside, I believe it was just customary. I'm sure you're okay."
And with a look Valentine sent him, Ryosuke finally nodded.
***
"Really, how can you always end up injured in every mission you did, eh ?" Yuto heaved a deep sigh as he replaced the flowers from the vase. "And they said that you're their top too. Are you sure you're not getting rusty ?"
The tall boy then proceed to sit on the chair near the bed after placing the vase on top of the drawer back. He sent a warm look toward the boy lying on the bed. Out of habit, his hand reached out and put the strands of hair to the side, before caressing the soft hair gently. As if responding to his touch, the boy on the bed scrunch his eyes before opening them slowly.
"I'm sorry, did I wake you up ?"
The said boy yawned before shaking his head. "I'm bored." He said at last.
Yuto just let out a crisp laugh.
"Valentine said you will be discharged today. It appears that that bump was nothing after all." He pointed at the bandage wrapped around his head. "But the bandage remained though." He added, as if reading Ryosuke's line of thought.
"Can't we just take it off ? It's annoying and sooo embarassing." He whined while playing with the white fabric on his head.
"We can't." Yuto shook his head, an amused look on his face. "At least not before everyone got to see it."
"Hey !" Ryosuke threw a pillow at him, in which he responded with a laugh.
"Well, at the very least, I'm glad that everything went well." Said Yuto after placing the pillow back in place. "And come to think of it, I heard from that man."
"Yeah ?" Ryosuke raised an eyebrow in curiousity, "What did he say ?"
"He said he wanted to talk with you."
"I see." Ryosuke averted his gaze, a contemplative look on his face.
"So, will you go and see him ?" Yuto perked his head to the side.
Ryosuke shot him a hesitant look, before lowering his gaze to his lap.
"Will you- will you accompany me ?" He said so softly that Yuto has to strain his ears to hear. And when he got the message that Ryosuke was trying to convey, he couldn't help himself but to giggle.
"Aww~ You're so cute~" He went and gave the embarrased boy a hug.
"S-shut up and just answer me !" Ryosuke shouted, face flushed red.
"Of course I will come with you." Said Yuto softly. "Wherever you go, I will always be there by your side, Ryosuke."
At first, Ryosuke thought that Yuto was fooling around. But when their eyes met, he knew that he could at least trust this guy. And so, he smiled.
"Thanks, Yuto."
***
"You sure it was okay to leave the boy as it is ?"
The platinum-haired man turned back for a few seconds, before returning his focus on the screen in front of him.
"Why ask ?"
The scarred young man behind him sighed as he leaned back on the wall.
"This is not the first time you gave the boy a break. He was supposed to be your successor, right ? Shouldn't you be more strict or something ? I mean, the way you do things, it's as if you don't really care of whether he succeed you or not. To be honest, it's more likely that you gave him a courtesy to live a normal life instead."
"And is that so wrong to do so ?" The platinum-haired man asked lightly.
"Yuu-" The other man gave out yet another sigh. "You do realize tha-"
"Do not misunderstand me, Yuuki-kun." Yuu cut his words. "I do wish for him to be my successor. I taught him properly you know."
For a moment, both men said nothing. One was waiting for the other to explain further, and the other one was engrossed in his own mind.
"But on the other hand, after what I've seen and heard these past few months, I've start re-thinking things from another point of view. My time as the Neverwhere is coming to an end, I do realize that. Or instead, I do hope so. But instead of giving up things for my successor to continue, I've start thinking of a different kind of ending. What if..."
"What if ?"
Yuu made a small smile before taking a deep breath and continuing.
"What if the scenery that lies after the war is not all grey like we expected them to be ? What if it was blue and red and green and rainbow which awaited us ? And as the thought flashed my mind, I start rewinding the life I've lived up until now. Those purposes I had as a child which was long forgotten, the original reason of why I stood here living as I am now, of what I should be doing, those kids- they remind me of those forgotten memories I used to refuse to remember. And before I knew it, I start to think that it is okay this way, that perhaps, I should actually be the one to ever end this role for once and for all. For a better future."
The younger man behind him, was too surprised to say anything anymore. Never once he expected those words to came from his King. Because for as long as he knew, despite all those silliness and weird acts, the King he served was always so sorrow and wistful. This would be the very first time for him to see Yuu this.. serene. Without a mask covering his true feelings.
"But by that, are you planning to destroy the history which was built for generations ?"
"If by doing that is the best we can do, I said why not ?" Answered Yuu calmly. "History will never disappear even if you cease to follow the tradition. In fact, you might be creating another history by doing a revolution. Don't you think so ?"
"But, if so, what's the point of choosing a heir then ?"
"So that the story will not die." Yuu stood from his seat and walked closer to where Yuuki is. "Rai -or Yuto- will be the witness of our history. And for that purpose, it is necessary for him to be free. And thus, I created a path for him to reach his freedom. To release all the chains bounding him. And it appears that to achieve that, he needs someone dear to him to always be by his side. That's why, we have to do all ways available to keep the two safe and sound."
"So that was the reason you involved even yourself in the previous incident ?"
"Partly, yes. And partly because I myself have my interest on that other boy. After all, he is still the future of the Upperworld."
Yuuki frowned at the statement.
"But shouldn't the older one be the heir instead ? I mean, with all the circumstances and all."
"Given the conditions, yes. But I think that won't be the way it would. The older boy might posses the capabilities to rule, but he doesn't have the will. And despite the younger being all reluctant and such, I still think by the end, he will do his role properly."
Yuuki released a deep breath.
"And then, what will you do after everything is settled ?"
"Me ?" Yuu placed a finger on his chin in a contemplating look. "Maybe I'll go and chase my dreams or something. I mean, I haven't had the chance to do things on my own whim, so why not give in and do things for my own sake every once in a while ?"
Yuuki sweatdropped at the comment. Seeing how Yuu is dressed right now, with that cat outfit, complete with the cat paws, cat sandals and even a pair of cat ears, he wasn't assured for once.
"Yeah, said the one who chose to do cosplays every once in a while on a complete whims."
"Ehh ? I think it was normal to do so~"
~~~End of Arc 3 - Chapitre 17 - Freedom~~~
So, as you guys might have noticed already (or not), I've made some re-arrangements on my LJ.. It's nothing much, just doing some tagging, nothing more nothing less.. And if you're interested as to why I did that, well, that would be because I've decided to make a FB page for this blog~ >,<
I noticed that sometimes it was a pain to wait for releases and wondering of when will the next chapter will be updated or such.. And sometimes I don't post my updates straight to the comm too, so.. Well, in my case, that must have happened most of the times since I'm being this irresponsible author.. *whacked*
Other than that, as I noticed on Black Saint's characters' intro, sometimes you will experience some bug in which some of the characters' profile is not loaded properly..
So, to make it easier for some of you to watch for my releases, and also I can post the characters' intro for further releases more conveniently, I thought, why not ? It's not that I'm confident that people will even bothered to visit the page, still, I wanted to make that page, if anything, for my own convenience..
Well, if any of you are interested, you can visit here
There's still pretty much nothing there as of now though.. And I'm like the only follower of the page~ Well, it's brand-new, what do I expect ? (Not that I expected a lot even if the page is ancient already anyway).. *laughs*
Anyway, please leave your thoughts about this chapter~ You know that you're all loved~ >,<