[One-Shot] Once Upon a Time
Title: Once Upon a Time
Pairing: Kamenashi / Taguchi
Rating: G
Summary: There was a boy named Kamenashi who lost his way.
Disclaimer: I don’t own anybody.
Author’s Note: I finally found some time to realise this idea that had been bubbling at the back of my mind today at work. As usual, cookies for any grammar mistake you might spot and point out! Thank you for reading :3
No one becomes depraved all at once. - Juvenal
Rested among the thorns, he looked up at the opening where the trees parted for the sky. There were neither stars nor moon tonight; the dark abyss ahead stretched limitlessly. He heard the crunch of boots approaching - they could be coming - but he didn’t flinch. After all these years, he was finally too tired, the allure of rest lulling him to slumber.
The fragments, albeit broken, were still glittering a brilliant shade of red at the first sight of light, the soft glow of fire seemingly resurrecting the power that the ruby once possessed. But no, Kamenashi didn’t feel a surge of power, a painful reminder that he had truly lost everything.
That’s right, the ruby was broken.
He closed his eyes when a pair of rough palms gently swept his bangs to the side and the touch of cool lips brushed the edge of his forehead. The other man was careful when he carried Kamenashi’s broken body.
*
For once, the shadows weren’t welcoming at all. He felt suffocated as he pushed himself forward, the howling of the palace guard dogs and the hustling of soldiers rapidly gaining on him. His clutch tightened around the hilt of his broken dagger, his only possession left to defend himself against his packs of hungry pursuers. If anything, they wanted blood, his blood. When his limping foot accidentally crunched a broken branch, they surged forward like how moths would when they found light.
There was no way out - they would not let him live.
“Let me go -” Kamenashi tried to harden his voice but it came out no more than a mere whisper. Everyone knew there is no magic on a moonless night. “Don’t come any closer or…”
He never completed his sentence when a man clad in armour lunged forward, his other working leg instantly crippled by the sheer weight around his ankle. The son of the village chief sneered. Kamenashi swung his dagger wildly to hit anything he could, anything, only to have his wrists pinned by the soldiers who flanked his sides.
The dagger landed on the ground with a dull thud.
*
Once upon a time, there was a little boy who was furtively conceived from an unspoken midnight tryst. His first cries were muted by a pair of hands he never knew and he was left in the abandoned barns to die. A wandering group of gypsies, hoping to seek shelter in the drafty abandoned huts, took pity and brought him up. Exceptionally talented in strings, he weaved past the smaller court rooms and into the personal theatre of the king. He was highly favoured despite his lowly status. He played every night as the king slept, his presence irreplaceable as opposed to the many other consorts. He had power the queen didn’t even hold.
“What did I do?” The hoarse cries rang in his ears. “I did nothing of your accusations!”
Kamenashi looked at the village chief cold in the eye and pictured the scene that was about to unfold. The guillotine was ready; all that was left was a single order lingering at the tip of his tongue.
“Die.”
With a flourish of his cloak, Kamenashi turned and walked back to his coach. Even if the splatter of that man’s blood was his last stand, it did not stain. His cloak was red for a reason.
His hands remained clean.
Nonetheless, the reflection on the mirror showed otherwise, the ugly cracks on his skin like the scales on a dragon.
“You no longer have a heart.”
The mirror always tells the truth.
“Monster.”
The mirror never lies.
*
“Why do you always carry that red stone?” the lanky boy swung his feet absentmindedly as he queried Kamenashi about his charm. His lucky charm. One that would supposedly make people like you, according to the older gypsies.
“It’s a ruby,” Kamenashi corrected.
“Fine, a ruby. But why?”
“Because I don’t want anyone to abandon me again. Let my mother be the first and the last.”
*
The cells were damp and cold and the rats ran boldly wherever they wanted. There was no light and no food, for everyone left there was meant to die.
“Let him suffer the slowest death! Let him repent for the sins he had made!”
When he heard the soft clinking of keys, Kamenashi stirred. What would it be today - the poker or the whip? How would the turnout be - would it be the usual angry masses that bored holes through him with their unforgiving glare?
The gates of his cell swung open.
“Kazuya, let’s go.”
The familiarity of the voice made his blood run cold.
“Let’s go on the adventure you had always wanted but never did.”
*
Kamenashi wanted to be like him, the shining star that need not resort to any tricks, amazing many and capturing their hearts with his flawless posture and dance moves that never misses a beat. No music was too tricky for him to work his legs into a frenzy, not even Kame’s personal creations that reeked of unwanted complexity.
“If one day I was to lose myself in the crowd…”
Kamenashi thumbed the glittering blood stone in his palms.
“I’ll shout so loud you’ll be able to find your way right back to me.”
“What if I no longer recognize your voice?”
Taguchi flashed his most brilliant smile, one which Kamenashi believed to be solely reserved for him.
“Then like a soldier, I will charge through all the obstacles and bring you back to me.”
“What if you no longer recognized me?”
“You’re just a simple boy with a unique bump on the nose.” Taguchi scrunched his own to make his point. “I wouldn’t forget you. Don’t worry incessantly, Kazuya. If not, you’ll age real fast before you even know it.”
*
“Go.”
“We had a promise.”
Kamenashi attempted to wrestle his way out of Taguchi’s grip. It was futile.
“We don’t have much time. Move Kazuya!”
He didn’t want Taguchi to turn into a criminal like him, hated by the citizens. He refused.
“If a soldier is what you need, a soldier I will be.” He removed the sheath of his sword. “I’m here to rescue you, Kazuya. Not from this physical cell but from the chains that have sealed your heart.”
Kamenashi shed his first tear since his fall.
*
He was afraid. Very afraid.
The reflection in the mirror no longer showed his own.
Kamenashi couldn’t see himself through fractures that ran deep along his face.
*
The ruby had cracked; he could no longer charm anyone. Scattering the pieces he had managed to salvage before they barraged through his door, he laid on the soft grass beneath him. Taguchi had said that the thorns around him would provide him some safety from the wild animals and humans would be hesitant to approach the tricky groove if they didn’t know the place well enough. As much as the place could trap others, it ensnared him too while Taguchi left in search of water.
Perhaps Taguchi picked this place for a reason.
Why was the other man still bothered about him? Why hadn’t he abandoned him like everyone else?
His thoughts were interrupted by Taguchi’s return.
“We can still go back to those days.”
Kamenashi gritted his teeth.
“I’m a demon, irredeemable.” Kamenashi had wanted to unleash a string of venom but all he managed was a mirthless laugh. “I do not need you. Be rid of yourself!”
“You’re just a simple boy with a unique bump on the nose,” Taguchi said quietly as he leant over and carried Kamenashi in his arms. "You're no demon."
Wearing the most brilliant smile that Kamenashi believed was only meant for him, the taller man embraced him closer and walked on silently.
What if I no longer recognized myself?
Then I’ll remind you of who you are. Don’t worry incessantly, Kazuya. If not, you’ll age real fast before you even know it.
End.
Pairing: Kamenashi / Taguchi
Rating: G
Summary: There was a boy named Kamenashi who lost his way.
Disclaimer: I don’t own anybody.
Author’s Note: I finally found some time to realise this idea that had been bubbling at the back of my mind today at work. As usual, cookies for any grammar mistake you might spot and point out! Thank you for reading :3
No one becomes depraved all at once. - Juvenal
Rested among the thorns, he looked up at the opening where the trees parted for the sky. There were neither stars nor moon tonight; the dark abyss ahead stretched limitlessly. He heard the crunch of boots approaching - they could be coming - but he didn’t flinch. After all these years, he was finally too tired, the allure of rest lulling him to slumber.
The fragments, albeit broken, were still glittering a brilliant shade of red at the first sight of light, the soft glow of fire seemingly resurrecting the power that the ruby once possessed. But no, Kamenashi didn’t feel a surge of power, a painful reminder that he had truly lost everything.
That’s right, the ruby was broken.
He closed his eyes when a pair of rough palms gently swept his bangs to the side and the touch of cool lips brushed the edge of his forehead. The other man was careful when he carried Kamenashi’s broken body.
*
For once, the shadows weren’t welcoming at all. He felt suffocated as he pushed himself forward, the howling of the palace guard dogs and the hustling of soldiers rapidly gaining on him. His clutch tightened around the hilt of his broken dagger, his only possession left to defend himself against his packs of hungry pursuers. If anything, they wanted blood, his blood. When his limping foot accidentally crunched a broken branch, they surged forward like how moths would when they found light.
There was no way out - they would not let him live.
“Let me go -” Kamenashi tried to harden his voice but it came out no more than a mere whisper. Everyone knew there is no magic on a moonless night. “Don’t come any closer or…”
He never completed his sentence when a man clad in armour lunged forward, his other working leg instantly crippled by the sheer weight around his ankle. The son of the village chief sneered. Kamenashi swung his dagger wildly to hit anything he could, anything, only to have his wrists pinned by the soldiers who flanked his sides.
The dagger landed on the ground with a dull thud.
*
Once upon a time, there was a little boy who was furtively conceived from an unspoken midnight tryst. His first cries were muted by a pair of hands he never knew and he was left in the abandoned barns to die. A wandering group of gypsies, hoping to seek shelter in the drafty abandoned huts, took pity and brought him up. Exceptionally talented in strings, he weaved past the smaller court rooms and into the personal theatre of the king. He was highly favoured despite his lowly status. He played every night as the king slept, his presence irreplaceable as opposed to the many other consorts. He had power the queen didn’t even hold.
“What did I do?” The hoarse cries rang in his ears. “I did nothing of your accusations!”
Kamenashi looked at the village chief cold in the eye and pictured the scene that was about to unfold. The guillotine was ready; all that was left was a single order lingering at the tip of his tongue.
“Die.”
With a flourish of his cloak, Kamenashi turned and walked back to his coach. Even if the splatter of that man’s blood was his last stand, it did not stain. His cloak was red for a reason.
His hands remained clean.
Nonetheless, the reflection on the mirror showed otherwise, the ugly cracks on his skin like the scales on a dragon.
“You no longer have a heart.”
The mirror always tells the truth.
“Monster.”
The mirror never lies.
*
“Why do you always carry that red stone?” the lanky boy swung his feet absentmindedly as he queried Kamenashi about his charm. His lucky charm. One that would supposedly make people like you, according to the older gypsies.
“It’s a ruby,” Kamenashi corrected.
“Fine, a ruby. But why?”
“Because I don’t want anyone to abandon me again. Let my mother be the first and the last.”
*
The cells were damp and cold and the rats ran boldly wherever they wanted. There was no light and no food, for everyone left there was meant to die.
“Let him suffer the slowest death! Let him repent for the sins he had made!”
When he heard the soft clinking of keys, Kamenashi stirred. What would it be today - the poker or the whip? How would the turnout be - would it be the usual angry masses that bored holes through him with their unforgiving glare?
The gates of his cell swung open.
“Kazuya, let’s go.”
The familiarity of the voice made his blood run cold.
“Let’s go on the adventure you had always wanted but never did.”
*
Kamenashi wanted to be like him, the shining star that need not resort to any tricks, amazing many and capturing their hearts with his flawless posture and dance moves that never misses a beat. No music was too tricky for him to work his legs into a frenzy, not even Kame’s personal creations that reeked of unwanted complexity.
“If one day I was to lose myself in the crowd…”
Kamenashi thumbed the glittering blood stone in his palms.
“I’ll shout so loud you’ll be able to find your way right back to me.”
“What if I no longer recognize your voice?”
Taguchi flashed his most brilliant smile, one which Kamenashi believed to be solely reserved for him.
“Then like a soldier, I will charge through all the obstacles and bring you back to me.”
“What if you no longer recognized me?”
“You’re just a simple boy with a unique bump on the nose.” Taguchi scrunched his own to make his point. “I wouldn’t forget you. Don’t worry incessantly, Kazuya. If not, you’ll age real fast before you even know it.”
*
“Go.”
“We had a promise.”
Kamenashi attempted to wrestle his way out of Taguchi’s grip. It was futile.
“We don’t have much time. Move Kazuya!”
He didn’t want Taguchi to turn into a criminal like him, hated by the citizens. He refused.
“If a soldier is what you need, a soldier I will be.” He removed the sheath of his sword. “I’m here to rescue you, Kazuya. Not from this physical cell but from the chains that have sealed your heart.”
Kamenashi shed his first tear since his fall.
*
He was afraid. Very afraid.
The reflection in the mirror no longer showed his own.
Kamenashi couldn’t see himself through fractures that ran deep along his face.
*
The ruby had cracked; he could no longer charm anyone. Scattering the pieces he had managed to salvage before they barraged through his door, he laid on the soft grass beneath him. Taguchi had said that the thorns around him would provide him some safety from the wild animals and humans would be hesitant to approach the tricky groove if they didn’t know the place well enough. As much as the place could trap others, it ensnared him too while Taguchi left in search of water.
Perhaps Taguchi picked this place for a reason.
Why was the other man still bothered about him? Why hadn’t he abandoned him like everyone else?
His thoughts were interrupted by Taguchi’s return.
“We can still go back to those days.”
Kamenashi gritted his teeth.
“I’m a demon, irredeemable.” Kamenashi had wanted to unleash a string of venom but all he managed was a mirthless laugh. “I do not need you. Be rid of yourself!”
“You’re just a simple boy with a unique bump on the nose,” Taguchi said quietly as he leant over and carried Kamenashi in his arms. "You're no demon."
Wearing the most brilliant smile that Kamenashi believed was only meant for him, the taller man embraced him closer and walked on silently.
What if I no longer recognized myself?
Then I’ll remind you of who you are. Don’t worry incessantly, Kazuya. If not, you’ll age real fast before you even know it.
End.