The Shadows We Bear [Part VIII / ???]
Basic premise for those who do not know: this fic is set the the world of theskytides, an AU panfandom RPG set in a steampunk line in which it is totally a fandom of its own. Miles Edgeworth (from the Ace Attorney series) and Hijikata Toshirou (from Gintama) happen to be the first mate / boatswain respectively in of one of the ships in the game. In this story, Hijikata has something of a... crush towards Edgeworth that he has never told anyone, though he is aware. Which of course, will only lead to nothing but trouble...
Parts: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Part XI
THE SHADOWS WE BEAR
TST!Shadowverse fic : Part VIII
The first thing that registered in his mind when the door opened and they stepped into the room was that the place was actually every much like a stereotypical captain’s quarters-or at least one that was for a pirate, if memory served him correctly. The next thing he registered was that the Shadow was sitting on the desk, one leg propped up on the edge as the other dangled down to the ground. One of his arms was propped up from the knee that was up on the desk, and that was in turn propping up his head, and the other that was free was holding a glass of what was some musty-looking whiskey. It also wore a large fancy hat with a feather on it.
Hanamura made a strained noise the moment he saw the Shadow’s rather gaudy attire. “But I thought he wasn’t like Kanji-!”
The brunette was interrupted them by a rumble that sounded from outside, and it was only then did Hijikata realize that unlike all the other rooms and the rest of the ship, this was the only place where there was windows. And at the moment, the weather that shown though them was terrible. Looming black clouds, the howling of wind and the flash of light and ear-splitting booms... it was only clear that a storm was coming.
On that thought something did come to mind, and it only took a moment after that for the boatswain to glance around and quickly spot the familiar-looking (and normally clothed) figure currently huddling and shivering at the other side of the desk.
“Edgeworth!” the boatswain exclaimed out in surprise as he hurried towards the shuddering ball that was the first mate. Despite knowing better, the samurai only reached out towards the frightened man and shook him by the shoulders. “Edgeworth! Edgeworth! Get a hold of yourself!”
All he got as a response were shuddering breaths, and eyes that looked at him with a fear that had separated the other officer from reality.
“It’s useless,” came a voice that the man only knew too well know after the levels of this damned place he had to do through him, and he and the two teenagers only glanced over to the Shadow that was on the desk. “Whenever there’s a thunderstorm approaching, he’s always like that. Nothing can shake him back.”
Hijikata only gritted his teeth and snarled. “Like hell you know anything.”
The Shadow glanced over at him almost ruefully. “Don’t you remember what I already told you earlier? I AM Edgeworth... and nothing’s going to change that fact, Toshirou.”
“Don’t use that name,” came the warning growl as his grip on the real Edgeworth unconsciously tightened, dark blue eyes flashing even in the dim lightning. His slowly seething anger had already made him oblivious to the looks that were crossing the faces of the other two occupants in the room.
A smirk crossed over its face at that. “Still as stuck up as ever, I see. You know, you’re never going to have your chances at all if you’re insisting on continuing to act this way-”
Once again, Hijikata found himself snapping at the thing’s words, and before he could even think properly he was already acting on instinct, roaring in anger as he drew out his sword and lunged at the Shadow. There was only a laugh at the attack before the samurai found himself crashing painfully against the ground, his head throbbing in pain from the force of the blow that had landed so suddenly on his cranium.
“As I was saying...” the Shadow started again, flashing an amused look as the man started to push himself back up before looking towards the two teenagers who were still standing where they were. “You’re not really going to accomplish anything at all from rescuing a guy like him. Why even bother? I mean, look at him! Just a bit of thunder and lightning and he’s huddling like five-year-old that’s afraid of the dark!”
“Everyone has their fears,” Seta responded with the eerie calm in his voice once again, the lenses of glasses reflecting against the flash of lightning that came as he said that.
There was only a snort from the Shadow at that. “Psh. Is that what you really think, Souji? I mean, after all, it’s not natural for a grown man to have such a fear from something as pathetic as a thunderstorm. Then again...” it paused for a moment, looking like it was deep in thought before an almost apologetic smile went over its face. “It’s not like you know anything at all.”
The teenager shifted slightly at that. “...and what should I know about?”
“Haven’t you ever wondered what happened all those years ago? Why Daddy-well, your uncle-was dead? Why I disappeared without so much as a word after that?”
In the silence after that question, the real Edgeworth finally spoke up, voice shaky with obvious fear. “N-No, don’t-”
Hijikata had just managed to push himself back up again from where he was just as the Shadow finally made a move and got off the desk, taking two steps forward to where the silver-haired teen was and leaned close towards him. “Let me tell you a little story then. Sixteen years ago, there was an incident. An incident that remains unsolved even until today.”
The boatswain glanced over towards Edgeworth as it said that, who had raised his head from the ball he had been curled up in and was only looking with wide, startled eyes at his Shadow.
“...I’ve heard of something like that before,” Hanamura spoke up this time. “Sixteen years ago... DL-6, wasn’t it?”
A pleased sort of sound came from the Shadow from that, lips curling upwards into delighted smile as it looked at the brunette for a moment before turning back towards Seta. “You’ve got a very perceptive friend there, Souji.”
“I don’t need to hear any thanks from you,” the other shot back at it, his eyes unlinking.
The Shadow only made a sound and shrugged. “If you say so. But at any rate... yes, the DL-6 incident. Until today, the murder that happened in there remains unsolved. Though really, I’d rather say that the case has already been solved the moment it happened.”
“What the hell do you mean by that?” the dark-haired man asked before he could stop himself.
There wasn’t an immediate response to that question, but the thing only grinned quite viciously as it turned and suddenly, it was right before him, yellow eyes glowing as it spoke. “Let me give you a riddle then, Hijikata. There were three people trapped in an elevator. One was dead, and the other two were unconscious. Now, there was a trial for this case indeed, but the one convicted had been declared innocent instead. So that, of course, could only mean one other possibility...”
Edgeworth’s voice only grew higher and steadier now. “H-Hijikata, don’t listen to it-”
“The one who was dead was Gregory Edgeworth,” the Shadow continued on, ignorant to the protests of its other self. “The one who was declared innocent was a Vohemaro by the name of Yanni Yogi. The last who was in the lift... was Miles Edgeworth.”
The boatswain’s eyes widened. What in the world-?
“It’s only fitting, isn’t it?” it went, a downcast expression suddenly crossing its face as it abruptly backed away from him, and before the man knew it the Shadow was now right behind Edgeworth, one hand on the silver-haired man’s shoulder. “I mean, I’ve only been doing nothing but trying so hard to erase my sin. I’ve turn against my beliefs, my family, my homeland... even myself. But it’s not enough. It’s never enough.”
“I-It doesn’t matter-” started the other suddenly, his voice a hoarse whisper.
The Shadow only cut him off. “Yeah right, as if. Stop trying to deny yourself, Miles. Even until today, so many people still frown at you in disgust and they talk about you-about us-behind their backs, about how you’re nothing but a dirty Vohemaro. About how we’re nothing but a lapdog to the Admiral, following him around as you wag your tail and bark for treats. But we tried to ignore them. Oh how we tried to ignore them. After all, they’d know what we would really be capable of once I finally get the recognition that I deserve.”
Hijikata tried to speak up there and then, but only found his voice failing him when he needed it most. He could only stay silent in shock as the Shadow went on.
“But then no matter how I tried-how we tried-it never would work. It could never ever work. There were always the dreams, the nightmares that haunted us every single time our eyes were closed. Even when we were awake they still followed us endlessly like a ghost that could never be put in its place.” It paused then to shake its head with a soft sigh, expression turning solemn-perhaps even sad. “In the end, I could never really get rid of it, so I could only live with it, and force myself to live with the constant thoughts that were always at the edge of my mind.”
Then suddenly it grinned once more, a new shrill to its voice that caused the other three humans to jerk back in surprise. “But then again, I deserve this punishment! It’s only righteous that I should be haunted, should be tortured and cursed upon for the rest of my life! After all-” there was a break in its monologue as the eyes flared and the thing giggled like never before, sounding positively thrilled at the next few words that it spoke. “-after all, a man who killed his own father should only be condemned for the rest of his life!”
Edgeworth’s own eyes widened in surprise and froze completely, looking very much like the metamorphical murderer that had been caught up by justice.
“That’s right!” the Shadow went, its face scrunched up in a mix of both anger and sadness. “I, Miles Edgeworth, killed my own father! Nothing I do is ever going to erase that sin that I did! Nothing at all! No matter how many pirates I try to catch, no matter how many criminals I put to justice, no matter whatever I do the truth isn’t going to change! I try and try and I still try despite everything, but the truth is there whenever I close my eyes! Even if I caught every single pirate on the whole continent, it’s not going to change at all!”
It was at that moment when the silver-haired man managed to find his voice again. “No, that’s not what-”
“Oh yeah I scrapped. I scrapped and scrapped and scrapped through Belarus, scrapped through everything that was thrown at me, trying to be the perfect protégé for the captain. And it was worth it, I admit. I got what I wanted. I became first mate of the Victoria II, I could hunt pirates, I could kill them for their crimes using the laws, but whatever I do it won’t make me forget. It can’t make me turn away from the truth with each filthy pirate that I execute.”
“Stop it-”
The Shadow’s look only grew more savage with each denial that came. “But even when I kill each pirate, I wasn’t settled. I wasn’t settled at all. I still wasn’t satisfied with myself. I had to kill more, to get rid of more or them in order to ensure that I got my revenge. But what revenge? I don’t even know! It just a petty excuse on my own end, that’s all. An excuse for me to kill more of those people who killed my father. But then-”
“Stop!” Edgeworth’s voice was almost leaning towards desperation by then.
“-after killing so many pirates already, I then thought-”
“No-don’t-”
“-this doesn’t matter anymore now-”
“Don’t say it-”
“-because nothing’s going to change the fact that-”
“Shut up!”
“-nothing’s going to change the fact that I’m useless, pathetic and nothing more than a common MURDERER!” the Shadow finished with the cheerful shrill in its voice once again, arms spread out in an exaggerated manner of the shrug that the man himself tended to do.
Hijikata felt his eyes widen, and his feet started to move before he could think. The teenagers only stood their ground still as the silver-haired man had his breath caught in his lungs, eyes widening in shock before he opened his mouth and spoke in a hoarse, broken voice that went in sync to the desperation and outright fear that was in his voice. “I-there’s-I’m not a murderer! I would never do that! You’re-You’re nothing like me! You’re not me!”
At those words, the thing only paused to grin like never before, grinning so widely there and then that it would have almost split its face into two as he cackled out madly. “That’s right! You’re not me-and I’m not you! And soon, I’m just going to be me!” Saying that, its eyes flared a bright, piercing yellow as its body turned into a tangle of blood-tinted black. The boatswain did his best to ignore the bits and pieces of black and red that was heading towards the Shadow as he dived down without thinking twice the moment he was near enough to Edgeworth, barely managing to shove him away before the darkness could claim him as well. He grunted as he landed onto the ground hard, twisting around somehow as he skidded across the wooden floor with the first mate in his arms before he slammed against the wall of the room.
He paid no heed to the pain searing in his back as he glanced at the other now unconscious on his lap, but before he could call out to the silver-haired man to try and wake him up there was a howl of wind that rang though the room, causing the swordsman to look up and freeze in surprise.
What had been the Shadow was now a totally different form altogether-it only looked vaguely human, and its proportions were all in the wrong places. The thing now looked something like something of a cross between a traditional-looking samurai (though only very slightly) and its previous look, but its limbs were literally nothing but bones-but it still managed to carry the long katana that it was holding on one hand and a red cape on another across the length of its arm. The hat was still on its head, and the jacket it had on earlier was now a fancy and quite foppish coat complete with elaborate golden embroidery and frilly cravat it had on his now disproportionally-bigger top (broader shoulder and chest) which seemed to extend right over his skin and down its legs and arms. The trousers from before was likewise replaced with white trousers that had a flare at the ends, and the feet were small and pointy with booted heels.
For a moment Hijikata found the form somehow distinctly familiar... until he realized that the colour scheme of its clothes was exactly like the one that was on the silver-haired man now unconscious in his arms.
“I am a Shadow; the true self,” it went in an almost velvety-like voice, golden orbs flaring within the deepest parts of its eye sockets of the skull it now possessed for a head as the two teenagers hardened their expressions and raised their weapons to prepare for battle. “And now, you all are just going to see how utterly futile it is to save the condemned.”
Parts: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Part XI
THE SHADOWS WE BEAR
TST!Shadowverse fic : Part VIII
The first thing that registered in his mind when the door opened and they stepped into the room was that the place was actually every much like a stereotypical captain’s quarters-or at least one that was for a pirate, if memory served him correctly. The next thing he registered was that the Shadow was sitting on the desk, one leg propped up on the edge as the other dangled down to the ground. One of his arms was propped up from the knee that was up on the desk, and that was in turn propping up his head, and the other that was free was holding a glass of what was some musty-looking whiskey. It also wore a large fancy hat with a feather on it.
Hanamura made a strained noise the moment he saw the Shadow’s rather gaudy attire. “But I thought he wasn’t like Kanji-!”
The brunette was interrupted them by a rumble that sounded from outside, and it was only then did Hijikata realize that unlike all the other rooms and the rest of the ship, this was the only place where there was windows. And at the moment, the weather that shown though them was terrible. Looming black clouds, the howling of wind and the flash of light and ear-splitting booms... it was only clear that a storm was coming.
On that thought something did come to mind, and it only took a moment after that for the boatswain to glance around and quickly spot the familiar-looking (and normally clothed) figure currently huddling and shivering at the other side of the desk.
“Edgeworth!” the boatswain exclaimed out in surprise as he hurried towards the shuddering ball that was the first mate. Despite knowing better, the samurai only reached out towards the frightened man and shook him by the shoulders. “Edgeworth! Edgeworth! Get a hold of yourself!”
All he got as a response were shuddering breaths, and eyes that looked at him with a fear that had separated the other officer from reality.
“It’s useless,” came a voice that the man only knew too well know after the levels of this damned place he had to do through him, and he and the two teenagers only glanced over to the Shadow that was on the desk. “Whenever there’s a thunderstorm approaching, he’s always like that. Nothing can shake him back.”
Hijikata only gritted his teeth and snarled. “Like hell you know anything.”
The Shadow glanced over at him almost ruefully. “Don’t you remember what I already told you earlier? I AM Edgeworth... and nothing’s going to change that fact, Toshirou.”
“Don’t use that name,” came the warning growl as his grip on the real Edgeworth unconsciously tightened, dark blue eyes flashing even in the dim lightning. His slowly seething anger had already made him oblivious to the looks that were crossing the faces of the other two occupants in the room.
A smirk crossed over its face at that. “Still as stuck up as ever, I see. You know, you’re never going to have your chances at all if you’re insisting on continuing to act this way-”
Once again, Hijikata found himself snapping at the thing’s words, and before he could even think properly he was already acting on instinct, roaring in anger as he drew out his sword and lunged at the Shadow. There was only a laugh at the attack before the samurai found himself crashing painfully against the ground, his head throbbing in pain from the force of the blow that had landed so suddenly on his cranium.
“As I was saying...” the Shadow started again, flashing an amused look as the man started to push himself back up before looking towards the two teenagers who were still standing where they were. “You’re not really going to accomplish anything at all from rescuing a guy like him. Why even bother? I mean, look at him! Just a bit of thunder and lightning and he’s huddling like five-year-old that’s afraid of the dark!”
“Everyone has their fears,” Seta responded with the eerie calm in his voice once again, the lenses of glasses reflecting against the flash of lightning that came as he said that.
There was only a snort from the Shadow at that. “Psh. Is that what you really think, Souji? I mean, after all, it’s not natural for a grown man to have such a fear from something as pathetic as a thunderstorm. Then again...” it paused for a moment, looking like it was deep in thought before an almost apologetic smile went over its face. “It’s not like you know anything at all.”
The teenager shifted slightly at that. “...and what should I know about?”
“Haven’t you ever wondered what happened all those years ago? Why Daddy-well, your uncle-was dead? Why I disappeared without so much as a word after that?”
In the silence after that question, the real Edgeworth finally spoke up, voice shaky with obvious fear. “N-No, don’t-”
Hijikata had just managed to push himself back up again from where he was just as the Shadow finally made a move and got off the desk, taking two steps forward to where the silver-haired teen was and leaned close towards him. “Let me tell you a little story then. Sixteen years ago, there was an incident. An incident that remains unsolved even until today.”
The boatswain glanced over towards Edgeworth as it said that, who had raised his head from the ball he had been curled up in and was only looking with wide, startled eyes at his Shadow.
“...I’ve heard of something like that before,” Hanamura spoke up this time. “Sixteen years ago... DL-6, wasn’t it?”
A pleased sort of sound came from the Shadow from that, lips curling upwards into delighted smile as it looked at the brunette for a moment before turning back towards Seta. “You’ve got a very perceptive friend there, Souji.”
“I don’t need to hear any thanks from you,” the other shot back at it, his eyes unlinking.
The Shadow only made a sound and shrugged. “If you say so. But at any rate... yes, the DL-6 incident. Until today, the murder that happened in there remains unsolved. Though really, I’d rather say that the case has already been solved the moment it happened.”
“What the hell do you mean by that?” the dark-haired man asked before he could stop himself.
There wasn’t an immediate response to that question, but the thing only grinned quite viciously as it turned and suddenly, it was right before him, yellow eyes glowing as it spoke. “Let me give you a riddle then, Hijikata. There were three people trapped in an elevator. One was dead, and the other two were unconscious. Now, there was a trial for this case indeed, but the one convicted had been declared innocent instead. So that, of course, could only mean one other possibility...”
Edgeworth’s voice only grew higher and steadier now. “H-Hijikata, don’t listen to it-”
“The one who was dead was Gregory Edgeworth,” the Shadow continued on, ignorant to the protests of its other self. “The one who was declared innocent was a Vohemaro by the name of Yanni Yogi. The last who was in the lift... was Miles Edgeworth.”
The boatswain’s eyes widened. What in the world-?
“It’s only fitting, isn’t it?” it went, a downcast expression suddenly crossing its face as it abruptly backed away from him, and before the man knew it the Shadow was now right behind Edgeworth, one hand on the silver-haired man’s shoulder. “I mean, I’ve only been doing nothing but trying so hard to erase my sin. I’ve turn against my beliefs, my family, my homeland... even myself. But it’s not enough. It’s never enough.”
“I-It doesn’t matter-” started the other suddenly, his voice a hoarse whisper.
The Shadow only cut him off. “Yeah right, as if. Stop trying to deny yourself, Miles. Even until today, so many people still frown at you in disgust and they talk about you-about us-behind their backs, about how you’re nothing but a dirty Vohemaro. About how we’re nothing but a lapdog to the Admiral, following him around as you wag your tail and bark for treats. But we tried to ignore them. Oh how we tried to ignore them. After all, they’d know what we would really be capable of once I finally get the recognition that I deserve.”
Hijikata tried to speak up there and then, but only found his voice failing him when he needed it most. He could only stay silent in shock as the Shadow went on.
“But then no matter how I tried-how we tried-it never would work. It could never ever work. There were always the dreams, the nightmares that haunted us every single time our eyes were closed. Even when we were awake they still followed us endlessly like a ghost that could never be put in its place.” It paused then to shake its head with a soft sigh, expression turning solemn-perhaps even sad. “In the end, I could never really get rid of it, so I could only live with it, and force myself to live with the constant thoughts that were always at the edge of my mind.”
Then suddenly it grinned once more, a new shrill to its voice that caused the other three humans to jerk back in surprise. “But then again, I deserve this punishment! It’s only righteous that I should be haunted, should be tortured and cursed upon for the rest of my life! After all-” there was a break in its monologue as the eyes flared and the thing giggled like never before, sounding positively thrilled at the next few words that it spoke. “-after all, a man who killed his own father should only be condemned for the rest of his life!”
Edgeworth’s own eyes widened in surprise and froze completely, looking very much like the metamorphical murderer that had been caught up by justice.
“That’s right!” the Shadow went, its face scrunched up in a mix of both anger and sadness. “I, Miles Edgeworth, killed my own father! Nothing I do is ever going to erase that sin that I did! Nothing at all! No matter how many pirates I try to catch, no matter how many criminals I put to justice, no matter whatever I do the truth isn’t going to change! I try and try and I still try despite everything, but the truth is there whenever I close my eyes! Even if I caught every single pirate on the whole continent, it’s not going to change at all!”
It was at that moment when the silver-haired man managed to find his voice again. “No, that’s not what-”
“Oh yeah I scrapped. I scrapped and scrapped and scrapped through Belarus, scrapped through everything that was thrown at me, trying to be the perfect protégé for the captain. And it was worth it, I admit. I got what I wanted. I became first mate of the Victoria II, I could hunt pirates, I could kill them for their crimes using the laws, but whatever I do it won’t make me forget. It can’t make me turn away from the truth with each filthy pirate that I execute.”
“Stop it-”
The Shadow’s look only grew more savage with each denial that came. “But even when I kill each pirate, I wasn’t settled. I wasn’t settled at all. I still wasn’t satisfied with myself. I had to kill more, to get rid of more or them in order to ensure that I got my revenge. But what revenge? I don’t even know! It just a petty excuse on my own end, that’s all. An excuse for me to kill more of those people who killed my father. But then-”
“Stop!” Edgeworth’s voice was almost leaning towards desperation by then.
“-after killing so many pirates already, I then thought-”
“No-don’t-”
“-this doesn’t matter anymore now-”
“Don’t say it-”
“-because nothing’s going to change the fact that-”
“Shut up!”
“-nothing’s going to change the fact that I’m useless, pathetic and nothing more than a common MURDERER!” the Shadow finished with the cheerful shrill in its voice once again, arms spread out in an exaggerated manner of the shrug that the man himself tended to do.
Hijikata felt his eyes widen, and his feet started to move before he could think. The teenagers only stood their ground still as the silver-haired man had his breath caught in his lungs, eyes widening in shock before he opened his mouth and spoke in a hoarse, broken voice that went in sync to the desperation and outright fear that was in his voice. “I-there’s-I’m not a murderer! I would never do that! You’re-You’re nothing like me! You’re not me!”
At those words, the thing only paused to grin like never before, grinning so widely there and then that it would have almost split its face into two as he cackled out madly. “That’s right! You’re not me-and I’m not you! And soon, I’m just going to be me!” Saying that, its eyes flared a bright, piercing yellow as its body turned into a tangle of blood-tinted black. The boatswain did his best to ignore the bits and pieces of black and red that was heading towards the Shadow as he dived down without thinking twice the moment he was near enough to Edgeworth, barely managing to shove him away before the darkness could claim him as well. He grunted as he landed onto the ground hard, twisting around somehow as he skidded across the wooden floor with the first mate in his arms before he slammed against the wall of the room.
He paid no heed to the pain searing in his back as he glanced at the other now unconscious on his lap, but before he could call out to the silver-haired man to try and wake him up there was a howl of wind that rang though the room, causing the swordsman to look up and freeze in surprise.
What had been the Shadow was now a totally different form altogether-it only looked vaguely human, and its proportions were all in the wrong places. The thing now looked something like something of a cross between a traditional-looking samurai (though only very slightly) and its previous look, but its limbs were literally nothing but bones-but it still managed to carry the long katana that it was holding on one hand and a red cape on another across the length of its arm. The hat was still on its head, and the jacket it had on earlier was now a fancy and quite foppish coat complete with elaborate golden embroidery and frilly cravat it had on his now disproportionally-bigger top (broader shoulder and chest) which seemed to extend right over his skin and down its legs and arms. The trousers from before was likewise replaced with white trousers that had a flare at the ends, and the feet were small and pointy with booted heels.
For a moment Hijikata found the form somehow distinctly familiar... until he realized that the colour scheme of its clothes was exactly like the one that was on the silver-haired man now unconscious in his arms.
“I am a Shadow; the true self,” it went in an almost velvety-like voice, golden orbs flaring within the deepest parts of its eye sockets of the skull it now possessed for a head as the two teenagers hardened their expressions and raised their weapons to prepare for battle. “And now, you all are just going to see how utterly futile it is to save the condemned.”