Arashi: An Ever Expanding Sky (39)
AUTHOR: Marineko/mylittlecthulhu
FANDOM: Arashi
PAIRING: Sakuraiba, Juntoshi
RATING: PG
DATE: January 1st, 2012
WORD COUNT: 3,300
NOTES/DISCLAIMERS: 1. This is a work of fiction, 2. Beta-ed by arashic0804
Chapter Thirty-Eight | Chapter Forty
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
“Leave me alone.”
The voice was quiet and low, but the threat and anger in it was obvious. Ohno took a step back, as if to appease Jun. “I’m sorry, Matsumoto-sama,” he murmured. “But I’m supposed to watch over you at all times while we’re here.”
“Just whose servant are you, anyway,” Jun complained, but the way his eyes darted downwards, it seemed like something else had upset him.
“Until you come of age, I answer to your father first and foremost,” Ohno replied apologetically. Jun rolled his eyes, annoyed that he actually answered what had been a rhetorical question.
“It’s not like anything’s going to happen. I just need some air. You could just wait for me inside.”
“I’m just doing my job.”
Fuck your job, Jun wanted to say, but didn’t. He knew what was irritating him, of course. It was that girl that had snuck in the building a few days ago; Ohno might have thought that no one else knew, save for a servant or two, but Jun had been curious as to why Ohno hadn’t been waiting for him as usual. Apparently it was because some girl, a friend of Ohno’s, had paid a visit. It had been the first time he saw Ohno that relaxed, and happy, that it hit him - Ohno had probably never asked to be stuck with him. It was just a job, one that he would never be free of.
It was just how things worked, and he understood that no one really wanted to be born and raised a servant - but the realization still stung.
He turned away, so that his back faced Ohno. “Fine. Do your job, then.”
})i({
The wings were heavy, and difficult to use. Aiba realized this when he almost plunged straight to the ground twice; it didn’t help that Ikuta’s men didn’t recognize him so high up, and almost shot him down when they saw him hurtling towards them. Part of him wished he hadn’t left Dragonfly with Sho - it wasn’t as if Sho would use it, he thought, remembering that Sho was still leery of heights. Still, another part of him was already looking forward to dismantling the Guard’s wing, and figuring out how it worked, and coming up with something better for himself.
“How are things at the meeting?” Ikuta asked, the moment Aiba found him. No greetings whatsoever. Not that Aiba blamed him. Rin was sitting next to him, and she looked pale, like she had seen something she didn’t like. Akanishi was hovering over her, looking grim.
“It went,” Aiba replied shortly. He took off the wings, settling them by his feet. He saw Rin bit her lip, and added, “Nino’s fine. Everything happened the way you saw it would.”
Frowning, Akanishi remarked to Rin, “I don’t know why you couldn’t have just told your idiot brother what would happen.”
“Because it would change things,” Rin answered. She ignored his under-the-breath mutterings, which to Aiba sounded something like, and that would be bad, how? “Kazu never listens to me, anyway,” she added, “and at least by knowing what would happen we could try to work our way around things.”
“Nino did think he would get thrown into the holding cells,” Aiba admitted, “but I think he hadn’t planned for the entire council being taken.”
Ikuta nodded. “Well. My men are ready. His strongest supporters will be controlled, and Nino will handle Oguri Tetsuya on his own, like we planned. I’ve already sent Kamenashi on his way.” He looked at Akanishi as he spoke, and the other man nodded. Neither Akanishi nor Rin looked any more relaxed, though. In fact, they seemed a little more troubled at the mention of Kamenashi. Aiba wanted to ask them if anything was wrong with the other windup, but Rin spoke before he had the chance.
“Aiba-chan, thank you. For everything. But maybe you should sit out the rest of this.”
He wanted to protest, but just the thought of it made him feel a little nauseous.
“It’s for your own good,” Rin added, gently. “You’ve been through so much, already.”
He understood that Rin thought she was doing what was best - just as he understood that she was probably right. Still, it rankled. Both Nino and Sho were imprisoned, and he was supposed to do nothing? Unable to voice out his dissatisfaction, he just gave her an exaggerated bow before leaving them, dragging the wings with him.
They probably thought he was going off to sulk, he supposed. Let them, Aiba thought. He had the wings to tinker on, to help him calm down, and clear his mind.
He would need all his inner strength if he was going to blatantly disobey orders, again.
})i({
Frowning after Aiba’s disappearing figure, Ikuta asked, “are you sure that it’s okay to let him leave like that? He seemed pretty upset.”
Akanishi looked unconcerned. Rin let out a long breath, before speaking. “It’s better for him not to know more than he has to,” she said. “He’s got enough on his plate as it is.”
“Who has his papers, now?”
“Kazu.” Rin looked troubled. “I hope he’ll be okay.”
Taking her hand, Akanishi said, “I talked to him before the last time he left. I think with Kamenashi picking him up, he’ll be fine.”
“He’s a windup, too, though.”
“It’ll be fine,” Akanishi repeated. “He’s different.”
Rin didn’t look convinced, but she let the matter drop. Instead, she turned to Ikuta, and asked about the Guard.
“I have people among them now, and based on the information I have,” Ikuta said, “they’re mostly loyal to Oguri, which is a relief.”
“I don’t see how,” Akanishi remarked.
“Better Oguri than him,” Rin said absently. “Oguri is simple enough. If Kazu plays his cards right, we’ll get through this without having to resort to violence.”
“Exactly,” Ikuta agreed. Akanishi obviously didn’t, judging from his expression, so Ikuta elaborated, “we’re never going to win against the entire Guard, Akanishi-san. You know that.”
})i({
No one really believed in the old gods anymore. Even among the casteless, Aiba knew that offerings at temples were made, and rituals were observed, merely because it was the way things had always been. There were talk of Oracles, but their gifts, when they actually had any, were a watered down version of the ones told of in the old tales - easily dismissed as parlour tricks, and treated as just a way to make a living.
It didn’t surprise him that the temple was empty, especially since he was in the temple for the god of thieves.
If he had any god - if any god would have him - he supposed that the thief god would be it. He spent most of his life playing a part in Nino’s cons, stealing one item and being paid to smuggle another.
He placed the wings he had stolen on the altar, as an offering. He had already studied it enough to be able to make his own; he no longer needed it, and it was the most valuable thing he could think of to offer. He placed his hands together in prayer, before climbing on one of the higher ledges of the temple windows to sit.
})i({
“Do you really think that we’ll get through this?” Aiba asked. He didn’t really care to hear an answer; he just wanted to talk more, to have an excuse to linger, before Sho told him to leave. He knew he should be leaving. If anyone figured out that he’d been sneaking into Sho’s room, if Oguri found out… but Aiba couldn’t help it. Nino had forbidden him of any more nighttime excursions, and still, despite it making him weaker, he came.
Was it the compulsion, he wondered. The thing that was inside him, that wanted him to kill Sho? Even then, as they were looking at each other from opposite sides of the room, his mind was racing with dozens of ways he could have Sho dead. Within minutes, if he let himself. Ever since he knew what he was, and the reason for which he was made, the compulsion kept getting stronger. He swallowed, and shook his head, as he tried to listen to Sho’s reply.
“Of course.” Sho’s voice was faint, and unconvincing. His smile was equally weak. “And we’ll live happily ever after.”
Aiba laughed at that. “And I suppose you’ll be the Sakurai heir again, and Nino will take his place in the Ninomiya House, and I’ll -” he paused, realizing that he had no idea where he would be, when - and if - things ended well.
Sho stepped forward, and took his hand. When his fingers tightened around Sho’s, Sho pulled him closer into an embrace. “Stupid,” Sho murmured, resting his head against Aiba. “Weren’t you listening? I said ‘we.’ You’ll be here with me, of course.”
All lies, Aiba knew, but he wanted to believe it, and knew that Sho did, too, so he didn’t say anything, even when he finally pulled away, and disappeared again.
The moment he was alone in the servants’ passage, he hurried, eager to be out of the Sakurai House before the compulsion caught up with him, and he started feeling it wreaking havoc on his body.
})i({
He was cursed either way, Aiba figured. If Nino were to escape Milna, he would be separated from Sho. If anything happened to Nino… it was something he refused to think about, refused to believe would happen. He would die first. The same went with Sho. And if some miracle happened and things really did end up alright, Sho would end up being even further out of reach. It was probably for the best, too, since he was compelled both to harm Sho and to stay away from him.
Aiba drew his knees closer to himself, curling up against the window. For a brief moment, he thought of the images of the dead disposables, and wondered if it was a relief, to have accomplished one’s life mission, and cutting into oneself, finally becoming free from existence. An abomination of an existence, he supposed - all windups probably were that, but as a disposable, he was even more so.
“I always seem to get the useless ones,” a voice said, startling him out of his reverie.
“Who is that?” he asked, looking down. No one was there.
“If you’re really one of mine,” the voice said again, “you’d learn to use that brain of yours. After all, it’d be a waste if you didn’t, since the humans seemed to have given you a good one.”
Aiba froze. Even as he figured out the owner of the voice, he still had a hard time believing himself.
“That’s the problem with you homunculus. You think that your reason explains everything.”
“What should I do, then?” he asked, without meaning to. He immediately covered his mouth with his hand, knowing that he should have spoken in high speech, at least, if he was going to be speaking to the gods.
He sat in silence for the longest time, waiting for punishment, or an answer - anything. It was only when he was about to give up that the voice spoke again.
“You’re one of mine,” it said. “Think about what you want - or need - the most. Steal it, or die trying.”
It was easy for the thief god to say, Aiba thought, as he stole his way out of the temple. The problem was, he had no idea where to even begin, if he was going to steal himself a soul.
})i({
Rin watched anxiously at Ikuta talked to the man that had come to report to him. They had been talking for some time, and she couldn’t tell from Ikuta’s expression if it was good news or bad that had been keeping them. When her cousin finally dismissed the messenger, and returned to her, she gave him a somber look.
“Is my brother all right?” she asked.
Nodding, Ikuta replied, “They’re all separated right now - Nino is in a cell with Sakurai-sama and Kuroki-sama.”
“What about Jun-kun?” Rin glanced at Ohno, who had been sitting quietly in a corner the whole time. She could see him tensing, waiting for the answer.
“He’s… not well. They’ve put him in the same cell as Ueto-sama, though, and the servant girl who happened to be there when it all happened - so they’re both helping him. The windup, Sora, had been taken to Yamashita-sensei’s lab.”
“Do you really think that we have a chance?”
“I don’t know.” Ikuta really looked at her, then, and replied as honestly as he could. “It all depends on Nino.”
})i({
Things really weren’t as simple as they sounded. Everything might depend on Nino, but whether Nino actually gets to Oguri depended on Kamenashi. Ohno wondered why Rin had asked Aiba to not get involved, because he would trust Aiba’s ability to get Nino out, and to Oguri, a lot more than he would Kamenashi’s.
He had liked Nino, and he hoped that everything would turn out for the best, but it really wasn’t the thing that concerned him the most.
Stepping out of the quarters, Ohno informed the others that he was going out for fresh air. Ikuta reminded him to not go further than a couple of blocks away, because it would be a pain if anything happened and they had to plan a rescue mission. Ohno almost flinched at the phrase “rescue mission”, still wondering why no such thing had been planned for Jun. He had even offered to pay to get Jun out, but Ikuta had said that they should leave things be for the moment.
He supposed that Ikuta’s men were busy with other postings, and that they had no time to worry about Jun with everything else going on - after all, if the reports were true, Jun was relatively safe, just imprisoned. Ohno didn’t blame them for making the decisions they did. But it didn’t mean that he was content to sit still, and wait.
Instead of going into the chaotic man road, Ohno slipped into one of the back alleys, climbing up a long, winding narrow path surrounded by buildings on both sides. The path led to what seemed like a dead end - a wall, belonging to a building that seemed to have just decided to stand in the path’s way. But a closer inspection of the wall would reveal a hidden door.
Ohno knew that it would open easily to those who knew how to unlock locks that were not theirs to unlock. He also knew that it opened to a stairwell that went up, and that the stairwell led to a small room with another of those secret doors. That door opened up to a different street, and on that street one would find a temple to one of the forgotten old gods. Ohno wasn’t one of the people who could unlock the hidden door, and had never been to the temple. Still, he waited outside.
When the hidden door opened - or seemingly vanished - and Aiba appeared out of it, Ohno stood up straight.
“Ohno-kun?” Aiba asked, looking at him in confusion. “Did they ask you to look for me?” Rin wouldn’t have known where he went, Aiba thought. As close to the gods as she was, she had never been able to see him in her cards, and she had never known him to visit shrines or temples. He wasn’t a nomad, and not even the nomads still believed. “How’d you know I would be here?”
“I used to be from this area,” Ohno said. “So I knew about the temple. I was just trying my luck.”
Nodding, Aiba turned to look behind him, but the door was already back in place. He looked a little mystified, like something strange had just happened to him. “Why were you looking for me?”
“I know that you’re going to go and get Sakurai-sama.”
Aiba stilled, and looked at Ohno blankly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“It’s okay,” Ohno said, reassuring. “I’m not going to tell anyone. I just - can you sneak me in, as well?”
})i({
“About time you got here.” Nino sounded grumpy, even as Sho and Kuroki were looking at Kamenashi in surprise. “I thought you did something stupid and got caught.”
“I could still go out and do that, if you prefer,” Kamenashi said, but his words didn’t contain the same bite it usually did, and he seemed somewhat reluctant - as if he was half-hoping that Nino would accept his offer. Nino frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
In an instant, Kamenashi’s expression became neutral. He bent down, picking at the locks chaining Nino to his side of the room.
“Fine, be like that,” Nino muttered. “Don’t talk to me.” His relief was obvious as the chains fell away, and his hands immediately came up to rub away the soreness. He didn’t waste any time, though, before standing up. “Okay, lets go.”
“Ninomiya,” Sho said patiently. “What about us?”
“Oh, you guys can just stay here for the time being,” Nino said. “Trust me; it’s safer this way.”
“Of all the -” Kuroki started, but his grin gave her pause.
“I have somewhere I have to be now, but I’ll come back before the Guards come and check on everyone, okay? Promise.”
})i({
Kamenashi was still silent as they trekked down the servants’ passage. Nino supposed that it was lucky that the current servants were mostly the soulless windups, who weren’t bothered at all to see two strangers walking there. They have passed a couple of these windups, and they didn’t even seem to acknowledge their presence.
Nino didn’t miss the fact that Kamenashi pretended not to see the other windups, either.
“Hey,” he said. “I know we’ve had our differences, but seriously. What’s wrong? I don’t want my life to depend on a partner-in-crime who’s distracted and not focused on the job.”
Kamenashi paused, longer than was probably normal. Understanding, Nino stopped walking, and looked at Kamenashi, who halted next to him.
“What with?” Nino asked. The windup looked at him; he didn’t understand. “What,” Nino said again, elaborating, “are you planning to kill me with? Because I harbour a particular dislike to being bludgeoned to death.”
Nino watched, his mind clearer than it had been all day, as Kamenashi’s eyes widened in surprise. He smiled humourlessly. “I thought that the other windups would come up with something like this, once it became clear that Aiba wasn’t going to leave me out of his own will.”
Stripped of his pretense, Kamenashi pulled the knife he had hidden in his clothes. He was wearing more layers than Nino originally thought he was. Of course, Nino thought. A knife would make less noise than a gun, he supposed. Although perhaps bludgeoning someone might be quiet, too, if done right. He was about to offer this opinion to Kamenashi, when the windup apologized.
“No need to be sorry,” Nino murmured, as Kamenashi neared him. “Did they tell you that they’ll help you, if you do this for them? They’re lying, but then again, I think you know that.” His hand came up in an automatic response to the plunge of the knife, and Kamenashi coming at him - there was no reason for him to succeed in evading the attack, he knew, because Kamenashi was a windup with better reflexes and more strength than he ever would have. No reason for him to be able to defend himself at all, except that he deflected Kamenashi easily, and found his fingers circling the windup’s wrist before he knew it, twisting, and pinning Kamenashi to the wall even as the knife fell to the floor.
“No need to be sorry at all,” he said again.
~ to be continued ~
Chapter Thirty-Eight | Chapter Forty
Marineko's Notes:
Happy New Year! *_* I made it - I managed to finish a new chapter by New Year's, kind of. Hope you enjoyed this!
Okay, I have news.
1. I'm participating in the Help Philippines fanfic auction, so judging on how that goes, my "regular" writing may or may not be postponed, again.
2. I'll be away from January 10th - 27th, so there definitely will not be any new fanfiction around that time. Just when it seems like I'm starting to write regularly again... (-_-) While I'm gone, I may be updating either on typepad or dreamwidth.
FANDOM: Arashi
PAIRING: Sakuraiba, Juntoshi
RATING: PG
DATE: January 1st, 2012
WORD COUNT: 3,300
NOTES/DISCLAIMERS: 1. This is a work of fiction, 2. Beta-ed by arashic0804
Chapter Thirty-Eight | Chapter Forty
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
“Leave me alone.”
The voice was quiet and low, but the threat and anger in it was obvious. Ohno took a step back, as if to appease Jun. “I’m sorry, Matsumoto-sama,” he murmured. “But I’m supposed to watch over you at all times while we’re here.”
“Just whose servant are you, anyway,” Jun complained, but the way his eyes darted downwards, it seemed like something else had upset him.
“Until you come of age, I answer to your father first and foremost,” Ohno replied apologetically. Jun rolled his eyes, annoyed that he actually answered what had been a rhetorical question.
“It’s not like anything’s going to happen. I just need some air. You could just wait for me inside.”
“I’m just doing my job.”
Fuck your job, Jun wanted to say, but didn’t. He knew what was irritating him, of course. It was that girl that had snuck in the building a few days ago; Ohno might have thought that no one else knew, save for a servant or two, but Jun had been curious as to why Ohno hadn’t been waiting for him as usual. Apparently it was because some girl, a friend of Ohno’s, had paid a visit. It had been the first time he saw Ohno that relaxed, and happy, that it hit him - Ohno had probably never asked to be stuck with him. It was just a job, one that he would never be free of.
It was just how things worked, and he understood that no one really wanted to be born and raised a servant - but the realization still stung.
He turned away, so that his back faced Ohno. “Fine. Do your job, then.”
})i({
The wings were heavy, and difficult to use. Aiba realized this when he almost plunged straight to the ground twice; it didn’t help that Ikuta’s men didn’t recognize him so high up, and almost shot him down when they saw him hurtling towards them. Part of him wished he hadn’t left Dragonfly with Sho - it wasn’t as if Sho would use it, he thought, remembering that Sho was still leery of heights. Still, another part of him was already looking forward to dismantling the Guard’s wing, and figuring out how it worked, and coming up with something better for himself.
“How are things at the meeting?” Ikuta asked, the moment Aiba found him. No greetings whatsoever. Not that Aiba blamed him. Rin was sitting next to him, and she looked pale, like she had seen something she didn’t like. Akanishi was hovering over her, looking grim.
“It went,” Aiba replied shortly. He took off the wings, settling them by his feet. He saw Rin bit her lip, and added, “Nino’s fine. Everything happened the way you saw it would.”
Frowning, Akanishi remarked to Rin, “I don’t know why you couldn’t have just told your idiot brother what would happen.”
“Because it would change things,” Rin answered. She ignored his under-the-breath mutterings, which to Aiba sounded something like, and that would be bad, how? “Kazu never listens to me, anyway,” she added, “and at least by knowing what would happen we could try to work our way around things.”
“Nino did think he would get thrown into the holding cells,” Aiba admitted, “but I think he hadn’t planned for the entire council being taken.”
Ikuta nodded. “Well. My men are ready. His strongest supporters will be controlled, and Nino will handle Oguri Tetsuya on his own, like we planned. I’ve already sent Kamenashi on his way.” He looked at Akanishi as he spoke, and the other man nodded. Neither Akanishi nor Rin looked any more relaxed, though. In fact, they seemed a little more troubled at the mention of Kamenashi. Aiba wanted to ask them if anything was wrong with the other windup, but Rin spoke before he had the chance.
“Aiba-chan, thank you. For everything. But maybe you should sit out the rest of this.”
He wanted to protest, but just the thought of it made him feel a little nauseous.
“It’s for your own good,” Rin added, gently. “You’ve been through so much, already.”
He understood that Rin thought she was doing what was best - just as he understood that she was probably right. Still, it rankled. Both Nino and Sho were imprisoned, and he was supposed to do nothing? Unable to voice out his dissatisfaction, he just gave her an exaggerated bow before leaving them, dragging the wings with him.
They probably thought he was going off to sulk, he supposed. Let them, Aiba thought. He had the wings to tinker on, to help him calm down, and clear his mind.
He would need all his inner strength if he was going to blatantly disobey orders, again.
})i({
Frowning after Aiba’s disappearing figure, Ikuta asked, “are you sure that it’s okay to let him leave like that? He seemed pretty upset.”
Akanishi looked unconcerned. Rin let out a long breath, before speaking. “It’s better for him not to know more than he has to,” she said. “He’s got enough on his plate as it is.”
“Who has his papers, now?”
“Kazu.” Rin looked troubled. “I hope he’ll be okay.”
Taking her hand, Akanishi said, “I talked to him before the last time he left. I think with Kamenashi picking him up, he’ll be fine.”
“He’s a windup, too, though.”
“It’ll be fine,” Akanishi repeated. “He’s different.”
Rin didn’t look convinced, but she let the matter drop. Instead, she turned to Ikuta, and asked about the Guard.
“I have people among them now, and based on the information I have,” Ikuta said, “they’re mostly loyal to Oguri, which is a relief.”
“I don’t see how,” Akanishi remarked.
“Better Oguri than him,” Rin said absently. “Oguri is simple enough. If Kazu plays his cards right, we’ll get through this without having to resort to violence.”
“Exactly,” Ikuta agreed. Akanishi obviously didn’t, judging from his expression, so Ikuta elaborated, “we’re never going to win against the entire Guard, Akanishi-san. You know that.”
})i({
No one really believed in the old gods anymore. Even among the casteless, Aiba knew that offerings at temples were made, and rituals were observed, merely because it was the way things had always been. There were talk of Oracles, but their gifts, when they actually had any, were a watered down version of the ones told of in the old tales - easily dismissed as parlour tricks, and treated as just a way to make a living.
It didn’t surprise him that the temple was empty, especially since he was in the temple for the god of thieves.
If he had any god - if any god would have him - he supposed that the thief god would be it. He spent most of his life playing a part in Nino’s cons, stealing one item and being paid to smuggle another.
He placed the wings he had stolen on the altar, as an offering. He had already studied it enough to be able to make his own; he no longer needed it, and it was the most valuable thing he could think of to offer. He placed his hands together in prayer, before climbing on one of the higher ledges of the temple windows to sit.
})i({
“Do you really think that we’ll get through this?” Aiba asked. He didn’t really care to hear an answer; he just wanted to talk more, to have an excuse to linger, before Sho told him to leave. He knew he should be leaving. If anyone figured out that he’d been sneaking into Sho’s room, if Oguri found out… but Aiba couldn’t help it. Nino had forbidden him of any more nighttime excursions, and still, despite it making him weaker, he came.
Was it the compulsion, he wondered. The thing that was inside him, that wanted him to kill Sho? Even then, as they were looking at each other from opposite sides of the room, his mind was racing with dozens of ways he could have Sho dead. Within minutes, if he let himself. Ever since he knew what he was, and the reason for which he was made, the compulsion kept getting stronger. He swallowed, and shook his head, as he tried to listen to Sho’s reply.
“Of course.” Sho’s voice was faint, and unconvincing. His smile was equally weak. “And we’ll live happily ever after.”
Aiba laughed at that. “And I suppose you’ll be the Sakurai heir again, and Nino will take his place in the Ninomiya House, and I’ll -” he paused, realizing that he had no idea where he would be, when - and if - things ended well.
Sho stepped forward, and took his hand. When his fingers tightened around Sho’s, Sho pulled him closer into an embrace. “Stupid,” Sho murmured, resting his head against Aiba. “Weren’t you listening? I said ‘we.’ You’ll be here with me, of course.”
All lies, Aiba knew, but he wanted to believe it, and knew that Sho did, too, so he didn’t say anything, even when he finally pulled away, and disappeared again.
The moment he was alone in the servants’ passage, he hurried, eager to be out of the Sakurai House before the compulsion caught up with him, and he started feeling it wreaking havoc on his body.
})i({
He was cursed either way, Aiba figured. If Nino were to escape Milna, he would be separated from Sho. If anything happened to Nino… it was something he refused to think about, refused to believe would happen. He would die first. The same went with Sho. And if some miracle happened and things really did end up alright, Sho would end up being even further out of reach. It was probably for the best, too, since he was compelled both to harm Sho and to stay away from him.
Aiba drew his knees closer to himself, curling up against the window. For a brief moment, he thought of the images of the dead disposables, and wondered if it was a relief, to have accomplished one’s life mission, and cutting into oneself, finally becoming free from existence. An abomination of an existence, he supposed - all windups probably were that, but as a disposable, he was even more so.
“I always seem to get the useless ones,” a voice said, startling him out of his reverie.
“Who is that?” he asked, looking down. No one was there.
“If you’re really one of mine,” the voice said again, “you’d learn to use that brain of yours. After all, it’d be a waste if you didn’t, since the humans seemed to have given you a good one.”
Aiba froze. Even as he figured out the owner of the voice, he still had a hard time believing himself.
“That’s the problem with you homunculus. You think that your reason explains everything.”
“What should I do, then?” he asked, without meaning to. He immediately covered his mouth with his hand, knowing that he should have spoken in high speech, at least, if he was going to be speaking to the gods.
He sat in silence for the longest time, waiting for punishment, or an answer - anything. It was only when he was about to give up that the voice spoke again.
“You’re one of mine,” it said. “Think about what you want - or need - the most. Steal it, or die trying.”
It was easy for the thief god to say, Aiba thought, as he stole his way out of the temple. The problem was, he had no idea where to even begin, if he was going to steal himself a soul.
})i({
Rin watched anxiously at Ikuta talked to the man that had come to report to him. They had been talking for some time, and she couldn’t tell from Ikuta’s expression if it was good news or bad that had been keeping them. When her cousin finally dismissed the messenger, and returned to her, she gave him a somber look.
“Is my brother all right?” she asked.
Nodding, Ikuta replied, “They’re all separated right now - Nino is in a cell with Sakurai-sama and Kuroki-sama.”
“What about Jun-kun?” Rin glanced at Ohno, who had been sitting quietly in a corner the whole time. She could see him tensing, waiting for the answer.
“He’s… not well. They’ve put him in the same cell as Ueto-sama, though, and the servant girl who happened to be there when it all happened - so they’re both helping him. The windup, Sora, had been taken to Yamashita-sensei’s lab.”
“Do you really think that we have a chance?”
“I don’t know.” Ikuta really looked at her, then, and replied as honestly as he could. “It all depends on Nino.”
})i({
Things really weren’t as simple as they sounded. Everything might depend on Nino, but whether Nino actually gets to Oguri depended on Kamenashi. Ohno wondered why Rin had asked Aiba to not get involved, because he would trust Aiba’s ability to get Nino out, and to Oguri, a lot more than he would Kamenashi’s.
He had liked Nino, and he hoped that everything would turn out for the best, but it really wasn’t the thing that concerned him the most.
Stepping out of the quarters, Ohno informed the others that he was going out for fresh air. Ikuta reminded him to not go further than a couple of blocks away, because it would be a pain if anything happened and they had to plan a rescue mission. Ohno almost flinched at the phrase “rescue mission”, still wondering why no such thing had been planned for Jun. He had even offered to pay to get Jun out, but Ikuta had said that they should leave things be for the moment.
He supposed that Ikuta’s men were busy with other postings, and that they had no time to worry about Jun with everything else going on - after all, if the reports were true, Jun was relatively safe, just imprisoned. Ohno didn’t blame them for making the decisions they did. But it didn’t mean that he was content to sit still, and wait.
Instead of going into the chaotic man road, Ohno slipped into one of the back alleys, climbing up a long, winding narrow path surrounded by buildings on both sides. The path led to what seemed like a dead end - a wall, belonging to a building that seemed to have just decided to stand in the path’s way. But a closer inspection of the wall would reveal a hidden door.
Ohno knew that it would open easily to those who knew how to unlock locks that were not theirs to unlock. He also knew that it opened to a stairwell that went up, and that the stairwell led to a small room with another of those secret doors. That door opened up to a different street, and on that street one would find a temple to one of the forgotten old gods. Ohno wasn’t one of the people who could unlock the hidden door, and had never been to the temple. Still, he waited outside.
When the hidden door opened - or seemingly vanished - and Aiba appeared out of it, Ohno stood up straight.
“Ohno-kun?” Aiba asked, looking at him in confusion. “Did they ask you to look for me?” Rin wouldn’t have known where he went, Aiba thought. As close to the gods as she was, she had never been able to see him in her cards, and she had never known him to visit shrines or temples. He wasn’t a nomad, and not even the nomads still believed. “How’d you know I would be here?”
“I used to be from this area,” Ohno said. “So I knew about the temple. I was just trying my luck.”
Nodding, Aiba turned to look behind him, but the door was already back in place. He looked a little mystified, like something strange had just happened to him. “Why were you looking for me?”
“I know that you’re going to go and get Sakurai-sama.”
Aiba stilled, and looked at Ohno blankly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“It’s okay,” Ohno said, reassuring. “I’m not going to tell anyone. I just - can you sneak me in, as well?”
})i({
“About time you got here.” Nino sounded grumpy, even as Sho and Kuroki were looking at Kamenashi in surprise. “I thought you did something stupid and got caught.”
“I could still go out and do that, if you prefer,” Kamenashi said, but his words didn’t contain the same bite it usually did, and he seemed somewhat reluctant - as if he was half-hoping that Nino would accept his offer. Nino frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
In an instant, Kamenashi’s expression became neutral. He bent down, picking at the locks chaining Nino to his side of the room.
“Fine, be like that,” Nino muttered. “Don’t talk to me.” His relief was obvious as the chains fell away, and his hands immediately came up to rub away the soreness. He didn’t waste any time, though, before standing up. “Okay, lets go.”
“Ninomiya,” Sho said patiently. “What about us?”
“Oh, you guys can just stay here for the time being,” Nino said. “Trust me; it’s safer this way.”
“Of all the -” Kuroki started, but his grin gave her pause.
“I have somewhere I have to be now, but I’ll come back before the Guards come and check on everyone, okay? Promise.”
})i({
Kamenashi was still silent as they trekked down the servants’ passage. Nino supposed that it was lucky that the current servants were mostly the soulless windups, who weren’t bothered at all to see two strangers walking there. They have passed a couple of these windups, and they didn’t even seem to acknowledge their presence.
Nino didn’t miss the fact that Kamenashi pretended not to see the other windups, either.
“Hey,” he said. “I know we’ve had our differences, but seriously. What’s wrong? I don’t want my life to depend on a partner-in-crime who’s distracted and not focused on the job.”
Kamenashi paused, longer than was probably normal. Understanding, Nino stopped walking, and looked at Kamenashi, who halted next to him.
“What with?” Nino asked. The windup looked at him; he didn’t understand. “What,” Nino said again, elaborating, “are you planning to kill me with? Because I harbour a particular dislike to being bludgeoned to death.”
Nino watched, his mind clearer than it had been all day, as Kamenashi’s eyes widened in surprise. He smiled humourlessly. “I thought that the other windups would come up with something like this, once it became clear that Aiba wasn’t going to leave me out of his own will.”
Stripped of his pretense, Kamenashi pulled the knife he had hidden in his clothes. He was wearing more layers than Nino originally thought he was. Of course, Nino thought. A knife would make less noise than a gun, he supposed. Although perhaps bludgeoning someone might be quiet, too, if done right. He was about to offer this opinion to Kamenashi, when the windup apologized.
“No need to be sorry,” Nino murmured, as Kamenashi neared him. “Did they tell you that they’ll help you, if you do this for them? They’re lying, but then again, I think you know that.” His hand came up in an automatic response to the plunge of the knife, and Kamenashi coming at him - there was no reason for him to succeed in evading the attack, he knew, because Kamenashi was a windup with better reflexes and more strength than he ever would have. No reason for him to be able to defend himself at all, except that he deflected Kamenashi easily, and found his fingers circling the windup’s wrist before he knew it, twisting, and pinning Kamenashi to the wall even as the knife fell to the floor.
“No need to be sorry at all,” he said again.
~ to be continued ~
Chapter Thirty-Eight | Chapter Forty
Marineko's Notes:
Happy New Year! *_* I made it - I managed to finish a new chapter by New Year's, kind of. Hope you enjoyed this!
Okay, I have news.
1. I'm participating in the Help Philippines fanfic auction, so judging on how that goes, my "regular" writing may or may not be postponed, again.
2. I'll be away from January 10th - 27th, so there definitely will not be any new fanfiction around that time. Just when it seems like I'm starting to write regularly again... (-_-) While I'm gone, I may be updating either on typepad or dreamwidth.