[Multichapter] The Watches Series: Apocalypse (11/15)
Title: The Watches Series: Apocalypse
Authors: syunikiss1990
Beta: andreja1989 <-- as always arigatou ♥
Pairing: SakurAiba, MatsuMiya, OhnoxOC
Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Romance
Rating: PG-13 (this chapter)
Disclaimer: No, we don't own anything... We're just Border Watch's glaziers
Summary: It looks like the end of everything they knew... Will their world collapse?
*MASTERPOST*
Sho-chan.
He knew the voice calling out to him but at the same time he refused to listen to it. There was no way that person could be here anyway.
Sho-chan.
The voice didn't give up though, still calling out his name. He needed to wake up, to get out of the darkness again otherwise he was sure he would go insane.
Don't wake up. Only open your eyes.
It didn't make sense. How could he open his eyes without waking up? But the voice was winning. He wanted to see him so badly.
Please, we don't have much time.
Giving in he slowly opened his eyes, looking straight in those familiar brown eyes.
"Masaki..." He mumbled and wanted to reach out but his body was paralyzed. Though his intention was caught by the younger man who leaned forward and gave him a soft kiss on his lips. Even though he didn't feel the touch, warmth spread through his veins and gave him control over his body again. He sat up and reached out to Aiba's face, changed his mind halfway and pulled him in a rib crushing hug.
"Oh god Masaki. I thought you were dead. Where were you?" His arms were gently loosened and Aiba pushed him back a bit to look at him.
"Calm down Sho. If you get too worked up you might wake up." Masaki shushed him, smiling slightly as he reached out to brush a few hairs out of Sho's face.
"What do you mean?" Sakurai asked confused. "Wake up? I'm dreaming?"
"Yes and no. It's hard to explain Sho but you have to calm down." Even though Sho could see the points where Masaki's hands were on him, he couldn't feel them. He didn't feel the warmth they usually gave him. He only felt a numb pain on the side of his head, getting sharper the more he tried to wrap his mind around everything.
"Sho you have to calm down. If you wake up now everything will be lost." Masaki tried to calm him down, hugging him tightly.
"I don't want to wake up. I don't want to lose you again." The pain on the side of his head got numb again, making it almost non-existent. It made his drowsy and his head felt fuzzy, unable to get his thoughts straight. In a strange way it was uncomfortable and comfortable at the same time, feeling like he was missing something important but at the same time not caring because he was in the arms of the man he loved.
"I know." Aiba said, rocking their bodies until he felt the older man had calmed down enough. "I know it's hard, I don't want to let you go either but I don't have a choice."
"What do you mean?" Sakurai asked, looking at the face he missed so much. He looked exactly the same as the day he last saw him, which wasn't that surprising when he thought of it seeing it was only days ago. But he still looked at him, trying now even more than ever to remember every single detail.
"Sho listen. War is starting and there is only one way to stop it. We have to end it the same way it all once started." The explanation was cryptically, too cryptically for Sho's numb mind.
"What do you mean?" He asked. He saw the younger man struggle, trying to find the right words.
"The one thing that united the Watches all those years ago is now destroying it. They don't see it that's why they should be shown the one thing that stopped the war last time." Aiba said, looking at the other man hopefully, explaining with his eyes that he was not allowed saying too much himself. Sakurai tried to wrap his mind around it. One thing that united the Watches...
"The Treaty?" He asked after a short while, seeing the other man smile relieved.
"Bring her to the upcoming battle and everything will be clear."
"Why me? Why you? What is going on Masaki?" Masaki smiled sadly and kissed him softly.
"Bring her and it will be clear. I'm sorry I can't tell you but you can't know too much. Knowledge can be lethal here." The numb pressure on his head slowly started to change into sharp pain again. Unconsciously he realized he was close to waking up but he tried to fight it. He tried to fight the fact that Aiba slowly started to fade.
"Wait Masaki! I don't want to leave you. Please..." Sho begged, seeing his own pain mirrored in the younger man's eyes.
"I'm sorry Sho..." Masaki whispered, reaching out for him and pressing their palms together, entwining their fingers.
"Will I ever see you again?" The question was no more than a whisper, his voice breaking.
"Bring her to battle." Aiba said, completely disappearing by now.
"Masaki!" With his lovers name on his lips his eyes shot open. The bright light made him groan and squeeze his eyes shut again, feeling like some madman was constantly banging the side of his head. He whimpered, trying to sit up but he was immediately pushed down again.
"Try not to move too much Sakurai-san, you probably have a concussion." A woman said. It took Sho a while before he could picture the face with the voice, somehow relieved Shouge was here.
"What happened?" He asked, slowly opening his eyes to see Sachiko's face above him, checking his reactions.
"I don't know." She said, nodding to herself before sitting down on the bed next to Sakurai. "I called you and when you didn't pick up I came to your hotel. You were lying in front of the steps. For a moment I thought you were dead but luckily you were only unconscious."
"Ninomiya..." Sho groaned and sat up, seeing he was inside his hotel room. He had no idea how the small woman had managed to get him here but that was the least of his concern. Masaki's words were still echoing in his mind.
"The Dark Watch officer? He did this? I thought you were friends?" Shouge asked confused. Sakurai sighed.
"We had a fight. I don't blame him, I wish I had his determination sometimes. But he is blinded by Matsumoto's murder and that makes him dangerous. I wanted to stop him from making a mistake but that appeared to be a mistake itself." Sho laughed emotionless at the irony, groaning again as it made the banging on the side of his head worse again. He pushed himself from the bed, walking to the bathroom on unsteady feet and searching for painkillers.
"I really think you should lie down again." Sachiko said timidly behind him. Sakurai swallowed two pills with a big gulp of water before shaking his head.
"I can't. There isn't much time." He said, looking in the mirror and frowning. On the side of his head a big bulge was forming, causing most of his pain. He took one of the towels and soaked it in cold water, pressing it to his face before turning around and pushing himself past the woman who was watching him from the doorway.
"I need to get the Treaty." He said, sitting down on the bed to try and think of a plan. Shouge looked at him, her mouth falling open at his words.
"Are you insane?" She asked. Sakurai laughed almost madly.
"Isn't everyone insane at this point?" He asked. "A war is starting and the only way to stop it is to bring the Treaty to the middle of it." As he spoke he realized how insane this actually sounded but he pushed away that feeling.
"What? Why? Where did you get this idea from?" Sachiko asked.
"Masaki." Sho simply said as if it was the most normal thing in the world even though he knew Masaki was dead. He saw in Shouge's eyes that she thought he went completely insane as she stepped back a bit. "Look, I'm not asking you to believe me or not but I have to do this."
"Why?" She asked again, her voice much softer than before.
"To stop this war. Or at least try. Innocent people will die, I have to stop this."
"You can't do that on your own."
"I'm not alone. I don't know how or why but Masaki is helping me. I want to know the truth and going there with the Treaty might finally bring the answers I have been looking for." Sho stood up, tossing the wet towel in the bathroom before putting on his shoes and taking his coat.
"Sakurai-san wait." Sachiko's voice made him turn around.
"I'm not changing my mind. Please don't stand in my way." Sakurai said, maybe a bit more aggressive than needed but the woman shook his head.
"I don't want to stop you. The Treaty is inside the Vatican, I'll help you get inside again." For a moment Sho looked at Shouge, letting the meaning of the words sink in before giving her a small smile.
"Let's go then." He said, not looking back as he knew the woman would follow him. They rushed through the streets, trying to stay unnoticed but they couldn't help to notice everyone on the street seemed to head in the same direction as them. Even though it was useless Sakurai still looked out for a familiar face in the crowd, unsure what he would even do if he would see Ninomiya but at the same time wanting to put his mind at ease with the knowledge of the Dark Watch officer still being alive. His silent wish stayed unheard as he didn't see the smaller man anywhere so all he could do was pray Ninomiya hadn't done anything stupid.
"This way." Sachiko said, grabbing his arm and getting him out of his thoughts as he was pulled inside a small ally. She must have noticed the tension on the streets as well as she leaded him towards the Vatican through different and much less used streets. Even though he was with Shouge, it took them much longer this time to get inside. There were a lot more guards walking around than before and they even did a full check on the woman even though she was in the office almost every day.
"They feel it coming." Sachiko whispered once they were inside. "They have an unusual high people walking around. How are you planning to do this?"
"I'll figure something out." Sho said, looking around and feeling not confident at all with the situation.
"How? If there are more guards here I'm sure the Treaty is surrounded by them." Sachiko smiled and greeted someone who walked past them, her face serious again as soon as the person was gone. "And even if you manage to get to her, you can't simply walk her out of here."
"What does she look like?" Sakurai interrupted the woman.
"What?"
"What does she look like?" Sho repeated, pulling Sachiko in a corner so he could look at her.
"She wears something to cover her face. Nobody knows what she looks like." Shouge's eyes widened a bit, probably following Sakurai's trail of thoughts.
"Have you talked to her before? Are you absolutely sure she is the Treaty?" Sho asked.
"I talked to her yes. I know she was the Treaty, you know I can see it."
"Exactly. Sachiko-san, I need you to help me here. Do you think you can go to her room and check if it's really the Treaty in there?" Shouge slowly nodded.
"I can but why?" She asked.
"Nobody knows what she really looks like but everybody knows where she is hidden. How big is the chance that the person inside the room of the Treaty isn't the Treaty at all? Why bother with keeping her identity hidden but making the place where she is public?"
"To place a decoy." Sachiko said, her eyes widening again with the realization. "Do you think they switched the Treaty with someone else?"
"I wouldn't be surprised but we have to be sure. Do you think you can get inside her room and check?" Shouge looked doubtful but determinate at the same time.
"I'll try. Give me half an hour. I'll take you to my office here where you can wait." Sakurai nodded and followed the woman towards a small room. While he waited for her return he let his thoughts run freely. If the Treaty would indeed be a decoy he would have to find out where she was really hidden. On top of that, he had to find a way to convince her that she should come with him while he would take her to one of the most dangerous places on earth right now. But he didn't have a choice. The Masaki that came to him wasn't a simple fragment of his imagination, it simply felt too real for that. Even his mind, mixed up with different emotions, wouldn't come up with something like this. It had to be true. And if it was true, the chance that Masaki was still alive somewhere would be even bigger. It didn't matter how or when but in his heart he knew he would see his lover again.
Time passed by slow enough to make every second feel like an hour and with every passing minute he got more and more nervous. What if Shouge was caught? What if he had brought her in unnecessary danger? But he had to keep believing and crossing his fingers that she would return safely, even after half an hour already passed. Just when he wanted to leave the office to see if he could find her, close to an hour after she had left, the woman slipped inside again, looking completely bewildered.
"You were right." She said, speaking soft but fast. "It's not the Treaty. They wouldn't let me in but I managed to get a glimpse on the girl and she's not golden. Seeing how much they tried to keep me away while it's normally no problem for me to talk to her it all just adds up."
"Then we have a different problem now. If she's not there, where is she?" Sakurai mumbled more to himself than to the woman, walking in circles through the small office.
"The Vatican is huge. She could be anywhere. That is if they keep her here at all." Sho shook his head, trying to keep it clear and ignore the banging which started on the side of his head again.
"They keep her here. Where would you keep someone you want to stay hidden for the rest of the world? What would the last place be someone would expect them to keep her? By now it's an open secret the Treaty is here but everyone would expect her to be treated like a queen." Sho stopped walking and looked at Sachiko. "The dungeons! The Vatican must have some kind of underground dungeon where they keep their own jail right?"
"They have but that place hasn't been used for decades." Shouge looked at Sakurai. "It would be the last place anyone would think of they would keep someone as important as the Treaty."
"Do you know the way?" Sachiko nodded and opened the door, looking both ways before gesturing to Sho to follow her. They tried to keep their pace as slow and unsuspicious as they could even though Sho wanted nothing more than dash through the corridors towards their destination. Even though he was sure their luck must have been used by now they reached the doors of the dungeons without running into anyone and they managed to slip inside without any problems. He immediately noticed the stairs leading down were too clean for a place that wasn't supposed to be used anymore, as if the lights that were turned on weren't enough prove for that already. Slowly and silently they walked down, keeping their eyes and ears open for anyone that could come on the stairs. He stopped when Shouge held up her hand, pressing her finger against her lips. He could hear some faint voices coming from somewhere down the stairs, at least two different ones.
"Guards." Sachiko whispered to him. "I think two or three. Do you have an idea?"
"Do they know you?" Sho whispered back, continuing when the woman nodded. "Try to tell them you were send here to get the Treaty for research. I'll stay here in case it won't work, hit them from behind if needed." Shouge miraculously managed to get the Treaty out of the small jail she was kept in but one of the guards insisted on coming with them. So even though he didn't want to, Sho didn't have a choice and knock the man out as soon as he walked past his hiding place close to the stairs. For a moment it looked like the Treaty was going to scream but Sachiko moved fast, coving her mouth and whispering something in her ear that seemed to calm her down. Sho didn't ask about it, just gestured to them to go up the stairs fast before one of the other guards would come their way.
"We need to give her some disguise." Sakurai muttered halfway the stairs, feeling stupid for not realizing this before. Sachiko stopped walking, looking back at him.
"I have some spare clothes in my office. I'll wait here with her so you can get them." She turned back to the still scared looking woman next to her, softly starting to talk to her in either Latin or Italian, Sho wasn't sure as he knew neither of the languages. He rushed as much as he could, getting the clothes out of one of the closets in Shouge's small office. Just as he wanted to go back to the door to the dungeons a loud bang from outside made him freeze on his spot. Just a few seconds afterwards he heard yells and feet running through the building. With a loud beating heart he opened the door of the office, searching for the closest window and looking outside, seeing smoke rise from somewhere close to the building. He knew he wouldn't have much time now anymore, at the same time thankful to whatever happened as nobody noticed him as he ran through the hallways, silently praying it wasn't too late yet.