Fan Fiction ❯ Rhapsody of Time ❯ Prelude ( Chapter 1 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Violet_Nyte 
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Fantasy / Romance / Angst | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.25.2004 | Pages: 5 | Words: 2.7K | Visits: 145 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Fantasy / Romance / Angst | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.25.2004 | Pages: 5 | Words: 2.7K | Visits: 145 | Status: Work In Progress
LSE // 1-25-04
(Rhapsody of Time - Chapter One: Prelude)
rated: R - language, themes, violence, content
shounen-ai/yaoi
Prelude
-
He was dying.
Distance stars shone down in benefication and the boy smiled up their
winking grins.
Dying did not hurt.
The troubles and cares of the world drained out along with his blood,
which pooled out into the grass and was soaked up by the dirt.
And the stars smiled as he died.
The shrill cry of an alarm shattered the peace.
The stars vanished.
"Mitsuro!"
The mound of covers on the floor stirred as the boy woke from his
dream, grey eyes staring out into the pale dawn light that streamed
across the floor. Morning. His mother shouted his name once again,
but he ignored the urgent call. What did it matter, after all. His
eyes caught the faint glow of the alarm clock, which had finally
stuttered into playing a radio station instead of howling.
Sasaki Mitsuro rolled on to his back and stared up at the posters and
pictures splattered across the ceiling. All around him, he could hear
the sounds of his family reading for school and work. Beyond that,
the hum of sounds from all the other families in the neighborhood.
In the very far distance...
"Oniisan! Get up, or you'll be late! Mama says so."
Mitsuro tilted his head back to stare at his sister, but she flounced
away before he could comment. The dream was fading away and taking
with it understanding.
"Mitsuro!"
"Hai," he called back, "I'm awake."
//Reach inside sorrow
//and you'll find
//the secret of my heart
//Comforted by grief
Emiko bounced into his room and tilted her head, listening to the
melancholy strains of music coming from the radio, "That was such a
weird song! Oniisan, how can you listen to that stuff?"
Mitsuro shrugged into his school-uniform's jacket and started on the
line of tiny buttons, "I like it."
"I think it sucks."
He shrugged again and picked up his school bag from the desk chair,
"Your socks on inside out."
Emiko rolled her eyes with all the authority of a fourteen year old,
"That's the style, baka. Not that you would know. Come on, Mama's
driving us to school today since it's raining."
//Why have you gone?
//A lost love
//Where have you gone?
//My broken heart
"And turn your radio off!" Emiko shouted from the hallway.
Mitsuro paused with one hand on the power button. He pressed the
button several times in a row, but still the music kept playing.
//Your voice lingers still
//Images of the past
//Haunting me to tears
Understanding loomed on just the other side of confusion, and he
reached for it...
"Oniisan!"
The radio was silent.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Sasaki."
Mitsuro looked up at the teacher expectantly, then realized the
entire class was watching him. He looked down at his notes, but his
neat script went from detailing the proper use of predicate nouns
to song lyrics. "The song from this morning," Mitsuro whispered to
himself. The aching melody sprung instantly to mind, and he had
to stop himself from humming it.
//Why can't I forget?
//the betrayal
//Where can I find?
//the answers
"Evidently, Sasaki, you've found something far more interesting then
today's lesson. Would you like to share?"
A faint blush crept across his cheeks no matter how impassive he tried
to keep his face, "No, sensei."
The teacher glowered at him for a few minutes more, then turned back
to the chalk board to resume his lecture. Mitsuro sunk into his chair
with relief for having gotten off so easily. He picked up his pencil
and started a new line of notes, looking determinedly at the writing
across the black board.
//I saw you once before
//in a dream
//or in my mirror
Mitsuro stared down at his paper. He hadn't written that. "Let's hear
it for the subconscious..." he muttered, looking back up at the board
with a sigh and turning the paper over.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Sasaki, I'm not going to be here tomorrow."
Mitsuro turned his head towards his best friend and frowned. "Are you
skipping?" he asked, even though he knew that wasn't what the other
boy meant. Yamaki Kyo had been his best friend since primary school.
Kyo stared out the window the damp, grey sky. "No. Not really.
I wasn't even going to tell you, but I feel I owe you a goodbye, at
least." He brushed back a sweep of dark bangs and shifted a sorrowed
gaze back to his friend.
"I could stop you."
For a moment, the older boy looked concerned, but then he recognized
the echo of his own pain in Mitsuro's eyes and shook his head. "But
you won't."
"No," Mitsuro agreed, "I won't." He reached over and captured his
friend's hand, pulling it towards him and pushing back the jacket and
shirt sleeves. Kyo looked away as Mitsuro traced the thin scars and
lines that criss-crossed and swirled over pale skin. He avoided the
newest scars and gently brushed over the bandages before pausing, the
thumb over the deepest scar. It had been nearly a year since the last
time Kyo had tried to say goodbye.
"How?" he asked softly, reluctantly letting Kyo pull his hand away.
His friend tugged the cloth back over his arm. "Do you really want to
know?" he met Mitsuro's grey gaze, conscious of the resemblance
between those eyes and the sky.
The younger boy sighed and folded his arms over his knees. Downstairs,
he could hear Emiko's shrill giggle followed by Mother's soft,
chiding voice. Kyo always came over after school if possible. Mitsuro
knew how much his friend avoided his home. Aware Kyo was waiting for
an answer, he shook his head. "No. I guess not, just... Are you sure?"
"Sasaki..."
The tone held years of pain. "Hai," Mitsuro breathed softly, "stupid
question, but... I'll miss you. And, Yamaki, you're a senior this
year. Only a few months left..."
"I failed all my exams, even to the lowest colleges. I don't have a
job or a place to live. No escape, Sasaki, except --"
Mitsuro swiftly interrupted his friend, "Okay. I understand. You know
I do, Yamaki."
Mirroring his friend's earlier actions, Kyo laid his hand over
Mitsuro's arm but did not bother to expose the scarred skin hiding
beneath the school uniform. "Why don't you join me?"
A shiver ran down his spine, "Yamaki..."
Kyo cocked his head to one side, warm brown eyes flicking over
Mitsuro's face. "You feel it, too. That emptiness inside that takes
away smiles and dreams, leaving you only with the dull ache of what's
missing. A feeling of eternity that's crushing, bleak oblivion beyond
a haze of pain. Sasaki, you feel it. What's gone. What's lost...
It's..."
"Missing," Mitsuro added quietly. "I know, Yamaki."
"Then what have you to lose?"
He sighed, looking absently past Kyo to the plain walls beyond, then
returning a pale grey gaze on to his friend's face. Kyo had always
been thin and tall, even in grade school, but the stress and
indifference of his family life had given the slender frame an
invisible weight that pulled the teen into a slouch. Lank,
chestnut-highlighted black hair hung long around the boy's face and
over his ears but shortened towards the back.
Mitsuro shook his head, dark bangs dancing over his forehead with the
movement. Unlike his friend, he kept his hair trimmed to school
regulations. It didn't matter to him. What did he have to lose?
Nothing. Yamaki was the only thing...
"I'll miss you," he said softly, daring to reach over and again take
the older boy's hand into his own.
//A tragic smile
//like my own
"Will you?" Kyo asked, his voice bitter.
//Why can't I cry?
//time goes on
//Where are you now?
//somewhere near
"...Sasaki?"
Mitsuro shook his head to clear it and looked over at the radio,
which was silent. For just a moment, hearing the poignantly familiar
strains of melody, he had seen... what? A vision? Yes, a vision, of a
lush green plain below blue skies, and for that one, bittersweet
moment he felt the pain of loss, but also the knowledge of what was
missing.
//Two hearts
//a slow dance
//You smiled
//I saw it before
The hand he held fell away as Kyo stood. "Goodbye, then."
Standing as well, Mitsuro tried to think of appropriate words for the
moment, but the music in his head was fading and taking with it the
answers he so desperately needed. The sense of loss showed on his
face and brought the swell of tears, which Kyo took to be for him.
Awkwardly, he folded Mitsuro into an embrace. "Don't cry."
Mitsuro could only nod slowly, one hand rising to flick away the few
tears that had escaped. He leaned a cheek to Kyo's chest and listened
to the steady beating of his friend's heart. He should stop him.
Make him stay the night, keep him from...
What did he have to lose?
Just you, Yamaki.
"Kyo...?"
The older boy looked down at the top of Mitsuro's head in surprise
with the form of address. "...Sasaki?"
"I love you."
For a long moment, Mitsuro rested in the warm circle of Kyo's arms
with the words hanging in the air between them. He didn't know when
friendship, for him, had blurred over into something more and he
didn't know if Kyo regarded him as anything more then a commiserate
against the harsh reality, but certainly Kyo would realize he did
have something to live for... someone.
Gently, Kyo let his arms fall away as he stepped towards the door.
"I know... Mitsuro," he said softly, slowly turning on a heel and
walking out the door, head bowed underneath that invisible weight.
"Kyo!" tears fell unresisting down his cheeks as Mitsuro hovered
between wanting to follow and knowing there was nothing more to do.
His friend turned back and gave a sad smile, "Goodbye."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
In contrast to the somber, bleak circle of mourners, the sun shone
overhead with a blasphemous cheer. Mitsuro stared blankly out at the
rows and rows of headstones that spotted over the soft green hills
bursting with spring blossoms. Beside him, his mother sniffed and
fingered the ratty tissue clutched tightly to her chest. Across the
gleaming surface of the plain wooden coffin, Kyo's family gathered in
a small knot, united with grief, but an indifference showed on a few
faces. Mr. Yamaki's eyes were glazed with alcohol, and Mrs. Yamaki
bore the same invisible weight that had ruined her son.
Mitsuro avoided looking directly at the coffin and instead let his
eyes dance over the faces of the mourners. How many had really known
the boy who lay between the planks of polished wood? How many had
known the way he had suffered?
Why had they not saved him?
Why had he not saved Kyo?
Tears blurred his vision and he forced himself to think of other
things. With a traitorous ease, he forgot about the pain that ripped
through his heart. He studied a lady bug's path over one green leaf
near his foot until the insect took flight. The cemetery was quiet
but for the cadence of the minister's speech, punctuated by the
sounds of quiet weeping.
The service ended and the mourners stood still for a few moments
before Mrs. Yamaki stepped forward and set a very ragged teddy bear
on top of the casket. Mitsuro watched her face soften and the weight
eased to show a glimmer of the young, optimistic bride and mother she
had once been. The layers of age fell away and he suddenly found
himself staring at the one person who possibly could have understood.
Did Kyo tell you? he asked silently, watching Kyo's mother turn back
to her family.
As if that was the cue, the black-clad mourners began to slowly move
around, offering quiet condolences to the Yamakis before taking their
leaves. In pair and groups, they dispersed across the cemetery, moving
shadows against the green and stone. Mrs. Sasaki took Emiko by the
hand and circled around the casket to offer her sympathies to Kyo's
parents while Mitsuro hung back. He didn't want to see the empty-eyed
stares of Kyo's siblings or try to imagine the silent horrors lurking
beneath the crust of propriety.
He just wanted to go home.
He just wanted...
//Where are we now?
//I'm here
//Missing you
Mitsuro turned away from his best friend's grave and started a lone
walk back to his house. The song rose again, stronger, swirled around
him and demanded he turn back, but he resolutely walked away. The
pain of Kyo's death faded into the aching melody, absorbed with
the strains of the music that tumbled over his mind.
-
-
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Author's Notes: This might take some time... I have this huge grand
epic fantasy planned ^_^ hooray!
...uhm. Yeah, I know, it isn't anything Gundam Wing... sorry. I want
to try and focus more on my original writing at this point. Each
chapter may take a while because I'm structuring this like a novel,
not a fanfiction. I promise there is yaoi!
^_^ well I hope you like it, I'm off to work on chapter two!
Shout outs to Tia, D and Holly. Kate, Rachel and Cat, too.
Plus Meg and all my readers, thanks so much!
PLEASE review so I know there are at least people reading this!
Feedback/reviews are very much appreciated!
copyright 2003 - Original story
Email me to join my Update ML!
LSE - Violet Nyte (VioletNyteML@yahoo.com)
shameless plug - visit my website
http://violetnyte.fallenweb.net
(Rhapsody of Time - Chapter One: Prelude)
rated: R - language, themes, violence, content
shounen-ai/yaoi
Prelude
-
He was dying.
Distance stars shone down in benefication and the boy smiled up their
winking grins.
Dying did not hurt.
The troubles and cares of the world drained out along with his blood,
which pooled out into the grass and was soaked up by the dirt.
And the stars smiled as he died.
The shrill cry of an alarm shattered the peace.
The stars vanished.
"Mitsuro!"
The mound of covers on the floor stirred as the boy woke from his
dream, grey eyes staring out into the pale dawn light that streamed
across the floor. Morning. His mother shouted his name once again,
but he ignored the urgent call. What did it matter, after all. His
eyes caught the faint glow of the alarm clock, which had finally
stuttered into playing a radio station instead of howling.
Sasaki Mitsuro rolled on to his back and stared up at the posters and
pictures splattered across the ceiling. All around him, he could hear
the sounds of his family reading for school and work. Beyond that,
the hum of sounds from all the other families in the neighborhood.
In the very far distance...
"Oniisan! Get up, or you'll be late! Mama says so."
Mitsuro tilted his head back to stare at his sister, but she flounced
away before he could comment. The dream was fading away and taking
with it understanding.
"Mitsuro!"
"Hai," he called back, "I'm awake."
//Reach inside sorrow
//and you'll find
//the secret of my heart
//Comforted by grief
Emiko bounced into his room and tilted her head, listening to the
melancholy strains of music coming from the radio, "That was such a
weird song! Oniisan, how can you listen to that stuff?"
Mitsuro shrugged into his school-uniform's jacket and started on the
line of tiny buttons, "I like it."
"I think it sucks."
He shrugged again and picked up his school bag from the desk chair,
"Your socks on inside out."
Emiko rolled her eyes with all the authority of a fourteen year old,
"That's the style, baka. Not that you would know. Come on, Mama's
driving us to school today since it's raining."
//Why have you gone?
//A lost love
//Where have you gone?
//My broken heart
"And turn your radio off!" Emiko shouted from the hallway.
Mitsuro paused with one hand on the power button. He pressed the
button several times in a row, but still the music kept playing.
//Your voice lingers still
//Images of the past
//Haunting me to tears
Understanding loomed on just the other side of confusion, and he
reached for it...
"Oniisan!"
The radio was silent.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Sasaki."
Mitsuro looked up at the teacher expectantly, then realized the
entire class was watching him. He looked down at his notes, but his
neat script went from detailing the proper use of predicate nouns
to song lyrics. "The song from this morning," Mitsuro whispered to
himself. The aching melody sprung instantly to mind, and he had
to stop himself from humming it.
//Why can't I forget?
//the betrayal
//Where can I find?
//the answers
"Evidently, Sasaki, you've found something far more interesting then
today's lesson. Would you like to share?"
A faint blush crept across his cheeks no matter how impassive he tried
to keep his face, "No, sensei."
The teacher glowered at him for a few minutes more, then turned back
to the chalk board to resume his lecture. Mitsuro sunk into his chair
with relief for having gotten off so easily. He picked up his pencil
and started a new line of notes, looking determinedly at the writing
across the black board.
//I saw you once before
//in a dream
//or in my mirror
Mitsuro stared down at his paper. He hadn't written that. "Let's hear
it for the subconscious..." he muttered, looking back up at the board
with a sigh and turning the paper over.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Sasaki, I'm not going to be here tomorrow."
Mitsuro turned his head towards his best friend and frowned. "Are you
skipping?" he asked, even though he knew that wasn't what the other
boy meant. Yamaki Kyo had been his best friend since primary school.
Kyo stared out the window the damp, grey sky. "No. Not really.
I wasn't even going to tell you, but I feel I owe you a goodbye, at
least." He brushed back a sweep of dark bangs and shifted a sorrowed
gaze back to his friend.
"I could stop you."
For a moment, the older boy looked concerned, but then he recognized
the echo of his own pain in Mitsuro's eyes and shook his head. "But
you won't."
"No," Mitsuro agreed, "I won't." He reached over and captured his
friend's hand, pulling it towards him and pushing back the jacket and
shirt sleeves. Kyo looked away as Mitsuro traced the thin scars and
lines that criss-crossed and swirled over pale skin. He avoided the
newest scars and gently brushed over the bandages before pausing, the
thumb over the deepest scar. It had been nearly a year since the last
time Kyo had tried to say goodbye.
"How?" he asked softly, reluctantly letting Kyo pull his hand away.
His friend tugged the cloth back over his arm. "Do you really want to
know?" he met Mitsuro's grey gaze, conscious of the resemblance
between those eyes and the sky.
The younger boy sighed and folded his arms over his knees. Downstairs,
he could hear Emiko's shrill giggle followed by Mother's soft,
chiding voice. Kyo always came over after school if possible. Mitsuro
knew how much his friend avoided his home. Aware Kyo was waiting for
an answer, he shook his head. "No. I guess not, just... Are you sure?"
"Sasaki..."
The tone held years of pain. "Hai," Mitsuro breathed softly, "stupid
question, but... I'll miss you. And, Yamaki, you're a senior this
year. Only a few months left..."
"I failed all my exams, even to the lowest colleges. I don't have a
job or a place to live. No escape, Sasaki, except --"
Mitsuro swiftly interrupted his friend, "Okay. I understand. You know
I do, Yamaki."
Mirroring his friend's earlier actions, Kyo laid his hand over
Mitsuro's arm but did not bother to expose the scarred skin hiding
beneath the school uniform. "Why don't you join me?"
A shiver ran down his spine, "Yamaki..."
Kyo cocked his head to one side, warm brown eyes flicking over
Mitsuro's face. "You feel it, too. That emptiness inside that takes
away smiles and dreams, leaving you only with the dull ache of what's
missing. A feeling of eternity that's crushing, bleak oblivion beyond
a haze of pain. Sasaki, you feel it. What's gone. What's lost...
It's..."
"Missing," Mitsuro added quietly. "I know, Yamaki."
"Then what have you to lose?"
He sighed, looking absently past Kyo to the plain walls beyond, then
returning a pale grey gaze on to his friend's face. Kyo had always
been thin and tall, even in grade school, but the stress and
indifference of his family life had given the slender frame an
invisible weight that pulled the teen into a slouch. Lank,
chestnut-highlighted black hair hung long around the boy's face and
over his ears but shortened towards the back.
Mitsuro shook his head, dark bangs dancing over his forehead with the
movement. Unlike his friend, he kept his hair trimmed to school
regulations. It didn't matter to him. What did he have to lose?
Nothing. Yamaki was the only thing...
"I'll miss you," he said softly, daring to reach over and again take
the older boy's hand into his own.
//A tragic smile
//like my own
"Will you?" Kyo asked, his voice bitter.
//Why can't I cry?
//time goes on
//Where are you now?
//somewhere near
"...Sasaki?"
Mitsuro shook his head to clear it and looked over at the radio,
which was silent. For just a moment, hearing the poignantly familiar
strains of melody, he had seen... what? A vision? Yes, a vision, of a
lush green plain below blue skies, and for that one, bittersweet
moment he felt the pain of loss, but also the knowledge of what was
missing.
//Two hearts
//a slow dance
//You smiled
//I saw it before
The hand he held fell away as Kyo stood. "Goodbye, then."
Standing as well, Mitsuro tried to think of appropriate words for the
moment, but the music in his head was fading and taking with it the
answers he so desperately needed. The sense of loss showed on his
face and brought the swell of tears, which Kyo took to be for him.
Awkwardly, he folded Mitsuro into an embrace. "Don't cry."
Mitsuro could only nod slowly, one hand rising to flick away the few
tears that had escaped. He leaned a cheek to Kyo's chest and listened
to the steady beating of his friend's heart. He should stop him.
Make him stay the night, keep him from...
What did he have to lose?
Just you, Yamaki.
"Kyo...?"
The older boy looked down at the top of Mitsuro's head in surprise
with the form of address. "...Sasaki?"
"I love you."
For a long moment, Mitsuro rested in the warm circle of Kyo's arms
with the words hanging in the air between them. He didn't know when
friendship, for him, had blurred over into something more and he
didn't know if Kyo regarded him as anything more then a commiserate
against the harsh reality, but certainly Kyo would realize he did
have something to live for... someone.
Gently, Kyo let his arms fall away as he stepped towards the door.
"I know... Mitsuro," he said softly, slowly turning on a heel and
walking out the door, head bowed underneath that invisible weight.
"Kyo!" tears fell unresisting down his cheeks as Mitsuro hovered
between wanting to follow and knowing there was nothing more to do.
His friend turned back and gave a sad smile, "Goodbye."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
In contrast to the somber, bleak circle of mourners, the sun shone
overhead with a blasphemous cheer. Mitsuro stared blankly out at the
rows and rows of headstones that spotted over the soft green hills
bursting with spring blossoms. Beside him, his mother sniffed and
fingered the ratty tissue clutched tightly to her chest. Across the
gleaming surface of the plain wooden coffin, Kyo's family gathered in
a small knot, united with grief, but an indifference showed on a few
faces. Mr. Yamaki's eyes were glazed with alcohol, and Mrs. Yamaki
bore the same invisible weight that had ruined her son.
Mitsuro avoided looking directly at the coffin and instead let his
eyes dance over the faces of the mourners. How many had really known
the boy who lay between the planks of polished wood? How many had
known the way he had suffered?
Why had they not saved him?
Why had he not saved Kyo?
Tears blurred his vision and he forced himself to think of other
things. With a traitorous ease, he forgot about the pain that ripped
through his heart. He studied a lady bug's path over one green leaf
near his foot until the insect took flight. The cemetery was quiet
but for the cadence of the minister's speech, punctuated by the
sounds of quiet weeping.
The service ended and the mourners stood still for a few moments
before Mrs. Yamaki stepped forward and set a very ragged teddy bear
on top of the casket. Mitsuro watched her face soften and the weight
eased to show a glimmer of the young, optimistic bride and mother she
had once been. The layers of age fell away and he suddenly found
himself staring at the one person who possibly could have understood.
Did Kyo tell you? he asked silently, watching Kyo's mother turn back
to her family.
As if that was the cue, the black-clad mourners began to slowly move
around, offering quiet condolences to the Yamakis before taking their
leaves. In pair and groups, they dispersed across the cemetery, moving
shadows against the green and stone. Mrs. Sasaki took Emiko by the
hand and circled around the casket to offer her sympathies to Kyo's
parents while Mitsuro hung back. He didn't want to see the empty-eyed
stares of Kyo's siblings or try to imagine the silent horrors lurking
beneath the crust of propriety.
He just wanted to go home.
He just wanted...
//Where are we now?
//I'm here
//Missing you
Mitsuro turned away from his best friend's grave and started a lone
walk back to his house. The song rose again, stronger, swirled around
him and demanded he turn back, but he resolutely walked away. The
pain of Kyo's death faded into the aching melody, absorbed with
the strains of the music that tumbled over his mind.
-
-
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Author's Notes: This might take some time... I have this huge grand
epic fantasy planned ^_^ hooray!
...uhm. Yeah, I know, it isn't anything Gundam Wing... sorry. I want
to try and focus more on my original writing at this point. Each
chapter may take a while because I'm structuring this like a novel,
not a fanfiction. I promise there is yaoi!
^_^ well I hope you like it, I'm off to work on chapter two!
Shout outs to Tia, D and Holly. Kate, Rachel and Cat, too.
Plus Meg and all my readers, thanks so much!
PLEASE review so I know there are at least people reading this!
Feedback/reviews are very much appreciated!
copyright 2003 - Original story
Email me to join my Update ML!
LSE - Violet Nyte (VioletNyteML@yahoo.com)
shameless plug - visit my website
http://violetnyte.fallenweb.net