SD Gundam Fan Fiction ❯ Taishi's Betrayal ❯ Broken ( Chapter 20 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: May-VeggieGirl1 
FINAL CHAPTER!
Song is a duet by Seether and featuring Amy Lee from Evanescence! ^_^ NOT FINISHED YET, WAIT UNTIL MID-TERM WEEK IS OVER!
Anime/Manga: SD Gundam Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Psychological | Type: The Bet | Uploaded On: 01.17.2005 | Updated On: 01.30.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.4K | Visits: 534 | Status: Work In Progress
FINAL CHAPTER!
Song is a duet by Seether and featuring Amy Lee from Evanescence! ^_^ NOT FINISHED YET, WAIT UNTIL MID-TERM WEEK IS OVER!
Anime/Manga: SD Gundam Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Psychological | Type: The Bet | Uploaded On: 01.17.2005 | Updated On: 01.30.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.4K | Visits: 534 | Status: Work In Progress
Taishi's Betrayal
By: May-VeggieGirl1
Hey guyz! Ready for the last chapter? It's TOTALLY FINISHED!!! Hooray!!! *waves the yay flag that Kai owns* Wow, and to think that this whole fic could have never been completed if Kai never accepted my challenge... speaking of which, what is going to happen with our little fic contest? O.o;;; Holy crap, I have over a thousand visits! Well, maybe a hundred might be my own visits from going back and re-reading, but STILL!!! Well, I won't hold you up anymore, read on!
~*~*~*~*~*
I could never have imagined that one day I would be fighting my brother like this.
Baku and Taishi continued to stand there a few yards away from each other, Entengo backing off near Shute and Gunbike. Baku sighed sadly and unsheathed his swords as they glistened in the light.
I don't have a choice, do I Taishi?
Baku looked away at the ground; he couldn't bare to look his own family member, his only family member, in the eyes. "Why is it I never have a choice in anything," he asked aloud while glancing at the glistening swords. Taishi grabbed his swords and also pulled them out- extending the left one out with his arm and pointing it at Baku while keeping the right's blade tucked near his side, pointed at the ground. Shute blinked while watching the two musha brothers."Hey, um, what's Taishi doing with this swords?""It looks like it's supposed to be a defensive stance," Gunbike concluded. "It certainly is... interesting. I don't get why he would choose a two-sword style if he keeps one sword down like that. If anything, that sword is just liability."
"Huh," Shute mumbled to himself pensively. "Why would it be liability?"
"If he isn't aware that he is holding the sword upside down, he could easily hurt himself with it." The boy stood up and cupped his hand around his forehead to block some of the sun.
"Oh! He is holding it upside down. Now, that's odd, why would he do that?" "Well, if it were an attacking stance, the sword could be good for attacking an opponent by surprise or in their blind spot..." Baku watched his brother, beginning to feel like he was going to cry again.Taishi's stance...
"Hey, Baku, if you can get a single hit in on me, then I'll do whatever you want me to do for a whole day!" Baku paused from what he was doing and smiled wickedly before turning back to Taishi."Sure, but you're gonna regret that offer!"
I never did hit Taishi. It's perfect for Taishi. I tried to work with it once, but I sucked royally."Baku, you're not meant to use that stance, besides you're too much of a hothead to use it. But I still think it's cute that you're imitating me." Taishi laughed as Baku's face turned red."I am not imitating you! I was just trying to figure out how the heck you could parry all of my attacks from any angle with that stupid looking stance!""Aww, come on," Taishi rubbed the back of his head. "It's not that stupid looking... is it?"
"Taishi..." Baku mumbled pushing his foot forward slightly."Hang on Guneagle," Captain continued to dig at the rock bed as Kiba and Ybaso continued their brawl. His hand reached in and felt something pointy before pulling it out. Guneagle's arm submerged from the rock then his head. "You okay?"
"Been better," he held his head as it swayed slightly. "What going down now?" He glanced at the two musha fights, mainly the one that hadn't started yet. "I'll get out, you go help Baku."
"He wouldn't want my help. It's his fight to win, not mine." Captain continued to dig at the rock around the rest of his comrades body. "But... I still want to help."
Baku let out a deep breath and shook his arms slightly to loosen them up.Alright, I can do this... I can do this...
He held up his swords and finally forced himself to look at Taishi's empty eyes.But no matter what the outcome, I'm going to lose.
"What do you want here, Kiba," Ybaso snarled at Kiba as their swords connected and sparked before being pulled away again.
"Oh, you know, same old, same old. Actually I was just looking around the neighborhood. This isn't such a bad place." Rock wrapped around Ybaso's feet. "Of course your welcome committee is beginning to irk me though..."
"You should see how nice it is when scum like you aren't around," Ybaso smirked and blasted the rock away.
"Well, I'm happy to see that Baku is still alive. Since I'm here, I might as well try to take him again." Kiba slashed his sword at Ybaso but he stepped back while swinging upward knocking Kiba's rock sword from his hands and onto the ground a couple of yards away. Ybaso rested the sword on his shoulder.
"You honestly believe anyone here is going to let you get away with that again? Haven't you ever heard the saying 'fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me'? I don't think even Taishi will stand for it."
Baku charged at Taishi with his swords. "Hah!" Both pairs of swords crashed against each other as they stayed in a deadlock. Baku continued to slash his swords in different directions, hoping that Taishi would slip up. But he didn't, as the two continued their stand off. Baku jumped back to the side ran around behind Taishi's back. Taishi resumed his stance and let Baku do so. He pulled the swords back and began to form a circles with them. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Taishi..."
Captain had dug out Guneagle and helped him over to where Shute and Gunbike were watching the fight.
"Baku's pulling out the big guns early huh?""Taishi is very good in that stance. It's probably suited for him," Gunbike said. Captain nodded his head.
"Tenkyo-ken..." Baku ran at Taishi again while ablaze. Taishi ducked down while curving the right blade near his side back in between Baku's crossed flaming swords, then pulled forward and knocked one of Baku's swords down on the ground by his feet. He twisted around to his left and slashed the remaining sword from Baku's hands and onto the ground a few feet away.
"Ah! Baku," Shute gasped as everyone watched in slight amazement. "H-How'd he do that?!""Shute," Captain assured, "You have to consider the fact that they're brothers under the same teacher. They've probably seen each others moves a hundred times before..."
"But..." Shute looked on the ground. Taishi stood up straight and stomped on Baku's sword as it sizzled in the dirt. Baku's hands shook as he looked up in shock at Taishi.
"I...," Baku started feeling tears come to his eyes. "I always knew you were a better swordsman than me... even if I could never admit it... but..." He sniffed and forced on a smile. "But I didn't know you could un-arm me that easily..." Taishi whacked Baku down with his sword, causing him to fall on his butt. Baku continued to cry.
"Baku! Come on, get up! You can still fight back," Shute yelled at Baku.
"I don't want to fight..." Startled, Shute stepped backwards as Baku continued to sit in the dirt. "We're brothers! We're not supposed to fight each other... not like this..." He hiccuped while rubbing the salty tears from his eyes and looking back up at Taishi. "It isn't fair that Kiba can just step in between people and keep them from being happy and together..."
"I think it's fair," Kiba nodded to himself as Ybaso shot him a glare."Did anyone ask you? No. Besides, you think everything is fair as long as it goes in your favor..." Ybaso mumbled while sweatdropping.
"Exactly," Kiba exclaimed while laughing his head off. Ybaso sweatdropped.
"What kind of sociopath are you...," Ybaso asked while sighing."One of a kind! Long live the king!" Kiba shouted while holding a peace sign up in the air.
"Do us all a favor and shut up for a while," Ybaso growled as he promptly whacked Kiba over the head with his sword.
Taishi raised the right sword over Baku's head, the blade still pointing down menacingly. Baku only continued to sob while staring up at it.
"Please... is there any way we could go back to when we were family and not enemies... please...?" Baku closed his eyes tightly as Taishi only raised the blade higher. "Taishi!"The sound of metal ripping threw metal rung through every ear.
I wanted you to know I love the way you laugh
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away
I keep your photograph and I know it serves me well
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain
Zero stared up at the ever brightening sky with tears still lingering in his eyes.
Why do people have to die? Why did Baku have to die?
"Is my life just a never-ending circle of death and failure," he choked out while rubbing his arms. He felt suddenly cold. Was it because he practically killed one of his best friends? "If only I could have another chance...," he cried to himself. "I would never let that happen to Baku again..." A picture of smiling Baku flashed by his head.
I need to see him again... even if it's just a corpse...
Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away
You gotta win, you don't feel me anymore
Zero continued to trudge on through the woods, following the same path he did to show Ybaso where he rested, except this time he was walking. Fatigue was clawing at his back; he had received a pretty bad beating from Kiba then hadn't slept or ate since the day before. For a while, as he walked around the trees and in the soddened grass, he felt like he might have been walking while unconscious, since he was further ahead than he remembered. Despite all of this, he continued onward to visit Baku's resting place...
To find nothing there, which certainly woke him up completely.
"...Huh?!" Zero ran around the tree to find there was still nothing there. "What? B-But... maybe Ybaso dragged him off... but the grass is still settled except where Baku would have been lying..."
...Could he be...?
...
Am I dead? Did he kill me?
I'm not sure... I closed my eyes.
Should I open them? Can I even open them at all?
If I open my eyes and see whats out there, waiting for me to see, or if I can't see at all and I'm dead... I'll have to accept whatever reality that lays before. My only option...
... I guess, deep down I don't want to know. I don't want to know... I don't want to know.
... what was that? I swore I felt something... was that water? Does that mean I'm alive? No, I don't want to know. It doesn't matter, it won't be good so I don't want to know... I don't want to...
Baku opened his eyes and froze.
...know...
What Baku, and everyone else, had thought was wrong. And the blade now rested in it's new home, protruding from another person's chest.
Taishi's chest.
He fell to his knees while breathing heavily, wrapping his hands around the dripping wound and sword. "T... Tai...," Baku murmured, completely immobilized in his shock.
"Hey bro," Taishi said while smiling. "What's up?" Baku began to cry again while shaking. "Ah, Baku... when are you ever going to stop being such... a big cry baby?" Taishi shook his head to the side.
"Y-You...," Baku continued to stutter.
"Yeah, I took out that stupid chip... pain in the ass, ya' know? Hey, you do know... I forgot. Well... I'm glad yours wasn't as close to your gunsoul as mine was..." Shute glanced over at Captain.
"Can we go over there?"
"Well, if that is the real Taishi without any influencing software," Captain said, "I don't see why not..." Shute smiled as he ran off ahead of his friends over to Baku and Taishi.
"Hi, I'm Shute. So, you're Taishi?" Taishi blinked rapidly.
"Hii...," He said before scooting over closer to Baku. "What is he," he whispered to Baku. Shute laughed and scratched the back of his head.
"Oh yeah, I forgot. I went through the same thing with Baku... I'm human."
"And Shute.""Yes," he said while chuckling. Captain, Guneagle, and Gunbike came up behind him.
A short jog over, Kiba pouted.
"I blame you for my failure!!" He shouted while pointing at Ybaso.
"Sadly, I am not the source of your failure this time," he admitted disappointed. "Alas, it is either the fault of fates or yours."
"Absurd, it's never my fault!" Kiba proclaimed while folding his arms stubbornly.
"Yeah, it never is your fault huh..." Ybaso muttered sarcastically while rolling his eyes.
"But...," Baku choked while still sobbing. "Why Taishi? Why did you stab yourself!? You have so much more talent than me... and now..."
"Baku, do me a favor and learn when and when not to think," Taishi told Baku. "Look, the only talent I had with that chip in me is the ability to destroy things... Besides, I promised I wouldn't let anything hurt you... which includes me." Captain raised his head slightly and looked around for something. After Shute gave him a quizzical glance, he settled down and shrugged whatever that was troubling him off.
"T-Taishi...," Baku hugged Taishi while trying his hardest not to touch the sword still protruding from his chest. "Don't leave me..."
"Give sensei and Tokeiko-san... my apologies..."
"Sure," Baku sniffled out. "But... just answer me something..." Baku lowered his head slightly, letting his eyes look at the bloody ground. "W-Why... why did you always hide things from me...?" Taishi looked away.
"I... Don't get me wrong, I always had your best interests in mind... but I always thought that it would be better if you didn't know..." Taishi returned his eyes back to Baku. "You never asked me about it before though... if you want, you can tell Master that I give you the okay..." Taishi closed his eyes. "Hey, try to stop letting people walk all over you alright? If you have something to say, you have to say it Baku."
"I-I know...," Baku mumbled quietly in Taishi's shoulder.
"Be good, Baku..."
"Taishi... hey, don't be like that! T-The base, we have this loopy human doctor! He can make you better again Taishi..." Taishi shook his head very slowly.
"No Baku... I'm sorry, this time... I'm not going home with you..." A light began to glow from around near the wound, coming from his gunsoul.
"Taishi!" Gunbike shifted his gears.
"Hey, you three, let's get going. We have stuff to report to the base.""But... what about Baku...," Shute asked while hesitantly getting in Gunbike and watching a orb of light finally float up from Taishi's body.
".........We should let him mourn in peace," Captain whispered to Shute. Shute glanced over to his friend, still cradling his brother's body. He sighed before putting on his new helmet.
"Okay, I guess..." Gunbike took off as Guneagle stayed a little while longer to pat Baku on the back before taking off.
The worst is over now and we can breathe again
I wanna hold you high and steal my pain away
There's so much left to learn and no one left to fight
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain
Cause I'm broken when I'm open
And I don't feel like I am strong enough
Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away
Zero had been out of breath for a while now but his feet refused to stop. He felt like he had already tracked half of Neotopia, even though it was probably only a fourth.
Baku, are you out there?
Finally, after a few more yards, his feet ran out of steam and he crashed into a tree to catch his breath. He pulled his face from the wet bark of the tree and got a glimpse of the area near Shute's house.
Wow... what happened? The landscapes totally different...
"Hm?" He glanced over near where a new rising cliff had formed to find Ybaso and Kiba, Kiba seeming very upset.
"This bites...," He grumbled to himself.
"Hey, you do realize I have better things to do than escort you out of here. So, can you do us all a favor and just get lost now?"
"Fine, I will! I don't like this place anymore now." Zero ran over to Ybaso and stopped to double over for breath.
"Hey, don't die on us yet. You still have a job to do, loverboy." The knight grabbed on to his shoulders.
"Where's Baku?!?"
"Uhh, behind you?" Zero quickly turned around to see Baku's back with Taishi only a short distance away.
"Baku!!!" Baku looked up and tried to wipe the tears out of his eyes so he could see.
"...Zero?" He stood up after lying Taishi's body gently on the ground; he sniffled while still rubbing his face. Zero ran over and practically scooped Baku up in a hug.
Cause I'm broken when I'm open
And I don't feel like I am strong enough
Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away
You gotta win, you don't feel me anymore
"B-Baku!! I thought you were dead," Zero exclaimed while beginning to cry himself and resting his head on Baku's shoulder. Baku wrapped his arms around Zero and hugged him tightly.
"Zero..." Baku nuzzled his head against Zero's chest, embracing the warm soothing calm that tried to wash over him. "Z-Zero," he sobbed as he felt a new wave of tears coming. "Taishi... he's dead. He killed himself," Baku paused to catch his breath. "...S-So he wouldn't kill me." Zero's grip tightened, his own grief being put aside while noticing Baku's sorrow. He gently rubbed Baku's back as his friend cried. "W-We made a promise," he sniffled and tried to breathe. "R-Right?" Zero nodded lifted his head from Baku's shoulder.
Baku...
"Don't worry," Zero said while stepping back slightly to look into Baku's eyes. "I'll never break the promise."
I'll never leave your side...
~*~*~*~*~*
^.^; Heh heh heh... well, that's it! This is what I like to call a break-off point since I'm a fic reader myself and like these kind of deals.
This can be, and was going to be, ended right here. It's nice shonen-ai ending, but the true ending for the whole thing... well, let's just say it's a bit confusing and aggravating. Not to mention that the next continuation, Yabureru Mapputatsu (YM), is yaoi. Yes, I did say yaoi. (x.x man, it's going to be WEIRD writing two male gundams having sex....... X___x)
Anyway, if you don't want to deal with any of that, just don't read the next two series following this one. ^.^;;;;; Sawee peeps. The whole series is going to be abbreviated as TBYMK. ^^;;;;;
And that's a wrap! w00t!!!
Converting /tmp/phparoMXu to /dev/stdout
By: May-VeggieGirl1
Hey guyz! Ready for the last chapter? It's TOTALLY FINISHED!!! Hooray!!! *waves the yay flag that Kai owns* Wow, and to think that this whole fic could have never been completed if Kai never accepted my challenge... speaking of which, what is going to happen with our little fic contest? O.o;;; Holy crap, I have over a thousand visits! Well, maybe a hundred might be my own visits from going back and re-reading, but STILL!!! Well, I won't hold you up anymore, read on!
~*~*~*~*~*
I could never have imagined that one day I would be fighting my brother like this.
Baku and Taishi continued to stand there a few yards away from each other, Entengo backing off near Shute and Gunbike. Baku sighed sadly and unsheathed his swords as they glistened in the light.
I don't have a choice, do I Taishi?
Baku looked away at the ground; he couldn't bare to look his own family member, his only family member, in the eyes. "Why is it I never have a choice in anything," he asked aloud while glancing at the glistening swords. Taishi grabbed his swords and also pulled them out- extending the left one out with his arm and pointing it at Baku while keeping the right's blade tucked near his side, pointed at the ground. Shute blinked while watching the two musha brothers."Hey, um, what's Taishi doing with this swords?""It looks like it's supposed to be a defensive stance," Gunbike concluded. "It certainly is... interesting. I don't get why he would choose a two-sword style if he keeps one sword down like that. If anything, that sword is just liability."
"Huh," Shute mumbled to himself pensively. "Why would it be liability?"
"If he isn't aware that he is holding the sword upside down, he could easily hurt himself with it." The boy stood up and cupped his hand around his forehead to block some of the sun.
"Oh! He is holding it upside down. Now, that's odd, why would he do that?" "Well, if it were an attacking stance, the sword could be good for attacking an opponent by surprise or in their blind spot..." Baku watched his brother, beginning to feel like he was going to cry again.Taishi's stance...
"Hey, Baku, if you can get a single hit in on me, then I'll do whatever you want me to do for a whole day!" Baku paused from what he was doing and smiled wickedly before turning back to Taishi."Sure, but you're gonna regret that offer!"
I never did hit Taishi. It's perfect for Taishi. I tried to work with it once, but I sucked royally."Baku, you're not meant to use that stance, besides you're too much of a hothead to use it. But I still think it's cute that you're imitating me." Taishi laughed as Baku's face turned red."I am not imitating you! I was just trying to figure out how the heck you could parry all of my attacks from any angle with that stupid looking stance!""Aww, come on," Taishi rubbed the back of his head. "It's not that stupid looking... is it?"
"Taishi..." Baku mumbled pushing his foot forward slightly."Hang on Guneagle," Captain continued to dig at the rock bed as Kiba and Ybaso continued their brawl. His hand reached in and felt something pointy before pulling it out. Guneagle's arm submerged from the rock then his head. "You okay?"
"Been better," he held his head as it swayed slightly. "What going down now?" He glanced at the two musha fights, mainly the one that hadn't started yet. "I'll get out, you go help Baku."
"He wouldn't want my help. It's his fight to win, not mine." Captain continued to dig at the rock around the rest of his comrades body. "But... I still want to help."
Baku let out a deep breath and shook his arms slightly to loosen them up.Alright, I can do this... I can do this...
He held up his swords and finally forced himself to look at Taishi's empty eyes.But no matter what the outcome, I'm going to lose.
"What do you want here, Kiba," Ybaso snarled at Kiba as their swords connected and sparked before being pulled away again.
"Oh, you know, same old, same old. Actually I was just looking around the neighborhood. This isn't such a bad place." Rock wrapped around Ybaso's feet. "Of course your welcome committee is beginning to irk me though..."
"You should see how nice it is when scum like you aren't around," Ybaso smirked and blasted the rock away.
"Well, I'm happy to see that Baku is still alive. Since I'm here, I might as well try to take him again." Kiba slashed his sword at Ybaso but he stepped back while swinging upward knocking Kiba's rock sword from his hands and onto the ground a couple of yards away. Ybaso rested the sword on his shoulder.
"You honestly believe anyone here is going to let you get away with that again? Haven't you ever heard the saying 'fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me'? I don't think even Taishi will stand for it."
Baku charged at Taishi with his swords. "Hah!" Both pairs of swords crashed against each other as they stayed in a deadlock. Baku continued to slash his swords in different directions, hoping that Taishi would slip up. But he didn't, as the two continued their stand off. Baku jumped back to the side ran around behind Taishi's back. Taishi resumed his stance and let Baku do so. He pulled the swords back and began to form a circles with them. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Taishi..."
Captain had dug out Guneagle and helped him over to where Shute and Gunbike were watching the fight.
"Baku's pulling out the big guns early huh?""Taishi is very good in that stance. It's probably suited for him," Gunbike said. Captain nodded his head.
"Tenkyo-ken..." Baku ran at Taishi again while ablaze. Taishi ducked down while curving the right blade near his side back in between Baku's crossed flaming swords, then pulled forward and knocked one of Baku's swords down on the ground by his feet. He twisted around to his left and slashed the remaining sword from Baku's hands and onto the ground a few feet away.
"Ah! Baku," Shute gasped as everyone watched in slight amazement. "H-How'd he do that?!""Shute," Captain assured, "You have to consider the fact that they're brothers under the same teacher. They've probably seen each others moves a hundred times before..."
"But..." Shute looked on the ground. Taishi stood up straight and stomped on Baku's sword as it sizzled in the dirt. Baku's hands shook as he looked up in shock at Taishi.
"I...," Baku started feeling tears come to his eyes. "I always knew you were a better swordsman than me... even if I could never admit it... but..." He sniffed and forced on a smile. "But I didn't know you could un-arm me that easily..." Taishi whacked Baku down with his sword, causing him to fall on his butt. Baku continued to cry.
"Baku! Come on, get up! You can still fight back," Shute yelled at Baku.
"I don't want to fight..." Startled, Shute stepped backwards as Baku continued to sit in the dirt. "We're brothers! We're not supposed to fight each other... not like this..." He hiccuped while rubbing the salty tears from his eyes and looking back up at Taishi. "It isn't fair that Kiba can just step in between people and keep them from being happy and together..."
"I think it's fair," Kiba nodded to himself as Ybaso shot him a glare."Did anyone ask you? No. Besides, you think everything is fair as long as it goes in your favor..." Ybaso mumbled while sweatdropping.
"Exactly," Kiba exclaimed while laughing his head off. Ybaso sweatdropped.
"What kind of sociopath are you...," Ybaso asked while sighing."One of a kind! Long live the king!" Kiba shouted while holding a peace sign up in the air.
"Do us all a favor and shut up for a while," Ybaso growled as he promptly whacked Kiba over the head with his sword.
Taishi raised the right sword over Baku's head, the blade still pointing down menacingly. Baku only continued to sob while staring up at it.
"Please... is there any way we could go back to when we were family and not enemies... please...?" Baku closed his eyes tightly as Taishi only raised the blade higher. "Taishi!"The sound of metal ripping threw metal rung through every ear.
I wanted you to know I love the way you laugh
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away
I keep your photograph and I know it serves me well
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain
Zero stared up at the ever brightening sky with tears still lingering in his eyes.
Why do people have to die? Why did Baku have to die?
"Is my life just a never-ending circle of death and failure," he choked out while rubbing his arms. He felt suddenly cold. Was it because he practically killed one of his best friends? "If only I could have another chance...," he cried to himself. "I would never let that happen to Baku again..." A picture of smiling Baku flashed by his head.
I need to see him again... even if it's just a corpse...
Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away
You gotta win, you don't feel me anymore
Zero continued to trudge on through the woods, following the same path he did to show Ybaso where he rested, except this time he was walking. Fatigue was clawing at his back; he had received a pretty bad beating from Kiba then hadn't slept or ate since the day before. For a while, as he walked around the trees and in the soddened grass, he felt like he might have been walking while unconscious, since he was further ahead than he remembered. Despite all of this, he continued onward to visit Baku's resting place...
To find nothing there, which certainly woke him up completely.
"...Huh?!" Zero ran around the tree to find there was still nothing there. "What? B-But... maybe Ybaso dragged him off... but the grass is still settled except where Baku would have been lying..."
...Could he be...?
...
Am I dead? Did he kill me?
I'm not sure... I closed my eyes.
Should I open them? Can I even open them at all?
If I open my eyes and see whats out there, waiting for me to see, or if I can't see at all and I'm dead... I'll have to accept whatever reality that lays before. My only option...
... I guess, deep down I don't want to know. I don't want to know... I don't want to know.
... what was that? I swore I felt something... was that water? Does that mean I'm alive? No, I don't want to know. It doesn't matter, it won't be good so I don't want to know... I don't want to...
Baku opened his eyes and froze.
...know...
What Baku, and everyone else, had thought was wrong. And the blade now rested in it's new home, protruding from another person's chest.
Taishi's chest.
He fell to his knees while breathing heavily, wrapping his hands around the dripping wound and sword. "T... Tai...," Baku murmured, completely immobilized in his shock.
"Hey bro," Taishi said while smiling. "What's up?" Baku began to cry again while shaking. "Ah, Baku... when are you ever going to stop being such... a big cry baby?" Taishi shook his head to the side.
"Y-You...," Baku continued to stutter.
"Yeah, I took out that stupid chip... pain in the ass, ya' know? Hey, you do know... I forgot. Well... I'm glad yours wasn't as close to your gunsoul as mine was..." Shute glanced over at Captain.
"Can we go over there?"
"Well, if that is the real Taishi without any influencing software," Captain said, "I don't see why not..." Shute smiled as he ran off ahead of his friends over to Baku and Taishi.
"Hi, I'm Shute. So, you're Taishi?" Taishi blinked rapidly.
"Hii...," He said before scooting over closer to Baku. "What is he," he whispered to Baku. Shute laughed and scratched the back of his head.
"Oh yeah, I forgot. I went through the same thing with Baku... I'm human."
"And Shute.""Yes," he said while chuckling. Captain, Guneagle, and Gunbike came up behind him.
A short jog over, Kiba pouted.
"I blame you for my failure!!" He shouted while pointing at Ybaso.
"Sadly, I am not the source of your failure this time," he admitted disappointed. "Alas, it is either the fault of fates or yours."
"Absurd, it's never my fault!" Kiba proclaimed while folding his arms stubbornly.
"Yeah, it never is your fault huh..." Ybaso muttered sarcastically while rolling his eyes.
"But...," Baku choked while still sobbing. "Why Taishi? Why did you stab yourself!? You have so much more talent than me... and now..."
"Baku, do me a favor and learn when and when not to think," Taishi told Baku. "Look, the only talent I had with that chip in me is the ability to destroy things... Besides, I promised I wouldn't let anything hurt you... which includes me." Captain raised his head slightly and looked around for something. After Shute gave him a quizzical glance, he settled down and shrugged whatever that was troubling him off.
"T-Taishi...," Baku hugged Taishi while trying his hardest not to touch the sword still protruding from his chest. "Don't leave me..."
"Give sensei and Tokeiko-san... my apologies..."
"Sure," Baku sniffled out. "But... just answer me something..." Baku lowered his head slightly, letting his eyes look at the bloody ground. "W-Why... why did you always hide things from me...?" Taishi looked away.
"I... Don't get me wrong, I always had your best interests in mind... but I always thought that it would be better if you didn't know..." Taishi returned his eyes back to Baku. "You never asked me about it before though... if you want, you can tell Master that I give you the okay..." Taishi closed his eyes. "Hey, try to stop letting people walk all over you alright? If you have something to say, you have to say it Baku."
"I-I know...," Baku mumbled quietly in Taishi's shoulder.
"Be good, Baku..."
"Taishi... hey, don't be like that! T-The base, we have this loopy human doctor! He can make you better again Taishi..." Taishi shook his head very slowly.
"No Baku... I'm sorry, this time... I'm not going home with you..." A light began to glow from around near the wound, coming from his gunsoul.
"Taishi!" Gunbike shifted his gears.
"Hey, you three, let's get going. We have stuff to report to the base.""But... what about Baku...," Shute asked while hesitantly getting in Gunbike and watching a orb of light finally float up from Taishi's body.
".........We should let him mourn in peace," Captain whispered to Shute. Shute glanced over to his friend, still cradling his brother's body. He sighed before putting on his new helmet.
"Okay, I guess..." Gunbike took off as Guneagle stayed a little while longer to pat Baku on the back before taking off.
The worst is over now and we can breathe again
I wanna hold you high and steal my pain away
There's so much left to learn and no one left to fight
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain
Cause I'm broken when I'm open
And I don't feel like I am strong enough
Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away
Zero had been out of breath for a while now but his feet refused to stop. He felt like he had already tracked half of Neotopia, even though it was probably only a fourth.
Baku, are you out there?
Finally, after a few more yards, his feet ran out of steam and he crashed into a tree to catch his breath. He pulled his face from the wet bark of the tree and got a glimpse of the area near Shute's house.
Wow... what happened? The landscapes totally different...
"Hm?" He glanced over near where a new rising cliff had formed to find Ybaso and Kiba, Kiba seeming very upset.
"This bites...," He grumbled to himself.
"Hey, you do realize I have better things to do than escort you out of here. So, can you do us all a favor and just get lost now?"
"Fine, I will! I don't like this place anymore now." Zero ran over to Ybaso and stopped to double over for breath.
"Hey, don't die on us yet. You still have a job to do, loverboy." The knight grabbed on to his shoulders.
"Where's Baku?!?"
"Uhh, behind you?" Zero quickly turned around to see Baku's back with Taishi only a short distance away.
"Baku!!!" Baku looked up and tried to wipe the tears out of his eyes so he could see.
"...Zero?" He stood up after lying Taishi's body gently on the ground; he sniffled while still rubbing his face. Zero ran over and practically scooped Baku up in a hug.
Cause I'm broken when I'm open
And I don't feel like I am strong enough
Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away
You gotta win, you don't feel me anymore
"B-Baku!! I thought you were dead," Zero exclaimed while beginning to cry himself and resting his head on Baku's shoulder. Baku wrapped his arms around Zero and hugged him tightly.
"Zero..." Baku nuzzled his head against Zero's chest, embracing the warm soothing calm that tried to wash over him. "Z-Zero," he sobbed as he felt a new wave of tears coming. "Taishi... he's dead. He killed himself," Baku paused to catch his breath. "...S-So he wouldn't kill me." Zero's grip tightened, his own grief being put aside while noticing Baku's sorrow. He gently rubbed Baku's back as his friend cried. "W-We made a promise," he sniffled and tried to breathe. "R-Right?" Zero nodded lifted his head from Baku's shoulder.
Baku...
"Don't worry," Zero said while stepping back slightly to look into Baku's eyes. "I'll never break the promise."
I'll never leave your side...
~*~*~*~*~*
^.^; Heh heh heh... well, that's it! This is what I like to call a break-off point since I'm a fic reader myself and like these kind of deals.
This can be, and was going to be, ended right here. It's nice shonen-ai ending, but the true ending for the whole thing... well, let's just say it's a bit confusing and aggravating. Not to mention that the next continuation, Yabureru Mapputatsu (YM), is yaoi. Yes, I did say yaoi. (x.x man, it's going to be WEIRD writing two male gundams having sex....... X___x)
Anyway, if you don't want to deal with any of that, just don't read the next two series following this one. ^.^;;;;; Sawee peeps. The whole series is going to be abbreviated as TBYMK. ^^;;;;;
And that's a wrap! w00t!!!
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