The Fate the Binds Us [Closed]

[bondsofsuffering]

Who: Hizumi Mizushiro, Ayumu Narumi, and Taro Watanabe [Closed]
Where: Abandoned warehouse; Sagittarius Ward
Summary: All things must come to an end... Especially when that thing is a potentially dangerous Devil.
Warnings: Talk of and attempted suicide. All of the Spiral spoilers ever if anyone actually cares.

Earlier in the day, Ayumu had received one of Hizumi's usual texts. However, this one gave a very odd set of directions; ones that would ultimately lead to an old warehouse in the Sagittarius ward that seemed to have been forgotten about entirely, leaving it to fall into disrepair. However, one of the doors had been propped open ever so slightly, and if one approached it from the right direction, particularly at night, the faint glimmer of a light could be seen inside...

It had taken Hizumi a while to find the place. Between his job and simply spending his time with festivities, seeking out a suitable location was difficult. It had to be out of the way, but also enclosed enough that there wasn't any worry of someone walking in on their conversation. After all, they were the only two involved in all of Hinoto-Ri, and if Hizumi had his way, they would be able to narrow it down to only one by the end of the night.

He has everything prepared. He'd been sure to leave Ayumu with a small "present" in the form of his own revolver bagged and hanging from Ayumu's doorknob. Inside were also a pair of gloves, guaranteed not to leave a single fingerprint. And if Ayumu insisted on leaving it at his apartment, that would be fine, too; Hizumi had brought the sword he had been gifted by a demon, and it lays at his side, the sheathe no longer attached to his belt as he usually carried it. There are a multitude of ways to kill someone, but he realizes that if he wants Ayumu to do it, the method will have to be quick and relatively painless.

Even now, he runs over the information in his mind. It will take all he has to convince Ayumu that Hizumi must die. He could tell right away that Ayumu was too kind to do such a thing, and the fact that they had hit it off so well... Hizumi has to curse his weakness, having let himself spend as much time with the other teen as he did. It will only make it all the more difficult for the both of them.

But at the same time... he has to. He can't let his curse go out of control, he can't allow himself to become the Devil. He can't allow himself to hate the faces he had grown so fond of, the city of people he had begun to find even a little bit endearing.

And more than anything else, he cannot be the one to bring it to its end.

With his fingers threaded tightly, anxiously together, he remains seated on the cold floor of the warehouse, knees drawn up to rest his elbows upon. And so he waits.

Comments

[melodyoflogic]

[It didn't take any effort at all to guess what Hizumi's text meant, between that and the highly suspicious contents on the bag left on his door. It was equally unsurprising how remote the location was. Ayumu prepared and dressed warmly with a scarf and coat to keep the chill out, before making the trek across the river from Libra ward to Sagittarius.

When he steps into the warehouse, he's wearing the gloves Hizumi had left... As for the gun, it might be on him, but with the coat, it's difficult to tell.]

You in here, Hizumi?

[bondsofsuffering]

Yo.

[It's only slightly less enthusiastic as usual as he turns and waves to Ayumu.]

Do you mind shutting the door? It's chilly enough as it is in here.

[It's such stupid, pointless chatter. He doesn't think for a second that Ayumu will believe that's the reason.

After all, they both know better.]

[melodyoflogic]

With all the snow on the ground, it's no surprise a place like this is freezing. [Ayumu shuts the door behind him before stepping further inside, glancing around before resting his gaze on Hizumi.]

Thanks for the gloves, by the way. They're nice. They've been good for keeping the chill out.

[Of course, he knows that's not the real reason Hizumi had left them. More stupid, pointless chatter.]

[bondsofsuffering]

[It's a pretty nondescript building, all things considered. Hizumi already performed a check himself, so there really isn't a whole lot there, besides some leftover scraps that are too wrecked to be worth the trouble of scavenging.]

Aren't they? I've got a pair, myself.

[He pauses his hand, letting the light cast over it from the electric lantern he's got nearby. Sure enough, it's the same type of glove. It might not be 100% effective, but it should throw off investigators enough to get Ayumu out clean.

He lets his hand drop.]

I'm guessing... even if I ask you upfront right now, you aren't going to do anything, are you?

[melodyoflogic]

I told you before, didn't I?

[He closes his eyes in a silent sigh, finally coming to a stop in front of Hizumi properly in the circle of the lamplight, tucking his gloved hands into his pockets almost casually.]

It's too soon to say we've run out of options. I'm looking for a solution where no one has to die.

[He levels Hizumi with a questioning look, asking a question he's already theorized an answer to.] But what about you?

[bondsofsuffering]

[Hizumi closes his own eyes, here.]

...If we had met earlier, I probably would have wanted the same.

[He leans back, hands grasping his knees to keep his balance as he gazes up at the ceiling.]

These past days... It's been a lot of fun. If you'd come a little sooner, I probably would have tried to be your friend instead.

[He lets out a short exhale, almost like a laugh.]

...But, it looks like that can't happen.

[melodyoflogic]

[....Sooner.... So he'd been right, with his earlier conclusion before coming to Hinoto-Ri, that Hizumi would have tried to make friends with him. He keeps his gaze on Hizumi, still questioning.]

Why not?

[bondsofsuffering]

Do I have to give you all of the evidence myself?

[He turns to Ayumu once more, although his gaze remains downcast.]

You must have noticed it. In that place, when you met my "brother".

[melodyoflogic]

I did.

[It was impossible not to notice. That kind of resemblance was unnatural, for brothers so many years apart. It was only something you'd see in twins. And he and his own brother.......

Twice over wasn't a coincidence, fate or not, though 'fate' surely had a hand in it.]

The resemblance was uncanny.

[bondsofsuffering]

It felt almost unreal, didn't it? For two people to be so alike.

[He didn't even need to meet Yaiba himself to know. Even others had noticed.]

But in some ways... it probably felt a lot like what you've experienced too, didn't it? Having someone who's so similar to you, it's unnatural.

...At this point, I probably don't need to spell it out for you.

[You're smarter than that, Ayumu.]

[melodyoflogic]

It did. [Someone so similar that it's painful, someone so similar that it's downright disturbing at times..... in your likes, dislikes, looks and talents. Someone that, when you looked around, you realized your place in the world was already occupied by them, and had always been. It was an unchangeable fact of Ayumu's life, and it had been for as long as he could remember.

He had wanted to hear it from Hizumi straight, but if he was going to be like that.....]

The only conclusion I can come to is that I'm not really Kiyotaka Narumi's 'little brother'. And you aren't Yaiba's.

I can't prove it, of course. But my guess is you have.

[bondsofsuffering]

...You're right. We aren't their siblings. Or at least, not in the traditional sense.

[...]

In our world at least... You and I are probably the very first human clones. You, from Kiyotaka, and I, from Yaiba.

[melodyoflogic]

[And there it was. The confirmation. He'd started to suspect it after Geartopia, but to hear Hizumi confirm it was another thing entirely. He closes his eyes again silently for a moment, musing on the information.]

So that's it, then.

[It explained so much about his brother and him. The resemblance..... It even explained his parents. The looks of pity from his father, his mother's lack of acknowledgement. To say he was surprised would be a mistake.

It was an answer to a question he'd asked himself so many times before, that's all.]

[melodyoflogic]

[After checking in with the hospital staff, Ayumu made his way over to Hizumi's hospital room. He'd made good time getting there, and it sounded like Hizumi was still unconscious last the nurses had checked, which was fine with Ayumu.

He was sure when Hizumi woke he wouldn't be happy to see him.

It doesn't take him long to get the room number, and it only takes minutes to locate the room and walk in.]

[hachitaro]

[Taro is sitting there, in his human illusion, hands clasped together and head down. He looks tired, more than anything else, and he barely lifts his head when Ayumu comes in.]

... Hey.

[melodyoflogic]

Hey. [a quiet greeting and nod in Taro's direction, before Ayumu's gaze trails over Hizumi's unconscious form, expression somber. Twenty times....

if possible, he'd like to make sure a twenty-first didn't happen. ] What did the doctors say?

[hachitaro]

He'll live. He's stupid, but he'll live.

[He looks over to make sure the door is closed, before speaking again.]

I told him I would take care of it if it came down to it. He didn't need to get anyone else to try.

[melodyoflogic]

That's good... [though he had already realized that hizumi hadn't been lying, when he said they couldn't die. Still, lasting damage would still be...]

You did...? [he looks mildly surprised by that. This was unexpected, to say the least.] ..can you really do that?

[hachitaro]

If you mean "can I kill a friend"? With difficulty, I guess. If you mean "can I kill him" in terms of having enough strength? Yes. I could eat his soul, too. It'd boost my own power.. but I don't want to do that.

[He sighs, and pushes back his hair with both of his hands.]

Idiot... that... idiot.

[melodyoflogic]

Eat his soul....? [it was such a bizarre sounding method of killing... It might very well work. That was probably what Hizumi had thought, too. With a sigh, he closes his eyes for a moment, pulling up a chair and settling into it, lacing his fingers together on his knees.] He's an idiot all right.... But at least you and I are on the same page there.

How much did he tell you? About everything?

[hachitaro]

... He said that once he got older he'd kill people. Three years... so when he's twenty, I guess. He said something about God, and about how God 'can't be stopped' and something about his path being 'the most righteous'.

I didn't really understand all of it, but I didn't want to push him.

[melodyoflogic]

[so even less that the basics... Great. How much should he tell this guy? He was involved already, if he'd made such a promise.] I know it sounds outrageous. I only just got the rundown a little over a month ago myself. [a pause. Where to start...?] I guess the first thing you should know is that Hizumi and I were supposed to meet in our world, before I arrived in Hinoto-Ri. He is an acquaintance of my brother's, but that's only the start of it.

[hachitaro]

[He looks up a bit and nods, staying quiet. He'll speak up if he has to, but right now he's content to just listen.]

[melodyoflogic]

When he was talking about god, he probably wasn't talking about the kind of god most would imagine. He was talking about my older brother. [It's said, bizarrely, as if one would say the sky is blue.]

[hachitaro]

... Okay.

[Honestly, he's got his own deity problems to work out. Starting to protest that kind of thing in another world without knowing the situation is just dumb.]

Mind... uh. Explaining that?