destinystrings | The Fate the Binds Us [Closed]

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The Fate the Binds Us [Closed]

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.

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[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?

Edited 2013-11-05 17:26 (UTC)

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.]

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.]

[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?

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?

[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.

[....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?

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".

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.

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.]

Edited 2013-11-05 18:29 (UTC)

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.

...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.

Edited 2013-11-05 18:45 (UTC)

[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.]

[Not a whole lot of surprise... But then again, with all of the clues that had become available, Ayumu must have come to a similar conclusion on his own.]

More or less. Just as Yaiba was fated to become the Devil, and Kiyotaka, God...

You and I bear those same exact fates.

What does that change, though? [it was an unpleasant truth, and it made clear the reason behind things that had become the basic laws of Ayumu's life. But...] I'm my brother's clone, but that doesn't change who I am.

[Theoretically, he should be entirely different from his brother regardless. Genetics didn't make a personality, after all... talents, likes and dislikes didn't lie in the genes. But just like the Blade Children, something unnatural had been passed along, hadn't it?

But while he'd been robbed since birth of everything he ever wanted.... that wasn't something unique to him alone.

He had a feeling there was more to this, though. Hizumi wouldn't have given up so easily if there wasn't.]

You're forgetting an important fact.

Having the blood of your brother will change you, no matter how hard you fight it. Once you turn twenty, there's nothing you can do about it.

Even aside from Yaiba and Kiyotaka, the same change has been observed in the Blade Children. As if suddenly becoming another person to fulfill a predetermined fate...

[It's a fear Hizumi had never thought he would have to face, personally. But Hinoto-Ri had changed that.]

Is that really all?

[It still changed nothing from Kirie's explanation. It still changed nothing of what Ayumu had decided. It still felt incomplete, though. He smiles faintly, though there's no humor to it.]

I made the decision to try to find a way to save the Blade Children... and you. I still have time until that change takes place.

[Four years... he'd have to make the most of it.]

Do you really think it's that simple?

[He folds his hands tightly once more, even if his expression doesn't betray his agitation.]

Do you really think that someone like me, who never had an older brother to be my ideal, would have given up so easily?

[He admits to that much, his voice hollow. He, who once had everything with no need to compete for it, had lost it all. He can't live; he would only grow to destroy the things he had once cherished. Even if he found some way to connect with the others here, that, too, would be tainted by fear - a fear that he would turn that very friendship upon them once he had changed, for the sole purpose of wiping out humanity as his blood urged him on.

For all he wants, all is denied him. And with no way to endure it, he's been left beaten and crushed by the weight of despair.]

No, I don't. That's why I've been asking myself since we met what could do it. You should have been even more enthusiastic to find a solution than I am.... but you aren't.

[That strange lack of willpower. He'd have expected Hizumi to fight his fate, not give in to it. He'd known about it much longer than Ayumu had, after all. He'd had no obstacles to keep him from believing.

So why? What sort of despair did he find, when he looked? What had defeated him so utterly that he'd given up? Ayumu had an idea, but it was too critical to simply guess. He needed to hear it.]

Tell me. What did you find?

...I found nothing.

I threw myself into my studies and entered college at the age of thirteen. I went into genetics, thinking I could find a way to stop it. That somehow, as the Devil's clone, I...

...was meant to stop the curse, and save the Blade Children.

[He gives a wry smile. It holds absolutely no cheer.

How stupid he had been.]

I was naive. No matter how hard I searched, there was nothing that could be done to save anyone. Although... even in that world, the scenario may have been slightly more peaceful than this one.

[.....So an answer didn't lie in genetics. Kirie had mentioned there seemed to be nothing in their DNA that made them unique besides Yaiba's heritage, but if even Hizumi couldn't find anything....]

...So there's no answer in genetics.

[He gives Hizumi a questioning look at his last comment. He would have thought this place offered more. More chances, more potential options....] What do you mean 'slightly more peaceful'?

Edited (wrong icon) 2013-11-05 20:07 (UTC)

We were meant to die before we could ever become "God" or the "Devil".

It's not that surprising. Even in experiments involving other mammals, it's common for the clone to develop problems and die at a young age. To try to clone an organism as complicated as a human... It's only natural that it wouldn't be perfect.

According to the scenario, it's most likely... you were intended to kill both myself and your brother, and then die of those complications before you could even turn twenty. After that, the Blade Children would have no one to protect them, and they would each be removed by the Hunters. All of us abnormal elements would be entirely wiped out.

[And so the board would be swept clean. Humanity would have nothing to fear.

...Or at least, that's how it should have been.]

Edited 2013-11-05 20:24 (UTC)

[So that's it.

His brother's scenario had always been missing visible pieces. Ayumu had guessed, after coming up with the clone theory, what that might mean for the future.... how that fit with his brother's scenario. It was such a critical piece, he needed confirmation. Hizumi had just provided that.

He'd be lying if he said the thought of dying didn't scare him, but instead of showing any fear or panic, he simply closes his eyes.] So that's the missing piece. In my brother's scenario, everything returns to zero.

But you say 'meant' and 'intended'. From how you're talking, I'm guessing that this world changed that somehow?

...Somehow, by coming here, the genetic mutation that should have killed us has been nullified. I ran the numbers over and over again - it shouldn't be possible, but...

[He holds his hand out in front of him, flexing it.]

I'm currently seventeen. I should be suffering from anemia at the very least, but I haven't had any problems. Even after getting tested, there were no issues detected. But even though that's the case... The curse definitely remains in tact.

[Ayumu isn't the only one that gun failed to kill.]

[Ayumu doesn't have to guess to know how Hizumi knows that. It's not the most pleasant thought, but if he's been asking Ayumu to kill him.... then...

He wouldn't admit it, of course, but hearing that for however long he was going to stay here he wouldn't be dying was a relief. He still had some time left.]

So this place is keeping us alive in it's own way. [For good or bad.] You thought you'd die before you became the 'Devil', and now you're afraid that you aren't.

[It's not a question.]

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