#basically supernatural taishiro angst

[lightchildofthespring]

The fantastic adventures of Takeru Takaishi

Chapter 5: Old foe

Summary:  As Sora faces the man responsible for her father's death, Taichi has to decide how far he's willing to go to save his sister.

Before they headed to the mansion, the group stopped close to a huge lonely tree on the field. Underneath it was one of the secret spots where the revolutionaries kept extra guns, in case of emergency. After digging in the dirt and retrieving a chest, Yamato opened its lock with the back of his shotgun. Once the chest was open, Koushiro reached out to get one of the weapons, but Yamato stopped him, reaching his arm to keep Koushiro at a distance. The others, who were surrounding them, observed silently their exchange of gazes.

“Who are you?” Yamato asked Koushiro, coldly.

“I thought we were past introductions at this point,” Koushiro told him, seemingly annoyed.

“I'm not lending you a weapon until I know I can trust you,” Yamato stated.

“Yamato, didn't you see how he was willing to die to help us?” Sora asked.

“He also warned us about the invasion! He saved our camp!” Daisuke pointed out.

“He kind of saved my life without even knowing me...” Ken murmured.

“Just because he's clearly a conman doesn't mean he can't be useful for us,” Miyako gave her opinion. “His fake death trick was really convincing.”

“Besides, we're already letting a henchman of Yamanaka join us. Koushiro couldn't possibly be someone worse or more suspicious than Ken!” Iori commented.

“I'm not a henchman!” Ken protested.

Yamato closed the chest, putting one foot on its lid. He crossed his arms and kept staring at Koushiro, refusing to be distracted by anything.

“Who are you?” Yamato asked again.

Koushiro had a somber look on his face. He closed his eyes for a brief moment and began to say:

“I was just someone trying to help my friend Hikari... I wanted to bring her back to life, and then I made everything worse... not only was I cursed, but I also doomed Taichi, Hikari's brother... my best friend...”

“You were trying to bring someone back from the dead?” Sora asked, softly.

“To be cursed with endless resurrections for trying to resurrect someone is quite the dramatic irony!” Takeru sounded impressed. “Was that how you got the clairvoyance as well?”

“No... that was before... it's not really relevant now...” Koushiro muttered, looking away.

“Is Taichi like you? Does he die and resurrect?” Daisuke asked.

“Taichi is invulnerable,” Koushiro replied. “He's incapable of getting physically hurt. He can't die nor age... and he also believes that if he kills me for good his sister will-”

“Who cursed you?” Yamato interrupted. He observed how Koushiro paled after hearing that question and grew more suspicious. Nevertheless, the other gave him an answer:

“It was a woman with a blue staff... she was guarding a door...”

“What woman? What door? What does that mean?!” Yamato was losing the little patience he still managed to have.

“That's enough, Yamato! Leave Koushiro alone!” Sora reprehended him.

“But he hasn't given us any satisfactory answer!” Yamato protested, turning to Sora. “How can you expect me to trust someone I know nothing about?!”

“You knew nothing about me back when I barged into your farm all those years ago and yet you trusted me right away!” Sora reminded him. “If you can't trust Koushiro yet, then trust my judgement about him.”

Yamato sighed, feeling defeated. For a long time, he had found himself unable to deny a request from Sora. He heard a smirk from his right and saw Takeru smiling maliciously at him.

“Soooo... she barged into your farm, huh?” Takeru teased. “Was it love at first sight? Why did you trust her so quickly?”

Yamato felt blood rushing to his face and stuttered:

“T-That's not r-relevant right now!!!”

“Hey, now that I think about it, I never heard how you and Sora met!” Miyako said.

“Yeah! She just showed up with you one day and told us 'it's a long story!'” Daisuke added.

“Like you were a lost animal she had taken in because of pity,” Iori commented in a serious tone.

“You're kind of a harsh person, aren't you, Iori?” Ken observed.

Iori narrowed his eyes and looked at horizon as he stated:

“Life is harsh.”

Relieved that he no longer was at the center of attention, Koushiro approached Sora. She had been watching Yamato being interrogated with an amused face.

“Thank you for defending me,” Koushiro told her, bowing slightly.

“It's alright!” Sora said. “Don't mind Yamato. He might seem difficult now but once you two get to know each other better you'll be friends in no time.”

Koushiro lowered his head, bearing a depressed look.

“Anyway,” Yamato spoke again, turning to Sora. “We still have to discuss what we're going to do once we reach Yamanaka's place.”

“What is there left to discuss?” Sora asked, giving him a serious look. “We'll kill him.”

“That would be a terrible idea,” Yamato told her. “Remember how the revolutionaries of the Pine Tree Archipelago were villainized after they killed their nobles ten years ago?”

“Don't you think they deserved to be villainized after what they did?” Takeru questioned. “Aside from murdering innocent wealthy people, they're Devil worshipers who dance naked around bonfires and eat children for breakfast! I read all about it on the Imperial Press!”

There were a few seconds of awkward silence. Then, Miyako and Daisuke began to laugh.

“W-What is so funny?” Takeru was confused.

“See?” Yamato talked as if he had proved a point. “That's the kind of imperialistic propaganda they'll use on us if we kill Yamanaka. They'll turn the people against us and the revolution will lose! We can't kill him!”

“Are you suggesting we should let that tyrant live because otherwise people would spread lies about us?” Sora inquired. “I don't know if you noticed it, but we're already villainized! You heard what Ken said about the revolutionaries earlier!”

“Sora, we have to be smart! We can't afford to make mistakes now!” Yamato stated. “If we kill Yamanaka, we'll be risking everything we've ever fought for! The Empire will strike us at full force!”

“Oh, because the Empire hasn't been striking us so far? Is that what you're saying?” Sora retorted. “I suppose all the people we've lost were due to the Empire going easy on us!”

The tension between the two of them was making everybody nervous. Takeru decided that he should do something to bring those two into an agreement. He couldn't refuse an opportunity to use his mastery of oratory for a good cause.

“What if you put Yamanaka through a trial?” Takeru suggested. “You could assemble the revolutionaries and prepare a public trial, in which you'll list his crimes and get testimonies. And you have to make sure everybody on Turtle Island will follow the trial. A talented public speaker could convince the people of his villainy. Also, get someone to be his defender, so people will see that it's a fair trial.”

“That's... actually a good idea...” Yamato murmured, seemingly astonished.

“I have to say, Takeru, that's the smartest thing I've heard from you!” Daisuke praised Takeru, enthusiastically.

“I suppose a trial could have a positive effect for our cause...” Sora muttered.

“I still think we should kill Yamanaka while we have the chance,” Ken said.

“No, a trial would make things more legitimate,” Miyako told him.

“It'd be a way to expose all the bad things he's done,” Daisuke added. “We can't underestimate how many supporters he still has.”

“That way, more people would see Yamanaka as their enemy and not just as the enemy of the revolutionaries!” Iori concluded.

“I guess it's decided, then...” Sora said, looking down.

“It's the right way to do things. Everything will work out,” Yamato promised her.

Sora smiled at him, but there was no joy in her eyes.

 *

Daisuke and Miyako tied Yamanaka to a chair while Ken and Iori kept aiming their shotguns at the old man. Sora observed the scene a few steps away, keeping her arms crossed. Although she tried to remain calm, the fury in her eyes was evident. Yamato, who couldn't take his eyes off of her, could only imagine how difficult it was for her to be close to the person responsible for her father's death.

“Why don't we just kill this guy now, anyway?” Ken wondered.

“We're not having that discussion again!” Iori replied. “We must assemble the other revolutionaries and put him through a trial!”

“And what do we do with him before the trial?” Ken asked. “Throw him in jail?”

“You bandits wouldn't dare to incarcerate me!” Yamanaka shouted. “I am a noble! The very rules of the universe dictate that I am a superior man!”

“Oh, be quiet already!” Daisuke ordered while tightening the last knot. “Your reign of terror is over! It's time for you to face all the people you've hurt, Yamanaka!”

The old man's eyes widened in terror when he heard that. But then his scared expression was replaced by one of outrage.

“You wouldn't dare to touch me!” Yamanaka roared. “All the disgraces of the world will befall you if you hurt me in any way!”

Miyako slapped Yamanaka.

“Oh my goodness, look at this!” she said in an exaggerated surprised voice. “I hit a noble man and nothing happened to me at all! It's almost like the so-called divine nature of monarchy is a fraud designed to keep mediocre people in power!”

The look on Yamanaka's face was of someone who had been slapped fifteen times in less than a minute. Meanwhile, Ken looked at Miyako with profound admiration.

“How are you more blasphemous than that damn monk?” Yamanaka asked in a weak voice. “He was spitting some crazy nonsense about the Devil but you, young lady, really outdid him! What are you going to say next? That all humans are equal and deserve equal rights?”

“All humans are equal and they deserve equal rights!” Miyako stated.

“You really are crazier than the monk!” Yamanaka affirmed.

“Stop talking to that man already!” Sora ordered, startling everybody. Even Takeru, who had been observing Koushiro and the monk staring at each other at the garden for a few minutes, turned his attention to Sora.

Yamato looked at her with concern. Sora's body was shaking and her eyes shone with tears she refused to let go. Being in the presence of that man was clearly too much for her.

“Those eyes of yours...” Yamanaka had malice in his voice, “could you possibly be Takenouchi's daughter? Tell me, how much did she like the death I arranged for her husband?”

The fury that Sora had been controlling for so long exploded and she advanced in that man's direction. Yamato put himself in front of her just in time.

“Sora, you can't let him play with you!” Yamato pleaded.

“Right! Sora! That was the name of their daughter!” Yamanaka laughed. “My men told me that your father died crying both your name and your mother's! I wish I had been there to watch, it must've been tremendously entertaining!”

“Shut up!” Sora shouted. She wanted to hit Yamanaka with all the pain she had borne for years, all the heartbreak that he had caused. But Yamato wouldn't let her do it. No matter how much she tried to evade him, Yamato continued to block her path.

“Get out of my way! Why are you protecting him?!” Sora inquired.

“I'm protecting you, Sora!” Yamato answered. “Don't fall for his mind games! You have to be strong!”

“I'm tired of being strong!” Sora cried, at last letting the tears she had been holding back flow. “I'm so tired! He has to pay for what he did!”

“He will! I promise you that!” Yamato assured her.

He gently wrapped his arms around Sora. She hugged him back and buried her face on Yamato's shoulder.

“Pathetic!” Yamanaka mocked.

Miyako hit his head with the back of her shotgun, which made the old man lose consciousness. That action made Ken's admiration for her grow even more.

“I'm going to go get Leader and the other revolutionaries,” Miyako announced. “I'll be back soon, unless I get hit by divine punishment.”

“I'll go with you,” Daisuke offered.

“Thank you...” Sora said, letting go of Yamato. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and showed the others a small smile. “Let's do things properly and bring justice to my father and every other person wronged by Yamanaka.”

They all nodded.

“Hold on, what happened there while I wasn't looking?!” Takeru suddenly shouted, pointing at the garden. Taichi had pinned Koushiro against the grass and crossed the redhead's heart with his sword. A puddle of blood was forming around them.

 *

Taichi was expecting Koushiro to give his usual excuses, like he always did.

The redhead's lies had long lost the ability of deceiving Taichi. Nevertheless, Koushiro always insisted that he wasn't the villain Justine had made of him.

However, Koushiro also never denied trying to rescue Hikari's soul. Nor did he deny that she was sent to Hell because of him. Those facts alone were more than enough to prove his guilt. So what if Koushiro had good intentions? His excuses wouldn't save Hikari. Only the purging of his soul would.

Taichi never enjoyed taking his friend's life. Because of that, Taichi always tried to do it as quickly and painless as possible, always hoping that Koushiro had finally died enough times. But he kept coming back, asking Taichi to trust him... promising that he could still save Hikari but couldn't tell him how. Taichi could only wonder if his friend would ever get tired of repeating those lies.

Judging by his current silence, Koushiro seemed to be done with the lies at last.

“Have you finally given up?” Taichi asked, slowly approaching the other.

“Never,” Koushiro replied.

“Are you going to fight me, then?” Taichi inquired.

Koushiro put the shotgun on the grass and kicked it to his left, out of his reach.

Taichi was a few steps away from him, close enough for the tip of his sword to touch Koushiro's chest. Koushiro didn't flinch.

“When I kill you this time... please, don't come back...” Taichi pleaded. “She told me that you just need to yield. Just say that you've learned your lesson and this will all stop. Our souls will be able to be at peace. Hikari will go back to Heaven and we all will be together again. Don't you want that? Give up now! Let me save you!”

Koushiro gave him a serene look, as if Taichi's words weren't affecting him at all. Could he really be that heartless?

“Hikari told me that she wanted to leave Turtle Island and see the world,” Koushiro said.

“Enough with that story!” Taichi roared. “Hikari was happy on Turtle Island! The three of us were happy together! She would never say such a thing!”

“To you, she wouldn't,” Koushiro let him know. “She was always trying to protect you. Even in her deathbed...”

“How many times do I have to tell you the truth until you get it?!” Taichi was losing his patience. “Hikari had accepted her death! She accepted that she was sick and nobody could do anything about it! But you...” Taichi pierced the other's chest with the sword, “... you just had to play the savior, didn't you?! You went there and played with forces you didn't understand and because of that my sister is in Hell and I am a monster!”

Taichi sunk his sword in Koushiro's chest. Not satisfied, he plunged his body to the grass. Koushiro kept looking at him, not breaking eye contact even once, no matter how much pain he was feeling. Taichi kept pushing the sword, until its hilt was touching Koushiro's body. Its blade was nailing him to the ground. At that moment, Taichi was kneeling by his side, watching as life faded from his eyes like he had done so many times before. Once Koushiro took his last breath, Taichi closed his friend's eyes.

And then, the sword was forcefully pulled out of Koushiro's body by an unknown force and launched into the sky in such high speed that Taichi lost sight of it. The wound in Koushiro's chest rapidly closed. In a matter of seconds, the redhead opened his eyes and stood up again.

“You had never come back this fast before...” Taichi muttered, in shock.

Koushiro had an exhausted look on his face. He took a step forward and nearly fell, but was able to stay on his feet.

“I don't think I can afford to take breaks anymore...” Koushiro murmured. “You can kill me a thousand times... one billion times... and I'll return right away...”

“Stop it!” Taichi ordered. “Don't you understand that I'm trying to save your soul?”

“Even if you were to break my resistance, that woman wouldn't bring Hikari back...” Koushiro told him. “When will you understand that she sees you only as a tool to use against me?”

“Quiet!” Taichi shouted, grabbing Koushiro by the arms and pulling him closer. “How is it possible that after everything I've done, after all the times I've killed your body, you continue to be as blasphemous as you were back then? What will it take to make you yield?”

“I promised Hikari...” Koushiro said; his voice was so weak it was barely audible. “I can't stop... I can't stop now...”

At that moment, a distant memory resurged in Taichi's mind. In the room where he had been watching over his sister's body, Justine appeared before him. She told him what Koushiro had done and what he, Taichi, had to do. He could hear those words again, almost as if she was muttering them in his ear.

“Angel of Death, I give you wings made of holy fire. They will protect your body from everything and purify anything they touch.”

For all those centuries, Taichi had refused to resort to that. To submit Koushiro to that kind of death would be unforgivable. But what other choice did he have? If Koushiro wasn't broken by the countless deaths he had gone through, that one had to work.

Taichi summoned his wings.

They were six at total. Each one of them had two to three meters of wingspan and were made of orange flames.

With one flap of them, Taichi took flight with Koushiro, rising several meters into the air.

“Yield!” Taichi ordered.

Koushiro didn't say anything. He stared at the fire with eyes filled with horror. Taichi could feel his friend's body tremble, despite the heat emanating from his wings. Koushiro couldn't resist that, he just couldn't! He had to give up!

“I know you don't want to die like them,” Taichi told him. “I don't want to put you through that, so, please, just yield! Koushiro, I'm begging you... please, don't make me do this...”

Koushiro began to shed tears. It had been a long time since Taichi had seen him crying.

*

It had been a couple of months since Taichi and Hikari had rescued him from the sea. Koushiro barely talked to anyone and seemed to be scared all the time. They didn't really know anything about him.

Koushiro had said that he was from Shrimp Island, but gave no explanation about how he got to the middle of the sea. When asked if he had family, Koushiro looked down and muttered “not anymore.”

Taichi tried everything he could imagine to cheer the other boy up and make him talk more, with no effect.

During an afternoon when the siblings were spending time with Koushiro, who was brushing the Izumis' horses, Hikari said something that shocked both boys:

“I dreamed with your parents last night.”

Koushiro stared at her, astonished.

“Hikari, you shouldn't joke about that kind of thing!” Taichi scolded her.

“I'm not joking!” Hikari retorted. She then turned to Koushiro and continued “Their names were Ame and Shunsui, right? You really look like them, especially your mother. Her red hair was very beautiful...”

“How do you...?” Koushiro began to question.

“They asked me to tell you that you shouldn't feel guilty for running. They didn't want you to die with them... they didn't want you to burn...”

 *

Those tears were just like the first ones Taichi had seen Koushiro shed. At that moment, Taichi realized he couldn't do that to his friend. Even though he was determined to save Hikari, that was a line he wasn't able to cross.

Then, Taichi felt something strange, a piercing sensation that seemed to set his nerves on fire. The sword that had been launched to the sky had fallen back. It made a hole in one of Taichi's wings and crossed his right arm.

The pain and the shock made him let go of Koushiro, who fell towards the garden. It should be impossible for Taichi to get hurt. But then, he noticed something else that was even more disturbing. There was a weak blue hue coming from the sword. He had only seen a hue like that once.

Taichi flew away. There was only one person who could give him answers.

“He's dead... he's actually dead this time... it's not a trick...” Miyako murmured, horrified, looking at Koushiro's body lying on the crater created by his fall.

“Don't worry, he's going to be okay!” Daisuke assured her. “How many times have we seen him resurrect today?”

“This isn't like one of his fake deaths, Daisuke! He fell from a really high place!” Miyako yelled. “He must've broken all his bones and his organs... I don't even want to think about his organs!”

“Miyako, you're the only one who still thinks he wasn't dying for real before,” Iori said.

“How can you deny Koushiro's supernatural nature after we just saw...” Takeru took a deep breath before continuing “... an invulnerable monk with wings of fire! How amazing was that? That man has to be on the cover of my book!”

Yamato kept observing Koushiro, waiting for him to come back to life like he had done before. He was getting apprehensive at how much it was taking for the other to resurrect.

  *

Once again Koushiro found himself in that dark place. The cold wind whipping his face felt as painful as all the other times.

“I can't waste time here... I can't... I have to go back... I finally found Miss Sora...” he repeated to himself, trying to walk against the wind, “I can't stop now... I can't stop... I'm so tired... so tired... no, I can't take a break... I can't stop... Hikari... I can't stop...”

Then, he saw something he had never spotted at that place before. It seemed like a bar of flickering blue light floating a few steps in his front. The shape and the color of it reminded Koushiro of the staff used by that woman to curse him. Koushiro took a step in the direction of the light bar and stretched his arm, but a familiar voice made him stop.

“Don't touch that! It'll break your soul!”

He turned around and saw Hikari surrounded by pink light. She was wearing the white kimono she had when she passed away.

“You have more important things to do than coming to my rescue every time I get stuck in one of these...” Koushiro muttered, looking away. “I'd find my way out eventually...”

“You said that last time, and it took you 52 years,” Hikari said, giggling. “There's nothing to be embarrassed about, I help people in your situation all the time. Escaping Hells is my specialty.”

She approached him and offered him a hand. After Koushiro held it, he felt Hikari's warmth fill his soul. Almost instantaneously, the dark space was replaced by a flower field. The morning sun gave him a peaceful sensation. As he looked down, he noticed that there were no blood stains on his skin nor on the clothes Yamato had lent him earlier that day.

“Do you want to rest for a while?” Hikari asked.

“It's too easy to lose track of time here, and I can't afford it anymore, I finally found Miss Sora!” Koushiro replied. “We're so close now, closer than we've ever been... I can finally be more of help to you!”

“Don't burden yourself too much, we have many allies helping us,” Hikari told him.

“You have many allies helping you here... on my side, I'm alone...” Koushiro reminded her.

“Not anymore! You've found Sora! You've been waiting for her for so long, and finally you're with her! And her friends seem like good people,” Hikari said.

Koushiro frowned, thinking about how Yamato was still suspicious of him. There was no doubt in his mind that he would inevitably be betrayed by that man down the road.

“I know how hard it is for you to trust people after everything you've been through,” Hikari acknowledged. “But not everybody you befriend will turn against you. Trust me on this.”

“You're not the one who has clairvoyance...” Koushiro commented.

“My intuition is just as good as that,” Hikari affirmed, smiling.

He smiled as well.

“I need to go back...” Koushiro said. “I need to help Miss Sora get to where she has to be... I can't risk the plan by getting separated from her. And Taichi... I have to find a way to save Taichi...”

“We will find a way to save him,” Hikari assured Koushiro. “Don't burden yourself! There's nothing wrong in asking for help, you know?”

Koushiro didn't say anything. He let go of Hikari's hand, closed his eyes and felt himself fall. When he reopened his eyes, he found Sora, Miyako, Daisuke, Iori and Ken surrounding him. They all had relieved faces, but Miyako also seemed perplexed.

“You really can return from death...” Miyako muttered. “Are you... an actual demon?”

“I'm not a demon,” Koushiro replied.

As he sat up, he thought to himself:

As a matter of fact, I am the Devil.