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Miwaku no Zakuro	By : Tcharlatan Category: > Kyo/Kaoru Views: 2861 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: This is a work of pure fiction. I do not personally know any of the members of Dir en grey, X Japan, or KISAKI, and do not profit from this work.

Chapter List
- 37
- 38
- 39
Toshiya, Shinya, and Yoshiki were waiting out in the driveway when they pulled in; standing in front of the small side building that housed the mansion’s security guards’ quarters and the infirmary. Waiting at the ready beside them were the doctor, nurses, and stretcher that Die had called ahead for. In the back of the van, Kaoru and Medved were starting to show subtle signs of worry as Kyo drifted in and out of awareness, murmuring deliriously and lethargically squirming about despite the efforts to keep him still. The fever that Die had noticed back in Soejima’s dungeon was spiking dangerously, and it was well beyond the van’s little med kit’s capacity to do anything more for him.
Die parked as quickly and as gently as he could before flying out of his seat and crossing around to open the side door. The doctor and nurses swarmed around him and between them and Medved, they managed to get Kyo out onto the stretcher, Kaoru climbing out alongside him. Toshiya was on top of Die as soon as he was clear, indiscreetly checking his lover over for injuries and anxiously hissing demands for more information. Shinya and Yoshiki kept their distance, trying to keep out of the way, but both were craning their necks, trying to see into the mess of people to get a better grasp of the situation. Kaoru remained at the side of the stretcher long enough to keep Kyo calm and still while the nurses strapped him down and the doctor worked to ascertain his condition.
The blonde’s left eye rolled behind a fluttering eyelid, focusing blearily on the face above his for a brief moment. “Nnnh… Ne… Kaoru? D’you know your nose is… turns down at the end?”
“Yes, I do know that,” Kaoru replied patiently.
“‘S like you… mmm… pressed it into glass too much as a kid…” Kyo frowned then, looking disjointedly worried. “Were you… looking out or in?”
Kaoru smiled conspiratorially. “I was looking up, cursing the gods. They dropped a stone on me, and it landed right on my nose. It’s been flat ever since.”
Kyo made an odd, almost exasperated face even as he began to drift back out. “Serves you right… stupid master…”
The doctor and the nurses whisked him away then, rushing him towards the infirmary, and Kaoru ran one hand through his hair tiredly as he watched them go. He knew that the medical staff he kept on hand were of the highest caliber, and that the facilities he provided them were extremely well-stocked, but he couldn’t help but worry about his pet. Wounds so deep, left untended in filthy conditions for so long were not easy to treat; it was perfectly possible that infection had spread too far, too fast, and the blonde’s overtaxed system wouldn’t be able to fight it off. If Kyo died, he might have to go back and find out if Soejima survived, just so he could murder him outright. A massive hand dropping onto his shoulder brought his attention back around to the unfamiliar Russian whose presence Die had only half explained earlier. He stared up into cold blue eyes, unwavering, and raised an eyebrow in question.
“You are Kaoru Niikura, yes? Soroka’s ‘master?’”
“I am. And you’re… Medved, if I heard correctly?”
“Yes. I have many things to tell you, but first, I am in need of shower, food, and clothes.”
Kaoru nodded absently, turning his head and calling out, “Shinya?”
Shinya’s head came up from where he was trying to extract details of the night’s adventures from Die, and he crossed the driveway with quick strides. “Yes, Kaoru?”
Kaoru waved a hand at Medved. “Can you show our guest here to the showers in the guardsmen’s house, and see if you can’t scrounge up some clothes for him? I’ll be in my office when he’s done.”
Shinya frowned a little. “Shower, yes. Clothes… maybe. I’m not sure we have anyone your size.”
Medved looked delighted. “‘Shinya?’ Yes, Soroka told me of you, and I see now that he is not lying!”
“Oh?” Shinya asked warily, leading the man towards the side building the doctors and nurses had taken Kyo into. “What did he say?”
“That you are like olen; you look very delicate, but you are strong, not afraid to stab people if you need to. I like this. Is almost impossible to see the knives you are carrying.”
“…Oh. Um… thank you?”
Kaoru swallowed a yawn, resigning himself to a night without sleep. He heard pavement crunching at his side and turned to see Yoshiki approaching him, frowning at Medved and Shinya’s retreating backs. Behind him, Toshiya was helping Die stagger tiredly towards the mansion to get him cleaned up in the redhead’s own quarters.
“Kaoru, do you know who that is?” Yoshiki murmured intently.
“The Russian?” Kaoru shrugged. “Die found him in the dungeon with Kyo, and Kyo wouldn’t settle down until he let him out as well. Why, what do you know?”
“I can’t say for certain, but… I’m pretty sure that’s Kazimir Zakharov. He’s been in the mercenary circuit for almost a decade now; they say he’s got a mouth like a bear trap.”
“Sounds about right…” Kaoru frowned thoughtfully. “Kyo called him Medved… but he’s been calling Kyo ‘Soroka’ and Die ‘Petuh,’ so I suppose it’s possible he isn’t on first-name basis himself.”
Yoshiki gave his younger friend a stern look. “You be careful talking to him. If he is Zakharov, he doesn’t do or give anything for free, and he takes his debts very seriously.”
Kaoru grinned flippantly, starting towards the mansion. “It always amuses me how often you tell me to be careful, nancyboy. Your poncy ass wouldn’t last ten minutes where I come from.”
Yoshiki snorted and followed. “Well, goodness knows you’re so desperately uneducated and unlearned in the finer nuances of delicate conversations, you’ll get all of ten sentences in before you owe the brute your house.”
~*~
“Tanaka,” Kaoru greeted warmly, smiling at the video conference screen on his computer. “It’s been far too long, my friend. How have you been?”
“Well enough, I suppose… and yourself?” Shige Tanaka responded, polite but somewhat wary.
“Busy! Very busy, but good.” Kaoru nodded, shuffling around the papers on his desk.
“…” Soejima’s co-conspirator shifted a bit, looking just the slightest bit unsettled. “What was it you needed from me, Niikura? It’s unusual for you to request meetings out of the blue like this.”
“Ah! I was just hoping you could clear something up for me.” Kaoru smiled to himself, as if enjoying an inside joke. “A rumor, if you will, that came to me… on the tail of a magpie.”
“…I can certainly do my best to oblige you, of course.”
“Oh good. You see, these whispers I heard, they said you had been planning to stab me in the back, if you can believe it. They said you were partnered up with Takashi Soejima – with whom I, as I’m sure you know, have had something of a rocky relationship for a few years now – and that he was going to instigate a war with me so that you could assault my home while my forces were otherwise engaged.”
Tanaka’s face remained carefully blank, but he’d paled just the slightest bit. “That’s… that’s quite a rumor.”
“Isn’t it just?” Kaoru leaned forward, eyes narrowing as his smiled became decidedly predatory. “But I’m having trouble believing that you, with all of your experience and wisdom, would be so foolish as to move against me. Soejima, that I can believe, but wouldn’t you know it… he suffered an unspeakable assault night before last, so I was never able to speak with him about it.”
“…I… I hadn’t heard about that…”
“Oh yes. Quite grisly, from what I’ve been told; his mouth and hands and genitals melted away with some kind of acidic poison. Apparently he stole someone’s property, and they took offense. He survived the attack, but it seems he was quite distraught over the whole thing, and threw himself from the balcony of his hospital room.”
Tanaka looked ill, having trouble maintaining eye contact anymore. “I… I see…”
“So, my good friend, can I assume that these rumors implicating you in a plot against my family are nothing more than vicious gossip?”
“Of… of course.” Tanaka forced a sickly smile. “You and I have never had any quarrels to warrant such conflict, have we?”
“No, we haven’t. And that’s good, because as easy as it would be to crush your meager holdings under my heel, it seems like such a bother and as I’ve said, I’m a very busy man. Particularly now that I’ve accepted the task of assisting Soejima’s replacement in getting settled in to his new position.”
“…Right… How… charitable of you…”
“Oh yes. I can be very charitable when the mood strikes me. And they say I’m an iniquitous man, vengeful even! But then… you know how it is with rumors in this business.”
“…Of course.”
“Well then.” Kaoru sat back a bit, all friendly smiles once more. “I’m so sorry to have wasted your time with such ridiculous questions, but I simply had to be sure.”
“I understand,” Shige murmured, just a bit too hurriedly by the force his relief. “Such things cannot be taken lightly or left to chance.”
“It was nice we could chat like this. We should continue to do so more often in the future. Please, enjoy the rest of your morning.”
Kaoru hit a button on his keyboard to end the conference and relaxed back into his chair with a weary sigh. That went far better than it could have. Tanaka knew that Kaoru was aware of his scheming and would be watching him, but hostilities had, at least for the time being, been avoided. It galled Kaoru a bit, to let the man get away with even as much as he’d managed, but he had to think about what was best for his family, and war with even Tanaka’s weaker forces was not it.
So, that was Tanaka taken care of. After getting Kyo’s message from Medved, he’d spent the past day-and-a-half working with his lieutenants and Yoshiki to get a working plan of action set in place, drawing out their options and weighing the benefits and consequences of each. Their people, city-wide, had to be put on alert and given explicit instructions how to respond should they actually be attacked, as well as reminded that instigating hostilities with other families prematurely would result in severe reprimand. He’d also spent several hours ensuring that he knew and had a very good relationship with the man that would be taking over Soejima’s holdings, though he wasn’t so naïve as to expect that there would be no retribution for his actions. He would simply have to keep one eye open at all times for a while until things settled down again.
Now, finally, he had some free time to go check in on his pet. He hadn’t had time to speak with the doctor, but he’d been told that Kyo’s condition was at least stabilized, and had had to make do with that small assurance while he focused on work. Toshiya and Shinya, having less of a hand in the response to the threat against the organization, had spent a better part of the previous day at the blonde’s beside, but Kyo had slept through the entire day. Shrugging into his suit jacket, Kaoru checked himself briefly in the mirror just inside his office door, and headed off through the mansion, leaving through a back exit and crossing the lawns in a shortcut to the guardsmen’s house. From the entrance, it was a short elevator ride to the top floor that housed the mansion’s medical facilities. He went first to the doctor’s private office, pleased to find the man seated at his desk, working on his computer.
The older man’s eyes came up as his office door clicked shut, and he stood the moment he saw Kaoru, bowing politely. “Mister Niikura.”
“Doctor,” Kaoru greeted, then cut straight to the point. “How is my companion?”
The doctor sighed, sinking back into his chair. “As well as can be expected, considering. His injuries are extensive: bullet wounds to the left arm and right knee; chemical burns to the right eye; deep lacerations on his lip, nostril, and eyebrow; four cracked ribs, two broken; three broken fingers; rectal trauma; a mild concussion; and widespread, severe bruising.
“With the extent of the blunt abdominal trauma, there was concern for a while that he was bleeding internally, but with the infection spreading from his arm, we couldn’t risk exploratory surgery. I was certain we were going to lose him that first night, but we eventually managed to get him stabilized. His knee was an absolute wreck, the patella completely destroyed and pieces of it floating all over the place. Luckily it was clean enough that we were able to get in to clear everything out as best we could, and place a few pins.”
Kaoru nodded sagely, doing his very best to keep his temper in check. It wouldn’t do to kill the messenger, particularly when the messenger was the one keeping his pet alive. One injury in particular confused him, however. “Rectal trauma? You’re certain?” Soejima would never deign to fuck anyone Kaoru already had, not even as part of his sadistic games.
“Yes, sir. He was penetrated, but we didn’t find any traces of semen or spermicide, and the STI panel came back clean. There was some industrial oil and gunpowder residue, so we figure it was a firearm of some kind.”
“I see…”
“He’s down the hall, in Recovery One, if you want to visit him, although he hasn’t woken up yet. I’ll be dropping in to check on him shortly.”
“Aa… Thank you, Doctor.”
Kaoru bowed his head politely and left, heading down to the end of the hall where the small handful of recovery rooms was. He came up short, however, when he heard a familiar soft voice pass through the open door.
“-do you… you know… do what you do?”
Kyo was awake, then? Peering quietly around the corner, Kaoru spotted Medved – folded awkwardly into a too-small chair with his back to the door – and, past him, his troublesome pet. Looking over the blonde, Kaoru understood why Toshiya had looked so upset at dinner the night before, after spending the day watching over him. Kyo had been cleaned up, but he still looked an absolute mess; stitches holding the cuts on his face together, right leg in a massive cast, right eye hidden under a wide bandage, deathly pale under the thick patchwork of bruises staining his skin from head to toe. Lying in the hospital bed, wearing only an over-sized gown that hung loose from his slight frame, he looked small; almost childish. Vulnerable. The sight had made Toshiya sad, and Shinya somber. It made Kaoru angry.
“What, my job?” Medved asked, shrugging. “I am good at it, and I enjoy it. Why else?”
Kyo frowned tiredly over the edge of his pillow. “You enjoy killing people? I thought it was… I don’t know, against your religion or something?”
“Oh yes, is very much against my religion. But, is what my heart has chosen. So I kill only evil people who deserve death, and pray to God for forgiveness every day. Maybe He will give me this, maybe He will not, but I have not wasted my life running from happiness just because what makes me happiest is ‘wrong.’”
“I thought maybe you just did it for the money…”
Medved laughed. “That too. Is good money, when you are so skilled as I am! But, is like they say; do what you love, money will follow, yes?”
Kyo’s mouth twitched into an awkward grin. “I guess so. Still, it’s a bit strange to know that you’re… kind of a sociopath.”
“Do not worry, Soroka. I probably will not kill you or anyone you like.”
“Ah… thanks?”
“Is no problem. What about you? What do you love?”
Kyo didn’t even need to think about it, his lips spreading into a more genuine smile, his voice gone bittersweet with longing. “Music. I don’t really care what I’m doing; if I can be around music, I can be happy. I never really got good enough to make my own, though.”
“Kyo!”
To his credit, Kaoru managed not to visibly jump at the sudden voice calling over his shoulder. In fact, he appeared downright cool as Toshiya flew past him into the room – trailed closely by Shinya, Die, and the doctor – and he followed as if he’d only just arrived himself. Kyo was a little spooked by the sudden crowd, but managed a shaky smile for them. Medved only stood and moved to one side to make room for the over-exuberant bluehaired man, unperturbed. Toshiya fussed for a moment, obviously wanting to hug the younger man but worried about hurting him, and eventually settled for grabbing onto his blankets with one hand and petting his hair and face with the other. Shinya and Die hung back, more sedate – though the latter was grinning broadly – about their delight to see the blonde awake.
“Damn it, Medved! You said you’d call me if he woke up!” Toshiya scolded.
“I did not,” Medved responded coolly. “You said you wanted me to, and I said ‘okay.’ I accepted your want, Pavlin, I did not promise to follow it. Besides, how could I leave sad, little Soroka all alone?”
They had all come to accept that Medved didn’t really call anyone by their names. Toshiya was Pavlin – Peacock – and Shinya was Olen – Deer/Stag – and Die grudgingly accepted Petuh – Rooster – though he got the feeling it had another meaning no one was telling him about. Only Kaoru was called by his last name, and he wondered absently if it was a sign of respect… or dislike. He’d caught the man eyeing him with a patient, considering sort of stare that unsettled him more than he liked to admit.
“Hey, now…” Kyo protested.
“So sad, and so little…” the Russian teased.
“Good to see you’re finally awake. You gave us quite a scare, you know,” the doctor informed him cheerfully, flipping through the clipboard of notes the nurses had been taking for their twice hourly check-ins. “How are you feeling?”
Kyo looked a little unsure, obviously in pain but not wanting to worry anyone by complaining. “Okay, I guess? Hungry… maybe a little sick…”
“Fair enough. I’ll have the nurse bring you some food when we’re done here. Are you alright with everyone being in here for your check-up?”
“…Do I have to undress?”
“No. Not unless you need to show me something?”
Kyo shook his head.
“Alright. I’m going to sit you up, try to relax and let the bed do the work, hmm?” The doctor set the clipboard down and moved around to the head of the bed, stepping on the pedal to very slowly raise Kyo into a more upright position. “About this eye; did it hurt, the last time you had it open?”
“No… I mean, it did for a while after he put… something in it, but it stopped when I rinsed it out.”
“I see. I’m going to uncover it, then, and I want you to tell me if the light causes you any discomfort, okay? If it doesn’t, go ahead and open it up.”
Kyo chewed his lip a little, anxiously, then nodded. “O-… okay…”
The doctor very carefully unwrapped the bandage, pulling out a penlight from his coat pocket. Kyo hesitated a moment; not in pain, but afraid of what he would see – or not see – should he open the damaged eye. He would have to face it eventually, though, so after a few faltering tries, he managed to blink both eyes open. The reactions from the others – Toshiya’s startled expression, Die’s grimace, Kaoru’s scowl, Shinya’s suddenly averted gaze – were not encouraging.
“What? What’s wrong with it?”
“Close your left eye, please… thank you. What do you see?” The doctor asked, drawing his light back and forth over the injured eye.
“N-… not a lot…” Kyo’s face fell a little. “I can sort of see the light moving around, but everything is just a dark blur…” He opened his other eye, anxious. “Why, what does it look like?”
The doctor opened his mouth to speak, but seemed to think the better of it, reaching instead for a small hand mirror tucked away in a nearby drawer. Kyo accepted it, hands shaking just a little. What he saw there, he stared at for a long time, trying to comprehend the significant change in his reflection. His right eye was… gone. The orb itself was still there, and it seemed to move in tandem with its partner still, but the iris and pupil had gone milky, almost perfectly matching the surrounding white.
“…oh…” he managed at length. “You… you can’t fix this… can you?”
It was more a statement than a question, and the doctor’s shaking head did not come as a surprise. “I’m afraid not. Whatever was put into your eye was left there too long; the burns are very severe. Honestly, I’m surprised it’s registering any light at all.”
Kyo nodded, lowering the mirror to his lap and folding his hands carefully on top of it. “I s-… see.”
The agonizing irony of the statement was not lost on him, or anyone else in the room.
“But,” the doctor pressed on, trying to keep things positive, “We’ve got the infection in your arm wound under control, and the cuts on your face were very clean, so they likely won’t scar too badly. You’ll be on bedrest for a bit, but with some physical therapy, you should be up and about in no time.”
Kyo lifted his eyes with painful hope. “So… so, I’ll be able to dance again?”
The doctor looked uncomfortable, pitying. “…I’m sorry.” He grimaced as Kyo’s face crumbled completely, stunned gaze lowering to hide behind his hair. Behind him, someone couldn’t hold back a strained whimper, and someone else was growling, but he pressed on doggedly. “Joints are fragile things. We had to remove the kneecap, and implant several pins to hold together the smaller pieces of your leg bones together while they heal. You’ll be able to walk, but strength of extension in that leg will be permanently lessened.”
There was a long, heavy silence while this information sank in. Shinya bowed his head in quiet remorse, while Die breathed out a curse, pressing one hand over his mouth. Toshiya – knowing perhaps better than all of them what dancing had meant to Kyo – was on the verge of tears. Kaoru looked torn between disappointment and fury, wanting to feel bad for his pet but more predisposed to be angry with those who had hurt him. He was beginning to rethink his mercy towards Tanaka, if only because his hands were itching once more for retribution. Medved only pursed his lips in resignation; he’d already suspected such an outcome, having seen enough of the wound to know that the prognosis was poor.
When Kyo’s shoulders began to shake, no one was entirely sure what it was for. Perhaps he shook with despair, or anger; with tears or restrained fury. It was often hard to guess with him, and both seemed equally valid responses to being told he was effectively hobbled. Toshiya broke the stillness of the room first, aiming to try to comfort the younger man, but he faltered and stopped halfway when a low sound began to spill from Kyo’s lips. It wasn’t sobbing, or growling, or prayer, or any of the other things they were expecting. It was laughter. Cold, bitter, entirely unsettling laughter, and Toshiya found himself taking a step backwards, away from the blonde.
It wasn’t short-lived either. It kept building and building, taking on a hysterically shrill edge, until Kaoru couldn’t take it anymore, stepping forward. “Kyo-”
Kyo’s head came up and the laughter broke into a short scream and glass shattered against the wall behind Kaoru, the water cup missing his master’s head only by the grace of his damaged vision. His gaze was blazing with something wild; a chaotically burning storm of anger, fear, anguish, resentment, and desolation. When he spoke, his voice was soft, but heavy with the force of his acrimony. “What else do I have to lose for you, Kaoru? What else do I have to lose before you’ve had your fill of ruining me?!”
“Ky-”
“SHUT UP! YOU DID THIS TO ME! YOU’VE TAKEN EVERYTHING FROM ME, EVERYTHING! I never did anything to deserve this! I never hurt anyone or stole anything or borrowed money or gambled or did drugs – nothing! I didn’t have a lot, but all of it was mine and I fucking earned it, worked goddamn hard for every tiny piece of happiness I could find, and you TOOK IT ALL AWAY FROM ME!” Kyo was dissolving now, furious tears spilling out over his cheeks. “I’m tired of losing! I’m tired of paying for other people’s sins! I HAVE NOTHING LEFT, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?! YOU TOOK EVERYTHING I HAD, EVERYTHING I AM OR COULD HAVE BEEN, EVERYTHING I COULD HAVE DREAMED OR ASIPRED FOR, AND YOU BROKE IT! I HAVE NOTHING, I have… nothing, I-… I’m nothing… I…”
As his voice trailed off, the room was again left to silence. Shinya, Toshiya, and Die were torn between shock and something like guilt. The happiness – the rare, fragile peace – that had been coloring their lives for the past few months was shattered, and now the ugly, rotting root of the matter was inexorably exposed. This was never supposed to happen. This was never supposed to be how Kyo’s life in their family ended up. And all three of them hated that it had, hated the unadulterated misery in their youngest brother’s voice. Hated that all Kaoru could do was stare at the blonde, unmoving and unspeaking, because he didn’t know how to fix this, and that scared them.
Kyo’s face contorted miserably and he held out one bruised, battered arm to Kaoru, baring his wrist in exhausted resignation. “My wings are broken, Kaoru. I’ll never taste the sky again. All that’s left of me… is my pulse. Are you going to take that from me too?”
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Miwaku no Zakuro