Intro Song: https://youtu.be/a-8AalVm09Y / Too Much, Too Much by Puma Blue
"Hey!"
"Why're you feeling down?"
"You ok?"
The tallest and eldest boy of the whole group stood there, all worried and concerned, he grasps the small boy's ruffled hair, sensing his melancholic tinge of a feeling spreading all over the entire room...
Their bunkers...
Each and every one of the other boys are either with their own friend groups, having fun and talking and some others are sleeping...
The boy looks... distressed...
Tired...
In despair...
"H-hey?" the older boy kept pestering him, shaking him but to no avail
The sad boy kept staring off into the distance...
Like...
He was longing for something...
"Soooooo Suzushii isn't here?" he asked
"He's usually always with you, and when you're with him, you always seem to open up like a book!"
"y'know? you have so much more to you!" he insisted, smiling softly
"I know it!"
"If Suzushii of all people can make you open up!"
"I'm sure I can!"
He grabs Atsushi's hand and pulls him forcefully, his eyes realizing what's happening, it gives open to life and he struggles to pull back to his bed
"N-no! I don't want to go anywhere!"
"Yukki-san!" Atsushi looks downward, the both of them stop... pausing...
Yukki shakes his head, his face all the more worried for him
"You can't always be down!"
"I'm taking you to my friends, hell even Suzushii hangs out with us..."
"Errrr... in his own weird way..."
"Well whatever!"
"Come on already!" his face frowns as Atsushi keeps looking downwards
"I'm still taking you to our 'secret place' whether you like it or not!" he demanded, pulling him forwards once more... but this time...
Atsushi doesn't fight back, he lets him be taken to wherever... he thinks...
Not like I was doing anything important anyways...
They pass all the way to the far end of the massive open hall filled with endless bunker beds of where it was once full of children like them, until...
They were decided to...
Not be "needed" anymore...
In the far corner, stood and sat a likely misfits of other older children, seems...
Atsushi was the smallest, shortest, and youngest among them...
The corner was loud and brimming with life, contrasting with the empty beds all around them, Mikoto was up to his no good antics once more, laughing like an idiot and pestering the others...
A girl looking bored, just keeps her hand on the steps of the ladder of the bunk bed... nodding her head as if she was interested in what Mikoto was saying...
The other boy sitting next to her was conversing with Mikoto, liking his energy, his mature attitude able to keep up with Mikoto's chaotic outbursts
In another part of the group lay where Atsushi would not be out of place...
The quiet cool kids...
Another girl was there, reading her book in peace, flipping and devouring every page with attention, whereas a familiar face was sleeping there...
Suzushii!
Atsushi's face suddenly burst to life, acting like his normal self, he runs up to him, and before trying to talk to him, realizes he shouldn't pester his sleep...
He chuckles softly...
Yukki proud to see this sudden short moment of life from Atsushi, comes nearer to him, grasping his shoulder
"Told'ya you would fit in here no problem!" he chuckled in return, Atsushi looking shy suddenly, turning red at his sudden burst of energy
A clacking sound is heard from the floor below, as somebody is coming nearer to them
"So who's the new kid?" Another girl stood there, hand on her hips
"And why is he so cute?" she grinned, complementing jokingly at Atsushi's extremely red face
"Ohh he's our newest member now!"
"Not like he was in any other group or doing anything important" Yukki nudged Atsushi's arm playfully, Atsushi says "Hey that hurt!", comically grasping his arm as if he was shot
"And finally! With us, we're complete!"
"And he's also to his normal self!"
"He was looking sooo down earlier..."
"So why don't we cool older kids?"
"Show him a good time"
The others going on with their business started to listen, nodding and smiling, Atsushi not used to the attention, hides his face, overwhelmed
The bored girl, Akari notices this
"Good god! Is he cute!"
"Finally! A decent boy around here!"
She glares at Mikoto and the recently just awakening Suzushii, who looks bored too but is surprised to see Atsushi
Both Akari and Suzushii come nearer to Atsushi, embracing him
"H-hey!" the both of them said all at once
"Get off of him!"
"Sooo Atsu already getting off with the girls?" Suzushii's usually bored and lazy attitude towards the others is contrasted with him as close as ever to Atsushi
"Who knew all they wanted was a shy boy!"
"Maybe I should try it too!"
Akari rolls her eyes in annoyance, hitting Suzushii by the back
"Shut up! You lazy pile of bones!"
"Unlike you who's a tryhard, 'Atsu-chan' over here doesn't even know his charm!"
"That's what makes him alluring!"
"Not you! Good god!" she screamed at Suzushii, he slumps back, his hands on his pockets, mocking her word for word
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
"Oh whatever!"
Mikoto laughs hysterically, shaking the both of them, them looking even more annoyed at their common enemy
"Oh you two! Always fighting over nothing!"
"Atsu-chan over here isn't used to this much attention"
"Pretty sure he's already having so much fun with this much interaction!" he laughs, grinning
Yukki intervenes, "Well what do we do then?"
"We're now complete..."
"We... can do THAT..."
The others instantly heard him say it, some looking worried, the insane ones looking excited
"Oh come on! Let's just do it already! I WANNA FINALLY GET OUT OF THIS DUMP, I'M-"
"MMMM MMMMHHH!!!!" the loud girl's mouth is covered, by the girl reading the book
"Maybe don't be so loud, you'll get us all in trouble" the girl coldly, as a matter of fact like said
"Ughhhh... you're soooo boring Shionnnn!"
"UGHHHH" the loud girl groaned
"Guess we're doing it then" Yukki stated
"Everyone, gather in a circle"
All of them comply, as one by one, they filled the circle of their group, ready to listen to their de facto leader
"Later at night, wait for my signal" he shows off the signal, the flickering deep red light of his aura, marked like a cross
"And then we'll all use the secret passageway"
"I know only me and Aoki were able to survey the outside, but trust me..."
"It's safe and you'll love it!"
"If it's anyone here that should get to see the outside"
"It's us!"
"The future... leaders..." he says with importance...
"That's why I said you were the final person we needed... to complete the group"
"The group that will be the future leaders... of The Great Empire..."
"Our dreams..."
Each and every one of them nod in unison, even Suzushii who whispers to Atsushi
"Just go along"
Atsushi nods in return
Yukki smiles
"Well! It's just harmless fun to finally see the outside world y'know?"
"This time we'll protect you Atsushi... you won't be killed by that insane instructor or whatshisname"
Yukki points to each and every person, formally introducing them to Atsushi
"Here's Aoki, my right man, and the second eldest of the group, the most experienced, having been so disciplined to be ignored by the instructor himself" Aoki nods and says "Nice to meet you, Atsushi-kun"
"Right here is his sister, Akari! The sarcastic and easily bored! but not as much as your Suzushii!" Akari winks at him, his response is to hide his face, she swoons over this
"Cutie..."
"Contrasted by this is, Tei Satsujin! She's fun and pretty much just like Mikoto in how insane they both are" the both of them giggle and hit Yukki, who just shakes his head
"Oh jeez haha"
"And of course, Shion! Our brains in the group! I may be the leader, but she's better at planning than I am! She found the secret passageway to the outside after all! Not me nor anyone!" Shion nods, her form straight, her face neutral, acknowledging being mentioned
"And of course! I am your leader, well nobody wanted to be, so here I am, the leader! Yukki!" he laughs it off
"Soo Atsushi, get some rest, cause we'll be moving out later midnight!"
Suzushii wraps his shoulder around him
"And well don't sleep at your designated bunk beds, with us, the instructor doesn't even bat an eye to us anymore!"
"Just keep try to keep with us!"
Suzushii buts in
"You rookie!" Suzushii nudges his head and ruins his hair, Atsushi struggles
"Ughhh stop it Suzu-nii!!!"
The others see how close they are, surprised to see the lazy Suzushii actually give off energy to anything at all
"Well that's that!"
"See ya midnight!"
"Gotta get ready on our part to check the coast, if its clear"
"Come on Aoki!" he nods, the both of them leaving
With everyone together and determined to see the outside world, to be the future leaders...
The future is bright, and filled with thrill and a rush!
But it won't last...
Nothing does...
Atsushi smiles softly, feeling his heart wave... feeling... connected...
A part of... something... finally!
He thought...
He... finally belongs...
Somewhere... with people...
Who are his true friends...
.
.
.
-Later that Evening-
-Midnight-
As the night swells and the coldness shatters
All of them got up, silently
Even both Mikoto and Tei suddenly actually took it seriously...
They must've seen this for how serious it is... and for the challenge and risk it imposes...
They all took the corners of the left and right flanks of the entire hall, footsteps silent, with all of their peers fast asleep
They stopped...
Right near the exit, the only exit...
Right in front of them...
They could feel the presence... of them both...
The signal... was all that was left... simple enough...
They saw it, blinking...
The red cross...
Just like Yukki said...
"Its time!" Suzushii said
Shion spoke up, "The secret passageway isn't really well guarded, as it is on the way to the only real exit of this bunker..."
"But there still are guards however... strong ones too... but... we can't oppose them, nor ambush them..."
"Our reputation for obedience with the instructor will all but be destroyed... getting us all killed..." despite her words, she still says it with a cold demeanor, the others are worried, but she clearly isn't...
She has trust... in them all...
"We have to use... stealth... our training to get through..."
"Understood?" she commanded, all of them got the message
Mikoto, the best in the espionage tests, despite his loud demeanor, took lead...
He watched the halls, all grey and barely lit up with faulty and old lights, haven't been replaced since probably WW2 itself...
The guards, are not so many, probably cocky in thinking of how strong they were...
He positions himself outside the hall, and watches their movements
In using his aura, he sees the trajectory of their movements and where they would lead next
"Heh, these guards must be getting dusty, letting them know where their aura leads to next!" he muttered
He signals the others to follow suit, they then zig-zag from each position, dodging light sources and in turn dodging the guards
Atsushi was practically being carried by the others in how slow he was...
He needed better training...
Shion's eyes lit up, they're here!
The secret passageway, an invisible wall of aura that masks the real secret exit of this place...
But there is no light in using this passageway...
"Track each other with your aura" Shion said
"We can't emit even a single light source"
"This passageway was designed to immediately showcase where a certain light source was even from afar..."
The others looked very sweaty and in distress, their... dreams... aren't so easy...
They... have to get through this somehow!
Atsushi took the first step, surprising everyone...
Including Suzushii...
Who stares in awe at his sudden movements and decision making
A bit reckless... he thought...
But certainly... interesting...
He... has potential...
They followed the secret passageway forward, with its weird infrastructure of weird tights and turns through its corridors...
They see it!
The light... from the sky...
The moonlight!
They all slowly start to move towards it, in awestruck
Having only seen light from fluorescent bulbs all their life...
They were...
About to witness the real world...!
.
.
It all spread before them, their worlds having been changed
The beauty of the island before them, the cool and clear wind, the fresh air, the beautiful sky and stars...
The moon! As its beauty stirs before them
Akari, actually changes expression
Her face, different
Her face, full of joy and disbelief!
Suzushii's eyes widen, he takes off his hands from his pockets to raise his hands...
As if to grab the sky...
Shion... breaks character, her face in disbelief as well, with her shocked and excited look
Mikoto suddenly shouts! and so does Tei who followed suit!
"I DON'T CARE!!! IF THEY HEAR USS!!!! CAUSE RIGHT NOW!!!"
"WE'RE FREE!!!!!!!!" Mikoto screamed from the bottom of his lungs, spreading his arms to embrace the view and their newfound freedom... for now...
"WOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" Tei screamed too! Moving hysterically, the both of them did...
"Oh boy, should've known you all would react like that"
A sudden voice surprises them...
It's just Yukki... who looks happy but a bit well...
Y'know... haha!
"It's a wonder we haven't been caught yet!" Yukki stated with him chuckling so hard, his whole body shook, within the shadows behind him was also of course, Aoki who was just nodding at their situation, smirking
"Hehe, come on Yukki, we were also like this when we first saw this magnificent view!"
"The outside world!"
"Yeah well-"
"Oh!" Yukki looks at Atsushi who just stares at the moon, spacing out, he chuckles once more, patting his head, ruffling his hair
"Well look at Atsu-chan over here! Someone's mesmerised!" Atsushi realizes his predicament, he just laughs it off, scratching his head
"Well well! If you're already opening up this much! I'm excited to see what you'll be like in a few more years!" Mikoto butted in, grabbing Atsushi by the waist and lifting him as if he were a child
"Oh please! Put him down! Don't let this perfectly fine and precious boy into another devoted follower of yours truly!" Akari scoffed, picking up Atsushi and hugging him to comfort him, checking if Mikoto hurt him or whatever
Suzushii rolls his eyes and just leaves them be with Atsushi....
A faint smile appearing on his lips, curving slightly, seeing young Atsushi be involved in anything, makes him a bit happy for him...
"Oh Atsu!" he smiles melancholically
"You better... cherish all of this... before it's all too late..." he muttered under his breath, his gaze shifting to the horizon, its endless, seemingly...
Terrifying...
He shudders because of the cool wind... standing apart from everyone else...
Atsushi smiles gleefully, having be part of something bigger than him... and yet he still feels a part of it... truly...
Makes his heart swell...
Makes it... feel like home...
Like...
Family...
For once...
.
.
.
W-what... have I done...
A-akari...
My love...
Atsushi falls to his knees, the illusion breaks apart, the burning of the helicopter remains spreads over to the fields, an unconscious Mikoto lays still under his spell, the blood... of his... love...
Of the infant anomaly...
The source of great power...
To turn the tide against the ICA...
For The Great Empire...
All destroyed...
But for w-what...
"BUT FOR WHATTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" MIKOTO SCREAMED FROM THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS, HE BEATS THE GROUND OVER AND OVER AGAIN, HIS BLOOD SOAKED HANDS ALL COVERED WITH DIRT, BLEEDING FROM HIS FRUSTRATION...
And heartache...
A familiar presence lingers and comes closer...
It's...
"It's been done..."
"But... f-for what?"
"Suzu-nii?" He turns his head, showing his extreme regret, the shadows blending in with his expression, having fully embraced the death and despair around them... sacrifices made for the world's sake...
And the world will go on, having not known of any of it...
Suzushii dares not come closer, he... speaks up... muttering...
"I'm sorry Atsu..." he puts his head in shame for Atsushi's feelings... ashamed of hurting him... and those he had loved...
"But it had to be done..." he coldly said, his words blending in with the wind...
Atsushi's head breaks apart...
And with this death...
Of him...
He is reborn...
Again...
"I know..."
"I know..."
He doesn't glare at Suzushii... he doesn't blame him nor even himself for any of this...
This...
Was inevitable...
"See you in hell..."
"Akari-san"
A cigarette is lit, as he blows it into the air... his eyes all cold and distant... his heart locked up...
Suzushii sees his transformation... into somebody... something more...
Like him...
Their betrayal...
Is complete...
-To Be Continued-
...
Ending Song: https://youtu.be/Y-5uE0fu9ys / O, The Blood! By Puma Blue