Storm Wars: Chapter 5
Feb. 23rd, 2017 08:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
matsu1ninoTitle: Storm Wars
Pairing: Matsumiya
Genre: AU, Historical, Sci-Fi
Disclaimer: Arashi is not mine.
Summary: One was a noble prince, the other a lowly thief. Brought together by fate, yet destined to be apart.
Author's Note: Continuation of the action plus a perspective I was not initially planning to include.
Chapter 5
“Don’t hurt my friend” Nino hissed at the rogue he had just stabbed. He didn’t typically like using the knife he carried but there always seemed to be instances where he felt there was no other choice. The world they lived in was one of kill or be killed.
As reluctant as he was to put his blade to good use, Nino knew he would much rather be the one handling it than let Aiba use his. His friend was a kind soul, one who Nino didn’t believe deserved to have to live this sort of cruel life and while he knew there was no way he could free Aiba from their current lifestyle, Nino had decided long ago to preserve whatever of Aiba’s innocence he could. He insisted on Aiba carrying a pocketknife around as a precaution but never encouraged the use of it. He would often try to enable Aiba to see the benefits of self-preservation by reprimanding him for his excessive compassion in order to protect his friend. The last thing Nino wanted, even more than seeing Aiba lose himself, was for him to lose his life. It was a difficult and delicate balance.
When Aiba had drawn his small blade in this particular fight, both of them knew it was for no other reason than a diversion. It was a familiar play the two of them used on the rare occasion they did find themselves in a scrap they couldn’t talk or slink their way out of, though usually when they executed this particular routine Nino would aim for the leg. This time had been different. When he’d seen the other man’s knife connect with his friend’s shoulder, Nino had seen red. They’d used up most of the limited medical supplies they had aboard the Zero-G, courtesy of Sakurai. Neither of them could afford any new injuries and Nino was not about to let his friend suffer an infection due to lack of treatment. So it was with vengeful rage in his heart that Nino stabbed his knife deep into the muscle tissue of the rouge’s shoulder.
The plan had been simple enough. Using a harmless but substantial enough collision to draw attention away from the prince and lure those aboard to the control room, the three of them would board the enemy airship. Then while Aiba and Nino took out the pirates, Sho would find and free the prince before sneaking him off the ship to the Zero-G. Nino and Aiba would then take out the ship’s controls and return to their own vessel. Initially the plan had been working perfectly. It started off well, with the diversion being a complete success. Even Sho had done his part in remaining undetected. Taking out the first two bandits had been east enough. Nino was rather proud of himself for his ingenious thought of using the blood from one of them to shut down the controls, cutting the man in just the right places to attain enough blood without actually killing him. Similarly the rogue lying unconscious on the floor was bleeding from the leg and likely had some sort of spinal injury. He’d be unlikely to be able to walk again upon regaining consciousness, but Nino doubted he would die.
Nino hadn’t expected these men to be decent fighters. Even before they had tracked down their ship, he’d had a hunch as to what kinds they were. Rogue bandits not belonging to any star system, instead choosing to form their own society in the isolated regions of space between the five domains. In these districts of the galaxy their kind were fairly common; Nino and Aiba could even be classified under this category of people, though they despised the being grouped as such. While they too did not belong to any particular star system and refused to pledge their lives and their allegiance to any of the imperial families, neither were they rogues living within their own false society. They were drifters, moving with the flow of profit. For Nino, he knew both he and Aiba would never sink to the level of these rogues, people who were outcasts even in these parts.
After uttering his warning to the amoral bandit, Nino’s attention was pulled to the other side of the room when he heard a thud followed by the sound of a hammer being drawn back. He swore under his breath upon seeing what he could assume was the prince they had come to rescue with a gun to his head while the so-called soldier was unconscious on the floor nearby. Nino really wanted to know how someone so incompetent was able to achieve a soldier status in the imperial army. If the standard was this bad, anyone could overthrow Amnos; not that Nino planned on sharing this information with anyone…just yet.
“Finish with this guy” Nino told Aiba, his feet already carrying him in the direction of prince Jun. As much as a part of him really did not want to be the one to come to his aid—the same part of him that could not and would not ever let go of his past—the prince was their profitable source for this entire job. If anything happened to him, they would not get their pay and that was something Nino was not about to let happen.
With quick and light-footed steps, Nino ran across the control room. He had almost reached them when the bandit spotted him and turned the gun hastily to shoot at him. Nino dropped to the floor in an instant. He could feel his racing heartbeat reverberating up through the floor back into his body. Being shot at was most certainly not a part of his plan. He remained on the ground, crawling fast and manoeuvring himself until he was positioned behind the rogue man in order to remain out of sight as best he could. He could see both the pirate and the prince. Neither were paying attention to him, something which irked Nino to some degree.
“Probably think that shot hit me” he whispered to himself through gritted teeth. He would show both of them that he didn’t go down that easily.
“Trying to escape” Nino heard the man growl and for a split second he wondered if he had been caught, before realizing it was the prince in which he had been speaking to. “On second thoughts, you ain’t really worth all this.”
Having already shot once, Nino watched as the rogue’s thumb drew the hammer back a second time. He was almost thankful for the olden style firearm the man possessed as it gave Nino a bit more, even just a fraction of a second longer, to react. Closing his eyes and praying his reflexes were fast enough, he reached out and grabbed the man’s ankle before pulling hard to wrench his legs out from under him. As he fell, Nino sprung to his feet and seized Jun by the wrist to drag him away. He could see Aiba hurrying to the entrance and waving them over. Nino attempted to follow but the prince pulled his arm away.
“What now?” Nino snapped, glaring indignantly at him.
“I won’t leave Sho” Jun growled back. Nino glanced momentarily at where the soldier was still lying out cold near the other unconscious rogue. He huffed loudly with an exasperated, “fine!” and together they rushed over. Sho was still just as heavy as Nino remembered from the last time he’d been like this and far from easy to move even with the prince’s attempted assistance.
From the corner of his eye, Nino saw the man he had knocked over rising to his feet and aiming at the prince a second time. On an impulse, Nino dove across Sho’s body into Jun and knocked them both to the ground. His hand grappled for the discarded gun lying close to the body of the other bandit, drawing back the hammer as he turned and fired. The resonating shot echoed loudly off the walls of the airship. Nino caught but a glimpse of the gaping bullet hole right between the man’s eyes before he fell lifeless to the floor. Nino too collapsed on top of Jun in a complete state of shock. While he would likely not admit it to anyone, he had never taken life before. Until now. Nino had always expected that when he made his first kill it would be to save his own life, or perhaps Aiba’s. Never had he even considered it would be to save the life of someone he had vowed to hate for as long as he was still living. Yet it had happened and Nino was certain he would forever despise himself for it.
---
Silence filled the Amnosian palace hall. The transmission had come through minutes ago and since it had been cut off, no person had uttered a single word. King Satoshi sat completely still at the head of the room. His face drained of all colour, his eyes clouded over; he was the depiction of death. The words that he had just heard were echoing inside his head, playing over countless times in apparent mockery of him. The Amonsian prince is in our possession. Unharmed, for the time being. No knowing how long we will remain tolerant. You best hurry. They haunted him like a lingering nightmare. No matter how many times he willed it not to be true, he could not deny the reality of what he had just heard.
Beside him he could practically feel the tension and fear radiating from the young woman on his left. Fleetingly glancing at her from the side, Satoshi caught sight of the frightened expression painted across her delicate features. Her body was trembling slightly, her bottom lip moving ever so slightly as if wanting to speak but not having the strength or courage to do so.
Satoshi slowly rose to his feet. His legs felt weak like they were not able to support him and threatened to give way at any moment. Many eyes were fixed on the king in expectation of the command he would deliver in these dark circumstances.
“Find him” were the words that left his mouth. His voice was soft, without anger or grief it would appear, but for Satoshi in that moment it was all he could manage. Any attempt to raise his tone would surely result in a total breakdown, and that was far from what was needed of him at this time. He turned to the militias, staring directly at the commanding soldier. “Send your strongest forces. Hand over whatever payment they desire. Scour the five star systems and every black, lifeless speck of the galaxy in between. Just find him.”
No one questioned the king’s order. For once Satoshi was glad of his royal standing as he watched everyone in the hall around him rush to fulfil his command with utmost haste.
Hours later the king rested in his son’s chambers. Sitting on the very edge of the silk covers, staring vacantly out at the wall, his gaze was fixated on the portrait hanging there. It was one he had seen countless times before, having hand painted it himself. Few knew of this fact. He had always enjoyed painting and felt it a way to free himself from the strenuous responsibilities he held as king.
The portrait itself was a depiction of a precious scene he had witnessed many years ago of his two most cherished people; the queen, his beloved and lost love, and his treasured son. The two of them were sharing in an embrace that had been the aftermath of a playful chase. The queen’s arms were wrapped tightly around her young son who, despite his obvious struggle against her hold, was smiling just as brightly as she. After having watched such an endearing moment, Satoshi had endeavoured to paint it to preserve the memory of it for all eternity.
This particular portrait had more significance than any of the others he had created. His wife had loved his works of art, claiming they had a sort of power that warmed the soul. She would always insist he display them for all to see so that he might share that power to all in their realm. Satoshi had never complied with her wish; at least not while she was living. Only after she had passed on did he resolve to follow her words. The decision had been made after laying eyes on that very portrait hanging in his son’s room; he had entered in an attempted to comfort the equally distraught Jun, who had essentially locked himself away from the rest of the world following the death of his mother. Satoshi had been shocked to see it hanging there, having not even realized it had at some point vanished from his stashed collection.
Looking at it now brought about a sting behind his eyes. The thought of losing Jun after having already lost his beloved wife was far too much to bear. “I lost him years ago” Satoshi whispered in the isolation of the room. In his heart he believed his words to be true. He had never felt connected with Jun; not in the way a father should be with his son, instead feeling more like a irremovable presence in the young man’s life, something unwanted but permanent. No matter what there was always tension between them that could not be eliminated regardless of what either of them did.
The portrait was taunting him, cruelly twisted the depiction of all he loved into all he had lost. There was no escape from this hellish ordeal, his mind a web of grief-stricken recollection and dreaded thoughts of a future he did not wish to see.
Pairing: Matsumiya
Genre: AU, Historical, Sci-Fi
Disclaimer: Arashi is not mine.
Summary: One was a noble prince, the other a lowly thief. Brought together by fate, yet destined to be apart.
Author's Note: Continuation of the action plus a perspective I was not initially planning to include.
Chapter 5
“Don’t hurt my friend” Nino hissed at the rogue he had just stabbed. He didn’t typically like using the knife he carried but there always seemed to be instances where he felt there was no other choice. The world they lived in was one of kill or be killed.
As reluctant as he was to put his blade to good use, Nino knew he would much rather be the one handling it than let Aiba use his. His friend was a kind soul, one who Nino didn’t believe deserved to have to live this sort of cruel life and while he knew there was no way he could free Aiba from their current lifestyle, Nino had decided long ago to preserve whatever of Aiba’s innocence he could. He insisted on Aiba carrying a pocketknife around as a precaution but never encouraged the use of it. He would often try to enable Aiba to see the benefits of self-preservation by reprimanding him for his excessive compassion in order to protect his friend. The last thing Nino wanted, even more than seeing Aiba lose himself, was for him to lose his life. It was a difficult and delicate balance.
When Aiba had drawn his small blade in this particular fight, both of them knew it was for no other reason than a diversion. It was a familiar play the two of them used on the rare occasion they did find themselves in a scrap they couldn’t talk or slink their way out of, though usually when they executed this particular routine Nino would aim for the leg. This time had been different. When he’d seen the other man’s knife connect with his friend’s shoulder, Nino had seen red. They’d used up most of the limited medical supplies they had aboard the Zero-G, courtesy of Sakurai. Neither of them could afford any new injuries and Nino was not about to let his friend suffer an infection due to lack of treatment. So it was with vengeful rage in his heart that Nino stabbed his knife deep into the muscle tissue of the rouge’s shoulder.
The plan had been simple enough. Using a harmless but substantial enough collision to draw attention away from the prince and lure those aboard to the control room, the three of them would board the enemy airship. Then while Aiba and Nino took out the pirates, Sho would find and free the prince before sneaking him off the ship to the Zero-G. Nino and Aiba would then take out the ship’s controls and return to their own vessel. Initially the plan had been working perfectly. It started off well, with the diversion being a complete success. Even Sho had done his part in remaining undetected. Taking out the first two bandits had been east enough. Nino was rather proud of himself for his ingenious thought of using the blood from one of them to shut down the controls, cutting the man in just the right places to attain enough blood without actually killing him. Similarly the rogue lying unconscious on the floor was bleeding from the leg and likely had some sort of spinal injury. He’d be unlikely to be able to walk again upon regaining consciousness, but Nino doubted he would die.
Nino hadn’t expected these men to be decent fighters. Even before they had tracked down their ship, he’d had a hunch as to what kinds they were. Rogue bandits not belonging to any star system, instead choosing to form their own society in the isolated regions of space between the five domains. In these districts of the galaxy their kind were fairly common; Nino and Aiba could even be classified under this category of people, though they despised the being grouped as such. While they too did not belong to any particular star system and refused to pledge their lives and their allegiance to any of the imperial families, neither were they rogues living within their own false society. They were drifters, moving with the flow of profit. For Nino, he knew both he and Aiba would never sink to the level of these rogues, people who were outcasts even in these parts.
After uttering his warning to the amoral bandit, Nino’s attention was pulled to the other side of the room when he heard a thud followed by the sound of a hammer being drawn back. He swore under his breath upon seeing what he could assume was the prince they had come to rescue with a gun to his head while the so-called soldier was unconscious on the floor nearby. Nino really wanted to know how someone so incompetent was able to achieve a soldier status in the imperial army. If the standard was this bad, anyone could overthrow Amnos; not that Nino planned on sharing this information with anyone…just yet.
“Finish with this guy” Nino told Aiba, his feet already carrying him in the direction of prince Jun. As much as a part of him really did not want to be the one to come to his aid—the same part of him that could not and would not ever let go of his past—the prince was their profitable source for this entire job. If anything happened to him, they would not get their pay and that was something Nino was not about to let happen.
With quick and light-footed steps, Nino ran across the control room. He had almost reached them when the bandit spotted him and turned the gun hastily to shoot at him. Nino dropped to the floor in an instant. He could feel his racing heartbeat reverberating up through the floor back into his body. Being shot at was most certainly not a part of his plan. He remained on the ground, crawling fast and manoeuvring himself until he was positioned behind the rogue man in order to remain out of sight as best he could. He could see both the pirate and the prince. Neither were paying attention to him, something which irked Nino to some degree.
“Probably think that shot hit me” he whispered to himself through gritted teeth. He would show both of them that he didn’t go down that easily.
“Trying to escape” Nino heard the man growl and for a split second he wondered if he had been caught, before realizing it was the prince in which he had been speaking to. “On second thoughts, you ain’t really worth all this.”
Having already shot once, Nino watched as the rogue’s thumb drew the hammer back a second time. He was almost thankful for the olden style firearm the man possessed as it gave Nino a bit more, even just a fraction of a second longer, to react. Closing his eyes and praying his reflexes were fast enough, he reached out and grabbed the man’s ankle before pulling hard to wrench his legs out from under him. As he fell, Nino sprung to his feet and seized Jun by the wrist to drag him away. He could see Aiba hurrying to the entrance and waving them over. Nino attempted to follow but the prince pulled his arm away.
“What now?” Nino snapped, glaring indignantly at him.
“I won’t leave Sho” Jun growled back. Nino glanced momentarily at where the soldier was still lying out cold near the other unconscious rogue. He huffed loudly with an exasperated, “fine!” and together they rushed over. Sho was still just as heavy as Nino remembered from the last time he’d been like this and far from easy to move even with the prince’s attempted assistance.
From the corner of his eye, Nino saw the man he had knocked over rising to his feet and aiming at the prince a second time. On an impulse, Nino dove across Sho’s body into Jun and knocked them both to the ground. His hand grappled for the discarded gun lying close to the body of the other bandit, drawing back the hammer as he turned and fired. The resonating shot echoed loudly off the walls of the airship. Nino caught but a glimpse of the gaping bullet hole right between the man’s eyes before he fell lifeless to the floor. Nino too collapsed on top of Jun in a complete state of shock. While he would likely not admit it to anyone, he had never taken life before. Until now. Nino had always expected that when he made his first kill it would be to save his own life, or perhaps Aiba’s. Never had he even considered it would be to save the life of someone he had vowed to hate for as long as he was still living. Yet it had happened and Nino was certain he would forever despise himself for it.
---
Silence filled the Amnosian palace hall. The transmission had come through minutes ago and since it had been cut off, no person had uttered a single word. King Satoshi sat completely still at the head of the room. His face drained of all colour, his eyes clouded over; he was the depiction of death. The words that he had just heard were echoing inside his head, playing over countless times in apparent mockery of him. The Amonsian prince is in our possession. Unharmed, for the time being. No knowing how long we will remain tolerant. You best hurry. They haunted him like a lingering nightmare. No matter how many times he willed it not to be true, he could not deny the reality of what he had just heard.
Beside him he could practically feel the tension and fear radiating from the young woman on his left. Fleetingly glancing at her from the side, Satoshi caught sight of the frightened expression painted across her delicate features. Her body was trembling slightly, her bottom lip moving ever so slightly as if wanting to speak but not having the strength or courage to do so.
Satoshi slowly rose to his feet. His legs felt weak like they were not able to support him and threatened to give way at any moment. Many eyes were fixed on the king in expectation of the command he would deliver in these dark circumstances.
“Find him” were the words that left his mouth. His voice was soft, without anger or grief it would appear, but for Satoshi in that moment it was all he could manage. Any attempt to raise his tone would surely result in a total breakdown, and that was far from what was needed of him at this time. He turned to the militias, staring directly at the commanding soldier. “Send your strongest forces. Hand over whatever payment they desire. Scour the five star systems and every black, lifeless speck of the galaxy in between. Just find him.”
No one questioned the king’s order. For once Satoshi was glad of his royal standing as he watched everyone in the hall around him rush to fulfil his command with utmost haste.
Hours later the king rested in his son’s chambers. Sitting on the very edge of the silk covers, staring vacantly out at the wall, his gaze was fixated on the portrait hanging there. It was one he had seen countless times before, having hand painted it himself. Few knew of this fact. He had always enjoyed painting and felt it a way to free himself from the strenuous responsibilities he held as king.
The portrait itself was a depiction of a precious scene he had witnessed many years ago of his two most cherished people; the queen, his beloved and lost love, and his treasured son. The two of them were sharing in an embrace that had been the aftermath of a playful chase. The queen’s arms were wrapped tightly around her young son who, despite his obvious struggle against her hold, was smiling just as brightly as she. After having watched such an endearing moment, Satoshi had endeavoured to paint it to preserve the memory of it for all eternity.
This particular portrait had more significance than any of the others he had created. His wife had loved his works of art, claiming they had a sort of power that warmed the soul. She would always insist he display them for all to see so that he might share that power to all in their realm. Satoshi had never complied with her wish; at least not while she was living. Only after she had passed on did he resolve to follow her words. The decision had been made after laying eyes on that very portrait hanging in his son’s room; he had entered in an attempted to comfort the equally distraught Jun, who had essentially locked himself away from the rest of the world following the death of his mother. Satoshi had been shocked to see it hanging there, having not even realized it had at some point vanished from his stashed collection.
Looking at it now brought about a sting behind his eyes. The thought of losing Jun after having already lost his beloved wife was far too much to bear. “I lost him years ago” Satoshi whispered in the isolation of the room. In his heart he believed his words to be true. He had never felt connected with Jun; not in the way a father should be with his son, instead feeling more like a irremovable presence in the young man’s life, something unwanted but permanent. No matter what there was always tension between them that could not be eliminated regardless of what either of them did.
The portrait was taunting him, cruelly twisted the depiction of all he loved into all he had lost. There was no escape from this hellish ordeal, his mind a web of grief-stricken recollection and dreaded thoughts of a future he did not wish to see.
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Date: 2017-02-24 01:04 am (UTC)Im so sorry.. this chapter was awesome! Nino-chan is such a good fighter!! Makes me wonder where did he learn to fight like that :O
Awwww nino-chan being protective over aiba-chan is also suuuuuper cuteee!!! ><
He's right tho, such a kind person like aiba-chan really doesn't deserve that sort of lifestyle.. its cute that he wants to preserve aiba-chan's innocence as much as possible
And yay the way he saved jun is amazing!! Puppy to the rescue!! XDD poor him got terrified being shot at at one point.. but he got back up on his feet rlly quickly <3 puppy's reflexes are amazing :O
Cant wait to see the development between these two 💜💛
Ohhh poor oh-chan must be super worried :(( it's interesting that i get to see his POV.. what he suffered and the royal family's past.. and that painting seems so beautiful just by reading the description.. youre so amazing at describing stuff seriously
Can't wait to read the next chapter >