brightdreamer
in
fst
Ryuhou & Kazuma fst
Mirror Opposites
A s-CRY-ed Ryuhou and Kazuma fst
by brightdreamer and lostnyanko
Warning: The summary and descriptions do contain some rather big spoilers for the series, as I didn't feel the relationship could be truely explained without some of the events at the end.
The basic theme of s-CRY-ed is seeing how people react and interact in their natural environments, when a change is thrust upon them.
22 years ago, the area of Japan known as Kanagawa Prefecture experienced a strange and sudden upheaval, thrusting it into the air and separating it from the rest of the mainland. Due to its isolation and destruction, this area quickly became known as the "Lost Ground." Even within this new island, there existed a divide. The city was soon rebuilt, with aid from the mainland. A wall was erected between it and the rest of the Lost Ground, separating the inhabitants into the city-dwellers and "Inners."
Soon after this event, children born on the Lost Ground began exhibiting strange powers. These children could re-form matter around them, changing it into whatever shape suited them and their personality. This power became known as "Alter," and those who could weild it became both feared and hated.
In order to regain control of the Lost Ground, a special police force, HOLD, was formed. Within HOLD, a group of Alter users were employed to fight the Native Alters that threatened the peace. This group of Alters was named HOLY, and it was one of the few places an Alter user could gain respect and dignity inside the city.
However, the leadership of HOLY had other plans in mind, and the ideals and rules they set forth were quickly turned to control. People in the Inner resented those in the city, and wished to fight back against the opressive rule that HOLY was enforcing.
Ryuhou. Master of Zestuei. Ice. He makes his living by following strict rules. He's sworn his life away to HOLY, thinking only those who are branded with this ideal are worthy of living. He follows orders almost blindly, knowing that he has to believe the motives behind them are just and right. His main mission in life is to find the one person who corrupted his innocence. He'd rather keep you at an arm's length to save you from who he truly is than to ease his own suffering.
Kazuma. The Shell Bullet. Fire. He lives a no-hold life, living from job to job, barely scraping by for food. His exterior is brash and he doesn't like to play by the rules. Inside, though, all he cares about is the well being for those close to him. He'd rather die in the fight to save a friend, than commit to the enemy to live. In the end, even his own life doesn't matter to him, only defeating the evil that threatens the lives of everyone on the Lost Ground.
Each man is so different and opposite from the other in many ways, yet their ideals and motives are the same. Throughout the series, they're set up as being mirror reflections of one another, even finishing the other's sentences and thoughts. They think alike, they fight alike... yet they come from different backgrounds and seem to have many fundamental differences. Can they see past the superficial differences to the similarities at heart?
Their relationship is tumultuous, to say the least. From the very first moment they meet, there is a spark of connection between Kazuma and Ryuhou. Ryuhou is the first to ever defeat Kazuma, and at first he simply dismisses the other man as simply another useless Native Alter. However, Kazuma only improves after this defeat, vowing to show that he is stronger. It's as if Ryuhou "turned on a switch inside of him," causing him to focus his power. In return, Ryuhou becomes increasingly obsessed with finding Kazuma, seeming to concentrate all of his hatred of Native Alters onto the other man. His commanding officer comments at one point that he's "never seen [Ryuhou] with such an eager expression before," when Ryuhou is asking permission to have sole control of the mission to find Kazuma. Also, even though Kazuma realizes early on that they're a lot alike, they still have this obsessive hatred of each other.
Things change about halfway through the series, however. During one of their fights, Ryuhou and Kazuma inadvertantly cause another upheaval of the Lost Ground, and both disappear into the "other side," another dimension that gives Alter users their power. When they reappear, Ryuhou has lost his memory, and Kazuma seems to have lost his will to live. Ryuhou winds up in a small village and befriends Kanami, who is like a little sister to Kazuma. Kazuma ends up in an illegal Alter-fighting circle, and has to find his way back through his memories and emotions. Both men regain their memories through thoughts of one another, almost as though their opposite had pulled them back from the edge. When they finally meet again, they almost immediately begin to fight, even though they're no longer on different sides. "This feeling... it doesn't make sense!" Neither can explain why they feel they have to fight. It's something innate, deep inside of them.
In the end, Ryuhou and Kazuma reluctantly fight together against the main baddie in the series. Though they protest each other's help out loud, they also concede (to themselves) that they trust the other man. Ryuhou says that he feels stronger when he's with Kazuma, and Kazuma says that he feels calm and at peace with Ryuhou beside him. During the fight, someone very close to Ryuhou gives her life to save him. Kazuma finds the distraught Ryuhou and shakes him, telling him that it's all right to cry, to not hold back. At this, Ryuhou breaks down crying, possibly for the first time since his mother died. Kazuma stands watching him, his own tears falling as well. (Fangirl note: I sooooo wanted them to fall into each other's arms at this point! But noooo, this is a shonen series, and men have to cry alone.)
After they defeat the Big Bad, Kazuma and Ryuhou once again fight side-by-side to defeat the Mainland armies that are being thrown at the Lost Ground. Three months pass, during which no one sees Ryuhou or Kazuma, but it's implied that they're together, fighting for their home's independence. In the last episode, we see the two Alter users sitting on Ryuhou's car, talking and laughing together like old friends, even though they're still throwing teasing insults at one another. As the sun breaks over the horizon, Kazuma stands up and says he's going to go follow his own path... but he stops and turns back. There's one last thing they have to do... they have to find out. They have to finally put this fight between them to rest, before either can truely move forward.
"It's not that I hate the man in front of me. If we had met under different circumstances, this never would have happened. But... I did meet him that day. And now there is no turning back. I have to move forward. I have to distinguish the difference between past and present. Everything must be left behind, and the man in front of me is the wall. The wall that I must break through. There's only one direction for me to go. I need to move forward. That's what I'm thinking. You too." (Kanami's dream-thoughts from both men.)
Their final battle is all-out. Each starts with their lowest level Alter, steadily building up to their most advanced forms. When those break down, they resort to fighting with hands and feet. The fight is ugly, dirty, and no-holds-barred. In the end, both make one last-ditch effort to hit the other... and both fall unconscious at the same moment, reaching out for each other. Finally, they've proved that they're equal. Now they can move forward.
During the whole series, there's a definite undercurrent of sexual tension permeating the fights between these two men. Even some of the lines of dialogue are suggestive:
Ryuhou: I didn't think you'd been enjoying my attentions these past few days.
Kazuma: Oh no, I loved it. What say we pick up where we left off?
There are many more, almost enough to make me think that at least the dub translators were yaoi fans! The level of obsession that each man shows for the other is far beyond normal. I can definitely picture them having angry!sex in early episodes, and in later ones, it almost seems as though they're together already. Case in point: they're watching the sunrise together in the last episode.
Anyway, enough rambling from an obsessed fangirl. On to the songs!
Download entire FST songs zip file
1. "(I Hate) Everything About You" - Three Days Grace Download / Lyrics
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you?
In my mind, this is the quintessential song for Ryuhou and Kazuma. Both claim to hate each other, yet they're obsessed with one another. Later in the series, they don't even remember why they originally fought, or why they were enemies, only that they must follow the fight to its conclusion. Their feelings for each other are so strong... who is to say the hate hasn't turned to something different?
2. "Headstrong" - Trapt Download / Lyrics
Back off I’ll take you on
Headstrong to take on anyone
I know that you are wrong
This is not where you belong
Kazuma. He resents the fact that HOLY is coming in and taking over the Inner's ground, disrupting their lives and imprisoning any Alters who show up. He makes it his mission to personally take down any HOLY forces... yet all the while, he's searching for Ryuhou. He'll fight the others, but Ryuhou is the one he obsesses over. He has to prove that he's stronger than Ryuhou, has to take him down personally. Everything else is secondary.
3. "Cold" - Crossfade Download / Lyrics
I guess for me there's just no hope
I never meant to be so cold
Ryuhou. He's changed so much from the innocent, shy child that he was. In this, he's not only addressing Kazuma, but everyone in his life who ever cared about him: Shiirice, Mimori, his family. His mother's death started the change in him, and he eventually became the cold, seemingly heartless soldier we see at the beginning. However, after he loses his memory, we begin to see more of his true self: someone who is caring and kind, who wants to protect those close to him. Ryuhou did not want to be cold... it was his only way of dealing with what had happened to him.
4. "Life of My Own" - Three Doors Down Download / Lyrics
Kiss me while I’m still alive
Kill me while I kiss the sky
Let me die on my own terms, let me
Live and let me learn
Kazuma to Ryuhou. He wants so much to be able to live his own life, free and without anyone telling him what to do. This song is him speaking to Ryuhou about what he wants out of life... Ryuhou can have him, but he can't keep him down. It's hard to pick one line from this to represent the song! The whole thing seems to come right out of Kazuma's mind.
5. "Away from Me" - Evanescence Download / Lyrics
But oh, God, I feel I've been lied to
Lost all faith in the things I have achieved
And I, I've woken now to find myself
In the shadows of all I have created
Ryuhou to Kazuma. This one almost doesn't need any explaination. Ryuhou lost his way after he regained his memories... was he really this person that people feared and hated? He has to find himself... maybe Kazuma can bring him back.
6. "Cold Hard Bitch" - Jet Download / Lyrics
Cold hard bitch
Just a kiss on the lips
And I was on my knees
Kazuma to Ryuhou. This one is more of a joke... Ryuhou is such a "Cold Hard Bitch" at the beginning of the series, we couldn't resist putting this song in. Gotta break up the angst somewhere. XD
7. "Walk Away" - Mad at Gravity Download / Lyrics
I searched your eyes for an answer
And shuddered at what I found there
As my skin shrunk away from conclusion
That you lack the strength to care
This song is for both of them. It seems as though both are searching for something that only the other man can provide for them. Is this the source of their obsession? Each tries so hard to find one another... only to walk away (or try to.)
8. "Just Like You" - Three Days Grace Download / Lyrics
I could be cold, I could be ruthless,
You know I could be just like you.
I could be weak, I could be senseless,
You know I could be just like you.
Both men to one another. Even though they're so much alike, they can't see past some of their differences. Each wants to fight on his own, but they eventually have to be on the same side.
9. "With You" - Linkin Park Download / Lyrics
You / Now I see/ keeping everything inside
You / Now I see / Even when I close my eyes
Both. Even when Ryuhou and Kazuma are apart, they're always thinking, dreaming, obsessing about one another.
10. "Where Will You Go" - Evanescence Download / Lyrics
But where will you go
With no one left to save you from yourself
You can’t escape
This is another song that just screams this couple to me. The first verse would be Kazuma to Ryuhou, the second Ryuhou to Kazuma. At the end of it all, where will they go but to each other? They have nowhere else, no one else who can understand them the way the other man does.
A s-CRY-ed Ryuhou and Kazuma fst
by brightdreamer and lostnyanko
Warning: The summary and descriptions do contain some rather big spoilers for the series, as I didn't feel the relationship could be truely explained without some of the events at the end.
The basic theme of s-CRY-ed is seeing how people react and interact in their natural environments, when a change is thrust upon them.
22 years ago, the area of Japan known as Kanagawa Prefecture experienced a strange and sudden upheaval, thrusting it into the air and separating it from the rest of the mainland. Due to its isolation and destruction, this area quickly became known as the "Lost Ground." Even within this new island, there existed a divide. The city was soon rebuilt, with aid from the mainland. A wall was erected between it and the rest of the Lost Ground, separating the inhabitants into the city-dwellers and "Inners."
Soon after this event, children born on the Lost Ground began exhibiting strange powers. These children could re-form matter around them, changing it into whatever shape suited them and their personality. This power became known as "Alter," and those who could weild it became both feared and hated.
In order to regain control of the Lost Ground, a special police force, HOLD, was formed. Within HOLD, a group of Alter users were employed to fight the Native Alters that threatened the peace. This group of Alters was named HOLY, and it was one of the few places an Alter user could gain respect and dignity inside the city.
However, the leadership of HOLY had other plans in mind, and the ideals and rules they set forth were quickly turned to control. People in the Inner resented those in the city, and wished to fight back against the opressive rule that HOLY was enforcing.
Ryuhou. Master of Zestuei. Ice. He makes his living by following strict rules. He's sworn his life away to HOLY, thinking only those who are branded with this ideal are worthy of living. He follows orders almost blindly, knowing that he has to believe the motives behind them are just and right. His main mission in life is to find the one person who corrupted his innocence. He'd rather keep you at an arm's length to save you from who he truly is than to ease his own suffering.
Kazuma. The Shell Bullet. Fire. He lives a no-hold life, living from job to job, barely scraping by for food. His exterior is brash and he doesn't like to play by the rules. Inside, though, all he cares about is the well being for those close to him. He'd rather die in the fight to save a friend, than commit to the enemy to live. In the end, even his own life doesn't matter to him, only defeating the evil that threatens the lives of everyone on the Lost Ground.
Each man is so different and opposite from the other in many ways, yet their ideals and motives are the same. Throughout the series, they're set up as being mirror reflections of one another, even finishing the other's sentences and thoughts. They think alike, they fight alike... yet they come from different backgrounds and seem to have many fundamental differences. Can they see past the superficial differences to the similarities at heart?
Their relationship is tumultuous, to say the least. From the very first moment they meet, there is a spark of connection between Kazuma and Ryuhou. Ryuhou is the first to ever defeat Kazuma, and at first he simply dismisses the other man as simply another useless Native Alter. However, Kazuma only improves after this defeat, vowing to show that he is stronger. It's as if Ryuhou "turned on a switch inside of him," causing him to focus his power. In return, Ryuhou becomes increasingly obsessed with finding Kazuma, seeming to concentrate all of his hatred of Native Alters onto the other man. His commanding officer comments at one point that he's "never seen [Ryuhou] with such an eager expression before," when Ryuhou is asking permission to have sole control of the mission to find Kazuma. Also, even though Kazuma realizes early on that they're a lot alike, they still have this obsessive hatred of each other.
Things change about halfway through the series, however. During one of their fights, Ryuhou and Kazuma inadvertantly cause another upheaval of the Lost Ground, and both disappear into the "other side," another dimension that gives Alter users their power. When they reappear, Ryuhou has lost his memory, and Kazuma seems to have lost his will to live. Ryuhou winds up in a small village and befriends Kanami, who is like a little sister to Kazuma. Kazuma ends up in an illegal Alter-fighting circle, and has to find his way back through his memories and emotions. Both men regain their memories through thoughts of one another, almost as though their opposite had pulled them back from the edge. When they finally meet again, they almost immediately begin to fight, even though they're no longer on different sides. "This feeling... it doesn't make sense!" Neither can explain why they feel they have to fight. It's something innate, deep inside of them.
In the end, Ryuhou and Kazuma reluctantly fight together against the main baddie in the series. Though they protest each other's help out loud, they also concede (to themselves) that they trust the other man. Ryuhou says that he feels stronger when he's with Kazuma, and Kazuma says that he feels calm and at peace with Ryuhou beside him. During the fight, someone very close to Ryuhou gives her life to save him. Kazuma finds the distraught Ryuhou and shakes him, telling him that it's all right to cry, to not hold back. At this, Ryuhou breaks down crying, possibly for the first time since his mother died. Kazuma stands watching him, his own tears falling as well. (Fangirl note: I sooooo wanted them to fall into each other's arms at this point! But noooo, this is a shonen series, and men have to cry alone.)
After they defeat the Big Bad, Kazuma and Ryuhou once again fight side-by-side to defeat the Mainland armies that are being thrown at the Lost Ground. Three months pass, during which no one sees Ryuhou or Kazuma, but it's implied that they're together, fighting for their home's independence. In the last episode, we see the two Alter users sitting on Ryuhou's car, talking and laughing together like old friends, even though they're still throwing teasing insults at one another. As the sun breaks over the horizon, Kazuma stands up and says he's going to go follow his own path... but he stops and turns back. There's one last thing they have to do... they have to find out. They have to finally put this fight between them to rest, before either can truely move forward.
"It's not that I hate the man in front of me. If we had met under different circumstances, this never would have happened. But... I did meet him that day. And now there is no turning back. I have to move forward. I have to distinguish the difference between past and present. Everything must be left behind, and the man in front of me is the wall. The wall that I must break through. There's only one direction for me to go. I need to move forward. That's what I'm thinking. You too." (Kanami's dream-thoughts from both men.)
Their final battle is all-out. Each starts with their lowest level Alter, steadily building up to their most advanced forms. When those break down, they resort to fighting with hands and feet. The fight is ugly, dirty, and no-holds-barred. In the end, both make one last-ditch effort to hit the other... and both fall unconscious at the same moment, reaching out for each other. Finally, they've proved that they're equal. Now they can move forward.
During the whole series, there's a definite undercurrent of sexual tension permeating the fights between these two men. Even some of the lines of dialogue are suggestive:
Ryuhou: I didn't think you'd been enjoying my attentions these past few days.
Kazuma: Oh no, I loved it. What say we pick up where we left off?
There are many more, almost enough to make me think that at least the dub translators were yaoi fans! The level of obsession that each man shows for the other is far beyond normal. I can definitely picture them having angry!sex in early episodes, and in later ones, it almost seems as though they're together already. Case in point: they're watching the sunrise together in the last episode.
Anyway, enough rambling from an obsessed fangirl. On to the songs!
Download entire FST songs zip file
1. "(I Hate) Everything About You" - Three Days Grace Download / Lyrics
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you?
In my mind, this is the quintessential song for Ryuhou and Kazuma. Both claim to hate each other, yet they're obsessed with one another. Later in the series, they don't even remember why they originally fought, or why they were enemies, only that they must follow the fight to its conclusion. Their feelings for each other are so strong... who is to say the hate hasn't turned to something different?
2. "Headstrong" - Trapt Download / Lyrics
Back off I’ll take you on
Headstrong to take on anyone
I know that you are wrong
This is not where you belong
Kazuma. He resents the fact that HOLY is coming in and taking over the Inner's ground, disrupting their lives and imprisoning any Alters who show up. He makes it his mission to personally take down any HOLY forces... yet all the while, he's searching for Ryuhou. He'll fight the others, but Ryuhou is the one he obsesses over. He has to prove that he's stronger than Ryuhou, has to take him down personally. Everything else is secondary.
3. "Cold" - Crossfade Download / Lyrics
I guess for me there's just no hope
I never meant to be so cold
Ryuhou. He's changed so much from the innocent, shy child that he was. In this, he's not only addressing Kazuma, but everyone in his life who ever cared about him: Shiirice, Mimori, his family. His mother's death started the change in him, and he eventually became the cold, seemingly heartless soldier we see at the beginning. However, after he loses his memory, we begin to see more of his true self: someone who is caring and kind, who wants to protect those close to him. Ryuhou did not want to be cold... it was his only way of dealing with what had happened to him.
4. "Life of My Own" - Three Doors Down Download / Lyrics
Kiss me while I’m still alive
Kill me while I kiss the sky
Let me die on my own terms, let me
Live and let me learn
Kazuma to Ryuhou. He wants so much to be able to live his own life, free and without anyone telling him what to do. This song is him speaking to Ryuhou about what he wants out of life... Ryuhou can have him, but he can't keep him down. It's hard to pick one line from this to represent the song! The whole thing seems to come right out of Kazuma's mind.
5. "Away from Me" - Evanescence Download / Lyrics
But oh, God, I feel I've been lied to
Lost all faith in the things I have achieved
And I, I've woken now to find myself
In the shadows of all I have created
Ryuhou to Kazuma. This one almost doesn't need any explaination. Ryuhou lost his way after he regained his memories... was he really this person that people feared and hated? He has to find himself... maybe Kazuma can bring him back.
6. "Cold Hard Bitch" - Jet Download / Lyrics
Cold hard bitch
Just a kiss on the lips
And I was on my knees
Kazuma to Ryuhou. This one is more of a joke... Ryuhou is such a "Cold Hard Bitch" at the beginning of the series, we couldn't resist putting this song in. Gotta break up the angst somewhere. XD
7. "Walk Away" - Mad at Gravity Download / Lyrics
I searched your eyes for an answer
And shuddered at what I found there
As my skin shrunk away from conclusion
That you lack the strength to care
This song is for both of them. It seems as though both are searching for something that only the other man can provide for them. Is this the source of their obsession? Each tries so hard to find one another... only to walk away (or try to.)
8. "Just Like You" - Three Days Grace Download / Lyrics
I could be cold, I could be ruthless,
You know I could be just like you.
I could be weak, I could be senseless,
You know I could be just like you.
Both men to one another. Even though they're so much alike, they can't see past some of their differences. Each wants to fight on his own, but they eventually have to be on the same side.
9. "With You" - Linkin Park Download / Lyrics
You / Now I see/ keeping everything inside
You / Now I see / Even when I close my eyes
Both. Even when Ryuhou and Kazuma are apart, they're always thinking, dreaming, obsessing about one another.
10. "Where Will You Go" - Evanescence Download / Lyrics
But where will you go
With no one left to save you from yourself
You can’t escape
This is another song that just screams this couple to me. The first verse would be Kazuma to Ryuhou, the second Ryuhou to Kazuma. At the end of it all, where will they go but to each other? They have nowhere else, no one else who can understand them the way the other man does.