TCM Act 7: Drowning
If we all smile, can we all be happy? If all sadness slipped away, all thoughts just simply dissolved, would we be happy?
"Why can't we all just get along?"
[Scene 1]
Jui stared at the bright blue sky outside. It was a little strange how it was raining and gray yesterday before a sudden change of appearance. It was like a person...more specifically... Jui's eyes trailed over to the door before straying to the usual corner. He wasn't here. Then again... Why would he be here? He could possibly be talking to Shou, whoever Shou was.
"Nii-san...should we really be here? Kai-san wouldn't be too happy, right?" a soft voice meekly asked his older brother who continued to drink in spite of the younger's reasoning. Jui's attention was distracted by the odd comment. Kai-san? Wasn't that the owner and chef of Antique Café down the street? He didn't want to listen any further (because it would be eavesdropping, and, from what he learned as a child, eavesdropping was wrong), but something caught his attention once again. He was reeled back in. "I know you're depressed because of what happened with Shou-san, but--"
"Hiroto, shut up," the older brother snapped before chugging down another glass. He let out a heavy sigh. A heavy sigh full of exhaustion and maybe even a slight depression. He dropped his head on his younger brother's shoulder, causing the latter to heat up and stiffen. "I'm tired... I can't believe that they don't know how Shou-kun died. All of that questioning...without a single effort pushed forward. I bet Kyo-san isn't too happy about that either."
Jui bit his tongue to suppress the sudden questions he wanted to bombard the customers with. After all, there would be consquences of that happening. They would probably be frightened or peeved and run off, making Uruha-san really ticked (resulting in firing the young man). The brunet cleared his throat (hopefully, not attracting much attention) and tried to clear his mind as well, but the thoughts and questioned lingered within his mind. It was a failed attempt.
"Mou~" the older brother grunted, "I'm going home. Pon, pay for the drinks. I trusted you with my wallet." Hiroto chuckled nervously before slamming a bill onto the counter and chasing after his older brother. Jui sighed. Kyo-san's and Shou's names were previously mentioned...only Shou was dead and Kyo was still alive. What really happened, Jui wasn't sure. He didn't really care...or so he thought.
He was still curious about Kyo after all.
Aoi came in with a radio and plugged it into a nearby outlet before turning it on. Uruha came out and scolded the older man, "Oi, Aoi. This is my bar. Don't come in doing whatever you want."
"Shut up, Uruha," Aoi snapped, "I was told that I would hear something interesting in a couple of seconds. My friend told me to listen to the news that would replay again--"
"This is Jenni Hasegawa with the news once again this afternoon on VK9 FM. The police has released another alarming case to the press. This time, it is about a murder case with two victims. The Tokyo Metropolis Police found two disassembled corpses lying in some sort of circle designed like a dragon eating its tail, an uroboros in other words. Their four limbs were detached and their heart was ripped out of their chest. This scene was reported by a club employee when they went out into the back to dispose of the garbage. The two men were suspected to have been killed yesterday night--"
Jui and Aoi shared a shudder of utter horror and disgust. Uruha sighed and ran a hand through his honey colored hair. "I don't want you to scare off my customers, Aoi..." he grumbled before pulling the plug out, turning off the radio. Aoi frowned before plugging it back in.
"This has been Jenni Hasegawa with the afternoon news on VK9 FM. Now we return you to your original program with Kimi Arimura."
Aoi sighed. "Dammit, I missed the rest," Aoi grunted before smacking his forehead with his palm. Jui strained a smile.
How could he relax...?
[Scene 2]
"Is it a plan of yours to scare the public?" Kamijo questioned the murderer across from him. Kyo stayed quiet while chewing on the steak. He stabbed his knife into the meat before smirking and crossing his legs.
"What? Is it against the rules?" Kyo retorted smoothly. He waved his hand carelessly. "Don't worry. You'll still get your precious blood. It's just that this one is a little bit more interesting than the last. I want to play around with him a little more."
Kamijo stayed silent, for a sigh would ruin his elegance appearance. It would cause his whole appearance to shatter as well. He was a man of calm and silence. He was a man of high aristocracy. Therefore, he need not to sigh. He had patience. He had, after all, lived for thousands of years, born eons ago.
"Kamijo," Hizaki called out, "Mao-san made a report on the sudden increase of ill persons within Japan. If this keeps up, we'll be surrounded by bitter blood. What should we do?"
Hizaki remained standing, but Kamijo stood up and excused himself from the table. He pushed the blonde out and whispered in his ear, "I will do nothing. Living with bitter blood is fine; we could always sweeten the blood with a few teaspoons of sugar and such. However, this situation is not yet paramount. Of course, it is quite simple--curing them--but this will cause another phenomenon. We should stay silent and let nature play its course." The clan leader sat himself back down as Hizaki bowed and strolled away.
Kyo chuckled. "Being the president and the head is quite troubling. The country might be in disaster soon, too," Kyo responded, "so what now? You let nature do its job, so why not let me do my own? Alright? Unless...you want to fire me right now. I don't really mind either. Kill me if you will, destroy me if you will. I don't give a shit." Kamijo smiled devilishly before shaking his head.
"You're interesting. The best man for this job is you. I'll let you have it your way, but if you loiter for more than two months, I'll have your corpse," the vampire responded.
[Scene 3]
"Hey... Saga..." Byou whispered, "Is the police really going to drop the whole case?" He rested his head on the policeman's shoulder. Saga only sighed again. Byou pouted. That was the man's answer to everything lately. This "Uroboros" person was trying to steal him away from Byou--that, he was sure of.
Recently, Saga hasn't been himself. Saga has been busy. The time he spent "resting" was also spent thinking about how the investigation was going. In short, Saga was a man of action and a man loyal to his work. Therefore, Saga had no interest in relationships, but Byou would not give up purely because of this.
The young man pecked his partner's cheek before standing up and sliding on a pair of black boxers. "I'll leave you alone with your case now," he hissed slightly after closing the door behind him. Leaning against the smooth surface, he chewed his lower lip in careful consideration of his next action. Suddenly, he heard an outburst of a song in the kitchen. Dragging his feet to his phone, he snapped it open and put on his best gentleman voice. Suavely, he answered, "Hello? Maya-tan?"
"Byou-kun... Can you come over for a moment? I need you right now..."
All of his clients needed attention. They all needed love and satisfaction. It wasn't just his clients though. It was also him. He wanted to love, but, so far, the only one who would love him was only himself. Saga didn't even truly acknowledge his existance. The policeman, from what Byou believed, only needed him to ease his stress--to relieve him.
Byou glimpsed at the white door where Saga rested and answered, "Yes, I'll be there as soon as possible." Saga marched out of the room and grabbed a bottle of water. Byou walked right past him and into the bedroom, pulling out a white button-down and light gray skinny jeans (changing into them of course). He slipped onhis socks and strolled right back out, where he was questioned about where he was going. Byou only replied with, "Business," and slipped on his loafers before heading to Maya's apartment.
He ran into a familiar face on the street, a face that seemed to be in so much pain. Byou grabbed the young man's shoulder and asked him what was wrong. Jui's eyes widened, seeing yet another regular at the bar. "B-Byou-san? A-Ah, I'm fine, really--" Byou rolled his eyes and patted his back.
"It's better to confess when you're sober than drunk. I'm not forcing you to say anything though," Byou responded before smiling, "since I already figured it out." Jui had that face--a face that said it was smitten. Jui had already fallen victim, and it was too late to bring him out of it. The prostitute made it to the apartment building where he had already found Maya with some other man. That man, he assumed, as Aiji. Despite their hiding behind an artificial tree, they were rather conspicious. He watched as they kissed and fought and loved and hated. He had no place here.
Instead of staying for a moment longer, not even for tea and cake, he pivoted on his heel and deleted Maya's number from his phone.
Where would he go now?
Ah, he had an idea.
His feet led him to the bar, where he met with the owner. Uruha was complaining about how Jui was late. Byou only saw him approximately an hour ago. Where he went now was far beyond Byou's knowledge. The young bartender was probably chasing after that person who had a tight grasp on his heart.
[Scene 4]
Kyo tossed some bread crumbs into the pond. He fell back and sat down onto the grass as he silently observed the ducks nibbling at the crusts. Jui sat beside him with his face growing redder and redder. He was thinking, "I should tell him!" but he just couldn't.
At last, the words slowly and reluctantly left his lips, "K-K-Kyo-san... If I told you I loved you, how would you react?"
"Who knows? I could laugh it off or I could stay calm or I could hit you or--do you want me to name the endless possibilities?" Kyo retorted. Jui gulped and shook his head, murmuring, "I'd rather you not." Kyo smirked. "I've only been confessed to once, actually. He was pretty brave and bold--saying things like 'I don't mind being killed by you' and 'I don't want you to leave me.' In addition, he also cried out, 'I love you.'"
Jui coughed, feeling an awkward sensation overwhelming him. "Are you talking about Shou-san again? I heard about what happened--"
"I killed him."
Jui froze.
"Eh?"
"I told you I did odd jobs, right?" Kyo reminded. "One of which was killing Shou. I did admit that I took a fancy towards him, but he wouldn't mind dying by my hands. In fact, he probably admitted that he'd like that because he said that it showed him that I felt something towards him, which is better than nothing at all--apparently. Knowing this, would you still love me?"
After hearing that, Jui held his breath. Was he testing me? Jui questioned himself. They were oblivious to the blonde haired man (with black streaks) painting the scene. He moved onto the next slide, the mental picture clear in his mind. Teru smiled a smile full of utter delight. He began with the image of Jui being restrained, his hand held out above him. He was reaching out, but would that hand be grasped? For how long, if it was?
"I will always love you, Kyo-san, as the person you are," Jui admitted, "because you are you--an enigma unheard of, unsolved." Kyo smiled bitterly, yet delighted. "As long as you'll let me love you, I have no problem with whatever you do to me. Compare me to Shou if you want to, kill me if you want to, but I'm so infactuated with you, I don't care what happens to me as long as I can have you..."
Kyo yanked Jui's wrist and pulled the young man closer to his frame. Jui's cheeks heated up upon hearing the faint beating of the murderer's heart. A lukewarm breath tickled his ears as the words vibrated through his head, "Good boy, Jui... Good boy. I will give you a present tonight."
[Scene 5]
Aoi turned up the radio. Uruha rolled his eyes. At least this was before business hours. Jui was yet to be seen as well.
"Good morning, Tokyo! This is Kimi Arimura with the morning news! We've yet found another unexplainable murder case! This time, a young man who goes by Jui was found lying beside a pond with clothes that were nearly ripped off and soaked. What's really strange was the uroboros beside him in chalk and that he was smiling--"
Uruha and Aoi stopped.
"You don't think that--" Aoi began.
Uruha shook his head immediately, denying this possible fact.