When The World Falls - The Pianist 3/3
Days and weeks passed, and as expected, Nishikido didn’t return. Kazuya knew he wouldn’t but, at the beginning, it was strange for the day to pass without the older man making an appearance like he used to. There was nothing he could do about it; there was more at stake than just a friendly relationship with a soldier. They both needed to stop living in dreams, and just survive first.
That was why, not long after Nishikido left, Kazuya left that piano room, to look for other places that either had food or supplies. He found one near the outskirts of town, but there wasn’t much left that was edible; it was good enough for now though.
Luckily, not long after Kazuya settled at the new location in the town - not knowing how safe it would be to leave town, considering that the last time had he had gone to the closest town, it had been overrun with authorities - he got a welcome surprise in the form of a truck driving into town.
Wary at first, Kazuya had made sure he had Nishikido’s gun safely tucked somewhere that he could access quickly, and approached.
It turned out to be a good idea to keep the weapon on him and be wary, because as soon as the people in the back of the truck spotted Kazuya, a shot was fired and Kazuya just barely managed to dodge it.
“Who are you?!” the man who was holding the gun demanded, standing in front of the rest of the people gathered in the truck.
“Who are you?” Kazuya shot back. The man growled, and shot at Kazuya again, but this time purposely missing Kazuya so that Kazuya would yelp and leap back, falling onto the ground.
The stranger took advantage of this and before Kazuya could get up again, had grabbed Kazuya by the wrist and twisted the gun out of Kazuya’s grasp.
Kazuya let out a hiss and promptly punched the man in the gut, earning a groan of pain, as the man released him, “I haven’t fucking done anything, so don’t just attack me,” he nearly snarled.
He thought that Nishikido would be pretty proud of him for that threatening tone he just used.
The stranger stared at him for a moment, “You’re not part of the military.” He said plainly, looking at Kazuya intently.
“No, I’m not, and you would know that if you had done something other than shoot me as soon as you saw me.” Kazuya retorted.
The man paused, “Resistance?” he questioned, apparently still a bit suspicious.
Kazuya paused, “Maybe.” He allowed grudgingly, “Why should I tell you?”
“Because the whole group of us,” the man sneered, “Are resistance members that just took down one of the military prisons. We’re supposed to bring back any allies we find in town.” He stated flatly.
Kazuya warily nodded his understanding, “Fine. I am.”
“Get in then.” The man waved, “We’re going to head to the next town over.”
Kazuya frowned, “I thought that was taken over by the military.” He said, but then again, it had been months since he had heard anything from out of town, or even about the state of the war itself, so he could be mistaken by now.
“They were driven out.” The man replied to that, “Anybody else in town?” he questioned, looking doubtfully at the area around them.
“No. I’m the only one still here.” Kazuya answered with a solemn expression. He got into the back of the truck though, as asked; he didn’t have anything of note he wanted to bring with him; all he needed, or wanted to bring with him, was Nishikido's gun. Just in case.
On the way to the next town, Kazuya found himself being updated on the war that he had missed hearing about for months and months, and as he heard more and more, he felt a tiny semblance of hope in his chest. It sounded like the resistance was starting to overpower the military forces when, before, they had barely been able to fight back.
Arriving in town, Kazuya was taken to a large building, probably the town hall that had been claimed by the resistance members, he reasoned. He paused for a moment, staring back in the direction of the town he had spent so many months in, and closed his eyes, resting his hand over the gun that was tucked into a safe place.
“You’re back, that didn’t take long -” a voice cut through Kazuya’s thoughts, making Kazuya blink in surprise and recognition.
“Junno.” He said with a hoarse voice, disbelieving. He had learned from Nishikido that a few of his friends were alive, but he hadn’t quite managed to believe it.
“Kame-chan,” Junno was peering at him, almost like he didn’t quite trust that the man in front of him was actually Kazuya, “Koki thinks you’re dead.” He said in shock.
“Koki’s alive?” Kazuya echoed in equal surprise.
That seemed to jolt Junno out of his shock, “Of course!” he exclaimed. He paused for a moment, “Though I should get you to Koki first, because if Tat-chan sees how starved you look, he might kill you.”
Kazuya almost didn’t dare to hope, “Is…is everyone alive?” he asked slowly; his heart was beating so fast he might as well have a heart attack. He had lost hope that he would see his friends alive ever again, but here Junno was, giving him all that hope.
“…not sure.” Junno answered with a sombre tone that seemed out of place on him, “I mean, other than Koki, Maru, and Tat-chan, we don’t about anyone else. Though I thought I saw Yamapi once.” He added.
Kazuya couldn’t help it; he smiled as brightly as he could. He had only ever smiled that brightly a few times in the past few months, in the time that he had been at peace and on friendly terms with Nishikido. He wondered why the soldier was still on his mind so much when it had been weeks since the older man had left, and they had decided to go in separate directions to protect themselves.
The moment Kazuya followed Junno into a large room, Kazuya heard a sharp intake of breath, before he suddenly found himself face to face with a wide-eyed Koki.
His best friend stared at Kazuya for a moment, before suddenly launching himself at Kazuya, enveloping Kazuya in a relieved hug. Kazuya stumbled back a bit at the sudden weight, but then he smiled. He was still trying to force the thoughts of Nishikido out of his mind, but was fairly unsuccessful.
He didn’t know what to say to Koki, who was still holding tightly onto him, but he managed a, “I’m happy you’re okay,” in a voice so full of relief that Koki merely laughed and hugged Kazuya again. Kazuya closed his eyes, suddenly remembering that one of the only reasons that he was here right now, able to reconnect with his friends, was because of Nishikido’s constant pushing for Kazuya to stay alive.
Thank you, he wanted to say and, not for the first time, wished that he could see Nishikido to say it to him.
* * *
Even more time passed, weeks and months, and Kazuya was caught up with his friends, and the war that was slowly drawing to a close. In the time that he had spent in that town, the war had progressed in such a way that the resistance had the upper hand, and in just a few months, the war had begun to fade into nothing. The prince, the one who had started it all, had been captured only a few days ago, and with him, the chain of command fell as well, until the military that had been under his control was left scattered and disorganized - in a way that was similar to how the resistance was at the beginning of the war.
Nishikido had been right; Koki and Junno had been captured, Kazuya had been missing to everyone else, and Ueda, Maru and various others had either been missing or captured, but just the fact that they were still living, because they weren’t declared dead, meant that the idea of them hadn't died. Because of that, people were willing to fight, and they didn’t lose hope.
Kazuya wasn’t quite sure what he thought about somehow inspiring people to fight when he had practically given up when he had been alone in that town, but he was extremely grateful that when he had lost hope, nobody else had. It seemed like the rest of his friends had simply accepted that for what it was as well, and Kazuya had a feeling that he hadn't been the only one to let his weakness overpower him for a time.
And, just like how Kazuya wouldn’t talk about the details of what happened in that town, nobody else particularly felt like talking about what happened to them either. Kazuya could imagine why; for himself, it was because he didn’t want to admit to Koki that he had as good as given up, and he also wanted to kept that secret of Nishikido to himself. He didn’t want anybody, not even his friends, questioning why he trusted in Nishikido.
Kazuya still didn’t know completely why he trusted Nishikido, but he just did, after all the two of them had gone through together. He didn't need the doubt that might come at him.
Right now, Kazuya was in a radio tower, sitting next to Koki and remembering the times when they had done this with a hint of fear and the rush of doing something useful, “And after a long time, we’re back!” Koki was grinning from ear to ear, “If you don’t recognize my voice, then perhaps this will remind you.”
He nodded at Kazuya, who got up and walked into connecting recording room where a piano was sitting, and Koki waved reassuringly at him.
Closing his eyes, Kazuya began to play. The familiar melody of On Wings of Song penetrated through the air, and was broadcasted all over the region; Kazuya couldn’t help but think of a time when this song was played over and over by his own hands, and there was a dark-eyed man sitting not far away, feeding the confusion and doubt that Kazuya had felt, but at the same time, invoking sympathy from him.
He kept wondering how Nishikido was doing…no matter how much time passed.
Kazuya thought it was normal; after all, Nishikido had been one of the reasons he was able to be here now, and even though he wouldn’t admit it aloud, Nishikido had become an important presence in his life, and toward the end, he had also been a welcome presence. He would never tell Koki that though, not even when he questioned why Kazuya oftentimes looked so worried and sad.
Kazuya lifted his hands from the keys softly, “That was On Wings of Song.” He said quietly, earning a worried look from Koki.
However, his best friend just grinned and began talking again, relating news of what was going on among the resistance right now.
Kazuya just sat there, lost in thought, but took a seat next to Koki again. After a while, he shook his head of thoughts of Nishikido and put on a smile and tried to concentrate on the broadcast.
“And we have captured a group of higher ranked military men near Tokyo,” Koki was announcing, reading from a paper, “Information comes from “Akira”. Most of them seem to be higher ups.” He said, not elaborating, but Kazuya knew that just the fact that they were captured meant that it was highly likely that these men would be put to death.
Kazuya didn’t say anything though, letting Koki continue.
Afterwards, Kazuya looked at Koki and in a way that he couldn’t help but remember the way he had asked Nishikido this almost exact question, “They’ll be put to death, won’t they?”
Koki paused, “Does that bother you?” he asked.
Kazuya shrugged.
“Kame-chan, you know we have to. We can’t risk them doing something like this again…” Koki said solemnly, almost as though he had been convincing himself, “They’ve killed a lot of us, and done a lot during this war.”
Kazuya resisted the urge to say that maybe, not all of them had wanted to and maybe not all of them were evil.
Eventually, he settled for, “I just don’t want to turn into them.” He said, repeating nearly the same words he had once said to Nishikido when the older man had offered him a gun.
Koki smiled sadly, “We at least show a bit of mercy.” He said quietly.
Kazuya couldn’t help but think of Nishikido again, “I hope so.” He said finally, so softly that Koki probably hadn’t heard him that time.
* * *
A few days later, Kazuya was stopped in the middle of the street by someone running up to him. Kazuya frowned; he recognized this man, but he couldn’t remember his name. He was definitely part of the resistance, and Kazuya had seen him around when he had been in Tokyo.
“Hey, Kamenashi.”
“Hey?” Kazuya said as he tried to remember the man’s name.
“You know someone named Nishikido?” the man asked, instantly pushing away all attempts for Kazuya to think of his name. Kazuya’s eyes widened as the man continued.
“I was stationed in Tokyo, on patrol there, one of the military we captured the other day asked for you, said that you would know of him, and if you could return the favour he did you once…”
Kazuya was staring in shock and dread at the man, before, he snapped out an almost desperate sounding, “Take me there.”
The shorter man nodded before he indicated a truck, “So you do know him then?” he asked idly as they got in. Kazuya could only nod shortly, barely noticing as the truck set off.
“What was the time they were to be…sentenced?” Kazuya asked after a long silence.
“…are you really going to save him?” the man asked in return.
Kazuya bit his lip, and closed his eyes with a sigh, “It’s complicated. How long does he have?”
“We should get there in time.”
Kazuya sighed in relief at those words, but even then, the entire trip there, he was tense and couldn’t think of anything other than Nishikido and the thought of him being executed for his position in the war.
When they got to Tokyo, and to the building where the sentencing was supposed to take place, Kazuya bolted out of the truck and toward the platform in the middle of the compound. He was just thankful that none of the men captured had been high profile enough to make the people in charge here decide to hold a public execution; Kazuya wasn’t sure he’d have been able to get through if they did.
Nishikido was standing in a line of men on the wooden platform, looking resigned to his fate; he was stripped down to his underwear, and his hands were handcuffed behind his back. Those black eyes that had often stared at Kazuya as he played the piano were no longer glittering with amusement or irritation.
Kazuya wondered if it was irony or luck that he knew both of the men in charge here.
“Wait, Yamapi - stop!” he called out quickly and loudly.
Yamapi and Koyama turned to look at him, surprised etched on their faces.
“Kazuya.”
Nishikido had looked up, and his eyes locked with Kazuya’s, and for a moment, Kazuya felt elation when he saw a sense of hope fill those dark eyes.
“Wait, don’t. Nishikido Ryo, that one there.” Kazuya was pointing, and desperately trying to explain himself, “Don’t kill him.” He said in a near pleading tone.
Yamapi’s expression hardened, “Kazuya.”
“You don’t understand Pi, he may have done some…bad things, but he went back to them because he was protecting me!” Kazuya tried, “He saved me, he could have killed me but he didn’t, and he made sure…he made sure I didn’t die of hunger, and he protected me from being found. I wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for him!”
Yamapi stared at Kazuya, and then looked back at Nishikido, who was staring at Kazuya with a similarly shocked expression.
“Pi, you know I wouldn’t ask you to do this if it wasn’t important. I owe him, I owe him my life, so please, spare his,” Kazuya tried.
“Kazuya…” Yamapi was hesitating, “We can’t risk that he’ll do something…all of these men have killed someone at one point…”
“I know he has! But…” Kazuya’s shoulders slouched, as he stared Nishikido in the eyes, trying to think of something, anything, “He’s not bad, Pi. You have to believe me. He’s not. He could have turned me in at any point, but he never did. He’s good, but he just made some bad decisions.” Kazuya had walked up to Nishikido, ignoring Yamapi’s soft warnings to get back, “Pi…please.”
“Kazuya, you know we can’t do that…if he hadn’t commited any crime, maybe…”
Kazuya was in front of Nishikido now, and he had a stricken expression on his face, “I’m trying…” he said softly, almost desperate for Nishikido to believe him.
Nishikido forced an arrogant smirk on his face, but his voice was too understanding, “I know…”
“Please, isn’t there…” Kazuya broke off, biting his lip. He moved his hand so that it was on a bruise on Nishikido’s cheek, “Pi…” he said slowly, “What if I take full responsibility for him?”
Both Nishikido and Yamapi gave a start at that.
“Full responsibility?” Yamapi asked doubtfully.
“It’ll be on my head if he does anything; I’ll be responsible for him, if you let him go free.” Kazuya tried to bargain, “That’ll work right? You know I’ve believed in the resistance from the start, and I’m not doing this because of any other reason than that I know that he’s good, and that he won’t do anything. But, if it means I have to promise my life for you to believe that, then I will!”
Nishikido started, “No, Kamenashi, you -”
Kazuya interrupted, “No, I’m not letting you die. Not when I haven’t had a chance to pay you back for all you’ve done. And your obsession with keeping me alive…it’ll be my guarantee that you won’t do anything.”
Yamapi was staring between the two, looking torn. He looked over at Koyama, who had a similar expression.
“Kazuya, do you know what you’re saying?” Yamapi asked finally, “You’re forfeiting your life too if he ever does anything.”
Kazuya looked at Nishikido, reminded of how hard the man had tried to keep Kazuya alive, “I know…” he said softly, “But I want him to live; I can’t just let it go, Pi.”
Yamapi bit his lip, and then finally, he sighed, “I hope you know what you’re doing,” he muttered, “Because I certainly don’t know what you’re doing.” He added.
Nishikido was staring at Kazuya like he had two heads, “Kamenashi…”
“Shut up and just say you’ll be good.” Kazuya said quietly.
Nishikido quickly said just that to Yamapi, who was staring at him suspiciously even as he handed Kazuya the key to Nishikido’s handcuffs, “The only reason the public, and the others in the resistance, would accept this is because it's you, and because you were so important in the resistance and in the reorganizing we're doing now. Anybody else and I wouldn't bother listening. You're so well-known among the resistance that saving your life may be enough for him to not get lynched for being who he is," he said in a dark tone, "But I just want you to know that I’m only allowing this because of all you’ve done for us Kazuya…”
“I know…thank you Pi.”
“And because I know you’ll do the right thing if he does anything.” Yamapi added.
Kazuya didn’t say anything to that, but simply stared at Nishikido for the longest time. Then, Kazuya began leading Nishikido away from the execution site, and outside the compound, they stopped, Finally, he managed to smile at the man, “I owe you a thank you.” He finally said.
Nishikido moved closer to Kazuya, awkwardly because he was still in his handcuffs, “I think we can forget about that now.” He said with a small, grateful, smile, “I’m pretty sure we’re even.”
Kazuya moved to brush his fingers against Nishikido’s skin, which was bruising from the handcuffs. He didn’t say anything to Nishikido though, and after a moment, he took a step closer, and reaching behind Nishikido, he fumbled with the unlocking the handcuffs.
They opened up with a loud click, falling to the ground, with a clattering noise. Kazuya took another step forward, taking Nishikido’s bruised wrists in his hands, while crushing the handcuffs beneath his foot.
---- END ---
That's it. Lol, I'm sorry to those who might have expected a hot forbidden relationship between enemy sides, but it didn't seem...appropriate for that to happen? idk, I hope all of you enjoyed that, and I just left a sort of open-end-ish ending, I think, but you can imagine what happens after I suppose. ^__^ Yes, I know a took a few liberties with Kame's role in the war, etc, but...well, i was changing a lot already, i didn't see the harm in changing that as well XDDD Actually, I was slightly unsure about sending this in in the end, because i had changed so much of the movie, but haha, I guess I decided to risk it. And as you can see, unlike the Pianist, I gave it a happy ending ;___; idk, i felt that if Ryo had died, despite his attempts to redeem himself for his actions, it would've been horrible. XDD I hope you all enjoyed reading it! :D
That was why, not long after Nishikido left, Kazuya left that piano room, to look for other places that either had food or supplies. He found one near the outskirts of town, but there wasn’t much left that was edible; it was good enough for now though.
Luckily, not long after Kazuya settled at the new location in the town - not knowing how safe it would be to leave town, considering that the last time had he had gone to the closest town, it had been overrun with authorities - he got a welcome surprise in the form of a truck driving into town.
Wary at first, Kazuya had made sure he had Nishikido’s gun safely tucked somewhere that he could access quickly, and approached.
It turned out to be a good idea to keep the weapon on him and be wary, because as soon as the people in the back of the truck spotted Kazuya, a shot was fired and Kazuya just barely managed to dodge it.
“Who are you?!” the man who was holding the gun demanded, standing in front of the rest of the people gathered in the truck.
“Who are you?” Kazuya shot back. The man growled, and shot at Kazuya again, but this time purposely missing Kazuya so that Kazuya would yelp and leap back, falling onto the ground.
The stranger took advantage of this and before Kazuya could get up again, had grabbed Kazuya by the wrist and twisted the gun out of Kazuya’s grasp.
Kazuya let out a hiss and promptly punched the man in the gut, earning a groan of pain, as the man released him, “I haven’t fucking done anything, so don’t just attack me,” he nearly snarled.
He thought that Nishikido would be pretty proud of him for that threatening tone he just used.
The stranger stared at him for a moment, “You’re not part of the military.” He said plainly, looking at Kazuya intently.
“No, I’m not, and you would know that if you had done something other than shoot me as soon as you saw me.” Kazuya retorted.
The man paused, “Resistance?” he questioned, apparently still a bit suspicious.
Kazuya paused, “Maybe.” He allowed grudgingly, “Why should I tell you?”
“Because the whole group of us,” the man sneered, “Are resistance members that just took down one of the military prisons. We’re supposed to bring back any allies we find in town.” He stated flatly.
Kazuya warily nodded his understanding, “Fine. I am.”
“Get in then.” The man waved, “We’re going to head to the next town over.”
Kazuya frowned, “I thought that was taken over by the military.” He said, but then again, it had been months since he had heard anything from out of town, or even about the state of the war itself, so he could be mistaken by now.
“They were driven out.” The man replied to that, “Anybody else in town?” he questioned, looking doubtfully at the area around them.
“No. I’m the only one still here.” Kazuya answered with a solemn expression. He got into the back of the truck though, as asked; he didn’t have anything of note he wanted to bring with him; all he needed, or wanted to bring with him, was Nishikido's gun. Just in case.
On the way to the next town, Kazuya found himself being updated on the war that he had missed hearing about for months and months, and as he heard more and more, he felt a tiny semblance of hope in his chest. It sounded like the resistance was starting to overpower the military forces when, before, they had barely been able to fight back.
Arriving in town, Kazuya was taken to a large building, probably the town hall that had been claimed by the resistance members, he reasoned. He paused for a moment, staring back in the direction of the town he had spent so many months in, and closed his eyes, resting his hand over the gun that was tucked into a safe place.
“You’re back, that didn’t take long -” a voice cut through Kazuya’s thoughts, making Kazuya blink in surprise and recognition.
“Junno.” He said with a hoarse voice, disbelieving. He had learned from Nishikido that a few of his friends were alive, but he hadn’t quite managed to believe it.
“Kame-chan,” Junno was peering at him, almost like he didn’t quite trust that the man in front of him was actually Kazuya, “Koki thinks you’re dead.” He said in shock.
“Koki’s alive?” Kazuya echoed in equal surprise.
That seemed to jolt Junno out of his shock, “Of course!” he exclaimed. He paused for a moment, “Though I should get you to Koki first, because if Tat-chan sees how starved you look, he might kill you.”
Kazuya almost didn’t dare to hope, “Is…is everyone alive?” he asked slowly; his heart was beating so fast he might as well have a heart attack. He had lost hope that he would see his friends alive ever again, but here Junno was, giving him all that hope.
“…not sure.” Junno answered with a sombre tone that seemed out of place on him, “I mean, other than Koki, Maru, and Tat-chan, we don’t about anyone else. Though I thought I saw Yamapi once.” He added.
Kazuya couldn’t help it; he smiled as brightly as he could. He had only ever smiled that brightly a few times in the past few months, in the time that he had been at peace and on friendly terms with Nishikido. He wondered why the soldier was still on his mind so much when it had been weeks since the older man had left, and they had decided to go in separate directions to protect themselves.
The moment Kazuya followed Junno into a large room, Kazuya heard a sharp intake of breath, before he suddenly found himself face to face with a wide-eyed Koki.
His best friend stared at Kazuya for a moment, before suddenly launching himself at Kazuya, enveloping Kazuya in a relieved hug. Kazuya stumbled back a bit at the sudden weight, but then he smiled. He was still trying to force the thoughts of Nishikido out of his mind, but was fairly unsuccessful.
He didn’t know what to say to Koki, who was still holding tightly onto him, but he managed a, “I’m happy you’re okay,” in a voice so full of relief that Koki merely laughed and hugged Kazuya again. Kazuya closed his eyes, suddenly remembering that one of the only reasons that he was here right now, able to reconnect with his friends, was because of Nishikido’s constant pushing for Kazuya to stay alive.
Thank you, he wanted to say and, not for the first time, wished that he could see Nishikido to say it to him.
* * *
Even more time passed, weeks and months, and Kazuya was caught up with his friends, and the war that was slowly drawing to a close. In the time that he had spent in that town, the war had progressed in such a way that the resistance had the upper hand, and in just a few months, the war had begun to fade into nothing. The prince, the one who had started it all, had been captured only a few days ago, and with him, the chain of command fell as well, until the military that had been under his control was left scattered and disorganized - in a way that was similar to how the resistance was at the beginning of the war.
Nishikido had been right; Koki and Junno had been captured, Kazuya had been missing to everyone else, and Ueda, Maru and various others had either been missing or captured, but just the fact that they were still living, because they weren’t declared dead, meant that the idea of them hadn't died. Because of that, people were willing to fight, and they didn’t lose hope.
Kazuya wasn’t quite sure what he thought about somehow inspiring people to fight when he had practically given up when he had been alone in that town, but he was extremely grateful that when he had lost hope, nobody else had. It seemed like the rest of his friends had simply accepted that for what it was as well, and Kazuya had a feeling that he hadn't been the only one to let his weakness overpower him for a time.
And, just like how Kazuya wouldn’t talk about the details of what happened in that town, nobody else particularly felt like talking about what happened to them either. Kazuya could imagine why; for himself, it was because he didn’t want to admit to Koki that he had as good as given up, and he also wanted to kept that secret of Nishikido to himself. He didn’t want anybody, not even his friends, questioning why he trusted in Nishikido.
Kazuya still didn’t know completely why he trusted Nishikido, but he just did, after all the two of them had gone through together. He didn't need the doubt that might come at him.
Right now, Kazuya was in a radio tower, sitting next to Koki and remembering the times when they had done this with a hint of fear and the rush of doing something useful, “And after a long time, we’re back!” Koki was grinning from ear to ear, “If you don’t recognize my voice, then perhaps this will remind you.”
He nodded at Kazuya, who got up and walked into connecting recording room where a piano was sitting, and Koki waved reassuringly at him.
Closing his eyes, Kazuya began to play. The familiar melody of On Wings of Song penetrated through the air, and was broadcasted all over the region; Kazuya couldn’t help but think of a time when this song was played over and over by his own hands, and there was a dark-eyed man sitting not far away, feeding the confusion and doubt that Kazuya had felt, but at the same time, invoking sympathy from him.
He kept wondering how Nishikido was doing…no matter how much time passed.
Kazuya thought it was normal; after all, Nishikido had been one of the reasons he was able to be here now, and even though he wouldn’t admit it aloud, Nishikido had become an important presence in his life, and toward the end, he had also been a welcome presence. He would never tell Koki that though, not even when he questioned why Kazuya oftentimes looked so worried and sad.
Kazuya lifted his hands from the keys softly, “That was On Wings of Song.” He said quietly, earning a worried look from Koki.
However, his best friend just grinned and began talking again, relating news of what was going on among the resistance right now.
Kazuya just sat there, lost in thought, but took a seat next to Koki again. After a while, he shook his head of thoughts of Nishikido and put on a smile and tried to concentrate on the broadcast.
“And we have captured a group of higher ranked military men near Tokyo,” Koki was announcing, reading from a paper, “Information comes from “Akira”. Most of them seem to be higher ups.” He said, not elaborating, but Kazuya knew that just the fact that they were captured meant that it was highly likely that these men would be put to death.
Kazuya didn’t say anything though, letting Koki continue.
Afterwards, Kazuya looked at Koki and in a way that he couldn’t help but remember the way he had asked Nishikido this almost exact question, “They’ll be put to death, won’t they?”
Koki paused, “Does that bother you?” he asked.
Kazuya shrugged.
“Kame-chan, you know we have to. We can’t risk them doing something like this again…” Koki said solemnly, almost as though he had been convincing himself, “They’ve killed a lot of us, and done a lot during this war.”
Kazuya resisted the urge to say that maybe, not all of them had wanted to and maybe not all of them were evil.
Eventually, he settled for, “I just don’t want to turn into them.” He said, repeating nearly the same words he had once said to Nishikido when the older man had offered him a gun.
Koki smiled sadly, “We at least show a bit of mercy.” He said quietly.
Kazuya couldn’t help but think of Nishikido again, “I hope so.” He said finally, so softly that Koki probably hadn’t heard him that time.
* * *
A few days later, Kazuya was stopped in the middle of the street by someone running up to him. Kazuya frowned; he recognized this man, but he couldn’t remember his name. He was definitely part of the resistance, and Kazuya had seen him around when he had been in Tokyo.
“Hey, Kamenashi.”
“Hey?” Kazuya said as he tried to remember the man’s name.
“You know someone named Nishikido?” the man asked, instantly pushing away all attempts for Kazuya to think of his name. Kazuya’s eyes widened as the man continued.
“I was stationed in Tokyo, on patrol there, one of the military we captured the other day asked for you, said that you would know of him, and if you could return the favour he did you once…”
Kazuya was staring in shock and dread at the man, before, he snapped out an almost desperate sounding, “Take me there.”
The shorter man nodded before he indicated a truck, “So you do know him then?” he asked idly as they got in. Kazuya could only nod shortly, barely noticing as the truck set off.
“What was the time they were to be…sentenced?” Kazuya asked after a long silence.
“…are you really going to save him?” the man asked in return.
Kazuya bit his lip, and closed his eyes with a sigh, “It’s complicated. How long does he have?”
“We should get there in time.”
Kazuya sighed in relief at those words, but even then, the entire trip there, he was tense and couldn’t think of anything other than Nishikido and the thought of him being executed for his position in the war.
When they got to Tokyo, and to the building where the sentencing was supposed to take place, Kazuya bolted out of the truck and toward the platform in the middle of the compound. He was just thankful that none of the men captured had been high profile enough to make the people in charge here decide to hold a public execution; Kazuya wasn’t sure he’d have been able to get through if they did.
Nishikido was standing in a line of men on the wooden platform, looking resigned to his fate; he was stripped down to his underwear, and his hands were handcuffed behind his back. Those black eyes that had often stared at Kazuya as he played the piano were no longer glittering with amusement or irritation.
Kazuya wondered if it was irony or luck that he knew both of the men in charge here.
“Wait, Yamapi - stop!” he called out quickly and loudly.
Yamapi and Koyama turned to look at him, surprised etched on their faces.
“Kazuya.”
Nishikido had looked up, and his eyes locked with Kazuya’s, and for a moment, Kazuya felt elation when he saw a sense of hope fill those dark eyes.
“Wait, don’t. Nishikido Ryo, that one there.” Kazuya was pointing, and desperately trying to explain himself, “Don’t kill him.” He said in a near pleading tone.
Yamapi’s expression hardened, “Kazuya.”
“You don’t understand Pi, he may have done some…bad things, but he went back to them because he was protecting me!” Kazuya tried, “He saved me, he could have killed me but he didn’t, and he made sure…he made sure I didn’t die of hunger, and he protected me from being found. I wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for him!”
Yamapi stared at Kazuya, and then looked back at Nishikido, who was staring at Kazuya with a similarly shocked expression.
“Pi, you know I wouldn’t ask you to do this if it wasn’t important. I owe him, I owe him my life, so please, spare his,” Kazuya tried.
“Kazuya…” Yamapi was hesitating, “We can’t risk that he’ll do something…all of these men have killed someone at one point…”
“I know he has! But…” Kazuya’s shoulders slouched, as he stared Nishikido in the eyes, trying to think of something, anything, “He’s not bad, Pi. You have to believe me. He’s not. He could have turned me in at any point, but he never did. He’s good, but he just made some bad decisions.” Kazuya had walked up to Nishikido, ignoring Yamapi’s soft warnings to get back, “Pi…please.”
“Kazuya, you know we can’t do that…if he hadn’t commited any crime, maybe…”
Kazuya was in front of Nishikido now, and he had a stricken expression on his face, “I’m trying…” he said softly, almost desperate for Nishikido to believe him.
Nishikido forced an arrogant smirk on his face, but his voice was too understanding, “I know…”
“Please, isn’t there…” Kazuya broke off, biting his lip. He moved his hand so that it was on a bruise on Nishikido’s cheek, “Pi…” he said slowly, “What if I take full responsibility for him?”
Both Nishikido and Yamapi gave a start at that.
“Full responsibility?” Yamapi asked doubtfully.
“It’ll be on my head if he does anything; I’ll be responsible for him, if you let him go free.” Kazuya tried to bargain, “That’ll work right? You know I’ve believed in the resistance from the start, and I’m not doing this because of any other reason than that I know that he’s good, and that he won’t do anything. But, if it means I have to promise my life for you to believe that, then I will!”
Nishikido started, “No, Kamenashi, you -”
Kazuya interrupted, “No, I’m not letting you die. Not when I haven’t had a chance to pay you back for all you’ve done. And your obsession with keeping me alive…it’ll be my guarantee that you won’t do anything.”
Yamapi was staring between the two, looking torn. He looked over at Koyama, who had a similar expression.
“Kazuya, do you know what you’re saying?” Yamapi asked finally, “You’re forfeiting your life too if he ever does anything.”
Kazuya looked at Nishikido, reminded of how hard the man had tried to keep Kazuya alive, “I know…” he said softly, “But I want him to live; I can’t just let it go, Pi.”
Yamapi bit his lip, and then finally, he sighed, “I hope you know what you’re doing,” he muttered, “Because I certainly don’t know what you’re doing.” He added.
Nishikido was staring at Kazuya like he had two heads, “Kamenashi…”
“Shut up and just say you’ll be good.” Kazuya said quietly.
Nishikido quickly said just that to Yamapi, who was staring at him suspiciously even as he handed Kazuya the key to Nishikido’s handcuffs, “The only reason the public, and the others in the resistance, would accept this is because it's you, and because you were so important in the resistance and in the reorganizing we're doing now. Anybody else and I wouldn't bother listening. You're so well-known among the resistance that saving your life may be enough for him to not get lynched for being who he is," he said in a dark tone, "But I just want you to know that I’m only allowing this because of all you’ve done for us Kazuya…”
“I know…thank you Pi.”
“And because I know you’ll do the right thing if he does anything.” Yamapi added.
Kazuya didn’t say anything to that, but simply stared at Nishikido for the longest time. Then, Kazuya began leading Nishikido away from the execution site, and outside the compound, they stopped, Finally, he managed to smile at the man, “I owe you a thank you.” He finally said.
Nishikido moved closer to Kazuya, awkwardly because he was still in his handcuffs, “I think we can forget about that now.” He said with a small, grateful, smile, “I’m pretty sure we’re even.”
Kazuya moved to brush his fingers against Nishikido’s skin, which was bruising from the handcuffs. He didn’t say anything to Nishikido though, and after a moment, he took a step closer, and reaching behind Nishikido, he fumbled with the unlocking the handcuffs.
They opened up with a loud click, falling to the ground, with a clattering noise. Kazuya took another step forward, taking Nishikido’s bruised wrists in his hands, while crushing the handcuffs beneath his foot.
---- END ---
That's it. Lol, I'm sorry to those who might have expected a hot forbidden relationship between enemy sides, but it didn't seem...appropriate for that to happen? idk, I hope all of you enjoyed that, and I just left a sort of open-end-ish ending, I think, but you can imagine what happens after I suppose. ^__^ Yes, I know a took a few liberties with Kame's role in the war, etc, but...well, i was changing a lot already, i didn't see the harm in changing that as well XDDD Actually, I was slightly unsure about sending this in in the end, because i had changed so much of the movie, but haha, I guess I decided to risk it. And as you can see, unlike the Pianist, I gave it a happy ending ;___; idk, i felt that if Ryo had died, despite his attempts to redeem himself for his actions, it would've been horrible. XDD I hope you all enjoyed reading it! :D