KHR: Cause and Effect (Byakuran/Shouichi), Part 1
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
Summary: Shouichi. Byakuran. A tangled relationship reaching back to childhood.
I must be crazy to attempt a long fic. Why do you do this to me, 10051? D:
Cause and Effect
Part 1
It would be so simple to kill Byakuran in bed. His defenses are down, there are no guards, and he isn't even wearing his ring (semen and blood are such a bitch to clean out once they harden).
There's a gun in his discarded jacket, one that Byakuran has insisted he carry ("for your own protection, Shou-chan" - said with a knowing smile and calculating eyes). It's loaded with five rounds, more than enough for the lousiest shot. Not that Shouichi would miss at this distance, no matter how badly his hands would shake and his vision would blur.
There's a good chance he would get away with the murder. A majority of the old Giglionero family still resent Byakuran for the forced merger, their second-class status and the dead puppet eyes of their once vibrant boss. With Byakuran dead, there would be a scramble between the remaining White Spell and the Black Spell to take control. Whichever side won, the power would be more than halved during the in-fighting, and they would be in no position to carry on with the Tri-ni-sette policy.
Shouichi could slip away in the confusion and seek refuge with the Vongola. Or perhaps he could return to his family and a normal life where success isn't measured in terms of how many enemies you kill.
"Shou-chan," Byakuran murmurs happily in his sleep, unaware that the man he's dreaming of is having his own waking dreams, fantasies about freedom and nightmares about a future without him.
It would be simple, but it is also impossible. Shouichi cannot kill Byakuran.
-----
Vongola Decimo wastes no words. "No."
"We have no choice!"
"There's always a choice," Vongola Decimo corrects, gently but firmly. The flames in his eyes are warm with kindness, kindness that they cannot afford.
It is this rumored kindness to the enemy that allowed Shouichi to approach, knowing there would be no trap and no blackmail if the deal goes sour. Still, it frustrates Shouichi that the Vongola Decimo continues to be so obtuse.
"It's that kind of foolish idealism that led you to destroy the Vongola rings," Shouichi accuses angrily and he's lucky that the Vongola's right-hand man isn't here to see his boss take the abuse. "But it didn't change anything, except weaken your own defense."
"I won't kill a child for crimes he has yet to commit."
"But he will! He already has! You've seen it yourself!" Shouichi bangs his fists on the table, desperate to hammer the point in. "Your home tutor and the other Arcobaleno, that was all Byakuran-san's doing. And he won't stop there. He'll continue to target your friends and family until he destroys you all!"
"I'll stop him."
"There's only one way to do that!" Shouichi insists vehemently. "You must kill him before he comes into his powers."
"I'll find another way."
There is true conviction in Vongola Decimo's statement that gives Shouichi pause and lights a spark of hope. This man is not being naive. He understands the gravity of the situation, has suffered loss and setback, but hasn't let grief tear apart his belief in morality, in his innate sense of justice. His strength stems from experience in fighting against the odds and winning, of winning not for the sake of cheap pride or material gain, but because he truly believes in every cause he fights for.
Maybe this man can actually do it.
Then the realist in Shouichi takes over and he is drowning in despair. He has spent so much time agonizing about this decision, whether he could actually betray Byakuran. It hasn't occurred to him that the Vongola Decimo might not agree to the plan.
"If you won't personally do it then maybe the Varia-"
"This is why I hate weak herbivores," Vongola Decimo's guardian speaks up for the first time. His heels click hard and precise toward Shouichi and for the first time since the meeting started, Shouichi feels his life in danger. "So easy to order executions but you won't dirty your own hands, will you, Irie Shouichi?"
"Hibari-san," Vongola Decimo says mildly and Shouichi isn't sure why he's so surprised that the cloud guardian backs down.
"This device you mentioned," Vongola Decimo resumes the conversation. "Please explain a little more about how it works."
"But you just-"
"I won't kill the Byakuran from the past. But there may be another way to use it to level the playing field."
-----
Byakuran is waiting for him in his room when he returns, stretched out on his bed, boots dirtying the white sheets and crumbs from an open package of chips littering his pillow.
"Welcome back, Shou-chan! How was your trip?" Byakuran asks cheerfully, tossing aside the manga that he's been leafing through.
"It was fine."
"Oh?"
"Modifications to the Melone base will be completed on schedule and the device was transported without any problems," Shouichi elaborates, remembering the supposed purpose of his trip.
"Good good." Byakuran dismisses the expected answers. "Did you get a chance to visit any friends?"
"I didn't find the time."
"Is that so." Byakuran's smile slips and he studies Shouichi shrewdly. "That's a shame. You should make the time. You don't know when you'll get another opportunity, since I keep you so busy."
"Work is more important, Byakuran-san," Shouichi replies stiffly, turning to his desk so that his back is to Byakuran. His documents are open and scattered about his desk, but not in its normal pattern of disarray.
He's been looking through my stuff again, he notes with growing coldness. And he isn't trying to hide it. He wants me to know that he's checking up on me. The only safe place for secrets is inside my own head, only even that may not be safe because I can swear he's rummaging through my thoughts every time he looks at me.
Byakuran gets out of bed and hugs Shouichi from behind, draping his arms over him and placing his chin on Shouichi's left shoulder. "Hey, Shou-chan. I was just thinking back to the first time we met. Do you remember?"
"When you transferred to Yuumei Chuu?"
"Mm... was it only then? It feels like I knew you from before." Byakuran places his fingers across Shouichi's throat and kisses his neck. "Maybe we knew each other in a past life, destined lovers and all that," he says lightly.
"I don't believe in reincarnation."
"So unromantic, Shou-chan," Byakuran complains good-naturedly. "And here I was trying to set the mood."
Shouichi swallows hard. He's tired from his trip, from planning and meeting with Vongola Decimo and then covering his tracks and accounting for the missing time, paranoia of being followed dogging his every step. He needs his space; he can't handle a night with Byakuran, tensely staying awake to prevent his habit of sleeptalking from revealing anything incriminating, unable to shut off his mind from worrying.
It doesn't look like he'll get a reprieve. Byakuran continues to kiss him, unzipping his jacket and sliding a hand beneath Shouichi's shirt.
Byakuran whispers in his ear in low, dulcet tones suitable for seduction.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi is dead."
Shouichi stops breathing.
"Five squads followed a lead and ambushed him just outside Namimori. So careless, don't you think, Shou-chan, walking out in public like that? He only had one guardian with him."
It's my fault, Shouichi realizes. I asked to meet with him in private, away from his family.
Then the real, frightening possibility: Byakuran-san had me tailed. He knows. He knows! HE KNOWS!!
Shouichi struggles to control his panic and fails miserably. "Are you sure it was him?"
"I was hoping you could confirm it for me, Shou-chan."
"How-"
"This morning at the airport... Iris asked you to deliver a package, right?"
Shouichi fumbles in his pocket and brings out the small jewelry box, the pit of dread in his stomach blossoming into an acute stomachache.
"Open it."
Inside, laid in dark velvet, is an A-class sky ring that he has seen only yesterday. It is still attached to Vongola Decimo's severed finger.
Shouichi drops the box, breaks away from Byakuran, and runs to the toilet, where he promptly vomits up canned coffee and airplane food, then dry-heaves some more.
Byakuran whistles happily from the doorframe until Shouichi is finished. "I decided to promote you, Shou-chan. And I'm assigning two of the Cervello to be your assistants."
"I don't need any help."
"Nonsense. Someone as important as Shou-chan shouldn't get bogged down with petty distractions. They'll be there to take care of your every need so that you can focus on your research. Why, you'll never need to leave the base again," Byakuran says with all the generosity of a king bestowing favor onto his knight. "Doesn't that sound wonderful?"
"Wonderful," Shouichi echoes mechanically, and he rinses out his mouth and washes his face. This is not the time to grieve for Vongola Decimo's death. That can come later, after Byakuran is stopped.
-----
Part 2.
-----
Also posted to fanfiction.net
Genre: Drama
Summary: Shouichi. Byakuran. A tangled relationship reaching back to childhood.
I must be crazy to attempt a long fic. Why do you do this to me, 10051? D:
Cause and Effect
Part 1
It would be so simple to kill Byakuran in bed. His defenses are down, there are no guards, and he isn't even wearing his ring (semen and blood are such a bitch to clean out once they harden).
There's a gun in his discarded jacket, one that Byakuran has insisted he carry ("for your own protection, Shou-chan" - said with a knowing smile and calculating eyes). It's loaded with five rounds, more than enough for the lousiest shot. Not that Shouichi would miss at this distance, no matter how badly his hands would shake and his vision would blur.
There's a good chance he would get away with the murder. A majority of the old Giglionero family still resent Byakuran for the forced merger, their second-class status and the dead puppet eyes of their once vibrant boss. With Byakuran dead, there would be a scramble between the remaining White Spell and the Black Spell to take control. Whichever side won, the power would be more than halved during the in-fighting, and they would be in no position to carry on with the Tri-ni-sette policy.
Shouichi could slip away in the confusion and seek refuge with the Vongola. Or perhaps he could return to his family and a normal life where success isn't measured in terms of how many enemies you kill.
"Shou-chan," Byakuran murmurs happily in his sleep, unaware that the man he's dreaming of is having his own waking dreams, fantasies about freedom and nightmares about a future without him.
It would be simple, but it is also impossible. Shouichi cannot kill Byakuran.
-----
Vongola Decimo wastes no words. "No."
"We have no choice!"
"There's always a choice," Vongola Decimo corrects, gently but firmly. The flames in his eyes are warm with kindness, kindness that they cannot afford.
It is this rumored kindness to the enemy that allowed Shouichi to approach, knowing there would be no trap and no blackmail if the deal goes sour. Still, it frustrates Shouichi that the Vongola Decimo continues to be so obtuse.
"It's that kind of foolish idealism that led you to destroy the Vongola rings," Shouichi accuses angrily and he's lucky that the Vongola's right-hand man isn't here to see his boss take the abuse. "But it didn't change anything, except weaken your own defense."
"I won't kill a child for crimes he has yet to commit."
"But he will! He already has! You've seen it yourself!" Shouichi bangs his fists on the table, desperate to hammer the point in. "Your home tutor and the other Arcobaleno, that was all Byakuran-san's doing. And he won't stop there. He'll continue to target your friends and family until he destroys you all!"
"I'll stop him."
"There's only one way to do that!" Shouichi insists vehemently. "You must kill him before he comes into his powers."
"I'll find another way."
There is true conviction in Vongola Decimo's statement that gives Shouichi pause and lights a spark of hope. This man is not being naive. He understands the gravity of the situation, has suffered loss and setback, but hasn't let grief tear apart his belief in morality, in his innate sense of justice. His strength stems from experience in fighting against the odds and winning, of winning not for the sake of cheap pride or material gain, but because he truly believes in every cause he fights for.
Maybe this man can actually do it.
Then the realist in Shouichi takes over and he is drowning in despair. He has spent so much time agonizing about this decision, whether he could actually betray Byakuran. It hasn't occurred to him that the Vongola Decimo might not agree to the plan.
"If you won't personally do it then maybe the Varia-"
"This is why I hate weak herbivores," Vongola Decimo's guardian speaks up for the first time. His heels click hard and precise toward Shouichi and for the first time since the meeting started, Shouichi feels his life in danger. "So easy to order executions but you won't dirty your own hands, will you, Irie Shouichi?"
"Hibari-san," Vongola Decimo says mildly and Shouichi isn't sure why he's so surprised that the cloud guardian backs down.
"This device you mentioned," Vongola Decimo resumes the conversation. "Please explain a little more about how it works."
"But you just-"
"I won't kill the Byakuran from the past. But there may be another way to use it to level the playing field."
-----
Byakuran is waiting for him in his room when he returns, stretched out on his bed, boots dirtying the white sheets and crumbs from an open package of chips littering his pillow.
"Welcome back, Shou-chan! How was your trip?" Byakuran asks cheerfully, tossing aside the manga that he's been leafing through.
"It was fine."
"Oh?"
"Modifications to the Melone base will be completed on schedule and the device was transported without any problems," Shouichi elaborates, remembering the supposed purpose of his trip.
"Good good." Byakuran dismisses the expected answers. "Did you get a chance to visit any friends?"
"I didn't find the time."
"Is that so." Byakuran's smile slips and he studies Shouichi shrewdly. "That's a shame. You should make the time. You don't know when you'll get another opportunity, since I keep you so busy."
"Work is more important, Byakuran-san," Shouichi replies stiffly, turning to his desk so that his back is to Byakuran. His documents are open and scattered about his desk, but not in its normal pattern of disarray.
He's been looking through my stuff again, he notes with growing coldness. And he isn't trying to hide it. He wants me to know that he's checking up on me. The only safe place for secrets is inside my own head, only even that may not be safe because I can swear he's rummaging through my thoughts every time he looks at me.
Byakuran gets out of bed and hugs Shouichi from behind, draping his arms over him and placing his chin on Shouichi's left shoulder. "Hey, Shou-chan. I was just thinking back to the first time we met. Do you remember?"
"When you transferred to Yuumei Chuu?"
"Mm... was it only then? It feels like I knew you from before." Byakuran places his fingers across Shouichi's throat and kisses his neck. "Maybe we knew each other in a past life, destined lovers and all that," he says lightly.
"I don't believe in reincarnation."
"So unromantic, Shou-chan," Byakuran complains good-naturedly. "And here I was trying to set the mood."
Shouichi swallows hard. He's tired from his trip, from planning and meeting with Vongola Decimo and then covering his tracks and accounting for the missing time, paranoia of being followed dogging his every step. He needs his space; he can't handle a night with Byakuran, tensely staying awake to prevent his habit of sleeptalking from revealing anything incriminating, unable to shut off his mind from worrying.
It doesn't look like he'll get a reprieve. Byakuran continues to kiss him, unzipping his jacket and sliding a hand beneath Shouichi's shirt.
Byakuran whispers in his ear in low, dulcet tones suitable for seduction.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi is dead."
Shouichi stops breathing.
"Five squads followed a lead and ambushed him just outside Namimori. So careless, don't you think, Shou-chan, walking out in public like that? He only had one guardian with him."
It's my fault, Shouichi realizes. I asked to meet with him in private, away from his family.
Then the real, frightening possibility: Byakuran-san had me tailed. He knows. He knows! HE KNOWS!!
Shouichi struggles to control his panic and fails miserably. "Are you sure it was him?"
"I was hoping you could confirm it for me, Shou-chan."
"How-"
"This morning at the airport... Iris asked you to deliver a package, right?"
Shouichi fumbles in his pocket and brings out the small jewelry box, the pit of dread in his stomach blossoming into an acute stomachache.
"Open it."
Inside, laid in dark velvet, is an A-class sky ring that he has seen only yesterday. It is still attached to Vongola Decimo's severed finger.
Shouichi drops the box, breaks away from Byakuran, and runs to the toilet, where he promptly vomits up canned coffee and airplane food, then dry-heaves some more.
Byakuran whistles happily from the doorframe until Shouichi is finished. "I decided to promote you, Shou-chan. And I'm assigning two of the Cervello to be your assistants."
"I don't need any help."
"Nonsense. Someone as important as Shou-chan shouldn't get bogged down with petty distractions. They'll be there to take care of your every need so that you can focus on your research. Why, you'll never need to leave the base again," Byakuran says with all the generosity of a king bestowing favor onto his knight. "Doesn't that sound wonderful?"
"Wonderful," Shouichi echoes mechanically, and he rinses out his mouth and washes his face. This is not the time to grieve for Vongola Decimo's death. That can come later, after Byakuran is stopped.
-----
Part 2.
-----
Also posted to fanfiction.net