[Team 1] Bloodied Choices
Set in the Bloodied!Verse! How it all started. I think. 8D;; Slightly disjointed, but I wanted something that better established how KitaFuji ended up the way they do.
---
Blood stained the ground, still wet and warm and pungent, as if it were still living blood. Soon it would cool and die in the cold winter air, but not for another moment yet, the scent almost heady as Fujigaya sank to the ground.
Kitayama scuffed the sole of his boot through the puddle of blood, grimacing. “They’re getting stronger.”
Fujigaya shook his head in tired frustration. Though neither had suffered injuries, it had been a long, thankless battle. Fujigaya could feel the strain on his soul-force, knowing he’d have to repair the splintering soon. “They’re pushing at the borders and they’re gaining forces every day. They’re going to punch through eventually.”
They lapsed into silence, letting the futility sink in. While both sides had been evenly matched for so long, the West was slowly eating away at Lord Takizawa’s resources. If nothing changed, they’d be overrun by the enemy in weeks, if not less.
“Can’t let that happen,” Kitayama muttered, turning away from Fujigaya. He appeared too worn out to pace, he couldn’t make himself still. Fujigaya tracked his every movement, reading the weariness in Kitayama’s bones. “We can’t let that happen.”
Silence fell again, with Kitayama’s back turned to him and Fujigaya knew they were asking the same questions. How could they find a way to turn the tide of war and how many were going to die before they found out.
Another question Fujigaya was asking was what happened if they died first.
… If they died first.
It was a terrible, horrifying thought, but once it entered his thoughts, it clung. He watched as Kitayama shuffled from body to body, trying to bite back the words, because it was wrong, so very wrong, but he couldn’t.
“We could do it.”
Kitayama glanced over, frowning. “What?”
“We could stop it,” Fujigaya said, pushing himself to his feet. “We could do it.” He stopped short, realizing how cruel it was to simply assume that Kitayama would do this with him. “I could do it,” he amended.
A look of suspicion steals across Kitayama’s face as he turns back and steps over a corpse towards Fujigaya. “What does that mean?”
Worrying his lower lip between his teeth, Fujigaya shook his head. This was madness. But it was the kind of madness that could help them.
“We go to the Gates,” he said, so softly Kitayama leaned closer to hear. “We go to the Gates and then… I’d open them.”
Kitayama stared at him as if he’d gone insane - which, admittedly, he probably had. “Hear me out,” he said before the man could yell at him. “I know that’s not what you want to hear-“
“Damn fucking right, it’s not,” Kitayama choked out. “You want to go up to the Gates of Death and-“
“I don’t want to,” Fujigaya cried out. “God knows, I’d want nothing else than to go home, Kitayama. I wanted to be a teacher or a DJ or anything but this. But,” he paused, looking down at his feet instead of Kitayama’s intense stare. “I don’t want to have to bury what’s left of our world.”
“So you’ll make them bury you?” asked Kitayama, his voice almost cold with disbelief. “You want to make me bury you?”
“There won’t be anything for you to bury.” Which was true, because Death would swallow them whole if they did this.
Kitayama studied him for a moment, lips drawn down in a frown. “Are you sure?” he asked after several moments of silence. “Are you really sure you can do this? Because if we do this, we can’t go back.”
It took Fujigaya by surprise, having the question turned around at him. He opened his mouth to say yes because hadn’t this started with him? But the word clung to his tongue and he had to think about it.
Was he?
Kitayama hadn’t just been asking about Fujigaya though. “We?” he asked, brows furrowed in surprise.
The look he received was a strange mixture of reproach and amusement. “You think I’d just let you go there and face that alone? Do you doubt me so much, Daisuke?”
“Fuck off!” Fujigaya couldn’t help but laugh though, at a very old and childish joke and the solid punch of knowledge that Kitayama was willing to follow him into the dark. Kitayama even joined in for a few seconds before sobering up.
“I need to know if you’re sure, Taisuke,” he said and Fujigaya glanced away.
He thought of Yusuke and Ryousuke and his parents, of the family he’d never see again. He thought of late nights spent catching up with Yokoo and Senga, on the training grounds with Nikaido, or even crashing on Tamamori and Miyata’s couch. Of all the friends he’d made before and during the war who were still fighting valiantly for a chance to live.
He’d never have that again. All of it would stay. They’d remain, but he wouldn’t. It was worth it, wasn’t it? Knowing he could keep them all safe - to give them all the time they deserved to have.
“You have to be sure,” Kitayama murmured, and Fujigaya thought instead of all the times he’d spent with Kitayama. Fighting together, fighting each other, they’d been through it all together, and now… That would be over too. And he thought of all the things he’d said and all the things he hadn’t said, the regret lacing his calculations.
But in the end, with blood and death around them, he could look up at Kitayama and smile and say, “Yes.”
Though he didn’t return his smile, Kitayama relaxed, his eyes softening. “Let’s go,” he said, nodding to the east. “The sun will rise soon.”
~
The Gates of Death were as forbidding as they sounded, looming in the dark valley. Fujigaya was truly exhausted by the time they reached it - and it was almost a miracle that they were able to find it - with his soul-force slowly shredding itself painfully.
The Gates were made of damned metal and bone and Fujigaya shuddered as he brushed his fingertips over it. They hadn’t tried opening the Gates the last time they’d been here, but they knew what lay beyond them.
Beside him, Kitayama was mouthing a wordless prayer. A last rite before they gave themselves over to what stood behind the Gates.
They knocked together, hearts racing, breath catching, fingers going cold. The sound boomed through the Gates, the ground rumbling beneath their feet. Stumbling, Fujigaya threw a hand out to steady himself, only to have Kitayama catch it and pull him close.
“We can do this,” Kitayama said as they steadied. He didn’t let go of Fujigaya’s hand.
The Gates screeched as if agonized when they were pulled open, and then Death stood before them.
Fujigaya recoiled automatically, unable to completely quell the urge to run away, but Kitayama tightened his grip, drawing Fujigaya back in.
Death did not have one distinct form. Instead, Death flickered from one appearance to another - Death might be a man with six eyes or a wolf with serrated teeth running along its back or a woman whose skin was made of flames.
“You returned,” intoned Death, looking at neither of them.
“You said you could help us,” Fujigaya said, finding his voice with the warmth of Kitayama’s hand. “When we were here before.” It had been like walking into a nightmare, happening upon the Gates with Death standing outside, as if Death had been waiting for them. Back then, Death had only said that if they were ever to return, Death could provide them with all they would need to succeed in their foolish war.
“There is a price.”
“We know,” said Kitayama, though Fujigaya wondered what they could possibly give that would satisfy Death.
Death looked to Fujigaya, his form flickering to that of a massive cobra wrapped in chains. “And you?”
Fujigaya squared his shoulders, lifting his chin high. “I will do it,” he said.
There was no warning as Death struck out and a sword made of the same damned metal and bone as the Gates pierced Fujigaya, stabbing him through the chest, just as Kitayama was struck as well.
It was blood and death and pain as Fujigaya felt his body burn away, his soul-force already splintered, but now it began to shred itself into pieces, destroying itself. A part of him, he didn’t know what, clung to Kitayama, feeling the pain course through them both without a chance for them to scream.
Then he was gone.
There was nothing left of Fujigaya but burnt bones and shattered soul but then the darkness snaked into him, remaking him in a heartbeat.
He and Kitayama still held hands.
Or what was left of them.
“None of my kin shall claim you,” proclaimed Death, now a panther whose head had been split open. “Nor shall I take you before you return here. But beware those of true purity, who command the power of the angels for they will destroy you.”
“We will,” they said, with one voice.
“Then go, my children.” Death smiled, a most terrible sight, before vanishing back within the Gates. They closed with the finality of doom, leaving Fujigaya and Kitayama alone in the valley.
Fujigaya felt the darkness twist through his remade body and looked down at his arm, seeing the black scars of Death twisting across his skin. He smiled giddily over at Kitayama. “Come,” he said, swinging their hands between them playfully. “Tono will wonder where we’ve gotten to.”
“Yes,” agreed Kitayama, though he yanked Fujigaya closer, all sharp edged smiles as he kept Fujigaya close. “Let’s go.”
~
Takizawa was used to Kitayama and Fujigaya appearing when he least expected it, but still recoiled when a sudden metallic scent spread through the conference room, where he was consulting Yara and Totsuka.
The two stood so strangely still, their hands clasped together, and their eyes filled with a malice that Takizawa had never seen before.
Totsuka gave a cry of dismay and Yara instantly drew his sword. It took a moment for Takizawa to realize why, until he saw the marks.
They all stared at the two in horror as they smiled and stepped forward. “Tono~,” said Fujigaya, with a sly smile. “Did you miss us?”
“What have you done?!”
---
jojibear It's your turn!
---
Blood stained the ground, still wet and warm and pungent, as if it were still living blood. Soon it would cool and die in the cold winter air, but not for another moment yet, the scent almost heady as Fujigaya sank to the ground.
Kitayama scuffed the sole of his boot through the puddle of blood, grimacing. “They’re getting stronger.”
Fujigaya shook his head in tired frustration. Though neither had suffered injuries, it had been a long, thankless battle. Fujigaya could feel the strain on his soul-force, knowing he’d have to repair the splintering soon. “They’re pushing at the borders and they’re gaining forces every day. They’re going to punch through eventually.”
They lapsed into silence, letting the futility sink in. While both sides had been evenly matched for so long, the West was slowly eating away at Lord Takizawa’s resources. If nothing changed, they’d be overrun by the enemy in weeks, if not less.
“Can’t let that happen,” Kitayama muttered, turning away from Fujigaya. He appeared too worn out to pace, he couldn’t make himself still. Fujigaya tracked his every movement, reading the weariness in Kitayama’s bones. “We can’t let that happen.”
Silence fell again, with Kitayama’s back turned to him and Fujigaya knew they were asking the same questions. How could they find a way to turn the tide of war and how many were going to die before they found out.
Another question Fujigaya was asking was what happened if they died first.
… If they died first.
It was a terrible, horrifying thought, but once it entered his thoughts, it clung. He watched as Kitayama shuffled from body to body, trying to bite back the words, because it was wrong, so very wrong, but he couldn’t.
“We could do it.”
Kitayama glanced over, frowning. “What?”
“We could stop it,” Fujigaya said, pushing himself to his feet. “We could do it.” He stopped short, realizing how cruel it was to simply assume that Kitayama would do this with him. “I could do it,” he amended.
A look of suspicion steals across Kitayama’s face as he turns back and steps over a corpse towards Fujigaya. “What does that mean?”
Worrying his lower lip between his teeth, Fujigaya shook his head. This was madness. But it was the kind of madness that could help them.
“We go to the Gates,” he said, so softly Kitayama leaned closer to hear. “We go to the Gates and then… I’d open them.”
Kitayama stared at him as if he’d gone insane - which, admittedly, he probably had. “Hear me out,” he said before the man could yell at him. “I know that’s not what you want to hear-“
“Damn fucking right, it’s not,” Kitayama choked out. “You want to go up to the Gates of Death and-“
“I don’t want to,” Fujigaya cried out. “God knows, I’d want nothing else than to go home, Kitayama. I wanted to be a teacher or a DJ or anything but this. But,” he paused, looking down at his feet instead of Kitayama’s intense stare. “I don’t want to have to bury what’s left of our world.”
“So you’ll make them bury you?” asked Kitayama, his voice almost cold with disbelief. “You want to make me bury you?”
“There won’t be anything for you to bury.” Which was true, because Death would swallow them whole if they did this.
Kitayama studied him for a moment, lips drawn down in a frown. “Are you sure?” he asked after several moments of silence. “Are you really sure you can do this? Because if we do this, we can’t go back.”
It took Fujigaya by surprise, having the question turned around at him. He opened his mouth to say yes because hadn’t this started with him? But the word clung to his tongue and he had to think about it.
Was he?
Kitayama hadn’t just been asking about Fujigaya though. “We?” he asked, brows furrowed in surprise.
The look he received was a strange mixture of reproach and amusement. “You think I’d just let you go there and face that alone? Do you doubt me so much, Daisuke?”
“Fuck off!” Fujigaya couldn’t help but laugh though, at a very old and childish joke and the solid punch of knowledge that Kitayama was willing to follow him into the dark. Kitayama even joined in for a few seconds before sobering up.
“I need to know if you’re sure, Taisuke,” he said and Fujigaya glanced away.
He thought of Yusuke and Ryousuke and his parents, of the family he’d never see again. He thought of late nights spent catching up with Yokoo and Senga, on the training grounds with Nikaido, or even crashing on Tamamori and Miyata’s couch. Of all the friends he’d made before and during the war who were still fighting valiantly for a chance to live.
He’d never have that again. All of it would stay. They’d remain, but he wouldn’t. It was worth it, wasn’t it? Knowing he could keep them all safe - to give them all the time they deserved to have.
“You have to be sure,” Kitayama murmured, and Fujigaya thought instead of all the times he’d spent with Kitayama. Fighting together, fighting each other, they’d been through it all together, and now… That would be over too. And he thought of all the things he’d said and all the things he hadn’t said, the regret lacing his calculations.
But in the end, with blood and death around them, he could look up at Kitayama and smile and say, “Yes.”
Though he didn’t return his smile, Kitayama relaxed, his eyes softening. “Let’s go,” he said, nodding to the east. “The sun will rise soon.”
~
The Gates of Death were as forbidding as they sounded, looming in the dark valley. Fujigaya was truly exhausted by the time they reached it - and it was almost a miracle that they were able to find it - with his soul-force slowly shredding itself painfully.
The Gates were made of damned metal and bone and Fujigaya shuddered as he brushed his fingertips over it. They hadn’t tried opening the Gates the last time they’d been here, but they knew what lay beyond them.
Beside him, Kitayama was mouthing a wordless prayer. A last rite before they gave themselves over to what stood behind the Gates.
They knocked together, hearts racing, breath catching, fingers going cold. The sound boomed through the Gates, the ground rumbling beneath their feet. Stumbling, Fujigaya threw a hand out to steady himself, only to have Kitayama catch it and pull him close.
“We can do this,” Kitayama said as they steadied. He didn’t let go of Fujigaya’s hand.
The Gates screeched as if agonized when they were pulled open, and then Death stood before them.
Fujigaya recoiled automatically, unable to completely quell the urge to run away, but Kitayama tightened his grip, drawing Fujigaya back in.
Death did not have one distinct form. Instead, Death flickered from one appearance to another - Death might be a man with six eyes or a wolf with serrated teeth running along its back or a woman whose skin was made of flames.
“You returned,” intoned Death, looking at neither of them.
“You said you could help us,” Fujigaya said, finding his voice with the warmth of Kitayama’s hand. “When we were here before.” It had been like walking into a nightmare, happening upon the Gates with Death standing outside, as if Death had been waiting for them. Back then, Death had only said that if they were ever to return, Death could provide them with all they would need to succeed in their foolish war.
“There is a price.”
“We know,” said Kitayama, though Fujigaya wondered what they could possibly give that would satisfy Death.
Death looked to Fujigaya, his form flickering to that of a massive cobra wrapped in chains. “And you?”
Fujigaya squared his shoulders, lifting his chin high. “I will do it,” he said.
There was no warning as Death struck out and a sword made of the same damned metal and bone as the Gates pierced Fujigaya, stabbing him through the chest, just as Kitayama was struck as well.
It was blood and death and pain as Fujigaya felt his body burn away, his soul-force already splintered, but now it began to shred itself into pieces, destroying itself. A part of him, he didn’t know what, clung to Kitayama, feeling the pain course through them both without a chance for them to scream.
Then he was gone.
There was nothing left of Fujigaya but burnt bones and shattered soul but then the darkness snaked into him, remaking him in a heartbeat.
He and Kitayama still held hands.
Or what was left of them.
“None of my kin shall claim you,” proclaimed Death, now a panther whose head had been split open. “Nor shall I take you before you return here. But beware those of true purity, who command the power of the angels for they will destroy you.”
“We will,” they said, with one voice.
“Then go, my children.” Death smiled, a most terrible sight, before vanishing back within the Gates. They closed with the finality of doom, leaving Fujigaya and Kitayama alone in the valley.
Fujigaya felt the darkness twist through his remade body and looked down at his arm, seeing the black scars of Death twisting across his skin. He smiled giddily over at Kitayama. “Come,” he said, swinging their hands between them playfully. “Tono will wonder where we’ve gotten to.”
“Yes,” agreed Kitayama, though he yanked Fujigaya closer, all sharp edged smiles as he kept Fujigaya close. “Let’s go.”
~
Takizawa was used to Kitayama and Fujigaya appearing when he least expected it, but still recoiled when a sudden metallic scent spread through the conference room, where he was consulting Yara and Totsuka.
The two stood so strangely still, their hands clasped together, and their eyes filled with a malice that Takizawa had never seen before.
Totsuka gave a cry of dismay and Yara instantly drew his sword. It took a moment for Takizawa to realize why, until he saw the marks.
They all stared at the two in horror as they smiled and stepped forward. “Tono~,” said Fujigaya, with a sly smile. “Did you miss us?”
“What have you done?!”
---
jojibear It's your turn!