Post by Neku Sakuraba on Dec 13, 2011 13:30:37 GMT -5
“Dar, where’s Angel?” I asked the blonde, arms crossed. It had been weeks since Nami had gone missing – and Angel, although he’d originally been at the front of those looking for her, had vanished without a trace. The problem was, as much as I disliked the guy, I knew he was the one who could find her.
She shrugged. “Hmph. Stupid ass has been holed up for weeks, barely saying a word except ‘I wanna die’. It’s kind of pathetic, really. Honestly, I just wish he’d get it over with and leave us all alone, the monster.”
Monster.
The word echoed deep in my bones. I remembered being called that; remembered the jeers and taunts and beatings that had rocked me to the core.
“Take me there,” I told her.
“You can’t order me around!” she said in that ever-so-very-Darla tone; I looked at her. She must’ve seen the hardness in my eyes, because she sighed. “Fine,” she snapped, turned around, and led me back to the house they had once shared with Naminé.
The house was dark. All the lights had either been turned off or ripped from the walls, probably in Angel’s first violent surge of temper. Darla led me through the carnage of what had been a beautiful mansion; in one of the bedrooms, Angel lay, curled up, huddled in a corner, facing the wall.
“Leave me alone,” he hissed, not even bother to turn his eye on me. “Leave the monster to die in peace.”
My eye twitched. Namine could be in trouble, at this very moment, but this guy – this guy who was supposed to care about her – was sitting around bemoaning his fate.
I let out a growl of exasperation. “God dammit Angel!” I yelled, yanking him up to face me. “What the hell is wrong with you!?” At the shocked look in his eyes, I let go of his collar, and he slumped back down on his bed.
“Yeah, yeah, monster, what-the-hell-ever. So you’re a demon-blooded jackass; that’s no excuse for this. I have no idea what Nami ever saw in you, but I’m pretty sure that this ain’t it. So get a hold of yourself, man! This isn’t how someone who claims he loves someone should be acting!”
----
He stands there, blue eyes glaring down at me, his arms crossed across his chest, and I return his glare; fury cuts through the depression. How dare he judge me like that?! How dare he expect so goddamn much from me!?
And just like that, everything else washes away. Everything, gone in the fury.
“How dare you?!” I yell back, fists clenched. “How dare you say that I don’t care about her?!”
“Then do something about it,” he orders me, and the beast rises to that challenge, the challenge of another, after the same prize. Do something? Of course.
“You have no right to give me orders,” I spit at him. “I’ll prove you wrong, Neku!”
He scoffs.
“You’re not enough of a man to prove me wrong. ‘Specially not if you lie there in the dark asking someone to kill you. Did you forget it all so soon? Or do I have to give you another beating as a reminder?”
A reminder. Of the words from that day...
‘I’m only letting you live because somehow, some way, she saw something in you. Live, for her sake – and I hope to God above that it gets through to you; you’re only alive because of her. After everything you did, everything you said… she still believed in you. Because she’s that good. I hope to God you understand that, Angel. Live with that kindness; it’s more than you deserve.’
I close my eyes; opened them again. I know beyond a doubt that they’re gold, this time.
“No. No, Neku. I remember perfectly.”
He smiles.
“Good. Now let’s go get her back.”
His hand extends; for once, I’m not ashamed to take it. The hand of an eternal rival. I pull myself to my feet; grin as he has to use his abilities to stabilize himself against the force of my pull. Darla stands speechless in the corner.
“Let’s? I’ll have her back myself,” I reply, striding past the so-called ‘Head’.
A part of me wonders; a part of me realizes.
Maybe the escape I was looking for… isn’t as far away as I thought.
-----
A/N: I promised a followup, din't I? This probably isn't canon. Ang isn't gonna come out of his depression so soon. But it was a neat concept and something I'm interested in expanding further.
She shrugged. “Hmph. Stupid ass has been holed up for weeks, barely saying a word except ‘I wanna die’. It’s kind of pathetic, really. Honestly, I just wish he’d get it over with and leave us all alone, the monster.”
Monster.
The word echoed deep in my bones. I remembered being called that; remembered the jeers and taunts and beatings that had rocked me to the core.
“Take me there,” I told her.
“You can’t order me around!” she said in that ever-so-very-Darla tone; I looked at her. She must’ve seen the hardness in my eyes, because she sighed. “Fine,” she snapped, turned around, and led me back to the house they had once shared with Naminé.
The house was dark. All the lights had either been turned off or ripped from the walls, probably in Angel’s first violent surge of temper. Darla led me through the carnage of what had been a beautiful mansion; in one of the bedrooms, Angel lay, curled up, huddled in a corner, facing the wall.
“Leave me alone,” he hissed, not even bother to turn his eye on me. “Leave the monster to die in peace.”
My eye twitched. Namine could be in trouble, at this very moment, but this guy – this guy who was supposed to care about her – was sitting around bemoaning his fate.
I let out a growl of exasperation. “God dammit Angel!” I yelled, yanking him up to face me. “What the hell is wrong with you!?” At the shocked look in his eyes, I let go of his collar, and he slumped back down on his bed.
“Yeah, yeah, monster, what-the-hell-ever. So you’re a demon-blooded jackass; that’s no excuse for this. I have no idea what Nami ever saw in you, but I’m pretty sure that this ain’t it. So get a hold of yourself, man! This isn’t how someone who claims he loves someone should be acting!”
----
He stands there, blue eyes glaring down at me, his arms crossed across his chest, and I return his glare; fury cuts through the depression. How dare he judge me like that?! How dare he expect so goddamn much from me!?
And just like that, everything else washes away. Everything, gone in the fury.
“How dare you?!” I yell back, fists clenched. “How dare you say that I don’t care about her?!”
“Then do something about it,” he orders me, and the beast rises to that challenge, the challenge of another, after the same prize. Do something? Of course.
“You have no right to give me orders,” I spit at him. “I’ll prove you wrong, Neku!”
He scoffs.
“You’re not enough of a man to prove me wrong. ‘Specially not if you lie there in the dark asking someone to kill you. Did you forget it all so soon? Or do I have to give you another beating as a reminder?”
A reminder. Of the words from that day...
‘I’m only letting you live because somehow, some way, she saw something in you. Live, for her sake – and I hope to God above that it gets through to you; you’re only alive because of her. After everything you did, everything you said… she still believed in you. Because she’s that good. I hope to God you understand that, Angel. Live with that kindness; it’s more than you deserve.’
I close my eyes; opened them again. I know beyond a doubt that they’re gold, this time.
“No. No, Neku. I remember perfectly.”
He smiles.
“Good. Now let’s go get her back.”
His hand extends; for once, I’m not ashamed to take it. The hand of an eternal rival. I pull myself to my feet; grin as he has to use his abilities to stabilize himself against the force of my pull. Darla stands speechless in the corner.
“Let’s? I’ll have her back myself,” I reply, striding past the so-called ‘Head’.
A part of me wonders; a part of me realizes.
Maybe the escape I was looking for… isn’t as far away as I thought.
-----
A/N: I promised a followup, din't I? This probably isn't canon. Ang isn't gonna come out of his depression so soon. But it was a neat concept and something I'm interested in expanding further.
