by Lara Yokoshima

This is an alternate universe (AU) fiction, based on the Project: Unigenitus main characters. It can also have some small appearances of characters from other of my stories. Nothing written on this story can be related to PU, except for some character behaviors and names.

XII. Without You I'm Nothing

Illuminated by the soft sunrays of the afternoon, the spacious gardens of the Nephillim Private High School emitted a special feeling of warmth to anyone that approached them. But unlike most people, who were swayed by the wonderful colors and the soft breeze, Yamah retained a terrible anxiousness in his heart while running between the bushes.

Yamah ran as fast as he could towards his dormitory building, hoping that his twin brother would still be there waiting for him. The white haired youth’s mind recalled the image of his brother’s charming face while a soft smile appeared on his lips. His golden eyes would then fixate onto his own platinum ones as they finally met together in a fond embrace. A pleasant fantasy, one that Yamah hoped he would be able to experience with his brunette twin.

The teen quickly reached the elevator, pushing the up button at least three times in a desperate manner. “Come on!” the youngster shouted while waiting in the empty lobby of the building. The elevator was sure taking a long time to come down, but just when Yamah was about to give up and take the stairs, the bell of the elevator announced its arrival and the doors opened slowly.

“Finally, you stupid piece of junk!” the exasperated youth cursed while boarding the elevator and clicking the button to his floor. The mechanism of the elevator activated with a metallic sound as it began moving to the selected level. This was actually the first time Yamah noticed how slow the elevator was; anxiety and a hint of fear overwhelmed his body once again as he finally reached his floor, storming outside of the elevator and running through the corridor.

Reaching his room, the agitated young man took out the keys from his pocket with nervous hands, dropping them once because of his haste, but later opened the door with a notorious uneasiness. Please be there! Yamah pleaded as he entered the empty room. Frantically searching with eyes wide open, the youth couldn’t find the person he was looking for. His heart pounded with fear.  He panted deeply as he opened the bathroom door; again, nothing. Yamah walked to the other side of the room to the front of the closet, opening it with haste. Nothing! The youth exclaimed in his mind, watching the now empty space that had once belonged to Eiji. The white haired youth searched in each and every one of the drawers, also finding them empty.

“NO!!” Yamah shouted, closing his hands into fists and punching one of the doors of the closet. The hit made his hand hurt, but it was nothing compared to the pain he was now feeling in his heart.

“Why..? Why did you have to leave again??” the young man whispered as a few tears escaped from his gloomy eyes. “It is my fault…” Yamah then realized, accusing himself for letting Eiji get away from him. That man, the image of his so-called father appeared in his mind, he has taken Eiji away from me again. I won’t let him, I won’t! I’m sure he hasn’t left yet; I can feel it within my soul!

With that single thought, the young man hastily escaped from the room, forgetting to close the door. He began running once more, heading for the stairs this time, not wanting to take the slow elevator again. In that moment, one of the corridor’s doors opened, and a young blonde boy came out of the room in a tranquil motion. Koji could barely notice his friend, passing him by with notorious speed right in front of his eyes.

“Yamah?” the blonde muttered his friend’s name a little surprised, but just before he could scream his name, the white haired youth was already going down the stairs. What is going on? He looked very worried…, Koji thought with a frown.

At an almost insane speed, the white haired youth reached one of the lobby’s telephones, quickly grabbing the earpiece of the device. He introduced a few coins in the small groove and quickly input a number combination.

“Hello?” a female voice answered on the other side of the line after a few rings. Yamah didn’t waste any more time, he immediately demanded in a restless voice to the woman the information that he needed.

“Mother, where’s the hotel were father is staying?! It’s urgent!”

“Hurry up and get your bags in the car already” a strong voice commanded the young brunette who stood in front of the deluxe car with an indifferent look. “I won’t repeat it again” the older man suspended his cell phone conversation for a moment to check on his rather stubborn son.

I don’t want to, Eiji replied in his mind, not wanting to face his father. With a frown on his face, he turned his head around, watching the calm street in front of the hotel where his father stayed for the weekend; he wished he could see his twin brother one last time. Still, the young brunette remembered Yamah’s reaction when he told him the truth about them. He has the right to hate me, Eiji reconsidered. After all, I didn’t tell him the truth from the beginning… I guess it would have been better if I’ve never spoken of it at all, the brunette couldn’t stop the guilty feeling crushing his body.

“Yashiro…” the brunette muttered with a low face, tightening his hand around the black backpack he was carrying in one hand. The young man believed that this was probably the best way, giving up all hopes of seeing his brother again. With a profound sigh, he grabbed the other bag that was lying near his feet, and loaded it in the car’s trunk.

You can’t give up like this!, an internal voice resonated in his distressed mind. The brunette stopped his body movements for a moment and his breathing seemed to pause for the longest time.

How can you escape just like that? Don’t you love your brother more than anything else in this world? You should be ashamed of yourself for renouncing to him this easily!, the voice continued speaking in his mind with an accusing tone.

“I can’t” Eiji finally answered with a firm voice. The man with the cell phone noticed his young boy was apparently speaking to him, so he ended the conversation with his associate and frowned at his son’s words.

“What did you say?” the older of the two asked, a bit worried when he noticed his son still hadn’t finished loading his belongings in the car. “I thought I told you to put your bags inside the car”

“I won’t!” the brunette answered back this time louder than before. He glared directly into his father’s startled eyes, and he took a few steps back.

“Don’t you dare to run away from me again, Eiji!” the man quickly ordered advancing with slow steps when he was convinced that his son might try to escape any moment.

“You don’t own me… no one does!” Eiji shouted while stepping back a bit more, “You can’t tell me what to do!”

“Yes I can! I am your father, and you will obey me without questioning!” the older man exclaimed as he began walking towards the brunette.

“Go to hell!!” Eiji screamed before turning away and taking off at a lightening-like speed. The other man couldn’t believe his son was once again escaping from him.  He chased after Eiji as fast as he could, trying desperately to catch up. But the young man was faster than his father, and he soon escaped from the man that kept him away from the only person he has truly loved.

The older man stopped, very exhausted.  He cursed at himself for not being able to follow his obstinate son. He rested his body with his hands over his knees, panting furiously as he raised his head and noticed his son was not even in view anymore. Damn, not again!, the man thought, But you won’t get away just like that, I swear!

The afternoon sun hit Eiji’s face directly, reflecting into his golden eyes as he continued to run away. He looked back over his shoulder a few times, but even though he didn’t see his father in sight anymore, he couldn’t stop running. The backpack over his shoulders was beginning to feel uncomfortable, but remembering he had all his savings and most important personal belongings in it, leaving it behind was not a good choice.

Still not relenting for a single moment, Eiji continued his getaway.  His limbs were already feeling numb since he had not given himself even a brief moment to rest. Just when he was about to give up running, Eiji saw the dark outline of a person approaching quickly at him. He slowed down, and covered his weary eyes with his hand to block the distorting rays of the sun so he could see a clearer image of the person.

“Who..?” Eiji hardly finished his question, when he realized who the person walking towards him was. “Yashiro!!”

“Eiji…?” the white haired youth didn’t believe his eyes when he finally found him. Stunned by his initial reaction, Yamah couldn’t make his feet run towards his adored brother, and just barely maintained his walking pace.

Eiji, unlike the other youth, started running to Yamah with renewed strength, not wanting to waste anymore time. In a matter of seconds, the brunette had finally reached his twin, but he stopped just a few steps away from Yamah, who stared at him with uncertainty in his eyes. Eiji’s frantic breathing slowed down as his golden eyes started to feel watery. He wanted to speak, to apologize to the one he had made suffer for so long, but he couldn’t get the words to come out.

Seeing that his brother wouldn’t say a word, Yamah parted his lips, preparing to tell the brunette how sorry he was, however in that same moment Eiji opened his arms widely to embrace his twin brother enthusiastically.  The other youth received his brother’s embrace with an astonished gaze while his hands quivered a bit. As he felt his brother’s warm body with his own, the white haired youngster reacted, and wrapped his arms around the delicate waist of his twin, bringing their bodies so close together that not even the light from the sunset could pass between them.

“I’m so glad…”, Eiji whispered while his tear-stained face rested over Yamah’s right shoulder, “I thought you had totally forgotten about me”.

“I won’t ever let you go again” Yamah replied, hugging his brother with devotion. “I’m sorry I didn’t come for you earlier, Eiji”.

“It’s ok,” the brunette immediately answered, still holding his twin brother’s body, “I am the one who should be sorry anyway.”
 
“I promise we will be together from now on,” Yamah whispered into his brother’s ear, still squeezing his body tightly.

The other youth soon ended their embrace, but he still remained very close to his twin. His platinum eyes traveled across Eiji’s subtle facial features, recalling how beautiful his brother was. Slowly, a smile formed in Yamah’s lips, as he now remembered every detail of his twin’s face. With his thumb, Yamah dried Eiji’s tears from his cheeks in a delicate movement, to which his brother reacted with a deep blush.

“Let’s go” Yamah peacefully said, beginning to walk on the empty street. Eiji didn’t move, but instead he stopped his brother with one arm. The white haired youth turned around to stare at his brother with a puzzled expression. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to go back to the dormitories yet,” the brunette explained, “because dad could easily find us there.  I don’t want us to be torn apart again.”

“But, all my stuff is there” the other youth replied. “And besides,” Yamah continued, searching through his pockets, “I don’t think I have enough money to pay for a temporary room”.

The brunette smiled wickedly as he introduced one hand into his backpack, taking out a good amount of money and showing it to his surprised twin.

“I have plenty, don’t worry” Eiji said, taking Yamah by the arm and starting to walk at a hurried pace. The white haired boy didn’t say anything else, for he now trusted his twin brother with all his heart. Let’s just hope everything goes fine from now on, the older twin thought.

The faint aroma of cigarette smoke instantly filled the black haired young man’s lungs who was sitting in a shadowy corner of a tranquil, downtown bar. The site wasn’t actually an exclusive one, but it was sure full of people who had a certain level in Japanese society. Akira smoked his cigarette patiently, expelling the white colored smoke from his nostrils in a slow fashion.

Suddenly, a man with ash blonde hair and an intimidating frame approached the silent figure. His sharp blue eyes momentarily stared at the black haired boy who had now noticed the other youth getting closer. He placed his cigarette in the ashtray on the table, trying not to pay attention to the other person who had now sat next to him.

“I knew I would find you here” Kenji spoke with a low voice. Akira just shrugged under the dim lights while he tasted his cigarette again.

“Who invited you anyway?” the presumptuous youth asked the blonde in a deceivingly composed manner. The gray eyes of the boy gazed directly into Kenji’s surprised ones.

“Woah, the roughness…” Kenji said mockingly trying to lessen the heavy atmosphere. The blonde took a cigarette from his shirt’s pocket, placing it between his lips while he tried to find his lighter. A flame appeared in front of his face a little after; it came from Akira’s own lighter, as the youth smirked at him with his usual iciness.

“As hypocrite as always…” the blonde responded to Akira’s oddly polite behavior. The black haired youth almost instantly changed his uncommon manner, and now he was staring at Kenji with one of his most fearsome looks.

“What’s your business with me, Kurumada?” the black haired youth asked, a bit irritated by the blonde’s presence. He didn’t like being interrupted when he was enjoying a lonely moment, especially by someone he didn’t like at all.

“Well… I’m glad you asked, my friend” Kenji left his cigarette for a moment to look at the other youth’s dark eyes. “You know? I think it’s time for us to help each other… you know, I’ll do you a favor, you’ll do one in return…”

“You already ruined my evening, so just get to the damn point” Akira abruptly interrupted the blonde, not wanting to listen to anymore of his babbling. “Oh, and let me remind you one thing: I am not your fucking friend”.

Kenji broadly smiled; he liked the guy’s attitude, even though Akira didn’t feel the same way about him. The blonde gave one last suck to his cigarette before putting it out in the metallic ashtray as he tried to find the right words to begin this rather interesting conversation.

“You have really sunk that low, Sasaki” the blonde simply said, yet Akira didn’t understand what the other man was trying to say.

“What do you mean?” the black haired boy responded a bit upset.

“I didn’t know you like to satisfy your ‘appetite’ with the first thing you see on the streets, that’s all” Kenji tranquilly replied, resting his sitting body over the near wall.

Finally, Akira knew what was this all about. Is this jerk trying to blackmail me or something?!, the young man furiously deduced, as he now paid full attention to the blonde’s words. Kenji just smiled at him with extreme confidence, while the other youth was doing his best to stop his impulse of beating the crap out of him. With deep breaths, Akira controlled himself when he was about to explode.

“If you think I care about what people will think about my tastes, then you should know I don’t give a rat’s ass” Akira replied in his usual, brash manner.

“Oh, but that’s not something I would do… that’s so not me” the blonde replied with an equal amount of arrogance as he got closer to Akira’s seat. “I know who your true love is…” Kenji lightly changed the subject, now grinning to a puzzled black haired youth.

Akira’s heartbeat had become so strong he thought his heart would crack his chest any moment. How come this punk knows about this? As far as I know, I’ve never told anyone except…, he paused his thoughts for a moment, recalling how he told Koji about his secret crush. Impossible… that chicken wuss wouldn’t say a thing. Then, how does he know?!

“I want to help you, Sasaki, just for the sake of our friendship” Kenji continued speaking with an evil smile.

“What do you want from me?” Akira wanted to know the full truth about the blonde’s intentions.

“Recently, my bitch has been rejecting me” Kenji explained, “I believe he doesn’t want to see me anymore, although I offer him more money than he usually requests”.

“I don’t give a shit about your sexual life” the black haired youth replied, about to rise from his seat and leave Kurumada behind. But the strong blonde placed a hand over the slimmer youth’s shoulder before he could even stand up and he fixated his blue irises on Akira’s eyes.

“My guess is that he now likes to hang around too much with his new friend” Kenji clarified, “your sexual desire, and the one I like to call a nuisance”.

“Yamah” the black haired youth easily deducted the blonde’s words. Kenji nodded with a soft laughter, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

“I don’t want him near Eiji, and I’m sure you also don’t want Yamah to notice you less than before” the blonde kept speaking with a relaxed tone of voice. “Do you follow me?”

“What’s what you propose then?” Akira replied, a lot more interested now in the blonde’s speech.

“With your influences and my friends, I can get Yamah to be yours… only yours” the blonde said, whispering the last words with a certainly wicked tone. Akira remained silent for a moment but he soon viciously smiled; his sharp, gray eyes were now filled with a singular bliss, as he now understood what Kenji’s plan was.

“You’ve got yourself a deal…partner” the bold black haired boy finally agreed, offering a sadistic smile to the blonde. Kenji smiled back, while both young men shook their hands in a mutual settlement.

Eiji… at last, you will be completely mine!