Kurosaki Shun | 黒咲 隼 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
raidraptors) wrote2015-08-17 12:50 pm
raidraptors) wrote2015-08-17 12:50 pm
Entry tags:
[FIC]
Who: Shun Kurosaki and the Fourth God
What: The Fourth God sends his regards via dreams. And possibly an offer or four?
When: to be decided
Where: -
Warnings: Arc V spoilers up to 58-ish
Shun dreams: A Heartland that used to be, a future that never was - a city that was never touched by war, that is whole and bright and peaceful, the home that he remembers it to be. He eats breakfast at his sister's side, their father sitting across the table from them, grumbling at the morning paper while their mother hums in the kitchen as she prepares lunches for them all.
He walks easy in the white-blue uniform of Heartland Middle School's third years, with the carelessness of a person never forced to fight with their life on the line, rolls his eyes when Ruri shouts at him to hurry so they don't miss the monorail and then laughs and dodges her kick to his shins when he picks up the pace and overtakes her without much effort.
He duels Yuto in the school yard that afternoon for no other reason than that they can - smiles when Castel, the Avian Gunner spreads his wings before him, ready to take on Yuto's Warriors.
They take the long way home that leads along the river, comfortable and happy when Ruri skips a few steps ahead and turns on her heels, smiling brightly at him when she asks: "Isn't this nice?"
Shun freezes on the spot, his heart heavy with the truth when he forces his eyes to close and his hands clench into fists as he shakes his head sharply.
"It's not real."
-----
Shun dreams: A Heartland that is now, the present that he knows - a city torn apart by conflict, the home that he knew turned into a battlefield, a place that is dominated by suffering and despair. He is in the safest hideout Resistance ever had, his days a rhythm of war councils, weapon maintenance, fighting and the room he used to share with Yuto and Ruri.
When he's out in the street, there is only duel and victory and surely they are driving Academia's forces backwards step by step as the days go on - Rise Falcon cries out sharply above his head before tearing into their enemies and from the distance he can hear Dark Rebellion roaring in answer.
In the evenings Resistance huddles together and shares meal, and Shun leans against someone else's back - he doesn't mind the contact; not now, not here. They are all comrades.
Resistance is home.
Later, Ruri lies with her head pillowed on his thigh and Shun threads his fingers through her hair while he watches the streets bellow from the window - the angle isn't optimal and he isn't on guard duty anyway, but it's an old habit from the days before Resistance and he isn't about to break himself out of it. She whispers sleepily: "Isn't this nice?"
His body tenses, his heart heavy with the truth when he forces his eyes to close and pulls his hand away from her hair as he shakes his head sharply.
"It's not real."
-----
Shun dreams: The arena of a dimension that is not his home, a memory that still calls to the duelist he used to be (the one he could have been) - a D-Wheel's engine purring against his body as the countdown falls to zero and he races alongside speed and wind towards the first corner.
Above him, Blaze Falcon takes flight as he duels for no reason other than to prove his skills, for a victory that is not about ensuring anyone's survival, not even his own. A smirk tugs at his lips as he sharply turns the corners, as the crowd chants above him and his opponent shouts surprise when he makes the winning move.
Nothing has ever felt more like freedom.
He easily pulls to a stop after the duel is finished and takes off his helmet to sheep sweaty hair from his forehead, sighing with satisfaction when he notices his opponent pulling up beside him. Ruri pulls the helmet off her head, laughter bright and grin easy when she asks him: "Isn't this nice?"
His own helmet drops from his hands, his heart heavy with the truth when he forces his eyes to close and pushes off the D-Wheel as he shakes his head sharply.
"It's not real."
-----
Shun dreams: A castle in another dimension, the place that he's always meant to go to ever since he'd left Heartland behind for Standard - a school for duel soldiers, the one place responsible for their suffering. He stands in the halls of Academia and he fights, uncaring of the numbers he's faced with - their numbers, their brute power means nothing to him.
Revolution Falcon soars high above him, drops bomb after bomb until the whole building shakes at its foundations and with every further hour the damage adds up, the once so noble castle left to ruin, while its usual occupants fall silent one after another and nothing remains but a card for each and every of their fallen.
In the end, he finds Ruri - they are both dirty and exhausted, but Shun doesn't care about either, too relieved when he wraps his arms around her shoulders, rests his chin against the top of her head and feels her warm, alive and breathing beneath his hands. Her fingers fist into the back of his coat, her head turned so that her ear presses right above his heart and she murmurs: "Isn't this nice?"
He flinches, his heart heavy with the truth when he forces his eyes to close and pushes her out of the embrace as he shakes his head sharply.
"It's not real."
-----
"It's not real," he says and the world around him shatters - he opens his eyes again and finds himself standing in the familiar streets of the Heartland left in ruin. Ruri is just steps away, a strange smile playing at her lips and that's when he realizes.
It's not her.
"It's not," Not!Ruri agrees with a nod - her voice is an unreal whisper, a mix of her own with that of another. "But it could be."
He stands frozen on the spot - there are a thousand things he wants to say, angry words he wants to hiss at the being that dares to take his sister's face, but his throat is tight and try as he might, he can't even bring himself to twitch, to do more than watch as she starts walking slow circles around him.
"It's what you want, isn't it? What you could fight for if only the Fog God hadn't trapped you in her domain."
She smiles at him, hands crossed behind her back when she tilts his head - and for a moment she looks just so much like his sister...
(It's not her, it's not he knows, and still-)
"A world where nobody has to be hurt anymore... a future where your comrades can once more smile without any worry..."
His heart aches with longing - for home, for his comrades, for his sister, for dreams long thought crumbled and buried by the force of war. For a second it feels as though it might break.
"What do you say, Kurosaki Shun..." she says, offering her hand for him to take, "Would you like to lend me your strength, so I can help you make it come true?"
What: The Fourth God sends his regards via dreams. And possibly an offer or four?
When: to be decided
Where: -
Warnings: Arc V spoilers up to 58-ish
Shun dreams: A Heartland that used to be, a future that never was - a city that was never touched by war, that is whole and bright and peaceful, the home that he remembers it to be. He eats breakfast at his sister's side, their father sitting across the table from them, grumbling at the morning paper while their mother hums in the kitchen as she prepares lunches for them all.
He walks easy in the white-blue uniform of Heartland Middle School's third years, with the carelessness of a person never forced to fight with their life on the line, rolls his eyes when Ruri shouts at him to hurry so they don't miss the monorail and then laughs and dodges her kick to his shins when he picks up the pace and overtakes her without much effort.
He duels Yuto in the school yard that afternoon for no other reason than that they can - smiles when Castel, the Avian Gunner spreads his wings before him, ready to take on Yuto's Warriors.
They take the long way home that leads along the river, comfortable and happy when Ruri skips a few steps ahead and turns on her heels, smiling brightly at him when she asks: "Isn't this nice?"
Shun freezes on the spot, his heart heavy with the truth when he forces his eyes to close and his hands clench into fists as he shakes his head sharply.
"It's not real."
-----
Shun dreams: A Heartland that is now, the present that he knows - a city torn apart by conflict, the home that he knew turned into a battlefield, a place that is dominated by suffering and despair. He is in the safest hideout Resistance ever had, his days a rhythm of war councils, weapon maintenance, fighting and the room he used to share with Yuto and Ruri.
When he's out in the street, there is only duel and victory and surely they are driving Academia's forces backwards step by step as the days go on - Rise Falcon cries out sharply above his head before tearing into their enemies and from the distance he can hear Dark Rebellion roaring in answer.
In the evenings Resistance huddles together and shares meal, and Shun leans against someone else's back - he doesn't mind the contact; not now, not here. They are all comrades.
Resistance is home.
Later, Ruri lies with her head pillowed on his thigh and Shun threads his fingers through her hair while he watches the streets bellow from the window - the angle isn't optimal and he isn't on guard duty anyway, but it's an old habit from the days before Resistance and he isn't about to break himself out of it. She whispers sleepily: "Isn't this nice?"
His body tenses, his heart heavy with the truth when he forces his eyes to close and pulls his hand away from her hair as he shakes his head sharply.
"It's not real."
-----
Shun dreams: The arena of a dimension that is not his home, a memory that still calls to the duelist he used to be (the one he could have been) - a D-Wheel's engine purring against his body as the countdown falls to zero and he races alongside speed and wind towards the first corner.
Above him, Blaze Falcon takes flight as he duels for no reason other than to prove his skills, for a victory that is not about ensuring anyone's survival, not even his own. A smirk tugs at his lips as he sharply turns the corners, as the crowd chants above him and his opponent shouts surprise when he makes the winning move.
Nothing has ever felt more like freedom.
He easily pulls to a stop after the duel is finished and takes off his helmet to sheep sweaty hair from his forehead, sighing with satisfaction when he notices his opponent pulling up beside him. Ruri pulls the helmet off her head, laughter bright and grin easy when she asks him: "Isn't this nice?"
His own helmet drops from his hands, his heart heavy with the truth when he forces his eyes to close and pushes off the D-Wheel as he shakes his head sharply.
"It's not real."
-----
Shun dreams: A castle in another dimension, the place that he's always meant to go to ever since he'd left Heartland behind for Standard - a school for duel soldiers, the one place responsible for their suffering. He stands in the halls of Academia and he fights, uncaring of the numbers he's faced with - their numbers, their brute power means nothing to him.
Revolution Falcon soars high above him, drops bomb after bomb until the whole building shakes at its foundations and with every further hour the damage adds up, the once so noble castle left to ruin, while its usual occupants fall silent one after another and nothing remains but a card for each and every of their fallen.
In the end, he finds Ruri - they are both dirty and exhausted, but Shun doesn't care about either, too relieved when he wraps his arms around her shoulders, rests his chin against the top of her head and feels her warm, alive and breathing beneath his hands. Her fingers fist into the back of his coat, her head turned so that her ear presses right above his heart and she murmurs: "Isn't this nice?"
He flinches, his heart heavy with the truth when he forces his eyes to close and pushes her out of the embrace as he shakes his head sharply.
"It's not real."
-----
"It's not real," he says and the world around him shatters - he opens his eyes again and finds himself standing in the familiar streets of the Heartland left in ruin. Ruri is just steps away, a strange smile playing at her lips and that's when he realizes.
It's not her.
"It's not," Not!Ruri agrees with a nod - her voice is an unreal whisper, a mix of her own with that of another. "But it could be."
He stands frozen on the spot - there are a thousand things he wants to say, angry words he wants to hiss at the being that dares to take his sister's face, but his throat is tight and try as he might, he can't even bring himself to twitch, to do more than watch as she starts walking slow circles around him.
"It's what you want, isn't it? What you could fight for if only the Fog God hadn't trapped you in her domain."
She smiles at him, hands crossed behind her back when she tilts his head - and for a moment she looks just so much like his sister...
(It's not her, it's not he knows, and still-)
"A world where nobody has to be hurt anymore... a future where your comrades can once more smile without any worry..."
His heart aches with longing - for home, for his comrades, for his sister, for dreams long thought crumbled and buried by the force of war. For a second it feels as though it might break.
"What do you say, Kurosaki Shun..." she says, offering her hand for him to take, "Would you like to lend me your strength, so I can help you make it come true?"