Burchard sleeps soundly in a chair with the feeling of turbulence gently rocking him until a sudden bounce shocks him awake. His head shoots up and he frantically looks around while asking, "what? Where the hell am I?"
He immediately closes his eyes tightly as he groans in pain from the throbbing headache he was experiencing while thinking, "damn it! It feels like I got smashed over the head with something."
The pain starts to subside allowing him to slowly open his eyes and looks around the mostly dark room which is only lit by the light that seeps through the closed curtains of a window though it doesn't do much to help him try to identify anything while he says, "it's too dark in here to make out anything, but there is a door so I can get...."
He pause's his sentence as he attempts to stand up but to his confusion he can't and aside from his head, he was able to move his arms up to his elbow but can't move at all and when he look down, he sees something shocking, so shocking in fact that all he could say was, "why am I tied up?"
"To stop you from interfering of course."
He freezes in place from hearing the strangely familiar voice from behind him but before he could say anything, he hears what sounds like a pair of heals walking around him until they we're standing right in front of him. He looks at them shocked while a million different things seemed to run through his head until he finally muttered, "it's you?"
Previously:
Burchard continues to kneel on the beach and looks out over the ocean and setting sun, but he can't enjoy the view, instead all he could think about was Yuzuru and what she had just said. He didn't want to believe it and in all honesty a part of him was trying desperately to convince himself that she misspoke or didn't mean what she said, but he couldn't. He knew that she was willing to die for her sister, and he knew in his heart that he wouldn't let that happen, all he needed to figure out now was how.
"You okay?"
His thought gets interrupted by the sound of a voice coming from in front of him and when his eyes focus, he is surprised to see Shido standing in front of and looking back at him. Concerned by the look of sadness he was sporting, Shido asks, "what's wrong?"
Realizing that he was probably the only one he could talk to about this, Burchard gets to his feet while replying, "it's Yuzuru. She said she wanted to purposefully lose the competition."
The look of shock that Shido was now sporting was more than enough evidence for Burchard to know that he knew the consequences of losing as well as Shido says, "we can't let that happen."
Burchard nods but unsure of what to do asks, "but what do we do? I already tried talking her out of it, but she wasn't willing to listen."
Shido sighs disheartedly then says," to be honest, even though she doesn't say it, I can almost guarantee that Kaguya feels the same way."
Burchard nods in agreement while saying, "they both love each other yet neither will admit it, if only there was a way to show them."
Shido puts a hand to his chin to think then with a sudden realization, looks back at him while saying, "I have an idea."
Relieved that there was hope, Burchard eagerly asks, "great! What is it?"
Shido looks back at him seriously while replying, "let me show you."
Now confused Burchard asks, "show me what?"
Shido scratches the back of his head while trying to figure out how exactly to explain it but not knowing what to say he just tells him, "It's hard to explain but I can show you in my hotel room so let's head there."
Burchard nods in agreement while saying, "alright. Let's hurry."
The boys make their way back to the resort area until they find themselves walking into Shido's hotel room. Shido walks over to the nightstand and start rummaging through the drawer while Burchard asks, "what are you looking for?"
"A solution to our problem."
Surprised by the strangely familiar voice, Burchard turns around only to see reine standing there looking as sleep deprived as ever but he ignores her complexion and instead hones in on what she just said which causes him to ask, "you're here to help Kaguya and Yuzuru?"
She looks back at him unfazed while saying, "not that problem."
She points at him while continuing, "I'm talking about you."
He looks back at her confused and asks, "what do you mean....."
SMASH!!!
Burchard stands there motionlessly for a moment then without a word, falls to his knees then collapses to the ground out cold with pieces of a broken vase scattering across the floor.
Present Time:
Burchard looks back at her shocked while muttering, "you attacked me?"
She scoffs at him while sitting on the bed and saying, "you really are dumb, I was merely a distraction while Shido knocked you out."
Confused by all the new information he was getting but he gets distracted by the sound of thunder that cracks outside while the wind howls with a hellish fury. Realizing what that meant, he attempts to pull himself free while shouting, "let me go! I need to help Yuzuru!"
He continues to struggle to break free while Reine looks back at him unfazed while saying, "the best thing for her is to keep you tied up."
Caught off guard by what she said, he stops struggling and looks back at her shocked and confused while asking, "what do you mean?"
She looks back at him mildly annoyed but sighs then replies, "because it is in Yuzuru's and Kaguya's best interest for you to stop interfering."
Still confused he responds, "but I don't understand? What do you mean by interfering?"
She looks back at him while explaining, "you're interfering in Shido's goal of making the twins fall in love with him."
For some reason, what she said didn't catch him of guard, in all honesty he suspected that that was the case all along but for reasons unknown to Reine, Burchard becomes filled with a fire rage which causes him to snap at her, "seriously!!! Is that what this is all about? He was so desperate to grow his damn harem that he was willing to assault someone over it? And does he not care that Yuzuru isn't even interested in him and was willing to get rid of any perceived competition? Is that why I'm tide up right now?"
To his confusion, she takes off her glasses and rubs the bridge of her nose while sighing disheartedly then looks at him while saying, "you just don't get it do you?"
He looks back at her suspiciously while asking, "what do you mean don't get? It's been pretty obvious to me since meeting him that his goal was always to get both Kaguya and Yuzuru for himself?"
She looks back at him with annoyance but realizing something, her expression softens as she says, "you're an outsider to this all so it makes sense that you don't understand what is really happening."
Confused by what she said, he stays calm enough to ask, "then why don't you tell me what the hell is going on?"
She puts a hand to her chin while trying to decide what to tell him but unable to think of anything but the truth she sighs then says, "your memory will be wiped after all this anyways so there isn't any harm in telling you. Plus, it will help If you know how this situation we are in is your fault."
He looks back at her confused as to what she meant by memory wipe or how anything could be his fault while she takes a deep breath in as if she was preparing for a lot of talking then proceeds, "if it wasn't obvious enough, Yuzuru and Kaguya aren't ordinary girls, there actually beings known as spirits. Now spirits have a great amount of power which makes them dangerous to humans so in order to make them not so, their powers must be sealed."
Still confused by everything that was going on but noticing something he asks, "but I didn't know they were spirits or have anything to do with sealing them. How can this be my fault?"
She starts to glare at him while replying, "the way you seal a spirits powers is to make them fall in love with you which allows their powers to be sealed. What would usually happen is Shido would go on dates with Kaguya and Yuzuru which would get them to fall in love with him and which would give him a chance to seal their powers. If this were to happen then neither of them would have to die."
With what she was saying slowly starting to make sense a feeling of guilt starts to consume him as she continues, "but that all changed when you showed up. At first, I was willing to let Yuzuru go after you in hopes that this would be a good exercise for Shido in case this ever happens again but a problem has come up. It turns out that Kaguya was more then Shido could handle, leaving him unable to get between you and Yuzuru and to make matters worse, it seems that Yuzuru has actually fallen in love with you which makes it impossible for him to seal her powers while you're in the picture. Hence why your currently tide up."
She stands up and grabs his chair then turns him towards the window and opens the blinds while continuing, "and there's another problem."
Burchard goes wide eyed as he sees the large hurricane ravaging the coast with trees and debris flying all around with two distinct dots seeming to clash in the eye of the storm. Burchard looks at the sight with shock while muttering, "is that...."
He gets cut of by Reine who answers him saying, "yes. Those are the twins."
With the sight of destruction and the guilt he felt only growing stronger, he was only able to lower his head and looks at the floor while muttering, "this is all my fault."
Reines expression softens as she looks back at him while saying, "so you finally understand."
She looks back out the window at the carnage unfolding while continuing, "though it is your fault. You didn't know what was going on so you don't hold all the blame. All you were doing was being kind to a girl you didn't understand. I didn't see any ulterior motives to your actions but those actions still have consequences that need fixing."
While he sat there with his head hanging low and the feeling of guilt taking over, an image pops in his head.... And then another then another. They were all images of Yuzuru, all of their time together, from the first time they met to their first date and when he woke up to her on the beach. The images continued to scroll through his head with each proving a feeling of warmth and comfort from seeing someone he truly cared about, someone he truly loved but that feeling slowly faded and is replaced by the guilt that he was feeling from the pain and suffering that he had inadvertently caused but not wanting to let things deteriorate further. He looks up and with a new found resolve says, "let me make things right."
Caught off guard by his sudden declaration, Reine looks over at him while saying, "there's nothing you can...."
He cuts her off snapping, "let me talk to Yuzuru. If I can just explain to her what is happening, and hopefully calm things down then I can make things right."
Reine in turn sighs disheartedly while shaking her head and responding, "I know you want to help but I can't let you leave this room."
Still determined to help he snaps back, "well why not?!"
Before she could respond, the window gets blown open by a tree and showers the room with broken glass. Reine looks out the window and seeing the situation deteriorating at an alarming rate causes her to walk to the door while saying, "looks like he needs assistance."
Seeing her leaving causes Burchard to shout, "hang on!!! Take me with you."
Without looking back she opens the door while responding, "your not going anywhere. I'll be back later."
With that she closes the door, leaving Burchard alone in the room with a first class view of the destruction he believes he caused. As he watches the carnage continue, he falls deeper and deeper into depression and with his head lowering and hanging In despair, he closes his eyes and prays that thinks will work out because in all honestly, he didn't know what to do.
"Please continue to protect and take care of and be with Yuzuru."
His eyes slowly open. Those words, that request, that promise echoes in his head. Her words give him enough strength to rise his head until he was once more looking out the window at the battle that was raging on but the despair that once showed in his eyes was now replaced by determination. A determination to help someone he cares about, a determination to do the right thing, a determination to...
"Keep my promise."
With a newfound resolve building within him, he attempts to break free once more but no matter how hard he thrashed about, the ropes remain tight. Undeterred, he starts looking around while saying, "come on! There's got to be something I can use to get out of these!"
He pauses when he sees something shiny of the floor and when he looks over, sees a large sharp looking piece of broken glass on the floor from the window. He studies it for a moment then says, "that'll work."
THUD!!!
Burchard lies on his side and with the broken piece of glass in hand, carefully cuts the rope until finally freeing himself. He gets up and shakes off the ropes then gets out of the room and after making a pit stop at his room to grab a few things, runs down the hall while saying, "I have to get out there. I need to talk to Yuzuru. I need to...."
He comes to a stop as he realizes what needs to be done and is able to fight off the sinking feeling in his heart as he continues, "I need to tell her that she needs to fall in love with Shido."
The sinking feeling in his heart becomes to hard to bare as he is forced to lean against the wall to support himself while trying not to break as he mutters, "no. I can't be selfish. If I want her to be happy, if I want her to live then I have to let her go."
A tear rolls down his cheek but for some strange reason he finds himself softly smile and he looks down the hall while saying, "I just hope I can see her smile one last time."