Alright, as promised, here is the collection of what could have been for this trilogy. I suppose you can say that this is a method of atonement for this story's discontinuation. But before we head deeper into what could have been, let me give you some background for this fic.
Eyes of Azure was drafted, outlined, and written over the course of approximately two years of my Wattpad career (it roughly began in July 2015 and was officially discontinued last August 2017), and is the most detailed of everything I have in my files so far. It is also the fanfiction which is dearest to my heart, due to personal reasons—several characters in this story are modeled after aspects of my personality, as well as the personalities of many people I know in real life. Many of the chapters were also written when I was in a particularly bad times, and it was the one method I knew to get it out of my head. (More to follow later in these segments, where I reveal some pretty interesting facts about the characters.)
EA wouldn't have gotten its very complex plotline if not for many inspirations, and many people who supported me. I admit, I'm very sorry I'm letting all of you down—I hope you can forgive me.
Here are several of the inspirations for the Eyes of Azure trilogy:
Books:
1. The Mortal Instruments series and The Infernal Devices trilogy by Cassandra Clare
» This is actually a very obvious one—it's where I got the idea of the parabatai system, only I modified it in order to fit the aims of the fic.
2. The Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth
» Again, unsurprisingly, I managed to get inspiration for the Sibylline agents from some of the characters in this trilogy.
3. The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan
» The same as the Divergent trilogy; an idea for a very specific character in EA came from the background and character development of Luke Castellan in these books.
Music:
1. RED
Songs: Falling Sky, End of Me, Confessions (What's Inside My Head), Impostor, Lie To Me (Denial), As You Go, Glass House, Hymn For The Missing
2. Rise Against
Songs: Savior, People Live Here, A Beautiful Indifference, Tragedy + Time, Swing Life Away, Make It Stop (September's Children), Paper Wings, Prayer of the Refugee, Hero of War
3. Fall Out Boy
Songs: Centuries, Uma Thurman, Fourth of July, The Phoenix, Thnks fr th Mmrs
4. Panic! At the Disco
Songs: This is Gospel, Emperor's New Clothes, Death of a Bachelor, House of Memories, I Write Sins Not Tragedies, Miss Jackson, The Ballad of Mona Lisa
5. All Time Low
Songs: A Love Like War, Me Without You (All I Ever Wanted), The Irony of Choking on a Lifesaver, Outlines, Paint You Wings, Oh, Calamity!, For Baltimore, Somewhere in Neverland, Cinderblock Garden
6. Sleeping With Sirens
Songs: Better Off Dead, A Trophy Father's Trophy Son, With Ears To See And Eyes To Hear, Postcards and Polaroids, All My Heart, Kick Me, Save Me A Spark, November, Madness, If I'm James Dean, You're Audrey Hepburn, Let Love Bleed Red
7. Mayday Parade
Songs: Terrible Things, Hollow, All On Me, Call Me Hopeless But Not Romantic, 12 Through 15, Even Robots Need Blankets, Sorry Not Sorry, Hold Onto Me, Bruised and Scarred
8. My Chemical Romance
Songs: Welcome To The Black Parade, Helena (So Long And Goodnight), Cancer, Famous Last Words, I'm Not Okay (I Promise), The Ghost Of You
There are many other songs which fit perfectly into this universe, but, unfortunately, I'd deleted my list of them months ago. These are the few I remember most clearly.
So now let's head onto the acknowledgments. I'd first like to thank my cousin, FayeeeM, for being one of my greatest supporters, my beta reader as well as my harshest critic. Without her, I probably would never have had the guts to be as sadistic as I was to my OCs. (Just kidding. But.. well, seriously, it's true.)
I'd like to thank Loki-Roki , -caffienatedsadness , PokemonRio and greyhavensking for being here from the start, for supporting me and generally being the greatest friends and mentors I could ask for. You're awesome, honestly. I'm sorry I won't be writing Aoi and Basil's future the way you wanted it to happen. (Also no more Gakushit bashing... or is there?)
I also want to thank everyone who's reading this, who's made it this far. Thank you, thank you, thank you for reading Eyes of Azure, and I hope that you'll be satisfied with what I had planned for what could have been. With that said, let's finally take a look at this collection of ideas I had for this fic.
Ladies, Gentlemen and everyone who is in between in the spectrum of genders (I respect everyone), I now present,
Eyes of Azure:
THE FORBIDDEN FILES
(Collection of Outlines, Drafts, Drabbles & Extras)
x + x
Arrangement of Acts
—
THE TRILOGY
—
Book One:
Eyes of Azure
Act One: Angels and Demons
[ 1 Marker; 12 Chapters — Completed ]
(Mission Start; Aoi&Gakushu focus; Assembly Arc)
Marker:
The First Glimpse | Angels and Demons
Song: "Demons" by Imagine Dragons
Chapters:
Attempt 01 | Angels Fall by Breaking Benjamin
Attempt 02 | A Beautiful Indifference by Rise Against
Attempt 03 | Falling Sky by RED
Attempt 03.5 | A Tale of Outer Suburbia by Hands Like Houses
Attempt 04 | Lost Time Memory by Jin (Shizen no Teki-P)
Attempt 04.5 | Pale by The Birthday Massacre
Attempt 05 | Better Off Dead by Sleeping With Sirens
Attempt 06 | The Irony of Choking on a Lifesaver by All Time Low
Attempt 07 | Liebesleid by Fritz Kreisler (Piano Cover by Sergei Rachmaninoff)
Attempt 08 | What Hurts the Most by Rascal Flatts
Attempt 09 | Superman by Five For Fighting
Attempt 09.5 | Indigo by Kishida Kyoudan & the Akeboshi Rockets
Act Two: Smoke and Mirrors
[ 1 Marker; 19 Chapters — Completed ]
(Basil's Arrival; Immersion into Class E; Kyoto Arc)
Marker:
The Second Glimpse | Smoke and Mirrors
Song: "Smoke and Mirrors" by Imagine Dragons
Chapters:
Attempt 10 | Butterfly by BTS
Attempt 11 | End of Me by RED
Attempt 12 | Confessions (What's Inside My Head) by RED
Attempt 12.5 | Savior by Rise Against
Attempt 13 | A Beautiful Lie by Thirty Seconds to Mars
Attempt 14 | Pretend by Secondhand Serenade
Attempt 15 | Impostor by RED
Attempt 16 | Lie to Me (Denial) by RED
Attempt 16.5 | As You Go by RED
Attempt 17 | Piece of My Heart by Mallory Knox
Attempt 18 | Glass House by RED
Attempt 19 | Madness by Sleeping With Sirens
Attempt 20 | Tragedy + Time by Rise Against
Attempt 20.5 | City of Angels by Thirty Seconds to Mars
Attempt 21 | Paint You Wings by All Time Low
Attempt 22 | Bella Ciao (Italian Folk Song)
Attempt 23 | Auf Wiedersehen, Sweetheart by Vera Lynn
Attempt 24 | Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes
Attempt 25 | Breakeven by The Script
Act Three: Of Shattered Remnants
[ 1 Marker; 2 Chapters — Discontinued ]
(Aoi's Past; More of Class E; Abel&Yusuke's Arrival; Start of Tsubaki's Arc)
Marker:
The Third Glimpse | Of Shattered Remnants
Song: "Better That We Break" by Maroon 5
Chapters:
Attempt 26 | Hollow by Mayday Parade
Attempt 27 | Marionette by Flyleaf
Act Four: Stitch by Stitch
(Tsubaki's Past; Sibylline Revolt [Foreshadowing])
Act Five: By the Oceanfront
(Okinawa Arc; Masquerade Ball Arc; The Starless Night [Hints]; Sibylline Revolt [Hints]; God of Death Arc [Hints])
—End of Book One—
—
Book Two:
Skies of Crimson
Act Six: Blood Upon the Eaves
(Sibylline Revolt [Hints]; God of Death Arc)
Act Seven: Let the Sky Fall
(Shinobu's Arc; Sibylline Revolt Arc; Remembering The Starless Night Arc)
Act Eight: Forgive Me, Remember Me
(Reidelle's Arrival; The Letter and The Truth Arc)
Act Nine: Ink and Ashes
(Descent Arc; Hellfire Arc)
Act Ten: "Auf Wiedersehen, Sweetheart."
(Oblivion Arc)
—End of Book Two—
—
Book Three:
Tears of Crystal
Act Eleven: "We'll Meet Again."
(Timeskip: Seven years; Rainfall Arc)
Act Twelve: Letters To No One
(Inked Hearts Arc)
Act Thirteen: Leaving You Voiceless
(Redemption Arc)
—End of Book Three and Eyes of Azure Trilogy—
—
THE COMPANION NOVELS & SPIN-OFFS:
—
Companion Novel 1:
No Regrets: The Tales Untold
(Collection of The Sibylline Agents' Histories)
[Legend: *-Prequel to the Trilogy; \\-Occurs after the Trilogy; //-Spin-offs]
Arc One:
Lie To Me [Hanazono Sousuke]*
Arc Two:
All That I'm Living For [Fujimoto Tsubaki]*
Arc Three:
All On Me [Benedict Faulkerson]*
Arc Four:
Faceless [Adelheid&Morgan Falkenrath]//
Arc Five:
Wolves in Sheep's Clothing [Claude&Vivienne Leiris]\\
Arc Six:
Impostor [Marco Agnelli]//
—
Companion Novel 2:
Of Myths and Reality
(Collection of Eyes of Azure Novellas—The Mission Files)
Entry One:
The Mission of The Starless Night
Entry Two:
The Mission of the Equinox
—
Spin-Off Novella 1:
Voiceless
(Pairing: Asano Gakushu X Abarai Seira)
[ estimated no. of chapters: fifteen to eighteen. ]
"For everything you gain, something must be lost. But that doesn't mean that it can't be found again."
In which she teaches him to hear the voice of his heart, even when she chooses not to hear hers.
—
Spin-Off Novella 2:
How I Love You
(Hanazono Sousuke's Journal; Pairings: Hanazono Sousuke X Tanizaki Makoto, Hanazono Sousuke X Kitamura Minako)
[ estimated no. of chapters: ten to thirteen. ]
"There are many kinds of love in the world, and none that are like ours."
In which their paths split, but what once was lost can be found—and he did. He found them.
x + x
Future Scenes & Unedited Drafts
(What-if's, Possible Spin-offs, Additional Scenes & Others)
—
i.
Book: Skies of Crimson
Type: Preview/Possible Scene
Arc: Takebayashi Time
"I'm not going anywhere without demanding an answer from that guy!" Maehara exclaims, pounding a fist against the blackboard. I sigh, mentally berating the playboy along with my other classmates.
"Forcing an answer out of a traitor won't yield any results," I mutter under my breath, hitching my messenger bag higher up my shoulders as I leap off my desk; landing safely upon the rickety floorboards. "You'll just waste your time, Maehara."
Irked, he spins around, clenched fists by his side as he all but snarls a stubborn reply. "So what? Takebayashi was part of Class E, Aoi-chan!"
I raise an eyebrow, scuffing the toe of my shoe. "The main point in that statement is the word 'was'. You're correct in stating that Takebayashi was indeed part of this assassination classroom, Maehara. However, he left for the main building. Nothing will change that."
I turn on my heel, sliding the door open as a sardonic - albeit bitter - smile curls my lips. "Especially when chains bound one to his duties more than another may know."
—
ii.
Book: Skies of Crimson
Type: Preview/Possible Scene
Arc: Second Semester - After Mid-Terms
"I want you to kill that monster."
Plain and simple, Gakushu looks away; those same words falling from his lips. I cross my arms beneath my chest, intent upon ignoring the penetrating stare Basil casts upon me.
"Still blunt as ever, I see.." I mumble, rocking back on my heels.
—
iii.
Book: Eyes of Azure
Type: Preview/Possible Scene
Arc: Humidity Time (First four paragraphs have been scrapped; the rest added to Attempt 17, Exams Arc.)
["I'll be going now, then," I say flatly, proceeding towards the empty alleyway to my left. Immediately, I sense the personage follow me down the path; my right hand clenched into a fist as I prepare myself for combat.
I hasten my footsteps, gesturing for my classmates to hurry.
"Aoi-chan..?" Kayano whispers softly, nervously glancing over her shoulder. I remain stiff, eyes darting from side to side as I slowly back away, shielding my petite classmate.
"Stay still," I hiss, just as a silhouette turned around the corner.]
A familiar grin curled his lips; platinum blonde hair falling in messy curls over his bright, emerald-green eyes. Very hesitantly, I relaxed my tense stature, only to dart forward, my tightly clenched fist now armed with a stainless steel pocket knife.
He swerved to the side, just as I ducked, swinging my weapon in a vertical arc; the hilt aimed towards his cheek. A flicker of a smirk graced his lips, as my assault flew mere centimeters short of its target. Biting hard on my lip, I aim a punch to his gut, subsequently digging my knuckles into solid flesh.
He grunted, coughing as he staggered back; swiping the back of his hand over his mouth. Wiping all emotion from my face, I finally relax my stance; loosely gripping my knife.
"You do know that disguises don't work on me, do you not, 'Achilles'?"
He shrugged.
—
iv.
Book: Eyes of Azure
Type: Marker
Arc: After Kyoto Arc, but before Aoi's Past Chapters.
He frowns, looking at his mother with disgust. What is it that so enchanted his sister about this story? It is nothing short of those tragedies that the woman often read—written by some deceased playwright named William Shakespeare or something of the sort.
If the female angel doesn't want to be freed just to be used in the Seraphic Council's plans, then why does the latter even try to force her?
"Hiro-nii," his sister looks at him, her green eyes wide with glee. "Why do you look so constipated? Didn't you hear? Mom's gonna tell us why Lilith doesn't want to leave her room!"
He scowls, crossing his arms across his torso. "What's so interesting about that? That 'angel's just some sort of hikikomori, that's what."
At his cold words, Leif's lips turn down into a frown, and she picks at the edge of her shirt. As he watches, the tips of her ears flush with a hue utterly similar to her fiery hair.
"Now, now, Hiro," their mother interjects, that same placid smile on her lips. As if she isn't bothered by his lack of attention to the 'story' she is telling. "The story isn't over yet, so don't judge why a character was written that way."
He snorts, haughtily turning his head away. As he does, two figures come into sight, and he stiffens, head whipping back to look at his mother. She places a hand to her mouth, the slight quirk to her rosy lips indicating her amusement at his action. Beside him, Leif stifles a giggle.
"Yo, Fennel," his cousin greets, taking a seat next to the dark-haired boy on the sand. He grins, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners as he carefully lets his little sister sit upon his lap. "Causing trouble for our aunt, again?" He turns his head to the older woman, nodding in greeting.
She smiles, reaching out to stroke the little girl's sandy blond hair. "How have you and Sorrel been, Shu? I heard that your mother came back about a week ago after spending some time in the Philippines."
He laughs, adjusting his hold upon his sleepy sibling, whose head rests against his chest, avoiding the woman's reaching fingers. "Mom's been grand. Anyway, I heard that you were telling a story?"
She nods, clasping her hands together in her lap. "I am." With that, she winks conspiratorially, lowering her voice. "I think you already know what I'm talking about, Shu."
He grins, and as he opens his mouth to speak his sister's eyes open, her irises a bright grayish blue. "It's been a long time since you told me about that. I'd better hear it again."
At his words, she laughs.
"Very well. 'He who does not know history is bound to repeat it,' after all."
—
v.
Book: Skies of Crimson
Type: Preview/Possible Scene
Arc: Shinobu's Arc
* Aoi is still hospitalized after the battle with the GoD, and she's been suffering through multiple attacks of her angina pectoris, which is why she's still in the hospital.
* Shinobu tries to visit her, but she knows the real reason.
"I'm not the one you've come to visit, Shino-nii," she says, and he automatically tightens his grip upon his younger sister's pale hand, lips parting to object, but she smiles and draws her hand out of his grasp.
"Don't worry about me." Aoi reaches up, flicks his forehead; Shinobu draws back, his only evident eye wide as she tilts her head in the direction of the door.
"Go and see him."
* In the same hospital, Saiki Hideyoshi (Shinobu's love interest) is also hospitalized. He's had the same disease as Aoi since he was a child, but his own has gotten worse - to the point that it's developed into a form of unstable angina, called Prinzmetal's Angina.
* After a particularly heavy attack, he's been told that only heart transplant is the key to get better - much like in Aoi's case - but he refused.
He immediately takes off and out of his seat, bolting through the doors without a second glance. He's running, flat-out sprinting through the halls and mentally counting the numbers until he slows, stopping in front of a specific door. Shinobu heaves a shaky breath, wrenching the door open.
The ravenette is sitting up in his bed, book clasped in his frail hand as he watches the views out of his window. His head is half-turned, glasses perched upon his nose, his skin paler than ever underneath the dark blue hospital gown he wears. As the brunet enters, Hideyoshi turns his head, regarding him with a knowing glance as Shinobu immediately crosses the distance, hands cupping the man's smooth cheeks and he presses his lips to his.
For a moment they stay this way, just the slightest brush of lips upon lips, a tender, undoubtedly bittersweet gesture before Hideyoshi places a hand over Shinobu's own, pulling away.
"I—"
"Don't say it," the brunet hisses, his fingers having wandered up, curling into the thick, dark locks which end at a soft, dusky point by the nape of the older man's neck. "Don't tell me—"
"—that I'm dying?" Hideyoshi finishes quietly, his voice so utterly calm that Shinobu can't understand why he's being like this now, of all times. How he can be so accepting of the looming shadow when all the brunet wants is to save him from the very thing he's slowly pushing himself to the abyss of? "Is that what you don't want to hear, Shin?"
"I-I—" he chokes, gasping for air as he collapses beside his lover upon the bed, seated so tentatively close, fingers still entwined with the curls of his dark hair and arms around his neck. "I don't want to lose you."
"But you will." The ravenette says, and he feels the way Shinobu's back arches, stiffening in place. "There's no hope left for me, love, you know that."
"But I—" he's crying now, tear tracks glistening as they pour from his single, visible eye, and when he tilts his head just so, he can see the other, sealed shut by the jagged scar. "I can't—I—Shit, Hideyoshi, I can't just—I can't just accept this. How are you so calm? How can you be like this when I—when I'm—"
Hideyoshi hushes him, slowly but gently letting his left arm curl around Shinobu's waist, drawing his lover close enough that his head rests just beneath his chin, his hands now lowered to place themselves upon his hospital-gown-clad chest. "'How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee with the depth and breadth and height, My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight. For the ends of being and ideal grace... I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.'"
"It's not time for your poetry, Hide.." he whispers, curling his fingers into the thin cloth separating his fingertips from the skin over the ravenette's heart.
He smiles. "But then, when else will it ever be?"
—
vi.
Book: Skies of Crimson
Type: Preview/Possible Dialogue
Arc: God of Death Arc
"Why? Why are you doing this? Why did you lie to me?"
"I didn't—"
"Omission of the truth still counts as a goddamn lie, Basil. You know that as well as I do. So why? Why lie to me? Why ally yourself with the enemy?"
"If it means that I can protect ya', I'll do anything, Aoi. You know that."
"Protect me? I don't need your fucking protection, damn it!"
"Stop making this hard for me—"
"Oh you should've known that this wouldn't be easy before you fucking went on to do this. How could you, you bastard? How could you?"
"I—"
"You know what, Baz? I'm not your little sister. I'm not someone important to you. You didn't have to ally yourself with the 'God of Death' just to 'protect' me. I'm not Abel, Basil. It doesn't mean that you couldn't save her when she was kidnapped for human trafficking that you have to do the same for me. I can take care of myself. I'm not weak. I'm not—I'm just.. I'm just your parabatai, and that doesn't mean a thing to both of us."
"'Doesn't mean a thing'? Shit, Aoi, I knew ya' were dense, but—Really? You—God, even you can be so oblivious."
"What the hell do you mean by 'oblivious', you damn idiot—"
"Té amo, Aoi."
"Wh-what—"
"You're right: you're not Abel, ya' aren't my little sister. You're not her, but you're still someone who's important to me. Being parabatai means everything to me, Aoi; because of this contract, we met. Because of this bond, I—"
"Stop. You—you can't—This—it's against the rules of the Sibyl—"
"But has there ever been a rule when it comes to love?"
—
vii.
Book: Skies of Crimson
Type: Preview/Possible Scene
Arc: The Letter and the Truth Arc
He doesn't know what to say.
He doesn't know what to do.
Because honestly, what can one say—or do—when held at knifepoint by a presumably sixteen-year-old girl, anyway?
"Who are you?" Her voice has a distinct British—no, English accent, despite her oddly unfitting—foreign, he corrects himself—features. Her fiery scarlet hair curls around her fair face, stopping just shy of her shoulders. Brilliant azure eyes regard him suspiciously, flitting from top to bottom, as though assessing his attire. Searching for weapons, he realizes belatedly.
He swallows thickly, aware of a trickle of sweat dropping down his brow. "I don't mean any harm," he begins, and the girl narrows her eyes. "I'm only searching for someone; I was told that I may find him here."
The girl doesn't seem impressed. If anything, she looks quite high-strung, taut with anxiety. She regards him coolly, lowering her knife. "I make it a point not to hurt civilians"—he relaxes, if only slightly—"but you can hardly blame me for being cautious. You're trespassing on private grounds, mister."
He blinks. "I'm quite aware of that—"
"And were you also aware that this is the headquarters for a renowned mercenary association?" She cuts in, and he freezes. A mercenary association? One connected to the Underground? To the black markets? The journalist in him seems to twitch in anticipation of a possibly fine scoop, but he forces it down, focusing on the implications.
What was his cousin doing in the headquarters of a mercenary association?!?
Arthur Porter clears his throat, forcing a flimsy smile. "I presume you are a part of this association, then?"
The girl rolls her eyes—a clear message of, "Well done, genius," etched across her youthful face. "You're missing the point." She pauses, looking at him as if he was an idiot. (He probably fit the part, in her eyes.) "Now, who are you looking for?"
He lets out a breath he didn't know he had been withholding. "...You're going to help me?"
The slightest quirk of the girl's lips is the only thing which leads Arthur to realize that she's smiling. "No shit, mister." She chuckles, and he finds that it's a rather nice laugh, indeed. "Well, spit it out. I don't exactly have all day to help out a civilian."
"His name is Keishin, Keishin Ouma, but I have been told that he goes by another name now."
She furrows her brow. "And that is?"
"Sousuke Hanazono." As the name leaves his lips, he wonders if he did anything wrong. The girl stiffens, as if she's struck, and her mouth opens in disbelief.
"Why are you looking for my father?"
The silence thickens between the blond and the red-haired girl, enough that if one were there, they can hear a pin drop. Arthur stares at the girl, as bewildered and disbelieving as she is.
"Your... Father?" He echoes, blankly, and she nods.
"My name is Aoi... Aoi Hanazono. Sousuke Hanazono is my father." He swallows thickly once again.
He had been assaulted at knifepoint by his own niece, the teenaged daughter of his elder cousin.
"A pleasure to meet you, Aoi. I'm Arthur Porter, your father's cousin and your uncle. If it's not too much to ask, may we go and see your father now?"
—
viii.
Book: Skies of Crimson
Type: Preview/Possible Scene
Arc: Sibylline Revolt Arc
She's safe.
She's safe, and that's all that matters, he thinks. He's numb, limbs dragged down by an unseen force. He staggers backward, losing more of his mobility as a miasma of crimson is forced from between his lips.
His balance falters, and he crumples to the tiles. He reckons he's landed wrongly upon his legs, but he can't feel a thing. He's losing more and more of his vision, darkness skirting to and fro as his niece saunters forward.
She's grinning, raising the sleek barrel of the handgun so it's level with his pounding heart. He sees the glint of teeth, bared in triumph, and she playfully runs her index finger along the trigger.
Sousuke knows that he's losing blood, can feel the gush, the abominably warm sensation of his lifeblood drenching his once pristine shirt, seeping through the cracks of his fingers. He cranes his neck up, sees the crazed glimmer of insanity in those eyes.
She's safe. His little tésoro is safe, and that's all that matters.
And he smiles at the thought of his daughter, happy and carefree, as the gunshot rings out, and the life is drained from his eyes of azure.
—
ix.
Book: Skies of Crimson
Type: Preview/Possible Dialogue
Arc: Sibylline Revolt Arc
"I'm.. sorry. I'm sorry, tésoro mio.."
"Father? Father, please, don't. Stop talking. Save your strength."
"..there's no time, love. I've known that I'm going to die."
"...no, no, no, please. Father—Papá, please, no. I can't—I—"
"..Ti amo, tésoro mio.. I'm sorry I.. I wasn't the best father—"
"Papá!"
—
x.
Book: Eyes of Azure
Type: Preview/Possible Scene
Arc: Masquerade Ball Arc
I turn just in time to see my father smile.
It is small, fleeting, but I see it. I see the tears which gather in his eyes of azure, the flush to his pale skin. I know that he is crying, but I don't say a word. I know that I don't have to. He understands me, as I understand him.
He is my father, and I am his daughter. And that is simply how I know.
"She would have been proud to see you now," he says. There's an unknown look to my father's eyes. I look away. "Makoto would have wanted to meet you."
And with those words I see the tear tracks skim those pallid cheeks, see the slightest semblances of a smile on my father's lips.
And I smile as well.
"I would have wanted to meet him, too."
—
xi.
Book: No Regrets: The Tales Untold
Type: Preview/Possible Scene
Arc: Lie To Me
"Daddy, why are we here?" She asks, tugging at her father's hand. Sousuke looks away, holding tight to the little girl's fingers. She's too young, too young to meet him.
But it's what he would have wanted, after all.
"Hey, Sou-chan.." He gasped, coughing up even more of his blood. Makoto grinned, weakly reaching out to hold his hand. The redhead pulled him close, lacing their fingers tight. "..S-stop.. crying, okay?"
"How can you be so calm?" He whispered, his voice cracking with the weight of his guilt. "Why did you even save me, Makoto?"
"It's because..." he gasped for air, pulling himself up to weakly brush his lips against his for the last time. Sousuke closed his eyes, feeling his tears sting his closed eyelids as he cradled his lover even more closely, pressing his lips firmly against his. Through the wet cloth of his shirt, he could feel Makoto trembling, not from the cold but from the effort.
"I love you, Sousuke.." his lips met his briefly, fleetingly, once more, before his head fell forward, resting against his collarbone as his final breath passed from his lips.
He shakes his head now, a bittersweet smile on his lips as he kneels before his child. She looks so innocent, so young.
"Daddy, why are you crying?" Aoi asks, and Sousuke cradles his daughter into his arms, lifting her up as he walks towards their destination. He pauses, setting her down as he collapses in front of his grave.
Even after so many years, the pain still feels as fresh as though it just happened yesterday.
"It still hurts to know you're gone," he whispers.
"It hurts.. Because I know that there will always be a part of me—a piece of my heart—which will always love you, Makoto."
—
xii.
Book: No Regrets: The Tales Untold
Type: Preview/Possible Scene
Arc: Lie To Me
His lungs burned.
He couldn't waste a single second, twisting and keeping a firm hold on his lover's hand as they ran. Fleetingly, he wondered whether their pursuers were near; he couldn't hear shit, couldn't even take the time to discern his surroundings as he continued on, leg muscles pumping steadily onwards as his shoes stomped upon the dirt, sending clods of it flying up.
Sousuke bit at his lower lip, teeth tugging upon skin as copper flooded his taste buds. He could barely feel Makoto's hand steadily warm within his own, white-knuckled grip, could barely see the flash of his determined brown eyes as they forged on.
How could everything have gone wrong within the span of an hour?
Or had it really just been that long?
He couldn't tell.
There was a resounding crack, the staccato beat of firearms and the shrill shriek of the dying. Sharply, Sousuke turned just in time to see Mikoto fall, blood dribbling from his lips as Emiko screamed.
"Miko!" She wailed, falling to her knees beside her husband in the dirt. She cradled him, bloody hands tugging at his shirt as he gasped, desperately heaving. He murmured words Sousuke couldn't hear through the ringing in his ears, and vaguely he could feel Makoto's insistent tugging upon his hand.
A silhouette lurched from the shadows, grabbing a handful of Emiko's long, dark hair and giving it a wrench. She yelled in fury, desperate tears stinging her eyes as her voice screamed in a final swan song before the glint of a knife buried itself deep into her chest.
"Stay with our son—tell him— we—we'll always love him—"
Tears burned fiercely in the back of his eyes, and Sousuke turned away, wanting nothing more but to block out the gurgle and splatter of blood as the knife was pulled out from his comrade's lifeless torso.
They were dead. Dead within the span of three minutes.
Half of his own squad, his own friends, gone.
"—suke! Sousuke! Keishin!" Makoto shouted in his ears, and he looked at his boyfriend, tears streaming down his cheeks. He didn't care what he looked like anymore. He could care less about how shitty he looked at the moment.
Makoto looked at him, tugging desperately at his hand with a white-knuckled grip as he led him away from the scene, deep into the woods to make their escape.
"We can't waste any time, Sousuke!" He hissed, his eyes red-rimmed in his futile effort to keep from crying. "We can't—" his voice broke, and Makoto cleared his throat, continuing on, "We can't waste Miko-tan and Emiko-san's sacrifice." He finished, breathing heavily as they ran on, hands holding tight to each other's own.
They were on their own now, deep in the neck of the woods and still in enemy territory. Sousuke shook his head, keeping his head low as they continued forwards.
He wasn't the only one hurting—he knew that Makoto was suffering, too. It was his cousin who just died, along with his childhood friend.
If anyone was supposed to grieve their deaths, it was Makoto. But he was still staying strong, still urging him to continue forward despite—
A chill shot up the dark-haired man's spine, as if the saying "walking on your grave" had come true.
It was purely on instinct when Makoto let go of Sousuke's hand, darting behind the redhead with his arms outstretched, just as a bullet made its way to his heart.
He stifled a cry, crumpling to his knees.
Sousuke turned on his heel, watching in agonized horror as crimson—the very same color as his own fiery hair—crawled across Makoto's once pristine white shirt, staining the front of his torso with bloody streams. He collapsed, pulling the brunette close to his chest as blood bubbled forth from his lips, still parted in a satisfied grin.
"You idiot!" Sousuke whispered reproachingly, tears splattering upon the latter's tan cheeks. He bent his head down low, pressing quivering lips upon his lover's forehead.
He couldn't accept this.
He couldn't.
He can't.
He couldn't lose him. He couldn't just lose the only person who'd brought him back from nothingness. He couldn't just surrender him to death—
The word struck him cold, chilling him to the depths of his soul.
Makoto was dying... because he saved him. Saved his life, when he least expected it.
"Hey, Sou-chan.." He gasped, coughing up even more of his blood. Makoto grinned, weakly reaching out to hold his hand. The redhead pulled him close, lacing their fingers tight. "..S-stop.. crying, okay?"
"How can you be so calm?" He whispered, his voice cracking with the weight of his guilt. "Why did you even save me, Makoto?"
Makoto smiled, trembling lips painted with scarlet and his hands—cold, so cold, with life slowly being leached from his fingers—caressing his cheek, leaving marks of a bloody burgundy upon his skin.
"It's because..." he gasped for air, pulling himself up to weakly brush his lips against his for the last time. Sousuke closed his eyes, feeling his tears sting his closed eyelids as he cradled his lover even more closely, pressing his lips firmly against his. Through the wet cloth of his shirt, he could feel Makoto trembling, not from the cold but from the effort.
"I love you, Sousuke.." his lips met his briefly, fleetingly, once more, before his head fell forward, resting against his collarbone as his final breath passed from his lips.
And it was then that Hanazono Sousuke shattered to pieces.
—
xiii.
Book: The entire trilogy & companion novels
Type: Possible Backstories
Arc: N/A
Basil - lost his sister to a human trafficking incident; joined the Sibyl to get her back
Aoi - suicidal, bipolar, suffering from PTSD since her mother's death
Adelheid - a survivor of illegal human experimentation alongside her sister, and was forced to commit murders on behalf of the organization she was from
Novem - watched almost all of his siblings be tortured and murdered when his parents couldn't pay the gang who'd lent them money; his hair grew out white due to Marie Antoinette Syndrome thereafter
Marco - suffers from multiple personality disorder and estrangement from his family due to his other self's bloodlust
Claude - witnessed her mother and aunt be killed, with her sister beside her
—
xiv.
Book: The entire trilogy
Type: Taglines
Arc: N/A
Eyes of Azure: "I promised to be by your side, even if you want me to go."
Skies of Crimson: "I promised to be your hero, even if I have to be the villain."
Tears of Crystal: "I promised to remember. And I've kept my promise all these years."
—
xv.
Book: Skies of Crimson
Type: Preview/Possible Scene
Arc: The Letter and The Truth Arc
'16th September, 20xx
Okinawa, Japan
'Tésoro mío:
'If you are reading this, then I am sure that I am already dead.
'You may have wished, you may have hoped, or you may have even wanted my death, and I clearly gave you so many reasons which justify such thoughts. It's no lie if I mention in this letter that I expected this outcome.
I purposefully made you hate me, my dear daughter, because I only wanted to keep you safe. And I won't ask for your forgiveness, for I don't deserve it.
'If there are two things I want you to know and remember, it's that I love you, and I'm sorry, Aoi. I have always cared for you, tésoro mio, my little treasure, although I could never show it. I'm sorry I was a horrible father—my reasons for doing so might have been good, but the ends have never justified the means.
'Even after all the lies, after all the pretenses I showed you, please keep those in your heart and mind, Aoi. Please don't doubt your horrible father. If anything, those were part of the few truths which never changed, even after all of these years.
'I made a promise, long ago, to your mother: I will keep you, our daughter, safe and sound, happy and carefree, no matter what. I promised to protect you, even if you didn't want me to.
'Like all of the heroes and knights-in-shining-armor in the fairytales your mother loved, and those that you've always wanted in your life, I tried my best to protect you. You may deny that you ever wanted—no, needed a hero, Aoi, but know that even with all of the hardship you've encountered, you have always kept a small space in your heart which longs for someone to save you—someone who will stay by your side.
'I promised to be your hero, even if I have to be the villain. In doing so, I tried my best to protect you from the shadows, I kept you at a distance for I knew you would be safer if I didn't directly interfere with your life. It hurt, I can guarantee that—I wanted to give up, I wanted to let you know the truth—
'But I could never be selfish. I had to keep your safety, your happiness, as my priority. I didn't deserve to be happy, not after everything I've done, but if you could, then that was enough for me. I am happy when you are, my child.
'And I'm sorry, because things turned out this way. I failed. I failed to see the danger, I failed to protect you when you were forcefully brought into the Sibyl without my notice nor my approval. When I realized my mistake, my negligence, it was already too late. You were already in the medical ward, suffering from trauma and the lashes on your back as punishment.
'You had been assigned to assassinate your own mother, and thought that it was your fault that she died.
'It never was your fault, tésoro mío. It was mine.
'That night, I barely managed to make it there on time and disarmed you. You had already fired once, but barely injured Mina. You were trembling, terrified, and I only saw it fit to knock you unconscious—for I didn't want you to see what I had to do next.
'Believe me, my daughter, when I say that I tried. I pleaded, begged on my knees to your mother after I discarded the pistol to the side. I told her that I could still fix things, that there was still another way, but your mother told me that she knew better. There wasn't another way around it, she said.
'"For conflict to be resolved, sometimes it needs a sacrifice," she told me.
'She gave me the gun and made me promise to protect you before she closed her hands around mine and forced me to pull the trigger. She died from blood loss soon after.
'I'm so, so sorry. I'm sorry I failed you. I'm sorry I was never there for you. I tried to protect you, but that's the thing about apologies, isn't it? It doesn't change what's already been done.
'I only ask for you to be happy, Aoi. Live for yourself, for your own happiness, for the things which you hold dear. Please, for this horrible father of yours, live with no regrets.
'Love who you want, and I will support you. I only regret that I won't be there to escort you down the aisle on your wedding day. Chase after your dreams, even as nonsensical as they seem. You'll find that they're just within your reach when you try.
'Whatever path you follow, know that I am proud of you, tésoro mío, and that I love you, and I always will. Whatever happens, I only wish for you to be able to say that you were happy.
'And that you lived life with no regrets.
'Tí amo, tésoro mío, mí princesa, my dear daughter, my Aoi.
'From your father,
Hanazono Sousuke.'
—
xvi.
Book: Tears of Crystal
Type: Preview/Possible Scene
Arc: Rainfall Arc
He sees her sitting there, alone.
Her pale cheek rests against her palm, fingers digging into the cloth of her overly large sweater's sleeve. Her fiery hair's been cut short, tiny wisps barely even catching against her chin when she turns her head. He can see the glint of gun-metal frames resting upon the bridge of her nose, the light flickering off of the glass.
As he watches, she straightens, pulling up the sleeves of her gray sweater, smoothing out her skinny jeans as she taps the toe of one of her boot-clad feet upon the marble.
She's different, but the same. And a wavering smile settles upon his lips when he approaches her table.
"Mind if I sit here, miss?"
Aoi turns her head to look up at him. She stares, disbelieving, before the glimmer of tears catch against her lashes, threatening to spill over her rapidly flushing cheeks.
He smiles softly, reaching up to draw his necklace out from beneath the neckline of his hoodie, the golden dewdrop pendant swinging to and fro from its chain.
"I found you, Aoi." Basil whispers, and she hastily pushes off of her seat, standing unsteadily.
"W-why—?" She murmurs, and he follows suit, drawing close to her. He smiles, bringing his hands up to gently cradle the back of her head, feeling the wisps of her short hair upon his calloused fingertips.
And he leans down, returning the same chaste kiss she had given him seven years ago on that day.
"Because I love you."
—
xii.
Book: The entire trilogy
Type: Synopses (Unedited)
Arc: N/A
Book One: Eyes of Azure
"I promised to be by your side, even if you want me to go."
She is no one—and she must be, for nobody must notice a killer before they strike. She is a monster—and she knows that she is one, for she must live up to the cursed name which she bears. She is broken—and it is due to the person who once made her whole.
Because there are promises which are meant to be broken, and lies which are told to cover up the mistakes one made in the past.
"I watched those tears fall on that stormy night, those tears in your eyes of azure, and so I watched you walk away."
Book Two: Skies of Crimson
"I promised to be your hero, even if I have to be the villain."
There is no one they can't kill. There is no one they can't hurt—be it themselves. There is no one they can trust, nor no one they can save—and it may cost them dearly.
Because there is a war that they can't win—and it is waged against themselves, and what they believe in.
"I saw you standing before the horizon, before those skies of crimson, and so I saw you fall."
Book Three: Tears of Crystal
"I promised to remember. And I've kept my promise all these years."
He is a man who once was whole. She is a woman who once was lost and doesn't want to be found. They are two people who once were bound by a truth and a lie, a promise and a contract worn by time and signed in blood.
Because although a promise may be broken, the truth sealed in hearts which love can never be undone.
"I see you waiting, alone and different, alone with those tears of crystal in your hand, and so I say, 'We meet again.'"
The Forbidden Files: to be continued.