BK-201 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
contract_star) wrote2010-03-24 04:53 am
contract_star) wrote2010-03-24 04:53 am
Entry tags:
Dragons
Author: ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
quirkypeanutblu
Character/Fandom: Hei/Darker than BLACK; Jin/Original
Prompt: 039: Burn (from the 100 Prompts Challenge)
Word Count: 1,528
Summary: Hei has words with Jin.
Author’s Notes: Selfcest, violence, Living The Dream.
He could smell it all through Cicero, the smell of smoke, charred concrete and damp, burned wood. It was night now; from what Hei could figure, the fire had burned itself out about an hour ago, and was still smoking and smoldering. It would likely continue to do so for the rest of the night and on into tomorrow.
He stood in the midst of the wreckage, away from the few small fires consuming the rubble, turning over waterlogged bits of charred wood. Nothing could be salvaged from this. The Zanzibar had burned to the ground; there were a few support beams, a bit of the staircase, and a door or two remaining. That was it. Hei had no idea if anyone had died in the fire. Not everyone was accounted for, though it was entirely possible that they had been elsewhere in Cicero or in their worlds.
Hei stood up and sighed. This was pointless, and he hadn’t come here to pick through the rubble. He had left Ladon and Ming-Li at the hospital to do some follow up work, checking on the rest of his friends, gathering some supplies, and directing stragglers to the hospital and the church, which had become temporary shelters while the Zanzibar rebuilt itself. Now he had one last errand to run.
He climbed out of the wreckage and headed for the parking lot, moving carefully. The fire hadn’t spread beyond the Zanzibar, but there was a trail right through the parking lot of melted asphalt, warped into huge swirls of tar and stone. Hei followed the trail, one hand on the hilt of a knife. Jin probably hadn’t stayed here. If he were smart, he’d have headed off into town and holed up in an abandoned house. Considering how many people were going to want his head, it was the only thing that made sense.
But Hei arrived at the back of the lot and there he was, sitting on a curb amidst a giant circle of melted asphalt and burned grass. He was human again, though he was a mess. Jin’s clothes were tattered and burned, and he was sitting with his knees to his chest, his face buried in one hand.
The idiot hadn’t even thought to move. Hei slowed his pace as he approached, wondering if this was some sort of trap. Maybe Jin had expected this.
Hei came to a stop a few feet from Jin and frowned down at him. Jin didn’t move, and aside from the fact that he was breathing, Hei would have almost guessed that he was dead.
Jin shifted and uncovered his face. His eyes were red and puffy.
“Oh…Hei.” His voice was quiet and hollow.
“…Jin.”
Jin looked past him to the wreckage of the Zanzibar. He seemed to wilt. “Did everyone get out? I…I heard a lot of people in there.”
“I don’t know.”
“Ah…” Jin’s eyes widened a little. “I heard Ladon. Did he get out? And Ming-Li? Are they okay? Please tell me they’re—”
Hei crossed the space between them before Jin could finish, grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him to his feet. Jin made a little animal sound of pain and clutched at his stomach.
“Wait—”
“You set the fire.” Hei was taller than Jin; he lifted him up until only his toes were touching the ground.
“Yes.” Jin was staring at the ground, his eyes out of focus. “It was an accident.”
“I don’t care.” There was a palm tree nearby. Hei moved and shoved Jin back against it; Jin made another soft sound.
“Stop, please—”
“Ladon is your friend.” It was all Hei could do not to slash this bastard’s throat right then. “He’s your friend, yet you set that fire, knowing he was right next door. Knowing he and his daughter were right next door.”
“Oh stars…” Jin’s voice broke and he started sobbing. “He’s not, please, he can’t be—”
“He’s fine. He and Ming-Li. I got them out in time.”
Jin gave a shaky sigh, one that sounded genuinely relieved. “Oh, thank everything. Thank you.”
Hei gave him a shake. Jin yelped and clutched harder at his stomach. “Don’t thank me. If not for you, no one would have needed saving.”
“I know. I know, it’s my fault. But please, Hei, please let me go, you’re only going to get hurt too…”
It was then that Hei felt heat near his leg. He looked down to see a tiny flame flickering on the pavement beneath Jin. As Hei watched a drop of blood splashed down from Jin’s fingers to the ground; a second after it hit, it ignited, flaring bright white.
Hei let go of Jin and Jin crumpled onto his knees, bracing himself with one hand and clutching his stomach with the other. Now Hei could clearly see that there was a nasty wound on Jin’s stomach, about an inch wide—a knife wound. It was red and raw and though it had mostly scabbed over, a trickle of blood was flowing from it again.
“What the hell are you?” Hei demanded.
Jin coughed a little and settled down into a crouch, wrapping both arms around his middle.
“A dragon. A sun dragon. Totally different from Ladon.”
“Why does your blood do that?”
“It’s p-plasma. It’s fire. When I’m in this form, when it leaves me—this happens. I can’t control it. If I was older…stars and moons, if o-only I was older.” Jin choked for a moment on his sobs. “I’d be able to control it then, keep it contained, but I’m—God—I’m just a kid.” He was crying openly now. “M-Millions of years old and I’m st-still just a kid. Stars, what am I doing here. Why am I here, why did it have to be Earth? I hate it, I hate this, I never wanted to hurt anyone or anything, stars, why…”
Hei grimaced at the breakdown, feeling rather repulsed.
“A kid with fire for blood,” he growled. “A walking time bomb. So it was your blood that did this. You were careless. A stupid, careless child, who almost got all of us killed.”
“Yes. Yes, that’s me.” Jin smiled suddenly, but it was all wrong—hysterical and mirthless. “It’s happened before, even. Prague, the Great Prague Fire, I can’t remember any of it except, except that it was my fault. Because, because this is me, I destroy everything, everything, I turn it all to ashes.”
“You were stabbed,” Hei said, grabbing Jin by the collar again to try and force him out of the hysteria. “How did it happen?”
“It’s a long…long story,” Jin said, his voice softening again. He went limp, almost dangling from Hei’s hand. “I was careless. Like you said. I came here to heal myself, but I couldn’t stop the bleeding in time.”
Hei gritted his teeth. “Why come here? You could have stayed in your own damn world.”
“I would have died.” Jin looked up at him finally. “I had to be in dragon form to heal properly. If I’d transformed there…it was a city block, it would have compromised everything, and I could have killed hundreds. People panicking, getting too close, police…”
Hei couldn’t stand this anymore. He pulled away and backhanded Jin as hard as he could. Jin’s head snapped to the side and he hit the ground. Hei hissed a little and stepped back, shaking out his hand. Hitting Jin was like hitting a brick wall.
“You should have died,” Hei spat.
Jin lay on his side on the ground, his breathing ragged. He was quiet for a time.
“Yeah,” he said softly. “Yeah, I know.”
Hei stared at him, flexing his hand at his side and feeling the anger run out of him. This was pointless. The fire had been an accident, no one Hei cared about had died, and Jin was already doing worse to himself than Hei ever could. Jin was pathetic enough as it was; hurting him just made Hei feel pathetic as well.
There was a long silence. Jin made no effort to get up or speak.
“I don’t care what you do,” Hei said at length. “You can waste away out here, or start running from the others who will want an explanation, or face up to them and accept the consequences. I don’t care. Do what you want.”
Jin dragged himself up onto one elbow. “I already know what I’m going to do.”
“As for Ladon…” Hei sighed and looked away. “I’m not going to tell him what friends he should have. But you’re dangerous. For Ladon and Ming-Li’s sake…for the sake of everyone here you care about, you should stay away from them. Put your own world in danger. Leave the rest alone.”
Jin closed his eyes and didn’t answer. Hei crouched down and leaned close to him.
“But the next time you put Ladon or Ming-Li in danger,” he said in a quiet voice full of ice, “I will kill you. Dragon or not.”
With that, Hei got to his feet and walked away, leaving Jin on the pavement and not looking back.
quirkypeanutbluCharacter/Fandom: Hei/Darker than BLACK; Jin/Original
Prompt: 039: Burn (from the 100 Prompts Challenge)
Word Count: 1,528
Summary: Hei has words with Jin.
Author’s Notes: Selfcest, violence, Living The Dream.
He could smell it all through Cicero, the smell of smoke, charred concrete and damp, burned wood. It was night now; from what Hei could figure, the fire had burned itself out about an hour ago, and was still smoking and smoldering. It would likely continue to do so for the rest of the night and on into tomorrow.
He stood in the midst of the wreckage, away from the few small fires consuming the rubble, turning over waterlogged bits of charred wood. Nothing could be salvaged from this. The Zanzibar had burned to the ground; there were a few support beams, a bit of the staircase, and a door or two remaining. That was it. Hei had no idea if anyone had died in the fire. Not everyone was accounted for, though it was entirely possible that they had been elsewhere in Cicero or in their worlds.
Hei stood up and sighed. This was pointless, and he hadn’t come here to pick through the rubble. He had left Ladon and Ming-Li at the hospital to do some follow up work, checking on the rest of his friends, gathering some supplies, and directing stragglers to the hospital and the church, which had become temporary shelters while the Zanzibar rebuilt itself. Now he had one last errand to run.
He climbed out of the wreckage and headed for the parking lot, moving carefully. The fire hadn’t spread beyond the Zanzibar, but there was a trail right through the parking lot of melted asphalt, warped into huge swirls of tar and stone. Hei followed the trail, one hand on the hilt of a knife. Jin probably hadn’t stayed here. If he were smart, he’d have headed off into town and holed up in an abandoned house. Considering how many people were going to want his head, it was the only thing that made sense.
But Hei arrived at the back of the lot and there he was, sitting on a curb amidst a giant circle of melted asphalt and burned grass. He was human again, though he was a mess. Jin’s clothes were tattered and burned, and he was sitting with his knees to his chest, his face buried in one hand.
The idiot hadn’t even thought to move. Hei slowed his pace as he approached, wondering if this was some sort of trap. Maybe Jin had expected this.
Hei came to a stop a few feet from Jin and frowned down at him. Jin didn’t move, and aside from the fact that he was breathing, Hei would have almost guessed that he was dead.
Jin shifted and uncovered his face. His eyes were red and puffy.
“Oh…Hei.” His voice was quiet and hollow.
“…Jin.”
Jin looked past him to the wreckage of the Zanzibar. He seemed to wilt. “Did everyone get out? I…I heard a lot of people in there.”
“I don’t know.”
“Ah…” Jin’s eyes widened a little. “I heard Ladon. Did he get out? And Ming-Li? Are they okay? Please tell me they’re—”
Hei crossed the space between them before Jin could finish, grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him to his feet. Jin made a little animal sound of pain and clutched at his stomach.
“Wait—”
“You set the fire.” Hei was taller than Jin; he lifted him up until only his toes were touching the ground.
“Yes.” Jin was staring at the ground, his eyes out of focus. “It was an accident.”
“I don’t care.” There was a palm tree nearby. Hei moved and shoved Jin back against it; Jin made another soft sound.
“Stop, please—”
“Ladon is your friend.” It was all Hei could do not to slash this bastard’s throat right then. “He’s your friend, yet you set that fire, knowing he was right next door. Knowing he and his daughter were right next door.”
“Oh stars…” Jin’s voice broke and he started sobbing. “He’s not, please, he can’t be—”
“He’s fine. He and Ming-Li. I got them out in time.”
Jin gave a shaky sigh, one that sounded genuinely relieved. “Oh, thank everything. Thank you.”
Hei gave him a shake. Jin yelped and clutched harder at his stomach. “Don’t thank me. If not for you, no one would have needed saving.”
“I know. I know, it’s my fault. But please, Hei, please let me go, you’re only going to get hurt too…”
It was then that Hei felt heat near his leg. He looked down to see a tiny flame flickering on the pavement beneath Jin. As Hei watched a drop of blood splashed down from Jin’s fingers to the ground; a second after it hit, it ignited, flaring bright white.
Hei let go of Jin and Jin crumpled onto his knees, bracing himself with one hand and clutching his stomach with the other. Now Hei could clearly see that there was a nasty wound on Jin’s stomach, about an inch wide—a knife wound. It was red and raw and though it had mostly scabbed over, a trickle of blood was flowing from it again.
“What the hell are you?” Hei demanded.
Jin coughed a little and settled down into a crouch, wrapping both arms around his middle.
“A dragon. A sun dragon. Totally different from Ladon.”
“Why does your blood do that?”
“It’s p-plasma. It’s fire. When I’m in this form, when it leaves me—this happens. I can’t control it. If I was older…stars and moons, if o-only I was older.” Jin choked for a moment on his sobs. “I’d be able to control it then, keep it contained, but I’m—God—I’m just a kid.” He was crying openly now. “M-Millions of years old and I’m st-still just a kid. Stars, what am I doing here. Why am I here, why did it have to be Earth? I hate it, I hate this, I never wanted to hurt anyone or anything, stars, why…”
Hei grimaced at the breakdown, feeling rather repulsed.
“A kid with fire for blood,” he growled. “A walking time bomb. So it was your blood that did this. You were careless. A stupid, careless child, who almost got all of us killed.”
“Yes. Yes, that’s me.” Jin smiled suddenly, but it was all wrong—hysterical and mirthless. “It’s happened before, even. Prague, the Great Prague Fire, I can’t remember any of it except, except that it was my fault. Because, because this is me, I destroy everything, everything, I turn it all to ashes.”
“You were stabbed,” Hei said, grabbing Jin by the collar again to try and force him out of the hysteria. “How did it happen?”
“It’s a long…long story,” Jin said, his voice softening again. He went limp, almost dangling from Hei’s hand. “I was careless. Like you said. I came here to heal myself, but I couldn’t stop the bleeding in time.”
Hei gritted his teeth. “Why come here? You could have stayed in your own damn world.”
“I would have died.” Jin looked up at him finally. “I had to be in dragon form to heal properly. If I’d transformed there…it was a city block, it would have compromised everything, and I could have killed hundreds. People panicking, getting too close, police…”
Hei couldn’t stand this anymore. He pulled away and backhanded Jin as hard as he could. Jin’s head snapped to the side and he hit the ground. Hei hissed a little and stepped back, shaking out his hand. Hitting Jin was like hitting a brick wall.
“You should have died,” Hei spat.
Jin lay on his side on the ground, his breathing ragged. He was quiet for a time.
“Yeah,” he said softly. “Yeah, I know.”
Hei stared at him, flexing his hand at his side and feeling the anger run out of him. This was pointless. The fire had been an accident, no one Hei cared about had died, and Jin was already doing worse to himself than Hei ever could. Jin was pathetic enough as it was; hurting him just made Hei feel pathetic as well.
There was a long silence. Jin made no effort to get up or speak.
“I don’t care what you do,” Hei said at length. “You can waste away out here, or start running from the others who will want an explanation, or face up to them and accept the consequences. I don’t care. Do what you want.”
Jin dragged himself up onto one elbow. “I already know what I’m going to do.”
“As for Ladon…” Hei sighed and looked away. “I’m not going to tell him what friends he should have. But you’re dangerous. For Ladon and Ming-Li’s sake…for the sake of everyone here you care about, you should stay away from them. Put your own world in danger. Leave the rest alone.”
Jin closed his eyes and didn’t answer. Hei crouched down and leaned close to him.
“But the next time you put Ladon or Ming-Li in danger,” he said in a quiet voice full of ice, “I will kill you. Dragon or not.”
With that, Hei got to his feet and walked away, leaving Jin on the pavement and not looking back.