Clock Heart (Ryo/Junno, NC-17) [2/3]

[maayacolabackup]

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The streets were impossibly slick beneath Ryo’s boots now, and maybe it had rained again while they were inside Junno’s home. Or maybe Ryo was just paying more attention to the way the cobblestone felt beneath his feet in order to stave off the fear of the dreadful silence.

The skies above them were empty, void of the usual JE airships that traced paths across the center of North River.

It was just so quiet. Ryo found himself imagining noises, or maybe hearing things he’d never heard before, and wondered, briefly, if it was monsters.

“Where are we going, exactly?” Ryo whispered, not sure if he should be making noise if nothing else was.

Junno looked back at him, and in the streetlights, he could see a bit of surprise. “To the center of North River,” he said, and Ryo rolled his eyes.

“It was a blank spot on the map,” Ryo said. “The one in your workshop. How do we get to the engine?”

“We…walk there?” There was a confused lilt to Junno’s voice. “I’m not sure what you’re asking, exactly.”

“How do we get under the city? Are there passageways, or…?”

Junno looked at him for a moment, pausing, and Ryo ran into him right shoulder hitting the back of Junno’s left.

“It’s not underground,” Junno said. “It’s there, of course.” He pointed, and Ryo’s eyes followed the path of his finger until he realized he was looking straight at the clock tower.

“Up there?” Ryo aid, and Junno smiled.

“All the rest of it is underground; that’s the most efficient way. Think of that as veins beneath North River’s skin.”

“And the heart’s up there,” Ryo said. “At the top of the clock tower.”

“Correct,” Junno said. “Although I don’t know exactly where. Only that it’s supposed to be hard to reach.”

“Why there?” Ryo asked. “Doesn’t that make it more vulnerable to, I don’t know, attack?” Ryo could not believe that the heart of the city was <i>there</i> of all places.

Junno smiled a bit humorlessly. “It wasn’t always up there,” he said. “Johnny moved it when he became mayor, after the war.”

“Why would he do that?” Ryo asked, before he caught himself. You didn’t really question Johnny, even if the whole city was filled with only frozen people.

Junno started walking again, ignoring Ryo’s question, and Ryo tightened his hand around his gun.

They walked carefully and quietly through the widest streets, weaving between people and trying to remain as much in the light as possible. They avoided alleys and Ryo hoped that tonight wouldn’t break the streak of luck he’d had of never running into a Night Creature when walking the streets at night.

His luck seemed to hold, but a part of him wondered if Kamenashi had somehow warned the others off, or something like that. Ryo still wasn’t quite sure what to make of Night Creatures that weren’t trying to kill him.

The tower looked excruciatingly dark, when they reached it, save for a single, rotating search light. “So there’s someone there,” Junno mused, and Ryo shifted. “A search light means something is running in there. Does the tower run on a separate system?” He was talking to himself, but it was so quiet that Ryo heard every word.

A tall fence surrounded the entire exterior of the tower grounds, rising five meters in height from the street and blocking their progression. Ryo felt himself shiver, and Junno looked back at him with soft, playful eyes. “I won’t let anything happen to you, my lady.”

“I’ll kill you if you call me a girl one more time,” Ryo replied, and the knot in his stomach eased, which Ryo, somehow, suspected had been Junno’s aim all along.

“You’d have to take the safety off your gun, first,” Junno said, and Ryo winced and looked down. He wasn’t really sure if he could fire it; he’d never really had to, but better to be safe than sorry. “Bet you’re wishing you’d stayed back at my house.”

“If only so I wouldn’t have to listen to you talk,” Ryo replied, and Junno grinned at him, before his face transformed into a serious expression.

“We have to go inside now. I’m not sure…” Junno exhaled. “My father told me, once, that if the city ever stopped, I’d have to start it again. But that’s my job, not yours-“

“You said you never know when you’ll need an extra pair of hands, didn’t you?” Ryo said, and narrowed his eyes at Junno. “I have two hands. I’m sure they’ll do.”

Junno was giving him that strange look again; the one he’d given him back in his workshop, that Ryo didn’t quite get.

“Yes,” Junno said, and then he reached into his leather bag, pulling out what Ryo thought was a long, thin rod. “We’ll have to break in.”

“That’s illegal,” Ryo hissed and Junno ran a hand through his hair.

“And there are so many police around to catch us,” he said whimsically. “Whatever shall we do?”

“Shut up,” Ryo said, embarrassed. “I forgot.” He lifted his skirt to return his gun to his holster, and Junno averted his eyes. “Not. A lady.” Ryo said through gritted teeth, and it was Junno’s turn to look embarrassed.

“We’re saving North River from an evil plot,” Junno said. “Of which I have no idea about, but still. They’ll be too thankful to arrest us.” Junno snorted. “If they ever find out, that is.”

Ryo wordlessly accepted Junno’s bag from him, and Junno quickly approached the locked fence that blocked their way onto the tower grounds. Ryo couldn’t make out what exactly he was doing, but then there was the heavy click of a lock tumbler.

The light was coming back around, and they both ducked, hovering below the line of the searchlight, and Junno gestured for Ryo to come forward. When Ryo got close enough, Junno grabbed his wrist, and pulled them both through the slightly ajar fence entry.

Inside the grounds, tiny rising puffs of steam were rising from the grass.

“Definitely running on a different system.”

“But the guards are frozen,” Ryo said, pointing at a patrolman. “Why are we the only people moving?”

“Everyone in North River moves to the rhythm of North River,” Junno said, as he pulled Ryo into his chest as the light skirted where they were before. Junno’s clothes were sticking to his sweaty skin in the summer heat, and not even the rain had cooled the air down enough to make it more bearable. “Except for me, as I rarely leave my home. The city doesn’t resonate with me.” And then Junno sighed, breath hot on Ryo’s sweat-slick neck. “And there’s you. And I haven’t figured that out quite yet.”

Junno played a nervous beat against his thighs after he let Ryo go, and then he stood up. He shook out his leg, and nodded toward the base of the tower. His jaw clenched when he put his weight back on his right knee, but then his face cleared.

Ryo ran as fast as he could, the skirts tangling about his legs and Junno’s bag banging against his thigh, swearing silently under his breath until his back hit the shockingly cool stone of the tower, bustle crushing into the small of his back. He breathed slowly and carefully, to catch his breath, and Junno waited until after the next pass of the light to run up and join him. Ryo’s eyes caught the Johnny’s Enterprises plaque, large metal screws holding it into the stone. It was no different than the rest of North River, but Ryo, for some reason, hadn’t expected to see the sign.

Junno dragged Ryo around the tower, both their back pressed flat to the wall, until they found a wooden side-door. Junno worked his magic with the lock again, and then they were inside.

It was dank and dark, and if Ryo had ever imagined the North River clock tower’s insides, it wasn’t like this.

“Your knee,” Ryo said. “What happened to it?”

Junno leaned down and patted it. “One of my dad’s finest inventions,” Junno said. “When I was young, I injured it—shattered it, really. My spine was hurt, too. Too adventurous with backflips.”

“So how…”

“It’s made of a special metal,” Junno said. “My knee is a miniature machine. It works just like a real knee, but if I land on it too hard, it sometimes behaves a little badly.”

“I see,” Ryo said, and tried not to think about how painful it must be to shatter your knee. His hand drifted up to his chest and he rubbed his thumb along his sternum absently.

“And now,” Junno said, “we go up.”

“Up,” Ryo said. “What are the chances of us just walking up all those stairs with no problems?”

“Considering the search lights?” Junno chuckled, and slipped his little metal lockpick back into his bag after reclaiming it from Ryo. “Slim.” The shadows made Junno look mysterious, and Ryo could see the smooth line of his jaw. His mouth felt dry. Ryo couldn’t remember he last time he’d been so immediately attracted to someone.

“I had figured,” Ryo said, and Junno ventured into the darkness in front of them, searching for the stairs.

Ryo could hear a familiar ticking, and his hand flew to his pocket.

Ryo’s watch was still keeping the time.

“This way,” Junno said, from the darkness, and Ryo took a deep breath, and followed him, stuffing the watch back in his pocket without another thought.

The steps were stone and winding, circling the base of the tower, leaving a hollow space in the center that was as dark above as it was below.

“Why would someone stop our city,” Ryo said. “The war has been over for twenty years.” Ryo could still remember the way the city had changed around him. He could still remember the soldiers, in their high boots, and he could still remember all the guns.

The Night Creatures had appeared after the war. Ryo’s father had whispered, late in the night, that maybe that’s where they had come from.

Junno let out a low, whistling breath. “Not everyone needs war as an excuse to do terrible things.” He licked his lips, and Ryo didn’t quite understand how Junno’s face shuffled through so many emotions so quickly. Ryo liked the way Junno’s lips shined even in the dim light, regardless of the grim look of his countenance.

“That’s true enough,” Ryo said. “I’ve done enough Shakespeare to know that sometimes things are motivated by the silliest of desires.” Ryo dragged his hand along the stone in lieu of a railing, wondering how long they would have to climb.

“Play Juliet a lot?”

“Way too often- Hey!” Ryo reached forward into the space in front of him, intending to slap whatever part of Junno he could reach. It was too dark to see though, and he hit the air instead, and he was overbalanced, stumbling forward. Junno, somehow, caught him at the elbows, and Ryo blinked when he realized how close Junno’s face was to his own.

“You should be careful,” Junno teased, and Ryo could feel Junno’s lips ghosting across his cheeks. Junno released his arms when he seemed sure Ryo had regained his balance, and he leaned backward, back into the shadows. Then there was a crashing noise.

“Maybe you should be more careful, too,” Ryo said dryly, wondering why his face felt hot.

“You’re probably right,” Junno said, with no hint of remorse.

There was a sudden surge of light, and Ryo was surprised as they found themselves on a landing. He could see where the stairs, which had been previously made of stone, became wooden, and the walls, which on the way up had been grimy and dank, had become relatively clean. The floors were swept clean, probably this morning by people who’d had no idea that soon they’d be nothing but statues, and there were two doors leading to another part of the tower. Ryo hadn’t thought the tower looked much larger than the space they were standing in, now, so perhaps they were storage spaces or small sleeping rooms for on duty patrolmen.

The cleanliness of the room made Ryo’s hands, covered with slime form the walls, feel extra dirty, and he rubbed them against each other, even though he knew it was probably only exacerbating the situation. Then Ryo looked down in dismay at the hem of his skirts, and looked up again sharply at Junno’s bark of laughter.

“You looked like my mother, just then,” Junno said. “How she used to look down at her skirts when we’d walk through North River during spring.” Junno’s eyelashes were dark against his cheeks as his eyes fluttered closed, in contrast to his bright blond hair. “Like she wasn’t quite sure if the mud was going to come out this time.”

“I can’t believe I’m on my very first hero adventure, and somehow I’ve ended up doing it in a costume.”

“You look pretty?” Junno ventured, and then he cleared his throat. “Well, not really. You don’t actually look much like a girl, except that you’re a little bit tiny-“

“No I’m not,” Ryo said. “I’m a perfectly normal sized person. Just because you have legs like stilts, doesn’t mean-“

There’s an ominous crash, and one of the doors, that Ryo had thought might be a storage room, came crashing down, to reveal a very large, very dangerous obstacle.

“For some reason,” Ryo said, “I thought it would be people that got in our way.”

“I guess your gun won’t be much use,” Junno said. “Not against this big fellow.” Junno’s hand reached into his bag. Ryo looked away before he saw what Junno had grabbed, eyes focusing upwards.

“How silly of me,” Ryo said, as the automaton loomed above him. “If your toys can move, of course there are other toys that can also move.”

“That,” Junno said, with barely a quaver in his voice, “is not a toy.”

“We’re dead, aren’t we?”

“You’re so cynical,” Junno said, and he tossed Ryo his leather bag. “Look after that, won’t you, my fair Juliet?”

“You’ll pay for that later,” Ryo says under his breath, pushing himself into the wall as hard as he could, away from the massive thing that stood at twice Ryo’s height, with its big arms of steel and it’s orange glowing eyes. It was noisy, Ryo thought. Nothing like the smooth, effortless machines his father had made during the war. “When I’m not about to die.”

“The thing is,” Junno shouted, and the automaton looked down at him, and Ryo dug his hands into the leather and prayed that he wasn’t about to see Junno get crushed, “this model is a little outdated.”

“It’s still twice our size,” Ryo said, not sure whether Junno could hear him. Junno looked back over his shoulder and winked, and Ryo noticed something glimmering in his hand. Was it a weapon of some kind? Ryo wasn’t sure how a weapon that small would be affective against a massive machine.

“It’s put together in the old way,” Junno continued, and he rolled out of the way as the automaton slammed a heavy arm into the stairs, crushing them. Before the automaton could lift its arm back up, Junno jumped on it, and walked up along the steel arm like it was a tightrope, arms outstretched for balance. The automaton tried to stand, but Junno had already looped his long legs around the automaton’s neck, and as it thrashed, he somehow kept his grip, the metal in his hand twisting and spinning as Ryo watched, his stomach trying to climb up out of his throat.

Then suddenly, the automaton just… stopped, glowing orange eyes growing dim as Junno shakily slid off from around his neck.

As Junno jumped down, the automaton’s head chucked forward, and rolled off the clunky, metal-studded neck. Ryo screamed, and Junno pushed a hand through his hair, the black at the roots more obvious now that his hair was wet with sweat.

“Which means,” Junno said, “that they’re easy to take apart.”

He held his palm out, and with trembling fingers, Ryo reached forward and took the long, mechanical screwdriver out of Junno’s hand.

“You attacked an automaton with nothing but a screwdriver,” Ryo said blankly. “A screwdriver.” He shook his head. “I’ve just entered a dangerous place with a madman.”

Ryo thought he sounded pretty calm, but Junno was looking at him worriedly. “I was sure it would work, though, Ryo. I’ve always been good at acrobatics, and I knew exactly where to unscrew to make the entire system fail-“

“A screwdriver.” Ryo swallowed, and chucked the leather bag at Junno’s head. “You’re insane.”

Junno, who had reached up and easily caught the bag, grinned. “But we’re alive, right? And we haven’t been captured.”

Ryo supposed that was true. Junno jumped over the head, ignoring the automaton’s body, still looming over them in a position of attack. Ryo tried to follow him, but his legs just wouldn’t seem to move. He tried to speak, but suddenly, looking at the automaton’s dark eyes, and remembering the fear as it came to life in front of him…

And then Junno was back in front of him, bending slightly at the waist to peer into Ryo’s face. “Are you all right?” Ryo wanted to say no, but Junno was looking so worried that Ryo’s fear sort of melted away, leaving nothing but a little bit of a chill in its wake.

“I’d be better if you got out of my face,” Ryo said, and Junno’s concerned expression morphed into one of relief, and he really was handsome, Ryo thought, for an overgrown child, at least.

Ryo leaned over and studied the head. He wasn’t close enough, so he squatted instead, resting his forearms on his knees. “You’re right,” Ryo said. “These gears are at least twenty years old. And this is a JE model, I think.”

“My guess is about twenty five, actually. And definitely a JE model. It looks like a SMAP generation model.” Junno blinked. “You know about gears?”

“A little,” Ryo said, quickly standing up. “Not as much as you, certainly.”

“We’d better speed up,” Junno says. “The night is passing quickly.”

“What’s the problem with taking our time? At least in the day, we won’t have to worry about the Night Creatures.”

“Neither will whomever stopped North River City,” Junno said, and that was a valid point, Ryo had to admit. Junno walked over, toward the steps, jumping over the bottom two crushed steps. The third step made this horrible noise like it would surely collapse, but the infrastructure held. “Let’s go, then.”

Ryo started to approach the steps, but then there was another sound, a gentle whir-click that echoed throughout the bottom chamber of the tower. Junno’s eyes immediately shifted toward the shadowed entryway, back down the stairs from whence they had come, shoulders tensing and hand finding the front flap of his leather bag.

From the darkness emerged two familiar mechanical shapes. Ryo felt his breath escape his body in a rush of relief at the large automatonic dogs.

“You have too many toys,” he said, and Junno smiled. “And it’s creepy that they followed you.” Ryo narrowed his eyes. “How did they even follow you?” He mumbled, but Junno didn’t seem to hear him.

“Koki! Nakamaru! You shouldn’t have followed me! What if you get hurt?”

Koki tilts his head to the side, before wagging his jointed tail, and Ryo sighed. “At least it’s not that fairy.”

“Ueda’s nice once he warms up to you,” Junno said, and Ryo glared. “You just have to get to know him.”

Get to know him. Right.

“No thanks,” Ryo replied, and Junno beamed at Ryo, like Ryo had said something positive instead of curling up his lip in distaste.

“Anyway, Ueda doesn’t have a trace on me like these two.”

“A trace?”

“A way to keep track of me,” Junno said. “My parents worried, when I was younger.”

“You were a bit of a loner?” Ryo guessed, and Junno nodded in confirmation.

“Also I liked to do dangerous things.”

“You? No kidding.” Ryo put his fingers up to his temples and massaged in tiny circles. “Let’s get going.”

“Yes, yes,” he said, and Koki and Nakamaru leaped up onto the wooden stairs, and they creaked and swayed, but once again they held. “Let’s follow them, this time,” Junno said. “They’ll be able to calculate where to step.”

“Useful,” Ryo mumbled, wondering how he was going to get across the broken steps up to the whole ones above. He wasn’t nearly as long limbed as Junno, who looked as if he might be able to step over instead of jump. Below the steps, Ryo could see the distance they had just climbed, and he cringed at the though of falling down to those winding stone steps.

“Just jump,” Junno said, and Ryo’s head whipped up so fast his neck hurt. His bangs fell into his eyes and he hastily pushed them back. “I won’t let you fall.” He gave Ryo a goofy, foolish smile, and for some strange reason, Ryo trusted him.

“Okay,” Ryo said, and he closed his eyes and jumped. Ryo landed on a whole wooden step, but he felt his center of gravity shift backwards, and he opened his mouth to scream but Junno’s arms shot out and wrapped around his waist, pulling him forward and into a hug.

“You made it!” Junno said, and Ryo blinked twice and forced himself to stay calm. His chest felt strange, and his head felt light, almost like he was going to pass out, but he swallowed and stilled, fingers digging into Junno’s shoulders as he caught his breath.

“Let’s go then,” Ryo croaked, and Junno laughed, keeping one arm around Ryo’s waist until they’d gone up three or four steps. Then he let it fall and stepped into the lead. Ryo waited until Junno had walked a bit further ahead, and then he looked back at the whole in the ground that lead to that great fall. “What am I doing here?” Ryo whispered to himself, and then he gathered himself, turning back around until he could see Junno’s strong back, and then he started walking forward, refusing to look back again.

The walls changed texture as they climbed higher, iron rivets for support and maybe for some other purpose Ryo didn’t know about, sticking out of the walls. “Did your father design this tower?”

“No,” Junno said. “That’s why it’s a big blank on my map. I don’t know anything about it except that the city’s heart is at the top.”

“It’s interesting that they moved it without your father knowing anything about the new tower.”

“He might have,” Junno says. “I was young so I’m not sure. But he died right after the heart was moved.”

“Died?” Ryo blurted out. “Oh. I mean, I’m sorry.” A part of Ryo must have known that Junno’s father was deceased. He was pretty sure he’d already figured that out from the fact that it was the two of them here, and not Junno’s father. “Your mother?”

“She died with him. Random act of revolt after the end of the war.” Junno was short. “People who were still committing acts of terror after North River had already forged a treaty.”

Ryo remembered a few of those incidents. The patrolmen had looked at even children as possible culprits back then. Ryo had kept his head down and saved his smartass remarks for his friends.

“Ahhhh, this tower feels so tall!” Junno said, and it jolted Ryo out of his musings. “I wonder how many steps there are?” The cheeriness in is voice sounded forced, but Ryo appreciated it all the same, even if he’d never tell the man.

Junno walked just in front of him now, and even in the dimming light, Ryo was eye-level with the man’s backside. It was fairly nice, Ryo thought, if one weren’t in a possibly life or death situation in which one should not be checking out anyone else’s backside. Ryo wondered if it would draw too much attention to him if he were to slap himself right then.

Nakamaru came back down the stairs and pressed his cool metal body against Ryo’s leg. “Are you… encouraging me?” Ryo asked the automaton, and it blinked at him with glowing blue eyes, as if to say ‘of course I am, you dolt,’ and Ryo didn’t know what to do but gingerly pat him on the head. It made a hollow sort of noise, like when you slammed an empty tin of biscuits on the table, or when you hit the radio extra hard in an effort to improve the weak signal. “Thank you,” Ryo said, and Nakamaru’s eyes whirred to half-mast in what looked like pleasure.

When Ryo looked back up, Junno was looking at him, eyes soft.

“What?” Ryo snapped, and Junno’s expression didn’t change.

“You keep pretending to be grumpy, but…” Junno turned away, leaving his sentence unfinished.

“I’m not pretending to be grumpy,” Ryo says. “I am grumpy. And mean.” Still, Ryo was absently running his fingers over the cool metal of Nakamaru’s jointed back, and when he realized what he was doing, he pulled his hand away and buried it in his skirt. “Don’t get the wrong idea about me.”

“I won’t,” Junno vowed, but there wasn’t a lot of sincerity in his tone. Ryo pouted, sticking his lower lip out. “But I can’t help but like people who are nice to Koki and Nakamaru.”

“Your toys are weird,” Ryo said. “Much more advanced than anything I’ve seen before.”

“I know,” Junno said. “They’re almost real, right?” Ryo wasn’t quite sure that Junno didn’t think they were real animals, but he let it slide because he could see where the confusion came from, as Nakamaru stuck out a multiple jointed tongue and ran it across the back of Ryo’s and, sending weird chills through Ryo’s body.

“Yeah,” Ryo said. “It’s uncanny how much like real dogs-“

There was a sudden noise, and Junno quickly slammed Ryo into the wall, regardless of the iron bits that stuck out and into Ryo’s back when Ryo impacted, the wind knocked out of him.

Junno was solid in front of him, warm and heavy, thigh slipped between Ryo’s two, as they both breathed as silently as they could. Ryo wasn’t sure what they had heard; what was going to come around the corner, but he was strangely distracted from it, detached from the situation as he absorbed the feeling of Junno hands resting against his shoulders and Junno’s chest pressed against his, and Junno’s breath, hot on his ear as Junno listened anxiously, muscles tense and tight. Ryo’s lungs were pressing tight against his ribs, and for some reason, he thought it might have more to do with the man in front of him, protecting him, than it did with what might be approaching. Ryo thought that might be because of that weird inkling of trust he felt toward Junno, but that would be ridiculous.

When no further sound was forthcoming, Junno pulled away, and Ryo felt strangely bereft. There was a red flush to Junno’s cheeks, too, Ryo could see in the dim light, and he wondered if Junno had felt anything at all in their proximity, before he shook his head to clear out those cobwebs of dangerous thoughts.

“False alarm,” Junno said, and his voice crackled along the words, and he was looking in every direction except Ryo’s. “Sorry.”

“That’s alright,” Ryo said. “I panicked too.” Ryo hesitated. “You would have…” He tried to collect his thoughts. “You were on the outside.”

“What?”

“If something had come up the stairs, you would have protected me with your own body.”

“I said I wouldn’t let anything happen to you, didn’t I?” Junno said, and Ryo felt a tingling feeling all the way from his head to the tips of his toes.

“You did,” Ryo replied. “But I…”

“I promise,” Junno said, looking into Ryo’s eyes earnestly. “I won’t let you get hurt.” There was something sweet about the combination of Junno’s voice and smooth face that left a strange aftertaste in Ryo’s mouth.

“I believe you,” Ryo said, and it was weird, because he totally did. Even after they had started walking again, Ryo couldn’t shake the strange feeling that lingered in his chest, making him feel dizzy and unexpectedly safe, despite the dire situation.


#


Ryo was almost unsurprised when another automaton awaits them at the top of the landing, but he was definitely surprised at how quickly it moved, slamming a hand down and barely missing Ryo as he rolled to the side, bustle softening the impact.

“I should just take off these damned boots,” Ryo shouted, and Junno chuckled as he waved his arms, drawing attention away from Ryo and toward himself. Ryo’s breath caught in his throat as the thing stumbled toward Ryo, joints creaking.

Junno somersaulted out of the way, and Ryo would have been impressed if he weren’t too busy biting his nails and moving backwards out of the way, stepping so that his back was against a wall.

“He’s an old guy, isn’t he?” Junno said. “I’m hoping if he falls he’ll break his hip!”

“Stop joking around and get rid of it,” Ryo yelled, and then Junno was astride the automaton’s neck, and it was just as scary the second time as it had been the first. Junno’s bag hung against his stomach, and Ryo felt completely useless as Junno quickly unscrewed, hands moving so fast they were almost a blur. But then there was a smashing sound, and a second automaton appeared on the landing. It locked onto Junno, and started a slow, horrifying approach, and Ryo knew Junno was still too busy dealing with the thrashing first automaton to deal with the second one.

Ryo’s hands fumbled with his skirts, pulling them up as rapidly as he could, retrieving his revolver and cocking the safety off. He lifted the gun with his right hand and steadied it with his left, and shot strait at the second automaton’s eye. He missed, and swore as the bullet glanced off the metal shell, and shot again, and this time, his bullet buried itself I a glowing orange eye, and Ryo watch in satisfaction as the eye went dim. The other orange eye, however, turned toward Ryo, and Ryo licked his lips as the automaton moved closer to him. He shot a third bullet, and the automaton’s second eye went dark, and it looked around, confused and blinded. Ryo shot his forth bullet into the empty eye-socket, hoping to dislodge something inside the clockwork, but the automaton did no slow down, thumping toward Ryo, using the trajectory of his bullet to guess at his location.

Then there was a crash, as Junno finally beheaded his opponent, rolling down to the ground gracefully before rapping his screwdriver against the leg of Ryo’s automaton foe. It was a loud clang, and the automaton stuck its arm down, trying to find its new target, and Junno used the lowered arm to climb onto it’s back.

And then it was over, and Ryo lowered his gun, automatically retuning the safety to the correct position without thinking about it. Then Ryo shrieked as the head came rolling in his direction, and barely managed to move out of the way in time.

“Not very athletic, are you?” Junno asked, as he side-stepped the fallen automaton. The stairs were barely wide enough to go around it, but he managed. Ryo swore as the head rolled down the stairs, clanging as the parts rattled inside the metal shell.

“I’m wearing a dress,” Ryo said. “And trust me, this corset is incredibly uncomfortable.”

“Well of corset is,” Junno replied, and Ryo looked up at him with disbelieving eyes.

“That…” Ryo shook his head, “was the worst joke I’ve ever heard.”

Junno smiled cheekily as him. “If that’s the worst joke you’ve ever heard, you just haven’t known me long enough.”

“Oh good,” Ryo said. “So much to look forward to.” He put his gun away, and on reflex, felt for his pocket watch. It was safe, still ticking against his hand.

“Kamenashi says my puns are the worst ones he’s ever heard,” Junno said, and Ryo raised both his eyebrows.

“Colour me surprised,” Ryo mumbled, and Junno blinked at him twice before letting his grin get even bigger.

“So how does an actor not have good stamina?”

“I have a bad heart,” Ryo said. “Ever since I was a kid.”

“Oh,” Junno said, and he looked at Ryo carefully. “Are you going to be able to-“

“Yes,” Ryo said. “It’s fine.” Junno flinched back at his tone, and Ryo grimaced. “It’s really fine. I just… I’m not as… acrobatic as you.” Ryo snorted. “Or as reckless.”

“I like when my heart beats faster,” Junno said. “I like the rush of it. It’s why I started learning all those tricks.”

“My heart doesn’t beat faster,” Ryo replied. “I just get light-headed and have to slow down or I pass out.” Junno squinted at him, pursing his lips thoughtfully. “I mean, I can run and do-“ Ryo flushed. “I can do physically exerting things, but…”

“Hmmm,” Junno said, and Koki ran between his legs, coming to a stop in front of Ryo and looking up at him with glowing eyes. “I think Koki is saying we should go.”

Nakamaru bit on Ryo’s skirt and tugged. “I agree with your toys.”

“They’re not quite toys,” Junno said again. “My father built them for me so I wouldn’t be lonely.”

“Pets that never die,” Ryo said, as he navigated the crushed stairs. “Must be nice.”

“Friends would have been nicer,” Junno said. “But I’ve always been a bit eccentric.”

Ryo licked his lips. Junno’s shoulders were tense as he walked ahead of Ryo, and Ryo didn’t really like the look of it. He reached out and grabbed at the hem of Junno’s vest. Junno looked back at him curiously, eyes wary. “You’re not that weird,” Ryo mumbled, and the grin Junno gave him seemed to light up the whole dark stairway, and Ryo felt a tightness in his chest that he promptly ignored, looking away from his companion.

“Thanks, Ryo,” Junno said, and it was kind of soppy so Ryo frowned at him.

“Don’t read into it,” Ryo said, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’d better not read into it, do you hear me?”

“I won’t,” Junno said, but there was an amused hint to his voice that seemed to imply he could see through Ryo’s gruffness. Ryo’s frown etched even deeper on his face, but Ryo couldn’t say he actually minded all that much.


#


“You’re a good shot,” Junno said, when Ryo’s ankles demanded that they stop and rest for just a moment. Junno reached into his bag and pulled out an apple, pressing down at the center with his thumbs and cracking the apple in half. Ryo raised a single brown, impressed, and Junno shrugged. The juices dripped down Junno’s face as he bit into it.

“It’s a bit too ripe,” Junno said, and it was Ryo’s turn to shrug.

“My nickname is Ace,” Ryo said. “Among my friends. I’ve always had really good aim.”

“I’m good at billiards,” Junno said. “I don’t know if that’s the same skill set.”

“What are you not good at?” Ryo asked, taking a bite of his half of the apple.

“People,” Junno said. “Or, well, making people like me.”

“I’m not good at people either,” Ryo said shortly.

“Because you’re so shy?”

“What makes you think I’m shy?” Ryo said, quickly taking another bite of apple. He didn’t really like the direction the conversation was taking.

“You keep pretending to be mean,” Junno said. “But I can tell you aren’t.”

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“The strongest bonds are forged in the fires of adversity!” Junno said it like a proclamation, and then he rested his hand on Ryo’s shoulder. The fingers burned through his shirt, leaving trails of heat along Ryo’s skin, and Ryo resisted the urge to shove Junno’s hand away.

He made the mistake of looking up, and Junno’s eyes were staring into him, that strange look back again, and Ryo couldn’t quite decipher what it meant. Then, like a ghost, it was gone, flickering out of existence and leaving behind only the cheerful, amused look that seemed to be Junno’s default.

“You don’t have to be silly all the time,” Ryo grumbled. “It’s okay to just be yourself.” Ryo looked up the stars, seeing that there was some sort of collapse in front of them, directly in their path.

Junno takes the final bit of his apple, and wipes his hand on his trousers, tightening the fingers of his other hand on Ryo’s shoulder until Ryo looked up at him again. Junno’s eyes were bright.

“Being myself is… I like to make people happy,” Junno said. “Even if it means finding optimism in the darkest of situations.”

For a moment, Ryo was unable to look away from Junno, captivated by the way he seemed so very true. His lines were like something out of one of the hundreds of plays Ryo had memorized, but Ryo could tell he meant it, and it made him feel… light. Or something.

Then Ryo snorted, brushing Junno’s hand off of his shoulder. “You know what makes me happy? Safety. So let’s get back to work.”

Junno patted his bag and nodded, and Ryo tested his ankles. They felt fine. He’d almost rather go barefoot, but he knew the splinters and broken stone would be much worse with no shoes than in the slightly small leather boots.

“How are we going to get around that mess,” Ryo said, and Junno laughed. “I can see the path, but you’ll have to follow me exactly.” Koki and Nakamaru had already bounded ahead, the ruined stairs no match for them. But Ryo wasn’t even sure how it was that Junno always knew which parts of the stairs wouldn’t fall through.

“I don’t know if I can,” Ryo admitted, and Junno studied him thoughtfully.

“All right,” he said. “I have an idea.”

“Is it a good idea, or an ‘I’m going to smack you’ idea?”

“A good one,” Junno said. Junno grabbed Ryo’s hand and tugged him close. “Like this,” he said, and Ryo tried to focus on Junno’s words and not the way their palms felt pressed together.

It was a failed effort, but at least Ryo had tried.

Junno had soft palms; the kind of palms you expected from a man that lived in the sort of home Junno lived in, but Ryo knew Junno’s hands were stronger than they felt, fingers laced between Ryo’s.

“Do you play an instrument?” Junno asked, and Ryo felt Junno’s thumb along the calluses on his index finger.

“Yes,” Ryo croaked, and Junno smiled.

“Step up onto my feet,” Junno said, and Ryo did, is head fitting just beneath Junno’s chin. Ryo hated how small he felt, but he loved how long and tall Junno felt. Junno grabbed Ryo’s other hand, then, and then he coughed, slightly. “It’s just like dancing. Just follow me.” His voice was strained and hoarse, and Ryo could feel his heartbeat beating rabbit-like against Ryo’s chest.

“Okay,” Ryo said, and then Junno took slow and careful steps, letting his and Ryo’s weight settle after each movement, and before Ryo could even take a breath and get his bearings, they were past the obstacle, back on strong steps that only creaked a little when he moved.

“See? That wasn’t so bad,” Junno said, but he was looking ahead, scanning for Koki and Nakamaru in the distance. Ryo dropped Junno’s hands and took a half step away from him, trying to regain his composure. “Just like dancing.”

“I hate dancing.”

“I find the challenge of it extraordinarily fun,” Junno said, but his smile was forced.

“Thank you,” Ryo said, after a long moment, and the tension in the air was thick, and Ryo was starting, perhaps a little late, to figure out what that tension was.

“I’m going to go a bit ahead,” Junno said, and Ryo pressed one arm against the wall for support as Junno disappeared into the shadows.

“Now isn’t the time for this, Ryo,” he said to himself, reproachfully. “You’ve got more important things to worry about.”

Ryo knew it was probably just the heat of the moment getting to him. He needed to find his calm, and think about his friends, trapped outside in a motionless city. Ryo needed to stop thinking about Junno, who looked so gorgeous when he smiled.

Junno’s hair clung to his neck with sweat. Ryo watched the sweat disappear beneath the collar of his shirt, and thought he might be going to hell.


#


“We must be nearing the top,” Ryo said, and Junno, who didn’t seem winded at all, paused and looked back.

“Not sure, but there’s definitely a landing ahead.” Ryo hummed to himself, and Junno laughed. “Are you going to make it up the stairs?”

Ryo put his hand to his chest and sighed. “Yes, I think so.”

“Good,” Junno said. “I wasn’t looking forward to carrying the princess all the way to the top of the tower.”

“One more joke like that, and I’ll push you all the way to the bottom of it,” Ryo replied, and Junno laughed, and then there weren’t steps, and Ryo relished the flat surface for all of three seconds before something ran into Junno and shoved him across the room. Junno slid back until he hit the wall, and Ryo had his gun in his hand immediately.

It was a different sort of robot; one that Ryo had never seen before, shaped like a human and sized like one as well. It moved like a person too, which made its featureless, expressionless face all the more terrifying.

It was faster, and stronger too, and Junno is standing up and the automaton is locked on him again, except this time, it had some sort of opening in it’s hand. Ryo could see the dim glow building, and he knew what that was; memories of a childhood being told not to play with the guns on the counter were a firm teacher for Ryo.

Junno wouldn’t survive a hit from that. Hell, another automaton wouldn’t survive a hit from that. Junno’s eyes were wide and afraid, and Ryo felt like he was going to burst with the fear that was filling him. Right as the machine was about to fire, Ryo sucked in a lungful of air. “Hey, over here!” The thing turned and looked at Ryo, and fired.

There was a burst of energy, and it singed at Ryo’s hair and left a light burn on his cheek, and Ryo lifted his gun and fired a single bullet straight through its neck. The human-like automaton crumpled to the ground, its head rolling across the floor, and then Junno was bounding across the landing. “Ryo!”

Junno crushed Ryo to his chest, and Ryo was so stunned, still shaking and terrified, that he forgot to shove Junno away. Instead, he rested his forehead against Junno’s shoulder and tried to catch his breath. He put the safety back on his gun and then let it clatter to the floor.

“Are you alright?” Junno asked, and Ryo nodded, hoping it would be a sufficient answer. Junno’s hands tightened on his back, fingers digging in, and Junno’s hands were warm. Ryo liked the way Junno’s arms felt around them. “I was so afraid that you’d-“

“I’m fine,” Ryo rasped, and tentatively, he brought his own hands up to rest on Junno’s long waist. Junno froze at the touch, but then he relaxed into it. They stood there for a long moment, and as Ryo calmed, he could feel the trembling in Junno’s body beneath his flat spread hands.

Nakamaru and Koki were winding around their legs, and Ryo found that comforting, too, even if they were only machines.

Had Junno been that worried for him? Ryo couldn’t deny that the thought made his stomach clench up, with some unknown feeling that Ryo didn’t have time to analyze.

Ryo had been that worried about Junno, too.

“That’s… good,” Junno said, and then he ran his hand up Ryo’s spine once before he dropped his hands and stepped back. Ryo missed the warmth of him immediately, as he let his own hands, which were still held uselessly out in front of him, drop to his sides. “I’m glad.”

Junno wasn’t looking at Ryo, and Ryo could see a faint dusting of pink across Junno’s cheeks that he was somehow sure was on his own face, too. Ryo swallowed and sighed.

“Trust me, so am I.” It broke the tension, and Junno laughed, and if it was a little too loud, Ryo didn’t comment on it, because he was too busy trying to will the knots out of his stomach. “And… I was… I’m glad you didn’t die, too.”

Junno looked at him again, steadily. “Glad I had that second set of hands.”

“Yes,” Ryo said, and he bit down on his lip hard. Nakamaru sniffed at him, and Ryo forced a smile down at the automaton.

He picked up his gun and lifted his skirts to re-holster it. One bullet left, he thought, before sliding it back in.

“The juxtaposition of those dainty silk underskirts and your hairy legs is alarming,” Junno said, and Ryo’s hose, of course, were bunched around his ankles being useless.

Ryo glared at him. “Do you ever get tired of beating the same dead horse?”

“Not ever,” Junno said, and Ryo was glad to see that both of them had stopped shaking. “I’ve never seen an automaton like that before. Is it an android?”

“I haven’t seen one either, and I grew up with them.”

“What do you mean, you grew up with them?” Junno asked, stretching out his right leg as he spoke. Ryo ignored him, examining the machinery in the neck, that sparked still where Ryo had short it.

Ryo didn’t think he could fix it, and Ryo could fix most things. ”It’s important to know how to repair this kind of clockwork,” his father had said. ”You, especially, need to know how these things work.”

“Hello?” Junno said, and Ryo snapped out of his memories, looking up at him. “I think this might be the last bit of stairs.”

“It might be,” said a new voice, and Ryo jerked his head up to see a woman, dressed in a blue military style suit, standing on the steps. “But you won’t be finding that out.” Ryo quickly pulled his skirt down to hide the gun.

And then, behind her, there were five, or maybe seven, more people, and Ryo thought the might be in trouble. Junno didn’t drop into a dismissive stance, though, so Ryo slowly stood up.

“I’m sorry,” Junno said, and he actually did sound sorry, to Ryo’s confusion, “but we have things to do, so we don’t really have time to talk.”

Ryo only had one bullet, and Junno had who-knows-what in his leather bag, and Ryo wasn’t sure what they should do. He looked to Junno for guidance, but Junno’s face was unreadable.

And then they came surging down the steps, around the woman who had spoke, and Ryo kicked one, and then another, so fast Ryo could barely see him, and two of the men were down. A woman came up, then, and she was tougher, and Ryo watched in awe until he felt the barrel of a gun press against his temple.

“Desist or I kill your lady-friend,” the woman on the stairs said, and Junno looked up in alarm as Ryo stared at him with pleading eyes.

“Don’t hurt him,” Junno said, immediately relaxing and dropping his guard, raising his hands into the air. “I surren-“ And the woman he’d been fighting pulled a baton from her belt, and hit him hard over the head. Ryo could hear a sickening crack, and then Junno’s eyes went blank. He fell in a crumpled heap to the floor, like a rag doll, and there was a dull roar in Ryo’s ears that he vaguely recognized as panic.

“Tie them both up,” the woman said, “And hand them by their wrists. I want no chance of escape.” She tossed her black hair back. “Father will want to speak with the blond one.”

“He won’t be waking up for a while,” the woman who had hit him said, and Ryo shivered at how cool her tone was. He could still hear the terrible sound of Junno’s skull in his mind, and it made him want to heave.

Ryo barely registered being tied up, because he couldn’t take his eyes off of Junno’s pale, motionless face.

Then there was an explosion form the up the stairs, and the room slowly filled with black smoke that filled Ryo’s lungs, and he coughed and coughed until he passed out.


Part III

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[murrc4.livejournal.com]

“Why there?” Ryo asked. “Doesn’t that make it more vulnerable to, I don’t know, attack?” Ryo could not believe that the...I think you may be missing a bit of text here.

“My guess is about twenty five, actually. And definitely a JE model. It looks like a SMAP generation model.” God, I love this.

Junno walked just in front of him now, and even in the dimming light, Ryo was eye-level with the man’s backside. It was fairly nice, Ryo thought, if one weren’t in a possibly life or death situation in which one should not be checking out anyone else’s backside. Ryo wondered if it would draw too much attention to him if he were to slap himself right then. Heh.

“I’m wearing a dress,” Ryo said. “And trust me, this corset is incredibly uncomfortable.” “Well of corset is,” Junno replied, and Ryo looked up at him with disbelieving eyes. Perfect.

“The juxtaposition of those dainty silk underskirts and your hairy legs is alarming,” Junno said, and Ryo’s hose, of course, were bunched around his ankles being useless. Love the humor in the midst of all the life-threatening scary and angstsyness.