Ship: Himuro/Murasakibara Fandom: Kuroko no Basuke Major Tags: TAGS OMITTED Other Tags: TAGS OMITTED Word Count: 430
***
Tatsuya hasn’t felt so clearly the open cavity of his mouth, the space and the stump where a tongue used to be, since the first day. The bottoms of his feet (exclaimed over, how could they be softer than a baby’s) have since hardened; he is used to the steps he takes feeling like knives up through his ankles, ever time he walks, every time he dances. The stab is sharp, a little duller, a reminder of what he’s done to himself, all of the things he had thrown away (status, power, speech, song, his entire life).
And Taiga, shorn of his brilliant red hair, Taiga, whom Tatsuya had thought he had lost forever, had not seen in so long—Taiga has given him a choice. A dagger, of the sea, of the same witch who had given Tatsuya the opportunity to be here, to come to the surface, to live as a human. A farce, really, that’s all this had been the whole time. A terrible parody, in imitation of a real human. It’s got nothing to do with his inability to talk, but more his unfamiliarity with everything, the way he can’t catch on quite quickly enough, the way his own royal manners are no good up here. A different culture, something he cannot translate himself to.
It had been him all along, him who had rescued the prince and he’d thought that perhaps the prince would see, would recognize it. He had thought, sometimes, a gleam in the prince’s violet eyes had signified acknowledgement. He’s clever, clever enough to recognize something he knows when he sees it, or apparently not. He only recognizes the one he had seen, but some things cannot be seen; some things can be felt. But all of this feeling is on Tatsuya’s side; he is alone and he has not held up his end of the bargain.
Take the easy out, take Taiga’s sacrifice. Go back, face the shame. Kill Atsushi, lying so sweetly asleep here. Use the dagger.
He can’t. It’s not so simple as that; Tatsuya’s burned the bridges behind him and he’s not about to clamor back up; he has made this situation what it is and the consequences are his to shoulder, until he dissolves. Merfolk are not meant for more than this.
He closes the door behind him, walking to the edge of the deck. The sea, below, is everything he has known. The foam, blowing away, that he will become. Tatsuya hurls the dagger into the sea; there are only a few hours left before sunrise.
FILL: TEAM HIMURO TATSUYA/NIJIMURA SHUUZOU, T
Fandom: Kuroko no Basuke
Major Tags: TAGS OMITTED
Other Tags: TAGS OMITTED
Word Count: 430
***
Tatsuya hasn’t felt so clearly the open cavity of his mouth, the space and the stump where a tongue used to be, since the first day. The bottoms of his feet (exclaimed over, how could they be softer than a baby’s) have since hardened; he is used to the steps he takes feeling like knives up through his ankles, ever time he walks, every time he dances. The stab is sharp, a little duller, a reminder of what he’s done to himself, all of the things he had thrown away (status, power, speech, song, his entire life).
And Taiga, shorn of his brilliant red hair, Taiga, whom Tatsuya had thought he had lost forever, had not seen in so long—Taiga has given him a choice. A dagger, of the sea, of the same witch who had given Tatsuya the opportunity to be here, to come to the surface, to live as a human. A farce, really, that’s all this had been the whole time. A terrible parody, in imitation of a real human. It’s got nothing to do with his inability to talk, but more his unfamiliarity with everything, the way he can’t catch on quite quickly enough, the way his own royal manners are no good up here. A different culture, something he cannot translate himself to.
It had been him all along, him who had rescued the prince and he’d thought that perhaps the prince would see, would recognize it. He had thought, sometimes, a gleam in the prince’s violet eyes had signified acknowledgement. He’s clever, clever enough to recognize something he knows when he sees it, or apparently not. He only recognizes the one he had seen, but some things cannot be seen; some things can be felt. But all of this feeling is on Tatsuya’s side; he is alone and he has not held up his end of the bargain.
Take the easy out, take Taiga’s sacrifice. Go back, face the shame. Kill Atsushi, lying so sweetly asleep here. Use the dagger.
He can’t. It’s not so simple as that; Tatsuya’s burned the bridges behind him and he’s not about to clamor back up; he has made this situation what it is and the consequences are his to shoulder, until he dissolves. Merfolk are not meant for more than this.
He closes the door behind him, walking to the edge of the deck. The sea, below, is everything he has known. The foam, blowing away, that he will become. Tatsuya hurls the dagger into the sea; there are only a few hours left before sunrise.