“T.E.N.A.N.T.”

Author’s Notes: Yay! It’s the Masa/Matsumoto chapter! Whoo hoo!

The man rubbed his aching eyes. Hours in front of a laptop desperately struggling for something, were not good for one’s vision. He sighed. Everything was a failure. When the math worked, the lab didn’t and when the lab worked, there was no mathematical reason as to why it worked, and hence it was unacceptable.

“Tired, Tenshi?”

He turned and looked upon his lover. “You’re back…” Standing, he dove into the officer’s awaiting arms. “I missed you so much…” he whispered into the other’s neck, burying his face in his black wool uniform. The fabric scratched at his soft skin.

The other brought his arms up to wrap around the smaller man. “I missed you too…” As his words trailed off, his voice died, choking.

Pulling away, the scientist looked up into the other’s clouded eyes. “What is it…?” He placed cool hands against the other’s heated cheeks as tears fell from his eyes. “What’s happened?”

“I…killed a girl today…” the officer struggled with his words. “She didn’t…didn’t have…have to die. I know she didn’t. She died an innocent…My God…Tenshi, what have I done?” He through his arms around the smaller man and sobbed, unabashed.

*****

When they made love, it was more than just physical need, more than just lust. It was an insatiable thirst to be loved. In this world where bloodshed and death became routine, and innocence was lost at birth, to feel pure, to feel complete, was a rare gem indeed.

*****

The door to the brig opened before him and he stepped inside. What met his gaze made him gag.

The spy who had been captured the day before sat, back pressed up against the wall, her matted blond hair falling over her face. Her arms were stretched up over her head and chained to an iron ring. Thin wrists were chaffed, bleeding. Pale legs were spread, bent at the knees and turned in, giving a fine view of the blood that painted the prisoner’s thighs. The head lulled on its shoulders and glazed eyes opened to look upon the visitor.

“You too?” came the hoarse inquiry from a definite masculine voice. He didn’t reply, but stood stone-faced. Stepping forward, he undid the chains that held the prisoner to the ground and to the wall. “Not one for bondage, ne?” she – no, he – stated, collapsing into a fit of coughing.

Turning back towards the door, he motioned to the men waiting outside with a gurney. “Take him to the lab, and then leave. Neither of you are to touch him, do you understand?”

The foot soldiers saluted and went about their task. Once they had gone, he let his eyes wander back to the bloodstains on the floor. So much innocent blood…

*****

He nudged the door open, struggling a bit with the weight of it. Inside, his father was asleep once again at the desk, surrounded by books and papers and pens. Climbing up to sit atop the adjacent stool, he looked at what his father had been writing.

The symbols were all alien to him. They always were. It made him feel…sad. It made him feel useless, stupid.

The symbols weren’t alien to his brothers. He couldn’t really be angry with them, though – it wasn’t their fault they were smarter. He sniffed and scrubbed at his eyes.

“What’s wrong, Gabriel?” He looked up at the tired voice; he had woken his father. He started to cry harder.

Warm hands wrapped around him and, startled, he hiccupped. His father chuckled as he cradled him in his arms. “Hush now…it’s alright. Dry your eyes.” He obediently complied.

*****

“Why did you take me in?”

He turned at the sudden question and regarded his “apprentice” with mild confusion. “What?”

“Why did you take me in?” The blond was angry, that much was clear. Angry because he rarely got answers straight forward. They were always hidden within the words. He wanted a straight answer this time.

“Lots of reasons…” He pulled his thumb and middle finger along his chin, pausing at the tip, and tapping his lips with his pointer finger. Do you know how to speak?

“Like…” the blond drawled as he tugged at his right earlobe and the ring that hung there, “…what?” before tapping his lips with his pointer finger in echo. Yes, I can speak.

“Well, you’re intelligent to say the least.” He let his eyes wander to the walls as he drew a line “absentmindedly” from the corner of his right eye to his ear. We’re being watched, and the walls are listening.

“Oh, really?” The other rubbed the bridge of his nose. Who? Where?

“Yes, quite. I was actually quite surprised,” he replied, tugging at his collar. The enemy.

“You said there were more reasons, what were they?”

He blinked twice and ran a hand through his hair before cracking his neck to the left. “Now you’re just fishing for compliments.” I need you to send information to the resistance.

The other leaned forward and rested his chin in his left hand. “And what if I am?” What information?

“That’s very bad etiquette,” he leaned back in his seat and toyed with the silver band on his ring finger, “You know?” About the project.

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. It’s very impolite…” he yawned and stretched. “Well, all the stuff you need to work on is on file. I put it on the removable drive so you can take it with you.” He stood. “Be good and good night.”

The blond nodded. “I think I’ll turn in after I work on some things.” He grabbed the disk. “Good night, doctor.”

*****

The little boys all stood around his chair. He could feel their eyes boring into the back of his skull. The eldest two exchanged annoyed looks, the younger shrugging and wondering off to play, the elder sighing and following soon afterward.

The third stayed, staring up at his father. He tilted his head to one side and blinked up at the tearful man.

Turning, the scientist looked down at the youngest of his creations. “What is it Gabriel?”

“Not come?”

The simple, broken question tore at his heart, and induced a new round of tears. “No…No, he’s not coming back anymore…”

He got down from the chair and knelt on the floor, wrapping the child in his arms. He cried harder as the boy brought his tiny arms up to wrap around his neck.

*****

They burst through the door and instantly began spraying bullets. He dove for cover, taking the children down with him. They were screaming. The bullets whizzed overhead. He looked down and did a quick head count.

One was missing.

Gabriel.

Looking down at the other two, he ordered, “Stay here, stay down.” And bolted across the lab, machine gun fire following in his wake.

Over the roar of the bullets and shattering of glass, he cried, “Gabriel! Where are you!”

There. Through the haze of the smoke, he saw the little boy huddled in a cabinet. His hands were clapped over his ears.

*****

It was so loud. So loud. Where was Daddy? Daddy would make it all go quiet again.

“Gabriel!”

He opened his eyes. Daddy? He looked up and saw his father before him stooping to take him in his arms, pressing his fingers to his lips to signal to be quiet. He nodded and mimicked the action.

The noise stopped. He smiled up at his father and moved forward to escape the confines of the cabinet. When he looked up, Daddy wasn’t smiling.

That was the angry face.

That was a bad face.

He whimpered and shrunk back into the cabinet, peeking out behind the door up at his father.

Daddy?

There were men talking. Daddy was talking. There was a loud noise. His father collapsed to his knees before the cabinet.

There was a hole in his stomach.

He opened his mouth to scream but snapped it shut, pressing his fingers to his lips. Be quiet. Daddy said to be quiet.

They found his brothers. He could hear them squealing. Squealing like piglets. He heard the bad men hit them. Kick them. He heard his brothers die, gurgling, sputtering.

He cried silently.

“Burn the place.”

“Yes sir.”

Burn? Soap burns. Why would they want to use soap? Were they going to clean?

Black smoke began to waft its way to his corner. It made him cough, sneeze. It made his eyes hurt. He started crying.

Daddy make it stop!

Stepping out of his cabinet, blind by the smoke, he tugged at his father’s arm. The man pushed him away. “Get out…” he coughed and went limp. Looking up, the boy saw fire. Lots of fire. He screamed and ran to the window.

It was locked.

He banged his small fists against it, crying. It didn’t move.

Running back to his father, he curled up next to the unconscious man and sobbed, wrapping his small arms around himself as the flames licked at his back.

“Oh my God…Matsumoto!” Someone ran into the room and stooped above him. A set of hands dragged him away from his father as the man coughed raggedly. He echoed his father as warm arms enveloped him.

“…save him…save the project…save Gackt…” and then his daddy went limp.

He hiccupped. The man turned and ran from the room.

*****

His eyes were closed. He knew that because it was dark. But he could listen.

“What happened?”

“Matsumoto’s dead. As are the first two. The lab’s been destroyed.”

“And the data? The formulas?”

“Lost. All of it. It’s all lost.”

Something cool was placed on his back. It made him cry out. His voice sounded weak, hollow.

“The poor thing…You sure he’s the only one left?” There was a pause, and then the voice continued. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to go back.”

“Go back?” That was a different voice, closer to him, above him. “But if they killed Gackt, and then Matsumoto, it’s because they found out they were leaking information. And if that’s the case, then you’re next on the list.”

“I still have time.”

“Not much.”

“No, not much. But I have a promise to keep.”

“Ah.”

There was another pause, longer this time. He started drifting off, but then a fourth voice joined the conversation. “What’s his name?”

“Whose?”

“The boy’s.”

Gabriel.

“Um…Masa.”

Masa?

“Masa?”

“Yes. Masa.”

*****

Masa sat bolt upright in bed, the sweat that drenched his body and his sheets chilling his heated flesh. “My God…” His head was pounding, his ears ringing. Burying his face in his hands, he wept.

*****

“I need access to the data banks of this compound.”

Cha turned to look upon his subordinate. “You’re not a hacker. Whatever for?”

“I need to find something.”

“Tell You what it is and I’m sure he’ll find it if it’s there.” The officer turned back to the map he was pouring over with Ren.

Masa struggled to control his voice. Tears brimmed at the corners of his eyes. “I need to find my name.”

That got their attention. Cha and Ren exchanged nervous looks before their eyes found his face again. “Your name?” inquired the redhead. “It wouldn’t be in there, ne? You haven’t had any run-ins with TS troops since your childhood.”

“My childhood is what I’m looking for.”

*****

“Found something,” You stated after about ten minutes of searching. “I am unsure if you truly want to hear it though.”

“Tell us anyway,” stated Cha, who stood just behind the seated Automaton.

“MASA was the name of the program Matsumoto was the head of. It stood for ‘Metamorphose Anatomical Synergistic Analysis.’”

The three turned to Masa who sat curled up on one of the technician chairs. His forehead was pressed against his knees which were pulled up to his chest. His shoulders shook, with restrained tears.

“Masa…?” Ren began, stretching a hand forward, hesitant of touching his friend.

“So it’s all true…” came the muttered response.

“Nani?”

“All my dreams…all of my hallucinations…they’re all true. They’re all memories that I’ve forgotten…”