smashcon | The Festival of Guns and Pianos

Title: The Festival of Guns and Pianos
Rating: PG
Prompt: "Terror made me cruel" - Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights
Fandom/Series: Spiral: the Bonds of Reasoning/Suiri no Kizuna
Word Count: 3733
Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, profit from the story and all creative rights to the characters belong to their original creator(s).
Summary: During a chaotic war between the Blade Children and their old friend, Rutherford interferes to help to defeat Kanon, his childhood friend who had become a "hunter". Despite his goal to annihilate the Blade Children, Kanon struggles to kill his friends. Apathy eventually overtakes hesitation, and the festival finally concludes.

The Festival of Guns and Pianos

The golden sun shines brightly in the cloudless sky, creating the illusion of a peaceful day. The halls of Tsukiomi High School remain dead silent despite it being a school day. The silence is far from peaceful. Tsukiomi is no longer safe, and everyone has been made aware of that. Kanon Hilbert, the "gun with wings", is waiting. Standing by a magnificent grand piano, the Blade Child stands holding a gun in each hand. The music room, a room for students to share their talents and memories, has become a prison for one boy. Ayumu Narumi, younger brother to "the Great Detective" Kiyotaka Narumi, sits shackled to the floor, bleeding heavily from his right shoulder.

The room is silent, aside from a small radio, the only link to the outside world. As the news reporter speaks, both of the boys in the room are still and silent. With Eyes Rutherford being a famous pianist, it was only natural for the media to be all over the case of his stabbing. Several updates had been released throughout the days after the attempted murder, however it had all been the same. Eyes was still unconscious. During the days after he had attempted to kill him, Kanon had been restless. In order for things to go smoothly, Rutherford has to die. The days have dragged on with the uncertainty as to whether or not he would survive, but Kanon was under the most stress. Ever since he was a child, Kanon had been trained to kill. Every method of murder had been etched into his instincts, and anyone who he decided should die, drew their last breath within days after his decision. So why didn't Rutherford die? Doubt was starting to sprout inside Kanon. If Eyes wakes up, that will mean that Kanon will fail. After all, if he can't even kill off one Blade Child, how is he supposed to kill all of them? The seedling of doubt that was starting to sprout inside Kanon withered quickly. There is no need for him to doubt himself. Eyes will die. Even if it takes weeks, he isn't going to wake up. Even if he does, Kanon will just kill him again.

A few more minutes of silence pass, until the sound of a piano echoes through the room. Although he is nowhere near perfect, Kanon had learned a song from Rutherford years ago, though he never knew the name. As he continues to play, Ayumu slowly wakes up, noticing that his arms are restricted behind him, although he was keeping a calm composure. Noticing that Ayumu is now awake, the playing stops, as Kanon arises from the seat.

"You've been asleep for a long time. It's already past four o'clock." Still looking at him, Ayumu doesn't bother trying to escape. Instead, he remains calm and replies to Kanon.

"I wish I could've slept a little longer. That awful piano playing woke me up" Although this doesn't seem to faze Kanon, he continues the conversation calmly, stating that he had only listened to Eyes play the song when he had thought Kanon wasn't around, and that he refused to even tell him the name of the song.

The conversation doesn't last long, as the topic shifts to Kanon's next step in his plan. With the police surrounding the school, there is no way for him to escape. However, this is exactly what he wants. Kanon makes it clear what he wants. He has kept Ayumu as a hostage in order to contact one of the "watchers". The mystery of the Blade Children in known only to a few people, and of the three parties involved, one group are simply observers. It is cruel to let the recent events and series of murders continue, and Kanon knows that. However, it is not the "watchers" that he wants to punish. The first step to his plan, is to annihilate the Blade Children. In order to do this, he will call one of the "watchers", and demand that all the Blade Children are to be gathered into the gym, where they will be obliterated with a bomb. As Ayumu is being held hostage, it is understandable as to why Kanon would even tell him about his plan. After all, there's nothing Ayumu can do to prevent him from carrying out the scheme.

"You're going to blow up the gym, and kill them all off?" Despite the situation, Ayumu was still remaining cool and calm.

"Mm-hmm! Plain and simple, eh?" Kanon's blank expression became a deceivingly innocent smile.

"...simple, yes. But there's no way you can escape. Then what'll you do? You won't be able to kill those blade children who aren't in the school." Ayumu decided to tell him. Processing what Ayumu was saying, Kanon's face changed again, a look of flustered shock replacing his sweet smile.

"I hadn't thought of that! Kanon in an unexpected pinch!" his flustered appearance hasn't changed, making him look like a child who has been told that the tooth fairy isn't real. Whipping out a paper fan from seemingly nowhere, he simply started smiling again.

"Oh well! It'll work out somehow~!" he said cheerfully, fanning himself as he was walking around. Ayumu was starting to wonder just how sane Kanon even is.

Beginning to prepare to leave, Kanon reveals a massive gun with a strap connected to it, allowing Ayumu to see him as he puts the strap over his shoulder. Just as he is about to leave, Ayumu offers to tell him the name of the song that he had played earlier, in memory of the many times Eyes had played it. Stopping to listen, he looks over to Ayumu, silently telling him to go on.

"It's a Franz Liszt composition. 'Poetic and Religious Harmonies', number three..."

There is a small pause as Kanon looks at Ayumu expectantly, waiting for him to name the individual piece.

"...'The Blessing of God in Solitude'." he finishes, not even making eye contact with Kanon. As he hears the name, Kanon freezes, the image of Eyes playing the song appearing in his mind again. He can't help but to think about what Eyes could have been thinking as he played the song over and over again. How ironic for a cursed child to play a song with such a name. Remembering what he had said to Eyes just as he had stabbed him, he started to make his way to the door again, not daring to look back at Ayumu, or the piano behind him. He lets what he said run through his mind again.

'You're too kind.'

For a child born without a blessing from God to play a song with a name like that as he prays for the safety of his fellow rejects, it is far too ironic. Even when the Blade Children were born without God's blessing, Eyes still dares to pray for their safety, in hopes that maybe, just maybe, God will hear him and help them. That is why he is too kind. That is why he could never hope to stop Kanon.

Everything remains silent as Kanon steps out of the room and into the hallway. Gripping the trigger of the gun he has strapped to his shoulder, he silently makes his way down the hallway and onto a balcony, giving him a clear view of one of the open areas on the school grounds. Soon, he is expecting to see Rio, Kousuke, and Ryouko with a plan ready to nab him. Holding the gun in position, he prepares himself to snipe them as soon as he sees them. Time is passing, and nobody has come into sight yet, however he is ready. It isn't long until he hears Kousuke's voice from the open area to his left, his sight of them being hindered by the wall beside him.

"...I sure wish he'd show up already. This is mentally exhausting..." the familiar red headed boy's voice echoes through the field. A few more steps, and the three are finally within his sight. Just as Kanon aims his gun and pulls the trigger, Kousuke notices him from the corner of his eye, instinctively pushing the girls down to the floor, while ducking himself, narrowly dodging the bullets that are being fired. Without ceasing to fire, Kanon tries to aim again, destroying several windows as he attempts to hit any of the three below him. Before he has a chance to aim again, the others are quick to re-enter the nearest building and hide, making it impossible for Kanon to snipe them from where he's standing. Remaining calm and silent, he turns around and re-enters the halls, walking through them as he starts searching for the three, while trying to predict their plan and create a counter plan. Knowing Rio, she is most likely going to suggest that one of them attacks him head on to try to remove his gun, while the other two simultaneously attack from either side.

Hiding behind a wall, Kanon calmly waits for the first attacker. All he needs to do is watch out for both of his sides, by not getting too distracted with the front. Of course, his sharp reflexes will certainly help with counter-attacking, but it wouldn't hurt to put at least a little bit of thought into it. Just around the corner, the sound of someone's feet landing on the floor can be heard, accompanied by Kousuke's voice.

"Here goes!" he calls out just as Kanon jumps from behind the wall, instantly seeing Kousuke holding a gun in each hand. Before either of them have a chance to shoot, Ryouko jumps through a window next to Kousuke and throws a grenade directly towards Kanon's feet. Looking down to see the grenade, he lets out a small whistle before jumping to the side and aiming the gun at Kousuke. Before he is able to pull the trigger, Ryouko sprints forward and grabs Kanon's gun, however she isn't able to pull it from his hand. As he looks down to Ryouko, his attention is grabbed my Kousuke, who now has his gun aimed at him.

"You're mine now! Kanon!" he yells, however before he has a chance to shoot, a gunshot can be heard as Kanon drops his gun to reveal a tiny pistol he had hidden in his sleeve. As his larger gun hits the ground, Ryouko falls to the floor next to it as blood leaks from her chest.

"Ryouko!" Kousuke yells as he freezes, allowing Kanon to jump forward and grab his arm. Without even having a chance to process what happened, Kanon easily throws the stunned Kousuke out of the window, leaving him to fall to his death.

Turning around, Kanon picks up his large gun again, facing the end of the hall that his back had faced during the battle.

"...That's enough hiding. Why don't you come out? ...Rio." he called out, waiting for the little girl to show herself. A few seconds after he called, she slowly steps forward, holding onto a pistol. It might not have been the plan that he had anticipated, but it had still failed. Even after they forced him out of the classroom and interfered with his gun, he still beat them. And now it was time to take out Rio. She lets out a sigh and lowers her arm.

"If you're going to kill me, would you hurry it up? You should only need one shot to take me down." Even so, Kanon isn't willing to take any chances.

"Ha ha! Yes, but that one shot could be tricky. I don't know how many explosives you might be hiding. If I'm not careful, I could set off an explosion. And I can't let myself get caught in the blast too. For you I need a straight shot to the head." She certainly is a tricky one. Being an expert with bombs, she could have hidden explosives under her uniform in locations that she is likely to be shot. A head shot really is the only safe way to kill her.

"Kanon-kun. I don't think you're taking me seriously enough. You really don't think I foresaw this situation?" Although he doesn't show it, Kanon hesitates a little. Almost a second after, Rio reveals a tiny pistol hidden in her sleeve - the same trick that Kanon used.

"I've prepared a similar toy. You didn't think I'd figure out what you'd pull, and work out a plan to counter-act it?" Staying silent, Kanon decides to listen to what she has to say. It is then that she explains the possibilities. The possibility that Ryouko could have been wearing a bulletproof vest with blood packets. It would be unusually convenient, yes, but it isn't impossible. And Kousuke most likely wouldn't die from the fall. What she was saying is true. Kousuke is a cockroach. It is possible that he survived the fall. But then again, maybe everything that she's saying is a bluff. That is also a possibility. She has always been quite tricky. But even if Ryouko is wearing a bulletproof vest, she had six bullets shot at her. That would have knocked her out for a while. But then that would mean...

"Then how about this? Even if Ryouko-chan's wearing a bulletproof vest... those six shots did enough damage to take her out of the picture for a while. It'll take some time for her to get back on her feet. So all this talk... was only meant to stall for time." Then Kanon's thoughts could be right.

"But..." she continued. " That could also be another lie to divert your attention. So... which is it?" She started to smile. Every tiny mistake Kanon had made, Rio was able to use to her advantage and confuse him. Just as you would expect from her.

"I don't care" Kanon had decided. "Regardless of which it is... I'm ending this now" Just as Kanon spoken, the next phase of Rio's plan begun. While Rio was aiming her gun at Kanon from the front, Ryouko was using the same trick that Kanon and Rio had used before to reveal a pistol from under her sleeve. With both girls aiming their guns at Kanon, a thought sparked in his mind that told him exactly how this situation will go.

'I'll show them that I can overcome this!'

Everything was happening in a blur. The battle had barely lasted thirty seconds before it was over. Although Rio had landed an anesthetic bullet in Kanon's arm, he had gotten away, not before bludgeoning her in the chest and breaking her right collarbone with his gun. Although he had gotten away, he was far from winning.

Arriving at one of the bathrooms, Kanon was starting to work on removing the anesthetic bullet from his arm and washing the wound. Although it was only one bullet that wasn't in for long, he can feel himself getting lightheaded. Deciding to wait about thirty minutes before fighting again, he lets himself think about the battle so far. He is an expert hunter, and he has been trained to kill for most - if not all - of his life. So why was he making mistakes? Sure, it had been about a year since he had last hunted, but he should still only be making minimal - if any - mistakes. Was he not capable of killing the Blade Children? No, he is more than capable of it. He knows it. And from now on, he won't make any more mistakes.

As he re-enters the music room, he sees that Ayumu is still handcuffed to the desk near the piano. Closing the door behind him, he takes a seat at the piano, this time facing Ayumu rather than the instrument.

"Oh. Welcome back" Ayumu said. It wasn't sarcastic, but it wasn't very enthusiastic either. Then again, he is naturally introverted, so it could be anything coming from him. "You look flustered."

Kanon lets out a small sigh.

"Rio and her team were tough. I hate to admit it, but I was one step away from being killed myself." he replied solemnly.

During the time that Kanon is taking to recover from the anesthetic bullet, he decides to call one of the "watchers" now, and to make his demands. Even though all he needs is for the Blade Children to be gathered, he has a second request. If Eyes has woken up, he wants to speak to him, even if it's just on the phone.

The "watcher" that Kanon is able to contact is named Kirie Tsuchiya. After requesting that the Blade Children have been gathered, Kanon asks Kirie to get him in contact with Eyes Rutherford. Much to his surprise, Kirie told him that it would be a piece of cake.

"Ruth-kun's already on his way here" those words were enough to freeze Kanon. Not only is Eyes alive and moving about, but he's on his way to see Kanon. It wasn't fear that made him freeze, but something else. Something just as bad.

Not too long after the call with Kirie, Kanon receives another call. Picking up the phone, he makes his way to the window, looking through it pointlessly.

"Hello. Who is it?" Kanon asked.

"The guy you failed to kill off." Eyes replied. Monotone as usual, but not cold. Even to the man who tried to kill him.

"...that you, Eyes? Congrats on making the trip, and just after waking up from that coma too. Not to jump straight to business, but I need some advice. Can you help me?" Kanon asked.

"Let's hear what it is first." Eyes replied in the same monotone voice.

"As you can see, I'm completely surrounded by the cops. Even if I successfully kill all the Blade Children at this school, it'll be pretty tough for me to get away. I need your help to escape. If you help me out now... you won't have as much trouble later." he explained.

"So you're asking me... to join hands with you again?"

"Yep. You don't want to see me getting arrested by the cops, right? If there's any chance, I... I don't want to have to kill you again... No... Even if I were told to kill you again... I could never do it and keep my sanity... But you probably already knew that... Haven't you had enough...? You've worked hard. Now let's walk side-by-side like the old days. There's no hope for the Blade Children. And there's a plot... to completely erase the one hope we do have, remember?" Kanon reasoned.

"I finally realised why you left us... Kanon... You've met with 'Hizumi', haven't you?" Eyes asked quietly.

"Yeah... I met him. Even though you knew about him for a long time, you hid him from us. I understand why you didn't want to tell us how little hope we have... But it was still cruel. Continuing to let everyone believe in the blessings of a God that doesn't even exist... is beyond stupid. It's a downright sin."

"You still don't think... we can be blessed? You sure sound convinced." Eyes' voice lowered a little.

"I'll keep saying it. You'll never be blessed. It's impossible! Quit fooling yourself." Kanon's voice raised in turn.

"I know. I've also accepted our desolate reality. But... even so... I'll keep hoping. No matter how much I doubt... I'll keep hoping to the very end, amidst all this loneliness, for God's blessing. This conversation is over. All we have left is to battle... I wish you all the best... brother..." And with that, the call ended.

A loud bang made Ayumu jump as Kanon slammed the phone onto the floor. Without thinking, he started to shoot at it, obliterating it until it was nothing but small chunks of wire and plastic.

"How...?! How can he hope for a blessing...?! He knows it'll never come true! So why does Eyes still...?!" Ayumu can only watch as Kanon's outburst unfolds.

"Because you and the others... are important to him. Don't you see?" while Ayumu calmly explaining this to him, Kanon can't help but to let tears fall.

"You're precious to him, so... even if he knows that one day you'll be taken away... and broken... he wants to protect all of you till that day comes. So for every second until then, for his teammates, he'll keep on hoping... so he won't be crushed by despair. Your friends are important to you, right? The only difference is when you knew they'd be stolen and broken... you figured you'd settle the matter yourself in one clean blow." The room fell silent as Kanon found himself leaning against the wall for support, tears falling from his face and breaking upon crashing against the floor.

Many minutes passed before Kanon finally found himself able to stand up. Without saying a word, he slowly began to make his way towards the piano, playing the same song, the only song he was ever bothered to learn, on the piano. Ayumu decided to remain silent, allowing Kanon to play over and over until he can't play anymore. At this point he can't do anything. He stayed seated and continued to stare at the piano until he broke down, slamming his fists onto the piano and letting out a scream of frustration and anger.

The room became silent once again as Kanon slowly brought himself to stand up and pick up his gun. He can't turn back now. This time, he won't make any mistakes. This time, he is going full throttle. There is no way the Blade Children are going to survive, and that's a promise from Kanon that he will sacrifice his life to fulfill. After a lifetime of suffering, the only thing the Blade Children can do is die, and if there are Blade Children out there who don't want to die, he will just have to force them. Being born without a blessing from God - a blessing that none of them will ever receive - they don't deserve to live a full, happy life. Every single Blade Child must be annihilated. Even Kanon. No, especially Kanon. He knows that he was destined to have his hands soaked with blood, and he has followed along with his predetermined fate like a child asked to steal a toy. No matter what it takes, he will kill every Blade Child, including himself. His entire life was destined to be full of terrors, right from the moment he was born. And now, he will be the cruel force that will snuff out the only hope the Blade Children ever had.

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