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The Guardian Vesuvius: Chapter 6: Unaware, Unfurled, Undone

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Misaro made his way, terrified, through the hospital. He had returned home from school to find his mother not there and knowing she hadn't been feeling well recently, this was the place he first thought to look. Still only eight years old, most of the people in the hospital towered over him like white columns. He aimlessly wandered around trying to find any sign of where his mother might be. It was no use. He was lost and afraid. He would have to ask someone but all these people scared him so he didn't dare stop them to talk to them. Eventually a nurse knelt down in front of him.



"Hey there, little guy. You look lost. Are you looking for someone?"



Misaro looked down, he couldn't look at this stranger in the face. "M…My mummy. I think she might be here."



"What's her name?"



"Clara... Clara Helden."



The nurse stood up and walked away towards the front desk. She looked through some clipboards. Stopping at one, her eyes widened. Misaro didn't notice the change to her expression as he continued to look to the ground where there were no people. After some time the nurse came back to him. She looked a little upset. "Okay, little guy. I've found your mother. Come with me and you can go see her." Misaro gave a little smile and hurried his little legs to keep up with the nurse as they turned corridor after corridor. The hospital would always be remembered as being enormous to Misaro. Eventually they came to a stop in a ward and the nurse directed Misaro to the bed at the end of the room. Blue curtains were drawn around it. Misaro would only come to realise much later that his mother probably did that herself to hide from the other people in the ward. Misaro hurried across the room and lifted the curtain over his head.



"Mummy?"



"Is that you Misaro? ...Oh thank goodness you found me. I was so worried."



Though her voice was weak, it was still gentle. It always was, to Misaro. Regardless, Misaro still smiled as all his fear and insecurity left him again. His mother lifted him up onto the bed. She was weakened but he was light and tiny, even for an eight-year-old. He held onto his mother, tightly at first, then, as always he would when in her arms, his entire being relaxed. His eyes closed and all was warm and peaceful. He fell asleep a few minutes after.



A gentle voice woke him from his sleep. "Misaro, sweetie, wake up."



He opened his eyes and his mother's face greeted him. He smiled, then realised how pale her face was and he got worried. "Mummy, are you okay? Aren't you getting better?" Clara's face seemed troubled as she lifted Misaro off the bed and set him down next to it. She sat and smiled at him as his worried eyes stared up at her. "Misaro... I have something important to tell you, something I've been hiding from you. I'm sorry that I did, it's just… I didn't want to tell you until I had to. I haven't got a fever, Misaro, it's something a lot worse." Tears started to show in her eyes and her voice started to break. "I'm not going to get better, Misaro... I'm going to have to... go... away."



Misaro shook his head. He felt his heart sink and tears roll down his face. "No... no, you can't go... I don't want you to go. Why do you have to go, why?" He speech was rushed as his emotions whirled out of control. His mother took his hand in hers and wiped away his tears with her other. "Now, Misaro, there's no time for that. You have to listen to me... promise you'll listen to me?" Misaro held on to her arm and rested his head on it, crying. He nodded his head.



"I wish I didn't have to go... I know how hard it's going to be for you without me, but I can't stay anymore. It's my time to move on. Before I go, though, I want to thank you, Misaro. Thank you so much for helping me carry on this long, helping me fight this for as long as I did. Ever since your father left, you have been here for me every day." Misaro was holding tightly onto her, like if he held on tight enough she wouldn't be able to go. He was listening to everything his mother was saying but couldn't help but cry harder than he ever had before. "You've lived all this time for me, Misaro, living just for me and it means so much to me... but now you have to live for yourself. I know its going to be so hard. We have no one in the world to help us or care for us except each other and now you have to learn to live without even that. I know that you're just like me and all the time it will feel like you can't be good enough, you can't be strong enough to live in this world, but you have to promise that no matter how hard it gets you'll never give up." His mother had started to cry by then. She held on to Misaro with all the strength she had left, weeping into his shoulder. "Promise me, Misaro! Promise me you won't give up... you have to live the rest of your life for yourself. You have to live, Misaro."



"DON'T GO! PLEASE, DON'T GO!" Misaro's screams were muffled as he buried his head into her lap but it still rang out across the ward. "I CAN'T... I CAN'T…" Misaro had got to the point where he couldn't talk anymore. His mother pulled him closer and rubbed his back.



"I know, I know, sweetheart... I'm so, so sorry. I'm so sorry... Just look to the stars... I will always be there. No matter what, I'm always with you." As she spoke she took off a pendant she was wearing and put it around his neck. She gave a weak smile. "Don't ever give up. Misaro... I'm so proud of you... One day you're going to make someone so happy, like… you.... did....... me." Her eyes slowly closed, her arms slipped down from Misaro's back and she was gone. Misaro fell apart. He couldn't believe it, he always thought his mother would be with him forever. He knew even then that without her he was weak, afraid, hopeless. How could he go on? Misaro refused to leave and, hours later, had to be escorted from the hospital.



He never went back to school



He's still waiting for the time he will stop crying.



Misaro opened his eyes. He could faintly hear a familiar voice calling his name. Gradually, as his vision became clearer, so did the voice. Eventually he saw Vesuvius looking down on him, much like the last time he awoke to see his mother. He squinted and slowly sat up. He was on his bed, back home. He suddenly remembered the last thing he had done. Someone must have saved him, it must have been...



"Vesuvius?"



Vesuvius sighed. "Thank goodness you're alright. If I'd noticed you a second later, you wouldn't be waking up at all. Misaro, you stupid boy, what were you thinking?"



Still a little dazed Misaro took some time to answer. He had to think about what had lead up to it. Then he remembered why it was he had walked off the building and those same emotions came rushing back. He threw an angry look at Vesuvius. "How could you do that to me?"



Vesuvius looked half puzzled and half annoyed at this. After having saved this kid's life the first thing he does is scowl at him. "What? What are you talking about?"



Misaro looked away from him again and clenched his hands onto his blanket. "You know what I mean... you and Fayth. How could you act so distant and be so unwilling to open up to me then you turn around and come out all smiles and hugs to Fayth, the person you know that I love? How could you deny me a friend, and my dream like that?"



Vesuvius sighed and shook his head, something he realised he did a lot around Misaro. "Look. How many times have I got to say to not take everything that I do, no, that everyone does so personally. Do you honestly think that I have any intention of stealing Fayth from you? I told you I can't get close to anyone! Okay? So you don't have to feel that your chances are threatened by my being here." Vesuvius's tone seemed quite insulting to Misaro, but he had not finished. "It's not like you go out of your way to do anything about how you feel, anyway."



It took everything Misaro was to stop himself from crying. He had just told Vesuvius about not doing that, making fun of him for his weaknesses. The last thing he needed was this seemingly flawless man pointing out all his mistakes to him. He recognised them well enough and they certainly hurt him more than he needed without having each one told to him by Vesuvius. Without another word he got out of the bed and stormed out of the room, down the stairs and out of the house. Vesuvius got up as he left. "Misaro, wait, I didn't..." The sound of the front door shutting brought Vesuvius to an abrupt stop. "I'll have to go looking for him later. I have to go and start the next part of the plan now." Vesuvius thought, "I just hope he doesn't get himself into trouble". Vesuvius launched himself out of the open window and headed off in a new direction. This journey would take him right to Mr Funuchi. In this part of the plan, Vesuvius would have to make sure that he was not seen by anyone he let live. This time he was going to get Fayth out of there, out of Mr Funuchi's possession forever.



Mr Funuchi was a dangerous and powerful man, nobody would be able to do this to him without paying for it. Vesuvius knew this and someone's thus far unknown role in all this was about to come into effect.



It didn't take Vesuvius very long to reach where he knew Mr Funuchi would be staying now that his house was gone. It was a five-star hotel, only the best for someone with his wealth and power. It wouldn't be so difficult to find him, somewhere on the top floors in the luxury suites. That was where he would find Fayth and once and for all he would take her away from there.



Under cover of night he scaled the side of the hotel. His initial idea was to peer into windows until he saw what he was looking for but it seemed that Mr Funuchi had left him an unintentional clue. Of all the rooms on these upper floors, only one had all its curtains drawn. Vesuvius now knew where he was going but he had no idea what awaited him inside. "Heh! This might even get difficult, getting in and out without leaving witnesses." Vesuvius buried a handle of his sword into the wall of the building and hung from it as he readied his crossbow. No poison gas, no explosives, he didn't know where Fayth would be inside the building so a simple concealing gas was all he could risk.



"Here goes..." With a giant swing he pulled his sword out of the wall and shot the arrow through the window as he spun in the air. It took some force for him to bring his sword back into the wall to stop himself falling. Using the same momentum he switched hands and with a second swing of his sword he flew through the shattered window into the room. His eyes had long been trained to see through the gas that now filled the room. One by one, Vesuvius dashed over to each man and delivered and rib crushing punch from his gauntlet. He had to finish them all before the gas cleared. Subtlety was out of the question the moment he smashed a window to get in so the thunderous crashes his blows caused wouldn't generate any more attention than he already had. The screams of a girl came from the room to the left.



There was no time to stop moving. As soon as he had finished all the men in the room he rolled over to the door and kicked it open. Several men awaited his entry and fired on him. Vesuvius reacted immediately. Spinning his body to deflect their shots off his armour, he charged forward. Taking his sword by its back-most handle, he swung the massive blade in front of him in a giant motion, carving through walls and crushing thugs with equal ease. With his free arm he grabbed one of the thugs and used his momentum to throw the man into another with terrifying strength. Finishing them both. Within moments of entering Vesuvius had completely decimated the room and mangled the thugs within. Vesuvius gasped for breath, exhausted with the effort he expended bringing such a swift and destructive end to the confrontation.



Fayth, who had ducked beneath a desk, rose slowly when she noticed the wails of Funuchi's men had come to a stop. She was shaking in fear.



Vesuvius couldn't afford to give her time to calm down. Without a word he ran forward to Fayth, threw her over his shoulder and put his fist through yet another window. Fayth, overcome by the noise and speed with which all this was happening, fainted. Which was probably for the best, he thought. He wouldn't be able to make the swift escape from here a pleasant ride.



Vesuvius was about to leave when Mr Funuchi himself arrived, just as Vesuvius had expected him too. The man was short but broad, his bald head, wrinkled forehead, and squinted eyes betraying his age. The men that followed him were too shocked at the wake of devastation they walked into to act. Vesuvius was a shadow against the night, all Funuchi and his thugs could see was a long tattered cape and two cold, piercing eyes staring back at him.



The angered man yelled at the caped figure in front of him. "YOU! YOU WON'T LIVE TO REGRET THIS! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!! YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!"



Vesuvius turned away from Funuchi and took a step outside. "My name is Misaro Helden, remember it." With that, Vesuvius leapt well clear of the hotel and out of sight. His part of the plan was complete, now the rest was up to Misaro.



Vesuvius went all the way back to Misaro's house before he even slowed down. He gently laid Fayth on Misaro's bed and pulled the covers over her. He smiled at her delicate expression and brushed her hair away from her face. "It's all over. Now you can live for yourself again." Vesuvius left once again to go and find Misaro. His part of the plan was close now and Vesuvius couldn't let the little boy be wandering about. It was only a hunch, but Vesuvius had an idea where he had gone. He headed off to the place he first met Misaro, the pitiful child.



Misaro was sitting on that same bench where Vesuvius saved him. He clung on to times like that, when it seemed something was done for him. He thought that this man cared for him, he must have done, at least enough to save him then, and once again had saved him when he fell. Misaro was unsure what had upset him this time. He still felt bad for giving up for that moment even though he was still here. It was like Vesuvius had given him another chance. Misaro wiped his eyes and looked to the stars. There wasn't a cloud in sight this night. The stars seemed brighter, too. "Mother... I won't give up, I promise."



"Thought I'd find you here."



Misaro knew straight away who it was and didn't turn to him. "What do you want... Come to tell me how stupid I am for coming out here?"



Vesuvius sat next to Misaro on the bench, no one would be about this late, not even the violent sorts that Misaro encountered here before. Vesuvius thought about what was going to happen within the next day. He decided that perhaps Misaro deserved at least one night of getting something he wanted before his part of the plan came.



"When I was young… me and my parents lived not far from this city. Our house was on its own in the fields. We never knew but it was probably a farmhouse at some point. I was an only child like you, yet I always imagined that if they had lived longer... then, maybe, maybe there would have been a sister or brother." Misaro slowly turned to Vesuvius. The man was staring at the ground, his face troubled, almost upset. Misaro recognised this face, it was the one he wore everyday. Why was Vesuvius suddenly sharing his past with him? No, no, it didn't matter, Misaro just wanted to listen.



"It was an...arson attack that took them from me. It happened while I was out in the city, I returned to find the house reduced to ashes. No one survived long enough to call emergency services and it was a long time before anyone from the city noticed. I managed to find my mother's body. I remember I held on to her for so long, screaming for her to come back, screaming that this was a nightmare. I was only six but I knew, I understood what had happened here. The crime rate in the city had been going up for some time and arson attacks were becoming commonplace." Misaro noticed the tears that Vesuvius was trying desperately to hold back. Misaro smiled compassionately, he knew exactly what Vesuvius was doing, he could recognise his own behaviour.



"Its okay... you don't have to act so strong all the time, you don't have to be ashamed of being sad, least of all around me." Misaro held onto Vesuvius's arm and rested his head on his shoulder. "You don't have to impress me. I was in awe of you from the start." Vesuvius didn't know what to say or do, he had already decided he wanted to let Misaro have at least one night where he didn't get upset or cry, so he just let the boy hold onto him and continued.



"That's when he found me... the valkerie, come to lead me from my pain, come to give me a new reason. Zanados, the father of the guardians."



Misaro looked up at Vesuvius in shock. "You mean... there are more people like you? I mean, with your strength?"



Vesuvius looked down at Misaro and smiled. "What, did you think I was one of a kind or something? No, no, there are many of us, Misaro, all hiding in the shadows like I did, all of us people who had lost everything and everyone and had nothing to live for. Zanados found us and gave us a new purpose to our lives, offered us a new family, a sanctuary in the sky. He showed us how to turn our pain into strength and showed us how to use this strength to protect those who still had their lives to live. That is our oath, a promise we all make and we must keep forever."



Misaro closed his eyes and rested his head on Vesuvius again. "An Oath?"



Vesuvius stared up into the sky, as if looking for the sanctuary. As he recited the oath, he recalled all those years ago when he spoke it before Zanados, still only a child younger than Misaro.



"As my life has been destroyed, so shall the lives of others be saved,
As my world has fallen apart, so shall I devote myself to this one
As I disappear forever, so shall I let others stay."



Vesuvius looked back down. "I'm not supposed to reveal myself to anyone. By taking the oath I agreed to forever cut myself off from the world. In other words I'm not supposed to be helping Fayth like this, not unless somehow I can do it without revealing myself. Can you imagine how people would react if they found out there's group of warriors in the sky that can read people's pain that have been hiding around in the shadows for years, killing people, only the monsters of man but still, killing people? The oath is there to make sure no one ever finds out about the Guardians or the Sanctuary in the Sky."



Misaro was overwhelmed. Everything was starting to make sense. "So that's how you knew about Fayth... and me, you can read people's pain?"



"Yes. Zanados taught us how. When your entire being is consumed by suffering, you begin to be able to feel it in other people, and not only feel it, but understand it, too. We can tell where people who are in trouble are and we know what to do."



"But… why are you telling me this, then, if you're not allowed to let anyone know?"



Vesuvius looked Misaro deep in the eyes, the same serious look he gave him when he asked him a question that seemed pretty obvious, yet it had more meaning to it than Misaro knew. "Do you remember when I asked you if you would die for Fayth?" Misaro nodded, still confused at what he was talking about. Vesuvius hesitated but he had known that eventually he would have to tell him the truth about the plan. "Well... that is your part in the plan, Misaro, to be my scapegoat. To convince Mr Funuchi that he has killed me so that he will stop looking, I blame everything that I've been doing to him, all his property I destroyed and the taking of Fayth from him, on you. By giving them your name they'll find you and they'll kill you."



Misaro gasped and let go of Vesuvius, getting up and backing away. "So... that's why you saved me... so you could have me die in your place. That was my role all this time… to just die?" Vesuvius could not answer, he simply looked down to the ground, seeming ashamed. Eventually he spoke, though his voice was hushed, like he wasn't so sure of what he was saying. "I saw your past, and how you loved Fayth... saw how even you believed that you were hopeless, that nobody knew you or would notice you had gone. It's the only way I could help Fayth and still keep the oath, still keep the Guardians secret. I'm sorry."



Misaro suddenly smiled and started to cry. "Did you just apologise to me?" He suddenly ran over to Vesuvius and threw his arms around him, holding him tightly. He whispered to him "That means you're my friend..."



Vesuvius paused in surprise, then smiled. "Yes… yes, Misaro, I'm your friend." He placed his hand on his shoulder.



"I'll do it, I'll die for her… I'll die for you. I want to do it." Vesuvius only nodded. Something was running through his mind, a thought he would never have imagined he would ever consider in his life. His priorities were changing.



Misaro didn't seem to care that he was going to die tomorrow. He stayed so peacefully next to Vesuvius, not saying a word, a few minutes later falling asleep. In his thoughts Misaro remembered the last thing his mother said to him. All this time she was right. Vesuvius carried the sleeping boy home. For the first time in what seemed like forever, Vesuvius travelled along the streets and not across the roofs. Maybe he was too distracted by the unexpected thought he was having, or maybe he didn't want to wake the poor boy up. He hadn't slept this peacefully in so many years, he deserved this much. He laid Misaro on the couch downstairs, covered him up with his cape and sat across from him. He watched the boy sleep for some time. Thinking.



He had called Misaro pathetic, selfish, stupid, had pushed him away all this time and the boy just kept trying to reach out to him, kept trying to get close to him. All Misaro ever tried to do was make friends, impress him and help him. Vesuvius regretted his harsh words. "Misaro... you are not a pitiful child, you are an angel. Your mother knew it and so do I. An angel who cannot see his own wings." Vesuvius buried his head his hands. "What am I thinking... no, no I cannot do this… I cant."



It was at least another hour before Vesuvius fell asleep where he sat.



Later that night Misaro was awoken by several cars pulling up outside. Misaro rose quickly when he realised who it must be. He glanced over at Vesuvius, who was now awake, still sat in the chair. He stared back at Misaro. "They are here for you." Misaro nodded and got to his feet



"Where is Fayth?"



"She's upstairs, asleep. I got her away from them earlier today when you left."



Misaro was clearly very scared but he was determined to see this through. He would not be stopped by his fear this time, he had to do this for Fayth and for Vesuvius. For the first time ever since his mother left he was really going to make a difference for someone he cared about. He smiled at Vesuvius, though his fear made it hard. "You and Fayth should get going, then... Now it's time to do my part."



Vesuvius got up and grabbed Misaro by the arm, pushing him back onto the chair. Misaro looked up at the man. His face was deadly serious once more, yet this time it also showed a sign of compassion, a determination of his own. "Vesuvius? ...What are you…"



Vesuvius gave Misaro a gentle smile and interrupted him. "Go to Fayth and get her out of here... I've made a choice, so don't give me the opportunity to change my mind. Don't argue, just do it, okay… friend? Hurry now." Vesuvius turned and walked to the door. Before Misaro was able to speak again he had taken his cape and closed the door behind him.



On the other side of that door five black cars were parked up around the house, waiting for him. Vesuvius looked around, frowning. He grabbed his sword and clenched his fist. He took up a defiant stance and glared with that frightful stare at Mr Funuchi's men and, indeed, Mr Funuchi himself, who he knew to be inside the cars before him. He yelled, at the top of his voice so that Mr Funuchi could recognise it as the one he heard earlier:



"I AM THE GUARDIAN VESUVIUS. TAKE ME ON IF YOU DARE!"

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Thanks so much for reading, this one was a little bit longer than the others, Im sorry ^.^'

Chapter 7: Vesuvius Erupts

Back to The Guardian Vesuvius: Prolouge

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