Disclaimer: I do not own Spiral: Suiri No Kizuna. All ownership and credit for the story goes to Kyo Shirodaira and Eita Mizuno. I only claim ownership of this original fanfiction story and the OCs included within.


Chapter 1: The beginning of it all

The heavy rain pattered endlessly against the broad glass windows of the room belonging to the famous pianist, Eyes Rutherford. Said pianist stood motionless before one of the great glass panes that made up the entirety of the walls in his massive penthouse apartment. He had only recently returned to Japan for his second visit since the time of his original Japan debut months before.

Since his arrival, the rain had not lightened and the relentless dreariness it brought with it did little to improve Eyes' already apathetic mood. Slowly, he turned away from the window and walked farther into the room.

He seated himself before a massive, nine foot Yamaha concert grand piano. Bearing the color of ebony, it was the focal point of the room and seemed to easily dwarf the seventeen year old performer that sat before it. Its lid was raised to full capacity, revealing the well-cared for strings and frame within.

Eyes Rutherford sat motionless before the massive instrument for several minutes before slowly sighing and raising his hands to the keys. He placed his fingers delicately upon the keys and skillfully began to play.

The melody that was produced was one of quiet grace and calm. Its melody was somber and carried an almost lonely feeling as the notes were carried up from within the piano and allowed to permeate the full interior of the room. The theme of the piece seemed to fit the current mood of the young pianist, and as he played, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to be immersed into the music.

As the performance continued, the piece took on an almost haunting aspect, turning from a melody of calm grace to one of sorrow and loneliness, only to be quickly uplifted once more with rapid yet muted trills to bring the mood out of the darkness once again.

The piece that the young pianist was playing was a composition by the eighteenth century Austrian composer and virtuoso, Franz Liszt. It was the third composition of Liszt's Harmonies poétiques et religieuses (Poetic and Religious Harmonies). The composition bore the title of Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude, which translates to "The Blessing of God in Solitude". It was a personal favorite of the young performer and held a certain amount of hope for him.

oOoOoOo

Eyes Rutherford was part of a group of people known as the Blade Children.

The Blade Children were seen as cursed children that needed to be destroyed; wiped from the face of the earth. For this reason, the Blade Children, Eyes included, had been forced to turn to murder in order to survive. "Kill or be killed". That was the creed of the Blade Children. By abiding by it, they had managed to stay alive.

Many other Blade Children were still engaged in this battle for existence and survival, but fate had been kinder to Eyes than it had been to others. A child prodigy, Eyes had risen to fame in the music world by the time he was fourteen and had been labeled as the 'savior of the music world' soon after. This fame had kept those who desired his death at a safe distance. As a result, he had been able to live a much safer and more privileged life than the others that shared his curse.

However, his fame and popularity did not make him exempt from the dangers of his curse, nor did it cleanse the sins of his past. At only seventeen, Eyes Rutherford had already stained his hands countless times with the blood of those trying to kill him. He had killed so many. More than he could ever atone for. Eyes knew this well. He knew that all that awaited him was darkness and that he, along with all the other Blade Children, could not be saved.

Yet somewhere inside Eyes there was a part of him that was still clinging to the hope of salvation. This small shred of hope that he clung so desperately to came in the form of a man named Kiyotaka Narumi; a man who had promised a way to save the Blade Children.

Despite his apprehension, Eyes couldn't altogether disregard Narumi's words. The hope that he could still be saved trumped all logic and reasoning. It was this hope that he desperately grasped for. Eyes wasn't a religious man, but he still prayed that there was a way for them to be forgiven; that there was a way for the Blade Children to be saved.

oOoOoOo

Eyes continued to play, the rain adding a harmonic contrast to the somber melody. The music danced its way around the room, filling it with the sound of the piano.

No amplification devices were equipped to the young pianist's piano, but the skill and ability of his playing allowed the sound to echo through the room, easily equaling the volume of an amplified instrument.

However, the powerful feelings that the music would normally evoke in others seemed to have relatively little effect on the young performer. His features were like stone as he played, never faltering or changing as he shifted through the stanzas of the piece. The melody seemed as though it was unable to reach the soul of the man and draw out the emotions it was striving to create.

However, this was not uncommon for the young Englishman. Long ago, Eyes Rutherford had sealed away his emotions out of fear of them making him too weak to survive. He had rationalized that his murderous actions had made him no better than a demon, and so it was for the best that he have no emotions or feelings to hold him back when he was forced to face his destiny.

It was a childish notion concocted by a child not at all skilled enough in the ways of the world to make such decisions. As Eyes had grown older, he had realized the foolishness of his reasoning and had even come to accept his fate. He was even able to come to terms with the fear that constantly plagued him, however, he had never been able to reclaim those lost emotions he had sealed away so long ago.

Perhaps it was better that way. Eyes Rutherford had no capacity for sadness and he knew it. He was even okay with it. Sadness brought only suffering and he felt that he had enough suffering to deal with without placing sadness into the mix. But what he refused to accept was the reality that simply throwing away the ability to cry does not destroy the feelings of sadness that accompany tears. It may indeed mask the feelings of grief, but it will still remain.

oOoOoOo

In supposedly sad times, Eyes often thought of the words his best friend, Kanone Hilbert, had once said to him.

"Eyes, listen to me. It's best to cry when you want to cry. Sometimes it's good to hold back your tears, but very shortly it will become natural and soon you'll be unable to feel anything at all."

Kanone had told him those words on the day of Eyes' mother's funeral. He had been unable to cry that day as well and had rationalized it with the logic that crying doesn't change anything. Kanone had stopped him and confronted him about his desire to seal away his tears, but Eyes had tuned him out.

Now, years later, Eyes had to admit that Kanone had been right in what he had said. By sealing off his tears, he had also sealed off his ability to feel much of anything. But Eyes had yet to decide whether that was a bad thing or not. Perhaps when he saw Kanone next he would ask him.

oOoOoOo

Wordlessly, Eyes concluded the piece and slowly opened his eyes. The entire composition had taken the course of twenty minutes to complete. Eyes rose from the piano and returned to the window. The piece had gotten him thinking about the fate of the Blade Children and what awaited them. Was their future to be filled with only darkness or was the light of hope to be had as Kiyotaka said? He prayed to whatever god might be out there that hope and salvation really could exist for them.

oOoOoOo

He was pulled from his thoughts as a sharp stabbing pain coursed its way through the left side of his chest. He quickly pressed his hand over his side, placing it over the seventh rib on his left side in an attempt to ease the sharp pain that continued to persist.

This pain was a part of the Blade Children's curse. He knew that all of the others were forced to bear that same cursed mark. He shut his eyes tightly and gritted his teeth in pain, doubling over slightly and leaning against the window for support. He knew that the agonizing pain would pass momentarily and that he just needed to wait it out, but the time it took seemed to get longer every time the pain occurred.

When the pain had dissipated once more he returned his attention to the world beyond the window. Reuniting with the other Blade Children was the whole reason he had returned to Japan. Danger was coming and it was going to be far worse than what they had faced before.

Regardless of whether he was a celebrity or not, Eyes refused to stand by in safety while the others dealt with this new threat alone. He had already informed his manager that he was taking an extended leave of absence and that he wouldn't take no for an answer. For the time being, he was free from the obligations of his career, which gave him the added mobility that he needed to be able to assist his friends. Now all he needed to do was find them.

oOoOoOo

Turning once again from the window, he focused his attention on the clock that was suspended against the one solid wall in the otherwise windowed room.

The time read 2:30am, causing Rutherford to give a slightly irritated sigh. Morning would come soon enough. When it did, he would be able to do what he came back to Japan to do. But for now all he could do was wait.

With a final glance back at the window, he left the glass room and quietly retired for what was left of the night.