Linky's Fics

All Your Fault

---

He suddenly found himself in the middle of the hallway. The very same one where he made the wrong choice. Minato didn’t know how he reached this part of the academy, he was on the exact opposite side of the building just a second ago.

It felt as if the room had sucked him there. Made to witness the place where he made a horrible mistake. Where he ended the lives of an entire young generation of alchemists.

People filled with endless promise and potential, who could have changed the alchemist world forever—now gone.

And it was all his fault.

The lights were off and the air was tense. Shadows made their way across concrete walls. Minato felt every centimeter of his body shudder. He slowly walked around, the sound each of his footsteps echoed against the tile.

Suddenly the light bulbs flickered, before suddenly changing color. What light there had been in the room turned crimson, and reminded Minato of all the bloodshed that he caused.

His heart began to race, eyes darting across the room as his body froze into place. Left unable to move, to speak.

“It’s all your fault… Minato…”

Minato’s blood turned cold within an instant. That voice—

He turned around to see Suzuya right in front of him. He looked exactly how he did ten years ago, as if he never died. Though something was off. He possessed a blank stare. Suzuya might have been above ground, but the way he looked reminded Minato of a corpse with that expression of his.

Suzuya took a step forward, grabbing Minato’s shoulders. Minato’s pulse went even faster. Blood roared in his ears as fear and guilt began to consume him whole. Suzuya’s eyes pierced straight through Minato.

His expression was still blank. “How could you?” Speaking with a voice that haunted Minato. Making him feel as if he was turning to stone. Unable to act, unable to respond. How could he even begin to answer that?

He didn’t mean to make the wrong choice… But the intention didn’t matter in the end.

The wrong choice was still picked, and he made everyone pay the price for making such a fatal mistake.

Suzuya’s words rang in his ears, Minato’s mind raced. Everything flashed back before his very eyes with crystal clear clarity. The voices of all of his former classmates could be heard, pleading for an answer.

How could he?

How could he?

Suzuya’s grip tightened, his fingers dug into Minato’s shoulders with an inhuman amount of strength. Another reminder he was no longer of this world. No longer a living, breathing man.

All because of what he did.

Minato would suck it up and take the pain. It was the very least he could do, though it would never make things right. Nothing could ever make it right.

“How could you, senpai?” Tears began to flow from Suzuya’s eyes, however his expression remained blank. It was a terrifying sight that would sear itself into Minato’s soul. “How could you…”

His voice began to morph into another as he continued to plead. Suzuya’s figure began to blur before shifting into someone else entirely before Minato’s eyes—

Glion.

Minato’s blood ran even colder at the sight, turning into ice. “Sensei?” He muttered. The words came straight out of his mouth without a second thought.

Even though the outfit he currently wore was not his old teacher uniform, he still couldn’t stop himself from using Glion’s past title.

The grip on Minato’s shoulders became even tighter. Glion’s gaze was intense and wild, compared to Suzuya who looked nothing more than a corpse. The look was unsettling and made Minato’s skin crawl.

Glion looked down at Minato, silently observing him before he began to speak.

“You made the wrong choice, Minato. And look where it’s gotten you…” A hand moved up to his cheek, the gentle touch possessed a stark contrast to his harsh words. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”

Minato couldn’t stop himself from starting to cry. Tears rolled down his cheeks, and over Glion’s hand. Glion began to have a look of disgust once tears touched his skin.

“Pathetic.” He moved his hand back with a sneer, the steps from his boots echoed across the room. As he circled around Minato his gaze became unhinged once again. “Take a good look at what you’ve done.”

In a flash the room turned dark, before the lights flickered back on. All of the bodies of Suzuya, his classmates—everyone, were there once more. Standing at glaring straight at Minato. Not to mention the room smelled of death. To a level where it was suffocating.

Minato felt like a deer looking straight towards car headlights. Every centimeter of his body froze up. His heart felt like it was going to burst from how quickly it raced. He couldn’t even think anymore, mind racing with endless thoughts. Endless despair.

Everything had turned into noise.

He could barely muster the strength to stand upright. Falling right to his knees as he began to sob. Tears formed puddles on the ground, and Minato could barely keep his breathing in order. Gasping while weeping.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry—!” Minato yelled out. Fists clenched on the ground as the immense guilt piled onto his back. Crushing him under its weight.

Suzuya and everyone else should still be here. Living their lives, making the alchemist world a better place. Instead it was just him who was left to stay alive. A man who caused a sea of death. The fact he was the lone survivor of that incident made his mistake only worse.

“You know that isn’t good enough.” Glion knelt down and titled his head up, forcing him to look back at him. “And if you repeat history, your precious students are going to pay the price.”

That was the absolute last thing Minato wanted.

“No, no!! Anything but that!” He planted his face onto the ground in a desperate bow. Tile pressed up against his nose and forehead. Hot tears rolled onto the floor.

Glion smiled calmly at Minato’s display of desperation, before his face turned unhinged once more. He suddenly grasped Minato by the cape, gripping his face next before he pulled him back up.

The bodies of the students began to slowly walk towards Minato and Glion. Circling around them, groaning in agony and sorrow. As they got closer, their voices rang in Minato’s ears again. Crying, chastising Minato for that day.

Especially Suzuya’s who stood out from the crowd of bodies.

“Look at all the death you’ve caused, Minato.” Glion turned his head to the side, making him look at those who had died. They were just like Suzuya. Blank stares, but still piercing nonetheless.

Glion’s fingers started to dig into Minato’s skin. “Take a good look.”

Soon Suzuya and his classmates began to walk closer. Crowding Minato in a swarm, grabbing at him as tears began to roll down their own faces. Voices enveloping the room as the lights turned blood red once more. Their pleas made Minato tremble unlike anything else.

Hands of his former classmates pulled at his suit, voices echoing and impossible to escape from.

“Why did you do this to us Minato? Why? Why…?”

Why?

---

Minato rose up from his pillow with a loud scream. Sweating bullets, panting, and eyes darting around the room again. He was back home in his apartment. Nowhere near the academy in the slightest.

It was nothing more than a nightmare. A horrible, horrible nightmare. Yet another to add to the list of the countless ones he had this month alone.

They had happened endlessly ever since that fateful day, but sometimes they got particularly nasty for periods of time. This was one of those instances.

Spanner jumped up from his spot in the bed next to him, looking over to Minato. Hesitating to touch him, before sliding his hand next to his. Pinkies lightly pressed next to each other. He wouldn’t hold it before being given the okay. “Senpai…”

Minato’s breath was still fast though slowly starting to relax. Looking down at his hands, he avoided eye contact. “I’m sorry. It was just another nightmare.”

“I’ve told you not to downplay it like that.” Spanner’s words were gentle yet stern.

“Right.” He was still coming to terms with the fact everything was indeed not his fault. While Ichinose and the others finally drove that message into him, and it did stick—the guilt would not go away overnight.

The road to recovery was a long and winding one, filled with bumps along the way.

Spanner slowly rubbed his back, feeling Minato’s muscles begin to relax underneath his touch. “I’m here for you, and I won’t be going anywhere.” He knew Minato always appreciated this gesture after a nightmare. It helped ground him.

Minato slid his hand right onto Spanner’s, who held it back in return. He then directed his gaze to Spanner who could see his expression begin to soften.

“Thank you.”

---

Back to top!