Fanfiction
Title: Of Bad Choices, Good Decisions and Broken Hearts
Characters: Soubi and Nisei
Rating:T
Summary: After the cemetery, Soubi wished for nothing but to be left alone. Of course, his wishes are rarely granted.
Warning: Spoilers for Chapter 102.
...
Of Bad Choices, Good Decisions and Broken Hearts
...
After anger, there came nothingness.
Silence. A perfect dark void.
Was it acceptance?
Rather indifference. The kind of indifference you feel when you close in yourself and separate from the world outside. Or maybe even from yourself? Was it possible to experience so much pain that you simply shut down completely? Or, seeing how nothing had even depended on your choice, how everything had ever been decided by forces far beyond your reach, was it possible to let yourself drift away, to lock somewhere deep within your head, so deep that you watched everything happening to you and around you as a spectator?
Soubi had been sitting on that bed for over five hours. Seimei had told him to. Besides, he did not feel like moving at all, so obeying that particular order was not a problem. Nothing would ever be a problem again after what he had done at the cemetery.
Maybe it had been for the better that he had not been told to turn back and look at Ritsuka's face. That way, he could try to convince himself he would have seen fury, a promise of revenge. Or relief. Definitely not an expression of someone whose heart had just been wrenched out if their chest and shred into tiny pieces.
If only Akame had not sent those pictures, he would be able to pretend.
Maybe he really was the worst, the evidence said that much. Maybe he had managed to separate himself from the world, maybe he would finally understand what being a tool meant (not what he had foolishly began to believe)… If only he would not feel so much of that strange pain. It was not physical, yet he was afraid to dwell on other options.
Unconsciously, his hand touched his neck. It was not the scar that was the source of that ever-growing feeling but he did not let himself touch his heart. Maybe if he continued to ignore it, it would disappear.
He closed his eyes so hard it hurt.
"You done being miserable all over my bed sheets?", came a sneer from where Soubi remembered the door was and it only made him clench his teeth.
"Get out", he spat, then added, "Or did you come to get yet another share of others' pain to entertain yourself with?". He surprised himself with producing that much disgust for the other. And mentally slapped himself for calling his feelings 'pain'. Hadn't he sworn to ignore them?
"Actually", Akame drawled, amusement creeping into his voice, "I came to check up on you. When something doesn't move for hours I tend to assume it's either dead or gone. As much as I'd prefer the latter, I somehow doubted you'd try to run away."
Soubi opened his eyes to glare at the fighter. He would gladly strangle the weasel, yet he lacked the energy to move.
So he sighed.
"What do you want?", he demanded sharply.
Akame smirked, leaning on the wall and crossing his legs at his ankles. He was barefoot, Soubi noted with detachment.
"What do I want?", he repeated and Soubi immediately knew his question was going to be misinterpreted, "That bracelet I saw yesterday. A ticket for a year of free entrances to the British Museum or the Louvre. A scuba-diving course in Australia. For Spanish to win the Euro Cup. Someone to find the cure for cancer. My own condo in Paris and a chalet in the Alps. A pizza for dinner", he quirks his lips. "Unfortunately, I'm broke until the next month, no one would ever buy me that ticket, I can't dive, cancer is not one illness but has several variants, Seimei doesn't speak French and we only have eggs in the fridge", he pauses, then grins at Soubi, "I'm still counting on La Roja, though."
That wasn't exactly what Soubi had expected but he was still waiting for the taunts and bragging to begin.
"Oh", Akame's eyes darkened and Soubi mentally prepared himself to throw him out any second now, "And I want you to leave my flat. Pronto. Now would be perfect, though I'm feeling generous and I'm willing to give you five minutes. I'm going to have to call those guys getting rid of rats in case you're reluctant", Soubi may have been wrong, but he thought that Akame tried to square his shoulders and failed, "Do you know what are they called, by the way?"
"Shut up", he spat before he could think of anything else, "You know I can't leave. You know I don't want to be here in the first place so unless you want to have your hide beaten, get out."
Akame pursed his lips, then twisted them slightly.
"De verdad?", he purred, his eyes focusing on Soubi's, "Then why the hell are you here?"
Soubi shook his head, leaning back.
"I don't know what you're playing at, neither do I care", he informed calmly, "You know all of that, so please make yourself scarce", he shot the younger man the darkest look he could manage but he refused to play any games with him. He was well aware how pleasurable making him feel pitiful was to Akame.
Not surprisingly, Akame's face hardened. Here came his real side.
"You know what, you prick", he pulled himself from the wall and crossed his arms, "No, I don't. That's why I'm asking. You don't want to be here, so why the hell are you still contaminating my bed?"
"Because Seimei ordered me to", so Akame had a problem with him being in his room. That was to be expected, only Soubi had no idea it was Akame's flat, much less his room. Even though it was pretty bare, he felt lucky he hadn't investigated it. Who knew what kind of stuff could be found there. He shuddered at the mere thought. "And I dislike sitting on the linens you sleep in as much as you do."
Akame looked confused for a second, but then he just waved it off.
"Oh, please", he smirked, "That's not the bed I sleep in. Do you honestly think I would've agreed to have you placed there? That's a guest room. Not that I consider you a guest, but I didn't want you in the kitchen."
"Great", Soubi made sure it sounded anything but, "Now leave me alone."
Akame seemed ready to strike him, but only crossed his arms tighter.
"After you", he motioned to the door, lips pressed into a thin line.
Soubi just turned back, declaring the conversation closed.
What only sent Akame into a rage that would make a spoilt four-year-old proud.
"Move, you blonde idiot! I don't want you here, you don't want to be here, move your fucking arse!", he repeated over and over and Soubi could imagine him waving his hands and pouting.
Then, the tone changed.
"Don't you have some cat-eared brats to console? Some whining, crying brats that would love you to come and apologise and explain *yet again* how you didn't have a choice?", he sneered and Soubi what on his feet sooner than the other could back away.
Soubi was already at his throat, whispering maliciously.
"Don't you dare talk about Ritsuka, you weasel", he longed to close his fingers on the white neck in front of him, "Not after everything you've done."
Akame looked up, smug in spite of the height difference and the hand pining him to the wall.
"After what *I* have done?", he arched an eyebrow, "You mean, taken the photos? Oh right, that's such an offense, I've no idea how I'll ever redeem myself after such a sin", he suddenly kneeled Soubi in the crouch and pushed him away. Not having anticipated such an action, the blonde stumbled away, trying to relieve the pain between his legs, never ceasing to glare at the brunette murderously.
"Wait, that's not the end of my crimes!", Akame assumed a tone of a wide-eyed child, "I *sent* those pictures too, that gives me a free ticket to Hell", he grimaced after that, "So get the fuck off me, Agatsuma."
But Soubi was not going to let himself be swayed. It had been Akame who had come here in the first place, so maybe it was the one and only opportunity to set the things straight between them. After all, he suspected that Seimei may want them to live together and he would be damned if he let the weasel mock him about Ritsuka.
"You hurt him", he started, taking a step forward. This time he was going to protect his private (and other) parts and Akame must have sensed a threat in his posture, because he blanched a bit. He didn't move an inch, though, and Soubi might have congratulated him on his courage was he anyone else. It was probably a foolish bravery on his part anyway, neither of them had any doubts about who's the alpha wolf between the two of them, "You hurt him more than…"
"More than whom?", so the beta wolf resolved to barking, "Than you or Seimei?", he straightened up, "More than the two people he loved and trusted the most?", his canines flash in an unpleasant leer.
"You tried to mess up with his head", Soubi growled, advancing.
He was two or three steps from Akame when the brunette looked him straight in the eyes.
"I did", he narrowed his eyes, "And I don't regret that."
Soubi clenched his fist but before he could swing the other fighter carried on, his defiant chin high in the air.
"I played with his head a little. What's the big deal? It was a fucking battle, do you hold yourself guilty of things committed during a battle?"
Soubi smiled ruefully, keeping his expression relatively blank.
"I would if I fought the way you do."
Akame seemed to be speechless for a while, but recovered quickly.
"The way I do?", he bristled, "You're such a fucking hypocrite! I live with Seimei, I know what you've done as well as you do! And you dare criticise me?"
"You can't really compare attacking somebody's mind with doing physical harm", Soubi smirked, watching the myriad of emotions flickering in Akame's eyes. Really, had he known that all he had to do to read Akame was to observe his pupils, he would have beaten him much sooner in the past.
"Do you seriously think I play *inside* people's minds?", Akame sounded amused and Soubi was thrown of the tack. It must have showed somehow, because the brunette just shook his head in a mock-pity. "You really are simple. News for you, you can't do it. No one can. It's impossible. Imposible", he repeated the word with his Spanish accent, "I talked to him. Talked. Not my fault but my luck he believed me. And who's the bad guy here?", he sing-songed, though his eyes remained cold, "I give them a choice. They may or may not believe me. May or may not make themselves vulnerable to me. But you", he smirked, "You cut them. You make them bleed. And you don't feel remorse."
"Shut up", Soubi almost yelled grabbing the smaller man's shoulders. Akame only stared at him challengingly, "And now what, you're playing this game with me? Talking to me?"
"Ya", a wide smirk bloomed on the brunette's small face, contorting its features, "And tell me, Agatsuma", he purred, "What's your choice? Do you believe me?"
Soubi felt his insides churning and fought down the urge to retch. Instead, he gave Akame a last shake and pushed him away, sending him flying towards the wall.
"You sicken me", he stated calmly.
The dark fighter managed to catch himself a second before he collided with the wall. He must have been scared he'd crash into it, because when he finally spoke up, he was panting and a slight tremor was running up and down his arm.
Good to know Soubi wasn't the only one trembling, though he managed to mask it.
"Good to be on the familiar territory again", he spat, turning to face Soubi again, "It's so easy, isn't it? To repeat after everyone that there are two Beloved fighters: the good fair one and the bad dark one. Only who's to tell which one's which?"
Soubi was not going to dignify it with an answer. He had never pretended to be good, he had never cared for that. His existence had been confined to his sacrifice and there had never been any place for assessing his actions. He wasn't good or bad, he was a fighter. He didn't even have a personality, it was just Akame's bad luck (in Akame's opinion) that he had a revolting one.
His silence riled Akame up. Most people explode when pissed off, Akame defied the rule: the angrier he felt, the calmer he was.
"When we're on it, you sicken me too", he shrugged for show, "You and Seimei were made for each other, it must have been a mistake I got the name", he waved with his hand, "You both find me a fucking abomination, someone to use or abuse one way or another because I openly claim not to feel much", his voice sent shivers down Soubi's back but instead of interrupting, he opted for listening till the end, "But you know what? I've made some bad choices, I've made some good ones. I've done pretty nasty things some of which I enjoyed more and some less. That's hardly the point. The point it, I might have loved all of them and neither of you have a fucking right to judge me. To do that, you'd need to have a crystal clear conscience. No one has the right to judge others…"
"Are you trying to tell me you're innocent?" Soubi couldn't help but ask, almost breaking into a laughter. Yup, a sociopath here.
Who looked at him with a slightly lost expression.
"No", he finally said, "I'm trying to say you're not innocent."
"I know that", a photo of Ritsuka came to his mind unbidden. Oh gods, he was so not innocent.
Lost in thoughts, he didn't hear Akame approaching until he was practically speaking to his ear.
"You planning to do something with that, in this case, or wallow in self-pity?"
Soubi glared at him sharply.
"What could I do?" the question was out of his lips before he realised who it was he apparently expected an answer from.
Akame only grinned, making Soubi wonder if it had all been a dream.
"Not exactly a relationship counsellor here", the brunette pointed to himself, "I can only say that when I don't like an outcome of a decision, I change it. I go and do anything I can to have what I want. I definitely don't behave like a hero of a Greek play", he sneered, then gave Soubi 'a look', "You do know what a Greek play is, don't you? All that: 'we can't do anything, it's fate' stuff?"
"I know what a Greek play is, Akame", Soubi growled not really fond of being compared to one.
"Good", the other grinned again, "You do seem to be a bit under-educated sometimes. I was ready to blame it all on your uncle Ritsu."
That jibe was certainly meant to hurt.
"He's not my uncle", Soubi kept his tone blank. He's not going to give Akame satisfaction.
"Under normal circumstances you would call him that", the brunette shrugged and Soubi felt weirdly… Disappointed. "He was your mother's sacrifice after all."
Soubi was *not* going to ask how Akame knew that. He was fairly sure even Seimei didn't know that.
"You were at the cemetery since the beginning", he chose to say instead. It was the only explanation.
"Oh yes, but I'd known this particular bit before", Akame brightened up which in his case meant his demeanour darkened, "Anyway, I couldn't lose such a show. You know I'm broke so I can't afford a ticket to the theatre", he smirked. "You were so much better than the theatre, even Ritsuka…"
"Shut up about Ritsuka!"
"Why the hell should I?", Akame crossed his arms, glaring defiantly at the blonde, "Because you hurt him again and experience conscience pangs? How does it concern *me*? He trusted you, and you left him at the first word of that psychopathic bastard. And don't even tell me that I hurt him too", he snorted when Soubi opened his mouth, "Because you can't compare those two times. He always expected me to try to hurt him, yet he trusted you not to! You talked about loving him. You don't abandon people you love when they beg you not to."
"I had no choice!", Soubi shouted for the first time, but really, who Akame thought he was to give him such speeches? "Seimei ordered me to!"
"So what?" Akame arched his eyebrow, his tone cold, "Do you have some little mechanism wired in your brain that goes off whenever you disobey him?"
Soubi frowned and the brunette took advantage of his silence to continue.
"I thought not", Akame drawled smugly, "You don't really know why you did that, do you? You could say it's your training, it's your place as a fighter to listen. But you've thought for Ritsuka recently, so he's your new sacrifice. As a blank, you can change them. You could have fought down the urge to submit to Seimei. Only you didn't. Do you want to know why?", Akame all but purred, making Soubi wish for the ground to swallow him, "Because you're comfortable being a slave. You don't have to choose. You can grieve the hurt you brought onto the Brat, but you can also make yourself believe you didn't have a choice. It's a perfect existence, because you never have to decide what's right and what's wrong by yourself."
"Like you know that", Soubi snorted, clenching his fists.
"Doing 'bad' things doesn't mean one doesn't recognise good ones", Akame shot back lifting up his chin.
Soubi suddenly felt drained. And dizzy. And he'd like Akame to disappear right now.
"So what do you truly want, other than preach me?"
Akame feigned being hurt like a professional actor.
"I told you", he whined, "I want you to get out of my house and my hair."
Soubi truly wanted to laugh at that. Only he was afraid he may end up sobbing instead.
"You heard Seimei: he didn't abandon me, so sorry, you have to deal with me until he decides to do that", he turned back and began to walk to the bed. Akame would just have to buy new bed sheets or accept the fact it's now Soubi's room. Until Seimei didn't say otherwise.
"You're pathetic", he heard Akame's snort, "All you have to do is abandon him first."
Soubi could swear his heart stopped and then he found himself facing Akame.
"Yup, it's easy as that. Walk out and never return. The Brat loves you, he will forgive you. Or do you want to be a puppet till you die? Do you want to be abandoned one day, broken beyond repair? Because that's what's going to happen. Make a fucking choice, Agatsuma, once in your life."
Soubi felt himself nodding, not really knowing what he was agreeing to do.
"Thought so", Akame smirked, "The door is this way."
...
"Taxi!", Akame yelled catching the first cab passing them in the street. When the car pulled over, he unceremoniously pushed Soubi inside, took a place next to him and gave the driver directions as he was closing the door. He had done all that more quickly than a normal person opens a cab door.
"Why are you going with me?", Soubi demanded crossing his arms.
Akame sent him his most disarming smile.
"To make sure you don't chicken out. I told you, I don't have money to call those rat guys."
Soubi just rolled his eyes. Then, he realised something.
"How come we're taking a cab? You're broke."
"Ya", Akame stretched, making himself comfortable, "That's why you're paying for it, Rapunzel."
...
The last person that Soubi expected to meet in front of his flat was Seimei.
"What are you doing here?", he blurted out, unconsciously taking a step back.
"I could have asked you the same", Seimei narrowed his eyes, his voice deceptively calm.
Soubi was ready to apologise when he remembered that he was supposed to make a choice here. He highly doubted that Akame was all that ready to defy Seimei as he had told him, but Soubi had almost believed him it was possible. So all that was left was to find out.
"I'm…", he started, only to lose his voice at the very beginning.
Seimei sent him an amused glance.
How Soubi wished to wipe off that smug expression from his face.
"I'm going to Ritsuka", he finally whispered, withstanding the icy glare focused on him.
"And who exactly gave you permission to do that?"
"No one", Soubi felt a surge of adrenaline flowing in his veins, "I want to see him and… Stay with him", he finished on the same breath, afraid that once he stopped talking, he would find himself returning to Akame's flat with Seimei. He couldn't do that, deratisation was expensive.
"You're staying with me", Seimei barked, reaching for the blonde's wrist, "I haven't abandoned you yet."
Shocking himself as much as Seimei, Soubi wrenched himself free.
"You haven't. But I have", he said and ran up the stairs to his flat, heart thumping in his chest like crazy.
...
Seimei was just standing there, trying and failing to understand what had happened. Soubi had left? Left *him*?
"Oooooh, poor kitty", he heard a cooing voice on his right and found the black eyes of Nisei watching him with keen interest, "Left all alone. First the Brat, now your super-hyper-ever-loyal-invincible Agatsuma."
Seimei involuntarily balled his fists.
"What are you doing here, Nisei?", he demanded, taking an instinctive step back. His fighter's pupils were literally boring into him, making him uncomfortable.
"Nothing much. Always been a sucker for drama, couldn't pass this one", Nisei smirked, inwardly pleased with the fear radiating from his sacrifice. Seimei was smart, it wouldn't take him long to catch on. "Besides, someone has to make sure you find your way back home", he smiled.
Seimei shivered the moment everything clicked.
"It was you. You talked him into doing that. I told you not to approach him!"
Nisei laughed, shaking his head.
"Seimei, you couldn't have really believed I was going to listen to you?", he was already at Seimei's side, petting his hand, "You're so naïve, I like that. It makes you so irresistible", he didn't let his sacrifice take the hand away.
"You're supposed to listen to me", Seimei growled without much conviction.
"And you're supposed to listen to my suggestions", Nisei purred, smiling happily, "I suggested I would be very cross with you if you decided to take Agatsuma back. We're not really getting on well", he made a crestfallen face, "He's so mean to me, broke my finger, he did", he used the said digit to touch Seimei's nose playfully, "But he's just as naïve as Seimei, so funny to talk to…"
"Stop that", Seimei tried to jerk away, but Nisei's grasp didn't falter. It wasn't strong, not ever near bruising. It was delicate, it was the way one would hold their prized possession, treasuring it yet never letting go of it.
"No", Nisei's voice darkened, "You stop that. Stop trailing after that Brat, he doesn't want you", he felt Seimei's pulse speeding up, yet he carried on, "Stop messing with Agatsuma. You don't need him, even you know that. You're just acting like a spoilt kid again, not wanting to hand down your toys to your younger brother. I'm your fighter, you don't have a use for another one…"
He didn't get to finish as Seimei pushed him away. As he was still holding his other hand, the effect was less than pleasing for the sacrifice. Nisei only smirked at his flushed face.
"Exactly. You're my fighter. How can you do things behind my back?", he wanted to slap the older man, but his hand was caught before it connected with the cheek.
"Because you're my sacrifice", Nisei didn't sound angry, his tone was flippant, "I don't share you. Besides, I told you I didn't want you bringing anyone to my flat. Rat guys are costly."
Seimei made one last attempt at breaking free, then went limp in Nisei's arms.
"Hush, I've got you", the fighter said soothingly, running his hand through Seimei's locks, "We're going to enjoy each other's company. Look", he smiled and Seimei had to look up at him, "Ichiro got me some tickets to the theatre. Something by Ibsen, I think. You like him? I do. Cheer up", he shook Seimei to make him do that, "We may even go to a banquet after the play. It's the premiere, you could get some caviar."
"I don't like caviar", Seimei almost giggled hysterically at that. Another piece of his world had just crumbled and he was forced to discuss caviar!
"Then something else. We'll find something you like", Nisei hugged him from behind and Seimei felt his breath caressing his ear, "Can't you see I love you so much?"
"But I don't love you", Seimei tried to even his breathing.
"Don't worry", Nisei sounded cheerful, "You'll learn too. After all, it's only the two of us now."
...
Characters: Soubi and Nisei
Rating:T
Summary: After the cemetery, Soubi wished for nothing but to be left alone. Of course, his wishes are rarely granted.
Warning: Spoilers for Chapter 102.
...
Of Bad Choices, Good Decisions and Broken Hearts
...
After anger, there came nothingness.
Silence. A perfect dark void.
Was it acceptance?
Rather indifference. The kind of indifference you feel when you close in yourself and separate from the world outside. Or maybe even from yourself? Was it possible to experience so much pain that you simply shut down completely? Or, seeing how nothing had even depended on your choice, how everything had ever been decided by forces far beyond your reach, was it possible to let yourself drift away, to lock somewhere deep within your head, so deep that you watched everything happening to you and around you as a spectator?
Soubi had been sitting on that bed for over five hours. Seimei had told him to. Besides, he did not feel like moving at all, so obeying that particular order was not a problem. Nothing would ever be a problem again after what he had done at the cemetery.
Maybe it had been for the better that he had not been told to turn back and look at Ritsuka's face. That way, he could try to convince himself he would have seen fury, a promise of revenge. Or relief. Definitely not an expression of someone whose heart had just been wrenched out if their chest and shred into tiny pieces.
If only Akame had not sent those pictures, he would be able to pretend.
Maybe he really was the worst, the evidence said that much. Maybe he had managed to separate himself from the world, maybe he would finally understand what being a tool meant (not what he had foolishly began to believe)… If only he would not feel so much of that strange pain. It was not physical, yet he was afraid to dwell on other options.
Unconsciously, his hand touched his neck. It was not the scar that was the source of that ever-growing feeling but he did not let himself touch his heart. Maybe if he continued to ignore it, it would disappear.
He closed his eyes so hard it hurt.
"You done being miserable all over my bed sheets?", came a sneer from where Soubi remembered the door was and it only made him clench his teeth.
"Get out", he spat, then added, "Or did you come to get yet another share of others' pain to entertain yourself with?". He surprised himself with producing that much disgust for the other. And mentally slapped himself for calling his feelings 'pain'. Hadn't he sworn to ignore them?
"Actually", Akame drawled, amusement creeping into his voice, "I came to check up on you. When something doesn't move for hours I tend to assume it's either dead or gone. As much as I'd prefer the latter, I somehow doubted you'd try to run away."
Soubi opened his eyes to glare at the fighter. He would gladly strangle the weasel, yet he lacked the energy to move.
So he sighed.
"What do you want?", he demanded sharply.
Akame smirked, leaning on the wall and crossing his legs at his ankles. He was barefoot, Soubi noted with detachment.
"What do I want?", he repeated and Soubi immediately knew his question was going to be misinterpreted, "That bracelet I saw yesterday. A ticket for a year of free entrances to the British Museum or the Louvre. A scuba-diving course in Australia. For Spanish to win the Euro Cup. Someone to find the cure for cancer. My own condo in Paris and a chalet in the Alps. A pizza for dinner", he quirks his lips. "Unfortunately, I'm broke until the next month, no one would ever buy me that ticket, I can't dive, cancer is not one illness but has several variants, Seimei doesn't speak French and we only have eggs in the fridge", he pauses, then grins at Soubi, "I'm still counting on La Roja, though."
That wasn't exactly what Soubi had expected but he was still waiting for the taunts and bragging to begin.
"Oh", Akame's eyes darkened and Soubi mentally prepared himself to throw him out any second now, "And I want you to leave my flat. Pronto. Now would be perfect, though I'm feeling generous and I'm willing to give you five minutes. I'm going to have to call those guys getting rid of rats in case you're reluctant", Soubi may have been wrong, but he thought that Akame tried to square his shoulders and failed, "Do you know what are they called, by the way?"
"Shut up", he spat before he could think of anything else, "You know I can't leave. You know I don't want to be here in the first place so unless you want to have your hide beaten, get out."
Akame pursed his lips, then twisted them slightly.
"De verdad?", he purred, his eyes focusing on Soubi's, "Then why the hell are you here?"
Soubi shook his head, leaning back.
"I don't know what you're playing at, neither do I care", he informed calmly, "You know all of that, so please make yourself scarce", he shot the younger man the darkest look he could manage but he refused to play any games with him. He was well aware how pleasurable making him feel pitiful was to Akame.
Not surprisingly, Akame's face hardened. Here came his real side.
"You know what, you prick", he pulled himself from the wall and crossed his arms, "No, I don't. That's why I'm asking. You don't want to be here, so why the hell are you still contaminating my bed?"
"Because Seimei ordered me to", so Akame had a problem with him being in his room. That was to be expected, only Soubi had no idea it was Akame's flat, much less his room. Even though it was pretty bare, he felt lucky he hadn't investigated it. Who knew what kind of stuff could be found there. He shuddered at the mere thought. "And I dislike sitting on the linens you sleep in as much as you do."
Akame looked confused for a second, but then he just waved it off.
"Oh, please", he smirked, "That's not the bed I sleep in. Do you honestly think I would've agreed to have you placed there? That's a guest room. Not that I consider you a guest, but I didn't want you in the kitchen."
"Great", Soubi made sure it sounded anything but, "Now leave me alone."
Akame seemed ready to strike him, but only crossed his arms tighter.
"After you", he motioned to the door, lips pressed into a thin line.
Soubi just turned back, declaring the conversation closed.
What only sent Akame into a rage that would make a spoilt four-year-old proud.
"Move, you blonde idiot! I don't want you here, you don't want to be here, move your fucking arse!", he repeated over and over and Soubi could imagine him waving his hands and pouting.
Then, the tone changed.
"Don't you have some cat-eared brats to console? Some whining, crying brats that would love you to come and apologise and explain *yet again* how you didn't have a choice?", he sneered and Soubi what on his feet sooner than the other could back away.
Soubi was already at his throat, whispering maliciously.
"Don't you dare talk about Ritsuka, you weasel", he longed to close his fingers on the white neck in front of him, "Not after everything you've done."
Akame looked up, smug in spite of the height difference and the hand pining him to the wall.
"After what *I* have done?", he arched an eyebrow, "You mean, taken the photos? Oh right, that's such an offense, I've no idea how I'll ever redeem myself after such a sin", he suddenly kneeled Soubi in the crouch and pushed him away. Not having anticipated such an action, the blonde stumbled away, trying to relieve the pain between his legs, never ceasing to glare at the brunette murderously.
"Wait, that's not the end of my crimes!", Akame assumed a tone of a wide-eyed child, "I *sent* those pictures too, that gives me a free ticket to Hell", he grimaced after that, "So get the fuck off me, Agatsuma."
But Soubi was not going to let himself be swayed. It had been Akame who had come here in the first place, so maybe it was the one and only opportunity to set the things straight between them. After all, he suspected that Seimei may want them to live together and he would be damned if he let the weasel mock him about Ritsuka.
"You hurt him", he started, taking a step forward. This time he was going to protect his private (and other) parts and Akame must have sensed a threat in his posture, because he blanched a bit. He didn't move an inch, though, and Soubi might have congratulated him on his courage was he anyone else. It was probably a foolish bravery on his part anyway, neither of them had any doubts about who's the alpha wolf between the two of them, "You hurt him more than…"
"More than whom?", so the beta wolf resolved to barking, "Than you or Seimei?", he straightened up, "More than the two people he loved and trusted the most?", his canines flash in an unpleasant leer.
"You tried to mess up with his head", Soubi growled, advancing.
He was two or three steps from Akame when the brunette looked him straight in the eyes.
"I did", he narrowed his eyes, "And I don't regret that."
Soubi clenched his fist but before he could swing the other fighter carried on, his defiant chin high in the air.
"I played with his head a little. What's the big deal? It was a fucking battle, do you hold yourself guilty of things committed during a battle?"
Soubi smiled ruefully, keeping his expression relatively blank.
"I would if I fought the way you do."
Akame seemed to be speechless for a while, but recovered quickly.
"The way I do?", he bristled, "You're such a fucking hypocrite! I live with Seimei, I know what you've done as well as you do! And you dare criticise me?"
"You can't really compare attacking somebody's mind with doing physical harm", Soubi smirked, watching the myriad of emotions flickering in Akame's eyes. Really, had he known that all he had to do to read Akame was to observe his pupils, he would have beaten him much sooner in the past.
"Do you seriously think I play *inside* people's minds?", Akame sounded amused and Soubi was thrown of the tack. It must have showed somehow, because the brunette just shook his head in a mock-pity. "You really are simple. News for you, you can't do it. No one can. It's impossible. Imposible", he repeated the word with his Spanish accent, "I talked to him. Talked. Not my fault but my luck he believed me. And who's the bad guy here?", he sing-songed, though his eyes remained cold, "I give them a choice. They may or may not believe me. May or may not make themselves vulnerable to me. But you", he smirked, "You cut them. You make them bleed. And you don't feel remorse."
"Shut up", Soubi almost yelled grabbing the smaller man's shoulders. Akame only stared at him challengingly, "And now what, you're playing this game with me? Talking to me?"
"Ya", a wide smirk bloomed on the brunette's small face, contorting its features, "And tell me, Agatsuma", he purred, "What's your choice? Do you believe me?"
Soubi felt his insides churning and fought down the urge to retch. Instead, he gave Akame a last shake and pushed him away, sending him flying towards the wall.
"You sicken me", he stated calmly.
The dark fighter managed to catch himself a second before he collided with the wall. He must have been scared he'd crash into it, because when he finally spoke up, he was panting and a slight tremor was running up and down his arm.
Good to know Soubi wasn't the only one trembling, though he managed to mask it.
"Good to be on the familiar territory again", he spat, turning to face Soubi again, "It's so easy, isn't it? To repeat after everyone that there are two Beloved fighters: the good fair one and the bad dark one. Only who's to tell which one's which?"
Soubi was not going to dignify it with an answer. He had never pretended to be good, he had never cared for that. His existence had been confined to his sacrifice and there had never been any place for assessing his actions. He wasn't good or bad, he was a fighter. He didn't even have a personality, it was just Akame's bad luck (in Akame's opinion) that he had a revolting one.
His silence riled Akame up. Most people explode when pissed off, Akame defied the rule: the angrier he felt, the calmer he was.
"When we're on it, you sicken me too", he shrugged for show, "You and Seimei were made for each other, it must have been a mistake I got the name", he waved with his hand, "You both find me a fucking abomination, someone to use or abuse one way or another because I openly claim not to feel much", his voice sent shivers down Soubi's back but instead of interrupting, he opted for listening till the end, "But you know what? I've made some bad choices, I've made some good ones. I've done pretty nasty things some of which I enjoyed more and some less. That's hardly the point. The point it, I might have loved all of them and neither of you have a fucking right to judge me. To do that, you'd need to have a crystal clear conscience. No one has the right to judge others…"
"Are you trying to tell me you're innocent?" Soubi couldn't help but ask, almost breaking into a laughter. Yup, a sociopath here.
Who looked at him with a slightly lost expression.
"No", he finally said, "I'm trying to say you're not innocent."
"I know that", a photo of Ritsuka came to his mind unbidden. Oh gods, he was so not innocent.
Lost in thoughts, he didn't hear Akame approaching until he was practically speaking to his ear.
"You planning to do something with that, in this case, or wallow in self-pity?"
Soubi glared at him sharply.
"What could I do?" the question was out of his lips before he realised who it was he apparently expected an answer from.
Akame only grinned, making Soubi wonder if it had all been a dream.
"Not exactly a relationship counsellor here", the brunette pointed to himself, "I can only say that when I don't like an outcome of a decision, I change it. I go and do anything I can to have what I want. I definitely don't behave like a hero of a Greek play", he sneered, then gave Soubi 'a look', "You do know what a Greek play is, don't you? All that: 'we can't do anything, it's fate' stuff?"
"I know what a Greek play is, Akame", Soubi growled not really fond of being compared to one.
"Good", the other grinned again, "You do seem to be a bit under-educated sometimes. I was ready to blame it all on your uncle Ritsu."
That jibe was certainly meant to hurt.
"He's not my uncle", Soubi kept his tone blank. He's not going to give Akame satisfaction.
"Under normal circumstances you would call him that", the brunette shrugged and Soubi felt weirdly… Disappointed. "He was your mother's sacrifice after all."
Soubi was *not* going to ask how Akame knew that. He was fairly sure even Seimei didn't know that.
"You were at the cemetery since the beginning", he chose to say instead. It was the only explanation.
"Oh yes, but I'd known this particular bit before", Akame brightened up which in his case meant his demeanour darkened, "Anyway, I couldn't lose such a show. You know I'm broke so I can't afford a ticket to the theatre", he smirked. "You were so much better than the theatre, even Ritsuka…"
"Shut up about Ritsuka!"
"Why the hell should I?", Akame crossed his arms, glaring defiantly at the blonde, "Because you hurt him again and experience conscience pangs? How does it concern *me*? He trusted you, and you left him at the first word of that psychopathic bastard. And don't even tell me that I hurt him too", he snorted when Soubi opened his mouth, "Because you can't compare those two times. He always expected me to try to hurt him, yet he trusted you not to! You talked about loving him. You don't abandon people you love when they beg you not to."
"I had no choice!", Soubi shouted for the first time, but really, who Akame thought he was to give him such speeches? "Seimei ordered me to!"
"So what?" Akame arched his eyebrow, his tone cold, "Do you have some little mechanism wired in your brain that goes off whenever you disobey him?"
Soubi frowned and the brunette took advantage of his silence to continue.
"I thought not", Akame drawled smugly, "You don't really know why you did that, do you? You could say it's your training, it's your place as a fighter to listen. But you've thought for Ritsuka recently, so he's your new sacrifice. As a blank, you can change them. You could have fought down the urge to submit to Seimei. Only you didn't. Do you want to know why?", Akame all but purred, making Soubi wish for the ground to swallow him, "Because you're comfortable being a slave. You don't have to choose. You can grieve the hurt you brought onto the Brat, but you can also make yourself believe you didn't have a choice. It's a perfect existence, because you never have to decide what's right and what's wrong by yourself."
"Like you know that", Soubi snorted, clenching his fists.
"Doing 'bad' things doesn't mean one doesn't recognise good ones", Akame shot back lifting up his chin.
Soubi suddenly felt drained. And dizzy. And he'd like Akame to disappear right now.
"So what do you truly want, other than preach me?"
Akame feigned being hurt like a professional actor.
"I told you", he whined, "I want you to get out of my house and my hair."
Soubi truly wanted to laugh at that. Only he was afraid he may end up sobbing instead.
"You heard Seimei: he didn't abandon me, so sorry, you have to deal with me until he decides to do that", he turned back and began to walk to the bed. Akame would just have to buy new bed sheets or accept the fact it's now Soubi's room. Until Seimei didn't say otherwise.
"You're pathetic", he heard Akame's snort, "All you have to do is abandon him first."
Soubi could swear his heart stopped and then he found himself facing Akame.
"Yup, it's easy as that. Walk out and never return. The Brat loves you, he will forgive you. Or do you want to be a puppet till you die? Do you want to be abandoned one day, broken beyond repair? Because that's what's going to happen. Make a fucking choice, Agatsuma, once in your life."
Soubi felt himself nodding, not really knowing what he was agreeing to do.
"Thought so", Akame smirked, "The door is this way."
...
"Taxi!", Akame yelled catching the first cab passing them in the street. When the car pulled over, he unceremoniously pushed Soubi inside, took a place next to him and gave the driver directions as he was closing the door. He had done all that more quickly than a normal person opens a cab door.
"Why are you going with me?", Soubi demanded crossing his arms.
Akame sent him his most disarming smile.
"To make sure you don't chicken out. I told you, I don't have money to call those rat guys."
Soubi just rolled his eyes. Then, he realised something.
"How come we're taking a cab? You're broke."
"Ya", Akame stretched, making himself comfortable, "That's why you're paying for it, Rapunzel."
...
The last person that Soubi expected to meet in front of his flat was Seimei.
"What are you doing here?", he blurted out, unconsciously taking a step back.
"I could have asked you the same", Seimei narrowed his eyes, his voice deceptively calm.
Soubi was ready to apologise when he remembered that he was supposed to make a choice here. He highly doubted that Akame was all that ready to defy Seimei as he had told him, but Soubi had almost believed him it was possible. So all that was left was to find out.
"I'm…", he started, only to lose his voice at the very beginning.
Seimei sent him an amused glance.
How Soubi wished to wipe off that smug expression from his face.
"I'm going to Ritsuka", he finally whispered, withstanding the icy glare focused on him.
"And who exactly gave you permission to do that?"
"No one", Soubi felt a surge of adrenaline flowing in his veins, "I want to see him and… Stay with him", he finished on the same breath, afraid that once he stopped talking, he would find himself returning to Akame's flat with Seimei. He couldn't do that, deratisation was expensive.
"You're staying with me", Seimei barked, reaching for the blonde's wrist, "I haven't abandoned you yet."
Shocking himself as much as Seimei, Soubi wrenched himself free.
"You haven't. But I have", he said and ran up the stairs to his flat, heart thumping in his chest like crazy.
...
Seimei was just standing there, trying and failing to understand what had happened. Soubi had left? Left *him*?
"Oooooh, poor kitty", he heard a cooing voice on his right and found the black eyes of Nisei watching him with keen interest, "Left all alone. First the Brat, now your super-hyper-ever-loyal-invincible Agatsuma."
Seimei involuntarily balled his fists.
"What are you doing here, Nisei?", he demanded, taking an instinctive step back. His fighter's pupils were literally boring into him, making him uncomfortable.
"Nothing much. Always been a sucker for drama, couldn't pass this one", Nisei smirked, inwardly pleased with the fear radiating from his sacrifice. Seimei was smart, it wouldn't take him long to catch on. "Besides, someone has to make sure you find your way back home", he smiled.
Seimei shivered the moment everything clicked.
"It was you. You talked him into doing that. I told you not to approach him!"
Nisei laughed, shaking his head.
"Seimei, you couldn't have really believed I was going to listen to you?", he was already at Seimei's side, petting his hand, "You're so naïve, I like that. It makes you so irresistible", he didn't let his sacrifice take the hand away.
"You're supposed to listen to me", Seimei growled without much conviction.
"And you're supposed to listen to my suggestions", Nisei purred, smiling happily, "I suggested I would be very cross with you if you decided to take Agatsuma back. We're not really getting on well", he made a crestfallen face, "He's so mean to me, broke my finger, he did", he used the said digit to touch Seimei's nose playfully, "But he's just as naïve as Seimei, so funny to talk to…"
"Stop that", Seimei tried to jerk away, but Nisei's grasp didn't falter. It wasn't strong, not ever near bruising. It was delicate, it was the way one would hold their prized possession, treasuring it yet never letting go of it.
"No", Nisei's voice darkened, "You stop that. Stop trailing after that Brat, he doesn't want you", he felt Seimei's pulse speeding up, yet he carried on, "Stop messing with Agatsuma. You don't need him, even you know that. You're just acting like a spoilt kid again, not wanting to hand down your toys to your younger brother. I'm your fighter, you don't have a use for another one…"
He didn't get to finish as Seimei pushed him away. As he was still holding his other hand, the effect was less than pleasing for the sacrifice. Nisei only smirked at his flushed face.
"Exactly. You're my fighter. How can you do things behind my back?", he wanted to slap the older man, but his hand was caught before it connected with the cheek.
"Because you're my sacrifice", Nisei didn't sound angry, his tone was flippant, "I don't share you. Besides, I told you I didn't want you bringing anyone to my flat. Rat guys are costly."
Seimei made one last attempt at breaking free, then went limp in Nisei's arms.
"Hush, I've got you", the fighter said soothingly, running his hand through Seimei's locks, "We're going to enjoy each other's company. Look", he smiled and Seimei had to look up at him, "Ichiro got me some tickets to the theatre. Something by Ibsen, I think. You like him? I do. Cheer up", he shook Seimei to make him do that, "We may even go to a banquet after the play. It's the premiere, you could get some caviar."
"I don't like caviar", Seimei almost giggled hysterically at that. Another piece of his world had just crumbled and he was forced to discuss caviar!
"Then something else. We'll find something you like", Nisei hugged him from behind and Seimei felt his breath caressing his ear, "Can't you see I love you so much?"
"But I don't love you", Seimei tried to even his breathing.
"Don't worry", Nisei sounded cheerful, "You'll learn too. After all, it's only the two of us now."
...