Edited... yet again. Will I ever get you right, Kio? You're such a pain!

And I don't even want to TALK about Nisei, got that? *fume*
I think maybe I fixed him. Least he's not giggling anymore ¬ . ¬.

For a few brief moments, Seimei sat staring at the shattered window from which he'd just escaped. How vexing everything was, he thought with a scowl; without an audience, would Ritsuka have answered differently? Would Ritsuka have committed himself entirely, without question, to his elder brother? Perhaps. If that was the case, whose fault was it that Seimei was, again, separated from the only person he really cared about?

The traitor. Soubi. It was his fault; there was no question. And if he thought he could just go ahead and ruin everything without punishment—

"Seimei!" a voice cut into his thoughts. "Seimei... why didn't you come when I called you? They caught me, and it was hell to get free... what are you doing? And where's the brat and that..." he paused for a moment, searching for the perfect word to describe Soubi. He found there was nothing quite negative enough to do the job, so he trailed off right there.

"Inside," Seimei replied, nodding towards the broken window and completely ignoring his fighter's initial question. "We should get going. Even Seven is smart enough to have some plan by now to find us..."

"What about the blond?" Nisei questioned, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder. "I knocked 'im out earlier. I think he's with the brat and... eh, him."

"... Soubi?" Seimei questioned, his interest piqued. He focused his eyes on "the blond" and simply stared for a moment. "Grab him. We'll take him with."

Nisei rolled his eyes. "You're joking, right? Seimei, he's powerless. He's useless. I was thinking of something like... I don't know, tossing him into a lake, cutting him into pieces... It doesn't really matter how we kill him, I figure it'll still affect, y'know, your former fighter. I'd like to see his face when—"

"No," Seimei cut his fighter off, turning to make his way to the exit. "Grab him. We have to get going."

Already, the gears in his mind were working; there were so many ways to get into Soubi's head through this kid. Ways better than simply drowning him or cutting him into pieces. So much better...

"Ugh..." Kio groaned, rolling over. He was in a bed... he'd fallen asleep on concrete, he was sure of it. Or rather, he was knocked out cold onto concrete. It took a moment for that realization to sink in, but once it did, he sat bolt upright. "What the fuck?"

He was in a hotel. He wasn't alone, either; and he wasn't with either Soubi or Ritsuka. He was with... two strangers, it seemed.

"Hey Seimei! Sleeping beauty here finally woke up!" a long, black haired, very bored-looking male called from next to the bed. He seemed familiar, though Kio's head still felt fuzzy... he stared intently, trying to put a name to his face. He got multiple scornful faces in response.

"Did he?" another dark-haired male, completely uninterested, yawned from over a book. They both seemed to be waiting for something. And then, it happened.

"You!" Kio gaped at the long-haired one, his bewildered expression quickly disappearing to be replaced with one of pure hatred as the events of the night before rushed back. He remembered a meeting that had concluded with pain, and then the black abyss of unconsciousness. "And you... Seimei... you're the one that fucked up my Soubi, aren't you?"

There was silence for a moment, until the long haired one snickered. "Nisei. It's Nisei, not 'you!' Got it?" he corrected. From Seimei, there was no response. That irked Kio, even more than Nisei's overall obnoxious personality.

"Are you going to take responsibility?" Kio snapped, untangling himself from his sheets and stumbling from the bed, certainly not helping himself with an imposing first impression. The walls span and his head throbbed, but he ignored it, glaring at Seimei.

"For what?" Seimei said bluntly, turning the page, a passive expression on his face. "I've detached myself entirely from him. I feel no remorse for a traitor."

"Traitor? You're the one who up and left!" Kio retorted, practically swaying from the dizziness. Nisei stared at him with a look of mischief. His expression stoic, he prodded at Kio's side, snorting as Kio tipped to an unsustainable angle, then toppled over.

"The fuck is wrong with you?" Kio groaned, rubbing his head and glaring at his attacker. "I'll strangle you, I swear I will."

"Don't physically injure our guest, Nisei," Seimei looked up briefly. "I have plans for him. Don't screw them up."

Nisei made a face, standing and brushing himself off. "That's all fine and well," he huffed, walking over to the closet by the door and fishing around for his jacket. "But you realize you haven't really done anything with me since we left the old lady's house? Ah, whatever. There's no food in the mini-fridge." He shrugged the coat on, scooping a set of keys off of a small table by the door. "I'm going to the convenience store."

He opened the door, turning to glare for a moment at Kio, then stepped out. Kio was acutely aware of the sound of the latch clicking when the door was closed, as if he'd been encased in a cage with only Seimei as a companion.

"Are you going to stand up?" Seimei asked after a long, insufferable silence. "You look pitiful sitting there on the floor."

"Thanks for the offer, but I'll pass," Kio huffed, turning to stare poisonously. "My head hurts."

"Too bad. Nisei can be rough at times," Seimei shrugged, flipping a page in his book. "It's not like you put up much of a fight, though. You're weak."

"You're one to talk! Before, you just hid behind Soubi, and now you're hiding behind what's-his-face. You're a coward," Kio snarled, his temper flaring again. He sat up abruptly, wincing as his vision fogged slightly and his head ached with extra intensity for a moment. Seimei replied with a smug little smile; Kio couldn't help but want to tear him to shreds and feed his remains to starved hyenas.

"I never said I wasn't a coward," the man shrugged, flipping another page. "But what does that make you?" Kio stared, unsure of how to decipher that.

"As far as I'm concerned..." he muttered, "that doesn't make me anything."

Seimei shook his head with a small sigh. "You weren't there all those times I put Soubi directly in danger. You didn't even attempt to stop me. You just let it happen. Is that not the mark of a coward?" he questioned. And despite himself, Kio felt his heart skip a beat. That was true, wasn't it? But he couldn't help it... "And where were you last night as I tore the poor man's heart to pieces? Outside in the parking lot. Pitiful." He shut his book, setting it beside him and repositioning himself comfortably.

"Don't be stupid. How could I stop him? And yesterday, I tried to follow him, but your little pet stopped me. I was unconscious," Kio snapped, sitting up the rest of the way and massaging his temples. He had to get rid of his headache... he couldn't even think right. And why did he feel so miserable, so pressured? What was Seimei doing?

"If you truly cared about 'your Soubi,'" Seimei said slowly, leaning forward slightly, his mouth smiling but his eyes passive, "you would have found a way. If you just make excuses for your faults, you'll never get closer to him. Have you ever asked: what exactly have I been living for? Do you have any goals? Certainly not to get closer to Soubi, I'm sure, or you'd be putting forth more tangible effort."

"Sticks and stones," Kio huffed, unconvincingly. His heart felt like it was being squeezed, and he couldn't breathe. "You're just messing with me..."

"Am I? Or am I just stating the truth?" Seimei shrugged. "Or maybe a little of both. It doesn't matter, though. You're easily read, like a book, you know. You've told me nothing about your relationship with 'your Soubi,' but I know. Every little reaction, every pause, every flash of uncertainty. You want to be more than friends." Kio froze. It was no secret, but... still, it shocked him, somehow. "But he doesn't share the thought. He hardly shows any interest in you as a friend. And my brother has known him for mere weeks, correct? Already, they're so much closer than you'll ever be to him. You're useless. As you are now, there's no way the Soubi I once knew would accept you."

Kio knew he shouldn't believe a single word that this man spouted, but he felt his heart being twisted and manipulated. He couldn't help it. Seimei was right about him; Kio was useless. Absolutely weak. He couldn't protect his body, much less his mind, from attacks. "I can't help it," he protested weakly. "I'm who I am. And he's accepted me this much already... if I keep at it—"

"No. It doesn't matter how long you work at this cause, without outside help, it's hopeless. But you know, once a toy is broken, it can be fixed and in the process... augmented?" Seimei spoke as if there were a grave meaning behind his words, but it slipped past Kio, undetected. Soubi shook his head, smirking. "Just let me break you. I can fix you, then, and augment you appropriately. The Ritsuka you know wasn't always as happy as he is now; before I left him heartbroken, he was shy and soft-spoken. But he fixed himself to fill the mold of someone happier and more social. Do you understand?"

Kio, at this point, was feeling the full effect of Seimei's words. He felt as though he was being pressed by some unseen weight into the ground. His heart, too... his heart was bruised and bleeding, and he didn't know what to do. "I don't need you to... break me," he snapped, gripping his hair in his fists to distract himself from the pain in his chest.

"So you're okay with being alone?" Seimei shook his head. "A sad existence. But Soubi, I truly worry about him. How long will it be before he tosses his toy away, I wonder? And then who will watch over him, my little brother? My little, sixth-grade brother? I think not. You're so selfish, thinking only about yourself..."

"Okay!" Kio groaned, leaning forward and folding into himself. He pressed his hands ineffectively over his ears.

"'Okay' what?" Seimei pressed, a smug expression on his face.

"Break me," Kio murmured, his voice muffled due to his awkward position. He was speaking into his lap. "Break me. Tear me to fucking pieces. Just stop, please..."

Seimei smiled. He picked his book back up, triumphant. "Go back to bed," he suggested. "You're tired."

But Kio didn't move for the longest time. He simply sat numbly, listening to the rustling of the pages in Seimei's book as he read. Eventually, he stood, head drooped, and fell numbly on top of the covers, but even then he couldn't sleep. He was capable only of staring dumbly at the ceiling in a state somewhat comparable to sleep, his mind not conjuring a single thought.