WARNINGS: implied non con attempt, mentions of underage prostitution (nothing graphic I swear, this is the darkest chapter, it gets better after this)
He never knew when exactly Kisumi had started working down the tunnels.
It's not like the other had hidden the fact from Spartan or that Spartan had no way of knowing.
He just guessed… one avoids unwanted knowledge at all costs.
He'd always been naïve.
A naïve kid the streets couldn't wait to beat down, strap down and savage. Swallow him whole until nothing remained of that child, either in spirit…
…or in a far more literal sense.
If it wasn't for Nao who picked him up and gave him a place with the rest, if it wasn't for Kisumi, Asahi and Ikuya he would have perished, alone and with no one to give a damn about it.
But for all the people he was thankful for, he was thankful for Kisumi a little more.
The boy was someone unlike anyone Spartan would ever know.
He'd seen the streets change people, defeat them.
Even when they had each other to rely on, most of his friends from his childhood were taken down, one by one, as if someone was playing a shooter game with them.
Nao had been the first.
Then Satomi.
The Kirishima brothers followed her.
Asahi had been the last… but his departure was far more tortuous than all the rest.
He booked them tickets to watch in slow motion how he slipped from their grasp while their hands were bound behind their seats.
Not that they didn't try pulling him back anyway… Kisumi most of all, refused to let Asahi go.
They had always been far closer than friends, even if no one had ever said a word about it.
Spartan had never dared ask, but then again he didn't need to.
If there had been any doubt left, it was completely wiped out by how visible it was what Asahi's addiction did to Kisumi.
He could have followed Asahi, he could have gone ahead and followed him to their grave.
Spartan knew a part of Kisumi probably had wanted to, how could he not? It wasn't like people like them had much to look forwards to in life.
It wasn't like they had much of a life ahead.
It wouldn't have been a bad way to go, spending your last days with the one you love and then take off together.
But he hadn't.
Because no matter what… Kisumi never gave up.
To Spartan, his friend was like a bright flower floating in a dark gutter.
He'd always wanted to be like him, even when he knew Kisumi kept his true feelings securely guarded behind a flash of teeth.
Hell, Spartan was his best friend and even he had no idea what personal hell the pink haired boy hosted inside himself.
But at least Kisumi… didn't depend on anyone.
When he finally found out what kind of job Kisumi had picked for himself, he'd been so angry, not as much as Asahi but far angrier than he could ever recall being…
"It's ok Spar, it's my choice it has nothing to do with any of you"
But it did.
The other even went on and forbade him from ever trying to follow his steps.
His face had been so serious and hard… unyielding.
It had been the scariest sight Spartan had ever witnessed.
But it was something he could use against Kisumi to make him negotiate, and so he forced him to come to an agreement.
Kisumi would keep away from the tunnels, only resorting to them as a last resource.
But as time went by, that last resource was resorted to far too often.
There was nothing his friend could do, to keep him from feeling the unbearable guilt of complicity.
He wasn't just a passerby to Kisumi's sacrifice; he was fed by it.
There was no amount of self hatred that could ever satisfy that guilt.
There was only one thing he could do.
And it was long overdue.
He stood in the dark and waited to be blinded by headlights, needing them to focus on him… wishing they would move pass him and on to another victim.
He did his best not to tremble but it was cold down the tunnels.
He had to admit the desire to bail was strong, his resolve always weak.
Could there possibly be another place in the world, where one could breathe more desolation than in those humid catacombs?
And Kisumi comes here all the time
It was a funny thing… being alone, without anyone to cover for you, nothing left to hide behind...
You had no other choice but to step up to the challenge.
And it was about time he stopped hiding.
If he could pull a name out of blue icicles, he could do this and come out unscratched, or at least… in one piece.
There was no more mercy in giving up.
Mercy…
Blue eyes…
The afterimage still burned in his eyelids.
It was strange, he could forget where he was and who he was… just by thinking of them.
He didn't care what that meant, or why it was so… he couldn't care less about reasons.
It kept him warm inside.
And they would be his amulet, for that night.
His hand slipped on the door handle as he tried getting out.
His heart was frantic and time froze as he struggled to open the god damn car door.
If felt like an eternity but he finally did it.
He was out. He was free, and he had never run faster in his life.
The second his feet started flying through the park he felt safe, he knew that zone better than anyone, it was his habitat and he knew how to navigate it and where to hide.
He was going to be fine.
He finally stopped at an ally, hid behind a trash can and let himself fall to the ground.
His legs ached and his breath was taking longer than usual to return to normal.
It was only then that he looked down at his hands.
So much… blood.
He felt sick at the sight… had he really done that?
He panicked for a second… what if he had gone too far? What if he had really damaged the man?
Relax Spar, you only broke the bastard's nose
His mind told him in Kisumi's voice.
It was the last thing he should be thinking about but his brain pulled a memory at the bloody sight.
He remembered that time Ikuya had gotten into his first big fight and came out of it with a broken nose.
He had bled all over the place, the red liquid just wouldn't stop flowing not even after his brother had brought him home and they were all greeted with the sight of a bloody Ikuya.
Spartan had gone pale as a ghost, or so Nao told him as he offered him a piece of chocolate and told him to sit down.
He should have felt terribly embarrassed to be the one being tended for when his friend was the one hurt, and he would have if it hadn't been for Asahi…
…who had gone ahead and fainted right next to him.
At least I'm not the biggest baby around
Ikuya hadn't been able to hold it and let out a roaring laugh… only to regret it two seconds afterwards, he bent in half clutching at his stomach in pain.
Nao had shaken his head and reassured them their friend would be fine, noses were bad bleeders and that was all.
Yes that was all…
But he wished he had Nao now to tell him so.
He still had Kisumi at least.
Kisumi…
He was hit with the realization… he had failed him yet again.
So much for manning up and getting a decent pay.
First customer and the only "job" he got from Spartan was a nose one.
The bastard had tried to get rough with him and he did what corralled animals always do.
He hit back.
He didn't know which was worse, the fact that he was back where he started, or that he felt proud of the outcome.
He was long past the point of caring too.
He was so tired.
He sighed.
He was still not ready to go back home.
He looked to the sky, the city too bright to be able to tell any star.
Home… just what is that?
Endless blue filled his mind, and he snorted at the random thought.
He let his head hit the wall as he closed his eyes.
As if…