Rating: Hard R for violence
Contains: Heavy violence, knives, gun, blood, death
Author's Note: My deepest apologies for the delay. I hope you'll stick with me until the end. We're almost there.
The whore's body cooled at the man's feet as he sucked another cigarette to its butt. He studied the red patterns on the pallid skin to either side of the prominent spine and frowned, seemingly dissatisfied by the congealed runoff that ruined the clean lines his blade had so carefully carved. His booted foot slipped beneath an angular hip and jerked hard, flipping the stiffened form over to reveal the mortal wound that graced its thin white neck. His mouth inverted too, slipping into a curiously tender smile, perhaps because the thing that had once been human looked remarkably like the other boy crouching in the corner.
Akihito whimpered as the man's gaze fell on him, crawling over his naked skin like black beetles. A shudder wracked him. Soon, the man's expression seemed to say, he would have another canvas on which to perfect his work.
Akihito couldn't look away. Those eyes were so vacant - an empty void threatening to suck him down - yet, something was there at the very bottom, capering and waiting. Bile rose in his throat.
"I can smell your fear."
Akihito started when the man spoke. He sounded like Asami, and Akihito felt some part of himself shatter deep inside.
"You smell like cold sweat." The man's shoes tapped on the floor as he advanced on Akihito. "Like stale hope and desperation."
Akihito's voice was caught somewhere in his throat. Only a soft, guttural groan forced itself past his lips when the man crouched down before him. His arms rested on his splayed knees, the stained knife dangling easily from long, elegant fingers that also reminded Akihito of Asami. The horror of the association finally forced his words.
"I-I know who you are."
The man's smile grew wider, and that sly, unnerving thing dancing deep within the man's eyes flared brighter. "Who am I?"
"Homura." Akihito named him with loathing, the knowledge of the man's badness rising to the forefront of his thoughts, almost suffocating him with a sense of wrongness and filth. He didn't want this man to touch him - not again - and flinched when those slender yet deadly fingers slid into his hair. The metallic scent of blood was inescapable, and Akihito swallowed hard to keep from losing the contents of his stomach.
As if reading his mind, Homura smiled, a short nod that seemed to acknowledge both words and thoughts. "Of course you know me. We've met before, haven't we, my Akihito? We know each other intimately."
"No," Akihito whispered, his eyes squeezed shut. "You don't know me."
Homura's mouth pressed against his, fingers tightening in Akihito's hair until the sharp sting in his scalp brought tears to Akihito's eyes. Homura's lips were uncomfortably warm, hot enough to burn almost. Akihito struggled, but the hand gripped harder, and the flat of the knife blade rested against his cheek. It seemed to sear his skin, and Akihito bit down on the invading tongue in his mouth.
He tasted blood, and his lungs constricted until he could only gasp desperately for breath. Full panic exploded within his chest, paralyzing him, as warm hands circled his neck and began to squeeze. His ears began to pound, drowning him in the loud beat of his own frantic heart.
No!
Not like this. Only Asami could do this. He opened his eyes, expecting to see Homura's rabid black gaze, but it was Asami's warm, familiar eyes that were watching him, full of deep concern and regret, even as his fingers pressed deeper into the flesh of Akihito's throat.
"You should never have trusted Homura, Akihito." Asami's sad admonishment made Akihito's heart throb.
But I didn't, he wanted to cry out. The unfairness of the accusation made his eyes fill.
He shook his head from side to side instead, his wet gaze locked on Asami as he willed him to understand. His head ached dreadfully, the sound in his ears becoming louder and louder.
"You should have looked only at me." The soft words, spoken so tenderly were an agonizing torment to Akihito. Fat tears slipped down his cheeks and dripped onto his collarbone.
His mouth worked, lips desperately trying to shape one word. If only Asami would understand.
Softer than a whisper, a single sound formed from the tip of his tongue sliding off the back of his front teeth.
The pressure at his throat didn't ease, but held steady as Asami cocked his head curiously. "What was that, my Akihito?"
Straining with everything he had, Akihito reached for breath, for consciousness, as his vision began to white out, tunneling to Asami's golden gaze which seem to glow brightly even has his eyelids fluttered shut. A curtain of dancing light behind his lids now, and still his mouth moved, breathing out his heart. Love. Love. Love.
Akihito lurched up, sweat drenching his body and making the fabric of the thin pajamas he wore cling unpleasantly to his skin. His chest heaved, several raspy breaths forced through his constricted throat. His hands flew to his neck, and he let out a sob of pure relief.
It took a moment for his nostrils to flare, catching the scent of smoke in the air. Like a startled deer, Akihito's head came up and for a split second his thoughts flew to Asami. The trip-hammering of his heart didn't slow even when he determined the smell was nothing like Asami's cigarettes.
He swallowed the disappointment before a different kind of panic began to build. The smell of smoke was frighteningly strong. Could it really be a fire?
Even now, he wasn't sure if it was his imagination. Only a sliver of light from the cracked bathroom door bisected the room. Since Feilong had moved him and Tao to the interior of the villa to a windowless room farthest from any entries or exits, Akihito's sense of suffocation had intensified.
Only the tenuous truce he'd forged with Feilong and Yoh had kept him there in the middle of the night when he'd struggled against the ever increasing urge to flee from the cramped quarters. It was too close to what he'd only just escaped, and the pressure inside that he struggled desperately to contain constantly threatened to manifest in one of those body-wracking, soul-withering episodes that made him despise himself for his weakness. He couldn't escape even in his dreams.
The nightmare miasma was beginning to dissipate, though, and unease of a different sort began to penetrate his muddy thoughts. The smell of smoke was real. The unease began to transform into a deeper worry, not quite embracing full-fledged panic yet. Akihito slipped out of bed and went to the door, touching it tentatively, recalling elementary school training from so long ago. The wood wasn't hot, so he unlocked and opened it slowly. He peered into the hallway, halfway expecting Yoh to be standing guard there.
Wall sconces dimly lit the long, empty corridor. The smell was stronger, and Akihito noted with widened eyes the hazy cast to the air. He saw no flames, but surely they had to be close if the smoky residue had reached this far. He stepped into the hallway on bare feet padding down to the nearest intersection and gasping as he turned the corner.
Down at the far end of another long hall, he saw shadows on the walls leaping, the distant doorway lit by a vibrant orange glow. Finally, he registered the crackling sound of what could only be flames consuming whatever was in their path. The free-floating sense of unreality sharpened into a tight, controlled panic, almost like a slap in the face.
Akihito ran back to the bedroom and hit the light. Tao groaned when he shook him awake, batting at his hands.
"Tao," Akihito whispered harshly. "Come on. Wake up now. Tao."
"Akihito?" Tao came awake slowly, his eyes blinking with sleepy confusion. "What is it? Did you have another bad dream?"
"We've got to get out of here. There's a fire."
Tao's grew round, and he sat up quickly. "A fire?" He clutched Akihito's arm tightly. "Where's Fei-sama?" His voice rose in pitch as he threw off his covers and swung his legs off the bed. "We have to find him!"
"Shh!" Akihito flipped the light off again. "We will. He and Yoh are probably making the rounds. If there really is a fire, they're going to come looking for us here, but we can't wait. It's too close. We have to get outside."
"No! What if he's asleep? We have to go find him, Akihito!"
Akihito gripped Tao's arm tightly when he sprang up. "We're cutoff from his rooms. If Homura is behind this, we don't know what might happen. We have to stay quiet and get out. Feilong will expect us to do that. I'll get you to him, I promise."
"We have to find him, Akihito." Tao's wide, trembling eyes seemed to plead with Akihito. "What if something happens to him? And Yoh, too. I was so disrespectful earlier...ungrateful." Tao clutched at Akihito's pajama top with a desperate hold. "I-I yelled at Fei-sama. I defied him after all he's done for me." Tears slipped down Tao's cheeks. "I was really mean to Yoh because I was j-jealous."
The dim light from the hall illuminated Tao's pale face. Akihito could see the unfocused gaze and the heaving chest as Tao began to hyperventilate. He shook him hard, snapping Tao's head back and jerking the focus of the frightened boy back to himself.
His voice cracked out sharply. "Tao. Listen to me. Didn't you tell Feilong that you were old enough. Didn't you say you wanted to do real work? To help me? Didn't you stand up for me?" He gave Tao another shake. "Is this how you prove yourself? Feilong is already pissed off at us both. Don't give him more of a reason to discount us."
"A-Akihito." Tao's shocked eyes flickered with hurt and shame. Akihito gripped his shoulders. "Stay with me, Tao. I need you with me."
"I-I know. I'm sorry." Tao's expression firmed, color coming back to his face. He drew himself up, wiping moisture from his cheeks. "I'm ready."
Akihito gave him a searching look then released him. He smiled grimly. "One thing..." From beneath the pillow on his bed, he pulled the gun he'd taken from Feilong, the gun he'd refused to relinquish despite the imprecations and guilt that had been heaped on him. He hated the feel of it, but it had led to an impasse, an unwilling compromise, because Feilong couldn't be sure of what he might do if pushed too far. Akihito himself wasn't sure what he do, and that must have been obvious.
He had never seen Feilong so angry.
"You. Keep silent," Feilong had said sharply when Akihito had interceded, shocked by the man's harsh words to Tao when he had begged not to be sent way. "You're the cause of this!"
The guilt had almost crippled him. The gun had weighed so heavily in his hands. Perhaps he should have run, taken off on his own and faced Homura alone. He didn't want to burden everyone else when it was him at the cause of all this trouble. But Feilong had stared at him a long moment then smiled grimly and stated that Asami would hardly be pleased and would surely not allow it.
Akihito looked at Yoh, a lost expression in his eyes. "I'll leave. This has nothing to do with any of you."
Feilong took a quick step forward, making Akihito reel back several feet in alarm, his knuckles tightening around the grip of the gun, even as his hand trembled. Feilong froze. "Akihito. I can't allow that. We are involved, and I am responsible for you."
Akihito shook his head from side to side, his anguish palpable, but his features gradually resolved into determination. "No. It's only me he wants. If I leave you'll be safe, and he'll come for me, and I'll...I'll..."
"You'll what?" Yoh asked sharply. "Where would you go, and do you really think you stand a chance against him? What do you think you can do?" Akihito met Yoh's narrow-eyed stare. "Would you kill him? Could you? Assuming you even had the opportunity."
A shudder ran through Akihito, but he released a shaky, "Yes." His chin came up. "I'll blow his fucking brains out."
He meant it. He did. It wasn't bravado. He wanted Homura to pay for everything. He'd hurt so many people, and turned Akihito's life upside down. He was evil and Akihito hated him like he'd never hated anyone before. He just wanted it to be over. He wanted it all to be over. What price he'd pay after that didn't matter. What happened to him next was unimportant.
"Him or me. Both. It doesn't really matter. Use me. He'll be drawn out into the open, and then even if I fail, one of you can take him out easily, right? Don't worry about me."
"Asami would never-"
Akihito cut through Feilong's troubled words.
"Is Asami here? Do you make all your decisions based on what Asami thinks?"
The taunt had worked, or Feilong had allowed him to think so, though his eyes had narrowed, and Yoh had looked at him sharply when Feilong had acquiesced. "Very well. Perhaps it's not such a bad plan to draw him out. But Asami will be here soon. Will you stay so strong in the face of his anger?"
"I'm not afraid."
"Not afraid," Akihito barely whispered.
"Akihito?"
Tao reached for his arm, and Akihito flinched, abruptly back in the present.
Akihito jerked his chin. "Come on."
Tao followed him out the door. Akihito turned right, away from the direction of the fire he could now hear burning with greater force. He could hardly believe that neither Feilong or Yoh had come for them yet. A sick feeling grew in the pit of his stomach, but he couldn't afford to dwell on the unthinkable now. He went along quickly, turning down the corridors he'd learned that would lead him to the closest exit.
His heart seemed to batter against cavity of his ribs, thudding erratically like a wounded bird throwing itself against its cage. Homura was here. This had to be his doing. Would he would finally come face to face with him?
Tao clutched his arm again as they neared the front wing. "Akihito." His hoarse whisper betrayed his barely held control. "Do you see that?"
Thick clouds of white smoke were pouring into the large, open great room just off the main doors. White smoke, not black - Akihito frowned, doubting this could be from the fire. Alarm sent a burst of adrenaline singing through his veins, and his eyes began to sting.
He grabbed Tao and pulled him back around the corner. They were both coughing, their eyes streaming as Akihito opening the first door he saw and got them inside. "Tear gas," he managed to wheeze.
Tao's face was red and splotchy, his expression fearful, but he followed Akihito to the window, still coughing. They peered out side, seeing the hot orange glow of fires to either side farther down the wall of the villa and black smoke billowing from broken windows.
"Shit," Akihito cursed. "We'll go out this window and get under cover. Stay low and quiet and follow me. We'll circle around the house until we find Feilong or Yoh."
Their eyes met, Or Homura, remaining unspoken between them, but acknowledged all the same. Their gazes hardened. Understanding deeper than words flowed between them and they unlocked the window, climbing up on the frame and dropping to the ground one by one.
The air was heated by the flames closest to them, and the heavy odor of gasoline hung invisibly but thickly, bringing on an unwelcome wave of nausea. Akihito bit his lip, thinking about the sprawling villa's layout. "Let's circle around toward Feilong's rooms," he whispered. At Tao's nod he slipped across the open lawn as quickly as possible into the shelter of the trees that surrounded the property.
From their vantage point from the tree line, it became obvious that numerous fires had been set. Billowing lines of smoke rose from the rooftops on the other side of the house in various places. If it was Homura who'd done this, he had done his best to cut them off from each other and from escape. Did he hope to burn them all alive?
Horrified, Akihito stared at the wing which he knew house Feilong's private room. Guilt made his insides crawl as he watched the black and white smoke mingle. He could only pray that Feilong wasn't still inside. Tao's hand clutched his tightly, and a choked sob escaped him.
"He will have gotten out." Akihito's eyes blazed at Tao. "Let's keep going."
Tao brushed at his eyes but nodded, and they moved on. Set apart from the house a little, the garage complex squatted dark and seemingly abandoned. Akihito's mind worked quickly. Silently, he jerked his head toward the buildings and motioned Tao to follow. He got as close as he could then slid to his belly and crawled the remaining distance, going as quietly as he could. Used to holding his camera in such a situation, the gun in his hand was less awkward than it might have been.
He smiled with grim satisfaction as he felt rather than heard Tao following after. Somehow, he had to convince Tao to stay here. If anything happened to him, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. All this destruction was bad enough, but if someone else was hurt...
Akihito breathed a sigh of relief as they reached the dark shadow cast by the wall of the building. He crouched and crept bent over toward the far end where a small window made a black square against the wall.
He took off his shirt and bunched it around the butt of the gun, prepared to take out the pane with a sharp blow, but as he raised his hand back for the strike, his wrist was grabbed and twisted back. Tao gasped aloud, and Akihito turned into the painful grip to meet Yoh's tense face.
Akihito sagged in relief.
"Don't." The terse and whispered command was belied by the quickly hidden concern that swept Yoh's features. "He's brought men with him. We don't know how many, but they're mere thugs. We've taken most of them out, we think. But more may be around."
"Fei-sama is all right?"
Yoh looked at Tao's strained and desperately hopeful expression and softened slightly. "He's fine."
"And...and Homura." Akihito's faltering voice drew Yoh's gaze back.
He shook his head. "We tried to find a way back to where you were, but it's impossible. They hit simultaneously in several places. We've been searching the perimeter looking for you. We knew you wouldn't stay put, so we didn't doubt you'd made your way outside."
It was phrased as a slight on their ability to be obedient, but both Akihito and Tao realized the praise hidden within the words. Yoh's assessing gaze missed nothing as he studied them carefully for a moment. It lingered on the gun in Akihito's hand, but he seemed satisfied to see no injuries.
"Come."
"Wait." Akihito's fingers clung to his sleeve and Yoh stopped and looked at him.
"What is it?"
Akihito took a shaky breath. "Have...have you heard from Asami." He tried not to let emotion show on his face as he asked the question, but he thought Yoh's eyes flickered with something like pity. His heart constricted painfully.
"Not here," was Yoh's only reply, and he led them noiselessly to a dark, sleek car and opened the door. No light came on when it opened. "Get inside and stay down."
Tao climbed inside, but Akihito balked. "I don't want to stay here."
"Now is not the time for this. I will take care of Homura." Yoh bent closer, his voice only for Akihito's ears. "Keep Tao safe."
That was the only thing that could have ensured Akihito's compliance, and he grudgingly slipped into the car. Yoh reached behind his back and produced a small gun. He passed it to Tao. "You remember how to use this properly?"
Tao nodded solemnly, and Yoh straightened. A pair of keys dangled before Akihito's eyes. "Just in case."
"What are you going to do? And what about Asami?" Akihito stared at Yoh. "What if you can't-"
A sudden volley of gunshots rang out, making Akihito and Tao start violently. Yoh muttered a curse and crouched down. "Stay down and quiet. I'll be back."
Before Akihito could respond, Yoh shut the door with a soft click and disappeared, leaving Akihito with a stomach in knots and his most burning question unanswered. Surely Asami was okay. Yoh would have told him if he was here, wouldn't he? Or had Asami not even wanted to see him? Akihito could feel the weight of uncertainty and fear beginning to crush his lungs again.
No! He couldn't do this now. He had to keep it together. He had to prove himself once and for all.
"A-Akihito."
Akihito raised his head. Crouched low on the floor, Akihito and Tao stared at each other, barely able to make out the whites of each other's eyes in the dark interior.
"Do you think that was Fei-sama shooting?"
Tao's anxiety was palpable, feeding Akihito's own, but he put on his best front for the younger boy. "I hope so since rumor has it he's a top notch assassin."
Tao let out a shaky laugh. "Yoh too."
"Not so mad at him anymore?" Akihito teased gently, doing his best to distract Tao, despite the impossibility of the task.
"Not even a little. If we survive this, Akihito, I swear I'll-"
Shrills screams pierced the night even through the glass of the closed car windows. Blood drained from their faces, and their fingers unknowingly tightened around the guns they held. It was impossible to identify the shrieks, but neither one of them could rest easy.
In perfect understanding, they crept from the car, and using the concealment the grounds provided, they moved as quickly as they could in the direction of the screams. The sound stopped abruptly before they located the source, and they exchanged a swift look of dismay. A few more crawled feet brought them around the corner of the wall.
Akihito's breath caught, and he gripped Tao's arm, gesturing toward the body lying face up in the grass. His eyes closed for a moment, and Akihito expelled the pent breath. The man was unknown to him, but his relief was short lived.
Another gunshot broke out, and more heedlessly, they ran, still within the camouflage of the trees, around the next corner until they pulled up short, spellbound by the scene before them. Feilong still held the man with the gun. His knife gleamed at the man's throat, but even as they watched, the body slid limply to the ground, fingers uncurling to drop the gun in the grass before it. Yoh stood a few feet behind Feilong, beneath an overhang of the roof, in the act of dropping another body to the ground.
Sickened, Akihito took in the unnatural twist of neck, but Tao yelled out and broke from their cover. Too late, Akihito grabbed for him.
"Fei-sama!"
It was like watching a movie play out in slow motion. Tao ran forward, and Akihito heard the whine of bullets buzzing like angry wasps on speed. In perfect sync, dark divots of grass and earth exploded into the air in front of the running boy.
Tao stumbled and windmilled his arms wildly, trying to stop his forward momentum too quickly. His feet tangled with each other, and he fell forward onto his hands and knees.
With a huge rushing sound in Akihito's ears, the world came back to normal speed. His heart pounded hugely within his chest, and Akihito began to lift his foot, his muscles coiling to sprint. Some part of his mind noticed Feilong and Yoh moving too, but before his brain could complete the signal to make his body go, a voice rang out.
Akihito froze and shuddered. He knew that voice. He knew it somehow, a part of him did, his subconscious self that he'd tried so hard to suppress.
"You won't make it to the boy before I put a bullet through his head, and that would be a pity."
Feilong and Yoh had frozen too.
"Tao." Feilong waited until the panicked boy looked at him. "Stay still." His voice was calm and soothing, but brooked no disobedience, and he waited until Tao acknowledged him with a trembling nod before turning and raising his head toward the roof. "Homura. You fight like a coward. Why don't you show yourself?"
Rich laughter floated down. "Maybe one day you and I will have an opportunity to meet on more intimate terms and discuss that idea at length, but today...today I just want the boy - not yours, of course, though he's pretty too." Even from this distance, Akihito could see the murder that lit Feilong's eyes, but Homura laughed again. "No, the one I want is Akihito. It's been so long since I've held him in my arms."
Feilong's eyes narrowed. "He is out of your reach."
"What a pity." Homura's voice chilled slightly. "Then this one will have to die after all."
"No!" Akihito pelted forward, throwing himself in front of Tao and glaring up toward the man he couldn't see. Loathing welled within him. "You let him go now!"
"Ah, there you are." Homura sounded delighted. "The pretty kitten with nine lives. Very well, we'll throw the little one back for now."
Akihito lifted Tao up by his shirt and shoved him toward Feilong.
"Akihito..." Tao's twisted around, his tormented gaze holding Akihito's.
"Go," Akihito hissed, and Tao stumbled toward Feilong, but he stopped short after a few steps and lifted the gun in his hands. His fingers squeezed, a shot fired, and Tao cried out in shock and pain as the gun he held was knocked from his hands by Homura's bullet. He clutched his stinging hands to his stomach, wide eyes locking on Feilong.
"And now you, Akihito. Drop your gun and climb up and join me."
Akihito barely noticed Feilong moving and Tao falling into his arms. His gaze locked on the roof instead.
Fuck. Homura must be crazy. He wanted him up there? Did he really intend that they both burn alive? The fires hadn't spread to this wing yet, but it was bad and would get worse very soon. Only the fact that the wind was blowing from behind them now made the air at all bearable.
Still, Akihito didn't hesitate. The gun fell. Only a brief glance yielded up the best way to scramble to the rooftop - a jump, a swing up on a branch, a brief climb, bare feet finding purchase on rough bark, and he swung himself onto the ornate tiles of the roof. The smoky air made him blink away grit and tears, and before he could obtain his balance, a strong grip twisted his arm behind his back and pushed him down the inward slope of the roof. The bright blossoms from the trees of the inner courtyard looked incongruously beautiful in the moonlight, contrasting with the cold metal that kissed Akihito's throat and Homura's hot, ragged breath violating his ear.
"Now, we play."
Akihito knew how to take a fall. It was that, and the fact that the roof's eaves hung down low over the inner courtyard's walls, that prevented serious harm. The shove Homura gave him sent him flying toward the flagstones, but Akihito was able to keep his wits and tuck and roll as he hit the unforgiving ground.
Still, a bright flare of pain in his ankle made him groan. His bare back stung too, skinned by the loose, white rocks of the landscaping. Akihito rolled into a crouch, instinctively putting his weight on his good leg, and stood shakily, only to cry out in agony when a kick to his injured ankle made him crumple to his knees.
"F-fucker," Akihito gasped, raising his gaze to meet Homura's look of false concern.
"What a dirty mouth you have, Akihito." Homura hunkered down in front of him, smiling with every appearance of benign kindness. "Quite perfect for a little whore such as you. I didn't bother using it before, but perhaps I should take the opportunity now."
"Oh, please do." All of Akihito's teeth showed as he smiled.
Homura laughed. Without warning, his hand flashed out, and Akihito fell back, groaning with new pain when his head hit the trunk of a tree, his lower back arched painfully over the low stones that bordered the flower bed he was lying across. The thick, smell of damp earth filled his nostrils as Akihito rolled his head weakly, trying to blink away his blurriness of vision.
Distantly, he felt Homura straddle him. One knee pinned his left wrist down, and Homura pulled out a sleek phone and flicked it open. He bent closer, and Akihito could hear it ringing and, faintly, Feilong's answer.
"Liu Feilong. We haven't been properly introduced, but allow me to thank you for providing the means to trace Akihito's location. I admit, I was entertained by the texts you sent him. It certainly intrigued me that someone of your stature would remain so interested in an insignificant bit of nothing. Though, he does have his charms."
Homura's eyes seemed to sparkle as he listened to Feilong's reply. "Shhh..." he finally said, smiling down at Akihito with that feverish gaze. "All I need from you is one thing."
"F-Feilong," Akihito forced his voice out, fighting a nausea that wanted to pull him into unconsciousness. "Don't give him anything! Just-just kill him if he tries to leave. Let the asshole burn!"
Homura didn't react, merely listened a moment before he nodded. "Yes, Akihito is still with us. Only, slightly worse for the wear. I can't kill him yet because the little slut needs to die in front of Ryuichi. It won't be nearly as much fun otherwise. I understand you felt the same way once."
Akihito struggled sluggishly beneath him, but Homura only tightened his knees, pressing into Akihito's ribs until he cried out. Homura smirked as if whatever he heard on the phone pleased him.
He tucked it between his ear and shoulder and lifted his knife. "You tell Ryuichi that I'll start my fun now, but it's entirely up to him how long Akihito has to suffer. The sooner he shows up, the sooner it can end for poor little Akihito."
Akihito's right wrist was captured, and Homura pulled it, almost gently, above his head and pressed it to the hard earth. For a moment, all false warmth fled Homura's voice. "Be sure to tell him soon because sometimes I can't control myself."
The knife rose in the air, then plunged into the palm of Akihito's hand, hilt deep in earth and flesh. Akihito shrieked, writhing beneath the man's macabre glee, and the silver phone fell to the ground and snapped shut with a click.
The excruciating pain had one positive side effect. Akihito's thoughts and vision cleared, the bright sting of tears clearing away the fogginess the blow to his head had summoned. When he could think of something besides the agony radiating from his palm, and then the panicked, delirious thoughts of his cameras and would he be able to hold one properly again, Akihito pulled in a shuddering breath - the smell of smoke seemed even stronger now, and he couldn't help but wonder how much time there was left. But it wouldn't matter as long as Homura died here too. He had to make sure of that.
"I...I thought...that you might have done all this because you were mad that Asami left you. Because he didn't want you. He wanted me instead, so you were jealous." Akihito's hoarse voice was low but clear, laced with the efforts of containing the pain he felt. His eyes blazed bright and fierce, though, and he focused on Homura's narrowing gaze. "But that's not it, is it?" He gave a short, contemptuous laugh. "You're mad all right. Mad as a fucking hatter, you crazy piece of shit. I can see why Asami dumped your sick ass. You're going to die right here, and Asami is still always going to want me and not you."
This time, Homura's backhand bloodied Akihito's lip, but he just grinned up Homura.
"Asami told me he loved me. He said he wanted me back even when he thought I'd betrayed him. Bet you never heard the same thing from him, huh?"
With a smile that would frighten the Devil, Homura casually wrapped his hand around the hilt of the knife pinning Akihito's hand and pressed down. Akihito's screams pealed through the night again, and Homura had to raise his voice to be heard even when they died down to whimpers.
A new knife appeared in his hand. "Do you have any idea, you pathetic little whore," Homura asked tenderly as he pressed the knife to the corner of Akihito's eye, "how much damage and pain you can cause a person's body before it finally gives out?" A small pinprick of blood welled up and dripped down Akihito's cheekbone like a red tear.
"No. He doesn't. But I do."
Asami. Akihito couldn't see him, but his body convulsed at the sound. Homura's hand fisted cruelly in his hair, and the knife slid down to his jugular vein.
"Hello, Ryuichi. So pleased you could finally join us."
God, Akihito wanted to see him - no, he needed to see Asami on a purely visceral level. He needed to confirm the man's existence. He needed his own confirmed in those golden eyes that he'd come to look to for so much.
"Let him go."
"Asami." Akihito couldn't help calling his name. "Asami." Akihito heard gravel crunching. "Don't! Don't come closer! Just shoot him! I'm all right! I'll be fi-"
A strangled cry escaped him as fresh pain bloomed in the thin line Homura had opened in his flesh. It was nothing compared to the throbbing agony of his hand, so Akihito pressed his lips together, unwilling to give Homura anything more or to distress Asami.
The footsteps stopped anyway, and Akihito saw Homura smile triumphantly above him.
"What an expression, Ryuichi. It's priceless, truly." Homura moved the knife delicately, so precisely. Akihito winced. "Yes. Do come and kill me, if you like. Too bad you won't be able to do it before this one dies."
Despite the cruel hand in his hair, Akihito twisted his head, arching his neck until he could see the shoes of the one he had always known would come for him. Asami was still wearing those stupidly expensive Italian shoes, even now. A garbled laugh pushed past his lips, a rush of longing and need and love suffused him. He looked up the long, sharp cut of the slacks and up further, noticing the usually immaculate clothes were rather more charred and rumpled than usual. His searching eyes finally met Asami's own breathtaking gaze.
He could see the flames behind Asami, leaping higher into the night sky than they had been when then this little excursion begun. Barely any time at all, but it seemed so long ago. The only thing that mattered was here and now. Akihito laughed again. Delirious with adrenaline and something else - acceptance maybe, or fate.
"You look like the Devil holding court in your throne room, except you're too pretty. The smoking aura is kind of cool, though."
That beautiful, aggravating smirk appeared. "Didn't you know that Satan was supposed to be the most beautiful of the angels before he fell?"
A snort was Akihito's reply this time because before he could say anything else, Homura jerked Akihito's face away violently.
"Don't look at him. Look at me," Homura hissed at Asami, the hand holding the knife raised toward Asami. "I'm your only equal. Acknowledge me."
With the remains of his strength, Akihito clutched Homura's shirt with his free hand and pulled down with all his might, and then he jerked his head up with a quick and powerful motion.
Fuuuuck.
The crack of bone on bone was startlingly loud, though Akihito was in no position to note it. He collapsed back against the ground, paralyzed as his overworked pain receptors each clamored for greater attention.
Homura's anguished cry was completely lost on him, but Akihito was vaguely aware of a blur that swept Homura off his supine body and the sounds of a struggle beside him. It was the screams that finally made him roll his head, and the methodical, wet thuds he'd been hearing made a sudden sick sense.
Homura's fingers still curled around his knife, only now it was sticking through the center of his palm in a mirror of Akihito's condition. Asami loomed over him, his eyes cold and merciless.
"Don't worry, I brought my own." A new knife appeared in his long, beautiful fingers and slipped into an expert grip. "I should have done this long ago."
Homura spit out a bloody laugh, his lungs bubbling in their own blood. "I-I'll be satisfied if we die together."
Bile rose and Akihito choked it down, the acrid burn scorching his throat like the smoke in the air. "Asami...enough...have... to get...get out..."
Gentle hands reached for the knife, and Akihito couldn't contain the soft wail when Asami pulled the knife from the earth. "Leave it in," Asami whispered, cradling Akihito as he lifted him in his arms. The fullness of the sorrow in his voice took Akihito's breath away. He held his own wrist tightly and trusted himself to the comfort of Asami's shoulder.
"I told you. I always told you." Homura's sluggish, bubbling voice came again. His smile a ruined mess. "You're just like me, Ryuichi. And now he knows too."
A single gunshot rang out, and Yoh called to them from the roof. "You might want to move a little faster."
Suoh stepped into view behind him. A long rope fell. Akihito wavered in and out of consciousness as he was boosted up, and they escaped the burning villa. Flames and smoke everywhere. He giggled, once again in Asami's arms.
"Hey, Asami." His head lolled back into the crook of Asami's neck. "We finally made it to the ends of the abyss." Then all went black.
