I want to reconcile the violence in your heart
I want to recognise your beauty's not just a mask
I want to exorcise the demons from your past
I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart.
(Muse: Undisclosed Desires)
A Romeo and Juliet Story
Chapter 8
The car parked in front of the Sendoh mansion was yellow, bright even in the darkening dusk. It was a beautiful machine of the type known as the Veyron. Its shape was stunningly curvaceous, with lusciously rounded panels, perfect streamlined form and narrow head-light eyes. A collector's piece only available to the astonishingly rich; the fastest and most expensive car ever built. Truly the elite of the elite.
There was no denying that it was an exquisite machine. Even its owner had stopped to stare at it in the fading light as he stepped out of the house with his brother, ready to embark upon what might turn out to be the most significant business deal of their lives.
It had been polished until the barest light made it sparkle like diamonds. Behind it, three accompanying drivers were sitting on motorbikes, waiting for the convoy to move out together. Taoka and most of the other individuals who would be on hand during the meeting had already left. Akira and Hanamichi were scheduled to arrive last, once most others had assembled, in order to make the grandest entrance possible. For this meeting, theatrics would be as important as business planning.
Akira exchanged a sideways glance with Hanamichi and grinned widely. Hanamichi mirrored him.
"I can't wait to see the look on Hisashi's face when he sees us in this" Hanamichi enthused.
I can't wait to see the look on Kaede's… Akira thought silently.
Hanamichi let out a loud bark of laughter just at the thought of their triumphant entry. "God, I can't wait. Let's go!"
They ran down the sweeping entranceway steps as if their feet would never go fast enough.
Sliding into the driver's seat Akira touched the ignition before bringing his hand down to the red "start" button. The engine fired, at first with a couple of uncertain chokes but finally that renowned full, throaty roar and Akira couldn't help but suck his breath in a gasp. Pure power thundered around him, filling him until he felt as if a hundred Hisashis could never sway his confidence.
He wasted no time in putting his foot to the floor and immediately felt the acceleration push him backwards into his seat with considerable force. Hanamichi whooped with joy beside him.
"If you don't lose those three fools behind us you're no brother of mine!" he laughed excitedly.
Akira's eyes glanced up to the rear view mirror which showed three motorbikes quickly losing ground. He found himself echoing Hanamichi's laughter as the trees that lined the road became nothing but green smudges in their speed.
The building that rose in the centre of the plot they eventually approached was the location for the night's meeting. It was a brick structure, more European than Japanese, built in the 1900s when the Western Victorian style had been fashionable. It had been lucky enough to survive intact through the war years and was now used as a local community hall. Only the headlights of the many vehicles already surrounding it separated it from the night time, bright circles of light spotted on its lower walls, casting the upper floor into deep shadow.
The Rukawas were clumped together on one side of the compound, motors revving aggressively in intimidation at the Sendohs who were opposite them with blaring engines of their own. Twenty or thirty vehicles stood on each side so that the combined noise was nearly deafening. A space of dead land had opened up between the two sides into which no one seemed prepared to step but across which dark looks were being exchanged between the age-long enemies. The volatile environment seemed primed for an outburst.
Despite the tension, Akira and Hanamichi could smile as the Veyron lifted over the kerb and into the car park, drifting purposefully into that open central void with headlights full beam, the beautiful sound of the engine rising above the rest of the humdrum.
Without exception, every pair of eyes turned to them and the noise of revving motors temporarily quietened. It was obvious that the car which had just entered exceeded everything else in the lot by a considerable margin.
The front licence plate caught a headlight and flashing bright white for a moment as the machine rose over the ramp of the pavement. As it levelled out the glare faded and the bold black lettering was revealed. It read simply - AK1RA.
As the car moved smoothly over the tarmac, Akira scanned the Rukawa crowd with interest. He saw Hisashi push his way to the front to get a good look at the machine as it passed by. The bustle of Rukawas parted respectfully to let him through. The Rukawa heir was dressed in an expensive tailored suit and was dragging a similarly dressed and familiar-looking boy by the hand behind him. But where was Kaede? Akira looked right and left amongst the awed eyes but didn't see him. He felt a flicker of disappointment.
He turned his concentration back to easing the car towards the Sendoh's side. He and Hanamichi would greet their allies there before moving the valuable car into the safety of the secure underground car park ahead of the meeting.
Akira feverishly hoped that Kaede was watching this; his moment of pride and the looks of awe he was drawing from friend and enemy alike. Surely if he were watching he would be standing stock still, his lips slightly parted, the hairs raised on the back of his graceful neck. Akira could imagine him perfectly.
He let his eyes drift back over to where Hisashi was standing, looking at the car with a scowl across his handsome features.
"Who's that boy with Hisashi?" he asked suddenly.
"Kogure Kiminobu" Hanamichi replied, without bothering to look up to check.
"His lover?"
"Yeah."
Someone to be wary of?
With a soft hum of comprehension Akira brought the car to a stop where both brothers extracted themselves from the seatbelts and stepped out, leaving the engine still rumbling. Yohei was immediately beside Hanamichi beaming.
"You pulled that off real good," he said with a cheeky smile. "Even I thought you looked a little bit cool."
Hanamichi threw back his head and laughed while Akira squinted across the distance to look again at Hisashi and Kogure. He noticed the way Hisashi's arm draped across Kogure's shoulders easily as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and for an odd moment it made him slightly envious. He wondered whether he'd ever be able to do that so openly with Kaede, if some kind of miracle ever let them be together.
The thought caused him to suddenly see the crowd around him in a different light. No longer as two rivalling sides but as a single plague that opposed all that was peaceful. Every single one of the individuals gathered would probably resist any kind of Sendoh-Rukawa alliance just on senseless principle. Because they had all grown up knowing that Sendoh and Rukawa were enemies – they were sure of it to the point of blindness. It was as if they all stood between Kaede and Akira, keeping them so unfairly apart.
Akira suddenly felt very alone. How on earth was this tide of hate possibly to be fought? Was he the only one present who could see the senselessness of it all?
Kaede, he wondered silently are you even here?
"Oh, check this out," Hanamichi voiced sounded nearby with sudden excitement and Akira turned his attention back across the compound.
Hisashi was striding alone across the no-man's land of the parking lot, approaching his enemy's side, seemingly with the intention of confronting them. The chatter which had only just started up again entered a second bated hush as everyone looked in curiosity towards the impending confrontation.
Akira was forced to admire Hisashi's bravery. Walking alone into the midst of enemies in this tense and unstable environment required incredible nerve.
About halfway across the tarmac Hisashi clicked his fingers as if calling a waiter or summoning a genie, not faulting in his stride,
"Kaede!" he barked.
Akira's breath constricted unpleasantly in his throat. He had hoped to avoid having to meet Kaede publicly; to avoid the necessity of putting on the farce of pretending to be enemies.
Behind Hisashi a ripple moved through the crowd of Rukawas as they twittered and shifted and finally parted, jostling each other in the eagerness to retreat, moving backwards out of the way of the dangerous young man who stalked slowly out from between them. They moved hurriedly away from him as if not wanting to get too close, and looked at him with a mixture of fear and respect as if he were a stranger, an unknown. Oh yes it was clear that they feared him and now Akira knew why. Their kitsune – assassin, killer, their very own god of death.
The wind caught his long black coat causing it to billow out like black wings unfurling so that stepping out into the empty space of the compound he seemed a vision, a nightmare. The clothes he wore were almost like a uniform, every piece black and intimidating and dangerous. He was utterly different from everyone else around him; pale and distant and dark. Seeing him look so unfamiliar caused an unpleasant twist in Akira's stomach. It was two weeks since he'd seen him last, since the day he'd learnt about the kitsune. So many questions and so many uncertainties plagued him.
Kaede didn't appear to move quickly, each step was fluid and graceful yet somehow he managed to catch up with Hisashi and fell silently into step behind him. Akira was struck once again by the physical similarities between the two brothers. They were both of a similar height with black unruly hair and those famous blue Rukawa eyes. They looked like family, in such contrast to Akira and Hanamichi's incompatible appearances; black hair and red, brown eyes and blue.
Akira clenched a fist silently. He had to act as if Kaede was his enemy. If there was an opportunity to attack him, slander him or insult him, he had to take it. Kaede would be relying on him to perform his part in this encounter, and he in turn needed to be prepared to receive the same offensive treatment back. He needed to trust him even now, even though he seemed so different, even though everything he'd thought he'd known had been so cripplingly shaken by Masaya's revelations.
He'd put his life into Kaede's hands before, but it had been nothing like this. The Kaede with whom Akira had played that trust-game in Odawara just didn't compare to this. Wasn't even on the same page. He steeled himself but couldn't suppress a strange liquid weakness inside him.
Beside him Hanamichi cracked his knuckles. "Your little truce won't stop me punching him in the face this time" he warned. Akira made no response but took a deep breath and fixed his face into a smile of confidence and they both moved forward to meet their two welcomers.
Peace? I hate the word.
"Hello, Hanamichi," Hisashi sneered immediately once the distance between them had been fully traversed. "I'm surprised you bothered to show up."
"I'm surprised you bothered to show up," Hanamichi countered rather lamely before turning his eyes on Kaede at Hisashi's right. "Shouldn't you put a muzzle on that dog? I heard it bites little girls."
Akira winced internally.
Immediately aware of the implication of Hanamichi's taunt, realising that Akira must know something too, Kaede narrowed his eyes slightly and stared Hanamichi down with characteristic silence.
It was Hisashi who responded with a brash laugh, "Shut up Hanamichi; don't pretend you know what you're talking about. Shooting your mouth off about my family; you don't know anything." He leaned forward and grinned, showing his teeth. "Besides, even if I muzzled him, he could still bite off your arm."
He laughed to himself, and Akira realised that he was already coming to dislike this man.
"Hisashi…" Kaede's voice was a low brace, a quiet reminder not to pursue the topic further.
"Shut the fuck up, Kaede" Hisashi hissed in annoyance.
Hanamichi seemed about to make another comment but paused when he noticed an unfamiliar person jogging towards their small group from the direction of the main building. It was a boy about their age, of average height and with curiously narrow eyes. Hisashi followed Hanamichi's gaze and swore in irritation when he recognised the approaching figure.
The boy came quickly up to them, panting with the effort of running. He seemed so distracted by whatever message he was remembering that he didn't even recognise the two Sendohs standing there.
"Rukawa-sama…" he gasped, giving Hisashi a low bow from the waist "…Kaede-sama…" a second, slightly briefer bow to the other boy. "…Rukawa-sama requests your presence in the blue room."
Hisashi stared at him in disbelief.
"Can't you see we're fucking busy?"
The boy blinked, noticed Akira and Hanamichi for the first time and suddenly appeared to shrink in size. His eyes went wide.
"Yasuda, fuck off," said Hisashi.
The boy took two almost comical steps backwards, his eyes moving between the angry Hisashi and the stony faced Kaede and then made a few more frantic bows. "Yes, Rukawa-sama, Kaede-sama, I'm so sorry to disturb you…"
He turned and all but fled back the way he had come.
Akira held his breath. He wanted nothing but that he and Kaede should be able to escape this dangerous charade successfully. He sincerely hoped the message meant that the two Rukawas would have to leave and this confrontation would be brought to a close more quickly than he could have dared hope. Kaede seemed to have the same idea because he half turned and looked back at Hisashi as if hoping he would move to leave.
Hisashi's eyes fixed on Akira who returned his stare with easy confidence, ready to deflect any verbal attack. Indeed Hisashi looked like he was about to make a final comment, but then thought better of it and turned towards Kaede.
Now leave, Akira willed him silently, holding his breath, gratefully watching Hisashi turn away…
"I wonder why anyone still bothers to add sama to your name..?" Hanamichi piped up suddenly.
Kaede froze mid-step.
Hisashi paused and let out a snort of amusement. "Why indeed?" he smirked, looking towards his brother to see his reaction to the insult.
Kaede pivoted slowly back around, his cold eyes seeking Hanamichi's, ignoring his brother entirely. With the swirl of his dark coat about him he suddenly seemed ominously taller.
"Do you really not know why?" he asked slowly.
Hanamichi didn't back down, meeting Kaede's fiercest gaze with one of his own and drawing himself to his full height.
"Let me explain…" Kaede said coldly.
At once his eyes snapped to Akira and that was the only warning Akira had that the attack was going to come to him.
He had no time to react.
Kaede's knife moved so fast he didn't even see it.
One moment Kaede was grasping a handle that protruded from his boot and the next an eight inch steel blade was held outstretched on his right side. Only the motion of Kaede's coat as it spiralled to fall on his left indicated the sweeping arc it had made, and only the single pin prick of blood blossoming at the very tip of Akira's throat indicated the dangerous path it had taken.
Akira's hand went up to his neck in surprise and Kaede was deadly still, slightly crouched in readiness to strike again. Around them the world had stopped. Akira thought he might have stopped breathing.
"They call me sama because no one dares to test what would happen if they didn't." Kaede said with dangerous quietness.
Such a fast and wide swing judged so accurately as to only slightly scratch the skin was truly fearsome skill. Every tense muscle in Kaede's body reminded Akira of a tiger waiting to pounce. This boy had been brought up with the single purpose of fighting, killing, slaughtering, and it showed.
The next second Hanamichi's gun was butted against Kaede's temple.
"How dare you, you arrogant bastard?" he hissed enraged, "I'll fucking kill you."
Suddenly all around the area Rukawas and Sendohs alike were reaching for guns in preparation for an outburst of the violence.
Kaede gripped his knife tighter and became locked together in a dangerous staring match with the furious Hanamichi. With the gun at his head it seemed a hopelessly one-sided situation from which Kaede would be forced to back down. The seconds ticked uncomfortably past as the two younger brothers stood motionless in their stale-mate.
With inhuman speed Kaede suddenly moved. All in one moment he dropped to a crouch and thrust the knife upwards to skewer the gun through the trigger hole, missing Hanamichi's index finger by mere millimetres. With a twist the gun was sent spinning out of Hanamichi's hand and across the concrete floor. The tip of the knife then brushed Hanamichi's throat and Kaede was silent in restrained victory.
Hisashi seemed to find the whole situation incredibly funny. "It's not wise to provoke a cornered dog, Hanamichi" he cautioned, sniggering.
Hanamichi made a sound like a growl but said nothing. Neither did Kaede, his expression perfectly blank despite Hisashi's jibes.
Today is the first time I've really met the one they call kitsune, Akira realised.
Now I know why they fear him.
With a painful slowness Kaede drew back and slid the knife back into its place in his boot with practised precision, not breaking his eye contact with Hanamichi. His point had undoubtedly been made.
"Well," Hisashi gave a shrug; "it seems the show is over." He gave a derisive laugh and looked at Akira, "Guess I'll see you round, Sendoh-sama." His voice dripped with sarcasm as he gave a dismissive wave of his hand and turned on his heel to stalk away, leaving Kaede behind.
Hanamichi and Kaede remained staring at each other with obvious enmity.
"Keep out of my way" Kaede said finally in a low, warning voice, his blue eyes alight with a dark fire.
"I'm not scared of a good-for-nothing fox like you," Hanamichi spat right back.
Kaede watched him for a moment longer before turning silently to follow his brother.
Akira watched his back as he walked away, coat catching the wind and ribboning out behind him revealing the tight line of his waist and the shape of the holster around his hips which held his two well-known guns. A cold shiver passed through him.
He felt like he didn't know anything anymore.
Was ever book containing such vile matter
So fairly bound?
"I think you're still sympathetic towards him." Hanamichi accused him angrily later as they moved the car underground. The comment earned him a slightly guilty glance, at which Hanamichi sighed in frustration.
"You must be mad. He nearly took your bloody throat out, not to mention mine. He's fucked up, Akira. That whole fucking family is just one fucking nightmare."
At the sound of Akira's silence, Hanamichi tsked but made no more comment while his unhappy brother drove the car through the cramped space of the underground parking and eased it into a space which it overlapped by a considerable margin.
"And I just don't get it," Hanamichi began again in agitation. "It makes no fucking sense. He's supposed to have been disinherited, right? But no matter how you look at it he must be their most powerful ally. How can he be outcast and valued at the same time?"
He's not valued, Akira thought silently. He's just… used. Like a tool.
"And seriously… doesn't he have any pride? How can he allow his own brother to trample on him like that? You heard him, right? Shut the fuck up, Kaede. Calling him a dogand all that shit. And then he said nothing! Didn't do anything! I'd have hit you if you ever pulled that shit on me, you know? It's like he's… dead or something. A fucking zombie."
"He asleep," Akira suddenly realised aloud.
Hanamichi looked towards him in question but Akira didn't notice him, gazing blankly forwards in a sudden blur of understanding.
He's buried himself way down, where no one can reach him.
He's locked up his pride. Locked up his soul. Locked up his sanity.
Time has stopped for him.
"You," Hanamichi accused in annoyance when it became obvious that Akira had no intention of explaining his comment, "I don't know what the hell you're thinking. You'd be insane to believe anything he says. He's a murderer for god's sakes. The last person you can trust."
Me…?
Akira ran his hands through his hair as he gazed through the windscreen at the sorry, grey concrete.
I'm going to wake him up.
I'm going to make time start for Kaede Rukawa once again.
The grey-eyed morn smiles on the frowning night,
Chequering the eastern clouds with streaks of light.
The actual meeting dragged painfully for Akira over the first hour. Initially he'd had a great interest in the members of the Rukawa family, never having encountered Anzai and Hisashi at such close range before.
Anzai was no doubt formidable. He spoke rarely, but the calmness and authority that pervaded from him was absolutely undeniable, and his eyes were cold and hard. He could control the bantering of his two delegates with just a look.
Sitting next to Hisashi, the Rukawa's second delegate was a young woman named Ayako. She was capable and focused, speaking briefly and concisely, generally to support comments that Hisashi was making, or to assist him in the formulation of replies. She didn't seem in the least intimidated by the presence of the Sendoh family nor of her own house.
And Hisashi. Despite his unpleasant, aggressive personality, he clearly knew what he was doing. He could turn totally charming when required.
Akira himself had no need to speak during the meeting. As his family's most capable negotiator his father was unwilling to allow him more input than strictly necessary in front of the rival family. Thus he was only there in reserve just in case a scenario arose where he was needed. So far everything had been going well and so by feigning a feeling of faintness Akira had managed to excuse himself from the room. Hanamichi was addressing Maki about the Rukawa mis-management of Tsuzuki as the door closed behind him.
Now he was wandering the hallways absentmindedly. He had no desire to bump into any Rukawas, and was convinced that meeting Kaede again would be a risk too far, so he only sought a pleasing place to sit and relax, away from the busy areas of the building. He roamed through it carelessly.
He eventually came to a promising double door; thick honey-coloured wood in a beautiful arch reminiscent of the building's external grandeur. An unobtrusive sign on the wall indicated that it was "the old library". The door was closed and Akira could detect no sound from within. He thought for a moment that it might be locked, but the round knob turned readily in his hand and the door moved surprisingly smoothly for all its apparent weight. He stepped curiously inside hoping that it would provide a quiet place for him to relax.
Soft light came from a single lit lamp in the otherwise dark room, giving the impression of a quiet sanctuary or a softly lit bedroom. The room had been preserved as a library; numerous books of uncategorised titles lined the walls in impressively large bookcases. There was a certain stately style about the place; there were a few soft chairs and desks all with an antiquated appearance, and beautiful European oil paintings placed thoughtfully on the walls that were not dominated by books.
But for the moment Akira failed to notice these things because his gaze was drawn to a boy sitting on one end of an elongated settee. He was in no doubt that the boy was well aware of his entrance, and he had to marvel at the slow and deliberate grace with which he raised his head to meet Akira's gaze. He was unhurried in his movements and not in the least concerned about any possible threat. He was twisted in his chair slightly, just enough to bring increased comfort to a second boy whose sleeping head was resting on his lap as he dozed, laid out contentedly across the seats.
Cursing his bad luck at running into Rukawas again, Akira stood completely still, staring back into the brown eyes with surprise. Part of him told him to back out of the room but a significantly larger part of him was bristling with outrage. He could only stare, momentarily uncomprehending, perhaps even disbelieving. The boy before him was by now familiar, last seen only just outside but known even before that at the spinning masquerade ball. It was the boy Akira had once mistaken for the second Rukawa son; Kogure Kiminobu.
Kogure displayed no trace of alarm or concern despite being engaged in what seemed to be a tender moment shared with the second boy still asleep on his lap. Kogure's fingers were weaved into Kaede's silken hair, stroking and soothing with such gentle affection that even Akira's sudden rage of offence could not entirely denounce the beauty of the scene. But he stopped and stared because they looked so much like lovers, and because the jealousy that overtook him was such a startlingly unfamiliar emotion that he was paralyzed with it.
The brown eyes looked expectantly into his as if assuming he was there to deliver a message. In fact Akira was so convinced that the boy had mistaken him for a servant or lay boy that he actually opened his mouth to refute it when he was pre-empted –
"You must be Sendoh Akira."
The words were uttered without any trace of hostility, apprehension or combination of both that he would have expected from a lower member of the Rukawa house. In fact they were said with a marvellous neutrality, not as an accusation but merely a statement of fact, as if one being a Sendoh and one being a Rukawa were a complete irrelevancy. It was surprisingly refreshing such that Akira could almost forgive the small motion of fingers in Kaede's hair.
Almost.
When he gave a short confirmatory nod the other only smiled.
Despite his apparent friendliness, Akira couldn't help the deep dislike that was settling over him. No matter how he looked at it, this boy seemed like some kind of rival.
"Kaede…" Kogure spoke softly to the sleeping boy on his lap, ruffling the hair gently to rouse him. Akira was struck by the contrast between this peaceful, unguarded Kaede and the dangerous boy he'd encountered earlier. His long, dark coat had been removed and draped over the back of the small settee, leaving him in only a close fitting shirt that revealed his thin arms up to the shoulders and clung aesthetically to the slender shape of his body. He seemed so much frailer, more delicate, almost breakable.
With a soft sigh the blue eyes slid open and looked blurredly up into the brown ones looking down on him.
"Sempai?"
Akira felt an irrationally powerful sense of relief to hear Kogure addressed with such a formal word.
"Someone's here," Kogure said gently.
Kaede turned his eyes lazily towards the doorway, but upon recognising Akira he sat upright in surprise.
"Akira?" he breathed in surprise.
Akira didn't know what to say. He hadn't had any intention of meeting Kaede here, but before he could even open his mouth Kaede had turned back to look at Kogure who was watching him carefully.
"Sempai… you…" he stammered, stunned.
And that's when Akira realised with a numb kind of horror that they'd just been found out.
"Don't underestimate me Kaede," Kogure reprimanded his younger friend, "You think I can't see? That I wouldn't notice?" His brown eyes narrowed, "I know you better than you know yourself."
Kaede said nothing but continued to stare and Kogure stood up gracefully from the settee. He turned towards Akira who was still standing in the doorway and fully expecting him to launch into accusations; however the boy merely bowed respectfully.
"Please excuse me, Sendoh-san," he said with perfect politeness, and then skirted silently around Akira and left by the door behind him, closing it as he went.
In a great deal of confusion, Akira looked towards Kaede in the hope of some explanation for the bizarre scene that had just played out before his eyes.
"Shouldn't you stop him?" he asked in concern.
Kaede didn't immediately respond but rose from the settee and paced towards a nearby bookcase.
"I don't have any right to stop him," he said after a moment.
"But isn't he Hisashi's lover? Won't he tell Hisashi about us?" Akira pressed in confusion.
"No, he won't," Kaede replied shortly, without elaboration.
"But then… why… what….?" Akira stopped and shook himself. He had to consciously hold himself apart from the adrenaline that was poisoning his system, causing him to stutter so foolishly in an unnecessary fluster. He could see that Kaede was displeased but not unduly concerned about what had just happened, so there shouldn't be any need for him to panic.
"Then…" he managed to ask with curiosity, recalling the image of the two boys so serene together "…what is he to you?"
Akira didn't see the momentary puzzlement on Kaede's face. No one had ever thought to ask such a question before. He'd never even asked himself.
Kogure is the untainted vessel which we corrupt by pouring our blackness into him. We both know we are selfish to sacrifice such beauty to save our own twisted souls, and yet he cannot hate us. He isn't capable of such a thing. He would love us even as we destroy him. Eat him up like acid.
He is everything.
He is all that binds me to my house
and to this prison of a world.
He looked back at Akira.
"Innocence" he said quietly. "He is innocence."
Akira waited, hoping Kaede would continue, but the boy said nothing more. Akira sighed softly. He had a thousand questions to ask, but had no idea where to start or how to broach such thorny subjects.
He was wondering how to begin when Kaede spoke first;
"I'm sorry" he said.
Akira blinked in confusion, "for what?"
"Your neck."
Akira touched the small scratch on his throat impulsively; "No" he said "it's nothing."
After an uncomfortable moment, Kaede muttered, "You… know. About me."
The phrase sounded so strained that Akira frowned as Kaede raised his eyes to meet his. Was that accusation in his expression? Defensiveness? Apprehension?
"I've heard a little about the one they call kitsune," Akira admitted carefully, watching for Kaede's reaction.
There was a minute motion of tensing fists and his head twisted just enough to distract attention away from the small tremor that ran through his body. Even as Akira noticed it he still had to admit that it was cleverly disguised.
Now, looking into his face, Akira was quite sure that he could see anxiety amongst the otherwise carefully arranged detachment. It was the look of one who was about to throw something precious away. Akira took a breath in through his nose and let it out through his mouth.
"You…" he began softly, looking over Kaede's folded arms wrapped unhappily around himself as if to keep at bay the questions he knew must come. The answers that must be torn from him. All at once Akira knew that the last thing he wanted was to force Kaede to relive his past. Whatever the kitsune was or had done seemed suddenly minor. He didn't want or need to know anything more.
All he really wanted was Kaede; to have him awake here, in the present moment, with him, next to him. Just to make him realise that Akira wasn't going to run away from this. Wasn't going to abandon him to his own gnawing pain. Wanting, even just for a short moment, to distract him from the darkness that was rotting him from the inside.
To have thee still stand there,
Remembering how I love thy company.
In a flash of inspiration his face broke into a mischievous smile "… would you like to go for a drive?"
Kaede was genuinely taken aback, and lifted his eyes to meet Akira's in query. "The Veyron?" he asked, suddenly seeming almost childlike in simplicity.
Akira, sensing victory, clasped his hands behind his head and pouted up at the ceiling in feigned ignorance. "Oh, is that what they call it?"
Kaede glared at him and he grinned.
"Well then?"
The younger boy hesitated and Akira held out a hand towards him in encouragement.
"The meeting is still continuing. They won't be out for hours. No one will miss us."
It took a moment longer before Kaede finally gave an almost imperceptible nod and moved towards the settee to pick up his coat.
Akira caught him in the doorway, blocking the way out with his body and laying a hand over the one with which Kaede was grasping the jacket draped over one arm. The smaller boy froze at the contact and looked up into Akira's face in query, a little startled by how close the kind blue eyes suddenly were to his. His heartbeat sped up irrationally.
"Don't bring that" Akira said.
Huh?
Akira's eyes moved down to the jacket Kaede had over his arm and Kaede followed his gaze to stare blankly at the dark material.
"It doesn't suit you," Akira whispered.
Kaede hesitated a moment but then let the black assassin's coat fall silently to the floor feeling oddly light as he did so.
It doesn't mean anything, he told himself sternly.
"Let's go" Akira said with a contented smile and set off into the corridor in the direction of the underground car park. Kaede checked that his two guns were secure around his waist and then followed him.
He was aware, perhaps, that Akira would demand something from him but, to his own surprise aware that he was no longer so very reluctant to give in to it.
~tbc
Updated Version: Dec 2018
Sorry this took so long – I suck.
Please leave a review if only to say "when are you gonna run out of ideas for this please-leave-a-review section?"