They remained as shut-ins in their home for about three weeks, but once that twenty-first day ended, they departed for West. As it was a decent amount of miles away from North, Antithesis and Tyrant decided to—heavily reluctantly—enlist the help of Ulterior. After a bit of low-key flirting and Tyrant bashing a chair against a wall, he agreed to lend them the little boat they'd used after departing from the Roundfield.
Tyrant had dressed in a simple all-black ensemble, and he'd dyed his hair back to his natural ash blonde. Makeup didn't cover his face—not that he needed it, of course. Antithesis wore a slightly more common version of a prison jumpsuit—a grey shirt with moderately tight grey pants. He'd dyed his hair back to his natural blue-black color, too, though part of his head was still visibly shaven.
Tyrant sat back against Antithesis, his head on his chest. Though he wasn't tired in the slightest, Tyrant did still act like a cat. It was nice to know that he was more comfortable around Antithesis, even if it was just when they were alone. Granted, he was like that in public, too, but not nearly as sweet. It was more theatrical. In West, however, it would disappear entirely.
Two hours made up the ride, and through it all, they remained in each other's arms. They'd departed around five in the afternoon, and though still bright, the sun began to slip closer and closer to the horizon. Even after they docked, Tyrant and Antithesis would have to go through a bit of security, especially due to where they were coming from. That would eat up another half hour or so, and getting to the business district of West would take a fuck-ton longer. Night would overtake the sky by the time they reached Kunihiro.
"How long does customs take?" Antithesis asked.
Tyrant shrugged. "Dunno for sure. Mine's been different every time. Could take anywhere from fifteen minutes to fifty minutes. Basically, we dock the boat, and they search the boat. If they approve, we go onto security checks. If we fail, we leave. But since nothing can physically be hidden in this, we should be fine. For the actual customs, we get strip-searched—though no up-the-ass sort of shit. Then we head to a desk, and there we give our real names. Despite being in North, we're still registered in their databases. Sneaky shit, they do. Since we're both originally born in West, they should be a little more lax with us. If we were both natives of North, they wouldn't be so kind."
"Would that be ideal for me, though? Since I escaped prison?"
"Nah, that won't matter. You were technically in North when you escaped, so West has no say in it. Besides, you were in on a rape charge, right?A single 'rape' of another man means less than a single 'rape' of a woman. Bunch of bullshit, but that's how it goes."
"You sound like you're familiar."
"Mmm-hmm. I am. I almost got raped once."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I was...sixteen, I think. Mildly ephebophilic teacher."
"Ephebophilic?"
"Like a pedophile but for teens. Anyway, he tried raping me in detention, but I managed to escape."
"How?"
"Put a staple through his eye and dick. Went to court for it, actually, but neither of us got much punishment. I got a fine and he got about a year or two in prison. Don't know what happened to the bastard, though."
"Sounds terrible."
"It was, for a time. That got me thinking about shit, and that's when I realized my comfortable bisexuality."
"Why comfortable?"
"Because I'm accepting of it. These days, more and more I'm leaning toward uneasy homosexuality. But then I remember how lovely tits can be, and I feel comfortable yet again. Don't worry, though. I won't leave you."
"I don't see why you would. Women are awful."
He flicked Antithesis's forehead. "You're right, but that's mean. It's kinda a shame that you're a fag. We could have some excellent three- and foursomes otherwise."
"Fuck you," he spat. "If I wasn't gay I probably wouldn't be that interested in you. I'd get distracted."
"Bullshit," Tyrant denied. "I look like a girl. You'd love me either way."
He wasn't wrong.
Tyrant's estimate proved correct, and the total security check took roughly forty-five minutes. The officer who performed Antithesis's search half-flirted with him the entire time, much to Antithesis's annoyance. Tyrant was searched next to him, and his officer was extremely rough with him. Based on how Tyrant responded to his questions, there was a slight sense of familiarity between them. Could that have been the guard he'd assaulted and ejaculated on? No, if that was the case, Tyrant would have been rearrested instantly. If that was the same person, he was terrible at facial recognition.
They took an aboveground train from the docks to the business district, an hour-long ride that sent the sun further down in the darkening sky. They got off in a section full of tall buildings and busy people. Suits covered most of them, whether men or women, though some of the latter wore skirts on their bottom halves. Streetlights glowed above, along with brightness from office windows.
As they walked down the street, Tyrant and Antithesis received looks that ranged from unease to oddity. Most of those looks were aimed at Tyrant, whose hair, despite being far less extravagant than usual, was a far cry from the normalcy promoted in West. Antithesis's wasn't, either, but it was less noticeable.
Kunihiro worked somewhere in the middle of the district, though Antithesis didn't know what type of business he worked in. He was a creature of habit, though, and Antithesis knew that he left at about nine, and it was inching closer to nine right now.
Antithesis led the way to the familiar building, and he managed to catch a glimpse of his brother leaving the building. At a quicker pace, he and Tyrant followed Kunihiro down the streets. When he stopped, Antithesis placed a hand on his shoulder. Kunihiro turned, and his eyes widened.
"You're alive?" he asked.
"Come with me," Antithesis said. He nodded to a nearby alley. "I want to talk in private."
His older brother stared at him with hesitance, but nevertheless he accompanied Antithesis into the alley. Tyrant followed behind.
Antithesis took him quite deep into the alley, deep enough that they wouldn't be disturbed by anyone on the streets. Tyrant stood a bit further away, watching in relative silence.
"Who's that?" Kunihiro asked, pointing to Tyrant.
"It doesn't matter," Antithesis replied.
"You piece of shit," Tyrant spat.
Antithesis sighed. "He's my current lover. I met in him North."
"North?"
"Yeah, that's were I've been for the past few months. I escaped going to the Tombs."
"So you can rape more people?" Kunihiro hissed bitterly.
"I didn't rape him," Antithesis hissed back. "He got scared and claimed it was rape to avoid judgment."
"Bullshit, he did. You're just a monster and a disgrace. Nothing else to it."
Narrowing his eyes, Antithesis balled his hand into a fist and struck Kunihiro in the face. He fell to the ground, and Antithesis followed atop him. He lifted his brother by his shirt and continued beating him. Kunihiro tried fighting back, but to little avail—Antithesis was far stronger.
Something hard and blunt struck the side of Antithesis's head, and Antithesis fell onto his side. He lifted his head, but another blow sent him back to the ground. Something that felt like a booted foot smashed his chest, knocking all breath out of his lungs. Antithesis hacked and heaved, trying to recover from the devastating blow.
"What the fuck do you think this is?!" Tyrant berated.
Antithesis rose to a crouch and scowled at Tyrant. "What? Is it so wrong to hurt him after he's hurt me so much?"
"This isn't North, Antithesis! You can't just beat people savagely and expect to get away with it here! I don't give a shit what he's done to you—you're not a fucking child!"
Though still bubbling with rage, Antithesis knew he was right. With a sigh he rose from the ground and pulled up his brother.
"Sorry for that. I let myself go too far." He sighed once more, then said, "Look, I didn't come to try to make things better. You probably can see that." He gestured to the bruise swelling on Kunihiro's cheek. "But I didn't really come to make shit worse, either. I just wanted to tell you where I ended up. I doubted you were worried, but in case you were wondering what had happened, here I am. Feel free to relay it to our parents, if you want."
"You're still a piece of shit," Kunihiro said. "But at least you're a bit more sensible." He flashed a glance at Tyrant. "And your taste in partners is still terrible."
Tyrant spat at his chest.
Antithesis smiled.
