[fic] The Things We Can't Control - Chapter 26 ~Life Goes On~
Title: The Things We Can't Control
Author:
prettyorianna
Pairing: Akame. Others to be added later.
Rating: NC-17.
Genre: crime drama au
Beta by: my cat Gemma. okay, seriously, nobody
Disclaimer: I don't own KAT-TUN, any of its members, any other JE people. I write this for fun and for other fans of these fine folks. But don't steal my plots, mmkay? I put a great deal of time into them except for when I'm randomly spastically spitting words onto a page. But I value those too...
Summary: Two criminals with vastly different styles meet by chance one day. Can they work together or will they end up destroying each other?
Author's Note: Well, now you get to know more about the twins and everything else that happens in the first five or so months.
BANNER BY DESHISORABA!!
Warning: This gets graphic often occasionally, containing at the very least foul language, character death, nefarious crimes, rape, etc etc.
The Master Posts:
On my journal - The Things We Can't Control Master Post
On the akame_ Community - The Things We Can't Control Master Post
On the akame_fanfics Community - The Things We Can't Control Master Post
On the je_kamenashi Community - The Things We Can't Control Master Post
On the kattun_fanfics Community - The Things We Can't Control Master Post
On the jin_fics Community - The Things We Can't Control Master Post
Chapter 26 ~Life Goes On~
Kame’s heart was beating so fast but he’d gotten much better at hiding it, he thought. But Akira’s, “You’re afraid of us?” pretty much proved that wrong. He hadn’t wanted them to know...
So he tried to deny it with, “What? I’m not.”
Akira and Aoi both smiled, but it wasn’t a cruel smile. Not on either of them. They were soft smiles, very friendly. Akira said, “We have to be great at reading people. You can’t hide your fear enough that we can’t tell.” And, indeed, his tone wasn’t cruel, or sarcastic, or even judgmental.
But then again, that… monster… his tone wasn’t any of those things either. And after what Ryuichi hinted at… could anyone really blame him for being scared? He was still pretty new on the streets so he was easy to take advantage of.
“I… am fine,” he ended up saying finally.
Aoi and Akira turned towards each other - Kame supposed they were communicating that way somehow as Aoi had thus far not made so much as a sound - and when they turned back, Akira was no longer smiling. “What did Ryuichi tell you about us?”
“Um…” and Kame tried to remember everything, “He said… you were mad at him… and… something…” So eloquent. At least he wasn’t stuttering or anything like that.
“Something?”
What was it in Akira’s tone and eyes that made him just want to confess? Not just what Ryuichi told him, but everything he’d ever known. “About… you are bored with him because he won’t let you tie him down.”
But now Akira tilted his head slightly, a quizzical expression on his face. “You’re new,” and Kame didn’t ask how he’d figured that out, since he figured it was pretty obvious, “But that isn’t enough to explain this.”
Nervously, Kame asked, “Explain what?”
Akira didn’t answer the question. Instead, a soft smile returned to both him and Aoi. “You don’t have to fear us, Kame.” His voice was warm, comforting. It was almost physical, like you could wrap it around yourself and be kept safe, where no nightmares could touch you. Had he ever heard a voice like that before?
Though how… oh, right. Ryuichi had used his name.
Akira touched Aoi on the shoulder which was enough to send Aoi towards Kame. He couldn’t help but ask the approaching man, “Do you ever talk?” Aoi just shook his head and continued on his way to Kame who was subconsciously backing away slowly.
“It’s in his contract,” Akira explained.
Kame took one last step backwards and found himself nearly tripping over the coffee table. “Um… contract? He works for you?”
Akira gave a small laugh,” Something like that.” And, though he made no sound, there was laughter in Aoi’s eyes as well.
And then Aoi had reached Kame, who couldn’t back up any further without climbing over the little table. When Aoi started to unbutton his shirt, Kame’s heart sped up even more, but he didn’t stop him. This was the deal, wasn’t it? He’d just have to do what they wanted and then he’d get the money from them. It violated Ryuichi’s “money up front” advice but Ryuichi knew these people well enough to expect Kame to bring back their money, which obviously meant he knew their word was good. Right?
Though it wasn’t like he’d be able to do anything if they didn’t pay up…
Aoi had his shirt half unbuttoned when Kame had a horrible thought. His chest and his back. The scars. They would see! Nobody on the stroll had seen them yet. Kame didn’t want anyone to know. He didn’t want anyone to see! Having his pain and humiliation and horror there for anyone who cared to look… He opened his mouth to tell Aoi to stop but Aoi was already pulling open the unbuttoned shirt.
He got it partially opened and suddenly stopped and Kame figured that meant he’d noticed the scars and that it was too late to stop him…
And it seemed Kame wasn’t the only one who noticed that Aoi had stopped mid-movement but for the time being, Akira just watched with interest. Aoi glanced up from his chest to look at his face instead as he slowly pulled the shirt the rest of the way open and then slid it over Kame’s shoulders so it would fall to the floor in a heap at his feet. But Kame couldn’t meet those eyes for more than a moment. He closed his eyes and turned his head away, his whole body trembling.
At least when those men took him in the alley for $20 a pop, they didn’t see this. Nobody saw this, the proof of just how vulnerable he really was and what someone had been able to do because of it.
Now Akira and Aoi, they knew for sure they could do whatever they wanted and he couldn’t stop them, just like he hadn’t been able to stop that man.
With one hand Aoi ran his fingers questioningly along the burn scars following Kame’s ribs but with the other hand, he gestured for Akira. And when Akira finally saw, it was just too much. Kame pushed Aoi’s hand away and quickly skirted around the table, fleeing as far away as the room would allow. He’d love to have just fled the apartment but unfortunately, waiting so long had not been the best idea because he’d have to get past the twins to get out.
It was getting so hard to breathe. His chest… it was tight. So tight… pressing his hand against his chest, Kame tried to push away the blind panic but it wouldn’t leave. And he didn’t remember when he started crying, but apparently he was because his nose got all sniffley. “I… I…” but he couldn’t get anything else out and he hated himself for that. He thought he was doing so much better since the nightmares had become fewer and he didn’t wake up screaming… he actually went more than a day sometimes without thinking back on that man at his father’s house. But now, knowing that the two people looking at him could see it all, the pieces of the three-day hell that he could still remember came flooding back.
Akira’s voice, still so warm and comforting, “You didn’t consent to that, did you?” But it sounded less like a question and more like a statement.
Kame didn’t answer. He just stayed against the wall, clutching his chest and trying to calm himself down.
He didn’t actually see it happen, but Aoi must have done something because Akira said in response, “You’re right. But vanilla will be fine.” And then back to Kame and this time his voice was a lot harder. “Did Ryuichi do that?”
All Kame could do was shake his head. It took him several attempts before he finally succeeded in getting any words out at all, “I don’t c-care about the money anymore. I… I…”
The warm, soothing voice was back. “Kame, you need to calm down. Close your eyes and listen to my voice, okay? You need to breathe deeply but slowly. In... Out… Again… Aoi, make some tea.”
And Akira kept talking and surprisingly enough, between the soothing tone and the instructions, Kame did seem to be calming down. Then the tea was ready and Aoi handed a cup to Kame, gesturing for him to sit on the couch. Since he couldn’t get past Akira even if he tried, Kame just did it. He sat down and started sipping the tea. It was really, really good…
Though when Akira sat down on one side of him and Aoi on the other, there was a brief second where his heart skipped a beat or two, but he just took another drink of his tea.
“Kame, the stuff Ryuichi told you about wanting to tie him down… it is true that we do that. We wouldn’t want to do it to him, but that’s just because we’re still pretty pissed at him for getting our kid sister high and then arrested a couple months ago. And we do more than tie people down. There is pain involved sometimes. But I swear to you, we have never hurt anyone who didn’t want it. What was done to you… I don’t know who did it, but it’s a twisted perversion. It makes the whole lifestyle look bad and it means you will probably never be able to try that lifestyle because you will react like you just did. We were hoping…” and Akira paused for a moment before continuing with, “Well, we wanted to test your limits - within the boundaries of what you allowed us, mind you - and, if it went well, offer you a place working in our club as a sub. But we can’t do that now because it would break our rules of not doing actual harm.”
“But… we have a deal. Whatever we want, for the rest of the day. Only we can’t have what we want without force; I see that plain as day. So what should we do?” Akira asked him.
Taking another sip of his tea, which Kame had to admit was helping immensely, he finally answered, “If I go back with less than $500 to give to Ryuichi, he’s gonna think I’m lying. I know he will. Can… can I get $500 for the cards and the checkbook and the ID?”
“So that you can give it all to Ryuichi and not keep a dime for yourself? Hardly. We wouldn’t mind giving you that deal but we are not going to let your work profit only him. He’s selfish and he takes what he wants no matter the cost or damage and the people around him are worse for having met him. Our little sister is in jail because of him! If you would promise to keep the money yourself, I could give you that deal. But I will be honest with you; I don’t think you can make that promise in good faith. I think he would find some way to get it from you.”
“So now what?” Wow, that tea really was helping. And it was hard to stay tense with that smooth, comforting voice. “I just go empty-handed? Or I take the cards back with me instead?”
“Or you can sleep with us, like the deal says. True that we may not get everything we wanted to do, but I can’t deny you’re… well, I put it straight out there. You’re stunningly gorgeous. Even this,” and Akira ran a hand lightly down Kame’s chest and the scars there, causing Kame’s breath to catch in his throat, “Does not destroy that overwhelming beauty.”
Could he do that, at least? Well, he did it every night, didn’t he? For far less money and with people who had far less integrity than these brothers seemed to have. Oh, he’d still hate himself for it, but that was nothing new. That was a comfortable hate because it was a well-worn one.
With a nervous swallow, Kame finally said, “I… Okay.”
And they finished drinking their tea first. But when they were done, the three of them went to the bedroom and did not come out again until it was nearly dark. And Kame was a bit sore after it all, but not overwhelmingly so. The twins had been polite and considerate… but insatiable. But they were true to their word and he left there with a thousand dollars, spread over his person as a measure against thievery, along with a request by them for another session, with Ryuichi removed from the equation so that Kame alone profited from it (they really did seem to hate Ryuichi. A lot).
Kame hadn’t exactly enjoyed himself, but he could at least say it was the least horrible session he’d ever had. That was something, right?
It was full dark by the time Kame got back to the stroll. The first thing Ryuichi did was grab him by the arm and pull him into the alley, quietly demanding his half of the money. Kame gave him his five hundred dollars but not before extracting a promise to take him to see the woman at the check-cashing place first thing in the morning. Ryuichi rolled his eyes but agreed.
But they didn’t get a chance to talk further because it was already partly into peak hours and Ryuichi wanted to get to work. But Kame decided to take the rest of the night off, just this once.
And the next morning, Ryuichi finally took him to Yuriko’s Check Cashing, introducing him to the oldest and most grizzled and… well, scary-looking old woman he’d ever met. She didn’t seem too pleased to meet him, either. But business was business and she accepted his money and gave him a voucher with both her signature and his own on it.
And that was life, for a while. He’d whore himself out almost every night and once or twice a month, Kame would play Hound for Ryuichi. They got to the point where (probably due to the fact that the twins kept throwing him out and would only talk to Kame) Ryuichi just sent him alone to sell the IDs and credit cards and so forth. Akira and Aoi took full advantage of Ryuichi’s absence to pay for more sessions with Kame without having any of that “extra” money go to Ryuichi.
Which suited Kame fine.
That wasn’t all. It had taken a few weeks of hard-earned victories but Ryuichi finally clued in to the fact that Kame wasn’t going to sleep with him again no matter how much he whined. Kame and Yokoyama’s surprise attacks were long-since over, but they did still spar from time to time, to relieve stress. Kame actually got quite good and a lot stronger.
He was still training with Hina, too. He was only passably decent with picking locks but he got especially good at the pickpocketing. Though Hina’s idea of training was to have Kame steal Ryuichi and Yoko’s things, whatever he coveted but was too lazy to bother stealing himself.
And then, maybe five and a half miserable months on the street, Hina “fell in love” again and left the stroll and that put an end to their lessons… but it also meant Kame wouldn’t have to buy his food anymore.
Kame was actually getting a fair amount of money saved up but aside from keeping him fed and giving him a “clothing and other miscellaneous hound-related expenses” fund, the money just sat there at Yuriko’s Check Cashing. He… he wanted to rent a place, to get off the streets, but nobody wanted to rent an apartment to an “unemployed” kid.
Every now and again he’d hear rumors about Papa K but he did his best to sound largely uninterested. He just knew that if anyone found out he was his son, they wouldn’t hesitate to turn him over. And despite the fact that he wasn’t starving and could afford to occasionally rent a motel room for a better night’s sleep and a shower, he was just depressed. When he wasn’t working or walking somewhere, he would just sit there, back against the wall, clutching his increasingly filthy Snoopy doll and staring off into empty air. It was harder and harder to make himself work every night. More than once, he’d caught himself staring at the blade of his knife though he couldn’t remember removing it from his pocket or pushing the button to extend the blade. But when that happened, he’d eventually make himself put it away.
The depression got so bad that his friendly sparring with Yoko started to suffer. Not just that he was more distracted and less motivated but also far too easily angered over little things like (for example) losing the fight. One time when Yoko landed a particularly nasty punch that made Kame’s nose bleed and left a horrible bruise, Kame threw a complete fit. And by fit he meant that he beat the ever-living shit out of the older boy.
He felt bad about it later and pretty damn surprised he was able to do it in the first place, but it put a permanent sour note between him and Yoko and they started ignoring each others’ presence entirely whenever possible.
And that just made the stroll even more unbearable, having lost… well, not exactly a friendship, but at least something slightly better than the relationship he had with the rest of the boys in Ryuichi’s stroll.
Maybe it was time to move to a different stroll.
But, no… then he’d have to start all over again and he didn’t want to spend his time fighting off people trying to take advantage of him because he’s new. So he stayed and just got more and more miserable.
He was just so tired. Like, bone-weary, the stuff that no good night’s rest was enough to fix.
Ah, well. It was time to Hound again, so Kame pushed it all down and went to play his part at, coincidentally enough, the same Applebees as that very first time months ago.
Had he become so depressed that he was missing the warning signs? Or had he become so arrogant about his ability to Hound that he wasn’t on guard for danger? Kame didn’t know. He only knew that things went horribly, horribly wrong.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
The story continues:
Chapter 27 ~The Reporter's Report~
A/N: Cliffhanger! Muahahaha!
I hope you guys were surprised at the awesomeness of Akira and Aoi. And for those curious about the contract Akira mentions, sometimes a submissive will enter into a contract, a document that clearly defines what is and is not allowed for the duration. It's essentially like a safe-word in that it's one more way the submissive gets to decide just how far things can go.
Oh, the twins aren't sleeping with each other though. I mean, they sleep with other people together, but not just with each other. If you were curious.
Sucks that things went so badly between Kame and Yoko, though.