Symphony of Disaster

He was to obey his orders without question and only speak when addressed… That was the way things were. Lacking the strength of will to look his master in the eye and feeling so utterly small, Tasuku instead turned his gaze to his feet.

"…No. Forgive me. I’ll do as you ask, Kyouya-sama…"

Ugh. Hearing Disaster described as ‘one big family’ was about as repulsive to Rouga as it was ‘heart-warming' to Kyoya—especially when he considered members like Yamazaki, Shidou, and Kabala. When he thought of people like them, ‘snake’ was the first word to come to mind.

People like them…hardly warranted any trust on his part. They weren’t family, or friends—they were just convenient pieces on Kyoya’s chessboard.

(But then, weren’t they all?)

Of course… Kyouya had eyes everywhere thanks to Azi-Dahaka’s power, but even more worrying was that he had settled on yet another target.

"Hyakuya-san…?"

It wasn’t hard to see what Kyouya wanted, but…

"…I barely know him. The only time we spoke was in the woods, and I don’t have a reason to go looking for him… Wouldn’t that tip him off?"

He couldn’t tail Yuu either, given that the elder had easily detected Tasuku’s presence in the underbrush during their first encounter.

And…doing such a thing would leave a bad taste in his mouth.

"Is there no other way to do this?"

A temporary ally of sorts, yes, and maybe something of a ‘student,’ but certainly not a friend in any way, shape, or form. The current circumstances demanded their cooperation—that was all.

The very idea that anything beyond an uneasy truce could develop between him and Ryuuenji was just…inconceivable. Laughable.

「☀」—» Things after the event went back to normal— well, as ‘normal' as they could be, for being trapped inside of this place with a bunch of maniacs. It seemed like incidents in this place were a daily occurrence, ranging from fires to explosions in the kitchen and things breaking.. Tsuna just knew this place was entirely unsafe.

There was a faint smell of burning off down one of the many hallways, too, and the brunet could really only assume the worst. It’s not like he’d be wrong. His head turned to the side to peek down the hallway as he passed, leaning back and forward to try and get a better look— which was definitely not his brightest idea. Tsuna tended to always take his lack of grace for granted, hoping for the best, when fate was clearly not on his side.

His center of gravity shifted and he found himself lilting forward a little too much, a loud “UH” escaping as arms flailed.

It was interesting, though, considering he braced for the impact that never came. He was used to tripping, and landing flat on his face of course, and that definitely wasn’t—

The arms around his waist register, after a second of wondering why he hadn’t made friends with the floor again, and brown eyes are blinking rapidly. Someone saved him? That was something he actually wasn’t used to— “Ah, u-uh.. um..” the brunet stammers awkwardly, trying to actually find coherent words. Smooth, right? “Th-thank you for the help!”

(336):

"…Your orders?"

"… As usual, your jokes are terrible."

He didn’t bother looking at the spot Kyoya had designated as ‘dangerous’—why should he, when Cerberus had confirmed the area as being safe? Or, well…land mine-free, at least. Rouga doubted that any part of this facility was wholly and completely safe…

             Even as Kyouya reached forward, playing with Aichi’s hair, those enlarged optics, flooded with horror and distress, didn’t even inch away from those locked onto them.

Was he doing just as the other claimed? Playing pretend to make up for everything he’d lost before arriving? Ignoring how he’d wiped all trace of his existence from the world, cutting ties with his beloved friends with his own hands, but here, he’d caved and attempted to make some acquaintances more than that.

           But he didn’t know about them, and they knew nothing about him or his predicament. It was all a rouse; hollow atonement (if it could even be called that) in serving those he’d become entrapped with. But of them, there was no-one he knew well enough to make out they could be as much as he’d believed them.

Tasuku, Chiyo, Gao, Alcor, Natsume, Madara… even Rin.

       None of them knew who Sendou Aichi really was, and he knew next to nothing about them.

Along the bottom of the widened optics, tears clawed along, threatening to leak over the edge and demonstrate further just how pitiful he was, how easily broken and to fall apart.

A hand shot out, grasping the sheet beneath to steady himself with the dull pang in the back of his head growing fiercer, making it more difficult to keep himself upright, shoulders slow in their prolonged movements to match his breathing.

The other palm reached upwards, pressing itself against one eye to at least hide when the build-up was going to grow too much to prevent spilling over, a shaky, fractured smile on his lips. “N- No… y- you’re right.

 "Hah. Please... Stop kidding yourself. Humans are naturally selfish. We cling to the things we want and need in order to steel our own resolves. We seek, hope, and desire because we are weak and helpless as individuals. This goes for anyone, me, Tasuku-kun... but for you... oh, for you, Aichi-san, I'd hate to say that it's almost on the parasitic level? "Let's back-track and take Tasuku-kun, again, for instance.. do you really think you can act as some sort of pillar for him..? Some sort of stable support? You, yourself, are already at the edge of despair, falling apart at the seams, and yet you have given your bleeding heart to the likes of a child that has already submitted himself to darkness? You're being almost cruel, in that respect... Raising his hopes like that. "Aichi-san... do you think you're some sort of saint? A god..? Do you think you can try and perform miracles or cure the hearts of the mistreated as some sort of cleansing ritual for yourself? Please." Kyoya was advancing closer and closer to Aichi now, immediately seizing his arm and pulling him back, keeping his malicious crimson gaze locked on to those trembling aqua, grip tight and tone unrelenting. I can break you yet... "You're... so disgusting. And I can see why Tasuku-kun has feelings for you... You're so... pitiable. Vulnerable." And he could have went on, and on, topping it off with more of the convoluted truths he could reel in from those emotions the elder wore on his sleeve... But Kyoya was the forgiving one.  ".... But wouldn't you like to change all of that..?"

"That’s not— Why would I have any reason to dislike you?

Because of the flag incident? I offered it to you; you’re Tasuku-kun’s friend and I thought… I do like you, Gaen-kun. I’m sorry if I’ve led to any misunderstanding”.

                     So what was the sudden panic about? Because he was that desperate to please people, not to make enemies? But it was more than that; clearly there would be some people along the way that couldn’t be satisfied, but there was something different about Kyouya.

What? The familiarity he shared with a friend? Or was it because if he were to turn away, that meant Aichi had failed? Even he couldn’t tell. But it couldn’t come to an abrupt stop like this; if there was any inclination that Aichi disfavoured the other, it was his responsibility to set it right.

      His senses, as drained as they were, snapped back to full working force when the proposal was made, head inching forward and the weight of his tilted torso supposed by his hands burrowed beneath.

"No, you shouldn’t!"                   So sudden, and he shrank back, not about to raise his voice again, shrinking back into himself and struggling to meet those eyes lapping up the sight.

 "...Listen," cutting through the elder's stuttering with a tight squeeze and curt interruption, Kyoya, too, grew tired of humoring that tasteless humbleness. ".. if you're so insistent on catering to my needs, then why are you refusing my offer? This is what I want, Aichi-san."

But there was something else he wanted to say, too. Just to raise awareness and tensions purposefully, of course. Kyoya Gaen was all about perceptiveness, after all.  "I could always leave, too. You can be honest with me... I mean..