There is one exception.

He’s never been questioned about it directly, of course, but he knows people will gossip and believe every whimsical tale their friends can weave. He recognizes that of all his employees, one remains with him night and day. Not only does he have no other home, but the opportunities presented for him to leave the estate at all are limited. By Jade’s own design, of course, although he frames it differently for the replica.

So, when he descends his staircase, sleepwear shrouded by housecoat, he expects to find that other, sole resident at the source of the noise.

“You’re up early, aren’t you? There’s no need to start before your shift, you know.” If, indeed, chores were the younger one’s objective.

—   prompts  for  your  feels !! @spliitheart​  sent  a  letter :  “ What  am  I  supposed  to  do  when  I  can’t  even  trust  my  own  mind? ”

              AS  THE  LEADER  OF  THE  BAND  OF  SEVEN,  it  was  not  strange  for  the  members  of  the  band  to  turn  to  him  for  guidance  when  they  were  unsure.  Still,  Bankotsu  hardly  felt  qualified  to  give  life  advice  to  people  older  than  him ;  Despite  everything,  he  was  indeed  the  youngest,  and  hence  the  most  inexperienced  of  the  Band  of  Seven.  However,  he  also  had  his  pride.  

      Being  treated  as  if  he  were  the  youngest — even  though  he  was  indeed  so — was  the  last  thing  Bankotsu  wanted.  Acting  the  part  of  the  confident  and  reliable  boss  was  a  responsibility  he  could  not  afford  to  carelessly  dismiss,  or  else  he  was  sure  his  authority  would  not  hold  the  same  weight.  Even  if  it  was  all  an  act.  Even  if  he  was  breaking  apart  inside.

       Suikotsu’s  question  was  not  surprising,  it  was  common  knowledge  that  the  man  had  another  personality — one  which  constantly  clashed  with  the  other.  If  the  kind  doctor  were  to  emerge  in  the  heat  of  battle,  it  would  certainly  put  a  fracture  in  the  Band  of  Seven’s  chemistry  and  jeopardize  their  mission ;  on  top  of  likely  risking  Suikotsu’s  life.  Although  Bankotsu  did  not  share  the  older  man’s  divergent  egos,  he  could  somehow  relate  to  self  doubt.

       What  if  he  failed  as  the  leader  of  the  Band  of  Seven?  What  if  they  stopped  believing  in  him —  if  they  decided  to  leave  him — to  betray  him?  His  orders  boasted  cheerful  confidence  but  underneath  the  devil-may-care  grin  his  words  bled  uncertainty.  Bankotsu  was  not  one  to  worry  too  much  about  the  future,  but  when  he  was  alone  with  his  thoughts  on  sleepless  nights  underneath  the  blanket  of  darkness,  he  feared  his  own  decisions  and  actions  would  lead  his  brothers  down  the  wrong  path. 

              YET  SUCH  ANXIETIES  WOULD  ONLY  SERVE  AS  A  SELF  FULFILLING  PROPHECY,  without  self  confidence  Bankotsu  was  sure  to  lose  their  trust  and  make  a  foolish  choice.  He  battled  his  inner  doubts  by  locking  them  up  and  not  letting  them  show — with  a  plastered  mask  of  bravado  he  leads  the  Band  of  Seven  to  glorious  triumph.  “ Suikotsu, ”  the  mercenary  smiles  encouragingly,  “ The  trick  is  pretending  that  you  trust  your  own  mind. ”  Fake  it  til  you  make  it.

@spliitheart​ sent dangerous sentence prompt — ❛   that  sounds  dangerous ….  i’m  in .  ❜

Suikotsu didn’t really have a choice in the matter, actually. The Band of Seven operated much like the mob; there were no outs, and refusal was never an acceptable response to the boss’s orders. But, Bankotsu considered who he was speaking to. 

Suikotsu’s dark persona never hesitated to be willingly thrust into the fray of danger, making him the Band’s melee combat specialist— always on the front lines. However, the kindly doctor was much different. He never seemed to remember his involvement with the Band of Seven, and even if he did, Suikotsu wouldn’t harm a fly. 

Yet this time was different. 

The monster within him was dormant. Bankotsu was speaking to the side of his brother that frankly, he did not know much about. They met after Suikotsu’s bloodthirsty alter ego had gained a reputation for being monstrous... and the mercenary leader never had to deal with Suikotsu ‘turning into a good person' much prior Mount Hakurei.

Maybe that would explain why this Suikotsu seemed to be hesitant, yet daring enough to cross into a much crueler world than he realized he was already involved with. It had started Bankotsu meeting his revived younger brother; after criticizing his seemingly much weaker persona, he had once again asked Suikotsu to join him. 

“I’m going on a journey, and I could use your ‘skills’” Bankotsu had explained, the double meaning in the word ‘skills’ well disguised, yet also genuinely intended. 

Although he had been playing off of Suikotsu’s well known naive selflessness and stubborn insistence that he would save anyone who needed his aid... even if it was hopeless—like the innocent young girl who was doomed to die either way—Bankotsu was not lying about needed a doctor’s expertise on his travels. 

a softer world {x}

@spliitheart​

         Soured words drew a sharp breath, unintentional in the uncanny way the knife dug deep and twisted in old, buried wounds. Limbs ceased their movement, a rigidity overcoming her muscles. The abrupt tension etched across pallid features, radiating painfully down to trembling joints and settled in the pit of her stomach; coaxing sudden queasiness until it was naught but a dull, yet constant ache. It stung more than she’d like to admit but…

          ❛ Not you. He couldn’t know. ❜

         Knitted brows eased, but the realization did little to ease frazzled nerves. At the sight of his averted gaze her mind’s next to betray her, flooded with terrible whispers. Plaguing her mind of what the boy standing before her could have endured. Conjuring string after string of worst case scenarios thoughts. Cycling through possibilities in an endless loop.

         The usual bright, optimistic smile struggled to make an appearance, yet the turmoil within failed to stay a hand from silently grasping the other’s, slotting easily into the empty space. The hold was feeble, but nonetheless they were linked. Dimmed eyes flicked up at a soft, confused intake of breath, indigo meeting teal as their gaze locked for a brief moment, waning sunlight cascading along the dips and curves of youthful features and tinting them a pale pink. 

         ❝ Don’t say that, ❞ the reply finally came. She raised her other hand and placed it atop their laced fingers, simply holding him. ❝ I know. It hurts. It hurts a lot. Keeping it to yourself so it doesn’t hurt anyone else. But it…it doesn’t have to be like that anymore. ❞

         Almost absently, warm fingers ran along his own and slipped under them, stroking at his palm. The way his fingers jerked and curled inwards at the sensation went ignored. ❝ You’re here with us now. You have people that care about you. ❞ The thumb situated over his knuckles trailed across the speckled skin and traced the edge of a white line down to the tip of his ring finger, then her fingertips glided up the back of his hand. An idle thought rose at the back of her mind, a gentle reminder that his mismatched skin tones were intricate in its pretty patchwork. ❝ Sora. Riku. ❞ She shifted a hand, one finger stroking between two of his knuckles before traveling down between his fingers to gently rub the pads at their base. ❝ Me. ❞

         She refused to break eye contact, watching how pupils dilate, how lips separate yet no sound passed them.

         Hammer it home. Until it sinks it that he can’t think that way.

        She wasn’t sure if he had tensed or if it was the wavering tension gnawing at her insides that prompted her to lift a hand to cup the other’s cheek. The smile on her face remained vaguely bittersweet as she narrowed her eyes at his blown open gaze, iris more akin to a thin ring of teal around the enlarged pupil. Didn’t she read somewhere that meant the person was distracted or something along those lines ? ❝ You better be listening in there. I’m serious. No fake happiness while I’m around. Understand ? I’ll be able to tell ! ❞