DISCLAIMER: The following story is based off of Air Gear.
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Silence was what greeted the cars as they pulled in to the dark alley one by one. Despite the heavy shadow cast by the massive buildings around them, light still managed to sneak into the entrance of the alley, shining in multiple colors. A quiet signal was given and the cars moved on, leaving just two behind.
"Out." Said the blonde haired driver as he smoked a cigarette. His younger brother sat beside him, giving his sibling a curious look.
"Look, I didn't expect them to leave everything to Gio. I trust him as far as I can throw him." Grumbled Kirin, ignoring his brother's smirk.
"If I recall…. You can throw him pretty damn far." Kirin replied as he opened the passenger door. Even though he was able to poke fun at his older brother and he had swiftly exited the pitch black vehicle, he hesitated in closing the door. His brother looked at him, reading the uncertainty in Kirin's face.
"…Like I said. You can always sit the rest of this out Kirin." Nian said calmly. Kirin quirked an eyebrow at his brother.
"What and leave you to help Gio out alone? That will surely end in disaster." He played, though his face did little to hide the doubts he had. Nian locked his eyes on his sibling's. Kirin offered a half-hearted smile as he closed the door. Finally the black sports car drove off, following the others and disappearing into the darkness of the fading night. The strawberry blonde watched the car vanish before heading over to the dark blue car that had an amused Gio leaning on the roof top.
"Is your touching brother moment over?" He asked. Kirin rolled his eyes as he smirked.
"I just saved your life. Be grateful." He replied. He glanced at the man beside Gio who was leaning into the car's back seat. Kirin's smile faltered as the man pulled out the dress wearing little boy. His eyes were locked onto the unconscious form. His mind became a muddled mess as he tried to discern exactly what the hell he was trying to think about. Suddenly a hand clapped on his shoulder and he turned his eyes to lock onto Gio who had managed to walk around the car without Kirin noticing.
"Hey, stop spacing out buddy. What use are you going to be if you get all weird and shit when you just see her?" He was trying to joke, Kirin could tell. Kirin forced another smile and brushed Gio's hand off his shoulder. He just wanted to get this over with as fast as possible.
Gio led both Kirin and the black haired man who carried their captive into a large stone building through a back door. He grinned at the heavily built guard. The guard cocked an eyebrow at the group and waited, looking the group over with suspicious eyes.
"Hey JB" Chirped Gio as if greeting an old time friend. Instantly the guard's expression changed to something much more relaxed. He gave a one sided smirk and high fived the brunette. Kirin barely caught the flash of green that passed between their hands. The group of four continued through the building unhindered. Kirin took the time to look around at the empty and yet dazzling building. It wasn't often he wandered through a five star hotel casino like this. Neon lights blinded its customers in more ways than one.
After taking the deserted emergency stairs up a few floors, Gio led them to one of the hotel rooms. A quick scan of the keycard in his hand gave them easy access. Kirin was starting to feel a bit out of the loop. When had Gio received a keycard? Of course, Kirin wasn't as highly ranked in this as the brunette, but even with his position as a tagalong, Gio usually kept him up to date with everything that was going on.
"Alright, so before we take angel to her new luxury suite, we've got to clean her up. So. Onward, to the bathroom." Gio said lazily as he dropped a duffle bag beside the couch in the room and guided their third man holding Akito toward the direction he hoped the bathroom was in. Kirin just looked around. It was a nice set up with two red leather sofas, a plasma screen TV secured to the wall, a mini bar…the works. He walked over to the door on his right, glancing in to see a queen size bed. That must have meant Gio found the bathroom on the left side of the suite. That also meant that Gio was sleeping on the couch.
"Hey, come on ya jerk. Fine, whatever" the sound came from an annoyed Gio and as Kirin turned to glance in his direction, he noticed their third man walking away snickering.
"Check you later Kirin. Boss wants a heads up on the situation." He said as he left the room and left Kirin to piece together why Gio was angry. The answer was obvious. Clearly the lazy bum didn't feel like cleaning up Akito alone. It was if that thought alone reminded his brunette friend that he was, in fact, not alone.
"Kirin~ You should totally come in here and take over. Preferably while I take a nap." He barked to his blonde haired companion. Kirin walked over and leaned against the sleek mahogany doorframe.
"Oh no. I'm only here to supervise." Kirin smirked. Gio only laughed, clearly not even pretending that Kirin could possibly be serious. If he wasn't getting out of work, he wasn't going to let Kirin get out of it either. Kirin watched as Gio picked up Akito and slid open the frosted glass door that separated the bathtub shower from the toilet and vanity.
"Jess was supposed to pick up some clothes for her that weren't shredded. They should be in the bag out there" Gio said in a not so subtle hint for Kirin to go fetch them. Kirin headed out without argument. The bag was exactly where Gio had dumped it sloppily on the floor. He knelt down and dug through it, pushing aside both clothing and metal. Finally he found the small children's clothes tucked away in the corner of the bag. The clothes were a simple tee shirt and sweat pants, but it was better than the falling apart gown he was wearing now. Kirin knew the kid would sell better in wearable clothes. Still, he hesitated to return to the bathroom. He glanced at the door, rethinking his brother's words from before they had left to sell in the city. It was only the sound of running water that broke his thoughts and he casually stood up with clothes in hand and headed back to Gio. When he reached the rather spacious bathroom, the sight made him raise his eyebrows.
"Gio. Wouldn't it be easier to clean him up if you took off his dress?" Kirin stated flatly as he looked at Akito sitting in the bathtub, still completely clothed in that grime covered dress.
"Fuck that!" Gio looked positively appalled at the idea and Kirin had to bite back his laughter.
"You're so immature" He sighed with a roll of his eyes as he sat the clothes on the vanity. He bent down beside the tub and looked at the soft peaceful face of the blue haired boy. With a sigh he reached over and tugged at the dress. Getting it off really wasn't hard at all. The thing was already in tatters and Akito's thin frame let the mess of crusty fabric pretty much glide right over his head. The kid slumped to the side as the dress was pulled away from him and Gio's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"Wow. She really is a boy." He mused and Kirin gave Gio a look.
"You know what. I'm not even going to say anything. You clean him up and I'll throw this out" Kirin said as he started to stand. Instantly Gio's hand was holding his arm.
"No no no. You can clean the he she. I'LL throw out his old threads." Gio remarked as he tried to pull the pathetic excuse of a dress from Kirin's grasp.
"Are you serious? Gio, stop acting like such a kid." Kirin said even as he tried to smother the smile that was ruining his attempt to scold the older man. Sometimes he just didn't know what to do about Gio.
"What? No. I don't go for that shit." Gio remarked as he stood, a completely serious look plastered on his face.
"What the hell are you implying? Just for that one, now I'm not helping out at all!" Kirin retorted as he too stood, keeping a firm grip on the clothes.
"Guys"
"Now don't be so selfish Kirin. I mean, you and him are buddies right? So you can handle this. I'll leave it all to you." Gio was smiling as he tugged the dress again.
"Guys~"
"This can be your chance to get closer to him" Kirin replied with a sly smirk. Gio paled.
"You sick son of a…. You sure you ain't Nian in disguise?" Gio barked. Kirin laughed fully at his reaction.
"Clearly somebody's mind is in the gutter. What are you thinking about Gio?" Kirin purred as he gave the dress another tug.
"Me? Dude, you are one messed up – "
"GUYS"
That voice finally brought both Kirin and Gio to a halt in their argument and both whipped their heads around to stare at the luxury bathtub.
"I can wash myself you know" Akito said with a smile as he looked at the two in amusement. They had the deer in headlights look and honestly their little friendly bickering had been pretty funny. Kirin was the first to recover and tugged the dress out of Gio's hands. Gio was still staring at the naked little blue haired kid who was leaning casually against the rim of the tub, completely un phased that he had woken up in a strange place completely naked with two grown men yelling beside him.
"Changed my mind. HE'S the one who's messed up." Gio decided, gesturing to Akito and shaking his head. "Alright Angel. You've got solid concrete around you and we're going to be right here. There's nowhere for you to go."
"I know" Akito replied, still smiling despite his situation. Gio didn't know whether to be amused or disbelieving, so his face held a mixture of both emotions. He shook his head again as he slid the frosted glass door closed.
"What a little fruit loop." He chuckled as he sat cross legged on the ground. Kirin left the room with nothing to add to Gio's observation. He took the dress to the kitchen sink and laid it down inside of it before tearing off a shred of dilapidated fabric. He glanced at the stove and turned it on just enough to light the fabric, then tossed the scrap onto the rest of the dress. He watched the fire burn away any evidence of the child's origin that they had, leaving nothing but crisp blackness behind. Finally he turned on the sink and washed away the ashes.
When he returned to Gio, he was greeted by a song. Gio was smiling as he shook his head and Kirin glanced at the frosted shower. Akito was singing while he cleaned in the shower. Even Kirin couldn't stop the amused expression from covering his face.
"Seriously, I think you've become my favorite captive ever. Well, at least you would be if you weren't… you know… psychotic." Gio called out over the sweet little tune. A giggle was the reply and Gio couldn't even be surprised anymore.
"Gio, fill me in. What's the full plan here?" Kirin said as he sat across from Gio. He kept his voice low, though he knew the singing child right beside them could still probably overhear anything they were about to say. They'd have to keep their choice of words vague.
"Cleaning up for the sale. There's nothing much else too it." Gio shrugged. Kirin didn't really care for that answer. He already knew that much anyway.
"Why here though?" He asked and Gio smirked.
"Here is where it always goes down. Seriously dude, there's even a special room for our customers. This place was practically built for people like us. The rest is all for show." He replied. Personally he'd be spending his free time trying to earn some extra coin by gambling. A casino was the best cover ever in his opinion.
"Ah. So where is he going to be staying until then?" Kirin inquired as he motioned with his head to the shower.
"With the others. There are more than just our kid going up on market. Aki can play with the other little girls while he waits" Gio chuckled, but his joking was cut short by a horrendously loud bang that shook the frosted glass sliding door.
"I am NOT a fucking GIRL" roared a voice from behind the glass. Neither Gio nor Kirin had noticed when Akito had stopped singing, but they were fully aware of it now. Instantly Gio was holding the sliding door shut on one side while Kirin held the other. The boy contained within howled in rage as he pounded the glass again. Gio was just glad the glass was so god damn strong.
"Chill kid, I was just joking around. Jeezus." Gio groaned as he used both hands to keep the door pinned shut on his side.
"Agito?" Kirin's voice was unsure and for a moment the pounding on the door stopped. He could see the vague dark shape of a person behind the glass walk over to his side.
"Fuck off" He said simply as the door suddenly received a strong tug. Kirin had been caught off guard but quickly slammed the door shut again before it even opened past an inch. Agito growled and continued to try to pry open the door. He didn't care if he was naked, dripping wet, and lost in some building where he was who knew where. He wanted to get out and away from these imbeciles. He stepped back and launched a kick at the door but they were surprisingly strong for glass. He tsked as he continued to abuse the solid tempered glass.
Gio audibly groaned as he held the door shut.
"Come on kid, just stop. I like the other you better." He complained. His legs were getting stiff for standing there holding a sliding door closed for so freaking long. The kid hadn't eaten in hours so he must have been running on empty. Seriously, how did this child have such an abundance of energy? Every time they thought Agito's little temper tantrum was done, he'd take advantage of their slip in attention and try to escape all over again.
The pounding and cursing had once again stopped, but Gio wasn't going to be fooled this time. He leaned closer to the door and listened, just barely making out the heavy breathing from within. Maybe he was finally tired out. He glanced at Kirin and noticed his eyes were locked on the glass. After following his gaze he understood Kirin's concern. There was blood splattered on the inside of the door. Carefully Kirin released his hold on the door and stepped backwards slowly. His hand reached behind him until it reached the spare clothes and he returned to his spot beside the shower. He slipped the clothes through a small opening between the doors and the ceiling. Gio watched the dark silhouette within catch the clothes as they fell. The child seemed to be debating something before finally tossing the shirt aside and pulling on the pants. Even though Gio couldn't actually see Agito, he could tell the boy was favoring one hand and the way he was slipping on the sweatpants looked awkward. The child didn't move again and after a moment, the fuzzy blob of a silhouette slid down the wall into a seated position. Gio cast Kirin a glance and for a moment longer, the three remained as they were in total silence. It was only the almost inaudible murmur of 'fuck' that finally broke the silence. Kirin once again turned his attention to the dark red smear across the glass.
"You shouldn't keep hurting yourself like that." Kirin said, keeping his voice devoid of any emotion. Tension crackled through the air and even without being able to see Agito's face, he knew the boy was staring at him. Seconds later he received a reply.
"You shouldn't care. It's just one less thing for your brother to do to me that you wouldn't have stopped." Agito's voice was acid.
Gio tensed as the blonde suddenly threw open the sliding door. Kirin stared down at the boy before him. Agito was sitting in the spacious bathtub cradling his bloodied wrist. His eye however was glaring up at Kirin as if daring him to try anything. Immediately Kirin noticed it was the boy's right eye staring at him. He was still trying to accept that a mere eye patch could control Akito's personality. He broke his gaze from that cold golden eye and looked instead at the freshly opened injury that glistened with fresh blood. He reached over to the boy who immediately pulled his arm back as he hissed at Kirin to get away from him.
"Agito, you're hurt. We'll help you." Kirin said as he continued to move his hand towards the boy.
"No you fucking won't!" yelled the young teenager as he rolled onto his back and launched his feet at Kirin's stomach. Kirin gasped at the impact and instantly Agito sprang up. As Kirin staggered backward holding his stomach, Agito leapt out of the tub. His fist met Gio's face and was quickly followed by a body slam, knocking the brunette back. He barely had to look around to find the door and instantly he was heading towards it. He reached out a hand, feeling the smooth metal of the doorknob under his fingertips, when his other wrist exploded in pain. He hissed as he spun his head around to see Gio gripping his bloodied injured wrist.
"Let go of me!" He barked as he tried to pull away, only making the pain worse. That didn't stop him from struggling.
"Knock it off you little masochist" Gio ordered. Instantly Agito's golden eye was trained on the brunette and a fist was sent his way. Gio caught it and spun the boy around so both of Agito's arms were behind his back. Kirin had finally caught his second wind and was making his way over to the struggling child. Agito lashed his legs out, trying his best to kick away the blonde as well as to get the brunette to release his grip. Kirin sighed and reached for the eye patch sitting over the boy's left eye. Agito's right eye widened and immediately pulled away. All of his effort went into keeping that little medical patch in place. Gio tightened his grip on the boy's wrist which earned a pained shout from Agito. Kirin took advantage of the tiny distraction and grabbed the patch.
"Stop! Get the fuck away from…" Agito growled as he thrashed as hard as he could, but he couldn't fight the change. The effect was instant. The boy immediately stopped any resistance he had been offering and was suddenly as tame as a kitten. Kirin took a step back, much to Gio's displeasure and slight panic. Carefully Kirin surveyed the child as the boy lifted his head to look at him. His left eye was big and innocent. Gentle and pained. Then the boy's legs just went out from under him and he clenched his teeth to fight off the pain.
"Come on. Let's get you bandaged up." Kirin sighed as he opened the door and left the bathroom. Gio glanced down at the kid before scooping him up and carrying him out, shaking his head.
Akito sat calmly and quietly on one of the sofas. He gently touched his bandaged wrists. One of the bandages already had small dots of blood thanks to Agito's struggle in the bathroom. Now that they were cleaned and bandaged though, they didn't hurt as much. He glanced up sheepishly to see Gio watching him from the other couch. Gio was clearly guarded and wary of him.
"….sorry if I hurt you." Akito finally mumbled as he returned his gaze to his wrists. Gio didn't show any sign of hearing him. He just continued to stare at the kid. The difference between Akito and his other self were ridiculous. Even more insane was that such a small child with such a weak looking build could fight so well.
Kirin soon returned to the room with some sort of balm in his hands. Akito gave no opposition as the blonde squatted down in front of him and began smearing the balm on his bruised ribs. He winced every now and again, but otherwise made no movement. Gio finally made his way over to the two, holding more gauze in his hand. Akito looked at it curiously.
"You're eye patch. That's what controls your personality right?" He asked as he looked at the kid. Akito looked up at him carefully, unsure if he should answer this or not. He didn't notice that Kirin was staring at him, waiting for his answer as well. Finally the boy answered with a tiny 'yes'.
"So… as long as the patch covers your right eye, you're Akito?" Gio wanted to be sure. He'd heard of people with split personalities, but this was still strange.
"Yes." Akito's eyes were back on his hands which sat folded on his lap.
"Perfect." Gio chirped as he tugged the gauze in his hand. This made Akito's head lift in confusing. Gio smiled as he brushed blue bangs away from Akito's visible eye.
"Look, you're other self is scary as shit. I'm keeping your psycho switch in place." He explained. Akito tipped his head to the side and finally looked unsure about the situation. Kirin immediately caught on to what Gio was thinking.
"That's a good idea." He said as he took the gauze from the brunette and moved towards the blue haired child. Akito lifted his hand and gently tried to push the fabric away from him. Not being able to shift control to Agito made him nervous and downright uncomfortable. His pathetic attempt at opposing this decision didn't get very far. Kirin gave him a look that a teacher would give a misbehaving student and Akito didn't stop him when he slowly pushed his hand back down to his lap. Kirin began wrapping the gauze around his eye, locking the patch in place, locking Agito away, and ignoring Akito's stricken expression.
"Gio. Go get one of your long sleeved shirts." Kirin said as he finished up. Gio looked at him curiously.
"Just go" Kirin said with a roll of his eyes as he shooed Gio with one hand.
"Alright alright." Gio marched off towards his bag. Kirin returned his attention to the boy.
"Don't worry. Gio and I will make sure you go to a good home. Promise." He offered. He knew Nian and Gio were right. He had broken a key rule in their operation. He really did care about Akito. He had never questioned their actions before. It had never crossed his mind to check to see who he and Nian were selling too. He never really thought about it before. This time however, he felt he had to.
"Yeah… but you know… you could always just let me go." Akito offered quietly, looking up at Kirin with his best innocent hope filled face. Kirin shook his head.
"You know I can't Akito. I'm not the one in charge of this." He said and he wondered if he had more say in this organization if he would have let Akito go. He just might have… but he had no real status in their group. Kirin was disposable.
Akito sighed. "I wonder if I'll be put in a cage again" He said calmly as he looked off to the side. Kirin stared at the boy about to ask what he meant by that when Gio interrupted them.
"Found one. Now tell me why you need it" Gio chirped as he tossed the black shirt towards his comrade. Kirin caught it easily and looked at Akito who was still sitting there shirtless.
"That's too big for me Kirin" Akito smiled, pointing out the obvious. Kirin shrugged and pulled it over the boy's head. He helped him get his arms into the sleeve and Akito held out his arms as if to make a point. The sleeves dangled quite a bit. Akito even stood up, letting the oversized shirt drape down to below his butt.
"See?" He said and Kirin smiled.
"It's only temporary. Think of it as a precaution. Look, I trust you Akito, but not Agito." He said, but still his words confused Akito. Gio was also giving him a look. Kirin took the sleeves in his hands and crossed them across Akito's front. The sleeves easily encircled the child's tiny waist and at last Gio caught on. He leaned over the back of the couch and took over for Kirin, tying the sleeves together in a knot. Akito's shoulders slumped and despite his crestfallen expression, he had an unfitting tiny smile on.
"Just like old times."
Akito walked carefully down some sort of hallway. A hand was pressed against his back to guide him and his vision was hindered by a thick black blindfold. He didn't know where they were taking him now, but he had been counting the flights of stairs as they traveled. They had brought him down at least six floors. He wasn't sure if that would help him though as he had no idea if he was underground or above ground.
At last they stopped and his blindfold was untied. He quickly blinked his eye to adjust to the light, and then looked around. A shiver shot through his spine as he looked at the rows of bars. The entire hallway was lined with cells. There was no natural light, just the dull glimmer of overhanging lamps. As he looked into the cells he noticed something a bit unnerving. Many of the cells were occupied by children. He took a step towards one of the cells, staring in blankly, and was met by two pairs of terrified eyes. They huddled together in the corner of their little prison and like Akito they looked like they had been thrown around and beaten. Akito tried to reach out a hand to them, but suddenly remembered they were strapped behind his back.
"Here Angel. This one's for you" Gio called to the child as he laid his hand on Akito's shoulder. Akito turned to face the brunette. His face was masked. He decided he would not give the men down here the pleasure of seeing him as scared as the rest of the children. Gio sighed at the boy's expression and led him to his cell. Akito stared at Gio indifferently even as the bars slid and locked into place.
"Look Aki. It's only temporary alright? Hopefully tomorrow night you'll have a whole new home to rampage in." Gio said calmly, a light smile flitting to his face for a second. He turned and left the room, leaving Akito in the care of the guards stationed throughout the hallway. He leaned his head against the bars and just watched the silent scene. The cell across from him had another group of children. This time it was claimed by three very young kids, easily siblings. A young girl held her little brothers close, defiance written in her eyes as she kept her arms protectively wrapped around her family. When she caught Akito's stare, she instantly looked away. They were all in the same situation now.
Akito sighed and closed his eye. It was only then that he heard something move behind him. He slowly turned around and for the first time scanned his own little cage. The cell contained an emaciated twin size mattress that looked like it was stuffed with hay, and a single toilet. The walls were solid stone and unlike the ceiling of the hallway, the cell had no light fixture at all. A light wasn't necessary. The cells were shallow enough that had his arms been unbound, he could lie down and almost touch both the bars with his fingertips and the back wall with the tips of his toes.
The most important thing Akito noticed about his room was that he was not the only one within it. There, huddled in the far corner at the very edge of the shoddy mattress was a little girl. She looked around six years old and her big blue eyes were glued to Akito. Akito tried to give her a reassuring smile.
"Hello" He offered as he took a step closer to his roommate. The child's eyes grew wider and she tugged some dark gray fabric close around her. It looked like what was supposed to pass for a blanket.
"Look I'm a good boy. I'm not going to hurt you." Akito tried again, this time bending down so he was closer to eye level with the other child. He smiled again but the girl was still staring with total fear in her eyes. Akito sighed and was about to say more when a force slammed him from the side and knocked him against the wall. While he was sitting there stunned, someone pinned him against the wall. He let out a tiny bark of pain from the jolt to his injured ribcage and had to take a moment to get his nerves under control.
"Who are you?" growled a voice and Akito finally opened his eye in confusion. Glaring back at him was a teenage boy who had to be close to Akito's age.
