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 Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 12:20 am
  ___________________________________________________________________________ Arthur paused when he heard Kazuo. He went tense as he said nothing, silently waiting for the man to continue. Nothing ever good came from that line, "I was selfish and stupid". He felt the cold chill of anticipation run down his spine. ___________________________________________________________________________
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Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 12:30 am
Kazuo MoriKazuo leaned back, his eyes on the ceiling for a moment before he stood. " I don't want to talk about it if Akihiko doesn't. If you want answers, you need to talk to him." He looked around, then started for the bathroom, grabbing his bag. " I'm going to shower, if that's okay."
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Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2016 10:39 pm
___________________________________________________________________________ Arthur exhaled through his nose. He was hoping Kazuo would give him the answers to everything. Tough luck. " Go ahead," he nodded when asked about the shower. When the man left, Arthur glanced in the direction Aki stormed off to. Was he still angry? Well, that was a given, but was he still angry enough to not want to talk to any of them? Seeing as though he hasn't come back to storm off to some hotel, Arthur took it as a semi-good sign. He looked around, trying to find something he could pretend to be taking to the bedroom so he could check on Aki. An idea of getting a blanket and pillow for Kazuo came and the Sin strode down the hallway, opening the door and peering in. ___________________________________________________________________________
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Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2016 10:55 pm
Akihiko Mori Aki lay on the bed, tossing a small tennis ball in the air and catching it. He had recently texted Leon about staying over, but only received an irritated reply to text back later and silence since then. He glanced towards the door as Arthur peeked inside, rolling his eyes before staring back at the ceiling. " What?" he asked, the frustration in his voice very different from the usual cheerfulness.
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Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2016 1:13 am
___________________________________________________________________________ Arthur winced. It was such a drastic change from Aki's cheerfulness to his bitterness. He wanted to turn around and leave immediately, but he was afraid that would only make him angrier. Taking a deep breath, he started. " You can't have expected me to just leave him on his own after fifteen years," he insisted. " There's so much that's changed, he wouldn't last! It'll only be for a couple days." ___________________________________________________________________________
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Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2016 1:21 pm
Akihiko MoriHe sighed, sitting up and staring at Arthur. " Yeah, but he's my brother, Arthur. It should be my choice." He shook his head, glancing away. " Did he tell you what he did? Why he was in jail? He ran drugs, Arthur. He got into the wrong crowd. That's why he was travelling the world at the age of eighteen. That's why he had all that money. That's even why he still has money. He took all responsibility and is being paid very well for his continued silence. And how he almost ripped us all apart?" He stopped, silent for a minute before looking back at Arthur. " He almost got me killed." He pulled the edge of his shirt up, revealing the large tattoo on his side, and pointed at an irregular skin protrusion. " I got a tattoo to cover up the scar when I was sixteen. One of his former rivals found out I was in town and jumped me. I was stabbed four times right here and would've died if a woman hadn't walked by and caught him mid-stab." Lowering his shirt, he sighed. " When Kazuo found out what happened, he told me to stop poking my nose into things I didn't understand. That I deserved to be attacked, because it taught me a lesson. Great brother, don't you think?"
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Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2016 11:02 pm
___________________________________________________________________________ Arthur tensed up as the story was revealed to him. Drugs? Kazuo did seem the type to have good knowledge over it, it didn't surprise him as much as it should have that he is, or was, a dealer. But the real shock came when Aki lifted his shirt. Arthur recalled the tattoo. The more he stared at it the more he could make out the bulges of scars. He stiffened when the image of Aki being ruthlessly stabbed was forcibly painted in his mind. And Kazuo didn't care at all. He blamed his own brother and left him to rot. Is that why Aki was persistent on leaving Kazuo on his own? To know how it felt? Arthur forced his eyes away from Aki's, shame helping. This was all his fault. If he had known he would've never even considered helping! He- The more he thought about it the angrier he got. Before he realized it there was a green outline around his body with little crackles of green electricity zooming around his balled up fist. He exhaled slowly, making the mist fade away. " I'm sorry," he mumbled, still not wanting to look Aki in the eyes. He was probably doing everything he could to not tackle Kazuo. He didn't blame him. " Do you want me to kick him out?" ___________________________________________________________________________
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Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2016 11:19 pm
Akihiko Mori Aki looked away, not wanting to see whatever was in Arthur's eyes. He had seen the aura, he didn't want a repeat. "Let him at least spend the night. then he can fend for himself. I'll send him to my parents." He sighed, then glanced back to the door, eyes bulging.
Standing in the doorway, Kazuo looked less than pleased. He had seen the gress outline, but that was the least of his concerns. He crossed his arms, hair still damp and dripping occasionally onto his collar. "So that's it? That's what you think happened? What, did Mom and Dad just cut me out of all conversation like that? Or did you just ignore news of me?" he demanded, walking into the room and over to Aki. The younger brother stood to meet his brother's height, only to be shoved backwards. "You think I didn't care? You f-cking brat, I had that jacka-s killed for what he did. Why do you think no one else ever bothered you?"
The younger Mori stood still, jaw clenched. Great, so his brother was a murderer now too? Well, it didn't surprise him. He dismissed the fact that it was to protect him. "I still got in trouble after that!"
"Because you ended up running drugs for a month and decided to quit midway through your contract. How am I supposed to protect you from halfway across the world?"
"A good big brother would find a way."
"A good big brother would've stopped his idiot little brother from agreeing at all."
"A good big brother wouldn't have been in jail at all!"
Kazuo inhaled sharply, jaw clenching just like Aki's. They looked so similar: tall, thin, tattooed, pierced, and handsome even when angry. Even with different colorings and a five-year age difference, they looked eerily the same. It angered them both even more.
"Fine. I guess I should just go then." Before another word be spoken, Kazuo turned on his heel and went into the living room to gather his things. He had enough for a hotel for the night and a plane ticket the next day. The less time he spent with his brother, the happier he would be. Kazuo Mori
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Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2016 11:40 pm
___________________________________________________________________________ All of the anger and shame traveling through Arthur's body disappeared once Kazuo stormed in to yell out his piece. Wait, so Aki... He was in the drug business too? And that person that stabbed him was killed by Kazuo? Who couldn't help that much because he was too far away? Why did Aki leave all that out? He looked to Aki, then to Kazuo when he rushed out. Whose side should he take? He naturally wanted to go to Aki's, but his confusion was blocking him. Just when he thought he solved the mystery it uncovered an even deeper one! Hue... You've sure picked an interesting one, Envy snickered in Arthur's mind. Great, this was the last person he wanted to talk to. Person? No. You're the person, I'm a Sin. We're different. We find our way into your minds and hearts, just like your lover over there with his pride he mused. Everyone wants to be the innocent one. They'll twist words and even memories if they have to. I don't blame them. It's nice being the one everyone cares about. I often wish I could be in that position. Arthur wasn't sure it was possible, but he thought he heard Envy sigh dreamily. Whatever the case, his words didn't help much in this situation. He looked down the hallway, barely making out Kazuo packing his things. He turned to Aki with a concerned look on his face. " Are you just going to let him go like that? It sounds like there's so much you guys need to discuss," he said. ___________________________________________________________________________
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Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2016 11:49 pm
Akihiko Mori "It's not like I can stop him." He moved to sit on the bed, his hands splayed out on either side. "I didn't... I didn't know he had that guy killed or that he knew I ran drugs for a little bit. I skipped out just in time for the ring to get busted without getting in too much trouble myself, so I always thought he was kept in the dark. Didn't expect anyone to tell him about it."
With a sigh, he stared out the door, listening to his brother angrily pack his things. "What would you do if you were me?" he asked quietly. Kazuo Mori
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2016 12:09 am
___________________________________________________________________________ Kill him and take his face!Ignoring Envy's... strange suggestion, Arthur closed his eyes to give it thought. He was an only child, so he never had to deal with close bonds with a sibling and huge arguments. However, a similar situation to this happened to him, and it was with Aki. He didn't grow up admiring Aki like he did with Leon, though he did harbor some irritation for him, only to learn about all the things he had done before. After giving him another chance Arthur found himself happier than he had ever been. " I think you should talk to him," Arthur eventually decided. " It looks like the years you spent away from him were built without all the info. The fact that he made that one guy pay for stabbing you should show that he's not completely harmless. Give him another chance." ___________________________________________________________________________
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2016 12:20 am
Akihiko Mori "... You're lucky I kinda like you and trust your judgement."
Aki stood and walked over to Arthur, wrapping an arm around him and kissing his cheek. "If you hear arguing again, call the police." he said, although it wasn't clear if he was joking. Letting go of the Sin, he walked into the living room and crossed his arms. "You don't have to go." he said rather loudly over his brother's angry mumbling.
The man looked up, then sneered. "Don't do me any favors, little brother."
"Fine, sleep on the f-cking street for all I care!"
"Actually, I'll be staying in a hotel. Already called ahead." He stated matter-of-factly.
Aki shifted in place for a moment. "What hotel?"
"The one down the street," answered Kazuo. The two brothers looked at each other in a brief silence.
"I hear they don't have any decent channels and don't wash the sheets more than once a week."
They continued to stare, once again falling into silence before Kazuo spoke rather quietly. "Maybe I'm better off staying here, then. At least for tonight."
Aki nodded, tucking his hands into his back pockets as the two brothers slowly started to soften towards each other. He was silent for a moment longer, then turned tail back into the bedroom, gesturing towards the spare bedroom. "Sleep where you want, but wear earplugs. Arthur and I are loud."
Kazuo winced, but nodded all the same.
And just like that, the fight was pretty much over. Kazuo Mori
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2016 12:29 am
___________________________________________________________________________ Unable to help himself, Arthur peeked down the hallway to watch the two having some sort of glaring contest. He tensed up when he heard them first argue about Kazuo leaving, ready to call the police or jump in, but to his surprise their voices got quiet, and the glares in their eyes became soft stares. Kazuo agreed to stay. Arthur blinked. That was it? Nothing more to argue? It was so... anti-climactic! Do you see that? asked Envy. That's the power of love. Fifteen years of hatred shattered in a mere few seconds. Of course it hasn't fully healed them, but it's shattered whatever walls they built up. That's only family love, too. Intimacy, relationship. That love is far more deadly. Family love can destroy hatred. What could stronger love do to us? The embodiments of hatred?It was Envy's warning of the day, another way of reminding Arthur that if he told Aki that cursed word he'd die. He knew that even before becoming a Sin, having watch Nikolai struggle with it for a long time and eventually dying because of it. At first he thought it'd be fine, but the more days that passed the more he began to understand the struggle. Seeing this, he couldn't help but linger on Envy's warning, too. ___________________________________________________________________________
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2016 12:36 am
Akihiko Mori ~~~
Later that evening, the three men sat in the living room after dinner, stuffed to the brim from Kazuo's cooking, a dish he'd learned while travelling and somehow hadn't forgotten. Refraining from picking his teeth, Kazuo gestured between Arthur and Aki. "So how did this happen?" he asked.
Aki opened his mouth to answer, but Kazuo held his hand up.
"Better question is why you're wasting time with my brother," he asked Arthur with a gleam in his eye. "Cutie like you could have anyone you wanted. Why this flake?" Kazuo Mori
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2016 2:12 am
___________________________________________________________________________ It had been a strange thing, transitioning from such a tense atmosphere to a rather pleasant one. The last time that happened was when Leon forgave him for everything, though the tension was still there with Nikolai looming in the background, waiting for a chance to attack. Kazuo looked so much like Aki that there were a couple times Arthur almost mistook him for the other and vice versa. It was beginning to mess with his head. Before he realized it, he was asked about what made him choose Aki. He blinked, too surprised by the comment to be flustered by it. Cute? No, he didn't think so. He was far too plain and uncreative. He was the type that made a good background character, or a side villain at the very best. Besides, it wasn't like he could get anyone he wanted. He tried, after all. " Oh well... I don't know, he helped me get out of my shell, I guess. He's adventurous and easy going, everything I'm not. I got attracted to that," he shrugged. Was that a good answer? ___________________________________________________________________________
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