&& Blood Covered Bullet [Akki & LW]

[Dante]

Being stressed didn’t ever result in good things for Dante; but when it got to the point that it was now, it was pretty obvious that something, or someone, was going to break. Eyes a swirl of light red and dark red, the light was often to flare, shadowing the dark red for moments, until Dante could fight Inferno back down once more. He didn’t come out very much anymore; it was too dangerous. And everyone seemed content to give him his space, even if they didn’t exactly understand what was going on. Nobody really knew about Inferno, aside from the fact he was dangerous of course. Staring in the mirror, Dante watched as his gaze shifted and flashed, annoyance growing at every bright flare, until he turned away with an effort. Why couldn’t he just change into the cat form when he was stressed? It had always been this, he hadn’t ever gone into his other form simply because he had never been hugged by a girl, aside from his sibling, but that really didn’t count, and since she was god, it hadn’t affected him at all. Not that he wished to turn into the cat; but it would be a lot easier than trying to fight demons in the dark.

Sitting upon his bed with a sigh, Dante rubbed the back of his head slightly, trying not to become what he hated so much; he didn’t want to become such a monster. Usual cats had one monster side; he had two. It seemed that he was the lucky winner. Bitterly, Dante glanced outside, it was getting dark. Good, it was easier to think when it was night; there was something just magical about the night and all its glory, with the stars shinning down, and the moon, to light one’s path, if one had a path that was worth lighting. Sometimes, when he had nothing else to do, Dante wondered exactly what his path was. He knew what he was going to do, he was going to kill D’Noir and Ren someday; but what was beyond that? He was as loner as they came, he didn’t have many friends, and it was almost as though he wasn’t going to have a life after that, as if he was going to be killed in the battle between them. Though, he wouldn’t exactly call himself good. But, the thought of death, it didn’t bother him all too much; it was one that he thought of pretty often.

The surge was sudden, and although Dante was braced for it, he simply didn’t have the energy to fight with so much power. He had been fighting himself for so long, the power, it was all too much. With the feeling of stepping back from his mind, Dante watched as Inferno took control; his eyes becoming über red; even the whites turned to a glowing red color, though not as impressive as the regular eye, which was pretty much all red. Looking up, Inferno stretched, and chuckled slightly under his breath; he didn’t want to be bothered by anyone right now, not when he had finally taken control. Running a hand through his hair; which had gone streaked with grey rather than red, another obvious difference between the two, he shook his head faintly.
”You’ll never have all the control Dante.” Inferno said smugly, before exiting the house via window. With a longing glance at the bike, Inferno turned, and started to walk, never having learned how to drive; one of the advantages Dante had over him.
Where are you going Inferno? Dante asked softly, though it was only heard inside of Inferno’s mind.
You’ll see. Was the response, Inferno’s tone light, almost gleeful…

A tone that Dante distrusted as soon as he heard it, the only time Inferno could be considered almost happy was when something was dying, or going to die. It was pointless to fight though; he had learned that the first time this had happened, so long ago. But it didn’t mean that he had to just sit back and watch it; he would save his energy for when it was needed. But when Inferno entered the park, there was a fair amount of confusion; if he wanted to kill someone, he would go to the streets, that was where all the people were. Not all of which, were innocents. Who was going to be in the park this late at night? That thought was trashed as soon as it came; he really didn’t want to know what someone would be doing at the park this late at night. Or see anything, for that matter. Despite what was commonly thought though, Inferno, when he was in this mode, only killed with reason, some of Dante’s honor had attached itself it seemed to the other, though that didn’t stop his killing manner, which was gruesome none the less.

The scream of someone sliced through the air suddenly, and with it, Dante felt Inferno’s cold version of amusement, his stride quickening as he did so. They were almost at the end of the park now, where was Inferno taking him? Through the trees, he saw two forms, one on the ground, the other pulling up a pair of pants, and Dante felt a wave of nausea sweep through him as Inferno took in all the blood around the body, which was still alive, he noted absently. As he did so, Dante clicked a few bits of the puzzle in his head together, and felt cold fury sweep through him. So it was him; the rapist and killer that had been terrorizing the town for so long, making people afraid to go outside, girls and guys alike. Teeth flashing in the darkness, Inferno threw back his head with a laugh, jolting the other man. They had always been silent, hunting or not. Eyes gleaming in the darkness, Inferno looked as though he was something out of a horror story, something that was going to be played upon; this wasn’t going to be a pretty sight for anyone. He could almost feel sorry for whoever found it; almost.

”Are you enjoying yourself? Enjoying your fame; terrifying those who come out late at night? I must say, I applaud you. At least I would, but it is beings like you that sicken even me.” Inferno’s tone itself was light, considering, but the snarl on his face was anything but friendly. Grinning once more, Inferno shook his head, brushing his hair out of his eyes. This was going to be a lot of fun! Blood and guts and misery and pain and a slow death! There was a feral look in Inferno’s eyes; any normal man would have run right then and there, but there was sickness in the other man’s gaze, and rather then run, he stepped forward, eyes crazed, whites rolled up. He looked just like any other average man; and that was without a doubt used to get to people. In fact, he almost looked friendly as he smiled at Inferno and Dante.
”I’m sorry that you are sickened by me; but now that you have seen my face, I’m afraid you’re going to have to die as well. There is only one bullet, meant for myself, but you’ll do.” In an almost cheerful manner, the man shrugged as though this was actually going to bother him, and pulled out a gun, aiming for Dante’s chest. In almost slow motion, Dante watched as the trigger was pulled back and right before the man shot, Inferno moved. The bullet still found its target; it buried itself within Dante’s left shoulder. Searing agony soared through him as he felt the bullet enter and exit him; seems he wouldn’t have to go digging for it after all. Blood flew up, his own, splashing him in the face, and all over his clothes. Underneath his pain, Inferno’s cold rage started to build, red eyes gleaming savagely in the darkness. The man looked pale; and was stepping back with fear.
”How-how did I-I miss?” He stammered, tripping over the body and falling onto his butt.

It was all the opportunity Inferno needed; with a lunge, he knocked the man out. He would still be able to feel pain though; he wasn’t that far gone. With a savage look, Inferno took out his knife, different in every aspect from Dante’s. Where Dante’s was a light instrument, one that was powerful but graceful as well, Inferno’s was a crude one, made for pain and something else. There was no grace or beauty in it, just fear. With a smile, Inferno crouched beside the other man, and started to slowly carve him up, writing letters in his skin, though they spelled nothing really. With every slash of the knife, the man made a small whimper, but as his blood drained out, he made less and less noise, though his face was tight with pain. Finally, there was nowhere else to write, and the grass was soaked with blood, spongy beneath one’s feet. Standing up, Inferno looked at his handiwork, and smiled. However saw this was going to throw up as soon as they did; it was a true masterpiece. Sheathing his knife, Inferno had left no traces of himself, or Dante for that matter. Shoulder throbbing, and covered in blood, Dante had faded to the back of the mind, not wanting to watch this…massacre.

”Inferno! What a nice surprise!” A voice called; a voice that had haunted both Dante and Inferno for as long as they could remember. Stiffening, Inferno, with flecks of Dante now in his eyes, whirled, gaze hard, narrowed.
”D’Noir. I’m afraid you missed the show; I’ll repeat it for you though. Would you like to be the volunteer?” Inferno growled; stepping forward, though the knife was in his right hand, not left.
”Oh, no, maybe some other time. I just came to tell you the good news.” Beaming, the other man pulled out a box from his back pocket, Inferno and Dante shifting slightly, their pose one for battle. This man was not to be trusted, no matter what he seemed to be.
”Surprises are never good with you, D’Noir.” Inferno growled, sounding more and more like Dante with every sentence he spoke. Power was slowly shifting…
”But this is a good one!” Excited, D’Noir flipped open the box, and revealed an obviously expensive ring.
”I’m going to ask Ren to marry me. Then we can all be a family again.” A cold smile flickered to life on D’Noir’s face.
”Just thought that you might want to know. Congratulations, I don’t need. I’ll see you at the wedding.” And just as he had appeared, the man was gone, leaving a very alarmed Dante. Inferno had faded away once more, though the pain of the wound was very real.

D’Noir…is going to ask Ren to marry him! No, that can’t happen! Alarm, erasing the pain for a while, flashed through Dante as he jogged home, all wounds forgotten for the moment. The man hadn’t stayed knocked out for long, and he had a knife as well, they had learned.
If the two of them are together, someone will die; I escaped the main house, but Akito wouldn’t be able too. But I can’t go back to the main house either, not anymore. Too many memories, they would gag me. Dante’s thoughts were rapid, but the pain was slowly coming back. Especially the wound in his shoulder, it burned with a fiery pain, like when he accidently burned himself that time playing with fire. But, he couldn’t go in the door, not covered in blood as he was. There was no choice but to climb up to his window, no matter how badly it hurt. Gritting his teeth, Dante pulled himself up through the window, agony soaring through him once more; it was amazing he hadn’t passed out yet. Maybe it was because he had always had a high pain tolerance that he had been able to withstand the brutal wounds. Hopefully he wouldn’t bleed all over his wood floors though, he hated doing that.

Slamming the bathroom door shut, Dante pulled off his sweatshirt, and winced at the hole in it, as well as his shirt. Good thing it had been an older one. Stripping away his shirt, Dante winced once more at the dark hole on his shoulder, still trickling blood, stains running down his pale skin. Maybe he would do that one last, though he was going to put disinfectant on it. Quickly, he bandaged up his other wounds, the white Ace bandages growing red, though he knew the bleeding would stop eventually. Pulling down his pant legs, though the bulges would be obvious for a while; Dante looked at himself in the mirror. Blood streaked all over his face, and his torso. Where there wasn’t blood, his pale skin looked like something out of a horror movie with the scars. He should probably get himself cleaned up; but his shoulder wound made it hurt to move his arm, though there was no bullet anymore. Grabbing a towel with his right hand, Dante wiped off his face, though one towel wasn’t going to be enough. Grabbing another towel, this one he wet down, Dante scrubbed at his face. He needed to tell Akito about what had happened, at least with D’Noir. She didn’t need to know that he had gone and gotten himself shot, or that Inferno had killed someone, even if it had been a murderer rapist, it still bothered Dante. He had called the police from a payphone; they wouldn’t be able to find him.

So now he had just his torso and his bullet wound. Considering that it was going to hurt to move his arm for a while, Dante absently wondered how he was going to do this. Frowning slightly, Dante reached around and felt the hole in the back of his shoulder; he had gotten lucky, nothing important had been hit. Didn’t mean it didn’t hurt like hell though. He would have to call Akito later, after he managed to sleep a bit. And once he figured this out; he had cleaned off as far as he could go without the stab of pain, and he wasn’t going to ask for help. Call it pride if you must. Flipping the Ace bandage over on his hands, Dante shook his head. Maybe he was going to have to go without the bandage.

Since he had come in through the side, Dante hadn’t noticed the fact that Akito was here though…. And without a doubt, since the bathroom was only cracked now, the light obvious to anyone who cared to enter.

[[So basically Akito comes in, learns about D’Noir and whatnot, then Achima can come in after Akito leaves, curious about why she was there? If you want LW. And Akkii, you have no choice. >3]

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[X]

Akito had no idea why she had the sudden urge to leave the Main House when she woke up in the middle of the night. She just felt like she wanted to go out for a walk. So, of course, the girl did. After all, she was head of house and could do as she pleased. Kureno, who had been sleeping beside her just like all the other nights, stirred and awakened, but Akito convinced him to go back to sleep and not follow her.
”Just going for a walk. I want to be alone.” She was still tired, and, although it had been a few days ago now, she was still sick from that night when she’d remembered everything about her and Dante. It wasn’t so much a shock anymore, because she knew the memories. It made sense now—the headaches when she’d try and think about certain events of the past. She’d always come up to a brick wall, something that she had kept wanting to ask Hatori about, but never got around to it. Besides, she knew now he wasn’t the one who had erased her memory.
D’Noir… the b*****d! Akito thought to herself as she quietly walked through her gardens, barefoot and clad in a white Yukata with only a blood red sash to hold it closed.
I need to remind the servants to get the thicker clothes out, she thought with a shiver, though she didn’t mind the cold too much. She thought about heading inside and changing into some better clothes, but decided against it. After all, she wasn’t too cold, anyway. She usually was numb to cold weather, for some reason. Though, it still made her shiver.

Akito let her feet guide her, not really paying attention to where she walked, leaving the grounds of the Main House behind her as she walked down the sidewalk. She did her best to avoid sharp rocks that had brushed onto the sidewalk from the gravel, but in the dark that could be difficult to do and more than a couple of times she missed some rocks and ended up stepping on them, causing her to curse under her breath.
Her body continued to shiver uncontrollably, but she barely felt the cold, despite the fact it was snowing. She sure wished it had been like that a few days ago. But sometimes she could feel the cold, annoyingly enough. There was already no doubt about the fact that tomorrow… or rather, later today—she wasn’t sure what time it was—she would be sicker than she already was. But that wasn’t anything new, anyway. What with the poor heating system the house provided, it was pretty easy for her to stay sick all Winter and hardly have any improvement to her health. She’d already had a few close calls. Lucky for her, Hatori was an amazing doctor.

She found herself heading into a forested area, and she watched the ground even more carefully. No need to tear a gash into the bottom of her foot, after all. She was getting used to stepping on sharp rocks, so now stepping on a lot of things that couldn’t be avoided didn’t hurt too much. She wondered absently if she was bleeding.
Then Akito started recognizing where she was. Especially when she saw the big house coming up.
Why the hell did I come here? she thought, a little confused. But she kept walking, figuring she might as well go in. She had no idea why she didn’t turn around right then and walk the other way, head home. But she didn’t, and that’s all that mattered.

Quietly, she entered and headed up the stairs just as a light was flicked on. She heard it, of course. After all, everything else was dead silent. You could probably hear a pin drop.
Then there was some rummaging around. It could either be Shigure or Dante.
She’d be wary. Last thing she wanted was to run into Shigure right now. But then again, it would be fun to gouge his eyes out…

She decided to leave that thought for now, and then headed up the stairs. A lot of practice of sneaking around the Main House when she was younger helped her be almost silent now. It helped that her feet were bare. Though she was leaving little drops of blood. So her feet were bleeding a little after all. Huh.

Finally, Akito reached the bathroom. The light seeped past the door, hinting that someone was in there. And it was cracked open, too. So she managed to get a glance in without being seen—hopefully.
It was Dante.
And there was blood on him.
That was enough to cause her to pull the door open the rest of the way.

”What the HELL happened to you, Dante?” she demanded.
Hey, although Akito could be unbearably cruel, she was close to Dante. This was her little brother—though, he felt more like an older brother—and seeing him like this scared her.

[FAIL.]

[Dante]

He had heard her of course; when there was nobody else in the house, even the slightest sound was amplified. Not to mention he knew what her footsteps were like, and how she was bleeding from her feet; blood made the steps slurred slightly; she would probably leave tracks up to his room. His floor cleaned easily enough though, that was the whole reason he had chosen the deep red wood. Sighing, Dante tracked her movement through the house, hearing when she paused; probably worried about running into Shigure. Heh, yeah right. Shigure would be hurt more so if they ran into each other, Akito was violent as he was, she was just more so in a direct way of violence, where he preferred to choose the stage and the tools, like tonight. Gaze narrowing the mirror slightly as he thought of that, Dante closed his eyes for a moment, a hand rubbing his temple ever so slightly. It had been so long since Inferno had done something like this; what had he done to provoke, to lose control? Akito was one of the very few people he cared for, he wouldn’t allow himself to become even in the slightest his other, but the fact his control had been broken as it was worried him.

Looking up as Akito looked in; the light pattern changed, Dante’s red gaze met her teal orbs, reading what he saw there; worry, shock, and an angry frightened look. Turning, Dante grabbed Akito’s shoulders, gently, and sat her down on the toilet, shutting the door behind her. Crouching down, he rummaged through the bottom drawer in the bathroom, pulling up another bottle of disinfectant. With the same speed, he grabbed a clean washcloth; one of the last ones. Sitting back, Dante inspected Akito’s feet, shaking his head slightly.
”You are out late Akito.” He said softly, focused on what he was doing. With a quick dab, Dante cleaned Akito’s feet of dirt and dry blood, though it would sting a bit. He hadn’t answered her question; but he would in his own time. You couldn’t force him to answer anything, and this time, it was important for him to shift through his mind until he decided exactly what he was going to tell her first, and exactly all of what he was going to tell her. Maybe it’d be best not to star with the D’Noir bit.

Applying band-aids to the small wounds; having stopped the bleeding and cleaned it out, Dante stood up, knowing that Akito would be watching him, waiting for his answer; and he still didn’t know how much to tell her. With anyone else, he would have simply remained silent, or told them to watch the news in the morning, but, that wouldn’t work here; they were both so stubborn at times. Looking up in the mirror, Dante poked his shoulder wound slightly, shaking his head faintly. Leaning back against the counter, Dante’s red eyes met Akito’s eyes, as he began to speak, voice low, not wanting to wake anyone else up.
” I suppose I shall start in the beginning.” Dante said quietly, brushing his hair out of his eyes almost absently.
”Inferno was more dominant tonight then usual; and I was caught by surprise by the attack as soon as it turned dark, and wasn’t able to throw up walls fast enough to stay in control.” Tone hard, Dante had turned to stare at the mirror, expression dark as a flash of light red flared up at the mention of Inferno, hands clenched into fists. His thoughts on what had happened were obvious; his anger at having lost control, and then doing whatever he had done.

”I knew better then to fight, and he took me to the park, and at first, I couldn’t quite figure out why; that is, until I heard the scream.” Fists tightening, Dante forced himself to calm, letting his hands relax, though he wasn’t looking at Akito at the moment, his gaze was on the bloody pile of rags in the hamper, it was almost as though he was still there, reliving what had happened.
”There was a young teenager, girl, and with her, was the man who has been raping several girls in the past months, just never caught. He hadn’t killed her, not yet, but he was planning too. I could see the sickness in his eyes; the satisfaction at what he had done once more, it made me sick. Inferno wasn’t affected, naturally, but I could now at least see the reason I had been brought there.” Eyes closing for a moment, Dante’s hand went up to his shoulder, pressing against the wound on one side; he hadn’t been able to bandage it before Akito had come, something that irritated him slightly. If he had only been better at this, then she wouldn’t have to worry.

”As soon as he saw us, he quit doing what he was doing, and…the madness, it was everywhere. His gaze, his movements, it was disgusting. And it stank horribly. But as soon as he finished saying what he was saying, he shot at me. And hit, obviously, but not in the heart, where he had been aiming. I suppose I owe that to Inferno, he moved before the bullet could do too much damage, though we took it to the shoulder. Inferno wasn’t too pleased about that; and I have to agree. Being shot is actually rather painful; but that is aside from the fact. So, Inferno went to finish things, but didn’t count on the fact he had a knife.” Absently, Dante tugged at the bandages on his wrists and legs; though his wounds were all below the knee.
”After succeeding in getting the knife away; you can guess what happened after that. There is no more reason for people to fear the dark. I walked home, Inferno can’t drive, and climbed up, and then ran into you. And before you say anything, I am not going to go to see Hatori. I already cleaned everything, I just need to bandage this last wound, and I’ll be fine.” He had kept the thing with D’Noir away from her until now, but he did plan on telling her. In fact, he was going to do it right now; there was no point in hiding it. It was best she heard it from him.

”But, that isn’t even the worst part. I’m always getting injured. No, on the way home, I…ran into someone we both know very well.” Dante’s fists tightened once more, though it hurt to do it on the side where he had gotten shot. His gaze was brooding, unhappy, and dark. There was something more to the story, but at the moment, Dante was thinking of the best way of how to say this; finally, he just settled on direct.
”D’Noir is going to ask Ren to marry him.” Spitting the words as though they were a foul curse, Dante whirled around, taking a breath, and then releasing it. Looking over at Akito, an amused glance, he shrugged slightly.
”And that is pretty much how my night went. Don’t worry though, you aren’t going to walk home, I’ll take you on the bike, if you want.” And with that, Dante went back to pressing gauze pads to the bullet wound, and taking medical tape, meaning to wrap it around the gauze, but meeting a dead end. He would figure this out eventually though; he had always taken care of himself.

[No, this is fail. xD]

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[X]

Akito wasn’t surprised that he seemed to expect her. Damn blood. But he probably would have heard her footsteps even if she had nothing to mess her up. He would have become so accustomed to her trying to sneak up on him when they were kids, he would always hear her.
Even the few times he hadn’t in the past, her sneaking had never caught him by surprise. Brothers were infuriating, they were.
After being frozen with shock when she saw the bullet wound and the blood—although, she figured her mind was exaggerating it a bit because he’d cleaned a lot of it off—she was thankful that he moved her before she gawked like an idiot for more than ten seconds.
Akito was gritting her teeth when she responded to his statement, but only because the disinfectant stung a little. Nothing she couldn’t handle, of course. Even if Dante had better pain tolerance than she, hers was still fairly good compared to most people’s.
”Yes. I couldn’t sleep. I went for a walk.”
She was irritated, though. He still hadn’t answered her question. It showed in her reply to him, although, the clenching of her teeth added to that as well. Her gaze narrowed to a glare, although it really wouldn’t affect whether he told her or not. He didn’t fear her like the others did. He was right up there with Shigure. Neither of those two feared her. Or listened, for that matter. And that could be irritating for ‘god’.

While waiting for him to finish cleaning the cuts and gashes on her feet and finally answer the damn question already (something she was itching to snap at him, but didn’t for some reason), she ended up looking from his face to his shoulder where the bullet wound was. It scared her to see it. He had better answer her before she lost her patience and ended up hitting him—however little good that would do aside from probably hurt herself and maybe even hurt him—emotionally or physically she wasn’t sure (though if at all, emotionally would be most likely. It never seemed she could actually hurt him). He wouldn’t be too happy about it, though—she knew that much.
Looking away from the injury, she decided she’d try and send Hatori over—though, she knew Dante wouldn’t want anyone taking care of him, so she wondered if he’d resort to physically hurting the doctor. Ugh, Dante was so difficult. But she supposed it was normal for siblings to get irritated with each other.
When he finally started speaking, a quiet breath came out of her mouth, almost like a sigh of relief. She didn’t know she’d been holding her breath. She listened intently and stiffened at the mere mention of Inferno. No, it wasn’t because she was afraid—although Inferno certainly terrified her, something that embarrassed her to admit—, it was because of the fact that Inferno had been on the surface just recently and Inferno coming around never meant something good was about to happen.
What had gone on before she got here? She observed the flash of light red that flared in his eyes for a moment, and noticed his hands clenched. Something had happened that Dante must be less than proud of.

She listened to him as he continued to talk, watching where his gaze went, since she could see it out of the reflection of the mirror, despite the angle she was at. She looked at the pile of rags, all drenched in blood.
Dante’s blood, she thought.
With that in mind, she quickly looked away from the mess, letting her eyes become unfocused as she listened, trying her best not to picture the scene he’d become a part of. A shudder even rolled down her back as he described it. She figured part of the reason that had happened was also because she understood that Dante may have had more than his own blood on him. She could see where this was going easily enough. Although, it’s not as if she thought of Dante any differently than she always had. It was Inferno’s fault.
Akito continued to listen to what her half brother had to say.

Althought she knew this was coming, the bit about the bullet hitting him made her fists clench. Aiming for the heart? He could have gotten killed! Her eyes narrowed once more in anger, but it was fairly obvious that it wasn’t directed at him. The man that Dante and Inferno had killed—it still bothered her even now to think of her brother as two people—he had deserved to die for trying to kill her brother. Forget all those other victims, Dante was the only one that mattered to her.
Akito glowered at Dante in frustration. If you aren’t going to go see Hatori, I’ll send him to see you. You got yourself shot, Dante! Even if you did clean it out well and take care of it, something could still go wrong—it could still get infected. But if you had a doctor like Hatori take care of it, the chances of that would be more slim.
Not to mention she’d feel better if Hatori took care of him. Just in case. She’d have a little more peace of mind that way.

But, that isn’t even the worst part, he told her. That made her worried, maybe even scared. You could tell by her eyes. Her eyes looked a lot like violent waves rising and crashing during a horrible storm now. You could actually make out the movement in her eyes, if you paid attention. Unique, they certainly were.

”D’Noir is going to ask Ren to marry him.”
Akito’s pupils shrank to the point that they were barely-noticeable pinpricks in her eyes.
”WHAT?!”
Well, she wished she’d sounded that loud. Instead, it seemed as if she’d totally lost her voice, just mouthing the word in shock. Her eyes were huge with surprise and even horror. Ren and D’Noir—no, that wasn’t good. And she was angry about more than just the fact that she’d have to deal with D’Noir.
She’d never thought that Ren was that low—low enough to do that to Akira. They’d loved each other, and now she was going to marry the man that she’d already used to betray Akira once. Her hands were fists, nails making red crescents in her hands as they broke through the skin.

Finally getting a hold of herself as Dante started bandaging himself up again, she got up and started helping him. It must be painful. She took the gauze and tape from his hands and took care of wrapping up the wound herself.
”I’m going to kill that damn woman,” Akito muttered. ”She’s going too far.”

[Dante]

[this reply = so weird. I usually never write this way. O.O sorry if it kills your muse.]

”Some things never change, do they Akito?”
Dante asked softly, a flash of amusement just barely visible in his shadowy red eyes. They were always filled with shadows these days; what had happened to the times when it had been not shadow but determination that had proven dominant in his gaze? To when there was not an air of being serious all the time, but one that was in a way, slightly more relaxed, fun loving even; though the second part didn’t tend to last for too long. What happened to the simple times, back when all this didn’t matter, where Dante was only focused on protecting Akito, not on anything else that had to do with life? Yes, some things never seemed to change, even as they had been kids Akito had always taken walks when she was feeling unsettled about something, that much hadn’t changed, or the fact that she had sought out Dante for one reason or another. It wasn’t the memories that changed; it was just the time all around them. Gone was the childlike innocence, the way one used to laugh, or at least, how he could always seem to cheer her up, or how even as a six year old, he would take on Ren if she proved to be a threat.

Such times, it seemed as though the window of time had shrank until there was nothing but a sliver of light left, just a faint echo of the past. He had always been a strange child; it was only in moments like these that he actually was able to understand how odd he was in all actuality. Meeting the teal orbs with his own shadowy gaze, Dante knew what she was thinking; getting the doctor over here, no matter what. For all her faults, if Akito decided she was going to care about you, then you couldn’t stop her no matter how hard you tried. She was a lot like him, he supposed. Minus the fact that he had an insane other that would never give him a true moment of peace. For, even when it was quiet, there was never a moment when he was actually alone; maybe that was why he sought solitude so hard, because in truth, he was never ever going to be alone, no matter how hard he fought to make himself isolated; a scary thought, if one really stopped to think.

Catching the shudder that ran down her spine, Dante’s eyes darkened further as he glanced away, darkness flickering slightly in his face. Not the darkness that was associated with Inferno; no, this was his own personal darkness, something that he had always carried with him. Yes, fear him; it was what was best for everyone. He was nothing less than Inferno; after all, he hadn’t stopped the other had he? Didn’t that make him a murderer as well; someone to be put away for life? Who was he to say who got life, and who was going to die? It wasn’t his job to play god; it wasn’t even something he ever wanted to consider thinking about. It was hard enough keeping track of himself, trying to control others; it would just be too much. Not to mention the fact that Dante knew he had bad people skills, something he was willing to admit with nothing less than a shrug. It was better to be thought dangerous then thought weak; the weak were the ones who got picked on, the strong, or rather dangerous, with their fear came a sort of respect, nobody messed with them. After all, everyone wanted to live. Some want to live forever.

Why would one want to live forever though? Even when things were bad, one thought it best to have eternity here; a life that was never ending. And while it might appeal to some, for others such as Dante, it was almost like a curse. To forever be trapped, to forever be fighting against what he couldn’t control. Looking at the mirror, there was nothing to give away his thoughts, maybe only a slightly more so distant expression to show the path his thoughts were following. He had always been good at keeping things to himself, like wearing a mask at a masquerade. Nobody knows who you are until after the party.
And this is just a never ending party.
The thought was alone, rough, and at the same time, slightly depressed sounding, as though it was not just as thought, but also a submission. But a submission to what exactly? It had always been a party in his mind, a lack of self control here, a bit of control there, it was a dance. There were times when it was slow, times when it seemed as though the madness was nothing but an illusion, times of false serenity; and then there were times when madness seemed like the only options as one tangoed with destiny,

Such odd thoughts to be having; but with the thoughts, there was a truth behind them that even Inferno couldn’t ignore, and that was scary enough. Looking up as Akito spoke, dark gaze meeting her own teal gaze, Dante was silent as he listened to her, his expression betraying nothing. Someone else might have only seen the anger in Akito’s eyes, the frustration; and most of the other zodiacs would have flinched at the very thought, unable to meet their god’s eyes. Yet, like with everything else, Dante had always been different; he’d never had a problem meeting Akito’s gaze, even when they had first met. Below the surface though, he could see much more than anger, he could see the worry; not for herself, but for him. The two had always been close, aside from a span of a few years, but it had felt right once the memories were back. Right not to hate each other; it had always for some reason, been hard to actually hate Akito, though he didn’t know if it was something similar for her, or if he had been alone in that venue.

Whatever he saw there though, before he could say no, Dante shook his head slightly.
”If it’ll give you peace in mind, fine.” Dante said softly; keeping his gaze on Akito’s, before looking away once more. Not for long though, for Akito’s reaction was one that he expected; he didn’t even have to turn his gaze to see what she was mouthing silently, shock in her gaze. And behind that shock, a bit of betrayal; she could only be thinking about her dead father. Dante had never met the man, but he had heard stories, and it was during his own private musings, something that he wouldn’t tell Akito, that he could see a lot of the same personality traits between the two, at least, when Akito finally decided to relax, to unwind herself. She was as bad as he was; tight as a spring, ready to snap at any given moment; it didn’t matter who applied the pressure, it was like a force that you just couldn’t stop. And maybe, you didn’t want to stop. There was just a fearful beauty about the ruthlessness of anger, one that you didn’t have to understand.

As Akito got up, he wordlessly handed her the tape with a quiet thanks, knowing that he was going to have to deal with her hands now; at least she wasn’t bleeding as before. Looking up though, as she stated the last part, Dante met her gaze for a long moment, a certain uncertainty in his own gaze. She knew of his plans when the banquet was going to happen; and needless to say, she wasn’t too happy about it. But maybe he would switch targets, deliver a blow from the inside, something that only he could do. Having finished being wrapped up, and dealing with Akito’s hands, Dante shrugged on a sweatshirt, taking the moment to choose his words carefully. He had always known this was going to happen; it didn’t mean he knew how he was going to word it.
”You know my plans for the banquet night --- and I don’t plan to change them. At least, not in the way as of calling them off. Rather than go looking for D’Noir in the hopes of finding him; what about if I go after Ren instead? She will die Akito, for what she has done to you. More specifically, what happened with the knife bit. If there is anyone D’Noir cares about though, it is Ren. If I was to strike from the inside; it’d wound him more than anything I or Inferno can do. You just have to give me the word.”
Dante’s gaze was grim, but at the same time, serious. He was not joking about this matter; and Ren was going to die. She had done too many wrongs; and there was nothing that she would ever be able to do that would allow that to change. And if he was going to strike D’Noir, he was going to have to go from the inside. He knew the layout of the main house better then Shigure’s house; it would be a simple job. One that would be over before it started. But, it was Akito’s call; he wasn’t going to act, not now anyway, without her go ahead. Either way though, he was going after someone, no matter what happened to him. This was not the easiest thing for him to do though, at least, not to speak about. It reminded him too much of D’Noir and his line of work; the last thing he wanted to be, was his father.

Despite that fact though, there was no point in denying what was going to happen. He would make things better at the main house, even if it cost him his very last breath. It was just the type of person he really was.

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