Chapter Text
The day concluded with Leo taking an aptitude test. Leo has expected it to be simulation based, but to his surprise it was not kinesthetically based. Instead, there was a written competent that covered a range of subjects. There were questions related to math, science, history, and some that seemed rather random and paradoxical in nature.
It was hard for Leo to judge how he had done on the test. The only section that he completed was the magical-rune section, but he knew that the test wasn’t designed to allow most contestants to even get halfway through. That was the impression he got, at least.
A physical component was also put in; however, it was not emphasized as much as the written portion. The physical test was tame, in Leo’s opinion. It never pushed Leo past the point of being knocked out. There were no legions of Faceless trying to pull him under till he bled out, and there was certainly no fire on his skin. It was easy enough for Leo to complete in his sleep.
Pacing along the halls, creating a map instead his head, Leo made his way back to room. It had been a long day and Leo could feel his body yearning for sleep. If not just to take a moment to consolidate all the information he’d been fed today.
Leo sighed despairingly and cracked his neck. Even in his room, Takumi would be there, watching him. There wasn’t time to ever fully let his guard down.
When Leo returned to room 777, Takumi was inside, reading a book. “How did the tests go?” He asked, setting his book down. There was mild curiosity in his eyes.
“It wasn’t easy,” Leo admitted. “The questions got increasingly harder and I couldn’t complete all of them. I finished all of the ones that required reading runes though.”
“Don’t worry,” Takumi laid back on the floor, “it’s not designed for anyone to be able to finish. Wait-“ Takumi sat up and looked at Leo skeptically. “You finished a section? Really? The whole thing?”
“The section on decoding magic runes. Did you look at the test?” Leo sat down, cross-legged. He had already speculated that the test wasn’t meant to be finished, but he took satisfaction in knowing that he had completed more than was expected.
“I may have looked at it before you got it.” Takumi picked his book back up.
Leo moved over to sit closer to Takumi, craning slightly over his shoulder. “What book are you reading?”
“Don’t sit so close to me,” Takumi said, but didn’t move. Leo took it as a sign to move slightly closer. “It’s a mythology.”
“Of?”
“It’s about Valkyries.”
Oh my, maybe my myth is in there! Mind you, I am not myth. Brynhildr laughed to herself.
“Do you believe in them? Odin and Valhalla?” Leo looked inquiringly at Takumi. The man didn’t scowl or laugh at Leo’s questions. A good sign. Brynhildr mused. Leo was inclined to agree.
“It doesn’t matter what I believe, what is will be as it is.”
More so than Leo would like to admit, Takumi was an intriguing man. He was stubborn, an obstacle, but the more Leo learned about his mind, the more Leo became interested in hearing what he had to say. It seemed to Leo that Takumi’s mind was like a labyrinth. Thoughts twisted and turned, and even its creator could get lost in it. Leo, wholeheartedly related to the feeling.
Personal interest aside— curiosity was a trait that would aide Leo on his mission. Perhaps befriending Takumi, if Leo was careful, would allow him to learn more about Hoshido. Takumi was going to be Leo’s source of blood, and so his fake identity rested on being close to Takumi. The added personal interest was a bonus.
You still need to find a way to get his blood. Something that will work on a consistent basis, unlike your dramatic fall from earlier. Brynhildr reminded Leo.
I have a plan for that. Now is a good time to use it, I suppose. Leo replied. Part of Leo felt wrong for using Takumi in such away, but he faced the reality of his situation with clarity. They were not friends. Not in this life.
“You must be tired,” Takumi closed his book, deciding that he wouldn’t be able to read with Leo looking at him. “Training and then an aptitude test.”
“The feeling in my joints right now is making me fear what old age will be like.” Leo jokes, a natural smile forming. Angling his face away from Takumi, Leo crossed his arms. “I will live though. Takumi, I have a request.”
Alarmed, Takumi turned his hazel eyes to Leo.
“It’s nothing evil, I assure you,” Leo mustered an evil look to wash over his face in contrast to his words. “I was wondering if I could touch your hair. It’s unlike anything I’ve seen.” The motives behind this were perhaps not pure, but the curiosity was real enough, underneath the scheming.
“Fine, if it would get you to stop looking at it like it was that cherry tree from earlier, sure.” The male answered with nonchalance, but dusts of red colored his cheeks, if Leo squinted. Takumi let his hair down, going to get ready to sleep soon enough.
Leo moved closer to Takumi and ran a hand through the silky strands. Summoning magic, Leo left small seeds in Takumi’s hair. The seeds would excrete numbing oil onto Takumi’s neck and then collect a small portion of blood. Each morning, Leo would collect that pocket of blood, using them whenever needed. Fujin’s gales wouldn’t detect any movement from Leo, yet Leo would get what he wanted.
“Are you done?” The fluster was clear in Takumi’s voice.
Leo tried not to chuckle. “You know, where I was before this, they would have called this a woman’s hair style.”
“Hair doesn’t have a gender and it’s normal in Hoshido. Actually, your headband would be considered girly by most standards!” Takumi defended himself.
“It gives me character!” Leo whined. Elise has teased him about that as well.
At this, Takumi couldn’t help but laugh. The weight in the room seemed to lighten at the sound. “You know Leo… I was wondering, not that I care that much, but out of curiosity… what was your family like.”
Leo let Takumi’s hair go and took off his own headband, shaking his head to ruffle his hair. He felt his shoulders relax. “My mother was a loving woman, she doted on me very much. My father was always proud of me, as I excelled far beyond my years. Of course, when they found out I was a Bewitched their love for me was non-existent. They were the type of people who were more in love with the idea of a child and family than the actual act of family.” The words came out distant and unemotional.
“No,” Takumi turned around, face paling at Leo’s words, “I didn’t mean your birth parents. Gods, I wouldn’t ask you that! I meant your street family that died.”
“Ah,” Leo felt the slightest bit awkward. “The leaders of our group, my family, were decided by power. Much like over here. I had an older brother, two older sisters, and one younger.” It never hurt to sprinkle the truth in when it wasn’t going to put Leo’s life at risk. “How many siblings do you have? I met two, but Prince Ryoma said something about other sisters.”
“I have two older sisters, one younger. It’s the exact same arrangement as yours. You see…” Takumi formulated his sentence. “The empathy class is for those whose emotions can affect and change the people around them and for those who can pick up feelings acutely. Ryoma was in that class for years, but he didn’t exactly fit in with them, but he didn’t fit into the analytic class either. Both this control over emotions and tactics were above the human bar level, but none to an extreme degree. An all-rounder, if you would. My sisters, however, are in the empathy class.”
“Gods, we have the same number of siblings. That’s slightly disturbing; what a coincidence. Is Ryoma the only Demigod of them?” Leo was beginning wonder if Brynhildr could foresee how much the two would have in common. Just because the Goddess was on Leo’s side did not mean she told him everything.
“Yes, it’s just him and I. The rest are simply the strongest of their own classes” Takumi ran a hand through his hair. Casting his gaze somewhere on the floor, Takumi’s expression darkened. “Not that I compare to him or them,” he mumbled more to himself, but Leo caught it. The words were spat like venom. Leo's breath hitched and there was a tugging at his heart. The tone was too familiar. Too close to home.
Before Leo could filter against it, he began to speak. The words tumbling from his mouth like vomit. “My older brother, X-” Leo knew he should give a name, but giving Xander, given that he was Leo, would put him at risk. “Marx, was also a Demigod.” Leo took a breath in, “I didn’t compare much to him either.” Leo didn't know why he was telling Takumi this. The weight in the room fell upon Leo's shoulders. The clouded look in Takumi's gaze. It was too much for Leo. Too like himself.
Takumi snapped his gaze up from the floor, landing on Leo. Understanding passed between the two like electricity, but it paralyzed them. There was too much vulnerability. They needed this armor.
The air in the room grew heavy like lead. Neither wanted to push this conversation further, understanding that there were places that need not be trotted. They had said their piece.
Turning away from Leo, Takumi stood up. The conservation was dropped. “Let’s go to bed,” Takumi turned off the lights abruptbly.
“Changing?” Leo reminded amusedly. He understood the need to clear the air, but Takumi’s fluster was endearing, if Leo allowed himself to think so. He too, after all, had a heart that was racing a mile a minute.
Takumi turned the lights back on, pink like a cherry blossom. “Right. Changing. Clothes.”
Leo continued to smirk at Takumi.
“Shut up, take that devil’s look off your face.” Takumi stormed off to the bathroom. “I was going to say that Hoshido’s clothes looked nice on you, but now I take it back. They look too pure for someone as evil as you.”
When Takumi was out of the room, Leo couldn’t help but think there was some truth to that. Since Takumi was in the bathroom, Leo changed into white robes for bed in the room. As Takumi came out of the bathroom, Leo went in to brush his teeth.
After that, the lights were turned off for the second time, and the two males went to bed.
The gales of Fujin could be felt in the room as Leo tried to sleep. A reminder of where he was. Leo stared at the ceiling. Maybe it was the dark of night getting to his head, but Leo found himself thinking of thoughts that served no purpose.
He wondered how his siblings were doing, if they were worried about him. Would Elise be whining about how she missed Leo, or would it be as though Leo were never there to begin with?
Xander was close by, ready to walk in if Leo slipped up and ended up dead. Niles and Odin were surely in a tassel, wondering if their prince was all right. They did like to smother him with a certain amount of affection. That was their job.
Leo sighed and rolled to his side.
He was lucky, Hoshido was nowhere near as prudent as Nohr. That would be their downfall. If this were Nohr, if a snake were to enter its den, it would be weeded out instantaneously. The tests were rigorous and frequent, testing loyalty to extremes as well as leaving no room for error.
The calm blind waters of Hoshido were not able to see that poison was calmly spreading in its water.
Vigilant storms of Nohr would have noticed the smog without a doubt, seeing as they lived for and in poison.
There was a warmth to Hoshido that Leo found part of him relishing in. It felt like staring at the sun after being in the dark for so long. Slowly, Leo could see himself getting accustomed to life here.
Perhaps, it wasn’t right for Leo to destroy such a peaceful place, but when did it matter what was right? There was no black and white. Leo would do what he needed to protect both himself and the patients of Nohr, who did nothing wrong. There was already blood on Leo’s hands; there was no point in getting sentimental now. Even if that blood added to his snow-white hands would be Ryoma’s or Takumi’s.
But for this year, Leo would enjoy the peace that was Hoshido before he destroyed it, or it destroyed him.