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It was never meant to be seen. He was careful to never to show it.
But Yotsutsuji had seen it, and it couldn’t be unseen. The Chuo-ku mark, small but clearly tattooed on Ramuda’s lower back.
Ramuda was not impressed with Yotsutsuji’s discovery. Jakurai’s brat had walked in on him wearing nothing but a loose towel after a shower, and let out an audible gasp the moment his eyes fell on the mark. The kid wasn’t good at hiding his reactions. And now he knew too much.
“Ra-Ramuda-kun, why do you have …?” Yotsutsuji couldn’t finish his sentence. His voice was weak and wavering in dreadful confusion. He felt like he was falling into some dark pit somewhere, a fall that would never end.
And Ramuda wasn’t Ramuda anymore. If it was the usual Ramuda, he would have giggled, winked, and said something about how he got this dumb tattoo because one of his girls thought it was cool, isn’t that stupid? But this Ramuda, he was different – he was scowling and emitting an aura as dark as the pit that Yotsutsuji was falling into. It was the first time Yotsutsuji had seen this Ramuda, and he was terrified.
Indeed, Ramuda had been caught off guard. So off guard that he hadn’t had time to put up his façade. Who the hell just walks in when someone is clearly just out of the shower? Granted, this was Yotsutsuji’s house, and he probably didn’t realize that Ramuda was still there and hadn’t gone home that morning after spending the night, but still. Does Yotsutsuji do that with Jakurai?
Wait, stop, Ramuda didn’t want his thoughts to go in that direction. He needed to focus on the matter at hand. “Why do I have this? You tell me.” His lips turned up just slightly in a brief, faint smirk that was gone as soon as it appeared.
“… You ... work for them? F-for Chuo-ku … but … what? Why …?” Yotsutsuji couldn't even squeak out a full sentence.
“Why?” Ramuda spat the word back. “Because they made me. That’s what I’m programmed to do. To work for them and make sure that nothing will get in their way. To make sure any threats stay a safe distance from them. Threats like The Dirty Dawg. Threats like Ichiro and Samatoki and your precious doctor.”
Yotsutsuji winced at the way Ramuda hissed “doctor.” His voice was deep, deeper than Yotsutsuji had ever heard or even thought possible. And dark. His words alone emitted darkness. If these were lyrics, and he was hearing them through a Hypnosis Mic … Yotsutsuji pushed back the image and mustered up his courage to continue.
“But ... don’t you love Jakurai-san? You’re always together, always talking or playing around, always … touching and hugging each other like … like family … I …” Now the tears were rising. Yotsutsuji choked back a sob, thinking thoughts he tried to avoid, about how that used to be him, and how this new, more interesting person had replaced him. When Yotsutsuji brought up the subject once, Jakurai had denied it, saying no one could ever replace him. But that wasn’t the case – Jakurai had clearly been spending more and more time with Ramuda and less and less time with Yotsutsuji. And he hated it. He hated Jakurai for it. But if it made Jakurai happy, then so be it – anything for the man who saved his life.
In a split second, Ramuda changed again, snapping Yotsutsuji out of his thoughts. He was back to his usual self – his usual posture, smile, and happy, charming, easygoing demeanor. But his eyes – his eyes were not smiling.
“That’s right! I looooove Jakurai. He’s my most favorite person in the world, heehee!” Ramuda walked up to Yotsutsuji, a light bounce in his steps, and stood on his toes to look him in the eye. His eyes were still not smiling. For an eternal moment, everything paused.
Ramuda’s movement was sudden and unpredictable. In an instant he had Yotsutsuji by the collar, pulling his face so close that their noses were virtually touching. Yotsutsuji’s heart raced. He wanted to run but he was paralyzed, stuck to the spot by fear, worry, and … curiosity. He wanted to know.
“Who are you?”
“Me? I’m his favorite. Jakurai doesn’t love you anymore, Yotsutsuji-kun. He loves me now. He’ll listen to me and believe anything I say. Go ahead, tell him what you saw, tell him what you know. It won’t matter. You’re not interesting to him anymore. You’re a finished experiment.” Ramuda’s tone was low, smooth, and terrifying. His face was smiling, but it was a wicked, twisted smile, with no heart or soul or joy. “And you can’t stop me.”
There was a moment of silence, followed by the sound of the front door opening and Jakurai announcing his arrival home. With unexpected strength, Ramuda shoved Yotsutsuji backwards as he released his collar. Yotsutsuji was still stuck to the spot, eyes wide as he watched Ramuda adjust his towel just high enough, giggle, wink, and bounce out of the bath area. “Jakuraaai! Welcome home!”
“Oh, Ramuda-kun. You’re still here?”
“Yep yep! I used your shower. Was that okay?”
“Of course. As long as you’re still here, would you like to stay for dinner?”
“Yaaay! Jakurai, I wuv you! Teehee!”
Yotsutsuji let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding, and scowled when he heard Jakurai’s familiar, deep laugh. A laugh that used to be only for him. Yotsutsuji’s usually soft face hardened, and his fists tightened. Frustrated tears rolled down his cheeks as he sank to the floor. Ramuda’s words echoed in his mind as Ramuda and Jakurai continued their familiar banter in the background.
“Jakurai doesn’t love you anymore. He loves me now. You can’t stop me.”
Yotsutsuji stood up, wiped his tears, splashed some cold water on his face, and headed out into the living room. Maybe he couldn’t stop him. But he had to try. “Jakurai-san! Welcome home! Ramuda was just showing me his tattoo. Have you seen it?”