Jesters & Kings

Jesters & Kings Part 7
A Love Mode Fanfic

"The impact was too strong. I haven't forgotten you for a second..."


For not the first time in his life, Katsuki wished he'd think things through more thouroughly before acting. The silence in the hallway was thick enough to cut with a knife. For what seemed a long time Jin neither moved nor spoke. A circumstance that alarmed Katsuki greatly. Still, he couldn't bring himself to take the words back. 'Too much pride...we both have too much pride...' The thought echoed in his mind as he waited for Jin to reply. But the other man seemed content to remain silent.

"And? Aren't you going to answer?" He finally demanded.

"It seems you no longer have need of my advice." Jin responded. "You have everything all worked out."

Katsuki stared at him, uncertain. He'd been expecting one of Jin's usual quips or insults. Not this. "Jin..."

"But you came to me, Katsuki. Never forget that. And you chose to walk away. Don't you dare to forget that, either."

His heart was pounding, as if to revolt against what he'd done. Aching at these strange quiet words in a way that no insult could ever cause. "...Goodbye, Jin."

Somehow he expected the hand on his arm, the mouth that crashed down to devour his. But he still couldn't stop the intake of breath, or the shiver that ran through his body when Jin's tongue invaded - teasing his mouth with caresses. He didn't stop his own hands from entangling in the older man's jacket. Or from leaning into the kiss, even though he knew he shouldn't.

Jin dragged him closer, his fingers tracing the back of his neck in a barely-there touch that set his nerves on fire, while his other hand flattened against the small of his back - pressing their bodies together. When he finally pulled away, Katsuki could not meet his gaze. He felt him untangling his fingers from his jacket, and did not fight. Made no move to stop him as he turned and walked away. He chuckled to himself as his footsteps faded, and he realized just how badly he'd messed up.

Akechi had chosen to follow things through. It was against his better judgement, but when had his judgement ever been good? Though spying wasn't any better than stalking, he'd allowed himself to watch Jin and Katsuki's confrontation. He closed his eyes in a pained way as Jin walked away. "Idiot." He breathed, but wasn't at all sure which of the three of them he was referring to. Katsuki's chuckle caught him off-guard. He opened his eyes, watching as he slumped back against the wall, recognizing the defeat in the guesture.

There was a devilish side to him that knew he could swoop in and claim Katsuki then and there. That right now he would say yes if he offered, regardless of his earlier hesitation.

The problem for the devil whispering in his ear was that whenever he began to bend to it, he thought of Aoe Shouga. Jin's earlier words replayed in his mind and he winced. He could be a coward, and have with ease the first thing he'd desidered in a long time. Or he could prove he'd changed, and perhaps lose him forever.

A little devil on his shoulder.

And the long-reaching shadow of Aoe Shouga still effecting him years after the man was gone.

Akechi sighed heavily. "Ah, love...what torture it is."

Katsuki stiffened, turning to face him as he entered the hallway. "How long have-"

"Long enough."

"There's a word for this."

"Fate?" Akechi suggested.

"Stalking." Katsuki corrected.

"That too." He replied without shame.

"I take my leave of you." Katsuki turned to walk away.

"So that's it, eh?"

"You saw, right? I think I've screwed up badly enough for one evening."

"You want a tale about screwing up, I can tell you one." Akechi told him.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm not in the mood."

"You sure about that? It's about my favorite person - me."

Katsuki shook his head, slightly amused despite himself. "Good night, Akechi."

"When's your room payed to?" Akechi winced at his own tactics as Katsuki froze. "Listen to my story and it's yours for the month."

"For no price but a story?" Katsuki sounded uncertain whether to believe him.

"No price but that." Akechi concurred, waiting.

"It must be some story."

Akechi chuckled dryly. "Oh...it is."

Curious inspite of himself, Katsuki turned back to look at him. Akechi watched him, still waiting. "Are you going to tell it here?"

"Let's find someplace more comfortable, shall we?" Akechi suggested, and saw a spark of suspicion in Katsuki's eyes. "You may not mind standing, beautiful, but I've been on my feet quite a bit already and I'm not as young as I once was."

Katsuki snorted, and walked by him - taking the lead. "My name is Katsuki - do remember it."

"As you command..." Akechi whispered to himself, and followed.

Amagai sunk his hands into his pockets as he exited Aoe's office. He'd had worse evenings, but there were times he wondered why he'd returned to the B&B. He pushed the elevator button, and paused when it opened. Jin stood inside, his coat and tie in one hand. Something about his posture seemed off. "Jin-san." He greeted, entering the elevator. He wondered if he'd just gotten back, and if he'd seen Katsuki at the Royal Gates party.

Still, he was surprised when instead of exiting or hitting the ground floor button, Jin pressed the door close instead. His confusion lasted until Jin's hand closed around his collar and he found himself slammed against the elevator wall.

"I don't appreciate being set up, Amagai."

He tried to recall the last time he'd made Jin this angry, and decided it hadn't been since he'd gotten too cocky during his early years at the B&B. That was probably the last time he'd called him by his name without being reminded as well. "Did the evening not go well?" He asked, deciding to remain calm for now.

It must have been the wrong question, as Jin picked him up and slammed him into the wall again. "You know what I'm talking about."

Amagai met Jin's gaze. "And? Not like the results of your work? Don't blame me."

"The results of my work?" Jin repeated, his eyes narrowing.

"You think Katsuki would be where he is without your training?" Amagai pointed out.

"This isn't about where the boy is or how he's turned out. It's about you knowing he was going to be there when you chose which job to take."

"So what if I did? Since when do you have an interest in his whereabouts?"

"If you really thought that you'd have told me."

"..."

"You pull this sort of thing on me again, you'll regret it." Jin warned him before lowering him to the ground and releasing him.

Amagai brought a hand up to rub at his throat, his eyes distant. "I asked your intentions before this all started."

Jin snorted. "You're talking like a wife gone home to the family again."

"I'm his senpai, I feel responsible for him." He hit the ground floor button.

"Not responsible enough, obviously."

Amagai's eyes widened, and his hand clenched at his side. "Did he reject you again?"

"..."


It was the same sitting room, Katsuki thought as they sat down. The one Jin had kissed his client in. The one he'd left Noe resting in. The night seemed to be going in circles. Repeating and turning back on itself.

"Like many in the service of Aoe Shouga, my employment was not exactly one of choice." Akechi jumped into his tale, not wasting time on small talk. "Though, to be fair, I did agree to it. That was, perhaps, the harshest thing. He recognized desperation, and he used it. We submitted because we were desperate, and he never let you forget that. Is a choice that isn't a choice really choosing? Maybe not, but if asked you couldn't say he forced you. No, he let you force yourself..."

Katsuki watched him. He'd heard a few tales of Aoe Shouga, but not any real details. He'd only worked at the B&B a short while, and the previous owner didn't really seem something he needed to concern himself with. Akechi's words made a shiver run up his spine. He didn't really want to know much, he decided.

Akechi's hand clenched, but he slowly loosened them. "I specialized in displeasing him. My efforts were never more than half-hearted. I enjoyed upsetting my clients, and I didn't care if he punished me."

"The Court Jester?" Katsuki spoke up.

Akechi chuckled. "It was Jin who named me that. And as he seemed to excel where I failed, I dubbed him King. It seemed suiting for the B&B's number one host...but I digress. Yes, I was the Jester. I didn't care if I was the court joke. I didn't care about anything. One man changed that. His name was...Souma." The name was a whisper, ladden with emotion. Akechi was silent a moment before continuing.

"He was a client. I'd never had a regular before. Who would want a Jester? No one but Souma. And I loved him. How I loved him..."

"Did he die?" Katsuki asked, thinking he knew where the story was going.

"We all die eventually." Akechi countered, not answering. "He loved me back - or so he said. Enough to want me to be with him forever. He was rich, obviously. Even in that day the B&B was not for just anyone. He thought he could buy me from Aoe. He filled my head with tales of how we'd always be together...and then he disappeared. When I asked about him all anyone could tell me was that he'd left the B&B."

"But why?" Katsuki asked, surprised by this turn in his tale. "Was he...was it a trick?"

"By Shouga perhaps?" Akechi suggested. "I thought so for a time. But trick or not, I couldn't stop loving him. If I was reckless before I was listless now. It was Jin who snapped me out of it. Got into Shouga's files somehow and got Souma's number. I don't know how he did it, or what he endured for it, but he gave it to me. Told me to call him, or forget him...I chose the latter." Akechi chuckled without humour. "Too much a coward to fight, I let him go."

Standing he paced away. "That isn't even the end of the story, though. No. When Shouga died and his son took over I quit the B&B - many did. Aoe Reiji was not the man his father was, but it didn't matter. Most could not forgive the son for the sins of his father. I did not for a long time. He tried to speak to me the day I left, even asked me if I wanted to contact Souma. You can imagine the things I said were not pleasant. I didn't understand. I wouldn't - not until too late."

"A few years later, in fact, when I was contacted and told Souma had died in a car crash. When I found out he'd left me all he possessed in this world. His fortune, his business...and a letter. A letter telling me he loved me. That he didn't understand why I'd taken an exclusive with another client. Perhaps out of fear for Aoe, or even fear of what we shared. But he'd always love me." Akechi began to chuckle again. "An exclusive with another client indeed! As if I had any regular but him! Oh, but Shouga knew what he was doing, the clever bastard. He knew. All that time thinking Souma had betrayed me. And he thinking I'd betrayed him. And yet he loved me enough to forgive me. To give me everything he'd once promised to share. He died loving me, and thinking I betrayed him..." Akechi stopped to look out the window. "And I'd thrown away two chances to change all that. Once because I was a coward, and once because I was too proud. Do you know how many nights I've layed awake thinking about that?"

Katsuki brought his hand to his mouth. His breath sharp in his lungs. "Too much pride..." He whispered.

"I've had a few lovers since then. But I've lived my life alone. Never once did I think of finding another." Akechi confessed. "Until tonight..."

Katsuki froze, turning to look at him. Akechi had turned from the window and was looking at him now. He moved his mouth wordlessly before finding his voice. "No, you don't mean that...You can't mean that."

"Oh, but I do." Akechi told him, coming forward. "I shared my bed, but not my life. No one interested me enough. No one filled me with desire enough. No one made me want them." He leaned down, capturing Katsuki's lips, even as he pulled back. His hand reached up to hold his head in place as he kissed him slowly - running his tongue along his lips, asking for entrance. When Katsuki did not grant it, he pulled back. "I learned my lesson - some things are worth throwing away your pride for...what about you, Katsuki? Have you learned that lesson?"

To Be Continued...


*sniffles* I'm so mean - giving Akechi such a rotten past. Well, one more chapter to go. Watch for the ending!


Salmon