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Arthur zoned out of Aki's rambling, looking down at the table and reflecting. Aki liked him? No, he loved him. It was strange, Arthur had always loved the person who protected him, but the real person that protected him had always loved him and he never even noticed. Arthur glanced to the side, finding a certain tile on the floor particularly interesting. Did Aki feel as bitter and sad as he did when Leon rejected him?
"Hey," he suddenly said. "Why don't we get matching tattoos?" If it looked ugly then he could always shift to a new look.
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Akihiko Mori






The drifter looked back to Arthur, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What? Why?" He laughed out loud, shaking his head. "I mean, we aren't even friends. You hate me!" He raised a hand to his head, still chuckling. "Ah, must be a joke! You've gotten funnier over time, Arthur!" Finishing off his coffee, Aki stood to walk over to the trash can, tossing it away before returning to the table. Should he sit down? It wasn't like he had a job in this city yet, so he didn't have anything to do. But still, it was a little awkward to stand like an idiot in front of his first love who hated his guts.
Luckily, it didn't hurt his feelings anymore. Aki was so easy-going, sometimes it was hard to know when he was really hurting.

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"No!" burst Arthur. He bit his lip at the noise he made and nervously looked around before settling in his seat again, blushing lightly. "I mean, I don't hate you, and I definitely want to make up all that lost time in school. You said you wanted a memorable tattoo, right? Then if you don't know what to get we can get a matching one!"
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Akihiko Mori






Aki jumped as the small Sin shouted, his hand resting on his chest as his heart pumped loudly. God, what was he so uptight about! Moving back to his seat, Aki stared at Arthur for a minute, then finally nodded his consent. "Alright, alright, but what would it be?" he asked. "I mean, we have nothing in common. You probably don't even remember my full first name!"

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Arthur gave him a puzzled look. "You're first name's not Aki...?" he mumbled. But the bigger guy had a point, Arthur knew next to nothing about him. Pursing his lips in confusion, Arthur subconsciously scratched his ear. "Well... Tell me a few things about yourself, then. What do you like?" He suddenly perked up at an idea. "Oh! Maybe you could get a tattoo of the favorite place you visited during your time drifting?"
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Akihiko Mori






"No, it's Akihiko." Chuckling, he set his elbow on the table and leaned on his fist. "I like travel, obviously, but I do like staying in one place if I can. It's nice to get to know people, but eventually it's best to move on." He sighed, staring out the window. He'd been here too long already.
Hearing Arthur's question, he shrugged. "I don't have a favorite place. I liked everywhere. There's not a single person I wasn't happy to meet."

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"There wasn't a person you didn't like?" snorted Arthur. Disbelief was written on his face. "You're always smiling and having fun! Don't you like everyone?"
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Akihiko Mori






"That's what I said. There isn't a single person I wasn't happy to meet. I was glad to be around everyone." He smiled absently. "So unless I'm going to cover my entire body with pictures of all of my travels, then that won't work." He paused, then gestured to Arthur. "Where have you always wanted to go?"

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"Nowhere. I've never been crazy about traveling, honestly. Not as long as I was around..." Arthur drifted off, knowing that if he had finished the sentence it would've been insensitive. He looked at Aki and smiled thinly. "Uh... I like dogs...?"
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Akihiko Mori






Aki groaned, his head falling to the table. "Maybe we should just give up, kid. We have nothing in common. I like travel and people and pretty much everything, and you don't. I mean, all we have is maybe Leon and... Wait, do you remember that season when you were rescued?" He asked, sitting upright.

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"Yeah, fall. Why?" he asked, remembering everything vividly.
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Akihiko Mori






"Let's get a leaf," he suggested. "That way, I'll always remember the season I met you, and you have a reminder of when you fell for Leon. It's a win-win."

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Arthur perked at the idea. "Yeah! That sounds great!" He smiled at the idea. A thought occurred to him. "Hey," he said softly. "You said you loved me, but I always loved Leon, and he was your best friend. Did you... ever hate him for that?"
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Akihiko Mori






The pierced man didn't even have to think about his answer. "No. He couldn't control how you felt. He still can't. I never thought anything ill for him during that time." He looked at the table, his smile a lot softer than usual. "In fact, I was angry a lot when I was younger. That's why I joined the gang. But after Leon became in charge, all that anger diminished. After Mags died, though, the sadness was so awful, I had to leave. It was hard to be upset when I was experiencing so many wonderful things. Though sometimes, I wonder-"
He stopped himself, blinking twice before the large smile returned. "So why do you ask?"

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"I was just wondering," Arthur murmured. Was it right for him to hate Nikolai? ... Yes, it was! Nikolai definitely controlled how Leon felt, the way he manipulated his feelings and teased him like that! Arthur's hatred was totally justified! Maybe Aki's was too but he's just too nice?
Shaking away the thoughts, Arthur finished his drink and got up. "So, you ready to get the tattoo?" he asked with a light smile.
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