Fear and Fate(poly)(bxb)

Romero's Fate

I stand behind L in an instant. He raises the arm I built at me and I grab it at the wrist then shove my knee into his back, holding him in place. The metal is strong and smooth to the touch but not indestructible.

"I'll rip it off and I'm not fixing it again. Where is Mia?" I demand.

It hits me that Diana is probably listening in on this conversation. She's always listening. Von is whispering in Seven's ear and his lips are on his neck.

"Romero... just let her go," L says softly, his head flat against his laptop.

"You killed her." Seven pushes Von off of him and lets himself slide down to the floor. He repeats his statement over and over again until he's sobbing. His head is in his small hands. Brown hair out of his face as his tears start falling.

Von looks away from him. He closes his eyes, sturdy frame otherwise unmoving. I want to make him shake. I want to break him and see if he can build himself back up from it.

"Killing gang members isn't new to you," he says. "Stop pretending."

"What do you mean?" Kimori asks. He stands up. "Killing? This isn't the time to be hurting each other. It's not okay. It's never okay!"

I drop L's arm and stop bruising his back. The fact that he let me do that just shows how guilty he feels. Mia is dead.

"It's too late," I say.

"I've never trusted you with Mia because everyone I send off with you dies. You could never protect her. None of us can," Von says as he stares at Seven's broken frame.

"Seven," Kimori leans in. "What is Von talking about?"

Seven hiccups but otherwise doesn't respond. Von successfully turns the attention to him. I want nothing more than for Seven to remember this moment. He needs to remember who kicked him when he was already down. I watch him and let it burn.

"You just went with a six-man squad today." Kimori's eyes are wide. "Don't tell me you killed all of those people."

Seven shakes his head. "I would've protected Mia. I never would have hurt her and you know that."

"Hmm, do I?" Von challenges.

"You're so possessive. You need help." I jump in. "What too many people touched her so you lost interest?"

Von is the most evil person I know. I don't know why it draws me to him. The ink in his skin is laced with some sort of aphrodisiac or his voice is a spell that highjacks your every move. He turns his blue eyes to me. The color in them is endless and ever-changing.

"Yeah," he responds flatly.

I lose my train of thought. Mia is really gone.

"So many people have been dying lately. I never thought I could lose her too," Kimori pouts.

His dark features look somber yet youthful. He wears a black short-sleeved turtleneck. His cropped vest provides a place for all of the different weapons and ammo he keeps on him.

I hate that he is grouping Mia with those underlings. This is why–

"This! This is why I kill them. You're worrying about the wrong thing," Seven yells from his position on the floor. "You think Mia is equal to those pathetic henchmen?"

"It's still wrong." Kimori puts his head down. "I just didn't know this was who we are."

Seven jumps and slides his lithe little body under Von. L gets up and I slam him back down on his desk just as quickly. Von tries to escape but Seven climbs his frame like a tree. He maneuvers him exactly how he wants until he's off balance and his right arm is twisted unnaturally behind his back. He hits the floor with a thud and I know he's out of breath.