Chapter Text
While his father misses Kengo’s funeral and Ichirou’s coronation, he shows up at the capitol eventually with a victory on the western border, and the Empire's enemies crushed underfoot. He is greeted with ravenous celebration on the courts' part, and fearful quiet on the townspeople's. Abram catches one glimpse of the man, and quickly retreats into the maze-like structure of the Moriyama’s fortress to disappear from the court’s eyes, if only for a moment. Ichirou will not let him be gone for too long, there will certainly be a feast tonight, a great commander has returned with victory staining his hands crimson, after all. It makes Abram want to gag, knowing he’ll be in the same room as that man.
He’s successfully avoided his father for nearly six years now, every previous time his father has come to the capitol Tetsuji has kept Abram too occupied with training for him to see the man. Now that he is part of Ichirou’s court he is expected to be by the Emperor’s side, where his father will inevitably be as well.
There is no way this will turn out well.
Abram finds himself back in his and Jean’s old room, the narrow beds and blank stone walls oddly comforting. It is still as small as it has ever been, much smaller than the current space they’ve been given, another thing that has changed with Ichirou. It is not a pleasant place, more like a prison cell than a room, there are too many memories contained within it of pain and fear, but it had also been a retreat, a place where in the dark of night Abram could finally breathe, where he could watch the moon rise and fall through its small window, and dream of what was and what could be.
Now it’s full of dust, and feels eternally empty.
Abram sits on his old bed and buries his face in his hands, tangling his fingers in the curls of his auburn hair, so like his father’s.
He takes a long, shuddering, breath.
He wants the man dead so bad.
He wonders what would happen if he just did it, could he even touch the man? It seems impossible, but Abram isn’t the child he was. He isn’t helpless anymore, has spent years outside of his father’s house, yet everything he’d gone through there seems to loom over him like a shadow he’ll never be able to escape. Tetsuji might have honed his skills as an assassin, but Abram’s father had been the one to teach him the intricacies of taking a man apart, had been the one he’d spilt blood for first.
Abram has taken too much in this life to ever be considered clean, to be worthy of fate turning an eye in his favor and removing the man permanently from this world without his intervention, so if he wants his father gone it will have to be Abram that does it. If he fails, though, his father will slowly tear him limb from limb, carving the flesh from his bones till he is stripped bare, reduced to regret and pain. He knows just how long his father can keep a person alive while torturing them, it is a lesson Abram can’t forget, and he doesn't want to experience it himself.
He is hesitant to act, if he is successful there will be backlash from the court. Maybe this can be a chance to get out, though. Kill his father, take Kevin and Jean, then run for it.
It might be impossible, he thinks, but then Abram remembers what Andrew told him the day he placed a rune of protection on his hand, or it might work. Abram has become well versed in killing, the act itself wouldn’t be hard. The problem would come from finding the right time to do it that wouldn’t end with all of them dead.
He can do it, though, in theory.
But it is his father, the dreaded butcher, and the man has eluded death so far, seemingly against all odds.
Abram pulls Andrew’s amulet from the collar of his shirt, and holds it gently in his hands. He wonders if Aaron and Nicholas have dealt with the seal yet. It has only been a week, but they are gods, and Abram doesn’t think it's unreasonable to assume they should be quick about it.
Unless they got stuck behind the seal as well, that is a thought Abram doesn’t want to entertain.
There’s a shuffle at the door, and Abram looks up to find Jean in the doorway, and Kevin two steps behind him.
He beckons the two taller men in with a wave of his hand. “Close the door behind you.”
Jean sits down on his old bed across from Abram, his long legs knocking against Abram’s knees. Kevin closes the door, then sits at Abram’s side. Abram wonders where Riko is, but decides not to look a gift horse in a mouth. The less he must deal with the man the better.
“You look terrible,” Kevin says bluntly, and Abram shoots him a glare.
“Shut up.”
“He’s meeting with Tetsuji and Ichirou currently.” Jean’s watching him closely, and Abram tries not to think about the worry he hides within the storms swirling in his eyes. “What are we going to do?”
That is the question, isn’t it?
Kevin looks between the two of them, but keeps his mouth shut for once. His eyes catch the light falling through the window, and for a moment Abram thinks he sees the green twirl and shift in intricate kaleidoscopic patterns, but he blinks, and it’s gone. Abram shakes his head and looks away, choosing to ignore that for now. Jean asked a question.
“We need to get out of here.” As soon as possible.
Jean nods, but Kevin frowns. “We can’t just leave.”
“He’s right,” Jean looks like it pains him to agree, but he does. “Especially with the Butcher here, we wouldn’t make it out of the capitol.”
“And there’s Riko,” Kevin says hoarsely.
“Riko won't be a problem,” Abram dismisses easily, he is the least of their problems. “As for my father... we’ll need to take him out of the picture.”
Kevin and Jean share a look, and Abram has to stop himself from rolling his eyes.
“How?” Jean finally asks.
The idea that is bouncing around Abram’s head will be suicide if he isn’t successful, failure meant he’d die in one way or another, but if he did succeed…
Well, Abram is used to playing the long game.
“The Empire still condones duels, correct?”
Kevin’s mouth pops open in shock, and Jean’s eyes widen, something horrified flitting through them like a lightning strike. “You’re going to die.”
___________
Jean might have been right, but it is too late for Abram to back out now. The celebratory feast is well under way, the festivities those of a battle won, loud and uproarious with too much drink, and too little morals. The castle changes with the Butcher’s presence, it becomes vicious and bloodthirsty, more so than usual. Luckily the crowd is such that Abram isn’t expected to stay by Ichirou’s side, which is good, seeing as Riko has taken up position on his brother’s left. The two are at the center of a crowd, Ichirou ignoring his brother for the most part, and Riko seething silently while wearing a sharp smile. He might have finally been acknowledged by the main family as existing, and might be regarded as an essential part of Ichirou’s court, but it is easy to tell the Emperor only sees him as a temporary measure. Riko is too ambitious to keep around permanently, Ichirou isn’t stupid.
Abram’s father is across the ballroom with Testsuji, the two generals, an imposing presence that people at once migrate towards and fear.
Abram keeps away from them as well.
Jean and Kevin are nowhere to be seen, hopefully they are far away from the capitol already.
Their plan is pretty simple, Jean and Kevin are to go to Andrew’s temple while Abram causes a distraction to cover their disappearance. He’d given Kevin his amulet, ensuring that when they reach the temple, they’ll be able to find it without a problem. It felt like he’d ripped a piece of his heart out as he handed it over to the man, but he knew it was the right thing to do. If he is successful, he’ll get it back eventually.
The distraction is simple as well, he’ll duel his father, and kill him, if everything goes right. Then he’ll inherit his family's province, and be able to operate independently within it. He’ll be able to protect the temple, and his family, all while keeping an eye on Ichirou.
One day he might even get the chance to end the Moriyama’s rule. Coups are easier to plan if you have access to the court you want to demolish. Andrew probably wouldn't be opposed to helping either, Abram will just have to ask nicely.
If he fails, however…
…. Well, he has a promise to keep so he doesn’t think about that.
Abram takes a deep breath, right hand going to the sword at his waist, and looks up to find his father’s ice blue eyes boring holes into what’s left of his soul. Abram hopes he won't have to sacrifice that too, to pull this off.
Objectively, Abram knows the easiest thing would be to simply use magic, and burn the man to a crisp, but he can’t for a number of reasons starting with the fact that it would raise to many questions about him, and ending with the fact that he wants to see the man bleed, wants to be the one to cause it.
Abram’s morals might have become a bit skewed somewhere along the way.
He takes another breath, and walks towards the man with the last of his resolve. Maybe he has a death wish left over from his imprisonment, but somehow, he takes the terror running through his heart and shoves it to the deepest darkest corner of his mind, steeling his resolve.
This is a horrible plan, but it isn’t the worst he’s ever had. Which probably says something about him.
Abram stops some ten feet away from the man, and reaches into his pocket pulling out a medallion Jean helped him find this morning. It is the only way to obtain a sanctioned duel, an oblong golden coin like thing that acts as a token, and a declaration. It is inscribed with the Empire’s old motto, from back before the Moriyamas gained control. There aren’t many of them left, it’s traditionally the only way to challenge a noble in a no strings attached way. The Emperor would be obligated to allow it, forgiving whatever deaths occur.
In general, the Empire doesn’t want its nobles killing each other off, so the medallions giving sanction to do so are incredibly rare. Abram doesn’t question where Jean found this one, it’s probably best left unknown.
He tips his hand over letting the medallion fall to the ground with a sound that cuts through the noise of the court and leaves only the dull thrum of silence. Somewhere along the line he’s caught Ichirou’s attention, but the Emperor doesn’t say anything, only watching the two of them with slight interest.
Riko looks like a dog who’s been given a bone, the promise of blood sharpening his smile.
No one has noticed Jean and Kevin’s absence from the proceedings, good.
“What is this?” His father sneers.
“I thought we might as well get this over with before you decide to kill me in private.” Abram keeps his voice as even as possible. “This is a challenge, father.”
Abram isn’t sure where he gets the courage to look the man in the eye, his mouth moving faster than his brain can keep up. For a moment he’s glad Andrew isn’t here to see this, the boy he knew would have been pissed, and Abram is sure that aspect of Andrew’s personality hasn’t changed in the years they’ve been apart.
He wants to find out if he’s right.
His father’s mouth curls into a razor-sharp smile, the type he wears when he’s about to carve open a person, and Abram can’t stop the shudder that racks through his body. His father’s hand goes to his hip, pulling out the short sword he keeps there. “You’re going to regret this.”
Abram barely gets his sword out before his father takes the first swing.
____________
Abram is dying, there's a knife twisted deep between his ribs, and blood bubbling up his throat choking the remaining breath out of his lungs. He's dying and there’s nothing he can do about it.
He always knew it would end this way, that his father would probably kill him when he got the chance, and Abram had given him one on a silver platter. Yet, foolishly he'd believed, he'd hoped, that by some twist of fate he'd make it out of the capitol alive.
It isn’t all bad, though. His father lay across from him, Abram’s sword piercing his rib cage, directly through his heart. The man is dead, finally. Done by Abram’s hand, just as Andrew had promised.
It puts a smile on Abram’s blood splattered face that really doesn’t belong, and sends the crowd of courtesans gathered to watch the fight tittering in raised voices behind their hands. Abram wonders if they enjoyed the show.
At least Andrew is safe. Even if Abram’s gone there’s still Aaron and Nickolas to watch over him. Andrew has his freedom and his family back. Jean and Kevin are on the way to his temple, to a sanctuary where they can live in safety away from the Moriyamas, in a place the Emperor will never find.
It could have turned out worse, all things considered.
There’s a beat of silence where he simply stares up at the high ceilings of the ballroom, and wishes he could see the moon.
Then Riko’s face appears above him, and he wishes he was blind.
Riko’s teeth are bared, the sharp line of his mouth splitting his face in two. Why wouldn’t Abram’s stupid mortal heart just stop already? Get death over with so he doesn’t have to deal with this shit.
Briefly Abram wonders where Ichirou is, he should really learn to keep his dogs on shorter leashes. Maybe Abram has helped to teach that lesson.
Riko bends down closer to Abram’s face. “You stepped out of line Nathaniel.”
Abram sucks in a breath, and the blood in his throat makes a wet popping noise. “Go fuck yourself.”
Then Abram gathers the blood pooling in his mouth and spits it at Riko’s face. It lands in a blob under his left eye, running down the man’s cheek in a smear. Riko’s eyes widen in shock, and Abram lets slip a satisfied smirk. Then Riko’s face contorts into something furious, he wrenches his body back a step, raises his foot, and slams it down against Abram’s throat.
Something makes a crunching noise, and black spots start to slowly seep into Abram’s vision as Riko continues to apply pressure with his boot. Abram can feel his conscious slipping, his eyes fluttering as he tries and fails to take in any air.
Abram really hates that it’s Riko who gets to kill him, the bastard doesn’t deserve the honor.
There’s a commotion somewhere in Abram’s peripheral vision, a flash of silver light and a loud ringing sound. Riko looks up, startled as a man seemingly appears from nowhere, all pitch-black robes and fine blond hair. A fist connects with his face, and Riko is sent flying backward into the crowd, a cut off scream ripping out of his lungs.
Abram musters up a choked off laugh at the sight before his vision blacks out and he loses consciousness.