Chapter Text
“YO! YO! YOOOOOO!!!”
Arkha closed his eyes and a tight smile formed on his face, there goes my quiet afternoon.
He swivels his chair around and sets his coffee cup on his desk, “good afternoon, August. To what do I owe the pleasure?” He greets, seeing the man practically bounce all over his office.
“HEYA BOSS! GUESS WHAT I WHIPPED UP!” He yells, despite now being right in Arkha’s face, both hands fully planted on his desk.
He smiles, “hm, let me-”
“INTRODUCING ROUND 1 OF THE NEW CLEANERS UNIFORMMMM!” He screams, stepping to the side and holding his arms out in a sideways V, where in the middle stands Amo in a completely different get up than yesterday.
She’s now wearing a frilly white dress with layered skirts and a headpiece that resembles a maid, putting all her hair in the front. She looks much more approachable and cute, fitting for her age.
His eyes widened and his mouth formed a soft smile, “this suits you, Amo.” He compliments, praising August’s work. It’s only been a few hours since she officially joined, August is pretty hyped up, the Doll Festival is sure fueling his creative passion.
Before the girl can say anything, August’s loud voice interrupts her.
“I KNOW RIGHT!? ISN’T IT JUST ADORABLE!? PERFECTLY SUITED FOR A HEALER LIKE MY SIS!”
Arkha chuckles, “haha, yes I hope they do get along, after all they’ll be working close together to help others.” He says, an outline of Amo’s role forming in his head.
“Mhm! Amo likes Eishia,” Amo chimes in, smiling innocently just as two figures appear in Arkha’s office.
Oh my, there’s more?
Riyo pouts, slinging her arms around Amo, “what about me? I did your hair!” She exclaims happily, fingers already combing through the girl’s locks.
Amo giggles, “Amo likes you too, Riyo!” Hands coming up gently grasp Riyo’s wrists, semi reciprocating the hug.
Meanwhile, Eishia simply stands a bit behind Amo, blushing as her head is held down and her hands clenched together.
“U-um.. Thank you, A-Amo, I like working w-with you and you’re very k-kind..” She stutters, voice barely above a whisper as she speaks.
“HUHHHH??? WAZZAT? SPEAK UP LIL SIS!” August teases, walking at the speed of light to her side as he holds up a hand to his ear.
The poor girl’s face is as red as a beet, “Auggie! D-Don’t tease me..!” She says, voice rising just the tiniest bit higher.
As Riyo and Amo giggle at the two siblings, Arkha flashes them an eased smile, “alright now, I’m glad to see everyone in high spirits.” Everyone quiets down, “but unfortunately, my office isn’t a hang out spot, so let's all head out, hm?” They nod, giggling to themselves.
As they head out of Arkha’s office, they all bid their farewells and August leaves with his usual loud flair.
“BYE BOSS!!” He screams, waving his hand at a concerning pace.
Arkha waves back, “goodbye, August.”
And now, back to peace and quiet.
He settles in his chair, taking another sip of coffee as he waits for Rudo to come back from his first mission, the image of Tamsy’s angered face momentarily flashing through his mind.
Let’s… Not think about him.
Unconsciously, his grip on the cup’s handle tightens.
Tamsy stands a few feet away from Follo’s rest bed, observing how Semiu laid out all the answers for him.
Rudo did not in fact turn Follo into a weapon, but he did transfer his anima energy into Follo, which helped activate his jinki- thus turning him into a giver.
Behind his sleeve, Tamsy was sporting twisted sneer. Hm..! So, Rudo can transfer his anima to people?
This just adds to his uniqueness! Rudo grows stronger and stranger each day, huh?
And when he breaks…. He’ll break beautifully.
However, his fun was cut short as the air shifted suddenly.
“Whoa! Boss! I didn’t know you were there,” Rudo yelped, shocked at the man’s presence. Tamsy turned around, instantly becoming absolutely obsessed with the look in his boss’ eyes.
It was a mixture of disbelief, confusion, and shock. Gray, pupiless eyes wide as he scanned the room, looking across everyone else until finally landing on Follo.
His gaze was way too intense for an injured person, lips tight together.
“Follo, you.. Used your powers with your gloves still on..?” He asked, skeptical.
The boy just turned his head, puzzled by the random question. “Uh.. Yes?”
His confirmation seemed to trigger something with Arkha, and Tamsy’s interest was piqued immediately.
The man stood there for a moment, eyes landing on Rudo with a piercing stare as he also locked eyes with Tamsy. He said nothing and turned around.
With heavy steps, Arkha left the infirmary. “I’m glad that you’re alright, Follo. Good work everyone.”
And with that, he was gone.
Aha.
Tamsy felt his inner self slowly crawl out of his masked self, ripping it apart as he couldn’t contain his excitement.
Arkha Corvus. You weak and silly man.
Don’t leave all your emotions out for me like that, you’ll make it way too fucking easy!
He’s realized the same thing! Oh Rudo, you don’t know how important you are from just helping a friend awaken as a Giver… I want to see that face again.
It’s been weeks since he’s gotten anything to muse over from Arkha, focusing solely on his goal to awaken that deep desire from Rudo ever since Tamsy learned of his existence.
He felt exhilarated, feeling that thrilling high he missed so much.
By the time the blonde broke out of his internal stupor, Follo had been healed already by Eishia and kept two scars on the side of his head, talking about how he wants to ‘remember his failures’ and ‘happiness’ about being a giver, leaving those scars as a reminder.
Pathetic.
On the inside, Tamsy rolls his eyes.
Wow, talk about lame. Leaving scars as a reminder of failure and happiness? Boring!
Even my scars don’t have any significant meaning, they’re just there. They’re scars. They mark your body until you die and decompose alongside the trash from the stupid Sphere.
Unconsciously, Tamsy started to touch the scar on his neck. Scratching at it.
Stupid Sphere. Stupid scars.
They don’t mean anything to me.
“Let’s be friends!” Tamsy opens his eyes, seeing Rudo and Follo shake hands, officially becoming friends as Enjin bursts through the door, hooking Tomme under his arm and leaning against Rudo’s shoulder with the other.
They all celebrated the harmonious end of Rudo’s mission.
And Tamsy’s there, off to the side, smiling politely as it becomes more and more tight.
I could work with that.
Mentally, Tamsy held his hands up in surrender as he reflected on his initial plans which was to get Rudo back to his original role, a violent and cursed being that held a deep seated rage that could change the world.
It was the only reason why he went on the job, after all, the stunt he pulled with Amo wasn’t enough to fully reach that state and he had to kill someone, so why not Follo? A supporter who had the silliest idea of becoming a giver.
You don’t just become a giver because you want to.
You have to treasure your jinki. Care for it. Depend on it.
So once Tamsy caught wind of Follo’s goal, he couldn’t help but laugh in mockery on the inside.
Hm. Whatever, it would be better for Rudo to live normally for a little while longer… Because ultimately..
“I’ll go get something to eat,” he says, voice steady as he turns away from the group and heads out, a sickenly gleeful grin forming on his face.
The higher he flies, the harder he’ll fall.
As Tamsy walks the halls, it's eerily quiet with no one around.
Perfect for him to indulge in his scheming with a smile on his face that others would assume is friendly.
If I’m going to get Rudo back to his original state.. I’m gonna need a catalyst.
Going on that mission was beneficial in multiple ways, he sneered, it provided me with many answers and even helped me come up with a brilliant idea.
As he approaches Arkha’s office, he opens the door without knocking and the man is already sitting halfway turned, a gray eye already glaring at his intrusion.
Tamsy pulls his hair loose, the Doll Festival will surely be spectacular this year.
Arkha continues to stare at Tamsy, eyes full of disdain and distrust, an obvious frown adorning his usual neutral face.
“Boss,” he starts, hands going down to his white holdings, undoing them to let his blue hair free, “I’d like to go on a trip, so I will be taking some time off. I think a week should be enough.” He states, blue hair free as it rests on his shoulders.
Arkha now has an elbow perched up on his desk, setting his chin on the back of his hand.
He sighs, “just what are you planning this time?” He asks, frustrated.
Tamsy smiles, “a vacation, you’ve heard of the Doll Festival, right?” His eyes gleamed with intent, “I want to enjoy it without any obligation to work while doing so.”
The man raises a brow, obviously not buying it.
“Well, that’s reasonable I suppose, no one wants to be on the clock while a big event is happening.” He says, “but why ask now? There’s still almost 2 weeks left until it starts.” Arkha’s eyes stare him down despite Tamsy having the vertical advantage.
The blonde smiles sweetly and flutters his eyes closed, “gotta put in my request sooner to have it approved before anyone else does,” he replies smoothly, tilting his head to the side just how Arkha likes, making the atmosphere dense with tension.
The man’s lips twitched into a smirk, “regretably, Semiu’s also taking some time off a bit before the festival starts, so you’ll have to stay a bit longer. And I can’t grant a full week of leave just like that.”
Tamsy opens his eyes, “oh? How unfortunate, regardless. I can stay longer, but..” He trails off, maneuvering his hair onto one side, “I really need the time off, boss. I was planning on doing some sightseeing after.”
He emphasizes the second last word with a subtle tap to the back of his neck with his finger. Signalling an offer the man cannot refuse.
Arkha exhales deeply through his nose, “well then, if that’s so. You’ll probably need some binoculars to complete the experience, you can go ahead and find them in my vault.”
Tamsy licks his lips, “how generous, I’ll fetch them now if that isn’t a problem.” He doesn’t even stay to let Arkha reply, simply tossing his hair back and walking out of his office with a lightness to his step.
The cleaner watches the other leave, his neutral expression instantly dropping as his eyebrows pinch together and a small frown forming, eyes lingering on the door that Tamsy just shut.
As soon as Arkha enters his room he sees Tamsy on his bed completely naked with his knees to his chest, toying with a deactivated Tokushin in his hands, fingers intertwined with its thread.
He shuts the door behind, locking with a soft click, as he begins to undress himself.
“Took you a while, I was starting to think you’d back out.” Tamsy taunts him, undoing the mess of thread he’s created on Arkha’s bed.
The man lets out a tired chuckle, “that desperate for that vacation?” He retorts back, the blonde pouts, not liking his attitude. He scoffs.
“Shut up, I’m only allowing you to look for 5 seconds. No more.” He asserts, setting Tokushin on the bedside table, Arkha hums, slipping onto the bed with Tamsy.
He takes his place beside the man, “just 5? How about 7? One second for every day,” he jokes, but he does hope Tamsy would take it into consideration. He scoops the smaller man into his arms, back hitting the headboard as he cradles Tamsy into his chest.
He gives Arkha an unimpressed look, “I said 5.”
His boss smiles, “then only 5 days of vacation.” He pushes.
Tamsy’s brows furrow, agitation stirring.
They continue their silent battle, Arkha looking at ease and confident, I need more time. More clues, more knowledge of who Tamsy Caines really is.
The blonde sighs, “fine. 7 seconds, but Tokushin will be activated and will stop you from peering for any longer.” Victory.
The older nodded, “fine with me.” He gives him the go ahead to activate his jinki, watching as Tamsy’s eyes glow, they’re beautiful, he thinks.
Tokushin enlarges, turning into a distaff that’s taller than Tamsy.
He sets his hand on her and spins her gently, letting a single thread wrap around his and Arkha’s necks.
“Oh? Planning to kill us both?”
The blonde purses his lips, “not yet.”
Arkha just offers him a tight smile.
He brings their foreheads close, he doesn't need physical contact to see people, but he feels that this is necessary between them.
The man’s hand cradles the back of Tamsy’s neck as the blonde whispers, “don’t go sniffing out all my secrets, it’ll ruin the fun.”
Fun.
That’s all this is to him.
Fun.
Arkha doesn’t answer him and simply closes his eyes, feeling his tattoo widen as he peeks into Tamsy.
Blood.
A book.
Black and white clouds.
A faceless, angry mob.
Light.
Anger.
Disgust.
Indifference.
A scarred body.
And finally, Arkha’s own face that’s lit up with pure joy.
Without a beat, Arkha’s airflow is cut off.
“I said not to look longer than 7 seconds.” Tamsy’s voice was full of indignation, a nasty scowl on his face as he glared at Arkha.
The man noticed that there was no longer a rope around the blonde’s neck, he let out a ragged laugh.
“I.. I thought you- ugh.. Said that Tokushin, huff, would stop me?” Arkha manages a devilish look in his eyes as Tamsy’s widen just a bit.
He taps his jinki on the ground lightly, releasing Arkha from Tokushin’s grasp.
He coughs and instantly goes to rub his neck, feeling the sting that the staff left.
Tamsy deactivates his jinki, returning her back to her original form and setting her back down on the bedside table, scooting closer into Arkha’s arms.
“10 days of leave.” He says quietly, not looking at the man who has him caged within his frame.
Arkha brings him closer, tilting the blonde’s face up as he whispers against his lips.
“10 days.”