The dark was no longer the comforting presence that it had been when Akihito was younger. He used to love lying in bed in the pitch black and use the lack of sight to let his imagination run wide. He could visualise scenes to play out like movies in his mind's eye; epic battle scenes of fantasy, great feats of heroism, or sly assassins taking out their target while hidden amongst the dark shadows that painted his room. That's how he would fall asleep, amid the wild imaginings of childish dreams.

Now the blackness gave the demons that haunted him form. He sat curled up in hidden room surrounded by the darkest of black. Was this what it was like to be blind? Akihito almost wished he was. Then the images of dripping blood and convulsing bodies might not be seen at the edges of his vision. Unsounded screams and the choking breath of the dying filled his ears although he was alone. His nightmares hounded him through wakefulness but never were they as vivid as they were in the dark of night.

Footsteps thumped above him and Akihito wondered if perhaps his demons had finally taken physical form to exact their retribution. It wasn't until clipped voices joined the sounds that he understood his targets had arrived. On the ride over they had told him there would be lots of professionally trained and well-armed guards and that he needed to wait until they moved away before he did anything or he would be dead before he knew it. If that was supposed to scare him, it hadn't worked but he would be cautious. He had to for Yasuko's sake.

The footsteps and voices carried on, loud but muffled, and he listened as they echoed around him. He found that he didn't fear death anymore. Akihito had never feared pain, his body always healed so quickly, but death had always scared him. You can't heal death. You can't come back after that. But now… Now it would almost be a relief.

It was becoming harder and harder to remember his sisters face. He struggled to hold onto his reasons for continuing. He could no longer picture his parents except for their final, bloody moments. He could hear no voices except for the screams and whimpers of terror. They had become almost abstract to him now. Akihito knew he should feel sad but he couldn't summon up any feeling. Numbness pervaded his entire being.

But for Yasuko, he would hold on. He will willingly sacrifice his world to the demons for his precious baby sister's life.

The woman who instructed him on the way in was sure that if he got a chance to get his targets alone, it would be here. The room was large and apparently had things that they might want to inspect while the guards move further into the compound. Dim lights flashed through his space and Akihito peered out of the tiny crack in the wall to see shadowy figures moving around the room. He listened as they summoned someone else before moving away. Perhaps this 'boss' person might be the handsome golden eyed man from the photos.

A woman moved into his view and Akihito hunched his shoulders. It was Kirishima Haruki. She was completely covered but for her face and flickering lights from above were enough to identify her. As she set about examining the large empty tank in the middle of the room, Akihito crept out of his hiding spot. It felt like he was in a dream as he walked towards her. His world narrowed down as she filled his vision and he didn't even flinch when a yell and a gunshot echoed around the cavernous room. It all seemed insignificant compared to the person who was now standing in front of him

The woman had turned to face him at the loud sound and they stood staring at each other for a long moment. Was this what Yasuko would look like when she was older? Akihito hoped so. She was beautiful even in the dim light and her stance suggested confidence and health. There was recognition in her eyes but no fear, just curiosity. Oh, how he wished for a world without fear for his sister. He brought his hand up to skim his fingers lightly across her cheek, marvelling in its smooth softness even as he reached out to her heart. Her mouth opened in a soundless gasp of surprise before she fell to her knees, clutching her chest.

Akihito reeled back as the pain of stopping her heart hit him full force. He retched even as he ran blindly from the room. His stomach heaved and he cried as his own chest spasmed in sympathy. Killing was always a douse of cold water that washed away his numbness. Panicked yells and screams of anguish echoed the halls to chase him as he bolted through the corridors. Somehow he remembered the secret short cut he had been shown and slipped inside. His two escorts waited in the large room and stood as he careened in.

"Sounds like you got at least one," one of the men drawled disinterestedly. "The scientist?" Akihito nodded, feeling too sick to his stomach to open his mouth. "What about that bastard Asami?"

He shook his head vigorously and toppled to the ground as his stomach heaved again. The feeling of her shuddering heart squeezing to a stop under his influence hit him like a punch to the gut. A shudder ripped through him as another person was added to the demons that haunted his waking nightmares. She was worse than all the others, however. She bore Yasuko's face and no fear or anger in his mind's eye. Just disappointment and betrayal and hurt as he took her life at the behest of another for a cause that was not his own.

"Damn, that bastard deserves an early grave too. Whatever, ones enough. Hurry up, we need to get out of here."

Akihito tried to drag himself to his feet but struggled. An odd shape on the dusty floor caught his attention and he reached out to scoop up the object. It was a locket with a broken chain.

"What is this?" he rasped through his sore throat. It looked oddly familiar.

"Hmm? Oh, just junk. We dump bodies here but sometimes we get to have a little fun with them before we off 'em. It's even better when they struggle, really fires you up, right? Can't be bothered to clean up the odd thing that comes loose when you are flying high." the man shared a cruel laugh with the other guard before turning back to Akihito. "Leave it, we need to leave now before it all goes to hell. I don't want to deal with that bastard or his men."

He was oddly calm as he opened the small heart to reveal what he knew was inside. A tiny picture of a younger Akihito laughed up at him. It felt as though he was looking into another life. On the other side was a little picture of his parents leaning against each other while they gazed adoringly out of the locket.

He had given the locket to Yasuko for her fifteenth birthday.

The man's words suddenly hit him along with the implication behind it.

"We dump bodies here but sometimes we get to have a little fun with them before we off 'em."

Slowly Akihito rose to his feet as he let the locket fall from nerveless fingers. The two men turned away from him as though there was nothing wrong but he stalked behind them as a shadow of death. It felt as though time slowed down as he easily caught up and moved his hands to rest on the skin at nape of each of their necks. There was no satisfaction to be had when they crumpled to the ground convulsing as their hearts refused to start beating again. No satisfaction but no remorse either. They didn't get added to his list of demons that haunted his mind. They weren't worthy of his guilt.

Akihito stumbled back to the locket discarded on the dusty floor and fell to his knees in front of it. The amount of dust that had been layered on it meant that it had been there for months. All the long months that Akihito killed people to protect her. To save her. But the truth was staring him in the face.

He could never have saved her any more than he could save his parents.

She had been dead, and worse, before he had been coerced into killing anyone.

"… but sometimes we get to have a little fun with them…"

He could only pray that her passing was swift and painless. The broken locket chain screamed that that wasn't the case.

Now all those deaths, for what? All the waking nightmares and all the pain for nothing. All those good people that were only trying to stop whatever madness the soul project was were dead by his hands. He had seen the blood on the floors and the walls as they entered this building. He had been told that this was an old soul project facility. What lies was he helping to cover up? How many more were dead now because he had killed these people? How many more would die as a chain reaction? How had he altered the course by turning a blind eye to this possibility and blindly letting himself be a puppet?

It no longer mattered.

Nothing mattered.

VFVFVFVFVFVFVF

"Suoh, get him out of here!" Asami yelled over the sound of Kirishima's anguished screams. He tried to hold the man back from going down to his sister's body but it was a struggle. The bulky body guard was barely able to wrest the man away and Asami found that he couldn't look at his old friends tear stained face. He didn't regret his choice but that made it no less painful. Asami would have to face the consequence of his betrayal to his friend soon enough but not just yet.

With heavy footsteps, he descended the stairs to stop where Kirishima Haruki lay dead and gently closed her eyes. She had scoffed when he had recommended to wear a face mask, pointing out that he was also forgoing one, and this was the result. He couldn't regret choosing his angel but he did regret her death. She was a fine young woman dead well before her time and she would be sorely missed, especially by the League.

"Find him," he ordered hoarsely through their comms channel though it was mostly likely needless. His men were excellent at predicting his needs. "And bring him to me unharmed."

Acknowledgements echoed down the line. Very carefully, Asami picked up his former lover and made his way back up into the night. They had been close once and he was virtually responsible for her death so the least he could do was bring her out of this hell hole. She was still warm in his arms and he could almost imagine her only being asleep, ready to wake up at any moment. His steps echoed around him as he ascended back up into the warehouse. Suoh and Kei were nowhere to be seen but two of the support staff were waiting with a small stretcher. They had been prepared for possible crossfire but he still hadn't expected to be confronted with a close friend's death. For all their precautions, he still had naively assumed that his inner circle would all be walking out alive.

An agonized howl ripped through the night as Haruki was wheeled outside, no doubt past her grief-stricken brother. Asami had to forcibly turn his thoughts away as he waited for news of his destined one.

So close. They were so close but yet he still wasn't quite within his reach.

"We have him," a gruff voice said over their channel and Asami's heart constricted painfully in his chest. "We found him next to two bodies, still warm, and he's completely unresisting. He seems almost catatonic."

"Bring him up," Asami ordered.

Time crawled by as he waited impatiently to have his destined angel in his arms. Why had he suddenly turned on those that were with him? They weren't Asami's men or the guard would have said so. What had happened to his angel in the brief time since Haruki's death?

"Asami-sama, we have located a vehicle with two guards' two warehouses over. They appear to be waiting for someone. Requesting permission to apprehend."

"Go. Take them to our warehouse for questioning. Let me know if you learn anything else."

Rapid orders fired over the line and finally Asami heard the sounds of footsteps on the shoddy staircase. He turned to see his men appear and in their midst was his angel, head down and steps dragging.

"Sir, he was found sitting next to this." A dusty locket was placed in his hands. Inside was a picture of a recognisably younger Angel and a smiling middle aged couple. Sadness coiled in him at the implication of finding such a thing here. He doubted it would be so dusty if it had been held onto by his angel. Just who had he been trying to protect? Who had he lost to seem so broken?

Asami reached over to grab the young man's chin and tilt his head back. His eyes were bleak and his skin was grey with malnourishment. He looked like a lost soul that given up on living.

"Hello Angel." A flinch met his soft words and his eyes slid away in pain at the name but he remained silent. "What's your real name?"

"It doesn't matter." The broken words rent a whole through Asami's heart. "Just kill me."

"No. You, my little bound Angel, are mine. You will no longer be pulled like a puppet on a master's strings. You are mine, body, mind, and soul. Now, who gave you the orders to kill?"

"Sakazaki." That was a name Asami knew and for a moment he was seeing red. Heads would roll by the time he was through. His Angel would be able to be heard back at the charity event where other members of the League watched the proceedings and no doubt they would have a few things to say. The men surrounding them shuffled in agitation, also recognising the name.

"Now if you don't want me to call you Angel, you will have to tell me your other name."

"It doesn't matter," the young man repeated bleakly. "I couldn't save her." Asami pulled his soulmate up by the chin until his was on his toes and his eyes were forced to meet his own. Their faces were only a hands breath apart and he waited until the young man finally whispered out what he wanted to know, "Takaba Akihito."

Asami straightened up and guided Akihito forward with an arm around his back as reports streamed in. The two unknowns with the vehicle had been apprehended and the men exploring more of the compound had discovered multiple entrances and exits in the surrounding warehouses. Evidence was being collected to be taken back to the lab for analysis. He pushed his soulmate into the waiting limo after removing all his comms gear and was about to enter when he was stopped by his chief of security.

"I'm not one to question your orders," Suoh said with troubled eyes, "but I don't understand. Why the kid?"

Asami was silent for a moment. "If you had to choose between me or your wife, who would you pick?" Suoh's eyes flew wide at the implications of his question but he didn't let him answer the question. He didn't need to, he knew exactly who the man would pick and he wouldn't blame him.

Not that that would be an understandable argument for Kei as he had also lost a person connected to him by destiny.

Slipping into the limo, Asami gathered the tense young man up in his arms and held him tight. Akihito didn't fight him but he clearly wasn't comfortable either. Asami didn't care. He had his angel in his arms and that was all that mattered. He would explain their bound to the young man soon enough. But right now, he just wanted to enjoy a small moment of triumph before he had to face the reality of his actions, Akihito's actions, and the horrors of the government's actions.