For the first time in who knew how long, Yuki slept with no nightmares draining him of the sleep he so desperately craved.
No flashbacks to taunt of what he used to have.
No sign of his precious Ryu.
For once in his life, he was okay with this. Perhaps this was due to this new guy. Oh what was his name. Deep in a trance like slumber, he pondered until a voice broke through the dream.
"Yuki, step away from him this second! Step away from Vayne."
Eyes flicking open, it took a minute to breathe in the surroundings. Beside him, his companion had also been startled awake and was on guard.
Vayne. That was the name, that was right. The only other person other than Ryu he felt truly at peace in the presence of. Them and Sal. Speaking of Sal, wasn't that his voice he had heard? But where was-
"Yuki!" At the edge of the bushes stood his elder brother. His voice held a sense of panic and…despair? Next to that, something else had seemed off. He hadn't noticed before due to lack of mana access, but now Yuki noticed this clear as day: surrounding Sal was a cloud of dark blue smog. If he was more attuned to his mana, he would have even seen a faint outline of a body similar to the kings own. What was going on?
"Yuki, I command you to come to my side." Sal's voice held a commanding undertone that sent a spark down Yuki's spine and forced him to his feet.
A hand roughly took hold of his left wrist before he was able to take a step forward. "And if he doesn't wish to?" Vayne locked eyes with the king. Neither seemed to want to back down nor hand the prince in question over.
"I am his brother. He will do as I say lest he wish for every scrap of his freedom to be stripped away." This voice. It was Sal, but it also wasn't. What was going on?
Freedom is a thing already lost to this family. Why not join brother dearest in his solitude?
A new voice rang out through Yuki's mind, pulling at the last bits of his will as if it was crushing it with sheer force. This really wasn't Sal. What happened to him?
"Yuki." A worried voice spoke from his side, a slight tug pulling him closer. "Are you sure about this? One word and we'll be as far away from him as we can."
Such sweet words from a man he barely knew. Even so, he felt he knew so much, even wished to learn more of.
But he couldn't. His brother was all he had. It was his duty to find out what was happening, even if it meant something horrible down the line for himself.
"I'll see you later. This isn't goodbye. Stop frowning big guy. It looks gross on you." Yuki did his best to pull out one last snarky comment before the commanding pull lured him away.
"Yuki." Sal tried once more, this time there was an undertone of sadness between the command.
"Yes yes dear brother. I'm coming." Yuki pulled away from Vayne with one last look before approaching Sal's side. Once he did so, Sal dragged his only family underneath his cloak. With one last dirty look towards the intruder, they both vanished like a light.
How thoughtful. You chose to suffer alongside him rather than leave with your new man. Wrong or right, we shall see how you fare from now on.
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