"Stretch. Sit on the floor," Hitsuji replied matter-of-factly, as if the previous exercise hadn't been physical punishment.

"I don't want that stretch. I did it with Change and my back hurt," Diamond commented, still suspicious.

Hitsuji shook his head patiently, without changing his tone.

"It's not that exercise."

Diamond sat on the floor, his body still trembling from the effort. Hitsuji did the same, positioning himself directly in front of him. He extended his hands and took Diamond's in his own, holding them firmly. Then he brought his ankles together with Diamond's, aligning them precisely.

"The fabric of your hands is so soft... Dolls are being made with increasingly beautiful and innovative materials," Hitsuji commented, observing the contact between his fingers and Diamond's texture

"Thank you," Diamond murmured, somewhat uncomfortably, but before he could add anything else, Hitsuji abruptly pulled his ankles away from Diamond's, forcing him to stretch his legs roughly.

Diamond let out a sharp squeal, louder than when Change had helped him stretch his back. He pulled desperately at his hands, trying to break free from Hitsuji, but the first tug wasn't enough.

He gritted his teeth. He had been annoyed with Change, yes, but that had been minor, almost superficial. Now, however, something much deeper and more primal awoke within him: an aggressive instinct, a rage that surged through his chest like a violent heartbeat

He raised his head and, guided by that impulse, headbutted Hitsuji hard. The impact made him stumble back in surprise, and the movement caused him to release Diamond's hands. There was a crack in Diamond's wrist from the strain of the pull, although neither of them noticed it at the time. Diamond didn't stop to check anything. He stood up immediately and ran out of the room, with a single intention driving him: to find Change.

Hitsuji got up and followed Diamond down the corridors, moving quickly behind him.

"Hey, you said you couldn't run any faster!" he complained as he watched him rush forward as if tiredness had never existed, almost out of control with excitement.

Diamond turned a corner and then saw him: Change, tall, imposing, looking around with obvious confusion. It was easy to deduce that he had been looking for them ever since they separated.

"Change!" Diamond called, his voice thick with tears.

Without stopping, he lunged toward him and climbed up his right side with the urgency of someone seeking refuge, hugging him around the neck as he burst into tears.

"I'm sorry I called you a brute and an ass... I love you..." Diamond sobbed, his apology rushed and trembling.

Change looked at him in surprise, bewildered by the sudden intensity, but still held him in his arms with sincere, if clumsy, affection.

"What's wrong? Was Hitsuji too hard on you?" he asked, just as Hitsuji caught up with them and stopped running.

It was then that Change looked down and saw Diamond's wrist: a small cut in the seam, open enough to reveal the cotton stuffing inside. His expression changed immediately. His eyes widened, and a silent fury began to rise through his body, clouding his thoughts. He didn't know the details, but he didn't need them: this had happened during training with Hitsuji. Accident or not, it didn't matter to him.

Diamond had been hurt

And that was the only thing her mind accepted.

"Is she hurt? It must have been from when she pulled... let me stitch it up," Hitsuji said in a softer tone, showing some concern as she took a step toward them.

That step was her biggest mistake.

Change, seeing her take just one more step, extended his arm with almost instinctive speed and grabbed Hitsuji's neck with brutal force, lifting her off the ground as if she weighed nothing. Hitsuji gasped instantly, bringing her hands to Change's arm, trying to pull away, surprised... and scared. She never thought he could hurt her.

"You..." Change murmured, his voice as dark as a moonless night, deep, slow, a pure threat that made her skin crawl.

Diamond opened his eyes in immediate terror at what Change was doing.

"No, no...! Let him go, Change!" she shouted, grabbing the taller man's clothes, trying to stop him

But Change didn't listen. His fury was a blind impulse. He slammed Hitsuji against the nearest wall, causing the cement to crack under the impact. The blow knocked the air out of Hitsuji's body, and a sharp pain shot through his back, the part that had absorbed the impact.

Everything changed in a single instant: from an almost comical scene between Diamond and Hitsuji, to the darkest image Diamond had ever seen in Change.

And all for a simple tear in his wrist.

Change raised his other arm, his fist clenched, growling with a rage so dense it almost seemed to vibrate in the air. He brought his arm down swiftly, his intention brutally clear: he wanted to strike Hitsuji... no, he wanted to tear her apart, like a rabid animal protecting what it considers its own.

But just then, as fast as his exhausted body would allow, Diamond scrambled off Change and darted between them. He slipped under Change's arm and spread his own arms wide, shielding Hitsuji with his small frame. Change still held Hitsuji by the neck with his other hand, but he couldn't strike her anymore. Not with Diamond in between.

His fist stopped mid-throat, suspended right in front of Diamond's face.

No.

If he hurt Diamond... he could never forgive himself. He could never forget. The mere sight of Diamond in front of him, cowering slightly but resolute, pierced his blind rage like a light in the darkness.

The corridor fell silent. A heavy, charged, almost unbearable silence

What would Change do?

He could have pushed Diamond away easily. She was so small, so slender, so light...

so beautiful.

But he couldn't. Not seeing those blue eyes in front of his, frightened, filled with tears, but also brimming with determination. And with something that hit him harder than any punch: affection.

Trust. Absolute trust that Change wouldn't hurt him, even like this, even now.

Finally, Change growled loudly, an animalistic roar that broke in the echo of the hallway. And with a violent movement, he flung Hitsuji aside, away from them, without a care.

Diamond whirled around at once, watching Hitsuji's body fly off and crash against the far wall. But no sooner had he seen it than he felt Change's arms wrap tightly around his waist, trapping him in a hug that held him intensely, urgently, almost desperately

Hitsuji placed her hands on the ground, coughing as she tried to catch her breath. She gasped a few times, trembling from the impact, until she managed to stand. And then, unexpectedly, she let out a small, bitter, almost broken laugh.

Change and Diamond stared at her, confused. They couldn't understand what could be funny about what had just happened. That laugh didn't fit with the pain she must be feeling or the tension that still saturated the air. But Hitsuji spoke, still breathing raggedly, the words coming out in short bursts.

"Ah... so this is the real... the Beast."

Diamond felt Change tense up immediately. The name dropped in the air like a heavy stone.