Chapter Text
A hand wiped at tired emerald eyes, Yukio’s focus wavering at the code in front of him. Toys, half-disassembled, were scattered around him, their parts salvaged for a greater purpose. The small boy felt exhausted and his stomach clawed at him.
So hungry… Ignore it. It’ll go away.
He continued his work, a small screwdriver held expertly in his delicate hand, dismantling a talking, stuffed bear. The wires exposed, he carefully extracted each one, taking careful note of their placements, hypothesizing their function -
Until a strange teenager suddenly appeared in his bedroom.
The stranger had dark hair, dressed in blue, a sword at his hip being slowly drawn. Deep azure eyes spotted him and the teen froze, his expression confused.
Yukio was equally frozen, his breathing short and shallow as panic welled within him. An assassin? Will he kidnap me for ransom? I’m too small to fight - he has a sword - His entire body tense, he quickly thought of his options. No windows. Door locked.
The ensuite.
It wasn’t a true escape but it would place a door between them if the stranger meant him harm. Decision made, Yukio bolted for the open door to the ensuite and closed it behind him, panting. Cold sweat made his hands slip as he tried to lock the door. He felt tears threaten as his frustration and panic took hold.
Come on - damn it - come on -
He couldn’t hear anything from the other room but he imagined the stranger was almost at the door, could picture him reaching for the handle to wrench it open. Yukio felt so weak, there was no way he’d be able to hold the door shut on his own -
It locked.
The boy sighed in relief, falling to the cold tile, hyperventilating.
“Hello?”
Yukio slammed his hands over his ears, emerald eyes locked on the doorknob. It didn’t turn but he flinched at the soft knock that came a few seconds later.
“I won’t hurt you.”
Lier. Everyone hurt him, most of all the people that told him they wouldn’t. Adults lied, that’s what they did, and that teenager looked far closer in age to an adult than a child. Children were cruel but at least they were honest.
“Won’t you at least talk to me?”
Anger crept into the terror he was feeling, now glaring at the door. He managed to scoot across the floor to the opposite wall. He leaned against it and tucked his knees up in protection. Yukio didn’t know who the stranger was and he certainly wasn’t going to answer him. If he didn’t know the layout of the ensuite, maybe the teen would think he had escaped through a window if he kept quiet.
More knocking, more ignoring. Yukio slowly relaxed but kept his guard up. Damn, I should have grabbed my PSP. At least I’d have something to do while I’m stuck here. Wonder what they will do to him when they find him here.
Yukio forced himself to not contemplate how long that may take.
It fell quiet but Yukio dared not move. He felt his heart pound, as if counting each second aloud in his ears. Eventually, time and seeming stillness from the room beyond the door eased the stress from his tiny body, leaving him exhausted. He was dozing off when he next heard anything from the other room.
“Do you know why I can’t leave here?”
Yukio huffed silently, his body too drained to panic over the audible evidence that the stranger was indeed still an invader in his bedroom. Obviously it’s because the door is locked. What kind of idiot appeared in my room?
“There’s some kind of energy that’s acting as a barrier…”
Energy…?
Curiosity got the better of him as Yukio slowly stood. He braced his hand against the tile of the wall to steady himself. Dizzy… how long has it been since they bothered to feed me?
The dizzy spell passed, leaving deeper exhaustion. He made his way silently to the door, ears straining to hear every sound on the other side. I think he’s across the room…
The ensuite door made a click when he unlocked it. He sucked in a breath, his heart racing, waiting to hear the stranger move toward the door. When it didn’t happen, he slowly twisted the handle and opened the door a crack, a single emerald eye peering out into his bedroom.
The teenager had a hand against the frame of his bedroom door, directly across the room from the ensuite. Emerald eyes widened as Yukio opened his door more to be sure - a bluish light glowed from the stranger’s palm and fingers. What is that? What’s he doing? Yukio continued to watch in fascination as the older boy slowly moved his hand from the frame to the wall beside.
“It just looks like a door… but it’s no different from the wall…”
Yukio froze at the words, daring not to draw attention to himself. What does he mean? It’s a door, it’s just locked.
“This isn’t even a wall… At least, not a physical wall.” The teenager took an abrupt step back. “It feels like the border of the Dangai. How is this possible? Where am I?”
Dangai? What’s that?
The stranger sighed, his shoulders slumping. He removed the sword from his hip and lowered himself to his knees, placing the katana beside him. The sword looked odd to Yukio, like it was glowing faintly but only in his peripheral vision, gone as soon as he focused on it.
“I really won’t hurt you. Are you trapped in here too?”
He’s talking to me… He doesn’t know who I am? If he’s not lying, he can’t be a kidnapper or assassin. Maybe they decided to give me someone to play with… Is he supposed to be my new toy? Are they so desperate they will lock other people in here with me?
Is… he scared too?
Yukio slowly opened the door further and crept around the edge of the room. When he saw the stranger’s eyes shift to him, he froze again, ready to run back to the ensuite if the teen tried to stand.
“How old are you?” the stranger asked. The amount of pain and sadness in his voice almost brought tears to Yukio’s eyes without understanding why. No one had ever used that tone towards him before.
Get it together. He doesn’t deserve anything from me. He looks at least twice my age, he won’t care about my words anymore than they do. After a minute of silence stretched taut between them, Yukio raised eight fingers.
“Eight?”
Yukio stuffed his hands back into his hoodie front pocket and nodded.
“How long have you been in here?”
Yukio shrugged. My whole life? Seems like it.
“You don’t know?”
When Yukio just stared back, silence stretching between them once more, something in the teenager’s expression changed. He stood slowly, picking up the sword beside him. Yukio watched warily as the stranger backed to the wall across from him only to sit again, sword in the same position beside him, though this time the older boy had a view of the entire room. “My name is Tetsuya,” he stated clearly.
Tetsuya. Japanese. But his eyes are so blue. Maybe he’s half, like me. I hate how everyone points out my light hair, my green eyes… Is that why he was given to me? People aren’t toys, though. Is he supposed to be my friend, then? They might think I’ll talk to a friend.
Still watching the teen, Yukio retrieved his PSP from the center of the room before returning to his spot on the wall opposite his intruder. If we’re just going to stare at each other, I’m going to play my game. This is my room. I’m not going to stop my life just because he’s here. This is just another ploy by them to get me to speak. Even if he isn’t in on it, they’ll let him go when it doesn’t work.
Then, at least he’ll be free.
It’s better this way. I’m sick; I can’t leave. If he stays, I could make him sick too. That’s why they don’t spend any time with me and my tutors are all remote. I don’t need people anyway. I only need my games.
I shouldn’t have a friend.
I don’t need another person to disappoint.