Taiki had established a shield around Makoto and them, sitting at the far end of the room, and Ryota looked rather bored, sitting on the other side of Makoto. He kept glancing over, trying to get Daichi’s reaction or to check up on him.
They’d gone through two groups already, and it was a little hard but Daichi had managed to pick out the one man who would’ve caused trouble as soon as he had an opportunity. He had friends though, Daichi had definitely gotten that impression, hence the shield in case they tried something on the way in.
Makoto was flagging a little, tired and he probably hadn’t been eating right, either. Daichi offered him a smile, trying to wordlessly reassure him as the next group filtered in, sitting down around the table. Daichi looked up – only to have the world explode in light as something shattered against the shield.
No, shattered the shield, and Daichi threw himself out of his seat, towards the table and a little physical cover. Makoto had tugged Ryota out of his chair, at least, and Daichi winced as sparks showered down over the table edge. He couldn’t see Taiki, but he could hear the man’s thoughts as he sent a return spell, knocking out one of the six opponents.
They weren’t mages, but they were equipped with magic. Daichi flinched as another spell was launched, shattering the edge of the table and spinning shards of wood flying everywhere. A splinter embedded itself in the back of Daichi’s hand, but most of the wood had shattered closer to where Makoto and Ryota were. Makoto had knocked Ryota back and taken the brunt of the splinters in his back.
Daichi felt another mage go down and he flung up a shield in front of Makoto and Ryota, to protect them a little more. Makoto’s back stung but it didn’t seem serious and Daichi shoved himself closer to the table legs as another spell shot across, bouncing off Makoto’s shield to ricochet into the ceiling. It blasted the wooden framework apart and showered bits of charred wood down.
Loud footsteps sounded, and Daichi winced – someone was walking across the table and Taiki was busy with the other two by the door. Makoto stood up abruptly, a knife in hand, and Daichi’s eyes widened as the guard let loose another spell – Makoto wasn’t in the shield anymore, and he lunged anyway, towards the guard above Daichi’s head.
Daichi swallowed hard, scuttling out of the way and bashing his hand against the table leg as the guard fell, the knife sticking out of his throat. Makoto crumpled himself, and Daichi clambered up, almost getting hit by an errant spell from the doorway, though Taiki nearly had the last one down.
“Makoto?” Daichi asked, his voice barely audible as he knelt down next to Makoto.
“Ow.” Makoto breathed, pushing away from the table. A thin slice cut across the expanse of Makoto’s chest, blood leaking down it – a physical energy weapon, probably, from what Daichi caught from the blue glow Makoto had seen. It had dissipated after Makoto had buried his knife in the man’s throat though.
“Help me get his shirt off.” Ryota murmured, gently touching Daichi’s arm. Daichi nodded, following Makoto’s thoughts and digging the other knife out of Makoto’s left boot. Slicing off the cloth, Daichi carefully pushed it out of the way as Taiki felled the last one and then barricaded the door with a stone-heavy spell.
“Is he okay?” Taiki demanded, but Ryota ignored him, not hesitating but setting his hands down against the slash wound and focusing. It closed slowly, the blood ceasing to trickle down Makoto’s chest and Ryota’s hands as the skin folded together and smoothed out, leaving only a pale scar. Taiki’s estimation of them went up, and Daichi bit his lip to hide a smile.
“I’m fine.” Makoto spoke up after a moment, meeting Ryota’s eyes and holding them. “Thank you.”
“Your back –” Daichi spoke up, flushing a little as all three of them looked at him.
“It will keep.” Makoto sighed, standing slowly. “Did you kill them all?”
“One left.” Taiki replied grimly. “Unconscious.”
“Right.” Makoto breathed, and he wanted to kill the man but he was afraid of being too like Shiro. “Make sure he’s on the wagon back to the capital.”
“Daichi.” Ryota snagged his hand, and Daichi winced as the splinter tugged at his skin. There was a drop of blood at the tip, where the top of the inch long piece of wood peeked out. Ryota ducked his head, catching the end in his teeth and gently tugged it out, spitting it off to the side before healing the wound.
Daichi flushed, catching Taiki’s enjoyment of that sight. Shooting the man a reproving look got him a shrug, and Daichi winced, catching sight of the dozens of splinters littering Makoto’s back. Taiki caught the look and smiled, grabbing Makoto and turning him back towards them.
“Get yourself fixed up. We’re not going anywhere until we’ve got some reinforcements.” Taiki ordered, and Makoto nodded, in pain and wondering when they’d manage to finally get all the insurgents out. He wasn’t happy, having put them in danger, and Daichi fought a smile because it was sweet.
“Sit.” Ryota ordered, gesturing to the closest intact chair. Makoto sat down, backwards so that his back was facing out, and Ryota wasn’t happy that Makoto had gotten hurt protecting him. Daichi smiled, amused at his brother because Ryota wasn’t as adverse to Makoto as he tried to seem.
“I don’t suppose anyone has a needle.” Ryota muttered, and Daichi stooped, snagging a slender sliver of wood off the floor and transmuting it metal. Ryota took it without a word and set to work removing the wood from Makoto’s back.
“You should be more careful.” Daichi admonished, moving to distract Makoto from Ryota’s ministrations. Makoto grimaced and Daichi frowned, biting his lip as he surveyed Makoto’s pale face.
“I can’t be more careful.” Makoto replied, only a bare hint of strain in his voice. Daichi narrowed his eyes, because that wasn’t true –
“Leaving my shield wasn’t careful.” Daichi told him haughtily, ignoring that he hadn’t had any protection from the man walking the table.
“It’s my duty to protect the people here. You’re one of them.” Makoto shrugged, and Ryota smacked him on the back of the head lightly.
“Don’t move.” Ryota snapped, getting more upset as he pulled splinter after splinter out of Makoto.
“Sorry.” Makoto replied quietly, and Daichi sighed, pulling up another chair and ignoring the dead body a few feet away. Shiro had forced them to see worse, after all, and Makoto couldn’t ever be like Shiro, not for killing off his attackers.
“Don’t be. Just don’t move.” Ryota grumbled, looking pale from using his power so much. He’d regained more of his power than Daichi had, since Daichi had broken his shackle a day or two before Shiro died, but it wasn’t enough to be doing healing after healing. And the dead men probably bothered him more than they did Daichi.
Daichi jumped, startled as someone pounded on the door. Glancing nervously at Taiki reassured him a bit though, as Taiki lowered the door-blocking spell and let Tei and a few of the other mages in.
Tei glared at Taiki for a long moment before picking his way across the room, over broken furniture and still bodies to where Makoto was watching him blandly. Daichi hid a smile, because Makoto had a wonderful emotionless face even in the face of Tei’s anger.
“What is wrong with you?” Tei demanded with a scowl before pausing. “Your arm is –”
“Tei.” Makoto sighed and Ryota didn’t (wouldn’t, honestly) look up from what he was doing. Daichi frowned a little, biting his lip as Tei stared at Ryota appraisingly. He thought Ryota would make an excellent addition to his group, since they didn’t currently have a physician-mage.
“Can’t go five minutes unsupervised.” Tei grumbled, crossing his arms. “You’re not leaving your office today.”
“Tei.” Makoto repeated, raising his eyebrows a little, and Tei made a face at him, annoyed and displeased that Makoto had been attacked again, so soon after the last one.
“I’m doubling your guard, at least.” Tei decided, gesturing to the mages working on removing the bodies and repairing the furniture. “Naoki, you’re taking dayshift, too, from now on.”
“No.” Makoto refused immediately. “We don’t have enough mages to do that.”
“So you’d prefer to die.” Tei replied flatly, glaring. “Your brother –” Daichi and Ryota both tensed at that, though Ryota was far more obvious as Makoto jerked away from his needle.
“Ow.” Makoto muttered before relaxing again, trusting that Ryota knew what he was doing.
“-wouldn’t want you to kill yourself fixing Shiro’s mistakes.” Tei finished, and Ryota dropped the needle.
“I’m not.” Makoto sighed. “We’ve flushed out the most militant of Shiro’s men. I haven’t been killed yet, doing it this way, and we simply don’t have the resource to devote more to my safety.”
“You’ve been lucky.” Tei snapped, pissed that Makoto wasn’t taking his safety seriously enough. “You need to –”
“We can help.” Daichi spoke up quietly, glancing at Ryota. Ryota shrugged, and stood up, finished fixing Makoto’s back.
“You’re weakened –”
“We’re getting better.” Daichi refuted, ignoring Ryota’s surprise and Makoto’s amusement. “And it’s better than just leaving him as is –”
“Better is a mage at full strength, trained for this –” Tei cut him off, and Daichi shook his head.
“Not if you need them somewhere else. Combined with the guard he has now, it should be fine.” Daichi insisted. “Besides, half the people in this castle are afraid to approach us.”
“Not the worrisome half.” Tei retorted, and Makoto stood up, shirtless still.
“It would be easier, Tei.” Makoto pushed the chair back towards the table, moving to retrieve his knife. Grimacing as he pulled it free of the dead man’s neck, he cleaned it off on the man’s shirt before turning back to them. “And they’re useful.”
“But they’re not my men.” Tei objected finally, frowning at Daichi. Daichi offered a smile, glancing at Makoto curiously.
“If you insist I need more guards, I’ll insist on them.” Makoto decided firmly, lifting his leg and sliding the knife back into his boot. Tei’s frown didn’t slip as he stared at Daichi for a long moment. Daichi fought the urge to squirm, knowing Ryota was going to be upset at him later for this.
“Fine.” Tei decided. “You’re still not to leave your office today. I’ll have Arisu and a contingent of mages go through the rest of the guard, and Taiki, don’t cloak again. We’re going to show off your guards now.”
“Alright.” Makoto accepted, offering Daichi a smile. “We’ll be in my office then, if you need us.”
“You had better be.” Tei muttered, more upset that Makoto had been attacked than them becoming bodyguards. Daichi bit his lip, falling into step by Ryota, who was studiously not looking at him and radiating a quiet fury and upset. Daichi sighed softly, snagging Ryota’s hand as they left the little conference room, Makoto trailing behind them and Taiki behind him.
“Don’t be mad.” Daichi whispered, watching the hallway even though he wouldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. That was what Ryota was for.
“I’m not.” Ryota muttered, lying through his teeth and Daichi sighed, squeezing Ryota’s fingers softly. He’d try and explain later, when Makoto wasn’t paying as much attention to them and what they were saying.
Ryota stared steadfastly at the floor, ignoring the goings-on around him. He wasn’t happy, and it was Daichi’s fault. Only partly – Makoto wasn’t entirely blameless either, and Ryota was feeling more than a little overwhelmed by the last few days. At least now he was relatively sure things weren’t going to go the way of Shiro. Makoto was too… different from Shiro.
It didn’t help that Ryota was feeling indebted now. It was better when he didn’t owe Makoto anything, but Makoto had probably saved his life earlier, or at least a good bit of skin, knocking Ryota out of the way of the spell that shattered through the shield and then taking the brunt of the shattered table, too. And of course, he owed Makoto for saving Daichi too – the guard stalking towards them had been about to stab his energy weapon through the table and through Daichi, hiding under the table’s edge.
Daichi was sleeping, but Ryota couldn’t. Makoto’s office had a dusty couch pushed into the corner by the door, and Ryota was watching the room, Daichi’s head pillowed on his lap as he slept. He still wasn’t completely recovered from Shiro’s death, and using his magic earlier wouldn’t have helped.
But Daichi had volunteered them, and Ryota wasn’t backing out of it even if Daichi hadn’t given him an option. Running his fingers through Daichi’s hair absently, Ryota watched Makoto as he went through desk. There were innumerable papers stacked in neat, orderly piles, and Makoto would occasionally direct Taiki to send along some order or another, sending the mage scurrying to and from the room at least a dozen times since they’d gotten back.
Makoto occasionally would glance over with a faint smile on his lips, but other than that the man wasn’t really paying much attention to them, or the room. Ryota sighed quietly, ignoring as best he could the malevolent spells from next door – Shiro’s study. Daichi shifted uneasily in his lap, his face wrinkling with some bad thought, and Ryota frowned softly – he didn’t think Daichi was up for whatever plans he had made.
He was worried, mostly about Daichi, a little for Makoto… and it wasn’t smart, putting themselves into such a publicly visible position. Though keeping Makoto safe was definitely more appealing than being a politician or a part of the castle’s defenses.
Honestly, there were too many people who thought they’d been helping Shiro willingly, or had had people close to them killed because of them. Ryota sighed, wincing when Daichi’s hand, resting on his thigh, tightened its grip and he turned his face into Ryota’s leg agitatedly.
Ryota frowned, and switched his thoughts, in case Daichi was picking up his fretting. Glancing at Makoto again, Ryota wondered what Daichi had in mind for the quiet young man. Knowing Daichi it was anything from an interest in cheering Makoto up to an interest in seeing Makoto naked (and more). Daichi’s face smoothed out and Ryota rolled his eyes, half amused as his brother’s grip relaxed.
Focusing on keeping his thoughts lighthearted, Ryota let his mind drift back to the farm, remembering days of running around in the sunlight before harvest time, when the rows of wheat had grown taller than his and Daichi’s head and they could hide out there all day. A smile turned Ryota’s lips, and he let his fingers trace carefully through Daichi’s hair again, soothing Daichi’s dreams and his worries as well he could.
Makoto yawned widely, blinking rapidly to make the papers in front of him focus. He was nearly done with all he could for today, but there were still a few things he could finish up. Drafting letters to the six men and two women he’d decided to offer council spots to, for one. They could be sent in the morning, and if Makoto was lucky he could convene the first council later this week.
Jinsu cleared his throat discretely, and Makoto dropped his pen, startled. Glancing up at Jinsu, he recovered the pen slowly as Jinsu frowned at him, looking a little amused.
“You should consider retiring, ‘Koto.” Jinsu told him seriously, and Makoto sighed, setting down his pen.
“It’s not that late.” Makoto decided, glancing over at Daichi and Ryota, where they’d been stationed on the couch inside the door. Daichi was sitting up again, wide-eyed and rather wan looking, and Ryota was frowning a little and looking about ready to fall asleep where he sat.
“It is.” Jinsu corrected, snagging his pen and pocketing it. “Go sleep, you can work more tomorrow.”
“But –” Makoto started to protest, but Jinsu was right, the letters would wait. Standing up slowly, shuffled the stacks of papers back into a neater order, and fished out a fresh pen to make a few last notes, reminders of things he had to do tomorrow.
“Alright, let’s go.” Makoto agreed, smothering a yawn because that would just prove Jinsu right. Daichi stood up with a slight smile, and Makoto marveled for a short moment on how much better he seemed from the other day when he was curled up with Ryota in their room. Daichi steadied Ryota carefully when his twin swayed a little standing, and Makoto raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“He needs sleep.” Daichi murmured quietly, wrapping an arm around Ryota’s waist. Makoto nodded, frowning a little because he probably should’ve been paying attention for that – neither of the twins were all the way recovered from Shiro’s abuses, and they couldn’t be expected to stay up with him.
Daichi gave him a flat look and Makoto stifled an amused smile because Daichi really did like to use his telepathy. Daichi either ignored that or didn’t hear it, leading Ryota towards the office door. Ryota followed him drowsily, and Makoto fell into step behind them as they headed towards Makoto’s bedroom.
It wasn’t too far from the office thankfully, and Makoto let the twins precede him again, keeping careful watch himself – he trusted Ryota, but the boy was tired and could miss something. Jinsu kept behind them, and didn’t follow them into Makoto’s rooms when they reached them.
“Are you okay?” Daichi asked quietly, peering at him curiously from behind those dusky blond curls. He brushed them out of his face carefully, letting Ryota go as he approached Makoto. “Nothing lingering from earlier?”
“I’m fine.” Makoto made a note to thank Ryota later, once he was awake enough to appreciate it. A smile flickered over Daichi’s lips, and he turned away, heading over to the fireplace to start the fire back up. Makoto wondered if he could get a servant to start doing that before he left his office and whether or not the twins were staying the night because if they did Tei and everyone else would have a field day with him. Not that he particularly cared, but the twins might not be pleased with the insinuations –
“Go to sleep.” Daichi ordered, the crack of steel against the flint distracting Makoto momentarily. “You think too much.”
Makoto paused, raising an eyebrow silently. Daichi probably thought everyone thought too much.
“They do.” Daichi offered a shy smile, waving him at the bed before turning to stare balefully at the tinder. Trying the flint again, he scowled cutely for a moment before muttering a quick spell to set it alight. “It is not cheating.” Daichi refuted, tucking the flint away and climbing to his feet.
“Why’re you just standing there?” Daichi demanded, frowning a little. Makoto shook his head a little, tugging off his shirt and throwing it in the direction of his trunk. Retrieving his knives, he crossed the room and set them on the nightstand, raising an eyebrow at Ryota, stretched out and half-asleep on the far side of his bed.
Removing his boots, he wondered about removing his pants as Daichi moved around to where Ryota was laying and sat down heavily next to him. Ryota mumbled some sort of complaint, and Daichi’s shy smile showed up again.
“Ryota, wanna stay?” Daichi asked, tugging gently on Ryota’s sleeve. Makoto wondered if Daichi planned to ask him if he minded – not that he did, and Daichi bit his lip, looking far too amused as he went about divesting Ryota of his shoes.
“Get in.” Daichi ordered Makoto, tugging the blankets out from under Ryota and covering his twin. Ryota immediately curled up, his eyes slipping shut like he’d been waiting for the opportunity to fall asleep for hours, and Makoto decided to keep a better eye on the time tomorrow as he sat down on the edge of the bed, sliding under the covers himself.
Daichi wandered around the side of the bed and shooed him closer to Ryota, claiming the other outside edge for himself. He kicked off his shoes and climbed under the covers, and Makoto stifled his surprise as Daichi burrowed close, resting the side of his head against Makoto’s arm.
“Goodnight.” Daichi murmured, and Makoto smiled, amused and a little touched even if Tei was going to tease him mercilessly tomorrow morning.
Makoto woke up suddenly, disoriented because his bed was far warmer than it should be with the fire mostly died out. Then he remembered Daichi and Ryota, and then the heavy weight settled on both his arms made more sense. Blinking rapidly, he tried to figure out why he’d woken up.
Daichi was breathing rapidly, curled tightly against Makoto’s side, but Ryota was worse, trembling with enough force that it made Makoto ache to think about it. In the dim light from the fireplace he could see Ryota’s face creased with whatever nightmare plaguing him.
Ryota was worse, so Daichi was probably just catching some sort of reflection off of that. Makoto shifted – it was difficult, with the twins weighing down his arms – and carefully jostled Ryota. Ryota gasped, jerking away and nearly tumbling off the side of the bed as his eyes flew wide. Daichi tensed, his fingers trying to clutch at the shirt Makoto wasn’t wearing, and Ryota stared at him for a long moment before wincing and relaxing a bit.
“Are you okay?” Makoto asked quietly, mindful of Daichi, still asleep.
“Fine.” Ryota muttered after a moment, and Makoto decided that Ryota didn’t trust him still, even though Daichi seemed to.
“Your shaking says otherwise.” Makoto pointed out, and Ryota sighed, shifting closer again.
“It doesn’t matter.” Ryota mumbled, resting his head against the pillow and letting his eyes shut again. Makoto sighed softly, reaching out with tingling fingers to soothe Ryota’s curls away from his face. His skin was warm to the touch, and Makoto hoped it was a simple nightmare.
“Can I do anything?” Makoto asked – Daichi would know, but Ryota wouldn’t want him to wake his twin, Makoto could figure that much out on his own.
“No.” Ryota denied, his pale blue eyes darkened by the dim light in the room. “Just go back to sleep.”
“You should as well.” Makoto murmured, and Ryota frowned. Daichi mumbled something sleepily, snaking an arm over Makoto’s bare stomach towards Ryota. Makoto froze a little, breathing shallowly until it seemed Daichi wasn’t going to move again. Ryota reached back after a second, twining his fingers carefully with Daichi’s and letting his eyes slip shut.
Makoto watched him for a few minutes, feeling the tension leak from Daichi, still asleep and closer than he had been when they’d first gone to sleep. Ryota’s breathing steadied out and after a moment Makoto let himself relax. He’d worry more about it in the morning since Ryota wasn’t letting him do anything about it now.
Ryota said nothing the next morning, just stayed closer to Daichi than he had before. Makoto didn’t bring up the nightmare, not seeing the point of upsetting Ryota more. Daichi hadn’t said anything either, just looked sleepy and rumpled as he shuffled out of bed at Makoto’s prodding.
Kei was back as acting guard, and he trailed behind Makoto, trailing behind the twins. Makoto sighed, watching wearily as the servants gave them a wide berth. Not that there were many servants out and about this early, but there were a few that skirted about them like they had the plague.
Makoto politely ignored it – he was going to be here a while, so they’d have to get used to him eventually. Brushing it off as best he could, he focused on watching the twins in front of him, Ryota’s hand clasped lightly in Daichi’s. That was something he couldn’t really be upset over, finding the twins. There was just something nice about being surrounded by blonds, and Daichi nearly stumbled, which served him right for spying on other people’s thoughts, if that was the cause.
Upon reaching his office, Daichi and Ryota took up residence on the out of the way couch again, Daichi leaning heavily against Ryota and they probably needed more sleep than Makoto was running on, if only because they were recovering. Daichi rolled his eyes, and Makoto decided that if he tried to make them go back to bed he’d probably be ignored, so instead he settled down at his desk and had Kei order up breakfast for them.
“Koto.” Tei greeted with a grin, settling down into one of the chairs facing Makoto’s desk. “How’re you this fine morning?”
Makoto stifled a smile, because Tei was being more than a little obvious with Daichi and Ryota right there. Though it looked like Daichi was asleep again, against Ryota’s shoulder. Ryota looked faintly uncomfortable but wasn’t moving to make himself more comfortable.
“I could be worse.” Makoto replied easily, scrawling out the last bit of the letter he was composing. It was much the same as the six others he’d already penned, with a few personal details for each potential council candidate he was attempting to recruit.
“Well, that’s something at least.” Tei drawled, draped lazily over the chair’s width. “The caravan’s left for the capital again. Your brother sent you a missive, which is that sealed scroll you haven’t touched. We’ve gotten rid of half the prisoners, and the physicians are reporting the antidote is working.”
“And the food distribution?” Makoto asked absently, signing his name and setting the paper aside. Picking up the scroll – it had been next on his list of things to take care of – Makoto thumbed the seal apart.
“Going as we planned, and the city seems happier for it.” Tei reported easily. “I finished the guards yesterday and we ferreted out a half-dozen more.”
“What about servants?” Makoto asked, skimming through the letter. It didn’t hold much of importance, just ‘stay safe’ and more assurances of assistance from the capital.
“Arisu’s been scanning them casually, but I doubt Shiro would’ve bothered. He didn’t think the servants were worth much, after all.” Tei’s expression darkened a bit, and Daichi jerked awake with a start, looking around blearily. Makoto hid a smile, watching out of the corner of his eye as Ryota soothed him wordlessly.
“Good –” Makoto began, only to be cut off by a knock on the door. “Come in.” He called, watching Daichi perk up and Ryota frown a little.
The door opened, and the chatelaine stepped inside, carefully shutting the door behind her. She was an older woman, with a severe nose and a timid smile, and she froze when she caught sight of Daichi and Ryota. Daichi shrunk down a little, his eyes wide as he tried to discretely hide behind Ryota’s arm.
“What can I do for you, Lady?” Makoto drew her attention, and she jerked a little, her face pale as she turned to face him.
“I – never mind, my Lord.” She curtsied, casting a nervous look at the twins before turning back to the door. “It’s inconsequential.”
“Indulge me.” Makoto entreated, before she could leave. “If it was important enough for you to come here, it’s important enough for me to hear it.”
“Oh, I –” She fretted a moment, wringing her hands for a second. “Only, sir, that the palace staff is short a few – we’ve had some runaways, sir.”
“Alright.” Makoto accepted, frowning a little thoughtfully. “Would you be able to find replacements on your own or would you need assistance?”
“I – I could find replacements, my lord.” She looked startled, and Makoto nodded, smiling reassuringly.
“I’ll leave it in your hands then, Lady. Was there anything more?” Makoto asked gently. She shook her head a little, dropping another curtsy. “You may go.”
She disappeared quickly, the door almost slamming shut behind her in her haste, and Makoto raised his eyebrows thoughtfully.
“Tei.” Makoto gestured. “Go after her, make sure she’s alright.”
Tei sighed, climbing to his feet. “Fine, but I’ll be back.”
“Of course.” Makoto murmured, setting down Fuhiro’s letter. Waiting until Tei had left, he turned to the twins. “Care to explain?”
“Explain?” Daichi asked, wide-eyed. Ryota didn’t blink, not quite meeting Makoto’s eyes.
“Yes, explain. She wasn’t that fretful the last time I met her.” Makoto stood up, wandering around his desk as Daichi and Ryota exchanged glances. Daichi sighed, biting his lip nervously as Makoto dragged a chair over to sit in front of the couch.
“It’s not our fault.” Daichi mumbled, looking a little upset as he sat there. Ryota frowned, shaking his head.
“It’s not Daichi’s fault.” Ryota corrected, and Daichi narrowed his eyes.
“No, it’s not yours either.” Daichi maintained, turning to Makoto, his gaze softening. “Shiro-” Ryota flinched, and Makoto waited patiently, wondering if that was going to be explained too. “- used us. He kept me as a backup for his magical energy sources, and he siphoned off my telepathy.”
Makoto nodded. He’d suspected as much, with Daichi being chained like he had been. Though Ryota had been too, so maybe it was something Shiro had been doing with both twins.
“Shiro was… bloodthirsty.” Daichi murmured, and Ryota steadfastly stared at Makoto, daring him to… do something, and Makoto waited patiently for the rest of it. “He didn’t like anything threatening his energy sources. So, if anyone helped, or really came near us or talked to us at all, he would have them brought to his rooms, and tortured them.”
Makoto frowned thoughtfully. Shiro was possessive like that – had been possessive like that. “What else?”
“He’d make me heal them.” Ryota’s voice was cold, but Makoto wasn’t stupid and he could see clear as day the way Ryota was shaking, just a little. “Enough so that they didn’t die right away, but not enough to ease their pain.”
“So people are scared of you.” Makoto murmured. That did make sense, and explained why none of the castle physicians would go near them.
“They thought we did it because we wanted to.” Daichi offered, leaning closer to Ryota. “Because we – we didn’t fight.”
“He threatened to kill Daichi if I refused.” Ryota stated challengingly, as though he expected Makoto to not believe him.
“And he threatened to kill Ryota if I refused.” Daichi put forth, and Makoto nodded thoughtfully.
“Daichi, how much power can you expend right now?” Makoto asked, and Daichi blinked, looking startled, so he must not be paying attention to Makoto’s thoughts.
“Um.” Daichi shrugged. “A little.”
“Enough for a cloaking shield some of the time?” Makoto probed, and Daichi nodded, offering a bit of a smile. “Alright then, just shield yourself and Ryota from view whenever I have a visitor. Until we can clear up everything, I’d rather not put anyone else on edge by showing you off.”
“Okay.” Daichi nodded, smiling encouragingly at Ryota. Ryota didn’t look though, staring at the floor unflinchingly. Makoto stood up, swinging his chair around and back into the proper spot before approaching.
“It’s Shiro’s fault, Ryota.” Makoto tilted Ryota’s head up gently.
“I did it.” Ryota challenged, his eyes tear-bright, and Makoto sighed, kneeling down in front of him.
“He would’ve killed them anyway.” Makoto shrugged. “I’m sure you did everything you could.”
“I didn’t. I couldn’t.” Ryota shook his head, jerking away from Daichi’s hands. “Don’t.”
“Ryota.” Daichi murmured, looking hurt and sad.
“Do you regret it?” Makoto asked, ignoring Daichi for the moment. “Would you prefer to have given the first few easy deaths, and have lost Daichi?”
“No!” Ryota denied immediately, glaring darkly.
“If you had let them die easily, if you hadn’t given into Shiro’s demands, what do you think would’ve happened?” Makoto asked, not letting off quite yet. “He would’ve killed Daichi. Magical sources of energy aren’t rare, even if the telepathy’s a nice touch. He probably would’ve killed you too, since you wouldn’t be much use after your only reason for cooperating was gone. And he would have still killed every last one of the people he did. Or other people, but Shiro wouldn’t have been satisfied not killing people.”
“Shut up.” Ryota snapped out tersely, standing up abruptly. Makoto stood too, watching him impassively. Daichi was watching, wide-eyed but not interfering, yet.
“It’s not your fault.” Makoto stated quietly. Ryota’s glare didn’t waver. “If it was your fault, you wouldn’t be standing here because you’d be in the dungeons or on your way to the capital for punishment.”
“It’s – I should’ve –” Ryota’s anger dissipated, and Makoto shook his head, hoping he wasn’t botching this.
“You did the best you could.” Makoto reassured, and Ryota sagged a little, looking tired and worn and Makoto didn’t stop to think about it, just stepped forward and wrapped him in a hug. Ryota didn’t move for a long moment, until he finally buried his face in Makoto’s shoulder, his hands coming up to clench in Makoto’s shirt.
Makoto smiled sadly, glancing at Daichi. Daichi shrugged, biting his lip worriedly as he watched Ryota. Ryota dragged himself away after a moment, wiping at his cheeks with the ends of his sleeves, and Makoto made a note to make sure that the twins got a few fresh changes of clothing at some point.
“Better?”
“Shut up.” Ryota mumbled, sitting down heavily on the couch. Daichi immediately wrapped himself around him, resting his head against Ryota’s chest. Ryota sighed and wrapped an arm around Daichi, running his free hand through Daichi’s hair fondly. Makoto smiled, giving it another minute before heading back to his desk.
“You’re not.” Daichi whispered, and Makoto took his seat again, watching as Daichi pressed a kiss to Ryota’s temple. Ryota’s eyes shut, but at least his miserable look eased as Daichi kissed his cheek too, and then lightly on the lips. Makoto smirked a little, and Daichi stuck out his tongue, hugging Ryota close.
