Yuuya awoke to find himself in the trunk of a car. Or at least, that's what it felt like. In addition to being cuffed and gagged, his unknown "friends" had also provided him with a bag over his head, making it impossible to discern his surroundings. At the very least, he could tell that the engine of the supposed car was not running, but he did get a sense of movement. A sense of…rocking? Was he on a boat? Regardless, that didn't explain why he was there in the first place.
What had he done this time…? He tried to remember. He had just finished his latest mission, which involved outing a powerful Hawk Party politician on some seedy business or another. He was headed home to celebrate with Hiyoko's favorite flavor of convenience store ice cream… Ah, and then he heard a fair maiden's cry for help. Being a hero of justice, he could not let evil prevail over the innocent, so he went to investigate.
He found her in an alley, struggling with a man who was intent upon stealing her purse. When Yuuya approached, the man broke free and made a break for it, but Yuuya was faster. He grabbed the thief's arm, twisted it behind his back, and then slammed him into a dumpster, knocking him out cold.
Yuuya reached down to grab the stolen goods. "Your purse, miss—" but before he could turn around, he felt a sharp, painful shock between his shoulder blades, and the next thing he knew, he was gagged and bound with a bag over his head.
Yuuya groaned. The woman. He had his back to her. She had to have been the one that hit him with the stun gun. Leone had always warned him that his hero complex would get him killed. Hell, if he made it through this, Hiyoko just might kill him herself for letting her ice cream melt.
Yuuya shifted uncomfortably in his tiny confinement until he could get his legs out in front of him. Maybe if he could kick open the latch…
Unfortunately, his first attempt was answered not with freedom, but a hearty laugh. "Looks like the brat's finally awake." Yuuya didn't recognize the voice.
The trunk popped open and rough hands grabbed Yuuya by the back of his jacket, just to drop him unceremoniously to the ground. The hood was ripped off his head, finally giving Yuuya a glimpse of his surroundings. He was in some sort of small carport, like the kind on ferries. Fuuuuuuuuuck. If this is really a boat… Fuck fuck fuck fuck me. A building was one thing to escape from, but something surrounded on all sides by miles of water required much more creativity.
"Do you know just how much trouble you've caused me?" a new voice asked.
Yuuya stiffened. No, anybirdie but him. Yuuya scrambled to his knees and tried to rise, but the man that pulled him out of the car hit him in the back with the butt of a rifle, forcing him into a kneeling position. He looked up at the man in charge and nodded. "Mmphumph."
The man opposite him rolled his eyes and motioned to his crony. "Remove his gag."
Yuuya contemplated biting the goon as he removed the gag, but resisted the urge. Instead, he flashed his best smile at his adversary. "Salut, Monsieur le Bel. To what do I owe this pleasure?"
Le Bel grimaced. "That man you befouled was an important business partner of mine. How do you intend to make up for that?
Yuuya cocked his head. "Je suis désolé, Monsieur, but I haven't the slightest idea what you mean."Le Bel's crony hit Yuuya in the face. "Spare me the lies, Sakazaki. I know you're a Dove."
Yuuya laughed, almost hysterically. Shit shit shit, I'm fucked. "Of course I'm a dove! And my mother as well. Even you, Le Bel, are a part of this magnificent species."
Yuuya got hit again. This time he tasted blood.
Le Bel tsked. "If you care not for yourself, perhaps you will cooperate if someone else were to take the blows for you?"
Yuuya's heart skipped. Hiyoko. They have Hiyoko.
Two men came into sight with a bound and hooded hostage between them. But it was a man, not his cute little girlfriend. But he was too small to be Leone. Then who…?
The men forced their captive to his knees and removed his hood.
Yuuya's breath caught in his throat. No no no. Even Hiyoko would have been better than this. "Sakuya?!"
Sakuya's wide eyes flitted back and forth between Yuuya and his father, the terror and confusion plain to see on his tear-stained face. He shouldn't be here.
"Why are you doing this?!" Yuuya shouted angrily. "He's your son!"
Le Bel spat in the direction of Sakuya. "You know better than anyone that's a lie, Sakazaki."
He knows. Yuuya felt numb. He knows. How does he know? No one was supposed to find out...
Sakuya shouted as loud as he could through his gag, trying to reach out to his father.
"Shut up," one of Sakuya's captor's commanded as he kneed the boy hard in the stomach. Sakuya doubled over, his shouts giving way to pained whimpers.
"Stop!" Yuuya cried out. "Leave him alone, he has nothing to do with this!"
Le Bel smirked. "So we get no reaction from you when your own face is beaten, but when it's your half-breed brother..." He waved lazily at Sakuya's handlers. "Keep at it. Just try not to kill him. We'll need him alive for a short while longer."
"Stop!" Sakuya tried to curl into a ball to protect himself, but with his hands bound behind his back, he was unable to defend his head. "Stop!" the brutes began kicking at every exposed part; his legs, his arms, his back, his face... "STOP! Okay, fine! I'm a Dove Party agent! And I'm the one who stole information on your friend that put him away for human trafficking. It was me! I'll tell you whatever you want, just let Sakuya go, please!"
Le Bel called off the onslaught with another wave of his hand. "Take the Dove to the interrogation room. Throw his brother in the brig."
By this point, Sakuya was unconscious (or at least, Yuuya hoped it was just that), so only one of his captors was needed to carry him off. He slung the poor boy over his shoulder and then muttered something about getting blood all over his favorite jacket. Sakuya's other captor helped Yuuya's to drag the furious spy into another room. They forced Yuuya to sit at a small table. A moment later, Le Bel took his seat at the opposite end.
"Well, Monsieur Dove Party, tell me what I want to know, and your brother may just make it out of here alive."
Liar. There was no way Sakuya was going to live through this. Maybe if Le Bel still cared about him, but after that display, it was clear that Le Bel's affection for the boy only went so far as Sakuya's ability to succeed him as head of the family. Not that it would matter if Le Bel was telling the truth. The Party still didn't really trust Yuuya, both because he was so young and because his first real mission blew up in his face when Iwamine found him out. They didn't tell them anything more than what he needed to complete a mission; he didn't even know where the regional headquarters were. Leone either met up with him in another location to go over briefings, or they would bring him into HQ blindfolded. Maybe they predicted that he would end up in this situation, so they didn't tell him shit so he couldn't jeopardize the Party.
Le Bel continued. "Where is the Dove Party base located?"
Yuuya glared at the man coolly, and hoped that his countenance would not betray his ignorance. Well, the best lie is based on truth. "...The Aoiyama Office Supply store in Paloma City." Or at least, that's what he always joked with Hiyoko about. It was within a 5 mile radius of the store anyway, Yuuya supposed, and it seemed a good a spot as any for a covert operation. "There's a trapdoor in the back left of the inventory room that leads down to Central Command." The more details you give, the more convincing you'll sound.
Le Bel studied Yuuya's face, as if to determine if he was lying or not. "And what is the Dove Party's next move?"
"...Kurohana. Shigure Kurohana." Kurohana was a known Hawk Party supporter. His was also the first name to come to Yuuya's mind. "We're investigating him until we find something we can use to take him out."
Le Bel raised an eyebrow. Yuuya wasn't sure if he believed him or not. After all, Kurohana was much bigger time than the creep Yuuya had managed earlier that day. "And how will the Party accomplish that? And at what date do they intend to make a move?"
Yuuya was no good at forming long-term plans like that, especially not on the spot. His lies were shaky enough as it was; if he said any more, Le Bel would see through the rouse and kill both him and Sakuya. He had to switch strategies or die. "How do I even know that Sakuya is still alive? How do I know your goons didn't just slit his throat the moment you brought me in here? I'm not answering any more of your questions until I know that he's safe."
One of Le Bel's goons grabbed a fistful of Yuuya's hair and slammed his head on the table, snapping his glasses in two and giving him a dizzying headache. "You don't get to make the rules, mongrel," he grunted.
Le Bel chuckled. "Very well. I am a merciful man, and you've given me enough to look into at least. I'll allow you to see your dear brother while I verify the information you have entrusted to me. If it checks out, we'll interrogate you further. If it does not... I'll break each and every bone in your brother's body, until he begs me to kill him. All while you watch." Le Bel nodded to the men behind Yuuya. "Take him to his precious little brother."
Once again, Yuuya was being dragged to another part of the ship, still dazed from his head hitting the table. They went down a flight of stairs to what looked like a small lounge; there were couches and a large TV on one side, and a jail cell to the other side. He could see Sakuya curled up in the corner of the cell, shivering and whimpering. Yuuya let out a small sigh of relief. He's still alive... for now.
While one of the lackeys unlocked the door to the cell, the other shoved Yuuya's gag back into his mouth. "Just 'cause you get to see him don't mean you get to talk to him. Don't need you brats talking over what's left of our game." They shoved Yuuya hard to the ground of the cell. He managed to turn at the last second so that he landed on his shoulder instead of his face, but the collision still hurt like a bitch and left him temporarily stunned. He heard the door lock behind, and shortly after, the two men collapsed on the couch on the other side of the room and turned the TV on to a soccer game.
They aren't even going to watch us? Idiots. Yuuya tested his handcuffs. The chain connecting them was just long enough to allow him to slip his hands down beneath him and under his legs. Once his hands were no longer behind his back, he removed his gag and pushed himself to his knees.
"Sakuya?" he whispered as he crawled over to his younger brother. He touched the boy's shoulder, but Sakuya flinched away, trying to curl into a tighter ball. "Sakuya, it's me, Yuuya." Yuuya tried to keep his voice calm and level. "I...I'm going to get us out of here, okay?"
Sakuya started sobbing, his choked cries audible even through his gag. For a moment Yuuya thought that their guards might come over to tell him to shut up, but all they did was turn up the volume on the TV. Good. That'll make it easier to speak without them hearing us. "Sakuya, we need to talk. I'm going to remove your gag, but you're going to have to be quiet, okay?"
Sakuya nodded, and his sobbing slowed and quieted. He finally turned his head to face Yuuya, and the older brother could barely keep himself from gasping in shock. Sakuya's left eye was completely swollen shut, and his nose was broken and bloody. His lip was torn open in multiple places and his hair was plastered with blood. This was not how his beautiful little brother was supposed to look, and the longer Yuuya stared at him, the more he felt he might start crying himself. He forced his focus away from his brother's face and onto the gag still in his mouth. He removed it carefully, trying his best not to touch any of the lesions caused by Le Bel's goons. "Sakuya..."
"Why is this happening to me?" Sakuya choked out, as quietly as he could. "Father called me a half-breed, and he made those men..." Sakuya started sobbing again, but managed to keep the noise under control.
"It's my fault Sakuya, I'm so sorry. I'll explain everything later, but for now we have to-"
"No! I demand that you tell me now, Sakazaki!" Sakuya was starting to get louder. "Why did Father say it was a lie that I am his son?"
"-Because you're not his son." Yuuya looked him full in the eye. There was no going back now. "You're not a Le Bel, Sakuya. You never were."
"That... That's a lie..." Sakuya whispered.
Yuuya shook his head. "It's true, Sakuya. Why else would your father have turned on you like that?"
"But why... I... I don't..."
Yuuya closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. He would have to do this fast. They had maybe an hour before Le Bel realized that the information Yuuya had given him was fabricated. "The day my father died, our mother laid an egg. The very next day, Le Bel showed up and forced Mother to marry him. Le Bel wanted the egg gone, so I told him I'd get rid of it. But I kept it safe, and when Mother had a new egg with Le Bel, I switched the eggs. And then I... smashed Le Bel's egg." It was a terrible way to finally tell him, but Yuuya didn't have time to be tactful.
Sakuya forced himself to sit up. He sat there, just staring at Yuuya, trying to make sense of what his older brother had told him. "...The egg that you kept safe… Are you saying that was…me?"
"I'm so sorry Sakuya. You don't know how desperately I've wanted to tell you all these years. There was never a right time. And for a time I thought your life might be better if you never knew, and it was only my own selfishness that made me want to tell you. But you deserved to know. I'm sorry."
" Even if any of what you're saying is true, why... why would you even do something like that?"
"We can go over the why's and what's later, but for now we need to get out of here. I have a plan, but in order for it to work, I'll need your help. Can you do that for me, Little Brother?"