•••

"You're such a drama queen, Hakuryuu~"

Flippantly, as though he's just talking about the weather, Judar yawns exaggeratedly mid-way in his sentence, as he stretches the kinks in his body, showing off his toned abdomen half as a display of strength and another half to entice the pathetic busybody onlookers to praise him, even just in the privacy of their minds.

"Are you seriously hurting from just this?"

Judar pokes Hakuryuu's cheek with his bare foot, tilting the other's face up so that he can gaze better at the crybaby prince beneath him. Judar delights in seeing the blood on the other's face, grins as he witnesses the other's defiant glare be clouded by angry tears welling up in those big eyes.

Messing with Hakuryuu is really, really fun.

Judar continues to poke Hakuryuu's cheek with his toes, spreading the blood from the cut on his right cheek to the rest of his face. Hakuryuu also looks wonderful covered in blood – he would know all about that, since he has first-hand experience, after all – so Judar paints his dark canvas with surprising gentleness, never mind how this is simply severe bullying to anyone else's perception. His mini-painting session is interrupted when Hakuryuu very rudely bites his big toe, defiance shining from the other's eyes.

"Aw, do you still want to play, Hakuryuu?" Judar doesn't mind beating Hakuryuu up again, if the other hasn't had enough with the beating he has just received. Judar's a very generous person when it comes to doling out punishment, after all. Judar's also not very good at holding himself back, so if he ends up half-killing Hakuryuu again, well he'll just have to blame those little friends of Hakuryuu's who think that they can easily grab the other's hands, eat lunch with him and play around with him—generally attaining his attention and shifting it away from Judar.

Hakuryuu doesn't answer, but that's kind of his little rebellion for the past few weeks. Judar will kill the person who told Hakuryuu to shut his mouth whenever he's being punished, because messing with Hakuryuu becomes ten times more entertaining if the other's mouth is spouting off pissed-off words that promise to take revenge many times over. Without the other's protests against his mistreatment, it's really not as fun as before.

But that's okay.

Judar's confident that he'll be able to make Hakuryuu cry out soon enough.

••• 01 - our bond in chains

"Who did this to you?"

"…"

Judar clicks his tongue as he approaches the infirmary bed, the facility nurse already knocked out with a well-placed chop to the back of her neck. Heavy injuries aside, Hakuryuu's eye still has that fiery glare that makes Judar want to mess him up even more.

"Who did this to you?" Judar hisses his question again, this time directly to Hakuryuu's right ear, crowding the other man against the uncomfortable, single bed. Judar's left hand is just inches away from Hakuryuu's neck, while his right hand is braced against the thin mattress. Even with his back hunched, Judar is easily looming over Hakuryuu's body, wrapped in bandages and practically strapped to the bed.

"…it's none of your business," Hakuryuu finally says, averting his good eye away from Judar's glare. There's an eyepatch over his right eye, the sight of it eliciting a strange sort of anger inside Judar. It's a weird feeling, because he has lived his life thinking that he's pretty much full of hatred already, so experiencing anger toward something that didn't have a direct effect on his wellbeing is… weird.

Judar laughs at the other's cocky stubbornness. "Hah, it's not your call whether something is my business or not, Hakuryuu."

"…"

Huh. So even now, Hakuryuu is still practicing his silent treatment. It's annoying as fuck.

"You're mine," Judar whispers, sinister-sweet, letting his lips touch Hakuryuu's earlobe, wanting to brand him in ways that his scars and his wounds cannot, "so this is certainly my business."

"…" Hakuryuu's eye is wide – Judar would bet anything that his bandaged eye has the same surprised look. "…You're being a busybody."

Judar raises an eyebrow at the other's words, but doesn't insert more distance between the two of them.

So Hakuryuu's not denying that he belongs to him.

How interesting.

There are very little things that Judar can call his own. Due to that, he's been prone to taking extra good care of the things that belong to him.

Having someone lay a hand on Hakuryuu – someone who's not him – without any permission whatsoever – is enough to make his blood boil.

That certain someone succeeding in adding their own set of brand on Hakuryuu's skin – without any permission whatsoever – is enough to make him want to march out of here and kill.

…That's what he should be doing, huh.

"…Just wait for me here, Hakuryuu." With a smile that he knows looks terrifying to anyone else – but probably just looks normal to Hakuryuu – Judar makes his way out of the infirmary, intent on finding the culprits quickly. "I'll come and pick you up soon~"

Hakuryuu doesn't reply or say goodbye, nor does he attempt to call out and prevent him from teaching a lesson to wannabes who think that they have the right to hurt Hakuryuu.

Judar stretches as he practically bounces on the balls of his feet. He can't wait to start their lesson on how stealing another's possession is a sin worth punishing.

•••

"Haaaa~ why did you have to go and leave the infirmary so soon?"

Hakuryuu doesn't even bother turning around to offer him a glare – not even a shrug, though that's probably because his dislocated shoulder is still healing. Still, it's annoying to see Hakuryuu acting so composed and cheeky, when he's not even completely hiding all of his injuries with that loose attire that he's sporting.

"Man, I had to search for you all over the place~~~"

"…Did you need something from me?" Hakuryuu – goddamn finally – turns around and gives him a half-smile that's half cocky and half amused, like Judar's the one being a petulant child here. "…Finished with your temper tantrum?"

"It's not a tantrum," Judar insists, peeling off his clothes right then and there, enjoying the way Hakuryuu's self-imposed composure crumbles a little bit at the sight of his skin – unblemished and unscarred. He almost wants to tease Hakuryuu about his strange sense of propriety – after all, it's not like anyone else can see this scene, because Judar certainly knows how to lock the door to his own holding cell. "I was teaching them a lesson."

"…Hm. Then, Judar-sensei, did you teach them all how not to hurt your little toy without your permission?"

Judar rolls his eyes at Hakuryuu's sarcastic tone, kicking off his pants with little finesse. His nose wrinkles automatically at the smell of other people's blood on him. He likes the sight of other people's blood, but he'd rather not have them on his person. Who knows what kind of nasty germs they have running in their veins? He would only tolerate having Hakuryuu's blood spill on him, but that's because he has already practically bathed in the other's blood before and he already knows Hakuryuu's insides anyway. Instead of germs, he has something even better, darker, filthier.

"Oh, I taught them not to even think about setting their eyes on you."

"That must be a… brutal lesson." Hakuryuu eyes the pile of bloodied clothes distastefully, before he shifts his gaze to meet Judar's.

"It was."

Judar's holding cell is different from others' – it has its own bathroom, for starters, so he can just waltz in and wash the blood off his skin easily. Well, he would be able to do so, if Hakuryuu isn't bodily blocking the path to his shower. It's not like Judar doesn't have the strength to push Hakuryuu away, but having this person willingly go to his room is novel and interesting enough to have him attempt to rein in his impulse to hurt him.

"You're going to get me in trouble again for your tantrums."

Hakuryuu doesn't even sound resigned now, but that's just expected, since this is hardly close to the hundredth time that Judar has stirred up chaos in this facility while the higher-ups would rather punish a scapegoat for his antics.

"Nah, we're both gonna be in for a stupid-ass long lecture."

"…" Hakuryuu doesn't say anything, simply looks at him with an eyebrow quirked.

"I got a little too excited and got a little too brutal with them~~~"

Hakuryuu's pose slackens slightly, but that's all the opening Judar needs so he can side-step the other and finally enter his shower. Their shoulders brush together with Judar's movement, eliciting a gasp of not-quite-pain from Hakuryuu.

Judar stands underneath the shower and lets the freezing water rain over his body. He calls out to his companion, his voice ringing out despite the sounds of the falling water.

"Wanna wash my back, Hakuryuu?"

"…Shut up, Judar."

But Hakuryuu doesn't leave his room, choosing to simply stand guard – what a funny concept – a few steps away.

…

Judar is fairly used to being scrutinized – this facility is nothing but a glorified prison for children who are used for human experiments, after all – but there's something to be said about the immense pressure that Hakuryuu is emitting from just a couple of steps away. Judar hurriedly takes his shower, all the while musing about how it must be a talent for Hakuryuu to be able to scrutinize Judar, even with his back turned. Judar doesn't unravel his long braid, because that will take almost half an hour. Hakuryuu's back looks impatient enough as it is.

Without bothering to reach out for a towel, Judar steps out of his small bathroom, water dripping liberally from his thick braid, tiny rivers of water travelling from his face, to his torso, to his legs, to the small puddle on his feet, since Hakuryuu's stonily standing on his way.

"How brutal were you?" Hakuryuu asks him casually, connecting this to their previous conversation.

"Oh, I ended up killing them." Judar replies just as airily, but the last portion of his sentence leaves his mouth in a huff, since Hakuryuu has turned around so quickly and has reached out to grab his shoulders and slam him against a nearby wall.

It's not exactly unexpected, per se, because Hakuryuu's aura has been brimming with impatience and a certain kind of lust ever since Judar has found him trespassing into his room. It's still surprising in its own right, because Hakuryuu has always been content to act like the crybaby prince that has been torn away from his family and tossed mercilessly into this facility. There are very rare situations that triggered this side of Hakuryuu—something that Judar's been diligently trying to uncover one by one.

Hakuryuu's nails are probably going to leave crescent-like marks on his shoulders, with the way that he's digging his nails into his skin. Hakuryuu's gasping breath is warm against his shower-cooled skin, just as the way his clothed hips practically burns against Judar's bare groin. The facility's standard issue pants are not enough to hide the hard outline of Hakuryuu's cock though, straining against its confines as their bodies fit together almost automatically.

"You're really interesting, Hakuryuu~~~" Judar comments lightly, even as Hakuryuu slams him against the wall again. The pool of water is slippery beneath his feet, while the wall is uncomfortably cold against his bare back. Judar would rather have them relocate to his infinitely more comfortable bed, but seeing Hakuryuu try to dominate him is good too. "I can't believe you of all people would get so excited with the thought of dead people."

"You're disgusting," Hakuryuu spits out with no real venom, his eyes burning with hatred, while his body burns with arousal, "so very disgusting."

"Hey~~~ I'm not the one who's hard from the thought of having someone murdering his bullies." Judar thinks that's plenty interesting though. He snakes his hands around Hakuryuu's shoulders, tugging at the loose strands of hair that has escaped the pin atop Hakuryuu's pretty little head. He winds the strands around his fingers, tugging tighter and tighter.

With a huff, Hakuryuu retorts acerbically, "I'm not the one who gets hard from murdering, period."

"I'll have you know that I didn't get a hard-on from those fools." Judar can't even remember their names or what they looked like. The only thing that matters to him is that they tried to take what was his and that they're now unable to do so—forever. It's a fairly good trade-off.

"…" Hakuryuu digs his nails even deeper into his shoulders, breaking the skin there with a sting that Judar ignores in favor of grinning and raising an eyebrow at the Hakuryuu who stares at his lips. "…So you mean to tell me that you're this excited for me?"

Judar groans as Hakuryuu moves so that his left leg is in-between Judar's legs, increasing the pleasant pressure and friction against his own groin. The drag of Hakuryuu's clothes against his skin is amazing, though it would be much better if he's rubbing against the lines of Hakuryuu's scarred body.

"…Then, why don't you find out, huh, Hakuryuu?"

It's interesting to see Hakuryuu's eyes fill with dark excitement at the thought of having the illusion of power over the most powerful result this facility has produced.

It's even more interesting to see what tomorrow would bring, because they will be back to their antagonistic relationship where Judar would drag Hakuryuu away from his corner, where Judar would beat Hakuryuu up without regard for his still-healing injuries, where the both of them would not care about this night at all.

Judar can't wait.

•••

[ one year later ]

•••

"Hmm~ so even the crybaby prince can make friends, huh?"

It's been quite some time since their paths have crossed – it's been almost a year after that four-hour lecture on how the two of them can't be together if they will just stir up chaos in this facility, the blame of which was mostly shifted to Hakuryuu, as expected – but Hakuryuu can recognize the other's drawl anywhere.

"What do you want, magi?"

Hakuryuu balls his hands into fists, feeling power course through his veins as he eyes the other saunter towards him in slow, deliberate steps. While Hakuryuu has been successful in finally awakening some sort of power that elevates him above most of the cursed children held in this facility, he knows that he still has a long way to go until he can even hope to match Judar's level. The other has been named a magi after all – an oracle that has greater power and capabilities than most – a creature that has the power to choose a person who he will support with all his might.

It's laughable to think that Judar is capable of choosing someone aside from himself, selfish as he is.

"What, I can't talk to my favorite Hakuryuu~?" Judar smiles, razor-sharp, and it's unfair how he has stayed the same yet has become so different. He's even more menacingly beautiful now, everything about him screaming danger. "How cold~~~"

Hakuryuu's glad that there's only the two of them at least in this corridor, because it would be a pain to explain to Alibaba, Aladdin and Morgiana about his strange relationship with this facility's magi. "I have nothing to talk about with you."

…Especially now that Hakuryuu is aware that Judar has also been sent here by his witch of a mother, probably to torment Hakuryuu even more. They haven't had the best relationship before, but at least Hakuryuu can tolerate the other's nastiness by thinking that he's just a stupid bully who had no other way of ascertaining his self-worth aside from beating other people up. Once he has been made aware of Judar's connections to the owners of this facility though… that's another story entirely.

He doesn't have any intention of continuing to associate with someone who's just a pawn of Gyokuen and her minions.

"Hmph, just because you got a little bit of power doesn't mean you can talk back to me, crybaby prince~"

Hakuryuu is painfully aware of that, even without Judar pointing it out so straightforwardly.

"I have nothing to talk about with you," Hakuryuu repeats firmly instead, squaring his shoulders as he tries to brush past the other.

It's not exactly unexpected, per se, because Judar has always been fond of ignoring things such as personal space and common sense – but it's still somehow surprising to have the other grab him by the shoulders and slam him against the nearby wall, the sound of his back hitting the solid wall drowned out by his pained groan. Judar's right hand practically has claws that bear into the junction of Hakuryuu's neck and left shoulder, while Judar's left hand is firm against Hakuryuu's right hipbone.

Everything hurts in a way that it hasn't done so for twelve months.

Everything feels so familiar – as though their one-year exile from each other's presence hasn't happened – as though Hakuryuu hasn't encountered unexpected friends in the form of the psychology students that are interning in the facility – as though Hakuryuu hasn't started to feel like maybe this life isn't as shitty as it could be.

Here is Judar, back to tormenting him, back to holding so unbelievably close that it's hard to think that there's not even a shred of affection between them.

"Do you think this is enough to take revenge against your mother?" Judar asks him casually, voice soft enough to not be heard by the surveillance bugs planted above them, but firm enough that Hakuryuu can't pretend that he hasn't heard. "Do you think this is enough to win against everyone?"

Hakuryuu grits his teeth.

Of course.

Of course Judar is aware of what he's planning.

Of course Gyokuen is aware of what he's planning against her.

"It's none of your business."

Judar laughs at him, sinister chuckles washing over his face. "I remember telling you that it's not your call whether something's my business or not, Hakuryuu. It's still the same now."

Hakuryuu defiantly glares at Judar, the muscles in his neck straining slightly as he looks up at the other.

Everything hurts.

Everything has stayed the same.

Everything will possibly stay the same forever.

"…because I'm yours?"

Judar looks pleased at those words and rewards Hakuryuu with successive bites to the tip of his nose, to the junction between the scarred and unscarred skin on Hakuryuu's left cheek, to the edge of his lip.

"Because you're mine," Judar agrees with an unholy gleam in his eyes, stepping back after marking Hakuryuu's face to his satisfaction. It won't be long until the old geezers look for him and it's not yet time for them to find out that he has defied their orders and has met with Hakuryuu again.

It's important though, something that he wouldn't mind getting punished for, not only because their punishments hardly tickle him now, but because Hakuryuu is starting to lose himself to the ideas of those brats that the world is fun and beautiful blah-blah-blah. They don't have the right to say those words, not when they're not even observant enough to notice that Hakuryuu is still so very reserved with them, not when they're not even smart enough to figure out that this facility is hardly the simple juvenile holding center they're thinking it to be.

Judar has singled out Hakuryuu way back for a reason, after all, and he's not about to let anyone mess him up without his permission.

•••

[ two years later ]

•••

"How does it feel, Hakuryuu?"

"…"

Judar has his nose pressed against the glass windows, looking down at the world sprawled out, reveling in how nice the burning buildings look against the darkness of the night. There's still so much of the world out there, so much that they can conquer, so much that they can destroy, so much that they can change.

This is just the beginning, after ll.

"Aaah, it feels so good to finally destroy most of those old useless geezers!"

"…you're enjoying yourself, Judar?"

"Of course, I am!" Judar grins as he turns around so he can sink into the plush leather couch beside Hakuryuu, easily piercing through the other's personal space and lying down with his head on the other's stiff lap. Judar stretches his hands up, hitting the armrest and Hakuryuu's right arm. His bare feet don't feel cold, despite the chilling airconditioning. "We managed to take over this stupid facility, after all~"

"This is just the first step." Hakuryuu looks so serious despite achieving a great milestone in his life. Judar doesn't like that, so he raises his left hand and pinches Hakuryuu's right cheek, loving the supple feel of the skin in his hand, reminding him of the peaches that the other has banned him from eating for the time being. "We still have long ways to go."

"Maa, maa, don't sweat it~" Judar keeps his hand on his chosen one's face, the pads of his fingers tracing the skin there with some sort of wonder. He makes sure to drag his fingernails across the still-healing wound from Hakuryuu's right eye to his chin, like a blood-red track of tears. "I'm gonna help you out every step of the way, after all~~~"

Hakuryuu smiles slightly, the sight of it doing terrible, terrible things to Judar's psyche.

"I'm counting on you then, Judar."

Judar knows that the other's just saying those words – because one of Hakuryuu's greatest strengths is his desire to work alone and accomplish miracles that way. He has never counted solely on Judar and that's what makes it interesting – because Judar wants him to need him.

There are still so many opportunities for Hakuryuu to do so – there's still so much they'll have to accomplish, so many things they'll have to destroy, so many things they'll have to create anew.

"As you wish, my king."

This is just the beginning, after all.

•
•
•
•
•

[ some years ago, from a world far away ]

"Who do you think you all are?!"

Judar growls – half in pain, half in anger – as he cradles the fallen form of the king he has chosen, of the king that has been rejected not just by fate but by this entire world. There's a gaping hole in the sky above, piercing the clouds, the air, the stars – welcoming the descent of a lofty god that has no regard for how individuals like them would like to live.

"You just want to manipulate us, control us, cage us, for your own selfishness!"

Hakuryuu has wounds all over his body, but that's not even the worst of it – even his consciousness and his will to live, his anger, his wrath, his convictions, have been robbed off him. They had already won against Gyokuen, but that one match they had won isn't enough to win the entire world war.

"You just fucking doomed us to our lives, without giving us any choices, for your own desires!"

Judar's voice is hoarse as he screams and yells against this cruel world, but his voice is ultimately drowned out by the black rukh, the despair, the depravity, of the souls all around them, swirling like a vortex, trapping the both of them inside this confined space where it's only them against the whole world. Judar feels his skin being stripped away from him, feels his king being melted away from him, feels the only thing that he can call his own be taken away from him.

"You can't just fucking take away my king from me!"

Hakuryuu's soulless body lies still, his skin melting off, his muscles and veins revealed grotesquely, quickly being assimilated to the black hole concentrated with the entire world's despair. Hakuryuu's becoming the medium – the best medium the world can create – something that the fucking hag didn't mind dying for, since it meant that she would win eventually, would accomplish her life's goal of having their goddamned god descend to this world. Judar feels the concentrated black rukh he had harvested before whine and groan from deep inside his chest, practically crawling out of his own body.

"You just can't—"

Judar isn't a crybaby – that honor's all Hakuryuu's – but since Hakuryuu is already being eaten by the medium, becoming the medium, it seems that there's no other choice but for him to be the one to shed the other's tears on his behalf. He feels the salty water leak out from his eyes as he burns the image of his king to his eyes, to his mind, to his own tainted rukh.

He is Hakuryuu's magi and Hakuryuu is his king.

He has sworn loyalty to his king.

He has vowed to protect his king.

He has promised victory to his king.

"—you can't—"

Hakuryuu has asked him to learn so many pain-in-the-ass things.

And since he is the other's magi, the other's only true ally, he has to learn other things too, even if Hakuryuu hasn't explicitly expressed his need for them.

With his own self also being assimilated to the medium, Judar has only one thing left in his arsenal.

Focusing all of his anger into one place—Judar holds on to his Hakuryuu—and wishes for—

—another chance
—another world
—another fate

—another beginning.

•
•
•
•
•

[ this is just the beginning, after all ]