Authoress' Notes:

Well, I've been working on this fic for… I dunno, maybe a week? I actually have over 7,000 words done, but I think this is a pretty good amount to post for now. –stalling for plot bunnies-

Anyways, this is the fic I mentioned in the notes for "Complete and Below". It's got references to character death, but we never actually see the death. This is my best try to write high-quality bishounen violence, so please take pity on my horrible efforts in that area. Anyways, the couple, though not terribly couple-y at this point, is RenoxYazoo. The shmex!

I should be posting the next bit pretty soon, but no guarantees- I have my AP English exam Wednesday, and my AP Latin Literature exam Friday, so I'll be rather busy for a little while.

Disclaimer: I dun own anything!

nyanyanyanyanya

Awake

Yazoo moaned as he shifted groggily, but he found that he couldn't sit up. He supposed that had something to do with the ropes tied around his wrists and legs.

"Ah, so you're finally awake."

Yazoo's head jerked up and he stared at the redhead sitting near him. The man's back rested against the cold, gray wall that was behind Yazoo's back as well. His thin, black-clad legs were drawn up to his chest, and the fiery head was buried in the knees. Bright blue eyes peered out, barely visible.

Yazoo struggled to sit up, but found that his bound limbs kept him from gaining enough purchase. Settling instead for a barely dignified sprawl, the young man turned to better face his captor.

"I was wondering how long you'd be out," Reno said levelly. Inside, he felt level. He felt calm. He felt dead.

The silver-haired youth turned vibrant green eyes towards his, asking quietly, "Why am I here?"

Reno snorted, lifting his head slightly. "Why do you think, you idiot? You were captured."

Yazoo shook his head slightly, trying to clear it a little. He needed to figure out how to get out of here and rejoin his brothers. My brothers… "Where are my brothers?" he asked, suddenly panicked.

Reno lifted his head still further. Now Yazoo could clearly see the eyes gleaming at him. "We couldn't catch them," he said softly. Then, more to himself, he muttered, "I almost had the short-haired one, but I had to stop to… to get Rude." Yazoo watched with mild interest as Reno's face crumpled into misery and he buried his head once again in his knees. Who was Rude? Why was the man looking so upset? All Yazoo really cared about right now, though, was where Kadaj was- it sounded like Loz had gotten away safely.

Yazoo didn't get any answers, but he did learn just how upset Reno was. Suddenly, the redhead launched himself towards Yazoo, who was powerless to defend himself as Reno's fists pounded into him over and over. Yazoo bit his lip hard enough to cut through the skin, barely holding back a scream as Reno punched him in a rather sensitive area. Reno, upon seeing the pain well up in Yazoo's eyes, jumped back as he realized what he'd been doing. Looking at the moaning figure, he couldn't hold in a chuckle at the sight of the blood trickling down Yazoo's chin. Yazoo stared up at Reno, wondering what had just happened. Why did the other man suddenly decide to attack him?

Reno retreated, sitting down again. He tried to stop laughing as he watched Yazoo wince, but he couldn't. I'm losing it, he thought, as his hollow laughter bounced off of the walls, echoing around him. Why did I attack him? He didn't hurt Rude. It was his brother. His brother, his damn brother, they're all alike, they all tried to hurt Rude, dammit, dammit I hate them, I hate them, I hate them… Reno suddenly realized that he was no longer thinking silently. He was muttering almost feverishly, shaking as he thought about poor Rude, stuck in surgery. He shook his head. "Rude… Rude… Come on man," he whispered. Yazoo listened, fascinated against his will, even through the pain. "You can't die on me, yo. You promised we'd always stick together. We're Turks man. You can't die." Reno chanted his terrified prayer over and over.

Yazoo knew that he had to be careful. He'd always been the most cautious of the brothers, sure to gauge the situation before he made a move. Unfortunately, Yazoo had no idea how to handle a captor who seemed on the edge of losing his sanity. He watched, peering up from his uncomfortable position on the floor, as Reno lifted his head, turning reddened, wet eyes towards him.

"Why, yo?" Reno asked hoarsely. "Why did you do this to him?" Yazoo had no answer. What could he say that would ensure his safety? He considered his options, unable to determine what sort of a response the other man was looking for.

No answer, however, was definitely not what Reno wanted. "WHY, yo?" he screamed, and he distantly noticed that he was up on his feet, though he could have sworn that he'd been on the floor only a second before. "WHY?" he screamed again, kicking the silver-haired demon in the side as hard as he could. Yazoo curled up in agony as he felt some of his ribs break.

"WHY?" Reno screamed, bending down to lift Yazoo by his hair. Yazoo found himself face-to-face with Reno, who screamed wordlessly into his face before dropping him. Yazoo felt blood begin to seep out where his cheek had hit the hard stone floor.

A door that Yazoo hadn't even noticed before opened. Reno spun around, eyes wild, as he stared at the man who came in. The man's black hair matched his suit perfectly, and his somber eyes didn't seem to herald good news.

"Reno…" Tseng started, hesitantly. He glanced towards Yazoo and his eyes widened slightly as he saw the abuse the remnant's body had taken. "Reno…" Reno held his breath, waiting to hear what the news was. He already knew, from Tseng's expression, but he still thought that maybe, maybe Tseng would open his mouth and tell him something different.

"Reno… Rude…" Tseng sniffed, rubbing his eyes. "They had him in surgery, and he…" His mouth moved wordlessly, and Tseng had to stop and wipe away a tear from his cheek. "They lost him," he finished in a choked voice.

Reno felt empty. He didn't hear Tseng correctly. He couldn't have heard Tseng correctly, because there was no way that Rude wasn't sleeping in a bed in the medical wing. There was no way Rude wouldn't smile at him from behind those sunglasses he insisted on wearing even when he was injured. There was no way he was…

With a scream that made Tseng jump backwards, Reno fell on Yazoo, punching, kicking and biting the young prisoner. Tseng ran forward to pull Reno off of Yazoo, and Reno turned to bury his face in Tseng's shoulder, screaming Rude's name.

Yazoo bit his lip again, but he was unable to stem the flow of tears that coursed down his face as he lay there, hurting all over. Distantly, he noticed the black-haired man lifting the redhead… Reno, did he say? to his feet and escorting him, sobbing, from the room. After a few moments- or was it a few hours?- the man came back. He stood there, staring down at Yazoo, face furrowed as he seemed to debate.

Finally, he leaned down with a sigh and, with a warning glance, cut Yazoo's limbs loose. He gently lifted the youth up by the arms, but as soon as the supporting hands were gone, Yazoo collapsed, unable to support his own weight. Sighing in exasperation, Tseng finally lifted Yazoo, princess-style. Had he been more conscious, Yazoo would have been very much offended by the undignified position, but, as it was, he merely felt grateful that he didn't have to stand. Since his head was tilted towards the man's chest, Yazoo could only see a bit of the ceiling. As they went through the door, Yazoo looked at white ceiling tiles, with tidy light fixtures every few paces. As the man stopped to talk to someone, Yazoo looked at a small spider that had made its web on an air vent above him. He couldn't understand the words that were being said, but he knew that the voices were arguing. I must be in worse shape than I'd thought, he realized, as the words flowing past him took on new and impossible shapes. He knew, he knew, he knew what they meant, but he just couldn't put it together. Finally, the man carrying him moved on again. Yazoo wanted to know who it was who was carrying him. He didn't know why, but suddenly, knowing his name was of the utmost importance.

"Wha…" he tried, but he trailed off. The man looked down in surprise. Tseng had thought that the young man had long since passed out. "What…what's… name?" Yazoo managed. Even though he knew he'd just asked a question, he was already unsure of what he'd asked.

"Tseng," the man replied. Yazoo felt the chest his head rested against vibrating with the quiet voice. "My name is Tseng."

Oh, right, Yazoo thought drowsily. I wanted to know his… But he'd already forgotten what he'd been thinking about, and, being too tired to concern himself with it, Yazoo slipped into darkness.

nyanyanyanyanya

I wasn't sure about that last bit. I was trying to write it the way that I, at least, think when I'm really sick. I'll start to ask something, then totally forget what it was, ne?

Please review! Suggestions would be lovely, because I really do need some ideas, but please keep in mind that your suggestion may not work with the part I've already written.