He's seized by a wave of uncontrollable fury and vents it by lashing out at the closest wall, which gives way beneath his clenched fist. His father's exclamation of surprise at being found is cut off by the sound of the impact, and for a few seconds all that disrupts an uncomfortable, tense silence is his own harsh breathing.
Yuan is not one given to losing his temper, but after all that's happened over the last few weeks, discovering what Julian intends to do-essentially abandon them-is simply too much for him to handle. It's too much, and it's all he can do to stop himself from throwing his next punch at the man standing before him.
He gestures, with a wild flail of his arm, at the tiny space Julian has apparently been holed up in for the past four days, oblivious to what his children have suffered in his absence. "You are such a selfish bastard."
For once, Yuan notices, his father's face is devoid of its inane grin. It's been replaced by a look of determination layered over grief at the loss of his wife, and as angry as he is that he's had to hunt the man down, Yuan can't help thinking that the expression doesn't suit him at all. "You're not the only one who wants revenge," he says. "Let us help. We could all-"
"It's too dangerous for the others."
All things considered, the absurdity of his father's stupid excuse stokes his anger anew. "Do you really think they'll be safe if you leave us?"
Their family has always held respected, powerful positions in the Mibu clan, what with Julian being the renowned blacksmith and master of Muramasa, his wife formerly a member of the Taishirou, and their oldest son once one of Muramasa's Imperial Guards.
Unfortunately, it seems treachery also runs strong in their family, and there is no way the children will be spared if their father defects so soon after Anri has fled with Muramasa and Ian has been executed as a traitor. The mere thought of how the other members of the Mibu clan now treat them pisses him off beyond belief. He doesn't even want to think about what the other members of the Taishirou will do to them once rumors of Julian's rebellion catch their attention.
"They will be if you're there," Julian says. "I'm not abandoning you, but I can't go back yet. This is the best way to make the Crimson King pay for what he's done."
His father has unreserved confidence in his own words, but the underlying tone in his voice makes Yuan abruptly aware of just how dark and desolate and lonely it is in this place to which his father has confined himself, and his fingers slacken out of tightly balled fists as his anger falters and fades away. "So please, Yuan, take care of them until this is over."
He studies the man a few seconds longer before letting out his breath in a frustrated sigh. "Oh, what the hell. I mean, how hard can it be, if a dumbass like you has managed so long?" The false grin he plasters to his face before turning to leave is answered by a half-assed quirk at the corner of his father's mouth.
Resentment still smolders at the fact that their father has seen fit to put his own obsessive desire for vengeance before the needs of his family, but Yuan is willing to shoulder the rather daunting task of taking care of his nine brothers and sisters, and it's a given he'll do whatever it takes to get it done right without him.
Besides, if he's going to be completely honest, he wants his mother avenged as badly as his father.