I got the first review for this story today! This makes me so very happy. Thanks to hikari the darkness for reviewing on this fic! :D I wasn't planning on working on it today, but the review motivated me to complete this chapter, so thanks!

I'm just letting you know, but the MC is kinda helpless in this chapter. Because I can and helpless little boys are my kink. *SHOT* I WAS KIDDING exceptnotreally, but yeah. ...I probably disturbed a lot of people with that comment. orz

I don't own the characters or anything blah blah blah YOU KNOW THE DEAL.

NOTE: This chapter takes place after Yuzu's route.

~*Desperate Escape*~

His legs feel like rubber, but he forces himself to keep running somehow. He pants as he ducks into an alleyway, taking many turns. He senses his assailants in hot pursuit, close on his trail, even as he desperately tries to lose them.

However, these hopes are dashed when he comes to a dead end. Dread fills him. "No…"

He hears quick footsteps behind him, and he turns to see a demon tamer and his demons. "Nowhere to run, kid," he says, smirking.

All of a sudden, hot pain jolts through his body and he cries out as the force of the demon tamer's spell throws him against the wall that has trapped him. He crumples unceremoniously onto the ground, barely retaining his consciousness. He can hear footsteps growing louder, but he doesn't have the strength to look up at his assailant.

"Game's over, kid." He can hear the mockery in the demon tamer's voice. "Too bad God didn't favour you more, eh?"

The boy closes his eyes and awaits his end.

All of a sudden, there's a startled cry and more footsteps; these ones are slower and softer, as if the owner were treading near a sleeping beast and making a conscious effort not to rouse it.

"You really don't know anything, do you?" He hears a familiar voice, smooth and soft, yet radiating authority. "Ignorant children should just be quiet to avoid sounding like idiots."

"Wh-why you—"

"Enough. You're just wasting my time." He doesn't know what happens next, but he hears a strangled yell from the demon tamer and a thud.

The newcomer speaks once more. "Hmph. Better to be silent and thought the fool, than to speak and remove all doubt…"

Then, the boy feels gentle hands turning him around and sitting him up slightly, allowing his head to rest on a forearm. His vision is unfocused, but he can make out the man's face.

"Naoya…" he murmurs, his mind still registering the fact that he's not dead.

Naoya smiles down at the boy. "Hello to you too, cousin."

His body aches as though he has been stabbed by a thousand knives, but he manages to sit up without Naoya's support, and he hugs him tightly around the neck. "N-Naoya…"

The man rubs his back, like how he used to back in their childhood. "Is that the only thing you can say right now?"

"Sorry…"

He chuckles. "No, don't apologize. Can you stand?"

The boy doesn't answer, so he helps him up—even so, he seems to have trouble maintaining balance. "Look at you, you're a mess," he chides. "I'll bring you back to my apartment. Is that okay with you?"

He doesn't say anything, merely leaning on Naoya a little more. Naoya takes that as consent.

"Alright… Let's go."

The journey back is slow. Naoya walks with his arm and part of his haori around the boy, so he has to adjust his pace—they have to take frequent breaks to let the boy rest.

On one of these breaks, he decides to speak. "I'm glad you're safe, Naoya…"

"Hm?" Naoya gives him an all-too-familiar smirk. "What, did you think I'd be dead? I'm surprised you have so little faith in me, cousin."

"No, it's not that…" he hugs Naoya and buries his face against the taller man's chest. "It's just that… I haven't seen you since the lockdown, and it's so dangerous now, so I thought… "

"…Well, I'm touched, but there's no need to worry about me. You know how I am." The boy can't tell whether Naoya is being genuine or just teasing him. "Now, come—we've wasted enough time here."

They are attacked on the way back, but Naoya is able to fend the demons off without sustaining so much as a scratch. They manage to make it back to his place without any further incident.

The apartment has remained relatively unchanged from how he remembers it. The living room still sparsely furnished, though he notices a few extra things, such as a generator and some COMPs—however, they seem like unimportant details at the moment. A futon is conveniently lying about, and Naoya gently eases the boy into it.

"Just rest for now, alright?" Naoya's voice is gentle, so different from when he had played his little "game" with the group during the lockdown. "Give me a holler if you need anything."

He's about to stand up, but the boy quickly reaches out to grab his haori. "Wait… Naoya… Sorry, can you just…stay with me for a bit…?" He knows he'll be safe in Naoya's presence, but he's still shaken from his narrow escape from death.

He's afraid that Naoya won't indulge him, but to his relief, he sits back down.

They are silent for while before Naoya speaks. "So, what happened?"

The boy looks away. "I don't know… He just attacked me out of nowhere…"

"And you didn't fight back?"

"We were all worn out by other battles…" He shuts his eyes. "It's scary out there… You never know when you'll get ambushed… Demons freely roam the streets… The sky's always red…" He opens his eyes to look at Naoya again, distressed. "…It's my fault this happened, isn't it?"

"Well now, I wouldn't say that," Naoya replies pensively. "I was the one who devised the plan to help you."

"But you couldn't possibly have—"

"Couldn't possibly have what? Known that this would happen?" He stares at the boy in the futon, his red eyes boring deep into the boy's soul. "I knew exactly what would happen."

The boy gasps, disbelieving, feeling a little betrayed. "…So then…why…?"

Naoya reaches out to stroke his hair. "Mistakes exist so that you can learn from them, brother," is his cryptic response.

"But…still…! Because of you, the world's in a wreck…!"

"What, suddenly you're blaming me? You're the ones who decided to try and break out." Naoya closes his eyes, withdrawing his hand from the boy's head and sighing. "The world has always been a wreck, brother."

"Wh-what are you talking about…?"

"Heh… It's been a wreck from the start… It's just gotten worse over the generations." His face contorts suddenly, with anger and annoyance. "It's because He is flawed too…"

"Who…?"

Naoya seems to catch himself and shakes his head. "It's nothing. Ignore me. You should get some rest."

He begins to protest, wanting to talk to Naoya more, but he presses his index finger to the boy's lips.

"Shhh. What did I just say?"

The boy pouts a little, but his eyelids suddenly feel heavy. He hasn't slept well since the world's collapse, having to maintain constant vigilance, and what little sleep he manages to get are plagued with nightmares. But he feels so safe and warm in Naoya's futon, with Naoya so close to him, that he drifts off into slumber's arms.

His sleep is fretful, as always. He dreams that his friends and family are falling to the demons, if not already dead, their mangled bodies strewn about the bloodied ground. They call for his help, before screaming in pain as the demons kill them slowly. He tries to run over to them, but something is holding his feet down. He looks down and sees that he is standing in a pile of bloodied bodies, their hands grasping his ankles. They look up at him, their eyes completely red and overflowing with hatred, blood running freely from their mouths, to say the same thing.

It's your fault… You made this happen…

He wakes up screaming.

He's panting heavily as he takes in his surroundings and panics, but then he remembers that Naoya had taken him here. He sits up, feeling cold and shaken, then hears some quick footsteps.

It's Naoya. "…I heard screaming." He walks quickly towards the boy and kneels down beside the futon. "Are you alright?"

He nods shakily. "Nightmare…" he mutters, before wrapping his arms around himself, shivering a little.

"I see…" Naoya reaches over and pulls him close, enveloping him with his haori, and warmth. "Do you mind talking about it?"

He shakes his head, clinging to Naoya's clothes as if he were clinging to life. "Sorry…"

"Don't apologize," Naoya murmurs, stroking his hair in a consoling manner. "Just tell me when you want me to let go."

In truth, he never wants Naoya to let go. He wants to stay in his arms forever, or at least until this living nightmare is over. He doesn't tell Naoya this, of course, but he just rests his head against Naoya's chest, revelling in the warmth, feeling the safest he's ever felt since the lockdown ended.

After a while, his breathing is even again; he has fallen asleep. Naoya smiles and eases the boy into the futon once more. He seems to be sleeping peacefully now; his expression is calm. Naoya leans in to kiss the boy's forehead before moving to pull away, when he realizes that one of the boy's hands is gripping the haori like a lifeline.

He frowns a little; staying here until the boy wakes up doesn't seem to appealing, but he doesn't want to risk waking him up by removing his hand. Instead, he shrugs off the haori, and gently lays it over the boy, tucking him in. The boy snuggles unconsciously into the clothing.

Naoya smirks, amused at how snug the boy looks, and he kisses him gently again; this time, on the lips. He stands up, gazing at the sleeping boy. Sleeping beauty, he muses, then chuckles at the thought.

"Sweet dreams, my dear brother…"

YAAAAAY, THEY KISSED! :D *SHOT. Again.* Yeah, so that was that chapter. My writing just degenerates throughout the whole thing, doesn't it... orz I hope it didn't get too bad, though, haha.

So... The next chapter will be the last one unless I write another one for the lulz. Though, that's highly unlikely, unless people want me to write one. xD And it'll be the first time I completed a multichap fic. Ever. I'm so proud. :D

The next chapter will be Atsuro's route. However, since everything is more or less back to normal, it might take a little longer... No worries, though, I have a beginning planned out, and once I have a beginning, it won't take me much more to get started. x)

Anyways, reviews are always appreciated. :3 Thanks for reading!