~Chapter 4~

Ayame hated filthy places. The castle dungeon was the last place he ever imagined himself going to. Upon entering, a strong, musty odor assaulted his nose, and he quickly covered it with his napkin. He trudged down on a long, narrow path until he heard something quietly squeak from the below. A baby rat! Ayame stepped on its tail, causing the tiny animal to screech and make a run in the opposite direction. His laugh echoed throughout the corridor, as he had shown that rat who was boss. But a mere second later, there came another rat. And another. And another. Five rats. No, six rats! Ayame shivered as each furry beast brushed against his ankles. The angry mother of the baby he stepped on jumped onto his leg, making him fall backwards. The candle blew out. Nothing could prepare him for what was about to happen next. One by one, the darkness filled with glowing, purple eyes until there seemed to be a hundred of them. He let out a blood curdling scream.

"Did you hear that?" Momiji asked, as he playfully bounced in the river of rats.

"Just keep running!" Yuki huffed. Sooner or later, he tripped over a body. He stayed a moment to lift the man's head above the rats and gasped in surprise. Seeing that it was impossible to carry him, he ordered his little friends to move beneath him like a conveyor belt. They eventually emerged out of the dungeon, the rats scurrying off in all directions. Too bad there wasn't a close fiery explosion to make their escape look epic.

Yuki leaned over his unconscious brother and proceeded to shake him. The man had a frozen petrified look on his face.

"Ayame! Wake up! Snap out of it!"

After a long minute of yelling and shaking, Ayame sprang up and backed a few feet away from Yuki.

"The r-r-r-rats … Th-th-th-they were…!"

Momiji pointed and laughed at him, which wasn't helping.

"Ayame, it's okay! They're all gone now. More importantly, what were you doing down there?"

"I-I was sent here on behalf of the N-neko king to retrieve a prisoner by the name of Y-yuki."

"Haha! You're looking right at him!" Momiji promptly identified the prisoner. "Taa-daa!"

The siblings blinked at each other and spoke again at the exact same time.

"Wait, how did you know my name—"

"So what does the king want with me?"

Silence.

Yuki cleared his throat to continue.

"Uh, it's kind of a long story… But why would the king want to see me?"

Ayame ran a hand through his already disheveled hair, trying to regain his composure.

"You will understand when you meet His Majesty. Now follow me."

"But wait a minute! There's something else that I have to do… You see, I'm looking for a little girl who was arrested with me…"

"Maroone is already waiting for you."

"Who?" Then it suddenly hit him. Whatever her circumstances were, she probably wanted to fake her name.

"Enough! You will do as I say or else!"

Yuki blinked. Was this really his brother?

The snake quickly directed his angry, yellow eyes at the bunny.

"And you. I'm summoning the guards to escort you back underground where you belong."

"Awww, but I wanna play with Yuki some more! Can I? Can I pleeeease?"

"Silence! I will not tolerate disobedience, you insolent little—"

"If you don't let him come with me, then I'm not going," Yuki interrupted.

"Then I shall summon the guards!"

"Then I shall summon my rats!"

Ayame's entire body visibly trembled at the mere sound of the word. He tried to hide it.

"Ha! You, command an army of rats? Why that's preposterous! Do you honestly expect me to…"

In the next instant, a dozen rats crawled over to Yuki and formed a perfect circle around him.

Momiji wildly clapped his hands.

"Wow, that's amazing! What other tricks can they do?"

Ayame bit back his retort. Damn those rats.

The door to the throne room cracked open as a sneaky woman peered inside. Her beloved king was starting to fall asleep on the throne, his head bobbing back and forth. Chance! She smoothed her dress over her hips before inviting herself in.

Kyo glanced at her and yawned.

"Oh, it's just you. I thought I told you to knock before you came in, Kagura."

"My sincerest apologies, your majesty. I only wanted to inform you that I am free for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day."

"Yeah? So what?"

"I… I was hoping that you would consider me instead of Miss Tohru next time."

"Do you have a problem with Tohru?"

"Oh, no, I could never! She is so beautiful and the purest of heart! I simply wish to enjoy the same privilege as she, your majesty."

"Yeah, whatever…"

"I am so grateful, your majesty! So maybe tonight, we could..."

"Kagura."

"Yes?" she answered excitedly.

"Give this message to Ayame when he returns. I gotta take a crap."

The snobbish swine listened as intently as she could.

"Wow, amazing! I never thought I'd get to be inside the castle!" Momiji burst out, running around like an airplane.

"There's no running inside!" Ayame bellowed after him.

"Awww! You're no fun!"

Yuki was admiring his surroundings when he noticed a familiar woman quickly approaching them. She seemed to be in a very unpleasant mood for some reason.

"Ayame! What an unsightly thing you are!" Kagura scowled. "Consider yourself fortunate that His Majesty sent me in his place to meet you. Your orders are to treat the prisoner as a guest and prepare him to dine in the Great Hall where the king will be waiting."

Then she placed her hands on her hips, noticing something strange about the situation.

"Wait a minute. Why are there two dirty lowlifes here? Which one of you is Yuki?"

"Oh, that would be him!" Momiji identified cheerfully again.

Yuki stared at Kagura, uncertain if he should say anything.

"Ayame, what is the meaning of this! I was told that you were only supposed to bring Yuki!"

"With all due respect, the situation is far more complicated than you perceive, my lady."

"Humph! Well I'm not going to get in trouble for it. You will explain everything to His Majesty."

"Of course, my lady."

Kagura examined Yuki closely. An ugly look flashed into her eyes.

"I don't see what's so special about you. You ruined my dinner plans, you filthy little rat!" she said before storming out of the hall.

Well, Yuki couldn't argue with that. He was a filthy rat. He was more concerned about having dinner with the infamous Neko King. As much as he liked the castle, he'd rather find Kisa, return to Haru's one-room house, and eat bread again.

"So… what now?" he asked Ayame.

The snake said nothing, probably sulking in anger.

Two other servants quickly came up to Yuki and Momiji, dragging them away to get cleaned.

Yuki stood in front of the mirror and adjusted his new purple tunic, looking like Prince Charming again. He was given a decent room to share with Momiji that had two comfortable beds. He envied the bunny who was already fast asleep under the covers.

'So… You're finally going to meet Akito in this world' Yuki thought nervously. He wondered if he should ask him for his help. So far, his only lead to get back home was Haru's crazy assassination plot, which was definitely out of the question. Then again, this was Akito. Since when did he help people?

Once he finished preparing himself, he stepped out of the room to find Ayame already waiting for him.

"Right this way," he said.

"Hey, can I see Maroone before—"

"No."

"Well can you at least tell me why I'm having dinner with the king?"

Ayame silently guided him to a darker hallway. Then, without warning, he grabbed Yuki's arm and pinned him against the wall with surprising strength.

"Ouch! Ayame, what are you—"

"First you commanded a bunch of rats to help you escape from the dungeon, and then you called me by my name. Just who the hell are you?" Ayame hissed.

"This...this isn't a good time to explain."

"Answer me! You don't have your rat friends to save you now."

Yuki had nothing to lose.

"We're brothers..."

"Brothers? Don't make me laugh. The only brother I had died right after he was born."

That wasn't the answer he completely expected. Was that supposed to be him?

"You...just have to believe me. I know everything about you, even that you turn into a snake."

"But my brother is dead!"

"Well I'm your brother from another world! Now will you please get off of me?"

Ayame stared at him wide-eyed.

"What…what did you say?"

Suddenly, there came a group of noblemen laughing nearby. Ayame slowly backed away and averted his eyes to the floor.

"We will continue this later… Come, we're almost late."

"And whose fault do you think that is?"

Yuki glared at his brother the rest of the way to the Great Hall. But when they arrived, he forgot about his anger in an instant. It was by far the most decorative and colorful room in the castle, brightly lit with torches. Fancy dishes were served on golden and silver plates, foods that he rarely saw in his own world. A different servant guided him to his seat and quickly exited the scene. About a minute later, he heard the door open behind him, followed by footsteps and a cape dragging along the floor. Yuki forced himself to breathe steadily. This was it. The big moment. The Neko King.

"Damn, I'm starving," the king said, as he finally came into view.

Yuki blinked. That orange hair…

"I know. Hella scared, aren't you? This is my thanks for you saving Fluffy and all. Well don't just stare at me. Eat something!"

One…

Two…

Three…

"Ahahahahahaha!"

"What the hell is so funny?"

Yuki doubled over with tears in his eyes, unable to stop laughing.

"Haha…well here I was, dreading that you were going to be Akito…but you're only just that stupid cat! Ahahaha!"

"What the hell do you know about Akito…" he spoke in the lowest voice possible.

"Oh, about that… I know you're not going to believe me, but I came from another world where we're cousins, and Akito is the head of our family. So I thought this so called 'Neko King' was going to be him. Not you of all people! Hahahahaha…haha…ha…"

Kyo hardly looked amused.

"You lyin' to me?"

Yuki was taken aback by his serious tone. What happened to the dumb insults that he usually retorted with?

"No, I'm not lying... The truth is that I know all about you and everyone else who has the curse. From my world, anyway." Yuki paused thoughtfully. "Well if Akito is not the king, then where is he? How do you know him?"

"Forget it. You're actually kinda interesting," the king replied, as he stared intently at his alien guest. "Amuse me. What am I like in your world?"

That only made him more curious, but he had no choice but to go with the flow.

"Uhhh… Well, we live together with Shigure and Miss Honda. But we don't really get along. After all, you're the cat, and I'm the rat."

"Are Tohru and I married?" Kyo asked casually.

"What? Don't be silly! As if she would ever... Wait, you know Miss Honda?"

"Do I know her? Do I know her? She is to become my queen."

A genuine shock ran through him. Was he for real?

"When can I meet her? And Ki…I mean, Maroone?"

"Tch, there's no need to rush. They're probably just doing stupid girly stuff together. With my Fluffy."

Yuki looked relieved to hear that. No one was in danger.

"You know what? I'm starting to like you," Kyo said suddenly. "I think you were brought here for a purpose."

Oh no, not this fate stuff again.

"Kyo, listen. I'm just trying to find a way to return to my world."

The king's expression suddenly darkened.

"I'm afraid you're not going anywhere just yet, Yuki. I already have an important mission for you."

"An important...mission?"

"You know everybody who has the curse, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, there's this dragon that lives in the mountains east from here. The rumor is that he has a human form."

"You mean...Hatori?"

Kyo looked instantly satisfied.

"See? I thought you'd know something. I sent one of my strongest men to capture him weeks ago, but he hasn't come back yet. I bet the idiot got himself killed. This is probably something that only you can do."

Yuki still desperately wanted to see Hatori, but were they really talking about the same person? There was no way that a weak little seahorse could intimidate anyone, no offense to him.

"Ah…getting him to listen shouldn't be that difficult."

Kyo got up and walked over to his side, patting him hard on the back.

"I knew we'd get along, Yuki! You will be my right hand man from now on. I'll give you your own personal servant first thing in the morning."

"Uh… But Kyo. I'm not planning to stay here that long. Like I said, I just want to—"

"Tell ya what. You help me, I help you. We got a deal?" Kyo smiled. "C'mon, let's drink to our new friendship!"

Yuki couldn't believe it. They were actually getting along. He lifted his glass next to Kyo's.

Cling!

After dinner, a dinner which he surprisingly enjoyed, Yuki found his older brother waiting for him again. Instead of being lead back to his room where Momiji still slept, they went straight to Ayame's. It was small and dull in comparison to his.

Ayame locked the door and promptly lit a candle, which burned dim.

"Let me guess…" Yuki started. "You want to continue our conversation from before? Look, I've really had a long day…"

"No, I have already concluded that you speak the truth. Please accept my deepest apologies for the horrible way I treated you."

A mixture of surprise and relief swelled in his chest.

"Really?"

"Yes, you see... Who would have thought that my savior would come in the form of my brother! It all makes sense now! The Gods have finally taken my side!"

"Ayame… What are you getting on about?"

"Tell me first. What is your opinion of His Majesty?"

"Uh… I don't know. I heard that he did bad things, but it's hard to take him that seriously. I can't even think of him as a king," Yuki replied honestly.

"Yes, brother. The Neko King will be no match for us. We shall defeat him."

"Wait, that's not what I..."

The snake's eyes gleamed in the candle light.

"And I shall become the new king…"

Meanwhile, somewhere far away...

It was starting to get dark.

Hatori leaned against the cave wall, watching the sun slowly disappear over the mountains. He heard familiar footsteps approaching.

"It is very rare that I receive the same visitor twice," he spoke calmly, closing his eyes.

"I will not fail this time. Your power is mine."

To be continued…

Author's Note: Poor Yuki, it's only going to get worse from here. *pats him*