"We are your closest relatives." Yao's aunt said, her hand snaking forward and grasping his. "You should come live with us."
"But!" Their something-or-other uncle cut in. "We have been devoted to their raising from birth." He highly doubted that a single printed Christmas card addressed to both Yao and Kiku with the picture of their 'beautiful' family counted as being 'devoted', but it was more than anything any of the others in the room had done.
They all sat around a large table, Yao and Kiku placed on the left of the family lawyer while various family members ranging from their father's half-sister to an Indian man Yao had never seen once at the vast family gatherings who just stared and smiled at them. Their father hadn't specified who out of the many relatives he had which one he wanted to care for them, and so it was up to Yao to decide where they would go.
If Yao had despised his father before, it was nothing compared to now. He couldn't believe the man had left a long will listing everything he had and what went where but didn't mention one thing about Kiku. He didn't care about where his own flesh and blood went, as long as his possessions were safe.
If he had only died three months later, when Yao turned eighteen, then he could legally care for Kiku and none of this would have happened.
The relatives had been arguing for what must have been half an hour, trying to make their case to Yao, some even begging him to go live with them. He sighed again as he stroked Kiku's hair, which seemed to be the only thing from keeping him screaming at them to leave them alone.
It wasn't him they wanted, and it never would be. They all saw how his father treated him, and took exactly the same attitude so as to not lose favour with his father. They ignored him, slighted him and some would randomly lash out at him if he so much as walked past them in the presence of his father.
It was the money they wanted. For some reason, his father had left everything he had to Yao, from the sprawling mansion that took up what Yao suspected to be half the city to the tiny one cent his father found as a boy and had kept because he had believed it to be good luck.
It was all Yao's, and whoever became his guardian would be the legal caretaker of that money until he turned eighteen, free to sell anything and withdraw as much as they wanted from the various banks and offshore accounts.
It had quickly escalated to them screaming at each other across the table as the lawyer tried to placate them, but they were vicious and heartless businessmen, and he stood no chance against against them, no matter how much of a shark he claimed he was.
They were thankfully silenced as a loud rap came from the doorway. All heads turned to find the man who had called himself 'Arthur' leaning against the frame, his umbrella twirling in one hand and the other wrapped around his chest, a soft smirk gracing his lips.
"Who are you?" Yao's aunt snapped, far too tense to be dealing with some freak in white.
Yao used the distraction to wrench from his arm from his aunt's grasp as Arthur floated into the room. "Ah…I do beg your pardon" He said, closing his umbrella and daintily seating himself in one of the free chairs. He crossed his legs, resting the umbrella on top of them and clasped his hands together, using them to hold the umbrella in place. "I am the legal guardian of this young boy." He gave a slight nod towards Yao, his eyes twinkling in what seemed to be amusement.
Silence was all that followed as the whole room bar the lawyer was in shock. "Excuse me?" The lawyer said eventually, the first one to recover. "I have heard nothing of this." Either had Yao. Though his father never talked to him, he was sure he would have mentioned something as important as this.
And all he could think about was how he had called him 'young boy.' I'm not that small, he thought, pouting slightly. Though he knew he always looked quite young, and was considered short for his age, he'd always hoped his features were adult enough to be seen as a man.
"Oh? That is most peculiar." Arthur said with a chuckle. He reached inside the folds of his blazer and withdrew out a manila envelope. Strangely enough, Yao's thoughts focused more on how he had managed to store it in there without it crackling as he moved.
He neatly lay it on the surface of the table and gave it a sharp push. It slid past them, all eyes fixed on it as it was a prize, until the lawyer at the end of the table swooped it up. Both Yao and Kiku watched as he carefully unwound the string, opening the top and removing a single sheet of faded cream paper.
There was silence, all breaths bated as his eyes scanned the page. He paused momentarily, confusion flitting across his heavy features before continuing. "May I ask…?" The lawyer's eyes rising to Arthur's as he finished reading. "What is this red substance?"
"Blood." Arthur said simply with a bright smile. The lawyer blanched, reeling slightly.
"Blood?" He repeated with horror.
"Yes." Arthur's smile vanished. "Blood."
"Oh…" He looked shaken, returning to the sheet of paper. It began to tremble. "It- It says here you have been his guardian since he was two?"
"That is correct."
"You mean to say that you –"
"This is outrageous!" One of their greedy relatives butt in, causing the lawyer to flinch. "No matter what it is signed in, it should not be legal!"
"Yes! Quite right!" Her husband added. "If they had had another guardian we should have known about it."
"N-Not 'they'." The lawyer quickly said. "Just Yao."
There was another silence as it sank in. The man called Arthur was getting the fortune, and abandoning the younger son. It was what they all wanted, but to actually do it? Yao could see the cogs turning in their heads as they tried to see if there was a way to gain ownership of the fortune through Kiku. But there wasn't, and they all knew that.
Yao tried to keep a solemn face, but it was hard. If what the lawyer was saying was true, that meant he would never see Kiku again. He began to feel sick at the thought of what would happen to Kiku if he was taken in by one of the 'relatives.' He looked to his brother, still sobbing into Yao's suit, trembling as he tried to be as quiet as possible.
Their 'relatives' stared daggers at Arthur, who sat patiently, completely unfazed as they went back and forth, screaming at the poor lawyer and snarling at Arthur.
He sighed after a while, Yao having zoned out, the shouting becoming too much, and stood. "Well…" He picked up his umbrella, opening it with a flourish. "Clearly you have a lot to discuss." His eyes became hard. "Yao, have your things ready by tomorrow. My" He paused, his eyes lost for a second as he tried to find the right word. "driver will come to pick you up."
And then he turned, leaving the room in confusion.
...xXx...
Arthur sighed as he left the room, gently withdrawing his old pocket-watch and clicking it open as he walked. He forgot how much he truly hated humans, with their screaming and complaining and pointless greed. Well... Maybe 'hate' wasn't the right word, as they did help keep his business alive, but they could at least go about it in a manner that didn't affect him.
He didn't even know what he was doing, agreeing to take the boy in. For the life Yao had been leading, he appeared far too kind and loving for his soul to be of any value. Upon shaking his hand, Arthur had decided that he would at least make use of Yao in the form of a assistant, though he had no idea how a little rich boy was going to handle himself in Arthur's world. He didn't normally takes risks, especially when it came to humans, but ever since Jones had waltzed into his life, he had started to change, little by little, and no matter how much he refused to believe it, his penchant for kindness was growing.
"Arthur!" He paused, turning to find Yao running towards him. He raised a brow, smirking slightly at the sight of his panicked eyes.
"My brother." Yao said, panting.
Hm?" He clicked the watch shut and slipped it back in his pocket. He never really had a use for it, as he didn't exactly keep to a schedule, but he liked to know he was still in touch with the world in someway or another, no matter how much he loathed the place.
"What about my brother?"
"Ah, yes. He can come too. I'm sure there's room for him somewhere." Yao's eyes relaxed as he smiled softly.
"Thank you." He said shyly before taking off.
Arthur scowled, more at himself than the boy. Really, it was like he was becoming nice or something.
He sighed again as he left the church. Now he had two young humans to look after.
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