A/N: Augh! School's going to start soon _ The fanfic's going to end in about two (or three?) chapters. Once again, thank you, readers and reviewers, for you have encouraged me to come this far. Funnest summer project ever yet! :D

Translations: Huen-zhang = Chinese equivalent of "bastard" (or something worse)

Chapter 8 – Messages and Morning Tea, Part II

.x.O.x.

Mei was just about to set down the phone but dropped it with a loud ringing of the bell. She could feel her body trembling beneath her skin as she turned to face Hong, who had his hands tied behind his back and a cloth muffling his mouth.

"Don't start getting any ideas," a knife was held to the young man's neck, "Take me to him now."

Mei-mei nodded obediently. From one corridor to the next, she guided the intruder and the hostage. Despite her earlier trepidation, she was unusually calm. She led the way as if she was a tour-guide, save that she was silent for the most part. Both of her brothers' lives were on the line, but the situation could be worse if she did not possess a composed nature.

The Taiwanese girl arrived at the wooden double-doors, stopping as she patiently waited for the Belarusian woman and her hostage.

"Let me check if he's alright," Mei announced as she opened the door.

"No need," Natalia sped in, throwing Hong into Mei. The door behind her swiftly slammed shut. An extra click followed, "Shit."

Meanwhile, the siblings ran. Mei raised an arm triumphantly, "See, Hong? I knew that trick would work on her."

Hong shook his head at his sister's enthusiasm as he gently shook her back to reality, "Mei, you do realize that she'll find another way -?"

CRACK! The sound of shattering glass crackled from afar. Mei and Hong hesitated for a moment before they, to their greatest horror, managed to discern the source of the disruption. If Mei had the time, she would have slapped some sense into Hong, but for the time being, the Taiwanese did nothing but stare anxiously at her brother, who stared back with less emotion but felt equivalently anxious as his sister.

"Brother Yao!" both exclaimed as they dashed to the sick man's room.

Natalia hopped from roof to roof. Fuming with rage, she cursed at her earlier display of humiliation. How dare they assume the meager cage would be enough contain her. She clenched her fist tightly, disgruntled and yearning to give Wang Yao a piece of her mind. She perceived the duo siblings frantically rushing to Wang Yao's room and she smirked at the pitiful sight. Too slow. Gracefully, she slid down the terra-cotta eaves, pounced a few feet from Mei and Hong, and darted for the red door before her.

"Wait!"

But Natalia did not wait. The sand of time was slipping down the hourglass, and she needed every grain to finish what she came to do... The platinum blond slammed the door behind her and bolted it... And no one was going to stop her.

The place reeked of burnt wood but the passageway before Natalia was empty and dark, perhaps forlorn judging by the lonely stillness of dusty furniture. Noiselessly, she progressed along the narrow path of solitude, offering none of her condolences to the frozen, isolated atmosphere. These trivial details were hardly on her mind, for she had a greater problem to settle. At the end of the hallway, she turned and barged into her destination.

As she had surmised, the Chinese was found in his bed, conscious, weapon in hand, apparently expecting her. Despite that Wang Yao had been glaring knives at her, the Belarusian scarcely found him intimidating. Illness was painted across his face: The rings under his eyes were darker; he became thinner, to the point of emaciation; and his grip on the sword was rather shaky. Really, how far had he fallen? What a miserable sight, albeit she despised – and, more or less, envied - him.

"Pathetic," Natalia mercilessly censured, "I knew you to be better than this."

"You have some nerve to set foot in my house, aru," Wang Yao spat angrily, though he struggled under his breath to maintain his stance.

A blood vessel twitched on her forehead, as she restrained the urge to send a dagger flying at him. The blond lowered her head and glowered forebodingly at the Chinese, "It's your own fault for hiring lame security guards."

Natalia took a few steps forward but distanced herself from the sword's reach, "I'm here to talk to you about Ivan."

"What does he want this time?" Yao's hand was beginning to quiver, "Did he send you here to kill me if I say 'no'?"

The latter statement lit the match in the powder barrel. She leapt up and ricocheted from the ceiling, tearing her way down. She crashed on his back and knocked the sword out of his hand. Clawing into his back, she shoved him to the bed and locked his limbs with whole of her weight, "That would have been my pleasure…

Natalia pulled out her dagger and rammed it into the bedsheets, a mere millimeter from the pale visage, "…If only Brother Ivan would agree to it. I've longed to kill you, Wang Yao, and believe me, you can be a real eyesore."

He struggled, but Natalia had no intentions of emancipating him.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Wang Yao disputed with a strong hint of sarcasm, "Isn't that what he wants, aru?"

The Belarusian seized an arm and bent it slightly, and Yao winced as she answered, "Don't push your luck with me. I'm not here for your stupid Circle, and I would love to finish our talk before Ivan comes over tomorrow."

"What?" the Chinese was befuddled, "I thought-"

"Will you shut up, already?" she shook him aggressively, and the man said no more, "I'm going to say this only once, so you better listen, Chinaman.

"You're a problem, do you know that? And as far I'm concerned, Ivan is arranging this little come-together for you – you and your Circle."

Wang Yao felt disgusted, "He's a selfish, perverted huen-zhang who betrayed me!"

"Quiet, you!" again, Natalia shook him with disapproval, "Is this how you think of Ivan, after what he's done for you?"

"Why shouldn't I?" he shouted back indignantly, "If I know any better, he wants the Circle for himself."

"That's where you're wrong, Wang Yao," the Belarusian pointedly interjected, "and I'm here to tell you the truth, whether you want to hear it or not."

.o.X.o.

"Hong, help me find that lever," Mei fumbled through the pile of junk in the storage room, "And where's Yong Soo when we need him? Wasn't he the one who's worried about Brother Yao?"

Hong busily searched with his sister, "He's out for groceries, I fear."

"Oh, right," she smacked a hand to her face, "Perfect timing… That bastard… I wish Kiku could get here sooner."

"Here, use this," the brother handed his sister the object, "It's strong enough to knock the doors down."

Mei eyed her brother with an incredulous scoff, "Hong, this is a mace. Do you really expect me to use this?"

For the first time in years, Hong was not sure how to respond, "Well… um…"

"Well, to hell with the lever, let's go!" the girl exclaimed excitedly as she hurried out, while Hong followed her bemusedly.

.o.X.o.

Back in the bedroom, Natalia had Wang Yao tied to a chair, for she had been fed up with his rebelliousness. Nevertheless she resisted every urge to lash out at her stubborn captive, and patiently narrated "the truth," as if she were retelling a bedtime story for a sleepy child in denial of being sleepy.

"…So while you were falling apart here, he's been holding out for you," Natalia paused and shivered before she resumed, "And you broke his heart. How do you expect me to let him go on like this?"

The Chinese shook his head in disbelief, his heart pounding faster than ever, "You're lying. This is isn't him."

Her chest ached as she choked back a whimper, "I mean what I say."

Wang Yao ceased his protests, waiting for Natalia to speak. The dim light from the window cast her lone shadow, as she forced herself to regain composure, "Start believing it, Wang Yao."

"And what do you expect me to do?" the Chinese looked away with anger. Why did she demand so much of him? Had he not been through enough?

"You can listen to what he has to say. Talk to him. Comfort him. Get rid of the opium – I don't know!" her temper overtook her once more, her breath stifling unsteadily, "Whatever! Anything! Something to show that you actually give a damn about him!"

"Ever since he met you, he couldn't stop talking about you. It's always 'Wang Yao this, Wang Yao that'. And here you are, wondering whether you should accept his feelings. You don't even know half the things he's been through! Or what I've been through!"

Pearls of tears formed at the corner of her eyes, but she quickly wiped them off, noticing Yao concerned gaze, "I don't need your sympathy. Just let my brother be happy for once… He deserves to be understood."

Natalia took a deep breath and reassumed her menacing apathy, "And… keep Kiku Honda away from him. Ivan's already having enough trouble as things are."

The Chinese widened his eyes from the mentioning of his missing brother, "You've seen Kiku?"

"Yes, twice," she answered unpleasantly, "I'm afraid he's associating with the wrong people lately, per se, someone by the name of 'Arthur Kirkland.' Does the name ring a bell?

Yao could not find the words. His expression became even more perplexed, but before he could verbalize his question, the crushing sound of wooden doors broke through the hallway. By the time he reverted his attention to the platinum blond, she was already climbing her way out the window."

"Wait, how did he-"

"Ask him yourself," the Belarusian offered him one last look before she vanished.

END