A/N: I warn you now, there is an OC in this chapter, in the next chapter, and probably in the chapter after that (if there is a chapter after that). I also tell you now, this chapter is the only chapter he's a main character in. I originally planned for said OC character to be...very minor, appearing only in the epilouge if I wrote one. I started writing this chapter and realized I needed him here too. I fail at keeping my story plots in line... To avoid the OC I even considered completely skipping this chapter, and going onto the next one, but then I realized that doing that would leave a bit of a hole in the plot, and I consider that worse than using an OC. It was a lesser of two evils! If it bugs you that I used an OC, consider this a type of filler chapter and come back next chapter when he appears only once.

That being said, I do not own this OC (who is named Mine). He belongs to a friend of mine, and I asked to borrow him for this plot. Mine is not meant to be likable by any means, that's not what I aim for in writing him in here. He's really...just a developed plot device. I hope I used him well.

Also, I am conducting an experiment. This chapter is not beta'd, as an attempt to get back on top of my posting. I ran through it myself with a fine-toothed comb, and I hope it's not too bad as far as spelling and grammar go.

Lastly, this is the last chapter that will be told mostly/completely from Yuui's POV. Next chapter we go back to focusing on Kurogane and Fai's POV.

I really did spend a lot of time on this chapter, and I hope it shows.

Read, review, enjoy.

Once again it was a knock at the door that got Yuui up from his bed. He hadn't fallen asleep, but when the sun had started to rise his tears had finally stopped falling and he had dragged himself over to his bed. The boy didn't feel like getting up. In fact Yuui didn't feel like doing much of anything. He wasn't sure what Ashura's intent had been last night, but regardless of what the intent was Yuui felt horrible about it. All of it.

Slowly the young dragon sat up and stared at the door for a moment. "Yes?"

A frustrated sigh came from behind the closed door. The voice was much different than the servant's voice. "Hurry up. I don't have all day. I'm to take you down to the dining hall."

"I'm not hungry."

"I don't care if you've just eaten a feast! I'm taking you down there! I am not about to waste my time telling the royal brats that you're too lazy to go down there!"

Somehow the harsh voice reminded him of a typical dragon. In fact this tone was very much like the one he remembered that he used when he was first hatched. Was this person a dragon living in Ceres? This thought was the driving force that actually got him out of bed and got him to open the door.

One look at the man's eyes told Yuui that this wasn't a dragon. Every dragon had golden eyes, but this man had bright, bright blue eyes. They were so blue that the young dragon wouldn't be surprised if they actually glowed in the dark. Once Yuui soaked in the man's eyes he looked at the rest of him. Short snow white hair hung about his face in a sloppy mess, his mouth was turned into a scowl, the overall appearance of his face told Yuui that this man appeared to be in his mid-twenties. He wore a black coat that hung about his knees, and his pants and boots matched. Tucked under one arm was a leather bound book.

The man huffed and placed his other hand on his hips. "You're Yuui?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

Yuui raised an eyebrow at this man and folded his arms across his chest. "Yes. Why? Do you think I'm Prince Fai?"

"Well, I was at least expecting someone who looked like Fai. You don't look like him at all."

"What do you mean? I look exactly like him!"

"Not at all. Sure, you have the same pale complexion, but a lot of people do, and you have the same yellow hair, but a lot of people have that too. You're exactly three and a half inches shorter than Fai, and your features are more rounded than his. Your waist is also more slender."

"Are you accusing me of being more feminine than Prince Fai?"

"No. Just stating facts. You look nothing like him. It's not an insult. Don't take it as one." The white haired man bent down and inspected Yuui closer, causing Yuui to lean away from him. It was creepy. "So you're Yuui...Nice to meet you. I'm Mine."

"A pleasure I'm sure..."

"This way then." Mine swiftly motioned down the hall and Yuui began to walk with him.

As they walked the pain started to drift back into him. The pain from last night and the possible truth that it brought. Yuui didn't want to walk into the hall with Fai there and all this pain plain as day for him to see. His golden eyes glanced up at Mine. Perhaps talking to this rude and observational man would keep it at bay long enough for them to get to the dining hall. "Mine?"

"Yes?"

"I don't remember ever seeing you in the castle before."

Mine chuckled. The chuckle instantly reminded Yuui of Ashura, if Ashura were to chuckle. It was low, mocking, and somewhat evil. "I've been in the castle since before Fai was born. I was Akira's teacher, and now I'm Tomoyo's. I briefly taught Fai, but he didn't like me much so we...lost touch. I admit, I also didn't have the patience to deal with his inability to talk at the time."

"What do you teach?"

"Nature's Intent."

Yuui raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"How things work...when magic doesn't screw it up."

"I...see..." Yuui paused. He supposed he had always known that without magic that things would still have a way of working, but he had never given any thought to how it worked. He wondered how Mine had come to be interested in it, but did not ask about that. That was for Mine to know.

"That doesn't explain why I've never seen you before."

"Oh, I suppose it's either because we never crossed paths in the halls before, or because I wasn't here at the time. Don't think about it so much. I'm sure there are lots of people in the castle you've never seen before. Some you never will."

Yuui thought about that. The castle of Ceres wasn't as large as the one in Suwa, but there were more people in Ceres than there were in Suwa. It made sense that there were people he hadn't met, and it made sense that there were people he would never meet, such as the people who worked in the kitchen. "Will I ever see you after this?"

"Probably. Once you meet someone they seem to be impossible to throw off. I wouldn't be surprised if we run into each other several more times today, let alone during your stay."

As Mine fell silent Yuui looked down at his feet. For a second he said nothing, and then he took in a deep breath and said, "I look forward to it."

"To what?"

"Seeing you again."

Mine chuckled again, and as Yuui looked up at him he saw the white-haired man shake his head. "So polite. Silly boy, I know no one wants to see me."

At this the dragonlette frowned. Sure, Mine seemed to be a bit mean, sarcastic, and perhaps strict, but the boy thought that saying no one wanted to see him was a bit extreme. "What about a lover?"

"I don't have lovers, I have victims." Mine said coolly, smiling down at the boy as if he were daring him to continue.

Yuui's frown deepened, he wondered what Mine meant by victims, but the want to find someone who cared about Mine was greater. "Parents? Siblings?"

"Parents, dead. Sister, murdered by Ashura for having no magic."

"Friends?" Yuui said in a last ditch effort. No lover, no family, surely he had at least one friend!

"I don't have friends, I have victims." Mine rolled his eyes as Yuui opened his mouth to say something more. "My students don't count, they would be victims too if Ashura weren't king. Now, I will see you later, here is the dining hall." The man sighed as he pushed Yuui's shoulder into a door and then mockingly bowed toward Yuui and continued on down the hall.

Yuui scowled at Mine as he walked away. He was incredibly rude! Even so, Yuui did wish to see him again later. He was rude, sarcastic, and cold, but Mine would talk to him, and Mine's words had at least temporarily taken away the pain of Ashura's words. Oh yes, Ashura's words. Yuui's heart seemed to sink right down to his diaphragm when he remembered them. His chest tightened again and his face relaxed from the scowl into a meek pout. He wished he had never heard those words.

The blond dragon opened the door to the dining hall and stepped inside. Ashura was not at the table. Instead sat Fai, a girl Yuui assumed to be Tomoyo, and and two other males who were several years older than Fai. "Ah! Yuui!" Fai smiled and waved. "Come sit!"

Yuui smiled a little nervously, but sat beside Fai and modestly took a piece of fruit from the bowl in the center of the table. He was a dragon, and would have preferred meat or eggs to the fruit, but wasn't going to complain, not at this moment. "Did you find your way here?"

Yuui shook his head at Fai, "No, a man named Mine showed me the way here."

Yuui immediately noticed the glances all the other occupants of the table exchanged. At last one of the older males spoke, "You're lucky he didn't make you one of his victims."

The dragon looked at the man. He had to be Akira. He looked nothing like Fai, or Yuui himself. He had black hair, and by looking at him he seemed to have a sly, but gentle demeanor. Mine had said at that Akira had been his student. Akira would know. "Is he a bad person or something?"

No one answered. Yuui waited for a long time for the answer, but neither Akira, or anyone else at the table would speak a word about Mine.

After a while Yuui let the subject drop at that and took a bite out of the fruit he had taken. The taste of apple filled his mouth. A bit of sour and a bit of sweet were there and then nothing as he swallowed. He didn't like it. He much preferred meat, but again, he wouldn't be rude and ask for it. He ate the apple slowly, watching the other people who sat at the table. Fai ate 'normally' and would occasionally whisper things into Yuui's ear. The middle male, who Fai said was Kazahaya, ate very quickly and excused himself from the table the same way. Tomoyo and Akira ate slowly and elegantly, and then waited until Yuui's apple was gone and Fai's plate of food was empty before getting up.

"Have a good day," Akira said with a charming smile.

"You too." Fai returned, and the two black-haired people excused themselves from the hall, leaving only Yuui and Fai.

"So..." Fai began after a time of silence. "Last...night..." Yuui watched the way Fai's eyes avoided looking at him. The prince wanted to talk about this just about as much as he did. "What's wrong? Or...what was wrong?"

"It doesn't matter." Yuui said instantly. It didn't matter, not for Fai. Yuui would take care of this himself. It would be done without Yuui or Fai having to harm a hair on Kurogane's head. No matter how miserable it would make him for the rest of his life, he would ensure Fai's happiness. That was all that mattered. Fai didn't need to know about this, and it was probably best that he didn't know.

"It does matter." Fai frowned at the dragonlette and grabbed his hand gently. "If you're in pain, I want to know about it. You're precious too, you know that, don't you?"

If Yuui was precious he certainly didn't feel like he was. Still, he nodded at his twin and sighed. "I went for a walk last night after I had a nightmare, I don't remember what it was now, but I saw you and Kurogane and...I panicked, guess I was still half asleep." Yuui waited anxiously for Fai's reaction, and felt a wave of relief wash over him when Fai nodded and bought his lie.

"I guess I can understand that. You're sure it's nothing more? Stress maybe?"

"No. Nothing."

Fai sighed, seeming to want to believe it, but not quite actually believing it. "All right...Do you want anything more to eat?"

Yuui smiled sheepishly. "Fai, I'm technically a carnivore."

Fai's face fell, and then he laughed. "I guess the apple really didn't do much for you then, did it?"

"I told you." Yuui turned away from the clear blue sky that the balcony showed him. Leaning against the doorway was Mine, his mouth curled into a smirk.

"Told me what?"

"That we'd meet several times today now that we've met." The white-haired man moved from the doorway, allowed the door to close, and stood beside Yuui, his elbows resting against the railing. "It's a lovely day out. Don't you want to fly?"

"Fly?"

"Dragons fly, don't they?"

"I haven't grown my full set of wings yet."

In the moment of silence that followed Yuui looked at Mine's face. He seemed to not know how to respond to Yuui's response, and in the end only said, "Ah." Another moment of silence followed and Yuui realized how awkward the silence was. He was perfectly comfortable here, even though he knew that other people were uncomfortable even mentioning Mine's name. The blond dragonlette figured that it must have been Mine who was making the air still.

"What brings you up here?"

"Hm?" Mine clicked his tongue. "I like some normal things too. I'm not completely evil."

"What makes you think I think you're evil?"

"The fact that you have inevitably spoken to someone other than me since I escorted you to the dining hall. Surely they told you I'm unorthodox, that I'm crazy, tend to harm people, while Ashura allows it all to happen under his nose?"

Yuui blinked, and took the information in as if it were as simple as his favorite color, "I have yet to see you do anything evil."

Mine chuckled. Yuui looked at the man and narrowed his eyes. Why was Mine chuckling? It irked him. There was no reason for this man to be chuckling. All he had done was state something completely obvious and true. "Why are you laughing at me?"

"So pure..." Mine's chuckle became louder, and the louder it got the more it irked Yuui.

"What?"

"Your words, they are just pure. Only a pure person would judge someone based solely on what they see with their own eyes."

Yuui growled, "I assure you, Mine. I'm not so pure."

Mine's chuckle quieted down, but the smirk that accompanied the chuckle stayed there, as if it were plastered onto Mine's face. "What makes you think that?"

Yuui paused, what did make him think that? His thoughts. That had to be it. The thoughts he had of Fai, and how he was jealous of Kurogane, and how selfish he was to be in pain because Fai would never think of him as his favorite, and how...and how everything just hurt. "Love. Pain. Jealousy. Pride. Selfishness."

The white-haired man raised an eyebrow at Yuui as if he did not believe the words spilling from the youth's mouth. "You're right. Those are all things that cause impurity...if used in the incorrect way. I can't see you using any of those to the point of being impure."

"Explain that to me. How can those things be pure in any way?" Yuui could see love being pure, Fai's love for Kurogane and vise versa was clearly pure and true, but his love...? Not so.

"So demanding. Just like a prince..." Mine teased Yuui and turned to face the boy, one finger on one hand reached out to Yuui's face and trailed from his temple all the way down to his chin. "Love must be blind obsession to be impure. Pain must be petty. Jealousy must be unjust. Pride must be excessive and unrelenting. Selfishness," The man let his finger move from Yuui's chin to his lips, "Must be about money and objects. Not people. Can you honestly tell me that you fit any of this criteria?"

Yuui thought about it, and when he had his answer he breathed it out against Mine's finger. "Yes. My pain is petty."

Mine tsked, "I think you just think your pain is petty."

"Then that just shows how much you know."

"So pure," Mine repeated as he chuckled. "Okay. So your pain is petty. In your eyes. Change it. If you're in pain you need something. What do you need?"

"How do you know if I need something or not?"

Mine sighed impatiently and moved his hand so that it was completely covering Yuui's mouth. "Because, I am a person driven by only needs. If I have everything I need, I don't have pain. You have pain, so you must need something, now spit it out!" The white-haired man moved his hand away from Yuui's mouth and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I...want..."

"I'm not interested in want. Want is not need."

Yuui sighed, "I need to protect Fai."

Mine nodded, "All right. What do you need to accomplish that?"

Yuui thought about that. What did he need? A miracle? Somehow he did not think that Mine would accept that answer. "I...need to better at magic." Yes, that would certainly help him in his cause. Perhaps if he was better at magic, he could at least protect Fai from any hostile dragon attack. "I guess I need to start with that."

"Just magic?" Mine shook his head a little, "Okay, that can be arranged."

"Well, I suppose, I could always go back to Suwa and have my teachers..."

"Wouldn't Prince Fai wonder if you went back?"

"I suppose..."

"Then stay here and learn."

Yuui rolled his eyes a little bit. Mine said that as if it were the simplest thing in the world. To tell the truth, Kamui didn't like it here, and Subaru wouldn't go against Kamui, at least not about something like this. "My teachers aren't here. I can't learn."

"Can you only learn from those teachers?"

"No, of course not, but I don't have a teacher here."

"Ah, but you need a teacher here."

"So what?"

Mine laughed, it was like his almost evil laugh, but there was something different about it. Yuui couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it was somehow warmer, more friendly. "So? I can do magic. I can teach you."

"But why would you?"

"You're interesting. Just like you need to protect your twin, I need to know more about you."

"But why?"

"Because you're interesting. I need to know what makes you interesting. So. I will teach you, if you will tell me more about yourself. Really, it's to your advantage. You get to learn how to protect Prince Fai, and yourself if I ever decide you're my next victim. I only get information..." Mine held out his hand to Yuui, "If you really need to help your twin while keeping him oblivious, you'll shake my hand and accept my deal."

Yuui stared at the hand suspiciously for a moment, but then sighed. What did he have to lose? Only Fai and his happiness, and if he kept this up, he would lose Fai's happiness for sure. This man was annoying and quite possibly evil, but he could help him. Besides, Mine was right, if he went back to Suwa before everything was solved Fai would wonder. He didn't want Fai to wonder about anything until he had actually decided what to do about the imbalance. He shook Mine's hand. "All right. Teach me."

"You're up here again," Fai closed the doorway to the balcony and sat beside Yuui. "You like it up here, don't you?"

"It has a nice breeze," Yuui admitted softly. "It sorta reminds me of Suwa. The landscape doesn't look like Suwa, but the wind reminds me of it a little."

Fai's eyes gazed at Yuui for a moment, "I'm keeping you here, aren't I? If you want to go home to Suwa, then you should go. I can just come get you if we find the imbalance."

Yuui smiled, that was so like Fai. So kind, so understanding. It'd been several weeks since they'd come back to Ceres. Fai and Kurogane went out almost every day to go searching. They often took a horse or two with them. Fai always came back exhausted. Sometimes Yuui went with them, but Mine didn't like it when he did. Mine said that their trips took almost the entire day (which they did) and that if Yuui wanted to do something productive then he should stay at the castle and practice his magic.

That was what Yuui did most of the time. He stayed at the castle, followed Mine around like a puppy, and practiced his magic. It was worthwhile. He had gotten better at magic. He had also decided exactly what he was going to do next. "I am going home."

"When?"

"Not sure. When it feels right."

Yuui turned his head and stared at Fai. The sun was just setting, it glinted off his twin's hair, and illuminated his smile. Yuui's smile became a bit brighter as he was reminded of his goal. Protect Fai, even if that meant destroying his own happiness. Every time he thought of that pain swelled in his chest, but it was lesser now, like he knew his pain was worth something.

Fai took in a deep breath and let it out in the form of a soft sigh, "Well, when you do go back, be careful. Subaru and Kamui are bound to be upset by now."

"Nah, if they were upset, they would have come and hauled me back by now."

"Ha, that does sound a lot like Kamui, and I can just see Subaru following in toe."

"Yes, that's pretty much what I envision too."

Fai bit his lip now. The smile faded away from his face. "I...heard you've been spending a lot of time with Mine."

"Yes. So?"

"He's not a good person, Yuui. Father keeps him here because of his unique interests, but he's...violent, and brutal."

Yuui shook his head, "Perhaps, but he's been teaching me magic. He doesn't hurt his students."

"Magic? Really? H-how is that going?"

Yuui chuckled. He could tell that Fai was trying to be supportive of him, despite the fact that he didn't like or perhaps feared Mine. "It's going really well! I have control of five types of magic now. Fire, air, shadow, sense, and water."

"That's...great. I heard Mine was pretty powerful, although not as powerful as the royal family. I could sense it too, the few times I had class with him. I didn't think he could teach magic though. He's not that interested in it."

"He's a good teacher. I don't have to read it from books, like I did with Subaru, I learn through watching and trial and error, I think that works better for me."

"Good. I'm glad. I was really worried."

"You were worried?"

Fai nodded, "Of course. You're spending time with Mine, you're not coming with Kuro-tan and I to search. I was starting to worry that you were depressed about something and that you were trying to get Mine to kill you. Silly thought but I kept worrying about it and the more I worried the more likely it seemed to be true."

"It sounds like you. You don't have to worry. I won't die until I accomplish my goal."

"What's your goal?"

Yuui smirked. "It's secret."

A loud bell rang out over the castle grounds. Fai sighed, "The dinner bell. It's late today..." The young prince stood to his feet. "Are you coming today?"

Yuui shook his head. "No. Mine's coming to teach me. You'll pass him on your way down the stairs."

"Okay, I'll see you later tonight then?"

Yuui closed his eyes. "Yes." It was a lie.

"Be careful with Mine." This was the last thing Fai said before he went though the balcony door and on down to dinner.

Yuui sighed, for all he knew, that would be the very last time he ever saw Fai. He'd already made up his mind.

Not long after that the door opened again. It closed gently, long fingers pressing softly against the door. The fingernails on the hand were perfectly clean. Before he had met Yuui, Mine's fingernails had often been stained with blood, but now the need to harm others was no longer there. Just so long as he saw Yuui every day Mine could be normal.

The man turned out to the balcony and leaned against its edge. He could practically smell that Yuui had been here minutes before, but Yuui was not here now. Mine could only assume the boy had gone back to Suwa...to do something stupid, just like pure people always did.

He closed his eyes. His needs conflicted with one another here. He needed to respect Yuui's wishes, but he also needed the boy's safety. He silently wondered which one he needed more.