Hello! I deeply apologize for not updating for so long. A lot of stuff happened and my mental health hasn't been the best. My depression and anxiety skyrocket and it took me forever to get back to my old self. I do want to continue this but updates might take a while, I'm trying my best to force myself to keep writing. Thank you for all those nice comments, I do read them and keep them safe on my inbox and re read them when I'm feeling down. Thank you for all your patience if you were waiting for sooooo long!

Keepers Chapter 34- Elyurias

"And that's why we are here. We came to save Gareki and Safu. No matter what we have to do, we simply have to help."

The elder listened to Shion's story with a frown on his face. Yuu had remained quiet and would only examine his surroundings now and then. It seemed like he was nervous about something...maybe something about being underground in a close space surrounded by strangers was triggering some kind of memory. Allen did comment that Kanda hated being inside and that's why he would leave the ship the moment they landed somewhere.

Who was he kidding? He was nervous too. Maybe not in the same way that he might be, but he never thought he would need to come here again. He was doing it for his brother, because it was the only way. He needed to get Gareki away from this place as soon as possible.

"Shion." The Elder spoke up.

"Sir?" Shion tilted his head to the side confused.

"Come forward."

"Wait!" Sasori stepped forward and placed his hand over Shion's shoulder. Nezumi had his dagger in his hands in a second but it seemed he wasn't trying anything, "Elder- The boy is dangerous! He brings evil like the rest of them! You mustn't let him near!"

The Elder closed his eyes before answering, "Regardless, let me see Shion." When nobody moved he turned his attention back towards Nezumi, "You brought these boys here. They cannot be just evil, but I also don't imagine they are entirely pure, either. Now, Shion… come here."

Shion walked until he was told to stop, the Elder inspected him before speaking again, "Your head, please."

"Huh?" Both Yuu and Shion looked confused.

"Would you let me touch your head?" The Elder explained patiently, "It's an unusual color."

Shion lowered his head until the Elder was able to reach out and touch his hair.

"How...did your hair get like this?" He asked with pain in his eyes.

"It's trauma." Yuu spoke up, his face serious. Nezumi turned around, not expecting him of all people to answer. But then… Allen also had white hair, that was an unusual color to have. He had a Noah inside his body so maybe that was the reason for his trauma? Or did something worse happen in his past? Yashiro and Nai also had it...Were all of them just picking up random traumatized people? He was kind of surprised that none of them had white hair at this point.

"It's not just the hair," Nezumi explained, "Show them your red snake, Shion."

Shion turned towards him, "What? No way!"

"Why not?" Nezumi asked, sincerely confused. It wasn't a big deal but the Elder needed to see it, it was enough proof to convince them to give them more intel. There were other ways but they were running out of time and every minute was precious.

"I'd have to take off my clothes!" Shion exclaimed, "I don't want to do it in front of all these people!"

"You idiot!" Nezumi walked towards him with serious steps, "What kind of little princess are you?! This is no time for modesty!" He took Shion's sweater and started to pull against Shion's attempts to keep it on. This was not the time to be acting like this!

"Okay, okay! I'll do it myself! I can take my own shirt off!" He quickly took both his sweater and shirt off and faced the Elder embarrassed.

"Shion...?" Kuroh was staring at the pinkish marks around Shion, he lifted his head from Yuu's shoulder and finally realized they weren't alone. Nezumi turned his attention towards him while Yuu helped him get down and steady on his feet. His eyes were focusing on their surroundings, assessing the situation and most likely locating exits and planning their escape routes. Nezumi wondered how far he would get on his own, the caves were huge and would take days for a normal person to explore them all-without taking into account that none of them were marked and an outsider would have trouble telling apart which one took you were.

"Kuroh you're awake!" Shion smiled.

"What the-This mark…" The Elder touched it with his fingertips, getting Shion's attention back, "How did...no...it can't be…"

"It's from a parasitic bee." Shion stated.

Kuroh looked back at them and narrowed his eyes. He was going to have to explain a lot of things by the end. He wished things were differently, if his brothers weren't here they would not be caught up with his vengeance plans and they would still remember him as their innocent little brother. If they remembered him that is, Kuroh had told him that his memories became more clear when he saw Yuu, before they were confusing and he often mistook them as random dreams. Yuu didn't even recognize them when they were right in front of him, so Nezumi guessed that if he hadn't crossed paths with them he wouldn't have remembered anything.

"A parasitic bee... Bees that live as parasites in humans. Ultimately, they kill their hosts when they hatch," Shion explained, "I...survived, but in return, I got this scar and white hair."

Kuroh turned his attention back to him and Nezumi understood the silent message- they will have a long chat waiting for them when they are done with everything. If they manage to finish.

"Parasitic bees infecting human hosts...I see...and they appeared within that city?" The Elder asks. Shion nods and Nezumi takes his chance.

"Elder, please tell me the truth about the parasitic bees."

The Elder looked down, refusing to meet his eyes, "Why are you asking me?"

Nezumi took one step forward and stared down at him. Years and years of info gathering finally coming to light, "You must know the answer. As a resident...no...as a founder of No.6!"

"What?" Kuroh whispered. Yuu marched forward and pointed Mugen at him, furious. Nezumi didn't expect anything less and managed to place his hand over his arm before he would cause trouble. Everyone gasped and some took steps forward, ready to attack. Sasori took a step forward as well but Nezumi noticed that his hands were shaking.

"Wait." Nezumi hissed, "I am not done."

"I don't care!" Yuu freed his arm and faced the Elder again, "He is one of those scientists isn't he?!"

"What if he is?" Nezumi hesitates for a second after Yuu's gaze hardens. He is ready to fight, he has always been ready for blood since that time. But he never thought he would have to defend one of their captors. Yuu has the right to be furious, if those people had never learned about them, things would have been different. Or maybe it was wishful thinking, they all had powers- they would have attracted the attention of someone sooner than later, there was not normal for them.

"Wait!" Kuroh stepped in between them and placed both hands over their shoulders, "Let him explain Yuu!"

"What's there to explain?" Kuroh flinched when Yuu turned his attention to him. "Gareki is here because of their stupid proyect!"

"Nezumi brought us here, he must have a reason!" Kuroh countered, his face ashen- he was torn having to choose Nezumi's side, "We must hear them out first!"

Everyone was quiet around them. Shion stood there, his hands over his dress-shirt, he must have put it on while they were discussing. Nezumi knew he was stepping into thin ice. All the information he had been collecting for years finally came to light. He was so close, he just needed to measure his steps and he would finally be able to move forward. His methods weren't the most ethical, but that's the hand he was given and he knew how to play his cards in order to win.

He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a picture, "Look...the young woman in the middle is Shion's mother. Her name is Karan. You know her don't you?"

"Karan…" The Elder mumbled recognition shining on his eyes, while Shion's mouth dropped in shock. Kuroh stared at the ground, most likely thinking about what to do with all the information they were dropping. They both knew he had saved Shion from within the city. He had been once a resident of that place, but even Shion was in the dark when it came to things.

Nezumi stepped next to Shion and placed his fingers over his mouth, "Close your mouth. You have an unbelievably stupid expression on your face."

"No...I'm the one who can't believe it. This man knows my mother...how can that be?" Shion asked him and Nezumi stared at him.

"How would I know? That's why I'm asking."

Shion's face dropped and in seconds he was kneeling on the ground, "Please tell me the truth! I beg you!" The Elder flinched and turned his head to the side.

"Elder...Why are you silent?! Elder!" Nezumi raised his voice. He needs to know, he had been more patient as a child, but they couldn't afford to wait any longer-

"Please…" Kuroh raised his head and pinned the Elder with his gaze, "Our parents died along with our grandfather...it has been ten years since then and still-"

"Elyurias."

Yuu and Kuroh stared at the Elder in shock. Yuu visibly flinched as if that name had been an insult. Nezumi just raised an eyebrow, carefully observing his brother's reactions. They had been older therefore they might have more understanding of the situation.

"How did you-"

"That's her name." The Elder interrupted him, "Close your eyes all of you." He waited until all of them obeyed his request before he started explaining. "Elyurias...she was a great ruler. A most uncommon creature."

"Elyurias…" Shion whispered next to him but Nezumi felt strange. That name was familiar to him, based on his brother's reactions earlier they knew something about it. Someone had called that name before...but when-

Pain exploded inside his head and he instinctively raised his hands towards his head, covering his eyes- everything was so bright and loud! The sound of the wind was so close he could almost feel it, even though it should be impossible underground. He couldn't breathe- his legs gave up under him and... a soft voice was singing to him.

He could hear someone in the background yelling his name, telling him to relax but all he could feel was the wind around him, cradling him and whispering that soft melody on his ear-

"Water! Somebody get some water! Please!"

That was Shion…

"Is he dying?" Another voice questioned, "If he is, he won't need water."

Nezumi tried to say something, he could feel his mouth move but only breathless gasps left his lips. Someone was holding him-preventing him from completely lying on the ground. He clung to the shirt's sleeves, the room was spinning and he was afraid that it was the only thing keeping him grounded.

"Bring it now," Shion's voice was colder than ice and Nezumi tried to calm himself, he knew that the sweet innocent Shion was long gone but hearing him sound like that was almost painful, "Get me some water. Do it."

Everything was quiet for a few seconds, only Nezumi's painful gasps were heard until a young voice announced that she had brought the water on her mom's request. The plate was pushed to his lips while both Shion and Kuroh thanked the girl.

"Nezumi, drink this."

After Nezumi took a few gulps of the freshwater his head started to clear up.

"Nezumi, can you hear us?" Kuroh asked softly.

"Can you hear my voice, Nezumi?" Shion asked.

Nezumi opened his eyes slowly, afraid that the pain was going to come back but he only felt a little dazed, "Shion..."

"So you're conscious, here, drink slowly." Shion instructed patiently. Kuroh stood up and gave them some space, "That's right...drink it all. After that, take some big, deep breaths."

He followed the instructions and relaxed. He could finally think properly, the pain was gone as if he had never felt it to begin with- that was weird. It wasn't the first time something like that happened to him- as a child he was prone to get heachaches and his mother had brewed some special tea for him and Gareki. He wondered if he could find what kind of plant so he could start carrying some around. These attacks were no joke.

"Are you okay now?" Shion asked. "Do you have a headache? Nausea?"

"Ten."

"Huh?" Everyone looked at him worriedly. Kuroh even came closer- his eyes searching for an injury.

Nezumi smirked, "That's three plus seven. After that comes twenty-one."

"Yeah...three times seven." Shion repeated more calmly. Kuroh gave him a tiny smile.

"Nezumi," Yuu finally spoke up, his arms crossed over his chest and a suspicious glint on his eyes. "What did you hear?"

Kuroh glared at his feet before looking back at him. Nezumi debated himself if he should joke around with them but he wanted to know how Yuu knew he had heard something. He had told them about the vision he had before and how he felt like the wind was calling him…"I heard the wind."

"Again?" Kuroh asked.

"The wind was singing, I heard it singing. I heard it last time too but this time...it was more clear."

"A song." Kuroh stated and looked at Yuu, "We can't hear it, it never bother us, but you-"

"Me?" Nezumi asked, confused.

"Like I explained before, mother always told us to listen to it, the wind constantly called but only you and Gareki could hear it." Kuroh kneeled in front of him and pushed his hair away from his forehead, "Do you remember what it said?"

"Do you mean the song?" Nezumi asked, trying to understand. Only they could hear it? Why? He finally understood why they were the ones stuck drinking tea, it might have something to do with this.

"Can you sing this song of the wind for us?" Shion asked.

"Huh? Me?" After saying that he felt stupid, of couse he was the only one who could, nobody else had hear it, "Yeah...I think so."

Kuroh finally let go of him and stepped away until he was next to Yuu. He nodded at him encoranging him to go on and Nezumi started to sing.

"The wind carries the soul away

Oh earth, oh rain, oh wind and sky, oh light

Here, bring all to mind."

Something was happening, he closed his eyes and tried to control his power but his voice was carrying the song around him like the wind did before. He didn't want to stop the song, he couldn't. The song spilled from his mouth in a soft melody and his voice was giving it power.

"Here, leave all behind...here, live.

Oh soul, oh heart, oh love and memory.

Here, return.

Here, remain."

He opened his eyes slowly and looked around. Everyone stared at him, some crying, others even looked dazed or sorrowful. Shion had a sad smile on his face while Kuroh and Yuu stared back unaffected. Kuroh had his hand over Yuu's shoulder and seemed to come to a conclusion, letting go of his shoulder he nodded in Yuu's direction, "You do know it, mother was right, the wind speaks to you."

Nezumi wanted to ask more, their memories must have been completely restored or they were remembering the important bits little by little. It didn't matter, he wanted to know. Before he could ask anything the Elder spoke up, "I haven't heard that song in a long time. I thought it had already vanished from this world altogether. So… there is still one who can sing it."

"There might be two if we can get our brother," Kuroh stated, "He could hear the wind as a child, but I'm unsure if he has heard it since that day."

"He might since he is closer to the source, Elyurias always favored this land." The Elder looked at everyone in the eye before letting out a sigh of defeat, "This will take some time. I had intended never to tell this story again in my lifetime...but now I must. I own your mother as well. She must have been one of the Forest people and learning this might help all of you." He turned his whole attention back to Nezumi, "You know part of the story, but I had no idea you were part of it. What I'm about to tell you might explain why you were all born in the Central Continent, and why they keep you and your brother under surveillance in this city."

So I have this same story in Archives of Our Own, and I have been rewriting some parts, adding to the story and correcting some simple grammar mistakes if you want to check them out, I can't do that here which was disappointing. Hope you like it!