"I'm fine, Yura." Otabek got to his knees.
"You're not."
"I am." Otabek picked up Yurio's chin with his left hand, making the younger boy look at him. His soldier eyes had melted again, leaving in their wake the shell-shocked version. "Let's find Yuuri."
And that was when they heard it.
"VIKTOR!"
The two froze, probably looking ridiculous in their half squatting, half standing state, but they didn't care.
"Was that…?" Otabek whispered, thinking he almost recognized the voice. However, if it belonged to the person he was thinking of, he'd never heard them in such distress before.
"It couldn't-" Yurio shook his head, eyes wide before he was interrupted by another nearby cry.
"VIKTOR! HELP! VI-" the cry was cut short and Yurio was off, flying like a bullet fired from a gun.
"Yura!" Otabek called after the blond as he disappeared into the woods, still shaking off his shock. But Yurio didn't look back to Otabek, who was struggling to get off the sidewalk with his bloody arm and jostled hips. He kept sprinting in the direction of the voice, refusing to stop until he found to source.
"You'll be sorry!" Yurio heard the voice of a man who was clearly utterly pissed. He pushed harder, running faster than he thought he could ever manage. Then he saw them, Yuuri on his back, arms pinned above his head by a thick, meaty fist, shirt nowhere to be seen, pants and boxers around his knees, some kind of fabric in his mouth, eyes screwed shut with tears pouring down his temples. The sick son of a whore that straddled him was easily twice Yuuri's size, scowling but somehow smiling sadistically as he wrestled with his own belt.
Yurio felt rage take over and he flew, launching himself at the bastard's waist. Yurio's shoulder dug painfully into the man's ribcage and sent them both tumbling off of and away from Yuuri.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" the monster screamed as Yurio attempted to claw at his eyes. If he managed to take away the fucker's sight he would have the upper hand, and size wouldn't matter as much. Unfortunately for Yurio, his opponent was much more adept in hand to hand combat than he was, and saw the attack coming attack from a mile away. He grabbed Yurio's wrist and managed to flip him over with ease. Yurio grunted in surprise as the man straddled his hips and wrapped his sausage fingers around the boy's throat in a crushing grip.
"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" He screamed as Yurio uselessly dug his nails into the unmoving flesh of his attacker's wrists, trying desperately to move the fingers aside and relive the pressure. "I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU!"
Yurio couldn't even gasp for breath as the seething mass of flesh above him tightened his grip more. His arms went slack, vision darkening at an alarming rate. An icy fist took hold of his heart, but he wasn't concerned about himself, he was frantically searching for Yuuri in his limited vision.
"Where the hell are you, Katsudon?" All Yurio cared about was the safety of his friend. "Did you get away? Please tell me you got away!"
"YURA!" Yurio's eyes were bugging out and rolling back, and the blood was rushing to loudly in his ears for him to hear Otabek's cry of distress. Otabek's beloved was pinned beneath a tower of muscle, blue tinge to his face, limp and clearly on the verge of passing out.
Otabek didn't think; he acted in a blind rage. This man had gone after Viktor's Yuuri, and now his Yuri? No! He wouldn't get away with it.
Otabek grabbed the bastard by the hair, yanking him up and off of Yurio. Before he could figure out what had happened, Otabek sent the large figure into a tree trunk, making sure his head connected with a satisfying crack. He didn't stop there, while the man was still dazed, Otabek tackled him to the ground, landing punch after punch until his knuckles were as bloody as the beaten-in face below him. He panted as he stared down at the disfigured hunk of flesh, exhausted from the ordeal, making sure the son of a bitch wasn't moving.
"Yura!" Otabek whirled around, flying to the side of the writhing blond. Yurio was still struggling for breath, coughing and spluttering, calling out weakly for Yuuri.
"Yuu… Yuuri…" Yurio reached out a shaking hand to his huddled friend, the world dipping and swaying, even as he lay on the flat ground.
"Yura!" Otabek cried, cradling the younger boy gently in his arms. "It's okay, you're safe. Yuuri's safe." Otabek knew Yurio cared for Yuuri far more than he cared for himself at that moment, but Otabek found it impossible to tear his eyes away from the deep purple bruise that was already forming around Yurio's pale neck. Otabek could feel the shallow, sporadic expansion and deflation of Yurio's ribcage, which scared him more than anything ever had. He wasn't being strangled anymore, why couldn't he breath properly? Why wasn't he hyperventilating to get the airflow back to normal? Why? Why?! WHY?!
"Beka…" The voice was small and hoarse, not like Yurio at all.
"Yura." Otabek whispered back.
"Call… Phichit." Yurio held out the paper Phichit had given him with trembling fingers.
"Right, yes, I need to call Phichit." Otabek talked himself through it, keeping the panic and tears lodged in his throat. "You need to stay awake, okay? Keep your eyes open."
"Tired…" Yurio complained.
"Yura! No! Eyes on me, or on Yuuri, pick one. I don't care which, just keep them open." Otabek demanded as he dialed Phichit's number and held the phone to his ear, his own fingers trembling almost as hard as Yurio's.
"Did you find him?!" Phichit's voice came through the phone before it could even ring once.
"We're in the park by the rink, call an ambulance!" Otabek couldn't help but yell, finally losing his stoicism over the Russian kitten he had grown to adore so much. "Yura! Eyes open!"
"What happened?!" Phichit demanded after he told Viktor their location. "Viktor! Slow down!"
"Just come and call that ambulance!" Otabek hung up and dropped his phone somewhere in the grass, not realising he'd let his tears slip out just as Yurio had let his eyes slip shut. "Yura! Please, Yura!" Otabek held him closer, pressing his ear into the chest that seemed so frail. The pulse was thready, but it was there. "Come on, Yura… My soldier. Show me your eyes. Let me see your soldier eyes."
"Beka…" Yurio whispered again, not able to manage anything more. His eyes lazily fluttered open, void of any strength or emotion they may have held moments before. He still felt like there were hands around his throat, the even pressure was uncomfortable, suffocating. He found himself unable to take in a full breath. His lungs screamed for a deep inhale, but all Yurio could do was gasp and hiccup in short, uneven spurts. "Yuuri…"
"Yuuri's okay." Otabek promised, brushing the hair out of Yurio's face. "You will be too, but you need to keep your eyes open, okay? Please Yura, for me, keep your eyes open."