ourouboros
He's dead because of you.
They never actually say it like that. Renzou hears it anyway. "He gave his life to save yours," they tell him. "He died to protect you and Bon," they say. These are pretty words, used to mask the grief weighing on their hearts. Takezou is the golden child—forever beloved, forever missed.
Renzou lives every day with the guilt of being alive in his place.
Why did you save me?
It's a question he's kept locked up in his heart for as long as he could remember, born from the resentment he held of the expectations his family put on him; from the fear of never being able to measure up to them.
It's a question he can't voice. Takezou would never be able to answer. Takezou is dead, and as Renzou stands in the shadow of his greatness, he can't help but to wonder if his sacrifice had really been worth it.
"He's dead because of you."
"Yes, I know."
Yukio is unable to meet Yaozou's eyes as the man steps up next to him. They are standing in front of Renzou's grave. Yukio shouldn't be here, but the guilt drew him in, alongside a desire to be scorned, rightfully so. He can feel the man's resentment burning into him. It is a quiet thing in light of the anger and the grief they both share.
"Why did you save me?" Yukio whispers, later, when he's alone again.
The wind picks up, a soft caress on his skin. No one answers.