A/N: ...I'm just going to say sorry in advance.
Yao opened his eyes groggily and felt heavy all over. He wasn't sure where he was; the room was cold and dark, the walls and floor made of concrete. He attempted to move, but found instead that his arms were tied to the wall behind him.
"Father!" Natalia cried from somewhere in the dark. "She's finally awake!" She eventually stepped into view, and she glared at Yao as she usually did. She must of done this, Yao figured. Ivan's father finally showed up, looking even more intimidating than the last time Yao saw him.
"Where is Ivan-aru?" Yao asked before Mr. Braginski could even get a word out. Instead of replying, the Russian smiled back with the same daunting violet eyes that Ivan possessed.
"I don't think you're in the position to be asking questions, Miss. But he should be home in a little while. Hopefully he'll come back before I'm done with you."
"What… what are you planning-aru?" Yao said with a shudder.
"You'll see in good time." He frowned and began pacing in front of him. "Now what have you done with the papers you took?" Yao glared back and said nothing. "If you won't tell me, then I'll just beat it out of him." He gestured to his right, where Toris lay, passed out and covered in bruises and blood.
"Tolris!" Yao cried. "What did you do to him-aru?"
"He was acting suspicious, so I got him to squeal." Natalia said, cracking her knuckles. "He got an extra one for not telling us in the first place that you broke in."
"But Toris… Toris didn't do anything-aru!"
"Life is cruel sometimes kid," Mr. Braginski said, obviously becoming less and less patient. "Now where is the file you took?"
"It's… under my shirt. Just don't hurt Toris anymore, please…"
"Natalia, go get it." Natalia nodded and pulled our her dagger. Swiftly, she slit open his shirt and pulled the papers out. She took one final glance at Yao's chest and gaped.
"You're… a boy?" She asked, both angry and shocked. She threw her hands at Yao's throat and squeezed tight. "How dare you lie to big brother!"
"Natalia, stop it!" Mr. Braginski made sure to pull her off of Yao just before he was about to pass out. He looked at Yao's chest to verify what Natalia had said and smirked. "This could work to our advantage."
"What do you want-aru? You got your files back, so just let me go." Yao said, blushing.
"Oh, we're not letting you off the hook that easily." Mr. Braginski walked forward and grabbed Yao's chin, forcing him to look Mr. Braginski's in the eyes. His hands were cold as ice and made Yao wince. "Normally I'd kill you the moment I got my hands on you, but you're different."
"How so-aru?" Yao asked, struggling to stay calm.
"Because you're his friend. You're the final step of his initiation."
"Initiation for what-aru?"
"For the family business, of course. Something that no one else was supposed to know about. Too bad that dip-shit Ivan had to let it out… he'll pay for that later."
"Leave him alone-aru!" Without any hesitation, Mr. Braginski smacked Yao across the face, leaving a red, stinging mark on his pale cheek.
"You can take it for him if you like, but I don't know how long you'd last; you're tiny."
"Get bent-aru." Yao received another smack for this, only it was harder and caused blood to trickle down his lips.
"As I was saying, when he gets into the business, that's when he'll start doing the real work. Up until now has just been a prelude to what real life is like in the mob."
"What is the initiation-aru?" Yao asked.
"You'll find out soon enough. But if you must know," he leaned down closer and whispered into his ear. "It's the execution of someone you care about. Think about it: in this profession, anyone can betray you at anytime, and that includes friends and family. By doing this, you can assure that no matter the circumstance, you will continue to fend for yourself and do what's best for the majority. I actually had to kill my first wife… Katyusha's mother."
Yao froze, too scared to speak. Ivan's going to be forced to kill me, he thought in horror. How… Ivan couldn't do it, right? No matter how intimidating his father is, Ivan would never sink to that level. He was strong.
"You… you won't succeed-aru." Yao glared at Mr. Braginski and Natalia, using all of his courage.
"What did you say, boy?" Mr. Braginski questioned.
"You heard me-aru. It doesn't matter what you do, Ivan will never become a sick, twisted person like you. Unlike you, Ivan has morals and feelings-aru. You're as cold and emotionless as the winter. If you can even get Ivan to touch me, fine. But he will never sink to your level. You're scum-aru."
"Shut the hell up!" Mr. Braginski pulled out a water pipe and beat Yao with it a few times, leaving him with bruises and coughing up blood. Natalia watched silently and emotionlessly, so Yao glared at her.
"I'm most disappointed in you, Natalia. You keep claming that you love your brother, but if that's the case, why do you continuously and knowingly keep hurting him-aru? Don't you see what you're doing to him? The reason he's so depressed is because of this "work" and this family, if you can even call it that. So how the hell can you advocate that-aru? How can you expect him to love you if all you do is causing him more pain?" Yao expected to receive a fatal stab from Natalia, but all she did was pale and glare. "Natalia. I'm not your enemy-aru. The real person that's hurting Ivan is-" But he was cut off by Mr. Braginski swinging the pipe down on him again. This time it hit him in the head, and the resulting noise was unpleasant enough to make Natalia flinch.
"Stupid… boy…" Mr. Braginski muttered as a small stream of blood began to flow down Yao's slumped head. He checked Yao's pulse and turned to Natalia. "Go get Ivan! And hurry; I can't be the one who killed him."
"Y-yes father." Natalia rushed out, pale and shaken by what she had seen.
Natalia hurried up the stairs to her bother's room and knocked on the door.
"Come in." Ivan replied rather cheerfully. She opened the door to find Ivan standing at the top of a tall ladder, with a paintbrush in hand.
"B…big brother…" Natalia began nervously.
"Oh, it's you, Natalia." Ivan replied without looking away from his painting. "Usually you just barge in without warning. What did you need?"
"I…well… father needs you in the basement." Natalia finally said.
"Can it wait?" Ivan said, his voice becoming darker. "I'm on the finishing touches of these peonies."
"Why are you painting peonies?" Natalia questioned. Ivan smiled.
"They're Yao-Yao's favorite flower. I can't wait to show him, da!"
"Well, how about you just get the thing with father over with?"
"Fine…" Ivan came down the ladder and headed towards the door, not noticing Natalia stare sadly at the Peonies that would never get admired.
"So… what's this all about?" Ivan asked as soon as Natalia caught up to him. "Did I do something wrong?"
"No, it's not that… you'll see in a minute." She replied emotionlessly.
"Natalia, what's with you?" Ivan questioned, stopping and placing a hand on her shoulder. "You're being so quiet… what's with you?"
"Brother…" She began to tremble beneath his grip. "No matter what happens, promise you won't hate me."
"Natalia…" Ivan said, in awe of her strangely meek attitude. "You're my sister; I could never hate you, da! I will never love you like a girlfriend, but you'll always be my cute little sister." Natalia blushed at this and tugged on Ivan's baggy coat sleeve. Ivan smiled and let her do it as they walked down the hall.
When Ivan and Natalia reached the door to the basement, he braced himself for another beating. He wasn't sure w hat his father would want of him in the basement, but it probably wasn't good. He normally got his beatings wherever his father was, be it his office, the kitchen, or even a bedroom… but he had never been called somewhere to get hurt. What could this be about, Ivan wondered. With a sigh, he swung open the door, and found his father smirk back at him. Natalia gasped audibly and took a step back.
"Oh. Hi father." Ivan said. "What did you want from me?" His father took his hand and continued smiling suspiciously.
"It's time for your initiation, Ivan." He responded.
"Initiation for what?"
"For becoming the heir to the family and for officially joining the family business. You are the eldest son, after all."
"But father, that's sexist." Ivan smiled childishly. "Katyusha's the oldest, da."
"It doesn't matter. Just hurry up, will you?" He made way for Ivan to get down the stairs and dragged Natalia with him. The first thing Ivan saw was the bloodied Toris, who remained unconscious on the floor.
"Father, what did Toris do?" Ivan asked.
"He lied to us about an intruder in the house." He gestured to the back wall, where Yao was tied. His head was slumped over, with profuse amounts of blood streaming down.
"Who… is that?" Ivan asked, for Yao's face was hidden. He walked to Yao and pulled his face up, then brushed the hair out of the way so he could see.
He screamed Yao's name and, without a second thought, pulled off his scarf and pressed it against Yao's head, attempting to stop the bleeding. He dropped to his knees and put his hand against Yao's neck, desperately searching for a pulse. He could barely feel any movement beneath his fingers.
"Yao… Yao…" He muttered, taking a closer look at his face. His eyes were shut and there was a bruise on both sides of his face. His mouth was open a little, and blood dribbled down his lips. He attempted to wipe some of the blood off of his face, but recoiled at how cold Yao's skin was.
"Ivan." Mr. Braginski began. He was interrupted by Ivan grabbing him violently by the collar.
"What the hell did you do to Yao?" Ivan screamed.
"Oh, shut up!" Mr. Braginski hit Ivan in the stomach with his blood-coated pipe and sent him to the ground. "I made sure not to kill him. That's your job."
"What… what do you mean?" Ivan asked, his violet eyes wide with worry and fear.
"You do it. I want you to kill Yao."
"But why? She didn't-"
"Ivan, take a good look at Yao." Mr. Braginski gestured to Yao and his revealed chest. "Your precious 'Yao-Yao' is a boy." He gripped Ivan's shoulders firmly and smiled. "Think about it this way: Yao has betrayed you. He's been lying to you ever since you met. You'll learn that when you're in the family business, anyone can betray you… even those who are closest to you." He pulled a gun from his coat pocket and handed it to Ivan. "This is your initation. You must kill someone close to you. Don't worry Ivan, I had to do the same thing."
Ivan stared at the cold, metal gun in his hands, too scared to think or speak. He knew deep down inside that someday he would forced to take a life, but he never thought it would be Yao. I can't kill Yao, he thought, Yao's the only friend I have. He's the sole person who's cared for me without any obligation. He talked with me, made food for me, hugged me and even tried to save me… That must be why he's here. To rescue me.
"Think of it logically," Mr. Braginski said, ripping Ivan from his thoughts. "You're just putting him out of his misery. That head injury isn't very pretty, and bleeding to death can't be all that grand either. Ivan, just get it over with…"
Ivan shakily lifted the gun to the top of Yao's head and tried to keep it in place. He could feel a few tears running down his cheeks, but for the first time ever, he didn't care. It was like beating up Eduard again, the same emotions of sorrow and agony running through him as he ruined another's life.
"Father… please, I can't kill Yao. I'll kill somebody, anybody else! But not Yao.."
"That ruins the purpose, Ivan. Lat time I checked, you didn't care for anyone as much as you care about him. He's the only thing in your way of having a happy life. You and I can start over once you officially join the business. I promise to never strike you again." He clutched Ivan's hand. "I love you son. You know that."
Those were the simple words Ivan had been longing to hear his entire life. He couldn't remember how long he had dreamt of being told that he was loved, especially by his father. He had always assumed that he was the black sheep of the family, and no matter what he did he would always be worthy enough to receive his father's love. But now…
He tightened his grip on the trigger. Behind him, Natalia closed her eyes and buried her hands in her pockets. Mr. Braginski smirked, his violet eyes glowing with anticipation. Ivan shut his eyes as the sound of a gun shot and metal flying through the air resonated against the walls.
A/N: Guess who just left you with another cliffhanger? *shot* Sorry about that. You're gonna have to wait a week until the next update. Hee. ^_^ On a different matter, who's freaking ready for summer? I know I am! Thank grandpa Rome school's almost over. Anyways, thanks for all of the faves and reviews. Also, just a fair warning, this story is getting close to it's end. Just thought you should know. But that doesn't mean I'm done with fanfiction. I'm just getting started. *insert rape face here*