"AKIHITO! AKIHITO! WHERE ARE YOU AKIHITO?! ANSWER ME LITTLE BROTHER!" Mikhail's voice echoed through the ruined wearhouse. Ash from the recent fire rained down on him, turning turning his gold locks into a hideous gray.

"AKIHITO!" Still no answer came. Fear was creeping up on him. It had been two weeks since his brother had gone missing. Only to end up with a lead leading him here, to wearhouse burning.

"AKIHITO!" Mikhail was desperate. He struggled to hold back tears of worry and irritation from the ash.

Mikhail was just nearing the other end of the wearhouse, hope gone, when he heard it. A light thumping coming from beneath the ruble and floor. Hurriedly he began to pull the burnt ceiling and downed beams. As he worked, the thumping became louder and louder.

When the last of the ruble was gone, a trap door was revealed. The door was rusted shut from years of disuse and had been dented by the falling debris. The thumping was at an all time high pitch now. Mikhail struggled to pull the door open. Metal grating against metal added to the thumping. Suddenly the trap door released, sending Mikhail to the floor. Quickly he rose to his knees to look down in to the threshold of the door. His breath caught in his chest at the sight that greeted him.

"Akihito…" Mikhail breathed.

He reached down inside and pulled his little brother out of the ridiculously small storage space and up into his arms. He held his brother close as the small boy cried.

"I-I-I so sorry Misha."

"For what baby?"

"I took it. I-it was so so pwetty."

"What did you take baby?"

"The red shiny rock on the table."

Mikhail's eyes widened in shock. "You mean the Volcav Ruby?" Akihito nodded his little blond head. "Where is it now Akihito?"

"I lost it."

"Oh Akihito." Mikhail pulled his brother into a tight hug. He had seen the multiple bruises and cuts on his brother and knew, just knew what had been to his brother. Where he had been.

~ MAIL ORDER ~

Mikhail trembled in fear as his huge, angry uncle stormed into his brother's hospital room. Arbatov Yuri was not a gentle man, nor was he kind. Hatred seemed to burn inside the man. Yuri glared at the sleeping seven year old boy in the hospital bed then turned to glare down at Mikhail.

"Wake him and get him dressed. We're taken him to the Volcavs."

"WHAT?! BUT THEY'LL KILL HIM! "

"Good riddance to the filthy brat."

"Papa will never forgive you."

"Your Papa is dead boy."

"So. His rule still stands until I am old enough to take over."

Yuri glowered at him. He knew the boy was right, something that pissed him off. If only he could kill the boy and that fucking brat.

"Pay the Volcavs whatever they want Yuri."

"We can't afford it!"

"Yuri."

"The family will demand that the brat pay his debt for this."

"He is only seven. When he us of age, he will pay the family back with interest."

~ MAIL ORDER ~

Eleven years later…

"Akihito it is time."

"Time? Time for what, Misha?"

"Remember when you stole the ruby?" Akihito nodded. "In order to restore good faith into the Volcav family, we had to pay for the ruby. It was vary valuable Akihito. Now that you are of age, you must pay back our family."

"H-how?"

"There are many ways Akihito. I will let you decide how."