I have a jammed-pack weekend so here's the new chapter early. 😊

2.4

"This is all my fault."

Yonekuni regretted saying it the moment the words left his mouth. His bedroom was dark. He was curled up in a fetal position on his bed facing away from Shirou. He had stopped sobbing not because he had brought his emotions under control but because he was too exhausted to keep crying. If he had cried for any longer he would have fainted.

Shirou rubbed his hair comfortingly, and the touch did settle his aching heart somewhat. But Shirou's response was predictable. "It wasn't your fault, Yonekuni."

Yonekuni opened his eyes, and teardrops slowly leaked out and onto his pillow. He shook his head slowly and reached up to grab Shirou's hand in his. "…You don't understand."

"Then tell me." Shirou's voice was low and soothing, but hearing that tone made him want to cry again. "Tell me why you think it's your fault, Yonekuni."

Yonekuni swallowed hard. His throat hurt so badly that he wanted to claw at it with his fingers. He pulled Shirou's hand down to cover his eyes. "I…told Kunimasa to go after Noririn."

Shirou remained silent, waiting for Yonekuni to continue. "When I learned…When I found out that a Return to Ancestry was at our high school, I kept him put under surveillance for a day," Yonekuni asked. "Noririn, he…I learned he was an immature pretty boy who screamed in response to crises situations. But he has—had," he corrected himself with a broken sob. "A light to him. A magnetizing power of spirit beyond his Return to Ancestry. I felt a connection to him, but not a romantic one. By the end of the day a thought occurred to me: "That's him. That's the person who will save Kunimasa."

"Kunimasa hadn't gone to school that day, so he didn't see or sense what I had sensed. But I—I wanted Noririn for Kunimasa. Even though he was another guy and that Kunimasa, he—he—he had a girlfriend," Yonekuni quickly blurted out. "But it was a girl that wasn't good for Kunimasa. Noririn though…Noririn wasn't just good Kunimasa, I thought. Noririn was perfect for Kunimasa.

"So I…I went home from school, and I…I told Kunimasa about Noririn. I really played him up to Kunimasa and pushed for him to make his move. I thought—I thought—" Yonekuni curled tighter into himself. "Kunimasa, he…you know he's the way he is because of me."

"Yonekuni…"

"I'm not enough. I was never enough to save Kunimasa, even though he's my little brother. He's constantly saving me, when it should have been the opposite. But I thought…I thought Noririn could have saved him. I thought he did, I really thought he—"

Yonekuni choked on another painful sob. "If I hadn't done that…if I hadn't used Noririn to try and save Kunimasa…then Noririn would still be alive right now. I—I killed Noririn, Shirou."

Shirou took his glasses off and set them aside. He slid into bed behind Yonekuni and spooned with him. He pressed his face against Yonekuni's nape. "…I would tell you that you're wrong, Yonekuni," he murmured. "I would tell you that none of this is your fault. Not for what happened to Tsubaraya-kun, and not for what happened to Kunimasa-kun. But I know that this will not help you feel better. It's not what you need right now."

"…And what do I need right now?" Yonekuni said hollowly.

"You need to grieve. You need to cry and scream and unleash your emotions. You love Tsubaraya-kun, don't you?"

Yonekuni choked on a sob. Shirou used present-tense with his words, and Yonekuni knew that this was deliberate. "Yes," he hissed painfully. "I love Noririn. I loved him so much! He was more than Kunimasa's chosen to me. He was my kohei, my soul brother, and a wonderful and beautiful person and he deserved more than bleeding to death on the fucking sidewalk! He deserved more and he did not deserve this!"

Yonekuni rolled over and buried his face into Shirou's chest. He was so exhausted but the sobs returned to him and he clung to Shirou and cried. Shirou held him close, cradling him in his arms. "I'm here, Yonekuni. I'm here."

Yonekuni couldn't find the words anymore. He just continued to cling to Shirou and cry.

The next morning…

Manami watched Shirou leave the kitchen, and lingered at the door. "…Sayonara, Noririn." his voice was very low, but Manami heard him. Then Shinobu and walked down the hallway in the opposite direction. Manami hurried to the kitchen but hesitated outside the door. After a moment he tapped on the screen. "Hello?" he called out, checking to see if anyone else was in there. He got no response, which told him the kitchen was empty. Or…as empty as one would expected.

He slid the door open, and immediately slammed it shut when he saw Norio's body. After a moment he checked to make sure no one was around before he hesitantly slid the door open, and quickly slid inside.

Relax. Relax. He's dead. It's just a corpse.

Manami did breathing exercises before opening his eyes. Norio had not moved on the countertop. Not that he expected Norio to, but it was…very unnerving staring at him. He was dead, but…but he looked like he was sleeping.

"Well," Manami said, puffing out his chest a little as he approached the counter. "You thought you were good enough for Onii-chan. Well…look at you now. Dead. Papa said you've earned it for everything you've done to us. And Papa is always right."

Manami stood at Norio's side, staring down at his dead body. He suddenly burst into laughter. Loud, hysterical laughter that echoed throughout the small kitchen. Within a few seconds though, the laughter evolved into sobs. Tears spilled down Manami's cheeks and he covered his mouth to try to smother his sobs. It didn't work.

"I'm so—" Manami hiccuped and hyperventilated, his emotions spiraling out of control. "I'M SORRY, OKAY?!" he shrieked. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry I was mean to you! I'm sorry I told you that you couldn't be with Kunimasa! Just—stop this!"

Manami reached out and grabbed Norio's shoulders, shaking him violently. "WAKE UP!" he screamed in Norio face. "WAKE UP, YOU ASSHOLE! HOW DARE YOU HURT ONII-CHAN LIKE THIS! THIS IS GONE FAR ENOUGH, WAKE UUUUUUUUUP"

Manami screamed himself hoarse. Norio didn't flinch or react. Manami let him go and pressed a hand to his face, his body shaking from sobs. "How…Why did you have to die, Noririn?" He looked up. "Why—"

The words died in his throat, and his body became paralyzed with shock at what he saw before him.

Norio's eyes were open.

"SHUT UP!"

Yonekuni was startled awake by the scream, but the accompanying explosion and chorus of screams caused him to tumble violently out of bed. "What?! WHAT?!" he screamed. The house shook straight to the foundation.

We're under attack!

"Shirou!" he screamed, realizing he was alone in the bedroom. He scrambled across the floor and burst out of room. He didn't know what was going on but he had to protect his family.

"What's going on?!" Karen shouted, running out of her room. She was holding a cell phone in her hand.

"Stay in your room, I'll handle it!" Yonekuni shouted, and he took off down the hallway. He activated his soul appearance, but he didn't take his natural form yet. He didn't know what he was dealing with.

Shirou, where are you?! he wanted to look for his partner, but he needed to go to the threat first. Oh God, Shirou, PLEASE take cover somewhere!

He raced to the area of the house where the screams had come from, and he saw bodies lying all over the hallway. He didn't pick up the scent of death, and everyone was groaning in pain. But he wasn't reassured.

They were all laying in the hallway in front of the kitchen where Norio had been brought.

Yonekuni quickly entered the kitchen, and he gasped loudly in alarm. During the night he had snuck out of his room and checked on Norio. He had seen Norio's body laying on the countertop directly in front of the door.

But now Norio's body was gone.

"W-What—" Yonekuni looked around frantically. He saw Manami laying on the floor unmoving. He knelt down and scooped his youngest brother into his arms. He shook him a little. "Manami? Manami, what happened?!"

Manami groaned painfully, but barely stirred in his arms. On the other side of the room Yonekuni heard a shift and a loud groan. He let Manami go and ran around the second counter. Hidekuni was struggling to sit up, and he had a cut on his head.

"Hidekuni, what the fuck happened?!" Yonekuni rasped, kneeling beside him. "Who attacked you?! Where's Noririn?! Who took his body?!"

Hidekuni pressed a hand to his head as he lifted it. He met Yonekuni's gaze and his lips trembled as he struggled to speak. When he spoke, his words shook Yonekuni's world.

"Norio's..alive."

Yonekuni found Shinobu sprawled in the corridor. His mind was numb but he knelt down beside him to check on him. "Are you all right?" he asked. The words sounded muffled in his ears.

Shinobu lifted his head just a little, but Yonekuni couldn't see his face. It was obviously struggle for Shinobu to speak, but his words did not shock Yonekuni…but added to his rage.

"Norio…he's alive."

"He's not alive," Yonekuni immediately responded, tears stinging his eyes. "I held him in my arms! He's dead!"

"I…thought so, too," Shinobu murmured, his body shaking slightly. "I checked his vitals. C—Cleaned his body. He was dead. But now he is…" he slumped against the floor.

Yonekuni immediately checked his neck and exhaled in relief when he felt a pulse. But the dread and anger quickly resurfaced as he looked down the hallway. He could see the damage in the floors, walls, and ceiling. What had caused that? Was it…?

It's impossible. It's impossible. I held his body. His body was cold. I smelled death on him. He's dead.

The thoughts repeated in his mind as he raced down the hallway. They repeated because he knew that they couldn't be true. No matter how much he wanted Norio to be alive, he knew that it was impossible. He had been shot. He had bled to death. No pulse, no heartbeat. Flesh cold and stiff to the touch. He was dead.

But they said—

Hidekuni. Shinobu. Every person he had passed throughout the house who was conscious and coherent all said the same thing. They ALL said that Norio was alive.

Yonekuni yanked out his cell phone and dialed for Kunimasa as he stepped out into the side garden. His call immediately went to voicemail. "WE'RE UNDER ATTACK, GET HOME!" he shouted into the phone. "NORIRIN—"

A loud scream ahead of him cut him off, and Yonekuni saw a nightmare come to life. He saw Shirou flying backwards through the air towards the property walls. He saw cuts open on Shirou's body, blood gushing from Shirou's body—

He saw Shirou's body slammed into the wall and fall to the ground. And he saw the outer wall break apart and fall on top of him.

"SHIROU!"

His voice made a sound that he didn't know it could make. Wheezing, anguished screaming. He dropped his cell phone and lunged towards the wall. He collapsed beside the debris and frantically pulled it off Shirou's body. "NO, NO, NO, NO, NO—"

The smell of Shirou's blood struck his senses, and tears spilled from his eyes. He found Shirou beneath the rubble and frantically tried to grab for him. "Shirou—Shirou! Shirou, wake up!"

His skull wasn't crushed, but his glasses were broken and he was bleeding from his head and from the wounds on his body. He didn't respond to Yonekuni's cries or touches. "Who—WHO DID THIS?!" Yonekuni shrieked.

He saw a figure walking away from them towards the main gate. Yonekuni quickly realized that this was the intruder. He growled in anguish and heaved himself up, running after the intruder. "HEY!"

The intruder stopped, and turned to face him. Yonekuni stopped dead in his tracks, and his mind went blank and his body went numb.

NORIRIN.

"Here it is, Madarame-sama."

The CD was placed in front of him. Kunimasa opened the jewel case and inserted the CD into the laptop. He had needed to flex his authority in a way that he did not like to do, but it was necessary to get the information that was needed. The CD loaded, and two video files were shown on the CD. He clicked on the CD.

It was black and white CCTV footage. Nighttime. Kunimasa saw from the time on the bottom of the video that it was from last night. Before he had arrived home. The footage was pointing between two business, and the mouth of an alleyway.

Then he saw it. Norio. Norio frantically running. His shoulder hit the wall of the entrance of the alleyway, and he made the fatal mistake of running down that alleyway and out of sight. But…he was panicking. Kunimasa paused the video and zoomed in on Norio's face. He saw the terror, panic, and horror in his expression.

He zoomed out and hit play. Five men came racing down the sidewalk from the direction Norio came from, and enthusiastically ran down the alleyway after them. Kunimasa hit paused, zoomed in on each face, and took a screenshot of each one. All five men were smiling and visibly laughing.

The first video ended when the last man entered the alleyway and disappeared from sight. Kunimasa took a moment to steel himself and then he started second video. It was the same area; same camera. Norio was stumbling out of the alleyway; he was disheveled, visibyl disoriented, and Kunimasa could see his pants falling down.

Then…Then behind Norio in the footage, he saw a quick flash of light. He saw Norio's body recoil, his back arching, and his hand cradled his chest. He saw Norio's light shirt immediately turn dark, and he saw the adrenaline spike in Norio as he took off running, turning in the opposite direction he came from.

And he saw the dark spill on his body expand at frightening speed. Then he realized that there was a large puddle of blood at the mouth of the allwayway.

Norio was no longer visible on the video feed, but the five men re-emerged from the alleyway. All five briefly shouted at each other, and shoved at each other, before they dispersed and all ran in opposite directions.

Kunimasa clicked off the video. He saw the last few moments of Norio's life, immortalized on CCTV footage. But…But there was no pain inside of him. Only numbness. Only…death of feelings.

There was nothing left but a dark void.

"I want these men found," he announced. His voice was sharp and authoritative. "I want them found and brought to me immediately."

"Madarame-sama," a vocie said behind him. Kunimasa turned to face the man, who bowed. "There is no need. They have already been found…and they will be arriving shortly."

The crocodile let him go without fuss. That was fine. Those animals did not matter to him. All that mattered was getting to the animals who had done him wrong. Who had betrayed him.

Who had KILLED HIM.

I want blood. I want blood. I want blood. I will have blood.

Norio clenched his jaw in rage, and the power around him swirled, stirring the wind on the street corner he stood. I WILL HAVE BLOOD. THEY WILL ALL DIE. I WILL KILL THE JAGUAR.

It's my headcanon that Yonekuni scoped Norio out specifically to pair him with Kunimasa, which is why he played up Norio's attributes so strongly to Kunimasa in the first chapter of the manga. Despite, ya know, Yonekuni not even having spoken to Norio at this point.