(Y/n) had sprinted through Valiende, making a beeline for the embassy. Eloise and Bastien had been taken, yes, but she was more concerned about Kazuya and Haru. The man was already suffering because his wife was dying and Haru...Haru would take it worse. She put her entire strength into sprinting, her lungs screaming at her to stop and rest. But she could only keep on going, bursting into the embassy and finding Enmei and the Echalian ambassador worriedly hovering over a collapsed Kazuya.

The girl was antsy as she debated whether to check on the man or to take her chances that he was alright. After all, whatever condition Kazuya was in, Haru was bound to be worse. But she loved the man, so, very quickly, she moved to assess his condition. If Sona was there, he would have been able to do it a hundred times faster. She stiffened at the thought of the android, narrowing her eyes, but focused on the task at hand.

Luckily, the man was still breathing and showed no signs of injury. If anything, it was the stress that made him collapse. Fearful, she gave the man a quick hug before sprinting up the stairs. As expected, the door was locked, but it didn't mean much to her. All she had to do was rip the door off of its hinges to be face to face with the brunette. She almost choked at the sight of him riddled in red scars, obviously fresh.

"Knock it off right now, you fucking brat!" the girl yelled.

But Haru continued. As if she did not exist, he pressed the lighter onto his skin and silently let his flesh boil up from the extreme heat. Without any hesitation, she tackled the male to the ground and grabbed at the lighter, wincing as she burned herself in the process. Nonetheless, she chucked it across the room and grabbed the male by his collar, shaking him aggressively. Unbeknownst to her, she had begun sobbing out of anger, the brunette mimicking her overflow of emotions.

"What are you doing?!" she choked, pinning him to the ground so he could not escape (not that he tried).

"Burning."

"I can fucking see that! Why?! Tell me why!"

Haru didn't explain, but it was obvious. His mother and his precious baby brother had been taken hostage by Umayena. But he could do nothing. There were no spare parts for him to make an android or even a weapon to rescue them. In the first place, he didn't even know where they were, and, for all he knew, they could have been dead already. So, in his mind, he had failed them and deserved pain.

"I didn't give you permission to fucking die! And, if I did, I would have demanded you do it immediately! You're just being a coward! Too scared to die and too scared to live!"

The brunette welled up, but his facial expression didn't change. He was still glancing away with a faraway look in his eyes. Out of the moment, he refused to be a part of it, wanting to finally be abandoned. It wasn't like the rest of the world liked him. No, everyone hated him. He couldn't be in Echal, he couldn't be in Athain, he couldn't be in Vethela, and he couldn't even be in (Y/n)'s heart.

"You didn't come back," he mumbled emotionlessly, his tone dry and remote.

"No, I didn't. You pissed me off and broke my trust. What did you expect?"

"I...don't know. But I didn't want you to hate me."

"That's what's so annoying about you! I can't hate you! I've tried to be pissed at you and stop thinking about you, but I can't."

For lack of a better word, she wasn't being nice. In fact, she was making the brunette cry. But, still, he responded. He even read between the lines to learn that she still had feelings for him. Desperate for something to hold onto, he reached out to clench onto her shirt. He didn't touch her. He made sure of that. But, at the very least, he wanted to touch something close to her, even if it was just some fabric.

"They took mére," he sniffled, "And frére."

"I know."

"It's not fair."

"I know."

(Y/n) pulled the male up and hugged him tightly, giving him a kiss on the cheek. He was reasonably surprised, his expression shifting just a bit. The boy then softened. She began petting him, which confused him, but, despite that, he could not help but lean into her. Her touch was painful. He wondered if she was only showing him affection because he was hurting. But then she suggested otherwise.

"I want a kiss," she mumbled, holding his face in her hands, "Right now."

"No."

"No?"

"You...You have to wait five seconds. Maybe I don't want a kiss."

The girl huffed. Of course he did. Haru was physically affectionate to people he was close with. But he was right. She understood his hesitance, enough to do as he wanted. After five seconds, she asked permission, the male nodding silently. And then they kissed. He cried, clinging onto her, and she did the same, except without the tears. He needed it, too - just a bit of love to get him through the terror.

"I love you," he cried, "I just wanted you to love me, too. But I made you mad. I didn't want to make you mad. I promise."

"I believe you."

"Can we stop fighting?"

"I don't know."

The girl felt him tense and then relax suddenly, another little hint he was giving up hope. But she loved him. It was painful, but she was scared, and when she was scared, she ran away. Still, if she was there, holding him tightly despite the fear, maybe that meant something. Sighing, she held him possessively. She knew she couldn't admit it just yet, but she could, at least, hold him for himself.

"Okay," he sniffled.

How strange. Haru wasn't fighting it. Maybe it was because of the headspace brought upon by the abduction of his mother and brother, but it didn't seem like that. With Haru, if he lost something, he held onto it tighter and tighter. But he was being lax. She chuckled. All the bastards that called him a lost cause really were assholes. They didn't even make the attempt to understand him. If someone as selfish as her was able to help him, they really were incompetent.

"C-Can I still love you? Please...?"

"You better."

The brunette started crying again. He told her all about his pain, telling her what he'd done when he heard the news. Expressive, he tried to get everything off of his chest. His father, Sona, Enmei, and everyone and everything in between; he spilled it all. All the while, he kept his hands to himself. He, of course, melted at her touch, but he didn't force his own on her. It had been a wakeup call for him. And though he was groveling in agony, there was some small part of him that was relieved.

She moved him to the bed, telling him to rest. And while he continued to prattle off his fears, he cried himself to sleep. He'd been needing the rest, she knew. And now that he was getting it, she felt safe enough to steal a kiss. It felt so right. She lingered around a little longer, just staring at him. The only reason she ended up leaving was because she heard Kazuya's voice downstairs, prompting her to go see the man.

She didn't know what came over her. There were other people watching. They were complete strangers that she knew were watching for all of her vulnerabilities, but she leaped into Kazuya's arms, crying. The man, unlike any other she knew, hugged her first and asked questions later. She was being a child, whining and clinging and throwing a fit, and yet, she felt the same kind of relief Haru had. Because Kazuya loved her.

(Y/n) wasn't related to the man at all. She wasn't even human. The (h/c) haired girl was not kind or fearless or even remotely selfless. No doubt, she would have thrown anyone under the bus just to live a second longer. She was only beautiful because she made people think that, and people only liked her for the same reason. Every single family she had only cared about her imperfections. Starving her, beating her, hiding her, selling her; hurting her.

But Kazuya was crying. For her. He held her tightly as if he was afraid she would fall apart, just wanting to protect her. It wasn't even like with Haru. Haru was sweet and precious to her, but, with him, she had something to offer: a romantic relationship. But, with Kazuya, he was sweet and precious without needing anything in return. It used to frustrate her and flood her with confusion every time he would do that. She thought it was pity. But, no; he loved her as she was with no rhyme and reason; unconditionally.

"I'm sorry, dad," she whimpered, now fearful of his tears instead of her own, "I'm sorry about what happened to Eloise and Bastien. I'll make it better."

"No, darling," the man sobbed, stroking her hair reassuringly, "I want you safe. Please."

"It wasn't your fault."

"It might as well have been. I provoked them. And now..."

"No. You were doing the right thing. They just...I'll make it better."

Before the man could ask what she meant, the girl ran away. He tried to stop her. Really, he did, but his heart stopped him. Kazuya had always been healthy, but, in the face of his family's danger, his heart had started giving out on him. Heartbreak, as it were, afflicted him greatly. Eloise had always possessed his heart, so when she inevitably perished, she would take it with her, leaving him only half a man. But he never expected it to happen so soon.

Enmei worriedly helped the man to the couch, continuing to nervously dart his eyes all around the room. The Echalian ambassador, Amand, also gave looks of concern, but it was the grey-haired male that panicked the most. He had been trying to get the man to stabilize, but his hesitance was almost amusing. Kazuya placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, sitting him down on the couch, too.

"Don't worry. This is going to be tough. But you should focus on yourself."

"But," the male paused, tensing up and glancing away, "She's still my mother."

"Yes, she is. She loves you very, very much. That's why she'll do everything she can to come back in one piece for you and Haru."

"What are you trying to say, sir?"

"I'm your father, Enmei. I don't care what bastard violated my Eloise. You're not his son. You're my son. And I'm going to take care of you."

The grey-haired male was confused. Reasonably, he didn't understand. He was worried for his mother, yes, but he was also terrified of being abandoned again. If Eloise died or was never to return, Kazuya had absolutely no reason to keep feeding him or giving him a home. In fact, he should hate Enmei. He was the living proof that his wife had slept with another man. However forced, that fact nonetheless remained. Why wasn't he mad?

"You will have everything Haru and Bastien have. I can send you to the best schools if you want to work. And, if you don't, I will give you as much money as you could ever want."

"But I'm not - "

"Next week, we're going to have a family reunion. All the Akahito's will be there. I'm going to put you in the family registry. Everyone will have to recognize you then. You will be part of the family with...or without...Eloise."

Enmei gave a tiny word of gratitude. He was mainly silent, still uncomfortable around the man, but Kazuya was happy. The man was relieved that the boy knew he would not be abandoned. And though Enmei might never see him the same way (Y/n) did, it was alright. He was a man with love to spare, so it was up to Enmei whether or not he wanted to take that love. It just might take time.

. . .

It was a cold, dark, and molded cell, with which parasites infested, smaller than the eye could see. With chains branded onto her skin, Eloise shrunk her body to appear less of a threat. Perhaps, if she was small enough, they wouldn't hurt her. It was a familiar situation, in which she knew to remain quiet and passive, lest they decide to do worse than leave her to starve. And yet, Bastien's presence changed things greatly. Through the stressful hours she spent there, she spent all of them trying to shield him.

Most of the time, the people guarding the cell did nothing. They merely stood there, guns in hand, ready to shoot them on sight if there was any sign of trouble. Eloise was grateful for that. Even if they would occasionally dart their eyes back and eye her like she was livestock, they didn't touch her nor did they make threats. But, at some point, Bastien had begun getting antsy.

The baby Akahito didn't know what was going on. He just knew the familiar woman looked worried, so he wanted to cheer her up. Singing gently to himself, he scoured his surroundings for anything to help her. Somehow, a small, withering weed had grown through the cracks of the cell, the dandelion bending over slightly. Cheerfully, Bastien picked it up, twisting it around into a ring. He then noticed the pretty lady staring nervously at the men guarding the room.

Without any understanding of the danger, the boy waddled over to them, tugging on one of the guard's pants. The man jumped and pointed the gun at the toddler, yelling something at him in a foreign language. Eloise flinched, moving to protect him but the other one pointed the weapon at her. She froze, knowing they would shoot him if she moved suddenly. Thus, she only begged for her baby to come back to her, but he didn't understand her fear.

"Here!" he smiled brightly, taking one of the guard's hands and sliding on the dandelion ring, "For you!"

The guard turned to his comrade, mumbling something with a tiny smirk on his face. The other one then laughed gaudily, kneeling down to the child and ruffling his head. In Umayena, boys were precious. And though the boy was their hostage, he was cute. It didn't really matter if they were friend or foe. Bastien could charm anyone without really trying. The men began to shower him with praise, calling him brave. And though the boy didn't know what they were saying, he still loved the attention, unaware of the woman's horror.

"Look!"

Bastien then took the man's hand again and blew as hard as he could. However, the little seeds did not go flying off. He was a bit too weak to get them all off. So, in amusement, the men called over a few others, who also admired the boy. They cheered for him, encouraging him to keep trying, and, when he finally managed to blow off all the seeds with one great, big puff, everyone shouted in celebration. The brunette gave a bright grin to their adoration.

They mumbled that they liked the boy; that he should be rewarded. And when the toddler's stomach began rumbling, they all turned to one another. Then they collectively glanced up at Eloise, saying something indeterminable. Yes, they liked Bastien, and yes, that was a horrible, horrible thing.