Yamato was beginning to feel his heart beginning to slow as if he was dying, which he was. He had failed to bring (Y/n) back, failed to even locate her, and his body was paying the price. It seemed he was beginning to fall back into a deep heartbreak, posing a giant risk to his well being. He stopped eating once more, stopped sleeping, stopped doing anything. He wouldn't even look at Kiana, the (h/c) haired girl's dog, bringing him painful memories. At the same time, he could barely look at his dogs, even Masaru who was so loyal in sticking by him, trying to do tricks to amuse his master.

On the other hand, Yusei was struggling to turn his attention away from the heartbroken brunette in order to provide him with the very girl he needed. The little ravenette was having trouble with even that though. The location the messenger had sent shook his very soul, making his effort take a hit. There was so much pressure on him to succeed, especially because of the very real threat Yamato would fall into another coma and not wake up.

He was currently in the process of arranging a solution to infiltrating that troubling location. The Gensai Group's main estate would not be so easy to break into, requiring a more tactful plan. Knowing he would not be able to enter, bringing far too much attention to himself as an infamous escaped slave, the ravenette had decided that he needed a scapegoat. In order to enter the Gensai Group and be able to find (Y/n), he'd need someone that knew Sora, that Sora knew. And that someone had to be Rue.

"I-I can't go back there, Yusei!" the platinum-haired woman shivered, holding her arms around herself to contain her terror, "He'll kill me! He'll know! Do you know what he does to girls like me?!"

"Please, Rue, Kage needs this!" Yusei begged, feeling himself about to cry, "If he doesn't get (Y/n) back, he'll die! I'll lose him! You have to help! You just have to!"

"No! Nothing would convince me!"

The two were in disagreement about the solution to Yamato's ailment. Though he desperately needed her help, Rue seemed to constantly reject the idea, clearly scarred from what she'd experienced in the Gensai Group. No matter what, she'd reject it, even when faced with bountiful rewards for helping. Money didn't seem to convince her, neither did protection. Though Yusei had promised to have constant surveillance on her and interfere if something happened, she still didn't budge.

"He took you in!" the ravenette cried, trying to plead and place guilt on the older girl to convince her to help, "He protected you from him! He fed you, gave you a roof over your head, even gave you money when you asked for it! Why can't you do this one thing for him?! He needs it! He'll die!"

"All he has is a broken heart!" Rue argued, backing away, "No one's ever died from that! He'll be fine! Get him another girl that he'll fall in love with!"

"You don't know Kage like I do!" Yusei growled, feeling great anger with the platinum-haired girl for abandoning the brunette, "He'll only be fine when he sees (Y/n) is alright! That is the only way he'll be himself again! He doesn't want another girl, he wants her! Don't make him suffer more than he already has! I'm only asking you to check to see if she's there! It'll take less than a day and I'll get you out of there immediately afterwards!"

"I hear drama," Amaryllis chuckled, popping her head into her brother's study to see the two arguing immensely, "Hey, hey, what's happening here?"

The two turned away from one another, shunning their existence with a grudge. It seemed they had gone from good friends to complete enemies, holding something over the other. Neither dared to look at the one across from them, making the brunette's sister give a small chuckle. She didn't seem to think such a thing would happen between the two. They seemed so close just a bit ago, after all. Yet now they were in the largest fight she'd ever seen.

"She's refusing to help Kage," Yusei pouted, trying to get Amaryllis on his side.

"He's forcing me to put my life in danger," Rue argued.

"I told you I'd get you out of there if something happened!"

"You can't promise that!"

The two spiralled into another large fight, stopped by the older girl when she put her hands in between the two, stopping any form of physical fighting. Probably because she knew it would only end in petty slaps instead of being a real and entertaining fight. Nonetheless, she stood in and forced them apart, making them go back to shunning the other in an attempt to get the other to apologize and comply.

However, that didn't stop Yusei from explaining the situation to the older girl, once again attempting to get her help on the matter. Without Rue, it would be more than difficult to get into the estate, especially since the security was so tight. Not only that, but if they were wrong, it would cause fighting between the two yakuza groups, adding to the Yamato and his mother's already confining stress.

"Why can't I go?" Amaryllis asked, knowing she and Sora had some kind of a connection even if it wasn't quite as reliable as Rue's.

"Because technically you're Kage's sister," the young ravenette explained, "Sora'll know you're there for (Y/n). He might kill her if that's the case just to avoid an incident."

"Well then, Rue, it seems like you're our only choice. What can we do to convince you?"

"Nothing! I'm not helping! You can find someone else to die for you!"

Out of frustration, Yusei let out a huff and moved to the cabinet in the study, grabbing a gun and some bullets, loading the thing and taking extra ammunition with him. Rue froze for a moment, thinking he was going to shoot her, but he only left the room, on a mission of his own. On his way out of the estate, he checked up on Yamato, opening the sliding door to see the brunette still laying on his bed with a blank face.

He seemed to be in the same state and position he was the last time the ravenette checked up on him. The situation was despairing if Masaru couldn't even get his attention. The german shepherd was trying to lick the brunette, but he didn't respond. It didn't even seem like his mind registered the dog was trying to get his attention. Instead, he stared off into the distant, his eyes dilated as if he wasn't in the present, recalling memories of the (h/c) haired girl, trying to give himself some relief.

Thus, Yusei didn't waste any time, rushing out of the estate, shoving the gun into his holster and running as fast as he could. The sun was setting, marking the end of the day and bringing out the dark sky of the night. It didn't seem to bother the ravenette, only prompting him to sprint quicker to his destination. He would usually never go there alone, being far too dangerous for a small thing like him, but he didn't have a choice.

At least, that was what he thought. It seemed that going into Yamato's room had prompted one of his dogs to follow the ravenette. Daisuke was never an attack first, ask questions later kind of thing unlike the other dogs tended to be. He was more docile and tamed, especially around the members of the estate. While he could attack, he usually was not prompted to but, at the very least, he provided the ravenette with added backup and a sense of companionship.

Panting and out of breath, Yusei finally arrived at his destination, looking into the dark and incredibly suspicious alleyway. Though Yamato had warned him countless times never to go alone, he had disobeyed the brunette's order in favor of attempting to save his life. As he walked into the alley, he was given incredibly intense gazes from the men and women in the outside bar.

Vial, they called it. While there was a bar, it was more of a hotspot for yakuza and members of gangs to trade information and settle territorial spats. It wasn't often that the ravenette came to the place, being seen as an easy target for taking. That was how it happened the first time, leading to him becoming a slave for the Gensai Group. But he was older and wiser, able to defend himself and he had a cause. He wouldn't give up or abandon the mission when he knew it could prove useful. That being said, it didn't stop the memories from popping back in his mind.

. . .

A long time ago, there was a young boy, a clever boy with a cute face. He lived in a poor part of the city, having to fend for himself most of the time if he wanted to live. His parents weren't any help. Should he ask for food or money, they would only abuse him. Whether it was mentally or physically, they made sure to do one heck of a job. They couldn't have cared less about their son, more interested in drinking or getting high off of whatever they decided to smoke.

It wasn't a life that most would want to be subjected to, but it was his. The little ravenette was clever, able to get away with stealing or shoplifting fairly easily. He wasn't given the luxury of school, allowing him to do as he pleased most of the day. The only catch was that he had to provide for himself. This often led to the boy getting in trouble, especially when it came to the police, being wanted as a thief.

Yet it wasn't the police he should have looked out for. No, it was those that shared his lifestyle, but were far more experienced. As young children often did, the boy adventurered into the very alleyway that led to his capture. He was a boy with a cute face, being seen as a target that would sell for a great amount of money. When they took him back to their superiors, the young boy was grouped together with other boys and girls that had been taken.

He and the others were assessed for their physical capabilities, but when he was gazed upon, someone special had taken an interest in him. Like the other children, he was made into a slave, but unlike the other children, he was made into a personal plaything. At the time, Sora Gensai was around fifteen years of age compared to Yusei's ten years of age. Nonetheless, the younger boy had shown great promise.

The young yakuza heir had not recovered from the death of Asuka's sister, and he had changed quite drastically, becoming more standoffish and harsh. He didn't give mercy to others and he certainly didn't care about the feelings of a lowly slave. His father had taught him as such, and though he hated it, he had adapted to his father's teachings, becoming more and more like him as time passed.

The younger boy was subjected to torture, mentally by Sora and physically by others that sought to "teach him a lesson". He was free game, often used for things that no one else was. Perhaps Sora wouldn't have inflicted such a thing on him, but his father had other ideas. Seeing Yusei's stubborn attitude, the man decided to knock the younger boy into a state of fear, far better suited to a slave than repugnance.

So he was given the worst job of all. The ravenette was made into a sex slave, being used to teach newly made sex slaves, typically girls, how to go about certain acts. For the most part, he was a puppet, bent to the wills of others until he was the ripe age of thirteen when he was able to escape from his prison. He ran as far as he could, and even whe his body begged him to stop, he kept going. He was being chased, after all. Then he tripped.

When he looked up, there were corpses surrounding him, making him freeze in terror. As his eyes trailed to the person that was responsible for the rotting bodies, he came face to face with a brunette, the age of fifteen, just two years older than him. The boy was covered in blood from head to toe, holding a katana in his hands equally stained in the crimson liquid. His expression was one of disinterest with slight satisfaction in his eyes. It seemed he was proud of the work he had done.

"Were you with these guys?" the brunette asked, his tone casual and unassuming.

"No," the younger boy shivered, fearing he would be the next victim.

The older boy nodded and cleaned his katana then placed it back in the sheath on his hip. As the people running after Yusei grabbed onto him, beginning to ridicule him and punish him for running, the brunette stopped in his tracks and turned around. He had a disgusted look on his face. Heads dropped to the floor, severed completely from the bodies they had been from done by the work of the brunette.

"Gensai," he growled, cleaning his katana again, "Are you in trouble with them, dumbass?"

"Yes," the younger boy meekly replied, "Can you help me?"

"Yeah, whatever, just don't make me walk slower for you and hurry up."

The ravenette followed the older boy into his home, being greeted by yet another yakuza group. He paused, having heard about the Hisaki Conglomerate from his time in the Gensai Group. The way they were talked about was as if they were more evil than they were, making the younger boy tense, contemplating running away. However, the brunette turned around to face him and motioned for him to follow.

"You won't be harmed here," the older boy said, "You're my guest."

However skeptical of the brunette Yusei was, he reluctantly placed his trust in the male, being pleasantly surprised at the amount of safety he was given. The brunette retained his promise, giving the ravenette not only safety, but food, a room, a place to belong, and further along the line, a strong companionship. The brunette was reluctant to acknowledge the younger boy as a friend, especially when it came to holding himself disciplined, and focused on his duty as the yakuza heir instead. However, Yusei had other plans.

"Hey, Kage," the ravenette called, unable to stop calling the male his nickname courtesy of his time in the Gensai Group, "I wanted to know if you need help with your work."

"Why?" the brunette sighed, getting tired of the younger boy's interruptions, "I can handle it myself."

"I know. I just want to be useful," the younger boy pouted, drawing a circle in the dirt with his finger, "I'm pretty smart! I can handle anything you throw at me, too. I can help out the Hisaki Conglomerate, I promise! I'll manage the expenses! Pretty please?"

"Why?" Yamato repeated, focusing on the work in front of him, grabbing a page when the wind tried to blow it away.

"Because I love you!"

The brunette paused, looking to the younger boy slowly. He had a wide beam on his face with an adoring expression as he looked at his savior. Though he hadn't known it, Yusei thought of Yamato as some kind of role model, prompting the younger boy to put his all into everything just the way the brunette did. While Yamato wasn't sure the ravenette could handle it, he let him handle the expenses, pleasantly surprised when he discovered Yusei was talented at the activity.

After that, it was quite some time before Yamato acknowledged Yusei as his closest friend, holding him close to his heart. The ravenette was invaluable and the brunette couldn't have lived without him, and vice versa. Both adored the other, relying on the other and letting the other rely on them. They played together, ate together, slept together, and did whatever else together. It was no wonder Yusei felt such dedication and loyalty to the older male. He saved him in more than one way.

. . .

Though there is far more to say about Yusei's story concerning Yamato and the Gensai Group, that would be a story for another time. Times tested the two boys' bonds with one another, especially when Yamato discovered the white tiger mark on the younger boy. Yet, they still stayed together, closer than any other, side by side. Such memories were enough to trigger such feelings of loyalty and motivation in the ravenette.

He wasn't one to play around with if Yamato's well being was at stake, and he was determined to do what he needed to for his sake. Despite the brutality the ravenette experienced in the Gensai Group, despite the secrets he was forced to keep, despite the torture he was put through, his first priority was Yamato.

Yet, even then, there were some things he'd never tell the brunette, especially the true treatment he was subjected to in the Gensai Group. The ravenette knew more things that went down in that hell hole than most others. He even knew more things than Sora himself knew. Should Michi Gensai get a hold of him, he'd be dead before one could blink. After all, the ravenette was responsible for what happened to Sora's mother.