#sibling!yuu

“It’s like you’re trying to run away from someone.” 

Yuu clicked their tongue and cracked their neck, rolling their shoulders as if they were preparing for something. “Aiya… Do I look like someone who'd run away? I can feel their eyes on me since earlier and it won't stop. It's starting to piss me off. If they want a fight then they better do something soon because I'm getting bored.”

Grim’s ears perked up at your words. “A land predator? Are you gonna hunt them down?” It was a common occurrence for the both of them to try and beat down people or creatures that interested Yuu. No matter if it was on land or on sea, Grim always helped them take it down.

A smirk tugged at Yuu’s face, teeth bared. “If they don't make a move, I will...”

Swish!

Just then, the Leech’s hand shot up and caught an arrow mid-air. The arrow had a dulled tip, clearly not meant to seriously injure but it was a declaration to Yuu, nevertheless. Yuu smiled menacingly as they turned their head towards the direction where the arrow came from, the shine of metal visible from afar as a second arrow was prepared to be released.

“Found you.”

-

The Leech twins like it when Yuu and Rook decide to hunt each other down because it takes the attention off of them. Rook stops stalking them and Yuu doesn't put them in their inescapable hugs so it's a double win for them. They also deliberately did not tell them about Rook for the hell of it.

Anyway, Yuu Leech finds Rook interesting and enjoys fighting with him whenever they meet. Rook’s easily one of the people that can probably take Yuu's attention off of their brothers and free them from their hug.

-

[Yuu Hunt and the Leech Twins]

Yuu wasn't a coward, per se, but it does get quite worrying when they've noticed two twins with teal hair in their peripherals who had been following them for quite a while now and judging from the amount of students avoiding them, they were probably someone not to mess with.

‘So why are they following me?!’ Yuu screams internally.

“Oi, Yuu, they're getting closer. What do we do?!” Grim whispered at them, also having been keeping track of the two since they appeared. “They won't go away no matter how much we try to lose them!”

“You think I don't know that?!” Yuu whispered back.

Unfortunately as fates would have had it, as Grim and Yuu weren't that familiar with the school’s layout and that made it all more easy for the Leech twins to corner them.

“N-Now, now…” Yuu tried to placate as they backed up, putting their hand in front of them like that would physically stop the slowly advancing Floyd. Jade was standing behind him, guarding the way out should Yuu slip by his brother.  “I'm sure that whatever my brother did, I had nothing to do with it.” This whole situation was probably their brother’s fault. Yuu just arrived at the school a few days ago so there was no way they could've done something. The most logical thing here would be because of their brother.

‘What’s this? Can't get back at the younger brother so bully the older sibling instead?’ Yuu cried inside. They were sooo going to tell Rook to stop whatever it was he was doing with people.

“Heh, you remind me of a shrimp. I'll call you Shrimpy…” Floyd smirked, finding it amusing how different Yuu acted compared to their young brother. “Come here, Shrimpy, Shrimpy.” He lunged for the older Hunt. Except, he didn't make contact as he found himself falling backwards from a sudden weight pulling him back and onto the ground. Floyd tried to get up but soon realized that the lapels of his clothes had been bolted down on the ground with a crossbow arrow.

Yuu didn't hesitate reloading and quickly aimed the crossbow, firing multiple shots consecutively at Jade who dodged their attack. However, it seemed that this was exactly what Yuu planned as they and Grim made a mad dash towards the exit.

“Sorry, I'll pay for your clothes lateeeeer!”

-

While Yuu Hunt may be a bit of a ball of anxiety, they– like all the other Yuu sibling variants– have the skills to deal with others. Remember, they're a Hunt and while they are scared of Rook, they're still the oldest Hunt sibling.

For example with Riddle. Would he blame Yuu for running away from their mother, which in turn made their mother stricter with Riddle so that he wouldn’t end up like Yuu? Would he resent this fact? He’d likely have a negative initial impression of them because they ran from their own mother and Riddle at an early time still thinks that their mother is always right and that means what Yuu did was wrong. Anything or anyone that opposes their mother is wrong. Anyone who opposes the things their mother taught him was wrong. Anyone who opposes him is always wrong. Though, a deep part of him is envious that Yuu got to be free. Whether Riddle blames Yuu or not, Yuu will think that it’s their fault.

Even if he doesn’t say it out loud, Leona would feel irritated every time he sees Yuu telling him what to do and what not to do so he doesn’t end up like them. Their constant presence keeps reminding him that the only reason he couldn’t become king was because he wasn’t born earlier and Yuu got a taste of that crown, even if they did get kicked out of the family in the end.

Yuu’s constant interference with dealing with Azul’s bullies when they were younger only made the bullies bolder and meaner the moment Yuu went away so there’s that possibility of some kind of blaming in that one, just like in Riddle’s situation.

As for Jamil's situation, although not Jamil's sibling, Yuu's still part of the Asim family and Jamil technically has a resentment for them because of, well, everything. He was forced to downplay his abilities and be responsible for Kalim, and he has no choice but to serve the Asim family. Kalim himself might not have a problem with Yuu, but Jamil sure does because there’s another person from the Asim family. Another person he has to be responsible for because they seem to be just as careless and reckless as Kalim, even if Yuu is technically older. (Someone stop me, please, I am becoming feral. I can’t stop thinking of Jamil getting a huge crush on this Yuu for some reason and I am internally screaming. He really gonna do the enemies to lovers arc after his overblot, or even before that, and I just can’t. He really said: ‘If I can’t get out of this family, I’m just gonna have to marry into it.’)

Then we have Vil. Yuu would definitely be a big contender for the most beautiful one of all and Vil is not happy. Now that he’s realized that he actually had a sibling, he has to compete with them to be the most beautiful. And he just can’t understand why he’s losing to a sudden sibling he hasn’t even met until now! What was so different between the two of them? Yuu wasn’t even that active in social media before but now that they were staying in NRC for some reason (for plot reasons), people were now beginning to constantly compare the two of them and it’s driving Vil insane.

As for Idia, after seeing the reason why Ortho got diagnosed with the dead, there’s also some blaming there. Yuu’s supposed to be one running the S.T.Y.X organization but both Idia and Ortho (the og) got inside and managed to hack the system. This’ll definitely raise the question of why the two were allowed entry easily when there were dangerous things locked inside the place and why Yuu wasn’t keeping a closer eye to them when they were in the facility that led to the accident. 

I might also have to retcon the previous Idia!Yuu's background to fit with Shroud brother’s story. So now the idea that I have is that Yuu was present for the brother’s childhood growing up (kind of) but they didn’t have a close relationship and it was very distant. The Shroud brothers probably don’t remember Yuu, either. They probably thought Yuu was just an employee in S.T.Y.X. and not their sibling. Still, Yuu cared for them so much that when the incident happened, they were overwhelmed with grief and willingly locked themselves away because they fully blamed themselves for what had happened.  The only reason they broke out of their self-imposed prison and landed themself in NRC was because they heard Grim talking about Ortho as if he was alive and wanted to see what was up with that. Yuu doesn’t want to show their face to their younger brothers because they’re ashamed and feel like they don’t deserve it.

Then we have Malleus. I don’t know if he’s the jealous type or not, but seeing your older sibling be more sociable than you (somehow, even when they act like a kuudere) and getting more friends than you despite the fact that they’re the older Draconia sibling while Malleus himself was avoided and have had people fear him would be kinda frustrating. It’s another case of ‘what do you have that I don’t?’ thing. Or maybe the others are taking Yuu’s time away and they barely hang out with Malleus and he finds this unfair because Yuu’s their sibling so why is everyone taking them away? Why isn’t Yuu hanging out with them?

Additionally, we can’t forget the fact that Yuu literally go against the boys. There’s bound to be some feelings of betrayal there. Kinda like a. “We’re family and you’re taking their side?! Why are you abandoning me for them?!”

–

[Bonus]

Yuu Rosehearts: “I wish I had been strong like you….”

Yuu Kingscholar: “Don’t make the same mistakes as I did and be better than me.”

Yuu Ashengrotto: “Was all of this… my fault…?”

Yuu Schoenheit: “Because to me… you’re always my number one!”

Yuu Shroud: “All I ever wanted in my life was to protect you...”

Yuu Draconia: “I had to leave you to keep you safe!” 

Yuu (Al-)Asim: “…”

Ramshackle was abandoned until Yuu rented it from the Headmaster. Yuu had more than enough money to pay for it anyway. They turned Ramshackle into a small shop that sold simple, fun things that they’ve amassed from their travels. Sure, they could’ve sold the same things as what Sam had in his store and they had the resources to definitely do it but they didn’t want to compete with the local business. The older Asim child didn’t even mind if they didn’t make a lot of profit. Additionally, they weren’t an idiot to mess with Sam and, by extension, his friends on the other side. Their sense of self-preservation was working properly, thank you very much, they didn’t need to test it.

The next one to overblot was Leona Kingscholar of the Savanaclaw Dorm. Again, Yuu hadn’t planned on interfering with whatever was happening but then the students just kept getting injured left and right. Yuu didn’t have it in their conscience to just let everything be so they asked permission from the Headmaster to investigate. That one was a wild run from start to end but thankfully everything ended well.

Finally, the latest to overblot was someone from the Octavinelle Dorm by the name Azul Ashengrotto. He had tried to take Ramshackle away from Yuu after Ace and Deuce made a contract with the Octavinelle Dorm Leader and failed to uphold their end of the deal. The stern lecture those two got from Grim was really something Yuu could never forget. Grim didn’t stop until two hours later. In fact, the cat-like creature would’ve most likely continued on for a few more hours but Yuu had taken pity on the Heartslabyul boys whose legs have become numb from sitting for too long and intervened.

Though after the overblot events, Yuu began to have a sneaking suspicion of its emergence pattern. They weren’t saying they were being paranoid but they weren’t taking any chances, you see? So, they discreetly placed Kalim under heavy watch for a few days and only eased up when they could finally be assured that their younger brother wasn’t acting any different and was not in danger of overblotting. 

Currently, they and Grim were in Scarabia Dorm. With Yuu’s living arrangement in NRC, they tended to alternate between staying in Scarabia and Ramshackle since they didn’t want to impose on their brother too much, much to Kalim’s disappointment.

Having said goodbye to the others as they went back to their homes for winter vacation, Yuu also began to pack their luggage and started planning on where they and Grim would go next. Coral Sea was out of the potential candidates since the ocean was bound to be frozen at this time of the year. Yuu didn’t want to pickaxe their way through the frozen ocean. Hmm… The Briar Valley was a good place, perhaps? Or maybe the Rose Kingdom–

“Yuu?” A familiar voice spoke up and Yuu paused in the middle of what they were doing to turn their head towards the source of the voice. Standing at the doorway was Jamil. “What’s all this?”

“Oh, good morning Jamil!” Yuu greeted cheerfully with a small wave. Jamil was Yuu’s younger brother’s attendant. Yuu remembered having had an attendant once at a point in their life, too… Not anymore, though…

Well! It was best not to dwell too much in the past! Yuu had Grim by their side anyway!

“What’s wrong? Did you need anything?” Yuu asked, watching as Jamil’s questioning gaze moved to the luggage in Yuu’s bed and the older Asim realized that they hadn’t actually told anyone they were traveling soon, did they? Silly them! They forgot that it wasn’t just them and Grim here now. If they disappeared so suddenly, their brother would surely try to look for them!

“Oh, right! I forgot to tell you and Kalim, didn’t I? Grim and I are planning on traveling again.” They said and continued packing their clothes. “So sorry for such short notice! We don’t really tend to stay in one place for too long and we often travel without a heads up,  you see.”

Jamil hummed in acknowledgment and Yuu could hear the Scarabian boy approach them from behind. “Is that so? Well, would you like some help?” He kindly offered. Yuu chuckled lightly and shook their head. They didn’t have a lot to pack, they could finish this quickly. “It’s alright, it’s alright, you don’t have to! I’m about to finish up, anyway.”

However, it seemed like Jamil wasn’t taking ‘no’ as an answer as he reached out and firmly gripped Yuu’s arm, stopping them from putting their folded shirt in the baggage.

“Oh no, no, I insist.” Feeling the other grip their arm a bit too hard, Yuu instinctively whipped their head up to look at Jamil but as they did, they met his gaze and…and…

…

…and what were they doing again…?

Yuu stumbled backward, the feeling of vertigo consuming them momentarily but Jamil quickly reached out, a hand firmly planted on Yuu’s back as they helped the older person steady themselves.

“Are you alright, Yuu?” Jamil asked, worry etched in his features. Yuu blinked owlishly, dazed, and then frowned. They brought a hand up to their forehead and massaged their temples.

“Yeah… Yeah, I’m fine, I just…” Yuu said unsurely, a look of confusion on their face. “What was I saying again…?”

Jamil calmly said without skipping a beat, “You were planning on staying for a few more weeks. The weather’s awfully cold so you were going to live here in Scarabia instead of Ramshackle.”

Huh, that… that didn’t sound right. Did they really say that? Yuu tilted their head. “Is that so?” They couldn’t help but doubt it. Something here wasn’t adding up but Yuu couldn’t quite put a finger as to what.

“Hm…” Jamil hummed, scrutinizing them. “Maybe you’re feeling a bit under the weather? Well, why don’t I help you unpack your luggage since you said you weren’t going to be traveling as of yet. After that, I’ll make you food to help you feel better.” He gave Yuu a warm smile.

Seeing the other smile at them made Yuu smile too. What a kind and caring boy Jamil was! Kalim was really lucky to have such a compassionate and thoughtful attendant like Jamil. They were almost jealous!

Taking a quick glance at their almost-full luggage, Yuu hesitated for a bit, something in the back of their mind warning them of a danger they don’t remember, before helping Jamil unpack their things.

It was probably nothing… right? 

N̷̠͖̹̜͖̂͆̔͐͘ǫ̶̞͚͕̀,̸̳̑̓̐͒ ̸͈̭̟̫̭̃̈́n̸͔͋̕õ̶̘̳̩̪͂͝,̵̩̪̉͝ ̶̯̫̭͌̽̏̄͠ň̵̥̻̙͙̃͋ờ̵͉̇͑̔,̴͉̩͍̥͋̚̚ ̶͔͛n̵̲̎̂́́̍o̶̢̡̨̠̒,̶̫͇̕ ̸̞̞͔͈̏̎͛̌n̶̤̔ȯ̵̡̍͐͗,̵͓͐̀́̂͑ ̷̲̖̲̐̋͑̉ș̷̼̗͊̿̓n̸̨̜̭͗͛͝ä̴̡́̂̽p̶͚̤͖͘ͅ ̴͍̍̈͐͠ȏ̷̮̟̱̻͘͠u̴̧̩̤͒t̶̡̲̼̠̒̾ ̷͚͚͉̋o̸͚̹̊͒f̶̻͙͛̑̓̿̉ ̸̖̆͆i̶͔͔̗̩͆̎͆̈͐t̸̡̏̋̕͝,̸͈̬̈́́ ̴̢̳̗̎̓s̸̗̄̒͂o̶̖̤̳͐̀̇m̵̛͎̝̂͘̚e̷̦͈͐̔̄̈́́ͅt̴̳̽̕h̸̳̩̱̗̒̀͘ȉ̸̢̩̘̠̼̎͛̔͂n̷̳͋g̴͖̼̪͙̗̊̊’̸̘̮͓̻̺̈́̕s̴̳͍̟͖͗̂̚ ̴̪͗͝w̶̘͈̞͇̿̓̔͛r̴͓͍͉̈̑͌̚͠ǫ̷̞̎n̷̤̒͂̋̑͝ģ̶̜̘͕̙̀̀̃̽̈́,̸̥͉̎ ̵̲̲̥̍̆̈́̚ś̶͉n̵̺̞͎̞̄̽̐̉͝ȃ̷̧͉̩̉̀̄͝p̷̧̢̛̛̜͇̟̃ ̴̛̘̾ó̷̭̭͍̜̕͝ͅu̷̪͍͓͂t̷̖͈̔̇̄̎̓ ̸̙̺̳̍o̷̧̯̻̮͑̌̌̾f̶̮̲̈̌́͜ ̸̱̘͈̈ḭ̷̾̿̕t̵͎͇̗̯̀̔̽̄̕,̴̩͗̐̄̚ ̸̧̝͙̄̍͑͛s̷̜̘̓̊͛͠n̷͍̜͇̮͆́̆̈́̆â̴̼̕ṕ̶̧͙͈̿ ̸̯̋̽͛̈͒ờ̶̢̻͍̹̤̔̕ú̷͕̭̠̽̋t̷͍͊̚͠ ̵̹̎̇̒̕ͅo̴̙̦͎͔͌̂̉͘f̴̛̣͛̐̏͠ ̶̰̖̹̏̅̕i̵̼̩͙͛–̸̯̌́͆̈

Right...

–

“Fngyaaa…” Grim collapsed down into the bedsheets, exhausted. “Yuu, you notice it too, don’t you? Kalim’s acting really, really weird! It’s as if he’s possessed or something! We managed to talk him out of having to force his dorm members to staying here but then he suddenly just shifted as if he was another person!”

Yuu groaned from beside him, lying face down on their bed. “Mou… I didn’t expect he’d actually force us to train with them… To think we’d be marching the desert for hours… Was he really that upset about losing the Magift Tournament? But he didn’t seem like he was affected, even with the stress of the exams.” Yuu would know. They did put Kalim under heavy surveillance, after all. So, why now? What was so different now? “In the first place, why did we have to exercise and study with them? We aren’t even going school here.” They sighed tiredly.

The two stayed silent and still for a brief moment before Grim’s ears perked up. The feline creature sat up from the bed and tapped Yuu’s shoulder repeatedly. “Hey, Yuu… Yuu, why don’t we just go and leave? It’s about high time we start travelling anyway.”

Yuu looked at Grim with a confused expression. “What? What do you mean?”

“Fgnya! It’s not like we have to stay here! You’re Kalim’s older sibling, would he really force you stay here if you were firm about in leaving? You have to put your foot down and really mean it, Yuu! Don’t spoil him!”

Yuu sighed but didn’t deny his words. Grim had a point. They knew they should be acting their part as Kalim’s older sibling and scold him for being too hard on his dorm members. To use their vacation time for training and studying without even being able to see their family was just unnecessarily cruel. Although they felt like they were being a bit unfair to Kalim too, they just couldn’t stand by and see him ruin himself.

Yuu sighed once again but rolled out of bed. “Alright, alright. You stay here, I’ll go talk to Kalim that we’ll be heading off at the soonest convenient time.”

After making sure they looked presentable in the mirror, they left the room.

Walking down the hallways of Scarabia, Yuu didn’t expect to bump into Jamil.

“Oh, good evening, Jamil…” Yuu tried to greet the other with the same cheery expression that they usually had but judging by the look on Jamil’s face, they weren’t successful. Yuu was just too exhausted to care right now, anyway.

“Are you alright, Yuu?” Jamil asked, putting a hand on Yuu’s back as they led them to a nearby balcony to get some fresh air. Yuu felt touched by their thoughtfulness and the cold night air really helped. “Was there something you needed? You could’ve just called one of the dorm members. I’m sure they won’t mind getting you what you need.”

“No, it’s…” Yuu scratched the back of their head. “It’s fine. I was just heading over to go and have a small talk with Kalim.”

“Hm? Why is that? Why do you need to go have a talk with him?“ Jamil inquired in curiosity. Though, had Yuu been paying attention closely, it was more like he was interrogating them.

“Well,” Yuu started. There was a lot of things they wanted to say, honestly. But they don’t know where to start. “I was going to tell him to cut your dorm members some slack, you know? I know there are times to get serious and times to have fun but Kalim’s just… taking it too far right now.”

“Ah, I see… I can’t say I’m not surprised.” Jamil nodded, agreeing with Yuu’s words. “Kalim has always been… willful. Though, he wasn’t always like this. Perhaps being the Dorm Leader of Scarabia is taking a toll on him. It is hard to manage all this all on his own but the way he’s going about it is…” Jamil trailed off but Yuu understood what he was trying to say.

Some people were just good at being leaders and some people just needed… maybe more than a few lessons here and there to be good at leading. And right now? Kalim wasn’t… fit to lead, as harsh as it sounds. He was acting more of a tyrant than anything and if Yuu knew anything about tyrants, it was that people were bound to overthrow them sooner or later. Yuu didn’t want to see their brother get hurt once that happened.

Yuu sighed once again. They’ve been sighing a lot ever since they decided to stay here. Maybe staying at one place for too long was getting to them. They weren’t used to it. Ever since Yuu was young, they’d always had the habit of travelling all around different places. Yuu looked up at the night sky and watched as the stars twinkled up above.

“Objectively speaking…” Yuu gave a quick glance at Jamil through their peripheral vision. He, too, was looking up at the stars and quietly waiting for what Yuu had to say. “I think… you’d suit to be the Dorm Leader right now, Jamil.”

“...!” Jamil, not expecting that Yuu would  say this out of the blue whipped his head to the side to look at the older Asim with wide eyes. “...What?”

“I know I’m foolish at times, but I’m not blind.” Yuu laughed lightly, finding the face Jamil was making at the very moment funny. 

“I’m a merchant, Jamil. I have an eye for these things. Although you’ve tried to hide it, it’s clear that you’ve got a good head on your shoulders. You’re more than capable enough to run this place. I know Kalim’s currently the Dorm Leader but he’s still… young. He still has a lot to learn.” Yuu’s smiled turned melancholic. “Though, I do understand if you’re against it. There are a lot of households serving… attending the Asim Family and to go against them… us would be a bad idea.”

Jamil stayed silent. Yuu looked over to him with a small smile. “But, if you wanted to be the Dorm Leader, would you, Jamil?”

“I… that…” Jamil looked conflicted but he didn’t answer. That was fair. Jamil had been serving the Asim Family for so long that he was probably hesitant to even do something that would be perceived as going against them (not really but it’s not like Yuu knew what was happening). Yuu patted his shoulders gently and gave him a cheeky smile. “It’s alright if you don’t have an answer now. But if you ever do want to, just call me, alright? I may have not visited home for years now but I know my words still have weight around in the Asim Family. I am the oldest Asim child, after all.”

The two became silent, only the sound of the howling wind and the chirping of crickets preventing it from becoming becoming fully awkward.

Yuu lightly coughed. Right, they almost got off track for their real reason they left their room. “Anyway, have you seen Kalim anywhere? I also need to tell him that Grim and I are going to depart as soon as we can.”

“What?” Just like that, the peaceful– almost gentle– lull of silence between the two was broken. Jamil looked at Yuu with furrowed brows, not understanding why Yuu would just say that out of nowhere.

“Grim and I are planning on going to travel as soon as we can. ” Yuu confessed. It wasn’t like they had any reason to keep it from Jamil. Jamil was so nice and considerate and caring and– these aren’t your thoughts, why are you thinking these things, you have to wake up–they know they could trust him!

“I don’t know what happened last time but we really are planning on continuing our travel this time. I was about to head over to Kalim to tell him about this. I wouldn’t want him to wake up next morning and wonder where we suddenly went, hahaha!” Yuu chuckled lightly but their amusement died down as Jamil made no noise or movement beside them.

Feeling something in the current situation was weird, Yuu looked towards Jamil with a frown. “Jamil…?”

Although Jamil was smiling, their face held no joy. In fact, his smile appeared strained and the aura around him seemed… dangerous. Yuu tensed up, feeling a chill run down their spine. Their intuition that they honed through years and years of travel screaming at them to turn away immediately and start run. And who were they to deny their intuition when this had saved them multiple times from getting terribly injured?

Just as they were about to turn away, Jamil opened his eyes and met their eyes, the smile on his face gone. Yuu found their limbs locked in place. No matter how much Yuu tried, they couldn’t find it in themselves to look away from Jamil’s piercing stare.

“And here we were having such a sweet moment, but you’re still actually thinking of such things?” He said in a low voice, scowling in displeasure. “Looks like I need to completely wipe that thought out of your mind again. Really, why do you keep trying to leave when you can just stay? Now, look into my eyes. Snake Whisper...”

The next day, Yuu woke up in bed with no memory of what had transpired the night before. They never got to speak to Kalim about leaving, either. How odd… When Grim asked them about this, Yuu just gave him a weird look and firmly stated that they were staying in Scarabia, much to Grim’s chagrin.

Though, Yuu felt as if they’ve forgotten something very important… They wondered what it was but they couldn’t seem to get their mind to focus as Jamil smiled at waved at them from the front as the entirety of the Scarabia Dorm was preparing to go to the East Oasis. 

--

Mal!Yuu at Lilia: “Lilia, what does it mean when someone tells me that I’m…” *squints and leans closer to their phone in confusion* “… a poor little meow meow?”

Lilia: “A what.”

Mal!Yuu: “A poor little meow meow. They also said that I’m such a… scrunkly scrimblo, a little spoingle, maybe even a mipy...? What does this mean? I don’t think I’ve slept that long but it’s concerning how linguistics have evolved to this point that I can’t even understand it anymore. I hope this won’t trouble my learning…”

Lilia, trying not to crack up and visibly dying: “Yeah, that’s --*wheeze*… definitely troubling. Do you want me to *snicker* tutor you?”

Mal!Yuu: “Yes, please. That would be very much appreciated, thank you.”

--

Grim: “Don’t you ever want to talk about your emotions?”

ADeuce: “No.”

Idia!Yuu: “…I do.”

Grim: “I know, Yuu.”

Idia!Yuu: “I’m sad.”

Grim: “I know, Yuu…”

--

Also Idia!Yuu: “I drink to forget but I always remember.”

Grim: “You’re drinking soda.”

--

Kalim!Yuu: “I’ve connected two dots!”

Jamil: “You didn’t connect shit anything.”

Kalim!Yuu: “I’ve connected them!”

--

Azul!Yuu: *struggling to carry all the groceries to Mostro Lounge with both hands*

Azul: *holding his hand out to help* “Here, let me…”

Azul!Yuu:  “Hm? Oh! Did you want to…” *Tearing up, moved, and transfers all their groceries on one hand with difficulty to hold Azul’s hand*

Azul: “…”

Floyd, watching the two of them from nearby: “Why don’t they just use magic to help with the groceries?”

Jade, also watching the two of them with an amused smile on his face: “It seems that they decided to give up using their brain cells for today. How unfortunate.”

--

Ruggie: “Hey, do you have a bag I can borrow?”

Leona!Yuu: “The only bags I have are the ones under my eyes, and they’re specifically designed to carry the burden of my existence.”

Ruggie: “Damn, all you had to say was no.”

--

Vil!Yuu: “Vil, I made you a flower crown! :D”

Vil: “I don’t really like flower crowns.”

Vil!Yuu: “Oh, then I’ll just give them to Rook-“

Vil: “No, put it on me.”

--

Also Vil!Yuu: “Is there a word that’s mixed between angry and sad?”

Rook: “Malcontented, disgruntled, miserable, desolated-“

Besides, they probably wouldn’t last long in the Coral Sea anyway.

Soon, Yuu had to go far away up on the land for their studies and usually didn’t come home for a few years. Why would they? There wasn’t anything new back home anyway.

When they did, they saw two familiar twins who had now grown up a lot. Yuu was surprised that the two were still alive but they still didn’t like them. They found out that the two were already in middle school. Floyd and Jade were their names, Yuu had relearned at the insistence of their parents but they didn’t see the point of it since they were probably going to forget it all over again.

What? They were boring, why would Yuu want to remember their names?

Mother and father were always worried about the two so they always sent Yuu out to bring them to and fro the school along with their bodyguards or whenever neither the two parents could do it. Yuu thought it was troublesome but their parents asked and it was even more troublesome to deny their request. Still, Yuu did as they were told. They sent the twins to school and picked them up whenever it was time to go home but Yuu made no move to talk or even acknowledge their existence and the twins did the same to them.

Yuu noticed that they always hung around a little octomer for some reason. The octomer was chubby and cried a lot that Yuu found him vaguely interesting because why would their little brothers follow such a crybaby? There must be something more to the story…

Still, it wasn’t enough for them to like their little brothers or even put them in their eyes.

Until that certain day, that is…

Yuu couldn’t clearly remember what had happened or what started it but they did remember grabbing one of the twins and trying to hurt him. They remembered lifting the little mer up by his neck, slowly tightening their grip on it and watched on with sadistic amusement as he struggled to break free.

Yuu knew that the other twin knew that they were much stronger and had basically zero chance at stopping them. They expected the other to go to their parents and tattle. Had the other done so, Yuu was going to use the chance to get rid of the filth in their hands. To their surprise, he didn’t. Instead, the twin rushed for them and wrapped an arm around their torso.

Yuu was confused. A hug? They were pretty sure this was a hug. Why would he hug them? Except, it wasn’t really a hug.

Their little brother just kept squeezing and squeezing and squeezing and Yuu gasped, feeling the pain on their ribs increase as it was slowly being crushed that their hold loosened on the other twin enough that he could break himself free.

Although small, the twin’s grip was surprisingly very strong. Yuu didn’t know if it was just their imagination but they heard a crack. They didn’t appreciate getting hurt. Angered, Yuu changed their target to the one who was currently crushing their torso but was stopped when the twin that got free pulled out a bottle from their backpack and threw it at Yuu as hard as he could.

The glass broke easily and the shards that cut their skin stung but whatever liquid was inside the glass bottle hurt even more. Yuu found it hard to breath, much less see when their eyes and lungs were burning with pain.

That was the extent of what Yuu could remember and then everything went black but, huh… Why did they try to hurt their little siblings anyway? Yuu wasn’t good at remembering things they didn’t find interesting but for something to lead to such a deadly encounter surely would be interesting enough for them to remember it, right?

It wasn’t a little later when everything finally settled and Yuu was getting medical treatment that they learned they broke a rib or two, courtesy of Floyd. And apparently they would blinded temporary because the potion bottle that one of the twins had thrown at him—Jade, they remembered—was something akin to a pepper spray in  the human world so that explained the burning sensation in Yuu’s eyes and lungs.

A few days later and they recovered. Their parents urged them to apologize to each other and Yuu finally got to see Floyd and Jade. They had sustained but a few scratches and bruises on them but they were ultimately alright in the end. And the defiant look they gave Yuu was definitely interesting.

The twins were deadly and fun… and cute, Yuu decided as a sharp smile appeared on their face. Yuu liked them.

Alas, Yuu couldn’t stay for long because of certain reasons and also had to go back to school far away once more. Though, ever since then, they occasionally visited home whenever they could.

==

“Azul~” A familiar voice that Azul hadn’t heard in years pierced through the silence of his office. Just hearing the voice made Azul pale, the color draining from his face as he whipped his head up to the door that was slowly creaking opened. There, peeking between the small gap with a wide smile was a figure that had an uncanny resemblance with the Leech twins. With how terrifying the scene he was seeing, Azul would’ve probably thought he was in a horror movie. He hoped he didn’t die like he was in one.

“Ne, ne, they tried to stop me from coming here so I hope you don’t mind me knocking them out.” Yuu said as they pushed open the door wider with a smile as they dropped the hopefully still alive bodies they were carrying on their shoulders to the ground.

Azul subtly eyed the bodies and saw the rising and falling of the chests of the unconscious Octavinelle students. He held a sigh of relief. They were alive, thank the Sevens he wasn’t about to get sued.

Yuu stepped into the room, smiling sharply as the two made-eye contact. Seeing Azul frozen in his chair just made the new arrival smile wider as they stepped over the bodies and headed over to his direction.

“Azul~ You’re looking a bit unwell. Do you want a hug?”

Azul pushed his chair away and tried to back up, stuttering out a weak, “Y-Yuu! What a pleasant surprise to have you here!” Not really. His life was practically flashing before his eyes. “But, well, I’m quite busy so I’d have to pass your offer. Why don’t you go see Jade and Floyd? I’m sure you can find them somewhere in the kitchens! They’d be delighted to see you!”

Yuu, however, didn’t listen to him and instead raised their arms, ready to hug the life out of him. Literally or metaphorically doesn’t matter because it was probably going to be the same anyway.

“Azuuul!” A voice from outside called out and Azul was quick to throw Floyd under the bus. Look, under normal circumstances he wouldn’t have the need to do this. But with Yuu? It was every fish for themselves.

“Speaking of, here he is now! Floyd, someone here’s for you!” Azul said just as Floyd appeared by the door, looking into the room curiously.

“…-ute…” Yuu muttered in a low voice, eyes glinting when they saw Floyd.

Floyd frowned at the unfamiliarly familiar stranger in the room.  For some reason, there was something about them that he couldn’t quite put a hand on. Just then, Jade also arrived in Azul’s office, curious as to why his brother was taking unusually long for him to report about the missing workers in Mostro Lounge before his gaze landed on the unconscious bodies on the floor (Ah, so that was were the missing workers went) and then slowly moving up to Yuu. Upon seeing their sibling, he froze in place, smile straining as he could only say one thing: “Fuck.”

It was quite an uncharacteristic thing for him to say. Jade wasn’t the type to swear much in the first place. He preferred to show airs of being a gentleman with full of manners but just enough hint of a subtle unhinged attitude on the surface but just seeing Yuu immediately broke his composure, which was understandable really.

In the end, Yuu had both the twin in each arm, ‘hugging’ them. Azul had barely been spared and he was glad to survive another day.

“Aiya~~ My little brothers are so cute~ I just want to huuuuuuug you two… until you pop!” Yuu chuckled and lightly squeezed the two. 

Although it had been a long time, Azul could still vividly remember the time when they were young where Yuu would chase them to ‘lovingly hug’ them. He didn’t know what happened for the oldest Leech to become so taken in with their brothers but ever since then, Yuu had never left them alone. Yes, even Azul himself.

“Now I remember who they are…” Floyd muttered as he hung limply from Yuu’s arm, looking traumatized.

“You actually managed to get selective amnesia and forgot about Yuu for all these years?” Jade asked his twin while at the same time trying to pry Yuu’s grip on him off to no avail. “That takes a surprising amount of talent.”

Although Yuu didn’t squeeze people as hard as the way Floyd did, their ‘hug’ was still troublesome in its own rights. The only hope the twins could have at escaping was for Yuu to momentarily get bored of carrying them everywhere or if Yuu found something or someone who would pique their interest but those moments were few and far between.