1 I

Kyouya's brothers have their own herbivores.

Fon, the oldest brother, has his self-styled Arcobaleno. He's been in Hell for as long as Kyouya can remember, only visiting Earth for a few days per year before heading back down to take charge of Hell again.

Alaude, the middle brother, has the group called Vongola. He's also been away long enough that Kyouya doesn't know when he first left. He stays in Heaven and keeps the peace up there.

Their parents were horrified when Fon left and angry when Alaude did, immediately pulling a young Kyouya from training and sending him off to the least supernaturally populated town they could find.

He's lived there ever since, strictly ordered to never leave or have contact with the Otherside, on the off chance he gets caught up in the madness like his brothers did. They even sealed him into the town, painting shackles onto his skin so he can't cross the border.

He was young then, and didn't understand what the symbols meant. Still doesn't, not really, since he's not allowed to have access to the translations, but it's rather obvious what they do. Whenever he tries to leave, the symbols on his skin flare gold and seep black and he can't take a step further past the invisible line.

The only time he's allowed out is when the two older brothers arrive on Earth, and all of the Hibari family -a clan of supernatural hunters who discipline those that reveal the Otherside or commit crimes- gather to welcome them back.

It's not because the brothers are missed that the family greets them. It's so information on the two largest supernatural threats can be gathered and pried out of the brothers.

When the two brothers aren't in ear shot, the adults start gossiping and insulting them for being so shameful as to make friends with the creatures and then even leave Earth. They insist on repeatedly telling Kyouya to never get involved with the supernatural.

He couldn't even if he wanted to, because Kyouya is trapped and that fact hovers at the back of his mind every minute of every day.

It would be so easy to just threaten another family member until they unlocked the shackles, but he took an oath when he started hunter training like everyone does. He agreed to never cause harm to another Hibari so any threats he made would fall through.

It's not like he wants to start trouble either; revenge isn't something Kyouya is willing to waste time on. He just needs to leave Namimori and get away from the cage he's locked into. Even with the family gatherings, he's tethered to another anchor point in the main compound, just switching out one prison for another.

It makes him sick, being forced to pace the border of his cage like a feral animal. He loves Namimori but seeing it every day and knowing that he isn't staying by choice just makes him want to tear it all apart from the largest building to the smallest animal.

He wants to leave nothing but rubble and corpses and fire and broken things, just so they'll scream like he does. Maybe if he paints a cry for help large enough on the ground someone will see it. Maybe if the words are red enough with blood someone will come for him.

Kyouya can't take it anymore. He might be weak and pathetic for this but he can't stay trapped any longer or he'll do something disgusting.

Fortunately, Kyouya has two brothers. Brothers that never speak with the Hibari clan outside of bland pleasantries. Brothers that are ignorant to his situation. Brothers that have more than enough knowledge to erase the ink.

Kyouya has a plan, yes, and if anyone dares to get in the way he'll bite them to death.

...

Fon steps outside and lets out a relived breath as soon as the door closes behind him. It's exhausting to deal with the family, because they're incredibly prejudiced against the supernatural.

Most demons are disgusting, horrible creatures that lust after blood. However, that's for the lesser beasts, the lower levels who are barely more than instincts.

Fon's friends aren't like that. They're the strongest demons in Hell -the Arcoableno- and while they're willing to defend themselves to the point of fatality, he's not ashamed of them because he does the exact same. Hell is dangerous and you have to be constantly aware of any demon looking to advance in the hierarchy by killing you.

Not unlike Earth.

Fon tucks his hands into the long red sleeves of his traditional Chinese tunic, turning left and making his way down the hall. He steps around a corner and has to make an abrupt twirl to the side to avoid a running Alaude who almost crashes into him. The blond gives Fon a look of panic and the sound of a woman calling for the younger brother sweeps down the hall.

Fon immediately recognises the voice of their mother in 'I'm disappointed and I'm going to make sure you know it' mode.

He grabs Alaude's hand and they both sprint down the hall Fon came from. They race past the double doors holding the large room most of the clan is centred in and continue with a few twists and turns.

They both hear their mother's footsteps pounding against the wooden floor behind them and know with a certainty that she's catching up. The Hibari clan might not technically be born with Otherside blood but the training ensures they can be just as powerful as any creature.

They skid around a left turn and blink when one of the doors opens and Kyouya looks out, gesturing them inside. They shoot into the room like the hallway is on fire and whirl around, frantically gesturing for Kyouya to close the door.

The teenager just tilts his head to the side and looks at them, the gaping entry way looming behind as the footsteps get louder.

"What do you want?" Alaude hisses out in a low voice to not catch their pursuer's attention.

"Whatever it is, we can talk later," Fon joins in with a whisper.

Kyouya turns to glance out to the hallway, opening his mouth to call for the woman. Fon and Alaude shoot forwards, the demon tamer snatching up the youngest and clamping a hand over his mouth while the angel keeper shuts the door as fast as he can while still being quiet.

"Fine!" Alaude grits out. "Anything you want, just stay silent."

Kyouya nods, partly restricted by the hand on his mouth but the gesture is clear. Fon hesitantly releases him but stays close as their mother storms past the door. Soon the sound of her footsteps vanishes entirely.

"Alright," Alaude says slowly in a normal volume, brushing the wrinkles out of his tan trench coat. "She's gone."

Fon's tense body unwinds and he paces over to one of the couches arranged in a loose circle in the middle of the spare room. He drops down and sighs, followed closely by Alaude.

Kyouya takes a seat on the one with his jacket slung over the couch arm and folds his hands in his lap. He's not uncomfortable in his brothers' presence, but he's more formal than strictly necessary with family because these two are veritable strangers to him.

"Erase the symbols on me and I won't inform mother of where you are," Kyouya demands and the two older men immediately focus on him.

"You won't get two steps from this room," Alaude promises darkly.

"Symbols?" Fon murmurs.

The two responses are focused on different parts of Kyouya's offer but at least they aren't immediately dismissing him.

"Painted runes," Kyouya says, replying to Fon since the man is heading in the right direction.

"Show me," Fon suggest as he shifts to lean forward in his seat.

Kyouya calmly rolls up his sleeves and holds out his arms, wrists up. It's inactive for now, invisible.

Fon stands and makes his way to Kyouya's seat, crouching in front of the teenager and pressing a hand against Kyouya's forearm before whispering words of power that sound like metal being crushed. Symbols fade into view, turning pitch black in small, broken segments across Kyouya's wrists.

Fon frowns a little because they don't make any sense. He takes Kyouya's hand and rotates his arm to read all the way through. It's not written with correct grammar and a lot of the nouns are missing.

The Hibari clan use angel and demon symbols more than any other language, so it's not unusual to see the black markings, but the empty spaces say another portion is missing.

Alaude moves over then, crouching beside Fon at Kyouya's feet to grab a hand himself. The blond speaks in song, forming a light-hearted melody that swirls about the room. More symbols flare to life in gold and connect the fragmented words of the black writing.

The weaving of enchantments says a master of both the demonic and angelic arts wrote it. It's brilliant in its complexity. The two languages would normally clash since even identical words never mean the same thing. The use of 'light' for angels means 'cleanse' while 'light' for demons means 'pain' or 'stay away' depending on the context.

It's no wonder Kyouya needs help since this mastery of runes isn't taught to normal hunters. People with this level of skill had to have learnt it over decades. Fortunately, Fon and Alaude both have more than enough experience.

"Binding," Alaude grumbles. "I hate binding."

"There's a receptor that these connect to," Fon says. "They must really want to keep you away from something. Do you know where the second half is?"

Kyouya shakes his head, because angels can sense spoken lies and Alaude has been around the feathered soldiers long enough to pick up a few tricks.

"That's fine," the blond states. "I won't need it."

Alaude encircles Kyouya's wrist entirely with a hand and starts up a wordless song that sounds something like sunlight. The symbols start glowing and the shine continues building until the light seeps past Alaude's fingers and becomes blinding.

Fon wraps his fingers around Kyouya's other wrist and hisses out something like a guttural string of noises that could be swearwords. The black symbols don't glow, not quite, instead they start giving off wisps of shadows that lazily curl into the air. The longer Fon speaks the faster the tendrils move until they're thrashing madly.

The two men stop abruptly and it feels like something in Kyouya snaps as the symbols suddenly vanish. Fon lets go and sits back on his heels with a smug smile.

Alaude, however, stands and wrenches Kyouya off the couch with the blond's grip still on the younger's wrist. The blond drags Kyouya over to the exit, snatching the black high collar jacket from the couch as he passes and opens the door.

"Don't tell mother we're here," Alaude says with a threat hidden in the words, before throwing Kyouya out and tossing the jacket after the teenager.

Kyouya stumbles from the harsh push but gets his balance quickly enough to catch the clothing. The door shuts firmly behind him and Kyouya is left in the hallway, gripping his jacket and staring down at his wrists.

A smile spreads across his lips.

He easily swings the jacket around so it rests lightly on his shoulders, turning to stroll down the hallway as he unrolls his shirt sleeves. He continues past the many doors and the occasional wandering Hibari or staff member, and walks straight out of the compound.

He's free for the first time in years and he's not going to waste it.