I've Got You, Brother

*Surprise!

[KAWAI]

"—But for now, I have to kick your ass in chess," the lycan King said, the conviction in his voice making Sadako let out a knowing chuckle.

He had played this board game with his best friend for so many years, and in all those years, the results had already been the same. Sadako knew without a doubt that the outcome would be the same, and yet even then he was determined to see it through.

This was so important for the people of Kawai, and he had to win, not because Zaffuto always let him win, but because he wanted to show the people that their King was alive and well.

Probably shabbier than the forest beyond the Kwai mountains, but he was alive nonetheless.

Sadako wanted to prove to their people that no matter what happened, the big bad lycan king was always going to be on their side regardless. It was a given and nothing would ever change that, not today and definitely not ever.

"Oh yeah? What if I win?" Sadako teased as he cleaned the chessboard.

The dust on the damn board was too much and it was probably going to be a miracle if the two best friends didn't have trouble breathing for a while then again, that wasn't an issue to them given they were born to be immortal anyway.

Time was nothing to them; though would they really think like that when the winds came at them and the shores were suddenly dry of any hope of getting that which they both had been seeking for years on end?

"If you win, I'll greet the people of Kawai," the lycan King said and Sadako choked on air. He had never imagined that there would come a day when Zaffuto would willingly come out of his changers to go see his people.

For years the man had been cooped up and nothing had even made him reconsider whatever the fuck he was doing. He had always insisted on staying hidden and that in itself had made it a challenge for Sadako to reason with him.

However, here and now, Sadako knew that his brother wasn't bluffing. He didn't have a smile on his face or even any signs of mischief.

The great lycan King was making a dare and he was putting the fate of the whole lycan Kingdom in the hands of his best friend and brother, not to mention, the determinant was a damn chess board that hadn't been used for years.

Who knew if either of them even knew how to play the damn game anymore?

It had been a while and they were both obviously so rusty. Sure, Sadako would have had chances to play the game, but he had always left the chess game to himself and his brother.

Only Zaffuto was his challenger, and a fitting one.

"Well then, watch me kick your ass," Sadako said even though he was sure he would lose.

King Zaffuto was good at everything he did. Time may have cursed him and forced him to stay in some deep home in the palace, but he had always been the brightest and the most intelligent of the two of them.

He knew how to play and he knew he would win easily, and yet as he looked at his brother's face, as he looked at the brother who had run the kingdom for twenty-five years while he wallowed and mourned his queen, King Zaffuto had also made his choice.

If losing was going to bring back the light in Sadako's eyes, then Zaffuto Hinata would lose.

If losing brought him back the ever-jubilant best friend, then he would waddle in mud to the losing end of the damn game. He never cared for games, but he cared about his brother.

He may have cared about his people but he cared more about the light in his brother's eyes, because Zaffuto knew that the day when Sadao's bright light dimmed, then he would be fucked and alone, running a Kingdom he didn't even want to in the first place.

He would go back to being the cruel asshole of a King who murdered anyone he met for fun. He would backtrack to the kind of King that his Liana wouldn't approve of. Oh, how Lord Sadako was important to him.

"And what if I win?" King Zaffuto asked and Lord Sadako let out a sigh. He knew that this was a long game and he could tell that he was about to force his best friend to a choice, one that was so crucial, and a test of whether the King would keep his word.

"Then I'll tell you what is bothering me," Sadako said and for a moment the King looked at his friend. He knew what this was and he knew that they were walking on thin ice right now.

To anyone, this may have just been a bet between two friends, but to the two, this was more than that.

This was easily a resurrection of their former lives or a damnation of their current.

It was tempting, but they both had to be honorable. So when Sadako was done cleaning the chess pieces and the board, the two brothers started their game.

It was a game of hard passes, a game that spoke more than could be heard. It was a game that meant that so many things could either go wrong or right and maybe they were both curious what direction all of this would take for them too.

"Deal," the King said and they started playing the game.

The silence in Sadako's room was deafening, save for the chess pieces that were clicking on the board. The air had grown thicker.

There was no calm and the uncertainty that hung in the air was so bad that for a moment there, the both of them could have sworn they heard the skies rumbling in hope but then what was there other than hope anyway?

Granted, at the end of the game, they would still be brothers and best friends, but one of them had to lose, and it was saddening, really.

For thirty minutes, the brothers played, each of them winning and losing some streaks. They had both won and lost twice, and were currently playing their last game; one that would break the tie.

It was obvious that they both wanted to win.

Lord Sadako wanted to win, so that his brother would be able to see his people, while the big bad King wanted to win so he could know what was bothering his best friend.

He wanted to be there for Sadako and he was willing to bet on his whole Kingdom if that got him his best friend abc. It was going to be a long and hard battle. However, by the time the game ended, the decision hung in the air and they both knew what had happened.

Expectedly, one of them had won, while the other had lost.

They should have been happy, they should have been glad the tie was broken, but instead of being happy, they just sat in silence, staring at each other with accusing eyes as they glared at the chessboard before them.

Maybe it had been a given from the beginning, but goddamn.

Surely this wouldn't be hard, right? It was either one opened up while the other faced the music, no?

"You lost on purpose."