"Heard you went to see Kastro?"
November 17th. The sky hung cloudy as autumn gave way to winter. Each passing day brought colder winds. Roy's luck seemed to follow suit, taking a sharp downward turn.
In the corridor leading to the training room, Roy walked with Yukigakure hanging from his waist, moving casually through the morning light. Beside him walked Illumi, hands perpetually shoved in his pockets, his expression blank and emotionless.
The two Zoldyck brothers kept to their separate paths, maintaining distance like parallel lines that would never intersect.
"Does it concern you?" Roy's footsteps didn't slow. His eyes fixed forward.
"Yes." Illumi turned to face him expressionlessly. "He's not worth your effort."
"And you are?"
Illumi stopped mid-stride. He watched Roy's back disappear into the morning light, then scowled and hurried after him. "Since you can open the Fourth Gate, so can I."
In any case, don't think you're shaking me off.
The youth caught up in several quick strides, using Shadow Step not only to match Roy's pace but to overtake him by a step. He shoved open the training room door and walked through.
"I entered first," he announced, raising his chin.
Childish.
Roy's back foot crossed the threshold. He brushed past Illumi's shoulder without a glance and stepped inside. His eyes scanned forward and froze. Luke stood waiting, but instead of an electric baton, he held two poison injections in his hands.
"Lethal dose" neurotoxin and "half lethal dose."
"Master said electric shock training must continue, but poison resistance training cannot fall behind either," Luke announced respectfully, positioning one injection before each young master. "Young masters, please proceed."
Illumi's hand shot out like lightning. He snatched the lethal dose injection and plunged it into his neck, delivering the poison directly into his vein.
Then he staggered back, his neck stiffening as his body convulsed. His eyes rolled back. He collapsed.
I'm not weaker than him.
Roy faintly heard the thought as Illumi crumpled to the ground.
"Young Master Illumi!" Luke's face paled. He hurriedly caught Illumi in his arms. The youth's flesh purpled visibly before their eyes in seconds.
"Young Master Roy, you must witness this—Young Master Illumi chose the lethal dose himself."
Roy observed calmly as Luke's panic mounted. He said nothing.
As expected, the electronic eye in the corner flashed red. Within three minutes, two test tubes appeared through the delivery system—another poison injection and an antidote.
Roy consumed the poison. Illumi received the antidote.
Luke monitored Illumi's condition anxiously. When his breathing stabilized from chaotic gasps to steady inhales, and his eyes finally opened, Luke's tension eased.
"Young master, you were reckless," Luke said, letting Illumi lean against him as comfortably as possible.
Illumi stared at Roy with hollow eyes. Roy stood calmly, hand supporting Yukigakure, breathing steady and controlled. Roy looked significantly better than Illumi.
"Get me into the pit," Illumi whispered. November's wind had turned biting cold, cutting through the training room and his bones alike. He desperately needed the earth's comfort.
Luke obeyed, burying Illumi so only his head remained visible. The youth reluctantly closed his eyes.
Inside the training room, Roy felt the toxin eroding his body—numbness mixed with severe pain. After an initial adjustment period, he drew Yukigakure with a metallic ring and began practicing Sun Breathing.
Luke had barely settled Illumi when he turned to see Roy practicing. He nearly collapsed from stress. "Young master, you cannot move. It will accelerate the poison's spread."
But the more it spreads, the more it numbs, the more it burns. And the more I need to move, to practice, to push through. An enemy won't hesitate just because I'm poisoned.
Dance. Clear Blue Sky. Raging Sun. Fire Wheel. With the final form, solar halo and dragon fire connected as one. Roy pointed Yukigakure at the camera and smiled silently. "I was right, wasn't I, Father?"
Silva's eyes met Roy's through the television screen, and a thin smile played at his lips. He swirled his wine glass slowly.
Very good. Very spirited. If the toxicity isn't sufficient...
"Double it," he commanded Tsubone.
Tsubone bowed. "Yes, Master. I'll see it's delivered immediately."
Minutes later, another poison injection—significantly stronger—entered the training room.
By afternoon, when sunlight filtered through the bare willow branches and painted the garden gold, Roy's eyes opened. Illumi lay beside him, equally conscious.
Illumi stared at him quietly. "I thought you'd be more resilient."
Roy said nothing.
Luke, present as always, became his voice. "Young master Roy endured three lethal-dose injections consecutively."
Then Roy stood, brushed the soil from his clothes, and walked away.
Illumi's eyes tracked Roy's retreating figure, watching him move with steady purpose across the garden. He'd spent the entire afternoon dealing with the poison's aftermath, and now Roy walked away unbroken.
For a long moment after Roy disappeared, Illumi remained in his pit, staring at the empty space where Roy had been. Something flickered in his hollow eyes—frustration, grudging respect, or perhaps the beginning of understanding that he was chasing someone he couldn't catch.
"Young master."
"Young master."
Grandfather Zigg's underground chamber welcomed Roy once more.
His face calm, he offered a subtle nod to Scarface and One-Eye standing guard. They bowed in return and pulled open the security door.
Roy stepped into the lonely passage, then paused. He turned back to face them. "On behalf of Grandfather Zigg, I thank you both for your years of dedication."
His tone carried genuine sincerity. "If circumstances permit, I will convey your loyalty to him."
Scarface and One-Eye exchanged glances, pressed their right hands to their chests, and knelt.
"That is our honor. Please, young master, tell Master that all is well at home."
Roy fell silent for a moment, remembering the question: "Whose child are you?"
He took a deep breath. "I will."
One final glance, then he walked through the passage. He saw the chrysanthemums carefully maintained before the airtight door. He saw the writhing tentacles. He saw kind eyes. Then darkness swallowed everything as he entered the Game of the Dead.
"Quick, lie down!" Before the familiar shout finished, Roy reacted instantly. The moment Zigg uttered the first syllable, Roy threw himself flat and summoned his Ren, forming an aura shroud to resist the sandworm's overwhelming presence and the debris it churned across the earth.
Ten seconds. Thirty seconds. Fifty seconds. One minute. Finally, one minute and five seconds.
A silver-haired hedgehog head emerged, studying Roy with curiosity.
"Whose child are you? How did you sneak onto the ship?"