It was a heartbreaking sight. Just seeing him sitting there on the windowsill, legs pulled to his chest, head buried in his arms sobbing like he had just seen his mother's murder. His hand needed to be wrapped, it was already bleeding way more then it should have. The crimson soaked deep into the silk ridding it of the lively blue it once had been.

Kiku moved to him. Softly placing a hand on his. The boy was startled for a moment. Slowly but surely his eyes were raised as he looked up at him. The once lively blue was overcome with sadness and a deep unending depression. Everything he had done, sacrificed all of himself, his hopes, dreams, happiness all had been unappreciated. It hurt to look in those eyes. How they were so broken, just like the day he finally snapped.

"Alfred…" His voice was soft, low and sympathetic. To have his brother, his twin, the only person he cared for the most rip out his heart with those three words…It nearly destroyed him. "He does not understand. He wont understand until you tell him the truth."

"You know I cant." His voice was cracking. "I cant tell him…that I am some whore because of him. I can not tell him that we are protected by Arthur as long as I serve him." The tears just did not seem to stop. "I agreed and signed the damn contract so I could leave, so I could be there for my brother." His voice was eerily calm. It brought chills to Kiku.

The Japanese man watched the younger male as he moved him, wanting him to be happy for once. "Alfred, you know as well as I do you can not keep him from this. He is sick yes, but he is still a teenager, much like yourself. He is young and foolish. Consequences for him are more severe yes but…he is only acting as nature intended. Matthew is still human Alfred, he is going to make mistakes and he is going to fall in love. You can not protect him forever."

"I can if he would only listen…" he was getting upset. "He is foolish, pigheaded, childish, selfish…"

"Like you?" a warm smile was on his lips. "He is so much like you Alfred. So much that he nearly fooled me once." He would not elaborate on that. "He believes I am the one whom cause the marks on you."

Alfred's eyes shot to him, confusion and fear clearly displayed in his sapphire orbs.

"Relax I told him nothing, though he did threaten me." He sat up and pulled the tray to him, ready to wrap the bleeding wound. "I never laid more then a kiss upon you, as I have said before." He took the hand and poured water over it. "I never wanted to take anything from you." A small blush formed as he poured the disinfectant on the wounded appendage. "I am human Alfred, I was weak to my curiosity and I had earned your distrust. I understand this. Yet I wish you to also understand that I have done far more for you then I had any other. I never thought of it as a debt you must repay, I only hoped you would see me in the light I see you." He took the needle and inserted it into the hand, numbing it so he could stitch it up.

"I have loved you since the first moment I laid eyes upon you in the orphanage." A deep crimson covered his cheeks. "I did everything I could for you, for the kind hearted boy who did not see my race and shudder. He saw another child there, no different then he nor his brother. A beautiful soul that shown brightly, fighting to keep his small family together. A man I seen sacrifice all he could for those less fortunate then himself as he tried to keep his head above water." He began the first stitch. "I have watched you suffer in silence for far too long, I can do it no longer, I can keep my feeling restrained not a moment more." The second stitch. "You think yourself alone but you are not, you never were. I tried to help you and each time I did you pushed me away, I will not be pushed aside any longer!" another stitch. "I have seen enough, had enough." He finished stitching his hand before looking up at him. "I only wish your happiness." Kiku cupped his cheek. He looked in his eyes. "Aishiteru…Afuredo-san."

~/-*-\~

Gilbert narrowed his eyes as he looked at the building. Shady Oaks…He turned to Ludwig with a dumbfounded look. He was unsure what was going on. Why had his bruder taken him here? Since they had found out about Alfred's identity as their half bruder, their lives had been upside down. Neither could eat nor sleep after knowing what they had done. Ludwig had been silent, so little that Gilbert worried so much about him.

"Gilbert…I have been lying to you these many months…" he said as they walked through the halls. "There is so much I did to protect you…I thought it all for the best Bruder…" he said softly.

They turned into a room, closing the door behind them. "You have some nerve coming here! And to bring him!"

Gilbert's eyes widened as he looked at the man before him. Once long blonde hair now silver with age, blue eyes now dull and filled with wisdom. "Vater…" he took a step back. "You…you died…Ludwig…he shot you…Ludwig!" he turned to him anger in his eyes. "You lied about him!"

"I did it to protect you. He tried to kill you! What was I to do just stand there and let it happen!" he stood defensively. He had thought long and hard, telling himself this was all for the best. He loved his bruder, her loved him so dearly that he could not lose him.

"Protect me?! How is lying to me protecting me?! I mourned for him!" tears filled his eyes. He didn't know what to think of this. His bruder…had lied about his Vater's death. There was so much he wished to say to him he thought he never could. Now he knows…he could have told him all this time. The pain he went through for never having said good bye…

A grizzled laugh filled the room. "Pithetic…as I always knew you were. I should have finished you off when I had the chance!" the old man snickered. "Why have you come? To torment me with his existence? I should have ended his life when he was born!"

"Vater…we have come because of this." Ludwig tossed the folder down scattering some of the files on the table, the image of the woman out on the table where Hans could see.

His eyes narrowed and his liver spotted hands picked up the picture. "Where did you find this?" he asked, anger in his voice as he glared at them. "WHERE DID YOU FIND THIS?!"

"In your desk." Gilbert snapped. He knew there was no changing this man. This man was never his vater. He never loved him. He never would no matter what he said or did. All his life there was not a moment he could recall where his vather was worth remembering. Now he had to know. What had happened to Alfred.

"Who is she?" Ludwig asked, eyes narrowed in anger. "Tell us now!" He slammed his hands on the table. He would not back down, he needed to know what was going on and why he had abandoned his sons. "Tell me!"

The old man scuffed but looked down lovingly at the image. "She was everything I loved. I married your Mutter because it was what my Vater had wanted. I never cared for her." He looked to them to find horrified faces. She was a good woman but…what more was he care for? "I meet her well after your mutter's death. I searched for another wife but none seems suitable. I would marry whom I wished but I fancied none." He set the picture down. "It was around nineteen years ago…"

Hans had just left yet another failed date. The woman was young and beautiful but he could tell she was the spoiled brat of a businessman. She was dressed in more diamond then cloth and spoke with a dialect that was unattractive. He was glad to leave as he payed for his coffee and turned around. It happened fast as his expensive suit was covered in the dark liquid ensuring that it would never come out. Rage filled him as he turned to the foul bastard to let him have it. Instead he was awe struck by beautiful blue eyes, eyes like a bright summer day.

"Oh my I am so sorry!" She exclaimed, as she looked his suit over. "I did not see the ice and…I am terribly sorry about the suit! Is there anyway I can fix this?" she asked.

He was lost in her eyes. Never had he seen such beautiful blue eyes in his life. Yet, she was young, he was nearly three times her age. This meant little given he was rich. He had to make her his. Since the death of his wife he had many eligible women thrust upon him but he wished to marry whom he wished. "Do not worry my dear. Are you okay? "He offered his hand to her.

"Yes I am fine. I am so sorry that I ruined your suit, really I am! May I pay for it?" she asked as she took his hand.

Her hand was soft, smooth and warmed.

She had run off then, nameless save for the face, her final words being that she would pay him back one day.

"That had been our first meeting and I was smitten with the girl. I was well over twice her senior but in high society this was not a matter." He hummed as he looked at the picture. A man whom had fallen so deeply in love with a woman that it nearly drove him to madness. "I wanted her. Gott knew how much I wanted her. I prayed that we would meet again and he listened! I met her again in the spring…"

The trees were well in bloom when he was enjoying a nice stroll through the park. Ludwig was at his studies and the bastard was off to some school. He didn't care as long as the waste of breath was not in his sight. He had stopped to rest and admire the falling petals when he noticed her. His eyes transfixed on the sun kissed skin that he had only dreamed of. She was dressed in a sky-blue kimono decorated with blossoms of royal blue. She held in her ebony hair a silk ribbon, sky-blue fading to a darker blue that trailed so weightlessly behind her. It made her eyes shine all the more.

She was alone, carrying a basket filled with treats and covered with a small cloth. He took this chance, thinking that he would never be awarded such a pleasure again. He moved to her. She remembered him. A gentle smile upon her lips as she reached into her bag for a change purse. "I know it is for too late but…" she handed him the purse. "I hope that is enough to replace your suit. I could not help but feeling bad that I ruined it. So I saved this money until I could see you again and repay you." She gave such a beautiful smile.

He was taken back by this. How long had she worked for all of this money? And to have held it this long in hopes of seeing him again. She was not just beautiful but honest as well. He handed the purse back. "Really it was nothing. You needn't worry over it. I needed to be rid of that monkey suit anyway." He laughed softly.

She joined in, laughter like chiming bells in a summer breeze. He needed her. "You are funny mister…" she blushed softly. "I do not seem to recall a name…" she bit her lip. "How embarrassing!"

He smiled, her shy behavior made her all the more alluring, and her blush! Gott spare him! "Hans, Hans Beilschmidt." He took her hand and kissed it. "And you my lady?" oh did her cheeks turn red at that!

"I…I am..am…" she had to think. "Aiyana! That's right, Aiyana."

"Do you have a family name?"

She shook her head. "If I do I cannot recall it." She said sadly before turning to smile at him.

"I offered her everything. Money, power, she would want for nothing." He sighed as he touched the picture. "I wanted her more than anything. Yet she refused me. She was in love with another and would not have me." He smiled cruelly. "Yet I got what I wanted."

"Ah, Mister Hans Beilschmidt, to what do I owe the honor?" Sadik crossed his arms as he looked at him over his desk. Such a rich man whom could have any woman he wished, here in his whore house.

"I hear you are not opposed to…certain selections that are not available?" he kept it strictly business, wanting the one woman whom turned him away. He kept dreaming of her. Wanting her so badly he was willing to go to this man for help.

He laughed. "You have someone in mind? I can provide her, keep her quiet and even stay quite…all for a price." He didn't do nothing for free. Every job had its price.

Hans placed the picture on the table for him to see. He had gone this far. He wanted her. One way or another he was going to have her.

The man laughed. "I know her. Pretty little thing isn't she?" He tucked the picoted into his shirt. "Half a million." He said finally. "She's of interest to my rival, going to be hard to get to her but the price buys my silence. She's also still a virgin, waiting for that bastard to make a move."

The price was steep, but he needed to have her. Even for one night. Just one night and he can work out his urges. "Done."

Gilbert balled his fists tightly. His eyes narrowed as he fought the same he felt. "You raped her…" he punched the wall. How could his father have done this? How could he have forced himself on a woman? Didn't he know? No means no? Yet, a new reality shown. If it had not been for his father…Alfred would not exist.

"Do not tell me shit boy. I wanted her and I had her. Filled her belly with little bastards. Twins…boys at that. Better than the likes of you two." He turned to Ludwig. "I know about the whore house. Did you think I didn't? What did I care? Man has his needs. Men can't get pregnant. There was no chance of you ruining my reputation." He coughed. "I payed off the doctors, told them to tell me when she gave birth. Those boys were mine. I signed the certificates. Kept them and locked them away. Was a full year when I heard that she was in the hospital for one of them. Figured I'd force her to come with me, to marry me. Who would stop me?" His voice was pained. "She didn't like that I held her son. That I put a gun to his head. There was a struggle...the gun went off." Tears flowed down his eyes. "I loved her."

~/-*-\~

He didn't know what happened or how he got here. He was terrified, his limbs tied to the bed. He could not scream or call for help, the gag in his mouth saw to that. All he could do was cry, hoping his brother would come for him. That he would help him. The monitors he was attached to went off. Beeping wildly with the increased heart rate. Warning that he would not be able to handle this.

The door opened. The beeping stopped. Having prayed that this was his brother. That he had come for him. He would never argue again, never fight with him and say he was sorry. That he should have listened and it was just anger and nothing more. Yet, it would not be. He was greeted by a man he had never seen before. A man that for some odd reason, he feared.

"So this is the brother I have heard so much about…" his voice…it sounded like a man on the edge of sanity. Eerily calm and chilling at the same time. "You have his face…" the man's hand stroked his cheek, slowly, sensually. "but not his eyes…" he pulled the gag out.

"I…I don't know who you are, or what is going on…please…let me go…" Mathew was on the verge of tears. Trying not to seem weak but he was genially terrified. This man was going to kill him, he knew he was. The look in his eyes screamed that he wanted to.

He laughed. Chilling the young man even more. "No…you wouldn't would you? Alfred wouldn't want you to know would he? All the shit he has been pit through…all his suffering just for you?" The man raised the bed, allowing him to sit up and see the blank television screen. "Why would he care for Arthur? For the master who paid for his brother's medication? For the apartment? For everything I have done to keep you safe?" He slammed his hand against the wall, breaking it before moving to the bed.

"He has a short time to get his ass here…" he grabbed the terrified child's face and he lost it. Tears flowed from his eyes as he begged for his life. "Shhhhh, I wont kill you boy…no no, I will give you the same offer I did him three years ago…" he looked to the screen, now on. The very same room, same bed, yet the child strapped to it was not the one before him.

It was Alfred.

~/-*-\~

Something wasn't right. As Kiku spoke he could not focus. The sudden feeling of horrifying dread filled him. As if a large part of him had just been filled with terror. Kiku spoke but he heard none of it. His heart racing before he realized in utter horror…"Mattie.."

Kiku noticed his face paled. Wondering if his confession was too much before he began to shake Alfred, lost in his own mind and terrifying him. "Alfred?" he shook him, tapping his face. "Alfred?!" he shook him again. "Are you okay?" he turned his head, causing him to sigh in relief. "What has gotten into you?" he questioned. Only to hear the name of his brother. "What about h…" he couldn't finish.

Alfred was already up on his feet and running out the door, knocking Yao over who had come to check on him. The man shot a look to his brother who seemed so confused as he followed after the blonde. Running slower then him, trying hard to catch up as he made his way to the room he had been dragged from a few hours earlier.

He finally caught upto him, panting heavily. "Alfred is every thing okay?" he asked. By now Yao was up and near them, questioning what was happening as Alfred slowly walked into the room. The window was opened. A storm raging outside. Lightning flashed, exposing the empty bed and a single handwritten note surrounded in ashes.

Alfred walked upto it, slowly extending his hand to take the note and read it. It fell from his hands a moment later, falling to the bed and into the ashes of his burned contract. He turned to leave, only to be blocked by the two men wanting an explanation. He tried to run past but Kiku held him tightly.

"LET ME GO!" he was hysterical. Crying out as if his very life was about to end. "HE HAS HIM! HE HAS HIM!" he struggled against him, tears pouring from his eyes. "KIKU PLEASE! LET ME GO!" He buried his head in his chest, knowing he was not strong enough to fight him.

KIku held him tightly, trying to calm him. "Alfred calm down, please! Who has him? What is going on?" Just as sudden as it started, he felt him weaken. Pulling back to hold his hands upon his cheeks, allowing him to look into his dark eyes. "Talk to me…"

"I fucked up…" he cried. "I fucked up so badly! I only wanted to ensure he was alright….I fucked up…" He was starting to hyperventilate. Everything that he pushed aside for the past three years now catching up and slamming into him like a train.

Yao moved past, picking up the note.

You took what I desired. Now I take what you love most. The ashes of our agreement, now rest where he was. Three hours, before what happened three years ago now repeats.