Ludwig never knew the difference between family and Family. He never knew that they who are surrounding him are Family with capital f—mafia. And he never knew that his brother was someone who always try to never let him touch their rotten life.
At least until a few minutes ago, he never knew.
Now he knows.
Now...
After his father was killed in front of his eyes.
After his brother who had been writhing on the floor was trampled and tortured by them... in exchange for him.
"I never knew the son of the crazy Don who experimented on humans doesn't know that he is a DON's SON. Hahahaha! Are you acting, Ein?
"Whoa! You will become a great actor!" one of the man in white, whose behavior looks like their leader, was laughing and threw words full of sarcasm. He walked around Ein, Reinhardt, who was lying with bloodied head and black and blue on every inch of his body.
"Answer me, Ein!" Yelled that man again as he kicked the boy's stomach, resulting in his muffled scream. He kicked, again and again. All kicks landed on the body of that 16 year old boy without resistance, again and again. After all, the boy was in a perfect posture to get kicked, with both hands tied on his back and his feet chained to a heavy golden ball.
Ludwig could only weakly shake his head with tears filling his sight as he saw his cheerful, nagging, and sometimes audacious brother was quiet, no longer responding nor fighting back. But what can his brother do? His brother was alone. 12 adult men surrounded the young him and kicked or punched him like sandbag while his brother was forced to not fight back.
Because if his brother fought back... the knife whose sharp edge touching Ludwig's neck would surely open his artery and wind pipe.
Yes. Ludwig had become a hostage to silence Reinhardt.
And this made Ludwig want to cry!
Mein Gott! It was as if he was a pest! As if he was chaining his brother! He couldn't fight—if it was compared to Ein, his self-defense ability was smaller than 0.01 percent—making Ein locked and then tortured over and over.
Why his brother didn't run?
Why when they came attacking their house, his brother went to his room far in the corner of the house and brought him away?
Why wasn't he left behind?
When just a few weeks ago... in anger, Ludwig cursed his brother. In anger, he asked his brother to disappear, to die. But why Ein still care about him?
Why?
"Tell me, Ein. Where did you store the complete research? Come on, say it, dear~"
Ludwig's self-derision stopped the moment a strange question was heard.
That man in luxurious white suit was the one who asked. He watched Reinhardt's face with his eyes full of meanings. His hands playing a folding knife while his foot grinded the boy's chest. He was waiting for the moment the adolescent boy of a well-known professor, Gilbert Dietrich, from one of many German's famous universities talk.
Ein simply responded with a slight smile. Then he whispered slowly, "ich... weiß ... es nicht!" showing how he did not and does not understand.
Ludwig furrowed his eyebrows. He didn't understand. Complete research? Of what? Don't tell me...
Ludwig was horrified. He remembered them talking about experiment on humans. Then that complete research... was it about...
"Okaaay~ will this make you answer, Ein?"
Bang!
The air in Ludwig's blood disappeared as his blue eyes rounded. Blizzard attacking his brain with its overbearing cold and wind. His motoric sensors giving out commands. Not a second later, the boy's body greatly shook because ...
Oh Gott! Nein! Gott! Just now ... something whooshed past near his ear. Something from... the mouth of the now smoking revolver held by that man in white.
That man was going to shoot Ludwig's head.
So, he succeeded in awakening the once tired tiger in Ein's body.
Ein was angry. He stood and head-butted that man in white. His movements was light as if he had wings and there was nothing dragging his feet.
Moreover, for reasons Ludwig couldn't understand, his brother could use the golden ball chaining his feet as weapon! His legs moved smoothly and several men in black who attempted to help their boss got smashed instead.
Ludwig's mouth opened as he saw his brother's return from inactivity. Not only was him, but the young beauty who was around Ein's age behind him also shocked. She was the youngest mafiosi in this room. Maybe threatened to attend these torture by her father. Poor her.
But all pity that flashed in Ludwig's mind disappeared as a hot tin burst from a small gun in that beauty's hand.
Ludwig did not know when that silver haired beauty change her knife around his neck to a gun, but that bullet had poked a hole in his brother's foot.
Another shot. Now bursting through his brother's back.
Ein's balance broke. In pain, he staggeringly rotated his body. Until he faced Ludwig — and that beauty before...
Bang! Another shot rang once again.
This time it was straight, through Ein's chest.
At the same time, the giant door in that room opened and several others came in, be they old or young. They saw live that Russian beauty pulled the trigger, boring a hole in the chest of Gilbert's descendant.
Their shocked gasps ended that series of shots.
The people who had been in the room, be they the mobs in black and the leader in white, were quiet, speechless.
A suffocating silence ensued.
A man, big and tall in his gallant Russian posture, spoke. An unbelieving question thrown from his lips, "Vanya. What did you do?"
"I, I ... was ..." Vanya, that beauty, was anxious. She didn't seem to understand what she did and she didn't know how to explain her actions.
"Check if Ein's still alive! We need Dietrich to solve this case!" shouted an Italian man to that young beauty. He went deeper, followed by a young man with curly hair.
Ludwig couldn't hear anything. His ears didn't hear them speak. His eyes only reflected his brother's body on the ground.
That body was surrounded by unidentified men in suit, approached by a lithe hand belonging to a woman. Her slender fingers pressed on that body's neck, to check that body's pulse.
She shook her head ...
And Ludwig knew his world had shattered. For a moment, his brain stopped functioning.
He can only open his eyes wide, focusing on the person who always put him above all else.
His memory stopped at a few seconds before his brother fell. He saw... his brother looked at him with eyes full of meaning. His pale lips opening and closing to say...
Es tut mir leid, bruderlein.
Tears flowed from Ludwig's eyes. "N-nein ..." he whispered weakly, not wanting to believe what happened in front of him. He shook his head, full of despair. Then he screamed commands to his brother, Ein, "wach auf, Bruder! Wach auf, Bruder! Bruder ... BRUDER!!!"
That command stopped the activities on the other side... but it could not wake his brother up, let alone move his brother.
"Bruder! Bruder!" Ludwig called once again. Tears flowed down without end. That thin lips called one name.
Again.
And again.
Until a long howl full of sadness and pain came out from his throat, "BRUUUDEEEEERRRRRR!!!!!!!!"
But nothing changed.
Reihardt did not answer.
Starting then, he was alone.
[]
glosarium:
[Deutsch] Ich... weiß ... es nicht! : I don't know
[Deutsch] Gott : God
[Deutsch] Nein: No
[Deutsch] Mein : my
[Deutsch] Bruder : brother
[Deutsch] Es tut mir leid, bruderlein : I'm sorry brother
[Deutsch] wach auf : wake up!
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Author note:
so this is my first time writing with English. Is it okay? Should I write more or nay?
I am sorry, I am an Asian. English and the other languages in this story is not my mother tongue. Feel free to correct them!
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