Prithvi bhai was sixteen when their bhaiya passed away.

Agni bhai was only seventeen. The same age as that brat.

But unlike him, Agney Rajvansh never had the luxury to throw a tantrum for becoming an orphan. Their fortresses had collapsed one after another, and the vultures swarmed the newly orphaned teen like men leering at a widow. Somehow, through it all, his bhai never backed down. He kept on pushing the limits, surviving the taunts, the mocking, and every condescension because he knew no one would come to their rescue. They were on their own.

Prithvi bhai grew up overnight. All of a sudden, he became a mother, a father, a brother, all in one. Jay clearly remembered when Shay would cry, inconsolable, it was Prithvi bhai who held them through their fears. 

Both the older brothers bled in silence. 

Jay would never forget that.

Maybe Yuvi bhai could overlook their sacrifices, especially of Prithvi bhai, but Jay couldn't. Just after a month of their bhaiya's death, and his older brothers had chosen the path of thorns willingly, he vowed to himself to never be a liability, never be a weakness to his brothers. The world would know him as their strength, never the weakness to be exploited. 

So, he bled. Cried. Picked up after himself because if his brothers, who had no one left to wipe their tears could survive it, so could he. He didn't want to trouble them anymore. They became his inspiration. At the same time, his obligation.

He owed to the people who could have left him and his twin behind. But didn't.

However, that brat... 

His fist pierced the air with striking intensity, landing on the man's cheek. His opponent staggered, the crowd roaring in the back, but his mind was in trance.

"Then you should've left me where I was!"

Yes. They didn't have strength for mercy.

"Why should I care about your damn family?" 

He shouldn't. They survived on their own, not owing to anyone's kindness.

"Hyena! Hyena! Hyena!"

The crowd was screaming in frenzied chorus,  their faces a faceless blur of shadows and flashlights circling the underground pit. He was standing at the center, chest heaving, knuckles slick with blood.

The man beneath him wasn't moving as his head was turned wrong.

He didn't care.

"How about you whine about me to that fuctard of your brother, hm?" 

The sound of his own pulse crashed against his skull. The world tilted.

"Hyena!"

Next moment when his consciousness crashed, he was straddling the man, killing him while laughing. This was what he was famous for- the thrill of victory, however cruel it was. The dark pleasure was making him dizzy. 

"Cukup! Cukup!" [Enough!] 

Someone yanked him back. The referee.

"Enough, you moron!" His brother's yell cracked through the noise. "He is done. Done!"

He stumbled backward, blinking, disoriented. He was shaking with giddiness.

He shoved past the guards, stumbling with adrenaline, hands still trembling, and disappeared into the back corridor of the club. He tore off the mask and tossed it to the ground, pulling down his hood.

He fumed, cracking his bruised, split knuckles, not wincing at the sharp, stinging pain. Pacing like an agitated animal, he slammed his fist into the wall. The hollow thunk echoed as he tasted copper on his tongue.

He screamed, cracking his knuckles again as the frustration boiled over.

"You know what I can do!" he snarled when Yuvaan swung open the metallic door.

Yuvaan stared at him blankly. 

"Did you see that bitch? I almost killed him. This is what I'm capable of. But that brat! Does he have any idea I was this," he pinched the air with his fingers, "this, close to snuffing his pathetic life. Oh, I bet he doesn't. I want to snap his neck with my bare hands!"

"Then do."

That stopped him cold.

Yuvaan clasped his hands behind his back, circling him. "If you want to kill him, just do it already. I'll help you hide the body from Agni bhai. I give you my word." He came to a stop.

Jay's chest heaved, eyes were wild with thrill. 

He imagined for once and all ending the final thread of weakness. Then, they would be invincible again. But the moment, Harsh's lifeless eyes flashed before him, he staggered back, heart spiking. His heart clenched so hard it ached.

"Man up," Yuvaan hissed. "C'mon! Stop oscillating like a coward. Make your mind for once and all. If you want to kill him, do."

Jay couldn't do it. He realized with horror. Something was tugging at his heartstrings. He remembered the first time his eyes had found him at the dining table. He didn't want to join the dinner and sit across their father's cheap spawn. However, when he saw Harsh the first time, so... small and utterly out of place under the light from the chandelier, he had a weird urge to change his whole world to accommodate him.

Had he really accepted that spawn as his brother then?

Jay turned away though, bitter. "You... you don't get it, bhai! He dared insult our brothers. I would have punished even God had it been in his place. He can't accuse my brothers for the slut of his mother not telling us sooner about him. Besides, what it would have changed anyway? He would have still been a whore's son. He doesn't understand the cost of..." he struggled. "Legacy. Everything we have sacrificed, lost, built to maintain it. He doesn't know how much our brothers have bled to keep us sheltered while they fought the predators. He doesn't understand what a family is. He doesn't care. Goddamn it if I don't want to kill him. I don't want another parasite leeching off our kindness. He's not entitled to anything. I just... can't!"

"Then kill him."

"No!" He rushed to excuse, scowling with narrow eyes. "What's your problem?" He snarled.

"My problem is you acting indecisive."

Jay recoiled at his icy tone.

Yuvaan stepped forward. "I hate people who are indecisive. I don't see the point of stalling the inevitable when you clearly don't want one thing, but don't want to face the guilt of being selfish either. It's cowardice in my eyes. The worst of it. I believe in being a man and dealing with the consequences head on. So, if you don't want him, you don't. Work on that. And if you can't get rid of him, accept him. There's no point in lamenting it like a woman."

Jay stared. Should he really make his mind?

But...

He clearly didn't see that brat worthy of an ounce of privilege his older brothers were generously showering on him.

However, he didn't want to kick him out literally at the same time.

So... accept him?

How?

His fists clenched by his side as he glared at the concrete wall across him. He exhaled loudly, tension coiling in his chest.

He knew he had to. Responsibility was a curse he had long stopped running from. It was wired into his blood, the same way duty had carved itself into his brothers' bones. Fair or not, that boy was theirs now. Family. The tip of his tongue turned bitter.

Whether born from betrayal or pity, it didn't matter. Harsh Rajvansh was his brother.

Rajvansh legacy hadn't survived on fairness, it had survived on responsibilities. Even bitter responsibilities.

Obligations. 

All of a sudden he realized that boy was a debt on his family. A debt they had to pay. 

Yuvaan glanced at the time on his apple watch, tight lipped. "Enough brooding, gorilla. Follow me."

He spun and began to leave.

"Mind you, I'm not a gorilla," he huffed, mind drawn back to present.

"Trying saying that to your twin's face." Yuvaan side eyed him with a grin. "Why? Cat got your tongue? Is gorilla afraid of his nerdy twin?"

Jay nudged him half heartedly, muttering, "You're so annoying."

His mind however, drifted back to Harsh. 

Annoying him was fun, to be honest. He couldn't wait to go back and annoy the hell out of that brat for riling him up. 

His stomach churned with resentment. It was unfair Harsh didn't struggle, didn't earn the privilege the way they did. He didn't like the baby treatment he was getting.

All courtesy of Prithvi bhai. Bhai could be a over-sentimental mess at times.

They cleared into the private parking. Kuala Lumpur was waking out of its sleepless night, neon signs still blinking against the paling sky.  Humid dawn wind hit his face, snapping him awake. He rolled his shoulders. The weight of travel and an immediate fight had stiffened his muscles. The last of the city's colored lights were fading across their eyes.

They had ditched their security mid-road and immediately drove here the moment they left the airport. This club was one their regular hunts, Yuvaan bhai patronizing it for him whenever he needed to disappear into the noise. It was safe from PR drama and their native politics.

He inadvertently followed Yuvaan who stopped by another sleek car with tinted windows.

He frowned. This was not the car they had arrived in.

Had his brother forgotten that? He frowned at the side of his brother's face. Should he correct him?

Or keep quiet?

He chose the later, bracing for his bhai's another devious scheme.

Of course, he mentally groaned.

Yuvaan Rajvansh wouldn't accompany anyone for no reason.

"Prince Yuvaan." A man bowed politely, entering their vision. "His highness is ready for a meeting."

His Highness...

Wait. 

His eyes narrowed. 

Yuvaan adjusted his cuffs, suddenly calm. "And?"

"You know how this works. Every meeting needs a collateral."

Yuvaan smirked.  

"I'm here with cordial intentions. Of course, what it takes?"

"Your brother." The man's eyes flicked to Jay, and back to Yuvaan. "So that we are assured you won't pull anything funny."

"Please." Yuvaan side stepped with a chuckle, stretching an arm to present his brother.

Two bodyguards point the guns at Jay's head who stared at his brother in disbelief. "Did you just..." he pointed at himself. "Put me on mortgage? What am I? Mangalsutra?"

Yuvaan smirked. "Take care of him." He waved half heartedly at the man, slipping in the backseat. "See you soon, baby brother. Don't trouble them too much. They have real bullets," he spoke sweetly as if he were mother leaving her kid with a reluctant babysitter. 

Jay was left gaping at the retreating car and the men who held him at gunpoint. A while later, his shoulders slumped with boredom.

"Can I atleast get a cocktail? And painkillers. And a shower? I'm stinking."

The men shared a look.

           Shay stared at the screen, popping blueberry in his mouth.

Gorilla: And that's how I'm at the gunpoint. If I die, tell Agni bhai Yuvaan bhai is the culprit.

Gorilla: And please don't just stare like a creep. Reply. 

Gorilla: Hello?

Gorilla: Shay, I'm serious. 

Gorilla: What's wrong with you? I've done so much for you my whole life. Are you going to leave your brother to die on the battlefield now?

Shay looked away, grabbing another. He glanced back at the laptop screen, bored.

Gorilla: So, you're going to ghost me now. Just my luck.

Gorilla: I swear, if I die, I'll possess your body and wear lingerie for a gay magazine. 

He popped another.

Gorilla: Hello?

Gorilla: Seriously? You don't love me too?

Gorilla: Shay.

Gorilla: SHAY.

Gorilla: sHAY.

Gorilla: shey, shey, sheesh!

Me: what?

Gorilla: Finally. Listen. I will be arriving home wrapped in our country's flag at this rate.

Me: Idiot. That's for soldiers. U r not. Btw I'm getting late for my slot. 

Gorilla: W!

Shay logged out of the conversation, glancing at the time. Yup. Its his study slot.

The white noise of his room crawled in his ears as he leaned back, stretching his upper body. With satisfying pops, he stretched his arms above his head, cracking his neck later. Afterwards he rolled his shoulders twice and began to type his notes.