27

Chapter 27

It was a few minutes after the arrival of the officers when they entered the room once again. As Yuuri, Phichit, Victor and Minako waited anxiously on their knees in the middle of the room to be given some medical attention, the officer who had first arrived walked over and began checking Yuuri over for injuries, making sure that none of the younger boy's injuries were too serious. Once done with that, the officer instructed one of the other officers on duty, who then walked over to Yuri. "Your Highness, we're here to help you," the officer told him. Before he was able to respond, however, the senior officer quickly added, "Not in the way that you think. We're not here to arrest or torture you. In fact, I'm hoping that you will show us some trust by giving us access to whatever is hidden underneath your robes."

Without wasting another single second on responding to his comment, Yuri reached for the hem of his robe and unbuttoned a few of his buttons before pulling the garment open ever so slightly, revealing a portion of his chest. Noticing the slight flinch that came out from beneath the folds of fabric, the officer assumed that he had seen enough and quickly stated, "There is indeed something hidden below your garments. Do you want us to remove it?"

Yuri' glared coldly at him before turning his glare over to his comrades, who, after looking towards each other, reluctantly agreed that he should remove his topmost article of clothing. Grumbling loudly, Yuri pulled off his dark blue robes, revealing his bright orange shirt underneath. Placing the robes back onto the table near his feet, Yuri pulled a dagger from its sheath on his belt, pointing it threateningly towards his fellow officers before placing it against the fabric of his pants.

"Now, do whatever you wish."

The officer looked towards Yuuri and Minako for an explanation, but both of the two of them simply stared at him with blank expressions. Realising that the two of them either didn't know nor cared about what happened to their friends during the past four years, he sighed as he reached behind his back and lifted up the edge of the heavy material, revealing a concealed, wooden box. Reaching into the box and grabbing the top of the wooden box, the officer pulled it out and held it out to Yuri, telling him, "May I? I need to check whether the contents are safe and sound".

Once Yuri saw the box, his frown disappeared immediately as he nodded his head eagerly, eager to let someone know about the hidden contents. Smiling in delight, the officer carefully opened the top and began removing the items contained within the box. Once he had finished pulling out everything except the knife which lay inside the box, the older man placed the box down in front of him and slowly removed the lid, revealing the contents. Yuuri took in a sharp breath and stared fixedly at Yuri, waiting for him to take his knife and stab himself again. However, Yuri just gazed silently at the contents for a brief moment, clearly trying to process what he had been shown.

When it seemed like he had come to terms with what he had just discovered, he lowered his gaze towards the contents once again, a small smile forming on his lips. As Yuuri observed his reaction, he suddenly realized what Yuri was smiling at. With a gasp, Yuuri instinctively leaned forward and tried to catch a glimpse at the contents of the box in order to know more about them. Unfortunately, despite the speed in which Yuri had pulled out the weapons inside of the box, he was still too slow. Before Yuuri could even reach for a closer look at the items, the blade of Yuri's knife slashed directly through the wood.

"What...? What is going on?", Yuuri shouted, staring at Yuri with widened eyes. "Why...? Why did you... Why...", he stuttered desperately as tears streamed down his cheeks, "...did you... do... this?"

Before Yuuri could continue speaking however