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Xiao was hiding again. Yuzuru's empty chest felt even more hollow as he sat down on their bed. So often he'd wake up with Xiao trembling and afraid, off in the past, believing he was about to be hurt. Sometimes the wanderer would leave the room with Xiao lucid, only to come back and be addressed by the name of a dead yaksha.
"It's Yuzuru," He'd say, "Bosacius isn't here." Or whoever Xiao hallucinated that day. Sometimes Xiao would hear him, sometimes not.
No matter what medicine was given, Xiao's mental state kept declining. His body was weak, quickly losing muscle and what little fat he'd had. Every touch seemed to hurt him.
Yuzuru knew the end was soon. He knew he should just put Xiao out of his misery. He knew that Xiao, when lucid, didn't want to live like this. The fate of all yakshas was this madness, if they didn't fall in battle. Xiao's karmic debt had been building for millennia. As young as he was for a yaksha, his entire existence had been spent fighting Gods' wars for them. This was all inevitable.
Yuzuru remained where he was, scanning the room. There were only a few places he could be. Failing vision, and with limited mobility, Xiao normally hid under the bed or in closets. He usually didn't get far out of the room.
The puppet could give less of a damn about Xiao being the last yaksha. About the end of the species. Xiao was his, his love, the person he trusted more than anyone. And seeing him fall apart from a lifetime of torture and forced servitude was agony.
"Hey, Xiao..." He said softly, "Nobody's here but me. You can come out now."
He waited. Nothing. Either Xiao was too scared and didn't recognize him, or...
No. Just scared.
Yuzuru got off the bed and knelt, lifting the blankets and checking beneath. Nothing. He crossed the room and checked the closet. Xiao had made a nest there a few days ago, but it too was empty. The puppet felt the void widen. This...
No. No, Xiao wouldn't run off. And he couldn't get very far either.
The panic only grew as Yuzuru searched the entire house. Not a single trace of Xiao. The emptiness in his chest ached and grew. Finally, he stepped outside, and heard gentle humming from behind the house. Yuzuru rushed over, only for the sound to stop.
There, he saw Xiao sitting among the bamboo. He leaned against a stalk, looking up at the darkening sky.
"Xiao," Yuzuru approached and knelt beside him, "Xiao, don't run off like that."
"..." Xiao didn't say anything, didn't look at him, didn't even acknowledge his existence in any way. The humming continued.
"Xiao..." Yuzuru took his hand. The humming stopped, and fingers weakly tightened around his, "Xiao, can you hear me?"
The last yaksha leaned into him, sightless eyes closing. Xiao snuggled up to him, tension leaving his frail body. Yuzuru put an arm around Xiao. He was cold. A lot colder than he should be. Still moving, still breathing and alive but...
"You'll get sick if you stay out here," Yuzuru said.
Xiao rested his head in Yuzuru's lap and shifted around weakly, still holding his hand. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Xiao wasn't supposed to be so sick. Not so soon. He'd been fine two months ago, same as usual. He was supposed to have another few thousand years in him.
"We should get inside."
"Yuzu... ru..."
"Yes, I'm here," The puppet squeezed his hand, "I'm here, love. I'm sorry you got lost, but-"
"Thank... you..." Xiao opened his eyes, dull yellow irises barely focused on him, "I will... will..."
"Save your energy," Yuzuru said, "Baizhu's coming tomorrow, and-"
"I..." Xiao said, raising a shaking hand, grasping at the air near Yuzuru's face, trying to touch. The puppet took his hand, holding it to his cheek, "I... Yuzuru..."
"We should go inside."
"Please..." Xiao's voice was so weak, it could barely be heard over the crickets, "Let me die here, Yuzuru... Let me... Die... Happy..."
"No," The puppet's hand tightened, "No, that's... Baizhu is coming tomorrow, you don't have to die, Xiao. You don't-"
"Yuzuru..."
"You're going to pull through." His voice broke, "You can't die. You can't-..." The tears spilled before he could stop them.
Xiao's hands went limp. His eyes were still open. He still breathed. He stared at some space near Yuzuru's head as he tried to form words.
"Don't leave me," Yuzuru pleaded, "Please, don't leave me too."
"..." Tears slipped from Xiao's eyes as they closed, as his breath slowed.
"No..." The puppet pulled him close, forgetting about the pain and clinging to the last yaksha, "No, please... Please don't do this to me, you can't-... Not now, not here..." Xiao whimpered, but didn't make any move to escape, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."
"I thought I heard a commotion. But this..."
Yuzuru got still. He pulled Xiao closer.
This couldn't be happening. This wasn't real. He would wake up and the past two months would be a nightmare. The real Xiao, full of life, would snuggle up to him and kiss his tears away and tell him the truth. That none of this was real.
"So this is the last yaksha," The Doctor said, approaching slowly, "The last of a species about to be snuffed out. What a tragedy."
"What are you doing here?" Yuzuru asked.
"Something was stolen from me, no... From this world," The Doctor was right behind him. Yuzuru gritted his teeth, "Erased, even. I'm here to put it back."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
How could he know? How could he know even this much?
"Perhaps not," The man said, "I'm perfectly willing to leave things as they are," His fingers brushed against the back of the puppet's neck, long hair against his shoulders, "Leave this little tragedy to come to a close."
Yuzuru looked over his shoulder, and found himself face to face with the Doctor's mask.
"It doesn't have to be that way, now, does it?"
Xiao whimpered again. Yuzuru realized how tight he was clutching him.
It didn't have to be this way. He didn't have to let go. Yuzuru looked down at Xiao, the last yaksha, his love, the most wonderful thing in his life.
About to die, and leave him all alone for eternity.
"What do you want?"
"Give back what you erased, and I will save his life."
The Doctor was a liar.
The Doctor was a manipulator.
And the Doctor...
"I am Kunikuzushi," He began, as pale roots sprouted from the ground, "I am Kabukimono," He continued as the wound around his legs, "And I am Scaramouche, the sixth of the eleven harbingers. I erased myself from Irminsul."
The roots held him there, then shattered.
The Doctor was the only thing alive that could save Xiao.
The Doctor's hand closed around the back of his puppet's neck.
"And you were always my favorite," His fingers tightened and a chill shot through Scaramouche, "Now, why don't we get him inside? Quickly, I wouldn't want your sacrifice to be in vain."