Decerto: Road to Freedom
Title: Decerto: Road to Freedom
Chapter: 28/40 + epilogue
Fandoms: Super Junior, U-Kiss
Pairings: KyuHyun/Zhou Mi, Han Geng/HeeChul, KiBum/SooHyun
Rating: R overall
Warning: AU, violence, angst
Summary: Taking place six years before the events of Decerto, the story of how a human and a slave started a revolution.
It seemed like the time between tournaments was growing shorter and shorter every year. Zhou Mi could barely turn around before a new season was upon them. Months of planning and organizing the tournaments was sometimes more than Zhou Mi wanted to deal with on any given day. Add on top of that planning a revolution and most days when he went home he collapsed in bed with barely a word to KyuHyun.
Even though they had taken a vacation over the summer, it still felt like their relationship had grown strained over the weeks leading up to the new tournament season. Zhou Mi was lucky if they could have dinner together more than a night a week, let alone time together. Despite what they had told each other, knowing it would be worth it in the end, didn't mean it didn't hurt. Most weeks, Zhou Mi saw more of Han Geng than he did of KyuHyun, a fact brought up by the snake on more than one occassion.
With the start of the games though, at least Zhou Mi got a few hours in the morning as they planned out the day and the matches. Zhou Mi always consulted with KyuHyun on the first day, wanting to make sure everything ran smoothly.
"I was looking over the roster," Zhou Mi said, hunched over his desk and reading over a file. "This is the first time in decades every Sign is being represented. You remember that rabbit we met at the party last year? HyungJoon's personal slave? He's been entered."
"…Huh?" KyuHyun leaned over Zhou Mi's shoulder, not believing that for a second. Until he saw the name listed under the Kim house, and the stamped rabbit symbol beside it. "Well, that's not something you see everyday… why would he toss his rabbit in here, rabbits aren't fighters."
"I'm not sure," Zhou Mi frowned. "I'd heard they were having troubles, but that seems very unlike HyungJoon. KiBum has said how close his brother is to his rabbit... poke around a bit when you go downstairs. See what's really happening there."
"Yes sir," KyuHyun sighed, adding that to the other things he had to do while in the fighters' quarters. Absently looking over the rest of the Kim's fighters, he blinked. "Hey…HyunJoong's here. The Kim house bought him?" He remembered the tiger who had been mauled when the Jung dragon rampaged two years ago.
"Who?" Zhou Mi looked over his shoulder at KyuHyun. "That name is familiar... Why is that name familiar?"
"That's the name of the tiger from two years ago," KyuHyun said, straightening. "Remember? You spoke to his owner to keep him from being put down after that Jung dragon did a number on him."
"Oh... right," Zhou Mi hummed, leaning back in his chair. "And he's now in the Kim house? HyungJoon has a good eye for fighters, he must see the potential then. Good, I'm glad the tiger is back in the ring."
"...And hopefully not getting mauled again anytime soon. I see a dragon stamp on the Jung's list," KyuHyun pointed at the paper. "That's never a good sign."
"Usually, no it wouldn't be," Zhou Mi said, lips quirking a little. "Except the Jung house list was filed under YunHo's name, not his father's. I think this year is going to be more interesting than we realized KuiXian... I'm a little anxious to see what happens."
"Do we really need it to be more interesting?" KyuHyun folded his arms across his chest, eyes tightened. "Too much more interesting and it'll just be chaos instead."
Turning his chair slightly, Zhou Mi looked up at KyuHyun. "And that's where you will come in, to make sure it doesn't blow up in our faces."
"No pressure," KyuHyun said drily, turning to go to the balcony window and look out over the ring below. It was a muggy, humid day, the snake's clothing sticking to him and he'd had to take extra medication the night before to sleep properly.
Getting to his feet, Zhou Mi followed him to the balcony. It was early still, the stands mostly empty. "KuiXian... if you're having second thoughts, please tell me," he said softly, touching a hand to the snake's back lightly.
"I'm not backing down," KyuHyun looked over his shoulder at the older man. "Not now. It's just nerves."
"I wish I could do more to help you calm down," Zhou Mi said softly. "You want me to lock the door, keep everyone out for another hour or so?"
The corners of KyuHyun's lips quirked. "That sounds perfect…except if you want me to talk to the fighters before matches start, I'll have to leave soon." He turned around to face Zhou Mi, looking up at his boyfriend.
Zhou Mi's mouth curled down into a pout at that. "The pretournament is only a week, and then we'll have a month break. A month where we have very little to do except stay home. I'm looking forward to that and trying to keep that in mind these next few days. I am sorry KuiXian, that we've been so busy lately... I'll make it up to you."
KyuHyun sighed. "One week…I can last that long." He reached up and curled his fingers into Zhou Mi's collar, pulling the human into a deep kiss. "This is worth it," he mumbled. "It's just a pain in the ass."
"I know," Zhou Mi replied against his mouth, arm sliding around his waist to pull him closer. "You sure you don't want me to lock the door? I think we can spare ten minutes."
The snake hissed lowly, thinking about that. It didn't take very long for him to make up his mind. "Okay, ten minutes." KyuHyun deepened the kiss.
Ten minutes turned out to be closer to twenty, but neither of them seemed to mind Somehow Zhou Mi had got the door locked before all but tackling KyuHyun onto the couch. It wasn't enough for either of them really, but Zhou Mi felt rather content. Knees pressed into the cushions as he straddled KyuHyun's waist, he hummed in appreciation as he nuzzled against KyuHyun's neck. "At least you won't be so distracted out there," he said when he'd pulled back, buttoning KyuHyun's pants back up.
Completely out of breath, KyuHyun chuckled, smoothing out Zhou Mi's clothes and pulling the other man's pants back up. "I don't know about that. I guess…I'll only be seeing you again when it's time to leave, huh."
"Most likely," Zhou Mi sighed, sliding off of KyuHyun's lap to finish putting his clothes back together. "We'll do something tonight, just the two of us."
Standing and fixing his shirt and collar, KyuHyun waited for Zhou Mi to finish before pulling him into a kiss. "Looking forward to it. Don't forget to eat lunch again."
"I won't, Geng will be here and you know he'll make me eat," Zhou Mi chuckled. "Now go, before I keep you here the next couple of hours before the games start."
"That sounds too tempting," KyuHyun smirked, kissing him again before pulling back. "See you later," he headed to the door, coughing as he left.
It went completely unnoticed that while they'd been distracted, KyuHyun's inhaler had fallen out of his pants pocket and became half-jammed in the corner of the couch. Which wouldn't have been a problem on a normal day, as he rarely had attacks anymore. But the snake had been having difficulty breathing for a couple days as the humidity worsened.
It was an hour before the tournament was set to begin when there was a knock on the door, one of Zhou Mi's assistants stepping in. "Commissioner, one of the guards from the fighters' quarters is here."
Looking up, Zhou Mi blinked a little and motioned for them to be brought in. The assistant stepped out of the way, letting the guard in. "Is there a problem?" Zhou Mi asked, closing the file he'd been working on.
"Sorry to bother you sir, but KyuHyun is asking for you," the guard said. "He had some kind of attack, was saying something about his medicine?"
Eyes widening, Zhou Mi jumped up to his feet and started going through his desk drawers. Ever mindful of KyuHyun's condition, Zhou Mi made sure to keep an extra inhaler in his office. Why KyuHyun didn't have his on him at the moment was a mere afterthought when he finally found it and followed the guard out. "Where is he?" Zhou Mi asked the guard who was trying to keep up as they descended the stairs.
"With a couple fighters," the guard replied. When they entered the hallways the fighters occupied for the tournament, he brought Zhou Mi to a room at the end of a corridor. A monkey was standing outside, out of the way.
Inside, two dogs were hovering around KyuHyun, who was sitting on the bed with his elbows against his knees as he struggled to breathe. DongHae looked up from where he was rubbing the snake's back, scrambling out of the way.
"If you could leave us, please," Zhou Mi said bruskly, sitting down next to KyuHyun. "Actually, wait, DongHae, right? You stay," he said, putting KyuHyun's inhaler in the snake's hand and helping him lift it to his mouth.
The second dog left the room, DongHae standing up against the wall out of the way. KyuHyun took the medication and started coughing, gasping for breath.
It took a few minutes for his airways to clear enough for him to sit up a little straighter. "Thanks," he wheezed, closing his eyes.
"Don't try to talk, just focus on breathing," Zhou Mi said softly, rubbing his hand lightly up and down KyuHyun's back. His attention turned to DongHae though, expression set. "Now you know something that very few others do. We can trust you right?"
The dog was looking between them both, brow furrowed. After a pause he smiled and mimed zipping his lips, before nudging the door to the room closed with his foot. "Is he…going to be okay?"
"Yes, he'll be okay," Zhou Mi nodded. "I should probably take him to the hospital tonight, but I know he won't let me. What was he doing when the attack started?"
"He was uh…talking to HyukJae, SungMin and me," DongHae said, an evasive tone to his voice. "He was getting a little worked up and was looking for his medicine, said he must have dropped it." KyuHyun had dropped his head onto Zhou Mi's shoulder, eyes closed and breathing heavily.
"Oh, KuiXian, so passionate," Zhou Mi chuckled softly. "It's okay DongHae, I know what it was he was talking about."
"…Of course, sir," DongHae said, obviously not believing Zhou Mi or thinking the commissioner was referring to something else entirely.
"He's not kidding," KyuHyun rasped, coughing.
"No, I'm not kidding, and I told you not to talk," Zhou Mi said, chiding KyuHyun. "I know because I told him to do it DongHae. This is a secret only six people in the world know, and right now I'm trusting you with this. KyuHyun can't keep up at the pace he's been going, it's too much for him with his illness. We need your help."
"…Why would you need my help?" DongHae asked slowly once that had sunk in, the dog fighter obviously putting pieces together in his mind as he thought about the conversation the three fighters had just had with KyuHyun.
"I know full well that there are fighters who don't trust KyuHyun, simply because he's my personal slave," Zhou Mi said, frowning at having to say that. "It's not something we can keep secret from Signs, about our relationship. We need someone else, who can talk to the fighters when KyuHyun can't, that they won't suspect is being used by a human. What did KyuHyun tell you of the plan?"
DongHae chewed on his lower lip, one dog ear flicking up and down. "That if all the fighters revolt at the same time, we can make our point that we can't be controlled," he said, voice lowering. "But that's suicidal, not even half of the fighters would be willing to follow when it's so obvious we'll all just be killed off right after."
"There are other things in the works, to make sure that won't happen," Zhou Mi said. "There's a law being drawn up in senate about giving Signs equal rights and becoming a protected class. It will still take a bit of time to get it through, but it will go through. I have worked too hard and too long for this to let it fail now. How many fighters would you trust here? Would you trust enough to organize the revolt but ensure no one is killed or seriously injured?"
"…I trust two," DongHae nodded towards the closed door, where the other dog and monkey were surely still out in the hallway. "How do I know you're telling the truth?" he asked lowly, eyes on Zhou Mi. "That if we do this, we won't just be put down like rampaging animals? Or that tournament rules will get worse?"
"I have no way of convincing you that I'm telling the truth," Zhou Mi said honestly, shaking his head. "But if you trust KyuHyun and believe in him, then you can believe in me as well. KyuHyun is more to me than a bedwarmer or a personal slave... we've been in a relationship for close to six years now and very much in love. Part of me is doing all of this for him, so that one day I can tell the whole world how much I love him."
DongHae looked between them both, noting the small smile on KyuHyun's face at that. The dog thought about that for a long minute, shifting from foot to foot slightly and looking down at the floor. KyuHyun opened his eyes to watch.
"All right," DongHae said finally. "I can't vouch for every fighter agreeing to not kill anyone, if I'm getting them riled up enough for a revolt, but I'll try."
"Start with those you trust, and then go from there," Zhou Mi said. "There may be others you think would listen, that won't use a revolt as an excuse to hurt humans. The point isn't to get free, but to show humans that Signs are more than animals, and deserve rights and protection. I want Signs to be free, and to be able to do whatever it is they want to do. This is the best way to start, to show humans what Signs are capable of doing without being controlled."
DongHae's lips pursed slightly. "Okay," he nodded. "When is this revolt supposed to happen? How much time do I have?"
"Last day of the tournament, before the final match," Zhou Mi said. "That should give you enough time to talk to as many as you can."
The dog nodded. A loud horn blew through the fighters' quarters, the door rattling slightly. "That's the half-hour warning."
"Oh, fun," KyuHyun sat up straight.
"Are you sure you're up for today KuiXian?" Zhou Mi frowned, keeping an arm around his waist. "It's going to be a very long day for you."
"I'll be fine, can't be missing on the first day," KyuHyun nodded, looking down at the inhaler. "Can I hold onto this? I thought I had mine, it was in my pocket this morning…"
"... I'll check the couch," Zhou Mi murmured, lips quirking slightly. "Okay, I'll get going then. Need to give my opening speech... It's definitely going to have people talking."
"Oh, yeah," KyuHyun grinned. "Can't miss the reactions to that."
"The opening speech?" DongHae blinked.
"Mi's got something planned specially for this year. I'll see you tonight?" KyuHyun looked at Zhou Mi beside him.
"Yes you will," Zhou Mi smiled, pressing a light kiss to KyuHyun's lips as he stood up. "Good luck to you in your matches Donghae. I'll be keeping an eye on them."
"Thank you sir," DongHae bowed politely, opening the door for Zhou Mi. The monkey lodging beside the door snapped to attention and bowed, the dog waiting with him doing the same.
Zhou Mi nodded politely to the fighters, making a note to ask KyuHyun what the names of the other two fighters were later. There was a lot riding on a few fighters to help achieve their goal, but this was a part of the plan that Zhou Mi couldn't have a hand in. If anyone knew, his career would be over. All the progress they had made would be for nought and he didn't even want to imagine what would happen to KyuHyun. That was what worried Zhou Mi the most. He could handle what would happen to him, but KyuHyun didn't deserve that. The snake had been through enough already.
Back up in his office, Zhou Mi spent what little time he had left organizing his thoughts and his papers on his desk. The loud blaring music pumped through the colosseum's speakers tapered off and Zhou Mi took a deep breath, stepping out onto the balcony. Lifting the microphone up, he held out his hands for quiet.
"Good morning spectators," Zhou Mi said, a bright smile on the man's face. "Welcome to the start of another suspenseful and surely to be entertaining tournament season!" The arena erupted in cheers, and he held his hand up for quiet again. "We start this season as we have done for generations, with the history of the tournament, to remember why we are here, and why this is not just about entertainment, but prestige and honor."
Chapter: 28/40 + epilogue
Fandoms: Super Junior, U-Kiss
Pairings: KyuHyun/Zhou Mi, Han Geng/HeeChul, KiBum/SooHyun
Rating: R overall
Warning: AU, violence, angst
Summary: Taking place six years before the events of Decerto, the story of how a human and a slave started a revolution.
It seemed like the time between tournaments was growing shorter and shorter every year. Zhou Mi could barely turn around before a new season was upon them. Months of planning and organizing the tournaments was sometimes more than Zhou Mi wanted to deal with on any given day. Add on top of that planning a revolution and most days when he went home he collapsed in bed with barely a word to KyuHyun.
Even though they had taken a vacation over the summer, it still felt like their relationship had grown strained over the weeks leading up to the new tournament season. Zhou Mi was lucky if they could have dinner together more than a night a week, let alone time together. Despite what they had told each other, knowing it would be worth it in the end, didn't mean it didn't hurt. Most weeks, Zhou Mi saw more of Han Geng than he did of KyuHyun, a fact brought up by the snake on more than one occassion.
With the start of the games though, at least Zhou Mi got a few hours in the morning as they planned out the day and the matches. Zhou Mi always consulted with KyuHyun on the first day, wanting to make sure everything ran smoothly.
"I was looking over the roster," Zhou Mi said, hunched over his desk and reading over a file. "This is the first time in decades every Sign is being represented. You remember that rabbit we met at the party last year? HyungJoon's personal slave? He's been entered."
"…Huh?" KyuHyun leaned over Zhou Mi's shoulder, not believing that for a second. Until he saw the name listed under the Kim house, and the stamped rabbit symbol beside it. "Well, that's not something you see everyday… why would he toss his rabbit in here, rabbits aren't fighters."
"I'm not sure," Zhou Mi frowned. "I'd heard they were having troubles, but that seems very unlike HyungJoon. KiBum has said how close his brother is to his rabbit... poke around a bit when you go downstairs. See what's really happening there."
"Yes sir," KyuHyun sighed, adding that to the other things he had to do while in the fighters' quarters. Absently looking over the rest of the Kim's fighters, he blinked. "Hey…HyunJoong's here. The Kim house bought him?" He remembered the tiger who had been mauled when the Jung dragon rampaged two years ago.
"Who?" Zhou Mi looked over his shoulder at KyuHyun. "That name is familiar... Why is that name familiar?"
"That's the name of the tiger from two years ago," KyuHyun said, straightening. "Remember? You spoke to his owner to keep him from being put down after that Jung dragon did a number on him."
"Oh... right," Zhou Mi hummed, leaning back in his chair. "And he's now in the Kim house? HyungJoon has a good eye for fighters, he must see the potential then. Good, I'm glad the tiger is back in the ring."
"...And hopefully not getting mauled again anytime soon. I see a dragon stamp on the Jung's list," KyuHyun pointed at the paper. "That's never a good sign."
"Usually, no it wouldn't be," Zhou Mi said, lips quirking a little. "Except the Jung house list was filed under YunHo's name, not his father's. I think this year is going to be more interesting than we realized KuiXian... I'm a little anxious to see what happens."
"Do we really need it to be more interesting?" KyuHyun folded his arms across his chest, eyes tightened. "Too much more interesting and it'll just be chaos instead."
Turning his chair slightly, Zhou Mi looked up at KyuHyun. "And that's where you will come in, to make sure it doesn't blow up in our faces."
"No pressure," KyuHyun said drily, turning to go to the balcony window and look out over the ring below. It was a muggy, humid day, the snake's clothing sticking to him and he'd had to take extra medication the night before to sleep properly.
Getting to his feet, Zhou Mi followed him to the balcony. It was early still, the stands mostly empty. "KuiXian... if you're having second thoughts, please tell me," he said softly, touching a hand to the snake's back lightly.
"I'm not backing down," KyuHyun looked over his shoulder at the older man. "Not now. It's just nerves."
"I wish I could do more to help you calm down," Zhou Mi said softly. "You want me to lock the door, keep everyone out for another hour or so?"
The corners of KyuHyun's lips quirked. "That sounds perfect…except if you want me to talk to the fighters before matches start, I'll have to leave soon." He turned around to face Zhou Mi, looking up at his boyfriend.
Zhou Mi's mouth curled down into a pout at that. "The pretournament is only a week, and then we'll have a month break. A month where we have very little to do except stay home. I'm looking forward to that and trying to keep that in mind these next few days. I am sorry KuiXian, that we've been so busy lately... I'll make it up to you."
KyuHyun sighed. "One week…I can last that long." He reached up and curled his fingers into Zhou Mi's collar, pulling the human into a deep kiss. "This is worth it," he mumbled. "It's just a pain in the ass."
"I know," Zhou Mi replied against his mouth, arm sliding around his waist to pull him closer. "You sure you don't want me to lock the door? I think we can spare ten minutes."
The snake hissed lowly, thinking about that. It didn't take very long for him to make up his mind. "Okay, ten minutes." KyuHyun deepened the kiss.
Ten minutes turned out to be closer to twenty, but neither of them seemed to mind Somehow Zhou Mi had got the door locked before all but tackling KyuHyun onto the couch. It wasn't enough for either of them really, but Zhou Mi felt rather content. Knees pressed into the cushions as he straddled KyuHyun's waist, he hummed in appreciation as he nuzzled against KyuHyun's neck. "At least you won't be so distracted out there," he said when he'd pulled back, buttoning KyuHyun's pants back up.
Completely out of breath, KyuHyun chuckled, smoothing out Zhou Mi's clothes and pulling the other man's pants back up. "I don't know about that. I guess…I'll only be seeing you again when it's time to leave, huh."
"Most likely," Zhou Mi sighed, sliding off of KyuHyun's lap to finish putting his clothes back together. "We'll do something tonight, just the two of us."
Standing and fixing his shirt and collar, KyuHyun waited for Zhou Mi to finish before pulling him into a kiss. "Looking forward to it. Don't forget to eat lunch again."
"I won't, Geng will be here and you know he'll make me eat," Zhou Mi chuckled. "Now go, before I keep you here the next couple of hours before the games start."
"That sounds too tempting," KyuHyun smirked, kissing him again before pulling back. "See you later," he headed to the door, coughing as he left.
It went completely unnoticed that while they'd been distracted, KyuHyun's inhaler had fallen out of his pants pocket and became half-jammed in the corner of the couch. Which wouldn't have been a problem on a normal day, as he rarely had attacks anymore. But the snake had been having difficulty breathing for a couple days as the humidity worsened.
It was an hour before the tournament was set to begin when there was a knock on the door, one of Zhou Mi's assistants stepping in. "Commissioner, one of the guards from the fighters' quarters is here."
Looking up, Zhou Mi blinked a little and motioned for them to be brought in. The assistant stepped out of the way, letting the guard in. "Is there a problem?" Zhou Mi asked, closing the file he'd been working on.
"Sorry to bother you sir, but KyuHyun is asking for you," the guard said. "He had some kind of attack, was saying something about his medicine?"
Eyes widening, Zhou Mi jumped up to his feet and started going through his desk drawers. Ever mindful of KyuHyun's condition, Zhou Mi made sure to keep an extra inhaler in his office. Why KyuHyun didn't have his on him at the moment was a mere afterthought when he finally found it and followed the guard out. "Where is he?" Zhou Mi asked the guard who was trying to keep up as they descended the stairs.
"With a couple fighters," the guard replied. When they entered the hallways the fighters occupied for the tournament, he brought Zhou Mi to a room at the end of a corridor. A monkey was standing outside, out of the way.
Inside, two dogs were hovering around KyuHyun, who was sitting on the bed with his elbows against his knees as he struggled to breathe. DongHae looked up from where he was rubbing the snake's back, scrambling out of the way.
"If you could leave us, please," Zhou Mi said bruskly, sitting down next to KyuHyun. "Actually, wait, DongHae, right? You stay," he said, putting KyuHyun's inhaler in the snake's hand and helping him lift it to his mouth.
The second dog left the room, DongHae standing up against the wall out of the way. KyuHyun took the medication and started coughing, gasping for breath.
It took a few minutes for his airways to clear enough for him to sit up a little straighter. "Thanks," he wheezed, closing his eyes.
"Don't try to talk, just focus on breathing," Zhou Mi said softly, rubbing his hand lightly up and down KyuHyun's back. His attention turned to DongHae though, expression set. "Now you know something that very few others do. We can trust you right?"
The dog was looking between them both, brow furrowed. After a pause he smiled and mimed zipping his lips, before nudging the door to the room closed with his foot. "Is he…going to be okay?"
"Yes, he'll be okay," Zhou Mi nodded. "I should probably take him to the hospital tonight, but I know he won't let me. What was he doing when the attack started?"
"He was uh…talking to HyukJae, SungMin and me," DongHae said, an evasive tone to his voice. "He was getting a little worked up and was looking for his medicine, said he must have dropped it." KyuHyun had dropped his head onto Zhou Mi's shoulder, eyes closed and breathing heavily.
"Oh, KuiXian, so passionate," Zhou Mi chuckled softly. "It's okay DongHae, I know what it was he was talking about."
"…Of course, sir," DongHae said, obviously not believing Zhou Mi or thinking the commissioner was referring to something else entirely.
"He's not kidding," KyuHyun rasped, coughing.
"No, I'm not kidding, and I told you not to talk," Zhou Mi said, chiding KyuHyun. "I know because I told him to do it DongHae. This is a secret only six people in the world know, and right now I'm trusting you with this. KyuHyun can't keep up at the pace he's been going, it's too much for him with his illness. We need your help."
"…Why would you need my help?" DongHae asked slowly once that had sunk in, the dog fighter obviously putting pieces together in his mind as he thought about the conversation the three fighters had just had with KyuHyun.
"I know full well that there are fighters who don't trust KyuHyun, simply because he's my personal slave," Zhou Mi said, frowning at having to say that. "It's not something we can keep secret from Signs, about our relationship. We need someone else, who can talk to the fighters when KyuHyun can't, that they won't suspect is being used by a human. What did KyuHyun tell you of the plan?"
DongHae chewed on his lower lip, one dog ear flicking up and down. "That if all the fighters revolt at the same time, we can make our point that we can't be controlled," he said, voice lowering. "But that's suicidal, not even half of the fighters would be willing to follow when it's so obvious we'll all just be killed off right after."
"There are other things in the works, to make sure that won't happen," Zhou Mi said. "There's a law being drawn up in senate about giving Signs equal rights and becoming a protected class. It will still take a bit of time to get it through, but it will go through. I have worked too hard and too long for this to let it fail now. How many fighters would you trust here? Would you trust enough to organize the revolt but ensure no one is killed or seriously injured?"
"…I trust two," DongHae nodded towards the closed door, where the other dog and monkey were surely still out in the hallway. "How do I know you're telling the truth?" he asked lowly, eyes on Zhou Mi. "That if we do this, we won't just be put down like rampaging animals? Or that tournament rules will get worse?"
"I have no way of convincing you that I'm telling the truth," Zhou Mi said honestly, shaking his head. "But if you trust KyuHyun and believe in him, then you can believe in me as well. KyuHyun is more to me than a bedwarmer or a personal slave... we've been in a relationship for close to six years now and very much in love. Part of me is doing all of this for him, so that one day I can tell the whole world how much I love him."
DongHae looked between them both, noting the small smile on KyuHyun's face at that. The dog thought about that for a long minute, shifting from foot to foot slightly and looking down at the floor. KyuHyun opened his eyes to watch.
"All right," DongHae said finally. "I can't vouch for every fighter agreeing to not kill anyone, if I'm getting them riled up enough for a revolt, but I'll try."
"Start with those you trust, and then go from there," Zhou Mi said. "There may be others you think would listen, that won't use a revolt as an excuse to hurt humans. The point isn't to get free, but to show humans that Signs are more than animals, and deserve rights and protection. I want Signs to be free, and to be able to do whatever it is they want to do. This is the best way to start, to show humans what Signs are capable of doing without being controlled."
DongHae's lips pursed slightly. "Okay," he nodded. "When is this revolt supposed to happen? How much time do I have?"
"Last day of the tournament, before the final match," Zhou Mi said. "That should give you enough time to talk to as many as you can."
The dog nodded. A loud horn blew through the fighters' quarters, the door rattling slightly. "That's the half-hour warning."
"Oh, fun," KyuHyun sat up straight.
"Are you sure you're up for today KuiXian?" Zhou Mi frowned, keeping an arm around his waist. "It's going to be a very long day for you."
"I'll be fine, can't be missing on the first day," KyuHyun nodded, looking down at the inhaler. "Can I hold onto this? I thought I had mine, it was in my pocket this morning…"
"... I'll check the couch," Zhou Mi murmured, lips quirking slightly. "Okay, I'll get going then. Need to give my opening speech... It's definitely going to have people talking."
"Oh, yeah," KyuHyun grinned. "Can't miss the reactions to that."
"The opening speech?" DongHae blinked.
"Mi's got something planned specially for this year. I'll see you tonight?" KyuHyun looked at Zhou Mi beside him.
"Yes you will," Zhou Mi smiled, pressing a light kiss to KyuHyun's lips as he stood up. "Good luck to you in your matches Donghae. I'll be keeping an eye on them."
"Thank you sir," DongHae bowed politely, opening the door for Zhou Mi. The monkey lodging beside the door snapped to attention and bowed, the dog waiting with him doing the same.
Zhou Mi nodded politely to the fighters, making a note to ask KyuHyun what the names of the other two fighters were later. There was a lot riding on a few fighters to help achieve their goal, but this was a part of the plan that Zhou Mi couldn't have a hand in. If anyone knew, his career would be over. All the progress they had made would be for nought and he didn't even want to imagine what would happen to KyuHyun. That was what worried Zhou Mi the most. He could handle what would happen to him, but KyuHyun didn't deserve that. The snake had been through enough already.
Back up in his office, Zhou Mi spent what little time he had left organizing his thoughts and his papers on his desk. The loud blaring music pumped through the colosseum's speakers tapered off and Zhou Mi took a deep breath, stepping out onto the balcony. Lifting the microphone up, he held out his hands for quiet.
"Good morning spectators," Zhou Mi said, a bright smile on the man's face. "Welcome to the start of another suspenseful and surely to be entertaining tournament season!" The arena erupted in cheers, and he held his hand up for quiet again. "We start this season as we have done for generations, with the history of the tournament, to remember why we are here, and why this is not just about entertainment, but prestige and honor."