Reborn as an SSS-Rank Guide in the Sentinel Academy [BL]

Julian woke slow, disoriented, the ache in his neck sharp and immediate the moment consciousness returned. Stone walls again, familiar in the worst possible way, the same cold, oppressive weight pressing down on him that he’d hoped, desperately, he’d left behind for good.

"so," Xavier’s voice said, warm and pleased, entirely too close, "my little cat ran off."

Julian’s eyes snapped open fully, and Xavier crouched beside him, expression carrying none of the fury from the clearing, none of the raw, wounded anger from being struck across the face. Just calm, satisfied ownership, like a man admiring something he’d simply misplaced for a while and finally recovered.

"don’t call me that," Julian rasped, forcing himself upright despite the exhaustion still dragging hard at every limb.

"which punishment should I give you, I wonder," Xavier continued, ignoring him entirely, tilting his head thoughtfully. "something instructive. something you’ll remember the next time you consider running."

"I’m not an animal you can train," Julian snapped, though the words came out rougher than he wanted, his voice still hoarse from disuse.

"aren’t you," Xavier said mildly, and glanced toward the doorway. "Ian."

Ian entered without a word, carrying a length of heavy chain that clinked softly with every step, expression as flat and unreadable as it had been in the clearing. He said nothing as he knelt beside Julian’s legs, and Julian tried to pull back, tried to fight the grip that closed cold and unyielding around his ankle, but exhaustion and lingering weakness from everything his body had already survived left him with nothing close to the strength he needed.

"stop..." Julian gritted out, twisting hard, but Ian’s grip didn’t so much as loosen.

"struggling wastes energy," Ian said, voice flat and toneless, looping the chain securely around Julian’s ankle, cold metal biting into skin. "you’ll need what strength you have left. don’t waste it on something you can’t win."

"efficient as always," Xavier said, something fond in his tone even as he watched his brother work. "though I do wonder sometimes if you enjoy any of this at all, or if it’s simply another task to complete."

"does it matter," Ian said, not looking up from his work, "as long as it’s done correctly?"

Something in the exchange struck Julian even through his fear and fury... the two of them speaking about him like he was a project they were jointly managing rather than a person at all, Xavier’s warped affection sitting uneasily alongside Ian’s total absence of anything resembling it.

The chain clicked shut with a final, echoing sound, and Ian rose without further comment, stepping back to stand near the wall, watching with the same flat, patient stillness he seemed to apply to everything.

"there," Xavier said, satisfaction settling warm across his expression as he reached out to brush a strand of hair back from Julian’s face, ignoring the way Julian flinched hard away from the touch. "now you won’t wander so far next time."

"you’re disgusting," Julian said, voice shaking with fury he refused to let cool into fear. "both of you."

"we’re thorough," Ian corrected quietly. Xavier’s smile widened, entirely unbothered by the venom in Julian’s voice. "rest," he said, rising smoothly to his feet. "you’ll need it. we have a great deal to discuss once you’ve recovered properly."

He left without further explanation, Ian trailing silent behind him, and the door sealed shut with the same soft, final click Julian remembered far too well.

The moment the room fell empty, a small pulse of golden light bloomed near the shadowed corner, and the fox slipped free, ears flat, tails bristling with fury and fear both at the sight of the chain locked tight around Julian’s ankle.

"host," it breathed. "I’m so sorry. I couldn’t... when you went unconscious, I couldn’t stay, I..."

"it’s not your fault," Julian said, exhaustion bleeding thick through every word. "none of this is your fault."

The fox pressed close against him anyway, small and warm and shaking, and Julian let his head fall back against the cold stone wall, staring up at nothing, the weight of the chain sitting heavy and undeniable against his skin.

---

The war room fell into stunned, furious silence when Reid finished his report... the ambush, the twins, Julian taken again despite every precaution, the horde’s sudden, deliberate retreat the moment its purpose had been served.

The Emperor stood motionless at the head of the table for a long moment, jaw tight, hands braced flat against the wood, and when he finally spoke, his voice came out low and dangerously controlled. "twice," he said. "he’s been taken from you twice now."

"Your Majesty..." Reid started.

"twice," the Emperor said again, louder now, something raw finally cracking through the composure he’d fought so hard to maintain since the first disappearance. His gaze swept toward Logan, sharp and furious. "you were there both times. you were supposed to be protecting him."

"I was fighting," Logan said, voice tight, refusing to look away despite the fury radiating off the Emperor in waves. "we all were. we didn’t see them coming, none of us did, they moved faster than anything we’ve ever..."

"I don’t care how fast they moved," the Emperor snapped, closing the distance in two sharp strides, hand rising before he seemed to fully register what he was doing, stopping just short of Logan’s face, trembling with barely restrained fury. "I don’t care about excuses. he is the single most important person in this entire Empire, and twice now, TWICE, he has been taken while surrounded by people who were supposed to be capable of protecting him."

Logan didn’t flinch, didn’t back down, meeting the Emperor’s fury with something raw and equally furious of his own. "you think I don’t know that," he said, voice cracking. "you think I haven’t spent every hour since replaying exactly what I could have done differently? I would trade places with him in an instant if it meant he was safe instead. don’t you dare stand there and act like I don’t understand exactly what failing him cost."

The Emperor’s hand lowered slowly, fury still simmering hot behind his eyes, but something in Logan’s raw, unguarded response seemed to pierce through it slightly, some grudging recognition passing between them.

Reid stepped forward carefully, voice measured despite his own exhaustion. "Your Majesty, blame won’t bring him back any faster. what will is a proper strategy, full resources, and every scrap of information we have. the twins operate with matched power and speed. any rescue attempt needs to account for both of them simultaneously, not just one."

The Emperor exhaled slowly, some of the fury draining out of his shoulders, replaced by something colder and more focused. "you’re right," he said finally. "forgive me. grief makes for poor judgment, and I have had entirely too much practice with both these past weeks."

"we all have," Jayden said quietly.

The Emperor straightened, some new, absolute resolve settling hard into his expression, and when he spoke again, his voice carried none of the earlier fury, only cold, unbending certainty.

"this time," he said, "I’m not sending search parties. I’m not sending scouts, or squads, or anyone at a safe remove while I wait in a war room for reports." His eyes swept across all three of them, sharp and final. "this time, I’m going myself."

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