Work Text:
Yuuri slowly pried his deep, brown eyes away from the blackened floor, and looked up only to be blinded by a near-white light. His eyes took the time to adjust to the new lighting, revealing a aged gaslamp and the ash-haired Russian behind it.
“Вы понимаете России?” asked the man. Yuuri had no idea what he was saying. He managed to open his mouth and utter the only Russian words he knew.
“я не понимаю русский,” the Japanese man croaked. “I do not know Russian”. He hoped that the soldier in front of him understood his broken grammar. His hoarse voice made him notice how exhausted he was. He realized that he had no recollection of the moments that got him trapped in this Russian prison camp. He tried to remember. The last memory he had was a wave of snow, and a flurry of shouts and gunshots. There was a wave of darkness. The next thing he remembered was waking up in an unsightly prison cell. He felt around his frayed military uniform; his papers were missing.
The Russian soldier noticed his desperation as Yuuri patted himself down to find certain military documents. He pulled a couple papers out of a folder, and there in the midst of some classified military information lay Yuuri’s military papers. Yuuri quickly grabbed them and tucked them back into his breast pocket.
“Very well then,” said the unnamed soldier in nearly fluent Japanese.“So you are Yuuri Katsuki.”
“Y-yes,” stammered the Japanese man. He was taken aback at how well the man in front of him spoke the language. “Where am I, and what do you want from me?”
“Well, right now, you are at one of our bases here on the strait of Tsushima. And for what I want from you, I'm sure the answer is pretty clear”
After years of military training, Yuuri thought that he would have been prepared for this. Yet, here he was, about to be interrogated for information, but still extremely frightened. His heart seemed to pound out of his chest. He was not prepared.
“Luckily for you, it has not come to that yet. I am merciful, despite what you may think. I will give you one chance to save yourself. Why have you Japanese attacked our area, and what I your plan here?”
If Yuuri had known anything, he hoped that he would have kept his allegiance to his country. But alas, Yuuri did not know the slightest bit of information. A single memory came floating back to him. After being promoted from a private to a private first class, came a few moments of euphoria and relief. The next thing he knew his commanding officer had dragged him out of the room and placed him in the back of an SUV. He was told to survey the area with no other explanation. Soon, he would be shot and sent to this prison. Yuuri realized that he had no idea why they were being sent on that expedition.
“I know nothing,” Yuuri finally said. “I was promoted to a private first class just days before, as you might have seen on my papers, and I was dragged along this mission with no explanation.”
“What a shame. And here I was hoping to spare you,” the man said as he got out of his chair. His tall figure loomed over Yuuri, casting a dark shadow as he held the gas lamp and turned around.
“Wait,” Yuuri exclaimed. “I have one more question. What is your name?”The Russian soldier smiled in contempt at the Japanese prisoner.
“You can call me Captain Nikiforov”
Captain Viktor Nikiforov closed the metal doors behind him as quietly as he could, and started down the dimly lit hallway. He didn’t get very far until two familiar faces appeared as he turned the corner. “General Feltsman, Corporal Plisetsky,” he began.
“How’s the new prisoner Nikiforov,” said Feltsman. “I still can’t believe you only managed to get one of them Japs out of so many,”
“I’m extremely sorry Sir,” Viktor replied. Yakov Feltsman was in his late 70’s, but his age did not faze him one bit. His reputation as a stern man meant that almost all the soldiers were scared of him. Viktor was different. He had known Yakov since he was first enlisted in the army. He had recognized Viktor’s exceptional talent as a soldier and a leader,and had trained under him for almost 10 years now. Yes, he was quite strict man, but Viktor learned in time that it was his way of showing his care.
“So, did the prisoner know anything? Or as this just another waste of our time,” the blonde soldier commented.
“He claims to know nothing,” Viktor retorted. “But I think he’s still hiding something, so we can’t get rid of him just yet. And funnily enough, he has the same first name as you, Yura.”
Yuri Plisetsky, or more commonly known as Yura, was a young boy, only having just turned 17. Another one of Yakov’s pupils, his formidable talent had landed him as a Corporal at such a young age. Some said that it was a shame that he would die young on the battlefield. Others said that he would surpass Viktor in time. His harshness contrasted with Viktor’s kindness, and sometimes, that made him a more effective soldier.
That was part of the reason he was so intent on extracting every bit of intel he could from this Japanese soldier. During that meeting just moments before, his eyes stared into Viktor’s, baring into his soul. There had to be more to him than just that. The other reason? Viktor didn’t know as well. There was a certain aura around the man that drew him towards the prisoner. His messy hair, his calm demeanour; Viktor would regret it if he killed that man.
“Well if he’s not talking, you know what that means,”. Yuri’s silvery voice brought him back to the conversation. “You might have to…weasel it out of him. You should call Georgi, he loves this kind of stuff.”
“No thank you. I can deal with him on my own.”
“Vitya, are you sure about this?” the older man said. “It might be best for us to dispose of him quickly if he doesn’t know anything, as this could threaten our ships here in Tsushima. Worse yet, they could figure out our plans for Manchuria.”
“Yakov,” Viktor reassured him. “I will be fine. And if things go awry, I’m sure I’ll be able to fix it”
The three men looked at each other in affirmation, and continued down their way through the hallway.
A couple of days passed by, and every day, Captain Nikiforov had visited Yuuri. The Japanese thought that he was getting more fond of him. He was brought more food, more water, at one point he recovered more of his memory. Good. But it was very lonely. The only voices he heard were of the Russian soldiers discussing plans outside his door. He needed to escape. It was late afternoon, and it was time for Viktor to return and interrogate Yuuri some more.
He was not surprised when he say Viktor’s tall figure slip into the room. “Back again to torture me?” he asked, eying the gun behind his back.
“I was hoping that I wouldn’t have to,” replied the Captain. He delicately placed the gun on the table, and sat down. “Are you sure that you do not know anything?”
“I am sure,”
“Then you realize that I-that we have no use for you anymore. Might as well save myself the trouble and just kill you.” Captain Nikiforov grabbed the gun and pointed it against him with the fervor of a trained soldier. And yet, Yuuri could see his hand shaking.
They were taught this in his training too. You must be willing to die for your country. But the sensation Yuuri felt as the Russian held a gun inches away from your face was far different than the scenarios they create in the military. Nevertheless, Yuuri accepted his fate and closed his eyes.
Bang.
His eyes immediately, flew open. An excruciating pain was being shot up into his leg. But he was still alive. He saw the bleeding, and after a thorough examination, he determined that the bleeding would stop given time. What was on his mind was not his bleeding leg however; it was the Russian man who seemed to be having a mental breakdown on the other side of the room.
What is going on with me?
Viktor looked down at his sweaty palms, trying to find something to focus on. The ground was spinning underneath him, his body was light but his heart was heavy. “I need to sit down” he thought.
He nearly collapsed in one of the wooden chairs available, and assessed his feelings. Why couldn't he shoot Private Katsuki? He had killed so many people, especially Japs before. What made him so special? He felt sick to his stomach. Maybe it’s because deep in his mind, he knew that this truly was an innocent soul. Maybe he is just one of the many chess pieces used by the Japanese military to thwart us? Yes...that was probably it. No matter what the case was, Viktor felt the need to protect this man.
His breaths were shallow now. He turned towards Yuuri, who had the look of pure confusion on his face.
“I’m sorry,” he said, ‘“But I can’t do this anymore, I can’t- I can’t keep keep torturing innocent prisoners. I promise I will help you get out of here. I can smuggle you out, or let you escape, or-”
“Well,um, thanks for the sudden change of heart,” Yuuri said. “But the only thing I would really like to do is to write a letter to my family,”
Viktor was surprised. That’s it? “Oh, of course, but I’ll have to check it before I send it, I can’t have you sending enemy secrets over to your parents,”
“Naturally. Do you have a pen and paper?”
Viktor fumbled and handed him a piece of parchment and a pen, and Yuuri quickly started scribbling.
“Viktor,” the Russian said. “You asked for my name once, it’s Viktor”
Yuuri slowly let himself smile as he gained the Russian’s trust.
It had been days, maybe even weeks, since Yuuri sent that letter. Where were my family and friends? They should’ve be here by now with the rest of the army. He was sure that the intended message was clear enough. He was fluent enough in code, of that he was sure. And that Russian would have sent it. His senseless ability to trust others was ultimately his downfall. Everything had gone according to plan.
He was tired of waiting for salvation.
Viktor visited him again. At this point, he had given up interrogation and the two just sat there.
“Yuuri,” Viktor began. “I-”
Yakov Feltsman burst into the room.
“Vitya! The Japanese soldiers have found our bases. They’re completely decimating our fleet! Come with me at once!”
Viktor left the room with one glance at Yuuri. He remained as calm as ever. As he and Yakov boarded a ship, a thousand thoughts started racing through VIktor’s mind. Who had ratted out about their bases? How had they known that majority of their ships would be resting at the port today. There was no way this could have happened, unless-
“Look out Captain!” shouted one of the soldiers. Viktor ducked and narrowly missed a flurry of bullets.
He scanned the area. Things were not looking good for Russia. The heavily armed Japanese ships were sinking their ships left and right. Out of the 70 that they had, Vitkor only counted around 20. His heart sunk as he realized what he had done. He watched in horror as a certain blonde Corporal was shot and killed on a ship not so far away. He scanned around the premises some more, and there he was. On one of the larger Japanese ships, Yuuri stood. They caught each other’s eyes. The compassion Viktor had felt for him before was replaced with betrayal. Yakov was right, Viktor thought. I should have killed you when I had the chance. This is all my fault. Viktor fell to his knees, he had been betrayed by Yuuri, and by his kindness. Just when he had learned to show compassion, it had all turned to flames. Yuuri’s condescending smile was the last thing he saw as a bullet hit his stomach.