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They didn't have time for this. Logically, Yuudai was well aware that every second wasted was another where their siblings were gone, possibly married but also possibly just living in sin, tarnishing their reputations faster than he had previously thought imaginable. What made the most sense was for the two of them to set aside their differences and immediately go to the marriage registry, but of course that wasn't going to happen. Not only had Jianyu insulted him in his own home, cornered him against a desk in his own bedroom, but he had used his superior height to drag him down the halls and out of his own family inn so that he could... fight him, apparently. He'd been stony-faced the entire walk, well aware that a commotion would draw the attention of customers, and he had enough dignity to keep familial squabbles just that -- between family members -- but that didn't mean he liked it.

This much was obvious when Jianyu finally released him, Yuudai's face darkening a shade in temper as the other man stripped away his armor. It was childish, but he was just angry enough that he didn't care anymore; motions jerky and hurried, he untied the knot on his apron and threw it aside, annoyed when it landed atop his opponent's armor. Well, that was fine, that was just fine.

"You are ridiculous and I pity you." Truth be told, he was equally ridiculous for agreeing to do this, for giving in to his temper when there were at least a thousand more important things to do, but he couldn't stop himself.

Maybe he didn't need to stop himself. Maybe if they simply got this out of the way, got rid of their anger and frustration at one another, they could work together and take care of their idiot siblings. He knew that he and Ran always felt better after their beat the hell out of one another when they'd been arguing, and this energy had to go somewhere. Somewhere.

"But fine." With that, it was like a switch had been flicked; Ran could have described it, perfectly, the moment of utter stillness right before Yuudai flipped his s**t completely. In the next breath, he had launched himself at Jianyu, not with the intent to kill, but with the simple goal of punching him as hard as he could.

Namely, a brother's brawl.

He was intensely satisfied with landing a hit on Jianyu, even if his knuckles ached a little bit from the blow, as they always did. Hand-to-hand combat was not necessarily his forte, as he tried to respect his hands as much as he could: he needed them to cook with, after all. Still, a brawl between relatives was hardly any place for weapons, so he would take his lumps and bruises and hopefully not break anything in the process.

His triumph was short lived, however, when Jianyu rammed his knee into his stomach, flipping him over easily so that his head struck against the ground and he saw bright patches of light flutter in front of his face. Or no, maybe that was just the beads in his hair -- regardless, Yuudai gasped for breath, his stomach rolling from the hit that had caught him completely off guard, and he was annoyed to find his wrists restrained above his head.

Well, ******** glad it hurt," he managed, and then, because he was pinned, his options were limited. He began to thrash, bucking his hips and kicking his legs wildly, knowing that he would be difficult as hell to hold onto -- it was a tactic he'd employed with Ran's brothers many, many times in the past.

Of course, amidst his wild flailing he often hurt himself in the process of getting free, but when his forehead connected with Jianyu's again, he simply swore loudly, closing his eyes tight against the bright, blossoming pain. Head swimming, he dimly realized this had been a bad idea after all -- the fight had barely begun and already he was feeling the effects of it in his head and gut.

It was too late to back down, though. When he finally managed to throw Jianyu off him it was at great cost; he scrambled back on the ground, breathing heavily, and spat blood to his side.

Then he launched up again.

Being small and slender was very rarely an advantage for a man. In private, Yuudai cursed his figure nearly nightly, constantly annoyed that he would always be a lightweight when it came to battle. That was fine when it came time to be quick on his feet, and he'd taken more than one opponent by surprise in such a fashion, but the fact was, he took a lot of hits a lot harder than a more substantial person would have. He might win a fight but he would limp away from it, and in the end, that meant he had to train harder and longer than everyone else to be equally effective.

It also meant that when he was thrown bodily into a tree he felt it through his entire body. It shamed him, but he uttered a strangled cry, startled and disoriented enough that he bit down hard on his tongue. Blood pooled in his mouth and he coughed, spraying blood over Jianyu's fist as it connected and wrenched his head to the side.

Unable to do much else, he clawed at the other man, blood pouring down his chin as he took advantage of his untrimmed nails to rake scratches down his cheeks. He grabbed fistfuls of his hair, yanking on it as hard as he could as he drove his knee up, aiming for whatever was convenient and fleshy -- he didn't even care, his head was swimming and he had to do something to get the other man off him long enough so that his vision could settle and he could properly retaliate.

The brawl was turning ugly, fast. His body ached everywhere already, he could barely draw breath for the gnawing pains in his stomach, and he was certain that if they kept this up, Jianyu was going to have to help him walk away from the battle.

His pride would not handle being carried to the registry, however.

Breathing was a little difficult, thanks to the pain that was reverberating up and down his ribs, and normally Yuudai would have done his best to mask that. The fact of the matter was, however, he couldn't; his body ached, everywhere, and drawing breath was like raking knives over his lungs after the impact with the tree. Blood coated his chin, and his tongue was still bleeding from where he'd bitten down on it; his back was on fire, his stomach tight, head ringing. After his recent scuffle with Ran the very last thing he should have done was pick a fight with someone else, but his pride and temper had gotten the better of him, so there was little to be done, now.

It was uncomfortable with Jianyu sitting on top of him and he was acutely aware that his arms were pinned over his head again. He couldn't even thrash or buck the other man off, because he'd settled his weight atop Yuudai's thighs. Maybe if the fight had just begun this would be no problem, but he was hardly in the best shape at just that moment. Jianyu didn't pull his punches, something that Yuudai could reluctantly respect even if he didn't want to admit it, and as he was presently pinned beneath him, he had to admit that this battle was lost. It was stupid to keep going, stupid to push themselves past their limits when they had something so much more important to deal with, but --

But he still didn't want to just give up.

He jerked at his arms bad-temperedly, but Jianyu didn't lessen his grip. So, breath hissing painfully past his teeth, he managed, "You're a big man, Qian Jianyu, holding me down and taunting me."

Turning his head to the side, he attempted to spit blood, but his ribs and his stomach hurt so much that he only managed a half-hearted motion. Blood leaked from the corner of his mouth, sliding down his neck and into the collar of his shirt, and he groaned despite himself.

He hurt like hell. But still...

Because he was only holding him with one hand, Yuudai managed to free his right hand from Jianyu's grip. Even though he knew it was a bad idea, he swung out one last time, at least wanting the satisfaction of not taking his defeat lying down, though he was well aware this battle was over.

The hit didn't land, but he didn't exactly expect it to. His temper simmered at that but didn't spike; he honestly didn't have the energy to be angry just then, not after the beating he'd just taken. He would have simply let his arm fall back to the grass but that was impossible when Jianyu stopped it, held his wrist, so he merely glowered from his place on the ground. Gradually, his heartbeat would stop hammering at his ribs, he was certain, but until then, he was quite content to remain just where he was.

If it hurt to be still, he could only imagine what sort of pain he would endure when he got up and tried moving around. It was his own fault, he knew, but he still wasn't looking forward to it. He would, however, get to his feet and go to the registry office with Jianyu, because that was his responsibility, and when they were finished he would return home and do all of his regular chores, even if he knew he would want to die a little bit as he scrubbed the baths that evening. You reaped what you sowed, though, and he was hardly going to shirk his responsibilities because he had indulged his temper.

If anything, it would be a good lesson for him.

It surprised him when Jianyu pressed his sash lightly to the side of his face, enough that Yuudai immediately jerked his cheek away. Color flooded his face again, but this time it was embarrassment -- he was generally the one taking care of others, not being tended to -- and his eyes were cautious, wary as the other man applied surprisingly gentle pressure to the wound, mopping the blood as best he could. It was an awkward silence that descended between them, Yuudai not knowing entirely what to say, until Jianyu broke it and he scowled.

"Next time, brother, I'll have to tuck you into bed when we're finished." Because he was embarrassed he didn't quite look Jianyu in the eye; he snatched the sash himself and held it against his face, muttering, "Thank you." in the most ungrateful tone he'd ever used.

Hmph.