Pet Shop Of Horrors Fan Fiction / Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Long Denied ❯ To sleep, perchance to dream... ( Chapter 24 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

While looking back at this story, I realized that I've given nearly every member of the Souma Zodiac a role where they tell the story from their point of view. It might only have been a little role, like Kisa and Hiro, but they have had a chance to have their say. I seem to have forgotten a very important character, however. Kagura! My favorite little piggy. I don't care what anyone says, I like Kagura.

By the way, someone just let me know that Rin is NOT Rin's real name. Her real name is Isuzu and Rin's just a nickname. Isn't that interesting? Learn something new everyday.

Chapter 24: To Sleep, Perchance to dream...


Tohru-


"Yuki," Tohru said, tugging on his sleeve as soon as Count D had left them alone in the parlor. "What are we going to do? We can't leave Kyou here and if we try to take him home..." Tohru couldn't even finish her thought. It was just too painful to think of Kyou dying. That was what Count D had said would happen if they tried to disturb Kyou's at all. He would die. After what Tohru had seen happen to Kyou back at Shigure's house, she didn't doubt it at all. He'd been so badly hurt.

Yuki patted Tohru's hand kindly, though his eyes were narrowed and had a distant look, as though he were thinking deeply. "I know. Please, don't worry. We'll think of something." He smiled reassuring at Tohru. "Why don't we start by finding him? You've seen him so we know he's here somewhere. Count D even admitted that he's here. I suppose it can't take too long to search this store." From the look on his face, Yuki was probably thinking the same thing as Tohru. The corridors in the Petshop were so long and winding that it was like trying to find your way through a maze. Finding Kyou was likely not going to be as simple a task as it sounded.

Tohru jumped to her feet, determination filling her. "Well, let's go!" She said. "Kyou's depending on us. Oh, do you think we should try to call Shigure to let him know where we are? He might be worried."

Yuki shook his head. "Shigure's gone to the estate and I don't think he's well, either. He was sounding very odd when I spoke to him last. Shigure can take care of himself for a while; it's Kyou that we have to worry about. We don't know for certain that Count D is even telling us the truth, after all. Kyou could be a prisoner here." Yuki's expression darkened at that. "Let's go, but please stay close to me, Honda-san. I don't want to lose you again."

They stuck close to each other, for fear of being separated, as they ventured into the halls, every mindful of the strange and potentially dangerous 'people' who lived in the petshop. Tohru wasn't exactly sure why it was called a petshop, she'd seen no animals since she'd woken up here. Of course, Ten-chan had turned into a fox and Tohru was a bird, it turned out. Maybe everyone here were animals and it was just hard to tell who was what. Reality seemed flexible in this place.

'I can accept that I'm not human.' Tohru thought. 'It's not so bad being a bird. I've been myself all my life and nothing's really changed. Souma-kun doesn't treat me any differently and I'm sure Kyou-kun won't either. Once we find him, that is.' It was hard, when Tohru had first found out that she wasn't human, but it did make a lot of things more clear. Why she didn't look anything like her mom and why her mom had always seemed afraid that someone would come and steal Tohru away. It was better to know the truth. Truth was always better than a lie, not that Tohru blamed her mom for anything. It was just a little lie and didn't change the fact that her mom loved her.

They walked and walked, peeking into many of the rooms and even going into a few. They actually met a few people, though Yuki was cautious about everyone and kept them at a safe distance. They met a little girl who asked after Hatori, saying that she wanted to see him again. They ran across Ten-chan who actually threw his arms around Tohru and hugged her until Yuki pulled her away from him.

Ten-chan had laughed merrily at that and said to Tohru, in a mock whisper, "My, but he's protective, isn't he? A fine catch you've made."

Tohru frowned, puzzled. "Catch?"

Before Ten-chan could explain, Yuki pulled her away with a faint blush on his cheeks as they listened to Ten-chan's laughter fade away. "Come see me later, little birdy! I'm around and everyone knows where to find me. Tell me about your mousy."

Yuki scowled at that, even as they turned another corner and Ten-chan's voice faded away. "Does everyone know what we are here?"

"Who knows? What do you think he meant by 'catch'?"

"He's only teasing you, Honda-san." Yuki said tightly. "Talking nonsense and..." Yuki's voice faded away and he stared at a door they'd come to. "Kyou's here." He said, pointing at the door.

"Are you sure?" Tohru asked. There was nothing different about this door, it looked just like every other door they'd come across since entering Count D's petshop. "How can you tell?"

"I-I don't know." Yuki's frown deepened and they went to the door, but just when Yuki's hand touched the door, they both heard a tittering laughter and looked around. On both sides of them, half hidden in the darkness of the halls, they saw eyes watching them. As soon as they looked, though, the eyes all vanished and the laughter was silenced. Yuki and Tohru exchanged a worried look, but went on as if they hadn't seen or heard anything. Really, it would do no good to go chasing laughter in the darkness, not when Kyou was so close. "I know he's here." He pushed open the door and poked his head inside. "Oh, my..." Yuki went all the way inside, allowing Tohru to follow him.

"I don't understand." Tohru said in bewilderment. "Where are we?" It looked as if they'd gone from the dark labyrinth of the petshop into a pristine mountain wilderness. Everything around them was green and the sky was a brighter blue than Tohru had ever seen. It was obviously in the mountains, the soaring peaks of a neighboring mountaintop could be seen, purple in the daylight. The sun was real, it warmed Tohru's face. How could this be? "This...can't be right. Can it?"

"I don't think we can take anything for granted, Honda-san. There's a cabin, let's start there." He began to walk, but both Yuki and Tohru noticed something as they drew closer to the cabin. On the grass, just in front of the little cabin, there was a large shape laying on the grass.

When they were close enough to see what, or rather, who it was, Tohru and Yuki both put on a burst of speed. "Kyou!" Tohru cried when they finally reached him. Tohru had only seen Kyou like this, in his original shape, once. He didn't look nearly so horrifying now. Kyou was fast asleep and looked almost peaceful as he lay on the ground. There was something different, though. "Is he all right?" Tohru asked Yuki who had squatted down to looked at Kyou more closely.

"He's breathing." Yuki answered, looking at the rise and fall of Kyou's massive chest. Yuki reached for Kyou's wrist. "His flesh if very hard, like an exoskeleton, I don't know if I'll be able to even find his pulse, but..."

"No!" Tohru seized Yuki's hand, preventing him from touching Kyou. "We can't touch him, remember? Count D said Kyou could die if he's disturbed. He's breathing so his heart must be beating."

Yuki huffed irritably, but put his hands on his knees where he wouldn't touch Kyou. "This is impossible! We can't do anything for him here and we can't wake him without the risk of killing him. What's he doing here anyway?" Yuki began to look around until his eyes fell on something. "The bracelet!" Yuki sprang to his feet and ran to the cabin where there was a little table sitting outside. On the little, rude table was Kyou's black and white bracelet. Though, unless Tohru was much mistaken, the black beads of the bracelet actually looked like a shade of dark red. "The question is," Yuki said when he came back to Tohru, rubbing his fingers on the beads of the bracelet. "Did Kyou deliberately take it off or was it taken from him?"

"Do you really think he'd take it off by choice? Kazuma-san had to take it from him the last time and I think Kyou trusts Kazuma-san more than anyone. Kyou always treated it like a treasure." Tohru looked down at Kyou and something caught her eyes. Covering Kyou's dark body were a great many tiny threads. They were so fine that they looked almost like a fine covering of spider webs all over Kyou.

"I don't know." Yuki answered, still running his fingers over the beads of the bracelet. "So many strange things have happened today that I'm not sure what's going on anymore. If someone took the bracelet from Kyou, then why would they just put it over there? Wouldn't they have taken it? And why leave Kyou like this when he'd just wake up on his own and take his bracelet? Count D never did tell us WHY Kyou's a guest here."

"Souma-kun, what's this stuff?" Tohru indicated the threads all over Kyou. The threads reminded Tohru of spider silk or like the threads of a chrysalis.

Yuki bent down to look closely at Kyou's body. He went so close to Kyou, in fact, that his nose nearly touched Kyou's arm. "Did you notice?"

"Notice what?"

"The smell. There's no smell."

Tohru realized that Yuki was right. Kyou's original form had a smell so horrible, before, that Tohru had thrown up from the stench. In his original form, Kyou smelled like rotting corpses. Now, only inches from Kyou they couldn't smell a thing.

Kyou's skin looked like a black mirror covered in a fine coat of cobwebs. The cobweb stuff was increasing as they watched. "It's like spider silk. I'm not sure what it is. If I didn't know better, Honda-san, I would say that this...stuff...if coming from Kyou. Look closely. I'd swear that it's growing out of his body."

Tohru did as Yuki bid and bent down until her eyes were only inches from Kyou's glossy skin and she saw what Yuki was seeing. The tiny, hair-like threads were growing directly from Kyou's body. "But," Tohru sat up and realized how quickly the threads were covering Kyou's body. "If it keeps up like this, he'll be completely covered in just a little while. He'll be smothered!" Tohru only just resisted the temptation to start wiping the threads off Kyou by the echoing warning of Count D. That Kyou would die if he were disturbed.

"I don't think so." Yuki argued, thoughtfully. "It's coming from his own body. While I'm not sure what, exactly, it is, I'm pretty sure that if Kyou's body is producing it, it wouldn't hurt him. I think our best course of action would be to just wait. We won't know anything until he wakes up and we can't wake him up without risking his life." Yuki sighed and sat down on the grass, crossing his legs. "I think we're stuck. There is no other solution other than to wait until Kyou wakes up and who knows how long that'll be?" Yuki slipped Kyou's bracelet into his pants pocket and bowed his head slightly as he patiently waited.

Tohru didn't like waiting, not when Kyou's safety was in question. She knew Yuki was right, though. There was nothing else they could do. So Tohru settled herself on the grass and, together with Yuki, she watched over Kyou's body. It was rather an awkward silence. Tohru wanted to talk to Yuki, but really didn't know what to say. She had so many questions, but Yuki didn't know anything more than she did. Besides, Yuki didn't seem inclined to talk. He had a kind of distant expression on his face, as if he were thinking deeply.

For hours they waited until,

"He's nearly covered now." Yuki said. They had watched over the hours as the threads continued to grow and now they were all over Kyou so much that it was nearly impossible to see him under all of it. In all that time, Kyou hadn't so much as moved a muscle except for his slow, steady breathing. "Do you suppose he's all right in there?"

"Oh, yes! He just has to be." Tohru insisted, hating to think otherwise. It was always best to believe in happiest outcome and that would be that Kyou would wake up soon and just shake that stuff off himself and that they would go home.

"You're worried for him." It seemed like a strange thing for Yuki to say, so Tohru looked at him a little more carefully. Yuki still had that far away, thoughtful look on his face.

"Of course I am." Tohru answered. "Who knows what's happening to him in there? What if he's in pain or scared? Aren't you worried for him?" Tohru knew she shouldn't be surprised if Yuki declared that he didn't care what happened to Kyou; he'd said that sort of thing often enough in the past. Yuki and Kyou were always so adamant that they hated each other.

"I worry for that idiot cat, too. I suppose." Yuki said it in a hushed voice, as if he were shamed to admit it. "He is irritatingly hot-headed, a more stubborn person could not exist. I think he is a fool for many reasons, but, I hate to say, Kyou is not an idiot. Kyou is smart and hard working."

Tohru was pleasantly amazed. In the midst of all the horrible things that were happening, something good had come out of it! Tohru couldn't have been happier, but before she could tell Yuki how happy she was that he had at least a little more understanding for Kyou, Yuki spoke again.

"Kyou doesn't scare easily. You really needn't worry about him so much." He seemed very uncomfortable. "Kyou was right, you worry to much about other people and not enough about yourself. Have you decided what you're going to do? Now that you're...well..."

"A bird? I'm not really sure. I like my life the way it is. I don't see any reason to change." Tohru thought about it, as she had been since she'd found out what she was. She wasn't really sure that she wanted to stay with Count D, in all honesty. He seemed like a nice person and she liked Ten-chan, but it was all so different from home. Tohru didn't even know if being taught how to be a nightingale meant that she would have to leave Shigure's house and live at the petshop or if she could keep going to school. Would learning to be a bird mean that she would have to give up her entire human life? All her friends? Maybe she was just being a coward. Wouldn't it be lovely to be able to fly? How beautiful it would be to see the world from so high above. Tohru also wouldn't be such a burden on Shigure if she came to live at the petshop and she was pretty sure that Shigure would like to have her out from underfoot. Change wasn't always bad. Then again, it wasn't always good, either. "I suppose I'll have to think about it."

Yuki nodded and looked back at Kyou. "Whatever's going on, it must be getting close to the end." He commented. They could no longer see Kyou's body under all the layers of silvery threads. "It looks like his body isn't making so much of those threads anymore. It reminds me of something." Yuki frowned as he tried to remember. "Something I've seen before."

"Like a cocoon?" Tohru guessed. That was what it reminded her of. Like a butterfly's cocoon. "Do you suppose that's what it could be?"

Yuki didn't answer. By now, Kyou was completely wrapped in the white threads. The surface of the cocoon looked entirely smooth; it was long and shaped something like an oversized football, but there was no doubt that it did resemble a gigantic butterfly's cocoon.


At the Souma Estate-
Kagura-


It was well known that when under a great deal of physical or emotional stress, it was possible for the Zodiac cursed to transform without being hugged by a member of the opposite sex. While this didn't happen often (everyone was very used to stress just by being one of the cursed) Shigure's sudden transformation into a dog was proof of it. No matter what his reasons for his betrayal were, Shigure was upset by what he'd done. More than upset, really. He was nearly destroyed by it and that frightened Kagura more than she would admit. Shigure had always been so strong that it hurt Kagura to see him like this.

It was so hard to believe what had just happened. Akito was gone. Not just gone, but given away by, of all people, Shigure. Kagura felt her heart beating a mile a minute and she put both hands to her mouth, trying to control herself.

"I knew it."

Everyone turned to look at the one who'd spoken, Rin. She was still injured from her 'fall' from the bathhouse window, but Rin had always been stubborn and now stood slowly to set her cold glare on Shigure, still in his dog form. Rin had never been the most forgiving of people and her eyes showed that she wouldn't be ready to forgive Shigure anytime soon for the betrayal of the family.

Shigure the dog didn't even look at Rin, but lay down and set his head on the floor. Pathetic whines escaped his throat.

"Don't try that!" Rin snapped, jabbing her sharp, black painted fingernail at Shigure. "I don't feel sorry for you! You knew all along and you lied about it! That book! It wasn't some manuscript, was it? You filthy, stinking liar! You knew!" Each exclamation Rin spit out, stepping closer and close to Shigure. "We depended on you, remember? Everyone trusted you to take care of Yuki and Kyou. You kept Akito from getting too out of hand. We TRUSTED you, how could you do this to us!?"

Ayame tried to soothe her temper and stepped between Rin and Shigure, subtly protecting Shigure if he needed it. "What are you talking about, Rin-chan? 'Gure wouldn't do anything to hurt us. I'm sure he knows what he's doing and if that man can help Akito..."

Rin scoffed and flipped her hair over her shoulder with an angry toss of her head. "Fool!" She met Ayame's eyes and her hands clenched at her sides. "He's your best friend and you don't have any clue about what he's done. Shigure knew what had happened to us all, he knew how and why we were cursed and he never told us. Now, just when Akito's dying, he turns on us all."

"'Gure must have had his reasons. It's in everyone's best interests for Akito to survive. Of course Akito was scared to leave us, but if he lives it'll be better for the whole family. Akito can't think clearly, we all know that." Ayame said.

"I don't care about his reasons!" Rin shouted, so angry that she looked as if she might strike Ayame. "You're blind to anything he does, Ayame. He kept this from us! You think he did this for the good of the family? Ha! We could have been working on a way to find a cure and he kept all his precious information to himself. Selfish, greedy animal!" It was the worst insult on Zodiac cursed could give to another. They all hated being called animals. "You had to have your power, didn't you, Shigure? Did it make you feel good to know something the rest of us didn't? Maybe that's why Akito always listened to you; did he know you knew something about the curse? Did you keep yourself close to him by telling him that you'd one day tell him the secret?"

"That's cruel." Kisa spoke up, just loud enough for everyone to hear her. "Grampa Shigure wouldn't do something bad."

Rin snorted. "You're a child, Kisa. You don't know anything."

"Don't talk to Kisa like that!" Hiro, possibly the only Souma who could out argue Rin, jumped to Kisa's defense. "I didn't see you racing to keep Akito here. What right do you have to criticize Shigure for anything he does?"

"I'll talk anyway I please, boya!" Rin, while even she wouldn't yell at sweet Kisa, had no compunction against yelling at Hiro. Everyone knew Hiro could and would yell right back. "You're a child yourself, so don't you raise your voice to me! Why don't you two go play with dolls or something while the grown-ups talk?"

Hiro's face tightened at being spoken to like that and he sucked in a deep breath, ready to respond with fire and venom, his own pride pricked as well as the insult done to Kisa.

All this time, the rest of the cursed watched the confrontation between the three and didn't move. Shigure didn't even try to defend himself, his normally glib tongue silent. He just lay there whining like a beaten dog, staring into empty space.

"Kagura,"

Kagura turned and saw Ritsu looking at her with worried eyes. It amazed Kagura that through all this mess Ritsu hadn't once broken down with one of his normal anxiety attacks. It was Ritsu who'd had taken him back to his house after the attack outside the estate. It was Ritsu who'd made all the calls to the Junikyu and had sat by Akito's side until everyone started arriving. All that time, though all the fear and stress, Ritsu had controlled himself remarkably well. Now that he was no longer responsible for what was going on and no longer in command, as it were, Ritsu looked ready to break down. "Yes?" Kagura kept her voice quite, hoping that it would reassure Ritsu at least a little bit.

"Is this my fault?" Ritsu looked at Kagura with big, frightened eyes.

"Of course not!" Kagura took his hand and squeezed it, comfortingly. "You didn't do anything wrong, it just...happened."

Ritsu didn't seem convinced and looked back at Rin, Ayame, and Shigure. Rin and Hiro were still yelling and Ayame looked as if even he were losing his temper with Rin. Ayame rarely lost his temper, but with the stress they were all under and the fact that he was defending Shigure while Hatori had gone off to who knows where, it was understandable that Ayame's temper would begin to fray. "Are you sure it wasn't me?" Ritsu's voice caught in his throat. "Should I have done something differently?"

Rin whirled around suddenly. "It wasn't your fault, idiot!" She snapped at Ritsu. "It's all Shigure's fault and he's not even man enough to own up to what he's done to us all. I read it all in that book of his, most of it, anyway. Just a day or so ago I found a diary in Shigure's house, telling all about how the curse was put on our family and he lied right to my face, telling me some crap about it being a new book he was writing. Now he comes along and sends Akito off with the person responsible for the curse in the first place! Yeah, he could make it all better and it'll be like we're a normal family, but he could make everything a thousand times worse!" Her eyes went to each member of the family. "Don't you get it? Shigure's been lying to all of us for years and now he's doomed us. Who knows what's going to happen now? How much does that guy know about us, huh?" This last she asked Shigure. "He knows about the curse, he must. He's the one that cursed us. We're all in danger." Rin began to cough slightly and her hand splattered lightly with blood when she covered her mouth. "He'll kill us or sell us, some scientist is going to dissect us."

Kagura had never seen Rin so frighteningly angry before and Rin had been living with Kagura's family for quite some time. She knew Rin wasn't the most affable of people, but Rin was intelligent and usually found ways around yelling and screaming like this. Lying? Shigure wouldn't have lied to all of them, would he? It was true that Shigure liked telling stories, he was a writer and what was a writer if not a storyteller? Still, to tell a lie that would hurt the family? It seemed unthinkable. Shigure had always been so unfailingly loyal.

Shigure didn't deny what Rin said.

Rin turned back to Shigure, not paying any attention to Ayame, who stood between them. "You should die, dog." Rin spat the words. "Akito was right, for once. You've betrayed him and us." Something inside Rin snapped and she flew at Shigure. "Die!" Both of her hands were raised up over her head and it was very clear that, given the chance, she WOULD kill Shigure.

Fortunately, Ayame was more than capable of restraining Rin. He grabbed her around the waist as she tried to rush passed him and held her easily. "Stop it!" Ayame commanded. "This isn't helping!"

Kicking and screaming bloody murder, Rin either didn't hear or just didn't care. She tried everything to get away from Ayame including stomping on his slipper-clad feet with her stiletto-heeled boots. "Let me go, he's..."

"You're going to hurt yourself." It was Hatsuharu who'd spoken, standing for the first time. He walked to Rin with his hands in his pockets and looked out at her from his lazy eyes. It was a good sign that he hadn't yet gone black.

Kagura shifted her weight and let go of Ritsu's hand, hoping that he could hold himself together for just a little bit longer. If needed, Kagura could help Ayame to restrain Rin. Rin wasn't a fighter, but she was very tenacious and could be a handful, especially since they didn't want to actually hurt her. They couldn't count on Hatsuharu to help with Rin, he'd never do anything that might hurt her.

"Do you think it really matters?" Rin stopped struggling in Ayame's arms as soon as Hatsuharu had spoken. Kagura wasn't entirely sure what it was that went on between Hatsuharu and Rin, but they'd been close for more than two years. Long ago, it was thought that Hatsuharu would make a play for Yuki, he'd always had a terrible crush on Yuki, but it seemed that lately Hatsuharu was spending more and more time with Rin. "We'll all die now because of Shigure. You didn't read what I read. That...that monster that took Akito, he was the one who put the curse on us all. We used to be something different, we weren't even human in the beginning. Who knows what we'll turn into once that monster is done experimenting on Akito."

Hatsuharu put his hands on Rin's arms. "Something different, huh? I think we've always been different. Shigure had his reasons and if you stop yelling at him maybe he'll tell us what they are. Rin, you just got out of the hospital and Hatori didn't even want you to come home, yet. He never got around to telling us what was wrong with you, but even I know that falling out a third story window isn't good. You had to have two blood transfusions; you're still very pale, you know." Hatsuharu pulled Rin into his arms and hugged her tightly. "Calm yourself down, Rin. You're no good like this." He didn't let go even when Rin started trying to pull against him, pushing back into Ayame who must have seemed far less threatening.

Kagura knew Rin very well and she knew that nothing intimidated Rin so much as someone who could love her no matter what she said or did, like Hatsuharu.

"I told you before, I don't want you touching me anymore! I don't even want you near me, now let me go!" Rin snapped at Hatsuharu with her best angry voice and her dark eyes narrowed.

"No." Hatsuharu answered softly. "I walked away from you earlier so I could get my temper back, not because I was leaving you. I love you."

"I don't want you, not like this!" Rin managed to pull away and looked straight into Hatsuharu's face. "It's only going to hurt more. What if it's you who gets pushed out the next window, huh? You think I could live with that? Well, I couldn't! If you die, I'm not strong enough to live with that pain!"

It was such an intimate conversation that Kagura was forced to look away. She really thought that this was something they should be talking about in private. All this talk of love brought to mind the object of Kagura's affection, Kyou. He wasn't here and that worried her deeply. Kyou never really felt welcomed at family gatherings, but in this case, Akito had specifically called for everyone to come and even Kyou wouldn't have disobeyed that command. So, where were he and Yuki?

When she looked away, Kagura saw that Shigure was quietly leaving the house, unnoticed, and that Ritsu, with a small piece of paper in one hand was leaving, also. Ritsu had somehow gotten away from Kagura's side without being noticed and it was at times like these that Kagura was reminded that Ritsu could be quiet when he wanted to be.

'Count D gave Shigure that paper before he left. He said that was where we could see Akito. What's Ritsu up to? He can't be thinking of...he's not going there alone, is he?' Kagura watched for a moment while Ritsu snuck out of the room, the paper clenched tightly in his hand. No one had yet noticed Ritsu or Shigue leaving except Kagura, they were all to busy watching Rin and Hatsuharu. 'He IS going there alone.' If this Count D was anywhere as dangerous as everyone seemed to think he was, then Kagura decided she just couldn't allow Ritsu to go off on his own. He would need someone to look after him.

It would have been good to be able to take everyone along, after all there were safety in numbers, but everyone was still fighting and they probably wouldn't even listen to Kagura if she tried to speak to them. What good would they do all angry and frightened, anyway?

Once outside Akito's house, Kagura began following Ritsu who was walking very quickly towards the main gate.

"Kagura-kun."

Sitting just next to the doorway of Akito's house was Shigure, looking at her for the first time since he'd let Akito be taken away. "Shigure, what's going on?" Kagura squatted down to look him in the face. She was surprised that he still hadn't changed back to human and wondered exactly how upset he was about what had happened.

"Lots of things." Shigure sighed. "Too many things. Akito is going to be healed, I believe. I know its hard for everyone, but I don't know how else to do this. That man didn't curse us, Kagura. His father did. He's trying to fix what his father did."

"You believe that?" Kagura asked, skeptically. It was very difficult to lie to Shigure; he was too skilled at it to be fooled. If Shigure really believed, then it was most likely the truth. Kyou spoke about Shigure a lot when he was with Kagura and even Kyou, who wasn't always the best judge of character, had to admit that Shigure was very clever. Maybe he was a little too clever. Kyou didn't trust Shigure, not one little bit. Of course, Kyou was far too honest to even understand Shigure. Kyou really couldn't understand anyone who wasn't as brutally honest as he was. That was probably why Kyou liked Tohru, she was honest in the extreme and the only lie Kagura had ever known Tohru to tell were the ones she told on behalf of the Souma family. "Shigure, do you trust this man?"

Shigure didn't answer at first and thought for a moment. "Maybe...maybe I just WANT to believe. He's also the only hope we have. Rin was right. I did keep many secrets from the family, but I did have good cause. Maybe I was right and maybe I was wrong, but that doesn't really matter anymore. What matters now is that nearly half our family is with Count D and at his mercy. I honestly don't know what he's capable of, but I couldn't just let Akito die. I couldn't just watch."

The despair in Shigure's voice was so honest that Kagura was speechless. She suddenly realized that maybe there was more than just loyalty that tied Shigure so fiercely to Akito.

"Go after Ritsu, Kagura-kun." Shigure looked to where Ritsu had vanished though the houses and was no doubt nearing the main gates. "He'll need some help. Besides, Kyou's with Count D, too."

"What?!"

"Yes. Kyou, Yuki, and Tohru are all with Count D. It seems that Kyou has some important task. The Cat is far more important to our family than anyone had guessed." Shigure nudged her with his muzzle. "Go on."

"Why aren't you going?" Kagura asked. "Don't you want to be with Akito?"

"I'm the last person he wants to see. Go now."

If she knew her darling Kyou, then he was bound to be in the middle of this whole mess and he was going to need her. Where Kyou was, Yuki was likely to be. Where Yuki and Kyou were, Tohru would be. She would have to help them if she could.

Kagura rose to her feet, but paused for a moment before she turned and hugged Shigure tightly around the next. "We still need you, Shigure. Rin's angry, but she's usually angry." Kagura pulled back and met Shigure's still grieving eyes. "We all need you so don't do anything stupid." Kagura didn't ask why Shigure didn't turn back human; his sadness was still too unbearable. This sort of thing happened to them all from time to time. Kisa turned into a tiger when she'd stopped talking and they'd had to keep her confined to the estate for nearly a week. Kyou had been in his cat form after his mother's suicide, after Shigure had found him and the reality of what had happened sunk in. In fact, Kyou had turned back into a human just in time for the funeral.

Shigure just looked at Kagura with his large eyes and she didn't think he believed her. 'What should I do?' In this state, Shigure was very likely to hurt himself or even to kill himself. Kagura didn't want to leave him alone, but she absolutely HAD to go after Ritsu and find Kyou.

"You shouldn't worry about me." Shigure told her softly. "I'll be all right. I'm going to Kureno's house to see what he's hidden there. Count D said I should go there before he left and I have nothing else to do. Aya will track me down in a little bit, if he doesn't start turning the city upside-down to find Ha-san."

Kagura didn't hesitate any longer before she took off. Shigure was right. Ayame was very tenacious when it came to Hatori and Shigure; he'd take care of Shigure for now. Ritsu would need to be protected from Count D (he sounded very dangerous) and Kagura would probably have to help the others, too. Tohru couldn't protect herself and, if they were prisoners of Count D, Kagura would have to help Yun-kun and Kyou.


Ritsu-

While everyone was arguing and Rin was yelling at Hiro, Ritsu crept away from where he'd been sitting next to Kagura. Going slowly around the perimeter of the room, Ritsu managed to get to Shigure without being noticed. It wasn't all that surprising. Everyone was to busy yelling and watching Hatsuharu and Rin to bother about Ritsu. He didn't mind. He was really much more comfortable when no one was looking at him.

"Shigure, are you all right?" Ritsu asked quietly. He wanted very much to scream how sorry he was, but in all the noise no one was likely to even hear him so what good would it do? This time, no one could argue that the whole mess wasn't Ritsu's fault, no matter how nice Kagura had tried to be. He was the one who'd gone traveling and met Count D. He was the one who had brought Leon, and therefore Count D, right to the Souma's. Ritsu had practically delivered the Souma family right into Count D's hands and, for once, Ritsu was determined to fix his mistake instead of screaming about it. That's what Ayame would want him to do. It was strange, though.

Shigure, still in the shape of the black dog, looked balefully at Ritsu but didn't answer.

"It-it's okay if you don't want to talk to me." Ritsu couldn't help the tears that leaked out of his eyes, but he was able to hold himself together other than that. "I know it's my fault all this happened. I met him before, you see. I met Count D in America. I'm so sorry." Ritsu couldn't hold back any longer and began to cry. "Please, forgive me, Shigure. I didn't know any of this would happen. I'll kill myself if it'll help, I really will. If I hadn't been so selfish and gone off on a trip I wouldn't have met him and this wouldn't have happened. Please, just beat me and..."

"What good would that do?" Shigure whispered. No one else heard him speak. "If I beat you what problems would it solve? No, this isn't your fault, Ritsu. Even if you were the first to meet him, you couldn't stop him from doing what he wanted to do. None of us could. The only thing that happened was that he found us sooner rather than later." Shigure lay his head down on his forelegs again. "Rin's right. I was lying to all of you and I did it on purpose. I'm not at all sorry. Do you hate me for that? Don't answer, it doesn't matter. Nothing matters anymore. I wonder if anything we ever did mattered at all." Shigure stood up slowly and left the room.

Then, the real fighting began. Everyone began arguing at once, Rin shouting at both Hatsuharu and Ayame for restraining her while Shigure got away. Hiro yelled at Rin for shouting and scaring Kisa. Kisa was crying and Kagura looked like she was in shock.

There was a white card on the floor and Ritsu picked it up, knowing that it was the card Count D had given to Shigure. It seemed that with all the anger and fear going on, everyone had forgotten the business card. There was no name on the business card, but it read:


Turn left at the grocers on Main Street. Three blocks west. Go to the bookseller's and go down the alley just to the right. Take the door on your left.


Ritsu stole out of Akito's house while everyone was yelling at each other. Ritsu hated seeing his family like that, angry.

'Maybe I can fix everything. If I find Akito and...' And then what? Shigure, Hatori, and Kureno had all agreed that Akito would go with Count D, so who was Ritsu to think that they were wrong? In point of fact, Ritsu did NOT think they were wrong. He thought it was a very good idea to have someone heal Akito and if Count D could do it, then all the better. From what he'd seen when he'd met Count D in America, he liked the man. Ritsu also trusted Shigure to know what was best and if Shigure thought Akito should go with Count D, then he was probably right. Ritsu's whole idea was that he should talk to Count D and find out what was going on. If he could tell the family what was happening, then everyone would stop being angry with Shigure. Then all the yelling would stop.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Ritsu yelped with surprise at the voice and whirled around to find Kagura looking at him. "I'm so sorry!" Ritsu wailed. "I'm not trying to sneak away, well not really. Did I take you away from the family? You can go back if you want, I don't need any help! I'm not hiding anything, why are you looking at me like that!?"

Kagura rolled her eyes as Ritsu began to panic more and more before she finally poked him in the ribs and he fell limply to the ground.

'I hate it when they do that!' Ritsu thought as he collected himself and slowly stood up. Was it really fair that they always do that? It hurt like anything! 'No,' Ritsu rebuked himself. 'She had to, it's the only way they can control me.' Still, it did hurt quite a bit and Ritsu wondered if they knew it hurt him.

"I asked where are you going?" Kagura repeated herself even as she helped Ritsu to stand again. Her eyes went pointedly to the business card in Ritsu's hand. "You're going to find Count D?"

"Well, yes. I just thought...if we all knew what was going on it might be easier on everyone and Shigure's not talking to anyone, really. I suppose it's a stupid idea, but I thought that...well...maybe if Count D could give us some answers, then..."

Kagura smiled brightly and gave Ritsu a kiss on the cheek. "That's a great idea, Rit! I'll go with you."

"What?" Ritsu blurted out when Kagura snatched the business card from his hand and closed the distance to the front gate.

"Come on, Rit!" Kagura called over her shoulder. "I know you're faster than you look, so shake a leg!"

"Oh, no! I didn't want to involve you..."

Kagura wasn't listening and already half way to the front gate. Ritsu had to follow and hoped he hadn't gotten Kagura into something dangerous. Count D must be dangerous, Shigure hadn't denied any of that, so what if Kagura got hurt trying to help him. "Kagura, wait!" Ritsu began running as fast as he could to catch up and soon found himself running at a pace with Kagura. If there was one thing Ritsu could do, he could run.

Unfortunately, Ritsu couldn't run nearly so fast as he normally could. His wounds from the attack in America were still very painful, but Kagura kindly slowed her pace so they could stay together.

"Don't you start apologizing for anything, Rit." Kagura told him, not even the least bit out of breath from the running. "I'm doing this of my own free will and you know you can't stop me when I get going. Stubborn, that's what everyone says about me. My Kyou's with Count D, Shigure told me so. I'm not leaving him alone. He'll get himself into trouble without me."

Kagura was right about what people said about her, she was stubborn. Not that Ritsu would say that to Kagura's face. The whole family said that Kagura was the most stubborn member of the family with the possible exception of Yuki and Kyou's religious like dedication to their foreordained feud. Once she set her mind on it, there was no stopping Kagura.

"I just don't know...well, this person might be dangerous and you're far to important to be put in danger. I'm not at all important and no one would miss me, so..."

Kagura skid to a stop and put her hands on her hips as she set her hard gaze on Ritsu. "What are you talking about? You won't be missed? Don't you think Ayame might just get a little bit upset if you up and vanish? What about your mother? I know you aren't so heartless that you'd cause her pain, right? Your mother gets so upset about everything that if anything happened to you, she might end up hurting herself in grief. That's a terribly selfish attitude, Rit." Kagura reached out and touched the side of Ritsu's face, where the bruise was still painfully evident. "Isn't that why you've been staying at the estate since you got home? Your mother still thinks you're in America, doesn't she?"

"If she saw my face..." Kagura was right, Ritsu hadn't seen his mother since he'd gotten back to Japan. If she saw how he'd been hurt in America, Ritsu was sure she'd start crying and he hated to see her cry. It had only been a couple of days since the attack; of course the bruise was still just as purple and swollen as before. He would go see her as soon as the bruise faded away and he could tell her a harmless lie, that he'd fallen or tripped. He was clumsy; everyone knew that so he would be believed and Hatori wouldn't tell her what had really happened. Maybe. Ayame would if he thought it was in Ritsu's best interests, but so far he'd promised not to.

Cause his mother pain? The thought of it made Ritsu want to cry. How could Kagura ask something like that? It was to protect his mother's fragile feelings that Ritsu hadn't gone home to the hot springs. She'd always been there for him and Ritsu hadn't forgotten when he was little and his mother had tried to protect him from his father by putting her own body in the way as a shield. Now that his father was gone, thanks to both Ayame and Akito, Ritsu's mother worked very hard at the hot springs. He owed his mother everything, she was always so understanding for all his faults and...and Kagura was getting ahead of him again.

"Kagura, wait for me!"


On the road-
Akito-


Akito didn't enjoy the ride at all and he made every protest he could, not that he could do much. With his entire body useless and now even his face starting to feel numb, Akito knew it wouldn't be long. And this...this was all Shigure's fault!

'I never thought he'd...' Akito tried not to think about it, but there was very little else he could do as he stare out the black tinted windows of the car. Shigure had betrayed him and that had hurt more than anything else Akito could imagine. It had hurt when Yuki and Kyou didn't bother showing up for New Years and it hurt when the family had begun to love that strange, frightening girl, Honda Tohru, but nothing had ever hurt like this. 'I depended on him too much. He shouldn't have done that. I thought he loved me. He said he did.'

~Do you love me, Shigure? Do you love me as much as you love Ayame and Hatori?~

~Of course I do.~

Akito had always taken those words to heart and he'd meant what he'd said just shortly after.

~I think I love you because I do.~ Akito was only a child at the time, but it didn't matter. Shigure had always been there for him and, even after he left the estate, Shigure was always the first to come running if Akito called. Now Akito knew it had all been another game to Shigure, just like all Shigure's lies and stories. It was just a game and in the end, he'd gone against Akito just like Akito always feared he would.

"You think too many dark thoughts for such a young child." Count D spoke for the first time since they'd gotten into the care and he spoke lightly, as if there was nothing the matter. "Are you still brooding over the actions and words of your dog?"

Akito said nothing, and wished he could still turn his head to press his face pressed into Kureno's chest. Count D was the last person Akito wanted to talk to. As it was, Akito had to settle for closing his eyes.

"Shigure said you could help Akito. How?" As always, Hatori was direct and to the point. He wasted no words. Akito had a hard time looking at Hatori, lately. Every time Hatori was around, Akito started to think about what he'd done to Kana and that Hatori still blamed him for that catastrophe.

Count D looked at Hatori. "You would be the doctor that Shigure asked to be present, correct?"

"Yes, I'm Akito's doctor."

"Very good. I am going to do nothing for Akito, except to give him time. A cure is...being developed and will be ready in the next two weeks."

Hatori barely blinked. "Two weeks? That's too long. We don't have that much time."

He was right. Akito knew he wouldn't last long. In a way, Akito was grateful to die. All of his life he'd been terrified of death and fearing it every moment. He hated the idea that he'd been born just as a sacrifice to the Souma family. Now that death was here, though, Akito could be somewhat comforted. At least this would be the end of fearing. He wouldn't have to worry about being so weak and sick anymore. That dreadful voice that spoke to Akito, his own reflection that had slowly come to life over the years, would be gone and maybe...just maybe...death would be more pleasant than life.

It couldn't be any worse.

"Akito will survive perfectly well, so long as he does not strain himself. The distractions of normal life are to great for him at this delicate time. I have a comfortable place where he can rest and be kept alive until the time is right." Count D's eyes shifted again to Akito, who was trying to pretend he wasn't listening. "You will be able to see your rat and your cat at my home."

At that, Akito's ears perked up. "Yuki? Kyou? They're at your home?" His words didn't come out as clear as Akito had thought they should be. His voice sounded muddled and it was hard to move his lips properly.

"Oh, yes." Count D answered with a sweet smile. "Young Kyou has not been feeling well, so he is sleeping at my home. Resting quite comfortably when last I saw him. I will let you see him once you are able to walk on your own. As for Yuki, he and Tohru found their way to my home, quite by chance, I think. They are there now, looking after Kyou."

Akito was getting the strangest feeling while Count D was looking at him. He didn't like it at all. "Stop looking at me." Akito ordered, disliking the nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach that seemed to be growing. It was the eyes. Akito didn't like Count D's eyes.

When Count D kept watching Akito, as if he were some kind of interesting insect, Akito began to get angry. He hated feeling helpless and that was exactly how he felt right now. Thankfully, Hatori spoke, drawing Count D's attention away from Akito.

"You seem to know so much about our family." Hatori said in his usual calm voice. "How much DO you know, precisely?"

"Your family has been known to my family for several hundred years. Since the beginning my family has been involved with yours. As I said before, I seek only to help."

"That's not what I meant." Hatori said. "I mean now. Why do you choose now to come to us and offer to help? If it has been centuries, as you say, then why did you never appear before?"

"Because I, personally, knew nothing about your family until little more than a week ago. It was quite by chance. I was created for your family, in a way..."

Akito's eyes widened. "What are you talking about? I am the one born for the family!" He felt somehow insulted. As if Count D were trying to usurp his position, not as head of the family, but as the savior of the family. Akito was nothing in the world; he had absolutely no importance at all except to die for his family. If this stranger just came along and took that away from Akito then he was truly nothing and even his death would be meaningless.

Count D's eyes refocused back on Akito and Akito wished he hadn't spoken. "Yes. I am aware of your duty to your family. I did not mean to imply that I could or would replace you. I assure you I have no desire for that responsibility. I meant to say that I was created at the same time that your family was, as you say, cursed. I was created only because my papa needed something to control your family and he got that something from my body. My blood and my bones were used to fashion the collar that imprisons your family and I wish to have what belongs to me returned. I am as deeply involved in your family as you are, believe it or not. By helping you I am helping myself, this is not a purely altruistic motives that are guiding me. You were born to die for your family, you say. Would you not rather live for your family?"

That question stopped Akito cold. It was something he'd never even dared to wish for. "You are cruel."

"Frequently." Count D said with relish, as if pleased by the accusation. "However, now that I have asked that question, it must be answered. If you do not answer me, you will have to answer yourself. Do you wish to live? It really is a simple question." Count D looked out the window and said, "Ah, here we are." When the car had stopped and Kureno carried Akito out, they were in the strangest place. It was a small alley and they had barely enough room to walk around the car. Count D spoke to the driver, a smiling young man who'd stepped out of the car to open the door. "Michael, do you wish to go home, now? You have been most kind to enter my service for the time, but I know there are other things you wish to do."

"I can wait a bit, Count." Michael answered. "I wanted to wait and find out what was going to happen to Yuki."

Yuki's name was mentioned so casually that Akito almost missed it. That was another question. Why were Yuki and Kyou here? Were they meant to be hostages of some kind if Akito hadn't come? If they'd been injured at all, what could Akito do in his state? Akito wanted to defend his family, outsiders had no right to lay hands on his family, but he was completely helpless. He could have Hatori and Kureno's help, but how could he trust them? They were doing what Shigure told them to do and Shigure had betrayed him. He could never trust Shigure again.

"Very well." Count D answered the driver, Michael. "You may stay a while. I am not certain how he will react to you, though. Have you told him...oh, my." Count D turned and looked at Kureno, Hatori, and Akito with a surprised expression. "How rude of me, to keep you waiting out here when you must be tired. Please, do come in."

Count D wasted few words as he led them through his shop. The silence was oppressive and neither Hatori nor Kureno were the type to liven up the quite with chatter. Shigure would have. Shigure would have been talking non-stop about something, anything that would take Akito's mind off the darkness and the quite.

Eventually, they all came to a large room. It was a very stark room with nothing but a few reclining seats that looked as if they were meant to be lounged in. Everything in the room was a faint pinkish grey color and smelled vaguely of roses. "Put him there." Count D instructed, pointing to one of the lounge's.

Kureno did as he was told and sat down on the seat once Akito was comfortably positioned. Akito could no longer move on his own and everything was starting to become fuzzy. His sight his hearing, nothing was working quite right. "Now what?" Kureno asked.

"Now you sleep." Count D locked eyes with Kureno and, almost immediately, Kureno's eyes fell shut and he slumped down, halfway falling on top of Akito.

Hatori stepped in front of Akito, but the moment he looked at Count D, Hatori also fell without even saying a word.

"There." Count D seemed very pleased with himself as he looked down at Hatori and Kureno.

Akito was horrified. "No..." his voice was little more than a whisper. "Don't...my family." He couldn't let them get hurt and, yet, there was nothing he could do to help them.

"Your family is fine. I have merely made them sleep. It will keep them safe and out of the way while you rest." Count D assured him. With a snap of his fingers, the doors of the room flew open and four strange looking people rushed in. Without instructions, they lifted both Kureno and Hatori and put them on the other reclining seats. When it was done and the two men were comfortable, the strange people rushed out again without a word being spoken. Count D spoke to Akito when they were alone. "Your dog did not betray you. He is trying very hard to save you. Perhaps, if he still lives, you can thank him when you return to your home."

'If...?' Akito thought. He couldn't have heard that right. What did Count D mean, 'if'? Of course Shigure was still alive. He was perfectly fine.

Count D cocked his head to one side and smiled. "You do not realize the danger, do you? The words you spoke to your dog in anger have cut his heart deeply. At this moment, he feels he has no reason to live. He may be dead when you have returned to him. Ah, but enough of this sad talk. You are perfectly safe in this room. In two weeks your cat, Kyou, will come to you. By that time, he will be fully matured and able to do what the zodiac cat is destined to do. At that time, your fate will be decided. For now, this room is a place for you to rest your mind. For to long, you have been thinking dark thoughts. Most all of your thoughts revolve around your own pitiable doom. Not only your curse haunts you, but also abuse you suffered as a child. I am going to let you rest. This will not be a pleasant rest. You will see many nightmares you have struggled to ignore, but it is necessary. To heal, you must acknowledge your wounds. With luck, you will begin to heal your mind." Count D looked directly into Akito's eyes. "It is time to sleep, Akito. When you wake, you will have to decide whether or not you wish to live or die. To sleep, perchance to dream..."

Akito wanted to protest, but he had no choice. His eyes drifted closed against his will.




And Akito dreamed.

"What's going on?" Akito looked around, but there was nothing but darkness around him. Not a single bit of light, yet he could see himself, somehow. He was standing again and feeling as strong as he ever had.

Very suddenly, Akito was aware that he wasn't alone. All around him, in a wide circle, were his family. Each of the twelve members of his family was kneeling on the ground, their faces lowered. No one moved or spoke; they simply sat on their knees before Akito.

"Shigure?" Akito looked to Shigure first and found him kneeling with the rest, but as unmoving as everyone else. He didn't look up when Akito spoke his name. It was just as well. Akito hadn't forgotten or forgiven Shigure's betrayal and turned away from him angrily. "Hatori? Kureno? Look at me! Why are you just sitting there? What's going on?" Still, no one answered. Outside the circle of the Junikyu, there was Kyou, just as Akito knew he would be there. Kyou stood on the outside with his arms crossed over his chest and, for the first time Akito could ever remember, a completely neutral expression on his face.

"Isn't this how you like them?" The voice that came out of the darkness, from beyond the circle of the Junikyu. "Obedient, silent, waiting your every command? How beautiful they all are on their knees. Subjugated before their God."

"They aren't obedient." Akito aid faintly, staring at where the voice was coming from. "They don't even look at me." He didn't like them like this. He wanted them to talk to him, to at least look at him and admit that he was there.

"I never said they were obedient to you." From out of the darkness stepped Akito's reflection, grinning. "They obey the true head of the family. Look at me!" He thundered and every head of the Junikyu rose as one and their eyes focused on Akito's reflection.

"No!" Akito shouted, suddenly furious that his family would be commanded by another and not even hear his voice. "I am head of the family! You're nothing!"

"But you aren't really sure of that, are you? After all this time, it must be so hard to tell who is real." Akito's reflection stepped between Hatori and Rin, stepping into the circle with Akito. As he did, every eye of the Junikyu followed him. No one spoke or smiled, but simply watched. "I am Akito. You are my reflection."

Akito didn't argue. He was becoming less and less sure of who was real. Maybe the other Akito was right and he was nothing but the reflection. Maybe he was the echo of the true Akito.

"Where am I?"

"Don't you mean, where are we? We are where we've always been." Akito's reflection answered. "We are in our mind." Akito's reflection looked more real, more solid than Akito had ever remembered him being. The reflection brushed back a length of hair with one hand. "We are divided against ourselves. This is the way it has always been for us."

Akito went to his Junikyu and reached out for them, for anyone, but his hand passed right through them. "This isn't real." Akito muttered, staring at his hand. It felt solid.

Yuki turned around all of a sudden, taking his eyes off both of the Akito's and stared off into the darkness.

"Ah, there. One has gone from you. He will not look at you, now." This voice belonged to none of the Akito's, but was recognizable as Count D. It sounded as if Count D were speaking from all around, just out of sight in the darkness. This was the villain who'd taken Akito away from his family. "Who next?"

Hatori shifted his body and turned, also facing out into the darkness.

"The dragon has left the Zodiac, it seems." Count D spoke again, though he still didn't appear.

Next was Hiro who turned from the Akito's, followed quickly by Kisa. Momiji turned away and then Hatsuharu with Rin. It went on and on until only Shigure was left facing the Akito's. For a long time, it seemed that Shigure wouldn't move. Then, Shigure raised his head slowly and looked at both Akito's. There was a unbearable sadness in Shigure's eyes. A pain so great that Akito wanted to look away. After a moment, Shigure turned his back on Akito and, like all the others, faced outward into the darkness. Now they were completely isolated.

Again, Count D's voice spoke. The voice sounded the way velvet felt, soft and smooth. "It is time for you to rest, Akito."

"Which one of us?"

"Both of you. You have both been under much pressure and rest would do you nothing but good. Time to rest and time to heal. Your divided mind must be made whole and that will take time."

"I don't want to sleep!" Both Akito's shouted at once.

"You have no choice." All of the Junikyu faded away and Akito was left in darkness, just the two of them. Then, even that faded and Akito was completely, utterly alone for the first time in his life. "Rest," Count D's voice whispered again. "Take this peace while you can get it." And Akito was aware of nothing after that.


Count D-


Count D looked down at Akito's face, now relaxing from the intense look he'd worn during his disturbing dream to a more placid look. "Poor child." Count D muttered. In this place, Akito would sleep until his mind had healed enough to allow him to function, at least a little while. It wouldn't take long, not with the incense D was burning. A peaceful rest could do wonders for a person's state of mind. Even now, as he'd examined Akito's psyche, D wondered if this boy had ever had even one peaceful night's rest in his life. It seemed very likely that Akito had suffered nightmares his whole life.

Still, other things to do. D left the room, absolutely sure that his guest would rest undisturbed and that his two attendants, the dragon and the rooster, would do nothing to interfere with the healing process. No matter what their good intentions, it was likely that they would do more harm than good in whatever they tried to do.



To be continued...


Next chapter: Shigure goes to Kureno's house and finds the children.
Leon wakes up and continues his search for the Black Scorpion.

Thank you everyone who's reviewed, I really appreciate all of your taking the time to do it. See you all in two weeks.

Meandering: Sorry you have to wait so long. I like to wait two weeks between posting so I can get all the bugs out of my fic. Sadly, even though I wait two weeks, I always miss errors. I'm glad that you like the fic, though.

Crazy Fanfic Chibi/Immortal Evil Fanfic Chibi/Fanfic Crazy Chibi: Ha! Ha! Ha! I never thought that you were the same person, I'm sorry! :)I am still alive, I just like to have time to get the story together. If I tried to do it faster, I'd make more mistakes than I do already. I'm actually a big fan of Weiss Kreuz, but I really prefer Schwartz. I love Farfie. I was thinking of doing a crossover with them and Fruits Basket. I'd like to see what would happen if Hatori tried to use his memory stealing talent on Schuldig. Not sure what the plot would be, I just want to see the result and find out if Hatori's mind is stronger than Schuldig's? Can't you see Tohru working as a cleaning girl at Takatori's building? I can see Tohru cleaning up the Schwartz team's apartment. Pfft! I wonder how she'd react to Farfie? She'd probably just like Nagi, he's so much like Yuki. At least, I think so.

RabidFan: I'm sorry that you're having trouble reviewing. I'm just glad that you're taking the trouble at all. Glad you like the story. My Immortal is one of my favorite songs and it fits so well with Hatori. He has to go on living in such pain while Kana is, in a way, still in arms reach. It would be so much easier on Hatori if Kana just left and never returned. He has to look at her every day at the estate and can't say a thing. How very pitiful. Hope you keep reading and enjoy the rest:)