Pet Shop Of Horrors Fan Fiction / Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Long Denied ❯ Unkind ( Chapter 25 )

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

Chapter 25: Unkind

Elsewhere-
Ritsu-


They eventually found the address, though it had taken quite a few wrong turns to find it. Strange. They'd lived in this neighborhood for countless generations, yet they kept getting lost. Ritsu had an excuse, he'd grown up at the hot springs, a couple of miles away, but Kagura was getting more and more frustrated when she kept losing her way. In the end they found the right building, just a short walk from Ayame's shop, in fact.

"Are you sure?" Ritsu muttered to Kagura as they both eyed the plain metal door. It did seem a bit odd. Ritsu put his hand on Kagura's arm for the reassurance and he was glad he was with someone so much stronger than he was. Kagura rarely hesitated and if he was alone Ritsu was afraid he would just turn around and run home.

"This is the address." Kagura said. "Look, are you sure about what you told me? You said you'd met this Count D before, right?"

"Yes, in America. He was very kind to me. I don't know why he'd come to take Akito away. He's not a bad person, I'm sure of it." Ritsu had felt very safe when he was as Count D's petshop.

Kagura's stony expression didn't falter. "You can't tell just by looking at someone, Rit. Whether he's good or bad, we've got to find out what's going on. Shigure said Kyou's in there. Yuki and Tohru are probably with him." Kagura reached for the door when it flew open and in the doorway was a man.

He was tall and narrow with slightly messy hair. When he saw them, he smiled brilliantly. "Good evening. It is evening already, isn't it? You're expected, please come in."

Kagura and Ritsu looked at each other, nervously. "Expected? But, how...?"

"Ah," The man's eyes twinkled with a secret. "The master of this house has known that you would come." He looked over their heads, it was easy since he was nearly a foot taller than both Ritsu and Kagura. "Alone? Huh. That's odd. The Count said more of you would come. Still, I suppose they'll come later. Won't you come in?" He held the door for them and gave a slight bow, gesturing for them to enter.

"Who are you?" Kagura asked, squeezing Ritsu's arm just enough to let him know not to move, yet. There was something about the man's face that didn't look quite right, even to Ritsu.

"You can call me Michael."

"Michael." Kagura stumbled over the foreign name. "What's going on here?"

Michael motioned again for them to enter. "It's best not to speak of such things out here. You really should come in, now. The detective will be leaving soon and the Count won't want us to run into him."

"Detective?" Ritsu spoke up for the first time, alerted by the word. "You mean Orcot-san?" He should have known Orcot-san would be around somewhere. It pained Ritsu to think that Ayame was going to be hurt when he realized that his dear friend was so close to the person who took Akito away. Rin seemed to think Count D was also the one who cursed their family. Despite all that, Ritsu was determined to have faith that Shigure knew best. He was very sure that Orcot-san and Count D weren't bad people, so Ritsu didn't let himself get discouraged. This would all work out...somehow.

Michael seemed to notice Ritsu for the first time when he'd spoken and stared for a very long time. Such a very long time that it made Ritsu uncomfortable and he tightened his arm around Kagura's. "You're very pretty." Michael said suddenly. He reached out and took Ritsu's arm, pulling him forcefully. "Come along, now. We must get in. I'll take you to the ones you seek."

Ritsu 'eeped', but didn't really resist when Michael urged them in. Kagura followed quietly. "Please," Ritsu said, his voice beginning to edge towards panic. "Please, let me go." The last time a stranger had grabbed him like this...it was the attack in America. They'd thought he was a girl, just like this Michael obviously did. They'd hurt him...pushed him on the ground...kicked him and...and...

"Okay." Michael smiled easily and let his hand fall away from Ritsu's arm without question. "Are you hungry? I suppose not. The Count said you'd be in a bit of a hurry, so I'll show you right to the room."

Ristu stared at his arm where Michael had been holding him. It seemed strange that someone would listen to him. What was even stranger was the room that Michael led them into. "It's the same!" Ritsu exclaimed, surprised. The entire place was precisely the same as the petshop Ritsu had visited back in San Francisco. The rugs on the floors, the lights hanging high above, the tapestries on the walls, and even how the bird cages were stacked. It was as the entire petshop had been just picked up in America and set gently down in Japan.

"The same?" Kagura asked, looking around. Of course she wouldn't see anything odd, she hadn't seen Count D's shop in America.

When Ritsu was about to explain, Michael interrupted, changing the subject easily. "So," Michael said in a pleasantly conversational tone while he led them through a reception area and through a set of heavy looking wooden doors that led into a back area. "How do you two know Yuki?"

Again, Kagura and Ritsu's exchanged a glance. "We've known him for a while." Kagura said, evasively. "What about you? How do you know him?" Kagura was probably right to be suspicious.

Michael laughed merrily and stuffed his hands into his trouser pockets. "Oh, I've known Yuki my entire life. Every day since I first saw the sunlight, he's always been with me."

Ritsu blinked. That didn't sound at all like Yuki. Yuki had few friends, everyone in the family knew that sad fact. It was impossible, too. This man must have been at least twenty or thirty, years older than Yuki. How could Yuki have known this man his whole life?

Michael didn't seem to notice Ritsu and Kagura's puzzled expressions and kept walking. "I love Yuki quite a bit, so I came here to make sure he was all right."

"You love him?" Kagura asked.

"Oh, yes." Michael answered happily. "How could I not? He's always been there for me. He's protected me in the fiercest of storms and always made sure I didn't go hungry. I suppose I see Yuki in a different light than everyone else. No one's ever seen him as I do." He sounded very proud when he said that.

It wasn't really all that surprising that Michael said he loved Yuki, though. Many people couldn't help but to fall in love with Yuki when they saw him, or they thought they did. How could they love him when Yuki hid himself away from the world? They didn't really know him so they couldn't love him. In fact, the only one outside the family who could have a chance of loving Yuki would be Tohru. She was the only person outside the family who really knew Yuki.

Inside the family was another question. Being outside most of the relationships in the family, as Ritsu was, it was easy to get an outsider's viewpoint. He knew, everyone knew, that Hatsuharu had once had a crush on Yuki. Ritsu also believed that given half a chance, Hatsuharu would make a move on Yuki, as he often had in the passed, despite his current relationship with Rin. He knew that there was one other Souma who felt very strongly about Yuki. Kyou. As strange as that sound, at first, Ritsu truly believed that from such fiery battles, could come the heat of passion. Still, that little theory was best kept a secret. If Ritsu even hinted at the possibilities he saw between Kyou and Yuki, both of his cousins might try to kill him. They were so stubborn.

It seemed a long time before Michael stopped before a door, which was exactly like what seemed like a hundred other doors they'd passed. "Here it is." He said simply before he turned and began to walk away.

With nothing else to do, Kagura reached forward and slid open the door. Inside was not what they had expected to find. Hatori and Kureno passed out and Akito sleeping soundly. Ristu would think passed out because he couldn't imagine Hatori or Kureno simply falling asleep when Akito might need them. They were both carefully and comfortably laid out on couches, as was Akito.

"Do you think we should wake them?" Kagura whispered.

"I-I don't know." Ritsu and Kagura both crept in, unsure of what to do next. Ritsu kept his eyes on Kagura for the most part, hoping to get some hint of what he should do. The room was eerily quiet and it did nothing to help Ritsu's nerves. He thought he might burst at any moment.

Kagura went to Hatori and pressed her fingers gently against his throat and lay her other hand on his chest. "He's breathing and his heart's steady." She said, sounding very relieved. "Kureno, too. This is very strange. I don't think I've ever seen Kureno sleep so soundly. He wakes up at the drop of pin, usually. Even at the banquet, he never really sleeps. Hatori's pretty out of it, too."

In the meanwhile, Ritsu had gone to Akito and, gingerly, put his fingers against Akito's throat. Akito barely felt human; his skin was cool to the touch and just not right. However, there was the thumping of a pulse against Ritsu's fingers and Akito was breathing. The pulse wasn't steady and the breathing wasn't as deep as it should have been, but at least he was alive. Ritsu reported this to Kagura and then it was time to make another choice.

"Do we stay here or keep looking for the others?" Kagura said out loud, though it sounded more like she was talking to herself. "Poor Kyou," Kagura muttered, her eyes darting to the door they'd just walked through. "He's alone out there, somewhere. My poor Kyou." Ritsu heard Kagura's breathing begin to quicken, a sure sign that she was about ready to go on a rampage looking for Kyou. "Sweet darling, he's probably scared being here all alone. My Kyou! Wait for me..." She didn't get any further when Ritsu interrupted.

"But...but he's not alone." Ritsu was shocked when Kagura lost the insane gleam in her eyes that usually happened when she was thinking too much about Kyou and looked at him. "Remember, he's got Yuki and Tohru with him." Right after he'd said it, Ritsu thought that maybe he shouldn't have mentioned Tohru's name. Perhaps Kagura would be jealous, everyone knew how close Kyou was to Tohru.

Ritsu's fears were unfounded, as Kagura actually looked relieved at his words. "Yes, that's right. Yuki's sensible enough to keep Kyou out of trouble and having Tohru around will stop him from doing thoughtless things." She smiled sweetly. "I'm sure he'll be safe until I find him. Maybe you should stay here, Rit. We don't know who or what's lurking out there in those dark corridors. It'll probably be safer here."

Ritsu, naturally, took Kagura's suggestion as a way of saying that he wasn't brave enough to go with her or that he wouldn't be of any use. She was right, he knew that. "Are you sure we shouldn't stick together?" Ritsu asked, timidly as Kagura was halfway out the door. "I mean...well, it's just that...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything." He hung his head, but looked up when he didn't hear the door close. Kagura was looking at him, expectantly.

"If you want to say something," Kagura told him. "Go ahead and say it. I'm listening." Kagura was like that, very straightforward. She meant what she said, so Ritsu screwed up his courage and said,

"Well, I thought that if we stayed together, neither of us would get lost. This seems like a pretty big place and if one of us gets lost we might never find our way out again. This way, there will be twice the chance of remembering our way out."

To Ritsu's shock, Kagura not only considered Ritsu's idea, but nodded in agreement. "That's a good point. Let's leave a note for Hatori or Kureno," It was well known that Akito couldn't read well. "So they know we're around somewhere. When they could find nothing to write with or on in the room, Kagura took off her backpack and set it down on the floor near Hatori. It was the one thing that Kagura always seemed to carry, her backpack that looked like a little orange cat. It wasn't hard to figure out whom she was trying to flatter with it. Even Kagura giggled at herself. "Hatori will know it was me who left it." Then she looked at Ritsu and pulled a ribbon out of his hair. "And that's for you."

"But Hatori might not know it's mine."

"Oh, he'll know. Ayame gave it to you on your last birthday and Hatori was there. Don't you remember? Hatori almost never forgets anything."

Together, and feeling much heartened by the finding of Akito, Hatori, and Kureno, Ritsu and Kagura went to the door and swung it open.

"Greetings." There was Count D, smiling and radiant as he had been at the estate and back in America. If any creature could be called perfect, Ritsu thought that it must be Count D. He'd changed his outfit from the last time they'd seen him and now wore something even more elaborate. "I was not expecting only two of you." He commented before stepping aside and letting Kagura and Ritsu pass. "I had really expected the dog to come."

Kagura scowled. "He won't come. Shigure feels awful about what's happened. He's betrayed Akito and he can't stand that."

Count D turned and began to walk away, talking all the while. "Betrayed? Does it seem like a betrayal to protect the ones you love? He understand better than anyone else in your family, but that will change soon. Very soon you will all understand. Come along, then. The more of your blood that is near the better it will be for Kyou."

"Kyou?" Kagura's ears perked up. "Where is he?"

"Sleeping. Rest can do miracles, you know. I had hoped that your dog would be sensible enough to bring the rest of your family here after the excitement had passed. It is not necessary, but beneficial for the rest of your family to be present when the time for Kyou's awakening comes."

Kagura's eyes widened. "Awakening? What are you doing to him?"

"I am doing nothing other than allowing nature to run its course. I will take you to Kyou and your other friends now. He is resting and I must have your word that you will do nothing to wake him. In two weeks he will wake naturally. You must be quite when you are with him and you must not touch him. Yuki and Tohru have already been told this."

Ritsu stepped ahead of Kagura. "Count D, can you really heal Akito?"

Count D stopped walking and turned to focus on Ritsu. It was the same as before, when Ritsu had met Count D. He had the undeniable feeling that Count D was something far greater than a human and was suddenly drowning in the feeling that Count D was the most wonderful person in the world. Ritsu and Kagura stopped walking the same time that Count D had and now both faced him. With his claw-like hands, Count D reached out for Ritsu and it didn't even occur to Ritsu to move away. Count D stroked Ritsu's cheek gently. "Child, you have not healed from your attack." His fingernails brushed over the bruised side of Ritsu's face, so lightly that Ritsu could barely feel it. "I shall make some medicine for you."

"You didn't answer his question." Kagura took Ritsu's arm and pulled him backwards a step or two away from Count D. "Can you really heal Akito? It's important."

"No."

"No." Kagura sounded as if the world was ending around her and all she could do was helplessly watch.

Then Count D smiled and the world was right again. "I will not heal him. All I am doing is buying him time. Complete rest, away from the pressures of the outside world, will give him time and allow him to live long enough for Kyou to heal him."

"Kyou's going to..." Kagura stopped, obviously thinking that she was starting to sound like a parrot. "How? Kyou can't heal, he doesn't know anything about medicine."

"You will see."

"NO!" Kagura shouted, suddenly angry. "No more mystery! You're very pleased with yourself, but I won't let you mess around with Kyou or the rest of my family! I don't care who you are, you haven't got the right!"

"Right?" Count D was suddenly right in front of Kagura, staring at her intently with eyes cool enough to freeze even her. "Who are you to say what rights I have, child? If you want answers, then I shall give them to you, but do not try to tell me my business. Your Kyou is currently in the larval stage of the true cat. The human image of Kyou that you see most often is nothing more than an illusion. That Kyou does not exist. He never really did, except in the minds of those around him. The house cat you see is only one of the shapes he is able to take and, in a few short days, he will be able to assume all his shapes and will be in full command of his inborn talents. He will be far different from the boy you know now and it is he who will have the ability to save or destroy your family." All of the Count D said in his soft, warm voice with a deep satisfaction coloring it. He was very pleased.

Kagura took a moment to shake herself out of the trance Count D had seemed to put her in before speaking. "Save or destroy? I don't understand. Kyou wouldn't destroy the family."

"Are you certain?"

It was such a simple question, but Kagura hesitated a moment. "Yes. Yes, of course I'm certain."

"Even after how badly he's been treated through his entire life? The humiliation, the degradation he's suffered through? Do you really think he would want to save people would treat him like that? For the simple comfort of tradition, he would be imprisoned for the rest of his life, a doom he fears more than death. He will no longer be subject to the wills of others when he wakes. He will even control that which your entire family desires to control; his transformation. Does the idea of being able to control your transformation appeal to you? What would you give to be able to will yourself to transform? Kyou will have that power, shortly."

Ritsu watched this whole exchange in rapt attention. He had never ceased to be in awe of Count D, who seemed far removed from the rest of the crude humanity around them, but Kagura was a force to be reckoned with. A deeply passionate girl, Kagura was at her best when those she cared about were threatened. All doubt fled from her face. "Kyou will always be the same to me."

"That is an ignorant statement. You have not yet seen how he will be changed. Perhaps you will hate what he's chosen to become."

"Chosen?"

"Yes. For all of my influence in what is now happening, Kyou has chosen his path of his own freewill. I am merely giving him the ability to make his choice. What he decides to do now. He alone can save your Akito or let him die. Shall we go, now?"


They arrived at what Count D called Kyou's room a few moments later. Count D did not enter the room with them, but excused himself and said that he had other business to attend to. The room was an impossible forest, but impossible things seemed to be happening quite a bit lately. Kagura and Ritsu kept close together as they walked through the forest until they saw a cabin in the distance.

"Kagura? Ritsu?" Yuki greeted them when they made their way to the small cabin. "What are you doing here? How did you get here?" Yuki was sitting on the grass near something that Ritsu had no way to describe. It was very large and white, looking kind of like thread.

Kagura told Yuki everything that had happened from the moment the man, Orcot-san, had been shot to their arrival at the petshop. She told him about Count D's appearance at the estate and how Shigure had just let Akito be stolen away. She told him that they'd found Akito, Hatori, and Kureno in the petshop, all of them sleeping like babies. She told him, in hushed tones, what Count D had said about Kyou being the savior or destroyer of the family.

"I believe him." Yuki said, at last. As usual, Yuki was somber and he seemed to take everything in stride. "He told Honda-san and myself much the same thing. Kyou is, apparently, going through some radical transformation."

"Where is he?" Kagura asked, at last.

Yuki gave one of his little smirks. "Can't you tell? He's right here." Yuki looked at the huge white...thing.

Kagura blinked and her mouth fell open. "Kyou?"

"Count D said if we disturb his sleep, he'll die." Yuki told her quickly, no doubt for fear that she would do something foolish and try to free Kyou from his own little cocoon. Yuki's warning worked and Kagura wrapped her arms around herself to prevent herself from grabbing Kyou.

"Yuki, where's Tohru? Count D said she was here." Ritsu had only just noticed that the soft spoken girl was missing and it worried him. Ritsu had a soft spot for Tohru, she was such a kindhearted girl that it was hard not to be fond of her.

Yuki scowled at the question, but before Ritsu could start apologizing for saying something stupid, Yuki said, "She went to find food. I couldn't talk her out of it. She said, since we have to stay with Kyou for two weeks we'll have to have food sometime." Yuki's eyes narrowed in a way that said he was thinking dark, evil thoughts. "She's alone out there and I couldn't stop her. Feh! She was right. I guess. We need food, but...I just don't like it. Have you seen some of the, well, people in this place? She probably in danger out there and the worst part is that I couldn't leave her here because I don't know what's lurking in this room, either." He turned his gaze to the innocent looking forest all around them. "Just behind those trees could be anything. Nothing's safe here. One of us had to stay with Kyou, even I know that. We can't leave him unguarded." Then his narrowed eyes widened, somewhat. "Now that you're here, though, Kyou won't be alone. Stay with him, won't you?" It was a needlessly asked question, of course they would. "I'm going to find Honda-san."

They walked with him to the door that led out of the room, but, to Yuki's increasing irritation, the door was locked.

Yuki pulled on it several times, nearly yanking his arm out of its socket, before he let Kagura and her well-known strength give it a shot. Still, the door stayed stubbornly locked. Yuki glared at the door, furiously, but kept quite.

"It was opened a minute ago." Ritsu said. Count D hadn't used a key to unlock the door, it had just swung easily open. "Tohru opened it easily when she left, didn't she?"

"Yes." Yuki answered as he finally accepted that they were locked in and he stepped back to look at the door. "We're prisoners. Honda-san was let out for a reason. I wonder why."


Tohru-


Tohru wasn't about to let Yuki go hungry and she knew her own stomach was rumbling. Of course Yuki didn't like her going off alone, he was very sweet to worry about her.

In her search for the kitchen, Tohru went into the wrong room.

She saw Akito in a daze, staring up at the ceiling of the room. It seemed strange to see Akito off the estate, though it shouldn't. She'd seen him at school and in the forest just after Kyou had transformed.

He wasn't alone in the room, Tohru saw Hatori and a blonde haired man she'd never seen before, both of them sleeping soundly. She knew, from what little she heard about him, that Akito had a very sickly nature and that Hatori didn't often let him go off on his own. Why would Hatori have brought Akito here?

"Hatori-sensei?" Tohru shook Hatori's arm, but it was no use, Hatori was out cold. She thought about trying to wake the stranger, but didn't quite have the nerve to touch someone she didn't know. Instead, Tohru went to Akito and called his name. "Akito-san?" Tohru whispered, almost afraid to disturb him. Maybe he'd heard that Yuki and Kyou were here and came to help, somehow. Tohru couldn't imagine any other reason that he'd be in the Petshop. "Akito-san, can you hear me? Are you all right?"

Very slowly, Akito's head swiveled until he was looking right at her. His mouth opened and he looked as if he was trying to speak, but nothing came out. Akito blinked a few times, as if he couldn't quite focus on Tohru and then reached a weak, trembling hand out to her. "Birdy?"

Although she didn't know what he was talking about, the plea for help seemed obvious to Tohru. She went to Akito and took his hand, kneeling beside him. "Akito-san, can you hear me?" She repeated herself, but feared the worst. He looked terrible. Far worse than any other time Tohru had seen him. So pale that he was nearly transparent and his hand was icy cold in Tohru's. "I'm Honda Tohru. Do you remember me? I'm a friend of Yuki and Kyou's."

"You sing very sweetly." Akito whispered, gently. Almost painfully, Akito rolled himself over onto his side, so that he was looking at Tohru, and he reached out to touch her hair. "What a beautiful bird. Shigure gave me a bird like you. It was brown, though, and you're grey."

It was then that Tohru realized that Akito must see her bird form, just as Kyou had. She didn't know why she appeared to some people as a bird and to others as herself, but Tohru didn't let that worry her, now. She held onto Akito's hand and let him pat her hair.


Akito-


He woke and couldn't see, at first. The first thing he saw after his vision slowly returned was the bird, flying gracefully around the room. It was as beautiful as any of the birds he had in his garden, though it was a different color than the ones Shigure gave him.

The bird landed on his hand when Akito reached out for it, just as tame as any of his. It looked at him with its large black eyes and then let out a sweet trilling song. He missed Shigure and seeing this tiny, fragile bird made it all the more painful. Where was he, anyway? Akito couldn't seem to remember much of anything, only that he wanted to go home.

"Stay with me?" Akito asked the little bird, raising his finger to stroke its back, again. "Please stay with me. I miss my birds. Where did everyone go? Do you know, birdy? Where's my family? I was sure they were right here?" He tried to raise his head to look around, but just felt so weak that he couldn't. "Did I do something bad?" Akito asked, looking again at the little bird. "I don't remember. Is everyone mad at me? Is that why they aren't here? I don't want them to be mad at me." He knew it! They'd all left him. He was alone. All alone. He could barely move and they'd all left him. Maybe this was it, they wanted him to die! Die? Die? A memory stirred.

'Would you not rather live for your family?'

Akito laughed. "He asked me if I wanted to live. Isn't that a stupid question? You think so, don't you?" He smiled at the bird. "I've always wanted to be a bird." Akito commented. "I wanted to fly. I still do. To just open my wings and fly away from...everything." Akito felt his eyes growing heavy again and he let his head sink down into the soft cushions. "I just wanted to fly. I killed it. I never told Shigure, but I killed his bird. I didn't mean to. It just happened. I was so angry about...about something. I don't remember what. I killed his bird when it came to sit on my hand like it always did. I snapped its little neck and buried it under the maple tree so Shigure wouldn't find it. The bird was laughing at me. It kept laughing and wouldn't stop." His breathing became more rapid and Akito's fingers began twitching spastically. "It wasn't my fault! That bird wouldn't stop laughing at me! I tried to keep it in a cage, but it kept escaping and laughing at me. I only wanted to keep it safe!" Tears sprang to his eyes and rolled down the side of his face like liquid fire. "I was so jealous. I wanted to fly. That bird Shigure gave me had no problems and could just fly away from anything that wanted to hurt it. Ha! I showed it. It couldn't fly away from everything, it couldn't fly away from me."

The bird on Akito's finger wasn't singing anymore and, unless Akito was much mistaken, it seemed to be listening to him, intently. What if it could understand what he was saying? Was it angry with him for killing a bird? This one would just fly away, too.

"You'd leave me, too." Akito hissed at the bird, suddenly furious. "You can fly away anytime you please. You're free. You're just like all the rest of them, they'd leave me. Every time winter comes, they all fly away. I want wings, I want to fly!"

The bird, startled by his sudden yelling, jumped out of Akito's hand and began circling the room with rapidly beating wings.

"Come back here!" Akito shouted as loudly as he could, which wasn't really very loud. "Don't leave me behind!" He sobbed, watching enviously. "Don't leave me!"

Akito couldn't focus his thoughts anymore and soon they drifted away from anger and his face, which had been twisted and made ugly by his anger, softened almost at once. "Pretty. So beautiful." He whispered. Even as he watched the bird, Akito's thoughts drifted like clouds away from his severe anger and he just watched it. Time to sleep. To rest.


Tohru-


Tohru wanted to hold Akito and tell him that everything would be all right, but something told her he wouldn't appreciate it. Instead, she went to the door and looked over her shoulder. "Poor Akito-san. Don't worry, I'll come back." She left then, but had no idea what she could do for Akito, really. Maybe it was for the best that he sleep. She didn't know why he wanted to fly so badly, but it seemed to consume him like nothing Tohru had ever seen before. 'He's so hard to understand. I think he's afraid.'

Just outside the door, waiting for Tohru, was Michael with a picnic basket in his hands. "Tet-chan asked me to bring this to you." Michael told her. "There's enough food for all of you. Tomorrow, someone will bring more food. You don't have to wander around the petshop like this, it's really not safe."

"Oh, thank you." Tohru smiled at Michael and took the basket from his hands. It was very heavy, so much so that Michael took it back and offered to carry it for her. "I don't really think Yuki and I will need so much." She said, afraid that maybe they were taking food away from the other people here.

"You may be surprised. More of Yuki's family will be arriving shortly, two already have. The Count says it's best if as many of Kyou's family as possible are around Kyou while he'd developing. Please don't ask me why, I really don't know."

Tohru liked Michael; he was very pleasant and seemed kind. They walked back to the room where Tohru had left Yuki and Kyou. All the while, Tohru thought of Akito, who was hopefully still sleeping. Wouldn't it be awful if he had woken up again and was looking for her? What if he was yelling again or if he was afraid? He looked so sick.

"I have to leave you here." Michael told Tohru when they'd reached the room where Kyou and Yuki were. "I'm not supposed to go in there. Tell Yuki I said hi."

"You know Yuki?"

"Oh, yes." He gave a shy smile and then bent at the waist to whisper into Tohru's ear exactly how he knew Yuki.

Tohru looked at Michael, surprised. "Really? I never would have guessed."

Michael laughed. "Don't tell Yuki, will you? I think it would only confuse him and he doesn't need that. It's our secret?"

"It's a secret." Tohru smiled back. There would be no harm in keeping Michael's secret, Tohru was sure of that.


Leon-


For the first time in a long time, Leon had slept without nightmares of Murakai and it gave him hope.

Leon woke up feeling very groggy. He rubbed his eyes and yawned deeply. The sheets were cool and Leon dozed for a short while in that all to brief period between sleeping and wake. All he was aware of was that he was warm and comfortable and that wherever he was, it was a lot more comfortable than his own bed. When Leon opened his eyes, he found himself staring up at a dark red fabric hanging over his head. 'Warm.' Leon thought, lazily. He didn't want to move. It just felt so right to be there. 'Next to me...something warm.' It took Leon a while to decide to look to his right and find out what was next to him.

D.

As still and beautiful as a painting, D was fast asleep next to Leon on the large bed Leon found himself on. In the near darkness, D's skin was like the glow of the moon, luminous and unearthly. He was asleep with his hair spread around his head like a halo on the pillow. It seemed strange to see D like this. Leon had seen him sleep very rarely. He looked very peaceful.

'He's sleeping on my bed.' The still foggy thought drifted across Leon's mind. 'No. I'm sleeping on his bed. This is bad. Very bad. I shouldn't be here.' It was all made worse by the sudden realization that Leon was half-naked under the sheets and there was no one who would have undressed him except D. Without moving a muscle, for fear of waking D and having to answer questions he couldn't, Leon thought desperately.

'Did I get drunk and do something stupid? What had happened? How did I end up in D's bed?!' Leon's heart began to speed up and he wondered if he'd done anything terrible to D. D was so small and frail, it wouldn't have been hard for someone Leon's size to hurt or do...other things to D when drunk. 'I haven't been drunk in almost a year!' That must be the reason for ending up in D's bed, Leon must have been drunk. Leon focused a little harder on D and was very thankful not to see any obvious signs that D had been hurt. Of course, that didn't mean anything. D was still wearing all his clothes and he could be hurt somewhere that Leon couldn't see. 'Oh, shit, what did I do? He wouldn't be here just to take a nap next to me.'

Leon couldn't really remember much after they'd put Chris to bed. He'd spoken to D for a little while, but it was all kind of fuzzy. Well, at least they had Chris home safe and sound. He'd gotten a very clear look at that man who'd been leading the children with the mark of the Black Scorpion and that was the major reason why he'd come to Japan in the first place. Leon had found the Black Scorpion children within just a couple of days of arriving in Japan and that was pretty damned good luck for Leon.

None of that changed the fact that he was sleeping in the same bed as D. It was all a bit nerve wracking, but not enough to make Leon jump screaming from the bed. He couldn't just walk away. Maybe he should wake D up...

"Did you sleep well?" D spoke without opening his eyes. It was as if he were afraid to disturb the tranquillity of the room. The room was certainly something from another world.

"Yeah." Leon replied, though his mouth felt very dry. "No nightmares." Ever since Leon had learned about Murakai's fate he'd suffered terrible nightmares. This was the first time in a long time that he'd been able to sleep peacefully. Well, it had been peaceful before Leon had woken up. "Ummm...D?"

"Yes?" D still didn't open his eyes and he didn't move other than the whisper his used to speak.

"What...uh...happened?" How to phrase this without sounding like a complete idiot? D didn't sound angry, so maybe Leon hadn't done anything so horrible. "I can't remember much after we put Chris to sleep." Yeah, that sounded good. Now if D were going to react, this would be the time to do it.

"What happened?" There was a faint note of amusement in D's voice and his lips curled slightly into a smile. "Do you not recall?"

The tone of D's voice made Leon break into a cold sweat. Okay, maybe something had happened. Leon couldn't find his voice to answer; he just knew D was going to yell at him. D wasn't angry, so Leon hadn't hurt him. But something must have happened or why would D be smiling like that?

"My dear detective," D said, still with his eyes closed. "You were so exhausted from all the excitement lately that you've taken an overlong nap. You've been sleeping for four hours. I have also had much to do and I am taking a short rest before I need to be up and working again, also." Then his eyes opened dreamily and he met Leon's gaze. "Why?" He asked, in all innocence. "What did you think had happened?"

Leon managed a relieved smile. "Oh, nothing. I should go." Leon told him, though he didn't move at first. It really did feel kinda cozy just laying there. Leon thought that D must have had the most comfortable bed in the world. Leon wanted to stay there with D and that urge frightened him more than almost anything he'd ever experienced in his whole life, the exception being the few times when D and Chris' life had been in danger. "Got things to do."

"When you leave, look in on your brother. He was worried about you." There was no emotion in D's voice, as if he were resigned to fate. He wasn't smiling anymore.

"I have to go." Leon said firmly. He had no doubts about that. Even if he died, he had to do this. Nothing had ever been so clear or certain to Leon. The Black Scorpion had to be destroyed and if Leon didn't do it, no one would. "I came here for a reason."

"I know."

Leon sat up slightly, leaning on one elbow so that he was looking down at D. "How do you know?" It wasn't the first time Leon had asked and it probably wouldn't be the last. Leon didn't expect anymore of an answer now than he'd ever gotten before. Nothing ever fit with D. No matter how many times Leon had tried to solve the puzzle that was D, none of the pieces ever fit together quite right.

D still didn't move and let his eyes close again. "I just...do. Can you accept that I know things you do not?"

"I can understand it. That doesn't mean I like it."

"Like it or not," D looked right at Leon, his gaze seeming to pierce through Leon. "There are things I can not tell you. I know where you're going. I know why you're going. I know that you feel you have no choice. I know that you would foolishly give up even your life to accomplish what you wish to do."

Leon felt a stab of guilt for some reason. In that moment, Leon knew he was causing pain to D. "I don't have a choice. This is really important, D. I...I can't just let this happen. More kids are going to end up like Murakai if I just sit here and do nothing. I have to find the Black Scorpion." There. He'd said it. Now D knew for sure what Leon was doing.

D's eyes slid closed again and it was as if he had gone back to asleep. "Whatever you do, Leon, please be careful. There are too many people who care about you to lose you."

"Hey, I'm not out looking to die." Leon protested as he began to look around the room for his clothes. "I'll be back. There's just stuff to do. I gotta go see if Ayame's all right, for one."

"Yes, Ayame." D's voice hardened slightly and if Leon didn't know him so well, he might have missed it.

"What about him?"

D didn't answer at first. "Nothing, I suppose. Go ahead. You have much to do and I am sure that your friend will be pleased to see you. I'll just stay here... alone."

Leon scowled. "You know, you sound like a jealous wife. What the Hell's wrong? Ayame's my friend." Leon, irritated that things had gotten uncomfortable so quickly, fairly jumped off the bed to hunt for his clothes. 'Why's he being like this?' Leon thought when he started to look in and under things for his clothes. 'We were having a nice, peaceful...' Peaceful what? They were having a nice nap together.

"You are very close to Ayame, Leon." D said, in a suddenly chilly voice. "His hair is longer than mine. He, too, wears long robes like mine. His mannerisms are feminine, more so than mine. Despite all that, you have no difficulty in calling him your friend. You are perfectly at ease with him." D said nothing else, though it sounded like he wanted to. It didn't matter; Leon knew what D wanted to say.

"Look..." Leon wasn't really sure what to say. He hadn't known that his friendship with Ayame was upsetting D. What could he say? Ayame was a close friend and he'd really been there for Leon when Leon had needed him. It didn't matter to Leon what Ayame looked like or dressed like, maybe because he'd known Ayame for so long before they'd actually met. It did matter what D looked like. It mattered because... "Don't go pulling this shit, D." Leon said harshly. "You know damned well what Ayame means to me! He's done a lot for me. That's...that's really unfair that you'd say that kinda thing about Ayame. Are you trying to get me to hate him? Well, it's not going to happen." Leon wasn't really as angry as he sounded. He didn't even sound as angry as he wanted to sound, but this conversation and the situation, being in such an intimate surrounds with D, was starting to lead Leon into frightening thoughts. Thoughts he didn't want to deal with.

If D was offended by Leon's hard words, he didn't show it at all. If anything, he sounded almost relieved. It was as if he could see passed Leon's words, right to what Leon was thinking. "I think that you are most unkind to yourself, Leon." D told him, instead. If D could see Leon's thoughts, it was mercy that led him to change the subject. "I may not be around when you return, Leon. There is much that I, also, have to do while we are here. There will be food in the kitchen, please take what you like if you are hungry."

"Where are you going? I didn't know you had anything to do here." Leon tried to sound as if he hadn't been thinking such painful thoughts and he believed he was doing a pretty good job.

"Did you think I followed you halfway around the world for the pleasure of your conversation? I have my own business. Family business, you could say, that needs wrapping up." There was something odd in D's voice, but Leon couldn't quite pinpoint it. D just lay on the bed with his eyes closed while Leon dressed.

Leon had never had a relationship. Oh, he'd dated once in a while, the guys back at the police station had frequently teased Leon about his lack of success with the women. It was rumor around the station that Jill was the only woman that could stand to be around Leon for more than one night and that was pretty much the truth.

Fear of abandonment. Leon had read that in a psychological textbook for one of his classes in college. It didn't take a genius to figure it all out. When Leon's mother had died and he'd been so casually sent away by his aunt and uncle, who'd kept Chris, Leon had come to the conclusion, in his child's logic, that he was meant to be alone. No one wanted him and that hurt. Therefore, Leon wouldn't let himself care about anyone who might cause him pain by leaving. As Leon had grown up, he'd shied away from romance of any kind and gone for plain sex. Family was kept at a far distance, across country.

Suddenly, into Leon's life had popped Jill. Leon could accept Jill, she had no romantic interest in him, for an obvious reason. Leon had learned to deal with Jill, opening himself up just enough to be an effective partner. Chris was a little more difficult. Family was supposed to be cared about, especially a child as young as Chris. Leon couldn't NOT care about Chris, Chris needed Leon like no one else in the whole world needed him. Little by little, Chris had won his place in Leon's heart. Then came D.

Leon couldn't even begin to think how he could classify their relationship. Far more than friends, but not really anything else. He found himself running to D when something went wrong. He went to D for advice and a refuge from the world when he just couldn't take it anymore. D meant more to Leon than almost anyone else and Leon cared for the man...not that he would admit it. He wouldn't let himself care. If he did, D was sure to leave, too. Leon would wake up one morning and find the petshop empty, D vanished into the night without a trace.

'I couldn't handle that.' Leon thought, taking another look at D's porcelain face. 'Best to keep a distance. Then he won't run away.' Always at arms reach, D couldn't hurt Leon if Leon didn't let him get close. Not that it really mattered to D. Even if Leon was willing to do something, D was far out of his reach. There was no way that someone like D could ever want someone like Leon.

"I'll see ya later." Leon said before he left D's bedroom, not waiting for an answer. He didn't want to think about D right then, there was work to be done. He'd have to figure out what to do about D later.

D didn't make say a word when Leon left.

As much as Leon appreciated the nap, he really had to go. Just one more check in with Chris and then he'd go back to work. First he'd find out where Jill was and then they'd go back to the Souma estate to have a look around. Leon would have to ask around to find out if that blonde guy with the kids was the mysterious Kureno that he kept looking for but Leon felt he was very close to finding out what was going on.

On his way to the front room, Leon passed Chris' room and decided to do as D had said and look in on the boy. 'Won't hurt just to peek in on him.' Leon decided, though he hoped Chris was still asleep. After the day the poor kid had, he deserved to sleep for about a week.

As Leon had hoped, Chris was fast asleep and the only light in the room was that which fell through the door Leon had opened. A quick glance at his watch told Leon that it was nearly nine o'clock at night. Chris looked angelic when he was asleep, Leon had decided that long ago. He looked just like a cherub you'd see in a painting of heaven. Sleeping on the bed, tucked under Chris' arm, was Tet-chan. Leon didn't like Tet-chan, he never had, but he didn't try to move Tet-chan. After all, it was Tet-chan who'd somehow found Chris and saved him. As far as Leon was concerned, Tet-chan was a hero.

Tet-chan was going to get some prime steak for dinner from Leon.

Tet-chan woke up the instant the door had opened and his eyes flew open, focusing on Leon like lasers in the half-darkness. When he saw who it was, Tet-chan seemed to relax a bit.

"Just me." Leon said softly, so as not to wake Chris. "He okay?"

In response, Tet-chan licked Chris' face and the little boy didn't so much as move.

Leon shook his head and sighed. "I guess this means I have to be nicer to you, huh? Damned goat." Leon didn't want to admit his debt to Tet-chan, but he would.

Tet-chan didn't try to attack Leon, for once, but he lay his head back down and closed his eyes. Leon knew that he couldn't ask for a better protector than the one sleeping on Chris' bed. Leon left the room and carefully closed the door behind him.

The step was to call Jill and find out if she was ready to go back on the case. Yes, Leon was ready to admit it. He needed Jill. No matter how much he wanted to protect her, if she'd been with him at the Souma estate when he'd been shot, Chris wouldn't have been kidnapped. Leon wasn't too proud to admit that, especially since he knew how good Jill was.

Leon found the front room, this time, quite easily and wondered how he'd missed it the first time. Jill, Leon found out after a call from the phone in the front room, was at Ayame's place with Mine-chan and was going to meet him at the Souma estate in one hour. There was no way that Jill was going to let Leon keep searching for the Black Scorpion on his own.




Leon and Jill got back onto the Souma estate the same way Leon had the first time and all he could think of was that whoever was in charge of security should really think of hiring people who knew what they were doing. It was laughably easy to climb over the wall that surrounded the whole Souma estate. For obvious reasons, there were more people wandering around than there had been last time, but it was still easy enough to sneak around them. Unfortunately, Leon had about as much idea as what he was looking for as he did the last time.

It was only coincidence that he happened to wander into one of the houses. Maybe it was more than coincidence, but Leon didn't dwell on that. His instincts, by which he lived, were woken when he was walking by the house with a large pile of empty plates piled up outside the front door.

'I'm sure that's not normal.' Leon thought with a frown. The house looked deserted, but for the empty plates which had obviously just been put there. 'Why would anyone just leave plates in front of their doorway?'

Apparently Jill had the same thought as she went to take a closer look, peering into one of the windows. "Leon," Jill whispered, motioned with her head for Leon to come take a closer look.


At the Souma Estate-
Shigure-


What Shigure found in the Rooster's house, it didn't seem right to call it Kureno's house as he never lived there, was something that he'd never expected.

Children.

More than a dozen children all waiting quietly and most of them sitting on the floor of the Roster's house. He just couldn't understand it. Why would Kureno bring all these children to the estate? They certainly weren't Souma's. It wasn't like something Akito would order.

Though the black mood Shigure was in hadn't dissipated in the least, but now there was a new worry thrown in. Cautiously, Shigure made his way into the house, thankful that Kureno had left the door unlocked. It was easy enough to get the door open, he still had the mind of a human, after all. When Shigure walked into the main room of the Rooster's house, all eyes of the children swiveled to look at him. All cold, nearly dead eyes staring at Shigure and he didn't know what to think. All these children...where...?

"A dog." It was a simple statement from one of the younger children. A girl with red braids who crawled on her hands and knees to Shigure and looked him right in the face. She was very young, probably no more than ten or so, but there was such tragedy in her eyes. Life had just been too much for her to bear. She reached up at Shigure and put both her hands on the sides of his head. "Nice dog." She muttered.

An older boy, a bare chested boy with a tattoo of a scorpion marring his chest, made a slashing gesture with one hand and a soft hissing noise. Immediately, the girl backed away from Shigure, though everyone still watched him.

'This is...odd.' Shigure thought. 'What could they all be doing here?' He didn't recognize a single one of them. The children did nothing, they simply sat where they were. At first, Shigure thought that they might be apart of some gang, several of them had the black scorpion tattooed on them, so maybe it was a kind of rite the gang members had to go through. The more he thought about that possibility, though, the more unlikely it seemed. It just didn't fit.

"Hello? Is anyone in there? Kureno-san?" The voice drew Shigure's attention at least partly away from the children as he turned and looked at the still open door. The door was pushed open slightly and a bald man peered inside. His gaze fell first on the many children. "What the...oh, Shigure-san." He seemed to catch himself quickly and broke off, not giving away Shigure's identity to the children before he came all the way in, carrying a large tray in his hands. The tray was laden with such a vast amount of food that Shigure wondered how Akito's chef had managed to carry it all the way to the Rooster's house. As not only Akito's chef, but also head of the household for Akito, the chef knew about the Zodiac curse. In this case, it could be useful.

So as to not show anything to the children that they shouldn't know about, Shigure barked at the chef a couple of times. It was a clear enough signal that he wouldn't be talking. The chef took Shigure's rather obvious hint and smiled. "Well, I guess all this food's for you kids, huh?" He turned his attention to the children who all watched him wearily. When no one answered him, the chef laughed nervously and put the tray of food on the large living room table. "Ummm, yes. Well. Right. You kids enjoy the meal Kureno-san sent for you." When he at last turned back to Shigure. He said nothing, but nodded solemnly and left. It didn't matter, he knew enough to keep his mouth shut about what went on in the inner house of the Souma Estate and what little he had said told Shigure what he needed to know. Kureno had brought these children here and had ordered food for them, a sign that he wanted them taken care of.

Once the chef had left, Shigure followed him out. "Wait!" He called, running out to meet the chef. "What do you know about those children? Who are they?"

The chef bowed, respectfully. "I'm sorry, Shigure-san, but I really don't know anything. Kureno-san called me less than an hour ago and asked me to bring all that food to his house. I expected him to be there. He didn't say anything about all those children on the phone. Should I try to contact Akito-sama? I'd heard he wasn't feeling well again..."

"No, no. That won't be necessary. I'll take care of this." Shigure looked back at the Rooster's house. Akito couldn't do anything now. He would have to handle this himself. "Keep quiet about what you saw, though. This in Inner House business." Shigure only said that because he really wasn't sure what was going on and it was better to be safe than sorry. Saying that something was Inner House business was a sure way to keep gossip to a bare minimum.

As expected, the chef nodded obediently and headed away. Shigure made his way back into the Rooster's house where all the children were now silently eating. How strange to see so many children eating like condemned prisoners; silent and eating without even tasting their food. Like the nice, tame dog he was, Shigure lay down discretely in the doorway and just watched the children.

"What are we going to do now?" One of the smaller children asked the boy who handed her some food.

"We wait." The teenage boy answered calmly. "We have nothing else to do." The tattooed boy spoke very softly, kind of like Yuki's gentle tone, but with hint's of Kyou's fire. "We'll stay until he comes back."

"Who was he, Omi?"

"Don't know." Omi bit into an apple, eating the stem and leaf along with the apple, which Shigure found most interesting. He filed away that little bit of information. It could be useful. "He was with that other, person. That orange haired boy that turned into a monster. Guess he's the boss now." He didn't even sound curious, really. "Who else are we gonna follow?"

Shigure's ears perked up at the obvious mention of Kyou. How many other orange haired boys turned into monsters? Worry began to gnaw at Shigure again, that all these children had seen Kyou transform. This wasn't at all good. If so many children had learned about Kyou, then who else had seen? Surely Kureno had taken care of anyone who might be a danger to the family. Still...what if he hadn't? What if someone had been forgotten? Kyou had not been in the best state of mind when Shigure had watched him stagger away from home, there was no telling what he'd done. Kureno hadn't said anything when they'd all been with Akito just moments ago, but then he probably hadn't been thinking about it what with Akito being so close to death.

They all stayed like this a long while, the children staying mostly silent and cleaned the large platter of food and Shigure left the room.

Shigure left the children while they were still eating. His time was running out before he changed back into a human and there was no point in compounding Kyou's sin by letting all the children see him transform, so Shigure made his way into the bedroom and waited. His depression over what was happening with Akito was slowly lifting and now his sense of duty was starting to reassert itself. Whether Akito hated him or not, Shigure had a responsibility to the rest of the family. He didn't know where these children had come from or what they were doing here, but he knew they wouldn't be here without Kureno's permission. Shigure had to at least stay with them and make sure they didn't go anywhere until Hatori could deal with them.

At that moment, safe in a room away from where the children were eating, Shigure transformed with a slight explosion and a puff of grey smoke. Shigure, completely naked, sat in the room just next to where the children were still eating. He expected the usual reaction, for them to demand of each other what that noise was and then come rushing to see what was going on. Instead, as near as Shigure could tell as he peered through the small crack in the doorway, none of them moved to even look. They turned for a moment to see what was going on, but didn't choose to investigate.

"Should we see what that was?" One of them asked.

"No." It was the older boy, Omi, who answered, dully. "Remember what happened the last time we went to check on those gunshots? We don't need to look for trouble." All of them went back to eating.

It was good, if mysterious. Their inattention gave Shigure time to sneak off to one of the other rooms in the house and rifle though the belongings of the previous rooster for clothes. He managed to find a simple kimono that had belonged to the rooster before Kureno. The kimono was dusty from disuse, but still serviceable. On the side of caution, Shigure didn't go back into the room with the children again. Shigure kept quiet and just watched them from the adjoining room from a small space in the doorway.

Several hours passed like this. When the children ran out of food, many of them settled back to sleep, but some stayed quietly awake, peering out the windows occasionally. Then, after a while, the sleeping ones would wake and the ones who had stayed awake would go to sleep. They were taking shifts, Shigure realized. Shigure had never seen children so unnaturally quiet and it unnerved him.

There was a knock at the door and Shigure shifted his position so he could see the doorway. When the door slid open, it revealed a not so unexpected sight.

'Orcot-san and Jill-san.' Shigure thought as he looked at the man and woman who stood, staring at the children. He was sure he'd heard Jill-san's family name when they'd been introduced but he couldn't seem to remember it. 'I should have known that they'd be involved, somehow. They came here with Count D, after all. Ayame had been writing to Orcot-san for years. I wonder how far back this was all planned.' Was Orcot-san working for Count D or was it all just a coincidence that Orcot-san should know both of them?

Of course, Orcot-san and Jill-san might have their own agenda. With half of the Souma family missing, it would be a great opportunity for someone with a grudge against the Souma's to threaten them. In this modern age of laws and civility, there wasn't much chance of some enemy trying to storm the estate walls, but Shigure worried, still. No one as wealthy as the Souma family could go long without enemies and the Souma family had many years to make many enemies. It was entirely possible, though a bit of a stretch, that Orcot's entire friendship with Ayame had been nothing but a ruse to get him into the Souma's good graces. Unlikely, but possible.

For a moment, no one spoke. The children and the two adults just stared at each other. Then the big, blonde American shook his head. "Well...Hell." He spoke with a kind of resignation in his tone. The voice of a man who'd seen exactly what he'd expected, but hoped to not, to see.

Shigure wasn't sure what was going on, but this couldn't be good for the Souma family. For the first time since Akito had been dragged away by Count D, Shigure felt his misery fully shift to the back of his mind. There would be time for self-pity later. Now, with Akito and Hatori gone, Shigure had to worry about the family. Friends of Ayame or not, Orcot-san and Jill-san were outsiders and they had no business being on the estate, let alone in the Inner House. Ayame said that these two were police officers, which meant that they might discover things they shouldn't. Shigure couldn't allow himself to be depressed, not when the family might be in danger.

For now, Shigure would watch and see what they wanted.

Jill-san blinked behind her glasses, but didn't relax her tense stance. "Hiya, kids." She said in a bright voice, looking around. Her gaze was intense, lingering on every single child as she looked around the room. "I'm afraid we're a bit lost. My name's Jill and this is my friend, Leon. I don't suppose you could tell us where Souma Ayame is?"

Not a single one of the children spoke up, but watched Jill-san as wearily as she watched them.

"Don't be shy," Jill-san said, stepping forward cautiously. "We don't bite." Her eyes fastened, just for a moment, on the tattoo on the chest of the boy called Omi. "That's quite the tattoo." She commented in a careless voice. "Where'd you get it?"

Omi didn't answer.

"I suppose your parents know about it? Could I talk with them?" When she still didn't get a response, Jill-san laughed. "Ah, you're good kids. You don't talk with strangers. That's a good. Smart, too. We could be dangerous. We're not, though. We're police officers, so you can trust us." She stepped closer to the children again, this time, there was a visible reaction. Though Omi, and the others with the Black Scorpion tattoo didn't move, many of the younger children began to inch away, their faces becoming more blank, if that was at all possible. The message was clear. They didn't want her getting to close. Jill-san took the hint and didn't try to get any close, though she did keep speaking.

All this time, Orcot-san was quietly looking around. For some reason, it struck Shigure as being out of character for Orcot-san though he'd only known the man for a few minutes.

"Jill," Orcot-san called, drawing attention to himself for the first time since he'd walked into the house. He was standing at the couch where a young boy was sleeping. At least he looked like he was sleeping, Shigure knew better. He could still smell the blood. When Orcot-san looked up from the boy to Jill-san, he looked worried and more than a little angry. "This kid's been shot. He needs to go to the hospital."

Without hesitation, Jill-san pulled a cell phone out of her jacket pocket and hit a single button. How practical, Shigure couldn't help but to be impressed. She'd only arrived in Japan a day or so ago and she'd already put the hospital on her speed dial. If they were going to call the hospital then they were surely going to call the police.

"Hello? Can I help you?" Shigure slid the door open after standing and smiled at Jill-san and Orcot-san. The police could not be allowed to get involved. That might cause a scandal and bringing the Souma family to the attention of the public would not be an especially good idea for any reason. "Oh, my! Look at all the children!" He looked around, as if he'd only just seen them, and feigned surprise as well as he could. Then he looked back at Orcot-san and Jill-san. "What's going on?"

Orcot-san spoke this time, but didn't move from the side of the injured boy. "Shigure-san, right? Ayame's friend?"

"Yes." Shigure walked confidently over to Orcot-san and down at the wounded boy. Of course Shigure had already looked the boy over, when he was in the form of a dog, and didn't believe that the child would die. The wound was minor and closing itself already. "Don't bother with the hospital." Shigure told Jill-san. "We have a fully trained physician living on the estate. I'll give you her number." He told Jill-san the number and waited patiently while she called Hatori's newest intern. While young, the girl was a Souma and could be counted on to keep things like this quiet.

After that was done, Jill-san looked at Shigure with hard eyes. "I don't suppose you could answer a few questions?"

It occurred to Shigure not to say anything. They were American's and far out of their jurisdiction. He could tell them to get off the estate. That might not be the wisest course of action. They would simply alert the Japanese police and then this whole mess would be thrown right into the public eye; not a good scenario. "Sure." Shigure smiled, hoping that his talent for lies wouldn't fail him. "I don't know what I can tell you. I've been sleeping and I just woke up. They weren't here when I went to sleep."

"So this is your house?" Orcot-san asked from where he was keeping an eye on the wounded boy, while he still monitored the other children. He seemed nervous and Shigure wondered what Orcot-san and Jill-san knew about these children. They seemed almost afraid of the children.

"Yes." It was a short answer, but on that was good enough. No need to give away excess information.

"And you don't know any of these children?" This question came from Jill-san.

"No. None of them are part of my family." It would have been nice if Shigure could try to convince Ayame's friends that the children were Souma's and have them just go away, but that would only lead to problems further on. That lie was to easily uncovered. The best Shigure could hope for was that the children wouldn't mention Kyou's monster. If nothing else, it would be difficult to prove that Kyou had turned into a monster. 'If we ever see Kyou again...' Shigure's mind was till partly sunk into despair about what he'd done to his family.

Orcot-san, still kneeling next to the hurt boy, spoke to the children this time. "Well? Haven't any of you got anything to say? Where are you from?"

"The Pit." This answer came from one of the smaller girls. She was such an ugly child. Shigure had once thought that there was no such thing as an ugly child, but this poor girl had a ruined face. Her face that should have been sweet and innocent was lined with scars, one that went right over her lips. It would take major surgery for this child to ever be pretty.

"Don't!" One of the other children hissed at her.

"Why not?" The girl asked. "We don't have orders to follow anymore. Not theirs. They're dead."

Omi nodded. "True." He thought for a bit and looked at Orcot-san. "What do you want to know?"

"Who's orders do you follow? What's the Pit?" Orcot-san asked eagerly.

"We follow Kureno, now. He found us and took us away from the Pit. The Pit is..." He seemed at a loss for words and just shrugged. "The Pit."

"Are you all that came from the Pit?" Jill-san asked, looking around. "Were there any other children?"

"Yes." Omi answered. "There were lots more of us. I guess they're still there."

Orcot-san leaned forward. "Can you take me there?"

Shigure, who'd added nothing more to the conversation, elected to stay behind, saying that he didn't want to get involved in something that was clearly not his business. While both Orcot-san and Jill-san gave him disapproving looks, they said nothing and prepared to leave with Omi. It was only sensible, though they both obviously didn't want to take the boy.

"You don't know how to get there." Omi had said. "And the others won't let you see them if you show up alone." He took it all in stride, not looked pleased or displeased about what was happening. He didn't even look at the other children before they all walked away and Shigure was once again left alone with the children.

Shigure was glad to see them go and not at all upset that they seemed to think he was a coward. Maybe he was. Surely someone brave would be doing more than just hiding. Yes, Shigure knew that was what he was doing. He was hiding from his family. "You can all stay for a spell." Shigure smiled carelessly at the children. "I'm sure you're all tired from whatever you've gone through. Get some rest, why don't you?"

"Where's Kureno?" One of the children asked. "He said he was coming back."

"Ah, well, he's had some business to attend to. I'm sure he'll be back as soon as he can." It was as close to the truth as Shigure was willing to get. When he realized that the children wouldn't be moving any time soon, Shigure stepped out of the house and into the front garden. He pitied those children and was more than a little curious as to what had made them all so lifeless. Thoughts began to swirl around Shigure's mind and, to use up time, he tried organizing all of them.

He would not go to Akito. Akito surely didn't want to see him, now. He would keep an eye on these children who'd seen Kyou's true form. He would tell Ayame that Orcot-san was someone to be careful of, though Ayame likely wouldn't listen. He would, as soon as this whole incident with the children was taken care of, go to Count D and find out how Kyou was doing. It would be easy enough to follow Kagura and Ritsu's scent.

Yes, that was a good plan.

"So..." The silence was broken by Ayame's voice and Shigure tensed. "Rin was right?" When Shigure finally turned to look at Ayame, he saw that Ayame was holding the ancient diary of the cursed dogs. He was looking steadily at Shigure and his eyes were cold. In the night, with only light from the windows of the house to see by, Ayame was haunting. In his long robes, moved by a gentle breeze, and his hair that made him look even more ethereal than usual, Ayame looked like a creature out of some fairy tale come to life. "You knew, all along, what we were? You never told us? Not even me or 'Tori?" The hurt in his voice made Shigure feel guilty all over again.

"I never told anyone." Shigure answered honestly. He turned away from Ayame again and stared into the darkness. He knew he'd done the right thing, but why did the right thing have to hurt so much? "It was my secret."

"Didn't you trust us? Me?"

Another sharp stab of pain went through Shigure's heart. "I wasn't supposed to tell you. That was the whole point of the diary, to keep it all a secret. It wasn't that I didn't trust you, Aya, but the others would have found out. They'd have learned everything about Count D and they'd have gone looking for him. Can you imagine Akito, thinking to take revenge on a Kami? He'd do it, too. At least he'd try." Shigure sat down on the stone bench just outside the house and put stared out at the lights from the houses on the estate. It never got really dark on the estate. Despite the fact that everyone in the family hated him, Shigure felt as if a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulders just from telling the secret he'd carried for more than fifteen years. "The whole family, all the family money, used to find Count D. Then what? What would happen once he was found? I was afraid he'd kill us all and finish what he'd started. I thought, I hoped it was best to keep us a secret, to keep us in hiding. Our lives aren't pleasant, sometimes, but it's not as if it's unbearable. We're all alive and we all have hope for the future. It's better than being imprisoned by a Kami who only wanted the cat for who know's what reason. It's better than being dead."

"So, instead you give Akito to him?" Ayame sounded genuinely puzzled about this, but Shigure still didn't turn around. "If you were so afraid of him, why'd you give up Akito without a fight? Why didn't you warn us, we're all smart enough to keep this kind of information from Akito and knowing what was going on would have helped us to avoid him."

"I did fight." Shigure let out a bitter laugh. "I attacked Count D when he came to my home and it was absolutely useless. He had me flat on my face in the dirt without even touching me. I couldn't lay a finger on him. Do you understand? We're completely helpless. He'd have stolen Akito away if we didn't agree and then someone would have gotten hurt defending Akito. It wasn't this Count D that cursed us, anyway. He said as much at the house. Have you read the diary?"

"Bits, here and there. How long have you known all this?" Shigure could practically hear Ayame thinking, 'How long have you been lying and deceiving us?'

"Since I was ten. Toma left it to me before he died. It seems that it's the cat's responsibility to give the diary to the dog."

Ayame fell silent. How much stress was poor Ayame under? He'd had not only Akito taken away, but also Hatori, whom he loved as dearly as he loved his own life. There was one other person who was still missing. "Where's Yuki?" Ayame demanded, at last. "He wasn't at your house, Hatsuharu said, and..."

"Haru?"

"Rin sent him to find the book. He said you just left it laying around on your desk. He also said Kyou's room was destroyed and that there was no one around." There was anger in Ayame's voice, something Shigure rarely heard and never aimed at him, as it was now. "Where's my brother?"

"He's with Count D. So is Kyou and Tohru." Shigure took a deep breath, knowing what was about to come. It was one thing to let Akito be taken away, but that he hadn't said anything about Yuki going to Count D, that was surely unforgivable. "If you want to leave now, I understand. I'd hate me, too, if I were in your shoes."

"You idiot." The words weren't harsh or cold, as Shigure had expected them to be. Shockingly, Ayame put his arms around Shigure and sat next to him on the stone bench. "A long time ago Hatori and I made you a promise. You were sick with a fever that night, so maybe you don't even remember it. The night Yuki and Kyou were born, when my mother died and Kyou's mother started to lose her mind. That night, you asked us to forgive you for what you were going to do. You said you were going to do something awful and that you wouldn't be able to forgive yourself, so you wanted us to forgive you, instead." Ayame pressed his lips to Shigure's cheek, just like many fond kisses they'd shared over the years. "We promised to forgive you, no matter what you did. I never break my word."

Shigure nearly cried when Ayame pulled him in close and held him. He didn't understand how Ayame could forgive so easily. The memory Ayame was talking about only half seemed real to Shigure and he had almost convinced himself that it was a dream. "How can you say that? Yuki..."

It was Ayame's turn to sigh, sadly. "Yuki is far more grown-up than I would like him to be. He grew up a long time ago and he makes his own choices. I suppose that's my fault, really. I didn't want him when he was younger and now he doesn't need me. If you say Yuki went to Count D willingly, then I believe you. Did he go after Kyou?"

"Yes, and Tohru."

Ayame smiled slightly and rested his head on Shigure's shoulder. "I could have guessed. I'm glad to know they're together."

"How can you not hate me when I hate myself?" Shigure asked.

"Hate? Shigure, right now I'm absolutely furious that you didn't tell me my baby brother might be in horrible danger. I'm irate that you've sent Hatori off to heaven knows where. I'm hurt that you didn't trust me enough to tell me what was going on. I will NEVER hate you." Ayame leaned over just enough to look into Shigure's lowered eyes. "Even if the whole world were against you, I'd be there for you. Remember?" The words, once spoken in jest, were now very serious.

Shigure felt like a fool for doubting Ayame's generous heart. "Thanks, Aya."

The next thing Ayame said, he said quietly, as if afraid that Shigure would argue with him. "We need to go to them. Even if you don't want to see Akito, the children are there and might need us. We, the rest of the family, are going over as soon as I get back to them. If you want to come, you're welcome."

Shigure shook his head. "And have Rin glaring at me, spitting swears at me the whole way? I can do without that." In truth, Shigure honestly didn't think he deserved a place with his family anymore. He would do his best for them, but after what he'd done, it would be best for him to stay away for a while.

Ayame said nothing else to persuade Shigure and Shigure was glad. Before Ayame left him, they sat together for a long time, the moon full above them and the quiet chirping of crickets all around.


Elsewhere-
Jill-


Jill didn't like it, not one little bit. This was the reason they'd come to Japan, but Jill would have felt a whole lot better with a whole team of armed officers behind her. Instead, it was just Leon, Jill, and a kid who couldn't have been more than seventeen at the very most. They walked down the streets of the city, quickly going from the nicer part of town where the Souma estate was located to the rundown slums. It was a much darker atmosphere and Jill was getting more nervous with each passing moment.

'This is just intelligence gathering.' Jill reminded herself. 'We're not going to do anything heroic; that's the job of local police. We just find out what needs to be reported.' Jill was more than a little afraid that Leon, who was so consumed by the Black Scorpion, would lose his control, but so far Leon was handling himself very well. The boy who was leading them to this place, 'the Pit', looked as if he were doing nothing more than going out for an afternoon stroll. 'Then again, this is his home. If you can call it that.'

The boy, Omi, led them to an old building that looked deserted. All the windows were boarded up and there was a ton of garbage in the alley in front of the building. It looked like an old factory or something. "This is it?" Jill asked.

Omi nodded and didn't stop walking. Words meant very little to him. The moment Omi opened the front door of the building the stench of decay hit them like a brick between the eyes. Even Omi flinched and Leon began cursing vilely.

"Death." Leon muttered. He was right. In their line of work, Leon and Jill had seen more than their fair share of death and they'd gotten a good whiff of it, too. This was like every homicide case they'd been on, but magnified. "What happened here?"

"They all died." Omi said. He barely paused after opening the door before he went into the halls and leading them around and around the winding corridors until they finally came to a huge arena. That was the only word Jill could think of to describe it. Arena or slaughter pit. The decay was old, but no more than a day or so. The bodies were starting to attract flies and dozen upon dozen of rats were feeding upon the corpses.

"They were armed." Leon, with a hand over his mouth, nudged an assault rifle with his toe very carefully. "These guys weren't playing games, Jill." For a homicide detective, Leon had notoriously weak stomach and the sight of blood could easily turn him green. Jill knew that only sheer willpower was keeping Leon from throwing up right on the stop. "Christ, there's kids here." Leon did turn a darker shade of green when he saw a little girl's body laying face down in the sand.

"That was Suki." Omi supplied in his dull voice. "They shot her." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the corpses in the arena. If it bothered him at all, Omi didn't show it other than by kicking a rat off the little girl's left leg.

"Who were they?" Jill asked, trying to keep this professional. There would be time to have nightmares about the child later.

"The owner and the guards." Omi said. "They were going to kill Kureno, I think."

"What was Kureno doing here?"

Omi just shrugged. "He came here and took us away."

They were a strange assortment of bodies, from a professional viewpoint. Men and women, one woman dressed very shabbily, one man dressed in a suit that probably cost several thousand dollars, men and women in loose uniforms, and one child. It wasn't hard to guess whom the owner was or what he was owner of: the children.

"Let's get outta here." Leon said, when the stench had gotten too much for him. He looked down at the body of the girl. "I wish we could take her out of here. Put her someplace a little...cleaner."

"We can't disturb the evidence, Leon." Jill reminded. She didn't like it, either. It seemed very wrong to leave the child here with her killers.

"Yeah, I know. So, does this place have an office or something, Omi? A place where they'd keep records?"

"Yes." Omi led them through one of the doors, but paused when Leon wasn't following immediately. It was an incredibly complex system, Jill thought when Omi showed them various rooms around the Pit. There was a huge shower bathroom combination that reeked of urine and a kitchen that looked as if it hadn't been cleaned in years and, finally, a large office with a big desk and a computer.

As Jill was far better with computers than Leon, it was she who sat at the desk and began to type away, looking for information. If they were lucky this was the entire ring of the Black Scorpion and they were all dead out there. They weren't lucky.

"Shit!" Jill cursed, slamming her fist down on the desk.

"What is it?" Leon asked, coming to stand behind Jill so he could look at the computer screen over her shoulder.

Jill scowled darkly at the screen. "This place was a breeding ground for the Black Scorpion, Leon. They supplied some of the children, but not all. This was a fighting ring. The customers paid to see little kids kill each other." The thought made bile rise in Jill's through, but she calmed herself as quickly as possible and went on. "The good ones, the ones who kept surviving the fights, were sold to the Black Scorpion ring. That's why they're marked with the tattoo, so no one else would buy them."

Leon looked at the screen and all the names of contacts, hundreds of phone numbers, and addresses. "This...this could take years." He said, realizing the extent of the mission he'd set himself. Then his face hardened and Jill knew what he was thinking. No matter how many years, no matter how big the task, Leon would destroy the Black Scorpion. "Do you know what that means?" Leon asked Omi, who stood calmly in the doorway listening to everything, in a dreadfully quiet voice.

"Yes." Omi's answer was as untroubled as if they'd asked him what he'd had for breakfast. "It means that I was to become an assassin. I was at the end of my training when all this happened." He didn't seem troubled when he asked, "Do you think I will still be an assassin?"

"No." Leon answered quickly. "No way."

"Oh. Then, what will happen to me?"

Neither Jill nor Leon had an answer for that. Who would adopt a seventeen-year-old boy with obvious emotional troubles who had been trained to kill? What kind of job could he get? Maybe he would end up starving on the streets. "You said there were other kids?" Jill asked. They would have to talk with child welfare to see what could be done for the children. Hopefully, they wouldn't be lost in the system.


It turned out that there were sixteen other kids and they were waiting in a large sleeping room. It was hardly a fit place for dogs to sleep and Jill was angry on behalf of these children who didn't know how badly they were being treated. None of them tried to run away, luckily.

"What's happening?" A little boy, far younger than Omi, asked. He had sharp, bright eyes concealed under his long hair. "There's no water and no food. Why's everyone dead?"

"This is your rescue party, kid." Jill came forward and took careful count of the children. They were all too thin, that was Jill's first thought. They needed fattening up. "Are there anymore of you around?"

The boy shook his head, no.

Jill turned and faced Leon, standing very close so as to keep their voices low. "Well, what are we going to do with them? We are NOT leaving them here." That was a point Jill knew she wouldn't have to argue with Leon about. He looked ill just being in this Hell-hole.

"I say we take them back to that Shigure guy. He seems like he'd be okay with a house full of kids. We leave them there for a bit until the police finish here and come to collect them. Then child welfare can find a place for them."



Two weeks later-
Kyou-


Kyou woke up very slowly and he felt as if he were wrapped up in a blanket. Wrapped far to tightly, he felt like a mummy wrapped up in gauze bandages, every part of him was bound still and Kyou didn't like it one little bit.

Kyou began to push and twist, trying to find his way out of the blanket. Kyou was starting to remember more than the dreams, more than the painful and pleasant memories he'd been seeing over and over while he slept. He was in Count D's petshop. Count D had said something about making Kyou more powerful, powerful enough to keep his freedom.

Blind and deaf to the world around him, Kyou kept pushing against whatever it was that he was wrapped in. It wasn't so much of a blanket, really. It felt stretchy against his hands.

Hands? Yes, hands and not claws. He'd taken the bracelet off, he should be the monster right now.

Kyou didn't like this at all. He felt like he couldn't breath. He couldn't even speak. 'Let me out!' Kyou thought fiercely. He struggled against his mysterious bonds, though he didn't lose his temper. That was strange, Kyou was able to stay focused without the usual fury overtaking him. Little by little, Kyou felt the wrapping around him begin to give way.


To be continued...