Disclaimer: Don not own. So do not sue.
Summary: I'm not really a summary person per say but…I will say this…when I am done Sohma house will be a tad more of a scary place than where the anime left off-----:P
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Chapter 1: RED
Red…red everywhere. A river was slowly becoming a lake. A lake of red. A lake of HER red. It was chasing him. He couldn't escape. He backed up towards the wall but the red followed him. It threatened to swallow him whole.
Silver. It glowed in the streams of moonlight that faded into the room. It was the thing that caused the red. It was smiling at him. No, things do not smile. No, the person holding the thing was smiling. He was smiling. He was laughing. Laughing at the red. Her red.
"Baka."
The voice. It was so cold compared to the warm red.
There was a noise. A bang. Shouting. Warm hands, picking him up above the red.
Then there was black. And laughter….
'Not again,' Yuki threw his sweat-soaked sheets aside. His breathing was coming in short gasps, his hands were shaking. If he didn't calm down soon, he would probably wind up having an asthma attack.
'It was a dream. Just a dream. It was just a dream about………..red……..' His stomach lurched. The taste of iron clung to his lips, permeated his nostrils.
So many years had passed, but the dream always affected him the same. It was as real tonight as the night it had happened.
He rose unsteadily from the bed and made his way down the hallway. The taste of iron was quickly being replace by that of bile as he slammed the door to the bathroom open. His immediate concern was not that of discretion for the sleeping residents of the house, but of making sure he did not get sick on himself.
He grabbed either side of the cool porcelain bowl and began to retch. Wet noisy heaving, he was sure that it could be heard outside the confines of the small bathroom. He had no idea how long he stayed like that, head bent over the bowl, his wiry frame shaking horribly. He became vaguely aware of a feminine voice calling out to him in surprise. Soft hands were stroking his back, holding his long bangs away from his face.
"Oi, what the hell is his problem," the cat grumbled as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. Shigure and Kyo stood in the doorframe apparently awoke by the commotion as well.
"He's sick," was Touru's simple reply as she continued to try to calm the mouse's trembling.
"Kuso, did he have to go and wake up the whole….."Kyo was cut short when Shigure placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Look."
Kyo took a closer look at his rival the mouse. Yuki's eyes were unfocused and even though he had apparently finished emptying the contents of his stomach, his breath was still labored and he was visibly shaken.
"Oh." Kyo shrugged in realization as he headed back to bed. Touru watched his reaction curiously, eyes moving from Kyo's retreating form to Shigure, who was slumped in the doorframe, hair hiding his eyes.
"Mou, Touru-chan, why don't you head off to bed?" Shigure's voice was barely above a whisper.
"But Sohma-kun!"
"Yuki-kun is fine, please don't worry…tomorrow is a school day after all," Shigure gave her a goofy smile, attempting to assure the confused girl.
"But…."
Both turned toward the toilet as they heard a flush. Yuki suddenly stood, listing dangerously to the left. Before Touru had a chance to steady him, he used the sink to brace himself. He quickly turned on the faucet, using his hand as a cup to rinse out his mouth. Before Touru could even get one word of concern out for her friend, he made his way past Shigure and down the hall leading towards his room.
"See, everything's fine!" Shigure reassured as he turned his back to her. If Touru had only gotten a glimpse of Shigure's face, even she would have been able to see through his façade.
The next morning Yuki never appeared for breakfast. He had the tendency of being a late riser but as Touru began to rinse the dishes, she became worried.
"Shigure-san, is Sohma-kun alright? Should I wake him? He'll be late for school."
Shigure looked over the top of his paper. "No no, its alright…. just let him sleep. Ha-san will be coming by today to take a look at him."
"Ehhh! Is he that sick! Maybe I should stay home to help!"
Shigure exchanged a strange glance with Kyo as he entered the room. With a sigh, Kyo picked up their school bags and grabbed Touru's hand, dragging her out the door.
'No matter how long Touru would live in this house, she's not family. And this is most definitely a family matter' Shigure thought sullenly as he returned to his paper.
It was true; Touru, Kyo, and Yuki had been living together for a little under two years. In the spring, they would be graduating high school. In that time, Touru had learned many secrets about the Sohma House and seen many things that happened within the family. But even so, there were things that she did not know, things that it was decided she didn't need to know. The mistakes that were made back then would not be repeated, especially if a certain dog had his way about it.
Shigure took of his glasses and massaged the bridge of his nose. Things had been going so well too. Yuki had been doing so well, he hadn't had a dream about it almost since the arrival of Touru into their household. If he had, the dreams had been foggy, enough wake him but nothing compared to last night's episode.
'Now is not the time for this', Shigure thought to himself as he walked into his study. Once inside, he picked up a rather old, leather-bound dictionary, one that a writer of his caliber hardly used, and flipped through the pages to the letter 'K'. Within the pages was a small key. This key opened a small filing cabinet, located in the corner of the room that was generally used for legal documents and such. In the last drawer, hid away in the back, was an old photo album. Shigure took his prize and sat at the low table in the room.
Flipping through it, he stopped at one picture in particular. It was the Mabudachi Trio in all their glory at a high-school festival. Ayame was clinging to one side of Hatori, as usual, smiling with an innocence that was rarely found in the residents of the Sohma House. He was looking towards the fourth figure in the picture, the person that was linking Shigure to Hatori's other side. Shigure's hands ghosted over the figure as a sad smile met his lips.
How young they had been, how innocent despite the circumstances that surrounded their lives. They thought it would last forever. That stupidity had cost them…dearly.
Hatori has still not visited the house by the time Touru and Kyo had returned from school. Apparently there had been a little 'accident' with a pair of scissors involving Akito and a certain tiger of the Juunishi.
"WAHHHH! KISA-CHAN! Is Kisa-chan alright?" Touru tearfully asked.
"What was that kid doing home," Kyo paused on the stairs.
"Apparently she was sick so Hatori kept her home from school," Shigure replied. Or at least that was what he was able to gather in the brief conversation he had with Hatori before he had been hung up on. He did not mention the fact that there was screaming on the other end of the line nor that the last word he heard before the line went dead was 'kuso' uttered from Hatori's lips no less.
"Two Juunishi sick in the same day, perhaps it's the flu?" Touru busied herself in the kitchen, making a tray that Shigure assumed she was going to take to Yuki.
"He's not sick like that," Kyo mumbled as he entered the kitchen, apparently having changed into his 'regular' clothes. "More like sick in the head…."
"KYO!"
Before Touru had been able to question, Kyo's comment had been answered by an angry Shigure. She had never seen the dog glare at the cat with such force. If it had been any other day, she might of found it funny…. today they really looked like a dog and cat fighting….but Shigure's reaction seemed to bring the gravity of the situation to a head.
It was then that Hatori had decided to make his appearance, much to the relief of Touru (and probably Kyo as well).
Hatori rose at eyebrow at the scene between Kyo and Shigure. The latter did not lose his temper very often but Hatori knew the signs of an impending fight and was well aware of the consequences of making the dog angry.
Thankfully he had brought a deterrant.
"HOWDY-CHAN!!!HAVE YOU BEEN TAKING GOOD CARE OF MY BEAUTIFUL ITOMO, GURE-SAN?" Ayame's voice boomed around the room.
Shigure jumped as if struck and blinked a few times as if unsure as to where he was. Ayame was practically laying on the table, his face mere inches fro Shigure's.
"Hai, hai…. he's fine. I gave him some medicine. He's asleep upstairs. I just checked up on him before the other two came home," Shigure responded with a typical smile.
"What happened?" Hatori asked blandly.
"Ano, well Yuki threw up a few times last night and I thought he had a fever cause his coloring was so horrible but he was actually quite cold and…."
"So, what happened," Hatori repeated through Touru's rambling, this time making it a point to direct his attention towards the dog.
"He had a bad dream I believe."
Touru knitted her brows together. With that simple explanation, Ayame had stiffened and paled. Hatori slumped his shoulders in a deep sigh. 'A bad dream wasn't something to get that concerned over," Touru thought to herself.
The mood in the room had become heavy. Ayame plopped onto one of the sitting cushions next to Shigure, staring blankly at the table. Hatori turned and went up the stairs to see his patient. Kyo had disappeared, probably to escape to his roof hideaway.
Touru's glance fell to a particular black bag in the corner of the room. "Ano, Shigure-san? Hatori has left his doctor's bag downstairs. Should I bring it up to him? Won't he be needing it?"
"Nee, Touru-chan…. what will we be having for dinner? I'm positively starving, aren't you starving Ayame?"
'Well that was smooth,' the dog thought to himself. His thinly veiled attempt to avoid her questions had fallen flat. Ayame merely nodded, still staring at the table and acting like a marionette that just had his strings cut. If anything, Touru was sure to notice his strange behavior at the very least.
But the girl just continued to smile. "I was thinking about soba if that was alright with everyone."
"Hai soba would be fine! Right Ai-chan?" Ayame jumped at the use of his old nickname. It seemed to snap him out of whatever reverie he had been in. "Hai, that would be fine," he agreed, giving her a shaky grin.
It was disconcerning, the way they were all acting. Not that anyone from the Sohma would even be considered normal, but the recent behavior was a bit more than strange.
Touru was never one to pry. She knew and understood there were many secrets about her housemates but this one was hurting her friend and a hurt friend took priority over being nosey.
As she started the broth, she decided that she would ask Kyo for an explanation later that night. 'Oh mother,' she thought to herself. 'Please let me be doing the right thing.'
20 minutes later, Hatori had returned. He sat wearily at the table as Touru scrambled to serve him.
"How is he?" Ayame asked, his voice thick with concern.
"Bag," Hatori mumbled as he pointed to his black doctor's bag that sitting near Shigure.
Shigure obliged and handed the bag over to the dragon as he patiently awaited the diagnostic.
Hatori rummaged through the bag and produced an amber bottle. He retrieved two pills and took them without drinking any of the tea that Touru had placed before him. After a few moments of massaging his temples, he finally spoke.
"He's better, a little tired but better. He said he was going to take a bath and then join us for dinner. I gave him something to relax so he needs to eat."
Shigure pursed his lips. His stoic cousin looked as if his head was about to burst and he knew what was the only thing that could cause such pain. Hatori must have used his special gift to 'erase' the dream from Yuki's mind. It was a temporary fix, but fairly effective. As long as nothing stirred Yuki's memory, everything would be business as usual. Or so Shigure hoped…………….
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Kyo had been standing in the hallway as he heard the other's talk. He had tried his best not to show that he too was concerned for the rat, but his mask was beginning to slip when he heard Hatori mention that he had given Yuki 'something to relax him'.
He made his way down the hall to the bath. Pausing at the door, he stilled to see if he could hear any noise coming from the inside. He became nervous when he did not.
"Kuso nezumi, did you fall asleep in here," Kyo slammed open the sliding door to the bath. Yuki lay in the tub, steam lazily rising from the water's surface. His eyes were closed but his head was well above the water, much to Kyo's relief.
"Who could fall asleep with all that heaving breathing you were doing outside the door," he responded, never opening his eyes. He hadn't even flinched when Kyo had entered the room. "Do you need something?"
Kyo fliched. Hatori was good. His little 'trick' had revived the quivering, vomiting mass of nerves to his normal princely self. There was no trace of the anxiety that had been present just the night before.
"I was just checking to see that you hadn't drowned yourself," Kyo quipped smartly. Sick or not, the damn rat wasn't going to get the best of him.
Yuki finally opened his eyes puzzledly. "Why in the world would I do that?" He asked the cat, rising to get out of the tub.
It just so happened that Touru, who had heard the voices in the hall, decided to investigate. Kyo had been so busy in his tête-à-tête that he did not hear the girl approach. The room froze. The was Yuki, one foot out of the bath, naked as the day he was born….Kyo who had been lounging in the doorframe, staring intently at the mouse for no other reason than to make sure the mouse was really all right…..and Touru…poor Touru…..
"AH! SUMIMASEN! Forgive me for interrupting!" She made a made dash back down the hall towards the kitchen.
"Interrupting?" Kyo turned questioningly to a very scarlet and very naked Yuki.
"AH! MEN'S ROMANCE! JUST LIKE WHEN WE WERE YOUNG, EH GURE-SAN?" Ayame boomed as he bounded into the room.
"Actually I remember it involving a lot less clothes," Shigure smirked as he picked at Kyo's shirt.
"O..O ..Oi! What the HELL is wrong with you two?!?" Kyo accusingly glared at Shigure. He had joined Yuki in turning a deep shade of red at Ayame's suggestion.
"MY DARLING IMOTO! Would you like a little help scrubbing your back?" Ayame was getting dangerously close to Yuki, who had wrapped a towel around him defensively.
"I would like to scrub you until I scrubbed off all your skin!" Yuki began to inch towards the door and away from Ayame.
"Oh I do not mean me, dearest brother! I'm sure Touru would be more than happy to be 'of service'," Ayame wiggled his brows at that last part.
Yuki's face was currently matching the color of his hair. He could not believe his brother would suggest such a thing! Although the though was appealing to say the least…at little too appealing…
"See, see…he does agree that my idea is good!" Ayame commented to the snickering dog as he pointed at the towel that was wrapped around Yuki's waist.
"Ayame, come here and eat…the soba is getting cold," Hatori's stern voice from the dining room broke the teasing.
"Mou…Ha-san is no fun!" Shigure whined as he and Ayame made their way out of the room, dragging a less than thrilled Kyo.
Yuki was left to dress in silence. 'The baka neko had been worried about me,' he pondered. But when he had tried to think of what may have caused the cat's concern…. he felt a mild buzzing in his head. 'Must be the medicine Hatori gave me,' the mouse shrugged, making himself presentable.
Back at the main house, a lone figure hung halfway out the window. A small white bird fluttered around his fingers. He did not move from his position as the older man entered the room.
"She's back," The voice whispered from the shadows.
"I know," replied the pale boy motionlessly from the window.
"It may be trouble," the man smirked.
"Trouble," Akito moved into the room, kneeling in front of the figure that sat on the plush couch in his quarters. "You think too highly of her…."
"That baka…"
The boy smiled. At last, things would return to the way they were. He had to remember to thank her when they met….
A/N: OKAY, OKAY, this sucks…I know…it's an intro…whaddaya want from me…this is going to get really messed up in later chapters so I warn thee now…so please R&R lots and lots