Akito lounged on the floor, eyeing the scenery outside as Hatori explained the current situation. The pale red kimono he wore fell hung lazily off of his shoulder as he listened to his cousin talk.
"So he ran away?"
"Hai."
Akito swiftly got up from the floor and was in front of a kneeling Hatori in seconds.
"Well why are you just sitting there? Go and bring him back."
Hatori got up off of the floor, never taking his eyes off of the Souma clan head. Akito's body shook with rage and Hatori knew that to argue with him in this state would be pointless. The doctor turned to leave, but was stopped briefly by Akito's voice.
"Check Shigure's house as well. If he's not there then ask Shigure to help you find him. He is a dog after all."
Akito smirked as he saw Hatori clench his fist in silent anger.
"Yuki will be back soon," he thought as the elder Souma made his exit.
In the main hall Hatori prepared to call Shigure. He hoped to god that Yuki was there. At least the fourteen-year old boy might get off with a lesser punishment that way. As he waited for Shigure to pick up he couldn't help but think how sorry he was for Yuki. For some reason Akito took a special interest in him. Yuki was constantly beaten or locked in a dark room for hours. No one could stop Akito. Because of all the abuse Yuki became distant from everyone, building thick walls. He somehow constructed an emotionless mask. The only time he seemed to let go of his frustrations was when he started studying martial arts with Kazuma. Hatori had witnessed a match with Kyou and could tell that Yuki released a lot of bottled up emotion in the fight. Finally Shigure answered the phone.
"Hello, Souma residence," answered Shigure cheerily.
"Shigure, it's me."
"Ah, Ha-san. You haven't called in such a long time. I was beginning to think that you didn't love me anymore."
"Baka."
"Me? Ha-san that's so mean."
"It's not mean, it's the truth. No will you please be quiet. This is serious."
"Fine, fine. So what's wrong?"
"Yuki ran away. He's been gone for about eight hours."
The silence was deafening. It was obvious that Shigure knew something.
"You know where he is don't you?"
"Why would I…"
"Save it. He'll be in a lot of trouble if he doesn't come back here soon. Akito may do something drastic."
"I don't know where he is."
"Then why were you so quiet all of the sudden?"
"I was thinking. I do that sometimes, contrary to what you might believe."
"Akito wants you to search for him as well."
"Well, if I find him, I can't guarantee that I'll bring him back to the house. I'd rather not force him to go back against his will."
"Fine. We'll figure that part out after we find him."
After hanging up the phone, Shigure put his jacket on. He had a pretty good idea where Yuki might be. Years ago when his younger cousins would visit, they built a small clubhouse. It was a little shack in the woods on the Souma property surrounding Shigure's house. Yuki had even started a garden there, which he tended to periodically until Akito forbade him from visiting again. Chances are he would be there.
Shigure walked down the path leading from his house. After a few minutes he came upon a rickety old shack and he saw a dim light in the window. Quietly he walked up to the door and opened it. His intuition served him well, because there was Yuki sitting in the floor with his knees drawn up to his chest. The boy's bangs hid his eyes and he gave no indication that he knew someone was there. His white shirt and black pants were dirty from sitting in the musty old structure. Slowly, Shigure knelt down in front of him and cleared his throat. Immediately, Yuki snapped to attention and a look of anger crossed his face briefly.
"What do you want," asked Yuki coldly.
"Nothing."
"Then why are you here? If you don't want anything then go away."
"Yuki, I'm not your enemy."
"No, you're not. Your just a coward that ran away leaving the rest of us to suffer."
"Is that what you think?"
"What else am I supposed to think? While you were living out here peacefully, I was being tortured on a regular basis. No would stop him! No one. My parents just let him do whatever he wanted!"
His typically icy demeanor started to crumble. Shigure calmly listened. It wasn't often that Yuki expressed himself like this and it was best to let him get everything out.
"And you guys. You and Hatori! You could have done something, but you didn't! Even my own brother wouldn't help me! What am I supposed to think of you Shigure?"
Yuki looked Shigure in the eyes. His face didn't show any anger, but his eyes were a different story. Suddenly he exploded.
"Now you're here to take me back! Well, I'm not going! I'll never go back to that place. I'd rather die!"
"I'm not going to take you back."
"You're a liar!"
"I told Hatori that if I found you I wouldn't take you back."
Yuki went quiet and sat still.
"Come on. It's getting chilly. You can have a guest room for the time being until I straighten things out."
The boy glared briefly, but then rose to his feet and followed Shigure out of the shack.
"You're going to call Hatori aren't you?"
"I have no choice."
"Then I'm not going with you."
"Listen to me Yuki. If you don't come you'll get sick. Either way I'll have to call Hatori. If you would just hear me out, I might have a solution to your problem."
"What could you possibly do to solve my problem?"
"Well, I thought I might suggest to your parents that you stay at my house for a while."
Yuki's eyes widened. He wasn't expecting that at all.
"What about Akito?"
"I'll figure that out when the time comes. The first thing I'll need to do is at least let everyone know that you're okay."
Yuki followed apprehensively. He didn't know much about his older cousin. All he knew is that when he needed help the most, no one was there. Not his parents, not Hatori, not Ayame, and not Shigure. He wasn't sure he could trust Shigure, but he had no other alternative. Plus, if the situation called for it, he could just bolt again. In the meantime he would just have to rely on his older cousin.