A Bond Between Brothers

I love the bond between Ayame and Yuki! They really are sweet. This will probably be short…but here it goes!

Rated for violence and angst

Enjoy and review!!!

Oh…I don't own Furuba (though I wish I did).

Chapter One:

Ayame pulled up his coat's fur collar around his throat, trying to stifle his cough. He was very susceptible to the cold, and today was certainly no exception. It was freezing, and his breath was leaving a frozen trail across the air. These weren't the kind of conditions that he liked being out in, but today he had no choice. Akito had summoned him.

Only heaven knew why Akito had done so. Ayame had never been close to the great head of the Soma family. He never saw Akito, except for New Year's. It was always his younger brother, Yuki, who occupied the place of honor at Akito's table, a fact that had angered him for years as a child. He remembered sitting with Shigure and Hari at the Zodiac Banquet every year. Once in a while, he'd turn around to glare at his little brother, especially when Yuki coughed. What makes that little rat brother of mine so special that he's the one that gets to sit next to Akito-sama? He's way younger than Kureno, Shigure, Hatori, Ritsu, Rin, or me! How come he gets pampered and the rest of us get tossed away like spoiled milk.

Ashamed of himself, Ayame bowed his head. How could he have ever thought such terrible, cruel things about his own younger brother? He had wanted Akito's attention, never knowing that the head of the Soma family caused such strong fear in Yuki. All these years later, Ayame didn't know what had transpired between Akito and Yuki in their childhood, but it had traumatized his little brother to such a degree that Yuki was only now starting to recover, thanks to Miss Tohru's calming influence.

Shivering one more time with a "burr…" Ayame knocked on the door to the main house where Akito lived. Only a moment passed before the door opened and Ayame looked into the deep brown eyes of…

"Hari-san! So nice to see you! I…"

"Shh…Ayame. I've got a big enough headache as it is." Hatori reached up to rub his red eyes sleepily. It looked like he'd been up for hours, gulping down gallons of coffee to stay awake.

Concerned for his cousin, Ayame questioned, "Hari, you look bushed. Busy lately?"

Rubbing his temples, Hatori replied, "Not exactly. Akito's just not in a great mood these days."

Ayame gulped. When Akito was angry, trouble always followed. If Akito was in such a crummy mood, why had he been called for? "Who put curry in Akito's tea?"

Hatori shrugged. "Just don't get him riled up, okay? I've spent most of the morning trying to calm him down."

Ayame nodded and, as an afterthought, added, "You don't need to pretend with me, Hari. I know that Akito is a…you know."

Hatori gave a quick nod and motioned for Ayame to come inside the house. They walked down the quiet hallways to the last room on the right, where Hatori cautiously opened the door, letting the final rays of sunlight fall into the darkness of Akito-sama's chamber.

As Ayame walked away from his cousin, Hatori put a hand on his shoulder and whispered, "Remember, don't get…her upset."

Again, Ayame merely nodded, and stepped into the darkness as Hatori closed the door behind him.

On the floor sat the most revered and feared member of the entire Soma household. Turning away from the pink sunset shining through the thin paper doors, she turned to face Ayame with dark, emotionless black eyes.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my precious little snake. It's been a while, Ayame."

Uncharacteristically humble, Ayame bowed before the young woman. "Akito-sama." An awkward silence followed, until Ayame dared to look up into Akito's eyes and say, "you sent for me?"

Smiling, Akito reached out a hand and stroked Ayame's long, silver hair. "That I did." Drawing her hand back, Akito reached down to tap on the wooden floor. "I called you here to tell you the wonderful news. Soon, quite soon, your little brother will be coming back to join us here in Soma house."

Confused, Ayame stared at Akito hard. "But, I thought that he was going to stay at Shigure's…at least until he graduates!"

Laughing wickedly, Akito smirked, "Don't worry. I have a feeling that he'll be here much sooner than that. Much sooner."

Fear started to swell in Ayame's heart. "What…what are you planning for Yuki?"

Instantly, Akito turned on him. "Who are you to speak to me like that? Why do you think that neither I nor your parents ever call for you? It's because you are a worthless failure! No one wants you! The only one who cares about you is that equally worthless loser Shigure! What I do is none of your concern. Yuki will return to me, and he will never leave."

Ayame's breath became hurried. His brother couldn't return to Soma house, kept in Akito's dark apartments, never to see the sunlight in the real world again!

Seeing Ayame's turmoil, Akito smirked and said, "That's right, Ayame. Yuki will return to me, and when he does, I will never let him out of my sight! He'll stay here, locked up in darkness until the day he dies!"

"No."

Akito froze, and slowly brought her eyes up to Ayame's golden ones. "What?"

"I said 'no'. No. No! I won't let you keep my brother here! I refuse to let him suffocate here in the darkness, all alone without anyone to love him!"

"I am with him," hissed Akito.

"You are the one whom he fears most!" Ayame couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. He'd never spoken up to his own parents (except for Yuki's PTC incident), so who did he think he was speaking to Akito-sama this way? But even though he was aware of the anger growing within his master, he kept speaking. "You've never given him love! The only thing you've ever given him is fear, neglect, doubt, and hate! I'm tired of seeing my little brother hurt! I won't ever let Yuki get hurt again! I will protect him."

The pure hatred in Akito's eyes was unmistakable. It was flashing through the darkness, just like the metal hidden under her sleeve that she pulled out as she whispered, "How can you protect him if you're dead?"

In that moment, Hatori dropped his steaming hot coffee at the sound of Ayame's blood-chilling scream.