Yukio drowsily opened his eyes, feeling oddly warm. He blinked slowly, sucking in a long breath before sighing it out. It took him a moment to realize it, but someone was stroking his hair and cheek.

"Wha's goin on?" He pulled himself up as he slurred sleepily, rubbing his eye on the way up.

"Hey," The voice of his older brother, Rin, called softly and sweetly, "good morning. You crawled in bed with me last night. I think you were too tired to figure out with bed was yours."

"I'm still tired," Yukio mumbled, letting his head fall back down onto Rin's shoulder.

Rin chuckled quietly, patting his back. "Oh, no you don't, four eyes. It's late in the morning, we need to get up so I can make breakfast."

"You don't make breakfast, Ukobach does that!" Yukio protested, curling back into his warm blanket.

"Not on Sundays. I do that, remember?"

Yukio tilted his head up. "It's Sunday?"

Rin outright laughed at that, ruffling Yukio's hair. "Yes, dumbass. Get off'a me so I can go cook. You can stay in my bed if you don't feel like getting up."

Yukio let out a muffled groan but rolled off of Rin, crossing his arms.

"Don't you give me that, mister. I'll be in the kitchen. Try not to grow any more moles."

Yukio whipped his head around to shoot an anxious look at his brother. "Am I growing more!?"

Rin made a non-committal grunting noise and shrugged as he shuffled out of their room.

"Niisan!"

Crawling out of bed, Yukio trotted over to the mirror. To his relief, nothing else had noticeably grown anywhere. Rin was just dicking with him. Scowling, Yukio immaturely kicked Rin's mattress before he yanked on regular clothes. Wadding his night clothes into a ball, he tossed them into the laundry basket (that only he really used) and ran a hand through his mussed hair. He slapped on a pair of glasses before shuffling to the bathroom. He relieved himself before he washed his hands, combed his hair, and brushed his teeth. He had just finished washing his face when there was a sharp knock on the bathroom door. Rin's muffled voice sounded from behind the wood.

"Hey! Get outta there, I need to pee!"

"Thanks for sharing, Niisan," Yukio rolled his eyes exasperatedly, opening the door to face his fidgeting brother.

"Shut it! Breakfast has been laid out, knock yourself out!" Rin yelled over his shoulder before he slammed the bathroom door shut.

Shaking his head, Yukio made his way downstairs. His lounging shoes laid against the wall on the second floor. He slid his cold feet inside of the loafers, patting Kuro on the head as he did so. Kuro meowed softly, his luminescent eyes never wavering from Yukio. A little creeped out, Yukio awkwardly waved at Kuro. In the blink of an eye, Kuro was gone. Pressing his lips in a line, Yukio sighed and shook his head. Rin's cat was really creepy. Yukio dashed down the rest of the stairs rather quickly. He strode into the cafeteria, and there sat Kuro and Rin. Yukio furrowed his eyebrows.

"How'd you get down here so quickly?"

"I passed you on the stairs while you were awkwardly staring at Kuro. You didn't see me?"

Yukio frowned thoughtfully. "No, I didn't."

Rin shrugged indifferently. "Alright. Anyway, come over here and eat."

Yukio sat down, said his thanks, and filled his bowl with food. Rin was leaned back in his chair, a small smile on his face while he read another manga. His tail listlessly swished and flicked behind him, mimicking Kuro's tail movements. Kuro was lounging on Rin's left shoulder, playing the role of some sort of half-assed pillow while Rin read. Kuro turned his head towards Yukio. Suddenly, his ears flattened and he hissed at Yukio. Rin turned his head and jabbed Kuro's back with his chin.

"Don't hiss at my brother," He said reproachfully, bringing up his left hand to flick at Kuro's nose.

It was at an awkward angle, but Rin managed to get Kuro in his furry cheek. Kuro meowed loudly. Rin paused before he nodded.

"Kuro says you're staring at him, and it's creeping him out."

Yukio pursed his lips, looking to the side. "Okay, yeah, I was staring. Sorry, Kuro."

Kuro meowed again, and Rin said, "...Kuro says you're forgiven."

Kuro yowled rather loudly at that and hissed again.

Yukio swallowed a mouthful of food. "I have a feeling that isn't what he said."

Rin sighed, stroking Kuro's back. "It isn't. He told you to fuck off."

Yukio huffed a laugh and flicked some rice at Kuro. Kuro glared at him for a very long time before he sprang from Rin's shoulder, and swiped a claw across Yukio's wrist. Yukio gasped and pushed Kuro away before Kuro could go to town on his arm. Kuro hissed and yowled terribly, lunging towards Yukio's face. Rin sucked in a breath loudly and lurched across the table. He yanked Kuro backwards, and clutched him to his chest. Kuro flattened his ears and seethed at Yukio. Rin frowned.

"Did you try to make him use a litter box again or something? You know how much he hates that."

Yukio corrected his posture and fixed his glasses. "No, I've learned my lesson. I haven't done anything to him." He said truthfully, coughing a little.

Rin sighed, bouncing Kuro up and down gently. "What has gotten into you, buddy?"

Kuro began to let out horrible yowls and wails, his eyes piercing into Yukio's. Rin looked rather frazzled and plugged his ears. Yukio had no idea what Kuro was screaming, but he felt strangely guilty. Kuro's eyes never wavered from his, and to Yukio's utter terror, he began to understand.

"-I KNOW WHAT YOU DID! I KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW! YOU TRAITOR, YOU LYING SON OF A-!"

What did Kuro know?

Yukio felt cold.

"I KNOW WHAT YOU DID TO RIN! HOW DARE YOU SHOW YOUR FACE TO ME?! HOW DARE YOU NOT REMEMBER!? HOW DARE YOU LET HIM SUFFER LIKE THIS!? HE HAS DONE NOTHING BUT LOVE YOU, AND YOU-!"

Rin looked up at Yukio, confusion evident on his face. Yukio's tongue felt heavy in his mouth. Though he understood what Kuro was saying, he asked Rin was he was saying anyway.

"He's saying-"

"-I HATE YOU! I WILL NEVER, EVER FORGIVE YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID-!"

"-Shit about how you betrayed me or something? I don't know what he's-"

"-HOW CAN YOU EVEN BEAR TO LOOK AT YOURSELF!? AFTER ALL THE HURT YOU'VE CAUSED HIM!? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH HE LOVED YOU, HOW MUCH HE TRUSTED-!"

"-talking about. Apparently, you don't remember, but you-"

"-IF YOU WANTED TO CAUSE HIM SO MUCH PAIN, YOU SHOULD'VE DONE IT FROM THE START! HOW DARE YOU LEAD HIM ON LIKE THIS, MAKE HIM BELIEVE YOU CARED AT ALL WHEN YOU-!"

"-betrayed me, or something? Holy shit, he's really losing his shit on you-"

"-WHY WOULD YOU EVER BETRAY SOMEONE AS LOVING AS HIM!? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH HE'S CRIED FOR YOU, SOBBED FOR YOU, HURT HIMSELF FOR YOU!? AND EVEN AFTER ALL THIS, YOU WON'T EVEN BOTHER TO WAKE-"

Yukio stood so quickly that his chair made a horrible scraping noise on the ground. His breath shook in his lungs and he backed away.

"Yukio? Hey, it's alright, it's okay! Is his yowling freaking you out?"

Yukio shook his head quickly, pushing in his chair and walking backwards out of the cafeteria. He felt nauseous. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Hey, Yukio-!" Rin called.

Kuro suddenly quieted.

"Fine, then. Keep running away." Kuro said quietly.

The look in Kuro's eyes shook him to the core.


Hours later, the image of Kuro was still burned into Yukio's mind. 'No cat is allowed to be that terrifying,' Yukio mumbled in his head, focusing on the sound of his pencil scratching against his paperwork. After breakfast, Rin found Yukio upstairs and had apologized at Kuro's expense, reporting that he'd told Kuro to leave Yukio alone and that he truly had no idea what Kuro was yelling about. Yukio had accepted a hug before he busied himself with his paperwork to try and forget about Kuro's words. What had Kuro been talking about (or rather, screaming about)? What did he know? Yukio knew the answer was at the tip of his tongue, but he just couldn't think of it. It bothered him. Somehow, he managed to get through his daily quota of work before noon. Yukio stretched out his arms, and cracked his wrists. He sighed, staring out the window. The sky outside was a perfect blue. Shaking his head, Yukio pulled himself up from his chair. Since he was done with work, some fresh air wouldn't kill him.

He pulled on a pair of decent shoes and padded downstairs. He walked outside, closing the dorm door softly behind himself. He walked around the general vicinity of the dorm for a while, feeling the sun on his face. His troubles far from his mind, Yukio sighed contentedly. He had to say, it was such a nice day. If he excluded Kuro losing his shit, today had been quite good so far. He'd somehow managed to end up in Rin's bed and had woken up in his brother's loving arms, just like when they were kids. Sure, it was embarrassing, but the attention made him feel good. He didn't have any work to worry about, and he had finished his lesson plans for this week. The weather outside was sunny and breezy, birds were merrily chirping, students were chatting and laughing, and fish were splashing around in the pond. He took a deep breath. Spring was finally upon them. Feeling oddly light, he stooped down to smell a freshly bloomed flower. He rounded the corner that led back to the dorm's main entrance, and there stood Rin a few paces away. Rin noticed him standing there and trotted over. He stumbled over the sidewalk's curb and clapped Yukio on the shoulder to prevent himself from falling on his face. Yukio scrambled to support under Rin's elbow and pulled him upright.

Rin was entirely unperturbed by his near-fall and merrily chirped, "Hey, four eyes, what do you want for dinner tonight? I'm about to go to the store."

Yukio thought for a moment. Rin had been pretty nice today, more agreeable and less obnoxious than usual.

Smiling slightly, Yukio said, "You haven't made Sukiyaki in awhile."

Rin bounced on the balls of his feet happily. "Awww, hell yeah! I'll be back soon, you go inside and tell Kuro where I went."

Yukio nodded, ducking back inside their dorm. He wasn't keen on seeing Kuro again, but it was of no matter. After all, it was such a perfect day. There was a slight skip in Yukio's step as he strolled inside of the dorm, whistling as he went along. He poked around and found that he couldn't find Kuro anywhere, so he went to one of the common rooms and sat on a cushy couch in front of an old T.V. He drew in a long, deep breath and sighed. It was so nice and quiet. He spread his arms out and leaned backwards, letting his head fall on the top of the couch cushion. He should find Kuro, but...

Yukio tilted his head back and laughed, rubbing his cheeks with his hands. He was just so tired, he was going insane. That's why he thought he could understand Kuro. It wasn't because he was awakening as a half-demon, or something worse. His hand twitched, feeling the familiar phantom weight of his gun. Ah, his gun. Father Fujimoto sure was strange, giving a thirteen year old a gun of all things. It had served him well for three years now; he needed to go clean again, though. The trigger was sticking again. That was why is was so hard to pull the trigger when it was held up to his own-

Every bone in Yukio's body began to scream, and his head burned.

Yelping at the sudden pain, Yukio's hand flew to his head and he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. What had he been thinking about…? Ah, it was of no matter. Still, if he was going to think about weird stuff like that, he should distract himself with T.V. Yes, that was good. Leaning over, Yukio fumbled around on the couch in search of the remote. His hand closed around it and he turned the T.V on. He surfed through the channels before he settled on Ponyo. Ponyo sure was a strange movie, but the insane amounts of optimism everyone had despite their houses being submerged underwater was oddly likeable. He was about halfway through the movie when Rin startled him by leaning over the couch and hugging him.

"Aww, you're watching Ponyo. You're so damn cute." Rin cooed, ruffling Yukio's hair.

Yukio blushed a fierce red and batted Rin's hands away. "Shut up! I am not cute!"

Rin shook his head disbelievingly with a smile on his face. He shuffled around in a bag he had on his wrist, pulling out a bottle of mineral water.

"For you," He said simply.

Yukio blinked at the bottle in surprise. "You remembered?"

Rin chuckled, smiling wryly. "I always do. The only times I don't are when you've pissed me off and I'm feeling passive aggressive."

Yukio huffed, shaking his head. "Thank you, Niisan."

"Whatever, chicken shit. Can I watch Ponyo with you?"

"It's almost over."

"I don't mind. I like the ending anyway."

"Okay. Come sit." Yukio patted the space next to him.

Rin didn't bother walking and instead vaulted over the back of the couch. Yukio suddenly frowned, eyeing the bag that was still hung on Rin's wrist.

"Shouldn't you put away groceries first? I can pause the movie."

"What groceries?" Rin asked, looking confused.

The groceries weren't on Rin's wrist anymore. Yukio looked over the back of the couch, and back at Rin. He opened and closed his mouth. The bottle of mineral water in his hand was still cold.

"I thought you went to the store?"

"Oh, not yet."

"How did I get this mineral water, then?"

The world suddenly went still. Rin didn't move. It suddenly went dark, as if the sun itself had suddenly extinguished. Yukio stared at his brother uncomfortably for a long moment. Rin didn't move. Didn't even blink. Didn't even...Rin wasn't breathing. The T.V was showing a static screen. There was a smile still frozen on Rin's unmoving face. Yukio's breath caught in his throat and he shakily stood on his feet. He began to back away. He fell over the coffee table. The ground began to shake. The mineral water was lying on the floor, the water wavering inside. Rin still wasn't moving. He was frowning now. Picture frames that weren't there before began to fall from the trembling walls. Yukio was trembling. He touched a picture frame, and flipped it over. It was a picture of him and Rin.

He remembered this. Suguro had taken this picture on their sixteenth birthday. He was smiling. Rin was smiling.

The glass was shattered. The picture was torn in two. It was ruined.

Everything is ruined! Everything! Our relationship, our well-being, our mental health, our family! Everything has been thrown to shit, but we keep living anyway! You keep living, dammit! Just because everything is fucked, that doesn't mean you can just up and try to kill yourself, you stupid fucking-!

Yukio's head was pounding. Every square inch of him was screaming. He was burning and freezing all at once.

Kuro padded towards him, unbothered by the shaking room. There was no room. No Rin, no couch, no walls, no tables, no mineral water. Nothing. There was the floor, the picture, and Kuro. Kuro stared him in the eyes.

"I know what you did. I'll never forgive you for hurting him like this. He has done nothing but love you, and this is how you've repaid him. Do something right for once, and-"

Yukio was shaking. He was terrified.

No, no, no, no, no!

"W A K E U P."

The words rang in his head over and over again, never starting and never stopping. It was silent and deafening all at once. He was screaming, and he was not.

Wake up.

He was sobbing. He couldn't feel anything, but he was afraid.

Wake up.

He couldn't breathe.

Wake up!

The world catapulted into focus, and he gasped loudly as he lurched into a sitting position. His head was swimming. A hand was on his back. He burst into tears right then and there and curled into a ball. He thrashed wildly with little coordination as hands, so many fucking hands, tried to hold him down. Words rang in his head, words he could barely understand.

"He's-! Get the-!"

"You're okay-! Yuki-!"

Kuro was still staring at him.

"He's going under-! Tranquilize him no-!"

He was so afraid. His hands were cold, his heart was frozen. Every joint was locked. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. Nothing was obeying him. Everything was going dark, people were holding him down. His cheeks felt wet. He was so, so afraid and he just wanted his-

"Niisan!" Was the last thing he desperately cried out before he fell under.

Yukio!

And everything hurtled back. A rhythmic beeping noise echoed in the room, strangely loud in the silent room. He stared at the ceiling for a long moment. Holding his head up was hurting his neck. He let his head fall to the side.

Kuro was staring at him.

He heard the beeping noise pick up. He was...in the hospital. He was attached to the heart monitor. 'How did I...get here?' He looked around the room for any sort of clue, deciding against sitting up. His head felt like it was full of fluff. His eyes roamed around the room, and there sat Rin in an uncomfortable chair.

"Good morning," Rin said.

There was no warmth in his voice. No sweetness. There wasn't even the hint of a smile on his lips. His eyes were cold.

IF YOU WANTED TO CAUSE HIM SO MUCH PAIN, YOU SHOULD'VE DONE IT FROM THE START!

Kuro wouldn't stop staring.

Rin wouldn't meet his eyes.

The picture frame and ruined photo came to mind.

Yukio's heart sank.

Yukio slowly pulled himself into a sitting position. The heart monitor throbbed in his ears.

He said, "Good morning."

Kuro closed his eyes, trotting out of the open hospital door.

"Keep running, then."