For all twelve members of the Zodiac, Akito Soma was a god. Someone who had absolute power over them. He could beat them, rape them, kill them, throw them out of a window like he did with Rin…. Anything that he liked. And for all of them, it had had a deep impact on their lives.

Kisa had to be hospitalized, and Hiro suffered weeks of sleepless nights because of it, praying that she wouldn't die. Kyo had made a bet with Akito that he'd manage to beat Yuki; he'd challenge him to fight almost every day, hating him more than anything else, and it made both of them suffer (though the rat of the Zodiac would never admit it). Momiji had been verbally abused about the fact that his own mother rejected him because of the curse and preferred forgetting he was her son than living with that. Kureno had been his favorite, but even he suffered the consequences of Akito's affection; he was practically chained to the clan leader.

Of all the Jyuunishi members, Yuki was probably the one who suffered the most. Living with Akito from his youngest age, rejected by his mother, he was locked in a room to be beaten up by the leader almost every day. That terrifying room….

"Life is black, and this room shall be pure black as well." That day, Akito had taken a brush and dipped it in black ink before coloring the walls with a crazy look in his young eyes. Yuki had been horrified by what he saw in those eyes.

Akito began to beat him regularly then. The blood dripped from every inch of his body. Yuki cried for help, sobbed loudly, looked around him for any support. But every time, all he saw was the pitch black shade of the walls, and all he heard was Akito's evil chuckles as he enjoyed Yuki's pain as if he had just heard a particularly funny joke. There was no one to help him. The others, his family, were so proud, so proud that the rat of the Zodiac had been born in their family, so proud that he was Akito's favorite. For them, it didn't matter what the clan leader did to Yuki; as long as he was the favorite and they had Akito's respect, they beamed proudly.

Then, suddenly, there was someone to help him. He couldn't do anything to stop Akito from beating Yuki and making his life miserable, but he did his best to cheer him up, and that meant quite a lot to Yuki.

Haru. The ox of the Zodiac. His first, true friend.

Every time Yuki was beaten, he knew Haru was out there, pressing his ears to the wall, hearing his cries and screams and praying that he wasn't dead. Every time he cried, he could almost hear a tiny little voice whispering back to him in a soothing tone:

"Keep going on, Yuki. Don't worry, I'm right here".

Yuki Soma suddenly woke up from his nightmare. The past was haunting him, even now. The memory of Akito was still lingering in his mind, even though he was fully aware that he had been accepted in Shigure's house and no longer lived in the Main House.

And that, again, was because of Haru.

"Yo."

Yuki saw the ox' face a few inches away from his own, his grey eyes full of concern. Haru was staying over at Shigure's house for a couple of weeks. He was supposed to go on a trip to the Bahamas, but had gotten lost on his way to the airport ( since he was the driver of the car). Somehow he had ended up at Shigure's doorstep, looking bored, exhausted and covered with mud, saying that he'd lost his car and asking if he could stay over for some time as he didn't think he could catch his plane on time (he was six hours late already).

"You okay, Yuki?" Haru asked, raising his hand as if he was going to caress Yuki's cheek, then quickly lowered it embarrassingly. Both boys knew that Haru had very deep feelings for the rat.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just a bad dream. Thanks, though".

" For what?"

"For being my friend. And having loved me."

Haru looked at bit flustered, then smiled shyly.

"Er, you're welcome…. I guess".

He began to get under the covers (they're sharing a bed, just so you know. Don't get any ideas, this is supposed to be a non-sexual fic), then sat up again to hug Yuki briefly from behind. His warm breath tickled Yuki's chin and neck in a strange way, new but definitely not bad.

"Just so you know", he whispered softly. "I still love you. And I always will".

Before Yuki had time to answer, Haru had snuffled under the covers and closed his eyes. In a few seconds, light snores were heard from him. The ox could fall asleep in a very short time.

Yuki got under the covers too, staring at Haru's back. It was oddly comforting to be near him, in this kind of intimate situation. He rested his head on the other boy's shoulder and closed his eyes.

"Just so you know------ I love you too."