Notes: This is based on the *anime* version, so if I reference something that is in the manga incorrectly, don't lynch me. I unfortunately have neither the money nor the source to get FruBa manga. It upsets me more than you, believe me.

Rating/Warnings: PG-13. There's really nothing too offensive in this. Some fairly mild violence and language. No yaoi or shonen ai, unless you count Shigure and Ayame's flirting. I'm playing a bit fast and loose with the timeline, because as far as I know it's never stated exactly when either a) Shigure moves out of the compound, b) Yuki moves in with him, or c) the whole mess with Hatori and Kana happens.

Additional warning: I don't know how much Akito's bad treatment of Yuki is extrapolated on in the manga, but I'm extrapolating here because there has to be *some* reason he's terrified of the man.

Disclaimer: These are so old and tiresome. C'mon, everyone's straight. It couldn't possibly be mine.

"In the cathedrals of New York and Rome,
There is a feeling that you should just go home
and spend a lifetime finding out just where that is."
-- Jump Little Children, "Cathedrals"

No Such Place as Home

Chapter One

Shigure looked around the room, lost in a matter of deep contemplation. Couldn't use the cupboard; he'd done that before. Putting it on top of the cupboard would mean having to get a chair, and while watching Mit-chan jump for it would be terribly amusing, he was also lazy. He could try the fridge, but something might drip on it. Damn it, wasn't there anywhere in this house he hadn't hid a manuscript before?

The doorbell rang. He sighed and ignored it. She could wait a few minutes. She always did, anyway, just so he could hear her wail. Really, she was so amusing. And he still had to find a place to hide this. Mit-chan was too polite and proper to just walk in, after all. Well, unless she was in scary manager mode, but he had another doorbell ring and two bouts of knocking before that would happen.

It rang again. Shigure was still standing in the center of his so-called office, holding a manuscript neatly bound in brown paper and looking for a place to hide it.

The door slid open. Shigure looked up, startled, as he heard it. Mit-chan never came in without asking that early. Then he heard a familiar voice. "'Gure-san? I know you're here!"

Shigure frowned. That normally cheerful, resounding voice was cracked with panic. He had never heard Ayame frightened before. He poked his head out of his office. "In here, Aya."

Ayame was over in a flash and started to babble. Hatori was behind him, twirling his car keys in one hand. The doctor's face was impassive, but the fact that he was fiddling with the keys was enough. Shigure had only seen Hatori fidget about twice in his entire life. Something was seriously wrong, but he couldn't decipher a damn word that Ayame was saying.

"Okay, hold on, stop," Shigure said, slowing Ayame's tide. He looked questioningly at Hatori. "Ha-san?"

Hatori sighed slightly. "Yuki's disappeared."

Shigure started. "Disappeared?"

"Run away," Ayame said impatiently. "He got in an argument with Akito and nobody's seen him since. We only know about the argument because one of the maids was in Akito's house at the time and heard them shouting. Yuki left a note in his room saying that he was leaving and he wasn't coming back. That he was finished with all of us."

Shigure paused for a minute, still holding the manuscript, considering.

Hatori gave him a look. "Shigure," he said softly, "he's only thirteen."

Shigure nodded. "I'm aware of that." He let out a quiet sigh. He remembered the days of arguments with his parents, the even worse arguments with Akito, before he was allowed to leave the compound. And he remembered sitting in his new house -- his house -- with Ayame and Hatori the day after he moved in. Sitting in the middle of a pile of boxes, complaining bitterly about all the trouble Akito had given him and saying that if anyone else ever had the courage to run away, he wouldn't do a damn thing to stop them.

But this was different. This was Yuki. He was too young to get by on his own, and just watching the panic in Ayame's eyes was a little too much for Shigure.

He knew that everyone stayed for a different reason. Some of them stayed out of fear, like many of the parents of the Juunishi, terrified that their child's secret would be discovered. Cursing their children to an even worse fate; that of isolation.

Some stayed out of duty, like Hatori.

Some stayed out of lack of anything better to do, like Ayame.

But he, Sohma Shigure, hadn't had a reason to stay. So he had left. He was the first member of the Juunishi to have ever left, and stayed gone.

He sighed. "Let's go, ne?"

"Where are we going to start?" Ayame looked a little calmer now that his two friends were helping. Shigure sighed again. Ayame was never going to grow up, never going to realize that they were not a Super Handsome Blossom Trio, and that friendship could not fix everything. Especially not for a Sohma.

But still, Shigure mused, it was better than nothing.

"Your house," he said, and left to get his coat.

Arriving five minutes later, Mit-chan was surprised to find the house dark and silent. The manuscript was sitting on the front doorstep in a paper bag, with a note attached:

"Sorry, Mit-chan, I don't have time for games today. - Sohma Shigure."

****

Yuki's mother, Sohma Keiko, was standing in her son's bedroom, looking around as if bewildered. Shigure had to admit that he didn't particularly like the woman. He never really had, though he'd never really known why. She just expected so much from Yuki; it was really no wonder he had run off.

In retrospect, Shigure was a bit surprised it had taken him so long. Still, Yuki was stoic enough that he supposed that had caused it.

He sighed, looked around the room. He was no detective, but it was obvious that Yuki had been in a hurry. Drawers were left hanging open, clothes jumbled. From someone normally so impeccable, it was quite an indication.

"His backpack is gone," Keiko murmured. "He's taken some things. Not many, but some. Here's the note."

Shigure glanced at it. Very simple, just 'I've decided to leave. Don't look for me. Even if you find me, I'm never coming back.'

Interesting. He wouldn't have expected Yuki to be melodramatic. Unless he really meant it, of course. That was different.

Shigure crumpled up the note. Ayame was holding one of Yuki's sweaters and looking lost. "Aya, toss me that," Shigure said.

Ayame looked puzzled, but obeyed.

Shigure turned to Keiko. "Don't worry," he said, trying to sound soothing. "I'll find him for you." With that, he pulled her into an embrace.

His sense of smell wasn't much compared to that of a bloodhound, but being in his Juunishi form heightened it considerably. The trail was new. The weather was cold, but it wasn't raining. Yuki only had a headstart of a couple hours. Finding him shouldn't be difficult.

"Ohhhh!" Ayame exclaimed, as Shigure gave the sweater a long sniff. "That's what you were planning!"

Hatori and Shigure both sweatdropped.

"It took you that long to figure it out?" Hatori asked him.

Ayame snatched up the sweater. "Onward, Pochi-san!" he declared. "With you as our guide, our mission cannot fail! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Shigure sighed. "You never get tired of calling me that, do you."

Laughter was his only answer.

He padded out of the room. Ayame marched proudly after him, carrying the sweater. Hatori and Keiko followed, making a somber honor guard in the back. Hatori had folded up Shigure's kimono and picked up his shoes and was carrying them.

Shigure stopped as he reached the doorway. Akito was standing there. He did not look his usual self. Shigure never quite knew what to expect from him. For the most part he was languid, seemingly non-caring about anything. And yet . . . when that temper flew off the handle . . . Shigure calmed himself deliberately. His fur was standing on end, and Akito would probably be annoyed if he noticed.

Akito barely glanced at him. "You'll be bringing Yuki back, then?"

Shigure stood his ground. He had done it before, and would continue to. Damn it all, Akito would not intimidate him; he was only eighteen as opposed to Shigure's twenty-four. "I'll be finding him," Shigure said quietly, reflecting that it would be a lot harder for Akito to have one of his fits and attack him, given that he was in his Juunishi form. "I never said anything about bringing him back."

Akito's head swung around sharply and he impaled Shigure upon a sharp glare. "You will be bringing Yuki back, Shigure."

With any other Juunishi -- with any other member of the Sohma family -- they would have bowed and nodded and apologized for their behavior.

"We'll see," Shigure said, and padded out of the house.

The others were quick to follow.

"Don't know how you do that." Ayame was trembling slightly. "Stand up to him like that. Doesn't he scare you?"

Shigure gave him a glance. "Aya," he said patiently, "I'm older than him, bigger than him, and in this form, have sharper teeth. No. He doesn't scare me."

Hatori let out an amused snort. They proceeded on in silence. Keiko seemed so shocked at having seen Shigure stand up to Akito, that she had temporarily lost her faculties of speech. She also had to keep both her hands on Shigure to keep him in his Juunishi form.

It took nearly an hour of stumbling through the forest until they reached a road. The sun had set, and the temperature was dropping rapidly. Keiko was looking more and more worried, saying something about how he might get sick. Shigure walked along the road, still following Yuki's scent, and stopped abruptly. "It stops here. He must have hitchhiked."

"Hitchhiked?" Keiko repeated faintly. "But he could be anywhere!"

Shigure looked up at the soft glow of the city on the horizon. "No, he went to the city. He didn't cross the road, so he must have gotten in a car going this way."

"That's not much help." Hatori lit a cigarette.

"It's better than nothing." Shigure transformed back into his regular form and accepted his clothes from Hatori, pulling on the kimono. He shivered. "Did anyone think to grab my coat?"

They shook their heads.

"Great," Shigure said, pulling the kimono tighter around himself.

"Now what?" Ayame asked, sounding on the verge of panic again, now that Shigure had failed to produce his brother on the spot like a magician.

Shigure considered it for a minute. He and Hatori exchanged glances.

"We go back," Hatori finally said. "Shigure will freeze in that outfit. Even if he stays in his Juunishi form, it's getting too cold to be wandering around. We can't just walk to town. We'll grab my car and drive in, then split up."

"Can you look for him there?" Ayame asked Shigure anxiously.

Shigure shook his head. "Too great a chance of changing back, being seen," he said, turning and heading for the forest.

The path was wide enough for them to walk together. Ayame and Hatori both put an arm around Shigure's shoulders in an effort to keep him warm. Still, he was shivering by the time they reached the house. Akito had left. The four of them piled into Hatori's car after retrieving Shigure's coat, and drove into town.

Hatori parked the car and the four of them got out. "Where to?" he asked, glancing at Shigure as the leader of the operation.

Shigure sighed, wondering exactly when he had gotten to be in charge. "Split up, fan out. He's got to be here somewhere."

Hatori raised an eyebrow at him, and Shigure shrugged. It was perfectly plausible that Yuki was not within the city limits, but Shigure wasn't about to say that in front of his mother. She was worried enough.

Which brought him to an idea. He pulled Keiko aside. "Ne, do you know what Yuki-kun and Akito argued about?"

She blinked at him. "Well . . . I think it was something about how Yuki isn't allowed out much, and can't go to school at one of the coeds like he wants to." She laughed, a high-pitched, nervous laugh. "Of course it's terribly silly of him. None of you can go to coed schools."

Shigure considered it. And then considered getting annoyed about it, but thought it was probably best to let it go.

"All right, let's go," he said with a sigh.

Hatori caught him by the arm. "You have a plan?"

Shigure nodded.

"Good. I've got my cell if you need me."

Shigure nodded again and the four of them set off. It had been a few weeks since he was in town, but he thought he probably knew it better than any of the others. He stopped at a downtown cafe and went inside. There was a group of girls, about fifteen, sitting around, eating ice cream, and giggling.

He went over and smiled beatifically at them. "Kon~ban~ wa~!"

They eyed him surreptitiously and giggled. "Hi," one of them finally offered.

"I'm looking for my cousin." He kept smiling. Smiles always kept people talking. "He's about your age, and he snuck off to come into town. Any idea where he might have gotten off to? This poor old man doesn't know the places you kids like to go these days." He assumed an appropriately mournful expression.

They giggled more, and conferred. "What do we get?" the ringleader finally asked.

Shigure considered and felt in his pockets. "I'll buy your ice cream."

"Deal," she immediately said, and giggled. "There are a couple places."

Shigure considered it. "Give me the loudest, fastest, and the one with the most girls."

They giggled again. "We'll show you," she said.

Shigure paid for their ice cream and followed them downtown. "It's a dancing club thing," the girl told him. "Lots of people and J-Pop and stuff. It's gotten really popular. Everyone goes there on the weekends, even younger kids."

He followed them to the front of the line. There was no bouncer, but there was a line of people waiting to pay to get in. "Excuse me," Shigure said, giving his best smile to the woman in front. "I'm not going in, I'm just looking for my cousin." And he pushed past her without waiting for a reply.

Yuki was standing at the front of the line, which had led into a dark corridor. Shigure wasted no time on explanations or speech. In ten seconds, Yuki was going to go into a room full of dancing girls. Shigure gave him five seconds or less before he changed.

So he grabbed Yuki by the wrist and yanked him out of the line.

"What . . .?" Yuki turned to him in confusion, but it was too dark to see clearly.

"It's me, Shigure," he said. He and Yuki hadn't actually met that often, and he was sure that Yuki just thought of him as his annoying older brother's annoying friend. "We're leaving."

"But!" Yuki yanked on his hand, but Shigure had his wrist in a firm grip.

He was feeling particularly annoyed. He didn't blame Yuki for running away, not really, but for coming here? It was quite possibly the stupidest thing that the teenager could have done. "Could you have been any more idiotic?" he snapped, dragging him along without pausing to look at him. "You acted even worse than Aya always did! We're going to the car and I'm going to call Hatori and my GOD what happened to your face?" He stopped abruptly, having glanced behind to look at Yuki.

Yuki yanked his wrist back and looked at him sullenly. One side of his cheekbone and jaw were darkly bruised. His lip had been split and the dried blood was still evident. Shigure stood there and stared at him until Yuki felt compelled to speak. "I'm not going home," he snapped.

Shigure considered this. "Who did that?" he asked, his voice a bit too soft, too gentle. "Was it someone since you left? One of your parents?"

Yuki shook his head, looked away.

"Akito, then." Shigure's eyes darkened. "Come on. I'll take you back to my house for now."

Yuki blinked at him, only now recalling that Shigure did not, in fact, live in the compound with everyone else. He glared at the older man distrustfully. "Will you make me go back?" he asked.

"No," Shigure said shortly. "I won't. But I'm not going to let you give away the family secret to an entire club full of teenyboppers." He winced, imagining the migraine that Hatori would end up with if he had to erase that many memories. "And I'm not going to let you sleep on the streets. Come on. We'll have to get a taxi. Unless you want to try to explain this to Hatori."

Yuki shook his head silently. Shigure was not surprised; it made sense that Yuki would hold no love for Hatori after their last encounter. He sighed slightly, and looked around for a taxi.

The ride back to his house passed in silence. He took Yuki inside, noting that Mit-chan had been by, leaving a tearful thank you note, and got him an ice pack. Then he reached for the phone.

"Who are you calling?" Yuki asked suspiciously.

"Ha-san."

"No!" Yuki grabbed for his wrist, making him slam the phone back down.

Shigure sighed. "I'm going to call Ha-san, and I'm going to tell him that you're safe and that you're here, and that he is to calm Aya down before he gives himself or someone else a heart attack. He won't tell Akito if I ask him not to, so stop panicking."

Yuki looked at him skeptically, then lifted his hand. "Wasn't panicking," he muttered.

"Hai, hai," Shigure said, dialing the number of Hatori's cell.

"Sohma desu."

"Ha-san, it's me. Where are you?"

"Downtown still. You?"

"Home. I found Yuki-kun."

There was a pause. "You did?"

"Yes. He's here, he's safe, he's fine. Tell Aya not to burst a vessel, and don't tell Akito that I found him."

Another pause, this one longer. "I need a reason for that, Shigure."

Shigure was not surprised at this. Hatori was his friend, and a good one, but he wouldn't defy Akito without at least knowing why. But it was hard to tell him with Yuki staring at him with those huge purple eyes bordering on panic. "If you could see his face, you'd understand," he finally said.

"Shigure . . . you're up to something."

"No, I'm not," Shigure said hastily. "Just . . . trust me, Ha-san. I know what I'm doing. If Akito gets angry, I'll tell him that I didn't call and tell you. You won't get in trouble, I promise."

Another pause. The longest yet. "Should I come by?" he finally asked.

"No. And for God's sake, don't let Aya. The poor kid's traumatized enough."

Hatori let out one of his amused snorts, and hung up without saying goodbye.

Shigure put the phone down. "Well, Yuki-kun, we're on our own for tonight. Ha-san is going to calm Aya and your mother down. We'll figure out what to do in the morning. It's late, and we should both get some rest."

Yuki looked up. He seemed to have come to some sort of inner decision. His eyes were cool now, full of calm. "If you try to send me back to them, I'll run away again," he said coldly.

Shigure reflected momentarily on how it was so odd hearing such a cold, calculating statement coming from someone who looked so much like Ayame. Like a mental/auditory double take. "Yuki-kun," he finally said, "am I in a position to lecture you on familial duty?"

Yuki looked warily hopeful at that statement. "No," he finally said.

"Then go to bed. I'm tired."

Yuki nodded. Still holding the ice pack, he stood up and looked around questioningly.

"Ah, go up the stairs. First door on the left is the guest room," Shigure said absently. He could already tell that Yuki was planning on being gone in the morning. He let out a soft sigh and prepared himself for a long night.

****

It was past midnight when Yuki crept down the stairs. He had left his backpack in the main room, and was planning on stopping only long enough to raid Shigure's fridge. Yuki thought that as a bachelor living alone, he might own more portable food than Yuki's parents had.

Yuki came to a dead stop upon reaching the main room. Shigure was sleeping peacefully in the doorway. Yuki frowned as he realized that he was going to have to step over the man just to get into the room. Why on earth hadn't Shigure gone to bed like a reasonable person? It was nearly one in the morning.

He sighed softly, nearly silently. Obviously, Shigure hadn't trusted that he would stay in the house. Yuki supposed that he couldn't really get annoyed with Shigure for that, since here he was, trying to sneak out. He glared down at the man's sleeping form. He didn't understand, that was all.

Which must be why he wasn't moving. Why he had, in fact, hesitated so long that Shigure was now blinking up at him in sleepy confusion.

"Is't morning already?" he murmured.

Yuki scowled at him. "You're blocking the doorway. Get up."

Shigure obeyed, pulling himself into a sitting position and rubbing both hands over his face. Yuki continued to scowl and marched past him. So much for raiding Shigure's fridge; he couldn't really do that if the man was awake. When he turned from picking up his backpack, Shigure was leaning against the door to the outside. "You're in a hurry," he observed.

"I was hoping to leave without you noticing," Yuki snapped. "It's not my fault that you woke up."

"Yes it is," Shigure said, with near infuriating calm. "The second stair creaks."

Yuki gaped at him, and for the first time entertained the theory that maybe Shigure wasn't an idiot after all. "You have no right to keep me here," he said, trying not to be annoyed. Or at least trying not to sound annoyed.

"Yes, I do," Shigure said, still with the same calm. "You're a runaway. You're only thirteen, and technically speaking, you're lucky enough that I didn't just return you to your family without feeling sorry for you."

"Is that what you are?" Yuki asked. "Sorry for me?"

"Yeah," Shigure said, and shrugged. "I'm sorry for you, I'm sorry for me, I'm sorry for the whole damn family. I'm even sorry for Akito on my more forgiving days. But don't mistake me, Yuki-kun. I brought you here and not home because I have respect for you, and the courage it took you to make your decision."

Yuki looked at him warily. "What do you mean?"

Shigure shrugged. "Not many people in the family have the strength it takes to get up and walk out. I guess I know why. Staying in the clan means there's always someone around who understands you, who knows about the curse and can sympathize. Leaving means being alone."

"But you left," Yuki said, feeling slightly puzzled.

"Yes. And so did you. Why?"

"Because . . ." Yuki considered it. "There are worse things than being alone."

"And being under Akito's thumb is one of them?" Shigure observed dryly. "Come on, put the backpack down. Are you hungry? I'm not much of a cook, but I could probably manage to find something."

"I'm not hungry," Yuki snapped. "And I'm not putting the backpack down and I'm not staying! You're just keeping me here tonight so you didn't have to drive back to the compound! You're going to make me go back in the morning and I know it, so stop acting like some sort of hero!"

Shigure raised an eyebrow at him. "You presume to know an awful lot about me, Yuki-kun."

"I do know about you," Yuki said angrily. "I know that you were the only person who had even a ghost of a chance at controlling Akito. I know that you were the only one who ever dared go near him when he was in a bad mood. I know that you took off and left the rest of us holding the bag, because now that you're gone no one will even look at him funny! You're nothing but a coward and I don't care what you say about it taking strength to leave! You turned and ran with your tail between your legs like the stupid dog that you are and I hate you!"

Shigure waited silently through all of this. "Are you done?" he asked, when Yuki finally stopped, looking slightly surprised at himself. It was most likely the longest speech he had ever made.

Yuki nodded, glaring icicles at him.

"And you think I'm a coward."

"Oh, you got that, did you?" Yuki asked.

"You made it fairly clear," Shigure said. "Now let me show you something, and then if you want to take off into the dark of night and freeze to death and starve on the streets I won't stop you. Deal?"

Yuki glared at him. "Deal."

Shigure yawned and stretched, as if bored with the entire conversation, then pulled the shoulder of his kimono down. Yuki blinked and frowned slightly, looking at the four thin, white lines that marred his shoulder. "A scar?" he asked.

"Aa," Shigure said, nodding. "My own fault, really. I shouldn't have suggested Western food."

Yuki blinked at him, uncomprehending.

"Fork," Shigure said, and made a slashing motion with his hand. "Ha-san said that if I hadn't moved as fast, it probably would have been stuck in my shoulder. Bled like crazy. The scars will probably fade with time; they're only about six months old."

Yuki mentally tracked back. Six months old. "Akito did that to you when you said you were leaving," he surmised.

"Aa."

"Why?" Yuki sneered at him. "He doesn't even like you."

"No," Shigure said. "He doesn't. I symbolize his loss of control over the family. I'm the one that doesn't listen. That tries to talk others out of listening. Leaving was the ultimate way of freeing myself from his control. He didn't like it." Shigure smiled at Yuki, apparently thinking this was all very commonplace.

"But you left anyway." Yuki started to get angry. "You left the rest of us knowing that he was only going to be more controlling after that."

Shigure hesitated, then nodded. "Yes," he said softly.

"You wanted to save yourself," Yuki spat.

"I wanted to set an example," Shigure snapped back, for the first time losing his cool. "I thought that if I left and didn't die from it, others might have the common sense to follow me. You did. It doesn't strike me as a coincidence that you running away happened six months after I left."

Yuki turned slightly pink, knowing that it was true.

"I had hoped that once you and the others around your age got older, they would be able to follow my example." Shigure laughed softly. "And honestly enough, I would have lost my mind if I hadn't left. Maybe I did act to save myself. But it wasn't wholly selfish. And Ha-san agreed to stay behind and do his best to keep Akito in line."

"He doesn't do a very good job," Yuki snapped.

"No, he doesn't," Shigure agreed. "And that's because of a simple matter of bad timing." He smiled a little. "Can I trust you with a secret?"

"If it's kept from Akito."

Shigure nodded slightly. "Ha-san wants to get married."

Yuki started. "Married? To a woman?"

Shigure's smile quirked a little at the corners of his mouth. "That's generally how it happens, even in the Sohma family."

"But . . . the curse . . ." Yuki trailed off, obviously bewildered.

"Ha-san has found one of the true treasures of the world," Shigure said softly. "Someone who is willing to love him in spite of it."

Yuki had no answer.

"He's going to ask Akito if they can get married after the New Year's party this year," Shigure said. "That's three months away. Until then, he has to toe the line. He can't do anything to upset Akito, or he'll certainly say no."

"Why doesn't he just run off like you did?" Yuki asked.

Shigure shrugged. "More sense of duty? Gets along better with his parents than I did? I don't know. He just won't do it."

Yuki fell silent.

"Come on, sit down," Shigure said with a sigh. "Unless you still want to leave, that is?"

"If you're going to send me back to Akito -- "

"Yuki-kun, why the hell would I do that?"

Yuki sat.

Shigure got up, went into the kitchen. Poured two mugs of tea and heated them up in the microwave. Brought them back out and handed one to Yuki. Then sat down again.

"You don't understand," Yuki said sullenly. "You're older than him, and he doesn't . . . he doesn't treat you the same way he treats the rest of us."

"I suppose he doesn't," Shigure said. "But when his temper flares, we're all the same. Someday, one of us is going to get seriously hurt."

"And then what?" Yuki asked, seeing the anger in Shigure's eyes.

"I don't know," Shigure admitted, sipping his tea. "But I will speak to him about his treatment of you. That is, if that's all right with you?"

Yuki looked away.

"Did your parents know?" Shigure asked. His voice was only mildly curious, but there was a hint of an edge underneath it.

"I-I don't know," Yuki said. "I think so. But they always just looked away. They didn't want to get in trouble with Akito. It's hard for them . . . being the parents of two members of the Juunishi."

Shigure had to admit that he had a slight point. As far as he knew, sibling sets among the Juunishi were extremely rare. Just Yuki and Ayame's bad luck, he supposed. Still, that was no excuse. "Did they ever say anything about it?"

"No," Yuki said. "Well, sometimes they got mad if I wasn't home on time, but if I told them that it was Akito's fault, they'd stop yelling."

Shigure frowned. "Why would Akito keep you from getting home on time?" Akito's temper was volatile, but short-lived. Shigure couldn't imagine him keeping up the energy for it very long.

Yuki blinked at him. "When he made me sit in the closet."

Shigure had a sudden memory of Ayame complaining that he just didn't know where Yuki went sometimes. He would vanish for hours, or sometimes even a full day, and no one seemed to know where he went. Yuki refused to talk about it. Well, this explained that -- and explained why Yuki's parents had never made a fuss about his disappearances. "I see," he said at length, taking great care to keep his voice even. He would be having a little talk with Yuki's parents. All thoughts that Yuki might just be overreacting were now gone.

Yuki sighed. "What do I do now, Shigure-san?"

"You stay here," Shigure said decisively. "I have plenty of room. I'll go tomorrow and get your things, talk to your parents and Akito."

Surprisingly, Yuki didn't kick up a fuss. Shigure had half expected that he would, but apparently Yuki was smart enough to know when to give in. "They won't like it," was all he said.

"They'll like it if I tell them to like it," Shigure said. "Now you should get some sleep. Can I trust you enough to go to bed myself?"

Yuki considered it for a long minute. "You promise I won't have to go back?" he blurted out.

"Yes, Yuki-kun." Shigure smiled reassuringly. "I promise."

Yuki relaxed slightly. "All right . . ."

"Good. 'Cause I'm beat." Shigure let out a loud, overdramatic yawn, before heading up to his room, leaving Yuki there to ponder.

****

Ah, yeah. Feedback, onegai shimasu?