A/N: I made a serious mistake. Went back and realized I'd said that Akira had already been born—whoops…Isuzu's not far enough along, so just disregard that bit. She's still supposed to be pregnant. Also, the story that Lillith references is "Ordinary Miracles" and it's about the Phantom of the Paradise (also on my page).

By the time Shigure and Akito had hit every university within a certain radius, it was getting dark. The two had stopped to eat lunch though Akito's appetite was still pretty sparse. Only the hot, sweet tea was good to him, as everything still seemed blunted. Shigure was chatting away, oblivious to his growing discomfort. Their waitress had been back many more times than necessary. While it had initially been nice, he found himself getting annoyed. He had his head resting on one hand, waiting for her to take the hint and go away and she actually squatted down to where she was eye-level with him. Shigure was trying not to laugh. Akito didn't say much to her, insisting they had everything they needed already. She eventually was forced to go away as another group needed to be seated in their area. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"What's her problem?" he asked, irritated.

"She likes you," Shigure pointed out as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "she's trying to get your attention."

"She's getting it, all right, but not in the way she wants," he growled. He'd been around people all day and just wanted a bit of peace and quiet. Being around others drained him immensely.

"Have a heart for that poor, delicate little flower," Shigure said dramatically, "she can't possibly know what a grouch you are! Look at her with those big dark eyes and those cute little pigtails!"

He promptly launched into his little "high school girls" ditty, which made Akito kick him under the table—hard! Shigure winced and immediately shut up. Akito calmly returned to pushing chicken around on his plate as if nothing had happened.

"That hurt, you know!" Shigure said, feigning the constricted throat you got when you were trying not to cry.

"You'll live," Akito retorted.

He felt a hand on his upper arm and snapped his head around to see who it was. The pesky waitress was back. And for some reason, something inside of him snapped.

"Did I give you permission to touch me?" he asked, voice low and dangerous. The girl paled and yanked her hand back.

"I'm sorry…" she whimpered.

Akito held up his hand. The wedding band still glinted in the light, the gold standing out against his milky-pale skin.

"You see this? Care to tell me what it is?"

Her face flushed.

"A ring?"

"A certain kind of ring."

She gulped.

"A wedding ring?"

He nodded.

"Good. You're not as dumb as you act. Yes, this is a wedding ring. And it's there for a reason. The only person in the world allowed to touch me is my wife. So if you don't want to get fired, I suggest you bring our bill and leave. Or else."

She practically tripped over her own two feet as she hurried away. The other customers were staring. Akito's hands balled into fists and Shigure saw him get The Look.

"What are you all looking at?!"

"Akito," Shigure said gently, "can you just try to calm down? It was an honest mistake."

"It's right here on my damn finger, Shigure! You'd have to be blind not to see it! And I wonder how many other men she's flirted with in here!"

The waitress silently placed the bill on their table. Without looking at her, Akito slapped the payment on top of it with more force than necessary.

"Let's go," he said icily to Shigure, not waiting for the change. Shigure didn't think twice about leaving though he wasn't finished. He didn't want any more of a scene to be caused. The old Akito, the one who could throw tantrums with the best of them, was resurfacing. They quickly made their way across the crowded room to the outside. Akito breathed in the cool air and let his eyes close as the wind caressed his heated face. That unpleasant burning sensation in his scalp told him that his blood pressure was up very high.

Shigure waited silently until Akito's breathing smoothed out. He got in the car and closed the door.

"Was that really necessary?" he asked gently. Akito didn't answer. He was looking down at the golden band on his finger, twisting it around and around, which he always did when something was bothering him. He closed his eyes and lay the seat back. Shigure didn't say anything else, satisfied that he couldn't be angry or upset if he was taking a nap. It appeared he'd reached his limit today.

Well, we got this far without him exploding, Shigure thought, at least it's an improvement. Though I really do feel sorry for that poor little girl. She was cute.

Invisible. Weightless. Painless, griefless, and lighter than the air itself…it was alien to her even now though she'd been this way since Father had made her. Melody, no longer able to be seen by most human eyes, had shadowed her former husband on this day. Passing easily through the walls of the restaurant, she was sent here to make sure that two people met. One was an atheist—a mean and bitter one—and one was a Christian. One was also destined to be husband, the other a wife. It was purely by accident that Akito and Shigure had happened to eat at the same place. When she saw him, she let out a squeal of joy, then clamped both hands over her mouth before she realized that no one could hear her. She remembered that she was supposed to be working and forced herself to stop staring, but it was hard. Keeping one ear attuned to them as well as she could while moving in the opposite direction, she headed towards the cash register. There were two credit cards laying in two ticket trays. Grinning mischievously, she switched the cards. Now they had no choice but to talk if they wanted their own cards back! She loved these sorts of jobs. Now that this was done, she passed through several people and tables until she reached Akito's side. Unfortunately, that was the precise second that Akito had begun to scold the poor infatuated waitress. The girl ran away in tears while Shigure had tried to calm him down without success.

Melody could no longer produce tears, but angels still cried from time to time. It was a different kind of crying, something that only your heart did, but the same sentiment was there. Akito was too thin. He looked like he hadn't slept well and he was hurting—she could see that. His aura, once a brilliant crimson flare, was muted and shrunken in close to his skin. It wasn't the fact that she couldn't be with him that made her cry, nor was it the fact that he couldn't see or sense her in his emotional distress. What made her cry was the fact that he was upset at all.

I know you're sad, but that's not going to help you feel better…don't you remember what I taught you?

She saw them get up and walk towards the door. Torn between following them and the poor waitress who'd suffered his wrath, Melody stayed there for a second. Shaking her head, she decided to go find the girl first. There was something yet that had to be taken care of. She waited until the girl was outside with her cigarettes before she acted.

Anyone who would have happened upon her would have said it was the result of a strong wind. But in fact, it was Melody who snared the hat off of her head and made it go skidding along the sidewalk before it came to rest. When the waitress picked it up, there was an American $100 bill. She let out a screech of shock. It had been dropped there by a busy businessman two hours earlier who had been in such a hurry that he didn't notice it was missing. A quick trip to the bank to get it converted would ensure her rent this month. Now she could follow Akito…she was hesitant at first, as Father didn't usually permit the deceased to visit their relatives or spouses often because it interfered with the going-on process, but she heard no objections from him. Nervously fidgeting with the hilt of her guardian sword, she surged into the air with only a thought. Though she had wings, they were really more of a symbol than a necessity for flying—she could have done that without them. But the wings certainly made her go faster and she caught up with them in no time at all. Landing on top of the car, she enjoyed the ride with no barriers to the rippling scenery around her. If Akito felt her now, he'd only wake up and be sad again, so she willed her very aura to be hidden from him. Later on tonight, she would reveal herself to him.

It wasn't the same, she admitted. Now that there was no flesh, there was no desire for comfort or even sex. There was no desire to be held or kissed or cuddled. She remembered what it had been like, but that all seemed like a distant dream. While she could not love him the way she had when she was an earthly woman, her love had been purified and strengthened. She loved him for all that he was as a person in general. She loved him for the changes, for the relationship with Father that he was clinging to despite his doubts and his hurt and anger. Who wouldn't admire him for that? Still, though, he had to stop taking his anger out on people. They wouldn't understand, nor did they deserve it.

Once they arrived, Akito promptly retreated to his room and didn't say anything. Melody wandered about the house, passing through every room. The children were home from school. They'd met in the dining room though it was close to dinner time and were doing homework together. Momiji was very smart in general, but it was hard for him to keep all the names and dates straight for history. Kisa was surprisingly good at math, but not so much at spelling. Hiro was the opposite, so they took turns correcting each other's mistakes. Hatori was closing up the clinic and leaving the phone on speaker while Ayame chatted away about some new project, unaware that Hatori was completely tuning him out. Melody smiled. Poor Hatori…sometimes she wondered if he was so serious on purpose. She'd seen him with Tianshi and that was the only time he ever bothered to do silly things. Babies were definitely a game-changer.

After she'd checked on everyone, she went to see Akito. He was laying on his bed—once their bed—and about to fall asleep from the looks of it. Curling around him the way she used to do, she wrapped her wings over him like a cloak. He wasn't consciously aware of it, but he still smiled in his sleep. Squishie wagged her tail, sensing Melody's presence as well. Though she was gone when he woke, he felt much more at peace than when he'd lain down. Sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, his stomach growled noisily. At first, he thought about asking Kyoko to get him something, but instead rose. It was time to rejoin the living.

The others had gathered at the tables in the dining room. Akito slumped into one of the chairs, not the most eager to socialize, but knowing he had to. He only ate a little before he got full and only answered in very short, clipped sentences, but he was truly trying. Most disconcerting was how they kept avoiding talking about Melody as if she were a curse. He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about this. He only stayed for a little while, then returned to his room. Hatori and Kana watched him go, their faces mixtures of concern and sympathy.

Akito flopped face-down on the bed. Would he ever feel cheerful again? Would he ever be able to wake up hopeful again or feel as if things would be all right? It was as if everything now made him sad. And worse, he was angry. He was trying not to be, but he was angry with Father…no…Melody referred to him as Father. God. He was actually angry with God for taking her away even though He knew how much Melody had meant to him.

"Why are you putting me through this? All of us? I've tried so hard to see it, but I can't," he said crossly, "I…I can't live like this. I'm doing all this stuff because everyone eventually expects me to move on. Right now, they're all being piteous and I hate that. I don't want everyone to say 'oh, poor Akito'…I've had that all my life! I just want her…"

His voice was rising, but there was no one really around to hear.

"I fell for that stupid Lyt's promise to help me, that's how bad I wanted her…is that what this is? My punishment?"

Silence answered him.

"What did I ever do to deserve this? Answer me, dammit! You're so good at interfering!"

For a moment, he was fearful as well as angry. But the two emotions warred with each other, resulting in a severe nausea. Akito twisted the top off of a bottle of pink stomach medicine and chugged some of the contents. His eyes stung, but the tears didn't come. He was all cried out—he'd already cried so much that he was spent. Never had that emptiness been so strong and so large. It was like an enormous chasm had opened up inside of him.

Akito looked at his reflection in the bathroom, slamming the bottle on the counter.

"So, that's how it is…you show up, you get what you want from me, then you leave me…"

He let his feverish face rest against the glass. His face was only hot from risen blood pressure, but he felt very weak and drained just the same. Emotions tumbled end over end. Guilt for being angry, the anger itself, the fearfulness that something worse would happen now that he had actively challenged God and accused Him of not caring, and always this unshakable depression.

"I hate this place," he mumbled, "I hate everything."

Sitting in his chair by the fireplace, he glanced at what Melody referred to as "the treasure box" on the mantle. How he longed for those days again…

"The Crazy Bitch". That was the title they'd given her. And now, she was branded forever. Her formerly beautiful black hair had been chopped off to just above her shoulders. One grayish-blue eye was looking off in one direction while the other stared straight ahead. Wearing the ugly blue uniform, Ren Sohma sat on her hard, narrow bed and stared at the wall. There was a fly crawling up it. The stupid thing…it could be anywhere at all in the world, probably even at her spoiled son's house. Ren envied its glossy clear wings and its ability to go anywhere.

She had initially been diagnosed with some obscure mental illness. Histrionic personality disorder, the American snob of a psychiatrist had said, with delusions of grandeur and persecution. They had also said she was bipolar and put her on some medicine that did nothing, really, except make her mind foggy and make her gain weight though the food was cheap and of terrible quality. She felt no better on it. It merely made her have trouble sleeping and people here picked on her more for her "drugged" state.

Seeing one of the guards, she unzipped the front of her jumpsuit, exposing all but the nipple region of her breasts.

"Slow night tonight, huh? And it's very warm in here…"

The guard glanced, but forced his gaze away immediately. An image of his pregnant wife flashed through his mind.

"Nice try, Ren, but I'm happily married," he said firmly, "and you know that bit doesn't work on me."

"But it takes you longer to look away each time," she said, rising from the bed. Pressing into the bars, she tried to touch him. He backed away.

"Stop it or I'll have them put you in solitary again."

Ren pouted, but he didn't give in and walked away.

"You're funny, you know that?" a voice said. Ren nearly jumped out of her skin. That was coming from behind her...

"Don't be frightened. I only want to talk. You see, I've been inside you this entire time."

Ren slowly dared to turn. A woman was standing in the corner of her cell. A curtain of blonde hair fell around her shoulders. Her eyes were so pale blue that they almost appeared colorless. There was a knife scar on her chest, disappearing into the low-cut neckline of her tank top.

"You are one of them," Ren said, "the spirits…"

"Sort of," the woman replied, "now zip your shirt. That may work on the guards, but that view does nothing for me."

Numbly, she obeyed.

"I'm not really part of the Zodiac," the woman continued, "but I've been there with them. How else would we have passed on the 'god gene'? When there were girls born in the year of the god, I was the one who took over. And I ensured all their continuance, especially since there was this fear of passing on bad genes and so forth. I am who made you what you are today…or were. We seem to have hit a rough spot with that darned Melody."

"I hate that woman," Ren muttered.

"No need for you to now," the woman answered, "she is dead. Lyt slew her by knocking her into the lava. And your darling boy couldn't save her from the Hell of his own mind."

Ren's attention was captured.

"She's dead? Really? That means…"

"That means we have a shot," the woman continued, "at taking back our rightful place. And that disgusting angel won't be there to help him. But we have to play our cards right, you know. I only escaped detection because I literally left you before she showed up."

"I could have used your help then!" Ren nearly shouted.

"Easy, no one can hear me, remember?" the woman said, lowering her own voice to make a point, "I'm Lillith by the way. And I've had a tangle with Melody before. Oh, the stories I could tell you. Did you know she was once a club dancer? Not stripping or pole or anything like that, but singing and dancing for this little blonde idiot that thought he was the world's gift to women. Turns out, that blonde man had it in for this half-crazy musician that he shafted and the musician went all-crazy and started running around in a bird mask. I tricked that poor fool Melody into turning human so that she could go save him. Then, I killed her. Unfortunately, she sent me back to Hell in the process. Pity, that. Well, that was over thirty years ago and here I am! I needed a diversion while I waited on you to be born."

Ren just stared.

"I think I've finally met someone crazier than me," was all she could manage while backing away.

"I'll prove it. The first time you ever saw Akira naked was when you were spying on him while he was bathing in the hot spring. You weren't supposed to be out, but you couldn't stand not breaking the rules. When you first learned about Akito being born, you thought he was going to be a girl—and the doctor made a mistake on the ultrasound the first time. When you saw how tight Akira was with Akito, you thought about strangling him in his crib, but didn't because you knew it would make Akira hate you."

"I've never told anyone about all that…" Ren said, stunned.

"That's right, sister. I know every dirty little secret you've ever kept since the day you were born."

"So…what's the point of never showing up until now? What do you want?"

"I want to get you out of this dump and back into your rightful place. In exchange, you will do whatever I ask."

Ren raised an eyebrow.

"It thinks I take orders! Hahahaha! That's so funny!" she shrieked. The guards were giving her the Look now that she was being loud.

"It's an offer you can't refuse," she told her, "you could have nice clothes again, a nice car, good food, and people to wait on you hand and foot. And the Sohma fortune. And I could live the life of a mortal…a very luxurious life. I only want the same things you do. And no one ever need know I was here."

Ren snickered, but she was growing more intrigued.

"Oh? And my son?"

"We won't kill him. He's protected by God anyway," Lillith spat furiously, "the feather-brain got to him. But that doesn't mean we can't make his life difficult in other ways. What do you say?"

"Now we're talking."