A/N: The violinist Lindsey Stirling really does exist—it is because of her that I chose to make Melody play the violin in this story. Please go check her out :D Many of her covers are what I envisioned Melody's playing to sound like.

SCREEEEEEEEECH!

Akito winced. For once, he sincerely hoped that Melody wasn't around. If she'd heard him abusing her poor violin, she might not be too happy with him. The truth was that he missed her playing so much, he was compelled to fill the silence any way he could. Squishie burrowed under his pillow, hiding her face or perhaps protecting her ears. He wasn't sure which.

"Oh, stop that! You don't have to rub it in, you raggedy mutt!"

Her tail was wagging, which made it all the funnier that all that was visible was dog-butt. Half-annoyed, half amused, he tried again. The violin actually sounded as though it was in pain. He sighed, wondering what he was doing wrong. He'd been using her computer—his computer now, he kept reminding himself, to try and look up tutorials on how to play, but he couldn't seem to make the connection. Just listening to people like Lindsey Stirling made him feel as if he'd never get the hang of it. The relentless rain had stopped, so he threw the doors open, welcoming the gust of cool, damp air. Deciding to stop torturing the dog, he stepped outside with the violin. Maybe he'd get the hang of it out here where he'd seen her playing—maybe he'd remember something she did differently.

As he did at least once a day, he took what Shigure referred to as "the Melody tour". There were some things he knew about and many he didn't—many of them were still secrets just between the two of them. He passed the bench where he'd first confessed his feelings for her and his reluctance to lose her. He passed the corner at the very edge where they'd shared their first kiss. He passed the area where she'd first confronted Lyt. There was another concealed area in the hedges where they'd made love during one of the warmer nights. There was a little bridge over a koi pond where they'd had a very big argument—he couldn't even remember what it was over, and he'd lost his footing and topped into the water. Rather than getting more steamed, they'd both cracked up as she'd helped him up. The poor little fish were probably very traumatized by that, as they seemed to avoid that bridge for any other reason than feeding. The poor violin produced maybe two or three clear notes during that time, but no more. He also paused at the bare foundation of where the Cat's Room used to be. He and Melody had been tossing around ideas of what to do with this space, but they'd never really settled on anything. He raised the bow and tried again.

It was just after sunset now. Squishie had followed him out here and was bounding after a squirrel that was intent on teasing her. Other than her furious barking, it was very quiet. He allowed his eyes to close for just a moment, his chin resting on the body of the violin. There was the slightest bit of pressure on his hand.

"Melody?"

Warmth bubbled up inside of him as if he'd just drunk something hot. He relaxed his hand, feeling her correct his grip. Even when he opened his eyes, he saw nothing there, but he felt it. She surrounded him as if she were standing directly behind him. Once his fingers were in the right spot on the fret board, she adjusted his grip on the bow. He felt invisible fingers surrounding his wrist, pulling, and allowed her to move him. A clear, bright note sang out through the garden, then another. He allowed his mind to drift a little bit, comforted by the hazy, contented state that was coming over him. Squishie bark-sang joyously, scratching at his leg, but she might as well have been miles away. He saw Melody in his mind's eye with glowing white skin and that smile that could melt a glacier.

"I'm trying so hard, you know," he told her, "I really am. But I can't do it on my own—I never could. The only time I came even close to being a good person was when you were with me."

She had let go of his hands and was now embracing him, her cheek resting against his. He'd always wished he was taller, but being the same height as his guardian angel and once wife had its advantages.

"Can I see you? Just for a second?" he asked hopefully.

He felt her let go, but her presence remained. There was a fluttering of wings and a dove landed on his shoulder. It was the first form she'd ever taken. He had no doubt that the dove had green eyes though he couldn't see them in the growing darkness.

"You make a beautiful butterfly," he said, "but this is my favorite."

Squishie was back to chasing squirrels. Melody dive-bombed her, her cooing actually sounding like a reprimand. Squishie whimpered and lay down. The squirrel scampered up the trunk of a tree, most likely recognizing how lucky it was to escape. Akito laughed—for the first time since she died, really laughed—and held his hand out for her after laying the violin down. She landed there, looking as mischievous as it was possible for a dove to look.

"Well, I'm going to college, as I'm sure you know already," he told her awkwardly, "and then there's this…but now what? I don't even know what to study. I've never gotten good at anything. I've never had the inclination to find out. And now I'm just kind of lost. All those kids there are younger than I am…"

She tilted her head, seeming to be asking why that bothered him. He stroked her soft feathers, remembering all the times he'd voiced his greatest fears and concerns to her before he knew she wasn't really a bird.

"After being afraid I was going to die, it sounds silly, doesn't it?"

She shook her head.

"You're supposed to say that. You're my wife. Or were…"

Sensing the sadness that threatened to overcome him, she flitted to his shoulder and rubbed her head against his cheek. A tear glistened there and she actually grazed it off his cheek with her beak. He saw her swallow it and she sang to him. Though it was very different from her human voice, it did make him feel better.

"You have to go now, don't you?" he lamented when he felt the tension in her legs. She nodded. He gathered her up in his hands, being as gentle as he possibly could, and held her against his cheek. It didn't escape his notice that there was no heartbeat, but it didn't frighten him.

"Don't stay away too long," he begged, "I still love you, you know."

She nipped his finger affectionately before taking off. He watched her spread her wings with a sad smile as he gave her a little boost during take-off. It was so hard to let go…at least he knew she'd be back. Squishie whimpered and scratched at his leg, asking to be petted. They watched her go together and he wondered if she had another job to do. Retrieving the violin, he tried again to play now that she'd shown him how. It didn't sound good, but it was a lot more tolerable to the ears now. Squishie "sneezed" at him and he pretended like he was going to chase her. She took off across the garden, her tail wagging so fast it was a blur.

"When are we getting out of here? I'm sick of this place," Ren sighed.

"Keep your panties on," Lillith said irritably, "what do you expect? You tried to kill your own son no less than three times. You tried to kill Melody. You almost lost Kana and Tianshi by accident. You're lucky you're not dead. If Akito's knife had been one inch to the left, you'd have bled out before they could get you to the hospital."

Ren crossed her arms like a spoiled child.

"Look," Lillith said firmly, "you're just the same as every other loser in here. You're a nobody as far as all of them are concerned. Shut up and be quiet and listen for a change. You might learn something. And while you're at it, start exercising. Your skinny little butt won't be able to make it over the wall if you don't have the ability to climb it."

Ren looked almost affronted by this.

"I can help you, but if you don't want to be completely worn out, you'd better build your endurance up."

And so, the infamous thing that Ren dejectedly referred to as "Demonic Boot Camp" began. Every second that she wasn't watched, Lillith forced her to do push-ups, sit-ups, and taught her how to fight. It wasn't long before Ren's muscles began to scream and she woke up sore every day. But it only got worse. Now that she was building muscle, she was constantly hungry as well and the prison-food portions were meager. If she'd had the money to bribe the guards, she might have gotten more, but she had nothing. And Lillith would not help her.

"You're going to have to learn how this works, babe," Lillith said as Ren moaned about her hurting stomach one night, "you've had everything handed to you all your life. You've never once had to dirty your hands and just take it instead. Tomorrow, we start that."

They were in the crowded dining hall area. All around, there were other women hurriedly devouring their meager meals. You could tell the ones who had been here the longest from the ones that hadn't, for they sat hunched over their food with both arms protectively around their trays.

I'm only going to show you this once, Lillith said, so pay very, very close attention.

She scanned the area, looking for one of the easiest ones to pick off of. There was a tiny little girl that was actually smaller than Isuzu. Judging by her skeletal appearance and somewhat glaze-eyed glance, she had been arrested on drug charges. Lillith had taken over Ren's body and was moving as quietly and fluidly as a shadow. No one seemed to be paying attention, as they were all too busy eating. She whisked the bowl of rice off the tray and was gone before the poor lady could turn her head in puzzlement.

She's already been eating out of it! That's disgusting! Ren objected.

Shut up and eat. If you're not hungry enough to forget about that, then I haven't been pushing you hard enough, now have I?

She did the same thing at dinner. The unfortunate thing was that the squat, hefty woman she stole from was not nearly as slow as the poor skeletal zombie. Her hand snared Ren's wrist and held it in a tight vice-like grip.

"And just what the Hell do you think you're doing, Barbie?"

Ren gulped and felt her face pale. Everyone had stopped talking and was now watching to see what would happen.

Don't talk, Lillith said, stare her down, intimidate her. Like this.

Ren felt her face subtly shift into a mask of indifference.

Good. Now watch this. Remember what this feels like.

Ren rotated her hand very slowly, grabbed the other woman's wrist, and twisted it on sharp motion. The joints popped loudly and the other woman winced, forced to put her other hand on Ren's to try and jerk it loose. Ren leaned in very closely to her, Lillith's supernatural strength making her much stronger than she actually looked.

"You're very well endowed," she whispered into her ear, "surely you can spare some of your food to the less fortunate, can't you?"

CRACK!

The sound of the breaking bone was like a canon in the silence. A tear trickled down her victim's face.

Take the damn bowl and run! The guards are on their way over here to see what's going on!

Ren disappeared into the crowd just as the guards got there. By the time they reached her, the evidence was already gone.

"We know you're up to something," one of them warned, "so you'd better stop it or we'll put you in solitary."

Ren just gave them her best innocent "who, me?" expression.

Good…you're not as dumb as you act, Lillith praised her, now, best to keep a low profile for a bit. You've rattled the monkey cage now and there will be others come after you.

Sure enough, the lady whose wrist she broke did not take her defeat easily. She came after Ren when they were showering. Ren seized her and slammed her head against the tiled wall, causing her to fall, unconscious, to the slick floor. By the time the guards were aware that something was wrong, Ren had resumed rinsing herself off. She faked the surprise very well when she turned around and "realized" that the other woman was out cold.

In the weeks that followed, a few of the others had banded together to show Ren who was really boss. Ren was actually getting so fast that she didn't need as much of Lillith's help. Subtlety was key here. She nailed all four of them in places that the guards couldn't readily see and there was no blood. But the message had gotten clear: stay away from her or suck up to her. A few of them began to give up portions of their food to keep her pacified and a few of them followed her around like they were supposed to be her friends. A formidable force was growing in the prison right under the guards' noses. And every day, she could feel herself getting closer to her goal.

Akito woke one morning feeling disoriented. He'd just had a very vivid dream that he had been out in the garden and the ground had started to bleed. Just as he was backing away from the puddle of blood, a beating heart had risen out of the center. Now more curious than afraid, he watched as the blood solidified and contracted into blood vessels. Bones, organs, muscle, and finally skin began to form over it, but Squishie had woken him up before he could see who the person would end up being. Sighing, he let her out. Still heavy from sleep, he sat down on the edge of the bed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He nearly jumped out of his skin when there was a knock on the door. When he slid it back, he saw Kisa's amber eyes looking up at him. The first time she'd been here, she'd been unable to meet his eyes. Now, she looked into them fearlessly.

"Did you have the dream again?" he asked.

"Yeah…"

"So did I."

"I dreamed it was Melody. She was the one in the garden that came from the blood."

"I know."

Kisa had been having this dream over and over since Melody's death. Just as she'd formed a tight bond with Tohru, she'd bonded with Melody as well. The two girls had been essential in helping her overcome some of her unique hurdles that being a Zodiac member had brought to adolescence. It was a bond, it seemed, that would not be broken even in death.

"There's more," she said finally, "I dreamed about your Mom, too."

Akito frowned, then gestured for her to sit down at his desk chair. She settled in just as Squishie bounded back inside. She leapt into Kisa's lap and seemed to be trying to lick her to death. Kisa giggled and hugged her until she settled down.

"So, what happened?" he finally asked after several minutes of waiting.

"There was another lady with her…Lilly or something like that…she wasn't like anybody I've ever seen. She looks a little like Tohru's friend Arisa, only with curly hair and not nearly as nice. They broke out of the prison and came here. But I was yelling in my sleep and Mom woke me up before I could see what else happened."

A grim feeling settled over the room, making it feel more shadowy.

"This 'Lilly' woman…what else do you remember?"

"She and Melody knew each other at one time," Kisa said, pensively stroking Squishie's head, "they called each other by name. I didn't like her…she felt mean."

The grim suspicion that came over him made him feel sick.

"I see…and have you seen her in real life, ever?"

"No. I don't know anyone like her in real life."

"Well, thank you for telling me."

"Mom says they're just dreams, but after all that's happened in the last year…"

"You think they're warning us," he finished for her, "I know. And I appreciate it. Start keeping a notebook of these dreams and write them all down, okay? And if you notice anything else, let one of us know. I'll do the same since I've been having them, too. Maybe between the two of us, we can figure out why this is happening. In the meantime, you might want to get back to your mother—she'll be worried about you being gone this early."

He hugged Kisa before she left and Kyoko sent her on her way with a basket of sweet rolls. Akito got dressed, had breakfast, and fed Squishie before trying to contact Isuzu. It was a Saturday, which meant she was probably still at home. After three rings, Kagura answered the phone.

"Hi Akito! It's been a while," she said, her cheerfulness sounding somewhat fabricated, "how are you doing?"

Akito decided to cut to the chase. He'd never been good with small-talk.

"Is Isuzu around? I needed to ask her something."

"She's here, but she's not feeling well."

"Is she sick again?"

"Well, no, but she had a really rough night last night. The pregnancy has been making her have these very strange dreams. She's exhausted and really, really emotional right now. Haru's having a hard time calming her down."

"Good. Well, no, not really…it's just that the dreams were what I wanted to talk to her about. Kisa and I have both been having them, too. I want to see if we all had the same dream."

"With all due respect, I really don't think it's a good id—"

"I'm coming over there. This could be something important."

Kagura sighed.

"All right. I'll put some tea on."

"I've already eaten. Don't worry about it."

The truth was that Kagura was a complete disaster in the kitchen. Akito trotted out to the car, Squishie at his heels, musing that Isuzu had enough to worry about without Kagura burning the house down. He arrived after a few minutes, watching in amusement as Squishie put her paws on the side of the door and looked out the window.

Kagura answered the door, her face pale and grim. She was still trying to maintain that disgustingly cheerful attitude, but it was as thin and transparent as glass. Akito didn't bother returning her greeting and went straight up to Isuzu's room.

Isuzu's face was buried in Haru's chest and he was whispering to her. Her body was shaking with silent sobs. Haru's icy gray eyes met Akito's dark blue-gray ones.

"Rough night," he said darkly.

Isuzu loosened her grip on him and turned to see who the invader was. Ashamed, she scrubbed at her face with a tissue.

"What are you doing here?" she asked shakily.

"Kagura said you weren't feeling well and that you were having nightmares."

"Oh, that? It's just…"

Her hands curved around her swollen tummy. Akito nodded, though he didn't understand how being pregnant influenced dreams.

"I've been having strange dreams as well," he said sympathetically, "I just wanted to know if we had the same dream."

"Well…I dreamed about Ren and this blonde woman. And I dreamed about Melody."

Hatsuharu gave Akito a dark look, but Isuzu continued, her voice beginning to steady as she talked.

"It's so frustrating…night after night, the same dream…I keep dreaming she's after me and I have nowhere to go. The worst one was last night…I dreamed she stabbed me in the gut and killed our baby."

Akito nodded in sympathy.

"I'm very sorry…"

Isuzu gasped then and everyone's breath clutched.

"What's wrong?" Haru asked, looking panicky.

"He kicked," Isuzu said warmly, "feel!"

She seized his hand and planted it on her curved stomach. Akito couldn't help but smile when he did. He was surprised when she took his hand in hers and placed it against her warm skin. Just underneath, a wavelike twitch prodded his palm.

"What does that feel like on the inside?" Haru asked.

"Like butterflies," she answered.

A protectiveness, much more fierce than the demon Lyt, surged forward in Akito. Though he'd never related well to children or babies, imagining the little boy just under Isuzu's skin, the one that would be named for his kind-hearted father, he knew he'd give his life for him.

"If these dreams really are a warning, then we'll be ready," Akito assured her, "we won't let Ren near the baby. If we have to move all of you until this is over, we'll do it."

"What if this blonde woman is…" Isuzu couldn't bring herself to say it, "…not human. We don't have Melody to help us."

"We'll manage," Akito told her, "and there's…God. The real God. He wouldn't get us to believe in Him and then just hang us out to dry. We're protected whether or not we see it. And Melody's still around, she's just not always visible."

It was hard for him to say, as he hadn't been feeling very faithful lately. He'd been angry with Father—angry with God—for taking away the one woman he'd loved and had also been his best friend. But faith wasn't worth much if it could be thrown away easily. Though it was harder than he ever imagined to trust that there was a point to all this, he knew there must be. Melody wouldn't want him to give up. And as he thought of her, he remembered how being around her had made him a better person. His job, whether he wanted to admit it or not, was to protect the others.

"So…how about a little vacation?" he asked.