With special thanks to Into.The.Depths for forcing me to update

Confidence

"C-o-n-f-i-d-e-n-c-e," Fudo spelled out, filling in the empty boxes of his crossword puzzle.

"What do you think, Inuko?" he then asked, setting the newspaper aside and lighting up a cigarette. "Do people act confident because they are confident; or are people confident because they act confident?"

Inuko blinked. It was one of those beautiful autumn days, and the warm sun was making him sleepy.

"There's no difference between the two," he finally yawned.

"Oh?" Fudo smiled his toothless smile. "Do you really think it is that simple?"

From: "In the Year of the Dog" by Shigure Souma, chapter 5

Shigure was leaning against the door to Yuki's bedroom, his eyes closed, his ear pressed against the warm wood, intently listening to the sounds coming from the inside of the room. It was ten o'clock in the morning, sunlight had been streaming in through every window for hours, but Yuki was still fast asleep. Shigure stood, mesmerized by the child's soft, rhythmic snoring, as if he could partake of Yuki's peace by simply listening to it.

With a slight shake of his head he finally forced himself to push away from the door and continue his way towards the kitchen, feeling admiration – and a good deal of envy – at Yuki's ability to still sleep the undisturbed sleep of the innocent, after all that had been done to him.

Shigure had not been innocent for some long years now…

Yuki had been with him for exactly one month; and today Shigure had to bring him back to Souma Estate for his monthly check-up with the family doctor. However, Shigure had told Doctor Souma that they would come in the afternoon, so there was no need to wake Yuki up yet.

Shigure fixed himself some tea and took it, together with his notice book, outside to the porch. He was writing a novella in sequels for a weekly newspaper, and the next chapter was due by tomorrow afternoon.

Sipping his tea, he calculated how much of the royalty money would be left after paying for electricity, water and food. It was depressing. At this rate, he'd need a decade to finish the renovations. Maybe he shouldn't have dropped his jobs in the city so quickly. But it was done now, and if Shigure was quite honest, he didn't mind at all not having to stand around behind a bar, or next to an assembly line in some factory. He would just have to try a little harder with his writing.

He concentrated on his work and was making good progress by the time Yuki finally showed his face shortly before noon.

Almost a bit reluctantly, Shigure put away his work, and the two of them embarked on the half-hour walk to Souma Estate.

Yuki had been very reluctant about going back; for the first time protesting against something Shigure had told him. But after Shigure had promised that they would go in through the servant's gate; and that Akito wouldn't even know they were there, Yuki had complied, even if not particularly happy about it. When they reached the house of Hatori's parents without any problems or disturbances, Yuki seemed relaxed and willing to go along with the medical examination. As Shigure's presence wasn't needed (or wanted, as Hatori did not hesitate to inform him), he left Yuki at the mercy of the current family doctor and the designated next family doctor and strolled off across the compound towards the house where Yuki's mother and older brother lived.

Ayame had his own little apartment on the second floor and Shigure would have gone straight to the stairs that led up to it at the side of the building. But as he made his way across the front lawn, he heard his name being called and, turning, he saw a woman standing in the door to the ground floor.

He was surprised, both that she actually knew his name and that she would speak to him. Usually, she did her best to ignore him; in the same fashion she ignored her older son.

Unwilling to accommodate her, he just stood and waited for her to approach, watching her as she walked towards him. Despite his intense dislike for her, he was forced to admit that Masami Souma was a gorgeous woman. The gold-blonde colour of her hair might not be natural, she might wear a little too much make-up for Shigure's liking. But her girlish figure seemed to belie the fact that she had a grown-up son, and her perfect, almost painfully beautiful features were untouched by time.

Thanks to expensive cosmetic surgery, Shigure reminded himself, unwilling to admit to anything in favour of the woman who saw one of her sons only as an instrument to gain power, and the other not at all.

"Is it true that my son is at your house?" Masami asked without another greeting.

"Which one of your sons are you referring to?" Shigure asked innocently.

Masami didn't react to his provocation. "Why is he not with Akito?"

"Because Akito-san decided that Yuki should live with me from now on."

That, of course, was a rather generous interpretation of the facts. But Shigure doubted very much that the woman had the courage to go and inquire the truth from Akito.

Masami looked as if she'd just bitten into a lemon. She didn't say anything, though, and after a moment Shigure bowed farewell and continued his way to Ayame's apartment.

The room still looked pretty much like it had when they had all been in high school; only instead of with magazines and random drawings, the furniture and most of the floor were now covered with samples of velvet, silk and linen in a dozen different colours, as well as sketches and patterns Ayame had designed for classes at the fashion-school he was attending since last year.

The master of fashion himself was lounging on the couch, his long hair tied back in a messy braid, busily painting his fingernails a vivid shade of green.

Shigure lightly tapped his knuckles on the glass door to draw Ayame's attention. The snake looked up, a delighted smile spreading across his face when he saw Shigure. He immediately set his nail paint aside and bounded towards the door, zick-zacking around papers and fabric samples, waving his hands through the air to dry the paint.

"Gure-san!" he called out, yanking the door open. "Come in, come in!"

He faltered a little when he realized that Shigure was alone and stuck his head out of the door to look left and right.

"Didn't you bring Tori-san? I promised to give him a manicure today!"

Shigure made his way to the couch, careful not to step on any of Ayame's works in progress.

He sighed theatrically, trying not to grin. "I asked him if he wanted to come. His answer contained vivid, but anatomically impossible imagery, as well as the words GET and LOST. I interpreted as a 'no'."

He sat down, leaning comfortably back against the cushions. "Anyway, he's playing doctor now with his father and Yuki-kun," he added.

"Poor Tori-san!" Ayame snickered. "He's such a workaholic; and we really do stress him out, don't we?"

He flopped down on the couch beside Shigure. "Well, I guess I'll have to give you a manicure then…"

"By all means!" Shigure smiled, offering no resistance when Ayame grabbed his left hand and began eagerly filing away at his fingernails.

"I can see you were with Ayame," Hatori commented dryly about an hour later, suspiciously eying the nails of Shigure's left hand, which were painted an annoyingly loud shade of pink.

"Oh, yes!" the dog answered happily. "You should have come. We had so much fun!"

"I'm heartbroken to have missed it," Hatori deadpanned.

He cast a quick glance into his father's office, but Yuki was out of earshot. After a moment's hesitation, he asked: "Did Ayame say anything about when he's going to visit Yuki?"

Shigure's smile faded. "He said he's very busy at the moment because of some project at his school or something. But I think he is just afraid to see Yuki. Apparently he thinks Yuki will hate him."

"Well, he might just start to hate him if he waits much longer to show at least some interest in him!"

Hatori shot a dark look in the general direction of Ayame's house. He started to say something more, but in that moment his father approached them with Yuki on his heals.

"So, what's the diagnosis, Doc?" Shigure asked.

Dr. Souma smiled. "Yuki's lungs have cleared up remarkably, considering it's only been one month since he moved in with you," he announced. "I would even recommend careful exercise in a controlled environment, to help his lungs get stronger. Not too much, of course."

"Exercise in a controlled environment?" Shigure repeated. "So I guess an American football team would not be the right place…" He snickered.

Even Hatori had to smile at the thought of tiny Yuki wearing the bulky protective clothing of a football player.

Shigure looked thoughtful for another minute; then his brow cleared. "Ah, I just had the most interesting idea!" And he added: "C'mon, Yuki! We're going to pay an old friend of mine a visit. I haven't seen Kazuma-dono in ages!"

Hatori reached out a hand to stop him. "Wait, Shigure! At Kazuma's, there's – "

"I know Ha-san." Shigure smiled at him, but Hatori couldn't help but notice that there suddenly was an oddly calculating look in those dark eyes.

"What do you think will happen, when the two of them come together?"

Lesson was in progress when they entered the dojo. The students were sitting cross-legged on the floor in two neat lines, all of them wearing white gis with belts in different colours. Their eyes were directed towards the front of the room, where the trainers were demonstrating some moves.

"That's Kazuma-dono, the one with the ponytail," whispered Shigure and pulled Yuki down beside him on the bench at the back of the room.

Yuki looked at the man. He seemed quite young, in spite of his long hair being faded to grey, and had an air of quiet confidence about him that Yuki liked immediately. He wore a black belt with his gi.

Yuki's eyes left the trainers and wandered over the rows of students. He noticed a snow-white head in between all the dark ones and excitedly pulled Shigure's sleeve. "Haru is here!"

Shigure followed his gaze. "Oh, yes," he said. "He's been training with Kazuma for a few years now."

Yuki kept his eyes fixed on his cousin. He didn't know Hatsuharu that well, but he liked him a lot, ever since they first met. He was almost something like a friend.

The trainers finished their demonstration and bowed to each other. The young man with the brown belt, who had partnered Kazuma, returned to his place at the end of the student's line.

"All right, that was the exercise for orange and green belts," Kazuma said. He noticed Shigure in the back of the room and gave him a smile and a nod, before addressing his students again. "Now another exercise for white and yellow belts. I want you to practise another kick. Kyo!"

A boy Yuki hadn't noticed before jumped to his feet. He had flaming orange hair and wore a dark blue belt. Bowing, he stepped up to Kazuma.

The trainer gave him a command, and the boy performed a kick. Kazuma caught his foot in mid-air, freezing him in the motion.

"Unlike the kick we practised last week, with this one you don't swing out your leg in a wide circle, but first you draw up you knee, then push your foot out, as Kyo just demonstrated," Kazuma explained, indicating the boy's stance. "The entire sole of your foot collides with the target. As you can see, the knee of Kyo's standing leg is bend slightly, and his upper body is tilted sideways to maintain balance."

He released Kyo's foot and the boy returned to ground stance.

"Practise the movements slowly at first, until you get them right," Kazuma advised. "Then, if you are confident, you can increase the speed."

He gave Kyo a nod. A small grin flickered across the boy's face. And then he performed a series of kicks at such a speed that Yuki had problems following the movement with his eyes.

"Thank you, Kyo." Kazuma smiled. Trainer and student bowed to each other, and the boy sprinted back to his place in the line.

"Very well. You've all got your tasks now. Practise independently for a while. I'll be right back."

Shigure, recognizing his signal, stood and looked down at Yuki. "Do you want to stay and watch?"

Yuki nodded and Shigure followed Kazuma through a door at the back of the room.

Yuki watched as the students began to practise the various tasks their master had given them. His eyes were on Hatsuharu for the most time, who was going through a series of attacks and defences with his partner.

While Yuki was still watching, Haru spotted him and stopped defending himself in order to wave at Yuki. His partner promptly used the gap in Haru's defences to land a punch on his chin that send the white-haired boy stumbling backwards.

Yuki winced. That must have hurt!

But Haru just grinned a little embarrassedly and rubbed his chin. Then he said something to his partner, who nodded and walked over to another pair of students.

Haru jogged over to where Yuki sat on the bench.

"Yuki!" he exclaimed, stopping right in front of him. "How are you? How is life with Shigure-sensei?"

Yuki smiled. "It's good. He's a little strange sometimes; but it is a lot better than living at the main house."

"I'm glad," Haru said sincerely. Then he asked: "Are you going to train with us?"

Yuki nodded. "Shigure and the Doctor want me to do some sport. And this looks nice."

"Yea, it's pretty cool," Haru agreed. "Sometimes you get hurt" – he rubbed his chin again – "but not much; and Kazuma-sensei is really nice."

Just then, the orange haired boy, Kyo, walked past them.

"Are you here to train or to talk?" he snapped at Haru, his voice sounding moody. "No wonder you suck, if you get distracted that easily!"

He walked on to an empty space near the end of the room, a few metres away from Yuki.

Hatsuharu rolled his eyes at the other's retreating back. "I'll better get back to training," he said.

While Haru returned to his partner, Yuki let his eyes wander over to Kyo. He watched, fascinated, as the orange-haired boy began to practise a series of kicks and punches into the air, as if he was fighting an invisible enemy. Yuki didn't know what this kind of exercise was supposed to achieve, but he was impressed by the other boy's fluid movements and the confidence he radiated while performing his task.

And suddenly he realized what it meant: The unusual hair colour, the extraordinary way he moved…

"He's the cat!" Yuki whisperd.

He hadn't meant for the other boy to hear his words, but from the way Kyo abruptly stopped his exercise and whirled around to stare at him, it was obvious that he had heard.

Yuki noticed now that the other boy's eyes also had an unusual colour: they were almost red. Those eyes had a dangerous look in them as Kyo stepped towards him.

"And who are you?" he demanded.

Yuki hastily stood up from the bench to introduce himself. "I… ehm… I'm Yuki Souma," he stammered. "I'm the rat."

He expected Kyo to get a little friendlier after that admission, but instead, the expression in the red eyes got even harder, almost hateful.

"The rat!" Kyo hissed. "Well, that explains a lot!"

He shot a nasty look in Hatsuharu's direction, who had again stopped practising with his partner to watch Yuki.

"You just walk in here and expect everyone to drop whatever they are doing to talk to you and cater for you, don't you?" Kyo continued. "No matter that they are supposed to be training!"

Yuki felt an unfamiliar sensation of fury built up within him at the other boy's unfair accusations.

"I'm not expecting anything!" he yelled, the words coming out a little louder than he'd intended. "You are not polite!"

"And why would I be polite to you, ratboy? You're the reason why everyone of our family hates me!"

Yuki flinched when Kyo leaped at him, causing the other boy's fist to miss his face by a few inches, instead smashing into the wall, where it left an ugly crack.

He was confused and frightened, but even more than that, he was angry. What reason did that boy have to leash out at him? How could he blame Yuki for not being accepted into the family? Why did he even want to be accepted? Ever since Yuki had first heard the story of the cat, he'd envied this person. The cat didn't have to live with Akito. The cat didn't have to attend family functions. The cat was free!

And yet, this stupid boy was trying to beat Yuki up because he had the very freedom Yuki had always wanted!

His anger finally overrode his fear. He wouldn't be beaten! Not when he hadn't done anything to deserve that beating! Not by Akito, and certainly not by this impolite, stupid moron!

When Kyo advanced on him again, Yuki squeezed his eyes shut and leashed out with both his fists.

He was surprised to hear a startled yelp.

He tentatively opened his eyes again and saw Kyo lying on the floor a few metres away, staring up at him with a completely dumbfounded expression.

Yuki's eyes widened. Had he done that?

"You have to fill in a membership application, so Yuki will have proper insurance while training with me," Kazuma explained, searching through his papers for the right form. "For members who aren't of age I usually need the signature of a parent or legal guardian, but I'll accept yours for now."

"Thank you, Kazuma-dono," Shigure said quietly.

Frowning, Kazuma looked over at the younger man. Shigure seemed unusually subdued today. Sitting at the table, he had both his hands wrapped around his tea cup, as if seeking warmth, his eyes downcast in order to watch the steam rise up from the hot liquid.

Shigure had always been hard to read. As a boy, he would sometimes come to Kazuma's dojo, just to sit on the bench in the back and watch the others train. The first few times, Kazuma had tried to involve him in the training, but Shigure seemed happier when he was left alone. Finally Kazuma had concluded that maybe the boy was just looking for a safe place where he could hide from his family for a little while. He had left him in peace. Over the years, a tentative trust had developed between them; however, Shigure had never opened up completely.

But now he had brought Yuki to the dojo. So, maybe, Kazuma's efforts all those years ago had not been in vain after all…

He hoped that he could live up to Shigure's expectations and help Yuki to become a little stronger, both physically and mentally.

He handed Shigure the application form and was just about to ask for some more details on Yuki's state of health, when they heard a loud bang coming from the training room and the walls of the small, wooden building shook.

"What's going on?" Kazuma asked, startled. He hurried back into the training room; Shigure following hot on his heels.

"I don't understand." Kazuma looked from Kyo to Yuki and back again. "Kyo has been training martial arts for years. He should be much stronger than Yuki."

"It's because of the curse," Shigure said darkly, lowering his voice so Kazuma's students, who had gathered around Yuki and Kyo curiously, would not hear him. "Yuki-kun is cursed by the spirit of the rat; and the cat never wins against the rat. That's what the legend says. If Yuki-kun fought any of your other students right now, he might very well lose."

He sighed. "I'm sorry about the disruption. I didn't think they would recognize each other that quickly."

He absent-mindedly played around with the application form Kazuma had given him, rolling it into a tube and straitening it out again; his eyes focused on Yuki.

"I should probably warn you that if you agree to train him, you might have to deal with fights such as this one on a regular basis." He met Kazuma's eyes. "I would understand if you would rather not accept Yuki-kun as a student."

He held out the application form to Kazuma, so he could take it back if he wanted to.

Kazuma waved the gesture away. "They are not going to fight during my lessons," he said calmly. "This will be a good opportunity for Kyo to learn some discipline."

"Well, if you are sure…" Shigure smiled, quickly folding the form and shoving it into the pocket of his jeans.

There was just the tiniest hint of triumph in that smile; and Kazuma was suddenly sure that Shigure had never expected him to take the form back. Maybe even the vulnerability Shigure had displayed earlier had been a trick to ensure Kazuma would react to this scenario exactly the way Shigure wanted him to…

Kazuma shook his head, exasperated. This one would never change, would he?

"So, if everything's settled then, we'll be on our way!" Shigure said lightly. "I'll bring Yuki-kun for the lesson next week. That is, if he still wants to come for training?" He looked at his young charge questioningly.

"I would like to come," Yuki said, bowing politely towards Kazuma. Then he shot a nasty glance in Kyo's direction. "I am not afraid of him!"

Shigure laughed out loud. "I can see: This is boosting your confidence already!"

tbc

Author's note:

Wew, I must be the slowest updater to ever have hauted this site!

I could not find the name of Yuki's mother, so I picked one for her. If anybody knows her name, please let me know, so I can correct it.