I'm so sorry! I can't believe it took me two months to write this chapter : ( Sorry guys! That was bad of me. Thank you to all who continuously reviewed though. I really appreciate it and I hope you will review again…even tho I don't deserve it for making you guys wait so long.

Thanks to: Yuriama sohma, Phoebe Yuu, 3, ……, NorthernShinigami, lucca, UnexpectedInspiration, AirbenderBigMac, xxxbabyyXXX, Tomoyo, LOL100, jiaqianyin, Olivia Eternal Song, Nadie, andre-95, XXXTsubasaRozXXX, LOL100, walkergirl, AnimeFreak4261, elany, Breed107, Kinibop, Monkeys.4eva, yoshikochan, xHanako, Flowing Breeze, Becca the fiend, Melissa Brite, Rahar Moonfire, Aika08, AND SakuraKiss18.

For Reviewing! You guys are awesome!!

Let the record show that I do not own any Tsubasa characters or quotes, they all are copywrited by clamp so help me zeus! X ( So sad.

Chapter Eleven: Makeup Remover

As the tall man approached where Fai was sitting on the stand the blonde remembered how important eye contact was. He had always kept his bangs shorter, his lawyer made sure of that. Sorata said sometimes a judge's decision could hinge on something as frivolous as whether or not they could see your eyes.

Yasha was so smooth Fai was tempted to look at the floor as he by to see if he left a slick trail. He was clean, hair well trimmed and face completely bare. He also wore shoes made of tough, expensive leather that did not squeak and shirts which required cuff links. Damn, Ashura's family wasn't joking around. This guy looked impressive.

And formidable.

"Mr. Flowright." He said approaching the stand with a confidence Fai found infuriating. This man had to know that Ashura was guilty. How could he clearly try and make him seem like he was wrong when it was obvious his client put him through hell and repetitively made him bash foreheads with the devil? "At what time did you say Ashura came to your home?"

"It was about 11:30."

"At what time did you start drinking?"

"…about 9:00."

"Mr. Flowright you reported to the police the night after the attack that you were beaten repetitively by the defendant than raped is that correct?"

"Yes."

"At approximately what time did this happen?"

"It was almost twelve."

"Mr. Flowright, have you ever been in trouble with the law before?"

Sorata jumped to his defense. "Your honor, Objection! Harassment."

The judge turned her head towards the lawyer standing before her. "Yasha get to the point."

He nodded. "What I mean is have you not been in trouble with the police for under aged drinking before the incident happened?" Mutters were heard from one of the jurors. Fai stiffened. He shouldn't have been surprised; he knew they were going to bring that up. What he was surprised about though, was that he did not immediately tell them it was all because of Ashura. Because it was. Watching the lawyer with cold eyes he spoke. "Yes." Yasha seemed pleased that he agreed with him so easily. Bastard.

"Also Mr. Flowright, please tell me the part of your story where Mr. Ou appeared in your bedroom?"

"I went back downstairs-"

"To get some beer?"

"Yes," his words were hissed out. This man was really starting to annoy him. "I went downstairs to get some beer and when I got back upstairs he was there and he had a knife. Ashura hit me, threw me on the bed, than stabbed me. Than he raped me." It was too much. Grasping his hands on the stand he stood up ready to leave before the judge bashed her gavel.

"Sit back down Mr. Flowright! The cross-examination is not finished yet."

Fai was shaking from anger. It took all of his will to stop himself from running. But he knew he could not. So while his insides exploded within him he sat down.

"Mr. Flowright you also said earlier that when he stabbed you, it went through you, through your sheets, and into your mattress correct?"

"Yes."

"And that after the sexual assault was completed he removed the sheets and put them in the washing machine correct?"

"What do you mean?" Fai said slowly, watching carefully as the lawyer moved to grab the bagged piece of evidence from the prosecution's table. It had been recovered from the washing machine later the night of the crime when all the blood had already been removed. It was his sheets.

"Did you not say that he stabbed through your shoulder, than through the blanket and the mattress?" Yasha repeated.

"Yes." He said cautiously.

Yasha arched one of his black eyebrows high. "Then how is it that there are no cut marks on your sheet?"

Fai froze. What? Of course there was!

"You're lying." Fai said in a suddenly dry voice. "There…there has to be a cut there."

The lawyer pointed to the projector set up on the wall. After a few clicks, so silent in reality but echoing in the young man's head, a picture appeared on the screen. Judging by the creamy folds displayed across the projector screen, he figured what they were.

There wasn't a sign of a rip where the knife had cut through. But…Fai remembered that! He remembered with horror just how the weapon had pushed through him and into the mattress, which was covered by the sheet! There had to have been a rip!

"Now Mr. Flowright. Let's get to the point." He slowly moved towards the screen, now turning his attention to the jury. "You reported to the police that you were stabbed, raped, than pushed over so Mr. Ou could get your sheets isn't that correct?"

Fai nodded his head than remembered he had to speak. "Yes…" well that's what happened! There was nothing else to it! Unless…

"So if you were stabbed on your bed before Mr. Ou took off the sheets wouldn't there be a rip, however small, in the sheet?"

Oh no. Blinking away the fuzziness that grew in his mind he tried to think back to that night, to exactly what happened. Yeah, that was what order it was in…that's how he remembered it! His heart sank, so far he could feel it beating in his stomach. The young man could almost hear Yasha's face form a smile.

"No further questions."

A shaking Fai stood up. In five quick strides he was once again in the relative safety of the pews and his brother who held out a hand expectantly. Fai did not take his eyes off of his brother's hand, watching it begin to shake as it wrapped itself around his. It wasn't Yuui who was shaking. He closed his quivering blue orbs, trying to remember the night he had tried so desperately to forget.

Pain.

Fear

Afraid. I'm afraid!

What? What is he doing? Why is he pushing me?

No, no don't touch me!

Get OFF of me!

I have to get away, I have to get away!

That was it!

When Ashura threw him on the bed…when he tried to force him to stay…Fai grabbed the sheets. He tried to pull himself free. In the process…

Fai opened his eyes. In the process he had pulled the corner of the sheets off…the corner where he was stabbed. That explained why the stab was only shown on the mattress and not his sheets.

But it was too late. They could not say that now. Besides, who would believe him? He HAD been drunk when this happened. That instantly discredited half of his story.

And it only improved Ashura's chances of winning.

It was time for the defense to call their witnesses.

Kurogane sighed, turning in his palm to stare out the window of the dingy, smelly bus he was sitting in. Damn, why the hell did Tomoyo have to pick today of ALL DAYS to be out of town? Lazily his crimson eyes scanned the rolling countryside, watching the clouds turn from fluffy white to scattered and grey, signaling rain. Good thing he was almost there, he wasn't sure how much longer he could handle being inside.

It had been a long time since he had been to the country. It must have been during his adolescent years, he deducted, since he could not remember any of the grueling details. It was bright then, just like it was now…was it the middle of the summer? No, it was the fall, closer to winter, when the campsites were all cheap and the water too cold for swimming. But not on that day. He remembered that weekend they had got a sudden heat wave. The sheer power of the temperature was covering the campsite they were staying in like a heavy weight, so much that for a young child it was difficult to move. He heard a low buzz, a droll, repetitive sizzle that spread throughout the bus. The sound of a bug in the heat of summer. Kurogane closed his red eyes slowly. Silently he began to remember, and in a way he began to forget. Slowly the young man drifted away. So far away he was going that he didn't remember exactly where, or when he was going. All he could remember was that sound, the sound of bugs. It was like pulling the trigger on a gun, he was the bullet, and he was being propelled forward.

Or rather backwards, in time.

Youo huffed as he sat down at the picnic table, pushing a twig between the carvings tattooed into the wood. Why was it he was surrounded by a forest filled with trees for climbing and low branches for sitting, a creek swimming with fish and frogs made for catching, and a hillside just begging to be explored yet he had absolutely nothing to entertain himself with? This place was a young boy's dream yet he had already managed to exhaust all the fun out of whatever this place could conduct.

The ten year old was easily a city boy. Anyone could tell. To him taking a few steps outside of his messy house, packed with his ten older relatives, his parents, and his sister, was the distance from one side of Canada to the other. Then again, he never really had much time to spend exploring the world around him. Whenever he was not busy with school he was looking after his four grandparents, his aunt's children (all of which were half his age or less) and his sister. So for him, being four hours away from home and a half hours drive to the nearest great population was…well a big deal.

His ears twitched, his whole body shifting from where it was resting on the table as he heard a sharp buzzing in his right ear. Making a low sound, halfway between a meh and an ugh he reached up a small, tanned hand to hit whatever it was that was making that bothersome racket. Sure enough it stopped only to continue five seconds later in the other ear. Growling angrily he opened up his fiery eyes, watching as the large black fly flew around his head. Judging by how much he was saying, Youo could bet it was probably singing a soundtrack in bug speech. It carried on its noise endlessly and the young boy focused grumpily on his soon to be prey. Couldn't the stupid thing tell he was trying to find something constructive to do? In these kind of kid matters its better not to be interrupted!

Reaching up both of his arms he spun them around wildly, watching as it did laps around his face. Unbeknownst to the little fang sticking out of the side of his mouth Youo voiced his annoyance loudly, using all the colorful vocabulary he learned at school to his advantage. Panting slightly he stopped, relieved when for one blissful second he heard silence. When the noise once again continued he knew he was defeated. Letting out a moan he just let his head drop and hit the picnic table again. He knew he should have brought his water gun.

And still there was nothing to do.

This was just getting ridiculous. His boredom was so strong around him he could almost hear it. He just HAD to find something to do. Looking around at his family's campsite Youo hoped to find some form of entertainment there. Angry red eyes rolled when all he found even remotely interesting among clothing hanging over clothing lines and red coolers filled with water bottles was squirrel scurrying over a nearby rock. Shuffling his sneaker covered feet in the loose dirt Youo covered his ears with his hands and let out a loud groan.

"Why is there never anything to dooooooooooo?" he grunting angrily, kicking at the earth with his feet. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt something poke his chest.

Turning around quickly he let loose the breath he was holding, noticing it was only little Tomoyo. Why the hell was she poking him with a stick? Probably so she wouldn't get hit by the flying feet. He stopped. Grunting a greeting he swung his legs back over the bench and continued his violent assault on the table with his little twig.

"Umm Oniisan-chan? What are you groaning about?" she asked innocently.

"Quiet Tomoyo! And stop calling me that will ya? You make me sound so cute and girlish." He shuddered, emphasizing his point. His little sister however looked delighted. Oh no, he gave her an idea didn't he? This wasn't good. By now the boy had learned just how lethal Tomoyo's ideas could be.

"Oh Oniisan-chan you'd make such a pretty girl! I should call you Yoana!" She clapped her hands together excitingly much to Youo's terror.

"Never mind that!" He snapped hoping she wouldn't notice the pink that was shading his face. With a wave of his hand he ordered her away, turning back to his table. "Now go away! Can't you see I'm busy?" He gestured at the wood. She itched forward, peering around his shoulder curiously.

"What are you doing?" She said eyes wide.

"Art." He grumbled in reply, expecting her to be too young to understand what exactly art was.

"Ahhhhh." She giggled; fascinated as her older brother covered the table with tiny circles with the green insides of his twig. "Well!" she chirped as she turned on her heels and walked away. "Since you're too busy being an artist, I assume you don't want to go swimming?"

That got his attention. Swimming! Figures he would not think about the most obvious thing to do on a lakeside campsite.

"Tch." He said waving his hand in attempt to diminish her suggestion as unimportant. "Why would I want to do that?"

Tomoyo just laughed again, throwing her long black ponytail over her head. The sun reflected off of it, making it look purpler than Youo's natural red highlights. She always did look more like mom than he did. She gave him that smile, showing that he wasn't as hard to read as he thought he was.

"Well since you seem a little busy," Tomoyo giggled. "You're right, why would you? Sorry to bother you!" She continued to prance off until the young Youo shot up from his seat.

"Hey! Are we going to the beach or not?" He huffed, stomping towards the containers which held their clean clothes. Tomoyo squealed, jumping on the spot as she raced after her brother.

As they walked down the pathway through the forest, trucking along with their gear lung over their arms the red eyed boy weighted his options. There was a good chance his mother wasn't going to wake up anytime soon. She always was a heavy sleeper and it wasn't even noon yet. It was inconceivable that she would be able to drag herself out of bed this early in the day. His dad was going to be a problem though. He always woke with the sun, an attribute he seemingly passed onto his son. The senior Suwa left to get supplies about an hour ago. They probably still had another hour before he got back to the site…so subtract the five minutes to walk from the site to the lake and the time to get back, also an extra ten minutes just incase he came back early…they had about forty minutes to swim. Plenty of time. Tomoyo would probably be done within the first twenty. Even if she wasn't, he would make sure she was. Youo could not afford his father getting mad at him! Not if he ever planned on inheriting the Suwa name. But his planning was done perfectly, he figured.

Even though he still did not know how to explain their wet swimming gear.

The forest was peaceful to say the least. Colors were everywhere- unlike back home in Loshin where grey and black were the most common attributes to the scenery. At first glance, a forest appears to just be different shades of green and brown. But the longer you remain in it, the deeper you look within it, the more you will discover. In a way, this place is like a city. Youo mused with himself. When at first you look at a place of great urbanization one word would come to mind, big. Everything is big: the buildings, the garbage, the population, the smog capacity, even the diversity was big. In a place as big as that, the only things you noticed were the big things, the prominent things; the obvious traits. Buildings and population aside, there was more than that. It's just that when you are in such a large space you automatically ignore the smaller things, like the culture, the graffiti art, the people as individuals, not as a whole. It was the same with a forest. The first thing you happen to notice as you stumble through the woods is the height and depth of the trees, than how muddy the ground is right after it has rained. However, people tend to forget the layers of bark that make up the trees and the bugs that live in between them. They happen to not notice the multiple types of pebbles that stabilize the mud and make it so you can step on top of it instead of through it like you would water. All they notice is how dark and unappealing the color is for mud and how crunchy and rough the bark is on top of the trees. A forest houses thousands of creatures big and small, all of them different, all of them forced to be habituated with each other simply because they all share a common need. Survival.

The young boy could hear the small scampering sounds of squirrels hopping from branches and the flutter of wings as they journeyed the undiscovered world up above. It always confused Youo, how some creatures managed to do something so hard to achieve for other animals, but normal to them. Birds were doing something that for millions of years humans had been unable to accomplish: the gift of flight. It was something that was of nature to them, something that was easily expected when they were giving birth. Why? Because that was the way they were. Other the animals were the same too weren't they? You'd expect a lion to roar, but not a tabby cat. It was easy to estimate that a sloth was going to sleep almost every hour of the day and an owl being able to twist its head almost all the way around. Humans were the same too weren't they? You could tell what they could and couldn't do. It was the things that were unnatural to them, for instance flying that made them humans.

We wouldn't be humans if we had wings would we?

As they walked over tree roots and rocks Tomoyo occasionally stopped, clutching her Barbie doll Jasmine (whom she refused to leave the campsite without) and examining a caterpillar. Her brother just nodded his head at her, bending down beside her and watching her struggle to pick up the tiny insects. Finally the sound of moving water rushed to his senses and he breathed a sigh of relief. They were there at last! He was starting to think they would run out of time.

"Look Oniisan-chan!!" she squealed jumping on the spot before running across the brown sand, kicking off her sandals as she moved.

"Hey wait up!" He protested, moving quickly after her as he saw her stumble over the rocky bottom and splash into the water. Laughing slightly he bent down to grab the towels his sister had discarded the second she saw the water. Holding both of their gear in his arms he walked towards a picnic table, placed somewhere to his left and took off his own sandals. Youo was halfway through unbuckling his second sandal when he heard laughter.

"What are you kids doing here?" His ears pricked up as he heard a voice. It was way too deep to be his sister.

Turning around quickly he looked to where Tomoyo was wading, up to her hips in water, and to the five teenaged boys blocking her from coming back to shore. His eyes grew wide. He discarded his attempts at taking off his other shoe.

He started running.

"Sw-swimming." He heard her say, obviously shy and nervous because of the sheer size of them.

"Little brats like you?" No, he had to move faster! By now his still sandaled feet were splashing through the water. "Fine," another said, Youo could almost hear their smirks as they laughed. "Than go swim."

"B-but I can't swim any deeper! Oniisan says I could get hurt!"

Damn water, why was it resisting him so much! He moved faster now, heart beating rapidly. If they fucking touched her they were dead meat!

"Swim dammit!" he heard her shriek and the sound of pulling hair. That threw him over the edge.

"Hey you!" He shouted angrily, jumping one of the boys surrounding his sister and throwing him into the water. "Get away from her!"

Youo was half underwater as he began to punch that asswipe's face in. He heard muffled yelps and hands moving to pull him off when he heard Tomoyo shout his name. That brought him back and he threw himself above water, gasping for air as the boys around him tried to pull him off their comrade. Due to his size it wasn't that hard. Shaking his head to get the water out of his eyes he gazed at the people around him. Two of the guys were helping their fallen comrade open and the other two were holding him and his sister. He struggled relentlessly. Who were these fricken idiots?

"Let go of her!" He yelped as he bit the hand of the teenager confining him. The man swore but didn't let go. "You better! You don't know the wrath of a Suwa!"

By now the guy he had jumped had gotten out of the water and was advancing towards him. Kurogane felt his heart thump wildly. This guy was at least twice his size. Twisting this way and that he tried to get out of the teen's grip as he saw the others close in around him, blocking Tomoyo from his view. No, he had to get to Tomoyo. He had to get to Tomoyo!

"Shut the fuck up." Only then did he see what the guy was holding in his fists.

Those thoughts were instantly knocked out of his head by the rock his victim threw at him. He didn't see anything as he felt it hit his head and heard Tomoyo scream. After that his whole world went black.

He was jerked awake by the sudden stopping of the bus. Quickly sitting up he inhaled deeply through his nose, rubbing at his eyes with the back of his fist. Kurogane looked out the window and noticed he was no longer in the countryside. Damn, how long had he been asleep? Worried he had missed his stop he grabbed his stuff and raced towards the front of the now empty bus.

"Excuse me when are we going to get to Celus?" He said putting down his stuff in one of the seats and looking over the drivers shoulder.

The driver, a rather large man in his mid fifties looked at him through his mirror. "We already are."

Kurogane gazed through the front window. Wow. So this was Celus huh?

Sure was puny.

They were on what looked like the main road, heading down into a valley filled with tiny shops and homes. This was nothing like what Kurogane expected.

What would Tomoyo be doing with the Loshin Times…out HERE?

The bus drove down the street, passed the brick houses built on the slope and over the bridge. The little mason work bridge helped them over the little ditch that lead to a slow moving river, accompanied by a pretty looking trail. As they reached the bottom of the valley, they stopped at a four corners, four roads meeting at one point. A group of teenagers passed in front of the large vehicle and Kurogane blinked the surprise off his face as he saw the expensive clothing these kids wore, even on a weekend. This was a rich kid's town wasn't it?

Perfect.

The kids passed in front of them, laughing to each other and talking amongst one another. The second they were out of the way the light turned green again and the bus accelerated, desperately trying to gain momentum so it could get up the huge hill. Once they got over to the top they decreased in speed, Kurogane watching as the small town with small houses turned into busy shopping centers and huge, expensive parking lots. Talk about a change in scenery. Realizing he probably had a little more time till he got to the nearest stop he sat back down, this time in the front seat and resumed his window gazing.

The hillside had turned to a flat plateau by now, covered by strip malls and local grocery stores. Distantly on both sides of the road he could see rows and rows of houses, subdivisions. Kurogane observed silently as they began inconsistent blurs on the edge of his vision. His eyelids fluttered. Damn, why was he so tired all the sudden? The young man would always insist that he wasn't even closing his eyes when the bus came to a speeding stop. With a shout of protest he shot forward and hit the front of the seat violently. Letting out a little curse he glared intently at the bus driver. He could see him smiling in the reflection of his mirror. It was when he was staring in that general direction that he realized what the bus had stopped just a few buildings down from.

Celus House of Justice.

Well that doesn't sound intimidating at all.

But it wasn't the courthouse that caught his attention so suddenly. It was the young girl standing in front of it. No…the young woman. A woman he had not seen in so long she might as well have been dead to him.

"Tomoyo." His voice came out in half a whisper. In an instant he had grabbed his stuff and bulleted himself out of the door. Barely hearing the sound of the springs being released in the bus as the door opened, unaware of the sounds of moving people and mindless chatter he moved forward. Seconds went by yet he had already managed to maneuver his way towards her. In two seconds Tomoyo was in his arms. He was holding her, he was smelling her. This was her. This was his sister, the one he had grown up with, the one he had protected, the one he loved. Kurogane felt himself smile as she threw her little arms around him and muttered contently in his ear.

"Kurogane-oniisan…"

"The defense calls Clow Reed to the stand."

Fai watched as a tall man, his long dark hair pulled back in a pony tail moved from the pews. His eyes filled with sadness as he remembered Clow Reed, he was their neighbor from across the street. Back when they were little he and his wife used to hold the best Christmas parties. Then again that was before she mysterious got up and left one night. The man moved quietly, with the same calming grace as he always did. He was always such a caring man, someone you could always trust. Even though he was only in his mid forties, one would think he was almost one hundred. This was not because of how he looked, but because of the air of wisdom he maintained. Fai frowned. He did not know Clow was on the defense's side.

Once he was sworn in Yasha approached him confidently, ready to begin his witness's examination.

"What did you observer on June the 20th 2050 Mr. Reed?" he said loudly.

At first the man sitting was slow to answer. "I was sitting on the patio bench, reading a book of mine," he began in a quiet, low voice. The man reached up a hand to put his spectacles in place. "When I saw a car full of very loud teenagers pull up in the house in front of mine."

"Did you recognize anyone in the car?"

"Not at first no."

"What happened next?"

"Someone got out of the car and approached the house."

"So you only saw Mr. Ou get out of the car?" The defense attorney said prompting him into the direction he wanted with his words.

"I did not recognize him at the time, but yes, I saw someone get out of the car and approach the house."

"At what time did you see the car drive away?"

"It was about midnight. I figured they got tired of waiting because their friend did not come back. They moved a little farther up the street and waited there."

"When did you see someone come up to the door again?"

"It was sometime after 12:00, I was heading inside to go to bed when I saw some people on the property and eventually entering the house."

"Did you see anything else?" Yasha persisted confidently.

Clow turned his eyes warily to look at Fai. Those dark eyes, usually so full with wisdom, looked down at the boy through his glasses sadly. "No." He said, ripping that powerful gaze away from the blonde.

"No further questions."

All eyes were on Sorata as he stood up and walked towards Clow. Fai actually felt bad for having to see him be interrogated by Sorata-san. He was actually a really good guy; he remembered that from when he was a kid. Clow Reed was always quite, more interested in politics and his books than the real world. But with his wife being a social butterfly it was hard not to be popular and talkative at their parties. The young man did not remember much of Mrs. Reed. When she left he was so little he didn't even remember the color of her hair. All he knew was that she was really tall and painted figurines for a hobby. That and the fact that she randomly strode out of the house one night and drove away. Mrs. Reed never came back, even though Clow sat waiting for her on the porch every other night to return. Fai figured that was what Clow Reed had been doing that night when he saw Ashura too.

"Mr. Reed, on the second time you saw someone approach the house did you get a clear view of who it was?" Sorata-san said to him politely, noticing that this man deserved his respect.

"No, I did not recognize the people at the time."

"So how did you manage to know that it was two people walking on the Flowright's property?"

"Because I heard talking." He insisted. "If they were talking of course there was more than one person."

"Indeed Mr. Reed?" Sorata-san motioned to the tables where they were sitting. Fai felt his brother clutch him tighter. "Does it not make sense that it could have been my client's brother? Who returned at approximately the time you heard 'two people approach the house' and was supposedly 'singing to himself'?"

Clow's brow wrinkled, as if taking time to process this thought. But no. He knew what side he was on. "No it could not have been him. I've know Yuui since he was a little kid. He did not sound like that."

Sorata was silent, moving back momentarily to see his notes on the table than looking back up at the witness. "Mr. Reed, your glasses, are they for reading?"

He shook his head, confused about the randomness of his question. "No. I can't see things very far away well."

"Ah." Sorata nodded. "So, do you wear your glasses when you are reading?"

"No it hurts my head too much."

Yasha seemed to realize where this was going and quickly stood. "Judge does this have any relevance to the case?"

She turned to look at Sorata and he politely smiled. "Yes Judge it does. He says." With a wave of her hand she sent him off again.

"So if you didn't need them for reading, were you wearing your glasses that night?"

Clow turned silent. Fai's eyes widened seeing the loophole Sorata-san had caught. It would have been easy to mistake one person as two when it was dark and the man couldn't see farther than a hands length away without his vision being blurry.

"No…they were in the house at the time." he said quietly.

"So would it not have been easy to mistake the number of people present the second time someone entered the house?"

He did not answer, but that was okay. They all got the gist of it now.

"No further questions."

Sorata waited until the witness got down from the stand and was sitting once again in the pews before walking back to his table. Once again Sorata and Yasha traded places, neither making eye contact nor speaking the entire time.

When Yasha stood in the middle of the room once more, the complete centre of attention, he spoke. Fai felt his heart wretch. This was it.

"The defense calls Ashura Ou to the stand." Fai's entire body immediately snapped to his attention, eyes flickering towards where his rapist sat. There was a dead silence that fell across the room that was thicker than fog, quickly dispersing as the man stood from where he was standing and began the long walk to the witness stand. Or in his case the accused. He sat down and the officer moved forward to swear him in. The whole while Fai never took his eyes off him. Once the officer was done with his duties he moved away and Fai got a better look at the man he hadn't seen in years.

To say the least he didn't look nearly affected as much as he was sure he did. Yasha tilted his head up, making himself look even taller than he already was. He looked his client straight in his face, probably ordering him silently to never look away from him the entire time he was up on the stand.

"Mr. Ou, at what time did you arrive at Mr. Flowright's place?" He asked.

"About half after eleven." Oh my god. It was the first time Fai had heard Ashura speak in years…how was it his voice still sounded as sexy as it did back then?

"In what state did you find the young man when you arrived at his home?"

"He was terrible." Ashura said, maintaining his eye contact with his lawyer at all times.

Well that was an understatement for sure. Alone, discarded. Rejected, abnormal. Depressed, hurt, ashamed, beaten. Abused, different, defiled. Any of those words could have replaced terrible in that sentence…and they would have all been true.

"He was definitely drinking." He continued. Yasha nodded.

"Mr. Ou did you drink anything while you were on his property?"

"No."

No, but you were pretty tipsy by the time you got there.

"How did you get on Mr. Flowright's property?"

"I got a couple of friends to drop me off at the entrance to his subdivision; I walked the rest of the way."

"So your friends did not know where you were going?"

Ashura shook his head. "I did not tell them."

"What was your reaction when they showed up at Mr. Flowright's window while you were trying to comfort him?"

Comfort. Hah! So now according to the law comforting meant making out?

"Surprised. I guess they followed me."

No shit Sherlock.

"What did Mr. Flowright say to you when he saw others outside?"

He shifted uneasily. Fai almost smirked at seeing him squirm. "He told me to leave. But he was crying. I didn't want to leave him like that. So I," Ashura's eyes shifted back to his lawyer, regaining his confidence. "So I got out and told them to leave. Last time I saw them that night they were swearing and drunk and driving away. I went back into the house and followed him upstairs. I wanted to try and talk things out with him." Something in his face changed, his face went red even. Was he embarrassed? "That was before he kissed me again though."

"So you are saying that Mr. Flowright instigated the sex that followed?"

"Completely." He said this in a confident voice.

"Did he ask you to stop? Did he say anything that might have seemed like he didn't want what you were giving him?"

Sorata jumped up. "Your honor!"

"No." Ashura said, continuing on like he hadn't said a thing at all. "He didn't say anything like that."

The court room was silent.

Yasha's voice was the only sound echoing throughout the area, making the large place seem like it was empty instead of crowded. "What happened afterwards?" He sent a look towards Sorata who was still standing in protest. The judge just inclined her head towards him and he sat back down stiffly.

"After the…" he stopped before he said it. "Afterwards I felt bad. I realized how much I didn't want what had just happened between us…and I told him I didn't want this to happen again." His eyes flickered towards Fai know and he felt his heart skip a beat. "I didn't want to hurt him."

His eyes moved quickly back to meet that of his lawyers. Fai also found himself taking a quick peak, watching the expression of his own lawyer through his blonde bangs. Like usual Sorata's face was unreadable.

"Fai got mad." Ashura continued. "He told me he hated me and that he never wanted to see me again. I didn't want to leave so quickly. I felt bad for what just happened between us...for leading him on like I did. But I seriously regretted what we did together. So I did what he said and I left."

Yasha let the frown on his face turn up ever so slightly. "No further questions." He said with a look towards Sorata before walking back to his desk. The defense attorney muttered something to his opponent as they passed each other and Sorata shook his head in return. He didn't say anything back to him.

The man walked forward slowly, at a steady, easy pace that was almost threatening. Ashura just stared on, eyes unreadable as he waited for the cross-examination to begin.

You knock him down Sorata-san. Fai urged on silently.

"What were you doing at his home Mr. Ou?" Sorata said quietly. Wow. Not one for going in soft huh? Now Ashura looked somewhat bothered. Something in his eyes seemed to changed when he was confronted by the tall lawyer. Fai's eyebrows tilted downwards. Astonishment flooded his face. He…wasn't feeling bad about this was he? No. Probably just intimidated.

No one could blame him for hoping.

"Earlier that day at school I found some of my friends…hurting Fai. They told me he was spreading lies about me, saying I was gay and that I admitted it to him."

"Did this instance occur? Did you tell Mr. Flowright you were gay?" He commented.

"Objection!" Yasha said before Ashura was given time to answer. "Relevance?" Both lawyers turned to face the judge.

"Continue carefully Sorata." The judge ordered with a warning.

"What I meant is," he said turning back to the man sitting on stand who had relaxed back to his calm state the second his lawyer came to his defense. "What was your reaction to these accusations?"

"I did not know what to say. Fai and I had talked earlier that week and he did mention that he was gay but…we never talked about myself being that way."

You're lying. You're a liar! We talked alright; you told me you didn't what to talk about it because…because…

"They did not listen to me when I told them to just let it lie. They took that as permission to continue." Idiot, liar. Liar!

"So you did not touch Mr. Flowright at that time?"

"No. A few of them led me away, said they had something they wanted to show me."

"But you did see what they were doing to him." The lawyer persisted with an accusing tone, trying his best to intimidate the man before him. "You saw what they were doing to a boy who had been your best friend just a few days ago!"

The defense rose quickly once more. "Objection, this is obviously harassment."

"Sustained." The judge said without looking at the defense attorney. She, like everyone else at the moment had both her eyes on the dark haired man sitting quietly on trial.

They were all waiting for an answer now.

"I saw what they were doing." He said in a quiet voice, he lifted up a hand to push a strand of black hair behind his ear. "Doesn't mean I liked it. They dragged him out of sight. I was worried they would do something if I went after them."

Bullshit.

Sorata looked like he wanted to say more but realized he should continue on with another piece of evidence. "Mr. Ou what was your purpose for visiting Mr. Flowright that night?"

"I already said, I was worried for him. I wanted to see if he was okay."

"And your being worried for him just happened to have led to the two of you having sexual intercourse?"

"Well…" he shifted uncomfortably, looking embarrassed. "That was not what I originally intended, no."

"So than I suppose you believe that the sex was consensual?" The lawyer started moving now, walking closer towards the man sitting on the raised platform. His dark eyes were piercing, but Ashura was a very good actor. He did not seem fazed, only confused.

"Of course. He was the one who came onto me in the first place!"

How dare he?

"Hmm." Sorata said in response, moving over to grab Fai's police statement from his table. "Do you call 'yelling at him to leave and threatening to call the police' Mr. Flowright's way of saying 'let's have sex?'" he stated, reading the piece of paper before turning back to the defense.

"No." Ashura said, obviously getting a little flustered. "But that's not what happened." Realizing with those words he was about to get eaten alive by the prosecution he corrected himself. "Not afterwards at least."

"Mr. Ou," The prosecutor said in a stern, slow voice. Fai could tell by his tone of voice. This was the last, most important question that was going to be asked during this trial. "Did you rape Mr. Flowright?" The tall blonde stared intently at his ex-best friend. Willing him with his eyes, he begged him to just let him forget about this, to just admit it…to admit what really happened. Let this end before this got way beyond his control. He did not know why, but Fai was seriously hoping that Ashura would just admit it and get off easy.

Come on Ashura-kun, just say it. Please just say it.

"No."

Fai eyes hit the floor. Pushing back his messy hair with his free hand he resisted the urge to cry. He did not know why he was so tempted to believe Ashura would just tell them what happened. He had stuck to his story for five whole years. What made him think this time was going to be any different? Fai felt his twin squeeze his hand, sending thousands of undecipherable emotions into his body.

Fai gave him a light nudge in response than returned to watching the trial.

With only those few, formal words leaving his lips Sorata dismissed the defendant from the cross-examination and returned to his seat directly in front of Fai. The prosecutor wasn't even fully in his seat before Yasha stood up, taking the floor once again. He zoned out as he heard the slick man begin the re-examination. Wow. This was starting to get funny. How many people would start to daydream when a group of people were basically deciding what the rest of his life was going to be like? Answer: not many. Fai just happened to be one of those few.

It was quite easy surprisingly; the endless repeated questions accompanied by equally robotic answers, as well as that dull drone of Yasha's voice boring into his skull was enough to put him to sleep. Besides he had not had a good nights rest in days. The twenty one year old was so sleep deprived he had permanent bags hatched onto his skin. The worst part was he remembered how they had got there…how each had been carefully sewn on with a needle and thread like a patch onto a pair of ripped jeans. Each stitch the needle had made was created after endless nights in the hospital…too worried she'd die while he was asleep to rest. It was made during those horrid nights of repetitive prostitution, where he was too scared of his client sleeping next to him to even close his eyes. It seemed there was no hope for him now. Except maybe makeup.

With a little sigh he let his mind drift away…away from all the stress and pressure that accompanied this courtroom and this dreaded town. Fai imagined he was back home. Not, not back in the home where he was treated like a fragile glass doll and like the Black Death all in one. No, he went back to the home which constantly smelled of laundry detergent, the one Syaoran always used to wash their clothes, and oranges, Kurogane's favorite fruit that he always seemed to keep in a hefty stock. Back to their small, crowded living room and their sparkling clean kitchen. Honestly, when Syaoran-kun and Kuro-woof first moved in he had never expected his puppy to be such a neat freak. Fai should have suspected it; with his no nonsense attitude and his "don't fuck with me" stares he couldn't be anything but a complete and utter control freak. Even when it came to cleaning. Fai imagined those piercing crimson holes glaring into his eyes… the color as wicked and intimidating as his determination, yet soft like rose petals…like him.

His blood raced at the thought of being able to touch him again, to see him again. What a thrill that would be. Would he resent him though? Was he upset about the kiss? No he wouldn't be. He was the one who gave him it first anyways!

That thought led his brain off its tracks, a quick and painless train wreck that was. No way was he going to be thinking about that. Fai had to stop before he got ahead of himself again.

The blonde opened the lifeless pale blue eyes he had not realized he had closed. Focusing his attention back on the men and women of the jury he tried to understand what was happening. That, as well as desperately trying to push that persistent Kurogane out of his head before he made some permanent brain damage.

"So you did in fact ask Mr. Flowright if you could come in?"

Woah, how much had he missed?

"Yes."

"Yes? So there was on forced entry done on your behalf?"

"No. He invited me in."

Yasha nodded his head to Ashura, p[leased that the court session was going smoothly for him. Fai almost puked. Oh my god. Were they that close to the end already?

"No more questions." Apparently so.

Ashura nodded back and hesitantly stood up, walking back to the defense's table on the other side of the room. Fai stared at him until he sat down again, unable to tear his eyes away. The other man refused to look at him.

"Does the defense or the prosecution have any more witnesses they would like to call?"

Both lawyers automatically rejected her question and she nodded her head, shuffling her papers on her desk before looking at them once more. Nothing was heard for a few moments except for the rushed typing of the clerk as he tried to record the last few words being said. Silence filled the room for the longest time before she spoke.

"The defense may now make their closing statement." She said inclining her head towards Yasha. He slowly turned towards the Jury, looking at their faces for a few moments before walking towards them. As he began his long strides toward them he spoke in a low, deep voice.

"Men and Women of the Jury," he said, "it is crucial for you to understand the repercussions of lies. Mr. Ou life has been forever altered by these court proceedings. It has been hard for him in university, where he is getting excellent grades and worthwhile job opportunities in the near future, to hope for a better life when he might be wrongly convicted before he has a chance to live. Up to the event the court has described for you Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Ou was an outstanding citizen in Celus, continuously helping our community and consistently being a great role model for his peers. After this event he continuously held up this image, wanting to show others that the right thing is always right. Yet some of his luster has faded, he feels constantly threatened by the world around him because many believe he is trying to redeem himself because of a crime he did not commit. Right now many of you are probably making assumptions that this man is guilty, not because of the evidence provided, but because the victim has provided you with a sob story that perfectly defies all logic Mr. Ou has put forth. I am here to help you see that Mr. Ou did the right thing after he realized Mr. Flowright was distressed that night at his house; he told his friends to leave, and went upstairs to comfort his friend. If what happened in that room included sex, I have proved that it was consensual. Now all you got to do is give Mr. Flowright a chance to put this mishap behind him…to let him admit the truth to himself."

The court was silent as Yasha turned away from the Jury. He walked back to his table and pushed back his chair, a grim frown stitched on his face. Fai was sure his feet were covered in slime. It was taking all the effort he could not to faint right there and then. All the rage that just came pouring out of him after hearing the defense attorney's words drained him of all energy. He knew he could not really blame him, he was just doing what he was paid to but…but…

How could he?

Sorata approached the council now, a stern, emotionless look on his face. Fai was impressed how composed he was, even after the whole ordeal of the trial. He had to give the man props for approaching the formidable judge, and the stares of the Jury at least ten different times this evening alone. Fai was only up there for five minutes and he was so scared he almost wet himself. When the man spoke though, he could instantly see why Sorata had to be so confident. He saw exactly what was fueling him to be so brave.

"Men and Women of the Jury, right now our world is faced with a crisis." He began, taking slow steps in front of the Jury's pews. "This crisis is shown in this trial, a perfect example that the utter truth can be totally disregarded because of someones social status. Yes it is true that Mr. Ou is a straight A student graduating from a fine university, that he has never once been in trouble socially or with the law. It is true that he remains an outstanding contribution to local children's funds and community safety meetings…but that does not mean that he has never done a bad deed in his life." Fai could feel the hair rise up on his arms; this was a side of Sorata-san he had never seen before. The power, the emphasis that was coming through his words shook him, rocked him from his sense of security. He wondered if it was doing the same to the jurors. "Hate was the reason for him attacking him so, for letting his friends, watch as he was degraded and humiliated. In the one moment that his social status, so highly valuable till then, was threatened by being kissed by another boy, he formed a hatred for his best friend." He paused then, watching the juror's faces, some stone still, others moved. Almost none of them could meet his gaze. "That hate is what caused his fear, and that fear is what caused him to try and make an example of this man. Mr. Flowright was raped and brutally assaulted by the defendant. And it is your job as the Jury to determine that he is guilty. It is your job as unbiased, citizens of our nation to overlook the right he has done in his life and recognize that even the best of us have our moments of violence. Imagine if the victim was a friend of yours, or a son, a nephew or a niece…would you want to see his assaulter go free? I ask you now; make your decision, based on the facts…not on social stations."

He stopped, this time for good. Without another word Sorata moved to sit back down beside Fai and the blonde felt his heart jump into his throat as he saw the Judge call for a recess. This was it. They had done all they could. Sorata had said everything he could to help him. Now it was completely out of his hands.

It was time for the jury to decide.

"I told you that was an accident!" Kurogane snapped, his face blushing red as the ketchup on his plate at hearing his sister giggle. "I didn't mean to touch her and that was that!"

"Sure you didn't oniisan-chan." She said taking one of her brother's fries from his plate and eating it. "I just wanted to let you know that Souma misses you, that's all." The girl winked one of her large dark eyes. "Rumor has it she's working at a bar in Loshin. Maybe you should drop by sometime."

Uh oh. Hear they go again. He had only managed to get through half a meal and she was already trying to set him up with some of her friends again. It always used to be like this, even when they were teenagers. It wasn't that he had troubles with the ladies; in fact he got them by the handfuls. Tomoyo just insisted that he had to date all of her friends at least twice.

Kurogane just shook his head vigorously. "I don't think so."

"Aww why not?" suddenly an idea popped into her heat and she gasped. Leaning across the table she stared him down, that little, knowing smile resting on her lips. "There's someone else isn't there?" Tomoyo sang in a sing-song voice. The dark haired man felt his face blush up again and lifted up a mug to take a sip from his coffee, hoping the action would hide it.

"Oh. My. God. There IS someone else isn't there?" She squealed and leaned back in her chair, smacking her wrists together. "Who is she? Who is she? Or he, is it a he? Come onnnnn Kuro-oniisan tell meeee!" He resisted the temptation to excuse himself to go to the washroom. Then again, Tomoyo probably wouldn't let him leave the table without an answer either.

"Why so that was you can force him to wear your clothes? Hell no."

Her eyes widened all the same and she pointed at him excitingly. "Ha HA! You just gave me a clue!"

His heart stopped. "What? No I didn't!"

"Yes you did!" She moved forward and poked him. "You said you don't want me to be forcing him to wear my clothes! That's a hint! Now you've narrowed down my population wide search to half! Thanks!" Once again she winked. Kurogane would have smacked his head against the table if it weren't for the plate of food in his way.

"So, who is he? Co-worker? Friend? Boss? Ohhh Kurogane are you having sex in the workplace?" The worst part was she managed to say it with a totally straight face.

"That's it I'm gone!" He said standing up, as Tomoyo burst out laughing. He was so not ready to have a sex talk with his sister. Come on, he always figured HE would be the one giving this to her! God knows he's already had to chase a few boys out of the house. "Aww sorry Kurogane-oniisan. It's just too much fun to tease you." She reached her little hand towards his and grabbed it softly. "Come on…sit back down?"

Damn those eyes. Grunting he sat back down. "Listen can we just change the subject?" At his sudden change of voice Tomoyo stopped. Something in her eyes changed as she came to a realization; maybe Kurogane hadn't even come to himself. She nodded and returned to sipping her apple juice and finishing her burger. Her brother did the same.

Wow. Kurogane didn't really realize how long it had been since he had just sat and had a simple meal with his little sister. Why has this been the first time in years? It shouldn't have had to turn out like that.

He went back to eating his dinner, tuning out as the sounds and smells of the cafe grabbled at his senses. Tomoyo however couldn't stand the silence for long. She always was like that, even as a kid. Kurogane hadn't even taken two bites before he saw her draw in another breath. Letting out a groan and a little laugh the young man shook his head.
"What is it Tomoyo?" He said laughing before he took another bite from his hamburger.

"Dad sent you something." Kurogane froze. Tomoyo held out a thin package, wrapped in brightly colored paper. "It's your birthday present, from a few months ago. He told me to-,"

"Like hell I'm taking his shit." He snapped pushing the package back to her side of the table.

She fell silent; Tomoyo had been through this same routine any time they had gotten together since Kurogane left home. For some reason, she knew she should have given up on her brother by now. He hadn't seen their dad in almost half a decade. Most likely Kurogane never would. But for some reason she knew she had to try again.

If only he wasn't so stubborn.

"Kurogane…you can't just-."

"Hide from him for the rest of my life?" He interrupted, his tone making shivers run up her spine. "Can't just hate him for framing me for something I didn't do? Dad knew Tomoyo! Dad knew that I would never hurt mom yet he still…" Something in his voice then wasn't right. Something wasn't him. Hesitatingly, she slowly swerved her eyes back up to stare at his, which were deliberately looking anywhere but her. Tomoyo almost felt her heart stop at what she saw.

Oh Kurogane…

She stayed quiet, stunned at what she witnessed falling down her brother's cheeks. Slowly she retracted her hand from his as if they were opposite sides of a magnet. Tomoyo did not know what to say.

What was there for her to say? Kurogane didn't even know what to say. He didn't feel bad. He knew that for sure as he turned to his jacket, pretending to be digging for something to avoid the look on his sister's face. The dark haired fighter did not ever want to see his fucking jackass of a dad ever again. Ever.

It wasn't his fault what the consequences were of losing contact.

Even if it was he didn't care.

A good father would have been there for me. A good father would have tried to talk with me when I got involved with the fucking Bronyin gang! A good father would have stood up for me when I was being arrested for something I didn't fucking do! Realizing he could not hide for much longer he wiped the tear track from his cheek, sat back up and cleared his throat. It seemed that Tomoyo had also composed herself by the time he returned to his usual sitting stance.

"Listen oniisan," Tomoyo insisted, still fingering the package with her shaking fingers. She always did hate to confront her brother. Kurogane resisted the temptation to roll his eyes. "He made some mistakes in the past; he said things he didn't mean. But if you saw him now you'd realize just how much he has changed. He finished medical school Kurogane! Dad never finished school before! He even got a job; he's working at Loshin General Hosp-!"

"I don't care what he got a degree in! I don't care how much he's changed!" He snapped, his anger finally reaching its limit. Kurogane felt his arms shaking as he grasped the edge of the table with his hands, closing them into fists violently. He couldn't believe she was defending him! "A piece of paper doesn't give him reason to believe his own son was a murderer."

She looked down at the table, her own hands folded in her lap as they held the dejected present. He could see she was shaking. And for once he did not feel like comforting her.

The hustle and bustle inside the café went on like usual. The chatter continued as waitresses brought customers their food. A group laughed at a nearby table at some undistinguished joke. Smells lingered around the room, wafting in from the kitchen and a bell ran at the front door, signaling a man appearing with his family in the entrance. All around them the world moved. And although at that moment the pair of siblings felt their world stretch and ruin like unfinished fabric they didn't not realize they were only one part; an imperfection on a work of art that is barely noticed when the painting is glanced from afar.

Kurogane raised a tanned hand, signaling at a waitress to bring him their check. It was time to leave. He also took the time to wipe away those fricken salty extracts that struck his face. Damn his fucking emotions. Why do they have the worst possible timing? The young man hadn't even noticed he was crying. Once the bill was paid and the squabble that pursued about how much Kurogane owed his sister (zoom in on his empty wallet) they emerged once more on the sidewalk. Tomoyo pulled up the fur lined hood on her jacket and wrapped it tighter around herself. The black haired fighter couldn't help but do the same; he had not noticed just how chilly it was now that the sun had gone down and the wind had increased in speed.

Well at least the rain has stopped.

"Hm, I should probably get back to the courthouse. The trial must be closing up by now and I need to be there to capture the results." She said with a giggle, holding up her handy dandy notebook.

"I'll walk with you." Kurogane said shortly in reply, shoving his hands in his pockets and waltzing down the sidewalk.

"Kurogane silly, you don't have to." Tomoyo laughed as she followed her brother, knowing full well he was going to do it whether she told him to or not. "I can take care of myself."

Yah right. Like hell you can.

Besides, Kurogane didn't care if he was in some obscure part of the countryside right now, back home in Loshin you did not walk alone by yourself once the sun had set. That knowledge was permanently carved into his brain; no one could blame him for not being used to the harmlessness of the country.

Together they walked in a calm silence, quite an odd pair they were to the random person passing by. A tall, buff man walking beside his petite, charming, only comes up to his chest younger sister. A loving, gentle, smile, accompanied by a gruff, grumpy scowl. The dog and the deer, call it whatever you like. But everyone could tell, without a doubt, that these two were siblings.

"So here we are." She said coming to a stop in front of a tall, white, coliseum like building. Kurogane looked at it; he really hadn't bothered to observe it earlier. It looked like a very large, very old fashioned style courthouse. It was complete with stone pillars reaching to the mountain tops and a concrete staircase of mammoth proportions.

Honestly, what does a town this small need from such an elaborate place?

"What's the trial of anyways?" he said, turning his head back to the long haired girl and away from the street light. He covered her with shadow, but even in the darkness he saw her change of posture. Immediately her mood seemed to dampen. Slowly her eyes wavered from his stare and looked at the large wooden doors at the top of the staircase.

"It's a rape case. Four years ago a teenager was molested, in his own house nonetheless." Kurogane whistled a low, soured note. Now that's what you call rotten luck.

"Why are they having the trial out here if it happened back in Loshin?"

Tomoyo looked at him, somewhat confused. "It happened right here in Celus." She stated.

His brow furrowed. What reason does the Loshin Times have making a report of this then?

All of the sudden the door cracked open, revealing a sliver of light from inside as a man stepped out. Judging by the camera around his neck Kurogane suspected the red haired min the tiny glasses was Tomoyo's photographer for the paper.

"Tomoyo-chan is that you? Come on get in here! The Jury is about to release its decision!"

Letting out a little meep the girl stood on her tip toes and threw her arms around her brother's neck for a quick hug. Kurogane, not ever the one for affection gave her a little squeeze in return. He did however smile ever so slightly as he recognized the smell of the perfume she was wearing. She still wore that everyday didn't she? He was surprised she hadn't run out by now, he remembered buying that for her for her 16th birthday.

"Bye oniisan!" She squealed, flying out of his grasp just as fast as she got into it and running up the stairs two at a time. "I'll call you later in the week okay?"

Kurogane just smirked, nodding at her when she sent one last smile his way. Then she disappeared into the courthouse, and she closed the door her partner had opened, shutting out the main source of light as she did. He walked away slowly, moving into the lone beam of the street lamp hitting the sidewalk. Hands stuffed inside his pockets he stared at where he had last seen her for almost two minutes before he broke out of the daze he hadn't realized he had been in. Blaming it on his overtiredness, Kurogane would always insist that it was NOT because he regretted apologizing to her when he could. For not being there, for being so stubborn, for leaving her to live alone with their father and sick family just weeks after his mom's death when she needed him most.

Silently he began his parade down the sidewalk to where hopefully he would find the bus stop he had gotten off at to take him home. He was about two blocks down from where he and his sister had separated when he felt a tingle in his nether regions. Looks like his bladder had other plans for him.

Grumbling his annoyance towards bodily functions and their imperfect timing he stomped his way back down the sidewalk. He tried entering a few small shops that were rooted along the pathway but why would they have a bathroom? And even if they did, why would they be open at night? So he ended up sauntering back the way he came, checking the time on his watch to make sure he'd have enough time to get back to the bus stop. Hoping that if he missed this one he could just catch the next one he took a hand out of its pocket to push open one of the heavy wooden doors.

Besides, like anything terribly important was going to happen during the two seconds he needed to take a piss.

They had been in there for about an hour. Fai almost ran out of the room multiple times. His mother had moved from her seat in the rows now and moved to stand closer to her son. Yuui hadn't let go of his twins hand since he came back down from the stand. Yet both of these actions combined did absolutely nothing to stop the racing of his quickly pulsating heart. He thought the time would go by much quicker than it was. But it was moving slowly, the seconds falling off the clock like syrup out of a tree. There had to be someway to make things go by quicker.

The blue eyed man found himself leaning back into his chair, closing his eyes. He tried to think of calming things, relaxing things. The first thing that came to mind was Sakura; just imagining that smile of hers, the cute way she squeaked whenever Fai poked or surprised her, it send waves of warmth through his heart. She always had that ability to make him melt whenever she came around. It was impossible to be angry or upset when she was there. And Syaoran, he was such a sweet kid. Not liking him even somewhat is not an option when he remains so loyal and polite all the time. The kid was barely an adult, and already he was taking on so many responsibilities, it was amazing that he still managed to carry such an aura of innocence around him.

…Kurogane…

He couldn't help but think of him next. Unconsciously his fingertips (the ones not occupied by Yuui's) reached up to brush his lips. The two separate pieces of flesh pulsated at the thought of the treat they had received the night before. Where exactly had that come from? He did not even think Kurogane was gay.

Crap.

Now that the trial was mostly through, Fai was finding it harder and harder to keep the unmentionable from invading his mind. What had started his attraction to him anyways? It couldn't have just randomly popped out of his head so randomly…it had to come from somewhere. He scanned through his memories, where was it he first saw Kuro-riki? Oh yah! In the alley, when those guys were bothering him.

Hmmm, wonder what they were bothering him about anyways?

Fai remembered the look on Kurogane's face when he turned and saw a dart sticking out of his attacker's shoulder; it was absolutely priceless. But no, it wasn't that face which was sticking in his mind now…it was the look Kurogane had sent him when he was pushing him out of harms way. So many emotions flickered in his gaze at that moment. It was more emotions than Fai had ever seen on his face…and he was showing them all for someone he did not know. It was that bravery, that care for others the black haired fighter had that must have drawn him in, Fai decided to himself. Put that on top of the fact that Kuro-riki was incredible to look at and always seems to blush such a pretty shade of red every time he annoyed him…drove the blue eyed man crazy.

No. No he didn't want to talk about that. Not now. Not here. Not when he was in the middle of his own RAPE trial! Everything came crumbling back. That's right. He was back here in Celus wasn't he? Fai wasn't in Loshin in anymore. It was impossible to hide here, everyone knew what had happened! Back there in Loshin City is was easier to pretend that nothing had ever happened…that he just left because of the fall out with his father. Now that he was back…the weight of reality put immense pressure on him…so much he was struggling just to keep his thoughts straight. What was the possibility? What was the likelihood that something like this would happen to him? Was it possible to know something like this was going to happen? He never would have guessed this is what would have happened when he was younger.

1 in 6 Canadians have been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. Taking into account the nation's population, that is about 17.7 million people.

66% of the rape victims know their assailants.

48% were raped by a friend.

80% of rape victims are under 30 years of age.

20% of rapes take place in the victim's home.

Damn Statistics Canada. He knew he shouldn't have gone onto that web page.

Suddenly Fai felt his brother's grip tighten around his hand and he was dragged away from his thoughts. Slowly lifting up his head he felt his heart stop.

Fai almost screamed, they were coming back in.

Slowly the jurors entered. They moved one by one to their respective seats, all silent, faces expressionless. There was no way for the blue eyed man to tell what their decision had been. He urged them with his gaze to hurry up, to sit down and proclaim their answer so he could leave and puke.

This was it. This was their last chance. They had made all the progress they could. They did as much as they could. Now a few words were going to decide where Fai's life was going to go…whether it was going to heaven in a few years or to hell in a few hours.

Slowly the judge turned her eyes towards that of the Jury. Her face was also impassive. For a few moments the chatter resumed within the pews, but the moment the officer moved from his place beside the judge towards the jury everyone went as quite as if they were attending a funeral. To Fai they might as well have been. Either way the jury chose, they were condemning a man to something as good as, if not worse, than death. There was a rustle of paper and Fai knew they were delivering the notes to the judge. He tore his eyes away from the scene then, closing them as to not see what was happening. Yuui remained silent along with the others, but Fai knew his brother was with him. Clinging to his hand he reopened his eyes. He had to face this head on. He had to.

It was at that moment the Judge received the necessary papers, and with a clear voice she turned to the jurors and spoke.

"On the account of sexual assault how do you find the defense?" She said. Fai turned his blonde head wildly their way, his blue eyes wide and shaking.

Please, please…

"We find the defense not guilty."

"On the account of physical assault in the second degree how do you find the defense?"

"We find the defense not guilty."

Fai felt his heart cease. There were loud remarks from the spectators in the pews, movements as Yuui stood up, shouting his rage towards the jury, the banging sound, almost like a gun, of the judge bashing her gavel. Fai did not hear anything. He did not move as his twin lunged forward, shouting out hateful remarks towards the man, now free, being escorted out by his lawyer. Nothing was said as he heard Sorata try and hold him back, as he heard the police officer move towards them to stop them from doing anything. Fai didn't notice a thing.

Everything had already gone black.