--
His passing through the hall subdued those beside him to silence, his presence itself enough to force his 'employees' into submission. Ever since he had taken this post, the position was already cut out for him- an empty space formed from his own father's legacy. Most would be uncomfortable living out their lives in their father's shadow, fearing they wouldn't be able to stretch past the darkness to be revealed as themselves. He didn't mind… In fact, he relished in anything that held even the slightest remnant of his father. Perhaps it was a subtle way of venting the sorrow from his death.
Or something like that…
A head of orange hair pulled him from his thoughts.
"Kyo."
At the sound of his name, the boy stopped, body stiff as he turned to acknowledge the silent command. Akito smirked, masking the annoyance that rose within him at the sight of Kyo. It always felt as though defiance emanated from every inch of his body- a thing that Akito found rather distasteful.
"Yes?" His response was short, the formality forced.
Akito paused, staring at the boy before shrugging, moving to continue down the hall once more. "Keep following orders, Kyo, or you'll find your usefulness lacking."
"Yes sir."
He really was aggravating.
--
--
Kyo clenched his fingers more tightly into fists, aching to relieve frustration by driving his foot into that cold, pale face. But, like countless times before, he forced himself to withdraw such notions, recalling the fact that his life was far from his control. A single breath out of place could bring about his death- or, a slow, excruciatingly painful path to it. He was merely a puppet strung upon gradually deteriorating threads.
His attention was drawn to shouting further down the hall, around the corner. Curiosity stirred his feet into motion, and soon he found himself intercepting the source of the clamor.
"He's gone mad!"
"Get out of here! We need to get wea-"
"No!
"Get the others over here!"
Two men dashed around the corner as Kyo did, nearly knocking him to the ground in their efforts to flee. Ignoring them, he regained his balance and ran to the scene, halting abruptly at the sight.
"Kyo, huh?"
Opposite him stood a dark-haired boy, a wide smirk curving into his angular face. Crazed, vibrant blue eyes fixed on Kyo, he took a step forwards.
"You're just like the others, aren't you?"
…
…Kyo ducked to avoid a kick, bringing a fist around to…
…Blood flowed down his cheek, a burst of pain above his eye…
…Yelling, screaming… Where was he?
…
…White washed walls…
…
--
--
"Kyo! KYO!"
Kyo gasped, the sudden intake of air leaving him with hacking coughs as he struggled to regain his breath. As he opened his eyes, Tohru's face came into focus, although the rest of the room continued to swim. Her face was close…
"Thank goodness…" The words were spoken in a soft breath, her voice quiet in relief as she managed to smile down at him. For a few seconds, he found himself staring dazedly up at her- and then he realized where he was- his head resting on her lap. Heat exploding in his face, he snapped up to his feet, heart thudding in his chest with the mixture of surprise and… what else?
"Oh! I'm sorry! I just didn't want you to hit your head or anything, so I…" Behind him, Tohru's voice trailed off uneasily, obviously equally embarrassed as he was.
"It's fine." His reply was abrupt as he forced his own apprehension from his tone- then mentally berated himself for being rude. She had just been trying to help…
"Tohru! What happened?"
Tohru's mother dashed into the kitchen, Yuki trailing along behind her. Tohru jumped to her feet, dusting off her clothes quickly as she fumbled for a believable explanation. Her mother sighed, drawing her daughter in a quick hug with a smile.
"Well, as long as you're ok."
--
Yuki stood by the entrance to the kitchen; his grey eyes distant as he surveyed the scene. Kyoko was apparently squeezing her daughter to near death, and Kyo leaned against the counter, hands white as if he were clinging to keep himself upright. An uncharacteristically flustered expression had made its way across his face, colored patches upon his face accented by strangely pallid cheeks. Truth be told, he looked rather ill.
Rather than continue wasting his subtle concern on his once fellow 'worker', Yuki slipped backwards and back into the main room of the house, retiring among the cushions of the sofa stretched across the wall. He couldn't bring himself to intrude upon the three… It was as if an invisible, yet impenetrable barrier resisted his every move, no matter how much he wanted to be as normal as the family seemed. He was too out of place… But, if so, shouldn't the same be said of Kyo?
--
--
AN: Yes, it is the abrupt end to the flashbacks!!
The strange part with the multiple dots and broken sentences will be explained, don't worry… :D Please review!
