This chapter has been revised, I've finished off the ending, actually I changed it completely and corrected a few things that I was not happy with. There are not drastic changes in the chapter other than the ending.
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Somehow, life although it changes and never returns to what it once was, settles into some semblance of normalcy, or at least a close substitute for it. Yuki and her brother returned to their normal or all that was left of their normal lives after their parent's death. The university was close to breaking for the summer months and Yuki could not be happier about it, although the thought of her long unwanted house guests, one in particular, she didn't know why she would be so anxious for school to be out. That would simply mean she would have that much more time to occupy with things that she could do just to avoid further contact with Shuten doji than was necessary.
Yuki was struck by the odd sort of urgency that seemed to be in the air, her uncles were more often at her house than not, Touma of course was still a permanent resident with his wife and daughter. Shuten doji, Anubis and Naaza seemed to put a great emphasis on all of them learning or bettering what they had already learned, it seemed as if they were preparing for war. As their training continued, Yuki watched with awe the strength and improvement her brother showed in just a few short months, he still practiced kendo with her but he had begun experimenting with other weapons. She frowned upon it at first, as her father's style had always prevailed in their family but she had soon grown used to it and also realized the importance of having varied weapon skills. Even she, at the suggestion of Anubis had taken on learning something different, although her first love would always be kendo she was becoming quite adept at handling knives. After Anubis told her of her mother's interest and expertise in using two tanto, Yuki had asked that he teach her. Not bothering to ask how it was that one of his age had shown her mother, twenty some years older than him, how to use one. Anubis also proved useful in kendo practice, as he was an expert himself. She enjoyed his company a great deal, he had an easy, friendly attitude that she could not help but like and they would often hole themselves in the dojo for hours, much to the complaint of everyone else who wanted to use it.
Hiko, true to his word was no longer found crying in the night, when he wasn't at school he was training with Shuten doji or herself, when he was in bed he slept and Yuki could not help but be proud of him. However, not wholly unlike the urgency she could feel from the others, she could feel urgency from him as well. The drive to become better, stronger and more powerful was pushing him beyond anything she had witnessed in him before, he'd grown serious and she often missed the shy innocence of her sensitive younger brother. From time to time, just to make sure he was still there under all that muscle and serious attitude she and Sayuri would tease him relentlessly, offering to rub his muscles or tell him how sexy he looked in his tight tee shirts. He would blush red as a strawberry and they would laugh and tease him further, until unable to bear it any longer he would tear from the room and not come back until he was certain they were no longer present. Shuten doji was rather shocked at their behavior, calling them evil temptresses who should find something better to do with their time than attempt to corrupt honorable young men. Yuki, unable to resist such an open invitation to throw a jibe at him had in turn accused him of being jealous because she and Sayuri had not paid any attention to him, to which Anubis and Naaza roared with laughter much to Shuten's horror.
Smiling at the memory, Yuki pulled her small car into the parking lot of the high school, waiting for her brother to be dismissed so they could drive home together. She had not been there long when a car pulled up alongside her and a familiar face pressed itself against the glass of the passenger side. She stared, completely disgusted by the vulgar face until she realized it was Sayuri sitting in the passenger side of Makoto Fuan's new car and then laughed. Pressing the button to roll down the electric window in her car, she waited while Sayuri did the same, Makoto leaning over to talk.
"Oi!" He waved with a smile Yuki waved back. "You here to pick up Hiko-kun?"
She nodded.
"I'm picking up my sister." He informed her, blasting out Sayuri's ears as he shouted next to her. "I'm supposed to meet up with 'tousan at your house. Sayuri and I were talking about going out tonight, do you want to join us?"
"I told Hiko that I would do something with him." She shook her head and laughed as he pouted. "You should have told me in class that you had to pick up your sister, I could just as easily have driven her to my house."
"'Tousan has tickets for one of the clubs." He told her. "I need to get them from him before we go out. He's got four of them, maybe Hiko-kun will want to go with us."
"You can ask." She shrugged her shoulders doubting that her shy younger brother would do anything so bold as to accompany the three of them to a club. She turned her attention to the girl in the passenger seat that was cringing at Makoto's closeness. "Sayuri, do you want to ride with me?"
She couldn't climb out of Makoto's car fast enough, much to his distress; the two girls sat in Yuki's small car laughing at their friend. She had to admit that she missed these times with her friends, never able to revert to her once carefree attitude after her parent's death. The pain was always there, the tears hidden just beneath the laughter and the smile in her eyes was most often forced into remaining long after the desire to smile had abandoned her. She was learning or rather she had learned to reveal nothing of the pain she felt, her anger which had become so common place in the beginning had faded, locked down tight along with her tears and pain. Her brother wanted her happy and so she would show him happiness, she would show the world happiness for him and for herself. It was the only means she had for dealing with the pain and it had gotten easier. Most times, to maintain her false bravado she refused to think of her parents, hiding their photographs away where she could not see them, not mentioning their names and leaving the room when others mentioned them.
Maybe she should go out, bring Hiko with her, she could certainly coax him into going. Yes, she would try to convince him, they both needed to lighten up and they both needed to get away from that stodgy Shuten doji.
The night was actually fun and Yuki found that she could laugh and smile without the effort of pretending to. They all danced on the floor together, even Hiko, less inhibited than usual joined them on the dance floor after Sayuri pouted at him for leaving her without a partner. The loud music and flashing lights had been quite a shock when they first stepped in, Makoto bought each of them a drink, she and Hiko turning down any offers of alcohol merely sipped soda, Makoto then proceeded to buy himself several drinks.
When they had tired of the dance floor they found a booth to sit in and chat, two boys who had tried to put moves on Yuki and Sayuri on the dance floor hadn't been rejected enough and decided to badger them into a dance while at the table. They both politely refused. The boys were not taking the hint, one of them going so far as to grab Sayuri by the wrist attempting to pull her from her seat which set Hiko on his feet with a warning to take the hint and leave them alone.
This apparently only served to make their alcohol-induced bravery expand even further as one of them grabbed the front of Hiko's shirt, fisting the loose fabric into a knot. Yuki could see the turmoil behind his eyes, wanting to knock the hell out of them but the self-restraint so ingrained in him by their father forbade any retaliation. When one of them made a rather rude comment Yuki was certain Hiko was about to lose it, she could see his hands trembling and decided to step in. She touched him gently on the arm and he turned, catching her eye in which he could read clearly that she thought it best that he not do anything.
"Excuse me." She spoke calmly; placing a hand over the stranger's still fisted in her brother's shirt, placing herself between the two of them. "We are actually tired from all the dancing and were about to leave. Why don't you take our booth since we won't be needing it any longer?"
This earned her a blank stare accompanied by a slack mouth and soon followed by a confused thank you. She smiled her most captivating at both of them and then motioned for Makoto to come along. Slow to catch up, Makoto merely stared back confused, much as the two strangers did, for several minutes before happily climbing to his feet to follow along with Hiko behind her and Sayuri already planning on what they could get their uncle to cook for them at his family's restaurant.
The peace created by Yuki did not last long as those who have consumed too much alcohol soon become beyond the point of reason and the two boys failed to acknowledge the favor she had done them and came back for more. This time, when one of them slipped an arm around Sayuri's waist and pulled her against him Yuki was unable to prevent Hiko from stepping in, nearly twisting the guys arm off and shoving him into the crowd surrounding the dance floor. This unfortunately set off a sequence of events that resulted in the entire club erupting into a brawl. The four of them bolted for the door but were trapped by the wave of people also heading in the same direction, they were careful to evade any confrontation with anyone, that is until some guy elbowed Makoto in the eye. After staggering back a few steps and taking a moment or two to realize what had actually happened to him, Makoto retaliated.
Yuki could see that Hiko wanted to join in but this was not the time, he was under age after all and she was responsible, placing a hand on his shoulder she spun him around and forced him through the crowd and out the door. Sayuri held onto her other hand until they made it clear of the club and into the cool night air. Yuki sent them both to the car and then went back to get Makoto, unfortunately any efforts to get closer to the door were halted with the arrival of the police.
"Shimatta!" She muttered turning away, knowing that Makoto would be carted off to the police station and it would now be up to her to clean up this mess. She would have to call and let Touma know what happened and that she would go to the police station and clear things up. She smiled, she had not been to the police station in a long time, and it would be nice to see some of those old guys her grandfather once worked with.
"What is this place?" Shuten asked Touma as the vehicle pulled up to a towering building.
"The Keishicho." Touma answered absently.
Shuten turned his sharp gaze on the former Trooper, one eyebrow raised in question. Touma, catching on after a moment or two explained further. "The police station."
Both eyebrows shot up as Shuten's eyes widened in surprise. They had been arrested? He wondered, then could feel anger building at the likelihood of Toyohiko simply following along with whatever his over-idolized sister did for entertainment.
Damn her. He growled silently.
"There's Hiko-kun." Touma pointed ahead, his arm dropping as his eyebrows came together in a frown. "And… there's… Makoto."
Shuten's eyes narrowed on the figure of Toyohiko shouldering the much larger, staggering Makoto toward the car that Shuten recognized as belonging to Yuki.
"I'll go talk to him." Shuten offered and climbed out of the car, leaving Touma to shrug his shoulders and relax back in the seat. Shuten scanned the area for the two girls, wondering where they were as he approached Toyohiko, who looked up startled when Shuten's foot scraped a small rock. He noticed the boy's eyes widening in surprise and then fill with guilt at Shuten's obvious disappointment in tonight's outcome.
"Are you all right Toyohiko?" When the boy nodded Shuten turned his eyes on the boy who was leaning against him, noticing his swollen eye. "What about him?"
"He'll be all right." Hiko shifted under the other boy's shoulder then reached for the door handle. Shuten moved to open the door for him then stepped aside as Hiko helped the young man climb into the back of the car and collapsed in the seat.
"Where's your sister?" Shuten nearly barked. I'm finding it difficult to maintain my anger with the mention of that damnable girl.
"She's inside with Sayuri-san." Hiko told him, his eyes narrowed curiously at Shuten's tone.
No doubt trying to clean up the mess she made. Shuten thought bitterly, automatically assuming that it was she who caused the entire thing. Touma might be handling the entire thing nonchalantly but her dragging her brother into it was enough to set him off.
"What happened Toyohiko?" Shuten asked trying to calm down, trying to disprove his assumption that it was all Konoyuki's fault.
"Well…" He began hesitantly, as if he didn't really want to tell him, giving assurance that Shuten was right and he boy simply didn't want to tell on his sister. "We were at a club, dancing and there were two boys who wouldn't leave Sayuri-san or Oneesan alone."
I knew it! His anger building as he latched onto only one word. Oneesan.
"The boys followed us back to our seats and one of them grabbed Sayuri-san." Hiko's anger was visible at this comment but Shuten was lost in his own and didn't notice. "I stood up and told them to leave but they just grabbed the front of my shirt and threatened me."
"Threatened you?" Shuten asked surprised.
"They had too much to drink, there was no reasoning left in them." Hiko explained. "Oneesan stepped between us and…"
"That's enough Toyohiko." Shuten interrupted him, his anger was boiling over. Not only had she taken her brother out but she had taken him to a place filled with alcohol-induced idiots who acted little better than cavemen. He could see the two faceless boys grabbing at her, putting their hands on her and quickly pushed the vision from his mind. He was furious.
"Wait here." He instructed the boy as he turned toward the building's entrance. "I will be back shortly."
"Shuten doji-san?" He heard Hiko call his name quietly behind him but did not turn around to acknowledge it as he walked to the brightly-lit interior of the police station.
He walked among the many desks, littered with papers; some uniformed officers sat in chairs, talking with others, many that looked as if they had been dragged through the dirt. Ignoring them for the most part he stopped the first person he came upon who was unoccupied and giving asked if they knew where he might find Konoyuki Date, upon earning a strange look he gave a description of the two girls. The blank look continued between the two officers he asked then a light seemed to go off in one of their heads as he cheerfully exclaimed, 'Ah, Yuki-chan! She's at the attendant's desk.'
It was Shuten's turn for a blank look, not understanding what was meant by the attendant's desk.
"Where they check in the offenders." The officer explained then pointed behind him. "Down the hall and turn left."
Offenders? He thought with derision. She had been incarcerated and apparently this wasn't the first time as they knew her by name, damn her.
Shuten thanked the two men and headed down the hall, he had not yet turned the corner when he heard laughter, first the beguiling, innocent tones of the two girls he knew followed quickly by the chuckle of several males. He ground his teeth when he could hear her laughing again, the soft, bell-like sound ringing out, captivatingly innocent. He knew better though, unlike the unsuspecting fools who now listened to her, Shuten knew that she was trouble for anyone who got near her.
Rounding the corner Shuten was ill prepared for the sight that greeted him; fully expecting her to be behind bars his mouth fell open when he spied both girls sitting atop a desk, surrounded by what must be fifteen uniformed officers. Hanging on the girls' every move, every word, acting little better than schoolboys with a crush, wide-eyed and grinning like lovesick puppies. Not that Shuten was much better. The two of them made a striking pair, Sayuri in her blue dress that matched her hair and eyes, Shuten had always thought her a pretty girl, however next to Konoyuki Date she paled, barely noticeable. His eyes swept over her long, golden-chestnut hair, she was smiling, which is a rarity in itself and only served to make her more lovely and the shimmering, gray of her silky dress only served to brighten her eyes of the same color.
She is beautiful. Was his first thought as his eyes roamed her hair, her face and then over her naked shoulders a barely visible strap across each. He snapped out of his daze, eyes drifting over the sea of officers staring open-mouthed at the scantily clad girl in front of them, his anger returning ten-fold as his second thought followed. What the hell is she doing going out, dressed like that?
He heard one of the officers mumble something, to which both girls started to giggle, Konoyuki flicked her hair back with a careless hand, openly flirtatious at the sea of young men before her and Shuten could barely keep from growling.
"Now Shindou-san." She purred at him, Shuten's eyes widened at her behavior. "You know I can't do that."
Open laughter resounded throughout the room as the officers laughed a completely captivated audience. Shuten noticed Sayuri's blue shifting in closer to Konoyuki as she whispered in the other girls ear. Konoyuki's eyes lifted and the smile disappeared immediately as she spied him across the room waiting. After whispering something back to other girl she turned her smiling eyes back on the crowd of officers, Sayuri jumped down and made her way toward him.
"You're father is waiting in the car." He told the girl as she approached and barely noticed as she walked past. Shuten's eyes caught by the hands of one of the officers around Konoyuki's small waist, helping her off the desk, he watched her bow to them and turn to the elderly man behind the desk.
"Arigato Captain Himura." She smiled her brightest as she thanked him, then turned and waved casually to the others as she walked toward him. "I promise not to wait so long to visit you again. Ja ne minna-san.
"Ja ne Yuki-chan!" They all shouted as they watched her walk away.
Shuten watched her smile completely disappear as she approached him, the normal scowl she wore in his presence back in place, serving only to anger him further. Once she got within reaching distance he grabbed hold of her upper arm and hauled her down the hallway and toward the exit.
"Hey!" She complained to deaf ears. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Let go of me!"
Once outside and near her car he spun her around and gave her a slight shake, he noticed Toyohiko helping Sayuri into Touma's car, he straightened as he closed the door and was now watching the two of them. Good, let him see me set down his sister, let me point out the poor example she is setting for him, how weak and corrupt she is, letting that officer touch her, those boys in the club… how dare she!
"What do you think you're doing Konoyuki?" He demanded of her, his voice loud enough to let the others hear. "Getting into trouble with the police, how could you be so reckless?"
Yuki could only see red; her anger building as it had not done so in quite some time as she'd fought to maintain it for all these months. Her eyes narrowed on the hated man before her, she pulled on her arm again but his grip merely tightened, bruising but she barely felt it through her anger.
"I have handled my own problems long before you came here Shuten doji-san." Her voice, cool as ice and deceptively calm. "I certainly don't need you to baby sit me."
"I can see very well how you handle your problems, flaunting your half naked body at those officers to avoid being arrested." He sneered at her. "What sort of message are you sending to your brother, running around, dressed like a harlot."
She inhaled sharply at his harsh words, she knew the words were not true but still they pierced at all her insecurities, her weaknesses and she was so ashamed of that weakness. There was something to be said for pain though, it was the driving force behind all that she did, all that she had become, lost in the anger that she used to combat her weaknesses and this was no exception.
"Do not dare tell me how to behave, you have no notion of who I am." She hissed at him through clenched teeth. "Now. Take your hand off me kisama!"
"You're mother was wrong, you are not strong and honorable." He sneered hatefully at her, his fingers biting deeper into her skin before loosening then letting go all together, his hand falling to his side. "You are weak in the worst sense of the word, weak in character and you are certainly nothing like your father."
Before she even realized what she was doing Shuten's head was snapping back from the force of her fist slamming into his jaw. His cheek grew red immediately and she thought for certain that he was going to swing back and hit her, the look in his eyes warned of it's probability, still she did not heed it, stepping closer so that her face was mere inches from his own.
"You brought that upon yourself! From the beginning you have imposed upon me with your contemptuous looks, scathing comments and constant scrutinizing of my every move." Her voice was growing louder with every word as was her anger increasing likewise. "You forget yourself Shuten doji-san, you are nothing more than an unwanted acquaintance to me, certainly no one who has the right to speak to me the way you just did."
"If your parents were here…" He began as she made to move away only to have her cut him off, turning on him with near hysterical anger.
"They're not here!" She screamed at him. "They're gone!"
He stared at her in shocked silence.
"They're gone!" She shouted again, her chest heaving as she did so.
The sound of her breathing could be heard in the silence that ensued.
"They're gone." She spoke softly; her chin trembling before she could stop it, turning away again as she stepped toward her car. "And I am forced to fight everyday not to follow them."
She heard his sharply in drawn breath at the realization of what she was saying
"Do you know why I fight so hard Shuten doji-san?" She asked, then looked back over her shoulder at him, watching as he slowly shook his head at her.
"Because 'niichan would suffer if I did." She explained calmly. "He has suffered enough and I would do anything to protect him, even learn to smile without happiness, to forget my own grief and the pain I feel to keep it from touching him."
"You remember that." She whispered, lifting her chin as she did, not missing his shocked expression or the concern in his eyes. "The next time you think to turn your contemptuous eyes on me, accuse me of being selfish, or of not caring enough for my brother."
Movement caught her eyes and she looked over Shuten's shoulder to see her brother moving toward them, his brows drawn together in a frown, his eyes dark and angry. She shifted her gaze back to Shuten, unable and unwilling to accept that he might be angry with her for speaking to his friend in the manner in which she had. She was not sorry, even if it meant her brother's feelings she was not sorry. She could not help the sigh of relief however, when he moved next to her and slipped a jacket over her shoulders.
"Let's go home Oneesan." He whispered quietly beside her.
She nodded, gave Shuten one last dismissive look and moved to her car, her brother following close behind her.
They rode back to the house in silence, Yuki knew that Touma drove slower than a snail and that the others would not be back until several minutes after they arrived. The entire drive she could not shake the dark cloud that was looming over her, she could not fight off the weakness that she felt, she tried to hide it, especially as she could feel Hiko's eyes on her most of the way home. When they pulled in front of the house she knew that she needed a walk, some fresh air, anything to get rid of the feelings plaguing her.
"Hiko-kun?" Her brother turned as they climbed out of the car, waiting for her to continue. "Do you think you can help Makoto to bed?"
"Aren't you coming inside Oneesan?" He sounded worried.
"Iie." She smiled reassuringly at him. "I think I'll stay outside for a bit, I need to get some air before I go to bed."
He smiled knowingly and nodded at her, opening the back door to drag Makoto out of the back seat where he was snoring happily. She watched her brother lean into the back seat; did he realize how much he meant to her? She had never told him after all, always assuming that actions spoke better than words, of course… if Shuten doji was right, her actions were lacking and were sending the wrong message, that she didn't care, that she was selfish and it was okay to disregard the feelings of others.
"'Niichan?" She called and he straightened immediately striking his head on the door frame, she chuckled as he rubbed his head, scowling at the pain.
"Hai?" He prompted.
"You do know that I would do anything for you?" She asked awkwardly watching his eyes widen and grow serious. "Don't you?"
"Hai Oneesan." He answered quietly after a short pause. "I know that."
She inclined her head slightly, smiling at him before walking away, letting her feet take her as she wandered aimlessly through the lawn, over the slight hill beside the house toward the trees. A rock in her small sandal, followed by another irritated her enough to make her take them off completely and walk barefoot in the tall grass that lead further and further from the house. It wasn't until she spotted them only five feet in front of her that she realized where she had walked to, her mother and father's names carved elegantly in the dull, gray slabs stared back at her in their monochromatic and lifeless dominance.
She had been out here only once since these markers had been raised, that was when she'd happened upon Anubis standing here, even then she had carefully avoided looking at their names, her eyes trained upon Jun's marker. Now it seemed she could not look away, compelled or rather trapped by the names, the words and the narrow rectangles, all that remained of her parent's lives kept her prisoner, drew her closer. Yuki sank to her knees before them her legs trembling and weak seemed to give out at that very moment.
"Papa. Mamma." She choked out, her voice cracking under the tears that she was trying to contain. She had not called them by that since she was a very little girl and even then only when she was very upset. She inched closer and placed her hand against her father's name trying to feel even the slightest bit of him in the deeply engraved letters. There was nothing, no warmth, and no sense of him in the cold, smooth surface that seemed to drain her of the last bit of her strength. Yuki closed her eyes, she was so tired, she wanted to feel the strong arms of her father wrap around her, and to make her strong again as he always did. "Please come back."
The tears came and would not stop; she lay on the soft grass above her father and curled into a ball; sobs that she had long denied herself tore from her throat as she wept. All the while hating herself for such a weakness. She had promised them on this very spot that she would be strong, for Hiko and now here she was, acting little better than a baby. However, she was simply too exhausted to do more than lie there and weep, shivering at the cold that settled around her; pleading silently for her parents to come back, offering up her own life just to see them again.
Yuki did not know how long she lay there when the sound of someone quietly calling her name made her sit up and swipe a hand across her eyes. There was only darkness around her and the distant lights from the house; she turned and looked toward the woods but could see nothing in the dark.
"Konoyuki." She heard her name again and turned to look behind her, not daring to hope but refusing not to hope at the possibility of her prayers being answered. Still there was nothing, and then she felt the light pressure of a comforting hand cupping her cheek, lifting her face as a calm and familiar voice whispered. "Konoyuki… why are you crying?"
"Otousan…" Her eyes widened as she looked up into the face of her father. "Otousan is it really you?"
He smiled and nodded, she could see him so clearly and she could feel the warm press of his hand. It was so real, yet she knew it could not be. Tentatively, afraid of proving that it wasn't real, that it was indeed an illusion, Yuki lifted her hand and covered the one her father held against her cheek. Her eyes widened when she could feel his hand beneath her fingers, watching him as he slowly crouched in front of her.
"Otousan!" She cried and flung her arms around him, burying her face in his chest, feeling his strong arms about her, stroking her hair as she cried, just as he had when she was a little girl. "Otousan."
"Konoyuki dooshite?" He asked her after letting her cry for several minutes. "Why are you crying?"
"You must be so disappointed." She sniffled hating herself for crying, for clinging to her father as if she were still a small child, for all the things that Shuten accused her of and she feared were true. "I… I tried so hard to be strong Otousan. Hiko needs me to be strong and I tried… I thought I was… but… but… I'm not strong, I'm not like you or mother…"
Fresh tears spilled and she buried her face in his chest once more as his arms tightened around her; as much as he hated to see her cry he knew that her tears were necessary if she were to move on. He missed her terribly, he missed both his children but his daughter… she had been his first joy; the creation of the love shared by him and Nasuti. He'd watched from that other plane of existence he and his wife had been relegated to since their demise and it pained him a great deal to watch the lovely, cheerful daughter disappear under the tough exterior she showed the world. Her defense mechanism to keep from getting hurt, as she'd been hurt by his death. To protect her brother, who despite what she thought, was recovering, as unlike her, he allowed himself to grieve for his loss and was now determined to protect his older sister as she had him.
"My beautiful daughter, you are just like me and your mother. I could never be disappointed in you." He whispered as he kissed the top of her head and gathered her closer against him. "You deserve your tears Konoyuki, go ahead and cry."
Yuki felt herself being lifted in her father's arms, he was cradling her against his chest as he walked and she was reminded of how when she'd fall asleep watching television or reading a book he would always pick her up and carry her to her room. She lifted her head and noted the house growing ever closer then closed her eyes and burrowed into the safety of his warm neck.
"Otousan?" She whispered her voice still quivering from tears.
"Hai?"
"I miss you." She told him. "I miss you and Okaasan so much."
"We miss you too Konoyuki." She felt his kiss on her forehead and smiled. "We miss you and your brother."
She felt the softness of blankets surround her as her father set her upon her bed and covered her up and she smiled; it was just like when she was a little girl. It was warm, he was warm and she did not want him to go, not yet. She clasped his hand with both of hers and held it firm in her grip.
"Don't go." She whispered her eyelids so heavy she could not open them, her body weighed down by exhaustion as well. "Stay longer… I miss you… Hiko... miss you too"
"As you wish." Was the last thing she heard as she drifted off to sleep, not even sure she heard it at all as she was so disoriented.
"Oneesan! Oneesan dooshite?" Shuten skirted around the girl's concerned younger brother and carried her up the stairs to her room with him hard upon his heels. "Shuten doji-san, where was she? What happened?"
Shuten did not answer, he had no answer other than she'd been lying on the ground in front of the two stones that bore her parent's names, crying. He could tell her she was delusional and thought he was their father but didn't want to upset the boy further, of course that would happen when the doctor that he'd quietly ordered Touma to summon showed up. He maneuvered her into the bedroom and placed her as gently as he could on the bed, Hiko pulled blankets from a closet and the two of them covered her up. Shuten had never thought of her as helpless; stubborn, rude and a million other things but never helpless. Seeing her now, however, looking small and fragile and hearing her cry earlier… a protective surge ran through him the likes of which he'd never known. Determined to finish their earlier fight he went outside in search of her the moment he'd reached the house, when he happened upon her he called her name several times with no response. He thought she'd merely been ignoring him and growing more angry he reached down to give her shoulder a rough shake only to find her skin as cold as ice and her body trembling as she cried.
"Don't go." He and Hiko perked up at the sound of her voice, looked at each other and then at her. Her voice was so quiet they could barely hear her and so both of them moved closer. When she clutched his hand and held it tightly he knew she must still think that it was her father with her. "Stay longer… I miss you… Hiko… miss you too."
"Ne, Oneesan… what are you talking about?" Hiko whispered from beside him turning his distressed eyes from his sister to stare at him. "Shuten, what's she saying?"
"She thinks she's talking to your father." Shuten spoke absently and reached down to brush a lock of hair from where it fell across her face. He had never seen her cry other than the one tear she'd allowed herself at Nasuti and Korin's funeral, she was always so strong, so hard. He only now realized that she'd been holding all this in. Her pain, her sorrow; she'd held it all in so no one could see just how much she hurt… so her brother would not see how much she hurt because she knew it would hurt him to see her so. 'I am forced to fight everyday not to follow them…' he recalled her words from earlier.
"Oneesan…" Hiko whispered and sat on the edge of the bed, taking his sister's hand in his he remained there until the doctor came and he was relegated to a nearby chair next to a silent and obviously distressed Shuten.