It takes a long time to recover from things that tend to be traumatic. Those things often haunt you, or pop up in the most unexpected places. Whether it was a violent act of cruel words, or a violent physical act, they can follow you around and be triggered by the stupidest things.

Other time you don't forget these tragic experience's, the memory only seems to grow worse.

It might grow so bad that you find yourself huddled up in the corner of a dark room, mumbling about the past and rocking back and forth. Your hair could be several more inches of unkempt dark chocolate, and your dead dark brown eyes would be gazing at the picture of him across the dark room. Though you really couldn't see it, you knew he was standing there looking out at you, dressed in a sweat soaked white tank top and black cargo pants. He could be standing next to another blue-gray haired cousin and a white and black hair cousin who were both left unnoticed, smiling slightly while holding a soccer ball, a triumphed look in his eyes.

You could waste away on the outside and inside like that.

Or, you could go day by day training multiple people in the art of fighting, almost all of them related to you in some distant way. You could pretend you don't remember the person who you were almost a father to, and you could loose yourself at night while tangled up in your bed sheets. You could eat at yourself from the inside, wondering why you couldn't have been on time when it really mattered. You could let your already gray hair grow even longer, and you could let your dark gray-brown eyes get darker and darker as you truly rip yourself apart enough to have it show in your eyes.

Or you could waste away from the inside out, hiding it with all your might. Neither of witch is a pleasant thing.

One spends her nights curled up, never truly sleeping and almost never eating. She never really talks and never really listens either. She dropped everything, her whole life, and waited. For somehow she had convinced herself that he was really going to come back to her. That she would be able to say her own goodbye and not arrive a few seconds late. She forced that belief and made it reality for herself, and so now all she wanted to do was wait. She would wait for as long as she felt needed, and would then go look for him. She would never give up, and she would never let go. She loved him too much...

The other covered it. He forced his face to become a mask and covered every emotion that had to do with him. He put away every picture, every book, every memory of the boy away - locking them up in a case at the bottom of his heart. He went along like normal, forcing all thoughts about anyone that had to do with him into that small bottomless box. He would spend his days like a normal master, but at night he would die. He would let everything out of that box and think, tossing and turning in bed as dreams plagued him over and over again. He would cry out for help, for a cease in the suffering, but it seemed like the gods had fun toying with him. He would shiver and shake with emotional pain so strong that it turned physical and his body would start to bleed. And slowly he became a shell of his former self, large bags under his eyes and a slight shake to his grin. Never did he smile, and never did his eyes light. He missed him too much...

God did they both wish to see him again. They both wished that they could hold him one last time and feel him alive, watch emotion string itself across his face. They both wished to hear his voice, to see him, to remember and talk with him of the past and the future.

If only they knew...

Another person, though he seemed so small and less affected, ate at himself and refused to change. He truly believe that if he stayed the same as the last time he saw him, that somehow he would come back. That he would come back and be like a brother again, that they would have fun together. That he could finally grow up with him at his side, that he would be guided to become exactly like the boy-to-be-man that he admired so much. That he would smile or grin again, or even ground his fist into his head. He wished he would come back, that he was never lying on top of him in the middle of the street being clutched onto so hard that it caused bruises on his arms that lingered for month's. He was scared for the rest of his life also, his last words said to only him, his will left up to a boy who - in his own eyes- was not fit to carry that weight. It hurt so much...

But above all, he wanted to have his words be true. He wanted to believe in his role model so fully - so truthfully and totally- that he wanted to believe 'everything's going to be ok'. He wanted to make him come back, to always be with him like he said. After that thought he figured something out, something very important.

In fact, they all learned something...

...there's no such thing as a life without the only one you love...

...that if you loose someone -the only one - you really care about, you die as well...

...and people tend to lie.

Strange Happening's

By SAL-Chan

*Part Seven: Living with Kyo

"Secrets, Secrets are no fun - if you can't tell anyone..."

"I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone. But thought you're still with me, I've been alone all along..." - My Immortal (Evanescence)

~*~

In my 17 and a half years of life, I think I have been through a lot of things. From every day girl thing's, to meeting people who changed into animals. But I would have to say the things that have happened recently have to take the cake.

I smiled again as I watched Kyo turn on his heel and walk in the opposite direction and then though the teacher to the other side of the room, then turn and do it over again. It was quiet hard for me not to laugh or giggle or smile in the middle of the class, and I was ready to break down and laugh at some of the thing's he had been doing. Now I know letting him come to school would be a bad idea, but how could I stop him? Plus, he said he needed practice. This morning while I was making breakfast for Shigure and Yuki (almost making one for him on impulse as well) he told me more about his newly acquired talents.

~^~

"You've been here for a year already?" I asked him, looking up at my floating company. He sat hovering inches above the counter top, staring at the fridge like it was evil. Another thing I had found out was that Kyo -even though he felt and breathed and said that his heart beet- could not eat.

"Yea. What about it?" He sighed and played with the stitches on his cheek, making me turn away. It wasn't that it was rotting or anything - in fact it looked to be heeling - but it was just gross. I shrugged, washing off the last of the rice pot.

"I just didn't know." I responded, turning to him again - relieved the he had settled both of his hands behind his head - and smiled slightly. He shrugged and rolled his eyes.

"I didn' expect ya to. I have been busy and stuff..." I blinked.

"What could you be doing?" I asked, truthfully wondering. What could a ghost be doing?

"Learnin'." He shrugged the qustions off, intriguing me more.

"Learning what?" I pushed slightly. He sighed and cast his gaze around the room, landing quickly on the rack full of newly washed dishes next to me. He pushed himself into the middle of the room and turned toward me and the dishes, then motioned with his hand to move away.

"Is everything still where it's suppose 'ta be?" He asked as I settled next to him in the middle of the kitchen, and with a nod of my head he turned back to the dishes. He slowly levitated to the ground but unlike what normally happened when he lands, his hair didn't stop flying around him. In fact it seemed that the invisible fan that moves his hair increased, the bright oranges strand flying away from his face all together.

He closed his eyes slowly and put his palms together level near the middle of his chest so his elbows are square and his shoulder set. He parted his feet shoulder width apart, toe's outward. There was a moment where there was actual wind in the room, my dress and shirt ruffling and my hair being pulled towards him. I tried brushing my hair away from my eyes, yet the wind seem to speed up. I froze in mid motion - watching the air around the cat begin to glow, sparkles that looked like tears shining around him, being pulled into a vortex that shrouded the dead boy.

And then suddenly he opened his eyes, the red depth's glowing with a white light. Slowly he pulled his hands apart and the wind suddenly became stronger, pulling toward the small space between his palms. Then with a snap of wavering cold the wind stopped and I watched with widened eyes as his face changed into a snarl, eyebrow's furrowing and lips turning down to reveal his slightly pointed tooth. A white orb began to form in between his palms, and it grew to about 4 or 5 inches and shined like a soft light bulb.

H e then quickly forced is palms outward, toward the large rack of dishes - the white orbs-like thing hovering there.

"Ya might want to watch out. 'S gonna get a bit windy..." Kyo's voice was strained, glowing eyed focused ahead of him. And with a split second to prepare myself, his palm's started to glow.

Then, he whisperers something that I couldn't understand and white wind flew out from the orb and it looked as if it was about to crash into the dishes. Yet the stream-like smoke split into 2 and while one flew into the dishes, the others crashed into the cabinet with a slight 'thunk'. I held my breath as I watched the one half crash into the dishes, yet felt myself release it when the white smoke faded only a second after. I blinked and turned to him. A slow grin speed across his suddenly flushed face, and he blinked again - eye's still glowing.

"Now's the easy part..." He spoke softly, voice echoed and distant, much like I first heard him. He lifted his hands so they were flat with his palms down and were level with his shoulder. And he dropped them to his sides just as fast, turning he head to me slightly.

"...it's tha fun one too." His grin was comforting, and I couldn't help but smile back. He turned back to the dishes, a small smile on his face. He then fully turned back to the cabinets and cracked his fingers, then put them to his sides again.

There was a moment of quiet that beat through the house, and I found myself holding my breath once again.

Then suddenly he raised his left hand up to about his shoulder, his fingers still relaxed and curled slightly. And I watched amazed as at the exact moment he did so, all the cabinets opened. They simply clicked and opened by themselves. I felt my mouth fall open.

He then brought his other hand up so his arm was straight out and level with his shoulder, yet this time his palm was up. There was a second where cold flew from the other parts of the house and into the kitchen, and then his hand quickly tightened into a fist - as if he grabbed something. All the plates and cups rattled slightly like something shook them, but they didn't move from their places. He then quickly pulled his right hand toward the center of his chest, and immediately all the pots, plates, cups, eating utensil, even the dish towel that was sitting on my shoulder, raised into the air and floated there as if held by strings. I felt myself blink in shock as I looked back and forth from him to the dishes, to the rag that was now levitating inches from my head, back to him.

"You sure everything is where it was?" He asked again, fully concentrating on holding the dishes with-with...magic? Could it have been magic? Since I can think of no other word for it, magic it was.

"Yes..." I said after a moment of trying to find my words. This had to be one of the most amazing things I had ever seen.

"Good, cause if they aren't, I aint responsible if somethin' brakes." He mumbled softly, his outline shaking for a moment. He then grinned slightly, took a few quick breaths and held the last one. He flung his hand out again, this time palm down and spread his fingers out. He then turned his hand so it was diagonal and swiped it across the walls where the cabinets and draws were. There was a moment of nothing happening, and then things started to clatter.

I watched and the plates picked themselves up out of the drying rack and levitated over to their proper places in their appointed cabinet. The pots floated down and folded into each other and sat under the sink. The glasses congregated together and shuffled into a higher cabinet, and the utensils found their proper slots in the draw. And within 30 seconds, everything I had washed a few minuets ago was away. The dish towel had swiped the counter off and folded itself neatly next to the sink. And by dropping his left arm back to his side, every cabinet door swung back into place and every draw closed with a chorused 'Ker-tap'.

I stood there next to Kyo for a full minuet, just staring at the cabinets, draws, and the empty dish rack. Quiet echoed through the house, and slowly a smile started to form on my face.

"Told ya it was cool…" Kyo's voice was distant and low, and the room was slowly getting warmer. I looked over toward him slightly, finding that he was almost completely see-through. I could tell he was pale though, and that his cheeks were flushed slightly.

"Kyo?" I turned fully toward him with worry laced in my voice, but he simply turned away and waved a hand slightly. His shoulders heaved as if he couldn't catch his breath.

"Fine! Just…that was a little much …" And without another word, the un-felt gust of wind swiped his shaky outline away…
~^~

I frowned, remembering this morning. He disappeared after that while I was getting ready for school, and showed up while we entered the school gates. He had some color back and was almost solid again like he was before but…something was off. I could just tell…

"Your suppose ta' be copyin notes, ya know. Not spacing out…" His voice surprised me, and I jumped and turned to my right. He was leanings against the window, a small grin on his face. The girl sitting next to me turned her head slightly and raised an eyebrow at me. I smiled slightly, and quickly realized once again that I was the only one who could here Kyo. The rest of the class was completely silent. I felt myself blush and I smiled at her, turning back to the board and started to copy the notes again.

I heard him chuckle slightly, and I smiled. It's so nice having him back...and at least I got to share him with someone.

~*~

I tapped my pen against the desk, sighing to myself. My leg itched like you would not believe, yet I thanked Kami that it didn't hurt any more. Those drugs Hatori gave me shielded my body from the pain my leg let out. But I was very thankful to him, for he was the one who got me out of that sterile prison a few days before I was supposed to.

I had been home for a day or two already, the date today was November 27th. Home and in school a good day before I should have. But I couldn't stay in that house for very long, and ever since my accident Tohru has been acting...well, weird...

Me and Shigure find her talking to herself when she thinks no one is around. She would say something then pause as if someone was giving her an answer, and then respond. Sometimes she would laugh out of nowhere, or act and move strangely. Like she would open a door walk through, turn around and wait like someone else was walking though, then close it.

But it wasn't really her talking to herself that was bothering us, That was only part of the bigger problem. See, on the day I came home, we -namely Shigure, Hatori, Haru, and I - found Tohru sitting in his old room.

She had simply been sitting on the floor near his desk, the door to the room and the window wide open as if she was airing the room out. She sat with her legs curled up to her chest and her arms were draped around her legs. Her head was reclined and resting against the desk, and she was humming to herself softly and crying slightly.

What scared us most - well at least Shigure, Hatori, and I- was that she had on his bracelet. It was looped around her left wrist, just a little too big for her.

I remember I couldn't breath for a moment, my heart stopping and my thoughts ceasing. Panic welled in my chest -along with my slight phobia of the past- as she continued to hum to herself. Total silence and shock stole the three of our voices, while Haru on the other hand only paused for a moment, blinked and cocked his head slightly, and then continued up the rest of the stairs.

Haru looked about as horrible as he had been for a wile now, face paler and large black and blue bags under his eyes that never seemed to go away. Hatori watched his health slowly descend for about 4 months after his accident and he had worried us for a wile. Then one day, he just started to get better. He never looked ok again, but he became the Hatsuharu he was before the accident and was almost normal again.

Shigure told me recently that Haru's situation now is slightly like Tohru's. Hatori believes that there something physical wrong with both of them, and that cause is that accident. He says that he caught Haru speaking to himself much like the way Tohru does, or he just stares off into space.

Anyway, Haru just continued up the stairs and walked straight into his room. Tohru opened her eyes and greeted him, then her eyes flashed to the right near the other side of the room. From the back we only saw him nod and sit down next to her, then lean over and simply shut his door.

They stayed in there for over 2 hours talking to each other. I don't know what they talked about, or why that talked with pauses in between them, but they talked. Then two hours later the door slid open and Haru stepped out, emotionless face on. He asked if he could stay over, and for some reason - Though I think it's telepathy between the three friends who grew up together- both Hatori and Shigure agreed at the same time. They obviously know something they're not telling me.

And Tohru simply followed him out, smiled when he told her he was staying over, said 'I'll go make dinner then', and went downstairs and did just that. His door has now been left open a crack for day's, that bracelet hasn't left her wrist, and she talks to herself less frequently - so Shigure says.

I'm not sure what Haru did, I'm not sure if it was good or bad, but I thank him for giving our old Tohru back- even if it requires her to 'loose her mind' as Shigure puts it. I'm not sure if that's it though. I think there something she, nor Haru, will tell us and it's starting to annoy me.

Annoy or worry. Either or...

Or both...

I'm sure, in the not so distant future, I might find out 'what' myself. But for now I'll be as quiet as a mouse about it. I'll try, at least...

For Tohru's sake, I'll try.

~*~

"-and he doesn't even know! I mean, come on! I haven't taken a test in a year and I know I would have passed that!"

I nodded slightly as he continued, trying my best to not laugh out loud at the dinner table with Shigure and Yuki right there. It's weird not being able to respond, but I remember what Haru told me about it.

'Pretend he's a radio' He said, 'And just listen. He'll know. He's not a total baka.'

Still smiling to myself I picked up another peace of cucumber and ate it, then put my chopsticks down. I laced my fingers through each other and sat them on my lap, fiddling with the end of my skirt. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Shigure steal a quick look at me, worry furrowing his forehead.

'They're going to be worried.' Haru's voice rang in my head again. 'They're going to think your nuts and they're going to try to call you on it.'

"Aha...that was good." Shigure said abruptly and placed his chopsticks down, a slow...euphoric smile captivating his face. He has been saying the same thing after every meal for 4 years and counting, and ever time it causes me to smile widely like I had been given a gift.

"Oh shut the hell up!!" Kyo exclaimed toward the writer from the kitchen, and entered the dining room through the wall. "You say the same thing every day! Dammit, you annoy me so much!"

I couldn't help my smile from growing wider than normal.

"Thank you Shigure." I mumble back, fearful that a giggle might come forth form my mouth. The side of my smile twitch slightly, but I held myself together well.

" 'Thank you Shigure'." Kyo mumbled and walked around me, through the table and stood in Shigure. I watch as the hairs on the Dogs arms stood up on end. He shivers slightly, but his grin stays.

"Yea, I know you feel me. Shiver...come on I know you want to..." Kyo poked the top of Shigure's head a few times before he gets his desired result. The dog shivered slightly and rubbed his arms.

"Is it cold in here or is it just me?" He raises an eyebrow at my expression, and I can't help but giggle slightly. Yuki, as normal, didn't gratify Shigure's questions with an answer. He simply picked up another cucumber and poped it in his mouth, then sets his chopsticks down as well.

"I'll clean up then?" I ask, my smile never fading. I grab our rice boles and immediately get up and head for the kitchen. I scuttle half way into the room when cold ran past me and I watch as strips of white wind took the bowls from my hand and brought them over to the sink. I turned around then and passed him through the door way, a small smile on my face. We continued doing this until the table was cleared, me picking the plates up and taking them halfway into the kitchen and him taking them all the way to the sink.

I took the last plate all the way to the sink myself, for Shigure followed me out.

I felt his dark eyes on my back as I put the dish in the sink, but when I turned around he was smiling at me.

"I'll be in my office if you need me." He stated with a smile on his face and walked out of the kitchen and down the hall. I watched him until I lost sight of his back, then I turned back to where Kyo was before and found that spot empty.

Suddenly there was a loud bang -followed by a yelp- in the hallway, and I knew where Kyo was. I rushed as quickly as I could to the door of the kitchen. When I reached the hallway, the sight I found was slightly unexpected. Shigure lay on the floor face down, and didn't move.

"Shigure?" I asked and moved over to the prone form of the author. He was breathing slightly, and his eyes were squinted closed, and a little trail of blood came from his nose that was presses flatly to the floor by the weight of his head.

"Ow..." He squeaked in a voice higher then his normal, and then Kyo's laugher filled the hallway though he was no where in sight. I slightly heard movement from the kitchen, but I paid more mind to Shigure then to the noise.

"Are you ok? What happened?" I asked, already knowing the answer to the second question, but Shigure didn't. In fact he didn't know why he kept tripping and falling for the last month or so, but he did almost once a day -thanks to Kyo that is. He slowly pushed himself off the floor and shook his head slightly, another drop of blood wetting the floor.

"Fine." Was his slightly clogged reply as he put a hand up to his nose and pinched it. He sat there for a moment, trying to comprehend something. He then shrugged and looked up at me.

"Baka." The voice came from the kitchen and caused both me and Shigure to just look. Yuki was leaning against the doorway, the first aid kit in one hand and the other clutching the frame. He balanced on his good foot, his face slightly flushed from the effort it probably took to get here from the dining room.

"You shouldn't say anything." That wavering tone came from inside the kitchen, and I watched as Kyo passed through the rat and came into the hallway, his legs tucked underneath him Indian style and his hands behind his head. He was a good 4 feet off the ground, and a grin was on his face. "Wait till I start pushing you too, kuso nezumi."

I stared at him for a moment and almost said something when I reminded myself that I was once again the only one who could see him.

'You going to start to feel very alone.' Haru's voice flooded my mind for a second, his tone dull and lonely. 'You're slowly going to freak out about the knowledge that he's here but they don't know. It's kind of....knowing the end of a book but not being able to tell anyone else about it becasue they need to finish it before they can know too. Don't let it drive you crazy though...'

"Tohru?" Yuki's voice brought me back to reality, as I blinked and found the first aid kit a foot or two away form my face. I blinked again and took it from him, opened it and took out some cotton and hurriedly covered Shigure's nose and he continued to pinch it.

I simply just shut my mouth and nibbled on the inside of it, trying not to let tears come to my eyes. This was way harder then I expected, and I suddenly appreciated Haru's words a lot more then I had before.

This was getting really hard, really fast.

I felt that slight ache in my heart again...

He was still that far away.

~*~

I snickered to myself, watching all of them quietly from around th corner. This family is the utter most entertaining thing I have ever gone through. All of them! The make me laugh so hard sometimes that tears well in the corner if my eyes.

Yet I love the drama in this family. The tens emotions, the small warnings, full blown soap opera material. Maybe it's that fact that I'm not really human that I talk about things like that this way, but that's the way I see it. This family's life would make a wonderful book.

I turn around the corner and step outside into the cold, looming night air. A storm's brewing I think as I feel a smile grace my face. I feel my hearing pick up on common conversation entangled with Kyo-Kyo's side input. Stupid cat...ha ha..

That fact is sad though. The fact that the poor girl is the only one who can see him. And that the stupid Cat is the only one who knows who I am. Well...it's laughable really, for no one will believe her, and no one will believe him.

"Quiet." I say to the thundering sky as black clouds gather to block out the night. "Wait for the right time. Now is not that time...I'll let you know when."

And with that I hop into the night and around a path to the opening, taking one long look back at the lighted house before take my leave.

...Very interesting, very quickly indeed.

~*~

The next few days were as torturous for him as they were for me. Slowly he stopped coming to school, yet he was very prominent at home. His 'magical' powers were increasing, and now he could have fun opening and closing doors on Shigure and Yuki. And to me, strangely enough, he started looking whole. The only time I could ever see through him was if he used too much 'magic', or he just came out of a wall.

We had weekly talks with Hatsuharu, and slowly we -Kyo and I- started to gain other facts that were happening inside the Sohma compound. He said that the only person who's seen Kagura lately was Hiro, for the sheep was assigned by Shigure to watch her. Ayame was recovering form the traumatic event and was planning a full frontal 'Brother bonding' day, and that Yuki should be ready for it sometime next week. Kisa was as fine as she could be, and she normally stuck with Hiro or Hatori, who was suffering from a slight head cold. There was no news from Ritsu, but word of him was that he was well. And Momiji we both knew abut from school...

"What...what about Kazuma?" Kyo had said tentatively, and it was like you could feel the quiet seep into the room. Haru's eyes shifted to me for a second and then he turned back to Kyo.

"He's...alright, in a sense of the word. He looked a bit older than he is, and he looks like he hasn't had a good sleep in days now." He responded quietly, eyes avoiding Kyo's altogether. Silence enveloped us again, and not another words was spoken until Shigure came and told us to go to sleep.

It started to rain that night, and still -2 days later- it hasn't sopped all together. Sometimes there are lulls in the amount of rain falling, but it never seems to just stop. The rain still seems to affect Kyo as much as it did before. I caught him sleeping twice today already...

I sighed as I filled up Kubo's bowl and placed it next to his food on the floor, wiping my slightly wet hands on my apron before I removed it and hung it up. This drearier atmosphere and covered thoughts that I've had for a little wile now have made me a little uneasy and out of it. My thought's chased each other and I kept losing sleep. I believe they both know something's going on, and Shigure has just started to question what it is.

I guess I'm letting it get to me. The fact they Kyo's here again is very unnerving and questionable, and I keep worrying if he'll just disappear again one day and will never come back. The thought scares me, and it's starting to become painful to be around him. I know he's going to leave us again, but I don't know and I really want to know when.

The only time I don't feel insane or question weather or not he'll stay or leave is when Haru comes over. So far the two of us are the only people who know about Kyo, and he tells me Hana can sense him. He said she questioned him about it and he told her the truth, but not all of it. That makes me feel a whole lot better, knowing that we're not alone in this...

I'll just keep waiting for the day when Shigure and Yuki can see him, and then everything will be ok in the house again. Well, as normal as it could possibly be.

I spin his bracelet around my wrist as I make my way down the hall from the kitchen to Shigure's office. I stop at the half opened door and peeked inside.

Shigure sat with his back to me, his fingers dancing over the keyboard of the computer, his pen resting behind his right ear. His legs were crossed and his face was set in a thin line, his eyes glued to the screen.

"Shigure?" I said and made him jump. He spun toward me slightly, a surprised look on his face before he smiled kindly at me.

"Yes?" He responded, taking the pen out from behind his ear. I smiled at him and fiddled with the side of the door.

"I'm going upstairs." I announce, and he blinks at me.

"Alright. How are you feeling today?" He asks for the 4th time today. I sighed but continued to smile at him.

"Fine. I'm ok..." I repeated and turned away from the door, suddenly very tired. It seemed like little things could wear me out lately. The trip down the hallway seemed very short and I faintly remember trailing my hands up the wall as I traveled up the stairs. The finger marks on the stairs were becoming more noticeable, and underneath the last thin coat of paint you could slightly see the wood.

But something made me stop as I reached the top of the stairs. Kyo's door was closed, fully closed. I had left it open for the longest time, so it seemed really odd that it would be like that. My heart fluttered with nervousness and worry, and I aborted my quest for sleep and instead went for the handle of the door.

It felt like electricity raced it's way up my arm as I touched the handle. Like pin's and needles captured my hand and were attempting to numb it. I felt a wave of cold hit me as lighting flashed through the sky and was followed by rumbling thunder. The beads laced around my wrist seamed to vibrate and grow quite warm against my skin. It seemed like everything was telling me not to go in this room, that something was very wrong and it was very bad, and that I should just drop it and go away. My heart prickled, and despite my intuition and better judgment, I set my face in a thin line and slid the door open.

~*~

Thunder rumbled through the house as the door slid open, letting light from the outside flow into the room. It was only disrupted by a tall black shadow, the color of my carpet surrounded it. The light seemed unnatural, very fake, but as did everything now...

The shadow stepped into my room, leaving the door open. He was tall now, and growing hansom as a rapid pace, though he looked as though he hadn't changed at all. I knew better. I'm smarter than that.

His hair was gathered around his face, sopping wet from water. Was it raining? I barely heard it. His eyes were dark and very hard to see in this dreadful light, and they held no shine what so ever. No matter, he's exactly like me now. We both know how it feels...

He knelt down near me and smiled, placing one cream colored hand on my curled up knee. His face was soft and cold, almost the color of snow. His lips stuck out - rose red- and so did his amazingly white teeth.

He said something, his red lips moving, but I wasn't really staring at his lips. I was staring at his scar. His ugly, lying scar. That wasn't the truth...

My hand wondered up from my lap and brushed itself along that stupid scar, and his mouth stopped. Thunder rolled in the background as I traced my thumb over it again and again.

"He's just hiding..." I murmured, a slow smile coming onto my face. His ice-cold hand laid itself over mine, but didn't push me away.

"He's coming back." I repeated my montia, my creed. The thing I would believe until I was proven wrong. Until the day he didn't come back. But as of now, there was still a chance. I knew there was. He would never give up like that, and we would never let him. He's stronger than that....

"Kagura..." He mumbled, the only audible thing he's said to me at all. With a slight smile on my face I brushed a tear that had fall from his eye away with my thumb and the continued to run it along his lying scar.

"Just wait and see...he's coming back." He then launched himself at my chest and looped his arms around me. I moved slightly so he didn't hurt my leg and gently laces my fingers through each other around his back He shook with sob's and tears, and a while later he started to calm himself down.

And the entire time I stared at him from across the room, his pictures proving that he was ever here. And that he will come back.

I know he will, I believe in him.

I love him, he won't let me down.

He's coming back, and too bad for them if they don't believe me. What do they know anyway?

He's coming back, and then I can say good bye...

~*~

I was running through the cold rain, glad to be feeling something other than pain. Cold was sweeping up and down my body and the droplets of water hit me like little bullets.

Good I thought. Let them kill me. God knows I've suffered enough.

And still I ran, still pathetically alive, searching for something that could save me. Anything at all that could save me, but knowing fully well that I needed to save myself this time. Looking for someone who could help at all, who could ease the pain. I knew only one person who could do that.

So I ran to find him, ran with all I had left. I needed this more then I would let on, I needed to let go more then I needed to live. For what's a life worth when you have no one to live it with? No one to care for it with? To go thorough all the troubles and hardships with?

Nothing. That's exactly what my...life...

Stop it! I mentally shouted to myself, turning a corner and dashing along the pathway. I knew I wasn't in my right mind, but I couldn't control myself anymore. All I knew at the moment was finishing this task and being set free.

I came to his door quickly and banged on it, my hand shaking from the cold. My skin was milk white, my veins a liquid blue underneath them. If fascinated me for the longest moment...

He called from inside, and shortly after the door was ripped open. He stood just as tall as I, black hair draping over his left eye. His green eyes wavered at me, their depth's sinking into black as his pupils dilated from absence of light. His shirt was half open, his feet bare and legs covered by black pants. So close...

"Hatori...please..." I mumbled limply, dropping to my knees and trying to catch my breath. Rain continued to fall down hard on the top of my head and shoulder, and lighting crackled in the distance and illuminated the sand yard for a moment. Hatori moved at once, quicker then the eye could blink, and was at my side in a instant.

"What's wrong?" His thick voice was almost drowned out by the thunder. I felt myself shake as his hand connected with my shoulder, and I quickly gripped it and pulled it off.

"Get rid of it Hatori...All of them, I want all of them gone...I can't stand it any more..." Week. I sounded so week to my own ears, My grip on his hand tightened like he was going to run from this suggestion.

"What?!" His voice was almost drowned by the rain, but the look he gave me was loud and clear. Rain drops had soaked through his shirt and matted his hair down, the dark locks now sticking to his forehead. I knew that my own hair was a rats nest of tangles and water by now, but I really didn't care.

"Take them away...my memory's of him..." I mumbled, my strength leaving all together. "Make me stop hurting...I can't go any more. Please Hatori, please..."

He stared at me for one long moment, his eyes churning with black darkness and pain that I knew all to well. His hand twitched in my grip, and at once I was hoisted to my feet and dragged into his house.

"You baka." He said as he dragged my almost limp body and lay me on the floor, and I felt a sharp shiver make it's way through my body. Pins and needles raced up my calves and sat in my feet, and the room was suddenly getting hotter and hotter. Something warm was placed on top of me and I felt my hair being pulled away and wrapped in something.

"You're trying to kill yourself, aren't you?" His voice was foggy and almost not understandable. My head had stared to hurt and my body was becoming too warm for my comfort.

"Please..." I tried again, and my senses were awoken quickly when a hand connected to my cheek in quite a forceful manor. I lay stunned for a moment, staring up at his face that could be considered masked with furry. His hand was raised, ready for another strike.

"Kazuma, shut up!" He shouted, and at once I found all my words and thought's stopped. Hatori's eyes were darker then I had ever seen them, and his shoulder were hunched and shaking with cold and anger.

"You going to have to either live with it or let go." He brought his voice down to it's slightly raised state.

"I'm not going to let you - or anyone else for the matter - run away from this. I'm truly surprised that you, of all people, would give up so easily when Kyo-" I felt myself flinch. "- was feeding off your teaching's and thoughts before he died."

I stared up at Hatori for a moment, questions and tears flooding my eyes.

"You know I'm right." He continued, lowering his hand and placing it on my forehead. "You know exactly what you should do, and you need to do it. So let go, or put yourself through more suffering. Do you really think that he would enjoy watching you suffer from his memory?" He was shaking also, I noticed, but not from the cold. Pain covered his eyes, and he suddenly looked a lot older then the Hatori I grew up with.

"So either let go, or give in. Because I'm not going to say yes to anyone who ask's... "

"So I'm not the only one, ne?" My voice sounded very tired, and to my ears it almost sound like someone else was talking. I felt myself shutter, my ears ringing. The slap that Hatori gave me hurt, but knocked some much needed sense into me. He shook his head, frowning, and continued to fiddle with things I couldn't see.

"Letting go or giving in?" He asked again, and for a moment I could think, I could breath, I couldn't feel. And then everything came back to me in a flash.

4 hours later I lay on a mat on his floor, face buried in the pillow, soaking it almost all the way through with my tears alone. I felt myself shake despite my best efforts as more warmth was wrapped around me.

Sleep came so much easer than before, and for once I had blackness instead of dreams.

~*~

He looked almost real, his outline full and solid. His hair moved with the breeze from outside, as did his clothes. He sat on his desk, shoulders hunched, slightly glowing red eyes moving from the window to me. I stepped in and closed the door behind me, the room so cold that it felt like it wanted to eat your sole.

"Kyo...is everything alright?" I hadn't seen him for the entire day, and I suspected he was up in his room but never got around to checking. The rain always left him a little under the weather and I thought it would be better just to leave him be. But the look on his face when I opened the door, just before he turned around, showed that it was much more then the weather keeping him down.

"Fine." He clipped his own words short, his voice strong in the silent room. Thunder rolled in the background and lighting lit his face and the room, making me jump slightly. I knew he was lying...

"Please Kyo, tell me what's wrong..." I said as I took a step closer to him, but he simply turned back to the window. His eyes were growing darker and his mouth was set in a thin line.

"You don't wanna know about it, so don't worry..." His eyes darted over to his alarm clock that was now working with new battery's. The date was still on the 13th though, neither he nor I dared or wanted to change that. His statement puzzled me slightly, intriguing me more than it normally would have.

"Please tell me. What ever it is..." I murmured, a reassuring smile on my face. He stared at me for a moment before turning back to the window.

"I was just thinkin'...about dying..." his voice was almost a whisper, and I strained to hear it.

"About why I died, how, and other things..." He continued "It's things your kinda forced to think about..."

"But..." I started, thanking god for my wonderful experience at reading his expression's. It has become a skill I have mastered throughout the whole family, and as of now I could tell that there was a bigger thing then just that- as disturbing and unnerving that was.

"But..." He continued my sentence, his futures becoming dark.. "I...don't think I should tell you..."

"Please?" I pushed slightly, very worried and very scared. My stomach was doing flip flops in the not-so-nice way and my brain told me that I did not want to know what he was going to say next.

"I...I don't think..." He started unease, closing his eyes for a moment then opening them again. " I don't think my death was an accident..."

There was a moment of total and utter frightening silence and the amount of fear, question, and panic hit me like a ton of bricks. I felt as if something was breaking, and the bottom of my stomach dropped out. The room lowered in degrees and a slicking chill raced up my spine.

"Wha...what are you saying?" I said, my voice shaking slightly. I felt my knees shake and I leaned against the wall, praying I wouldn't fall. Everything came rushing to me, my eyes wide in shock. That couldn't be...it just wasn't possible...

He turned toward me, eyes truly dead in their dark holes. His mouth was pulled downward, eyebrow arched together. He didn't just look mad, he looked troubled as well.

"It wasn't just 'an accident'." He said again and I felt my heart shake. His hollow, cold, lifeless eyes were sucking me in and I could look away. I felt my knees buckle as I dropped to the floor. No...

"I saw him, Tohru. The other guy in the car. I saw him." He stressed the last sentence with nodding his head slightly. "I know who he was. I knew him."

"You really don't think it was an accident? I mean, it could all be a mist-" I started.

"-No!" He cut me off. "Somehow I just know it wasn't. He was..." He hesitate only a moment, eyes flashing to the window once again - like he could escape any time he wanted. "He was a Sohma... not someone you would ever meet, but he worked at the main house. In fact, he was working under Akito last time I checked."

He slid off the desk and turned to the window then walked over to it, taking a deep breath. He then turned slightly so he was facing sideways, leaning against the window sill. His eyes were stormy, dark and full of emotion's I didn't want to see. I felt myself tremble. Could he really have been....

"I think he helped Akito out like any truly loyal Sohma would." I had never seen Kyo look so troubled, but then again I could tell what he was thinking. We were both aware what this meant , yet I guess he felt like he needed to say it. To have the full impact hit us.

"I wasn't just killed in a accident, not at all...he gave his life to end mine." It was a crushing statement, and I felt something snap behind my eyes. Realization was painful, and tears slid silently and slowly down my face.

"Oh God...Kyo..." I felt myself murmur as I covered my mouth with both of my hands. I felt my heart shutter again, and I was suddenly very scared.

Kyo was...murdered in cold blood then. Someone...- Akito- had him killed...

I couldn't believe it.

I didn't want to believe it.

My life suddenly took on a darker tone and thunder clapped for the show the lighting was putting on.

~*~

Life is like that, lovely. I thought, snaking around the corner. A smile was placed on my lips, much like the one the Chester cat from Alice in Wonderland would have worn Playing with them, tying with them...all of it was part of the greater good of corse. But for nor, the more drama, the better.

For the more drama, the more interesting. After all, what you read and what you watch isn't very different from real life.

And this was plenty quick. That's enough for me...

For now that is...

~*~

' "Horrors," she said again, looking without binocular vision, staring at the glass in which her presence and Nanny could make out nothing but darkness. "Horrors."...'

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ranting: I'm so sorry that that took so long, but the 'Laptop crises of 03-04' is now over and SH should be back on track. If you want details of this 'problem', contact me. For the story would take up way to much room...

Posting should become regular again, so no worry's. And be ware of a now fic that I might put out again. (Check Bio...) That in itself might zap some creative energy.

* Note: Last quote take from 'Wicked : The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West written by Gregory Maguire and I, in no way, take credit for the quote. Good book, very good book. Just picked it up...

Well?...How was it!? Did it piss you off, make you angry? Or did it cause you heart to beat widely in your chest with pain felt for a character? Or did you just hate the chapter and feel nothing at all?

Frankly, after reading it over, I got pissed off at 2 characters in this chapter. Just a little, anyway...

Did this leave you with enough Q's? The only major q I can see is why Kyo would think Akito did that? Does Akito hate Kyo that much? And if so, does that mean he was really murdered?

Any other qustions you have, please feel free to share them. ^-^

Favorite line: "...and people tend to lie." it's at the beginning. I love this beginning for some reason, and this line at the end of it makes me heart squeeze. You guy's?

Favorite Character: Hunnn...I like Hatori, and Kyo. Gods do I have a lot of stuff planed for Hatori...

Date Finished: February 9th, 2004. 10:43 pm

Moving along...

*Merei-Chan: Kureno? ~Looks back on previous chapter~ Kureno...~smiles lightly~ nope, but good shot. I haven't read the FruBa series yet (Because I cant read Japanese...~Sigh~) so I don't know that much about him or Rin. They might not even show up in this fic, only if I need them to...please review again!

* Kath: ~Smiles~ I'm glad! But is it Chocolate-addicted or like 'insert-a-very-bad-thing'-addicted? I love kyo too...You know, the more I like a character, the more I intend to torture them. So, so far you can see I like Kyo, Yuki, Tohru, Haru, and Momiji. ~smiles~ And your going to have to figure who the other person is by yourself. He should pop up again time to time, and to say it frankly but not give it away, you've heard form him a lot already ~Wink~ . Yes, and Kyo confirmed it here. Qustions, questions...and ones I really can't answer yet! Some are coming I think...~Looks at her outline~ I hope...~Sigh's~ Well I love long reviews. So keep um coming and I'll see ya next time!

*Yamatoforever: I love Kyo. He's wonderful to write about and has quite a lot of internal problems and such. I'm glad you like him in this...You never know. I have a lot planned, and I'm quite a twisted story teller as you have read. My god you guy's are so close to that answer!! Both you and Kath are sooo close that it hurt...posting as quickly as I can...See ya next time...

* HanaTenshiHimeko: ~Smiles and pats her on the head~ Well I'm glad you like it. I try putting as much emotion in is as I can, and it seems to be working, ne? Well I'm glad you came back, and come back again!

Thank you guy's for reviewing so much!! I love it when my mailbox had reviews in it, they make my day! Please review again! And please, if you're not too busy and you happen to like my writing style in the fruba universe, read Snow Flakes! It's brand spanken' new and for all those who have waited for this chapter!

And now, the much loved!-

Bonus: Pre-view of the next chap!: (Even though I'm being yelled at to go to bed...)

I felt all the hairs on my arms stand up and he said that, my mouth becoming instantly dry. I dared not so say anything, or to show my pure astonishment, but I tried to deny that he had said anything of the sort. I felt my brain stutter and I watched as my hand starts to shake before me.

Don't fall apart I mentally soothed myself. This place, above all, is not for the week of spirit or mind. I dare not show my sudden hatred in my face for the man who slightly stands in my sight, now slightly leaning against the window. I dare not to show it in my eyes either, for from past experiences I know he can see it there. No, instead I lock it up in the bottom of my heart and pretend to not have heard anything with my super hearing.

I'm so cooped up in my own thought that I don't even realize he has moved until I feel his soft hand caress my cheek, the same one he slapped the day at the hospital. His grin is chilling, and it takes everything I have not to recoil at the touch. He's almost sitting on me, his legs resting on top of mine and his face inches from my own. I hold my breath automatically.

His eyes are darker then I have ever seen them, deep blue like the bottom of the ocean - almost black. The light in the room cast a shadow that makes his thin frame look a whole lot stronger then I'm capable of being. His hair -up close- is unsecured and disheveled, all of its ends uneven and split. If I hadn't known Akito my whole life, I would have said that he was very handsome in a scary sense. Now, I only know him as someone who's just scary in a sense, and never handsome.

And then that saying, the one that I loath and the one that rings in my ears days after I've heard him say in, spills from his mouth like water. His eyes are icy, and breath cold against my face, his smile fading. And with that smile statement I know he wanted me to hear what he said. He wanted me to know, and it rings within that simple two word sentence that's almost deafening in the time-looked silence of the room.

"Good dog."

...so? Be that left ya with something, ne?

By the way, I don't own FruBa. This plot and original characters are mine, but not Fruba itself. Please review, and any flame will be laughed at.

Ja till next time!

~SAL-Chan