Born to be Broken.

Disclaimer: I own it. And if anyone else wants to use it you must pay me a hefty donation. ... Okay, not really. If you ask nicely I may just make an exception. (Notices Fruits Basket producers, writers and whatnot sneaking up behind her with a nice spiky mallet.) Uh... is it too late to mention that I don't actually own Fruits Basket and I'm only a big fat liar with way too much time on my hands? (Bats eyes innocently at Furuba squad who sit down in chairs behind her and get comfortable.) Whoo... should have known better when I'm on constant surveillance.

Note: Well, what to say? What to say? This fic has turned out to be primarily centered around Akito, which is fine (considering that he is my favorite character and all) but that doesn't imply that this is all about him. Ayame and Shigure both play a major part and not just as my yaoi lemon fanservice couple either. This is the sequel to The Game we Play after all. I just want to make this clear, because I don't want readers to think that I'm throwing in those two as mere fanservice. (Though a little bit never hurt anyone if you ask me.) Hmm... oh yeah, I apologize for not addressing any of my reviewers in the last chapter, and that is simply because I wrote and posted that before I checked my comments! So this goes for both I guess...

bergfjel: Glad you're enjoying it! It's my first time writing a mystery fic on the net, so it's nice to see the effort paying off! In your first comment you mentioned how Akito's curse bothered you because it remains such an enigma. That too annoyed me how the manga or the show never explained it even a little to us. This fic is my own take on it as well as the origins of the zodiac curse itself. I hope you found my little interpretation of Akito's role in the curse feasible in chapter 3. That's how I look at it anyway and it makes sense in my own head! As for what will happen to the other zodiac members when he dies... well, I'll explain that a little further on! I'm trying to answer all the questions that bother me, as well as everyone else it seems! I hope I don't disappoint you! (Hugs)

HAHAHAHAHA ME LIZ!!: Well, I don't want Akito to die either! But that's up to the writers of the show/manga at this point and in this fic, up to me! Depends on whether I think it will earn me good publicity! ...Okay, I'm just teasing. Thanks for your comments and umm... other readers can take note of this while I'm at it: At no point will this turn out to be a Tohru/Akito fic. I just can't see that coupling happening for a majority of reasons, though I can understand why other people would. ... I honestly cannot see Akito with a girl considering how... coughgaycough feminine he is himself. I mean, I could debate... but I wont. I'm not here to convert anyone. Sorry if you wanted a Tohru/Akito fic Liz but I hope you'll be happy instead with what I give you! (Hugs)

Shuichi-kun: Thankyou very much! It's so rewarding to get positive reviews like yours! laughs I know what you mean, cliffies piss me off too! But I know the feeling it gives me when I'm left hanging and ultimately it's good and I'll whisk back later to find out what happens! That's why I do it! Evil laugh I hope you continue to enjoy it, cliffies or no! (Hugs.)

SniperKitty: I just love the way you described Akito! "Dark Elegance" that's the perfect way to describe him! Makes me feel all gooey and warm inside! Thanks for your comments and I guess I sound redundant every time I thank a reviewer, but it means a lot to me every time somebody writes me a review like yours. You really think my little fic would make a good custom frame for Akito? Blushes Shucks... I only hope I do him justice! Thankyou very, very much! (Hugs)

Purple Witchy Angel: I'm glad you're enjoying the mystery element of my fic! I was worried that it wasn't as freaky as it should be and that readers wouldn't be hooked by my form of writing. But you've eased my doubts. Hope you enjoy the next chapter, though the next freaky bit with Akito will be the one following this one. I'll have that chapter out sooner than usual just so you know! Thanks! (Hugs.) I'm giving out free hugs to all my reviewers now, because if I leave one out, they'll think I don't like them as much or something... I love ALL my reviewers! (Royally kisses their asses.)

Demeter1: (Blushes shamefully.) Yeah... I know about Gary Stu's... I was just hoping that none of my reviewers would point that out to me... (Hides face for a while.) Still, on the bright side, I'm thankful for having smart reviewers!! Yes Gary Stu's are admittedly just as weedy and annoying as Mary Sue's and I am hoping that my character won't turn out that way, but in the end it is up to my readers to decide not me. I'll just try and keep him in check as much as I can. If he slips, I'll hit him with my Giggle Bug. (Waves Giggle Bug threateningly at OC.) If my fic didn't call for an OC I wouldn't have one at all, but the plot I've written makes the addition of one a necessity. Okay, I'm done making excuses for myself now. (Laughs.) I know what you mean! I never once had a hatred for Akito, I always wanted to rescue him and take care of him forever! The semen thing I thought was an addition that I could see truly happening and would be an event that would disturb readers and perhaps create a better understanding of the character. It's always nice to hear the opinions of other Akito fans since he is such an intriguing character! I'm going to be revealing a lot of Akito's past so I have been trying to pace it. I was concerned I might not have been doing so very effectively, but it seems to be going well so far. The Lucky thing? Well... I'll let you keep guessing for a little while longer shall I? (Hugs) Thanks! I love reading your reviews! You always seem to notice the little additions I've slipped in there! Makes all my hard work worth it in the end!

Rileycharlotte: (Laughs.) You're a sweetie. And don't be so down on yourself! I wouldn't say that my writing is any better than yours, so there's no need for you to say it either! I think your writing is superb and I love the way your fic is progressing. We're both working on a familiar topic at the moment, which is fun I think. Don't forget, I was new once too and I still am in a sense. A fanfiction baby you might say... or perhaps a toddler at this point. You didn't strike me as being new because your fics have such a mature outline and perspective. You aren't afraid to go where other fanfiction authors are afraid to tread even once in their life and be proud of that. (And don't worry about flamers. They still have a lot of evolving to do if you ask me and don't know an inch about what they flame.) As for my fic, which I should be addressing right now... you have the same view point as me. Akito needs to be with someone stronger than him, otherwise he will inevitably dominate the other person and never learn to control his temper. And he does need to be taken care of. That's part of the reason he is the way he is, because he's been left alone to care for himself without a senior presence to govern his actions. Therefore, a male partner just seems appropriate. It was strange; as soon as I read your review I said; "It's amazing that someone else realizes that too." Though I'm sure you're not the only one! (Hugs) Thankyou and hope you'll keep reading! I'll be reading your fic too! And on that note: Fangirl bow Every time you do that to me, I do that to you. It's only fair, aye?

Sabrina451: I should be ashamed of the way I'm torturing these characters, shouldn't I? Well this is only the tip of the iceberg I'm afraid! (Hugs.) Thanks for complimenting my fic! Hope you'll continue reading!

Well, that's it for my thank you's. Now onto the fic itself! Enjoy everyone!

SCENE CHANGER

There is no difficulty that enough love will not conquer;
no disease that enough love will not heal;
no door that enough love will not open;
no gulf that enough love will not bridge;
no wall that enough love will not throw down;
no sin that enough love will not redeem...
It makes no difference how deeply seated may be the trouble;
how hopeless the outlook; how muddled the tangle; how great the mistake.
A sufficient realization of love will dissolve it all.
If only you could love enough you would be
the happiest and most powerful being in the world...
Emmet Fox

Ritsu Sohma had just zipped up his travel bag, when the phone rang. He stumbled out into the hallway; very nearly tripping over the wooden Buddha statue that propped his door open, as he made his way to the phone. His mother was out working at the Hot Spring's and he had been left in charge of the house, which also meant in charge of the customer's. It wouldn't pay to miss any calls especially when he was nearly ready to move out and had a responsibility to prove himself as a capable individual. Difficult when you were so shy that you could barely say your own name without blushing, but regardless...

Ritsu snatched the bleating phone out of the cradle and pressed it to his ear. "H-Hello?" He stuttered. He cleared his voice and tried again. "Hello, Sohma Hot Spring's. This is Ritsu speaking. How may I help you?"

He listened to the voice on the other end of the phone and unconsciously relaxed. It wasn't a potential customer, only one of his classmates from the University where he studied. Though Ritsu was still bashful, the relief he felt at not being tested overruled his shyness.

He listened to the other person talk for a moment and then laughed softly, a pink hue spreading across his cheeks.

"A trip up to the old mountain cabin, huh? Well... um, that's nice of you to ask really, thankyou but I've already made other plans. I'm sorry." He bowed his head slightly, even though the other man couldn't see him. As the boy started speaking again, Ritsu moved back to his room and picked up his packing list, checking each item off when he was sure that they were all inside the bag. "My plans? Well um... as a matter of fact... One of my relatives is having a little performance..."

SCENE CHANGER

Shigure lit the cigarette as he walked, drawing on the white cylinder needingly. His thoughts were with Akito right then, a desperate desire to understand the frail boy whose life, like a sad book, was slowly drawing to a close. The way he had clung to Kureno so desperately and cried when later he was all alone where he thought no one could see. And Kureno's words as he had shrugged the family master away.

"I'm not him."

What had he meant by that? Shigure inhaled on the cigarette deeply, relaxing as the smoke filtered into his lungs and coursed through him. He wanted to understand this missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle that was Akito. It was irritating. As irritating as a real puzzle that you had worked so long on completing only to have the final piece evade you. And it was this one single piece alone that allowed you to see the complete picture. That made the puzzle make sense.

So deep was he in his thoughts that Shigure very nearly had no reaction to the sight that awaited him when he stepped up into the house. His eyes were trained on the floor as he slid the door open and he almost walked straight past Ayame, who had been standing there waiting for him to come back. The snake's indignant "Ahem!" brought him back to reality and he turned to apologize for his dazed state, only to find himself even more dazed than he was to begin with.

Ayame was wearing a small, semi-transparent pink apron with frills... and nothing else. He leaned against the wall seductively, hand trailing down the wood, his eyes locked intensely on Shigure's. His hair was had that tousled 'just-came-from-the-bedroom-' look that Shigure loved and his expression was alluring. Heartbreakingly so. The cigarette nearly fell from the inu's slumped lip and he felt a heated sensation stirring up through his body, like a rapid flush of hot pins and needles. Ayame laughed silently lowering his face to hide his amusement and then raised it once more to keep that contact with Shigure.

"He la-bas beau." He said, fluttering his eyelashes enticingly. "Vous regardez le froid... ll y a n'importe quoi je peux obetenir pour vous? Quelque chose pour vous chaffer en haut peut-etre?"

Shigure's brain found it almost impossible to translate the French, but he managed without even needing it repeated to him. (But for those readers who aren't Shigure, you can find the translation at the bottom of the fic.) His tongue denied him a collective response however and even to his own ears he sounded like a bumbling idiot.

"Oui..." He mumbled, sucking the cigarette back into place so forcefully it nearly hurtled down his throat. "Oui que serait bon..."

A wide smile crept into Ayame's features until it became the most dominant aspect, regardless of everything else. Shigure would never grow tired of that expression; that look when he was trying to be primarily sexy, but was betrayed by the tenderness he felt for the other man. That look of love.

"Merveilleux!" He declared, slinking up to Shigure with a delicate sway of his hips. "Nous commencerons en obtenant vous de ces vetements et dons quelque chose- -" He paused to press his body up against the inu's and wrap his arms around his waist, leaning his entire weight against him. Shigure got a good view down Ayame's exposed back this way. "-chaud."

Slowly and sensually he began to rotate his groin against Shigure's, forcing him to keep pace with the hands pressed into the lower half of his back. Shigure buried his nose deep within the silver jungle of his hair and inhaled. A lovely, sweet smell of strawberries availed his senses and it was delicious.

"Shigure... there are better things to put against your lips than those disgusting things." Ayame breathed seductively, his eyes on the offending cigarette. Shigure inhaled and blew out a stream of smoke that skimmed the part of Ayame's hair, raising his eyebrows in an alluring way as he did. An invitation of sorts.

"Would you care to show me just what those things are... Aya?" He purred, allowing his eyes the luxury of observing Ayame's bare backside as they pressed together. Despite the time the time the two of them spent together, not one had grown tired of the games they played. Shigure would never tire of Ayame's wit, his beauty or his body. Just as Ayame would never bore of him and whatever it was that he loved about him.

The snake raised an eyebrow enticingly as he stroked Shigure's back, licking his lips as though Shigure were a delectable dish he were about to sample. Long fingers reached up and plucked the cigarette from the other mans hand, then continued moving to frame Shigure's shoulders. Ayame stroked the fingers of his other hand against the novelists' cheek, smiling as he placed his mouth tantalizingly close to the corner of Shigure's. The dog grinned and softly kissed at his lower lip, pausing to suck gently and trace the corner with his tongue. Ayame tasted fresh; like mint and toothpaste and it made his own mouth feel unworthy to wash in it. Their lips brushed languorously against one another's and Ayame's tongue danced the line before flickering inside to explore every line and curve. He hissed softly, a sign of pleasure and ran his hand up to explore the fuzzle on the back of Shigure's neck, as he was so used to doing now. It was a very affectionate action and Shigure, the part of him that was truly dog, loved that feeling of being petted. They nuzzled at one another's lips for a minute or so until, with a few parting kisses they managed to bring it to a close. Shigure was breathing heavily, his heart throbbing within his chest. But he relished it, closing his eyes and smiling whilst he took it all in.

"You're right..." He whispered, cupping Ayame's hips between his hands and massaging his thumbs against the sharp arch of bone. "That was better."

"Mmm hmm." Ayame murmured, turning away and sauntering off towards the ashtray. He ground the cigarette down against the base of it, until the ash had died away completely before he turned his attention back to Shigure. "It was nice, but I do wish you'd quit that nasty habit Gure. It does terrible things to the taste of you mouth. I may just have to start carrying around a bottle of breath spray for you to use every time you kiss me if you keep that up!"

Shigure laughed, well at least tried to but rather made a harsh snorting noise out his nose. It was impossible to do anything with Ayame looking the way he was.

"What's with the um... get up?" He asked finally, indicating with his finger what the 'get up' was. He couldn't help but think 'get up' was an appropriate term for it, considering the effect it was having on his body.

Ayame giggled and gave a little curtsy, spinning in a circle as if to show it off. Shigure whimpered quite audibly.

"This old thing? Why Shigure, it would be a semi-transparent apron with little pink frills!" He squealed, clapping his hands together in girlish glee. "There's nothing quite like cooking in the near-nude to get the blood going! If you don't take sex into consideration that is..."

"You've been cooking?" Shigure asked, stopping to sniff the air in case he'd only been joking. No, there was the distinct scent of baked goods lingering. "I have to say, I'm more surprised by that than what you're wearing. No offense. You look great!"

"Thankyou!" Ayame beamed, holding out the hem and then allowing it to drop back against his thigh. "I was actually going to jump on your chest when you came in the door, but realized too late that it was not a safe stunt..." He trailed off with an embarrassed look and walked into Shigure's bedroom where he had some other clothes laid out on the bed. Shigure followed him over and leaned against the door, crossing his arms as he watched him change.

"Aya... what happened?" He asked.

Ayame laughed somewhat guiltily. "Well... let's just say I would not be surprised if Kyou moved out in the next couple of days or so."

It took a while for Shigure to comprehend this. "Oh... dear..."

"Oh dear is right! My word, that boy has outstanding gusto when he starts on with a tirade! I could barely encourage him to go to his room for a while! And poor Tohru was quite embarrassed! Yuki, always the gentleman, was kind enough to cover her eyes whilst I concealed myself with the tablecloth. It actually makes quite a nice toga if you know how to tie it!"

"Where are the kids now?" Shigure inquired casually, inspecting his nails.

"Kyou's in his room, undoubtedly scheming up malicious acts of ill intent towards me, whilst Yuki and Tohru have occupied themselves at the Secret Base." Ayame said, tying the cord around the kimono he had chosen to wear and walking back out to join Shigure. "Apparently there were teacher's meetings at school and they were all let out early. I wasn't expecting them home at this point in time and my incorrect assumption has caused quite an embarrassing spectacle. It may just be so, that I can never visit here again."

Shigure nodded sullenly. "That is a fair point. We should probably break up. There's no other way."

The reaction was one that Shigure had not been overall expecting and was passionate in the definition. Ayame threw his arms around Shigure's neck and squeezed him tightly, rocking from one foot to the other as they embraced. His voice was completely serious.

"After all the trouble we went through to get here in the first place? No way, le cheri." He leant up and softly deposited a kiss on the inu's lips, stroking the spot with the tip of his finger as he drew back. "No. Way."

Ayame trailed his hand down Shigure's chest and rested it against his heart, moving his head so that he could listen to the definitive sound of the beating red organ. It thudded in his eardrums and that primitive beat reminded him of how much he loved this man. Sometimes he got the feeling that Shigure underestimated just how much he cared, just how scared he was for him though there seemed to be no rationality for it. Only that of a dream, a nightmare in which someone who looked like him had been murdered. He was so frightened of having that comfort that was Shigure taken away, but he couldn't find the words to say it. To address his concerns. So he touched him instead and hoped that his lover could translate his affection into the words he couldn't say. For whatever the reason.

"I missed you Gure..." He said suddenly, breaking the silence that had enveloped them for the passing minute. Shigure raised an eyebrow at him as he stroked his head.

"I was only gone for little more than an hour." He reasoned, allowing the hint of a chuckle to creep into his words. Ayame shook his head stubbornly.

"I don't care how long it was! You were gone longer than I thought you would be! I was frantic with worry! Is anything wrong? You spoke to Hari about the... em, dreams right?"

For a moment Shigure considered telling Ayame what had happened with Akito, but decided against it. Ayame didn't have much sympathy for the family master, nor did he seem too concerned with the affairs of the main house. In fact, in the last two months all Ayame seemed to be concerned with was the progression of his and Shigure's relationship. Even his attempts at bonding with Yuki seemed to have taken a back seat. For the first time in a long time, he possessed an admirable stability that meant he no longer worked himself (or others for that matter) into a frenzy. There was a calmness to his persona, an indication of his internal struggle finally ending. And it was thanks to Shigure that this had been resolved at last.

Shigure shook his head, sending his bangs swaying across his face and gave a light-hearted smile.

"No love. Hari was a little busy today so we didn't get round to it. However..." His voice took on a mischievous overtone and he grinned sadistically. "-He wants you to come in for your monthly check up ASAP."

Ayame made a sharp exclamation and clasped a hand over his mouth.

"Oh NO! It's not time for my checkup is it?!" He cried in mock horror, jumping up and throwing his legs around Shigure's waist, clinging to him cartoonishly. "Oh Gure, he's so CRUEL! He takes my blood pressure until my arm just about explodes! Then he shoves the thermometer so far down my throat I damn near choke! And let's not even go into the cough test!"

"It seems kind of hypocritical for you to complain about being choked Aya, when I seem to recall one particular incident which involved you near to impaling me." Shigure chuckled, poking his lover playfully in the chest. "And I don't mean with a thermometer either..."

Ayame pulled a face and climbed down, shoving him hard in the shoulders once he was on his feet. "Shigure don't be so crude!" He whined. "That wasn't my fault and you know it!"

"Do I?"

"Uh huh!! If I recall you were the one humming! Serves you right really... it wasn't even a good song, you could at least have sung something with a little bit of feeling in it rather than a jingle you might hear inside of an elevator-"

"You look fantastic." Shigure said, transitioning randomly to another topic. It was a common necessity with Ayame, otherwise he was likely to go off on a tangent that was long, boring and obscure. In this case it worked. Shigure found the best way to change the topic was to one that involved what he was wearing or how he looked. If it were anything else Ayame would end up sulking for ages and refusing to talk at all. Whilst this was a relief in come circumstances it got boring after a while and Shigure hated having him mad at him. Ayame stopped his yapping immediately and beamed, giving a little curtsy as he grasped Shigure's fingers and spun in a circle beneath the arch of his arm.

"You like it? I designed it myself, especially for an occasion such as this!" He sang cheerfully, clapping his hands together. Shigure pursed his lips together thoughtfully and scratched his chin, giving it a grand once over. Ayame was wearing a white and purple kimono with long trailing sleeves and ruffly trims along the splits that ascended the length of his long smoothly shaven legs. To be perfectly honest; he looked outstanding. Though Shigure had to wonder as to what the occasion might be. A visit to his house, though a pleasure in its own right, didn't exactly warrant such a beautiful garment. He got the feeling Ayame had something up those fashionable ruffled sleeves.

"Love it Aya!" He said finally, giving a thumbs up. "I also like what you were wearing before..." He added hopefully, wondering why Ayame had chosen to shed the apron so early on.

The tailor waggled his finger beneath Shigure's nose and pranced away, sleeves trailing through the air behind him.

"I'm sure you did!" He laughed, spanning the doorway into the kitchen with both his arms. The sleeves fell down to his shoulders exposing the rich smooth skin and subtle muscle patterns. "And you would have had more of a chance to enjoy it if you had gotten home sooner. But that's your own fault now isn't it?"

"But... we have all the time in the world... don't we?" Shigure said as cutely as he could muster, slinking up close and moving to place his hands around Ayame's hips; his own personal handrail. Ayame slipped away before contact could be established, sliding into the kitchen as purposefully as his snake form stalking its prey. His eyes seemed to glow and they never left Shigure's, as if he were the animal he were about to sink his fangs into and pump full of poison.

"No, we don't." He replied primly, turning his back on him and walking over to the bench. A large wicker basket sat on the countertop; one side propped open and a square tray of various morsels set beside it. Ayame examined this critically, then with a pair of tong's made his way over to a pot cooling on the stove and plucked something dripping from within it. With care, he carried it over to the box and placed it within one of the empty compartments. Shigure realized that it was actually several something's that looked remarkably like octopus rings. The smell alone was enough to die for. He could feel his mouth starting to lubricate heavily with saliva.

"There! That's the last of it!" Ayame said with satisfaction. He stretched some cling wrap over top of the compartment and then lowered it into the basket, tucking the exposed checkered cloth back inside as he closed it. He picked it up and slung it into the crook of his arm and balanced it gently with the other hand as he turned to Shigure, beaming like a small child who was waiting for praise from an adult.

"A... picnic?" Shigure asked uncertainly. When Ayame nodded the inu couldn't resist rolling his eyes. "Just when I thought a gay relationship couldn't be refined any further..."

Ayame was confused. "What are you talking about? There's nothing gay about a picnic!!"

"Gay means happy." Shigure said firmly, feeling the burgeoning desire to laugh almost overwhelming him. "We're going to have a happy picnic, are we?"

"Yes we are!" The snake cheered with a large smile. "It's something I've been wanting us to do for ages mon amour! Picnics are so romantic... Just you, me, the sky, the food and all the ants!" He sighed lovingly and ran a hand through his hair. "Now come on! If we get there fast enough, I'll even make you a daisy chain!"

Shigure had to forcibly unroll his eyes from his sockets as they made their way outside, much to the delight of Kyou who had been counting off the seconds until they left with great vigor. It was a bright sunny day, perfect conditions for a picnic you might say. And it was a hell of a lot more romantic than if it were gray and overcast.

"So... where should we go for our happy picnic?" Shigure asked, shielding his eyes from the harsh rays of the sun as he looked around. He turned to look at Ayame to see if he had heard him, only to find his 'happy' boyfriend, dancing around in a circle, making deliberate movements with his arms and legs to form a synchronized display. The basket swung dangerously in the crook of his arm.

"Having fun?" Shigure asked rhetorically, wondering if Ayame had been inhaling anything whilst he had been out. "Guess you're excited about Saturday right? Not... nervous or anything?"

"Nervous, excited what does it matter?!" The snake cried, running up to Shigure and clutching his hands, swinging them forward and back in rapid succession. "As long as you're going to be there watching, what's the difference? It's gonna be GREAT!!"

"Yeah it will be wont it?!" It was hard not to let Ayame's excitement influence him and Shigure soon found himself dancing in circles with him, after depositing the basket safely on the ground. Like two kids playing 'Ring-a-ring-a-rosie' they grasped one another's hands and spun together, laughing and singing beneath the afternoon sun, hair shining in its light like rain soaked leaves. "You'll be a star struck sensation! An ethereal wonder of our nation!!"

"Oh Shigure you flatter me!" Ayame laughed, tugging his hands free and placing them against his hips. He rocked his pelvis forward, tapping the toe of each foot against the ground before him, then alternating to the other one. This was followed by two abrupt movements to the side and three consecutive spins as Ayame twisted his hands in the air above his head and eventually posed. "Anyone can do that."

Shigure 'Ahh-ed' and raised a finger in recognition. "A new dance movement! Very nice." He laughed. "Very nice indeed!"

Ayame laughed modestly. "Well of course! I'm a fantastic person, what can I say? I have been practicing quite a bit you know..."

Shigure laughed gaily and raced forward, ensnaring the other man in the circle of his arms. It was so hard to maintain a somber attitude towards Akito's dilemma when everything was going so well! He felt guilty for laughing and enjoying himself, for even being happy full stop. Because Akito never seemed to smile and be happy and that was tragic, especially for one so young. When so much death and misery hung around the main house, the soul became saturated when entering into its grounds. And the longer you stayed, the more bloated you became with it. As if every person were nothing but a great sponge, that could accumulate some part of it to take away with them. Coming out into the light was a welcome relief and Shigure couldn't help but go a little crazy. It was the hysterical, idiot happiness that might follow a near death experience when you come to realize just how lucky you are to be alive.

That was how it felt, going to the main house.

But coming home to Ayame kept him sane in this crazy world they lived in. In the wake of so much melancholy, there was that giddy crazed smile; eccentric attitude and warm loving embrace. Shigure wrapped an arm around Ayame's waist and the other around his shoulders, rocking gently from side to side. They were about the same height, Shigure taller by around an inch. It was nice though; it meant they could look directly into one another's eyes whether they were speaking, or just basking in the warmth of the others body.

"How lucky am I?" Shigure said softly as Ayame snaked his arms around his waist. "Pretty lucky... I think."

"Depends on whose eyes you're looking from." Ayame replied, tracing the indent of Shigure's spine with his fingers. His other hand moved further down to cup the firm muscle and he gave it an affectionate squeeze, safe in the knowledge that no one was around to see. And even if there were witnesses, he would have done it anyway.

Shigure grinned and reached around, moving the hand to the hallow of his back and then leaned in to kiss his silver haired lover. Ayame clasped the crown of his head, weaving his fingers through the dark hair as they directed their lips together. He couldn't help but feel that he was the luckiest one out of the two of them; after all, Shigure wasn't the one who had dreamt of moments like these his entire life. That had been Ayame's fantasy. And it had only been complete when Shigure had whisked into his shop that day and said those two words he'd needed to hear. "You win." He'd never forgotten. He would never forget as long as he lived, the way he had felt in that very moment, when Shigure had kissed him and whispered those words to him. It was the most wonderful day of his life; a dream in waking reality and now, he slept within it. Never waking from each kiss and touch as he had resigned himself to a thousand times. The only downside was that now his nights were empty and nightmares had taken root rather than the dreams he'd once entertained.

It was worth the sacrifice, just to be here with Shigure.

Ayame loved moments where they could just be still together and communicate effectively through touches and kisses. It was so quiet, yet there were the subtly nuances of sound that exploded constantly around him. The tentative sound of lips parting and then coming together again. Blood pounding in his ears and racing through to each and every pulse beneath his skin and causing them to throb. Their hearts thudding together, beneath the chests that were pressed together. It was almost as if their hearts too were trying to kiss.

Ayame loved moments like this.

"So... we gonna do this or no?" Shigure chirped once the kiss had ended. He picked up the picnic basket and hefted it high like the Olympic torch. He set his other arm around Ayame's shoulders, who placed a hand on his chest and leant into him.

"Absolutely my precious little Puppy dog!" He sang, pinching the inu's cheek. Shigure rubbed at the red mark absently as Ayame glanced at the distance hills, searching for a place that their 'happy' picnic could take place. Though there were many appealing wide open green spaces that would have served the purpose perfectly, he found his eyes drawn to one particular spot just a little beyond the Sohma family woods, on a hill overlooking the estate. He pointed it out to Shigure who groaned when he saw how far away it was.

"Okay if you insist! But we're driving, because there's no WAY in Hell I'm walking all the way up there." He grumbled making his way over to Ayame's car. Ayame beat him to, slamming one arm against the car door to prevent the dark haired novelist from opening it. His expression was uncharacteristically stern.

"Who's driving?" He asked pointedly. Shigure whined.

"But I wanna drive! I really do have a license!!" He groaned somewhat insistently.

"Whether you do or do not have one doesn't change the fact that you rolled Hari's car eating a Choc-heart." Ayame stated logically, swinging himself into the drivers' seat and buckling in. "You can hold onto the picnic basket. –And NO you can't eat anything before we get there!"

"Aww..." Shigure grumbled.

SCENE CHANGER

Shigure swatted Ayame's hand away as it edged up his shirt. The snake groaned in disappoint and flopped back onto the grass at his side.

"Oh come on Shigure... there's no one here to see... no one..."

"You don't eat desert before you have the meal." The novelist replied, forking a piece of fish into is mouth and chewing. Ayame had made all the food for the picnic himself and Shigure was quite impressed with his culinary achievement. The meal was almost as good as Tohru's.

Ayame's knew he should have known better than to have bothered Shigure whilst he was eating. The man was food oriented, he could structure his entire day around his meals and woe be to anyone who bothered him whilst he had his chopsticks in hand.

Ayame glanced around, admiring his choice of location. Whilst it had been a little out of the way the trip had been worth it in the end. They were sitting atop a hill that over looked the entire Sohma estate, that lay stretched out beneath them like a town on a toy train track with little people going about their business. The hill was framed by four pine trees positioned five meters apart from each other, with one solitary oak tree planted in the center. This, the two men took shade under, the picnic basket set out before them and various containers of food littered around. Shigure had insisted at the last minute on bringing a six pack of beer, of which four were already drained.

Ayame nibbled at the corner of a cracker as he gazed up at the dappled blue sky visible through the leaves of the tree above him. A light breeze shifted the branch slightly to the side, exposing fluffy white clouds and a streaming golden sun. Ayame shielded his eyes with a solitary hand, crossing his legs at the ankle as he stretched out.

What a beautiful day.

Whilst Ayame congratulated himself on finding such a fabulous location, he had to wonder just how he had found. It wasn't exactly easy to spot from Shigure's house, hidden amongst the very tousles of the trees' leaves. But nonetheless he had felt drawn to examine that space until he had spotted it. Almost as though his eyes magnetically tugged to focus on that particular array of trees. Just who exactly had decided to plant them that way? It was kind of... odd. Morbid even. But regardless there was a distinct romantic appeal about the whole arrangement, especially on a day when the sun was shining and there was just he hint of a warm breeze. It was spring. It was perfect for a romantic... date, he supposed. Though classifying it a date seemed kind of silly. That was for high school kids, not two grown men nearing their thirties. But then again... was a picnic really suitable for two grown men?

Bored with his philosophical pondering's, Ayame decided to turn his attention to something that he was good at. Seduction. Discarding the cracker to an inquisitive bird, he rolled over and slid his arms around the inu's waist, looking up at him coquettishly.

"But... without a sample, how am I supposed to know whether or not desert is worth waiting for?" He inquired, using the tips of his fingers to lift the hem of Shigure's shirt revealing tanned skin. He lightly kissed the flesh and blew on it, causing Shigure to shiver. "So... why not put down those chopsticks and give me a little taste test, hmm?"

Shigure groaned and poked Ayame in the head with the chopsticks, not making a move to release his death grip on them.

"Aya... you know you're not supposed to wait for thirty minutes after eating before engaging in any strenuous activity." He said, giving the snake a scathing look as though he were a parent catching his child pulling the cat's tail. Ayame rolled his eyes and blew a raspberry in response.

"Puh-lease! Wait that long and desert melts!" He exclaimed, sliding his hands up Shigure's toned stomach and onto his chest, tweaking his nipples slightly. The delicate buds were all too eager to comply and were soon pert from stimulation. Shigure made a little noise in the back of his throat as Ayame kissed his stomach again, flitting his tongue into his belly button cheekily.

"You'd be willing to do that here?" He asked as Ayame moved his lips a little higher, trailing saliva across his skin as he kissed. "And if someone were to come along and catch us, what would you do then?"

"Ignore them." Ayame stated, slinging his leg over Shigure's waist and settling down on his pelvis. He wriggled down into place against Shigure's groin, revealing in the slight hardness between his thighs as he started undoing his buttons. "Doesn't the thought of having sex out in the wild beneath a clear blue sky, on the cool green grass, excite you Gure? I feel it adds a bit of kink to the proceedings!"

"Tell that to the bug that will inevitably crawl up your ass and the backpackers that could very easily stumble across my derrière, because I don't think they'll be looking at it quite the same way." Shigure murmured, though he made no such movement to dissuade Ayame's actions. He had even put the chopsticks down. "I'm not so sure I find it that much of a turn on myself. Especially when I'm under the distinct impression that I'm sitting on a bull ant nest..."

"Element of danger darling!" Ayame cooed, finally unhooking the last button and inching open the shirt, pushing Shigure back to lay on the ground at the same time. "But you don't necessarily have to take your clothes off for us to have sex, Gure."

Shigure blinked up at him in a mixture of shock and amusement. "You're a piece of work... you know that don't you?"

"That's what all my boyfriends say." Ayame sighed, lowering his mouth to within a centimeter of his lovers' already hard nipple. "Now... shut up and let me have my way with you."

Shigure opened his mouth to say something, but a peel of pleasure hijacked whatever words he had been about to speak. Ayame's wet, hot mouth slowly sucked at his pert nipple, tracing the subtle pattern of bumps with his tongue. His hands splayed across the angular muscles of Shigure's chest, tracing each one of them with a familiarity that he might possess in regards to the back of his own hand or the contours of his hips and thighs. They both knew each other's bodies so well by now. Shigure cupped Ayame's curved sides between his hands, gently rubbing the indent below the ribcage and down over the bone's that caused the feminine sway of his hips. He sighed and leant his head back into the lap of the grass, allowing Ayame the intimacy with his body that he desired. Finally, after a minute of this one sided affection, Ayame pulled Shigure's arms around him and leant down against his chest, holding him sensitively.

"Okay sweetie... what's wrong?" He asked, stroking his sides gently. "I don't seem to have your full attention, which usually means that there is something on your mind. Care to elaborate?"

Shigure smiled up at him a little apologetically. He'd let his mind wander. "I'm sorry hon. I'm still a little pooped from last night. You know...?"

Ayame's made an inappropriately coy grin whilst he pressed his face up tight against Shigure's. "If that's the case..." He whispered. "-Why not let me do the work for once?"

Shigure started, the way a dog might when receiving an unexpected smack. It had been an unspoken agreement between them that Ayame would always be the one on bottom. The tailor usually had no complaints about this arrangement, but regardless liked to joke that Shigure felt it would compromise his delicate male pride if he was ever the one to spread his legs. The reality was not too far from that wither. Shigure just wasn't comfortable with the notion of being penetrated. The closest he had ever come to that was the first time they had made love and Ayame had pierced him with his tongue. Whilst he had admittedly enjoyed the act at the time, the idea of it later was disconcerting to him and ever since he had not allowed a repeat of it. If Ayame's fingers tried to encroach on that ground he would find work for them elsewhere. And if his mouth so much as neared that area, he would firmly clamp his legs closed, unyielding even to the most torturing tickles or the annoyed pushing, until at last Ayame would roll away disgruntled. He would always forgive him in the end though.

But considering how touchy he was around the subject, he couldn't understand why Ayame would suddenly think that he would be willing to roll over (in a matter of speaking) and let it happen. The look on his face must have expressed his discomfort and Ayame sighed, looking as though Shigure had just told him to take a hike.

"Sometimes you make me question myself Shigure." He stated, leaning his head against his chest and listening to his heartbeat. This constant reliable thudding in his ear, relaxed him a little and he kissed his lovers skin intimately, showing that he wasn't angry. "I wonder... whether you don't trust me... or if you're scared to let yourself be submissive, as though I might use that against you. I... I don't want to have any doors between us Shigure. Not us." He raised his head, causing the long tendrils of his hair to fall across Shigure's face and shoulders. "Won't you open yourself up to me Shigure? Can't you trust the man who loves you?"

"I'm... just not ready for that yet, Aya." Shigure struggled, hating the thought that perhaps he never would be ready for it. Maybe he never would be ready to let someone in fully, physically and emotionally. He remembered how tight Ayame had been, their first time together. Something like that could not have been painless, as was confirmed the morning after by Ayame's lip sided gait. Shigure couldn't help but admire the strength it had taken for his friend to give himself over like that; to trust him. He had to admit; he'd always had trouble trusting people, especially when it came to personal relationships, in which so much was invested. Shigure knew how much Ayame loved him and was prepared to return in full, but there were so many barriers to kick over first and not all of them fell easily. All his life, the people he trusted the most had been Hatori and Ayame, but now he was actually with Ayame, it was almost as though he had forfeited that position. It was horrible to realize that, more so to think that way, but it was the way he felt. And right now he felt that there was more to hide from him, to conceal. To keep safe. And he hated it.

He looked up into Ayame's eyes, watching the snakes mouth quirk up to one side ad he leant back, using the tip of one nail to circle Shigure's gleaming wet nipple. He groaned, trying to comprehend just why it was so easy for Ayame to make him forget what it was he had been thinking about. Snake Charmer. That's what he called him in his head. All he had to do was sway from side to side and Shigure would be reduced to a drooling, incomprehensible moron. Snakes and dogs... huh... it was an interesting combination that's for sure. And why did he feel as though the coils of this particular snake were always tightening around him... preventing his struggle, eradicating his freedom?

"Why don't you give me the chance to show you just how good it can be?" The snake was hissing. "I promise I'll be gentle..." He added slyly, kissing the base of the inu's neck, twisting those coils even tighter.

Shigure groaned as he gripped his back, feeling his own body heave with anticipation despite his own intentions to deny it. "No Aya. Really... not now."

Ayame snorted and gave a toss of his head. If he had of had fangs they would surely be extended by now. "Jesus God... we are in a grump today, aren't we?"

"Someone not mentioning any names, AYAME SOHMA, kept me awake last night with his visions of extreme nervousness and anxiety, in case we've forgotten."

"Well if that's the way you feel then maybe you shouldn't invite me over!" Ayame snapped turning his back to Shigure and busying himself with the picnic supplies. "It's getting late, we should start heading back now before the sun sets."

His voice was prim, his shoulders stiff and straight, an indication that he was annoyed. But also a sign that he wouldn't turn down an apology. As long as it was prompt. Shigure prided himself in being able to read his best friend just as easily as he could interpret his favorite novel, read a thousand times over. Sensing the tension between them, he decided to give in and sat up, slipping his arms around the snakes' middle. With a sharp tug and loud 'C'mere!' he pulled him backwards and bundled him up, laying appreciative kisses all over his face. Eventually Ayame's adorable little pout lifted back into his familiar smile.

"Don't be angry with me." Shigure pleaded comically, still kissing Ayame's cheeks, forehead and lips with over the top puckering noises. "I hate seeing that little grumpy sad-sack face. Will you accept my apology?"

Ayame took a moment to think about it, cheeks slightly tightened to accentuate his consideration. Eventually, he gave a little nod and smiled.

"Okay... I accept." He giggled, leaning in for a proper kiss. "But you're going to have to make up for it with lots of hugs and kisses. And let that be a lesson to you!"

"I don't know if I'll be leaning that one any time soon." Shigure said solemnly, rolling onto his side and resting his chin on Ayame's shoulder. This allowed his lover to ensnare his hips with his legs and they curled up together, like two pups in a den. Ayame stroked Shigure's face with the tip of his finger, then with the side of his hand with an intimacy he'd once only entertained in his imagination. But a moment like this was so much more perfect than anything he could imagine. The clouds rolling by overhead, the orange sun highlighting the landscape with it's warm glow as it sunk down towards its bed beyond the mountains, the soft whispers of the trees. It was a world crafted for he and Shigure alone and they were here to enjoy it. There was nothing that could ruin that. Not even nightmares and gut wrenching nervousness—but wait, he wasn't supposed to be nervous! Oh dear... maybe he was after all! What Saturday had in store for him was so much more intimidating than anything he'd ever had to deal with before; Cross Dressing shop for gay men or no!

"Shigure..." He began, still deep within the serenity of the moment. "On Saturday..."

"Mmmhmm?" Shigure purred from somewhere beneath his cheek.

"... make sure that you... um, stand somewhere I can see you... Okay?"

A moment of silence passed before Shigure pounced on the opportunity like a dog on a tennis ball. His face split into a grin as if someone had sliced a knife clean across the bottom half of his face and he laughed without reserve.

"You really are nervous!!" He cackled, rolling away and slapping a hand to his forehead. "I should have known! Who would have ever thought that the exuberant Ayame Sohma had stage fright!!"

"It's not that improbable!" Ayame cried, trying to be heard over Shigure's unreasonable witch's cackle. "Do you remember in High School when we had the big School Production and I had to perform a dance solo across the stage?"

"Who could forget that one?!" Shigure exclaimed and burst into a fresh peel of laughter. "You danced straight into the curtains, pulled them off of the hangers with that huge battle you engaged with them and then fell off the stage into the audience! I've never laughed so hard!!"

Ayame's expression was bleak. "It may have been humorous for you, but may I remind you I required five stitches above my left eye and a cast for my right arm. Even since then I have retained a justified fear of large stages and bright dazzling lights. It's not the fear of a thousand eyes on me, it's the fear of a thousand voices shrieking with laughter in uncanny semblance to your current demonstration as I make a complete fool of myself."

"For a change..." Shigure muttered, then before Ayame could start in on him. "I wouldn't worry about it, Aya. You'll be fine. I have great faith that it will be a spectacular, stellar performance!"

"You really think so?" Came the innocent, childlike response.

Shigure nodded. "Without a doubt. And I'll be sure to stand somewhere that you can see me, so that if you do feel nervous, just look at me! And the feeling shall pass..." He fluttered his hands as if to indicate something fluttering by. Ayame battered at it playfully.

"Knowing you as I do Gure, you'll only do something to make me laugh!" He grumbled, though he did sound cheerful beneath. "As long as I can count on you to be there if I should need a quick funny fix, I'll be happy."

"Just imagine everyone naked." Shigure added helpfully.

"Can't I just imagine you naked?"

"I think that would cause all sorts of problems, Aya." The novelist said forebodingly as he climbed to his feet. They broke out laughing in unison this time and Shigure held out his hand, hefting Ayame to his feet and helped him to brush off the kimono. "It really is beautiful Aya. You know, you can make some pretty classy things when you want to."

"If you think this is neat, just wait until you see what I've got cooked up for Saturday!" The snake said mysteriously, stroking Shigure beneath the chin as if he were a cat brooding for some attention. Shigure crooned in delight and examined Ayame sleazily from the corners of his eyes.

"Anything I can see prior to the premier?" He hinted, trailing his finger along the ruffled split that concealed Ayame's chest from sight. The snake twisted free, waving a finger in a scolding manner as he bent down to finish packing the supplies away.

"No you can't, Gure. You will see it on the day, before everyone else granted but that is only because I will be changing at your place and Hari will be driving us there." He said at even, glancing demurely over his shoulder. "I can only hope that it will be to your approval, my little perverted puppy dog."

"I'm sure it will." Shigure replied, buttoning back up his shirt and then kneeling down to retrieve the very sharp cooking knife they had brought to cut the fish. He examined it idly, twisting it between his fingers and spinning it as though he had some clue how to use one in a combat situation. Of course, he was only reiterating what he had seen in movies. "Ayame... can I ask you a question?"

"Of course." Ayame said, back still facing him. "As long as it's not the question, you go right ahead."

"Oh damn-" Shigure declared, mockingly and then laughed to show that it was really only a joke. "No. No it's not the question. But what I was going to ask is very little different from that. In a sense."

Ayame seemed surprised, because his movements ceased over by the hamper. His head was angled upwards though he still didn't face him.

Shigure continued. "Well... I was just wondering... how long do you think this... relationship is going to last?"

"Do you want to break up with me, Shigure?" Ayame asked softly. He sounded on the verge of crying. Shigure quickly back peddled, realizing that he had given his lover the completely wrong idea.

"No! No that's not what I meant at all!" He explained, tracing a little shape into the soft dirt beneath the grass with the knifes' tip. "What I was trying to say is something marginally romantic... if you'll let me."

Ayame sighed with relief, then his neck flushed red. "Sorry. Didn't mean to sound so relieved there, you go on Shigure."

"Well... um, what do you think Aya?" The inu asked, as his lover returned to the task of packing the supplies away. "Do you think our relationship could last as long as... these trees here?"

Ayame was quick to reply. "No."

Shigure was surprised. He raised an eyebrow. "...No..?"

"No." Ayame repeated. He closed the basket and turned to face Shigure, legs crossed over one another and knees up tight and pointed towards his chin. "These trees are probably hundreds of years old Shigure and they will undoubtedly live for many more hundreds of years. No offense Gure, but I don't think that either of us has that kind of stamina in us."

"Ah..." Shigure said, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice. His face visibly slumped. "Guess that... does make sense."

Ayame smiled and shuffled forward, reaching out to gently take a hold of Shigure's free hand. He squeezed his fingers tightly. "However..." He said. "I think that our love could last as long."

"Our love." Shigure stated. Ayame nodded and leaned in, kissing him softly on the forehead. A lingering kiss, that bred into two soft touches of the lips to skin. His other hand traced Shigure's firm jaw and angled his face up to look into his own.

"I know you have a hard time saying it. Seriously saying it, I mean." Ayame whispered, rubbing the backs of his fingers over the slight swell of his lovers' cheeks. "But I do love you Shigure. I've always loved you, you know this. Even if we were to break up today or tomorrow, or even a few years from now, there'd be nothing to stop me from ever loving you. That love will last forever, even if the relationship does not." He kissed him again and Shigure suddenly realized how close to tears Ayame was; how emotional this whole thing had made him. He cursed himself for bringing it up.

"Ayame-" He started, but the other man quickly shushed him, long fingers pressed to his parted lips.

"One time you stopped my protests this way, remember?" Ayame said and he laughed at Shigure's sheepish expression. "I'm all right. Really. I'm just trying to make a point, is all. And my point is that relationships are just the physical interpretation of courting love and I don't think it's something that lasts. It's a word. Love is more than a word and that is what lasts, when all else fades into the past."

"And where the Hell did you learn that?" Shigure asked.

"Read it in a book somewhere."

Shigure laughed and held up the knife. "All that aside, what I was originally planning to do was to carve myself a big love heart in this tree with our names in it."

Ayame frowned. "That is terrible slander to nature. I won't allow it!"

"In the name of love! " Shigure sang, to the theme of the Elephant Love medley from Moulin Rouge. "One tree in the name of love!"

Ayame laughed. "You're an idiot. But I guess I am too, because I'm actually considering letting you do this. It does seem sweetly romantic."

"And when you're up on stage on Saturday and you start to feel nervous, all you'll have to do is close your eyes-" Shigure said, gently covering Ayame's eyes with his hand and slinking up behind him to whisper in his ear. "- think of this place and remember this is where our love will remain forever carved into the trunk of this tree. So you'll know where to look, when you need to be reminded of it."

Though it was against his morals of nature, Ayame did let Shigure carve the heart into the tree. It was kind of jaggedy because the bark was hard and the top didn't round out as much as he would have liked, but it was distinctly a heart nonetheless. And right in the center, chiseled there until God forbid the tree fell down, was cut from the ground or somehow did last the test of time, were their names.

"AYAME SHIGURE"

Shigure dusted woodchips off of himself and thrust out his chest.

"Well I think that's quite a grand job, if I do say so myself." He said proudly, hooking his arm around Ayame's shoulders. Ayame could only nod in agreement, thinking that he had snared only the most romantic, if not perverted guy in the world. "Now... what say we head home and I give you a little back rub or something, hmm?"

"That would be nice." Ayame sighed and he slung the hamper into his arm, allowing Shigure to lead him off down the hill towards the car.

The air was still when the branches of the tree swayed.

SCENE CHANGER

Shigure spent the whole car drive singing, which was fine with Ayame. It gave him time to think and he liked to think while he was driving. Not as much as talking perhaps, but then what better way was there to express oneself if you were as loud and as flamboyant as he? Yes, talking whilst you were either driving or working, though sometimes distracting, made the time pass quicker. But when your traveling companion was intent of 'la-la-la-ing' until his voice box went on strike, there really wasn't much of an alternative other than contemplating ones navel. In a manner of speaking.

So he resigned himself to the thoughts in his head, as they traveled along the little back road that weaved past the Sohma estate and woods. It was a barely used track; dirt and mud mostly with the occasional weed and patch of grass that had tried to take life near the border. Ayame found it enchanting on their way up here, but now it was kind of dull in light of the thoughts he twirled in his head such as he might a strand of hair around the band of his finger. A smile was his constant companion; sometimes enhancing to a slight chuckle when Shigure attempted a note in his song that was just too high for his range. He thought it was cute, though he never mentioned it less Shigure's head swelled to titanic proportions.

Ayame knew Shigure was surprised to find out that he could cook. He was a little surprised himself, but through careful examination of himself he came across the realization that it was something of a labor of love, he had performed that day. He wanted to prove something to Shigure and that something was that he was capable of taking care of him. Perhaps even a subtle hint at the fact that he needn't be dependent on Tohru forever. It was something of a disturbing thought for Ayame, but he knew it to be true. He had been considering it for a long time. The notion that one day, he and Shigure could live together on their own, without the children. It wasn't a matter of him not liking them, to the contrary, he adored them all. Even Kyou, though the feeling was obviously not mutual perhaps as a result of the constant teasing. But it still didn't change the fact that he desired to ultimately have Shigure to himself and have that privacy away from a home that consisted of two runaways and an orphan 'housewife' as Shigure put it. It was not an admirable thought he knew, but it was human. And reasonable he thought. But maybe it meant he would just have to wait until the kids grew up and could move out on their own.

Ayame noticed that he had started humming whilst he shifted into fourth gear and shook his head a little as though to make some sense of things. He hadn't even noticed he'd been doing it. The little ditty did send his thoughts reeling off again, in a completely new direction this time and he was keen to follow them, for the memories were much fonder than the ideas he had been currently entertaining. Two months ago that little tune directed him to. Two months ago. The second time he and Shigure had made love.

"Wanna hear something funny?"

Ayame opened one eye lazily to focus on his boyfriend. "Not if you're going to fart and pull my head under the duvets again."

Shigure chuckled. "No nothing like that you idiot. It's kind of ironic actually, but I kinda knew before you told me, that you were in love with me."

This interested Ayame and he rolled over to face Shigure, his hips and legs exposed from beneath the blankets. They gleamed as the moonlight danced off of the dried sweat and then fell into shadow near their feet.

"Did you just? And how was that?"

"At Hatori's 21'st birthday bash we threw. Remember? I got so pickled you guys had to drag me out of there as I was climbing on the table to belly dance to the Macarena. You insisted that you take charge of me so Hatori could go back and enjoy the festivities... though to be honest, I think he would have been glad for any kind of escape at that point." Shigure chuckled softly to himself. "You dragged me to the coat room to get your jacket and I heaved-ho all over Hatori's brand new coat. You were mortified if I recall. You left your own there for him, dragged the soiled garment and me home where you dumped me in your bed and proceeded to scrub that thing all night, just so I wouldn't get in trouble. No amount of work would fix it, I assumed because I managed to revive in time just to hear you trying to explain it to Hatori. He got so angry I thought he was going to have an aneurysm. And you... you told him that you'd borrowed it because yours was too thin and it was a cold night out. You then went on telling the biggest whopper of all time about how you'd dropped it in the mud trying to get it on and keep me standing up at the same time and how you would make him a new one. He yelled at you a bit more, told you he was very ashamed of you and you weren't to touch his things again, that you never stopped to think—yada, yada, yada and then he stormed off. Presumably home to sleep off the little vintage vodka's he'd been swilling all night. You came in to check on me and you seemed pretty upset. I guess you thought I was asleep. I did kind of play up to that assumption and kept my eyes shut. You said something... I was really too drunk to recall but it was something along the lines of; 'The things I do for you..' and then you gave me a kiss."

"Oh NO." Ayame blanched.

"It wasn't that bad." Shigure said with a little smile. "It was only a small one and I didn't even remember it until recently."

"I thought you were asleep..." Ayame moaned, burying his face in the pillow and bashing his head against it. "I guess I just couldn't help myself! You looked so cute lying there all comatose and ruffled!"

"Well I am adorable." Shigure said modestly.

There was more to it than that though. What happened before then? When Shigure had first woken up? Ayame tried to recall the conversation that had preceded that one.

He'd been gazing out at the moon when Shigure awoke. It was one o'clock in the morning, and the night sky was still dark and beautiful. The breeze cool from winters icy touch, but not so much so that it was a discomfort. It was relaxing and fresh. Like the sky had just popped a mint into it's mouth and every breath contained its cool crisp scent. The sky was clear and tapered with a thousand stars, blinking sleepily like the moons infant children. Ayame had pushed open Shigure's side door and was lying on his back, with his face angled towards it. He was on the side of the bed closest to the door, whilst Shigure was facing the wall, squeezed in-between the vertical surface and Ayame's smooth form. The bed was new; the mattress still not squishy in all the right places and the sheets had a starchy crisp feel to them. They made a crinkling sound when clasped between someone's fist during a moment of intense passion. Tested and proven. Shigure had decided he needed this, to christen a new start to a new stage of his life.

New relationship, new bed.

Ayame had been the first and only one he'd been in this bed with. Still wasn't squishy in all the right places though.

Shigure had sat there watching his effeminate lover for a minute or two, enraptured by the way that his body was outlined against the night sky. The full moon sent a silver sheen across one side of his body, shading in smooth patches of skin whilst leaving the inward curves dark and mysterious. The world's most perfect artist, the moon. It turned Ayame into a living sculpture. The snakes' hair was beautiful beneath it, seeming to ensnare and catch the light, then destroy it. It was bliss simply to watch him.

"Should be sleeping " Shigure sang finally. He was surprised to see Ayame jump as though he had not expected him to be awake. His head turned and entered the dark shade, so that only his golden-green eyes were visible in the black area. Shigure knew him well enough though to knew that he was smiling.

"Gure, don't scare me like that!" He scolded, poking the inu's nose. Shigure wriggled it in response. "You know how jumpy I get in the middle of the night and there's no need to take advantage of it!"

"Oh... but why when it's so easy?" Shigure teased, lowering his voice creepily. Ayame smacked him hard and then emitted a tiny yelp as a hand snaked around his curved waist and pulled him close. Shigure buried his face into the mass of platinum hair he adored so much and sighed in delight. So many years spent brushing and weaving his fingers in it, yet he never had really stopped to consider just how wonderful it smelt. He inhaled and depicted the traces of fruits, hair spray and even deeper, the salty aroma of human sweat, clinging to the hairs very base. Ayame gently stroked Shigure's back, thinking to himself how lucky he was to be here right now. These moments he never took for granted, not a single one, no matter how small or insignificant they seemed to be at the time. He wished that he could bundle them all up together and squeeze them tight, breathe them in and make them a part of himself forever. Shigure was his. After all the heated words they had exchanged not too long ago, Shigure was his. And he was Shigure's.

He belonged. He was loved.

"Beautiful night."

"I've been watching the stars." Ayame chirped, resting back into the pillows with his arms crossed behind his head. Shigure leant his head on his chest, one hand placed protectively at the base of his neck, near his heart. For a moment, silence took control and they lay there bathed in it, the two of them, eyes on the sky. But the quiet could never endure between a pair such as they and the two men were fond of abusing the privilege that was speech.

"Listen to you... 'Watching the stars?'" Shigure tutted, giving his boyfriend's chest a slight slap. "If this moment became any more 'B grade Romance Movie' I may just have to whip out my notebook and write it down!"

Ayame pouted, bottom lip extended cutely to make him resemble a subservient child who hadn't gotten their way.

"Gure are you making fun of me?!" He whined, somewhat rhetorically. His voice had a purposeful babyish drawl to it, only working to boost his cuteness even more. Shigure shook his head.

"No."

"Yes." Ayame insisted, teasingly moving his face away as Shigure tried to kiss him. He pushed at his lips with his hand and laughed as Shigure started kissing them instead. "You keep this up and I'll go and sleep with Kyou again! He did so enjoy my company last time..."

"As we could all tell from the minor tremor that erupted when he rolled over and encountered you!" Shigure exclaimed, pulling Ayame's hand around his neck and leaning in for his well-earned kiss. "Frankly, after seeing the chemistry between the two of you I'm a little jealous. I certainly will not allow a repeat of the event, that's for sure."

Ayame giggled. "Oh, you're so cute when you get possessive, Shigure..." He pinched his cheek and then allowed the kiss. It was a tentative kiss, a sweet kiss. Shigure was still kind of shy about their relationship though he was imperatively good at hiding it. It would be a welcome relief the day that Shigure was entirely comfortable with it, but Ayame was content with it for the time being. And Shigure was trying and that was enough for now.

"So... find anything interesting in the stars?" Shigure asked, entwining his fingers between Ayame's and individually stroking each one. He was propped on one elbow; eyes focused on the sky revealed through the side door. "Know any constellations?"

Ayame gave a slight toss of his head as he stroked Shigure's hair. His bright eyes picked through the shadows of darkness with an inhuman accuracy, peeling away areas so blackened by the night that a normal eye could not penetrate. His vision was greater that that of a normal person probably so as an association to his zodiac animal that required intricate eyesight to be able to strike prey quickly. Be it day or night. Ayame was able to make out the tiny minute details of many an object around the room, down to the tiny splinters in the doorframe. He could see perfectly the picture frame on the bedside table and the figure constricted to within its tightly wedged frames. It was a picture of himself, working at his shop. 'Working' perhaps was a matter of opinion, considering that he was wearing bunny ears, fishnet stockings and a fluffy tail. He wasn't really all that surprised to find that this particular picture was the one that had made the mantel.

Ayame moved his eyes back to the stars. "Oh, as if Shigure!" He laughed in response to his question. "A million and one stars and I don't know a thing about any one of them."

Shigure was thoughtful. "Sometimes it's easy to be oblivious to the most beautiful things." He murmured, turning his eyes to focus on Ayame's. Ayame knew the hidden meaning behind his friends' words and the inflection made him want to cry and laugh all at once. But he did neither. He kissed him. That was more than both.

"Why the constellation question?" Ayame asked, rubbing Shigure's bare leg with his foot and sighing as the other man stroked his exposed thigh. Shigure was shifting between the sheets, edging his body up atop Ayame's. It was vaguely erotic, the cumbersome movements and the adjustments of each limb. Fingers locking through the gaps between Ayame's, legs sliding into place and teeth grazing the pulse in his neck. What sweet agony this was, complacent and sweet smelling, like fresh laundry or newly washed hair. Taste and scent, all rolled into one and all so very beautiful. How had he lived without this?

"Just... being... romantic..." Shigure said, punctuating each word with a kiss. "Many love stories have unfurled beneath the stars, Aya."

Ayame laughed with his head tilted back, exposing rich sensuous skin begging to be kissed and explored by Shigure's lips. "Our love story unfurled beneath the roof of my shop, Gure. Whilst I was wearing a Cardcaptor costume nonetheless." He raised an eyebrow in mock indignation.

Shigure chuckled against his throat, tickling the delicate skin. "I thought it looked quite becoming on you. And-"

"-'If I was that costume I'd be coming too.' Yeah, yeah I know." The snake teased, giving his lover a playful slap on the back. "That's so old Gure! I think you're loosing your originality."

"Don't you dare say that." Shigure said, in fake anger. "I-" Kiss. "-am-" Kiss. "-a genius." Lingering kiss. "And don't you forget it."

They lay there together for a while, exchanging the occasional touch and kiss until their attention turned to the stars again. Ayame poised his hand before the vast black blanket of the sky, three stars aligned between the gaps of his fingers.

"I wanted to give you a star." He said, a marginally goofy grin on his face. Shigure looked at him a little oddly. "You know, Gure! Like that old song?" He started to sing very softly, as if almost it were a secret he was not supposed to tell. " Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket, save it for a rainy day. Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket, never let it fade away "

"Oh yeah... I remember that song." Shigure said, raking a hand through his knotty bangs. "We used to sing that song when we were kids. It used to drive Hari mad!"

Ayame pouted. "I'm not that bad a singer."

"Never said you were pumpkin. But you know what he's like. I'll never forget that excursion we went on in Middle school where we sat behind him on the bus and belted out 'One-hundred-ninety-nine-thousand-and-one bottles on the wall." Shigure giggled in recognition before returning his attention back to the topic. "So... what you're saying is that you want to pluck me a star to keep in my pocket for a rainy day?"

"Well... not necessarily..." Ayame said, lowering his hand and placing it on Shigure's shoulder. "I was just thinking of leaving it up there and giving it your name. So that if I was ever lying here alone without you by my side, I can reach up and frame you between my fingers. Catch a star, you might say. Then I'd always knew that you were there with me, safe and shining."

Shigure simply stared at him and Ayame wondered if this had sounded just a tad too wanky. But then the inu smiled.

"That's a nice ideology." He said, beaming. "'Let me reach up and catch you a star, to know that you're always there with me.' ... I like that... I could use that..." He added, scratching his chin cunningly.

"It was my idea." Ayame sulked.

"I'll thank you in a small footnote," Shigure replied, distracted. His eyes were in the sky. "Will you let me catch you your star?"

"I would be most honored."

Shigure pointed upwards. "There. That one."

Ayame laughed. "Shigure, that's the moon! You can't pick that one."

"I can too!" Shigure insisted, tossing his head proudly. "There isn't a star in the sky that shines as brightly as you. If the sky can be compared to life my love, then you must see yourself that in a million and one stars you are the one that surpasses them all. Look at it Aya! So... out there and beautiful, as if it's always boasting itself, saying; 'Look at me! Look at me!' All stars are diminished in comparison to this beautiful-" His face came closer. "-silver-" Closer still. "-moon."

They kissed.

"I'll catch you the moon Ayame." He whispered, smiling as their noses stroked together. "I'll catch you the moon."

Ayame bit his lip and pushed his tongue from the corner of his mouth. He contemplated this for a while.

"Guess that makes sense," He said finally, brushing his fingers against Shigure's cheeks and lips. "Meaning that you get to be the sun."

Shigure raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because you light up my world." Ayame said as repulsively wishy-washy as he could. Shigure pulled a face, made a disgusted sound and beat Ayame around the head with his pillow, telling him off for not taking him seriously.

'I did mean it though Shigure.

You are my sun, the light in my days when there seems to be nothing but clouds all around me. It's because of you that I shine.

Why do you think I wrote our song, if not for that?'

Ayame was whisked out of his daydream by the suffering sputter of the car engine. Shigure halted mid verse and looked over through the windshield as though he might see what was causing the problem. After he determined there was nothing to see, he turned his attention to Ayame.

"Out of gas?" He asked, pushing his sunglasses up onto the curve of his bangs. Ayame tapped the fuel gauge, hoping that the needle might jump higher. Only then did he notice that they still had half a tank. It wasn't fuel that was the problem.

"No, that's not it." He said and then gave a startled cry as the car simply slid to a jarring halt, directly in the center of the road. "Oh no. Come on baby, start for Daddy." Ayame knocked the gear back into first and tried to restart the car. It groaned and chugged at him, but despite the effort he put into the twisting of that key, the engine wouldn't turn over.

"Damn..." He grunted, smacking the wheel with his fist and leaning his forehead on it. "I just had this thing inspected a month ago! What could the problem be?"

"I'll go check the engine." Shigure volunteered, shoving the door open and swinging his legs outside.

"Shigure you don't know a thing about cars." Ayame said, smiling warmly at the inu's enthusiasm. Shigure went round to the bonnet, glaring jokingly at the tailor as he did. Ayame laughed to himself and flipped the lever, causing the bonnet to leap up. Shigure hooked his fingers beneath its raised hood and lifted it, obscuring Ayame's view of him. No steam billowed from inside as he almost expected it too and as far as he could tell nothing was leaking from it. Bored with just sitting there, Ayame pocketed the keys and hopped out to join Shigure, his head poked under the bonnet and his finger rubbing at the indent of his chin. He examined it unwaveringly for a minute before finally straightening up.

"I have come to the deduction, that the cause for this cars sudden cease in locomotion is not apparent to the naked eye." He explained in a stereotypical English type Professor voice. "Therefore I feel that we have no other option then to, how you say... hoof it and come back with a tow truck later."

"Okay, before we resort to anything desperate, how's about we try starting it again?" Ayame suggested, ushering Shigure away so that he could slam the bonnet back into place. They headed back to their respective seats and buckled in. Ayame slid the key back into place and turned it sharply, foot pressing down against the accelerator, hoping to jerk it into starting. He was rewarding for his efforts with more stuttered choking. "Perfect! Just peachy... we'll probably starve out here."

"We could make love to pass the time..." Shigure suggested hopefully. Ayame glanced at him and shook his head, laughing under his breath.

"Ordinarily I'd take you up on that Shigure, but this is not a patch of road I would want to get stuck on in any circumstance. Even if it is a sexy, compromising circumstance."

Shigure pulled his glasses free of his hair and placed them on the dashboard. "Something about this dirty, dilapidated piece of road that I don't know about?" He asked.

Ayame desperately twisted the key again to no avail. "Grah! Probably not much more than I do Shigure. I just used to hear some odd stories about it that's all."

"Ahh! Intriguing! Pray tell, we do have time to kill."

"Well... there's not much to tell. Apparently no animals can walk on this road without balking at a certain point. They just refuse to pass. Dogs whine and pull back on their leashes, sometimes running home with their tails between their legs. Horses rear up, flail, upend their riders and tear ass home. Sheep would rather run into these woods then run down this here road. No plant can survive on it. They say the ground is cursed." Ayame gave a nervous chuckle and gave the key a last, futile twist. When the car once more refused to start, he threw his hands up and smacked them down against the wheel in surrender. "No go, I guess. Anyway, the elders in the house talk and that's how I found out, listening from within the Punishment room. They don't know why it is like the way it is, but it used to lead somewhere and the end of the track wore out at some point so now, no one knows. Sometimes I used to dare Hatori to run across it and pick a stick from a tree on the other side and run back and show me as proof that he'd done it. He never did. And neither did I. Something about it just seems to chill the bones."

"Explains why you were so fascinated coming up." Shigure chortled, giving the car dashboard a hearty slap. "Maybe the old girl here doesn't like it any more then you do."

"Well... seems like some people aren't as squeamish. Look." Ayame pointed out the windshield up the road. "Someone's coming up the road from the direction of the Sohma's."

"Think it's a family member?" Shigure asked, squinting his eyes to against the sun to try and get a clear look.

"Probably Hatori come to give us Hell, I imagine." Ayame laughed undoing his seatbelt and climbing out of the car. "Nice of him to turn up right when we need him, right Shigure?"

Shigure was also climbing out of the car and he could sense the breeze blowing against them, which meant he could get a decent scent of the person. He breathed in sharply, trying to suss out the tiny factors that distinguished Hatori. Stale cigarette's, medicine, pristine clean clothes and a bland after-shave. That was Hatori. And no such scent assailed his senses. There was wood, plants, dirt and animal urine from within the woods itself but he picked up nothing human. Nothing with his nose and nothing with his eyes either.

He gazed over at Ayame.

"Are you sure there's someone there love? I don't see anyone..."

Ayame nodded firmly. "You can't see as well as I can, but he's there all right. Far away but moving towards us fast." He squinted into the sun. "I was mistaken though. It's not Hatori. And... oh! There's two of them!" A second figure had appeared from around the curve of the corner, following closely behind the other. It became clear now that they were running and running fast at that. Dangerously fast. "Hmm... don't look very old... High School kids I think, probably just playing a game or something. Still, one of them might have a mobile phone handy!" He added flashing Shigure a comforting smile.

The novelist was still gazing up the road, eyes searching. "Sorry Aya, where are they?"

Ayame pointed. "Just there, ahead of the bend. Even you must be able to see them surely."

"Aya I've been staring that spot for the last minute. I don't see anyone."

"What you think I'm making it up?" Ayame asked, a little annoyed. "You must be blind as a bat Gure honest." He pointed again. "Right there, look! They're coming straight in our direction and fast! See?"

"Ayame, I would be able to smell them." Shigure insisted. "There is no one there." He worked his way around to the other side of the car and rested his hand heavily against Ayame's shoulder. "How much beer did you have to drink again? Did you take any sort of medication before we came?"

"I don't have time to play games with you Shigure." The snake hissed, pulling his shoulder free and moving ahead of the car. "I don't know about you but I want to go home and get off this creepy road. So you can just quit your teasing, think about what you've done and I'll wave these boys down and save our butts, okay?"

"Aya, I'm not playin-" Shigure started, but was interrupted by Ayame cutting through his sentence with a loud; "HHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYY!"

Shigure prodded his ears. "Ouch. Okay, guy with sensitive hearing here."

"EXCUSE ME!!" Ayame yelled as the figures drew closer. "HI!! OUR CAR BROKE DOWN AND WE WERE JUST WONDERING IF EITHER OF YOU HAD A PHONE THAT WE COULD BORROW!? OR IF EITHER OF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT CARS, YOU SEE WE'RE BOTH A BIT DYSLEXIC WHEN IT COMES TO THIS SORT OF THING SO—"

His words cut off in mid sentence and his heart stopped at the same time. The figures were around twenty feet away which was close enough to make out details. In the lead, a boy of around twenty, bleeding from a wound in his side that he was trying to staunch with his hand. Ayame felt his stomach heave. He could see intestine threatening to spill out over his taut fingers. The boy had dark hair that covered most of his face so he couldn't pick out any details there, but he could see his mouth wide with terror and terrified eyes occasionally peeking out from beneath tangled bangs. He was loping rather then running, his leg had a great tear along it blood spilling down from it but disappearing before it touched the ground. This was bad enough, but the figure that pursued him was even worse.

It was clothed in a hood and cloak but the face within the hood was completely empty. As smooth and white as an egg. But it didn't remain this way because as it got closer Ayame could see that the smooth skin was little more than a covering over what ever was underneath. It was as if the figures real face was trapped under a layer of skin that had simply grown over top of it, and the face beneath was not content to stay still. It slid around and through the thin covering Ayame was able to see the eyes glaring out from the sheathe and they were mad and venomous. They were locked on the boy. And in one hand the specter wielded a lethal samurai sword, the end tipped so sharp that with each stroking movement of his arm it sliced an inch of fabric from his cloak.

But the most awful thing by far about both figures, was not the blood, the face, nor the sword, no. It was the fact that Ayame could see straight through them.

"Ayame?" Shigure called, seeing his lover freeze in mid yell. He seemed rooted to the spot and his lip was peeled back into a wide grimace that could have been a grin. But it his eyes were bulging; the blood vessels from behind them expanded to such a degree that it almost seemed they would simply pop from his sockets at any second. His body and face were shaking to a near comical degree. "Ayame?"

"Get... back in the car..." Ayame squeaked, thinking only to protect Shigure at this point. He physically felt as if he were unable to move, that fear had glued him as to the ground and roots had sprouted from his feet. The closer the figures came, the more he felt so. "Shigure... get back in the car..."

"What is it? What's wrong?" Shigure asked heading for him. Then he caught it; the hint of a very distinct smell, one he'd never registered in such a degree before but familiar nonetheless. Fear. Ayame wasn't just frightened. He was terrified. He literally stank of fear. "Ayame honey, just come over to me. Okay just come here." He said firmly, reaching out his hand for Ayame to take. The snake wouldn't even turn to face him; his eyes remained focused on the road ahead of him. Unwaveringly.

"I cant..." Ayame sobbed and tears were welling in his eyes. He was so scared. The figures were now ten feet away and closing fast. They would reach him in a matter of seconds. "I can't move... get back in the car now... please Shigure..."

"Ayame, what's wrong? What do you see?" Shigure asked and he felt sick to the pit of his stomach. He had not a clue what was going on, but he knew that he didn't like it. He could tell when Ayame was playing a game and this wasn't playing; this was deadly serious.

The blank faced specter swung at the boy and the sword tore a strip of skin from his back. A silent scream erupted from his throat and his head snapped back, bringing him within lunging distance of Ayame as he stumbled. This was enough to break whatever trance had been cast over him and from his mouth erupted a choked moan that escalated into a pitching scream. Shigure jerked visibly as Ayame turned and ran towards him. They collided, but he didn't have time to fall. Ayame jerked him along beside him with inhuman strength back towards the car and physically bodied him inside the passenger door, scrambling in after him. He slammed the door behind him and buried his face into Shigure's chest, whimpering audibly and shaking like he'd just fallen into a frozen lake. His eyes were squeezed shut and he was trying to pull both himself and Shigure beneath the dashboard to hide.

"Shigure..." He sobbed and then screamed again as the whole car rocked from side to side as two figures bodily shoved by it. Shigure didn't see what had caused the motion, but he felt it and now he understood.

There had been something there. Ayame had seen something. And that something had almost damn near tipped the car off of its wheels. He squeezed the silver haired man against him tightly, stroking his hair and trying to understand.

"Ayame... what did you see?" He asked.

Ayame whimpered and swallowed dryly. His eyes found the rear vision mirror and he uttered another choked cry. "Still there!" He yelled looking over his shoulder. Despite his fear, he knew he had to see. "Shigure there were two people I told you! They're still-"

He stopped mid-sentence. The Blank faced specter had closed some distance between himself and the boy and he lunged forward in a beserker like motion, slashing diagonally across the mans back. The forward figure staggered and fell to his knees on the road, still trying to hold his guts in. Ayame watched spellbound, trying to ignore Shigure's badgering. He had to see how it ended. Somehow... he just had to.

The Blank faced figure circled around to the side of the boy who raised his head to look at him. His bangs fell aside but he was facing the other way and Ayame couldn't see his face. But he could see his mouth move. He said something to the specter. Something that was brisk and caused his lip to snarl as he spoke the final word.

Then the Blank face dropped the sword down and decapitated him.

Ayame gasped in revolt and gagged as the head was sliced so brutally from the shoulders that it was knocked to the other side of the road. It fell in amongst the trees and bushes and disappeared from sight. Gore poured from the stump where the boys' head once was and then he slumped forward onto the ground, hand falling limp allowing his guts to hang free. Shigure jumped as Ayame heaved and swung the door open, vomiting heavily onto the ground outside. He gagged twice more and spat, head hanging down almost to the tainted dirt itself. He had the horrible distinct feeling that he was being watched, aside from Shigure and he raised his head ever so slowly and gazed over towards the road from which they had just traveled, where the specter now stood. Through the silver tangles of his hair, he could make out the body posture of the Blank faced one and those awful skin clothed eyes were now aimed at him.

"Run..." Ayame hissed and he sounded strange, even over the pounding of the blood in his ears. "Get out of the car and run Shigure."

"And leave you here? I think not." Shigure said jumping out of the car and grasping Ayame's hand to assist him over the vomit. "Mind telling me what we're running from?"

"Maybe later..." Ayame said and started to tug Shigure along behind him. "How far to the Main House?"

"On foot? Ten minutes at most and considering we're running-" Shigure yelled as they broke into a fast paced trot. "I'd say, eight minutes. After all we're not exactly fit and you just vomited which won't help and-"

The ground started to shake beneath them, so violently Ayame momentarily mistook it for an earth tremor. But when he turned he realized he was wrong. The specter was indeed pursuing them and with every footstep, the ground rattled beneath them.

"What the Hell is going on?!" Shigure yelled, tugging furiously at Ayame's arm to force him to keep pace. He wasn't much fitter, but he hadn't just thrown up either which meant he could run slightly faster. "Ayame, come on! What are we running from?!"

"I... I don't know!!" Ayame cried, risking another glance behind them. The figure was closing in fast and seemingly so because it, unlike them, was not tiring. "Something dead... a ghost I suppose.. WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP AND RUN!! YOU KNOW WHAT THAT THING WILL DO TO YOU IF IT CATCHES YOU?!"

"No, but I'm guessing you have a pretty good idea."

"I have a painfully good ide-" Ayame choked in mid sentence and slowed to a walk. Shigure tried to keep his forward momentum but Ayame's grip prevented it.

"Aya?" He asked softly.

Ayame didn't move an inch. The Blank Faced specter had appeared an inch before his nose and it was staring straight at him. The sword dripped blood at its side but it made no move to use it on Ayame. The figure simply raised one arm and wrapped it around his body, drawing itself in close as though it meant to hug him. Ayame backed away, flailing his arms at it wildly.

"What??! N-NO!!" He screamed and then his entire body buckled at the waist and he clutched at his head as the specter sank inside of him, overtaking his senses. It was a dominant power and it pressed down on him from all sides, sinking his own consciousness like a rock puncturing a hole in a life raft. Ayame's body spasmed and the hands clutched at his hair, scratching the scalp beneath as the new conscious tried to make sense of the body that it was in.

"Ayame...?" Shigure asked again and this time, he sounded really scared. There were tears in his voice.

Ayame tilted back his head. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" The scream erupted from him, primal and animal. But it was his own scream and it was the most horrifying noise Shigure had ever heard. It was the sound of primitive fear and at the end it was swallowed. He was swallowed. The green eyes faded to bleached unseeing white and choked moaning noises gurgled from deep within his chest. White froth accumulated on his lips, soon reddened by blood as the teeth punctured the tongue and a strange, feral bird type cry was barking from his mouth. Shigure darted forward in a moment of bravery and grabbed this thing that had been his lover and slapped it hard across the face. He screamed at those white unseeing eyes.

"What are you?!" He roared. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH AYAME?!!"

The creature made no response, it just continued to spasm and twitch in his arms spitting saliva up against his cheeks and face. Unseen by Shigure the specter emerged from the other side of Ayame and disappeared into the woods, sword trailing blood behind him. Blood that never stained the ground. Ayame made an odd hissing noise and opened his mouth wide, so wide that the jawbones dislocated and the corners of his mouth began to crack and bleed. Shigure stared in fascinated horror as Ayame's upper canines lengthened to long sharp points and he lunged forward, trying to sink these points into his neck. The inu gasped and managed to push Ayame away and onto the ground. The snake staggered back to his feet, head tipped unnaturally to one side and a forked tongue flickered from between his teeth. Shigure grimaced.

"Forgive me love..." He whispered and clasping one fist inside of the other, swung at Ayame with all his might. He connected in the jaw and lifted him up for a second before depositing him on the ground, unconscious. Shigure sunk down next to him, pressing a hand over his mouth to keep from crying out loud.

"This can't be happening..." He whispered, feeling like he too was going to be sick if he didn't find someway of holding it in. "This can't be real..."

The forked tongue still protruded from between Ayame's lips. Shigure slid it back inside not wanting anything to dissuade him. Then he knelt, hooking one arm beneath Ayame's knees and the other around his shoulders and lifted him up. He would carry him back to the main house. Even if it took him all night...

Authors note: Eek! That creeped me out just writing it! Sometimes I wonder exactly what screwed up junk I keep inside my mind... anyway please R and R, but resist flaming me please. And to be a huge spoiler, don't worry! Aya will be okay! No one dies in this story; they just get really big boo-boos. ...Except for that guy who had his head chopped off. ...

...But he got better.

Ahh, translation of the French you read so very far up! Well here you go, all you people who can't read or speak fluent French. That'd be, all of what, everyone who reads this fic?:

Ayame: "Hey there handsome. You look cold... Is there anything I can get for you? Something to warm you up, perhaps?"

Shigure: "Yes... Yes that would be good."

Ayame: "Wonderful! We'll start by getting you out of those clothes and into something – hot..."