Title: Second Chances

Author: Gia

E-Mail: divinechild18hotmail.com

Rating: PG

Pairing: None [..honestly..]

Time: Present time during the anime. However, taking place during summer vacation.

Summary: What if Ayame had a second chance to make up for Yuki's childhood? Yuki has reverted into a 6yr-old, with no recollection of his older self. How will everyone react? How will Akito react to this?

Disclaimer: I own not a thing.

Author Notes: TT.. Don't kill me.. I know I haven't updated in a LONG time, but I just ran out of inspiration.. But I'm here and the chapter's out.. And I promise to work extra hard!

But how do you like the story so far? Getting dramatic, isn't it? Well, I say this would center around the brotherly bond between Ayame and Yuki, didn't I? There are definitely going to be bumps along the way! And Yuki's only eight! Hah.. Much more too come, definitely much more. Also, I hope that you like my interpretations of the whole sibling things and what not. I happen to be an only child so I hope it's up to everyone's standards. XD So, I hope you enjoy this chapter and tell me what you think in a review!

And as you can obviously see, I'm making each day for ONE chapter. It makes the chapters considerably long, but that isn't something to complain about, is it? XD


Kyou grumbled to himself, rolling to each side of his bed, trying to get a comfortable position. It was hard to go back to sleep all of a sudden, he didn't even know why he awoke so quickly. 'Why can't I go back to sleep?' he wondered angrily. Giving up the effort, Kyou sat up in his bed, swinging his legs over to stand up. Maybe he'd make a drink for himself, and go back to bed. Stretching languidly, he walked outside his room and headed downstairs. He made a beeline for the refrigerator and poured himself a glass of milk. Although the cold drink was soothing, it didn't make him feel anymore sleepy.

Shrugging to himself, he turned around and nearly dropped his glass milk when he met the eyes of Yuki. As an eight year old, there was a definite change of growth. He didn't seem as petite as he had been earlier. Currently, Yuki was sitting at the table, staring at Kyou listlessly. He had his head propped up by hand, and he didn't seem to show any intention to remove his gaze from Kyou.

"Err.." Kyou didn't know what to say. He remembered that when he and Yuki began getting older, their fights began to escalate. He'd already been learning martial arts, and Yuki would've started soon enough.

"Baka..neko..?"

Kyou's eye twitched. It seemed Yuki at eight would be very different from the previous ones. Then again, it could be just habit for Yuki. He didn't remember a time where they ever called each other by their given name, civilly anyway. He'd let it slip for now, Yuki was only eight after all.

"Yeah, what are you doing up early?" he asked, walking closer until he was directly in front of him.

Yuki finally averted his eyes and made a noncommittal noise. Without a word, he slid off his chair and headed out of the kitchen. His behavior made Kyou's blood boil. The way Yuki brushed him off, or the way he seemed to easily forget his presence-- all of that just… stung. Albeit, coming from an eight year old, it shouldn't feel too bad, but.. Nothing was the same when it came to Yuki.

I'm the older one here, it should be me who's in charge. Not Yuki. He followed Yuki and found him sitting on the couch, just staring off into space. This definitely didn't seem in character, and although Kyou hadn't seen Yuki enough at the Sohma household, he'd never seen Yuki act like this when he was around. He was always active in our fights.. Making up his mind, he sat beside Yuki. He allowed himself a small grin when it startled Yuki out of his daze.

Yuki glanced at him, a frown marring his features before he turned his head away. Kyou suddenly had a feeling of déjà vu with Yuki's actions. It reminded him of.. Himself. When Kazuma had been trying to get him to talk, he'd been like this towards him. Ignoring him, rationalizing in his head that Kazuma was doing it out of obligation, rather than anything else even remotely of his own free will. Damn.. I'm not good at these things.. I can't talk to kids! I can't talk to this.. Rat.. I'm not supposed to!

Kyou let his eyes linger lazily around the house, feeling extremely stupid, and finally rested his gaze on Yuki. The same eyes grew huge when he realized that Yuki had fallen asleep on his arm, and by the looks of it, wasn't about to move. His arm twitched. Argh.. I'm not a pillow! He snubbed me one moment and now he's all comfortable the next…worse than Kagura..

Frowning, Kyou tensed the arm Yuki was using as a pillow and decided that he didn't have to make things easier for Yuki. With a quick movement, Kyou pulled his arm and moved to stand up. He tried, really, but the result was his arm feeling like it was ripped out of its socket. Kyou sputtered for a moment and hesitated before moving back to the couch. It was amazing that Yuki could have such a death grip, especially for one of his stature. And asleep no less! Fine, he'd just sit here. He didn't feel like getting up anyway. Just rest his eyes for a moment… that's all… only for a moment…


Shigure grinned. After a waking up, feeling perfectly rested, he had freshened up in the bathroom. And what, to his immense surprise, did he find in the living room? 'A cat and a mouse..' Shigure mused. Lucky for him, he remembered to bring a camera down from upstairs. No need to waste such a perfect moment, right? Giggling behind his hand, he tiptoed towards the couch where Kyou and Yuki had fallen asleep. Raising the camera, Shigure's grin grew wider--

"SHIGUURE! Where are you?" Ayame's cheerful voice rang throughout the house. Ayame's tone, however, quickly changed. "I feel absolutely wonderful after last night!" There was loud laughter following that exclamation and Shigure couldn't help but smile as well.

Forgetting, for the moment, the two sleeping boys, Shigure called out in response. "Mou! Aya! I was trying to capture a cute moment between Kyou and Yuki!"

"What! Kyon-kichi and my dear little brother!? Dear me, have I interrupted anything? I'm coming down!"

"No, no, it's alright." Shigure called back cheerfully, waving his hand consolingly even though Ayame wasn't there to see it. He didn't have to wait long before Ayame came down. His hair was pulled back away from his gleeful face, winking at Shigure when he stepped off the last step.

"Where are they Shigure?" Ayame's attempt at whispering only made him sound louder. It was loud enough to get Kyou's attention, although as to the reason why it didn't earlier is a mystery that will remain to be one. Kyou's face scrunched up first, before slowly opening. Yuki mirrored the same action, unintentionally of course, and sat up as well.

Silence.

Gasp. "Kyon-kiichi! Have you no shame? Hm?" Ayame and Shigure all but sang. It provoked the patent reaction from Kyou, his face turning red with anger as he stood up slowly to deal out punishment.

The twin grins on several of the Mabudachi Trio served to irritate Kyou more, causing him to chase after them with a deadly glint in his eyes. For the moment, the eight-year-old Yuki was forgotten, and this fact didn't seem to phase said boy. Yawning widely, Yuki stood up from the couch, stretching slowly before looking around. It was a bit amusing to see Kyou chasing two grown men around the house but it didn't explain to him why they all seemed different.

'Oniichan..?'

Yuki vaguely remembered Ayame shunning him the few times he tried approaching him. And here he was, apparently in a Sohma's house, watching a grown Kyou chasing an even older Shigure and Ayame. And even with these antics, Ayame didn't seem to notice him either. Frowning with confusion, Yuki decided to question it later. He actually had an appetite and was looking forward to breakfast. But… how was he going to eat? He'd never had a chance to try, and he doubted any of the adults would let him near the stove.

Sighing quietly, Yuki closed his eyes again and dropped back against the sofa. Unfortunately, before he had a chance to get comfortable, the phone rang. His eyes popped open immediately and he wondered if the others had heard it. A particularly loud crash followed by cheerful yelling answered Yuki's silent question. Deciding he should answer out of courtesy, Yuki stood up and searched for the sound of the ring. Upon finding the phone, he let his hand hover above it. There was almost a sense of… foreboding. Pushing the feeling out, Yuki picked up the phone.

"…" Yuki opened his mouth, but nothing seemed to come out.

"Hello? Shigure-san? Kyou-kun?"

Yuki's eyes widened considerably, the distinct female voice seemed concerned. 'Who is this?'

"..eto--" Yuki dropped the phone. His hands flew to his mouth. 'Baka! Now she knows there's someone on the phone!'

"Ano? Yuki-kun? Are you there?"

'She knew his name too! Was she a witch? Did she know more about him?' He bent down to pick up the phone and opened his mouth to tell her she had the wrong number but was stopped by saying anything else when Shigure walked in, followed by a still angry Kyou who was being accompanied by Ayame.

"Eh? Yuki? Who are you talking to?" Shigure asked curiously.

Putting the phone down and covering it with one hand, Yuki only shook his head. Raising an eyebrow, Shigure came forward and picked up the phone from Yuki's hand. "Hello? This is Shigure Sohma speaking."

Yuki tilted his head to listen to what Shigure spoke.

"Oh! Tohru-kun! Sorry about that, I was.. A bit preoccupied… Yes, we're fine. How's your vacation?… Good, good!… Kyou's fine… Yuki? Oh.."

Shigure glanced down at him. "He's still sleeping, you know how he is with mornings."

Yuki felt a presence behind him and felt a large hand land on his shoulder. Head whipping up, he was met with Ayame's smiling face. His older brother winked at him, leaving Yuki to gaze at him with amazement and confusion. 'Why was his older brother acting like this?'

"--good vacation now, okay? Just enjoy your time… yes… don't worry.. Okay, bye Tohru!"

The sound of the phone being placed down was the only thing present. There was an odd silence, and Yuki was almost positive that everyone was looking at him. He looked up again at his brother, but this time Ayame wasn't looking at him. An almost serious look in his eyes, Yuki couldn't help but feel that may be interrupting something. Shigure cleared his throat from his stance near the table.

Silence.

"Well!" he clapped his hands together. "Who's hungry?"


As breakfast was being served, Hatsuharu had finally woken up and came down. Whether Kyou wanted to admit it or not, it was almost comforting having a lot of people here. Especially if they were family. It truly was a rare occasion for Kyou, who was unused to having more than several family relatives with him at one time. Albeit, he could do better without Ayame's loud antics and Haru's odd behaviors, but it wasn't all that bad. The biggest change, however, was the very much different eight-year-old Yuki. What could possibly have happened to Yuki when he was seven and turning eight?

Kyou didn't know where to begin on this line of questioning? Up until now, Yuki had always been more forthcoming with his emotions. But at age eight, there was a definite withdrawn behavior. The morning was slow to progress, and it soon became apparent to everyone that Yuki was different from his previous ages. It didn't take long for Kyou and Haru to figure out that Shigure and Ayame knew. It was even more obvious when they called up Hatori, who had come quite fast, and were speaking quite solemnly to him.

Of course, while all this was happening, Yuki was being watched by his two newest babysitters. Kyou and Hatusuharu. In Yuki's room, no less.

Kyou still blanched at remembering how this came to be. It was right after breakfast…


"Mmm! Nothing like instant noodles, curry, and Kyou's favorite, leeks!" Shigure said, making a show of how full he felt.

"I agree!" Ayame announced proudly, eyes dancing merrily is he leaned forward to Shigure's face. Shigure mirrored the reaction, his smile growing. The distance between the two was getting alarmingly small--

"AARRGHH! ENOUGH!" Kyou shouted, having jumped to his feet. "That's digusting!"

Shigure leaned back, shaking his finger in a "tut-tutting" gesture, "Kyou, no need to yell at the table. Your lack of manners is appalling!"

"Yes, Kyon-kichi! Why, even Haru is especially quiet and more well-mannered. And just when we were going to announce the wonderful news."

Haru snapped up at this, he had been busy watching Yuki poke at his food and was wondering if he should ask if anything was wrong with him. "What news?"

"Yuki should hear this, as well. Yuki?"

At the sound of his name, Yuki was snapped from his task of moving rice around his plate. "Hai?" he asked softly.

"Aya, Ha-san, and I had conducted a little interrogation a long time ago, Yuki, when you were seven. You might not remember it now.." Shigure trailed off, waiting to see if Yuki gave any sign of showing that he did remember when he was seven, which in fact was just yesterday.

Kyou's eye immediately twitched when he remembered yesterday. He had completely forgotten about that little session, but he remember it vividly now. 'What does that have to deal with him anyway?'

"We asked Haru and Kyou some questions, Yuki," Ayame continued for Shigure, "questions like--"

Something whistled through the air, and landing smack on Ayame's face. The green leek landed on the table with a small squish.

"Ehehe.." a sweatdrop appeared over Ayame's head, feeling the burning glare of Kyou's eyes on him. "Well, the content of the questions aren't important, but they were important to see if these two would be responsible enough to take care of you."

Kyou nearly face vaulted at Ayame's statement. He knew for a fact that those questions had nothing to do with judging one of their responsible qualities. "And as such," Shigure spoke up again, "we have decided that Kyou and Haru are responsible enough to watch over you."

They looked at Yuki for his reaction.

"I see. Okay."

Both Haru and Kyou turned to look at Yuki. His response, seemingly normal, lacked any emotion that the seven year old Yuki carried. 'What exactly happened here?'

For a split second, Haru could've sworn he saw a shadow pass over Shigure's eyes, as if he was recalling something terrible. The same was for Ayame, who had turned away from his brother's face. Frowning at the odd behavior, Haru decided to break the suddenly tense atmosphere. "Why don't we go to Yuki's room, Kyou?"

Kyou looked up at the question, and bit back the sarcastic retort that was waiting. Nodding, he stood up, and the trio made their way to the stairs and out of everyone's hearing range.


…And that was how it began. And now, here he was, cooped up in Yuki's room. Yuki didn't seem to show any care towards anything right now, and Haru was no help. The silence was starting to get to Kyou, who could almost swear he could hear… a heartbeat. Disconcerting to say the least, Kyou had tried to ignore it at first. But it was steadily getting louder, but slower. More space in between each beat.

'Just imagining things..'

Beat..Beat..Beat..

'It's just too damn quiet in here..'

Beat…Beat…..Beat…..

'The beat's slowing down.. That can't be too good… argh! What am I thinking? There's no heartbeat.. Just hearing things…'

Beat………Beat…………Beat……..

'Damnit!' He stood up abruptly. Like a switch, the pounding in his ears faded away. Yuki looked up at him from his position on the floor. Hatsuharu looked up from his reading, having gotten a book from off of Yuki's desk, and questioned what Kyou was doing.

"It's too quiet. What are we doing? Just sitting here?"

"It would seem to be that way." Haru's polite tone responded. "Why? Do you have anywhere else to go?"

"Tch.. No. Of course I don't. It just feels like.. I don't know!" 'What do I say? Let's go out and do something? Sounds so sissy…'

"What do you feel like doing, then?"

The softly spoken question caught both boys off guard. Yuki had stood up from his spot, looking from both Haru and Kyou. "What do you want to do then?" he repeated his question.


"Hatori, it's just like before. Yuki is the same, just like after.." Meaningful glance towards Ayame.

They were in Shigure's room, his office too if you considered the fact that he wrote in his novels in here. Ayame was sitting at Shigure's desk, head bowed. Hatori was leaning against the wall, contemplating what Shigure was saying. "We knew this would happen, the woman had told us he would start remembering what has happened at each age. If a particular incident happened when he was 7, then he will remember it tomorrow, when ages to seven years old. Same for he when he turns eight."

Ayame brought his arms up, resting his elbows on the table so he could grasp his head in his hands.

"…Do you think things would be different if we…" Ayame's strained voice faded away.

Hatori's eyes slipped towards his distraught form. Ayame's hair spilled forward, shielding his eyes and effectively covering any expression he had. Shigure moved towards Ayame, putting a hand on his shoulder. "What, Aya?"

"You remember that time, don't you Shigure? You saw. When Yuki had come to me. And I.. I pushed him away."

"…"

"I don't.. I don't even remember why Yuki came to me. I don't even… remember." His hands visibly clenched around his head. "Yuki was different after that. I was the cause of that. But I never saw it, did I? I never saw how different he was."

Shigure looked away, his mouth set in a line.

Ayame continued. "I never saw. Until now."

Hatori shut his eyes.


Yuki had a vague sense of déjà vu. Something told him he'd done this before, maybe a long time age? He couldn't remember, it hurt his head to think that far back. All he knew was that he had been climbing down this window before. Or at least trying to. After he had voiced his question out to his cousins, he was surprised to see Kyou answer him first. And his next statement, proposing to sneak out of here to get some fresh air, was a surprise in and of itself. Yuki found he liked this new Kyou better. Although he doubted he'd tell Kyou that.

Kyou had insisted that he go down first, not elaborating on why he'd be waiting at the bottom. Yuki had a feeling that he should know, and found that continuing on this train of thought made him feel uncomfortable. Shrugging inwardly, Yuki held on to the wall and made his way down. It was a bit hard, holding up his own weight, due to the fact that he'd never done something like this before. He remembered vaguely from Hatori, that Kazuma was going to allow him to join with the other Sohma children in learning martial arts. However, Yuki also recalled Akito forbidding him to learn until he was at least ten.

Martial arts training may have helped him in the strength department, something Yuki felt he severely lacked, and would have certainly helped him right now. For at that moment, his small fingers had lost their hold and he plummeted down. It was surreal, the way he fell, not even aware of the sound of the wind rushing by. Head falling back, Yuki had no time to scream, he only gazed back at Haru's horrified face from above. He allowed a smile to grace his face, the feeling of flying overtaking any emotion of fear.

The moment was not to last, though, because he landed heavily into someone's arms. He's eyes flew open immediately, and sounds immediately assaulted his ear. Harsh breathing. Heart beating rapidly. The arms tightened around him, keeping him stable, but pinning him there. Harsh breathing. Heart beating rapidly. Why wouldn't it stop? Why…? Stop! Stop! STOP!

"STOP!"

He felt the body stiffen in surprise and he to found himself flushing in embarrassment. He hadn't meant to yell like that. The arms were already beginning to draw away but Yuki unconsciously held onto them. He vaguely wondered if it had hurt Kyou to catch him… and if his brother would do the same.

"..Yuki?"

Yuki obliged Kyou and looked up, his head tipping back so that strands of his hair fell away from his face. His open expression seemed startling to Kyou who made a visible double take. Before anything that Kyou would deem awkward could happen, the sound of someone landing on the ground brought their attention to Haru who seemed to have magically appeared out of nowhere. He wasted no time in immediately coming over, shooting a look towards Kyou. Without a word, Kyou placed Yuki down and stepped back.

"Are you okay, Yuki?"

Yuki nodded his head slightly, wondering at Haru's behavior. Kyou could be heard clearing his throat from behind, and the two turned their attentions towards him. "Why don't we go to the--the park or something?" he asked, stuttering at the destination for the fear of sounding odd.

"The park?" Haru asked politely.

"Yes! The park!" Kyou snapped back angrily, thinking that Haru meant to be sarcastic. "Unless you have better ideas, you stupid cow."

Hatsuharu's lips twitched.

"What? Say that one more time you stupid cat!"

"I called you a stupid cow, you stupid cow!" Kyou yelled back, highly aware how corny his comeback sounded.

"Is that the best you could come up with!?"

"Well--"

Yuki stepped in between them, face completely expressionless. "Stop it."

Hatsuharu hands immediately went slack from their clenched positions, Kyou merely scoffed and turned away. The three boys stood silently at the side of Shigure's house. A distant sound of a bird taking off from a tree resounded in their space. Whether by pure coincidence or not, both Haru and Kyou made a decision to just let their argument slide. Without a word, Kyou headed off towards the woods, the other two boys following dutifully. They'd let Kyou lead for now, as apparently he seemed to know his way around the area.


"The past is the past, Ayame. You need to let what's happened go. Yuki is here now, and this is your chance to make amends."

Hatori, playing the spectator to this rare scene, watched as Shigure gave advice to their cousin. These rare times he's seen Shigure speak like this reminded Hatori why he was such a good writer. In all actuality, Shigure did take his writing seriously, just not outwardly. He always seemed to have the right words to say, especially when times called for it. Like now for instance.

Hatori fidgeted for a moment, trying to find a more comfortable position against the wall he was leaning in, as his mind's eye brought him to a memory from the past. A scene he had witnessed, unbeknownst to both Ayame and Yuki. It was already late in the afternoon when he had been there…


The Sohma residence was tinged with the dying rays of the sun. The air, that had been humid just a few hours before, was now cool. It had been the perfect time to take a stroll around for Hatori. He rarely indulged himself in these peaceful moments by himself. He was usually caught up in something or other, not that he minded, it was just night to get away now and then. He'd memorized this path before. Trail behind the houses on the East side, then cut across the pebble pathway that led to a small garden outside of Ayame's house. Rather than stopping by, he'd continue across before he'd stop at a small pond than branched off into a little river beside the main house.

Hatori could still remember everything clearly in his mind. It was like he was actually there, watching his younger self walking by Ayame's house and stopping at the sound of voices. He watched himself pause.

Hatori furrowed his brows in curiosity when he heard the sound of young boy speaking from the home. It was certainly a surprise, as it would appear that the eight-year-old Sohma Yuki was home for today. He was normally at the main house with Akito, or kept away due to his delicate condition. Feeling like he may intrude, he set off to walking but stopped again when the boy called out. To his relief, it wasn't for him, but to his elder brother Ayame.

The elder brother must not have caught sight of Hatori standing there because he made no move to call him out. Ayame was standing just outside of the doorway to the house, in the act of leaving. Feeling foolish, Hatori didn't know whether to speak out or keep walking so he did neither. Instead he quickly sidestepped in the tall hedges by the side. How silly of him to be doing this, he had thought, it was completely uncharacteristic of him. In all honesty, though, Hatori had never witnessed much interacting between the two brothers. At first, he had pegged this for the fact that they were ten years apart, but surely their relationship couldn't be so distanced, could it? The sound of the two speaking silenced any more thoughts.

"O-oniisan? I-I.."

"…" Ayame's mouth was set in a line, his own bangs shielding his eyes. He didn't seem able to look down at his younger brother who had obviously approached the open door.

The lack of response caused Yuki to falter for a moment but he continued. "Oniisan, don't go yet.."

Ayame stepped away from the doorway, taking a few more steps down the stairs. His entire body screamed indifference, or desperation. Which was it? Hatori wondered.

Hatori remember then, how he felt. He'd never seen Ayame act so different before. He never treated any of his schoolmates like this. So why his younger brother? He watched his younger self crouch down, fearing that he may be caught. Now that he thought about it, he remembered the feeling of his legs getting cramped after crouching down for so long. Witnessing the longest moment the two brothers shared when they were younger.

Yuki stepped forward, insistent on getting to his brother. He slid the door behind himself shut. "I had a dream.."

Yuki took a step forward.

"About A-akito-sama.." Hatori watched Ayame's hands clench.

He took another step. "and father and mother.." Hatori could see how tense Ayame was, and wondered at that. How uncomfortable Ayame appeared, it was shocking to say the least. The normally confident Ayame seemed like another person to the young man standing over there. One more step and all Yuki would need to do to get his brother was to grab his arm.

"Oniisan, please wait..!" Yuki reached out a small hand to grasp at the hem of Ayame's sleeve.

Hatori's eyes widened.

Ayame, with narrowed eyes, easily pulled his arm free from Yuki's grasp and continued down the stairs and away. Hatori could only stare in bewilderment at this act.

"Oniisan… doushite?" Why?

Hatori, who had been watching Ayame's retreating figure, turned his gaze to Yuki, waiting for a reaction from the younger boy. To his surprise, he received none. Nothing like crying or anything. A shadow seemed to pass over his face, and his eyes seemed colder. Yuki seemed to stand up taller, straightening up his posture, eyes still trained on his brother who was walking away.

Hatori witnessed the moment Yuki decided to relinquish his childhood…


…And now they were here. Ayame was the one hurting. He, unlike Yuki in the past, did not recover as quickly as Yuki did. Although if you could call Yuki's withdrawing into himself at the age of eight as recovering, then it'd be a completely different story. Ayame regrets what happened before, and as heartening as this was, Shigure was correct. There was no use with regrets of the past. Ayame should be happy that he had this chance to make amends; few siblings could ever get the same chance if they never got along when they were younger.

Whatever Shigure was saying now seemed to be the thing Ayame needed to hear because he was suddenly standing up. The three men stood in silence, much like Hatsuharu, Kyou, and Yuki had been doing outside at that very moment. Ayame let out a deep sigh, before brightening up.

"Ne, Gure-san, Ha-san, if I remember correctly, didn't Tohru call?"

Hatori's eyes slid over Ayame's expression. He checked for signs of fake cheerfulness and found none. He allowed a small smile to grace his lips. "Perhaps, although I think Shigure can answer that better than I can."

Shigure grinned. "Why, Hatori-san, are you trying to flatter me?"

"..No."

"Mou, Ha-san, why can't you play along?"

Ayame joined in with gusto, lamenting the loss of Hatori's 'love' for them. Inwardly, Hatori was happy to see Ayame more at ease. Things still needed to be resolved, but they had time. Yuki was only eight right now, just think how he'd be just before he reaches puberty. Hatori felt curiosity peaking, just as it had in the past, finally allowed the chance to witness Yuki growing up. Literally, in fact. But even more so, this just may be good for both brothers. Hatori hoped so.


Yuki took his time looking around at the area. He had no recollection of ever walking around here, and the sights were breathtaking to him. He didn't usually get to go out back at the Sohma House, so right now was a real treat for him. They'd been walking for at least half an hour, Yuki guessed. He was feeling the stirrings of fatigue descend on him, and realized that if he were to have an asthma attack now, he'd probably not fare so well.

Trying not to think of it, for fear that it may come true, Yuki sped up in his pace. Eyes trained in the ground, he didn't notice Kyou had stopped ahead of him and walked in to him.

Kyou heard a small sound behind him ("Oompf!") and felt something soft collide into his back. Kyou immediately spun around, eyes growing wide at Yuki's momentary dazed look from the ground. Haru came up from behind Yuki, surprisingly not in black mode, and came to help him up. Kyou found himself beginning to apologize but stopped when Yuki looked up at him and smiled. To increase his amazement, Yuki finally righted himself up and gave a relieved laugh and muttered a small 'sorry'. For what, Kyou didn't know, but apparently it released whatever tension that brief moment it had created. "Why'd you stop Kyou?" Haru asked curiously.

Kyou blanched, remembering the reason he had stopped. While he had been leading them through the woods, his mind sometimes wandered, and so before he even realized it, he had gotten them lost. Of course, they couldn't tell because they probably had less of an idea of where they were going than he was. No use asking Yuki since he wasn't supposed to remember this place. Haru wasn't even worth asking because he managed to lose himself on the way to the bathroom, so finding his way out of a forest wasn't the brightest thing.

He didn't want to admit to them that he'd gotten them lost. He'd just have to retrace his steps. So, with absolutely no consideration in this plan, he'd made a complicated trek through the woods and tried to circle back without making it seem like they were turning around. Of course, it didn't turn out as Kyou had hoped. He recognized that tree. And those rocks. And that damn bird that was still chirping on that limb.

"Let's just rest for awhile." Kyou muttered, not meeting Haru's inquisitive gaze. Hatsuharu seemed to take this as an explanation for the stop because he sat down without a complaint. Yuki didn't seem in the least bit tired to Kyou, unless he was very adept at hiding it. Yuki had approached the tree with the chirping bird on it. Kyou half expected Yuki to say that he recognized this tree, and the bird but to his surprise he said something else.

"I recognize this bird." he said suddenly.

Haru looked up, as did Kyou. The small bird, a canary it would appear, gazed down at Yuki and made small chirping sounds. 'Strange bird to be in a forest..' Kyou thought to himself. 'Even stranger for Yuki to know it.. How?'

"What do you mean you recognize it, Yuki?" Hatsuharu asked from beside him.

Yuki seemed to frown as he thought deeply. "A long time ago," he said after a pregnant pause, "I think. I can't really remember." Yuki tilted his head back up, and watched as the bird took off from the tree limb and away.

Hatsuharu looked at Kyou. They had a bad feeling all of a sudden.

"Maybe we should back…" Haru half-whispered, not wanting to attract Yuki's attention.

Kyou frowned, crossing his arms. He didn't want to say that he got them lost, but… "About that.." he started.


The famed Mabudachi Trio could be found sitting in Shigure's living room, drinking tea and talking leisurely. Hatori had decided not to disturb the other boys, since they may finally get a chance to have some time away from the 'adults'.

"Let's play truth or dare, Ha-san!"

"Oh! Yes, let's!"

'Hmph. Some adults.' Hatori thought wryly. Any continuation of that train of thought was shattered when the doorbell rang. Shigure paused in contemplation, a finger at his lips. "I wonder who that could be!" Shigure all but sang.

Hatori resisted the urge to roll his eyes and stood up to accompany Shigure to the door. "You two go on ahead, I'll keep an eye on the tea." Ayame said pleasantly, sitting himself more comfortably into the seat.

Shigure stepped ahead of Hatori and reached for the door. With no hesitation, Shigure slid the door opened. Shigure did a small double-take, and Hatori reflexively stiffened.

The person at the door smiled slightly.

"Ha-san? Gure-san? Who's at the door?" Ayame called from the living room.

"Is that you, Ayame?" the deliberate tone was chilling, and seemed to echo in Shigure's home.

"A-Akito..! What are you..?"

Akito smiled pleasantly, his arms wrapped around himself in the imitation of someone trying to warm up in the cold. Unsurprisingly he was dressed in black that matched his hair. The all together effect emphasized Akito's young age, reminding them painfully of the Sohma curse he bared. Hatori felt dread begin to creep on him.

"I've come to pay you all a visit." Akito's eyes narrowed to mere slits. "You've been spending so much time away Hatori..-san." The added '-san' seemed too mocking in Hatori's opinion but he made no reply. By that time, Ayame had come over, standing uncertainly away from the three.

Shigure, suddenly realizing that he was making Akito stand there, immediately ushered him in. He was working in auto-pilot, his mind racing to think of something when Akito mentioned Yuki. There were no 'ifs' with Akito when it came to Yuki. He would most definitely be expecting to see him, and if he failed to show up, then they'd have to deal with Akito's reaction.

Akito seemed to be the only one at ease from the four, seating himself on the couch. He made no inclination to requiring tea to be served so Shigure allowed himself to relax for a moment. Akito apparently wasn't going to go straight to the point. For once, he was glad for Akito's schemes. His tactics to create unease among them. They were all older than him, and yet he managed to keep everyone in check with more than just the title to the bearer of the curse. It was unnerving to say the least.

"So, Shigure, how is everyone?" Akito asked languidly, piercing eyes resting on Shigure's form.

"We're all fine," Shigure began politely, flustered with Akito's gaze, "how are you doing Akito?"

Akito's sardonic smile melted away. "I? I am doing as well as I can, considering the circumstances."

Shigure prevented himself from wincing. Remembering quite vividly the time when Akito had held Tohru down by her hair. He remembered Akito's words. All of them did.

Shigure chose not to reply.

Ayame, who remained quiet all this time, took this chance to study Akito without worry. Out of the three, he had spent the least amount of time in Akito's presence. A good amount of people had said that Yuki resembled a younger Ayame, but it was obvious the similarities of appearance between Akito and Yuki. How odd for two of them, Ayame and Akito, to be similar to Yuki but completely different from each other. It may be the style of their hair, although different colors, or it may be the fragility the two exuded, Ayame just couldn't put his finger on it. It unnerved him, he almost felt a bit protective of Yuki at this point. He didn't even want to entertain the idea that he may look similar to someone such as Akito. He was just too… frightening.

Ayame allowed himself the luxury of analyzing the way Akito was speaking towards Shigure and Hatori. He was being ignored for the moment, and for once, was glad for the lack of attention paid to him. Ayame knew that Akito had a sharp wit, his words cutting people down in an instant. He had only gotten to experience it once, and it was a small comment that Akito had thrown out carelessly.

"Sohma Ayame? Ah yes, the snake. How easily forgotten he is, the snake, hm?"

Ayame nearly recoiled at the memory. Being forgotten took on a whole new meaning to Ayame. He hadn't felt that bad before, and it left him feeling cold when he heard Akito utter those words.

"Coming to make amends with Yuki.. Ayame-san?" Akito smiled pleasantly, eyes watching Ayame's avidly.


"You WHAT!?"

"..m'lost.." Kyou muttered. He hadn't the energy to yell back at Haru because he really knew he was in the wrong. Yuki had been standing off to the side the entire time, not seeming to care about their predicament. Kyou half wondered if Yuki had wanted to get lost.

"We have to get there somehow, Kyou! Can't you.. I don't know.. Smell your way back?"

Kyou's eye twitched. "I'm not a damn dog, Haru. Besides, I could try, but it'd be better if I was in my zodiac form."

Yuki's attention was brought immediately towards Kyou. As long as Yuki could remember, he hadn't heard Kyou speaking so casually about his zodiac form. Whether monster or cat form. Perhaps Kyou hadn't realized it, but Yuki certainly had. He let his eyes slip towards Haru's form and realized that even Haru didn't notice. 'How odd..' Yuki thought to himself. Deciding that he should probably help them, although reluctant to return back, Yuki stepped towards them.

"How, though? We'd need a girl or for you to get sick.." Yuki trailed off. Yuki couldn't remember all the times he'd turn into his mouse form when he was too sick at the Sohma House.

"Hold on a minute, I think Yuki may be on to something." Haru suddenly spoke, staring at Kyou with a new light.

Kyou felt uneasiness at the pit of his stomach. "What do you mean?" he demanded.

"To change, you need to be hugged by a girl."

"Yeah, so?"

"Or you could get sick.."

"Tch, that's not about to happen."

"Or, we could put you through a lot of stress!"

Kyou stared at him like he was crazy. "How's that supposed to work?"

Hatsuharu grinned, remembering the memory fondly. When Yuki had an asthma attack, and had to be carried back home. Yuki had turned so red when Tohru called his name. Haru assumed that it'd be different in Kyou's case.

"We need you to get you all hot and bothered." He said with a half smile, laughter threatening to burst.

"W-WHAT!?" Kyou stood up quickly, not liking where this was going. He was almost afraid to ask the rest but--

"H-HOW THEN? IF YOU'RE SO SMART, HOW?!"

"I'm thinking," Haru paused, frowning in thought, "I guess I could try--"

"--try what?!--"

"--but it'd probably work better if Yuki would do it--"

"--do what?!--"

"--And issues of morality will definitely be brought up after this is done. But it's the only thing we can do now." Haru stood up with a resolute air. He approached Kyou doggedly, forcing the other boy to step back.

"Now, h-hold on a minute Haru, what exactly are you doing?!"

Yuki watched with wide eyes. What exactly was Haru's plan? And why would he be better for the job if Haru wasn't? He squinted his eyes and tilted his head to get a better look at what Haru was doing. 'Why's he cornering Kyou against the tree?' Yuki thought to himself.

Hatsuharu placed both hands on either side of Kyou's face and leaned in. Kyou's face was mere inches away from his own. With a small smirk, he brought his own closer.

Kyou could feel Haru's presence all around him, and could see his face coming towards his own. 'He's not--No! No!' Kyou screamed. Shock must have him paralyzed, because he didn't think of pushing Haru away. He could already feel his face heating up, any more and he'd probably explode…

"AAARGH---" POOF!

Haru smiled in triumph and stepped back. His plan had worked after all.

"What the hell?!" Kyou yelled from the ground, in his cat form. "What's your problem you damn cow?!"

"I had to get you to change, Kyou," Haru explained calmly, "so that was the only way. Although I must say I'm relieved. The distance was rapidly decreasing."

Yuki, who had been watching the entire time, found himself inexplicably smiling at the boys. 'Silly…' Yuki thought to himself. Deciding that he should change the subject for Kyou, he asked, "So, can you smell our way back, Kyou?"

"Tch. Yeah. Follow me." with furious indignity, Kyou led them down the trail. 'Damn cow..'


Yuki found himself smiling down at Kyou's form. It would look odd to spectators, seeing a small boy and an older one being led through a forest by an orange cat that talked. Kyou was wasting no time it hurrying down the trail, on the way home. Yuki understood his urgency, his own small arms tightening around Kyou's clothes. It would be frustrating to have Kyou turn back if they were already so near to Shigure's house. Luckily, Kyou's agitation seemed to be prolonging the time it took for him to change back. Otherwise, they would have to deal with a repeated action of last time, although Yuki highly doubted Kyou would be as receptive as before.

Thinking back on that incident still raised questions in his head. What exactly was Hatsuharu doing? He had taken a threatening stance, towering over Kyou like that. Threatening in his opinion, because it reminded him of how Akito was around him. Always invading his personal space, like it didn't matter to him if it bothered Yuki. Shuddering slightly to himself, he opened his eyes. They had closed of their own accord when a memory of Akito was threatening to overtake him. Just the thought of being around Akito sent chills down his spine. In the back of his mind, he wondered if it was the same for the other Sohma family members.

Yuki looked to the side of him, watching Haru through the corner of his eyes. The teen hadn't spoken at all after the incident in the forest, and seemed content to walk in silence. Yuki couldn't remember a time when he saw Haru so at peace. It was definitely a far cry from when they'd first met. Or maybe that was the wrong thing to say. They'd met each other, or at least seen each other during the Feast. What Yuki was referring to was the time near the Main House. The circumstances which brought him there weren't pleasant to think about, but the result of it was warming to his mind.

As the walk continued, Yuki allowed his mind to drift back into those memories. Memories that brought Black Haru the release he needed…


It was two weeks since Yuki had seen or spoken to his brother, Ayame. His attempt at garnering comfort from his older brother had been futile. It was obvious to Yuki that his brother wanted nothing to do with him. He assumed that it shouldn't have surprised him, when he thought back to all the small moments where Ayame didn't even glance his way. Each ignoring gesture solidified Akito's words to him, that day after the children's memories were erased because of him. He knew he'd been sent to speak to Akito about it, but that piece of knowledge didn't help one bit. It was fortunate for him that he didn't have to come face to face with Akito. But Akito's words alone were enough to frighten him.

"--A human who turns into a rat? What do you think they would do if they knew? Really? You're a freak. They wouldn't come near you. They'd hate you…"

At the time, he hadn't expected that Akito might mean that family members would hate you too. It was clear that Ayame must feel the same way. He wouldn't come near him. He hated him. Feeling himself tremble, he wrapped his arms around himself, sliding down the wall of the empty room he was in. It's been two weeks since he last spoke to Ayame, and he was still so weak about it. Yuki's personal turmoil prevented him from hearing Akito walk in. It was only until he heard the door slide closed that he even looked up it.

"A-Akito-sama!"

The boy in question was looking down at him, strands of his black hair in front of his eyes. Yuki slowly pushed himself against the wall, a vain wish to disappear into the wall and away from Akito.

Just as sudden as Akito's presence was, he stepped back just as quickly. The small smile never left his face as he took a seat in front of Yuki. Frowning slightly in confusion, Yuki composed himself and kneeled obediently in front of him. Yuki was use to this. If Akito wasn't cutting him with words, he would be talking about the other Sohma members who were cursed. It never ceased to produce a strange feeling in Yuki. He didn't know any of the others who bore the same curse very well, but he still felt the small feeling of protectiveness in him. Or maybe it was just irritation on his part. He didn't spend too much time to think about it, so he waited in silence to see who would speak about today.

"Tell me Yuki, do you remember the story of the zodiac?"

The question was definitely odd, but Yuki dutifully answered. "Hai.."

"And how exactly," his grin curved into something more menacing, "did the Rat get to the banquet?"

Blinking, Yuki recited the part of the story. All of the cursed Sohma's knew the story by heart, it was tradition. "The Rat rode on the cow's back to the banquet.."

Akito scoffed openly, his face turned to look out the window. "The cow was a stupid fool… letting the rat use him like that…"

The breeze outside seemed to blow harder for a moment, rustling the leaves outside harder.

Yuki allowed himself to look at Akito without worrying about a negative reaction. 'What brought this on?' he wondered to himself.

To his immediate surprise, Akito stood up in a fluid motion and walked towards the window. Yuki could see that Akito was silently looking for something outside, but then after a moment Akito stepped back. He swept out of the room without a backward glance towards Yuki, leaving him there to wonder at his behavior.

At the very least, Yuki was shown a small mercy at Akito's departure. Curiosity was mingling with confusion in his head as he approached the window Akito had looked through. His amethyst eyes searched the area, but he couldn't seem to find exactly what Akito was looking for. Yuki turned around, and let himself rest against the wall. He looked at the doorway which Akito had walked out of and idly wondered if he would come back again.

His train of thought was cut when he heard a brief gasp from behind him. 'Are the others out there enjoying the weather?' he wondered to himself, wishing he too, could step out.

To his shock and disappointment, the gasp was followed by an angry voice. An angry voice of a boy.

"I hate your guts! It's the rat's fault for cow always being laughed at! It's the mean, dirty rat's fault that the cow is a fool, that the cow is an idiot! It's all, all your fault!"

The boy was already breathing hard from his shouting, and Yuki could feel the burn from his glare on the back of his head. 'Did he… hear what Akito said?' Yuki guessed he did. "Is that so?"

The harsh breathing paused for a moment. Ever so slightly, Yuki turned his head until a side view of his face could be seen.

"Is that so about you?"

"…"

"Are you really… a fool?" 'Do you really hate me as well?' Yuki asked himself, as he voiced the first question out loud.

The boy's response wasn't immediate, only the wind blowing by made a sound.

"No… No, I'm not… I…" Yuki turned around fully, getting a clear look at him. I remembered his name, Hatsuharu. The boy didn't seem to notice him now, his eyes were trained to the ground. Yuki could almost see a glimmer of tears at the corner of Haru's eyes.

"I'm not a fool… I'm not a fool!" Haru repeated twice, the second time sounding almost surprised. Yuki felt himself smiling, wondering at how much calmer the boy seemed when he stated those words aloud.

"Mm-hmmm.." Yuki agreed softly, smiling wider when the boy looked up in surprise, as if he had forgotten Yuki was there.

"I know."

The boy looked up at him, a small 'o' for a mouth as he stared at Yuki…


…the meeting had definitely been an eye-opener. He dared another look at Hatsuharu, in the back of his head acknowledging Kyou yelling ("Hurry up!"), and wondered if Haru still remembered that time. He stumbled a bit and blinked when he found Haru's arm steadying him. There was a soft smile on his face as he looked back at Yuki.

"A-arigatou…"

Hatsuharu just smiled and released his hold. The moment was broken at the sound of Kyou's yell, followed by a resounding poof!

There was frantic rustling as both boys hurried forward to where they heard the sound. "Kyou?" Haru called.

Kyou's head popped around from behind a large tree. He was scowling and mutely held out his hand. Yuki stepped forward, noticing the redness staining Kyou's cheeks, and handed over Kyou's clothes. In record time that was normal to the Sohma's, Kyou changed back into his clothes and stepped out from behind the tree. He had his eye closed, while he busied himself with straightening his shirt.

"We're not too far from Shigure's." he muttered, and he set off into the direction. Without a word, the other two followed.


Ayame felt himself blanching, rather than producing his usual effect of standing up and proclaiming how much he and his brother needed each other. Akito could sense his uneasiness which only served to widen his smile.

"No, I don't suppose you would, would you?" Akito continued, not waiting for Ayame to respond. "You do so horribly, from what I understand."

His hands clenched at his side, as he continued to listen to Akito speak. Akito's main power, it would seem, lay with his words. Akito could drudge up the worst feelings in anyone, merely by speaking to them, dissecting them with his remarks that mirrored a twisted truth. Ayame had to admit, though, that Akito was right. He did do horribly. What could he possibly say back to that?

"I try.." Ayame started, secretly pleased to see Akito surprised. It was apparent that he hadn't expected him to speak back. Shigure's eyes widened from his spot, and he looked at Ayame curiously. Was he going to stand up to Akito?

For once, Ayame found himself deciding not to try his usual antics. There would be no loud statements, no suggestive gestures with Shigure, he'd try explaining it without any of his usual comforts. "I'm going to… well, steal, my brother's affection." He tried smiling, but found it fading when Akito's smile dropped. His dark eyes were narrowed as he regarded Ayame.

"Steal Yuki's affections?" A silent 'from me?' was tagged on to the end of the question. He smirked coldly, "And what a clumsy thief you turned out to be, ne? Ayame-san?" he laughed softly.

Hatori's lips were pursed together tightly, as he looked back from Akito to Ayame's face. He wondered to himself what Ayame was going to say in response. A small part of him rationalized that Ayame should just keep his comments to himself, or else risking further angering Akito. And yet… he almost wished that Ayame would continue, and try to show that he really was determined on getting his point across to Akito. It was like playing with fire..

He looked again at Ayame, and watched as the snake of the zodiac's eyes dulled at Akito's words. Hatori looked away.

"Akito-sama--" Shigure tried, worried for his friend, but was stopped when Akito yelled for silence.

"Let the snake speak if he so wishes." Akito said, looking from Shigure's direction back to Ayame's face.

"Are you so deluded that you would think that you could get Yuki to even look at you?" he sneered openly. "If he looks at you, then it is out of disgust. Is it not, Ayame-san?"

Ayame flinched, his mind bringing up unwanted images of the times he had tried speaking to Yuki in the present time. All his attempts had gone awry, but… the time when he spoke to Yuki at his store. Akito was wrong. Yuki still… he still looked at him. He did!

Shigure found himself watching in amazement as Ayame's eyes suddenly flashed, his hands clenched, and he turned towards Akito's face resolutely. "Yuki may be my little brother, but that isn't a reason for him to pay me any attention. Yuki has kindness, Akito, and I will make sure to correct my past mistakes!"

Akito's eyes widened in shock. 'The snake… he dares…' Like a flash, he shot up from his chair, pointing a finger at Ayame's taken aback stance.

"You're wrong! You lie!" he spat. "The snake can only tell lies! Lies to cover up his own failures!"

"Akito!" Shigure called in alarm, standing up to hold Akito back from lunging at Ayame.

With surprising strength, Akito wrenched himself from Shigure's hold and snatched one of the cups that held tea. Ayame didn't have time to react and cried aloud when the hard porcelain of the cup crashed into his head.

Blood splattered.

"Ayame!"


The sight of Shigure's house ahead was a welcome sight for the three boys, and they immediately hurried towards the front door. Kyou and Yuki, who were a little ways ahead of Hatsuharu, didn't notice the white and black-haired boy pause in his walk.

'Hmm.. Is that..?' Haru wondered to himself, eying the dark car parked some distance away from Shigure's house. He turned back around towards Shigure's house and suddenly got a bad feeling. He jogged towards the other two, quietly as he could, and told them to be silent.

"What the hell do you mean?" Kyou demanded, his hand pausing from reaching out to slide open the door.

Haru didn't have to answer because the sounds of a yell, then a crash, followed by more yelling were heard.

Yuki felt himself go cold. 'Akito… oniisan!'

His panicked expression was the first thing Kyou noticed at the corner of his eye, and it was all the warning he got, before he watched Yuki frantically trying to get around him to get to the door. Kyou acted quickly. He immediately grabbed Yuki around the waist, putting one hand over his mouth.

Haru, understanding, stepped back to allow Kyou room to step back and away from Shigure's house. He ignored Yuki's struggling and attempts at escaping, instead, he spoke to Haru.

"We have to get him out of here."

Haru nodded, glancing back at Shigure's house. "We can't try heading inside because Akito may be searching the rooms. We can only hide back in that forest, although I doubt getting lost again would be best idea."

Kyou nodded, frowning in concentration as he strengthened his hold on Yuki. The boy's attempts were already slowing him down, exhaustion quickly settling in. "We can always head back to his garden."

"Okay."

The two set off, one struggling in the arms of the boy, as this time, Hatsuharu led the way.

Yuki closed his eyes. 'Oniisan..'


Hatori rushed to Ayame's side, trying to pull Ayame's hand from his face. A cursory glance at the damage, Hatori was relieved to see that no shards had embedded themselves into Ayame's face, and not one speck got into his eye.

"Ayame.." he started.

Ayame seemed to be in a state of shock, just watching Akito's struggles die down, before he had to sit down. Hatori sighed, and looked across to meet Shigure's eyes. A silent communication passed between them before Shigure switched roles with him.

Hatori approached Akito, and with care, helped him up. He wasn't met with protests, and was thankful for this. Akito's eyes were closed, leaning most of his weight heavily onto Hatori. His tantrum had sapped much of Akito's strength, so Hatori had to hurry in bringing him back to the Sohma house where there were more supplies to tend to Akito.

He nodded once more to Shigure and helped Akito outside.

Shigure turned back to Ayame, coaxing him to sit down while he got the first aid kit. He came running back, and proceeded to dab the blood off with a clean cloth.

"Aya?" he asked softly, wiping away the traces of blood so he could inspect the gash. There was a small cut along his forehead, but a deeper gash along his cheek. Receiving no response, he picked up an astringent for the cuts, and poured a few drops along the edge of a q-tip. Finishing, he covered the gash first, and then put a small bandage over the cut on his forehead.

His small wounds tended must've snapped Ayame out of his daze because he finally looked up at Shigure.

"He's right…" it was spoken softly, but since there was no sound in the house, it seemed to echo in the room. "I have so many failures, Gure', too many."

Shigure paused, staring at Ayame, and picked his words carefully.

"Akito… he forgot to mention something."

Ayame looked at him questioningly.

"You're accomplishments." he stated, only shaking his head to still Ayame's protests. "Nothing stops you from approaching Yuki, Ayame, and every day you're already making up for your past mistakes. No one expects you to be perfect, but reaching out to Yuki is enough."

"Shigure.." Ayame began, his smile coming back.

"Sou," Shigure stood suddenly, hands rubbing in glee, "Let's check on the boys?"

Ayame smiled softly, and stood up as well.

Pause.

"GURE'! YOUR WORDS ARE SO HEARTWARMING!" Ayame declared loudly. His loud voice suddenly dropped, and he eyed Shigure. "I'm sure they can warm other things, ne, Gure… san?"

"Aya.." Shigure returned Ayame's seductive glance.

They grinned simultaneously, both giving a thumbs-up. Shigure grinned, following Ayame up the stairs. 'I'm glad Ayame is back.'

Upon reaching the door to Yuki's room, Ayame banged on the door. He waited no time in calling out, "KYON-KICHI! I hope you and Haru aren't doing anything to my cute little brother Yuki!"

Shigure waited in bated breath to see if either of the boys would break down the door to get to Ayame but frowned when Ayame's exclamation didn't get any response.

"That's odd."

Shigure approached the door, knocking more reservedly, and waited to see if he could hear anything. "Ayame.. I don't think anyone's in there."

Ayame's smile bled way. "…NANI!!?"


"ACHOO!"

Yuki blinked at Haru and Kyou, wondering at how the two could sneeze simultaneously.

Kyou glared at Haru, as if blaming him for the unexplainable urge to sneeze, and looked around. Yuki's garden was starting to show signs of neglect, a few rampant weeds here and there, not to mention that a few of Yuki's plants were starting to look limp. Yuki had no previous knowledge of ever owning or tending to this garden, but he felt the inexplicable urge to fix it.

He stepped towards to the small patch of garden and methodically cleared away any dead leaves and twigs that had fallen against the vegetables there. He absentmindedly pulled weeds closer towards him, mindful of getting too much dirt on himself, and did what he could to help the garden. Kyou watched all this in silence, seeing the familiarity in which Yuki treated the plants. He felt Hatsuharu step beside him, also gazing at Yuki's silent work, before he turned away.

"Kyou, maybe we should head back now."

Kyou glanced at him, then towards the direction of Shigure's house. They couldn't know for sure if the time was safe, but Kyou found himself agreeing with Haru's suggestion. Haru always had a sense of things, his intuition unrivaled by any of the Sohmas' Kyou knew.

"Oi! Yuki!" he called.

At the call of his name, Yuki immediately stood up, brushing off any excess dirt before heading towards them. His quick actions surprised Kyou, not accustomed to Yuki's obedience. It could be attested to the fact that he was older, although how Yuki quickly accepted this, was beyond him.

They headed back, the main thought in both Kyou and Haru's mind was that the house was safe. Neither boy knew that Yuki was busy worrying about how his older brother was faring.


The road was already dark, the day having ended quickly in Hatori's opinion. The Sohma House was a considerable distance from Shigure's house, although Hatori wasn't rushing the drive. Still, his attention never wavered.

Hatori kept his eyes on the road, not one glancing at the figure in the backseat. He was worried about Ayame, but knew that it was nothing life-threatening. Akito, on the other hand, wasn't doing as well. His recent tantrums were always heated, and Akito neglected in keeping his health in check. Especially when he was easily riled about something.

Times like these, Hatori could honestly believe that Akito is truly younger than them. Most of the time, he acted older. Or superior would've been a good word for it. Either way, Hatori had relied on that when he talked Akito into resting, or into taking his medication. The relationship of the Sohmas' was truly complicated, something Hatori had conceded to the day Akito had nearly blinded him.

His musings were interrupted at the sound of the steady voice of Akito. "It seems my exertions have made me forget why I came."

Hatori only glanced at the rear view mirror once, but only met the side of Akito's face. He was busy staring outside, eyes watching something from afar.

Hatori made no move to reply, assuming that Akito was merely stating something aloud. In spite of this, Akito turned forward.

"I'll have to visit Yuki another time, ne, Hatori-san?"

A muscle flexed in Hatori's jaw.

"If your health improves." he answered back lightly, keeping his voice to a clinical drone.

Akito merely nodded at his advice, and resumed staring at the window. Hatori, himself, was curious at what was occupying Akito, but he never bothered asking. At the darkness slowly settling outside, Hatori vaguely wondered at what Akito could possibly see out there. How he could even see anything out there. It was all well and good, anyway, because Akito was merely tracking a bird's destination. His own companion that stayed with him at the Sohma house. Akito smiled tenderly, his dark eyes watching the bird flap its wings towards home.


"Oi! We're home!" Kyou called out, once they all stepped inside.

Hatsuharu's eyes immediately caught sight of the shattered tea cup, and he discretely stepped in front of Yuki's vision. It didn't bother Yuki, though, because he was busy looking for his brother. It didn't matter about past things to Yuki at the moment. Anything dealing with Akito tended to throw other reasons out the window.

Shigure came down the stairs first, his surprise at seeing them being replaced by instant cheer. More footsteps followed, and Ayame was seen.

"What the hell happened to you?" Kyou asked bluntly.

Ayame touched his cheek lightly, glancing at Shigure momentarily, before walking down the stairs ahead of him. "Maa, maa, is Kyon-kichi worried? Oh, Shigure, competition has arrived! But Kyon-kichi--"

"--Would you quit calling me that!--"

"--has decided to sweep me off my feet and carry--"

"--What the hell do you mean? Sweep you off your feet, my as--"

"--me off into the moonlig--"

Anything more than Ayame was going to continue was halted when he felt a slight tugging at his robe. He looked down, astonished to see Yuki there, gazing up at him worriedly.

Kyou's heated ranting trailed off into silence as everyone watched Yuki with his older brother.

"Oniisan.. daijou--" his question of asking him if he was alright was cut off when Ayame tilted his head kindly, and placed his hand gently atop Yuki's head.

"Aa.."


A/N: Wow! Definitely my longest chapter.. Yikes.. XD

So? What do you think? I think I'm pleased with this chapter. XD I don't usually go so dramatic, but it's a nice change for me. I know that it would seem like Hatori would be the one to give the profound advice to Ayame, as I displayed his intuitiveness in Brotherly Love, but I don't want to shadow the fact that Shigure is just as intuitive, even more so since he spends more time with Yuki and will know how to deal with explaining his behavior to Ayame.

Also, I hoped you enjoyed the little flashback scene. I didn't want to make it overly dramatic, but I think I'll explain it here. Basically, I don't quite remember where I heard this, but I know that Ayame had turned Yuki away when he came to him after a bad dream or something of that sort. Well, I included it here. It may seem a bit much for Yuki to react the way he did, 'relinquishing his childhood' or something along those lines, but you have to bear in mind that this isn't the first time Ayame has turned him away. Hatori just happened to witness only one of these incidents.

And the small OOC with Hatori may be a bit off, but I felt that we needed a more human tone to Hatori. He can no longer remain the cold, stand-offish, but all-knowing advice giver person. No, I'm not trying to be sarcastic or even mean. I happen to think he has many layers that I'm trying to bring out. But there's no need to look to closely into my descriptions. Nothing deep and profound here. XD Of course, I did manage to include a little humor at the end. Those who had requested for yaoi in this story or in Brotherly Love, were disappointed when I said there wouldn't be. And there isn't, BUT, I like to add little things here and there that imply it for your enjoyment. XD Don't you love me now? Again, for the hearing impaired, THERE IS NO YAOI!

And would you look at that? I've gone and made a wordy author's note. Well, I hope you enjoyed my feelings on this story. This seems to be carrying more of the drama than the other Fruits Basket story. The other one carries more comic relief, which is a godsend for me, since I need time to get away from all this drama. XD And yes, to those who are wondering, I will update that soon. For now, tell me what you think of the story so far in a review! And continue to wave those S.B.B.Org banners! IF YOU WANT UPDATES, LEAVE YOUR EMAIL AND A MESSAGE SAYING SO!