This has been on my LJ for a while. I don't know why I didn't put it here. There's a bit more too, I just have to find it. Expect updates and new short stories/drabbles over the next few days. -sigh-
There was no sign of the other Zodiac after he was locked away. Every day Kyou would stare out the window, hardly glancing from the outside world to see who came through his door to deliver his meals. He hoped for just a glimpse of one of them, any of them, even that damn Yuki. None ever came though, and he added another mark in the wood for another day lost.
The marks only depressed him more, though. The walls were covered with them. It was hard to tell since the wood hid them unless you really tried to see, but they were there. Dozens of them, large, small, in neat groups or scattered about. There was a small spot in the corner farthest from the door and window that was bare and Kyou had started to use that. He grouped them in sevens, because every week he was taken from his room by the three men to have his bath.
He still only had the yukata to cover himself with, but by now he had stopped blushing in front of the men. The key was to tune them out and only listen to the third one's orders, since he seemed like the leader. Hurry up, a minute left, time to go. That was all he needed to hear from him. In return he didn't speak, he hadn't spoken since that last conversation with Akito. No one attempted to really speak to him, so he had no reason to reply.
The weather started to get warmer and Kyou counted the marks he had made after coming back from his bath. There were forty-nine. He'd been in here for seven weeks. It seemed so long, but really he'd never have known otherwise, since even with his timed bathings he tended to forget the days. His hair had grown shaggy, almost down to his shoulders now and the bangs fell past his cheeks. He still only had very faint facial hair, but he was forced to shave every week after his bath whether he needed it or not.
Forty-nine days...he had let himself stay in here for fourty-nine days. He hadn't fought, he hadn't even attempted an escape or asked to see one of his friends. What were they doing? Tohru was probably out in the world now; he hoped she had made it into college. She had worked very hard to save up enough money and Shigure had finally made himself useful and offered to pay what she couldn't-allowing her, of course, to pay it back at her leisure when she protested. What had she wanted to study? She'd said something before but...he couldn't remember...
Kyou's eyes widened and he jerked away from the window, staring frantically around the room. She had told him, why couldn't he remember? He knew...what was it...
"WHAT WAS IT!" he screamed, his voice rough and grating from disuse. His thin fingers tangled in his long hair and tugged angrily, trying to shock his mind into recalling Tohru's words. "WHAT WAS IT!"
He couldn't remember...everything had just become routine in this place and he'd let himself forget the most important thing in the world. As he thought, he found he could recall other things, either. What her favorite dish to make for them was, what he had gotten her for her last birthday. The others as well. What had they done at the beach house over summer break? What had Momiji and Haru's class done for the school festival that had gotten everyone so excited?
His breathing became labored and Kyou backed into a corner, his fingers still clinging to his hair. As the cool wood hit his back he felt his knees give out and he slowly sank to the floor. There was nothing...he couldn't remember...he couldn't remember anything...
Hot tears bit angrily at his eyes and burned long streaks down his face, wrenching strangled sobs from the boy. Kyou grit his teeth together hard and clenched his eyes shut in an effort to make them stop but nothing worked. He drew his knees up to his chest, trying to back himself even further into the wall, and managed to yank his hands out of his hair. Desperate to stop the tears, he drove the hell of his palms against his eyes.
Lights flashed in the darkness behind his eyelids and he pressed harder, but nothing worked. His sobbing only grew louder until he was choking and his face was flushed a firey red. His eyes burned and his nose was stuffed so badly he had to gasp for breath through his mouth. The loud intakes of air were almost deafening to his ears after the weeks of silence, for once actually drowning out his own heartbeat. How long passed, he wasn't sure, but the tears wouldn't stop and Kyou just sat there, huddled back against the wall with his hands pressed against his closed eyes as he weeped.
Just down the hall, leaning weakly against the wall for support, Akito listened silently to the yowls of the broken cat. The pathetic, jerking wails were music to her ears and she smiled softly as she let her head rest against the wood. Her eyes fell half-closed and she listened as though caught in a dream. This made her very, very happy. As the weeks passed and that stupid monster only complied with the new rules set for him, she had worried. She wanted him broken, crying, and pleading for her. When all his pride was gone and he was completely dependant on her, as the cat should always have been, then things would be perfect. She'd have all the animals by her side; she wouldn't allow the cat to escape again.