"Hmm, I think thats truly you, Serki-kun!" Ayame exclaimed as Serki emerged from Mine's clutches wearing appeared to be traditional clothing, with a modern twist.
"You look amazing Serki," Shigure began before he was bowled over by Yuki and Kyo.
"Sick bastard, coming from you, thats criminal!" Kyo growled.
Teary eyed, Shigure replied, "I was merely saying she looked nice, whats wrong with that?"
"Becuase you are a perv." Kyo and Yuki replied in unison.
"You are both so cruel to me, I give you a home, put a roof over your heads and even when you tear it up, I still welcome you home and you beat me up, me a old man, over such a little thing as a complement." Shigure bemoaned and Serki laughed. She could see the mischevious glint in Shigure's eyes and see the looks of outrage on both boys faces. Yuki silently fuming and Kyo looking like a tea kettle ready to boil over.
"You are not old Shigure-san and Serki-san, you actually laughed!" Tohru piped up.
"Such a beautiful voice!" Ayame added.
"You are worse than Shigure," Yuki growled.
"Little brother, you judge me way to harshly. What better than the sound of joy in the voice of another? Its something I would like to hear more in your voice, Yuki." Ayame countered.
"He's right," Serki added, "My brothers used to say the same thing."
Yuki said nothing as he sat staring at the floor and Serki picked up the sudden chill in the atmosphere of the room. Obviously, she decided, these brothers have been alienated from one another somehow. How sad, they still have one another and Yuki seems to despise his older brother, when I'd gladly give my life to have Masao and Kazuo back. Does he not see?
"Well, thats one outfit decided," Tohru said, cheerfuly changing the subject, "You need to go pick out more. Want me to help?"
"Certainly,"Serki replied as they headed to the back of the store again.
"So, she's the one who warned us?" Ayame asked in all seriousness.
"Yes, she was in horrible shape when Yuki and Kyo found her, today she's doing very well and that truly is the first time I've ever heard her laugh. I'm glad she's at least laughing now maybe she can become someone who is happier than she is now." Shigure answered.
"Haa-san told me and thats why I don't mind letting her have her pick of what I have. She's most likely saved Mine's life and mine as well. She'll be the first one to leave and then I'll follow. Seems like I am the least obvious one to leave, imagine that?" Ayame replied.
"I'd never imagine..." Yuki growled, clearly irritated by Ayame.
"You know I feel terrible leaving you behind, you'll be one of the last ones to leave. You are still my little brother, it kills me that I have to leave you to fend for yourself with all this going on. Stay safe when I'm away." Ayame sighed, none of his earlier dramatics in his voice.
Yuki surprised replied, "I'll be fine."
"Still, in all seriousness, it'll be Yuki, Kyo, Haru, Hiro, and Kisa who closest to the last. They are school children, if they simply disappeared from school or worse yet, all at once, their flight would be public. Kisa and Hiro we can get out during their next term break and pip it up as some illness. Kyo and Haru shouldn't be that difficult, you Yuki, however, will be a pain in the neck. Being the Prince is going to make your departure a loud one, no matter how quietly you try to do it. Of course, when you go, Tohru will go with you. She's connected to the Sohmas now, and they'll kill her too. Still, I know Hatori, myself and Akito will be the final ones to leave. This is defently dangerous, the family has never had to break apart like this before. Even with Serki's help, we are still in a mess. What's worse is Akito has insisted that she leave with us and Akito." Shigure sighed. He'd been thinking about this the entire time.
"You've got to be joking me," Kyo growled, "He'll try to bring her under his thumb."
"Heh, I'd like to see him try. One thing the reason why the clans of Sadnesan and Sohma never merged with one another is that no head of the Sohma family was ever able to completly bring a Sadnesan under their control. Our curse defends us from the Sohma clan leader, we have known for generations, just what the clan leaders of the Sohma family are like. Why do you think the Sadnesan estate was in Yokohama instead of Tokyo?" Serki said as she returned with Tohru and Mine, holding a bagfull of clothes, still wearing the original clothes that had spurred all of this..
"Really?" Shigure asked, surprised by her appearance and statement.
"Yes, its true. Its something that was recorded in our clan's earliest records, back when the Sadnesan and Sohma clans originaly allied themselves to one another. Originaly, the Sohma clan leader attempted to force the Sadnesan members to join them. It obviously didn't work. We are allies, yes, but no Sadnesan has ever bent a foot to help the Sohmas unless they geniuenly desired to help on their own free will. Akito is welcome to try, but he will not control me." Serki added.
"Thats defently interesting..." Shigure thought aloud, "Anyway, have you decided what you want?"
"I have and thank you Ayame, one day, I'll pay you back in full for all of this." Serki replied.
"You already have" Ayame answered as he gazed fondly at Mine.
The flames raged in a firery inferno as the massive building and its grounds roared under heat and light from the blaze that leapt from building to building...object to object. In the furious red light of the flames, a bear, a wolf and a mountain lion stood fighting, desperatly trying to push for the outer wall of the burning compound and breaking through the line of men and women who kept them from escaping the firery prye that promised to be their grave.
"We have to break through!" a wolf cried as it leapt away from a gunshoot, "If we don't, the others won't be able to escape this inferno! No one will survive"
"Every step we press forward, Masao, we are forced back ten. The elderly and youngest have already persished, we are trapped. I made the mistake of checking in one of the family homes... We can't escape the blaze and the more we fight them, the more of us that die. This is mad! Why? Why attack us? What have we done wrong?" The bear cried beside the wolf
"The answer is simple," a cold and heartless voice laughed as dark and masked man stepped towards the struggling trio, "You are abominations against the natural order. You are freaks that have no place, you do not deserve to live. You deserve to die like the freaks you all are and the flames will scorch away any trace that such creatures as you existed. Believe me, I am doing the world a favor. You need to die."
"I'll kill you," the mountain lioness cried as she leapt over both bear and wolf, "You have no right to decide what is a abomination and what is not. It is You who goes against the order of things. You have killed elders, you have killed the childeren of this clan, and you may kill me, but I swear, I'll make you pay for this, by the blood of my fallen cla-."
He stopped the tape.
"Now then," a tall, somewhat attractive man, asked the gathered group in the small underground room that had assembled, "What do you think? Men who can turn into a bear or wolf, or a woman who can turn into a mountain lion. They were, all of them, dangerous. Who was right? Which is correct? What is the truth?"
"The abomination should die, Master Daeusha was right. Any perversion of nature does not deserve to exist." A short, timid looking woman replied, fire burning in her eyes
"Very good, yet how are they perversions?" he asked.
"They can turn into a powerful beast and wreck havoc, they can control those animal forms, and through their Sohma connections, they have been able to influence large scale decisions made by those higher up. They are slowly twisting this country to suit their own needs." A man towards the back of the group answered, fierce rage burning in his eyes..
"Correct-" the first speaker replied when he was interupted by the opening of the room's door and the assembled men outside gesturing he join them, "Pardon me, comrades. I'll return."
"Yes?" he asked once he joined them in the hallway.
"How are your recruiting lessons going, Telaiji?" A familiar cold voice asked.
"Very well, Sir. It is easy to invoke a fanatical rage in them and then things are all too easy for us then. Soon, we'll be able to exact our revenge upon the Sohma clan as well. The Sadnesan clan have paid for their past crimes against the Daeusha clan, but the Sohmas are yet to pay." Telaiji answered with a smirk.
"No, the Sadnesan have not paid in full yet, one of their blood still lives, the one who claimed my sight in this eye still lives. Till the mountain lion dies, the Sadnesan are still our enemies and the blood has been upaid. The Sohma and Sadnesan clans both should have known that it was never over when they believed they defeated my ancestors army. We are the survivors of the Daeusha clan and we will avenge our clan ourselves, won't we brother?" came the disgusted answer as a some what shortier and more muscled man revealed three raged lines across his right eye and a glazed over eye.
"Yes, I was mistaken. But we will avenge our ancestors and succeed where they failed. I'll be happy when the last Sohma and Sadnesan die at our feet." Telaiji answered.
"That I'll agree to." was the satisfied response.
A/N: Okay, I went for dramatics in this one, little comedy, but I am still trying to keep things somewhat serious and breaking the tension with a little of the usual give and take between the family members.