Chapter 8-Blackbird Singing in the Dead of Night

Haru held the plastic broom loosely in his hands as he swept the front steps of a house that had been unoccupied for close to six months. He hadn't been there since he had fallen in the pond during the banquet. Hatori had taken him away to an institute for the blind and before Kyoko and Kazuma could join him, Kyoko had been called to the main house and had disappeared. No matter how hard they searched for her, no clue had turned up. None.

Haru's hands clenched around the broomstick as the memories of that dark time came flooding back. Not only was he left to deal with the permanent darkness, he also had been torn from the woman he loved. For what looked like forever.

If it hadn't been for the constant support of Kazuma, Kyo and Kunimitsu, he would have probably faded away to nothing. Even though the pain of losing Kyoko was like a fresh cut every day that wouldn't stop bleeding, their cheery optimism and quiet empathy had pulled him back and had made him want to get his life back rather than giving in and becoming nothing but a mute doll.

He worked diligently until he was able to pretty much manage with just a little help from Kazuma. He quickly mastered braille and had learned to be proficient with the cane as well. Despite his tendency to get lost in the most obvious places, he had learned to map his surroundings extremely well, although he did still need someone to guide him if he was travelling further than five blocks from his home.

Learning new life skills had enabled him to slowly stop his mind from cracking as badly as it would have if he had only spent his time brooding over Kyoko and imagining the worst. Once he had mastered what he needed to learn, he had been able to begin to enjoy the smaller things in life again. He had never lost hope that Kyoko would return to him and had nearly been beside himself when Kazuma had pulled him aside and told him that Kyoko had been found. His joy had been horribly short lived. He shook his head as he then realized how tightly he was holding the broomstick. Wouldn't do for him to break the only tool he had for sweeping the bracken and leaves away from the house.

His lip curled into a sneer as the memory of that day came back to him vividly.

(Flashback)

Haru was sitting in the chair that always seemed to collect the sunshine in a pool around it. It didn't matter that he couldn't see it. He was quite content to sit and doze in the imagined yellow warmth that the sun created. He only went to sit there when he needed to completely empty his thoughts. Even of her. Sitting in the soothing warmth always helped him get his spirits back up again. Looking back, he shouldn't have been so surprised that was the place that he received the news from Kazuma.

"Hatsuharu-kun." Kazuma called to him. He hadn't wanted to come out of his doze, but he also knew that his father wouldn't bother him if it wasn't important, so he dragged himself out of his stupor to listen to him.

"What is it?" Haru asked in a sleepy drawl.

"I have received a telegram and a call from Shigure-san." Kazuma replied in a barely restrained voice.

"It seems that a girl that was camping in the woods near Shigure's house found Kyoko." Haru sat up sharply.

"Is...Is..how is she?" He asked in a strangled voice. She had been missing for four months. He was sure that she wasn't going to show up in the same state as she had when she had run off. He had heard from Hatori, who had over-heard some of the maids whispering that 'the monster' had run off with her hair badly sheared and blood and bruises all over and wearing nothing more than a thin sleeping kimono. Unless she had snuck back to the house without Kunimitsu or Kyo noticing there was no way that she was going to be in any kind of decent shape.

He couldn't see it, but he could feel Kazuma's face darken at the question. As if a cloud had passed in an otherwise perfectly clear sky.

"Malnourished and suffering from the effects of exposure. She was also like a wild animal when she first came, which was two weeks ago. According to Shigure-san, she is in a much better condition than before, but she still hasn't spoken. It seems like the shock that drove her out there is still fairly evident."

Haru frowned at the comments. He could read between the lines. Something was off, but he wasn't quite sure what it exactly was without outright asking.

"Shigure-san said that Hatori found evidence that she was raped at the main house and that was the reason for her retreat. The worst part is that..."Kazuma's voice wavered at the last words and then faltered altogether, making Haru's hands claw at the arms of the chair he was sitting in.

"She's expecting a child." Kazuma finished, making Haru's fingers splinter the wood.

(End Flashback)

Haru's lips tightened at the memory and he had to force himself to keep on sweeping the walk. There was nothing to be done at that point except keep himself busy as he waited for Kazuma to wrap up the business end of his life with Kunimitsu and Kyo's help before he went to see Kyoko. He knew that Kazuma hadn't taken him to Shigure's sooner because he needed to take care of the dojo first. It was something that simply couldn't be left any longer. Kunimitsu and Kyo had done their best, but there were certain things that only he could take care of.

He didn't like it, but he wasn't going to be a spoiled brat. He was realistic enough to know that even though the main house sent him plenty of money for their upkeep, Kazuma's main source of income was his dojo. So he swept with harsh strokes, losing himself in the action until the broom was yanked out of his hands.

"It's time to go. Kyo said he'd take care of the rest." Kazuma told him quietly as the older man handed him his coat.

Haru only nodded and put on his coat and took Kazuma's arms. He used to hate having to do that, but he had forced himself to get used to it. He was blind now and nothing was going to change that fact. The fucken end.

Once they had finally arranged themselves properly, they headed out without a word between them, both of them lost in their own fears and thoughts as they walked.

(Line Break)

Shigure watched from the doorway, a sad, soft smile on his lips as Tohru combed out Kyoko's hair. It was nowhere near its former glory yet, but had grown out to that perfect mid-length that allowed for it to be styled rather than just brushed and pushed back.

Tohru chatted as she fixed the delicate jewelled hair pins into Kyoko's hair. They were clear rhinestones and shone like lights against the now auburn hair. Shigure wasn't sure if he liked the pins or not. They had been a gift from a still stubbornly hopeful Yuki that had made even Hatori's eyebrow rise in surprise when he had been told about the presentation of them afterwards.

"There! They look very good in your hair, Kyoko-chan..." The girl stopped her prattle and covered her mouth with her hand, her expression perplexed and sad at the same time. It was only for a moment, but it was enough for Shigure to catch that it had something to do with her recently departed mother. Belatedly, he understood that Kyoko had been her mother's name.

Kyoko noticed the change in the atmosphere as well and turned her head to look at Tohru, who although was smiling again, wasn't fully herself just yet.

Kyoko turned around and looked at Tohru questioningly, her expression lost and worried at the same time, making Shigure wince. He had never seen Kyoko look like that in all the time he had known her and he hated it.

"Completely stripped bare." He thought as he watched Tohru clumsily assure her that nothing was wrong. If that had been Akito's aim, she had achieved it.

"Oh! I didn't mean to make you upset! It's just that...it reminded me of my mum. I used to comb her hair when it was long sometimes." Tohru explained to the other girl as she tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. Kyoko raised an eyebrow and Tohru nodded, her radiant expression back again.

"There! You look perfectly wonderful!" Tohru announced as she finished fussing with the hem of the patterned yukata that Kyoko had chosen to wear that morning.

"Kyoko-chan! You look so pretty! Tohru-kun outdid herself this time!" Shigure gushed as he helped Kyoko to her feet, since her balance was affected by the thickening bump in her middle. She was walking by herself now, and was barely requiring help, but sometimes her pregnancy did make it difficult for her to get up from a sitting position.

"Let's go to the living room and wait for Kazuma-san and Hatsuharu-kun. They should be here soon." Shigure said as he led Kyoko out to the main room, all the while careful to not touch her anymore than necessary. She had developed an adverse reaction to having men touch her for too long a time ever since she had become more aware of the world around her and was re-learning to deal with people again. Hatori had said it was normal for victims of assault to act that way, since the possibility of being attacked was always present when it came to the attackers' gender. The reaction also because even more pronounced when there had been prior incidents of sexual abuse and or assaults.

(Flashback)

"I had my suspicions before. When I first examined her after Kazuma took her in." Hatori told Shigure when the conversation had inevitably come up, since Kyoko had practically thrown a fit at having Shigure carry her when she had been more lucid. After Hatori had to resort to sedating her to keep her from either clawing the dog's eyes out or castrating him with a well-placed kick, the two older zodiac members had sat down with a bottle of sake and a good supply of cigarettes as they discussed Kyoko's current condition and her behaviour.

Shigure had frowned and nearly choked hard on the smoke of his cigarette as he received those news.

"Who?" was all he could ask as he tried to digest the idea as quickly as possible to make sense of it. He knew that the family was dark and had quite a bit of twisted secrets that were swept under the carpet as was the case in many old families. But this was one thing that had him deeply contemplating the darkness of the Sohma name and family in a way that he had ever conceived before.

"Her father, I would assume. Abusers do it for the power it gives them over the victim. Humiliation and complete control as well as instilling fear are the main goals of sexual abuse. Her father had every reason to do it, despite making the rest of the world think otherwise." Hatori explained as he tapped the end of his cigarette against the porcelain ashtray sitting at the edge of Shigure's writing desk.

"You don't know how close I am to being physically sick right about now." Shigure whispered as he ground out his own smoke. " I feel like I should apologize to her, for touching her. With a history like that and now this piled on top of it, no wonder why she doesn't want to be anywhere near men at all."

"I know what you mean. She was pretty much left to her own devices, after Kazuma-san took her in. I didn't want to cast any aspersions on her father, or sound like I was bad-mouthing him when I had only scant proof. After all, it wasn't as if she had had a normal upbringing in that madhouse. Any number of factors could have attributed to her behaviour." He shook his head.

"Or maybe it's something I tell myself to ease my guilt."

Neither man spoke for a long time, each of them chain-smoking in silence, knowing full well that there was nothing to be done. They were all pawns, one way or another and innocents would get hurt because of that. But it still didn't completely absolve them from the past.

(End of Flashback)

Shigure shook his head to clear it of the memories and watched as Kyoko sat down carefully at the table. He took his place on the other end of the table and watched as Tohru got tea together before the expected visitors came. It was quiet, but it was a comfortable quiet that no one was inclined to break. They remained like so for what felt like hours, but was in fact not even twenty minutes when it was broken by the sound of the front door being slid open and voices filling the house. Voice that Shigure knew belonged to Yuki and Haru and which were raised in a still indistinct argument.

Kyoko looked at Shigure as if to make sure that he was aware of the intrusion. Hatori had been the only frequent visitor in the last couple of weeks and he knew better than to be noisy about entering the house. Frowning at the thoughtlessness of both boys, Shigure smiled what he hoped was a reassuring smile at Kyoko and went to investigate the source of the noise.

He was not surprised to find Kazuma in the middle trying to keep Yuki and Haru from grabbing at each other. Their anger had gone from cool and sarcastic to feral and animalistic. If Kazuma hadn't been there, Shigure was positive that they would have been tearing each other apart by then.

"Normally, I would actually encourage any petty squabbles, since it would do much to amuse me. But Kyoko's in there, and both of you yelling at each other isn't helping the current situation. Unless you want me to throw you out, you'd best behave." Shigure said in a cold and serious voice that belied the sunny expression on his face as he spoke.

Haru and Yuki face him, both wearing an identically sullen expression, but both of them nodded and backed away.

"Where is she, Shigure-san?" Kazuma asked, stepping into the foyer of the house since he had already divested himself of his sandals.

"She's in the living room, waiting, Kazuma-san. This way." Shigure said as he motioned the man to follow him. Haru and Yuki muttered unhappily as they worked at their shoes, but remained quiet. They knew Shigure long enough to realize if he had put the joker's mask away, it would be utterly foolish to cross him and expect any consequences to come of it.

"Ah! Kyoko-chan! Look who's come to visit!" Shigure announced Kazuma to the blank-faced girl still sitting at the table. Kazuma was nervous at first, since he didn't know what to expect. He knew that Kyoko was changed by her ordeal, but he didn't know how she would react to seeing him. Would she shrink away from him? Or would she simply stare at him and not recognize him?

Swallowing his fears, he sat down at the table, leaving a good amount of space between them and was about to begin to speak when a rare smile lit up Kyoko's face and she closed the distance between them by throwing herself into Kazuma's arms.

"Shi-Shi-Shisou!" Kyoko whispered as she clung to Kazuma's arms. Although he wished he could have held her in a true embrace, he knew that he would have to settle for that much contact, unless he wanted her to change into a cat. Right now wasn't the time for inopportune transformations.

"Kyo-chan?" Kyoko head perked up when she heard her pet-name. Extricating herself from Kazuma with reluctance, she stood up and made her way carefully to Haru, who was standing in the door way waiting for her, a heart-breakingly hopeful expression on his face as he did.

They didn't speak. They didn't touch. Kyoko only stared up at him as he ran his hands over her face, hair and body before he finally grabbed her and engulfed her in a crushing embrace.

"Kyoko. Kyoko. Kyoko." Haru whispered as he held her and rocked back and forth with her as if he was afraid that she would be torn from him again.

"Haru." Kyoko murmured as she melted into the embrace, her eyes closed and completely missing the frosty expression of the only person in the house not glad to see the reunion.

Shigure had been right, Yuki thought bitterly as he stalked upstairs. She was never mine.

Why?

Notes: Heavy chapter, I admit. I wanted to tie in Kyoko's past and the reason why she would end up in quite a deep shock over this situation. This is also the reason why she didn't mature as quickly as Rin did and why she would push Kazuma away and why she opened up to Haru, since he is younger and in her mind, less likely to abuse her and or take advantage of her. Also, some victims develop a love/hate relationship with their caretakers, especially if they are the gender of the people that hurt them. And yes, Yuki is still not going to get the girl...well...not Kyoko at least. Anyways, that's it for now, thanks for reading again. Edited to correct a mistake kindly pointed out By Noelle. Thanks!