CONGRAGULATIONS TO KAGIME AND THE OWL! YOU ARE MY TWO HUNDRETH REVIEWER!

WOOOOHOOO!

GO YOU!

AND YOUR LITTLE OWL, TOO!

Just in answer to some of the reviews, not all:

NoCareChakara: … --hands over the money-- gee, how did you guess?

Akia and Amora: I know. Poor Haru :( HE'S SO CUTE

KooriKitsune: I had a furbie once. It was black and yellow. It was possessed. It would never go to sleep, and it would always say 'I SEE YOU'. I don't think furbies were supposed to say that…

It was scary.

DeadlyDemon17: I don't like Rin. I think she should close her legs and go bathe. Just my opinion ;)

Coffee luver: I KNOW TT.TT

XxFallenxX: HARU AND MAHIRU! EEEEWWWW! I guess that actually could be a good pairing… but I like Akito better. He's mad sexy.

Wannabe Otaku: thank you very much :)

Endrika: Um… thank you…? I think. You thought I sucked in the beginning:( You're a very good review writer, thank you. Now do it more often. ;)

And now… the moment you've all been waiting for!

CHAPTER 23!

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There's Beauty in the Breakdown

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Akito had heard the girl come in to the Main House, and then gone looking for her when she didn't go to him. He had found her in the kitchen, talking about him to the Ox, apparently defending him. That's when he heard it.

Akito glared at the Ox, rage building quickly inside him. Hatsuharu had done something completely inexcusable. He had gone after one of Akito's things. Mahiru was his treasure, not to be broken. Akito was livid.

"You stupid cow…" he started for him, every intention of ripping his head off, when he felt a tug at his sleeve.

"Akito, no! He didn't mean to." Akito pushed her out of the way and started for the ox again, who was trapped against a wall. Mahiru jumped in front of him, shielding Hatsuharu "Akito, please." She reached out one hand and stroked his cheek. He reached out one hand and slapped hers, then pushed her out of the way again. He slammed his fist into the Ox's stomach, causing him to fall to the ground. Akito bent down and grabbed his hair, forcing his head up. He felt something tackle him from behind, as the girl wrapped her arms tightly around him, pressing her cheek into his shoulder. "Don't." she commanded.

And to his own surprise, he obeyed, sliding his arms around her waist, dropping his face onto her hair, but then raising it and glaring the panting Ox a warning. "Ever again," he mouthed at him as Mahiru led him from the room "And I will kill you." From the expression on his face, Akito knew the Ox understood.

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Mahiru brought Akito back to the door of his room, although once there, he stopped walking. She turned around to look at him. "What?"

"What is your room like?"

Definitely the last question she had been expecting. "Well…it's blue…and I have a bed and a desk and a fireplace and a chair… Akito?" He had walked away from her and further down the hall, opening her door and going inside.

"Um… Akito!"

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Akito liked the room. It was certainly nicer than his. Well, not nicer in the conventional sense, but it felt nicer. It didn't feel smothering, not as confining as his room was. True, it was smaller, but he would rather spend time on the soft blue carpeted floor of her room than stuck in his bed.

He looked around as the girl brushed past him and hastily started gathering things off the floor, shoving them in the closet, and then scrambling to try to make the bed while putting away her underwear. Her shelves were filled with…stuff. Pictures, toys, knick-knacks just sitting there collecting dust. He reached out and touched a tube of glittering nail polish. She had an overstuffed armchair, and he ambled over to it. When he sat, he was surprised to find that the seat cushion sank down considerably, even under his slight weight. She finished shoving her pajamas with green hippos saying 'YOU'RE COOL!' on them under her bed and turned to him, breathless.

"…I like your room." He remarked.

She smiled. "Technically, it's yours."

He smirked and leaned back into the chair. It was squishy…

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Mahiru took Akito dozing in her chair as incentive to tidy up her room more. She made her bed more seriously, and even tried to dust. She ended up almost asphyxiating herself, and decided to leave it for when she didn't have someone with weak lungs in her room. She checked the time. It was late, and she had another callback tomorrow. Akito seemed deeply asleep in the chair. She changed into pajamas, keeping her back to him, just for safety, smiling when Akito began to snore lightly. She climbed into bed and was out like a light.

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Akito woke up slowly, realizing that either his entire room had rearranged itself, or the sun had decided to change its route, just to shine on him in the morning. He grunted and tried to roll away from it, but found himself unable to. Forcing his eyes open, he looked around, only to find himself in an armchair in the girl's room. Feeling something on his head, he reached up, finding a sticky note attached to his forehead, bearing the message 'Hi! You fell asleep here last night, and I didn't want to wake you up before I left. I have a callback today, so I'll be back tonight. Bye! Mahiru.' He frowned, sighing.

There was a crashing outside and Akito slowly stood and shuffled sleepily towards the door, poking his head out to find Hatori banging his head against a wall. "What are you doing?" he demanded. If he killed himself Akito was going to have to get a new doctor….

"AKITO-SAMA!" The Dragon rushed to him and pulled him tightly against his chest. Akito shoved him away.

Hatori blushed and straitened his tie, clearing his throat loudly. "Well, Akito-sama, I couldn't find you this morning, and I thought maybe…" he trailed off and looked at Mahiru's open door. "Um… did you…" Again he cleared his throat, "Spend the night with Mah-chan?"

Akito ignored him and hobbled into his room, throwing himself onto his bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Akito-sama?"

"No. I did not." Akito cut off the Doctor, and turned away from him.

"Alright." He heard the inevitable tray of food and pills being set down. He groaned. "I'm going to be back later to make sure you've taken all of these. And I mean all."

"What!" Akito rolled over quickly. Sure enough, the two big, pink pills were sitting in a little cup all by themselves. "No." He felt the fear rising in his chest. "NO!"

"Akito-sama…" Hatori reached out to touch his shoulder. Akito smacked his hand away.

"Don't touch me." He hissed, "And get those out of my sight."

Hatori sighed. "You need to take them, even if you are unwilling. It is my job to keep you alive."

"Why now?" whispered the God, eyeing the pills with disgust and panic.

"I'm upping some of your other medications. You need to take them to balance everything out." Hatori crossed his arms over his chest.

"I. Am. Completely. Sane." Akito drew his feet up to his chest and rested his head on them, glaring at his doctor.

'Well, that's certainly a matter of opinion.' Out loud, he said "Yes, now." Seeing the death glare, Hatori revised himself. "Akito-sama, the side effects of these pills are much better than the effects the other medicine will have on your mind if you don't take them."

"So how about I stop taking medicine." The God countered. He turned and slid off his bed until he was sitting on the floor, separated from the doctor by his mattress.

"Then you won't live very long. Excuse me, Akito-sama." Hatori bowed to the few strands of hair visible from where he was standing, most of the God hidden behind the bed, and left.

Akito heaved himself back onto the bed and dutifully took all the pills. Except the pink ones.

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…I like chocolate covered raisins. They taste good. Chocolate covered cherries are gross.