Chapter 4: Sorry

Hong-Kong-
Indihar-

Three days after Indihar's initial report to Lung, he made his decision about what to do. "Send in Umi and Yasha. That woman took disks from the computer at the Pit. That information needs to be destroyed, thoroughly." They were, as usual, alone in his office when he gave her the command. His beefy fingers tapped on the surface of his desk as he replayed the surveillance tape for the fourth time. He'd watched it over and over since its arrival, just sitting in silence while it played. "This is going to be messy, I expect. I want information before anything else. We need to be prepared."

We? Indihar's face didn't betray her thoughts. This mess is yours. "Yes, sir." She turned briskly and strode out of his office.

Down fifty floors on the elevator, then three flights of stairs brought Indihar to the basement of Lung's building. The skyscraper was his pride and joy, an immense creation of glass and steel he had built with the blood and sweat of his slave children. No one went down to the basement unless they knew what was down there and only Lung and Indihar knew what was stored in the basement.

As she approached one of the final doors, Indihar pulled a key that was constantly kept secured in her bra. It was as safe a place as any and no one with sense would try to steal it from her. There was no electronic lock or anything fancy on the door, just a simple keylock. On the other hand, any thief foolish enough to break into the basement deserved what they got.

The sound of a radio playing with the soft beat of some sad song drifted through the door when Indihar opened it. She followed the music down a last flight of stairs after closing the door behind her. The basement was a dank, but livable place. Out of respect for Umi and Yasha, Indihar walked as quietly as she could.

Umi lay on the bed with her legs crossed and her hands behind her head. Her eyes were open, but she seemed to be focusing on the music instead of anything that was really in the room. She was getting close to middle age at thirty and still in excellent physical condition. Her legs were toned and muscular, her eyes as sharp as a tiger's. But it wouldn't be long before Lung decided she was too old for service and replaced her.

"Hello." Yasha spoke from where he sat on the bottom step of the stairs. He didn't bother to look up from his book, but there was no reason to. Indihar was the only person who ever visited them. "It's early for dinner."

"I don't bring food." That caught Yasha's attention and made him look up. What is he reading this week? Ah. The Jungle Book. "You have an assignment."

Yasha carefully put his book down under the stairs where it wouldn't get stepped on, and stood. Umi stood at the same time, taking her place next to Yasha.

"The Pit in Japan has been destroyed." She started out with the most amazing news. It was so shocking that Yasha's eyes widened in shock. Umi's expression stayed the same. "Not long ago, It was reported that everyone in the Pit was killed by something. Everyone but the children. There was one child shot, but nearly fifty others simply vanished. There are rumors that they had been led from the Pit by a man. He led them through the city to a private residence. This is only a rumor as all other surveillance tapes were destroyed. Your assignment is to investigate. Sir wishes to know what has happened and who is responsible. Once you find out who this person is who is responsible, you will destroy all evidence of the Pit."

"Has Sir any further information?" It was the first time Umi had spoken. She, as the elder, was the unspoken leader of the pair. She'd always been a leader, even back in the Pit, Umi had been one of the most outstanding fighters. When she had become Black Scorpion, no one had been surprised. It had inevitable. Indihar had gotten her tattoo shortly after Umi, a few years later Yasha followed. He was the youngest of the three of them.

Umi and Yasha were very ordinary, but, then again, that was how they were meant to be. Yasha looked like a young salary man, a suit and tie with short-cut black hair. The woman looked like any housewife with her frumpy floral dress and her hair done up in a bun on the back of her head.

What no one would see, when Yasha and Umi walked down the street was the tattoos on their chests. Two of the first products of the Black Scorpions, like Indihar herself, they were adult and more easily able to travel the distance to Japan without looking suspicious. There weren't many Black Scorpion children who lived to see adulthood, but the ones who did were the best.

"There is data on this surveillance tape." She handed the video to Umi with the instruction, "Study it. There is a woman shown, along with several others. The others are not clearly shown, making your main objective the woman." Indihar handed Umi an envelope. "Plane tickets and money. You are to…"

"Wait!" Umi held up her hand sharply with a displeased expression. She walked away from Indihar and went to the small CD player that sat on the floor beside the bed. Only then did Indihar notice that the music had stopped. Umi restarted the music, then returned to Indihar. "You were saying?"

"You are to go to Japan on the flight in two hours - you should reach Japan by early morning - and find the woman shown on the tape." Indihar didn't mind Umi's interruption. They all needed one indulgence. Umi had music. Yasha had books. Even Indihar had her own little vice. "Discover any information she has and destroy it. Find where the children are being kept. Do not attempt to retrieve them, that will be arrange for at a later time. You are to report your progress to me every two hours and any unforeseen difficulties. You will follow established procedure."

Umi nodded sharply, but Yasha stared at Indihar. "Indy? Are you coming with us?"

"No." She hated to leave them. Out of the original regiment of Black Scorpion children, there were only five left, three of them were standing in that room together. They were the lucky ones, the ones who hadn't died in their missions. There were nine others. Indihar had an excellent memory, it was the reason Lung had chosen her for his personal aid, she could remember the name of everyone she'd met in the Pit of Hong Kong. It hadn't been any different from the Pit that had recently been destroyed and thrust into the spotlight by the world's media. She hadn't gone on missions with any of them, though some - like Umi and Yasha - had worked as teams, but she knew how each and every one of them had died just as she knew how every Black Scorpion child had died. It was a teaching method. When one agent was killed, the others were told how, when, and why in the belief that the surviving agents would learn from it and not make the same mistake.

Yasha nodded at the abrupt answer. "Be safe."

"Be lucky." Indihar replied. It was something of a tradition that had started back when they had still been fighters in the Pit. No one could ask for more than to be safe and lucky for once led into the arena, it was likely that one would face one's friends and be forced to kill. It was under those hot lights and the dirty eyes of the spectators that all affection was lost. It had to be. Indihar had seen the result of the fighters who couldn't forget their friendships in the arena. They were the ones to die.

Main House-
Akito-

They arrived back at the Souma Estate late, long after the sun had set. Immediately upon entering the main gates, Hatori quietly took command.

"Aya, get Yuki to my house and get him into the spare bed. Young lady, don't move." He turned his icy gaze to Rin and froze her in her tracks as she tired to quietly get away. "You, off to my office with Ayame. Kagura, walk with her so I can be sure she'll make it."

"It's been more than two weeks since the," Rin deliberately kept her eyes away from Akito. "Accident. I'm fine. My back's only sore."

"Exactly why I want you resting where I can watch you. Go."

There was no arguing with Hatori when he was in that kind of temper so even Rin had the sense to do as she was told without arguing. The rest of the family walked Akito right to the door of his house and he had never felt so proud. Though not everyone had made it, it made him happy to see his family gathered. Kureno had gone off with the girl for some reason and Shigure was…somewhere, but no one seemed to know where. Kyou and Ritsu had run off to the hot springs, but Akito would deal with all of that later. Kyou had hit Yuki and Akito wasn't sure he could forgive that. Maybe he should blame Count D. Yes, it was probably Count D's fault.

"You can all go now." Akito waved his hands at the Zodiac, but he was met only with concerned looks from his remaining family. "What? What is it?" His eyes went quickly to Hatori, his most sensible cousin. "Why are you all staring at me like that?"

Hatori stepped forward. "Are you sure you'll be alright alone?"

"Of course I am." Akito waved a hand at him. "You have black circles under your eyes. Go home and sleep. You'll give the Souma family a bad name running around as you are. People will start to think Souma's are ugly. Go home and take a bath, then go to bed." He looked at the others and realized the advice should be taken by all. "All of you. Go home and sleep. My family won't be seen like this." Kisa's hair was uncombed and Hiro's little shoulders were slumped. There was also an unpleasant smell from so many bodies unwashed for two weeks. "Go on. I'm still head of the family, aren't I?" Surely, that hadn't changed. "I'm god! Go wash and sleep."

With seeming reluctance, they did as they were told. Everyone but Hatori, naturally. He stayed and followed Akito into his house, right into his bedroom. "How are you feeling?"

It was a good question. "I'm not sure. Get my robe." Akito didn't look at Hatori. Instead, he went to the window and looked for the birds Shigure had given him. The garden was silent and still, much to Akito's disappointment. "I feel like I can think better. I don't feel stronger, exactly. I know I did bad things."

"I want a full examination before you get ready for bed." Hatori put his hands on Akito's shoulders and helped him take off his kimono. "I don't understand what happened with you or with Kyou, but I need to document everything."

Akito shivered from the cool night air. "Whatever you want."

It didn't seem to take long, but maybe it was because Akito was too busy watching Hatori. Akito sat on his bed and calmly let Akito examine him. "You always look like you're going to cry."

Hatori froze with his fingers pressing up against Akito's throat to check Akito's pulse. "Does that displease you?"

"I haven't decided. You should be happy. Kureno doesn't smile, either." It was because of Kana that Hatori didn't smile. "I'm sorry. I did it, didn't I?" It seemed strange to think back on that day. Like there was a cloud over the memory and it hadn't been real. "I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't even want to hurt Kana, not really." How sweet Hatori had always been. Always ready to help Akito. When Junko had died it was Hatori who'd held Akito. His soft hands had been so strong that day when Akito needed someone to be strong for him. Before Shigure had arrived, Hatori had calmly and sternly told everyone to keep away from Akito all the while making soothing sounds of comfort. "You were always kind to me."

"You remind me of my father." Hatori said it very softly though he met Akito's eyes evenly. "I…I would like to think that if I'd been able, I'd have taken care of my father the way I take care of you."

Akito frowned and thought back. He knew Hatori's father had been head of the family before Akito had been born, but little else. No one ever spoke to Akito about what life was like before he'd been born. "Was he a good man?"

"Sometimes he was kind to me. I remember he read me a story, once."

"I'm making you sad. I just wanted to know." Akito reminded Hatori of his father, a man who was good only rarely. That meant Akito was only good sometimes. "I'll be good from now on. I won't hurt anyone. I promise. If I could do it again, I wouldn't have hurt you. I'd let you marry Kana." He reached up to stroke Hatori's face, his thumb running over the eye he had killed. "I wouldn't hurt you. I really just wanted you to be happy. I promise."

Hatori pulled an empty syringe out of the black bag he always carried and carefully drew some blood from Akito's arm. "You mustn't make promises you don't know if you can keep." Hatori looked at the vial of blood he'd taken from Akito, then carefully put it back in his bag. "I'll get your pajamas, now." He laid out Akito's pajamas, then stepped away and sank down onto his knees. "Do you want help?"

Ren had always helped him dress as much as Akito had hated it. "No. I can do it myself." It surprised Akito. Even after he'd banished Ren, he had tried very hard to take care of himself. His growing weakness and ill health had made him even more dependant on his family, though. He hadn't been able to take care of himself even when he'd wanted to and relied on Kureno and Hatori to help him with the little everyday tasks. "This time, I WILL do it." He pulled on the shirt, then the bottoms of the pajamas and worked on the buttons of the shirt. It took him a few minutes to get his fingers to slip the little buttons through the holes, but in the end he was finished and looked down at himself with great pride. "See? I told you I could do it."

Hatori still had that unreadable expression on his face, but nodded. "Yes. You did. I'll have the results of your test in the morning, but for now I think you'll be fine. More than fine. Please, call me if you feel anything odd at all. If you feel chest pains, dizziness, confusion, or anything similar call me immediately. Or would you prefer me to stay here for the night?"

"You can go home. I'm better now. I'm healed. You don't have to worry about me any longer." He fiddled with the buttons of his pajamas. "I am better, aren't I?"

Hatori looked away from Akito. "You are healthier than you were two weeks ago. If I find anything odd in the results, I'll let you know right away." He stood and pulled down the blankets of the bed for Akito. "You're sure you'll be alright without Kureno?"

"Yes! Yes!" Akito snapped the answer, then stopped himself. "I didn't mean to yell. I'm fine. I'm not sick anymore."

After a moment's silence and Hatori's intense stare, Hatori bowed deeply and backed away to the door. "Good night. I will be by as soon as I can in the morning. When I see him, I'll need to do tests on Kyou. Just for precaution's sake."

"Hatori, where is Shigure?"

"I don't know. I'm sure he'll call in the morning."

"Is Yuki alright? Should I hate Kyou for hurting him?" He wanted to hate Kyou for that, but it didn't seem right. Kyou was helping the family. That, and Kyou had gone through so much for him. What a poor way to repay Kyou if Akito shouldn't take care of his newfound life.

"No. You don't have to hate Kyou. It was an accident. Like what happened when Rin…" Pause. "Fell out of the bathhouse window. Good night."

After Hatori had left, Akito didn't sleep. As much as he tried, Akito just couldn't sleep in his cold, empty bed. The one time he did slip off to sleep, he was plagued by an abstract nightmare of being alone and when he woke, he was alone. The nightmare was real. He was the only one in his bed. He missed the sound of Kureno breathing next to him.

"We're lonely."

Akito rolled over and looked at himself looking out the window. "Stop complaining. Things will get better now." And it did seem better. He felt more awake, more focused and surely that was a good thing. "No one's going to get hurt anymore. Everyone will be safe and Shigure will come home."

"Alright?" Akito's reflection laughed and looked at him over his shoulder. "We're talking to ourselves and we think everything's going to be alright? We're still mad, we think. Only the insane talk to themselves and if we're insane, then we might hurt our family again."

"No!" Akito protested. "I won't! I won't hurt them again. I'm strong, now. I'm healthy!"

"We're still worried. Too much can go wrong and our family might get hurt even if we do manage not to hurt them. That Count D. He holds too much over us and his friend was at the estate. He saved us, remember?"

The American? Akito remembered him. An impossibly tall man with bright hair like Momiji. He had been a rude, rough man, but kind. He was the man who'd saved Akito's life when Ren had attacked. "I liked him." He rather reminded Akito of Shigure. He didn't treat Akito like he was made of glass. "He was…interesting."

"He's dangerous to us. Why was he at our estate in the first place?"

"I don't know. Things happened so quickly. I didn't think to ask." Dying had sort of distracted him.

"Maybe you should think about asking." He turned away again and stared out at the night's garden. "We should sleep, now. We promised Hatori."

The silence was oppressive. He was too used to having Kureno at his side. He missed the steady breathing of a sleeping Kureno and he missed being able to wake Kureno up when he wanted to talk. Better if I had Shigure to talk to. Shigure always knows all the answers. One of the questions plaguing him was about Kyou and who else could Akito ask.

So Akito stayed awake the full night, until dawn broke over the walls around the estate and he saw a light go on in Hatori's house. He lounged on the one of the large round windows of his bedroom and felt like crying. Kureno didn't come home. Shigure didn't come see me. I thought he might. Maybe he's still at Count D's petshop. I was pretty awful to him, but he has to come home.

"Sir."

Akito smiled and turned to find Kureno standing in the doorway. "You're late. I didn't think you'd be gone so long."

"I'm sorry." Kureno was dressed the same as he had been the other day when he'd left with Honda-san's friend, Uotoni-san. "I was invited to stay with someone for the night."

'That rude, bad-tempered girl better not have done anything to hurt Kureno.' But when Akito went to Kureno and reached up to put his arms around his bodyguard, as he had done so many times before, he stopped. Akito was so taken back by the pleased twinkle in Kureno's eyes, that he took a step backwards.

"Why are you so happy?" He didn't think that he'd ever seen Kureno look so happy.

"I want to keep Arisa."

"What is an Arisa?"

"Not what. Who. I want to keep her. She has a pretty smile."

Akito froze at stared at Kureno, shocked. 'Another girl trying to take my family away…'

Hatori's House - House of the Dragon -
Yuki-

Yuki woke to the feeling of cool hands on his forehead. The hands moved down to touch his cheeks then slid around to the back of his neck. Irritably, Yuki moaned a protest and tried to roll away from the touch. He hated being touched, why didn't anyone respect that? Being pawed at… "Go away." He mumbled, trying to rouse himself.

"Easy," Hatori's soft voice broke through Yuki's foggy mind and made him relax. Hatori had a way of doing that. "No fever. The lump on your head seems to have gone down. Open your eyes, Yuki."

Reluctantly, and only because Hatori was always right, Yuki did as he was told. The room was dark, but Hatori's pale face stood out well enough. Hatori had always been pale - too many hours spent in libraries and classrooms. Yuki's head still hurt, but not as much as it had when Kyou had throwing him into the brick wall. Can't tease him, anymore. Yuki thought, sadly. Who am I supposed to play with, now?

"Your eyes look alright." Hatori didn't have to deliberately keep his voice soft for the sake of Yuki's headache. He always spoke softly. In fact, Yuki had never heard Hatori raise his voice. "How do you feel?"

"Tired." Yuki answered. "Did you keep waking me up?"

"It was either me or Ayame." Hatori looked to the left and Yuki followed his gaze. There was Ayame, for the first time ever, disheveled. His hair hung over his face in a not very attractive way and he was slumped down in a chair with his fine clothes all wrinkled. "He's been there all night."

"I see." Yuki closed his eyes again. "Where is everyone?"

"By everyone, I presume you mean Honda-san and Kyou. Kyou is at the hot springs. After your little argument, he and Ritsu went there to see Kazuma. Honda-san is at Ayame's. She's staying with Mine-chan and Jill-san. She's perfectly safe."

Jill-san, the pretty woman he'd seen when he had gone to confront Ayame and found two American's in the apartment instead. "Can I go back to sleep, now?"

"If you like. The danger's over now. Get as much sleep as you can. I'll call your school, so you can skip if you like."

That made Yuki frown. "You? Not Shigure?"

Hatori met Yuki's eyes evenly. "No one knows where he is."

"Don't be foolish." Yuki pulled the blankets up closer to his chin. "He's at his house. He's ALWAYS at his house."

"No. He's gone." Hatori stood up then and gave Ayame's arm a shake. "Come on. Aya, wake up. He's alright now. Let's get you to bed. I have enough work, I don't need another patient."

Yuki closed his eyes when Ayame started to wake up, hoping to save himself another headache if Ayame thought he was still asleep.

"He's sleeping?"

"Yes. Come on. I still have things to do and you're exhausted. I told you to sleep."

"I just want to give Mine-chan a call to see if everything's alright."

"Everything's fine. Stop worrying and get to bed."

"What about 'Gure-san?"

Hatori was silent for a moment. "Shigure can take care of himself. To bed with you."

There were footsteps and the sound of a door closing before Yuki decided it was safe to open his eyes. He wasn't a stupid boy, by any means, but there were some things he wanted to think about before he decided how he would react to the sudden changes fate was throwing at him. Fate or Count D. Count D is worse than fate. He just keeps smiling while my life gets turned upside-down. No. That's selfish. I won't be selfish, anymore. It's not just me I should be worried about.

He let his eyes open and saw that the world outside was still dark. It was definitely Hatori's house - Yuki had spent enough time in the sick room to recognize the tree outside and the prism hanging in the window. Hatori's sick room never changed. Whenever someone was too ill to be away from Hatori for long but not sick enough to be admitted to the hospital, he would have them stay at his home. It was a sensible arrangement. It felt like Yuki had spent half his childhood in that room and, sadly, it had been the happiest half.

Time to think. Yuki forced himself to think about the changes that had to be dealt with. I'm not selfish anymore, so I can't just lock myself away. Not like before. Now, I have to deal with life. If Kyou can be mature, so can I. I can do anything the stupid cat can do. With that rather immature thought, Yuki focused on the major changes. Akito. He's going to be different now, but how different? Just because he's not dying in a day or in a week, how long will he last? Will it really change how he thinks? Yuki puzzled over that for a while, but couldn't come to an answer. Not that it matters. I won't know till I see him again. Not that he really wanted to see Akito at all. Still, all the memories weren't entirely unpleasant.

There's Kyou to think about, too. And that just made Yuki all the more confused. He's the last person I'm supposed to love. There was no denying it, not if Yuki wanted to stop being so deceptive. He wanted to be a good person and that started with being honest. But it's not like with Tohru. It's just different.

It was fortunate that in the Souma family, the Inner Circle, in particular, homosexuality was not only accepted, it was encouraged. What could be better? One wouldn't have to worry about the pesky curse if one wasn't involved with the opposite sex.

Kyou was flirting at the petshop, I'm sure of it. Still, that doesn't mean I should do anything. There are Tohru's feelings to consider and Kagura's. Can't hurt either of them.

/Feeling well/

Yuki blinked at the voice, then rolled over to look over the side of the bed. Sure enough, there was a small black and brown mouse looking up at him. "I've felt better."

/Tired/

"A bit." Mice, Yuki was the first to admit, weren't the smartest of animals, despite what myth might say. If he tired to explain what he was thinking, the mouse just wouldn't understand. For that matter, Yuki wasn't sure he understood anything. "Better hide. Man not like our kind."

/Man busy. Time to talk./ The mouse climbed up the blankets on the bed and came to sit on Yuki's chest. They regarded each other for a little while until the mouse grew bored and began cleaning itself. /Smell of sweet things, you do. Of far away and strength. Smell of protection. Smell of D./

Yuki stared at the mouse. Of course. Why shouldn't it know about Count D? Stranger things had happened. Yuki brought his hand up and stroked the mouse with one finger, making it preen and rub against him. "Funny things have been happening."

/Funny/

"Scary." Yuki didn't shiver, but if he had any less self-control he would have. "I was so scared." Tohru gone missing. Kyou, covered in his own blood. Shigure acting crazy. Akito almost dying. The unreal petshop where Tohru had gotten pawed by those…things. Tohru wasn't human. Kyou wasn't human. Yuki wasn't human, not entirely. "I'm still scared. I don't know what to do."

The mouse seemed confused. /Time to hide./

It was tempting, but Yuki felt like he'd spent a good part of his life hiding. Hiding from Akito with Shigure's protection. Hiding from the hurt of Ayame's neglect with bitterness. Hiding from his loneliness with silence. Hiding from his own weakness by fighting Kyou. Hiding as a protection was wearing thin, especially now that Yuki had some idea of the pleasure one could get from life. "I don't think so. I don't know what I'll do."

Count D still had power over the family and Yuki really didn't like that Kyou was sudden bound to Akito for the sake of the family. To keep the family safe and Akito alive, Kyou would have to spend more time at the estate and in the company of Akito.

/If no hide, then run./

"I can't run. I have people to take care." Kyou didn't know how to speak with Akito to keep him from getting upset. He didn't know that Akito was comforted by eye-contact or that Akito took deep offense at too many questions. Yuki would have to tell Kyou everything he'd learned from his years of being the center of Akito's attention if Kyou would listen. God knows Kyou didn't worry about himself often enough. "I just wish I weren't so scared. I'm sixteen. Six years past the age of adulthood for my family. Why don't I feel more grown-up?"

Again, the poor mouse was confused. /Scared? Must rest./ The mouse scurried up Yuki's chest and up his neck, it managed to crawl onto his head and Yuki felt it stroking his hair. /No good comes from rushing./

"Funny thing for a mouse to say."

If the mouse understood that comment, it said nothing. It suddenly frozen and lifted its nose into the air, smelling. A terribly tension made its body stiffen. /Smell of snake. Bad. Bad for resting./

"That snake's no danger. He won't hurt me." What if Ayame took Count D's offer and had all the human blood in him drained away? Kyou had changed a bit, so it stood to reason that Ayame would, also. Would he be more like a snake? If he saw Yuki in his mouse form would he try to eat him?

/Too many dangers here. Snakes. Dogs. Cats. Danger. Danger everywhere. Come away./

"Can't. You go somewhere safe."

The mouse pawed at his whiskers nervously, but stayed where he was. /If you want, take. That is the way with us. Trouble comes from teeth and claws and sickness and hunger. Don't make more trouble than you need. You want? Take./

Such simple advice. Mice were like that. "What I want, I can't take without hurting people I don't want to hurt."

/You make things complicated./

"Things ARE complicated."

/Only to you./ The mouse left at that and Yuki tried to wake himself up.

Too much hiding, not enough doing. First off, he'd have to convince Hatori that he was well enough to be released. It was well-known that Hatori could be the strictest of jailors when it came to his patients. Yuki was honestly surprised that Hatori didn't come striding down the hall the minute Yuki opened the sickroom door.

Still in borrowed pajamas Yuki crept along the landing, then downstairs. he hated to think of who had changed his clothes and hoped that it had been Hatori. At least Hatori would have done it quickly and with little to no fuss. If it had been Ayame…well…that would have been just too weird. As he walked along, he passed a door with a sign hanging on it with a Do Not Disturb sign. That meant that there was another patient, but Hatori had only one sick room in his house which meant that the room must have been his own bedroom. To think that Hatori was sick worried Yuki, so he cracked open the door to peek in. Thankfully, it wasn't Hatori who slept peacefully in the room, but Rin. Her long black hair was spread out on the pillow and her long arms lay at her sides.

"Not polite to go peeking." Hatsuharu's monotone voice whispered right into Yuki's ear, making Yuki jump. Hatsuharu pressed himself close to Yuki, but looked over his shoulder at Isuzu. "If she catches you, she'll kick you somewhere that hurts a lot. That's why she wears those pointy-toed boots."

"I wasn't peeking." Though Yuki blushed at being caught in such a predicament. "I just wanted to know who was hurt."

"It's her back. She wasn't supposed to leave the hospital when she did and Hatori worries."

"Why not take her back to the hospital?"

"Since she's gone the past two weeks without any problems, he doesn't think she's really in any danger. He decided that so long as she stays in bed, she could stay here for the night. He said he's taking her to the hospital today for X-rays and a few other tests." Hatsuharu reached around Yuki and pulled the door closed. "I think she'll be alright. If Hatori was really worried, he would have insisted she go to the hospital last night."

The house was utterly silent and Yuki thought, at first, that Hatori must have gone to sleep. He hadn't had anymore sleep than Ayame, surely he was tired, also. "I don't suppose you know where my clothes are?"

Momiji skipped out of a room and saw Yuki and Hatsuharu together. Strangely, he whispered instead of his usual over-loud babbling. "Good morning." He took Hatsuharu's hand and squeezed it before letting go. "Don't worry about Rin, Haru." He smiled up encouragingly. "Ha'ri says she's fine. It's just his worry that keeps her here. Yuki, you look lots better than last night. Tohru's safe and sound."

"She'll be at school today." Yuki said, distractedly. It would be just like Tohru to go to school only a day after so much madness. No doubt she apologized to her mother for missing so much school. "We have so much work to make up."

Momiji laughed. "You're so responsible, Yuki. Are you hungry? Aya's still sleeping, I think, but I can make you some breakfast. I'm not a good cook like Tohru-chan, but I can heat up the left over rice and we have lots of milk. If you don't like that, I can call Akito's chef and ask him for something. He'll make anything because he says Akito doesn't eat enough and he gets bored."

"Cothes?" Yuki just didn't feel safe not being properly dressed.

"Yours stunk." Momiji said, cheerfully while he led Hatsuharu and Yuki downstairs. "No one changed their clothes for two weeks, so everything's being washed. Mine won't fit you, but Haru will let you borrow his clothes, right?"

Hatsuharu nodded listlessly. "Yeah. Sure." A brightness flashed into his eyes. "Yuki…in my clothes…wow."

Yuki wanted to refuse outright. If anyone ever saw him dressed in black leather and chains…God only knew what would happen. The alternative was walking home in…Yuki looked down at the too small pajamas covered in yellow ducks. "Momiji, am I wearing your pajamas?"

"Ha'ri didn't have any spares." Momiji beamed. "Those are my best ones, too."

"I see." He'd have nightmares about this. "Thank you. Haru, I will take you up on the offer, but just until I can get back home. I'll return them as soon as I can."

Momiji stopped at the bottom of the stairs and spun around on his heel to face Yuki. "You're leaving? Are you going to school?" Momiji scratched his head. "Ha'ri won't want you to. He doesn't like anyone to move around for about a day after they get sick and Kyou knocked you a good one."

Hatsuharu was more demonstrative and managed to inch close enough that he put his hand on Yuki's head and gave it a little rub. "Yup. You've got a knot." A curious look flashed in Hatsuharu's eyes. "You want me to go beat him?"

It occurred to Yuki that laughing in Hatsuharu's face wouldn't have been a kind thing to do, but if Kyou could knock Yuki flat with just a single blow then what chance would Hatsuharu have? It was touching that he wanted to try to defend Yuki, though. "No. If I want revenge, I'll get it myself." A vague memory tickled at Yuki's mind. "You two, where did you take Honda-san?"

Momiji's smile was near blinding in its brightness. "You remember it was us that took her. That's good. I thought you might not. We took Tohru to Ayame's shop so she can stay with Mine-san. Ha'ri said it's not right for a girl to be all alone at a house like Shigure's."

"Too dangerous. Shigure always said there were perverts in the forest." Hatsuharu added.

"Shigure IS the pervert in the forest." Yuki said, sulkily. "What about Kyou? Hatori said he went to the hot springs. Any word from him?"

"Not that I've heard. I heard Kazuma-sensei is there. There are weird rumors going around the family. They're saying that there were a bunch of kids, but they weren't Souma's. They said Kureno brought them here, but Kazuma took them to the hot springs and then Ritsu's mother closed down the whole resort. No one seems to know what's going on."

"Kids?" Another mystery, but at least it was one that Yuki didn't have to deal with. If the kids weren't Souma's, then they would be turned over to the outside authorities. "I don't think I'll have breakfast with you. I should…" His voice trailed away when they walked past the door that led to Hatori's back garden. Hatori had always treasured his privacy, so it was no mistake that when he relaxed, he chose to do it where no one was likely to see him. "I didn't know Hatori could shoot."

Momiji followed his gaze. "He doesn't talk about it much. If you're leaving, tell Hatori before you go. He gets grumpy when his patients wander off. Haru, you'll eat with me, won't you?" They went off to the kitchen, leaving Yuki to watch Hatori.

Hatori was dressed in his usual smart suit, but stood in a very distinct position. His legs spread apart and his back stiff, Hatori held the long bow as if he'd held it his whole life. His feet spread apart and focused entirely on the target at the opposite end of the garden, Hatori looked stronger than Yuki had ever seen him. The idea of Hatori with any kind of weapon in his hands just didn't seem right. Hatori was just too gentle. Yet, there he stood only a foot or so from the porch with a bow that was longer than Hatori was tall, the string held taunt between Hatori's fingers with a long arrow ready to fly.

So, the rumors were true. Rumors flew like sparrows around the Souma family and most of them centered around the Inner House. Therefore, when Yuki had heard the whispers about Hatori being an archer, he had dismissed them without much thought.

"Hatori's more complex than most people think."

Yuki swung around, again surprised by the unexpected voice. Ayame, still ruffled from sleep, stood behind him on the stairs and smiled down at Yuki. "Momiji mentioned that you were here."

"You shouldn't be out of bed without Hatori's say-so, little brother." Ayame waggled a finger at Yuki. "Naughty-naughty. Do you like the show? He shoots almost every morning. Everyone thinks he's one-dimensional. Hatori - just the doctor. That's all anyone ever sees of him. He wanted to be a painter when we were children. When you were born, he went to the hospital and stayed there with you for months. For nearly a full year he lived in that hospital room with you and Yahiko. Sorry. You don't remember him, do you? He died the same day he brought you and Hatori back home. He was the cow before Hatsuharu. I always liked him. As I was saying, Hatori saw a beautiful painting and had decided he wanted to be a painter. It became an obsession to him. His grades in school dropped because he worked more on his painting than on homework. I'll bet that shocks you, huh? He gave it up to be a doctor, of course."

"Why archery?" Yuki asked. He was determined to be civil with Ayame. Time to stop running away. "Everyone else in the family learned from Kazuma-sensei, didn't Hatori want to learn to fight?"

"'Tori? Fight? Oh, certainly not! Kazuma isn't that much older than 'Tori, Gure-san, and myself, but he did teach Gure-san and myself to fight. Kazuma taught 'Tori to shoot, though."

Yuki opened his mouth to say something else, but when he turned again to look at Ayame, he stopped. There was something tender in Ayame's eyes while he watched Hatori. It was something Yuki had seen before, but he'd never known what it meant. He was starting to get an idea. I really am self-centered. How could I not see? So he stepped away, leaving Ayame to silently gaze at the unsuspecting Hatori. Before he got very far, Ayame spoke up,

"Little brother, stop by the shop and I'll run you up some pajamas. Yellow duckys really don't suit you. Pink is much more your color."

Yuki rolled his eyes, then stepped into the kitchen where Momiji and Hatsuharu were eating.

"Yuki," Momiji asked as soon as he'd walked through the door. "Did something happen between Kyou and Kazuma-sensei? Haru says people are whispering about them having a big argument. Is it true?"

"I'm not sure. Something happened." Yuki remembered his own meeting with Kazuma just before he'd found himself in Count D's petshop. How shaken Kazuma had looked. Kyou had struck Kazuma, something Yuki had thought would never happen. How would Kyou be able to deal with the hurt Yuki had seen in Kazuma's eyes, Yuki had no idea. Tough as he liked people to think he was, Kyou was an utter jellyfish when it came to his master. If Kyou saw in pain in Kazuma's eyes that he had caused, it might just break him. "Honda-san is at Ayame's shop, you said? I think I'll go by there."

"Yup." Hatsuharu assured him. "Ayame asked us to have Mine-san give Tohru the spare room. His friend is staying with Count D, apparently. Isn't that funny? What a coincidence that Count D's friend should be Ayame's penpal."

"I don't believe in coincidence." Yuki told him, looking again at Hatori. "Fate controls us all."

"I think I'd rather believe with free-will." Momiji said softly.

"Free-will means that all the misery our family has suffered through all these years has been self-inflicted. Fate means that we didn't have any choice. I think I'd prefer to believe that we aren't so stupid that we'd do this to ourselves."

"So…" Hatsuharu stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned against a wall. "You're saying that Ayame's penpal being Count D's friend, Ritsu going to America and meeting them there, and everything that's happened to our family, has been fated? It was all meant to be?"

"Better that than the idea that our family has been torturing ourselves for centuries, isn't it?"

Momiji didn't look happy, but didn't argue. He tapped his chopsticks on the table then asked, "Yuki, what are you going to do after high school?"

"Why?"

"I've just been thinking about some things. Everything's that's happened with Kyou and Count D's offer…it got me thinking. I'm trying to work something out. Have you thought about what you'll do when school's over?"

In fact, it was something Yuki had been thinking about quite a lot. "I'm going to university."

"University?" Momiji said in an awed voice and his eyes widened. "But…what would you study?"

"Botany." Yuki told him with a little smile. University was the reason why he'd wanted to get a job, like Tohru. If Tohru could work after school, then there was no reason Yuki couldn't. He could work and save his money for the rest of his high school life, then use the money to go to university.

"But won't you miss Tohru and Kyou?"

Yuki frowned at the question and at Hatsuharu who'd asked. Why would he mention Kyou? Hatsuharu was more perceptive than Yuki had given him credit for. Denying anything would just make Hatsuharu's suspicions seem reliable. "I don't have to go far. There's a university within commuting distance from Shigure's house. If he lets me live with him through university, then I can come home every night." He gave them both a stern look. "Don't tell anyone. Now, Haru, about those clothes…"

"Oh, yeah." Without hesitation, Hatsuharu stood up and unbuttoned his vest.

"What are you doing?"

"You need clothes, right?" Hatsuharu threw the vest at Yuki then unbuttoned his trousers. "Bring them back when you're done. Leather costs a lot." Before Yuki could say a word, Hatsuharu had stripped off his trousers and tossed them at Yuki. Yuki learned in that moment that Hatsuharu, apparently, didn't believe in underwear. Bare-butt naked, Hatsuharu sat back down next to Momiji and kept eating. He glanced at Yuki and seemed to realize something was wrong. "You're turning kind of a funny color. Want me to get Hatori?"

"No! No. Just…just…" Yuki shook his head then turned away and started back upstairs to change. Forget it. Just don't think about it. I hope he doesn't do that in public.

Ayame's shop-
Jill-

Jill woke the same way she had for almost three weeks, since arriving in Japan.

Soft skin under her arm and the sweet smell of Mine's lilac perfume. Mine's steady breath on her neck and the sound of Japanese talk-show on the radio. She flexed her fingers until they brushed against Mine's soft curls and then relaxed. The bed was warm and there wasn't any pressing need to get up.

"I have work to do."

Jill pulled Mine closer, but refused to open her eyes. "Nope. Stay here."

"Oh, come on. I need to call the boss." Mine wiggled a little, but that only made Jill hold on tighter. It dissolved into a rather silly struggle of giggling and ticking. A pleasant way to wake up.

Eventually, after a good deal of snuggling and Mine trying to escape, she squirmed out of Jill's embrace and slipped out of the room. "Some of us have to work, you know." Mine called over her shoulder. "Lucky you gets to be on vacation and play on the computer. If you're up to it, I'll take you for a tour, later. Can't spend your whole vacation on the computer. It's too much like work." Then she was gone and Jill's thoughts turned to more serious things.

Work. Chief wasn't happy when Leon and I called in with our resignations. Can't say that I blame him. But… She put her hand on Mine's pillow where it was still warm from where she'd slept on it. How could I leave? She knew that she'd have to get paper work in order for herself and Leon if they were going to stay in Japan. There were legal details that had to be sorted out and they'd both have to get real jobs. Tricky considering that while Jill could speak Japanese fairly well, her reading left much to be desired. In fact, while they'd been in the base of the Black Scorpion, where they'd found all the kids, Jill had only been able to read enough of what had been on the disks to know that it was vital information about their investigation. And that brings me right back to the headache of the year. The Black Scorpion disks.

Jill got out of bed and dressed, ready for another day with the translation function of her computer. First, coffee. When she found a teenage girl in the kitchenette, Jill had to take a minute to remember where the girl had come from. She was very innocent looking with large eyes and long brown hair and humming softly to herself.

"Ah!" The girl gasped in surprise when she noticed Jill. "Forgive me, Jill-san." The girl bowed low and looked a little embarrassed. "I didn't mean to wake you. I tried to be as quiet as I could."

"No problem. I get us this time everyday back home. Honda-san, right?" From what little she'd seen of Honda-san, Jill liked her. The girl was sweet, if a bit of an air-head. When the two boys and the girl had delivered her the previous night, Jill had let Mine handle the situation as she seemed to know them and had assured Jill that Honda-chan was a good girl.

"Yes. I'm very pleased to meet you. I'm sorry it was so late when I arrived last night, I hope I didn't cause you or Mine-san any inconvenience."

"No. None. Hey, any friend of Mine's is a friend of mine. I'm free-loading myself, so it's really Mine's decision." She noticed then that they weren't alone and wanted to curse herself. She wasn't usually so dim. "Hey." She said in way of greeting to the other young woman. This one was vastly different from pleasant, smiling Honda-san.

"Good morning." She was delicate looking with a china-doll complexion and dark, unreadable eyes. "I see that you've taken good care of dear Tohru." She paused, making a strangely tense moment stretch. "That's…good."

"Hanajima-san. Nice to see you again." Hanajima-san had been equally ominous the previous night when she'd helped to deliver Honda-san. "So, what's going on this morning?"

"School." Honda-san smiled when she said it, as if school were the best thing that could happen to her. "Hana-chan was kind enough to bring me a clean uniform, so I can go. I'll have to make do without my books until I can get back home." She gave Hanajima-san a questioning look.

"No." Hanajima-san said, firmly. "We are already late. Also, I do not think it would be a good idea for you to go walking out there alone. Uotoni-kun and I will walk with you after school if you must go. If either of the Souma's appear at school, you may walk with them." She stood up from where she'd been sitting and it struck Jill as odd to see the girl in a school uniform. It just didn't look right on her. "We should leave now. Uotoni-kun will worry, if she's at school today."

Honda-san puzzled over that even as she gathered up a small lunch. "Why wouldn't she be at school?"

"…she had things to take care of last night. She may be tired today."

"Oh."

After they'd gone and Jill had her coffee and sat down with her little laptop and set to work. She hadn't been working more than ten minutes when she felt like she was being watched. She stopped working and looked around the empty apartment. She was completely alone, there wasn't even any noise from the shop below. Odd. While Jill was sensible and didn't let herself be unnerved by worries and paranoia, she did have good instincts and her instincts were definitely telling her that she was being watched.

She stood and walked slowly around the apartment, ending up at the window that overlooked the busy street. The street had a good many people walking around, going to work or going shopping, but no one over suspicious. The suspicion was turning to nervousness and slowly turning to fear. After a moment's thought, Jill took the disks from her laptop and went downstairs where she found Mine working at a sewing machine.

"Mine, do me a favor?"

"Sure!" Mine jumped to her feet, all too willing to help out. "Anything for you." She was adorable when her eyes sparkled like that.

Jill handed Mine the two disks, then thought better of it and slipped them into Mine's apron pocket. Luckily, Mine had decided to wear the maid outfit. "Can you take these to…" To where? Jill didn't even know where Count D was staying and she knew that was where Leon was. "Ayame. He's at the Souma estate, right? Take them to Ayame and ask him to give them to Leon when he pops up again."

"Ask Ayame to give disks to Leon. Right!"

"It's very important. Don't stop anywhere before the estate and if Ayame's not there, stay at the estate until he arrives. Is that too much to ask?"

"Nothing's too much for you." She raised herself up on her toes and kissed Jill before she started out. Just when she'd reached the door Jill reached out and grabbed her. She pulled Mine to her and put her arms around Mine's waist. It felt so good to hold someone like that. "Is something wrong?"

"No." Jill let Mine turn around so they could face each other. She didn't really want Mine to leave. If they could just stay like this and ignore the outside world, Jill thought she'd be happy forever. It had only been a couple of weeks that they'd known each other. Everything had happened so fast, but from the moment she'd stepped into Ayame's shop and seen cute Mine carefully folding fabric, Jill had known who she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. "I do love you."

"I love you, too." Mine said it so easily, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Are you sure everything's alright?"

"It will be as soon as Leon gets those disks. I'm just having a bit of trouble translating and his Japanese is much better than mine. I just wanted you to know, I love you. I see Leon and the Count every day going through such anxiety, just because they're both stubborn and won't tell each other how they feel. I don't want to waste time like Leon." Jill released Mine. "Go on. I'll mind the shop for you."

Mine left the shop and Jill watched her go. When Mine turned the corner, Jill looked around again. If anything, the feeling of being watched was even stronger. Still, there was no one suspicious around.

Jill locked the front door and made her way back upstairs, but stopped in the doorway..

"You have to die, now." There was a young man and a middle-aged woman standing in the middle of the apartment's living room. The young man raised a gun towards Jill. "Sorry."

To be continued…

Dear readers, I've heard many rumors about Akito, in reality, being a woman. I've also read an article in some anime magazine (I don't remember which one) that said Akito is definitely a man. I don't know which one is true, so I'm going to keep Akito a man.