Chapter 12: Attack

Seven months later-
Ritsu-

He felt like he was caged. Of all the Zodiac, Ritsu knew he had been lucky for most of his life. Akito had always shown very little interest in him. Despite the rain, Ritsu was itching to go outside, to do something. Anything! He'd never been in one place so long.

My trip to Brazil...cancelled. All because of a few murders. Once he realized what he'd thought, Ritsu berated himself and dug his fingernails into the palms of his hands. It was a new way of coping. Not a good one - he was pretty sure it wasn't at all healthy to want to hurt oneself - but it kept him from flying into tantrums. Shouldn't think like that. I must be evil to think such things. A silly trip isn't worth getting killed for. But even as he bled, Ritsu didn't quite believe himself.

Ritsu looked at his reflection in the window's glass. It wasn't something he often did as he disliked himself so much, but every now and again he did. It was Saturday and, therefore, he was wearing boy's clothes. A plain white shirt with black trousers. He even had his hair tied back in a ponytail so he wouldn't look quite so feminine. It wasn't a preference, but a gift to his mother. He knew she was happier when he was like this. She'd never said so, but he just knew it was true. So, in order to make sure she was happy, every Saturday, Ritsu would dress like a normal, ordinary boy.

I just look strange!

The house of the Monkey was a fine one. Though it wasn't as large as the resort Ritsu and his mother had lived at before, it was large and comfortable and at least Ritsu could content himself with the fact that his mother didn't have to work herself to the bone cleaning and keeping up with guests. With a sigh, Ritus left the window and went to leave the house.

"Mother," He called out. "I'm going out for a while."

"Are you sure that's wise?" His mother looked at him, worriedly. "It's raining. You could wait…"

"Not for a moment longer. I won't be long." He kissed her cheek and smiled. It was getting easier and easier to smile and Ritsu thought that if he kept practicing he'd be able to do it all the time. "I thought I'd visit Arisa-san."

The mention of the girl made Ritsu's mother smile. "Ah, such a nice girl. Very high-spirited. I think she'll be good for the family. I do hope she chooses to stay with us. You'll bring her by for dinner with us one night. I haven't cooked in ages." She let out a soft sigh. "Seven months…"

"Perhaps," Ritsu ventured. "Perhaps there will be no attack. It's been so long."

"Perhaps, but I have never yet known young master Shigure to be wrong." She held Ritsu and put a hand to his long hair. "My dear, you must be careful. If anything were to happen to you, I just don't know what I'd do."

She worried too much. She shouldn't fret over someone like me. Ritsu smiled. "I'll be fine. There's nothing that could hurt me on the estate and…and…" Ritsu hesitated. He'd already made up his mind, he just hadn't gotten the nerve to do it. All it would take was one phone call and it would be done, but courage was something Ritsu had always lacked. He would call Count D…but later. Later, when he felt brave enough to go there alone.

When Ritsu didn't continue for some time, his mother put her hand on his face. "What is it?"

"Ah, nothing. Nothing. If I'm going to seeArisa-san, I should go. She doesn't have lessons with the tutor anymore on Hatori's orders. He doesn't want her to risk any stress so close to her due date. Hatori says this tutor is quite good. In fact, I think she was a friend of Kana-san." There was another bitter memory for the family, but Ritsu chose not to dwell on it. After all, how could anyone be angry with Kana when Hatori himself was so happy? Ayame had entirely moved in with Hatori months ago, ignoring the snake's house altogether. For those who knew the two men, it was the best possible news.

Ritsu left his house, but just outside his home, standing still and rigid with the rain beating down on him, Omi stood outside the house. It wasn't unusual. For the past three months or so Omi-san had been increasingly found closer and closer to the Monkey's house. Often, he would just nod in acknowledgement and move on his way. On happier occasions, he would speak with Ritsu. On this morning, Omi-san didn't move away, but waited patiently as Ritsu drew closer. It looked like it would be a good morning.

Slowly, a shy smile crept over Ritsu's face as he unfolded his umbrella. "Good morning, Omi-san."

"Good morning, Souma-san."

Blushing at his own gall, Ritsu stuttered, "Ah…um…if you want…you don't have to…." He had to lick his dry lips. "You can call me Ritsu-kun."

Omi was quiet, but he was always quiet. "Ritsu-kun."

Ritsu felt as if his head would explode from happiness. It mattered a great deal to him what Omi-san thought of him. "Can I help you?" He tried to be dignified, but knew he was smiling foolishly and couldn't stop.

"I'm patrolling." Omi-san said. "Checking on safety." There hadn't been a security problem in months, but that didn't seem to deter any of the Black Scorpion children from their duties.

Ought to stop called them that. They don't belong to the Black Scorpion anymore. Hatori's going to have the tattoos removed, just like he did for Kureno.

"Well, if you don't mind…if you do mind, you can just ignore me. I know I'm being foolish and it's really not that important. I wouldn't want to ruin your work. I know you're working hard here. Hatori always speaks well of you and Kureno seems to have every confidence in you and your friends. You really shouldn't listen to me. I'm not doing anything important or special. I should just go. I was going to visit Yuki and see how he is today so I'll just be going and…" He turned to walk away, overcome by both shyness and his own boldness in even thinking to ask such a question. Before he could get far, he was stopped by a hand grabbing his sleeve. "Omi-san?"

"You…" Omi-san looked at Ritsu with an intensity that almost made Ritsu cringe. "You call me Omi-kun."

Ritsu almost fainted right then and there without the painful poke to his ribs. "Yes. Yes, I will."

They fell into silence then, but started walking together. Ritsu had an appointment to make, one he didn't want to miss. However, he also wanted to keep Omi-san's company. Omi-kun. He would have to remember that and tell Ayame. Omi-kun…it sounded nice. Ritsu stepped a bit closer to Omi-kun and held the umbrella over the other boy's head.

As they walked together, Ritsu tired to focus on anything except Omi. He'd found, lately, that he was thinking TOO much about Omi and that it made him even more nervous and worrisome than normal. To keep himself sensible, he tried to distract himself by watching the people and the buildings as they walked along. Omi wasn't much of a conversationalist anyway, so Ritsu didn't have to worry too much about listening to him. Watching was a habit of his, anyway.

Ritsu had always been good at watching. As a child, he'd hidden from his father's wrath and watched from the shadows as the angry man stormed about the house. As he grew older, Ritsu hid to keep himself from making mistakes and shaming his family.

It was because of all that practice being quiet and watching that Ritsu saw things other people missed. Even in the rain, as he walked through the estate, Ritsu saw things. He saw Tohru, for one. It had been months since she'd come to live on the estate. Three months since the death of her grandfather who'd signed over guardianship of Tohru to one of the most responsible Soumas - Hatori.

It seemed so peculiar. For once - just once - becoming a Souma had improved someone's life. No longer a Honda, but a Souma by law, Tohru lived in Hatori's house. There was nothing improper about it. It was absolutely unthinkable that either Hatori or Ayame would do anything ungentlemanly and Momiji obviously considered Tohru as a sister. She had, most likely, come from visiting her friend, Arisa-san. That was her habit. Everyone had a habit and Tohru's was tovisit her friend every morning.

Tohru, who had done so much for the family, was hurrying across the estate from Kagura's house. She moved as quickly as she could without actually running and held an umbrella over her head. Ritsu watched Hatori walk out onto his front porch and wait for her under the shelter of the roof.

"Sorry!" Tohru called as she ran up to Hatori. "I didn't mean to take so long, but Ari-chan was making breakfast, but she couldn't reach the bowls on the top shelf. I climbed up for her so she wouldn't have to."

"That's alright." Hatori reassured her, after pulling a lollypop out of his mouth. "I don't want her doing anything strenuous. It's too close to her due date. I'll see her in a few hours myself. You can come along." He paused and glared hatefully at the candy in his hand. "Nasty habit." He commented to himself. "Can't seem to stop since I quit smoking. Well, come in. You'll catch your death out there. Rain…" He sighed. "In December. Wet, cold rain." He shook his head, but stepped aside to let Tohru into the house. "After your lessons, we're going to give Akito and Yuki a visit. All this dampness isn't good for their health." He shoved the lollypop back into his mouth and spoke around it as Tohru shook off her umbrella. "I'll want you to sort through my bag this morning and make sure that everything's there."

"Yes, sir!" Torhu said, enthusiastically. Tohru was Hatori's nurse-in-training. When Akito had suddenly declared that she wasn't fit to be a cleaning lady at one of his businesses and had fired her without warning, it had been a shock to her. When Hatori had told her he would accept her as his intern with the provision that she attend nursing school after high school, Tohru had been speechless.

"But…but…" Tohru had stammered when Hatori had first made the offer.

Ritsu had, of course, been watching her reaction. Hatori didn't see the need to keep it a secret and had told her only one day after Akito had fired her. "But what?" Hatori asked. "I'm not that unpleasant to be around, am I?"

"No!" Tohru protested. "No, not at all. It's just…a nurse? Me?"

"I don't see why not."

And so it had begun. It wasn't exactly fun for Tohru. Hatori was a demanding teacher. He'd spoken to the tutor and demanded that Tohru's marks stay at 'B' or better. He would not tolerate average marks. With no work to take care of and not having to take care of Shigure, Yuki, and Kyou, Tohru had lots of extra time on her hands. Hatori insisted that she use that time to study.

"You won't always have Yuki to help you out, you know. You're perfectly intelligent yourself. Use your own brain."

Momiji would even tell anyone who wanted to know that Hatori pushed Tohru hard in her studies. While the whole lots of Souma children, from little Kisa right up to Rin, had lessons together, Tohru was also expected to study for at least three hours every night as well as working with Hatori at his daily rounds. She never complained, but everyone knew she worked hard to meet Hatori's high expectations.

"She doesn't think she's very smart." Omi commented.

Ritsu started, almost jumping out of his skin. He'd almost forgotten that he had company. "No? You don't think so?"

"I watch, too." Omi was looking at Tohru and Hatori as they went inside the house and closed the door behind them. "I listen. No one notices me."

"Oh."

Continuing on his way to Arisa-san's house, they happened upon Yuki and Kyou. The rain wasn't good for either of them, so they'd taken shelter under the roof of…yes. The Dog's house. Funny. Ritsu had gotten so used to think of Shigure's house in the forest as the Dog's house. The one Yuki and Kyou were standing under had not been used since Shigure had run away from the estate and refused to return.

It was no longer so strange to see them together and not yelling. While the rain didn't dampen any of Kyou's fighting spirit, his body was simply too weak to go along. While Yuki stood and watched the rain, Kyou was slumping against the wall. He looked as though he would fall asleep. It seemed that Ritsu had caught them in the middle of a conversation. Curious, Ritsu slowed his pace to hear what they were talking about.

"I don't hate you." Yuki admitted uneasily. "But, I don't like you…like that."

Kyou leaned back against the wall of the Dog's house and put his hands behind his head. "I'm patient. I can wait for you."

Yuki scowled blackly and took several strides away from Kyou, though he stayed under the protective cover of the eaves of the house. "Why are you doing this? Just because Count D…"

"It's not him. It's not anything to do with him or my…change." Kyou continued to stare out at the gray, heavy clouds even as he slid down to sit on the floor and let out a mighty yawn. "Damn it. I wish THIS had changed. Stupid rain. I'm supposed to be stronger now, not weaker than ever. At least I used to be able to walk during the rain - even if I couldn't run."

Yuki didn't seem to know what to say, but made a gesture to the blue knitted hat Kyou was wearing. "The hat's new."

"Tohru gave it to me just now. Said she saw me waiting out in the rain and worried that I'd catch a cold. You know how she is." The hat was a blue snow hat that couldn't have been much good against the rain. It completely covered Kyou's orange hair and the tops of his ears. "I shouldn't be getting so tired. I feel so damned weak. Weaker than ever." He closed his head and rested his head on his knees. "It was never this bad before. I feel like I can't move." He turned his head enough to look at Yuki, but Ritsu couldn't imagine what kind of look he was giving Yuki. "So…change your mind, yet?"

Yuki became defensive at once and crossed his arms over his chest. "Why would I? We've been trying to rip each other's throats out since we were about six and…"

"Eight. We were eight. Master didn't let me meet you till then." Kyou paused and looked back up at the clouds. "I think he wanted us to meet but your…ah…foster parents were difficult."

"Difficult?" Yuki's voice sounded strangled as if he couldn't quite believe the word.

"Master has always been polite. I met them at New Year's, once. After the rest of you had gone into the center house. I usually stayed with master, but," Kyou let out a long yawn. "I saw them staring at me. Looked like someone was holding a rotting fish under their noses. Master told me who they were and that I wasn't to pay them any attention. He said they wouldn't last long in the family. He said Ayame would take you or Hatori. I guess he didn't think about the pervert dog, huh?"

They were both quiet for a moment. "Kyou?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Shigure's alright?"

"Don't know. I suppose so. He's too smart for his own good. It seems funny that he just…went away, though. He just vanished."

How hard must it have been for them when the weeks and months had passed and there was no word from Shigure? They'd lived with him for more than a year and while no one would ever mistake Shigure for father of the year, he had been kind to them. He'd opened his home to them and their volatile tempers. Yuki and Kyou were not the kind of young men who allowed their worries and concerns show too freely. If they were worried or hurt that Shigure had abandoned the family so suddenly, they weren't likely to tell anyone.

"You never answered my question." Kyou said, breaking an uncomfortable silence. "I don't hate you, either. You can piss me off until I want to kill you, but I don't hate you. I'm not going to ravish you, if that's got you worried. Not in this weather, anyway."

"I'm not afraid of you!" Yuki snapped. He turned his back on Kyou, but kept shifting from foot to foot nervously. "You're being stupid! Isn't it bad enough I had to deal with those insipid girls at school - not to mention that boy! I don't want people staring at me. Everyone always stares! I don't need it from you, too. Just…" He looked determinedly away from Kyou. "Just stop looking at me!"

Silently, Kyou did turn his eyes away from Yuki, resting his head on his arms crossed over his knees. It wasn't submissive. "I'm not even close to being human anymore. Now, I really am nothing but an animal. Is that what's putting you off?"

"You aren't an animal!"

"There's not a bit of human left in me. I haven't felt human for a long time, now. If I'm not human and if I'm not an animal, then what am I?"

"You're a Souma!"

Kyou shook his head and looked up at the canopy of trees. He tugged the hat down a little further over his ears. "That's something, huh? In the end, I really am Zodiac." Kyou's voice hushed so low that Ritsu almost couldn't hear him. "You ARE afraid. I can smell it. Can't lie about that, anymore. Not to me." He was sudden next to Yuki, not touching him, but leaning in close enough that they nearly touched. "I can smell almost everything, now. Funny, huh? Even from right here, I can smell the bread Tohru's toasting. Hatori's going through his medicines. He'd opened a bottle of something sweet. I can smell you sweating, even if I couldn't see your dilated eyes or your twitchy fingers. I'm not going to hurt you."

Yuki stared at Kyou, then jumped backwards, putting himself well out of reach. "I don't even want to know what you're thinking! Why don't you go home? Kagura's waiting for you."

"She knows where I am. I've explained everything to her. It's natural…I guess." There was silence for a while after that. Kyou kept his face tilted upwards and Yuki stayed as far from Kyou as he could while still keeping out of the rain. The cold and damp were no good for his asthma. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"You wanna go? Akito's gonna be waiting, not that I can do much for him today. Haven't got a bit of energy stored up."

Yuki looked dismally out at the rain, but sighed and nodded. "Yes. I suppose we should go or he'll start wondering."

"How's it going with him? When you're alone, I mean."

Yuki's face scrunched up. "I wouldn't say it's good. But…it's better than I thought it would be."

"How does it feel to be the Souma's main advocate?" Kyou managed a smirk. "Taking over Shigure's position and he's given you his house. Heir of the dog, eh?"

Yuki's reply wasn't what Ritsu was expecting to hear. "I can't do much. Once Akito's mind is made up, there's very little that can change it. Still, I can do a little good. I think I like helping to take care of the family. He hasn't once raised his hand to me."

Even more surprising to Ritsu was what came next. Without a word exchanged, Yuki went to Kyou and took hold of his arm. "Come on. Up." He gave a pull and helped Kyou to his feet while Kyou slipped off his coat and draped it over Yuki's head and scolded him for leaving the house without an umbrella when it was obviously going to rain. Together, with Kyou slightly resting his weight on Yuki, the two made their way to the large house where Akito lived.

"Oh, my." Ritsu was speechless. Not only had Yuki and Kyou had a civil conversation about several delicate issues, but Yuki had helped Kyou to his feet and Kyou lent Yuki his coat. Only a year ago, that would have been unimaginable.

"You find all that strange?" Omi asked.

Ritsu smiled. "I find all that…encouraging. Will you walk with me to Arisa-san's house?"

Ritsu's mother-

She loved Ritsu dearly. Most families wouldn't think anything of a mother saying that she loved her child, but in the Souma family, with the Zodiac in particular, one couldn't take that sort of thing for granted. Look at any number of the Zodiac to see how tragically many parents failed. Kyou, Shigure, Rin… at least she could be confidant in that her son was well-loved by his mother, if not his father.

That thought made her scowl and she turned away from the window before she could make herself too gloomy. Once, she'd loved that man. He'd been good to her. Before Ritsu had been born he'd been so kind and understanding. He'd protected her. No other man had brought her roses or sweetly gazed into her eyes under a full moon. No one else had held her hand as he kissed her cheek. They'd been so happy.

Then, to her joy, Ritsu had been born. A more perfect baby had never lived!

But even while she took into her arms her precious son, her world nearly collapsed. She had thought that his orange hair was odd even before she held him and the great puff of mist exploded around her. When it cleared, she was holding a wailing, infant monkey. The whole truth of the Zodiac had been revealed to her and she learned - finally - why there was so much strife in the family. Her husband had not been pleased to learn he'd married into a family of freaks.

He turned against our baby. My poor Rit-chan. How could he? She never had figured that out. Really, how was the curse all that different from someone who was born with a disfigurement that set them apart from the rest of the world? It didn't. Her dear Rit-chan was just as good of a person as if he'd been born a normal child.

It surprised her when she watched her son walking with Omi. Her weeks spent with Kazuma-sensei guarding and watching the poor, abused children had given her a certain sympathy for them, even if she didn't quite understand them. She had found Omi to be cold-blooded and completely without remorse about anything he did. His blank stare could set a chill down her spine. He was also respectful and obedient. She'd seen him, just once, comfort a crying child when they'd first been brought to the resort.

To see her sensitive, troubled son walking so easily with Omi worried Ritsu's mother. Still, she was pleased. It made a smile tug at the corner of her mouth when she saw Ritsu say something. He didn't seem overly flustered. He didn't break into hysterics. They were just talking. She hoped that it would be good for him.

When Ritsu and Omi walked out of sight, Ritsu's mother was alone. She wasn't used to the confinement, but wouldn't argue with Akito-sama's decree. It wasn't the confinement that ate at her, even after months of it. It was the lack of anything to do. The Monkey's house was small enough to be easy to clean and take care of, but after keeping house for the resort, she found that she missed the activity. She had nothing to do. So, as she had every morning for the last seven months, Ritsu's mother decided that she would go for a walk. She really had nothing better to do, after all. Putting on her coat and taking an umbrella from the stand, she decided that she would walk the perimeter of the estate, even if it took her all day! A good dose of fresh air never hurt anyone.

She had been walking for less than an hour before she died.

It had been unexpected. Close to the wall surrounding the estate she looked up. There was no alert. She had heard a rumble of thunder and she looked up. There were several people, both men and women, climbing over the estate's walls. Each and every one of them looked down at her with the same blank eyes that Omi had and she knew at once what was happening.

Black Scorpion!

Opening her mouth, she let out the loudest shriek she could muster before one of them raised his hand and she found a gun aimed at her. She took another deep breath and screamed again, but the pain in her chest stopped her voice. The pain was terrible, so awful that she fell to her knees.

There was darkness.

There was…nothing.

Arisa's Guest House-
Ritsu-

Omi-kun had left Ritsu on the doorstep of Arisa-san's house and Ritsu was sorry to see him leave.

It seemed that the house would be Arisa-san's for a long while to come. She hadn't mentioned leaving the Souma's since her first conversation with Hatori and she'd learned that one way or the other, her baby would definitely be a Souma - even if she had to lose her memory of the child.

Arisa-san was, naturally, with Kagura. During the past seven months, Kagura had rarely left Arisa-san's side, a constant protection. In fact, the only times when Kagura had gotten a break was when one of the other Zodiac would be with Arisa-san. Ritsu found the two girls at the house Arisa-san had been given and bowed politely before he entered the room. "May I come in?"

"Yeah, sure." Arisa-san said. "Why not? You seen Kureno about? He said he was stopping by."

Ritsu smiled wanly. "I'm sure he'll be here. Kureno is very dependable."

Arisa-san was a sight to behold. Ritsu had seen pregnant women before - the hot springs was a popular rest spot for the expecting mothers of the Souma family - but he never got tired of the sight. She was beautiful. Simply beautiful. Arisa-san's stomach had grown and when she walked to the window she waddled. Her long hair had been cut short during the hot months of the summer but that only made her look cuter. It was really no wonder that Kureno had fallen for her.

"Cripes!" Arisa-san scowled. "My feet are KILLING me."

"Then sit." Kagura advised, stitching away on another one of her little kitty dolls. "Whatever it is you need, I can get it for you."

"I need to move. I've been doing nothing for months. Your damned Akito wouldn't even let me go to the beach this summer!"

"He wouldn't let any of us." Kagura sighed in sympathy. "Still, at least we have the river to play in."

"I wasn't even allowed that!"

"Well, you might have slipped on a wet stone and hurt yourself."

Arisa-san didn't answer, but went back to looking out the window. "This is all cracked."

"You've been saying that for a long time."

"It's still true. At least Tohru came to visit and Saki should be here soon." Her face lit up at the mention of her friends.

Kagura was very patient with Arisa-san and just kept stitching. She'd had a lot of practice. She was under just as much house arrest as Arisa-san was. "Hanajima-san is always over here at ten on Saturdays so you have only a few more minutes to wait for her. As for Tohru-kun, you know she couldn't stay longer. She's likely with Hatori or busy with her lessons. She's working very hard, you know."

Arisa-sand grimaced and snorted. "Lessons!"

"You'd have been twice as bored without them all these months. Feel lucky that you get your last month off. Think of it like a vacation. You're so close to your due date that Hatori doesn't want to take any chances with stress. You'll start up after the baby's born."

While Arisa-san scowled at the thought of returning to her lessons with the tutor, she did smile after a moment and she went back to sit at the table with Kagura. "My little Tohru…who'd have thought it? A nurse."

"Well," Kagura said. "She's really too good to waste in a job scrubbing floors and Hatori has been under a lot of pressure. At least now Tohru can take a little of the easy stuff off his hands. He's insisting that she finish high school, then it's off to nursing school for her. The family's paying, so she doesn't have to worry about it."

"She'll worry anyway." Arisa-san put her hands on her lower back and stretched. "God! I can't wait till this kid pops out!" She went very quiet for a minute and looked at Ritsu out of the corner of her eyes. "Say…you wanna…?"

"That's why I came." Ritsu smiled and stood up. It was good to feel useful and Arisa-san surely needed him. A good massage always did wonders for Arisa-san's temperament. They'd been doing this every morning for slightly more than a month. Ever since Kagura had gotten fed up with Arisa-san's complaining and shouted at Ritsu,

"Look! Just do it! I can't take it anymore!"

Everyone in the family knew that Ritsu had learned to give massages from his mother. He was, to be strictly modest, pretty good. So it was that Arisa-san started asking for him every morning. He was good at working out the knots and hard spots. Under his hands, Arisa-san nearly purred as he rubbed and kneaded at her muscles.

There was a scream, somewhere far away.

"What was that?" Kagura asked, moving to stand up. "Really, some people ought to control themselves a little better."

Arisa-kun laughed from where her head rested on her arms. "Probably your darling Orangy getting into another knuckle-buster with the prince."

"Oh, don't be silly. Kyou isn't the violent type. He and Yuki haven't really fought in ages and…" She stopped when there was another scream, this time closer, and frowned. "I think I should go see what's going on. Ritsu, you stay with Arisa-kun, alright?"

After she'd gone, all the polite conversation vanished. Ritsu was comfortable in the silence and Arisa-kun didn't seem to mind much, either. She just lay with her head on her crossed arms and let Ritsu do his work. There wasn't much in life that Ritsu was confidant about, but he knew very well how skilled his hands were. He kept rubbing in rhythmic circles to ease the tension out of her shoulder and then worked down her back.

There were no more screams, but Kagura didn't come back, either. Something about the silence was making Ritsu uneasy. He was so unnerved that he had to stop Arisa-san's backrub because he was afraid of doing more damage than good.

While Arisa-san was talking about this and that, Ritsu wandered to the front door to look and see if Kagura was on her way back. Just as he reached the door, he heard a third scream. There was a blast of gunfire that set off alarms in Ritsu's mind. "Arisa-san?" More screaming that grew louder and louder made Ritsu's blood run cold. "Arisa-san. Where are you?"

"I'm right where you left me. What's going on out there?" She called from the living room.

The screaming and gunfire was getting closer and closer. People began to run by Arisa-san's house and that made Ritsu shake. They were inside the inner house. No one but Zodiac and very close family were allowed in. If they'd managed to get in…there was trouble. Bad trouble.

Ritsu stepped away from the door and forced his brain to unfreeze. "Arisa-san, you must hide." The baby must be protected. "You must hide!" His voice was rising with his panic.

"What are you talking about?" Arisa-san, dressed in a frumpy maternity dress and bare feet, waddled out of the living room to see what the fuss was about. When Ritsu realized how close to danger she was, he swiftly spun around and took hold of her arm, dragging her deeper into the house. "What are you doing!" Arisa-san fought to get her arm free, but Ritsu held tightly.

"Danger." Ritsu moaned, pulling with all his might to get her somewhere safe. "There's danger! The baby has to be protected!"

Arisa-san's hand went to her stomach at once and her eyes narrowed with maternal fury.

"No!" Ritsu fairly shouted. "You can't fight. You'll hurt the baby if you're hit. You must hide." Tears of fear were starting to run down his face. He hated this sort of thing - he hated confrontations! This shouldn't be happening! Not at the estate! Not in the inner house! They were supposed to be safe. This was supposed to be the one truly safe place in the world. "Must hide." He repeated the phrase over and over like a mantra while urging Arisa-san through the house but there was nowhere to hide, only a small closet. Ritsu pushed Arisa-san into the closet, making her stumble over old boots, and started to close the door, but they hadn't been fast enough.

A hand took hold of Ritsu's shoulder and spun him around. There was a man, perhaps thirty years old, with the same unemotional eyes that Omi had. While it intrigued Ritsu to look into Omi's eyes, this stranger terrified him.

"Orange hair." The man was focused on Ritsu's long hair. "Orange haired teenage boy. "I have seen no other orange haired teenage boys."

Ritsu swallowed hard and clenched his fists, digging his fingernails into the palms of his hands. They were looking for Kyou, most likely. Ritsu's hair wasn't really orange, like Kyou's, but it was pretty close. Why they would want Kyou, Ritsu wasn't sure, but he knew he couldn't just hand over his cousin. "There are no others. I'm the only one in the family with orange hair."

The man nodded once, grimly, and shouted over his shoulder. "Secondary target located. You will come with me. Do not argue or you may be killed." His shifted his eyes to the still opened closet door where Arisa-san glared at him furiously. "And this woman?"

A lie was needed. "She's just a friend from school. She's no one."

"A friend. Good." He nodded at the others. "We will take her to ensure your cooperation."

Without any further warning, Arisa-san was grabbed and arms were bound behind her. Ritsu screamed at them. "You can't! She's pregnant! You'll hurt the baby!"

The attacker turned cool eyes on him. "That is not our concern. Bring them." Like Arisa-san, Ritsu was grabbed and they wrestled his arms behind him. Unlike Arisa-san, Ritsu had a couple of advantages. One: He wasn't pregnant and two: he, like all the Souma youth, had been trained by Kazuma. Though he wasn't nearly as strong or fast as Kyou and Yuki, Ritsu managed to get himself free until the men holding Arisa-san cocked his gun and pressed the barrel to her temple.

"If you attempt further resistance, we will kill her. Then, we will find another hostage to ensure your cooperation. If I have to kill everyone within these walls, I will do it."

Arisa-san's eyes were full of frightened tears. She was shaking.

"I'll be good." Ritsu muttered the words. Wasn't that what he'd told his father before Akito made him go away? "I'm sorry. I'll be good."

"Yes. You will." The man looked own at Ritsu unfeelingly and raised his gun wielding hand. He must have struck Ritsu, because he knew nothing after that until he woke up in a small, dim cell with Arisa-san looking pale and chewing viciously on her bottom lip with worry.

The Ram's House, Hiro's house-
Leon-

"Po-sin Lung. Hong Kong, China."

Leon stared at the computer screen, at the name in bold black letters. "You're sure about this, kid."

Hiro nodded. "There's no question. All the money leads back to him or, rather, his aide known as Indihar Laos on her bank records. Funny thing is that she never deposits money. It's all electronically transferred in." He looked up at Leon, who was looking over his shoulder, with that irritating smirk of his. "You'd think this Indihar person doesn't even exist except that once a year a good deal of money is withdrawn."

"How much?"

"Let's just say that this person could, conceivably, buy the Souma estate. The withdrawal is done once every year and always on the same day. May twelfth, noon." Again, the smirk. "Kinda suspicious, huh?"

Leon didn't bother answering. "How many places like the Pit did you find?"

"Two in Japan. Three in China. One in America. One in Brazil. One in Germany. Quite a wide-spread organization."

"Any hard evidence to an organization called the Black Scorpion?"

"Sure. Right here. See?" Hiro scrolled down the page he was on and aimed the curser at a certain part of information. "One of the heads of one of the Pits sent an email message to Po-Sin Lung requesting additional money because her Pit had the highest number of Black Scorpion trainees."

"They saved THAT on the disk?"

"No. That was just floating around on the internet. Idiots don't know how to use it or how to erase their trails. Shortly after that message was sent, another was sent from Po-Sin Lung's office berating the woman for her stupidity in sending such a blatant email, but it was unsigned. I would bet money that it was from the man himself. Shortly after that, it seems that the woman who'd sent the email vanished. Probably replaced by someone a little more discreet." Hiro crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "I can say without doubt that the person you're looking for is either Po-Sin Lung or Indihar Laos. Either way, go to Hong Kong at this address," He tapped the computer screen with his index finger to indicate the address of Po-Sin Lung's office building. "And you'll find the person you're looking for."

A crack of gunfire grabbed Leon's attention.

The invasion had finally come. After such a long time, of working with a smart-mouthed thirteen year old, the Black Scorpion had decided to make their move. Just when the brat had finally fished out the information Leon wanted, all Hell broke loose. There was scream and gunfire. Kureno ran out of the house without a word even as his hand snaked into his jacket to where Leon was reasonably certain he was carrying a gun.

Never before had Leon wished so much for a weapon. As it was, he was alone with a sharp-eyed kid who surely couldn't defend himself. The decision wasn't easy for Leon to swallow and he had to comfort himself with the knowledge that D and Chris were safe at home. The least he could do was try to protect one kid.

The sound of a scream always set Leon off. It was a distant sound. He wasn't entirely helpless, but when the enemy had firearms and he had nothing but his fists, he did tend to feel a bit grumpy. "Stay here, kid." Leon pushed Hiro under his desk then took just a moment to turn off the monitor of the computer. It had finally come.

"Hey, no! No!" Hiro tried to crawl back out. "I'm not hiding! Kisa…"

"Will be safer wherever she is than right here." Leon put his hand on the top of Hiro's head and gave him a shove back under the desk. "Stay there and don't come out!"

The attackers had come in force. Leon peered cautiously over the window sill of Hiro's bedroom and saw the Souma's being corralled, guided by people with guns towards the center of the estate. He saw the armed invaders going into houses across the way and knew that it wouldn't be along before they went into Hiro's house if they were searching houses.

Instead of staying put as he'd hoped to do, Leon knew they'd have to move. The best course of action would be to get the brat out of the estate, if possible. That might not be possible. The estate was huge, after all, and the invaders could be anywhere.

"Kid," Leon dragged Hiro out from under the desk by the scruff of his neck and looked him in the eye. "Anywhere around here to hide? Someplace no one would look?"

Hiro, unhappy from being pushed around, glared at Leon, but he was pale and kept looking nervously out the window. He wasn't stupid. He knew something was very wrong. "Of course. We're a powerful family, it's only natural that we'd have places to hide. You don't think we'd…"

"Shut up and take me there." Leon took hold of Hiro's arm as the boy headed for the door. "We sneak out."

"There isn't a backdoor."

"That's what windows are for."

Hiro had to lead the way and Leon was amazed that they made it so far without being noticed. What Hiro led Leon to looked like nothing more than a shed. Inside, however, there was a trapdoor hidden under a tattered rug. "The family used it long ago. It hasn't been used for years." He pulled back on the trapdoor, but the hinges were so rusty that he had to move out of the way and let Leon, far bigger and stronger, do the work.

There was a room under the small shed. It wasn't fancy, little more than a root cellar. "Lights?'

"No." Hiro answered. "No need for them. It's just a hiding place to wait for trouble to blow over." Hiro looked over his shoulder, probably worried that the attackers would find them.

"Go on." Leon told him. "Give me your hands and I'll lower you down."

Hiro looked fearfully into the dark hole. "I can't! I can't just run away! I'm not a coward! I have to help the family!"

Leon sighed and knew what he'd have to do. "Look, I'll deal with your wounded pride later, but you ARE hiding." Leon took hold of Hiro and dropped him into the hole. "I'll come back for you. Keep quiet!" He, of course, had no intention of hiding.

Leon managed to avoid getting himself killed or captured, but he had no idea how he was supposed to help anyone. If he could just find a weapon of some kind, he'd be able to do some good. The gunfire was making him tense. People were being killed. He didn't stop running towards the sounds of gunfire until he saw D. What D was doing at the Souma estate, Leon had no idea, but he watched as D calmly made his way between two houses and then looked up. Leon's eyes followed D's and what he saw shocked him.

Hatori, the cool, distant man that Ayame had taken up with was standing on the roof of the house with a longbow in one hand and a quiver of arrows hanging over one shoulder. Hatori was watching something on the ground intently before he pulled a bow from its quiver and raised his bow and drew back the string with strength Leon was surprised at. He let loose and Leon was almost positive that he'd hit what he'd aimed at.

Then suddenly, as Hatori ran out of arrows, D was standing just behind him on the roof. Leon felt himself panic. D was a sitting duck for the enemy below and there was nothing from stopping the Black Scorpion soldiers from shooting and killing both men.

Strangely, not a single person opened fire on them.

Hatori-

There was a hatch in Hatori's attic that led to the roof. He'd never needed to use it before, but it was really the best way to use his weapon. When the attack had started, Hatori had locked the doors of his house with Tohru and Momiji inside and had run to his storage room where he kept something precious to him. While Hatori had never had the spirit for fighting, it was expected that all Souma's learn something of the martial arts. He had, therefore, chosen archery and even with his single eye, was quite a good shot.

The roof was the easiest place to aim from, though it left him at a bit of a disadvantage. The attackers had gathered everyone into the inner house and it literally was everyone. Nearly two hundred people had been gathered together - men, women, and children. Hatori saw them herded into the inner house - coincidence or not, the Black Scorpion had taken the family right to Akito's house - like cattle and gathered into as small of a group as they could.

He didn't want to shoot anyone. He wasn't a killer. Hatori saw one of the men study a paper, then single out a child - one of the rescued children. He motioned to one of his companions and she shoot the little girl point blank, Hatori felt himself go cold. It was the little girl with the mangled leg. She'd just started to walk again.

With only ten arrows and a steady rain, Hatori had to pick his shots with care. He'd never killed before. It was easier after the first woman fell.

The Black Scorpion soldiers knew they were under attack, but never fired at Hatori. He knew it was strange, he knew there was no reason for it. The only place to get such a perfect shot from was the top of his roof and he knew he was in the open and an easy target. When the Black Scorpion soldiers looked around trying to find the source of the attacks, Hatori was certain that they looked right at him. It was as if he were invisible.

There was nothing he could do. His arrows were spent. Attempting a hand-to-hand fight would be useless even if he weren't up against firearms. He stared down at the massacre, horrified. Another blast. Another child fell. Two Soumas, the adoptive parents, screamed and fell on the body of the child they'd been giving their love to.

I have to do something. Something! Hatori bit the inside of his cheek and felt his heart stop when Two more of the attackers stormed out of Akito's house and dragged the frail boy between them. Akito fought - he was not one to simply give in - and screamed furiously when he was torn out of his house.

Ayame was not one to sit idle, nor was Kazuma. Both leapt to their feet and charged for Akito, only to have the attackers aim weapons at them. They were lucky to survived.

Kazuma went down first, his leg collapsing under him when a bullet struck him. He wasn't easily stopped. Kazuma instantly pushed himself up and balanced on his uninjured leg before throwing himself at the man who'd shot him. He took the man to the ground and landed on top of him where Kazuma drew back his fist and slammed it into the chest of the attacker. It was good enough to make the man drop limply to the ground. He didn't pause. Kazuma swung his wounded leg around, balancing on the palms of his hands, and kicked another man before he could shoot.

Ayame was just as proficient - if less willing - of a fighter than Kazuma. He leapt into the fray and took down several people with a few well-placed fists, but stopped very suddenly. Hatori looked more carefully and saw what had stopped Ayame and Kazuma.

Yuki, and Kyou were taken from Akito's house just a moment after Akito had been. While Akito had little physical strength to worry about, he did thrash and twist and bite to get himself free. It didn't work and Akito was tossed unceremoniously into the crowd of Soumas crouched on the ground.

Kyou, weak from the loss of the sun, was pathetically carried withtwo man holding each of his arms. He barely struggled and Hatori pitied Kyou. Kyou was perfectly aware at times like these, but his body just wouldn't react. If the sun had been shining, there was no doubt that Kyou would have been able to assume his other form and would have killed all the invaders before even a single child had been harmed. As it was, with the rain getting heavier and heavier, Kyou was helpless. He was taken close to where Akito had been left and dropped to the ground.

Yuki was pulled out, one of the attackers holding him by the hair and pulling just enough to make Yuki's face twist in pain. Yuki was far from helpless. Once outside, he punched the man holding him by the hair. It was only a momentary release. Another man was at Yuki before Yuki had a moment to defend himself and struck Yuki hard on the back of the head with the butt of his gun. Yuki fell on his face.

Akito let out a shrill screech of fury, pounding his fists in the mud. Akito had not had his dose from Kyou and Hatori had noticed over the past months that missing even a single dose would have terrible effects on Akito. He would revert to his less rational ways. When Akito saw his favorite fall to the mud, he leapt to his feet with surprising speed and charged at Yuki's attacker, both hands raised as though the would do his best to tear the man's face off.

What happened next was to be expected.

Kureno died for Akito. Faithful, unwavering Kureno.

Hatori, reflecting on it later, had always known that Kureno would leave them this way. When the Black Scorpion soldier Akito was charging for raised his gun, Kureno dashed out of nowhere and positioned himself in front of Akito. It stopped Akito's charge, but only because he crashed into Kureno's back. With his own gun raised, Kureno fired on the attacker the same time the Black Scorpion soldier fired. Both were hit and fell. The bullet, Hatori saw, had taken Kureno in the throat. The blood was terrible. He'd fallen backwards and landed on Akito, pushing them both to the ground. While Kureno twitched his fingers and tried to moved, Hatori knew that there was no hope. Kureno stopped twitching after a moment.

Akito managed to crawl out from under Kureno's weight, covered in mud and his face twisted with hatred, Akito held Kureno, his hands on Kureno's hair. Akito was yelling, shrieking himself hoarse. "Filthy! Pathetic insects! I'll have your heads!" The rest of his words were lost in his rage and left him spluttering and spitting incoherently.

Ayame was nearly ready to kill. He rushed forward again, until he, like Yuki had been, was seized by the hair and held back. Furious, Ayame dropped to his knees - even though it make his head wrench backwards painfully - and grabbed a knife dropped by one of the murdered children. His eyes blazing and his fangs bared, Ayame twisted and slashed with the knife, doing something Hatori had never thought to see.

Ayame cut off his long hair to free himself and rushed to Yuki. Just feet away from his little brother, Ayame was stopped again. The man who'd hit Yuki was now aiming the gun, not at Ayame, but at Yuki's head. There was a moment of terrible stillness when Ayame slowly moved back to the rest of the family.

No one moved, unwilling to risk Yuki's life.

But it started again. The man with the paper looked at it and began slowly examining all the people, looking for another child to kill. He stopped at another of the Pit children but when he raised his gun, the father who'd adopted the little girl enfolded her in his arms and slid himself in front of her. It was the only protection he could give and it didn't work. The Black Scorpion soldier fired, shooting the father. When he fell, the soldier took aim again and killed the little girl.

"Hiro-kun!" Tohru's gasp took him by surprise and he was shocked when he turned around and found her peering out of the hatch, her eyes on something below, just to the left.

"Get back inside!" Hatori ordered.

Tohru paid no attention and finished scrambling out of the hatch where she shook, staring. Hatori followed her eyes and saw what had her frightened, apart from the massacre. Little Hiro had been edging closer and closer to the group of people. He peered around the corner of a house, a place where he could see but thought he wouldn't be seen by the soldiers. One, a woman who must have been scouting the area, did spy him. She didn't call out or alert the rest of the soldiers, but strode towards Hiro purposefully. This soldier didn't seem to have any hesitation about killing and had no interest in taking captives. She raised her gun…

Torhu darted for the edge of the roof before Hatori could open his mouth. There was a strange look on her face. Fear and worry along with fierce determination. Tohru leapt off the roof and took flight.

It seemed to Hatori that Tohru changed in that moment. He seemed to see another shape superimposed over her, a translucent bird. Tohru spread her arms and sailed effortlessly almost one hundred yards until she slammed hard into the back of the soldier, knocking her to the ground. Tohru tumbled off the soldier and went to Hiro, wrapping her arms around him protectively.

The guard recovered quickly and again aimed for Tohru and Hiro. She was taken by surprise when Orcot-san tackled her to the ground and wrestled the gun out of her grasp. The soldier wasn't easy to defeat, even for a man who outweighed her by fifty or more pounds. Leon ended up giving her several hard punches to the head to finally knock her out. When he was sure she was down, he shakily stood and snarled something at Hiro before taking both Tohru and Hiro by the arms and leading them away from the soldiers before they could be seen. How they had been lucky enough not to be seen by the other soldiers, Hatori would never know.

"I have to stop this." Hatori muttered. "How? How?"

"The solution is simpler than you think, dragon."

Hatori whipped around, his bow held like a club, but found it wasn't one of the invaders. Instead, Count D stood placidly on the roof with that awful smile of his. Feeling himself go cold, Hatori knew what he would have to do. "Do it." Hatori couldn't think of another way.

The smile increased just a little. "There is the price to be paid."

"Anything." A blast from below. "Take anything! Please!"

"For such a gift, a high price. I thought to demand your hands." Count D reached out and brushed his fingernails against the back of Hatori's hand. "But that would damage your career and you are so valuable to your family. I am fond of your family. That is why I would not allow the Black Scorpion to see you as you shot them." He looked passed Hatori to the carnage below. "Such terrible things humans will do to one another. I think I will have your ears. Will you pay the price? Think carefully."

Another cry from a parent whose new child has been taken away. Perhaps it was Ayame screaming. Had Yuki been killed? Had Akito had a fit of temper and foolishly attacked? "I don't have time to think. Just do it!"

Count D's eyes gleamed. "As you wish." His fingers stopped their gentle touch and took hold of Hatori, violently. The pain was awful. Like needles shooting through his veins, white-hot needles rushing to the fingers Count D held. It stole Hatori's voice in a strangled gasp. His knees buckled, though he managed to catch himself before he lost his footing. Bright flashes of light flashed in front of Hatori's eyes an he thought, distantly, that he was dying. "Done."

The pain suddenly vanished, but Hatori was…different.

He sucked in a breath and then he heard nothing. No screams. No crying. Nothing. Hatori forced himself to stand a little taller. He couldn't hear the traffic. He couldn't hear gunshots or the rain. Turning to his captured family, Hatori saw their mouths moving, he saw the people shuffling around, but he heard nothing. Putting his hands to his ears, he found that they were still there, but he was completely deaf.

"The price you have paid." Count D's voice sounded inside Hatori's mind. "Was it worth the price?"

Hatori turned again to his family and he saw the man with the paper look at it, then point to one of the children. Omi. They were going to kill Omi. But one of them men said something to Omi and Omi shook his head: no. The gun was raised and Hatori felt such rage.

"Use it." Count D's voice told him. "You are the dragon. The wise dragon. Protect your family."

A little hand took old of Hatori's. Hon Ron. She looked up at him with a serious expression and stroked the back of his hand, gently. She pointed to the people below, then reared back her arms in a dramatic move. She stepped towards the edge of the roof and suddenly the child was gone. In her place was a magnificent dragon, far larger than a house with three heads all snarling and snorting on three twisting, writing necks.

Some instinct pulled at Hatori. He stepped away from Count D and spread his arms as he'd seen Hon Ron do.

Akito-

It couldn't be happening.

This wasn't right. No one was supposed to hurt the family. Yuki was hurt. Ayame's beautiful hair was laying in the mud like a thousand spider webs. Ritsu…where was Ritsu? Hiro? Momiji? There were three missing and Akito knew they might have tried to fight and perhaps they'd been hurt like Kureno. Some of the attackers had fallen with arrows in their backs and chests. Kazuma was bleeding terribly and…and there was a dragon in the sky. A great, black dragon with fearsome shining eyes and long whiskers. Akito stared, his mouth hanging open. The scales were like polished stone and the fearsome claws were long white blades.

Like nothing Akito had ever imagined, it launched itself through the air with its long, serpentine body twisting and turning until it landed with a thud in front between the family and the attackers. It hissed and snapped a powerful jaw with sword-like teeth, making even the cool attackers jump away.

Hatori. It was Hatori. The true dragon of the Zodiac.

The dragon swung its tail and knocked over a dozen of the attackers. It snorted out twin jets of steam from its nostrils and some attackers screamed in pain as it struck them. The Souma family, Zodiac and human, were stunned and stared unabashed even when the black dragon's eyes landed on the attacker with the paper in his hand and Hatori struck. Such a precise movement that allowed him to snatch the paper out of hand of the attacker. Hatori held the paper between his jaws and then turned to the family and dropped it delicately on Ayame.

Ayame clutched the paper, but his eyes - like everyone else - were fixed on the dragon.He clawed at the earth, making deep furrows in the ground and snapped and snarled at the invaders warning them to back away, to run before it was too late.

A second dragon joined Hatori, though this one was far different. It was massive, dark red, and furious. Three heads on long, serpentine necks twisted and turned, each one spitting fire with its wrath. It was a European style of dragon, four squat legs and a large body. The thing didn't land as Hatori had, but swooped low over the invaders and let out three mouthfuls of fire upon them before it soared into the sky once more.

The rain stopped very suddenly. An eerie quiet drenched the area, a thickness in the air that just grew and grew. Akito could feel the pressure all over his body. The gray clouds turned black before - like a nightmare of unthinkable terror - a dozen lightening bolts shot out of the heavens and targeted the attackers. Each one fell and did not get up.

All of the Black Scorpion soldiers were dead.

When Akito managed to tear his eyes away from the bodies and from Hatori and from the circling three-headed red dragon, he saw a short distance away a girl he knew only vaguely. He had seen her perhaps once. A pale girl with long dark hair and large, knowing eyes. The set of her lips showed her displeasure and her voice, when she spoke, was harsh. "Where is Arisa?"

There was too much going on for anyone to react at once. Akito looked at Kureno's unmoving body and he felt fear. "Kureno?" He crawled a little closer to Kureno and took hold of Kureno's foot. A little shake. No response. Slowly, Akito looked up at the black dragon, Hatori, and licked his thin lips. "Make him better."

The hole in Kureno's neck was the size of a walnut. His starched white shirt was bright with blood. His eyes were closed. His skin cooling.

"Hatori, make him better."

The dragon turned back into Hatori slowly. It shrunk and the black scales faded into fair skin until Hatori, panting and looked somehow different. He hadn't had Kyou's drastic growth spurt, but he looked leaner, as if he'd lost thirty pounds. In Akito's mind, he didn't look healthy at all. Hatori looked around at the carnage - it was awful to see.

The parents of the murdered children had gathered around their fallen and were crying. The Pit children were staring at the corpses of the fallen soldiers and their commrades, stunned. Those who weren't preoccupied with the dead children or the dead guards were staring at Hatori who had just given away the secret to the entire family.

Hatori must have realized what had happened. He looked around at the family and raised a hand. What happened them was bizarre. Akito looked at the family and everyone - barring the Zodiac - had a glassy shine to their eyes. It only lasted a moment, but when it was done, it was obvious that none of them were worried about the dragon, anymore. Instead, they were watching the outsider, the dark-haired girl who demanded Arisa.

So, that was the change.

Hatori gave up his humanity to save us. Akito knew that Count D was lurking somewhere and had offered it to Hatori when the man simply couldn't have refused. Now, thanks to that, he was able to steal the memories of the entire family effortlessly and without physical touch. "Hatori? Hatori!" He was growing cross when Hatori didn't answer him immediately, but continued to look around. At last, Akito's patience wore out. He scrambled to his feet, slipping a little in the mud, and went to Hatori, taking him by the arms and shaking him. "What's wrong you!" He demanded. "Help him! Help Kureno!"

But Hatori just frowned and said, "Forgive me. I can't hear you. Kureno…" When he'd turned to look at Akito, he saw Kureno on the ground and went to him, kneeling in the mud. There was a moment when Hatori touched Kureno's throat, then looked closely at his eyes. His shoulders slumped. "He's dead."

"I won't allow it." Akito took hold of Kureno's still hand. "Wake up! You belong to me. You said you'd stay with me." He pressed the hand to his own chest. "You're not allowed to die until after me!" Akito's face fell when Kureno was unable to obey. The fear was replaced by despair. Utter anguish. He looked around at his wailing, moaning family - what was left of his family. There were so many dead. So much blood. Blood everywhere.

"Akito," Hatori reached across Kureno and put his hand on Akito's. "You must go inside. I'll handle this. I promise I'll take care of things."

"How?" Akito asked. He wanted to cry. He wanted to be weak. But the rest of the family was in chaos. Kisa was asking everyone if they'd seen Hiro, he was missing, also. No one knew where Ritsu or Arisa were. Arisa…she HAD to be found! If anything should happen to the baby, then it could mean the end of the Zodiac.

Besides all that, there still the girl not far away glaring at all of them. Her eyes shifted slowly around the faces of the Soumas, but she didn't find what she wanted.

"She was told that she would be safe here. She was told that no one could hurt her here." The girl who could command lightening turned her eyes to Akito. "Where is Arisa? I felt her fear! Her pain!" She thumped her fist against her breast and took a threatening step closer. "Tohru is frightened, but she is still close by. She is safe. What has happened to Arisa?"

To be continued…