Disclaimer I don't own any of the HYD characters nor the original plotline of HYD, but I certainly own this particular plot and all the characters I created for it...

I don't own "14th street" by Rufus Wainwright either– I don't even think I'd singit half as well as he does... Besides, I could never come up with such lyrics !

Big thanks to my reviewers snuffyTHEmonkey – who prefers to read my stuff than sleep, I'm very flattered ;o) –, len – I updated pretty soon ;o) I think thanks for the encouragement –, kashuneko – stop reading my mind, it's disturbing ;o)... no really, you've probably already guessed the contents of the chapter, it's not fair... ;o) –, and az09 – CSI is just so great... I love crime solved by science...

A point I'd like to make : come on you guys, you all want to know about the blood ? Right now ? Even before the police knows ? Just be reassured, it's not the blood of Sophie nor of Akira. Better now ? ;o) It's mostly the best reason for Sophie not to spend the night at her house, but at Akira's... Yes, a writing trick, so sue me ! Who doesn't use them ? I'll explain the blood, don't worry... Just not now, but when the time will be right ! ;o)

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18-A sleepover during which nobody feels like sleeping

She runs, she runs, the fastest that she can run. But it's not enough. It's not nearly enough. He always grows closer, however fast she runs, however desperate her attempts to escape. And as she turns her head to check on his progress, she stumbles on something and falls down. On the ground.

She knows it's too late, now. That even if she gets up and begins to run again, he'll catch up with her eventually. She can't run anymore. Why her ? Why not someone else ? What did she ever do to deserve this ?

And suddenly, he's there, towering over her, with an evil smile of victory on his pretty face. The face she had learned to love is wearing the awful mask of betrayal. And she knows she can't escape him. Because she never does. Because she didn't. Because he won.

"But why'd you have to break all my heart ?

Couldn't you have saved a little bit of it ?

Why'd you have to break all my heart ?

Couldn't you have saved a minor part ?


I could've clipped and saved and planted it in the garden,

Damn you, guess I'll have to get a new one!"

Sophie opened her eyes abruptly, expecting the nightmare to be going on. Except that it was not just a nightmare. It was the truth – she had lived it. Just a few months before she had left France for Japan with her family. And each and every time her mind obliged her to relive the event in her sleep, she felt the same fear and despair she had felt then.

She shivered as she tried to remember where she was. Yes, she had accepted Mimasaka's invitation to sleep at his house because her own house had been broken into. Well, not that she could sleep, now. She never could once her dreams brought her back to the event that had changed who she was forever. She tied her hair behind her neck with an annoyed gesture. She needed to drink something.

Anchovies and onions pizza tastes great, but, damn, does it create thirst. The evening hadn't ended as bad as it had begun, with the bad surprise waiting for her at her home. She had even managed to convince Mimasaka that they should watch the second Dirty Dancing movie while eating their pizza. He had brooded a little over this, but had finally given in, arguing that he would fully exert his right to comment everything he wanted to comment on in the movie. And, boy, he had ! A good thing she had already seen the movie, otherwise she would have been unable to understand anything about it.

When he was not commenting the 'non-existence' of a plot and on the sappiness of the dialogs, he was criticizing the way the main characters danced or the haircut of Javier, or what he deemed to be the absurdity of the romance between the heroes. Quite insufferable – if it had not been that funny ! She had to admit he could be a much nicer guy than she had given him credit for until then. But it didn't mean she should change her opinion so quickly – she had learned at her own expense that some people just know how to conceal their real self quite well.

She sighed. How was she going to find a kitchen in that ridiculously giant house ? Well, at least she could explore. That could tire her enough to allow her to get some more sleep before morning.

She wondered where her parents were, at the moment, and if they had taken the plane back or not yet. She longed to see them, to be with them, to feel safe again.

Akira woke up suddenly from his nightmare. The same stupid nightmare. Again. Still covered in his sweat, as distressed as ever as a result. He sat up in his bed, and brought his hands before his eyes. He couldn't take it anymore. Each time, more vivid, each time more heartbreaking. Who could believe that someone as cocky and seemingly assured could wake up near tears from a nightmare where his mom – not even the real one, apparently – left him and his father never to return ? He felt like a crybaby.

It would not do. He wouldn't be able to sleep again. He pushed the sheets aside, and put on his bathrobe – he slept naked, and did not feel inclined to shock his sisters if they met him by chance in the small kitchen reserved for this kind of occasions, like insomnia.

As he walked towards the kitchen, he heard some noise in one of the hallways. He remembered the events of the evening, and figured who it had to be. "Sophie?" A shadowy figure hesitantly got out of the hallway in his direction. "Mimasaka ?" He motioned for her to get nearer.

"Is something wrong, Sophie ?

- I just... felt thirsty. I was looking for a glass of water, but I can't seem to find the kitchen."

Akira smiled. It was not as if she was the first guest to lose her way in the maze of hallways inside of the Mimasaka mansion.

"You could not find it by yourself, I think. And anyway, I was going to fix myself some tea. Would you care for some ?

- Yes, it would be very nice. Thanks."

They got silently to the small kitchen, and while Akira was busy boiling the water and selecting the kind of leaves he was going to infuse, Sophie was observing him without a word. Akira felt the need to say something to break the uncomfortable silence.

"So, how come you are up and walking at three in the morning ? Didn't I exhaust you enough during Salsa ?

- I just couldn't sleep. The break-in and other things... Old memories coming back to me when I least expect it."

As much as he would have wanted to continue to chat casually, he found he was in no mood to do it. So he simply tried to stay in the shadows so that she would not see the state he was in. He handed her a cup wordlessly. As she began sipping the hot tea, he looked at her discreetly. Well, his tee-shirt and shorts fitted her alright, he guessed. She had not taken anything with her as they had left her house in the care of the police, so, since his sisters were much smaller than her, he had had to lend her his own clothes for her to sleep in. Sure, they were too large, but there was something nice and even sexy to her wearing his clothes – or so he thought.

Sophie finally came to a conclusion and a decision about what her observations of Akira had told her. She shifted her weight uncomfortably on the leg that had not been supporting most of it, as she was still pondering the wisdom of it. She knew she shouldn't do this. But she felt she had to.

"Come here."

She had whispered the two words in a whispering soft voice, almost inaudible. But at the same time, she had opened her arms, clearly inviting him inside of them. Knowing Sophie, and knowing her violence and her distrust of him, Akira found what he was seeing a little unsettling. What the hell was she doing ? Was she a) kidding, b)drunk, c)high, d)sleepwalking ? He didn't really know how to handle this.

"Nice invitation. I would not say that I'm not tempted, but I promised to be a gentleman while...

- Stop it, Mimasaka. You don't need to pretend. It's written all over your face."

He shut up, and she paused. Since he wasn't saying anything more, she explained.

"You look like you need to cry."

He looked at her quite stunned by what she had just said. So was he really that transparent ? Man, that was pathetic. He was pathetic. A nice example of manliness. Why, of all the persons sleeping in the house, he had had to stumble upon her after this nightmare ? This was humiliating. She had taken pity on him. The worst emotion a man could ever provoke in a girl. So he tried what any man with the tiniest macho fiber in him would have tried : bravado and denial.

"No I don't. Besides, what kind of man lets himself cry ?"

She lowered her arms, crossing them above her chest and studied him more attentively. He felt more naked than naked under her scrutiny. Then she answered on a tone that suggested she was appalled to have to voice such an obvious fact, but was still soft and full of kindness.

"The kind that needs to."

And suddenly, he felt he could not hold those stupid tears in any longer. Damn the girl ! He had always been able to hold their flow. And she, out of all people, had to be the one to witness his weakness, she, the most striking example he knew of a strong woman. He breathed more deeply to try and stop them from coming. But he couldn't. Sophie opened her arms once again to him, and motioned for him to come closer.

He came towards her hesitantly, the unwanted tears already beginning to roll on his cheeks. When he was near enough, she pulled his head gently onto her shoulder with one of her hands, and began stroking his back to offer whatever comfort she could. She did not utter another syllable, letting him weep like a little boy in her arms.

It felt kind of good to release those tears he had never dared release because his father had always told him that men didn't cry. Yes, he felt like a little boy, at the moment. That little boy whom his mother had forsaken because she hated him. The more he reflected about this, the more he felt bad to dream this about his mother – Chie Mimasaka was the best mother he could have ever hoped to have. She was loving, she was nice, she was cheerful... So why did he have to have the stupid nightmare ? From where did the awful thing come from ?

When the silent sobs began to became less frequent, Sophie asked a question in a hushed voice.

"Will you be okay now ?"

It was like a wake-up call. Akira jerked himself violently out of her arms, and turned his back to her, trying to wipe the remaining traces of his tears on his face with the sleeves of the bathrobe.

"I can go back to my room and leave you alone, if you want to."

He could hear something in her voice – concern, and maybe also hurt. She had just soothed his broken soul – he had to admit that, somehow, he felt better. He could not let her go like that.

"Aren't you even going to ask why ?"

He slowly turned towards her. He noticed immediately the area on her left shoulder very wet with the tears he had just shed. She had not moved. She tilted her head, as if to consider the answer she should give.

"I won't ask, if you don't feel like telling. You don't have to tell me – I really don't want to pry. I just wanted to offer you the little help I felt you needed. I know I prefer to cry in someone's arms than on my pillow."

He turned again to avoid facing her. He ran his hand through his hair. He had never told this to anyone – save his father. Not even to his closest friends. Why would he tell that girl now ? Was he becoming crazy or delusional ? That girl who, if she didn't hate him, despised him and his way of life, that girl who could not bring herself to really trust him even as a dance partner. So why should he trust her with one of his biggest secrets ?

But before rationality could win over impulse, his mouth had uttered the first words. There was no turning back.

"It's this nightmare that I've been having like forever. It feels so real. And I feel so down, so alone, so sad afterwards."

And mentally, he added. "There, you can laugh at me now. The great Akira Mimasaka of the F4 who terrorize Eitoku high is weeping like a three-year old because of a bloody stupid nightmare." He closed his eyes, waiting for the laugh that would finish the kill and dreading it. It never came. Instead, a soft voice asked a question.

"Tell me about it."

He didn't know why, but he did. He explained to her the nightmare that shortened his nights since his early teens, he told her about the time he had tried to ask his father about it and the reaction it had provoked, and why, anyway, it didn't make any sense at all. He didn't leave anything out. If he should be taken for a retard and a crazy guy, be it at least freeing him from all those years of silence that had eaten him slowly.

She listened, without interrupting, or laughing, or showing any visible emotion. But inside, she couldn't help but wonder at this vulnerability that she had never suspected before under all his grins. Maybe everyone has this secret wound that eats them, she could not help but think. An almost grown man traumatized by a childhood nightmare. It was most probably just some sort of phobia that anything else – it seemed to far-fetched to be completely true. But it could potentially explain so much about him and his character.

There was a small silence when he finished his tale.

"You are over eighteen, right ?"

Like that had anything to do with anything. That girl was really crazy and irrational – Tsukasa was more than right. Maybe he should not have bothered. At least she was not laughing at him, and that was already something.

"And in what does that fact have to do with any of this ?

- If you're over eighteen, then you can request your own birth extract at the town hall of your city of birth. It's your right as a citizen. At least, that's how it works in France."

Akira frowned at the statement. So what ? What was the point?

"I'm still not following. What do you mean by that ?

- That, unconsciously, your mind is trying to tell you something. It won't leave you alone until you know for sure, with a unshakable proof. And the only way to know without any remaining doubt the truth is to see the name of your birth mother on a document no-one, even the almighty head of the Mimasaka Corporation can temper with. A birth extract is not something that can be changed, not under any circumstances. So if you feel you need to see 'Chie Mimasaka' written as your mother name on it, just ask for it. There is no other way I can think of.

- But my mom is... And my father, he would have...

- There aren't a million possibilities as to what is written on that piece of paper. Either it's Chie Mimasaka, or it's another name – maybe even 'Kyoko'. Even though I doubt it – it would be too strange. But you will be sure only if you see it with your own eyes.

- And what will I gain from that ? If it's 'Chie', then I'm just really the bad son my father calls me. And if it's something else...

- Well, it's just a suggestion. Think about it, if the nightmare continues to come and trouble your nights."

Well, at least, maybe that could lead him somewhere. Maybe seeing the name of his mother Chie on this official paper would put his mind to rest. He looked at Sophie and tried a smile.

"Thank you."

She smiled reassuringly, clearly a little embarrassed.

"It's nothing, really."

Then Akira spotted again the area on her shoulder marked by his tears.

"I'm sorry I ruined the tee-shirt you were sleeping in."

It was her turn to try and lift his spirits like he had done earlier. So she grinned jokingly.

"Well, you should be, you moron !"

He smiled.

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okay, I already know some people are going to want to kill me... But, well, I felt that this could happen. It's actually this scene that triggered the whole story in my head. You don't like Akira crying ? Well, I do... I think strong men who can cry when they need to are sexy : but, hey that's just me...

Anyway... Wait for Akira in love, Akira doing stupid things, Akira getting rejected – again, Akira getting jealous... somewhere in the future chapters. I really am evil. I want him to suffer before his reward. ;o) And I'm amazed at how prolific I am... nearly 40,000 words in three weeks ? I have a problem... Maybe it's because I have no life...

Anyways, please tell me what you think ! In another word, please review !