A/N: Welcome to chapter two, where things are never as they seem…thank you to those who reviewed, you're kind people! Even the one where all the person said was 'akito.' Strange. But a review is a review.

'On the wall there is a white hole, the mirror. It is a trap. I know I am going to let myself be caught in it. I have. The grey thing has just appeared in the mirror. I go over and look at it, I can no longer move away.'

-Jean-Paul Sartre, La Nausée

Fwoosh

I slump back on my feet and press my cheek to the cold toilet seat. It's the only thing that's real in this world. Everything else is black.

I've spent the last five minutes puking up all the liquid Hari gave me last night. I think it was the cough syrup's fault, it was a horrible cherry flavour…oh god…

No puke. Just the dry heaves. I don't have any strength left, my skinny pathetic body flops back against the wall. The icy tiles burn into my marrow. I gasp and choke in the darkness, feeling acid rasp my throat.

Blinding light. It's Hari, he's awake now, he's turned the fucking light on. I screw my eyes shut.

"Akito? Are you all right?"

Oh Christ.

"Yes, Hari," I rasp, "I enjoy scrabbling for the bathroom at four in the morning and puking all the liquid in my stomach up. The medicine too. I like it, Hari, I really do."

He ignores my sarcasm and helps me up. "I'll get you some food."

"What?"

Is he serious? The last thing I feel like doing is eating.

"Some soup. It will help settle your stomach." He sits me down on the bed and puts a hand on my forehead. The top buttons of his pajama shirt are open, revealing inviting pale skin.

"You're warm," he states. Well, no shit.

"No, your hand is just cold," I say sourly. I don't know why I want to fight with him. Maybe it's because he's just standing there, strong, solid, full of beautiful health. I can feel it radiating from him. Damn Dragons, they're never sick. I feel cold and clammy, like I've left all my bodily warmth in the toilet as well.

Hari's gone now, gone to get me soup. The walls are a sickly grey, the sun's barely up.

There's a gleaming in my peripheral vision. I turn.

There's a mirror on the wall. There wasn't one there before. There's a mirror on the wall. It has nothing special to it, just a cold metal frame. Before I know it, I'm off the bed and standing in front of it.

I look at the mirror suspiciously. Dishevelled drowsy head. Pale anaemic complexion. Black eyes, wasted cheeks. Yes, that monster is me.

It flickers.

I grab the mirror's sides.

There. There, there, there. There HE is. This mysterious Voice.

I'm still looking at my reflection. Only, I don't think it's mine. This boy is wearing all white and he looks…different somehow. Oh, he looks exactly like me, all right, from the small mole on his throat to his thin elegant hands.

But it's not me.

He taps the glass. I jerk back and stare at my arm.

"Who are you?" he asks, in my voice. Only his is polite and not worn away by coughing. This annoys me.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I asked first," he replies, beaming.

"Are you me?"

"Are you me?"

Arrrgh. This is insane. I smack my hand against the glass. Ha. He draws away.

"Well if you really want to know, I'm Akito Sohma."

"You're not," I say.

"I am too."

"I'm Akito Sohma. The only Akito Sohma. And you – you're a mirage of some sort!" I try to pry the mirror off but I don't have the strength.

"Well," my reflection goes, all sly, "you can say I'm Aki-two." He watches me pant on the floor. "You're not feeling well, are you?"

"You should know – you're me."

"I am you but I'm not you." He's pressing his face against the glass. My face. "I'm Aki-two. I'm your opposite."

"What?" I close my eyes. I can definitely feel a migraine bearing down on me.

"Your opposite. Didn't you know? The universe must have both ends of certain spectrums. You – you're on the dark end. You're chronically ill, dying, near death…I'm the opposite. I'm in perfect health, I'm going to die at an old age and my personality is intact."

What?

I'm speechless. I haven't known this 'Aki-two' for five minutes and already I want to throttle him. 'My personality is intact.' Ha, ha, ha.

"If you're so perfect," I spit, "then why are you trapped in that mirror?"

"I'm not. I needed a medium to pass through."

"Pass through from what?"

He's giving me creepy, sly smile. "I'm not telling. You know."

And then he does something incredible.

He grabs the top of the mirror and swings through the glass like it was air. Aki-two lands lightly and bounces upward. I can see now that this idiot is wearing white trousers and a white turtleneck. That is not me. There's no way this boy can be me. I turn away from him, disgusted, and crawl onto my bed. Pain hums through my sinuses and forehead. I sink my head into the pillow. Maybe if I don't think about him he'll go away.

I can hear him walking about. Maybe this is a side-effect from my fever. Maybe…Maybe…

"Do you know what this room needs? Light. It's so dark and dull in here." Fwap.

Light! Light stinging and burning my eyes! That IDIOT!

"Close those fucking curtains!" I yell.

Aki-two looks at me, hurt. "I thought you needed some sunshine –"

"I don't need sunshine! I need to be alone with my headache! Get back in your mirror and go away."

"I can't." He looks sad. "You called me here. I can't go now."

"I did no such thing." My hands are clenching and unclenching all by themselves.

"You called me from your heart," he sighs, looking at me, troubled.

Oh god. I can't deal with this. I need Hatori. I need to have him pump me full of valium so I can forget my reflection's perfect flawless face.

"You can't live without me. We balance each other out." Then he giggles. "Because, you're the unbalanced one."

"Shut up." Talking to him has made me exhausted. I want to sleep. But first I want to get rid of him. I hate his healthy look and peachy manner.

"Go away, Aki-two, before I have Hatori throw you out."

"You can try." He says this without malice, he's examining the sliding-door.

"Fine. HATORI!"

My Dragon comes, followed by a servant, who's holding a tray with a bowl of soup. I feel happy now that he's here; if he makes this brat go away I'll gladly eat anything he puts in front of me.

"Hatori," I sigh, "make this person go away." And I point at Aki-two.

He blinks at me. The servant looks confused. Hatori slowly follows the line of my finger to where Aki-two is standing, bright and alert. Then he slowly looks back. He seems to come to a decision.

"Put the tray on the bedside table," he tells the servant. "Then leave." The servant does so, not looking at my face. Aki-two's started to giggle quietly, the same giggling I heard last night. Something flutters up my spine.

Hatori comes and sits on the bed. He takes my chin and examines my face, like he's giving me a check-up. I bat his hand away.

"Hatori. I said, throw that boy out." I point at Aki-two again.

He shakes his head. There's a strange, tight look on his face. "I can't do that."

"Why not?"

He hesitates. "Because…there's no one there, Akito."

I snap my head around. Aki-two smiles at me. He waves.

"Yes there is. Look: he's grinning at me."

"No." Hatori feels my forehead. I know I don't have a fever. He looks…I don't know, I can't describe his expression. His face keeps changing.

"He can't see me," Aki-two says, "only you can see me…Akito. I'm your opposite…not his."

"Shut up," I whisper.

I recognise the look on Hatori's face. He looks frightened. Frightened of me. And there's something else…is it pity?

I won't have anyone pity me.

I sit up. I ignore Hari's protests and walk over to where Aki-two is. The world's starting to blur at the edges, my migraine is near. Sounds seem louder, light seems too bright. I can barely understand what Hari is saying. Instead I clamp my hand down on Aki-two's white shoulder and squeeze. My eyes widen….

I can feel warm flesh under my nails.

So I squeeze harder.

"Look, Hari," I growl. "Look at him. I'm touching him. I'm squeezing his shoulder. Look at him, Hari. He looks exactly like me, but I know he's not me, Hari. Look how healthy he is. He says -"

I stop, because my Dragon's closing his eyes.

"Look at me, Hatori."

He won't. Beside me, Aki-two's wincing and squirming under my grip. "Stop it…stop it, Akito…you're hurting me…"

Hari's massaging his temples. I can see his bluegreen eyes darting left and right in his head like ping pong balls. Finally he does look at me, expressionless.

"I don't see anyone, Akito." His voice is soft.

My world teeters between them.

"I told you," Aki-two says from somewhere in the distance, "I told you he can't -"

I turn toward him. This is all his fault, he's the reason Hatori's looking at me like I just died.

"I thought I told you to shut up!" I shove him away, he regains his balance and stares at me with no hate in his eyes. "You are really ill," he says, eyes tearing. "Let me help."

I shake my head. "No. No. Go away. This…this is your fault. Get back…get away…"

My vision's faded to a pinpoint, I can feel my migraine squeezing my head in its huge hands. They crush my skull. I sink to my knees. I know - I can feel - this is

I'm not crazy. I'm not. i'm. not.

Hari's hands are around me. I press my nose against his starched shirt – it's so clean and normal. I breathe his scent in.

"I'm not crazy, Hari."

"No."

"I…just…" Oh…what can I say? That I DON'T see him?

"Will you…still love me, Hari?"

"What?"

I let go of him, look into his face. Or where I think his face is. Everything's a pink pale blur.

"No matter how bad I get…promise me you'll still love me."

"Always," he says.

"Promise."

"I promise."

I've heard what I needed to hear. I let myself go and surrender to the pain.

As I pass out, my brain notices one thing: there's a mirror on the wall…

--

A/N: Well. That's just the start of Akito's little breakdown. I thought 'what would be the best way to annoy him?' Answer: his opposite clone. Hahaha. Aki-two (or Akitu) will appear in all later chapters, even if only for an instant. Poor Aki-kun! XD Please review…