The first thing Tohru noticed was the darkness. It was so black, pressing in on her like some monstrous animal, thirsty for her blood. She sat up, her head aching. Her muscles were stiff, and she wondered how long she'd been asleep. She pressed one hand to her temple, and found something warm and sticky under her fingers. For a moment, she was surprised. She rubbed her fingers together, wondering what it was. Suddenly, it hit her, and she gasped. "I'm bleeding!" she said into the darkness.

No one answered. She stood up, stretching. Yawning, she listened hard into the silence. There were no sounds, nothing to indicate where she was. She thought hard, trying to remember what had happened. She obviously wasn't in Shigure-san's house, but where else would she be?

She closed her eyes, plunging into her own memories. She remembered going to bed the night before, and thinking briefly of the beautiful Saturday awaiting her the next day. She…she'd woken up, at some point. Yes. A nightmare, maybe? No…she was thirsty. That was it. She'd gone to the kitchen, making sure to be extra careful so she didn't wake up anyone else. She'd gotten a glass of milk. That she remembered well, because she remembered thinking about how Kyo-kun would drink from that very carton the next morning, and how Yuki-kun would probably hit him for it. She'd taken her milk to the window, to look out. Yes. She was standing in front of the kitchen window, in her favourite pajamas with the polar bears on them, looking out at the night. She was worrying about Kyo-kun and Yuki-kun, and wondering sadly if they would ever be friends. She had just finished her milk when she saw something. A cat? No. Too small. Maybe a dog? No…this thing walked on two legs. It had to be a person. A person, coming through the night toward the house. She had been too scared to scream. She remembered the fear, and how it had gripped her so tight. The next thing she remembered was the person standing by her, and something was in its hand. A club, or a stick. Maybe the person had hit her? But…why?

Whatever the 'why' was, it was certain to have something to do with her strange surroundings. She frowned slightly and sat back down. She folded her hands in her lap, noticing she was still wearing her polar bear pajamas. Her feet were still bare, just like they had been. Whoever had hit her hadn't bothered to find shoes. And why would they?

"I hope Kyo-kun and Yuki-kun aren't too worried about me," she said anxiously. She knew how easily Kyo-kun got upset, and he usually managed to make Yuki-kun angry, too. "I should be going home soon, so they'll know I'm okay." For some reason, talking aloud made her feel better. It drove the darkness a little ways away, like a tiny candle.

"You're not going anywhere," a voice growled.

Tohru yelped and looked around wildly. "H-hello?" she stammered. No one answered, just like before, but this time she knew someone was there. "Um…c-could you please tell me where I am?" she called.

There was a shuffling to her left, like someone moving. She bit her lip, staring as hard as she could into the dark. For a long time, nothing else happened. Then, so suddenly she screamed, a match was struck, not more than a foot from her head. A pale, grinning face appeared, lit by the flickering flame. "Hello, Tohru-san," the same voice said.

Tohru stared at the face. It was familiar, somehow… "Akito-san!" she gasped. She instinctively bowed clumsily.

"Yes. Yes…Akito-san. Head of the Sohmas. God of the Sohmas. Puppet Master of the Sohmas," Akito-san said, her voice raising to a high-pitched shriek. She let out a demented giggle, and Tohru couldn't stop a shiver. "Do I disgust you, Tohru-san?" Akito-san's voice was mocking.

Tohru shook her head fervently. "Oh, no. I'm just a little jumpy, that's all," she said, laughing nervously.

"And well you should be." Akito-san suddenly stood up, taking the match with her. "They won't find you, you know. Your darling Kyo and Yuki."

Tohru looked up at her curiously. "Wh-where am I?" she asked timidly.

Akito-san spun, her eyes blazing with a wild, insane light. "You are in your own special room. I had it built, just for you. Just like Yuki in his time, and Kyo in his. They will look, and look. But they will not find their precious Tohru-san. Their princess will not be there to find. They will find only bones, picked clean by the rats Yuki is so…attached to. They will drive themselves mad, and, in the end, drive themselves back to me. I will be their protector. I will take away the pain…" Akito-san's laughter echoed around the darkness, and suddenly the light cast by the match vanished. Tohru heard a door open, then, a moment later, shut.

She blinked in the dark. Akito-san's words whirled around her head. Yuki-kun and Kyo-kun…what would become of them? They wouldn't really go crazy looking for her…would they? –Of course not,–a voice in Tohru's head scolded. –Akito-san is only trying to scare you. You know she doesn't like you, and she just wants you to worry.–

"It's working," Tohru whispered miserably. She laid down on the floor again, curling into a tiny ball. Her eyes filled with tears, and she couldn't stop them. She didn't even try. They fell from her eyes to the ground that she couldn't see. She didn't know how long it was before she fell asleep. The last thing she remembered was the darkness, circling her viciously, and Akito-san's laughter, echoing in her ears like a maniacal music box…