Chapter 10.

Ayame

"Ayame…?" I heard a familiar voice call to me from my door as I laid on my bed with a head ache. The voice was quiet, kind and very hasty when I heard it but I automatically knew who it was even when I heard the footsteps coming from down the hall. Onii-sama couldn't hide his own stride.

"Meow!" I heard the little white fluff ball from Onii-sama's office call from his feet. I heard the little bells on his collar jingle quickly and frantically as it scampered over to my bed then claw it way up to my stomach. I sighed and in a knee-jerk reaction I lifted my hand to scratch it's little head. It purred and soon I felt the weight of Onii beside me.

"Are you alright Ayame?" he asked gently as I opened my eyes slowly to look at his kind smile. He wore only white, as usual, and looked down at me with worried eyes. He worried about me all the time, ever since I could remember.

"I'm fine." I sighed giving him a wry smile and then continued to listen to the little kitten on my stomach's purr. "You just worry too much." I said still keeping my eyes on the kitten who was now licking my palm affectionately. I smiled lightly down at it and Tsukasa smiled gently down at me.

"It's my job to worry about you, I'm your brother." he said gently. I sighed and thought to myself quietly before hearing what I said under my breath before thinking to stop it.

"Not biologically." I said under my breath. I didn't think Tsukasa heard it,like he usually did, and luckily he didn't this time.

"What was that?" he asked gently smiling at me but a sense of knowing was always emanating from him. I knew he had heard but I still lied, trying to cover it up and hopefully try to trick him into thinking he heard wrong. He never doubted himself though so what else could I do?

"Oh nothing. Just whispering to myself again…you know me." I said casually and chuckled nervously. Onii always had a problem with us not being blood but he still had his biological sister, Mizue Hotori. She was married now, and much older than him with a son whome I had onl ever heard good things about and never met but I guess he felt I was closer to him than his own blood.

Mizue didn't like me and Onii and her often got into arguments over my staying with him at the academy but he would always mention how their parents always fought for me and how loyal they were to me. I wish I could remember them, because they sounded like great people but I don't.

I sighed gently at the horrible thoughts of onii getting mad and dragging me home but I didn't let it show on my face because he'd only get more worried and then call a doctor with cold hands who smelled of moth balls and onions to examine me.

"Well I just came to make sure you were alright…are you sure you don't need anything before you go to sleep? I have a feeling you aren't going to wake up very happy…" Onii said with a sincere look on his face. He was genuinely worried over me.

He had always said he had these strange feelings before something was going to happen, almost like premonitions, but I didn't believe in that sort of thing. I sighed frustrated and nodded before giving him another smile.

"Yeah, I'm sure." I said calmly. He sighed this time and stood up off my bed. The little kitten hopped into his arms eagerly and then they were gone, my door shut and the lights off. They left me to sleep and dream of only things I could scream of.

Things that would terrify me for the rest of my days. Things I would…remember.

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