Again, I'm so sorry this has taken so long. Thank you everyone for your support and patience with me :)

Yuki couldn't even act. Could hardly think clearly.

He had lost his mask somewhere along the way and now wondered if he would ever get it back.

The waves were washing over him and they were too great, too almighty and strong for him to catch his breath.

And he realised they were fear.

There were other eyes on them, many people watching Yuki thought, but he was hardly aware of them. His whole world had become just himself, Akito... and Kyo. Kyo smirked at him and it was like something so familiar and so new. Something at once comforting and sinister. It was so wrong.

Akito was saying something now and Yuki struggled to understand.

"-come now Yuki, let's not keep out guest waiting." There was a cruel spark in Akito's eyes and Yuki knew he was absolutely loving this.

Yuki couldn't even force a smile, couldn't even adopt his usually indifferent expression. He was sure he looked shocked, scared... lost. But this time he couldn't pretend. From the moment he saw the tube of liquid eyeliner he had been teetering on the edge and now he knew he was too tired, too shocked, too scared even, to act. Yet he felt his body obeying, rising stiffly from the armchair and moving forwards. His mind rejected every atom of this scene, shying away, trying to hide, but his body responded to Akito. Well, Yuki thought bitterly, hadn't that always been the way?

As he reached them Yuki tried to compose himself. He was sure he failed. Triumph was emanating from Akito.

Kyo said something then, which sounded like, "Come on then."

He extended his arm, smiling self-assuredly and Yuki let his hand be taken. Kyo murmured something to Akito and the two laughed. Yuki felt sick. Kyo turned and Yuki allowed himself to be led back through the lounge. He was sure someone wolf-whistled. Vaguely he was aware of seeing faces of those he knew, most predominately in his mind were Haru and Ayame's shocked expressions. And he couldn't muster a sneer, a smile, a blank mask of indifference. Nothing. He must look pitiful. And he hated looking pitiful; hated them knowing how he felt.

Time was misbehaving; sometimes crawling wearily on so it seemed to take an age to cross the lounge, sometimes loping in great strides so Yuki couldn't remember walking down the corridor at all. He only knew that suddenly they were in a bedroom and Kyo released his hand. Yuki stumbled at the loss of pressure, his head spinning.

Kyo turned and decidedly locked the door with a faint click which rang in Yuki's ears. He staggered against the bed, feeling faint. It took only a gentle push from Kyo to make him sit, sinking into the soft mattress.

Yuki fought the waves of nausea which threatened to overcome him. He couldn't act happy, but he wouldn't run either. He hadn't lost control yet and he forced himself to remain sitting.

But this was all so wrong. This couldn't be happening. Couldn't be happening. But the reality stalked up to him and paraded before his eyes, forcing him to admit it, to address it.

Kyo remained standing hovering above Yuki. And he seemed so tall, so strong suddenly in a way Yuki had never noticed before.

Kyo cleared his throat purposefully, pretentiously.

"So...you're mine" he began, his voice soft and smug. "For the evening. For the night."

Yuki felt like he was having trouble understanding, finding it difficult to put two and two together. He just couldn't understand this situation and somehow his mind was fighting against comprehending it. He didn't speak, didn't move.

Kyo continued, beginning to pace, almost circling Yuki. The prey was trapped. "To do as I please. And don't you think I deserve it?"

Yuki swallowed thickly and forced him to speak.

"Kyo, please...?" But he didn't know how to continue. Didn't know how to ask. And he sounded pathetic. And he hated that he had been made to.

Kyo laughed but it was bitter and sardonic, not his usual reckless, carefree one. "You've treated me like shit for years. Always acting like you were better than me."

Now Yuki couldn't respond. Kyo continued pacing, methodical, restrained. But there was something there. Something impatient, something desperate, something hungry, lurking. And Yuki couldn't remember the last time he felt this sick, this scared, this powerless.

"You're mine Yuki. And I could do anything I want to you. That's this whole gig. I own you for the night. And I know how that feels."

He paused and glanced down at Yuki who looked determined still, despite his fear.

"I could really hurt you Yuki. I know you. So I know how to hurt you."

Yuki couldn't stop the slight tremor that entered his voice. "Please don't. Don't ruin yourself, not for me. I'm not worth that." Yuki felt very small, and very weak.

"You're a cruel bastard Yuki. And you've hurt plenty of people. You deserve to be hurt in return. Isn't that how it works? Hmm? Broken people break people. Didn't you know that Yuki? That's how this rotten world works. Broken people break people."

He stopped walking in front of Yuki. Yuki felt something deep within his core shrivel up in fear. And he resolved he would not cry. Would not shout. Would not struggle. This would happen and it would destroy him, surely. Then it would all be over and he wouldn't have to feel anymore. And maybe, probably... definitely, he deserved this pain.

Kyo crouched down in front of Yuki. He angled Yuki's chin roughly so Yuki had to meet his eyes.

"But... I never would. I never would Yuki. And maybe that's the difference between us."

Kyo straightened up and took a step back, out of Yuki's personal space.

Yuki's mind reeled. What? What was happening? His body sagged in relief and he let out a shaky breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. His limp body almost slipped off the bed as he changed suddenly from tense to lax.

"Sorry for messing around with you, I just thought you deserved a little scare." Kyo looked uncertain as he regarded Yuki who now stared wide-eyed at the opposite wall, apparently zoned out and dealing with some messy internal stuff. Kyo had to admit he felt a little bad.

"A little scare? A little fucking scare?" Yuki demanded eventually, incredulous. And Kyo smiled, relieved Yuki was alright. And Yuki laughed, and the laugh soon became hysterical and tears came to his eyes and his hands shook. Kyo had to hurriedly cover his mouth.

"Shut up you idiot. They can't know." And he smiled conspiratorially at Yuki. And Yuki wanted to hit the idiot.

.

They sat side by side on the bed after Yuki had calmed down.

Yuki was shivering, either from emotion or the ridiculously thin shirt Akito had chosen for him, so Kyo gave him his jacket. Yuki had rejected it at first but now gratefully wrapped the warm jacket around him. It was soft and smelt vaguely comforting. It was too big so easily enveloped him. Yuki supposed he had grown quite thin.

"Man it's weird being back here," Kyo muttered, looking around. "I don't like it."

He looked old when he said that, old and sad. There was a strange darkness tugging at the corners of his eyes. Yuki stared. He supposed he'd forgotten that Kyo had his own demons too.

"So... why're you here?" Yuki ventured. He still felt slightly uncertain, slightly anxious. Perhaps it was just being back in the rooms meant for entertaining clients.

Kyo heaved a weary sigh. "Well you, Akito and... Tohru. In short."

Yuki turned to face him as the sharp, bloody pieces shifted uncomfortably at the mention of her name. Still, they didn't hurt as they once had. The pain was less refined now.

Kyo noted his interest. "Well it's a long story. Do you have anything to drink here?" Maybe he saw how Yuki visibly paled for he quickly backtracked. "Actually cigarettes would be good. Do you still smoke?"

Yuki nodded, grateful he wouldn't have to be near his old comforter tonight. "Yeah but I don't have any on me."

"S'fine, there's that vending machine in the corridor?"

Yuki nodded, stupidly surprised for some reason that Kyo should know the place so well. Kyo was pulling coins out of the pocket of his luxurious wool coat now, and Yuki was desperate to ask how he had such nice clothes. But he waited. Kyo stood and Yuki leapt to his feet.

"I'll get them" he said. Kyo looked at him in some surprise for a moment then handed Yuki the money. Yuki himself wasn't sure why he was acting so servile around Kyo, he only supposed it was because he couldn't remember the last time he had felt this relieved, this grateful towards someone as he did that night.

When he returned a couple of minutes later he found Kyo standing at the large French windows, looking out on the grounds of the Estate. Kyo had drawn back the heavy, rich curtains to look out. Yuki handed him the cigarettes and change and stood back. Kyo seemed mildly bemused by this unusually submissive Yuki.

"I was just looking at the stars," he muttered.

Yuki quietly flicked the light off and the stars popped brightly off the dark blanket of sky. Kyo nodded. He sat by the window, choosing the floor rather than the bed. Yuki joined him. He thought he understood. Kyo opened the packet and offered Yuki a cigarette which he gratefully took. Kyo took one for himself and lit them both. For a moment there was silence as they smoked, gazing out on the gardens cloaked in twilight.

"I just don't like being back here," Kyo finally offered, as way of an explanation for his choice of the floor as a seat. "I don't like being in these rooms."

"I don't either" Yuki agreed.

They shared a long look and each knew the other understood.

"Well," Kyo continued, "I got out anyway. And I didn't really have anything, just the tips I'd been saving for a few years. And that wasn't much, my tips are crap." He laughed bitterly and Yuki felt a twinge of guilt for the generous tips he had always received.

"So I went to a hostel," Kyo continued, "and stayed there for a while. I looked for a job. Got a few odd jobs lifting stuff, painting stuff. Nothing much. I mean- I have nothing. Akitos made it so we didn't even exist, you know? No records of us anywhere. I have no school qualifications... anyway I ended up at a homeless shelter cause I had nowhere else to go- so maybe you were right about me fucking up out there."

Yuki went to speak, to apologise, but Kyo stopped him with a wave of his hand, knowing what Yuki was going to do.

"It's alright, really. Anyway, I was feeling pretty down," Kyo shrugged as though it wasn't a big deal, but Yuki could tell it was. The smoke made a cocoon around them.

"You know, it's pretty fucked up out there too. At least in here everyone knows it's hell. But out there... it's like everythings painted in pretty colours and underneath... everything is just as dirty and cruel."

Yuki was sad to hear Kyo say this but he didn't disagree.

"I was lost. But then... I met Tohru. And there was this kind old man who got me a cleaning job a few days a week. And it got better." He took a long drag of his cigarette and Yuki did the same, watching how their breath streamed up the cold glass of the windows.

"I mean, I didn't mean to meet Tohru. I'd just wanted to check on her, to see she was alright. I knew she worked at a vets so I went to the one in the centre of town. And she was there. She was friendly and happy and hard working. And I was going to slip away but she saw me, recognised me. And I think... she was really happy to see me. It was nice. I waited till after her work and then we had a long catch up. And you know, she didn't mention you for ages. And when she did... when she did it was so sad." Kyo shook his head almost imperceptibly, absorbed in the memories he shared.

Yuki was enraptured, desperate in a way he hadn't even known for word of Tohru. It hurt, it hurt so badly to hear of her sad, and the broken pieces within him danced a cruel dance, ripping him apart continuously. But he ignored them. He needed to know of her. He would deal with the pain later.

"I told her that you were with Akito now, doing business shit and being a prick." Yuki couldn't help the chesty laugh that escaped him. "And I told her you'd lost the competition with Rossa. And that that was why I was out. And she nodded and was quiet and didn't ask more about you that day."

Kyo flicked the stub of his cigarette away into the corner of the room. Yuki copied him with a smirk. Kyo didn't take another but offered the pack to Yuki who did. Screw you lungs, he thought. Maybe I'll kill you before you can kill me. And he took a long, satisfied drag.

Kyo looked down now. "But man... I think you really hurt her. Like really. I mean when I saw her first she was just about holding together all these fragile pieces but it wouldn't have taken much to shatter her. And I won't sugarcoat anything, I think you need to hear all this. You're an asshole Yuki. A proper asshole."

And Yuki couldn't disagree. He inhaled deeply, wishing the tobacco were any other drug which could numb him or make him not know pain and guilt. Or better yet to kill him. He nodded.

"Anyway you hurt her badly and I don't know why you would do that but I hate you for it. I really, really hate you. She had to take time of work and she failed one of her exams. And you properly screwed her over. She gave all her savings to free you, and some of her grandfather's money too. Then you pissed off. And now she's in debt. You're an asshole and I really want to hit you."

"Hit me" Yuki replied quickly,"Please hit me."

"Man it's no fun if you ask!" Kyo whined, "But I will by the end of the night." he promised, and Yuki was satisfied.

"Anyway she let me live in her flat and I gave her all the money I earned towards rent or whatever. But it's difficult. And she works so hard."

And Yuki could see the scene so well, could practically feel it, because he too had lived this.

"And then I noticed this guy was following her. One of the estate guards."

Yuki felt a sudden, cold plummeting in his stomach. Why hadn't he thought of that? Of course Akito wouldn't just leave Tohru alone.

"And I recognised the guy cause I used to suck him off for new video games, so I know him pretty well." Kyo gave a bitter laugh and Yuki only stared, shocked at how much corruption could exist in one place.

"So I went to him and asked what he was doing and he didn't say but I knew. So I told him to ask Akito what I had to do to get him to leave Tohru alone. And he came back the next day with a message from Akito that if I gave you the worst night of your life he'd stop tailing Tohru. The next day he came with a contract and these fancy clothes to look intimidating."

Yuki was speechless, stunned by the depths of Akito's depravity.

"So there was no choice. I had to get Tohru away from everything you dragged her into. And honestly," Kyo took another cigarette now, "Honestly I really thought about hurting you. For a full day I thought I'd come here and properly fuck you up, just like Akito wanted. But then I saw Tohru. And she has this potted tea rose thing in the kitchen. Bright orange. And she had no money for food or anything but she bought this. And in the beginning she looked after this damn plant better than she looked after herself. And I don't know exactly what it means. But I know it means she doesn't hate you. After all you've done. I think... I think she probably still loves you. So I knew I couldn't go through with it."

Yuki couldn't talk now because the guilt was shredding his insides to pieces and there was nothing solid to hold onto. He was crumbling apart, melting, scattering, like ashes in the wind. And his head spun. He coughed and then he couldn't stop coughing and there was no air in his lungs. Finally he spluttered up a handful of phlegm. Kyo looked equally disgusted and concerned.

"Oh also if I make you cry I get a birth certificate and papers. So we'll be testing your acting in the morning cause I want to exist out there."

Yuki didn't know what to say. His throat was burning after his bout of coughing and his lungs felt tight and strained. But he thought it was his soul which was suffering worst. He'd thought a soul in tatters such as his was would be impervious to pain, but oh it definitely wasn't. Everything, every thought felt raw and painful. Guilt, Yuki decided, was the worst feeling. He wanted a drink.

"And look, I don't know what's going on with you and Akito, but man you've got to see that's not a real relationship you've got? I mean the guy is practically paying me to break you. You don't seem stupid... you know it's not healthy right...?"

Yuki didn't know what to say. He nodded reluctantly.

"So... what? It's for money? Power?"

Yuki looked carefully at him. It seemed Kyo was more perceptive than he had thought. Kyo waited, staring intently through the haze of smoke.

"Something like that," Yuki muttered at last.

Kyo still didn't see that he had freed him... that he wanted to help them all... to free them all.

Kyo shook his head. "Well I don't care what you do, it's just messed up. And you're an asshole."

Yuki nodded, then laughed. Kyo laughed too then punched him lightly on the arm.

They spend the next few hours in idle small-talk until Yuki fell asleep slumped against the wall.

When he awoke with a start Kyo was pacing and the room was growing bright with daylight. He gasped, staring around with wide eyes, trying to understand why he was on the floor of one of the clients' rooms.

"Oh you're awake, now I need to hit you." Kyo greeted him. Yuki laughed aloud in strange relief at seeing Kyo.

"I know a way to hit which bruises quickly but doesn't cause much pain," Kyo said confidently.

Yuki raised a quizzical eyebrow. Kyo blushed as brightly as his hair. "I had a regular who liked me looking hurt and broken but never actually wanted to hurt me" he admitted.

Yuki nodded, sorry he had made Kyo explain that. Without any warming a fist was slammed into Yuki's eye socket.

"Ow you bastard that did hurt!"

"Oh," Kyo nonchalantly examined his hand, "I wasn't trying that time."

Kyo spent the next twenty minutes making Yuki look thoroughly abused, sometimes using his special technique and sometimes just hurting Yuki. By the end Yuki was black and blue and feeling immensely sensitive. He was covered in bruises, scratches, small cuts and deep bite marks.

"Wait there's something missing." Kyo said, standing back to examine him. He spat into his hand and strode towards Yuki who didn't move. Kyo gently attacked the bold eyeliner on Yuki, smudging it around his eyes and dragging some down his cheeks. Yuki closed his eyes and didn't flinch, as still as a porcelain doll.

"Perfect," Kyo muttered. "Now remember to act really hurt and broken. Hmm, shouldn't be difficult for you," he admitted.

He drew the luxurious coat around him and dropped two crumpled notes to the floor.

"You know," Kyo paused, looking thoughtful, "If you ever get the chance Yuki, you really should try get out. I mean I know I was saying it was difficult in the beginning, but Tohru showed me how to see the good. You can't be idle. You have to search and work and never stop trying. And then it's great. It can be really great out there."

Yuki nodded seriously. And he was really, profoundly sad. Because he would never know this beauty. He would die in this cage.

At the door Kyo paused with his usual mischievous smirk. "I still hate you though, arrogant bastard."

"Likewise," Yuki replied, with a cocky grin which concealed the brokenness inside, "you stupid prick."

Kyo nodded in satisfaction and left.

As soon as the door closed behind him Yuki sank slowly to the floor, mentally drained. Now to convince Akito he had had an awful night. Kyo was right, it shouldn't be difficult.

.

Yuki sat in the garden for some time that morning, partly so people could see him looking awful, and partly so he could think. Hearing how badly he had hurt Tohru... that was enough to condemn him to eternal darkness and torture he thought. She was so bright, so warm and kind, and he had hurt her... But it gave him the faintest amount of calm, which he knew he didn't deserve, to know she was managing now. She was stronger than she looked. Stronger than him anyway.

Yuki staggered along the corridor to Akito's room, letting people see him, whether staff or old friends, it made no matter. He stumbled into the shower and when he emerged Akito was there, smiling hungrily.

And it was almost funny Yuki thought, that to act broken and wretched as Kyo had instructed required no acting whatsoever, it merely required hestop acting for a short while. For a few days he didn't need to pretend to be alright. He could reveal the cracks which threatened to split him open.

Midday he went to the dining room for a coffee and saw the others staring behind him. He didn't say anything and neither did Yuki, but he knew it appeared Kyo had been really, truly cruel to him and that they were wondering what had happened during the night Kyo owned him.

In the afternoons Yuki went to the main lounge, often sitting rocking slightly in a plush armchair, staring fixedly at the bar and daring himself to resist his beloved vodka.

Akito seemed satisfied with the outcome- no, more then satisfied, he was delighted. And Yuki hated him fiercely. He just hoped Tohru would be left alone and Kyo could begin a new life.

From that day on Yuki regularly smoked, challenging and mocking his failing lungs. And he wondered if he could kill himself before his body failed. It would be the most miserable death for a most miserable life, unremarkable and unremembered. And Yuki could see no hope in those days, as he gazed at the cruelty of the world through his pain-hazed eyes. He wanted only to surrender to the darkness.