Author's Note: HAS NOT BEEN PROOF READ! I APOLOGIZE FOR MISTAKES!
Chapter Seven: Warnings
Haru opened the door to his home, school pack across his shoulder, mind on his friend. It was so unfair. Yuki had things so hard in life, while he in retrospect, had them easy. Granted, he had his share of problems, but they had never been bad enough to make him quit talking. As much as his parents got on his nerves sometimes, they hadn't used him as a tool, and they loved him. At least, his mother did. It depended on much his father had had to drink how much he cared about his son. The teen sighed heavily as he heard yelling from the living room. He waited a few moments to see how bad the fight was. They didn't normally yell, usually because he was at home when the fights started, but they obviously hadn't heard him come in. He didn't know what they were arguing about, something stupid knowing his father.
Hatsuharu closed the door to his room, softening his parents' screams. He was all to used to their screams though neither of them realized that. He turned to lie on his bed, and froze. "I was wondering when you would get here. It's a good thing your door is thick. If it wasn't I would have a headache by now and be in a much worse mood," Akito said smoothly, enjoying the look of surprise on the ox's face. "I hadn't expected you to stay for dinner at Shigure's watching over your little friend. He really is little, isn't he?" The head of the family sniggered at his joke. Haru smiled.
"You always say such funny things, Akito-san," he replied, voice neutral. He hated succumbing to Akito, but it wouldn't do to anger the head of the family. He was more likely to go hurt Yuki than himself. He was willing to do anything to spare Yuki anymore pain, and it wasn't as if he could disobey Akito.
Akito had gotten over his little joke and was now looking at the teen. "You did ask my permission to go see Yuki today." The teen had no time to brace him self for the pain before Akito's hand collided with his cheeks, slinging Haru's head sideways from the force of the blow. "You should not have done that." Again, Akito slapped him, this time on the other cheek.
"I'm sorry, Akito-san. I did not think it would be a problem for me to go to Shigure's. I was worried because he never showed up at school, and then Kagura came and told us that they were both little, but I didn't really believe her, and I didn't think you would want to be bothered simply to answer my question." Hatsuharu reined in his temper, clamping it down, resisting the urge to turn black and beat Akito to a bloody pulp.
"I should not have to tell you to not interfere in things that are not your business, things that are mentioned myself and other members of the zodiac. You've grown far to confidant. All of you have. You always do this time of year with the warm weather. I suppose I'll have to teach you a lesson, won't I?" Haru hated that smile, the smile that Yuki had told him about. The head of the family always smiled before 'teaching some a lesson.' He had always smiled before beating Yuki in his imprisonment. "Do you know what this is?" Akito asked, pulling something out of his pocket.
"It's a whip," the teen replied; dread settling in the pit of his stomach, preparing himself for the pain.
"Good, and what is the purpose of whips?" Akito asked quietly, stepping closer to the teen, smiling. Hatsuharu resisted the urge to shudder at seeing Akito's smile. He really hated that smile.
"Usually, they are used to hit people," the teen answered obediently, while bracing himself for pain. Akito smiled wider, satisfied with the ox's answer as he lashed out with the whip, hitting on the upper, over Haru's tattoo, and onto his back. Hatsuharu stayed still, silent, knowing that if he did anything it would only make it worse. He could only hope that his parents would stop fighting and that his mother would come to check on him. As annoying as she could be, she still loved him and tended to be over-protective. Normally, he found that quality about her infuriating, but now he wanted her to go into mother hen mode.
Unfortunately, he wasn't going to get his wish. As Akito hit him all over his parents continued screaming at each other in the living room. He was coming to his breaking point far to soon. The blows were beginning to become unbearable as Akito put more force behind them, hitting hardest on the tenderest parts of the body. Hatsuharu's back was screaming with pain, especially his lower back, Akito's favorite spot to hit. Haru couldn't it take it anymore when Akito hit him again on his lower back, the hardest hit yet. He cried out in pain, surprised at the force of the blow, and crumpled to the ground as Akito kicked him in the back of the knees. I can see why Yuki always crawled into a ball. I would if I thought it would help anyway. He has to finish soon he always tires easily. It's not fair that I have to put up with this, that all of us do, when there are more of us than there are of him. And to think he did this to Yuki when he was so small. At least I can somewhat handle this. I don't prey on helpless human being, or those without the capability to defy.
Haru scowled as these thoughts whirled around in his head, getting madder and madder with each hit until he finally snapped, allowing Black Haru to have complete control. "STOP!" he screamed, reaching out and grabbing Akito's hand. "If you didn't want me to go why didn't you tell me once I got home from school? You knew I would go to see him once I knew what you had done, and I would've gone anyway after what Tohru told me at school! Did you really think I wouldn't? If you had told me not to go I wouldn't have!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. Distantly, he thought he heard his parents stop talking while thinking that turning Black probably hadn't been the best choice in the world. He thought he heard his mother yell his name, but he was only half listening, attention focused solely on Akito.
"I suppose on some level that you are right, but I should not have to tell you everything single thing that are and aren't allowed to do, and you have far to over confidant in the past few weeks. Hopefully, this has taught you a lesson, and you may want to consider getting a better control on your temper. You're lucky that I am in a gracious mood today. It sounds as your mother is coming. It seems you are the only thing to distract her from your drunken father. Wouldn't it be horrible for her is something truly terrible were to happen to you?" Hatsuharu, still black, glared at the head of the family as he slid out of the open window and into the night, walking slowly with the whip at his side with splashes of the teen's blood on it.
Hatsuharu allowed his mother to completely freak out for a few minutes before his father came staggering into the room. "What did you do this time, boy? I saw Aktio-san leaving. What did you do to deserve this?" The boy avoided the his father's eyes, following his mother into the bathroom as he wet a towel, instructing him to take his shirt off so she could see just how bad the cuts were. Haru continued to ignore his father, still Black, knowing that he would seriously hurt his father if he didn't control the rage building inside of him. His mother noticed the change in his eyes, and somehow managed to get his father to leave. Completely. Haru flinched as the front door slammed shut. He looked at his mother, who was gently dabbing at one of the cuts on his chest. In the heels she still had on she had a good three inches over her son. They were almost the same height otherwise.
"I'm going to call Hatori and see if he can come over to make sure none of these are serious." The ox tried to catch her eye, but he didn't have to see her eyes to know she was holding back tears. Her wavering voice gave it away. He dejectedly sat down on the floor, suddenly exhausted and drained. He could only stay Black for so long, and he couldn't when his mother was on the verge of tears. He hadn't paid much attention to his parent's fight, but from what he had heard it had been the worst so far. He had thought he heard the word 'divorce' several times, and almost hoped it was true. His mother entered the bathroom a few minutes later, composed now, but still in her heels. "He said he'll be right over, and told me to clean some of them until he got here." She knelt in front of him, going back to dabbing at the cut.
"He's not coming back is he?" His mother stopped her dabbing, and leaned back on her feet, sighing. She shook her head and this time the teen could see the tears pooling in her eyes. "Truthfully, I'm kind of glad. I mean I know he's my dad and all, but I hate him most of the time since he's drunk all but an hour a day. And he's not here that much anyway, so it won't be different, right?" he said hopefully, hoping it would make her feel at least a little better. She did smile, but he knew it was only for his benefit.
"I filed for divorce today. That's what he was so mad about, saying that I had gone behind his back." Haru snorted.
"And exactly how many times has he gone behind your back and come home with some girl in the car saying he was going on a trip for Akito for a few days?" His mother sighed and shook her head. "Mom, we'll be fine, it's not like we need him for money, or anything like that. There'll be more money know that he won't be here to spend it all on alcohol. It's going to be fine," he said convincingly, while wondering if it really was going to be all right, if he was going to be all right. His mother smiled again, this time an almost real smile.
"You're probably right," she said, wiping her eyes. "It's not like he ever helped with anything. Why did Akito-san do this? I saw him walking away through the window? What did you do?" Hatsuharu explained the whole things and was only a little ways in when the doorbell rang signaling Hatori's arrival. He started the story again when his mother and the doctor returned. Hatori cleaned his cuts and bandaged them, while the teen continued talking.
"So Yuki-kun and Kyo-kun are little, and Yuki isn't talking again?" his mother summed up. "Ayame-san is taking care of Yuki? How could that man take care of anything? He's always seems irresponsible to me."
"I thought the same things, but he's been very caring and very serious with Yuki. At least, he was when I was there. You have something to do with that though don't you, Hatori?" The doctor didn't answer. He simply stood up and turned to the teen's mother.
"These are some painkillers, one pill ever four hours if he needs it. I would keep him home from school tomorrow just to let him rest. He could probably go tomorrow if he really wanted to, but I wouldn't recommend it, and call me immediately if you see any signs of infection. I'll be back sometime tomorrow, or the day after, to change the bandages. Just make sure he rests and doesn't get to worked up." His mother thanked him while showing him to the door. Haru wished his mother hadn't taken the bottle of painkiller with her. Every inch of his body was screaming, and having Hatori disinfect the cuts hadn't helped any. He carefully stood up from the toilet and went into his room, pulling out his pajamas. He was just pulling in his pants when his mother entered through the open door. She have him a painkiller before making sure he settled into bed and fell asleep.
Yuki opened his eyes for the briefest second before snapping them back shut and rolling over. The sun was far to bright for him to get up now. He hated morning. Why couldn't he just completely skip morning and have it be evening when he woke up. The only good thing about being small again was that he didn't have to go to school, which meant that he didn't have to get up early. He could sleep to noon if he wanted. The child rubbed at his, trying to wake himself up a little, not wanting to actually go back to sleep. He blinked at the clock, trying to focus in on it before looking at the bed that was now beside him. Nii-san had obviously already gotten up since the bed was empty. But where was he?
Now with a goal in mind, (Operation: Find Nii-san) he got out of bed and walked into the hallway. He headed toward the kitchen hearing voices from there. No one was in the kitchen as he realized the voices were coming from outside. He stopped dead in his tracks. There was no way he was going outside again, not after what happened yesterday, but that was where Nii-san was. He carefully took a few steps closer to the open sliding door, listening to Nii-san and Shigure talking, Ayame his normal carefree self. He stepped closer, pausing at the open door, placing his hand on the doorframe. Shigure was the first one to notice him. He had paper and pen in front of him writing while Ayame was working away on a maid's outfit. "Yuki, are you going to join us?" Shigure said without looking up from his writing. Ayame paused and looked up, smiling.
"It's okay, Yuki, nothing out here is going to hurt you," he said soothingly. The child shrank back, further into the house. He was not going outside again. Ayame sighed quietly so Yuki wouldn't hear him. He sat his work aside and stood up to go inside. He knelt in front of the child, gently cupping his chin. "Nothing out there is going to hurt you. That was only a stick yesterday, and it didn't hurt you, did it?" Yuki thought about this as he realized the man had a valid point. As much as it had scared him the whip, not stick like Aaya said it was, had not hurt him. At least not physically. He gently took his chin back and took a few steps back into the kitchen while watching his brother. What if he got mad at him for not going outside? What if he hit him? The man simply shrugged at the child's actions. "Are you hungry?" Yuki stared back at him, wondering if he really thought he was going to answer. He obviously did by the way he was staring back at his little brother. Yuki nodded his head slightly. Ayame got down some cereal and poured it into a bowl before going back outside with Shigure, promising to be back in a few minutes.
He came back in with his work and sat down across from the child beginning to work again. Ayame didn't attempt to fill the silence, to preoccupied with the fact that the child had nodded his head in answer to his question. He had nodded and shook his head yesterday, but that had always been when he was scared. It hadn't for something like breakfast, and it hadn't been to him. It was still a long way from talking, but at least it was a start. Yuki finished his cereal and Ayame took it back to the kitchen. Yuki stood up and followed him not knowing where else to go. He hadn't seen Kyo or Shishou-san yet and had no clue where they were.
Ayame smiled at Yuki's small, light footsteps following him giddy at the thought that Yuki actually wanted to spend time with him. He turned around from the sink and sure enough Yuki was standing beside him, blinking up at him owlishly. He had heard stories about when Kisa had stayed with them and had been glued to Tohru. He knew Kisa had followed the girl around the whole house, even bumping into her back when she had stopped one time. Tohru had burst out, "I love you!" and had the proceeded to hug her tightly. He wanted so desperately to do that now, but was afraid that suddenly bursting out with that would only scare the child. As he went back into the other room to get his room the urge became stronger as Yuki followed him once. Finally, he simply thought, screw it, and scooped the child up into his arms, hugging him tight. The child was obviously surprised, but relaxed in his brother's embrace. "I love you!" Ayame said excitedly in an almost perfect imitation of Tohru.
Yuki blinked as his brother's words registered in his brain. "I love you." His brother loved him? Truthfully, he really shouldn't have been so surprised after all the things he was always saying. He knew his brother has always cared very deeply for him, but love? How could his brother be sure that he loved him? Had anyone ever even told him that before? How could he be worthy of someone else's love? Why would anyone find him worthy of being loved, or even to be taken care of? But Ayame had said it, and was still saying it. He had said it at least five times now, so it had to be true didn't it? He pushed back slightly from his brother to look him in the eyes, shocked by the genuine love in his eyes as the truth set in. Someone loved him. Someone thought he was worthy enough of their heart, and he was loved. How could something as simple as a word mean so much to him? Couldn't it be taken back as quickly and easily as it had been given? But it wasn't going to be taken back he could tell. His brother mean what he said, and he could by the look in the man's eyes that it wasn't going to ever leave.
The child felt tears fill his eyes as he realized this, happiness and love filling him. He wrapped his arms back around his brother's neck, and nuzzled his head into the crook of the man's neck. Ayame laughed lightly for some reason. "Is this your way of saying 'I love you' back, or at least I like you?" Yuki nodded his head certainly several times. Ayame smiled widely before beginning to spin around the room, dancing and singing with Yuki in his arms. He began to twirl in circles, making faces at the child, before falling to the floor on his butt. Yuki laughed out loud as his brother flinched, but quickly clamped his mouth shut as he realized what he had, fear filling his eyes. Ayame noticed this and began laughing to, telling the child silently it was okay to laugh, wanting to hear his brother's laugh again. Yuki looked at him uncertainly, but began laughing after a few minutes.
Ayame pulled the child closer, both still laughing, loving the sound of his brother's laugh making a goal to try to get the child to talk by the end of the week. If he was laughing at the beginning of the second day talking shouldn't be to far off.
Author's Note: I know this very Haru centered, but I'm beginning to like him lots more and I needed a little break from our two main characters so I could think about what to do plus it really just popped into my head and I wrote it. I don't know if his dad is like that, books have NO information on that, or really on any of their dads. It says nothing about Hiro's dad, and if you've read the 10th one, he obviously has one since his mom's well, you know, and she has a wedding ring… oh well.
Different Child: I've considered putting both children's parent(s) into play here, but I haven't decided what I'm going to do yet. Yes, Akito and Kyo have a bet, that's actually one of the spoilers. Lol. I just kind of went Haru crazy for this chapter if you can't tell. I just couldn't write anything else until I got that down and just decided to leave it as part of the chapter. I dunno how much Akito will be in this, but he will be in it.
Quillian91: Akito's not a woman, just so you know. That's not his true identity. You're back! Lol. You disappeared for a few chapters there. The anime covers the books up to like half way through the 8th one. There's probably a whole lot of spoilers in here if you've only read up to the 7th, 8th book. Yuki will talk soon enough, and I know there wasn't much Yuki Ayame bonding except for the last part, but it was a very important bonding no matter how short it was. Thanks for the review!
Rubypearlz: lol. It's fine if you don't have a lot of comments for the chapter. Thanks for the review!
Dragonjewel24: Well, it's a little late now, but always check Ebay because that's how I got my copy of the 10th one, and it was about a dollar cheaper than what I would've got it for with tax and I got it about June 20th. If you have any money that is, I thankfully did for some reason. I can't remember why now. Lol. There aren't to many spoilers in here, not for the 10th one anyway. Thanks for the review!
Raven fire1: Thanks! I know Ayame is a little, ok a lot, out of character most of the time, but he'll still have his goofy moments like at the end of this chapter.
Phoenix-maker: Thanks so much for the review!
Ayamesgirl: I hope this was fast enough!
StrawberriRain: lol. Yes, Haru and Yuki. I finding that I like Haru lots, lots, lots more as the series progresses. There will be Kisa and Haru once Kisa thinks to come back to the house. Yes, Kyo is more relaxed, but I don't really think that's how he was in the books because in the 5th one Haru says, "Kyo used to beat them nearly to death. That's you call a delinquent," so… but oh well. Lol. Thanks for the review!
THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!