A/n: Yeah, sry for the wait but here it is! Chapter Nine!! w000t! =^.^=

-Dark-

Ghost

Chapter Nine

I found myself on a bicycle, riding through the rain with the graying sky over head. Why am I…?

Oh right, how silly of me! I'm going to Muraki's house. We had made plans earlier that week at the start of our summer vacation to hang out at his house. I liked Muraki's house, it was on the outskirts of Kyoto in the country, the beautiful hillsides and clean air was welcoming to this urban-grown pimps son. Even in the rain, it was beautiful…

Rain water soaked my shoulders and back as I peddled standing up and as fast as I could, my breath coming in pants as I pumped my legs. All my long hair was soaked and plastered to the sides of my face, annoying me with the odd sensation it created against my skin. Strapped to the back of my bike was my kendo sword since we made plans right after my kendo class.

Coming to a skidding halt, I stopped my bike just outside the gates of the Muraki Estate. It was a classic Japanese mansion with a huge stretching veranda all around the house, screen doors and trails all around the house in the forest for horse riding. It was like Kou Kaku Rou except it didn't have father so it made it instantly better.

I moved off the bike and slowly walked the bike up the path leading to the front door, pulled the kick stand down to rest in front and I heard the front door open behind me. I looked to see a group of people moved through the door that which included Muraki's father and a boy about my age.

Muraki's father was a man that was aging graceful, a very handsome face, graying brown hair and deep brown eyes. Fine lines of age graced his face but that was only natural, he still was handsome.

I found that my older self slipped into my younger self and the thought of the present Muraki growing old was almost funny. Was Muraki meant to die old or at a young age? Or maybe he was never going to die…

The boy stood to about my height, his hair was short and neat like Muraki's was, a dull brown color, his eyes were a dark gold color and he was dressed in a uniform from some high school. His expression was almost vacant as he moved through the doors and out into the rain.

"Oh, Mibu. I did not know you were coming. Are you here to see Kazutaka?" Yurotama Muraki spoke to me, offering a short bow to me. I returned with a deep bow.

"Yes sir, Muraki-San." I said to him, looking up as I straightened my body up to look at him properly.

"Ah, well he's inside." He gestured to the door and caught sight of the boy and he smiled. "Yes, right. Mibu, this is my other son Shido Saki." Muraki-San spoke then this information that made me blink in astonishment.

"Er… excuse me, sir….Son?" I wasn't sure I heard correctly. "You have a second son, sir?" I found my voice sounded just as stunned as I truly felt.

Muraki-San nodded and he sighed, "As my son's very close, personal friend, I would like you to know he's Kazutaka's older brother. However, I would not like this to be public knowledge." The man spoke in a serious tone, placing a hand on Saki's shoulder and gave it a good squeeze. "His mother died several weeks ago and as his only living blood relative, I've taken him into my care." Muraki-San smiled down at Saki and Saki returned it with a smile of his own.

Saki looked over at me and smiled that same smile. I don't know what it was but…I didn't trust that smile. The very aura around him felt off though I couldn't quite be sure but I knew it was trouble. Saki moved over to me and bowed. "I'm Shido Saki and you are?"

I stared at the bowed head for a moment before I realized that I was being watched and I forced my body to incline forward. "I am Mibu Oriya." I spoke to him, keeping the tightness I felt out of my voice and keeping it as even as possible. I raised myself up to find him eye level with me and something lingering in those eyes… made me uneasy enough to know I should never be around this kid and not be on my guard.

"Excuse me, Shido-Kun." I nodded to Saki as I spoke, "Muraki-San," I nodded to Muraki-San as I fumbled with my kendo sword and it came with me inside the house. I didn't feel safe leaving it, not to mention it was raining and it could get ruined.

After getting into a pair of the house's guest slippers, I moved through the house, passing servants every now and then, knowing exactly where I'm going but found that when I turned to go down a hallway, I was not alone.

A woman I had never seen was there with her back to be. I moved and the creaking floor boards made me wince and alerted her to my being there. The woman turned her head slightly but opted to move herself to look at me. Something about her wasn't right, that I was sure about that.

The woman was about in her thirties, her face was thin and pale. It would have been such a beautiful face if not for her lack of body fat. Her long silver hair was wild around her head and two silver eyes stared at me with a mixture of awe and realization. As a teenage boy, I noticed her kimono was barely closed, and I could see her chest was sunken in. The rail thin white woman moved and started for me with outstretched hands.

For some reason…I couldn't moved in time before she was right before me and two long fingered hands took hold of the sides of my face. My gold eyes met her silver ones.

"Such a lovely boy you are. Such a lovely…" she spoke softly to me, moving to place a kiss on my forehead. "Would you like to be a part of my collection?" Her voice was sweet sounding but it wasn't comforting at all to me. It was sinister. Something about her made my blood run cold. She was terrifying to me.

"Ma'am, please." I began, trying to mask my fear with reason, "let me go. I'm just here to visit your son, Kazutaka."

"Ka-zu-ta-ka… You are friends with my son…" She spoke, pronouncing her own sons name as if it was foreign to her, her grip loosen on the sides of my head for a second before her hands gripped my hair and pulled me down to kneel with her, her eyes staring down into mine.

"Ma'am, please-"

"You will be with him a very long time, lovely boy. Oh beloved little brothel master…" She began, smiling a deeply disturbing grin, "you shall ever be close to Kazutaka and you will protect him. Even when he's no longer capable of seeing through the darkness, you will still be there, protecting… That is what kind of man you will be, Lovely One…"

"Harue! Oh, madame!" A servant girl's voice sounded behind me and rushing steps came up and took her hands from me and pulled me up and back so she could get to her mistress. The servant girl helped Muraki Harue to her feet and she looked at me with a hard expression. "What happened?" She asked me and I…wasn't sure how to response.

"I-I-I'm sorry. I was just going to see Mur-Kazutaka, ma'am." I said, pointing past her at the direct Muraki's room was.

"Well hurry now and go. I need to escort my lady back to her room." The servant went on and I didn't hesitate. Moving carefully by the two woman, I noticed Muraki Harue was watching me with a twisted smile and wild eyes. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought she had seen something she wasn't supposed to.

Shuddering, I found I had begun running after I turned out of that hallway and it wasn't long before I was in Muraki's hallway. I silently thanked….someone I got there when I did.

Mentally, I made the decision to never tell Muraki about what happened with his mother. He didn't need to know I met his insane mother… Though her words… how did she know about the brothel or me being its future master? So strange…

I made my way down to Muraki's room and knocked on the door of his door. "Oi, Muraki. Open up-" I called out, forcing my voice to be as even and calm as possible and found the door threw itself open and a wide eyed Muraki stared up at me, panting. His face looked like he had been running, red and gleaming with sweat . I knew that look very well. He was secretly taking out his rage, hating who caused him discomfort and taking it out in either a verbal or physical context. For Muraki…he pegged my as the type to mentally rage so noone heard him and worry about him.

"Oriya!" He said breathlessly and he remained in the doorway frozen for a moment before letting me pass into his room.

Muraki's room was a typical Straight A students room: Books everywhere, a bulletin board that had his latest transcript posted to it, a few pictures of girls that gave their pictures to him, a desk covered in papers and notebooks, a bed, a dresser and the floor was spotless, not a single stray sock to be found. The only thing in the room that was so out of place that my eyes were able to seek out was Muraki's precious china doll Veronica who sat on his dresser. I moved to his bed and collapsed down on the edge, pulling at my wet shirt.

"You're soaked." Muraki's voice finally came as he stood still by the door, a look on his face was strange, not the usual happy or calm peace but dark and full of conflict. This was probably the first glimpse of the Muraki that I would come to know as a doctor as well as a murderer.

"Yeah, just let me borrow a shirt and I'll be fine." I spoke but found that at the end I was alone. Muraki had slipped away while I was glancing about the room speaking.

Sighing, I waited in silence for Muraki to return, moving about the room to see other new things he held in his care, like the new award for attendance and whatnot, and soon found a chill running down my spine. I looked around the room with a quick, unsure gaze, as if to see if anyone was around, and pulled off my wet shirt.

"Oriya." Spoke Muraki from the door and I looked over at him as my arms remained in the arms of the t-shirt and I smiled. Muraki stood in the doorway of his room with a white towel in his hands.

"Sorry but I think I'm gonna have to borrow a shirt from you. Mines totally soaked." I explained with a laugh as I pulled the shirt completely off. I was trying to lighten his mood. It was clear something happened to put him that state. What was it?

"You have a scar on your back." Muraki's voice came as he moved over to me and offered the towel. Yeah, I had almost forgotten I had a scar. It had been that one customers cane whipping me to the floor when I was 10... No, don't tell him that, he doesn't need to know about that!

"Oh me and my stupid antics landed me that scar!" I said to Muraki with a light laugh, though the memory of the mans strike was very vivid in my mind that I shuddered but I was also wet so it could've been either…

Muraki said nothing to this, he didn't even give me his usual critical expression for whenever I did something stupid. He was simply… not there. Something was wrong here. Muraki was not his usual self. What's wrong with him?

"Muraki…are you alright?" I found my voice to be soft and holding some manner of comforting tone as I moved to face Muraki properly. I needed to be gentle and I knew how to be, having comforted women since I was old enough to crawl…Those silver, dead eyes looked up at me and blinked once…then twice before he spoke.

"I have…an older brother. Shido Saki." Muraki's tone was lifeless, just like the rest of him. His shirt was unbuttoned at the top and it was untucked at his pants waist. His sliver hair was a mess, as if he had been gripping at it and pulling… His arms hung at his sides as he stood there, his shoulders slack and his body was slightly hunched as if he was in great pain. Perhaps he was.

"Muraki…" I spoke but then be came to stand very close to me, his face hidden as his head was bent forward and his hair veiled over his face. He stood silent and very close to me before his arms moved up and then encircled around my waist and he pulled his body close to mine and he buried his face into my shoulder.

Funny thing was about this, I actually let him get so close and I didn't push him back but rather wrapped my arms around his shoulders and lightly petted his hair as sobs soon cut through him and his shoulders shook violently.

I couldn't tell you how long we stood like that but all I knew was my hair was only slightly damp when Muraki finally pulled away, his eyes red and his face paler than usual and a look of contentment was in his expression.

"Muraki." I spoke to him and he finally looked at me with those eyes that told me I had my friend back, the honor student was back and that dark, dead eyed boy went away. But…something told me, even then, that he would return. That dark one, he would return but he wouldn't be just dead but be something much more dangerous…

When was it that I grew more accustomed to seeing Muraki's dark half more than seeing that lighter, good natured side? When did I start thinking that that dark side was Muraki and his good nature was simply a lapse in his personality? Why didn't I see that Muraki was at risk of being what he is now? I should've seen it…

No. I'm blaming myself again. How could a kid see what I'm blaming myself for not seeing? They couldn't, that's how. All that Muraki is, that is a direct result of critical events in his life. I was in his life but… I wasn't a strong enough motivator to keep him from becoming what he has become. His rage and sorrow and pain were stronger than my friendship and love.

How stupid, thinking I could've been a factor in keeping Muraki on the straight and narrow when I was the worthless son of a brothel owner, the worst possible student since I didn't care and was voted to most likely to be arrested first after high school! All that Muraki is is all a result of not only critical moments in his life but Muraki's choices.

Even the Gods can't influence the choices of men, no matter how hard they may try.