So we've seen Otoya's dreams...

What remains

Every deceased friend is a magnet drawing us into another world.

~Eliza Cook

Syo cocked his head to the side, sitting up from his bed. Where was he? This looked like something out of a B-rated horror movie. This was his home, but it was different. Everything was dirty, filthy. He looked around his room, empty bottles lay scattered around the floor. Walls covered in words, written with grime. And as dirty as the place looked, it smelled of hospitals. It nauseated him.

If this was one of Kaoru's games, it wasn't funny. The dust filled his lungs making him cough painfully. His hand reached alone his wall to the window only to find it to be barredd shut. His other hand he brought up to his mouth to cover his hacks. Though it did little good. Knees shaking, fingertips brushing the cold iron, he fell face first into his pillow.

"What are you still doing in bed Ochibi-chan? Hurry hurry." He heard Ren's voice from beyond his door. "If you don't hurry, Tokiya said to leave you behind."

"Syo-chan! Tokiya won't listen to me." Otoya's whine came from near where Ren's had come from. "Waahh, he's already half way out the door. Masa, slow him down!"

"What?" Masa yelled. "Do it yourself."

"Guys?" Syo croaked quietly, almost sobbing. Trying to get up,only to fall flat on his face again, he looked down at his ankles. Chains decorated them in a tangled mess that looped around to the bed post. "G-guys. Help, I-I can't get out."

"Waahh. Syo-chan, we can't wait much longer." Ittoki yelled through the door.

"Don't leave me behind!"

"Syo-chan." Natsuki sang out. "We really do have to leave now. You can come later. You still have stuff to do right?"

"N-no! I don't have anything left to do! Just wait." He jiggled his chains. Wriggling around only tangled them more.

"But don't you Ochibi-chan? There's lots left to do, for us who can't. Didn't you promise us revenge Ochibi?" Ren asked.

"I'd rather come with you."

"You can't come." Tokiya said from off in the distance. "But I'll leave you something helpful. Oyo-chan. Can you do something for me?"

"Sure Toki, anything."

"Stay here and help Syo."

"What?" Ittoki croaked.

"IH, that's a good idea Toki!" Ren agreed. "Oto-chan can handle this. Keep Ochibi safe okay Otoya."

"Hai?"

"Are you ready to go?" Ranmaru's voice cut through their conversation like a dagger.

"Sure thing." Ren called happily. Syo could only imagine that he had hooked his arms around Masato's. Tokiya had probably just nodded, because Syo didn't hear any more agreements, just footsteps and Otoya's cries.

"W-what? You can't leave me here! Toki, Toki, come back!" Otoya cried. "I don't want to remain here."

The redhead slid down the wall, falling to his knees, as the door slid open. Syo pried at his chains trying to free himself, to get to his friend. "Otoya."

"Syo-chan." The redhead barely looked up. His cheeks were a flaming red and teas streamed down. "I don't want to be what remains. I want to be with them. Is that so wrong? Is it bad that I want to leave you behind too?"

"It isn't, Otoya, it isn't." Syo looked down at his blanket with defeat. He didn't blame his friend, he didn't want to stay either. He wanted life to be over, he wanted to be done. His numb fingers fell away from his chains, eyes dim with regret. "One day, Otoya, we'll leave together. Until then, I have a promise to keep."

"Don't take to long." Otoya lifted himself up off the ground. "I'd hate to leave you behind too."

The blonde's head snapped up in disbelief. Tokiya had left Otoya to take care of him. To help him. Sure he knew that Ai was still alive and others too, but for some reason, it felt like if he lose Ittoki here he would lose himself.

"Y-you can't leave too. You can't! Toki told you to stay here with me."

"Don't be selfish Syo!" Otoya yelled, clenching his fists at his sides, eyes firmly closed. "Can't you see how much I miss him? Can't you see how much I hurt?"

"I hurt too! Everyday with out them." He brought a hand up to rest over his heart. "I want this to be a dream. I want it to all go away."

He brought his knees up to his chest, burying his face in his dark pants. Arms tightly holding himself, half dead blue eyes glancing this way and that. "When do I get to wake up?"

The blonde closed his eyes to the sound of light footfalls, steadily approaching. To a soft hand stroking his hair. And a calm, distant voice. "You don't get to wake up. But when I wake up, I'll tell everyone how much you miss them, how much we missed them."

"Otoya!" Syo bolted up right in his bed. Calming himself, he mumbled. "It was just a dream, it was just a dream."

Ai covered his ears tightly. He couldn't bare to listen to it anymore. The tortured screams of his friend were to much for him. Yet he couldn't bring himself to move. That laugh, the same one that belonged to Syo, was mingling with Reiji's pain filled cries. He wanted to stop it. All the hurt, the suffering. Not only for Reiji, but for Otoya and the others. Death wasn't the way out...

"If Ai doesn't come, I can always join Ran-Ran." Reiji choked out.

"Not even in death shall I let you find happiness. In fact, I won't kill you. I'll do to you what I've done to Nastuki."

To Natsuki? When Ai left, it wasn't even known that Natsuki was alive. Yet here Kaoru is telling Reiji his secrets. Almost as if he wanted both of them to know what he had planned. Like he needed them to know. And if he wanted them both to know... that meant...

Ai tried to stifle a gasp. Both of his hands flew up to his mouth.

"I know you're there. Want to come out?" Kaoru said softly.

Ai stood, pushing the door open to reveal the blonde slightly bent over Reiji. His icy blue eyes glared straight into Ai's own cyan eyes. The blonde's mouth twitched up into a twisted smile. "You curious?"

Ai nodded. He could find his voice as he looked at the bruenette. His gray eyes were wide and full of fright. His mouth recovered with the cloth gag. His arms wriggled wildlay, under metal straps, bruising the soft flesh underneath. His screams were muffled and eyes darted to the icepick in the small metal stand next to his bed.

"Ever heard of lobotomy? I heard the side effects are... worse than death."

Otoya put one foot on the cold wooden floor. The leather bound journal tucked safely under his left arm. Upon setting his second foot on the firm oak, a shiver crawled up his shine. He knew that Nagi had been moved. He was no longer on the first two floors, so tonight the redhead would search the third floor and attic. He winced, thinking about the possibilities of the youngest idol being in the basement. If he was below, then Otoya would not see him until Kaoru wanted him to be seen.

His red eyes glistened with confusion, after he opened his door, as he looked at Syo's room. He wanted to have the blonde go with him, but he was afraid. Somewhere deep within his mind he knew. After all, they were twins, they could share the love of killing. Maybe this was planned from the beginning.

Otoya didn't want to die. He wanted to grab the only person still alive, he though he could trust, and run. No one could blame him for that. Night after night of seeing Syo slaughter his little brother. Dream after dream of being covered in blood. He hated it. He had never felt this way before. Pure and utter hatred. And if leaving both blondes behind were to make it stop, he could do that. He wanted to survive.

One foot in front of the other, he slowly ascended the staircase. At every gust of wind, every creak of the floor boards, he stopped and waited. He knew, as rattled as his mind was, he wouldn't be able to give a good excuse to what he was doing. If that were to happen, he would end up like Cecil. No longer of use to Kaoru. That meant a slow painful death with those icy eyes watching every convulsion. He would smile at every scream.

Would Syo end up the same way? Maybe he had been that way all along. Those visits in the hospital, was any of that real? Or maybe this is what Kaoru wanted his to think. He anted Otoya to turn his back on Syo and leave. Then he would have the older blonde all to himself. What was real, and what was it that Kaoru had implanted in his thoughts?

Shifting the book to the center of his chest, he gripped it with both arms, as he reached the third floor landing. It was much dustier than the rest of the house, seemed darker. The silence sent chills down the redheads spine.

He looked around before moving again, wincing at each step. His footfalls echoed loudly through the empty hall. He feared the worse as he came to the first door. Pushing it open with a small creak, only dust old papers littered the room. Childish drawings mixed with sheet music scattered themselves across the rough brown carpet of this study.

The next five rooms were all dirty and empty. No furniture adorned them. The only thing that could really make it a nice room would be the soft moonlight, of the waxing crescent moon, shinning in bringing the room to life. Otoya could see it. Long ago, both twins, much smaller, chasing one another through the rooms. Little Syo trailing behind, hand stretched out, teing to tag his little brother. But as the shadow of them passes by the redhead, all that was left was a dust old room light by the night sky.

Of coarse Otoya knew that's not how their childhood was. Even if Syo were to beg Kaoru would not want to put that much strain on his brother. Their shadows, in Otoya's mind, changed to one of Kaoru sitting at a table alone reading books upon books of the medical field.

The last door he came to on the left side of the hall was locked. He tried jiggling the knob to loosen the lock. It didn't work like in the movies. After several other things he had seen in movies or read in Toki's books, he gave up. With a defeated sigh, he let his head thump softly onto the oak door. From the otherside he heard a similar thump. At first it seemed like it was mocking his failed attempts, but a soft knock followed it.

"Nagi?" Otoya whispered.

Two knocks replied to him.

Thinking back to his time playing with the orphans, usually one knock meant yes and two meant no, at least there. But all of him wanted to believe this was the small boy begging for help.

"Is anyone in there with you?"

One tap on the door.

"Is it Kaoru?"

One tap.

A horrible thought can to the redhead's mind. Kaoru would be so awful as to put Nagi in a room with a dead person would he? Although, who could be in there?

"Are they alive?"

The small pause left him worried, but the sound of shuffling and chains eased his mind, somewhat.

Three swift soft knocks answered him.

'Great.' Otoya thought. 'What the hell does three knocks mean?'

When I said a lot, I really meant only 2k worth of stuff... is I a lot? I can't tell... but it was a fast update.

Thanks you everyone who R&R-ed.

Cyan Rubies- nice to see you here again. And I sorta forgot that I left his alive, bit someone reminded me...

Starishadow- I'm planning something evil of coarse. And even though you couldn't log in, thank you for reviewing. I was planning on holding this chapter, but I don't wanna leave those who reviewed hanging.

Has anyone here read D. Gray man? It's such a great manga ( well I like to think so) I didn't really watch the anime since it didn't follow the plot very well... well if anyone is interested, there is this great (again my opinion) ff called just another victim. But it's rated M for a good reason.

Am I missing anything? Hmmm, anyways, R&R if you want. I love feedback.

Disclaimer- I have two Fedoras, but that's as close as I am to owning Syo... I mean Uta no prince sama.