Kyo woke up with people talking over him. He wondered when had he grown short, or was he in the land of giants? When he finally got the bright idea to open his eyes, they felt like someone had shoved sand in them, and his vision was blurry, so he only saw in colored blobs.

There was a white colored blob, with black on top, leaning over him. There was another blob, off-white this time, but with brown on top. That blob was talking to a much smaller blue colored blob, that one with brown on top too. There was a purple blob standing next to the white blob, with white on top, leading down to the waist. The rest of the surroundings were a dull, depressing gray.

The off-white blob was saying to the blue blob, "Tohru, I know that you want a slave, but is it a good idea to get one so badly damaged?"

The blue colored blob, Tohru, answered. "Yeah, if I don't get him than a cruel person might get to him and Hatori says that 'If someone even thinks about whipping in the next month he'll die.' I don't want that to happen, so daddy, can we please buy him?"

The white blob's black top bobbled up and down. "Tohru's right, Shigure, even bringing him home in a carriage might reopen the wound."

Kyo's vision was getting clearer and he could now make out that the blobs were people. All of them expect Tohru were male, but the purple's long silver hair had deceived him for a little bit. Wait, silver hair? That meant the one wearing purple was a slave, for they were the only ones with extravagant hair colors. It was so that they were recognizable in a crowd and pretty.

So Tohru was talking to Shigure, her dad into buying, him? Hatori was a doctor, presumably the one that had fixed him up. Why was the slave here? Who's his owner? Certainly not the girl, as she was asking her dad for him, but either one of the males could own another male, for they were all of similar age.

He was bursting with a thousand questions, but something deep inside his mind told him not to speak, not to make noise or there would be consequences and harsh ones at that.

But at that moment, the slave noticed that he was awake, and took it upon himself to notify the rest of the gathering. "Everyone, he's awake! Hello, my name is Ayame and over there in Hatori, the girl is Tohru and the man standing next to her is Shigure. Hatori and I brought Shigure and Tohru because they just let their last slave, Yuki, go and they need a new one to help Tohru around the house." The only thing that Kyo paid attention to in the entire mini speech was the fact that Shigure and Tohru had let their last slave go. That might mean he could go as well.

His next thought stopped him cold. What if what Ayame had meant that the last slave had died? But that wasn't the impression that he got from these people. Then again, it was possible to hide the greatest evils behind empty promises and false smiles.

Dear God, what if they were like the other man? All Kyo could recollect from the memory was fear, pain, and fuzzy picture of a red face. But he knew that regular humans weren't good news. Why was Ayame working for them? Did they tame him, like people tamed tigers? That thought made Kyo shiver.

The whole time he had been thinking these thoughts, everyone in the room had been watching the expressions flit across his face, partially shielded by his fiery orange hair. From hope, to fear, to pain, to disgust, and then he looked up and saw them watching him.

He wiped his face blank of all emotion, knowing that he had showed too much to these strangers, dangerous strangers. Evil strangers with their tamed slaves, no longer willing to fight back, he swore to himself that he would never become like that.

"What's your name?" Tohru asked. Kyo could hear the caution and hesitance in her voice and reveled in it. He knew that expected him to reply and refused her, both out of spite and his new fear of speaking.

Hatori and Ayame glanced at each other. They were so familiar, it sickened Kyo. Why didn't Ayame know that humans were bad, evil, not to be trusted and looked at with anything other than disdain or anger? Hatori began speaking and Kyo turned his unwavering and angry gaze on the man.

"Well, it looks like Shigure and Tohru are going to take you home, but be careful about any strenuous activity or any activity at all. You should wait at least a month before you walk more than a few yards, and don't even consider running." Was that a simple warning, or was it a subtle warning not to run away? Hatori went on about other things, but it was clear that it was more for his new owners benefit than his own, so he had stopped paying attention.

Instead, he turned his eyes on Tohru. She looked like she could be easily flustered, so he stared at her with all of the contempt and anger he had, which was quite a lot. She glanced at him once, and flinched, but held his gaze. Kyo knew how intimidating he could be when his red eyes were staring at someone, and used it to his full advantage right here. Tohru backed up a step and bent her back, a clear submissive sign, and Kyo was satisfied. He removed his gaze from her pitiful form, and gazed at the wall, seemingly bored.

He knew the sudden change in attitude would confuse her and reveled in it. He might be these peoples slave, but that did not mean that he would like it, or that he would go without a fight. He would just bide his time, and then, when he was healed and they weren't expecting it, head for the hills.

A/N: Hope you like this one. I tried to put a little bit of Kyo's problems in this one. Kisses for all of my reviewers.

To Lilah: Please no more pointless reviews, even if I'm sitting next to you when you are typing them.