"Often there is eloquence in a silent look."

-Unknown

"I turned my collar to the cold and damp

When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light

That split the night And touched the sound of silence"

-Sound of Silence -Simon and Garfunkel

Chapter 5

Yoh stood outside the Cell door, nervously, holding a tray of food Ryu had made. Pirika still refused to bring food down to Anna so Yoh said he would so she wouldn't punished for not following orders.

It was a good idea in theory…until he remembered how upset he gets being alone down there.

His grandfather brought him down there when he was eight or nine as part of his training. He was fine until he met this one Itako that was locked up. She was in the corner, sobbing, crying out that she wasn't an Itako. Then she threw something at them, telling them to release her because she was innocent. It scared Yoh so much that when he ran up the stairs you wouldn't believe that he was a lazy child. It wasn't until he was twelve that he went back down there, and even then he didn't go alone.

But as he thought about it, he wasn't so much as scared as upset. And guilty. She wasn't that old, he remembered that she looked like she was maybe a few years older then him. Maybe eleven or twelve.

Shacking his head as though to clear it, Yoh balanced the tray in one hand so he could open the door.

He couldn't believe what he saw. The Chain Over Soul was broken, and she was sitting in the corner of the room. She didn't look up when he came in. like when he first saw her she was looking down so that her hair covered her eyes.

"H-How did you get free?" He stuttered. She didn't saw anything. Actually, she acted like he wasn't even in the small room.

'I thought no one could get free from that…she must be strong' he couldn't help but think in awe. Then he realised that he'd have to tell his father about this.

Not really sure what to do, he cautiously walked over to her. He mistakenly took it as a good sign when she didn't make any move to attack him but as he bent to place the tray in front of her, her head snapped up.

Yoh caught a glimpse of her golden brown eyes before a sharp, stinging pain came to his left cheek.

"Ah!" Yoh fell back hard. "What was that for?"

Anna's right hand was raised. She was looking at the ground, trembling.

"Don't ever…come near me again. Or I'll kill you."

Tamao fidgeted nervously. She was in the dining hall, not used to so many people and the noise. Well, more accurately she wasn't used to-

"I told you, I don't know where your damn ponytail is!"

Yes you do, HoroHoro said so!"

Ren and Pirika's arguments.

"Why the hell would I have your stupid pony tail?" Ren fumed.

"It's a scrunchy, not an ponytail!" Pirika glared at him. "And How should I know? Maybe you used it on that shark hair of yours."

HoroHoro spit out his drink, roaring with laughter, all over Tamao who sat across from him.

"Ah, sorry Tamao."

"I-It's ok…"

"Kisama, I don't care if you're a girl, I'll-"

"My, My your all noisy today."

They all turned to se a woman with long chocolate coloured hair behind them.

"K-Keiko-San," HoroHoro said, startled. She rarely came here. "What are you doing here? I mean-"

"I was looking for Yoh, do you know where he is?" Keiko interrupted his babbling.

"Oh, he went to take food to that Itako," Pirika waved her hand dismissively.

Keiko's face went pale. "What? By him self?"

"Yeah, surprisingly," Ren shrugged.

"But Yoh can't-"

"Yoh can't what?" they all turned to see Yoh waking over to them. His clothes were dirty and his right cheek looked a bit red and swollen.

"Yoh, what happened to you?" His mother hurried over to him.

"Um, I, uh, tripped? In the woods?" Yoh said nervously making it sound like a question.

"What were you doing going down there by yourself?"

"Uh, well, Pirika's already busy with her other duties that I volunteered to take the food down, it's ok right?" His mother looked really worried that he thought maybe he should have asked first before doing it.

Keiko closed her eyes and sighed. 'He's such a kind boy…' she thought. Opening her eyes she said with a smile, "Yes, it's ok, just tell me or your father is she says anything to you that you worries you, ok?"

"Sure." Yoh, though a little confused, smiled and let his mother embrace him before she left, saying goodbye to his friends.

"Yoh, come eat so we can go do something," HoroHoro told him. "Pirika said she would hang out with Tamao today."

"Okay, just let me go get cleaned up first."

"Matamune, what do you know about that princess, Anna?" Yoh turned to his spirit as he put on a clean shirt.

The Nekomata shrugged before turning away. "Not much. Only that she got the title, 'Itako Princess', when she was eight and that the Patch protected her and the other Itako's until someone attacked them two and a half years ago."

"The…Patch…?" suddenly, voices fill Yoh's head.

"Hoe could you betray us like this?"

"Forgive me Hime-Sama…"

"I knew the rest of the Patch were planning this…"

"Ow," Yoh winced, putting his hand to his head.

"What's wrong Yoh-San?" Matamune looked worried.

"N-Nothing, just a headache," Yoh reassured him. "Anyway, who are the Patch? I've never heard of them before."

"That's no surprise really, not many have."

"Why not?"

"When Itako's became forbidden five hundred years ago, the Patch made it their duty to protect them." Matamune got a distant look in his eyes. Ever since then people just slowly forgot about them.

But those who do remember them, remember them as loyal people, who would never betray someone."

"Yohmei-Sama? Tamao wants to ask you something?"

Yohmei turned to see HoroHoro standing in the door way, scratching the back of his head. Yohmei could just see the top of Tamao's pink head behind his shoulder as she hid.

"Stop hiding, he isn't gonna attack you," HoroHoro whispered to her. She nodded shyly and stepped around him so she Yohmei could see her, even if she starred at the floor.

"I-I was…I need to…" Taking a deep breath she said, "I need to see Anna-San immediately."

...

Tamao followed HoroHoro and Mikihisa down the stairs. She shivered as they got lower, fear starting to build in her. It was cold and dark down there, and she remembered being locked up in the cell. But she had to push it aside in order to make sure that the princess was alright. All morning she had a bad feeling until finally, just after lunch she had a vision. She had scared HoroHoro and Pirika because she almost passed out from shock and worry and exhaustion.

Tamao waited anxiously as they opened the door. Her eyes widened.

Like in her vision, She was laying on the ground, gasping in pain. Blood stained ground beside.

"Hime-Sama!" Tamao ran past the two men in front of her to get to Anna. The ground beside her had drops of red liquid and the front of her Yukata was also stained red. Dry blood was around her mouth looking very dark against her pale skin.

Anna's eyes flickered open. Her gaze was unfocused, her eyes having a hazed look in them.

"Tamao…" She whispered before taking a sharp intake of breath as pain stabbed through her.

"How'd she get free?" Tamao felt an unusual spike of anger go through her. Anna was hurt and all they cared about was a broken Over Soul?

"Get her help, she'll die if you don't!" She yelled at them.

He was dieing. He knew it. He felt as though he'd been stabbed in the side. His right arm felt like someone had cut it off, or tried to. He gasped for breath but couldn't catch it. It was over. He was-

"WAKE UP!"

A sharp pain in the side of his head made Yoh's eyes snap opened. He sat up a bit too quickly, getting a bad case of head rush. He fell back against his pillows, enjoying their softness. Wait, pillows?

Yoh looked around. The walls were white, and their were curtains beside the other beds. Only one pair was closed at the end of the room. He was in the infirmary.

"Sheesh, did you have to wake him like that Ren?"

"He wouldn't stop whimpering, it got annoying."

"Some friend."

"Hmp."

Yoh turned his head to see Ren, Chocolove, and HoroHoro around his bed.

"Um guys?"

They jumped, and looked at him.

"Why am I in the infirmary?" He asked.

"You don't remember?" HoroHoro said in shock. Yoh shook his head.

"We were coming to get you when Matamune appeared and said you just collapsed in your room." HoroHoro looked unusually serious. "You seemed like you were in a lot of pain dude."

Yoh blinked. He collapsed? Why? He was feeling alright. Well, he thought he was until he remembered the feeling of dieing.

"I…was," Yoh said. He sounded confused. "But I don't know why?"

"Did you hurt your self in training or something?" Chocolove asked.

"I don't know," Yoh shrugged. Then he remember something. "Why were you guys looking for me?"

"Oh, well, you know that Itako Princess?"

"You mean Anna?"

"No, the other one," Ren rolled his eyes. "Apparently the Seer girl had a vision about her so your father and Horo went to check on her and found her covered in blood."

"What?" Yoh sat up, ignoring the head rush that came with it. "How? Is she alright?" 'Why do I feel so worried?' Yoh thought.

Ren shrugged. "Who knows. Faust is looking at her right now," He jerked towards the closed screen.

As if he was summoned, the German doctor came from behind the curtain, looking tired.

"What's wrong?" Chocolove asked him.

"It's hard to treat a patient when she refuses to speak." Faust sighed.

Yoh frowned. "I noticed that yesterday. When I brought food down to her she didn't speak."

Faust nodded. "Though it made it hard to find out what is wrong, I have an idea." he paused.

"So what is it?" Ren asked impatiently when Faust didn't say anything.

Faust suddenly got a dark look on his face. "It must have been from the X-Prisons. She has scars all over her body, and even a large amount of poison still in her bloodstream. There is so much of it I'm surprised she's still alive."

"So that's why she was covered in blood?" HoroHoro asked. He nodded.

"According to Tamao, it only happens when she's weakened. I've asked permission from Yohmei-Sama to keep her here, with Eliza and I watching over her."

"Do you think that's safe?" Chocolove looked sceptical.

"She won't attack them." The words left Yoh's lips before he realised it. It just automatically came out.

"How do you know?" Ren lifted an eye brow at him.

Yoh shrugged. "I don't know…just this feeling I have."

'Did they really torture her the X-Prisons?' Yoh thought. It was the middle of the night. Faust told him to at least spend the night there, in case he collapsed again. Yoh agreed, half because he still felt a bit off and half because he just wanted to for some reason.

He was standing by the only window in the room, that was beside Anna's bed unfortunately. He was glad that she asleep and facing away from him.

He knew that they were bad, his mother got upset whenever someone mentioned them. He'd even heard her arguing with his grandfather about it one time when he was little.

He didn't know how bad they were…until now. Faust said there was poison still in her, even after being away from the X-Prisons for so long.

'How could some do something like that?'

"For someone who looks so stupid, thinks too much."

Yoh turned around, startled. Though she appeared to be asleep he knew it was her that spoke.

Did she just-?

"Did you…can you read my mind?" He asked in shock.

She shifted a bit so she could glance at him. Again, Yoh was shocked at how they looked, even without any emotion in them. She gave him a strange look that he didn't understand before sighing, closing her eyes again, turning away.

"I was wrong…you don't look alike." he heard her murmur. Yoh gave her a confused look.

"What are you talking about?"

No answer. Big surprise.

I've been so busy it's not even funny. School work, appointments, club meetings, musical, stress! Finally I got enough free time to update this.

The song at the beginning, Sound of Silence, I just want to say though I like the lyrics, I don't care much for the guys that sing it. Just sayin.

nina2895: thanks, I'm glad I can keep them in character, it's hard sometimes.

zaza98able: don't worry about not reviewing, as long as you like my story I'm happy. As for your guess I hope that last part helped.

XGothicAngel3X: Sweet, you got you account, that didn't take long. Thanks for your review and the guy I got in a fight with was some jerk who kept bugging me.

midorinohime: Haha, Ren is just awesome like that. Knowing stuff before someone else XD. Sorry it took so long for this chapter to come though, hope the wait was worth it.

R&R!