thank you, everyone, for the wonderful reviews.

lyrics to 'The End of the World' belong to Agnetha Faltskog.

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Chapter 12

Her dark eyes opened slowly, mouth dry and filled with the coppery taste of blood. She brought herself up from the floor, noticing vaguely that no one had moved her while she slept; which was odd, considering that Hatori should have shown up hours ago, and placed her onto the cot that lay a few feet away.

Bony fingers ran over the corners of her mouth, collecting a dark scarlet crust beneath the nails. It was disgusting, what that cat did to her. Even at the mere thought of it, her stomach felt sick, and bile would rise in her chapped throat.

That creature was slowly killing her, and if it wasn't destroyed soon, she would die in its place.

What a terrible fate she was to face, and that ungreatful family of hers only added insult to injury, choosing the pathetic monster over their ruler, their God. Her pulse sped up as the thought ran through her mind, eyes stinging painfully.

She was going to die for that stupid cat, and she knew they wouldn't care.

Bitterness filled her being, its icy grip taking hold of her heart. It wasn't fair, she hadn't asked to be this way! She hadn't wanted to die in the name of a family that didn't even care-

"Akito!"

A slam filled the air, as her paper door was slammed open, breaking off the hinges. Light pooled in, and she squinted her eyes, wondering who dared barge in so disrespectfully.

There were footsteps and the sound of someone sceaming -''please, Yuki, calm down!"- then a sharp pain filled her entire being. The wind was knocked from her, a sickening mixture of bile and blood spilling from her opened lips.

"You sick bastard!" Her offender screamed in a highpitched, almost girly voice. "How dare you!"

The second kick sent her flying across the room, and she slammed painfully into a table behind her. She could hear her bones cracking, and her cries of pain mingled with the screaming of the boy before her.

"You useless piece of shit!"

She flinched as her much younger cousin made to strike her again, but was grabbed from behind by two larger forms.

"You're being reckless, Yuki!" The more feminine of the two, that she recognized instantly as Ayame, yelped, holding onto the boy for dear life. The other man was whispering something in the rat's ear, comforting words, most likely.

"I don't care!" The teen hollered, eyes glazed with a rage that Akito had never seen in those perfect violet orbs. "He knows what he's doing is wrong -we all know it!"

Kazuma muttered only few more words, but managed to calm the boy down.

They stood in silence, the only noises being Yuki's deep breathing and the sounds of the outside world.

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"Just a few scratches and bruises, nothing too serious." The doctor monotoned, and the group sighed in relief.

"Oh," He drew out, almost as if he'd forgotten about something. "and you've got a rather large hickey on your neck that you might want to refrain from touching."

The cat's face lit up in a bright blush, as Tohru glanced around the room in confusion, and Haru scratched the back of his head in something akin to pride. He'd forgotten about the massive thing, and he was sure Kyo hadn't even remembered getting it (he was asleep, afterall).

"You won't tell Akito-san that you saw us, right Hatori-san?" The brunette girl asked worriedly.

The older man shook his head slowly, while digging through his medical bag for some painkillers. He found them, handing them to Kyo and telling him to take two every six hours, and to call if there was any serious pain.

On his way out the door, he stopped to look Haru in the eye.

"I won't tell, but you might want to find somwhere else to stay for awhile, because obviously, someone told the main house about the two of you."

The dragon's words made their blood run cold, and the hairs on the back of Kyo's neck stood on end.

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The room was dark, the radio on her bedside table playing a soft, depressing tune.

'why does the sun go on shining,

why does the sea rush the shore,

don't they know it's the end of the world?

'cause you don't love me anymore.'

The sound of an ambulance could be heard from outside, but she didn't care to open the blinds. It was for Kyo, probably. She wondered if Akito would really kill the cat so fast, but pushed the thought aside.

It was her fault the younger boy was locked up. It was her fault he would die. Even if the ambulance wasn't for her love, his fate was sealed, and she was the reaper who'd delivered him to hell. He broke her heart, so she took his life.

'why do the birds go on singing,

why do the stars glow above,

don't they know it's the end of the world?

it ended when I lost your love.'

She stared down at the bottle in her hand, the bottle that had been full only moments ago. Pills from her mother's medicine cabinet, all gone in less than five minutes. Guns were just so cliche, and where in God's name was she expected to find a rope?

She hoped Haru felt as badly as she did, she hoped he lived the rest of his life in pain. She prayed for him to cry every night like she was now, to live with the fact that his kitten was dead, and he did nothing to stop it.

She begged the heavens that he died alone, and no one was there to save him.

'I wake up in the morning and I wonder,

why everything's the same as it was.

I can't understand, no I can't understand,

how life goes on the way that it does.'

A deep pain gripped her lungs, and she gasped for breath, skin on fire. She wanted, needed to scream, but no noise left her mouth. And when she fell, it was onto her soft bed, as her eyes closed. Her mind began to darken, her hatred staying strong until the very last thought.

The sounds an ambulance faded into the morning light. If she would have known that it wasn't her cat inside, that it was actually the one who had tortured him, her hands may have lingered just a little longer on the bottle before dumping its contents into her mouth. Just long enough for her mother to return from work and save her.

She wouldn't die; her mom would thankfully return soon enough to rush her to a hospital, forgetting in her haste to turn off the lone radio, as it played the same song again and again.

'oh, why does my heart go on beating,

why do these eyes of mine cry,

don't they know it's the end of the world?

it ended when I lost your love.'

Stupid bitch.

To Be Continued

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I have this weird grudge against Kagura.

I dunno, I guess it's just the whole 'Sorry Kyo, I only love you because you're more of a monster than me' thing.

I wanted oh-so-badly to kill her, I REALLY DID, but that would add too much angst. (by the way, the idea sort-of-kind-of came from the movie 'Girl, Interrupted'; a wonderful film starring Winona Ryder, Whoopi Goldberg, and Angelina Jolie.)

I just had to mention her one more time, so I wouldn't have to worry about writing her in anymore.

so no more Kagura.

holla.