Mortality

Disclaimer: As of yet I still don't own any of the characters...:( but I can keep trying!!! Please R & R!!!

Instructions

The thunder seamed to rumble the very ground as the rain pelted the apartment homes. They were very lucky to have arrived just in time; otherwise they would have been drowned with the storm. Though the apartment wasn’t exactly the place any of them wanted to be, it was much better than being caught out in the rain and having to walk home soaking wet.

Yuki and Kyo sat on the floor facing away from each other, both fuming over why they were there and thinking of a few unpleasant things that they would like to do to their captor; both drowning out the loud noise coming from both Shigure and Mii.
“Shigure, this is not the manuscript!” Mii screeched as she held up the papers in her trembling white hands.

“Oh dear me it’s not?” Shigure asked with a deep meaningful expression on his face, a look that said I really care about your uncomfortable position, but there isn’t anything I can do.

“No! It’s…it’s…its bills for your house repairs…” She was cut short as Shigure snatched the papers out of her hands.

“Oh I have been looking for these. Thank you ever so much Mii. Really if it wasn’t for you I would have spent all night looking for these very important papers. Now I have plenty of time to enjoy some of my books…” Mii was not going to listen to this anymore, she was becoming hysterical as she grabbed his by his shirt and shook him.

“You will not be doing any such thing Sensei! Even if I have to tape you to your chair, glue your eye lids open and super glue that pen in your hand YOU WILL FINISH THE MANUSCRIPT!” With every word she shook him harder and harder until she shook him so violently that they both tumbled over.

Shigure rubbed his back as he sat up and look at Mii who was covering her face as tears ran down her cheeks. “Oh dear me it seems as though I have fallen. What’s this? Oh it seems this stack of papers broke my fall.” He reached behind him and pulled out a large stack of papers and inspected them carefully.

“Well what do you know, it’s my manuscript”

Mii’s eyes became huge as she looked at Shigure and the manuscript that he laid before her. Sometime during their little argument the rain had stopped pounding against the apartment and while Mii sat, shocked, looking at the papers he stood up and stretched.

“Well Mii this has been a wonderful little encounter but I am afraid that we must get going while the weather seems to have died down a bit. Yuki, Kyo are you ready?”

Both boys seemed to have been knocked out of their own thoughts as their names were called and they stood and collected their shoes before disappearing out the door. Shigure following, closing the door behind him muffling the sounds of Mii as she broke down crying “why, why do I have to put up with such an author who loves tormenting me as much as he does.”

Kyo zipped his blue coat up as he walked out into the wet cold street. He felt very weak, and tired wanting nothing more than to get home and sleep. Yuki followed shorting after him, along sides with Shigure. Yuki’s soft, beautiful spheres held much thought behind them as they walked along the street on the way home.

“Tell me Shigure, why did you go to Mii’s apartment? You have never done this before, she always comes to the house so why is it that this time you came to see her?” Yuki asked as Kyo’s ears perked up to listen for the answer of the question he was just about to ask himself, or at least eventually.

Shigure just smiled to himself and shrugged. “What can I say? I thought it would be nice to get out for a bit and see her instead of waiting for the minute she would interrupt my peace and quiet or at least as much peace and quiet as I get with you two in the house.

“Hey what’s that supposed to mean?” Kyo yelled as he instantly began to get angry.

“My point exactly.” Shigure said with a look that said that the question was answered and he didn’t expect any more discussion about it.

“But why did you want us to accompany you to her house Shigure?” Yuki persisted while his shoes splashed ringlets of water along the pavement.

“What? I can’t believe that you both expected me to make this long, lonely, dark walk all by myself. What if there had been some burglars? If I have been hurt would you both had been able to forgive yourselves for not having been there to rescue me?”

“I’d get over it.” Yuki and Kyo both said simultaneously as Shigure kept his smug smile on his face.

“Besides, if anyone attacked you it would be simple for you to overpower them and beat the crap out of them.” Kyo said as he kicked a rock that skidded along the puddles and came to land with a loud splash in a particularly large puddle of water.

The smile on his face vanished as Shigure looked down at the ground. Thunder rocked the very earth that they walked on and lighting cut white hot along the blackened sky. “Akito told me to take you both out of the house.” He said simply, solemnly, and without any emotion what so ever.

Yuki and Kyo both stopped in mid step, their eyes widening as they looked at Shigure who continued to walk on. Soon, though, Shigure stopped too and stood there in the middle of the dirt path that they where now walking that would take them to their home. A deep sigh escaped his parted lips and a cloud of air blew out as he exhaled.

“What do you mean he wanted you to get us out of the house?” Kyo demanded as he took a stance that seemed to read anger in every particle of his being.

“What I mean Kyo is exactly that! Akito wanted me to take the both of you out of the house. Why? I don’t know. Maybe it was simply he thought you both needed some out doors time. Maybe he is planning on running into us. Maybe Akito does things that I don’t always understand! What I do know is that if we stand here any longer it’s going to start raining again and we are all probably going to get sick on top of everything else!”

Shigure pulled his clothing tighter to him and continued to walk along the darkened path, the trees bending to far that the tops nearly touched the ground and the dirt flew up and encircled them all. Yuki and Kyo were still both in too much shock to continue walking just yet; reasons and justifications running through both of their minds.

Why would Akito send us away like this? Yuki thought as the wind blew his hair and gave the impression of liquid silver contrasting against the black scenery. To what purpose is getting us out of the house? Unless it’s because…

Kyo shoves his hands in his pocket as similar thoughts ran though his psyche. Why did we have to leave? And why couldn’t Shigure come up with something so that I didn’t have to be out here with this damn rat. Did they have to do it today? God I’m getting so tired, I just want to go home and see…”

“…Tohru.” They both said in chorus aloud; without further thought, without further question, phrase, or word they both started off at a walk. Neither had realized that Shigure had gotten so far ahead while they had stood there in a trance like state thinking things through in their minds.

Kyo and Yuki started walking quickly at first, and then faster, and faster until they were both at a dead run. Water splashing in loops around their feet as once again the rain began to bombard their heads. Nothing mattered at that moment. Worry filled their minds, it didn’t matter how wet they where, or how muddy, or how tired. Their only thought was of Tohru and what might have happened.

Mud splashed Shigure as the two boys zoomed past him, he didn’t even flinch simply shook his head as he looked down at the ground; hunching over it appeared as though a heavy weight lay upon his shoulders. Though Yuki and Kyo were going much to fast to even pay attention to him and as the house came into sight miraculously their feet were driven even faster, urging them to be there as quickly as possible. Urging them to help Tohru.

The door…they both thought as they ran up the steps and saw that the door had been left open. She’s clumsy but she isn’t that clumsy not in weather like this. Kyo thought as they both shot through the opened door, not even bothering to take off their muddy shoes.

The house was in complete darkness, not even a small amount of light showed through. Though both, Yuki and Kyo being who they were had the ability to see most uncannily in the chilling black of the night.

“Tohru-Chan!” Kyo yelled as he raced up the stairs and slammed every single door open in search of her. Shigure’s room was empty except for the usual mess, along with his and Yuki’s rooms. Normally he wouldn’t just throw open her door either but in this circumstance he was willing to make an exception. His eyes searched the black room…though found nothing but emptiness.

Down stairs Yuki was calling out her name searching everywhere, and finally he came to the kitchen. The door was still open and he stopped just before entering. “Honda-San?” He asked quietly, timidly to the nothingness. There was no answer in return to his imploring question.

Kyo’s footsteps could be heard as he came running down the stairs and saw Yuki standing at the entrance to the kitchen. Slowly Yuki began walking in, followed by Kyo at an equally slow pace.

Lighting flashed outside the window and lit the entire gruesome scene before their very eyes. The nabe that she had been to kindly preparing for their dinner lay strewn about the floor, cold, wasted. The bloody knife lay carelessly flung on the floor, the blood already coating its once clean surface.

A puddle of blood lay on the floor against the wall; it had slowly begun to dry in the cold room. A small trail of droplets showed the way that she must have ran. While all around the floor were the muddy footprints of not their Tohru Honda, but of someone else. Someone who they both knew instinctively was Akito.

The emptiness that Kyo had felt upstairs seemed to have filled his entire body. His very soul seemed to have been shattered and strewn about just as the nabe had been. He didn’t know what he was going to do but at that moment he didn’t care, he wanted revenge, he wanted to hurt Akito as much as he was hurting at the thought of Tohru being abused the way she had been. But more importantly he wanted to find her, he wanted to be there for her to help her and protect her.

How could I have not known? Why wasn’t I here to protect her?” Kyo wondered as the anger began to well up inside of him. His face began to get redder and redder as the blood began to come closer to the surface. He clenched his hands into fists as he began to shake as he stood there. He shook from anger, yes, but not just anger; he shook from the sense of loss that was deep inside of him, he shook for the fact that he wasn’t here to protect her, he shook for the loneliness that only she could fill inside him, he shook for fear of her safety, fear for Tohru. As Kyo stood there quaking he was completely oblivious to the blood that was dripping down from his hands as his nails dug into his skin.

Yuki slumped down onto the ground and placed a hand near the puddle of the blood. Long strands of brown hair were scattered along the floor, he gathered some up and gently held it in his hand. Tears began to well up in his eyes as he looked about the mess. What had she gone through? How could Akito be this cruel to someone so good? What the hell was Shigure thinking? Did he think that something like this wouldn’t go noticed? Did he think that they wouldn’t blame him at all? So what if he was following Akito’s orders, this was Tohru, their Tohru, he was supposed to protect her from the wolves not feed her to them. The anger was there, deep down burning, churning, waiting for release; but there would be a time for that. At that moment all he could do was let the tears fall from his stunning, perfect face and fall to gather with the blood.

She was the only one he could truly open up to. Tohru had believed in his, she had helped him to become a better person, she had healed him. In return for everything she had done for him, for everyone, this is what she got. It’s my fault. Akito wanted me, and all I did was go to her. If I had just went back to the main house, if I had never allowed myself to…to love her then she may still be here.

Why wasn’t I here to help her? How could I have let something like this happen to her? This isn’t fair, she never did harm to anyone, she wouldn’t even hurt a bug and yet this is the payment she gets. She gets harmed because she believed that she saw something in us…in monsters. The tears continued to fall gracefully down, Yuki didn’t even care that Kyo was there as far as he was concerned there was no one else there; he was alone in his own tortured world.

No, she would never let us call ourselves that. She wouldn’t want us to get down, Tohru was better than that. She showed me that I could be a good person, a person that people liked for who I really was. Yes, it is my fault that she is hurt, but it will always be my doing that she is saved.

Neither Kyo nor Yuki even entertained the thought that maybe Tohru wasn’t all right. That maybe Akito had actually gone too far and had done the irreversible. They wouldn’t allow it to enter their minds, she was all right. If they couldn’t believe that she was alive then the actions that would follow would be so tremendous, so irrevocable, and so apocalyptic that the anger flowing through their bodies would destroy the family. She is alive…they both whispered in their minds; more to convince their selves than anything else.

“Yuki, Kyo why didn’t you bother to take your shoes off before you entered the house? Your not little hoodlums you should know…” Shigure was stopped short as he saw Kyo standing with the blood dripping slowly from his clenched hands and Yuki kneeling, the tears streaming down his face.

Shigure took in the scene with calculated accuracy and formed the event that took place in his mind. The anger emanating from Kyo and Yuki was almost so strong that Shigure could see it in the air. The thunder rocked the earth and rumbled the house; though long after the thunder had finished the earth continued to shake.

The house shook violently, cabinets swinging open, dishes flying out and shattering against the floor, books falling from shelves, followed the shelves themselves. The earthquake only lasted a few moments, but it seemed that it was much longer. As soon as Shigure got his footing back he looked at Kyo and Yuki whom miraculously hadn’t moved a centimeter.

Kyo stood stark still, his hands no longer clenched but completely straight letting the blood from the places that his nails had dug in fall down much more quickly to the ground. The tears that had been in Yuki’s eyes where still visible though his face was completely dry and the tears were no longer falling. The revelation in their eyes was very apparent as Shigure looked from one to the other.

Without knowing for certain what had taken place in their minds he knew what they where going to do. He knew from the bottom of his heart and the deepest inner depths of his soul what conclusion had come into their minds. The weight on his shoulders increased greatly as Yuki slowly stood to a standing position as well. Shigure knew what was to happen, and he wondered who would make the first move.

“Oh dear me…” was all that was whispered out of his mouth before Kyo quickly turned and a sharp pain erupted on the side of his cheek. Within mere seconds upon seconds Shigure knew nothing but blackness.