Chapter 7 - to the fuedal era

Yuki stomped off. “Yuki, wait!” Sango cried, chasing after him. “You and your brother get along just about as well as Inuyasha and his brother. Why is that?”
He took a deep breath and looked at her seriously, all the anger dissipated with that calming breath. “When I was younger…” He wasn't sure how to word this. It felt so wrong telling this to a complete stranger. But he liked Sango—she was strong, brave, courteous, and he knew that it was safe with her. He looked away again. “I was given to the god of the zodiac… as a play thing.”
Sango didn't know what to say, so she said nothing.
“Akito—the god—liked to beat me up, I guess you could say. I was hurt, and… broken. I reached out to my brother once. It was the first time I had, and it was the last time. You see, we have a large age difference, and because I was kept apart from the others, it was almost as if we did not exist for each other. So… you see…”
Sango understood Yuki's reasoning, but she didn't agree with it. She had seen his brother, and it looked like Ayame was trying to reach out to Yuki, if he was doing it in the wrong way. Yuki just needed to accept that his brother was a weirdo and try to meet him halfway. “Yuki…” She put her hand tentatively on his shoulder. She had never guessed how much pain and suffering he kept hidden. In the brief time she had known Yuki, she had known that he was a bit odd, but she had assumed that he was merely quiet by nature—not that it had been beaten into him at an early age. He looked at her.
The next thing that happened seemed inevitable, and just as avoidable as placing two opposite magnets near each other.
Their lips met.
It surprised both of them. When they pulled away, Sango was blushing. Yuki immediately averted eye contact. “I am sorry, Sango-san. That was—“
“I kissed you too,” she said quietly, still feeling the heat in her cheeks, but it was pleasant. He looked back at her. It was the first time she had seen him smile, and her heart missed a beat. If he looked beautiful with a frown, he looked divine with a smile.
*****

Hatori hadn't found any trace of Akito. There was always the possibility that Akito was with Ayame and Shigure by now, though. He sighed and turned. He had really hoped that he would have been the one to find him. Aktio needed a stern lecture. This was too much.
He just wasn't healthy enough for this. In fact, if Hatori had had it his way, Akito would be in bed right now. But Akito was stubborn and that was not how it had gone. If Hatori recommended something, Akito liked to do the opposite.
The average lifespan of the god of the zodiac was about 30-35, at the very most--if they stayed healthy, took their medicine, and got enough rest. Akito seemed to be trying to die earlier. Hatori had secretly often considered tying Akito down to a chair, to keep him from leaving the house. In his delicate condition, outside was the last place he needed to be.
He came back to the shrine, looking for any sign of Akito or Ayame.
*****

Let's go back in time a bit…
Shigure knocked at the door politely and waited for someone to answer it. It was a little boy. “Oh, hi,” the kid said. “Are you here about the shrine?”
The dog shook his head. “No. Did Tohru-chan ever come back here?”
“No.”
He had feared as much. “Of course. Well, she hasn't come home either. We were hoping that she would have been outside somewhere. Or maybe find out where she had gone.”
The boy once more shook his head. “I haven't seen here. I'll get Mom and Grandpa, and we'll help you look, though. You can come in.”
He stepped inside and slipped off his shoes. Tohru's aunt was cute, considering her age, and Shigure soon found himself flirting with her, as he flirted with everyone, but she directed him back to the more urgent topic at hand. She asked him questions he had asked himself, and they tried to fill each other in as much as they could, as they tried to think of her whereabouts. They sat at the table, brainstorming. If they had an idea, they went to the phonebook and made a call, but it was all for naught.
Another knock at the door. The boy, Sota, went to get it again. There was a brief exchange. “Shigure,” Hatori said. His tone was even more serious than usual. Shigure lifted his head and looked at him. “Ayame and Akito have gone missing as well.”
Sota, “Mom,” “Grandpa,” and Shigure exchanged glances. Sota looked frightened. “People are… disappearing?”
Tohru's aunt stood up. “Come on, we have to find them. Could they have gone to your car?” She began rattling off other ideas even as the others put their shoes on and the search began. Hatori went outside. Sota immediately went to the well. Hatori frowned and followed him. He hadn't noticed before, but the door to the building had been open before the others had gone outside. Perhaps, they were in there. Ayame could be a klutz sometimes; he may have tripped and hit his head. Or, Akito may have passed out in there.
Hatori went inside after the boy. “What is this place?” he asked.
Sota looked up at him, then back at the well. “Just an old well. I don't know the stories very well. You should ask Grandpa.”
The boy wasn't exactly telling the truth. But Ayame wasn't here, and neither was Akito. Something caught Hatori's eye. Was that… He walked down the steps to the well. One of Momiji's candies. They had been here. When? What had happened? Sota leaned over the well, ideas he refused to share beginning to grow in his mind. He stood on tip toe, trying to get a better view.
As fate would have it, he fell. Hatori reached to grab him. In his haste, he imbalanced himself and plunged over the side of the well. He disappeared, but Sota hit the bottom. “Ow…” he muttered. He looked around. “Where'd he go? Somebody help me!”
“Mom” heard Sota yelling. She and Shigure followed his voice to the well.
“Do you need help getting out of there?” she asked.
He nodded. “Yeah. I can't reach the handhold.”
Shigure, determined to impress “Mom,” volunteered to help him. “Don't worry about it. I'll climb down and help him up.”
Sota's eyes widened. For some reason, he knew that was a bad idea. “No, it's okay…”
“Nonsense.” Shigure began the descent. When he was about there, he hopped off. Sota moaned when Shigure, too, disappeared. Well, at least now they knew what had happened to them.

You are not authorized to comment here. Your must be registered and logged in to comment