Memories.

[Dante]

So, I have finally gotten around to getting Dante and Akito’s childhood memories put together. [At least, some of them, some you won’t get to see just because we probably didn’t do them.] A few aren’t finished, but I’ll tell you what was supposed to happen. Oh, and these aren’t exactly in order. I’m not calling it a new memory until it is a new PM thread, if that makes any sense.

Eins.

It would be the first time she'd get to meet him. No, Mother had told her nothing. It was the maids who talked. They spoke of how scandelous it was that the woman had had a child behind Akira-san's back. They didn't know how on earth she'd hidden it. Neither did she. But she'd only been two at the time.

She knew the person was cursed by the cat. She wanted to say something that would make him feel lower than dirt, lower than she. But part of her... part of her just wanted to meet him and be glad to find that she had a brother.

The eight-year-old was wandering in the gardens. She'd only found out recently that he'd been here all day, but nobody had told her. She was shocked that she was actually seeking him out. The cat! Who would have thought?! What a cruel twist of fate.
But as she thought this, part of her wondered if it was really all that bad. And she wondered.

That's when she found him. His back was to her, and she stopped a ways off, not sure whether to speak or not. Her footsteps had been quiet. He may not have heard her. She wouldn't be surprised.

"Hello," the child finally breathed, and she waited for him to reply.

Why was he here? What was his existence? Everything he tried to remember, everything about that place, the place he had lived in before he had come here, it was blocked. Quite literally, that was. One can usually see memories as though they were pictures, but whenever he tried anything, it was met by a solid red wall. He hadn’t even known of this place until the one he lived with had gotten a phone call. Hours later, he had been dumped here onto the porch, lost, dazed, and only with a small suitcase filled with his meager possessions. Basically just clothes, and of course, his bracelet. He had taken it off only once, something that he would never repeat. Even though he was a mere six years old, something about the place where he had once been, it had changed him. With a sharp mindset, he saw things the way most kids didn’t. All hopes of a true childhood had slowly faded from him. At least, that was before he had come here, and learned that he wasn’t as alone as he thought he had once been. He had a sister. Well, a half sister. He had seen her father, and it was nothing like the single image he had of the man who had raised him. Aside from maybe the blonde hair..

Unlike him though, he had learned throughout his shadowy wanderings that his sister, such a strange thought that was, wasn’t cursed by anything. What had made him so unlucky? He had never asked to be cursed, and yet every day he had to live with this, always afraid of the opposite gender, afraid of what he was when his true form was revealed. Sighing, and pushing his black streaked red hair out of his face, Dante absently drew small circles in the dirt, unaware of how amazing they were for a child his age. He had a talent, but one that had always been considered weak around where he had once lived. That is, if this would be his actual home. Dipping his head to fight off the memories that had not been blocked, he almost missed the faint sound of feet against dirt, causing his head to snap back up, although he didn’t turn around. Not yet.

Slowly, he turned around, red eyes hidden behind his bangs. There was a shy look about him, and although recognition flared for a moment in his eyes, he obviously didn’t know exactly what to say. Having lived alone for so long, he was more to observe. A responses was required here, he could feel it. Taking a deep breath, red eyes still trained onto the girl, Dante dipped his head slightly in greeting, a formal gesture.
”Hello.”
With his soft musical voice, it seemed as though the reply was hesitant, almost as though he was afraid she was going to get mad at him. Of course though that didn’t mean he couldn’t defend himself. From the proud, strong, tilt to his head and shoulders, it was obvious that even at this age, he was strong. From his hesitant manner though, it was seen that at the moment anyway, he was not violent.
”I’m Dante.”
Getting to his feet, he was already eye level with Akito, he offered his hand to shake in a gesture of greeting. A bit odd for a six year old, but then again, their family was anything but the usual.

So it was him. Dante. The name her mother had said. She'd said it with so much more... fondness, than when she spoke of her. For a moment, Akito almost glared at him. Almost got jealous that it seemed her mother actually loved him, while all she was was inconvenience. Then the child shook herself internally.
"So it's you," she said quietly, tilting her head to the side.
When he offered his hand, she frowned. She knew what to do. It's just, most just bowed in greeting, especially when they were introducing themselves to her. But instead of correcting him, she took his hand and shook firmly. It's not like that was the first time others had made that... 'mistake'. She would simply tolerate it.
"I'm Akito. Mother's told you, right? She's told you that I'm your..." Akito paused there, and the word she'd been about to say caught in her throat. She'd been about to say sister. It's not like she knew that Dante knew. After all, why would her mother, of all people, tell anybody. Oh, and the last thing Akito wanted was to end up getting in trouble for telling him. It would end badly, she was sure. "Your brother," she finished quietly, and for a moment that almost regal air of authority disappeared, leaving something like shyness. She let her hands lay at her sides, and she fidgeted with the boy's kimono she wore.
She looked Dante up and down. He looked a lot like her, but different too. The one major difference was his red streaks. That, and his vibrant blood-like eyes. They contrasted a lot from her dark teal, ocean-like orbs.

After having shaken hands with Akito, Dante dropped his gaze once more. He valued her as an equal, that much was obvious, but there was also something dominant about his manner that would have caused more then a few explosions, and had in the past, had he not known better then to act out. That was a message he had learned a long time ago, he had the scars all over his back to prove it. At her comment though, he simply nodded his head slightly, before brushing his hair once more out of his eyes. It was a habit really, one he did more often then not when he was unsure of himself. And right now, he really wasn’t sure what he was suppose to do. He hadn’t made her too happy, he had felt that in her handshake and gaze, but he couldn’t figure out how. He had been raised different from everyone else, only now was he painfully aware of just how different he really was. Fighting the urge to sigh, he could only wonder if could ever be accepted. Anywhere, somewhere, it didn’t matter. Even Akito seemed to just tolerate him, but maybe he was over thinking things. It wouldn’t have been the first time.

At the word brother though, Dante’s gaze snapped back up to Akito’s for a moment, surprise flashing for a brief moment in his red eyes.
Brother? D`Noir had always said that I had a sister, not a brother..
And that’s when it flashed into place, at least, why she would say a man and not what she actually was. And unless she really wanted him to know, Dante would respect her privacy. Those who didn’t respect him and dug too deep, if he didn’t like them, got set on fire. He could only wonder what she could do to them.
”I actually haven’t even seen Ren…”
Shrugging once more, Dante’s manner made it evident exactly how social he had been with everyone around here. Not that it would have been too hard to guess where he was, everyone was whispering about him, the shadowed son of Ren and some stranger, it was a title that he knew well about, but one that he didn’t exactly care for too much. He couldn’t stop them from talking though, and besides, that’s how he had found out exactly why he was here, something that for the first few weeks, had been a puzzle to him.
”But I do know who you are. I was told that much.”
Voice tightening ever so slightly on the last sentence, Dante turned his gaze away, just now aware then he had kept it locked with Akitos.
I am not here to start a fight. I’m here to find out the truth.
Taking a breath, Dante turned his gaze back to Akito, this time a bit of apology in his voice.
”Where I was… They didn’t regard me to highly. They thought that I couldn’t understand them, and therefore could be kept out of the loop. I couldn’t do anything then, my life back there is a brick wall in my mind, but I remember how much it irritated me for them to do that. Even now, being treated like that, it bothers me.”

Dante’s tone was halting, almost as though he wasn’t used to speaking, and that full sentences like that, they were something rather new to him, Shrugging, Dante absently rubbed his arm, where upon closer inspection, one could see a silvery white scar, none too visible against his pale skin, just before the short sleeve cut off.

When Dante dropped his gaze, Akito straightened herself up a little more. She looked down at him, listened to him as he spoke. He was just a little kid, but he talked a lot like an adult would. She wasn't surprised. Most kids in this family were forced to grow up pretty fast. Heck, she talked as if she'd been running the family for much more than three years. She'd joined a couple of meetings on the phone before, when she had to, with the Sohma family's business owners.
They'd been so shocked when they'd found a child was joining them, and when they asked who it was, they were even more shocked. The 'big boss,' the one who could fire them just like that, was merely eight years old.
When Akito heard that Dante hadn't met Ren yet, she thought, You lucky, lucky boy, and sort of smiled sadly at him. She wasn't all bad. Not yet. Her world hadn't quite twisted and shattered yet, so many could still say that they didn't mind her, that they liked having her around. She didn't know that would end soon.
"You don't want to meet her," Akito told him. "It's good that you know about me. You should, after all."
She listened to him speak about how he wasn't held in high regard. It was strange hearing a six-year-old speak such long sentences, even if he did pause a lot. She never heard any of the other six-year-olds around the house speak even that maturely.
"Don't expect to be regarded highly here. Not only are you cursed by a cat, but the maids will not like you at all," Akito told him. But she didn't sound cruel. It was almost like a warning. "I can already tell they don't like you. Those women gossip all the time, and they don't like my mother anyway. Any child that they had with a man that's not my father, they'd probably hate. You're just lucky that you're part of the Zodiac. It means that they have to treat you with respect." There was a little bit of a demeaning tone in her voice, but that's just how she talked. Part of her even felt sorry for talking to him like this. Part of her wanted to apologize. Ah, but did Akito ever listen to her conscience? That would be a definite no, there.
But she agreed with him. She hated being underestimated because she was a child. She hated how people--the maids and her mother, especially--assumed she wouldn't understand some things she said. It bothered her, just as it bothered him. Not to mention, it hurt her ego.

But do I know enough? All I know is that you’re my half sister, and that although you aren’t possessed, you are someone of power.
A bitter smile flickered onto Dante’s features as he looked back up at Akito. There was even bitterness in his gaze, although it was obvious that it wasn’t directed at her.
”And yet, I don’t even know that much about you, Akito. I wasn’t raised here, in this culture. I only know I am of the Zodiac, and that there are others like me here, although I spent years thinking I was alone, that I was a freak. I suppose I still am though. I have no clue how I’m suppose to be acting, or saying. I was raised in ignorance, and even now, I’m painfully aware of it.”
His voice gained strength as he got upset, his words were smoother, his tone with a harder edge. Very few would even dare speak to Akito that way, and he did it with no fear at all. And yet, from just staring at him, it was obvious that even if he had known who, or rather what, Akito was, he would have spoken to her in the same general way. Fear was an unknown thing to Dante, he was brave, and had a thing for fire and a phobia of clowns, not that anyone knew that. Nobody had made their thoughts about him a secret, and needless to say, Dante was more then willing to return the favor of that. Hate was a powerful emotion, one that he was going to run with, if he got the chance. He didn’t hate Akito though, she was the first who had treated him with a little bit of respect, even if her tone sometimes differed, and at times, he felt as though she was actually sorry for what she said, even if she wouldn’t say it. In a way, she had made a friend today, someone that would be there, if he could, and stand up when she had fallen down. He didn’t though, know exactly how true that would be, eventually. If he was around that long.

”I’ve never been liked anyways. Hate is nothing new to me.”
His tone was cooler, although he appreciated her warning, something that wasn’t really too hidden. Although Dante spoke of himself, it was to be noted that he never really spoke of the past itself. Rather, it was almost as though he knew only of the present, the past being a vague thing. From the way he spoke though, it was obvious exactly what he thought of the past, and how he would react upon a question being asked too it. He didn’t know what the future was going to be held in store for him. Suddenly growing stiff, unbridled hate flashed in his red eyes for a moment before it was hidden once more by a thick wall, and he turned. Looking rather cross was a tall thin man with silver blonde hair, and cruel eyes, glaring at Dante. Fists clenching, Dante turned and looked for a moment at Akito. There was no fear in his eyes, but just a shadow of pain.
”It seems I must be off. It was a pleasure to finally meet you, Akito.”
Grabbing her hand, he kissed the knuckles slightly, a very formal gesture of goodbye. All his previous loose-ness was gone, he seemed to be a new person totally. Looking back though, he whispered;
”I’ll be back. Eventually.”



The figure was almost indefinable, as he limped along, a trail of blood marking his path. Fresh wounds were all over his arms and face, and yet, there was almost a complete determination in his red gaze. It was obvious though, that he wasn’t exactly in the best of health. His various cuts were still open slightly and bleeding, some looked to be slightly infected. His clothes were singed, and burns marked the inside of his palms. There was no doubting the smug-ness in his limp though, even as each step made him wince in pain. His limp hadn’t been so announced before, but it had been a long drive back, and an even longer walk back. It was amazing he had come back as soon as he had, but he had promised Akito that he would, and he was going to keep that promise. And suddenly, there it was. The place he had been looking for, the Sohma house. Grinning, teeth white against the darkness, Dante limped into the garden, where he had first met his half sister, and carefully lowered himself into the shadows, the only thing visible being his bright red eyes, and the streaks in his hair. With any luck, tonight would be fateful, and he could show Akito that he really had come back. After a few months, granted, but his plan had needed time to take place.

He only hoped she wasn’t too mad...

She was sick. And it was cold out. She knew she shouldn't be out. Not right now. But it was that very reason that she'd come out. Any opportunity to defy her mother. She'd been locked in her room for hours now, and Ren hadn't been allowing Shigure, Kureno, or even Hatori to come visit her. Let alone crazy Ayame. Most would say her mother was doing it for Akito's own good. She was really quite ill right now. But the girl knew better. Ren was doing it only to bother her, only to make her feel more alone. Not to mention she wasn't letting Akito eat much. Then again, Ren never did. Not really. If she ate, certain parts of her body would grow larger, eventually. And that would ruin her little charade. The secret would be revealed, and Ren wouldn't like it. Not at all.
But now, Akito was outside. She'd managed to climb out the big circle window of her room. This room was on the first floor anyway, so it wasn't exactly a long drop. After that, she'd simply ran as far out into the gardens as her weakened legs could manage. She nearly collapsed from exhaustion, but that's when she caught the sight of blood on the ground. She frowned, not understanding why someone would be bleeding out here, and made the decision to follow this trail. It's not like it was thick. Little drops here and there that showed. on the leaves and grass.

Then she found him. Dante. She'd never admit that she'd really missed him. That she'd hoped he'd come back. He wasn't like Shigure or Kureno or Hatori or Ayame. He wasn't like her playmate, Yuki, either. He was someone totally different. Someone a little more like her.

"Dante," the girl breathed when she'd found him. She was breathing hard. Even though she really hadn't been running or even walking around long, her body just couldn't take it. But she was dealing with the weakness by leaning against a tree. Her knees buckled and she almost fell, but she didn't. Then she saw all the cuts on him. After all, after she'd seen him, she'd walked over til she was fairly close to him. The composure that she usually had dropped. She couldn't really concentrate right now. She coughed wetly, as if there was liquid in her lungs. "What happened?" she asked, sounding more worried than she'd wanted to. She didn't realize her eyes had gotten larger.
She knew what it was like to be beaten. She herself had been covered in cuts and scrapes before. Sure, she'd never been burned. Ren had never done that, but she still understood how it felt. And so an instinct had kicked in, that usually did not. Sometimes she worried about Yuki like this. Wondered if he ate enough because he was so light-weight. But she never voiced her worries. Now, nothing was stopping her, and she surprised herself. She clamped her mouth shut, and looked away from him, as if she was ashamed to show that she'd been worried about Dante.

It was cold out; as soon as he had stopped moving, that had been made certain by the sudden shiver that flicked over his frame, if it was even only for a moment or so. Shutting his eyes, and forcing himself to stop, it seemed as though everything would turn out all right. He had arrived, he would survive, and there was no way he was going back. Not again, not after what he had done. There was no way they would take him back anyway, he had burned down their layer. Suddenly, the faint step of a hesitant foot rang out in the silence, making the hyper aware child whirl slightly, eyes going narrow like the cat that was his spirit. For a long moment he was quiet, still, and one could almost see a tail lashing behind him. Suddenly though, as Akito walked into the clearing, everything seemed to change. Relaxing his shoulders, Dante lost his hostile posture, letting a slight touch of weariness slip into his gaze and posture, although he was too interested in watching Akito rather then himself. She didn’t look well, he noted that with worry, and as she arrived, she very nearly fell, before managing to lean against the tree. Her breath came quickly, and if it was possible, she looked even more weary then before. A surge of protectiveness hit him, and raising his head around, he glanced around, as though he was looking for whoever had done this to her. From the slight clenching of his fists, not at her obviously, it was evident what he wanted to do, but seeing nobody, was unable to do.
That doesn’t matter. I’ll figure out who did this, and then I’ll get them.”
Making a silent promise, he returned his bright red gaze back to Akito’s oceany orbs, not cloaking the concern he had for her health.

”Akito. I told you I’d be back.”
Offering a faint smile, Dante simply shook his head.
”We can discuss what happened to me later; what happened to YOU?’
Tone determined, Dante looked carefully at his half sister, noting how skinny she seemed to be, and once again, just how unwell she really was. Stepping forward, he seemed almost as though he wanted to help her stand back up, away from the tree, before remembering that he was covered in blood. Shaking his head, Dante turned and grabbed something that had been hidden, a rather torn up sweatshirt. Reaching into the pocket, he grabbed something [you can make up what food it is, I have no clue] and then tossed it to Akito. Obviously it was food, and still warm. He must have grabbed it recently, and from his skinny frame, it was obvious he had intended to eat it. There would be no giving it back though, for anyone could see the stubborn glint in his eyes. Turning back once more, he grabbed something small and red. Limping away, he moved into the shadows. He had planned this for a long time, everything was in place. Picking up all he could carry, Dante made a small teepee like form of wood, and then promptly lit the wood on fire with his lighter. They were far enough it wouldn’t be seen, he reasoned.
”Now, sit and eat. Its cold, and your not in good health, and I don’t care what objections you have.”
He obviously had a story, but it was one that he wasn’t going to tell. Not now, at least, not until Akito was taken care of.

Akito found herself smiling a little, found herself relieved that he was back. He was certainly a different type of six-year-old, but she already knew that by now. She couldn't believe she was actually so fond of him. He was the cat, she was the god. They weren't supposed to enjoy each other's company.

"I'm glad you came," she admitted to him without thinking. She almost grimaced when it slipped out, but decided to relax. Nobody was out here but him anyway. Her half brother. Someone she could trust, however strange it seemed to her.
Her brow furrowed when she was asked what had happened to her. That was rarely asked of her. After all, the older ones knew already, quite well, what was going on, and the younger ones all knew better than to dig too deep into Akito's boundaries.
"Nothing happened to me," she said, still a little short of breath as she spoke. She really wasn't healthy at all. She coughed again, loudly and painfully. "This is normal," she added, voice rough and hoarse now that she'd coughed. "For me, anyway."

She was glad he was concerned for her, but it was strange. Of course, she saw it in everyone's eyes. Everyone being Shigure, Kureno, Hatori, and even Ayame. But they never seemed so vocal, so clear about it. But Dante was definitely somebody different.
When Dante offered her the food, she felt the pain in her stomach grow. She hadn't eaten anything all day. Her hands even shook a little.
"No. I'm not hungry," she lied. Usually, she was extremely good at making lies. But this time, her voice shook, and she stared at the food hungrily, obviously wanting it, but not thinking she could have it. It wasn't anything special. Some sort of quickly-made snack. She figured she hadn't had it before, since she didn't recognize it. Usually, the cooks made soup for her, so that's what she usually had, when she had anything at all.

Casually sitting next to the fire, the flames made his features look somehow, even though that looked as though it was impossible already. Eyes shadowed, Dante looked as weary was Akito felt, although his red eyes were still bright as he gazed at the flames, occasionally raising his gaze to meet Akito’s. There were very few people he had met in his six years, D-Noir had kept him pretty much isolated aside from the random visitor on account that he was afraid of what would happen if they saw Dante’s hideous true form, something that had cut the young child, and also taught him to resent others, even if he was polite to them. Akito was the first one he had met that had offered a light in the darkness, and even as a half sister, and god, someone who he could at least relate too. Offering a faint smile, he kept her gaze easily this time, it was lacking the bitter challenge that it had previously presented, something that seemed to make him feel a lot better about.

“I told you I’d come back.”
Dante murmured softly, dropping his gaze in an almost transfixed way at the flames, the odd colors dancing in his eyes. There was something different about him though, from the last time they had met. He held himself differently, and, well, it was hard to explain exactly what was different. It was just something. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught her small smile, and resisted the urge to look up and smile faintly back. Obviously she wasn’t comfortable with everything right now, or rather, just being so open. Fatigue was on every fiber of her being, as well as something else, something that wasn’t right either. Something had happened to her, she just wouldn’t admit it. That was why, when she told him what she did, he knew that it wasn’t the truth. Returning his gaze back to hers for a moment, his voice was softer then before, and almost a bit tentative, as though he wasn’t sure about what he was really saying.
”You know that you don’t have to hide from me, right? I’ll keep a secret if you need me too, but I’ll also ‘talk’ to anyone that’s not treating you right. I’m not going to pry into your life, but I’d appreciate it if you’d just keep me informed.”
His voice low, Dante spoke openly, but at the same time, seemed to have drawn into a bit of reserve that wasn’t too common, his eyes wary, and obviously not too sure what her reaction would be. He only hoped it wouldn’t be a negative reaction to his comment.

As she however, looked at the food and then lied at him, Dante stood back up, ignoring the pain as he stood on his bad leg. Looking her in the eyes, he was going to be tall when he was older, that much was clear, his tone was very clear, and left no room for argument. Even his gaze was strict as he kept his fire filled eyes on her stormy teal ones.
”Please don’t lie to me.”
Voice deadly soft, Dante looked away slightly, before suddenly grabbing her hand over the flame, his arm was on the edges but it didn’t seem to bother him, and pressed the food into her hand, before letting go. Suprisingly enough, his grip was gentle, and his palms were softer then to be thought, considering what type of shape he was in. Staring at her only for a moment longer, Dante sank back into his seated position, returning to staring at the fire. Against his pale white skin, the cuts seemed to be even more angry, but aside from his limp, it was almost as if he didn’t feel anything.
”Sit down, please. You look as if your going to fall over if you stay standing for much longer.”
Voice still soft, Dante looked up only once, before standing up once more and grabbing his sweatshirt and offering it to her, in case she didn’t want to just sit on the dirt. Of course, she would probably just reject his offering, but at least he had tried, right?

Akito rubbed at her arms. All she was wearing was that terribly thin male's yukata. It didn't keep her very warm at all, but she ignored the goosebumps that rose on her covered arms. She didn't smile at him this time, but she didn't look too unhappy.
When he said that she didn't have to hide from him, she got a little angry. She could feel it build up. She knew it showed in her oceany eyes. They always gave her away. Always. She looked away from him for a moment.
"I am not hiding anything from you. And if I was, I would have perfectly good reason to," she hissed, her teeth gritted, grinding together. She was trying not to raise her voice at him, but it seemed that this was even worse.
She got herself calmed down again, and there was a clear apology in her eyes, even though she didn't speak it out loud.

But then he accused her of lying to him. She wanted to yell at him, she wanted to scream at him not to question her, not to accuse her of such things. But honestly , she had little energy. So she just glared and expressed anger through her murderous gaze though, she wasn't really as angry as she seemed to be. She didn't like how forcibly he spoke to her though, even if he was only being kind. She never really liked that. But for some reason, she didn't say anything. There was definitely something about Dante that she liked, and she was worried that if she was too harsh, she'd drive him away, though she knew he wasn't one to fear other people. Well, clowns. But, she didn't know that.

When he told her to sit, she complied easily, even sitting on the sweatshirt he'd set down for her. She started eating the food, managing to keep slight composure, not wanting to look like she was starving, though she technically was. Basically, she didn't want to eat like an animal. How embarrassing that would be.

"I guess it was kind of you to give me this. But you look hungry. Why didn't you eat it?" she asked after swallowing a bite of food. She coughed again. Quietly, this time. It still hurt, but she really didn't care right now. She was used to the pain that sickness brought. She'd lived with it ever since she was a mere infant, after all.

Her sharp cutting words stung worse then his still bleeding wounds. Flinching slightly, but not in fear, Dante seemed to just suddenly close up, all the emotion on his face gone, his eyes, hardened and shield like, on the flames. His entire body posture was stiff, although his tone was cool and netrual, just like how he had last spoken to her when D’Noir had been there, watching.
”My apologies, Akito-san. I will make sure not to question your ways.”
Although he could feel her gaze on him, that she was trying to say something, for once, Dante didn’t look up. Instead, he absently ran his hand quickly through the flames, not getting burnt in the area he did it. Sighing, he finally looked up, only he was still reserved. Keeping her gaze for a moment, he grabbed his lighter, and lit it, put it out, and then tilted it so the gas ran into his hands. Looking at her, he had dropped his gaze during the process, he shrugged slightly, and then lit the lighter in his hands. Opening his hands from their previous cupped position, he showed her how the flames danced on his palms for a moment, before turning away and blowing softly, making the fire reach out, almost as though he was breathing fire himself. Suddenly clapping, he revealed his palms once more; not a mark was on them. It was his way of saying he was sorry as well, although he had meant what he had said, and his expression was yet to let up.

Although he was not afraid of Akito, he wasn’t afraid of anything yet seeing as he hadn’t met a clown at the moment, he didn’t want to make her mad. He had had enough trouble when he got in trouble with D’Noir, or one of the others that lived there. She hadn’t hit him for it, or done something else, yet, but he was afraid of what would happen when she did. He had a temper like a flame he knew, for he had been told so more then once in his lifetime. He had learned long ago that pain was a strength, and that was the sole reason he was still able to move, for the pain seemed to be like energy to him. Out of the corner of his gaze, he saw Akito sit upon his sweatshirt, and looked slightly more relieved. At least, he didn’t seem as closed off as he had been before, and when she did finally start eating, most of his reserve seemed to just fade away, although there was still the distant look in his eyes. It wasn’t toward her though, it seemed to be more directed to himself, as he searched for a way to break that wall, ignoring the faint twinge in his head as he did so. It did worry him though; his head had never hurt before when he tried to find a crack in the wall. Maybe things really were getting worse. He had been told that he would go insane because of what spirit that he had, that it was only a matter of time before he lost all he held close. That was why he had come back. If he only had a few months, well his time was really uncertain, he wanted to spend it with the only one who he had been able to stand, the only one he was really related to, even if it was only half. It seems though, that he had already caused more trouble then he thought his appearance would.

Blinking, her question brought him out of the depths of his thoughts, and he looked back up at her as he thought, red eyes glowing slightly by the fireside, something that would no doubt have caused a lesser person to flinch. He didn’t think that she would though.
”If I ate, then I would actually feel my wounds. And then I wouldn’t have ever been able to make it here, not with all these”
Dante gestured to all his scratches and bruises,
”Wounds. Besides, you look as though you need it more then I do.”
Tone thoughtful, it was silent around the fire as they thought. Suddenly though, Dante shot up, staring out into the darkness, eyes narrowed dangerously. Stepping forward, his limp was gone but from the faint look in his eyes it showed for a moment how much he flet that, his face suddenly closed up, only much worse then before. He looked a lot like D’Noir that way, with a coldness in his gaze that was almost scary. With soft strides, he stood in front of Akito, protecting her as her half brother and as god. There was a faint ’shisk noise, but as to what it was happened to be unknown, for he didn’t have anything in his hands. There was an air of danger around him though, one that couldn’t be denied.
”I heard you. Why don’t you come out now, before things elevate from here? I don’t appreciate being snuck up upon.”
Soft, deadly, and yet, devoid of pretty much any emotion at the same time, there was just something that was pure feral about Dante, something that the others didn’t have. Which was probably why Akito got along with him so well.

Akito regretted snapping at him. He seemed so distant from her now. Irritated. She wondered if she could have made him angry, or even hate her. Oh, she hoped not. She didn't like doing that, though it tended to happen a lot with her.
She very loudly gasped when he lit his hands on fire. She was speechless, and therefore couldn't demand to know how on earth had he done that! She watched him blow the fire, then clap it out, and the surprise and absolute awe was still written all over her pallid face.
She watched him. She watched and watched and watched Dante. He was so young, but once again she was reminded of how old he could act. He seemed even older than her as he talked to her. More mature than she was. She frowned at that though, almost confused, but then internally shrugged it off and relaxed her expression.

Akito nodded slowly at her half brother's statatement.
"Sometimes, it doesn't really occur to me that I'm feeling pain. I've grown used to it after so long," she told him. "But when wounds are added on, it's definitely best if you don't feel them," she agreed, eating more. There was some meat in it, which she avoided. It's not like she was a vegetarian, but she didn't eat meat much unless it was fish. After all, it just felt so wrong to eat things such as beef or chicken. Just terrible. Like, some sort of cannibalism or something.
"But I really didn't need anything," she added. Another lie. Though, it was also truth. If she got caught out here, eating, with Dante, she'd be in trouble. That was the last thing she wanted or needed right now.

When Dante stood up, she was shocked. Had she been standing, she would have fallen down out of surprise.
When he spoke to someone unseen, she felt the presence too. Someone watching. Angry eyes boring into her. She pushed herself weakly to her feet, though only to almost fall. Oh, how humiliating.
She already knew who it was that was watching.
Her suspicions were proven correct when the woman stepped into view. Long black hair. Skin almost as pale as Akito's. Bright red lips, obviously she was wearing a lipstick (that suited her none too well). Algae green eyes that were like Akito's, only shades paler.

Akito's mother smiled pleasantly, but there was a flash of fury in her eyes, that made Akito expect to be hit. She nearly flinched. But of course, being the proud, stubborn child she was, she stood her ground, not letting her weakness and sickness get the best of her.

"Greetings, Dante. You know, I haven't seen you for a long time. I didn't get a chance to see you the first time darling D'noir brought you here. Last time I saw you, you were only just beginning to walk." There was so much fondness in her mother's voice, that Akito almost burned with jealousy, even though she knew the kindness toward him was false. But she was still angry. Why should she be so kind to him, and not her, daughter of the man that Ren had married?!

Then, the woman's gaze whipped to Akito. Anger disappeared, replaced with something that could almost be considered fear, and she instinctively took a step back. She'd only been able to stand up to Ren once, and only because there were other maids around, which meant witnesses, which meant Ren couldn't do anything to her.
But now, there was only Dante. And what could he do to stop her?
Truly, Akito wasn't as fearless as she usually acted.

"You should be in your room, Akito," Ren said. Her voice had a tone that was firm like a mother's, but behind that there was a threatening iciness. Akito's lips were a tight line as she listened, standing there, never quite meeting her mother's hard gaze. "You know you're sick. And you shouldn't be eating that. You just ate, anyway."

Lying through her teeth again. Akito's hands balled into tight fists and her nails dug deep into her palms, causing them to bleed. But Akito ignored it. To be honest, she didn't really feel the pain at all when she did so. She was too mad.
"Liar," Akito said under her breath, too quiet for Ren to hear. She was shaking with anger. She wanted to pull her hair. Yank it out from the roots. Oh, but she was too small and weak to do that. Ren could easily just push her back and slam her against a tree or something. So Akito stood her ground, really not wanting to look weak. But it was difficult when she couldn't look at Ren.

The intruder was too far off to hear his words, and Dante had not missed the look of awe that had flared to life on Akito’s face. Grinning slightly, he flipped back over his hands, showing her all the scars that he had, obviously flame related.
”It took me a while to get that down, I actually almost swallowed the flames once, but if you’d like, I could teach it to you someday.”
One of many moods, pretty much all of the icy resolve that had once held seemed to have faded away, at least, as long as he was glancing back at her. Whenever he turned to face the darkness though, there was a certain resolve to his young features; it was hard to even imagine that he was only six years old. Red eyes narrowed, strained almost, it was evident that this was not the first battle that he had been in, just from the way he kept his chin down, protecting his neck. From the slashes through his shirt, one could see, past the blood that is, silvery white lines all over his back, contrasting slightly against his pale white skin, telling what he could never say; marking him for as long as he was still alive.

Glancing back at Akito, understanding flashed into Dante’s eyes as he simply nodded. “It all goes away after a while, its just conditioning yourself not to feel it that’s the hardest part,” he said softly. He knew what it was like to feel pain, at least, external pain that was. He had never gotten too close to anyone to have them just die suddenly on him, for he knew all about what type of mental scars that could cause, and the last thing he needed was yet another scar. Was a block out not enough? He was only six, and he already needed a vacation from human kind. Nodding mutely to her next statement, he turned back to face the darkness, looking as though he was ready to jump what was out there in a moment’s notice, making no comment on her next sentence. She was lying again, but he knew that if he said anything they would just fight. He did however, look back at her to tell her that he knew what she had said was a lie itself. He would not fight her now, that would make them look weak, and whoever was out there was a threat, like the ones he had dealt with on the streets. Some people had tried to do bad things with him out there.

Out of the corner of his livid red gaze, Dante saw Akito almost fall, and quickly grabbed her elbow, steadying her, and as soon as she got to her feet, he dropped his hand. The presence was closer then before, and every nerve in his body was screaming red alert, and that he needed to run. His fear only made him more determined though, and standing up strait, he looked the figure square in the face in a challenging manner as she stepped out, making it seem as though the faint dominance games he had played with Akito was nothing more then a game itself, for power seemed to just flow Dante, as well as a total appearance of no fear. What he saw, was something he could have only expected. Soft, long, hair, black as a raven’s feather. Pale skin, almost as pale as the shade that he and Akito shared, and bright red lips that made him think of a vampire. Danger! Danger! His mind screamed at him, but with a simple mind flick, the only real way to describe it, Dante shut himself up, and adopted a new posture, this one even more dangerous then his previous one. He went loose, and a lazy grin flickered to life, one that was cold and calculating. He may be possessed by the cat, but the cat is also a predator.

The fury that he read in Ren’s eyes was like the one he had seen in Akito’s eyes, but instead of making him feel as though he had done something wrong, this anger made him want to punch something, or someone. Really badly, at that matter. It didn’t help anything that he felt Akito stiffen behind him, no matter how much she tried to hide it. Several things fell into place then, and he knew with absolute clarity that she was the one who had done this to his half sister. Unbridled hate welled deep within him, although it wasn’t shown in his red eyes. All that showed in his eyes was a blank impassion, something that, had he looked at Akito, would have shocked her, for all the warmth that had been in his eyes was gone, replaced by a certain coldness. A soft, although not too pleasant smile was on his shadowed features, almost as though this was just a game to him, as though this was all just like a virtual reality, just like one of those video games he had once seen a commercial for. TV was something that he missed, not that he seen a lot of it in his six years.


“Ah, Ren. It has been a while, has it not? Last time I was here, you didn’t get a chance to see me as you said, although I remained for quite some time.”
Shrugging slightly, Dante’s tone was smooth, one of his eyebrows raised slightly as though this was nothing more then just a puzzle to him. He could feel the anger just about thrumming out of Akito, even one who was blind and deaf would have been able to feel it, for she made no effort to hide it. Or maybe he was just that good at reading her. He did wish though, that she would calm down, for although it was obvious what her thoughts of were of her mother, no, their mother, and Ren probably knew all about that hate, yet there seemed to be some sort of power in her that she held over Akito, power that could only be broken if she actually stood up without fear. That was in the end, how he had broken D`Noir, something that nobody knew anything about, although he suspected the fire would be on the news tonight, or tomorrow. Or maybe both. He hadn’t left anything behind though, so he couldn’t be blamed for anything. It only looked as though it was a mere accident…

As soon as Akito took a step back, Dante took a step forward, looking cool and collected, but it was obvious that if Ren wanted to get to Akito, she would have to go through him. And there was something very shiny down by his shoes, hidden by his pants. Something that couldn’t be made out yet, although Dante did already have his lighter, and that could be considered a weapon easily enough. However, at the moment, he didn’t appear to be threatening, although as he turned his head slightly to glance back at Akito, making sure she was OK, and telling her that he would protect her from whatever Ren thought to throw at Akito. He was more powerful then he looked, and with the steely resolve in his eyes, he knew that she would see that he meant what he promised. After all, the worst Ren could do was kill him, and with all the adrenaline throughout him, that didn’t even sound so bad right now. Absently, Dante fiddled with his bracelet, before forcing his hand back down, looking as though he had simply had to scratch an itch. He had been raised to be a weapon, but that was only for last defense, a move that he knew could win, but one he didn’t want to pull. After all, he didn’t want to be a monster.

“I have a fire going; she is fine. I may be six, but I’m not incompetent. And besides, its sibling bonding time. Not as though we were hurting anything.”
Grinning a slightly fanged smile, Dante stood in front of Akito still, protective, and obviously not going to give into Ren’s commands. He didn’t take orders from anyone. He was going to be a problem for Akito when she got older because though she could force him to obey, she wouldn’t be able to rebuild the trust that she would break by doing that. He heard the word ‘liar’ come from Akito, and for a moment anger danced in his gaze, before he looked away, as though lost in thought. Shrugging at Ren, he nodded to her.
“Don’t worry. I can take care of things here, we’ll be back in before long. However, I don’t think I’m welcome back with D’Noir. Would it be possible to stay here?”
Smiling a faint smile, Dante stared at Ren fully in the eyes, head held high, daring her to make a move against him or Akito.

What are you going to do Ren? What are you going to do?

Akito made a mental note to remind Dante to teach her that trick, then vaguely wondered what Yuki would think of it. Or Shigure or the other older ones. She had plenty of free time, even with all the lessons she had to take. Well, considering her tutors were absolutely afraid of her--the cowards--she didn't have to do anything.

When he spoke to her of what he knew of pain, Akito smiled sadly at her half brother. She knew a different pain than he, but she was also aware that pain was no stranger to him, either. Though, what she felt tore at her constantly, even now. It was as if she wore chains that wrapped tightly all around her. They were searing hot and ice cold all at once. Many would very literally collapse under the pain she felt, and the weight her shoulders carried, but those people were the weak ones.

When Ren had showed up, part of her had wanted to run away. But, though she feared, she was no coward that ran away from her fears. And it always helped when she used fury and hate to mask her true feelings. She didn't understand how much trouble this method would get her into in the future, though.

Akito almost giggled out of sheer glee at the way Dante spoke to Ren. His tone was polite, but it was also not the way you were to speak to an adult, let alone your mother.
She felt a lot more courage with Dante's presence now, than she had a few minutes ago.
She didn't speak quite yet, but walked forward until she stood beside him. She held her chin high, defiantly looking at Ren. Though Akito had technically been doing this before, now she met her mother's eyes.

Ren smiled again at the two. It was twisted and cold, but somehow attractive... though all it did for Akito was make her want to gag.
But then, Dante said 'she'. Ren ignored it, assuming Akito had said something and decided she would deal out punishment later.
Akito, on the other hand, was horrified. She stiffened completely, but aside from that you couldn't tell how scared she was. She knew she would be in trouble later. How did he know, though? She hadn't told him.

"Dante," Ren said in that kind-but-not-kind tone of hers. "He really shouldn't be outside at all. Hatori-kun says he may have pneumonia. We don't want it to worsen."
Akito wondered if that was true. She hadn't been told what she was sick with, but hadn't really cared.
I'll ask Ha'ri when I can, she thought to herself.
When Dante asked if it would be possible for him to stay, Ren said, "Well--" before getting cut off by Akito.
"That's my decision to make!" she snapped at her mother. "And I think it would be quite possible for him to stay. Until we have a wing of the house prepared for him, he can stay with me," she added, a little more relaxed now, though she was still angry and scared. Her words were clipped, irritated with Ren, but also restrained, as if holding something back as her words grew hoarse. Oh, she knew tonight she would be punished, but anything was better than absolute solitude. And what Akito said was the only reasonable choice, anyway. The servants would agree with her, and if Ren had a problem with it, there was nothing she could do. Akito crossed her arms over her chest, appearing almost a little arrogant as she glared into Ren's algae green orbs. But then, that arrogance disappeared and pain crossed her face as she doubled over, coughing violently. Now it was obvious why her words had sounded the way they did.
The coughs wracked her body and made her entire body shudder. Akito's cheeks burned with shame and humiliation, for appearing so weak in front of her mother.
That was a wonderful way to conclude what I was saying, she thought sarcastically, still coughing.

He had been about to react to what Ren had said, but as soon as Akito doubled over, Dante looked back at Ren and nodded silently at her. Turning, he kicked out the fire, and gathered the few things he had, before gesturing for them to lead the way…

[O.O I actually had to break up the posts.]

[/blockquote]

[Dante]

[time jump]


[time jump]

It was strange to say the least; being inside such a big area. With every sudden clang, Dante jumped up, looking around as though he expected something to happen, before slowly settling back down. There was a look of unease around him, and as soon as the maids came, which was occasionally, he seemed to grow much more reserved, although he had yet to really react to them. It hadn’t taken him long to be patched up, he had dealt with the pain as they poured something that stung over his wounds, making impatient sounds as they saw some of his scars. Now, as he walked back into the room where he was staying, fresh white bandages covered his previous wounds, and he had new clothes to wear, having trashed his ripped and bloodied ones that he had arrived in. Akito hadn’t left his sight yet; he knew that because of his slip up, she was going to be punished. Nails biting into his palms, Dante took a deep breath.
Its all my fault. I shouldn’t have come here. Look at what I’ve already done. I’ll have to leave in the morning, it’s the only way nobody will get hurt because of what I have done.
Carefully unclenching his palms, Dante stared absently at the little crescents that his nails had caused, red as blood rushed to the surface. He had so many scars, Dante noted in the back of his mind, just looking at his hands. Most were silvery white, the marks of healed wounds, but some were more visible, raised lines, mostly from where he had burned himself learning how to master fire. But not all… Some came from things he wasn’t allowed to remember, although he could remember the pain that had flared to life when he had got them. Even now it was enough to make him pale slightly, as his fingers skimmed over the scars. And these weren’t even as bad as they could be, there were ones that were much worse that nobody had seen before, just due to the fact that he had been able to hide them. How much longer though, he could only wonder.

Sitting down, a powerful wave of fatigue suddenly hit the boy, reminding him that he was indeed, only six years old, and that he had been traveling for a long time. Sighing, he pulled up his knees, and let his head drop onto them. He was back against a wall, protected on all sides. Akito-san was over, he could still hear if Ren came into the room, but aside from that, wasn’t really listening. Even now though, if one was to look at him, his posture was guarded, defensive, almost as though he expected an attack for just sitting there. It wasn’t fear that was in his eyes, more so just a wary, guarded look, as he stared at the door, flinching with every loud sound that occurred. Hidden in the shadows, most of the maids who entered didn’t see him, although he would have thought that his hair, which was streaked with red, would have given him away. It seemed not though, at least, not with the moonlight streaming in from the window. He had let his hair fall over his red eyes, and their usually bright color was cloaked now, only the faintest light gleaming as he watched what was going on. He knew that he shouldn’t be so tense, he was safe enough here, but things die hard, especially when learned in the hardest way possible. There was only one way he really knew how to calm himself down, aside from playing with fire, something that he didn’t think would go over to well… At least, not until he could relax a bit more, as fire was a powerful thing, one to be played with only when one was sure that one could control it.

Getting to his feet, Dante reached for his stuff, meager things that he had hidden before, and withdrew a sketchpad and a pencil with an eraser. Settling back down in his corner, he turned to a blank page, and closed his eyes. A picture came to mind, Akito and he, sitting by the fire, he look of amazement as he played with the fire. Almost as though he wasn’t doing it, the pencil began to move, making vague shapes that gradually took form to something else. The first thing was the fire, seeming to laugh as it crackled, the wood having a slightly charred look to it as the base of the flames rested there. And then there was Akito, Dante somehow managing to not only capture her cold outside, but also what was past it; though one would have to know what they were looking for to see it. And then there was he; looking ever so faintly amused, but aside from that, shadowed, as though he was a puzzle that was only half finished. In his hands, fire danced around, a few sparks jumping out. The full moon light up the sky, stars dotting the sky. It was a picture of a good time, one that was amazing, foreshadowing of what was to come with his artist skills. It was going to be the first and only time though, that he was going to draw himself, for reasons that were to be revealed as the time came. The soft pad of feet alerted him to another presence, and he looked up, although he wasn’t sure that they would be able to see him. Not many were good at figuring out where Dante was when he chose to hide from the world…

While they’d been walking through the halls, Akito had been leaning on Dante. Only slightly, for she didn’t want it to look as if she were doing so. It appeared more like she was guiding him, with the way she was positioned slightly behind him, close to his body, one hand on his shoulder. Little coughs would slip out now and then, but otherwise she held them in, staying quiet for fear of sounding hoarse or having no voice at all. They wound through the many halls, having to visit Hatori before anything else. Akito had been attended to first. She was always his top priority, and it hadn’t taken long anyway. He’d given her medicine and calmly chastised her for going outside, along with confirming what Ren had said about what she was sick with. He’d moved on to Dante, examining him carefully. He was only sixteen, but he’d gotten much training from his father before he’d passed away. Hatori had, honestly, never been close to either of his parents. It was a cold household and they were strict. Both of them had died now, and the sadness had subsided long ago.
Hatori had said very little to Dante, except when he told him to do something or told them they could leave. “I’ll send the servants with some food,” he added to Akito, who simply nodded.
“Oh, Ren-san, I needed to talk to you,” the told the older woman.
Akito fought back a little smile. Hatori was only distracting her, she knew. She took this chance to pull Dante out of the room and back through the halls. She showed him to her room. It was barren, aside from a table with a vase of flowers and a bed.

“When we go to sleep, you can share with me or you can sleep on a mat,” she told him simply before wandering to the table and kneeling in front of it, opening up a book. She all but forgot her brother was in the room, and she could hear the quiet scratching of pencil led against paper. She didn’t bother to look over at him. No point. Instead, she focused on her book. It was not a book an eight year old should be reading. It wasn’t explicit in anything inappropriate, but there were still many words, and there was romance. To be honest, she liked it. Shigure had bought the book for her a while ago, and she was just getting around to it. She had the many books she owned jammed under her bed, waiting for their time to have their pages turned by her fingers.

Upon hearing the footsteps out in the hall, Akito stiffened a bit, straightening her back almost regally and half turning her head so she was looking at the door. She was relieved when the door slid open and a teenage boy with smoky black hair and brown-gray eyes was revealed. He was tall and skinny, with a lazy grin on his calm face.

“Hey Akkii,” he said, smirking at Akito’s wariness. He looked around. He could tell there was another cursed presence in the room, and it wasn’t long before he spotted the six-year-old on the floor, sketching. He didn’t bother to look at what the boy was drawing.
“Ah, so you are Akito’s little brother, neh? I won the bet!”
Akito frowned. “What bet, Shigure?” she asked.
“The bet Aaya and I made. I bet he would look like you and Ren. Aaya figured he would look like whoever his father was,” the boy named Shigure explained to her.
Akito sighed and rolled her eyes, closing the book.
“You’re so foolish,” she told him seriously in a flat voice.
Shigure only laughed at what she said, knowing it would bother her.
Akito turned away and pushed herself to her feet. She padded slowly over to where Dante was. She saw he was tired and a wave of worry washed over her. Apparently, she had the smallest bit of maternal instinct in her. That would be extinguished by events to come, though.
“So, you two are getting along well?” Shigure guessed, noting the way Akito watched over him. He could only assume, but something told him that Dante was protective of her, as well. He seemed like the type. He walked closer to them, then got on his knees.
“Mmhm,” was Akito’s half-reply. She actually didn’t really want to admit that she was getting along with him.
Shigure ran his fingers through the girl’s hair and she pulled away, looking irritated with him. He ruffled the oil-colored strands just to annoy her.
“STOP it, Shigure!” she snapped.
Shigure just grinned at her. “Oh, but I don’t wanna.”
“Listen to me, damn it!” Akito said, sounding angry. Though really, she wasn’t.
Shigure laughed again. “Nope.”
Akito clamped her mouth shut and fumed as Shigure ruffled her hair again. For once, she looked like a sulky child, which she was. She scooted back, away from the older boy, and closer to Dante. They were almost touching, and she leaned back against the wall, then, pulling her knees up to her chest so she was in the position he had been in earlier.
Shigure moved so he sat cross-legged in front of the two. He smiled.
“Anyway, nice to meet you. Dante, right? That is what it was. You and Akkii here really look alike.”
Akito grumbled something impossible to make out under her breath. She obviously didn’t like her nickname.
Shigure smiled, but didn’t say anything.

[End of this one, basically Dante meets Shigure and various other people. No real destination for this part. X3]

[/blockquote]

[Dante]

Drei

It was dark in the room. The curtains were drawn closed over the glass windows. She lay in bed with him, barren of clothing. They were covered by the blankets, and she made sure he held her close as he could to her, keeping her warm against the frigid winter air that thin paper-thin walls of the house could never keep out. She turned over, searching for his lips, and he kissed her.
She opened her eyes to look at him. Kureno. They had to seal this bond, since she had nothing else with him. Sealing this bond would mean he could not leave her, could not abandon her.
But she knew it was wrong. Akito was only fifteen. And Shigure loved her, anyway. She knew this was an unforgivable betrayal, but would not allow the knowledge to register at the time. She was convinced that this was something she was obliged to do. There was no other choice.

Neither one of them heard the quiet footsteps coming down the hall, or the shoji door sliding open.
"Hey, sorry if I woke you Akito. I just forgot my charcoals--" he cut off when he saw the scene before him. He realed backward and covered his vibrant red eyes with his arm. Had he seen what he thought he did?!
"My eyes! They're burning like fire!" he gasped, shutting the door in front of him.

Akito gasped, eyes widened. She shoved away from Kureno, who allowed her to wriggle smoothly out of his arms. She swiftly wrapped the loose yukata around her, sealing it tightly around the waist and making sure there were no openings.
"Stay here," she commanded toward Kureno. She opened the shoji door and slid it closed behind her. She saw Dante down the hall. He was facing her, though she was unsure of whether he was waiting for her or not. She walked briskly, taking strides that were longer than most girls would take. Then again, she had to pretend to be a man every day, and so was raised to walk with longer strides.

"You... you..." she groaned. "Dante!" she finally managed to snap, though it was a quiet hiss. Last thing she wanted was to wake someone. "How could you! Just... just walk in like that! I-- did you honestly need your charcoals so badly to bother me in the middle of the night?!" she finally demanded when she couldn't think of anything else to really accuse him of.

Hands pressed against his temples, Dante’s head spun, making the world seem to be very, very off center. He had seen too much, way to much, and needless to say, wasn’t pleased with what had happened. Fighting the urge the shiver slightly, he looked up as Akito approached, eyes calm, although that was the last thing he was feeling. He could still feel the phantom burning in his eyes; not even when he had accidentally caught himself on fire had it hurt so much. And Kureno, well, there was quite a few things he wanted to do to that boy, and the kindest would be not only setting him on fire, but castrating him as well. Something he would be more then willing to do, although it seemed as though Akito wasn’t too mad at him, thankfully. He knew though, that it wouldn’t last long. Pulling his gaze back up to hers, he dropped his hands from his temples, obviously hiding whatever emotions he felt. This was going to be hard to accomplish without making Akito mad at him; and some part of him doubted that it was even possible. Although she tolerated him; they had been inseparable ever since he had returned, it didn’t mean that they always got along. And earlier today, he had seen Ren beat up Akito… No doubt Ren would find Akito now and tell her exactly what he did to her, although he wouldn’t leave any bruises. He had scared her though, that much had been obvious when he had pulled his knife. He had never seen anyone go sheet white before. Quite amusing.

”I was completing a night portrait; I didn’t plan to wake you, but I heard that you were already up… I didn’t expect…”
Grimacing, he seemed to drop all the masks he had been holding onto, all the quietness. He wasn’t exactly yelling the last part, but it was his tone of voice that implied such things.
”What the HELL do you think your doing Akito? Do you have any idea? Your only 15!”
For once, Dante seemed to be lost for words, he could only shake his head and stare at her, as though he couldn’t even begin to fathom what she had done. Under his breath, he was muttering things that were basically along the line of ‘foolishness and thoughtlessness.’ It was hard to think strait, he had been up too long, and now this had happened. Staring at Akito, he knew she was going to be mad at him, he could already tell from the way she held herself. But, he wasn’t going to apologize for what he said; it was all true.
”What was going through your mind, Akito?”
Tone softer, he looked away from her, mouth a tight line, as were his eyes. He was angry with her, and obviously still picturing what he would love to do to the one he had found her with. He may have been the younger of the two, but there had always been a protective air around him, as though he was the older sibling.

A million emotions were going through her mind, flashing for brief moments in her eyes. There was guilt. Sadness. Fear. Anger, hatred.
He didn't understand! Nobody would! Not even Kureno had quite understood why it was she wanted this. But at least he knew to keep his mouth shut and obey.
Here eyes hardened to chips of blazing ice the color of the ocean. There was absolute fury. He couldn't judge her! He had no right! He may be her half brother, but she was god! Nobody could judge her. She could judge others, but it never, ever worked the other way around.
Her fingers were curling dangerously at her sides. It looked like she was about ready to slap him, digging her nails in and causing him to bleed as she did so. But somehow, she found the restraint. Somewhere, she managed to reason with herself that there was no point in hitting him.
"I may be only fifteen, but does that mean that I don't have any right to my juunishi? I own them. I own you, too, Dante. However much you hate it, I do." She glared at him. Though he was two years younger, he stood over her. She'd stopped growing and was stuck at five feet, four inches. But he was tall, as many of the Sohma males were.
"And that was what I was thinking about while I did it. It's all part of the bond anyway, isn't it? I love them all. I love you, too. And isn't that love?" Her sense of love and other emotions had become twisted through the years. She really couldn't get it through her skull and into her mind that there were different sorts of love, even though it had been explained to her before by Hatori when she'd made an attempt to kiss him when she was eleven or so. Oh, if Shigure had walked in on that moment he would have been mad. But Hatori had seemed rather flustered and embarrassed about the whole thing, and she'd found it funny at the time.

Thinking of Shigure hurt. What if he found out about this? No. It wouldn't happen.

Akito glared at Dante again, focusing her thoughts on the anger as guilt swam through her mind.
"Dante, I am god. You are just a monstrous, disgusting cat. You have no right to judge my actions, and I demand that you do not in the future," she said, voice stony and hard and absolutely cold now, so different from the way she usually spoke to him.
Even when she'd been angry with him in the past, she'd never been so cruel to him.

Anger, as he had expected. He let her vent it out, looking cool and impassionate as she yelled, and knew that she wanted to hit him. He was glad though, that she didn’t, for although he wouldn’t have struck back, things could have gotten messy. However, her words were worse then any physical hit he would ever take.
”So that makes it all right? What of Shigure, Akito? Have you forgotten about him while doing what you were doing? Or did that cease to matter to you?”
Words a low growl, things would have been alright, had she not uttered the last part. It was what he had always tried to hide, what he had most been ashamed of, and she called him out on it, mocking him. The hardness in his eyes shattered like a mirror, revealing all his emotions. The anger, the hurt, but most of all, the trust, oh so sacred when he had the scars to prove that he shouldn’t trust anyone, that was broken. Dante’s whole being went stiff, his hands clenched and drawing blood, it dripped onto the floor. And just like that, everything was once again hidden behind his stony reserve. No light of emotion touched his face, other then his scars, which stood out, pale silver lines criss-crossing all over his face, stories untold and unknown. When he spoke now, his voice was just like when he was addressing one who was not his friend. It was cold, cruel, and all together, laced with anger, even though it didn’t show in his face.
”I don’t care what you are Akito – sohma. I already have.”
It was bad; whenever he was angry with Akito, he had always called her ‘san,’ never ‘sohma.’ In doing that, he proclaimed that he was basically no longer one of them. Glaring at her for only a moment, he turned, and walked away. He had nothing with him other then his lighters and knives, something that he always carried. Looking back, he spoke softly to her.

”I’ll be leaving Akito-sohma. I’ve overstayed my welcome here, and for that, I am deeply sorry. You will not be disturbed by me again. May you have a good life.”
And then, Dante stepped out of the door, the last image he gave her not of the light and openhearted person he had always shown her, but of the cold person that he had always been trying to hide. In fact, he looked just like his father. It was not a pleasant picture, for his father had always been one that was cold, bitter, and had obviously hurt Dante in the past. For him to act that way, it only said what he felt. As soon as he had hit the porch though, he had broken out into a run, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to keep up. Akito’s words were ringing in his ears.
Hah! She doesn’t care, nobody does. I might as well walk.
The extortion felt good though, as each breath rushed in, as he felt the pull of his muscles as he ran. It didn’t really distract him, but it did help.
He covered ground faster now, he noted, as he raced along the back alleys. He knew the streets better then most, and within moments, found exactly what he had been looking for. Dante wanted a fight, and here was exactly the person to give it to him, a member of one of the local gangs.
”You! Get off my turf!”
The larger boy yelled, advancing upon Dante angrily.
”No.{/b]
Grinning as the other boy lunged at him, Dante made a deep slash across the gang member’s face, and in the same fluid motion, set the other person on fire, watching in amusement as the other boy streaked away, back toward the place Dante had been running from. And thus, that process was repeated, each running back toward the Sohma house. Good. Maybe they’d catch it on fire.

Finally though, after lighting a few clowns on fire because they scared him, Dante found that he just couldn’t run anymore. And something in his headlong sprint had irritated his mind, he found himself spitting blood occasionally. Whatever, it wasn’t as though anyone cared anymore. He was nothing more then a monster after all. Glancing down at his bracelet, Dante fingered it thoughtfully, almost as though he was going to take it off. Shaking his head, Dante instead, panting slightly, moved toward the shadows, hunkering down in the shelter, nodding to a few of the homeless who didn’t mind sharing a spot with him. One even gave him half of his sandwich, something Dante accepted with a thanks, and lit a fire for them. He wasn’t done yet though. Rising, he moved forward cautiously, until he came upon it. The ashes had long blown away, but the place was still the same. This was the place where he had been tortured. Red eyes gleaming darkly, Dante was not the same now, that much was obvious. Turning, he whirled, stabbing his knife into the wall, nails biting into his palms once more. He had no home, he would go live with the homeless. Stealthily, Dante seemed to become a shadow, making his way back to the alley, pulling up his hood so his hair wouldn’t give him away. His eyes had darkened to the point to where they looked black brown instead of red; there was nothing to identify him as Dante anymore.

No. Now he was going to simply be known as Inferno, as the homeless already called him. Dante was dead. Lowering his voice, every aspect that had been associated with Dante was gone now, as Inferno rose from his ashes. He was a monster now as well, but he would never be hurt again. He would make sure of that.

[Yes, I am aware that it shouldn’t be ‘sohma.’ ]

Akito fumed. She wanted to burst. Part of her wanted to break down crying and let go of the few threads of sanity that she clung to so desperately. Another part of her wanted to go after him just to kill him for what he said to her. After all, how dare he speak to her like that?! He just didn’t like hearing the truth, that she owned him among everyone else.
But then, there was another part that wanted to go after him. That part of her wanted to swallow her pride, look at him respectfully, and truly apologize. But she would never do something like that. She was just not the type to do that. Too humiliating.
She was about to turn back and head to her room, but then she froze in her tracks as a thought occurred to her.
She was losing Dante.
He’d left.
He’d abandoned her.
He was the one who was closer to her than any of the others, even Shigure. He was her other half, and ever since that day in the vast gardens seven years ago, they had been inseparable. Sure, he would get mad at her for doing some of the bad things she’d done, and she’d get mad at him for making accusations, however true they may be. But they’d always smoothed it over, in the end. They’d always been able to get past it, forgive each other, and move on.
But this time, it was different. He’d gone. She’d crossed some line that she never dreamt she’d cross, and had probably made her second half hate her. As if she didn’t already hate herself enough! For a moment, she stood there, holding her head in her hands.
Then she decided that she had to go after him. Even if she didn’t catch him tonight, she’d do it eventually. She’d allow the bond that connected them to guide her. He had to sleep eventually, anyway, and that would be the best time to catch her half-brother. Maybe somehow convince him to come back home, before something went wrong and caused his curse to break or something. It had happened with Kureno, and it could happen again. She shuddered, then started running down the halls toward the exit.

But then, of course, she showed up.
Why did she always have to be the one who came at times like these? It only made things worse.
”I saw him leave,” she said, faking sympathy. It was enough to make Akito shake with rage. ”To be honest, I think it’s best he’s gone. The boy’s dangerous.”
Akito looked Ren squarely in the eye. “I don’t have time for this,” she growled. ”You have no right to speak about him that way, Ren,” she added icily.
“Oh, but from what I heard, you were just as cruel toward Dante-kun, were you not?”
”Don’t speak of him as if you’re close to him!” Akito exploded. Many were probably awakened by the outburst, but they all knew better than to come out of their rooms with Akito this angry.
”He really is dangerous Akito. Threatened to do horrible things to me with a knife he constantly carries around. He probably would have used it on you if he hadn’t left,” her mother said.
Akito was well aware that all Ren was trying to do was stop her from going after Dante. But she shook her head at her mother, glared darkly, and shoved the woman out of the way and against a wall, running past her, not allowing what she’d said to register yet.

The air was even colder outside than it had been outside, and she almost ran back into the house. But instead she kept running forward, barefoot and in an extremely thin yukata that would do nothing for her warmth. It wasn’t very long before her feet started bleeding, but she honestly didn’t even notice the pain at that momement.
The boy is dangerous.
He threatened me with a knife.
He would have used it on you if he hadn’t left.
What Ren was saying sunk in, and even though it was certainly starting to get to her, Akito still kept on running. She cleared her mind, though the echoes of her mother’s words still remained. She focused as well as she could on Dante’s bond. If she tried hard enough, she might be able to know where to turn, or at least what general direction he was in. Like those old hot or cold games.
Akito had to pause for breath, collapsing to her knees on a rocky sidewalk. She gasped the air in, and hunched over, shivering in the cold.
What if , when she found him, he used the knife on her? What if he hurt her? Being killed, she could deal with. That sounded good right now, dying did. But being badly injured and dealing with the pain was not something she wanted to worry about.
Would Dante do it? She didn’t know.
Finally, the fifteen-year-old shoved herself back to her feet, swaying a bit before running on, though none too fast now. It was more like a fast walk. Her sides ached, her head hurt, and she was coughing constantly at she ran. Her body couldn’t take this much, but somehow she dealt with it. Somehow, she pushed herself onward. It was not so much her need to find Dante as it was her pride and stubbornness.
Well, that and she was fairly lost and wasn’t sure which way would lead back to the Main House. She didn’t think about that now, because she knew that that meant if she didn’t find Dante, she’d have many more issues than just an aching body and sadness to deal with.

Up. Down. Up. Down. Faster and faster the knife twirled. He had heard something coming a long time ago, and simply had decided to see what it was. Things were quiet around the circle, everyone having eaten what they had, sharing with Inferno. Leaning against the wall, there was a cold amusement as watched the person stride down, as though she owned the streets. A part of his mind, the part that he had thought was gone when he had cast out his old identity, spoke up, saying that he knew who this was. The larger part of his mind shoved the words that had been said tonight into that corner, reminding that his old self was dead, and wouldn’t rise again. Some part of him though, seemed to want to make sure she got back home OK. He didn’t know who was talking there, but with only a shrug, Inferno stepped out from the shadows, but he moved away from Akito. There was no telling who he really was, aside from the cold certainty that he handled the knife, no matter how he threw it, it always landed hilt first in his palms, which even in the moonlight, were obviously scarred, just as Dante’s had been. This was not Dante though, for when he looked her way, eyes meeting for just a moment, his eyes were not a bright red that had been always associated with Dante. No, Inferno’s eyes were a deep brown color, laced throughout with faint streaks of orange.

It was obvious though, that he wasn’t a street bum. Just looking at him; pure black sweatshirt hiding his hair, and now, aviator shades hiding his eyes, he was too casually dressed. His shoes though, were the most worrying of anything. Once they had been white and black Converse, but now they were black, and bloody instead of white… In fact, there was blood spattered all over his clothes. Dante had always had a faintly wild look about him, but most of the time it had always been hidden from everyone. But Inferno had no such reserves. Although one couldn’t see his eyes, they were narrowed, and dangerous. Not as dangerous as the streets though. It was the faint scuffle of feet that alerted him, and suddenly whirling, Inferno pretty much growled, moving faster then he thought possible. Behind Akito was a rapist pretty much, and she wouldn’t be his first victim of the night, blood was already splattered all over his pants, in a confidential spot.
”Watch out person!”
Voice rough and loud, Inferno knew that he wouldn’t be mistaken for Dante. Dante had had a silky, smooth, soft voice. This was the complete opposite. Of course, that meant though that the man turned and advanced on Inferno, intent obvious in his eyes. Lunging forward, he caught Inferno with his knife across the stomach, and black liquid spilled onto the concrete. And yet, it didn’t even seem to bother the street kid. With only a grunt, Inferno’s blade flashed as they parried, each landing blows and then getting hit. Unlike the street kid though, the man didn’t have rage to hold onto, and slipped. Within a moment, Inferno was on top of him, blade held to his throat. Speaking to softly for anyone to hear aside from the guy, one could watch as he went pale, and I mean really pale, and nodded quickly, fleeing as soon as Inferno let him go. Blood coated Inferno’s face, hiding the scars that would have given him away.

Turning, Inferno strode off, leaving Akito on her own defenses, he casually brushed his hand across his stomach, staring absently at the blood that coated his palm, before simply shrugging, and wiping it off on his pants, just as he had wiped off his blade. He didn’t know where he was going; he only knew that he was going away. Something about that person aggravated him; it was almost as though he knew who it was. Inferno couldn’t tell, all his memories seemed to have faded away as soon as he had looked at that one building, when the sharp pain had pierced through his mind. Before he knew what he was doing, or even where he was going, it was almost as though fate had set this out for him. He had returned to that building, the one that had caused a pain in his mind. This time though, he wasn’t alone. A man stepped from the shadows. He was pale and scarred worse then Inferno, a large one running down the length of his face, but that swagger, that arrogance, and the blonde hair, it was one that Akito would know well, even if she had only seen him once.

”You’ve finally turned. My perfect weapon now, incapable of feeling anything. I’m proud of you Inferno.”
Laughing, the man reached the ruffle to hood, before Inferno’s knife flashed up, slicing into the other man’s palm, causing him to laugh even more.
”So you have given up those last strands of humanity that you always clung to so hard! You wouldn’t have even attempted that before.”
Aviator shades revealing nothing in his eyes, Inferno spoke with malice, something that combined with his blood coated face, created quite an image.
”Who the hell are you?”
”Ah yes, I forgot that the block on your mind wouldn’t allow you to remember anything once you were pushed over that thin edge that you stood on; not even your dearest memories will be remembered. Nothing aside from things this point on, and good riddance to those memories. Good times are over rated.”
There was a look of madness in the other man’s eyes shone brightly in the darkness. It was worse then the other one, who had tried to attack Akito.
”Anyhow, you once knew me as D’Noir. You can keep calling me that.”
Dante’s father was exactly as he had once described him to Akito; insane, and yet stunningly handsome with a charisma that seemed to draw you in. Someone that he wouldn’t ever have listened to. But looked at Inferno, you could basically see the agreement there. Grinning, Inferno’s teeth were white against the darkness, and surprisingly sharp.
”You’re the perfect monster.”
There was a look of pure pride on D’Noir’s face as he gazed eye to eye with his monster. But something twisted in Inferno’s gaze.
”Don’t try to fight the mind blocks; it’ll kill you. Its happened before, and you have such talent, it would be a shame for your flames to burn out. You were always the pyromaniac of the group.”
Laughing, D`Noir simply shook his head.
”I’ll catch you later Inferno. Go set some more people on fire.”
And with that, he was gone. Inferno though, wasn’t too pleased, obviously.
”I don’t take orders from anyone, especially you.”
Whirling, he strode off with long, dangerous strides, until he came across the building, where he knew the mind blocks were weakest.
But it was really where they were the strongest.

[/blockquote]

[Dante]

As soon as he started to concentrate, voices seemed to swarm his head.
You are just a monstrous, disgusting cat.
So you have given up those last strands of humanity that you always clung to so hard! You wouldn’t have even attempted that before.
Ah yes, I forgot that the block on your mind wouldn’t allow you to remember anything once you were pushed over that thin edge that you stood on; not even your dearest memories will be remembered
You’re the perfect monster.
Around and around those words spun in his mind, the whole world began to spin. Looking at him, it was obvious there was something very, very wrong with him. Although the night was cool, cold even, there were rivulets of sweat running down his face, creating lighter tracks of red through the blood, be it on his face, or hands. Underneath the blood, it was obvious the face was pale as the blood seemed to be glowing. One couldn’t see his eyes, but they were wide. Faster and faster the words spun, until suddenly, Inferno fell to his knees, hands clutching his head, bent nearly almost in half. Pain racked his body, and he began to cough. Harder and harder he coughed, until blood began to pour from his mouth as he did so. And that wasn’t even half of it. Blood was forming a circle around him from his wounds, but not from them alone. A nosebleed had started, and the blood ran thickly from his nose. Aviator shades having flown off when he had collapsed to his knees, there was a brief flash of red, before his eyes rolled up, revealing just the whites. Strange tremors racked his body, and almost as though he had lost his strength, Inferno collapsed completely to the ground, surrounded by his own blood. And yet, he couldn’t seem to stop. His nose still bleeding, he kept coughing, but he didn’t remove his hands from his head, where the most intense of the pain was. Aside from his paleness, and the tightness of his whole being, he hadn’t cried out once.

It was due to the fact though that just breathing felt like a thousand agonies. In order to stop the pain, Dante began breathing less and less, his chest rising and falling only very faintly every now and again. And it was Dante; that much was clear. As he had fallen, not only had his shades been flung off, but his hood had fallen as well, revealing what he had been hiding; his hair. It was the only way he could have been known as. All his memories though were a blur, and seemed to have been slammed behind that wall. With such an intense fever, it was as if Dante himself was a flame. He was burning out quickly though… With each breath looking to be his last, the blood had cleared from his sweat, and his shirt and sweatshirt seemed to be sticking to him from blood and sweat, he was in real bad shape. In fact, it seemed that there was nothing to save him….

If one had any last words, it would be best to say them now, before he lost consciousness. For, blackness was threatening his gaze, each breath harder and harder to get, and harder and harder to let go off…

”You know you killed him, right?”
A voice sounded from behind Akito. It was D’Noir, looking wickedly amused.
”I saw into his memories, it was what you said to him that drove him out here, that pushed him off the edge. He had built up a fragile world around him, one that revolved around keeping what he really was away. He has, well, was, always afraid of becoming a monster. How fitting that he did become one in his last hours.”
A cold laugh, and now it was obvious why Ren had loved, or even still did love, D’Noir. He was just as cold hearted as her.
”What amuses me to no end though, is that before you yelled at him, Dante, or rather Inferno as he goes by now, had basically saved your life from Ren. He heard what she was planning to do to you, and it was nothing pleasant I assure you, and basically made her swear that she wouldn’t do it, or else he would… Well, you already know about the knife part. He saves your life, and you turn around and basically throw him out. He would never hurt you if he could help it, and then this happens!”
Laughing so hard tears streamed down his face, D’Noir shook his head, delighted with everything.
”Ah, it’s a shame to loose him though. He always had so much talent and potential.”
Gaze clouding up, D’Noir shrugged slightly, as if perplexed by something.
”Actually, I think this was his own choice. He had no memories of anything aside from attacking the street person that was going to rape you. I’m surprised he actually did that, but he has always been trying to help everyone, even if he didn’t know who they were. So I suppose that he chose Death over not remembering anything about anyone, and being a monster.”
Shaking his head, D’Noir looked at Dante once more, and shrugged.
”You got your way in the end Dante. You never were a monster, and your burning like a flame.”
Looking down at Akito, he shrugged.
”Good for you, finding his trigger. You can probably still talk to him; he has a few minutes left, but don’t expect him to remember what, or even who you are. To him, he is completely alone in the world. Good night, Akito.”
And with that, D’Noir was gone, leaving only Akito and Dante in the pale moonlight. It was true though, about Dante. Anyone could see that, and not just about the not being a monster part. About everything else D’Noir had said….

Dante had no memories of anyone. Not that that mattered; he was going to die anyway. There was no way anyone could survive what he was under…

Akito better talk fast.

She didn't like it out here. She didn't know these streets and the many dangers they held. Akito wasn't sure how long she'd been out here. What she did know was that she was getting sick and felt like vomiting. But she kept going.

Something told her Dante was close by but she didn't get her hopes up.
The pounding in her head blocked out all other sound, including her ragged breathing. She didn't notice that there was a man following her until someone called, 'look out person!' before flinging himself at the man that'd been behind her. She didn't run away until after the two had both left.

Later--she wasn't sure how much later it was--, she heRd people talking. She knew the wise choice would be to go on, for it was dangerous out here. Of course, akito didn't make the wise choice and instead stopped to eavesdrop.
Insead of hearing the conbersation, she ended up tuning it out and leaning against the wall that hid her from them
as a wave of fatigue crashed over her.
Then it was as if she'd heard something without really heAring anything at all. It was more like a sort of sense.
She realized what it was when she felt along dante's bond. Dante was in pain. She felt a brief flash of what he felt and then reized he was just around the corner of the wall she leaned on.
She rushed around the corner, the purpose of hiding forgotten she rushed toward him. It came fo an abrupt halt when she heard d'noir. she immediately assumed that he had done this to Dante.
Then what he bad said to her registered. How was tdhis her fault?!
Wait. He had saved her life from ren?
Guilt o erwhelmed her, then she wnt completely numb. All she really heard after that was that dante had few minutes left. Then d'noir left.

For a moment all akito could do was stare at her brother. Then tears came. She didn't bother hiding them and simply got on her knees beside him. Somehow she managed to pull him into a sitting position and held him.
"I was such an idiot!" she said, more to herself than him. She clung to him desperately.
"Im sorry, Dante," she choked. "please tell me you remember who I am. Please just don't die, Dante."


[Written on an Iphone]

He shouldn’t have been able to hear the voice. He should have been dead already, nobody should have been able to survive that much blood loss, much less hear what is being said to him. Nobody should have been able to stand the amount of pain that tore at him, pain that would have killed someone lesser then he. And yet, despite the throbbing in his ears, the blackness that clotted whatever vision he had left, it was found that he could hear nearly perfectly. The voice that spoke to him, it seemed to cut through all the background noise, although things seemed to get slightly jumbled in his mind.
I’m such an idiot.
That voice, it was familiar, and some part of the boy yearned to comfort her. He didn’t know why though, but then again, most rational thought had long ago been lost.
I’m sorry Dante. Please say you remember me. Please don’t die.
The voice sounded…choky. As though she was suffering from something. He didn’t know how he knew it was a she, something inside of him had seemingly just assumed that. Maybe it had been the part of his mind that wasn’t clouded. He also had the horrible feeling that she was crying too; he had been moved from his previous position to one where she was holding him; he could hear the cracks in her voice as she spoke.
Why is she crying? Nobody knows me, I’m nameless.
Lazy thoughts flickered through his mind, he had long last rationality, unknowing that he was still bleeding and coughing, although he had turned his head so not to get any on the girl, an act he hadn’t even been aware of. Suddenly though, something in his mind clicked, although it was just faintly. She had called him something, what was it? If only he could remember! He knew dimly that it was important, but all he could find was pain, like being burnt over and over again, although he wasn’t sure he knew why he knew what that felt like. One memory though, was not as out of reach as all his others, and it came upon him quite suddenly.

Dante. Was that who he was? But, his name had been Inferno, not Dante.
He remembered Inferno, living with the homeless, running from something or someone knowing that he couldn’t catch up. Driving away whatever memories had done this to him, what had made him so angry, but mostly hurt. Jumping in to save the girl from the person who had wanted to do bad things to her. Meeting the stranger who called himself D’Noir, and their conversation, which wasn’t too pleasant itself. But, as hard as he tried to recall anything past or before that, it was just dark. He had to be Inferno, those were the only memories he had been able to find. But, it still bothered him, the fact that he had been called Dante by this girl. He didn’t even know who she was!

Thoughts growing hazy, just staying awake was proving to be a challenge. Every ounce of him trembled, and he was simply coated in blood, blood that was his own. And yet, there was no pain what so ever. Either it had all faded away, or there was no pain at all. Either way though, he was too numb to honestly feel anything anymore. Whichever it was, he really didn’t care, as Inferno was past caring. Breaths coming less and less, there was one thing that was bothering Inferno a lot. Who was the girl who was crying for him, the one who had mistakenly called him Dante? Maybe if she saw him, then she would be able to see that whoever this Dante person was; it wasn’t him. Maybe she would be able to leave after that, so he wouldn’t have any guilt for never telling her that he wasn’t Dante. Gathering some of his dwindling strength, Inferno flicked his gaze open, but just for a moment. He couldn’t keep his eyes open for much longer then that. He was not though, expecting what he had seen in that brief glance. His eyes were a red brighter then anything Akito would have ever seen, even his whites seemed to glow red. He didn’t know that. When he had looked though, there was such a feeling that knew her, Inferno hadn’t been able to keep his gaze open. She had pale skin and dark hair, her gaze was a stormy teal color… And filled with tears. She looked like him…

It was as though a key had been turned in his memories with that single thought. Memories suddenly flamed to life across his mind. There he was, showing Akito, that was the girl’s name, how do play with fire on your hands without it burning you. Meeting Shigure for the first time, as well as Yuki and Kyo. Overhearing Ren’s plans to kill Akito, and he, Dante, taking action, knowing that he was saving his sister’s life. Everything in between and far stretched; everything that had happened when he was at the Sohma house. And then, the last memory came. It was what had caused all this; why this had happened. It was like a punch to his gut. That was why he had done this. Why this had happened to him. There was finally a reason. And yet, he found that he wasn’t mad at Akito. Not anymore. Knowing that he probably wasn’t going to live filled him not with rage, but with a brotherly tender love for his half sister, the only one he had ever fully once trusted. Summoning up all the strength he could muster, Dante knew he had to do this! He wouldn’t let Akito get hurt like this by him. When he was sure he could do it, Dante moved. It was with evident pain, and there was something very fragile about it, but dropping his hands from his head where pain still throbbed, Dante gently wrapped an arm around Akito’s shoulder, drawing her close in a way that only siblings could when they were probably not going to make it. Opening his gleaming red eyes, Dante looked at Akito, raising his other hand to gently wipe away her tears, just like he had done when they had been young, and she hadn’t been able to hold it in anymore.
”Of course I remember you Akito. You’ve always been what mattered the most to me.”
Jaw clenching as another tremor racked his body, Dante felt himself slipping away, he only had moments left before he blacked out, he knew. This was important.
”I’ll never abandon you Akito. Not by choice anyway. Just understand please, for me, that I love you, and always have. And I always will.”
Looking at her with unhidden sadness, a single tear slipped down Dante’s face, before a strange look of peace seemed to flicker for a moment. He had never been at peace with the world before thought…. Time was running out.

Closing his eyes, Dante dropped the hand he had been using to wipe away Akito’s tears, but he didn’t let go of her.
”There is a way to stop this. Take the lighter from my pocket and burn this place down. It’ll halt this long enough for me to get away, out of reach. I’ll try to stay here, for you. I can’t hurt you Akkii. I can’t just die on you. I’ll try to have the…strength.”
Voice dropping to a soft whisper, shaking, Dante called upon his very last reserves of strength, and handed her his lighter. And then, went limp. The arm that had been holding her dropped, and Akito alone was holding him up. Dante wasn’t dead, not yet. The rise and fall of his chest as he made an effort to breath was still there, even if it was faint and only growing fainter. He was going to hold on until he slipped away for good; he had promised that much.

Akito didn’t have much time though, if she wanted him to live…

In Dante’s silence, all Akito did was rock him, lip trembling slightly. Though he had often protected her and taken care of her, now it was her turn. Now she could take the older roll, as was her job. Both as god and as his older half sister. Though, sometimes he seemed more grown up than she in far more ways than one, and she forgot that she was two years older than him.
But now, she held him tight, hoping she wasn’t hurting him. She did still have a faint maternal instinct, although most would think that she’d never had an instinct of the sort, with how many wrongs she’d done. But she had had it once. And she still had it, even though she was convinced that most of the time, acting so kind felt like she was showing some sort of weakness to them.
Akito was deeply concerned when he stayed quiet for so long, and wondered how close she was. She clung to his bond, reaching to the end of it just to make sure he was still there. To make sure that she wasn’t just holding a corpse in her arms.
Many thoughts whirled through her mind at once. Hatred toward herself for doing this to him. Had she not said the horrible things she had to him, this wouldn’t have happened. Then she wondered if these really would be the last moments of his life. She recalled always being so upset that she was born to be only a sacrifice to her family, but maybe she deserved such a thing—not that she’d ever admit it, not even to Dante. But she knew that he didn’t deserve this pain, didn’t deserve everything he was experiencing at this moment. She just wanted it to be better, and for a moment she reflected on past memories. A long time ago. She was eight and he was six, and it was his first year with her. She’d been more lighthearted then, than she was now. She’d pulled him out into the snow, telling him that it was fun, even though it could put out fires. Ah, how he enjoyed fire. She had earned some scars of her own on her hands, from slowly learning how to hold the fire on her without being burned. But she’d learned, and had presented the new skill to her older cousins, so proud that she could do something so special. Foolish pride though it was, they all seemed impressed.
He was still quiet, and she almost started sobbing again. She almost screamed, Answer me, Dante! Answer me! But she didn’t. She held him all the tighter, murmuring, “I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry,” into his black and red hair, over and over again.
She felt one of his arms move and wrap around her after what seemed like eons. She stiffened for a moment, freezing in shock. But then she almost laughed out of relief that he was at least responding to her. He wiped the tears from her face, and just as he had, she recalled times when she’d cried to him after difficult times when she couldn’t bear to bottle up her feelings. Mostly, it was after difficult times with Ren, but there had been one time. She’d been eleven. She’d come to him absolutely hysterical, but had refused to tell him what had happened. She’d told him it was something about Kureno, leaving it at that. She had yet to tell him what had happened. If he pulls through this, I’ll tell him, she decided.
Of course I remember you Akito. You’ve always been what mattered the most to me.
The tears came harder because of relief. He remembered her!
I’ll never abandon you Akito. Not by choice anyway. Just understand please, for me, that I love you and always have. And I always will.
She kissed his forehead lightly, thanking any higher power that might be out there, if there truly was one. He remembered. He cared about her. He’d forgiven her. She hadn’t forgiven herself for this, but she was glad.
Akito watched him intently as he told her there was a way to keep him from dying. She listened extremely well to his directions, taking the lighter from him. Snatching it, practically. She had to hurry up if she wanted to save him. No time would be wasted. Slowly, she laid him down on the ground, being gentle with her half brother. But did the ‘half’ really matter? They were siblings nonetheless. They were closer than most full siblings, too. Her hands shook as she went to find a good place to start the burning. A place that would surely catch fire. She was thankful he’d taught her how to use the lighter. The first time she’d tried, she hadn’t even been able to start it.
It took her a while to get the flame going, and she was thankful that, although it was winter, it had been a dry cold and not snowing at all yet, or even raining recently. The fire almost went out, but somehow she managed to keep it going. She stepped back, watching the flame. She was just as awed and amazed by flames as her brother was, but her obsession was toned down. The only reason she liked it so much was because Dante had encouraged her, and she was glad. She didn’t need to burn things, though. She was satisfied with occasionally ‘lighting her hands on fire’. As she watched the flame grow, and grow, she stepped further and further away from the building. Then she made her way back to Dante to help him.

Its not your fault.
He wanted to tell her that; that this wasn’t her fault, but his own. He had been foolish, and it could have all been avoided if he had kept his head, even though the insult had really hurt. And that was because it was true. His true form was nothing more then a hideous monster, and there was something in the past, or maybe it was just him, that had made him dread that part, he wanted to get rid of it, to show that he isn’t this way, that he wasn’t a monster. That used to be his greatest fear, although living with Akito had edited that. It was still there though, always lurking in the back of his mind. Maybe today had just been a trigger reaction; he had been on edge for weeks, ever since he saw that they had built this building once more. D’Noir had returned, and he was obviously mad at Dante. He couldn’t move; but that didn’t stop the dark thoughts. He, provided he survived, was going to make D’Noir pay for what he had done; the conversation between he and Akito had not fallen upon deaf ears, although it had simply looked that way. Oh no, he was going to get his father, one way or another.

Eyes flickering open for a moment as he watched Akito snatch his lighter, a small smile flickered across his tense features for a moment, before he slipped back into the darkness. This darkness didn’t hurt though, this one had a faint golden glow around it, and it didn’t stay dark for long. Instead, like a movie, pictures of his past, the past he could remember, came to life once more. A voice said coldly in his head; Look at all you have to loose Dante. It was true though. Despite all their battles, just thinking about loosing Akito, Yuki, Shigure, Kyo, or anyone that he could handle being around tore through him like being sliced by a dull knife. Dante could feel his thoughts getting more and more hazy, but one remained the same.
We are only half siblings, Akito and I, but, it seems as though we are more then even what regular siblings are.
A touch amused by that thought, Dante let go of his thought, and watched it float away, just like a balloon when released into the sky. Instead of trying to form thought, he thought of memories. Of the first time he found out what snow was, it was during his first year, when everything was so much better. Of being surprised when it stuck to his face, cold, and yet, fascinating at the same time. Akito, laughing and asking him if he had lived in a box all of his life. He missed her laugh, it had been a long time since she had last actually laughed. Teaching her how to handle the flames, how to use a lighter. Her astonishment as he first played with the flames on his hands. Her joy as she want to show her older cousins, pride that she could do something written all over her face, as he just watched from the shadows. The earliest years had been the best, he decided, smiling ever so faintly as the memories paraded across his vision. And then there were the times that weren’t so great. Like that one time when Akito had come bawling in, something that was getting rarer and rarer, her expressing her feelings to anyone, including himself. He had held her and comforted her until the tears had stopped, just as he had done in the past. He had never figured out what it was that had upset her so.
But does it really matter anymore? She’ll tell me, if she wants.
It was still hard to think of the fact that he could die; he had so much he needed to do with her, to show her that she didn’t have to be the lone sacrifice to the world, that he would always be right behind her, guarding her back. Just like he had been since they were kids. A sudden memory flared up, one that amused him to no end. They had been younger, and Dante had walked into Ren attacking Akito basically. Even when he was young, Dante had been strong. He had stormed right in there, and grabbed Ren, slamming her against a wall. He hadn’t had used his knife then; things hadn’t been as bad. However, he had made it very clear, his thoughts on her treatment of his sister, and then basically kicked her out not just the room, but of the whole wing. It had been a while before she tried anything again, and sometimes he wondered if she was afraid of him.
Good. If it keeps Akito safe, let her be afraid of me.

He didn’t need the sudden warmth to know that she had managed to set it on fire, just as he had done so many years ago, thinking his problems would end that way. No, as soon as the building started to burn, the pounding in his head had stopped, as well as the bleeding and fever, although he was still short of breath and incredibly pale compared even to his usual skin tone. He did however, feel more energy now that he wasn’t focused just on living. Gritting his teeth, Dante rolled over so he was on his stomach. His eyes were still that unusual gleaming red color for some reason though. Carefully, with the help of Akito, Dante managed to get to his feet, although it was a challenge. He was moving on pure adrenaline though, and it wasn’t going to last long. Still slightly leaning on Akito, he didn’t want to get her too bloody though so he tried to keep most of his clothing off of her, Dante managed to get far enough away, before sinking to his knees again, head resting against, still pale. Pulling up his knees so his head rested on them, Dante sat for a moment, before looking back up at Akito. The pounding in his head had stopped, as well as his coughing and nosebleed.
”I-I’ll be alright.”
His voice was softer then normal, and still a bit strained, but now that he wasn’t going to die, it was obvious that he didn’t like Akito outside. It wouldn’t matter though; she wouldn’t leave, even if he told her too. And some part of him was glad for that. Shakily getting back to his feet, he offered a faint smile.
”Now, before anything happens to you, lets head back.”
Of course, right after that was when D’Noir showed himself again, and he was not happy about Dante still being alive, that much was obvious. Going stiff, Dante stepped in front of Akito, bright red eyes narrowed dangerously. Before D’Noir even had a chance to talk though, Dante was speaking. He was angry, and that gave him strength, just as it often gave Akito strength.
”Get the hell out of our way, D’Noir. You and I can settle this later, after I get Akito home.”
The tall blonde man stepped back, as though surprised. And in truth, he was.
”You actually remember her? And everything before…? Then my block wasn’t strong enough. You shouldn’t have survived Dante. No monster should be able to live. Your beads won’t hold forever, you know.”
Grinning a savage smile, D’Noir had made a fatal assumption. At least, in the future it would be fatal. He expected Dante to react to his statement; and in a way, he did.
”Which is the monster, D’Noir? The one who relies upon something to keep him in check, but has friends, or the one who spends all his time alone, killing his own experiments? Or, creates walls strong enough to kill one if they try to hard to figure out what you do? Leave. Or I’ll make you.”
Tone deadly sharp, Dante stepped forward, don’t ask how because he didn’t have a clue, and glared. After returning the glare, D’Noir did leave, and Dante turned back to Akito. He was so tired, but he had to keep going. They would be back soon. However, it was only getting colder, and Akito wasn’t wearing much. Leaning against a pole for a moment, Dante pulled off his sweatshirt, and then gave it to Akito. He would be fine, even with a short sleeve on. He had more then enough heat for a time.

[there is more, but that shall stay between Akkii and I. xP]

[/blockquote]

[Dante]

Trei

The sun was shining, making the summer day sweltering and bright. Many would find this pleasant. Akito did not. She preferred cooler weather. Despite this, though, she was lying out on the porch outside her room, running her fingers up and down the smooth boards. It made a soft brushing sound. Sweat was beading on her forehead, but still she didn't move from her spot. She remained, hair an almost bright irridescent blue in this lighting. The ten-year-old let her mind wander, watching the clear sky. How she wished clouds would come. Maybe rain. Dante may not like the rain, but she loved it. She'd love to feel the cool water against her face right now.
"I could do with a bucket of water to the face right now," she murmured wryly.
Then she sat up when something occured to her. The beach house! She wondered if Dante'd ever seen the ocean. Probably not, if he'd never even seen snow! Obviously, he knew even less of the outside world than she. She pushed to her feet, nearly falling over as she stood up too fast. The young goddess easily recovered and was soon taking quick strides to the room in which Dante stayed, knowing he'd be there since he wasn't with her. Probably drawing. She smiled to herself. He was a great artist, and she was jealous of his talent. Despite her grace when it came to handwriting and calligraphy, she could not draw. She opened his door without knocking.

"It's too hot here," she told him, entering and closing the door behind her, proceeding to sit down on his bed. "I was thinking of getting Ha'ri to take us somewhere cooler."

Normally, the girl was not so adventurous. Or in a good mood, for that matter. Especially on days like these, when there was so much heat. She leaned back and glanced over at her half brother to see what he'd think.

It was too hot, even for the fire obsessed Dante. In truth, he had always preferred the cooler weather, just as long as there wasn’t much water involved. For once, he was not drawing; rather, he happened to be laying on the floor in the shade, without a doubt the coolest part of his room. He had a talent for finding things like that; many thought it to be because he was of the cat, and others thought it was just because he was who he was. Today he wore his typical outfit; black shirt with a various logo on it, and faded, ripped jeans. Dark shirt clinging to his skin, it was obvious even now how skinny he was, even though most of the time one wouldn’t guess just how skinny he was. Hair brushed out of his face, red gaze on the slowly revolving ceiling fan, it seemed as though even the air around him was hotter then any other place in the room. There was a blank look in his gaze too, which meant that Dante was probably off in his mind, plotting for the future if one knew him, or reliving the past. At least, the past that he could remember that is.

He knew who it was when the door opened; there was only one person who could come in without his invitation. Sitting up and shaking his hair back so it covered his eyes, Dante turned to look over at Akito, knowing that she felt the heat as intensely as he. Maybe she had a plan though, seeing as she could easily control where they went. One of the pluses of being god, he supposed. Rising to his feet, Dante went over to sit next to Akito, detaching his shirt from his skin, listening to what she had to say.
”Where do you want to go? Anywhere where its cooler would be nice. And preferably not too much water, but as long as I don’t have to get wet, it’d probably be fine.”
Absently, Dante’s mind wandered to where the places he had heard that were cool even at this time of year, even though he hadn’t seen some of the things his mind supplied. He saw cool forests, old altars where moss grew from the stone and great rushing rivers with cool mud on the banks. He had seen those things on the TV once, in the snatch he had been able to land. He had no clue what a beach was, or that there was even such a thing. He had lived in a sad and closed world, before escaping and coming over to live with Akito.

He probably wasn’t going to like though, the beach. Not with the rushing water, the great swells of waves, and all those things. No, water was not a favorite of Dante, and not only because of his curse.
.

[They go to the beach, Akito gets knocked under by a wave, Dante has to save her and nearly kills himself in the process, and then Ha’ri saves them both. Never finished though. Younger then above.]

[/blockquote]

[Dante]

vier.

It had been many weeks since Akito had last locked him into the cat room, a place where he knew he belonged. Time had been passed in total isolation from the rest of the world, just the way it should have been from the start. He should have never been able to be as free as he had been; he was a danger to society. He had been told as much before, and now it only seemed to ring in his ears, echoing around his mind. Somehow, overtime, he had been able to make that connection between Akito and he go blank, just as he had learned how to make his mind go blank. For the most part, anyway. He couldn’t stop the memories that plagued his dreams, no matter how little he slept; they were always there, lying in wait, ready to seize him at the first possible moment. It had become a challenge; how long could he stay awake, before he finally collapsed from sheer exhaustion? Although he was confined to a single room, it did not mean that Dante had not been busy. One look at the walls would be more the enough to convince someone of that, as well as horrify them.

The walls were covered in paper, ripped from his various sketchbooks, but all showing the same message. It was as though the room had been divided in half though.
Nothing but a monster.
I can’t trust myself anymore.
The fire grows darker in me, waiting to be extinguished.
There is nobody to trust.
Nobody can trust me anymore. Not even myself.
D’Noir was right; I am a monster, something that should have been killed outright.
I am worthless.
What is the point of my existence?
Monster, a vile creature.
I don’t know who I am, but I do know what I am.
I belong here, in solitude.

The largest, and most gruesome, was strung high against the wall, a huge sheet of paper. In big, rough letters as black as it get, ‘I can’t trust myself anymore’ sat, outlined in a dark red. Further down the paper, there was blood. Not fake blood, but actual gore and life blood, although wear it came from, nobody could tell. Well, one could, but he wouldn’t say anything. He hadn’t said anything aside from his parting words, something he remembered oh so well. Leaning against the wall, dressed in all black he seemed to become a shadow himself, Dante allowed the memory. It was the last one he had of the outside.

It had been the usual day around the house, Akito though, seemed on the edge. Finally, Dante made the decision to confront her about it, and found Akito more than willing to talk. After she finished though, it was almost as though she was begging him to find some loophole, find a way to be excluded from her promise. And there were a few, but as she had spoken, a cold certainty had come over Dante, and he knew that he had to do this; not just for Akito, but for everyone on the outside. He reached down and gently touched her shoulder, although he knew his gaze was distant, although not cold.
“Keep your promise Akito. Besides, your father was right. We all belong in there, especially me. After all, I’m nothing but a monster, something that I’ve always been fighting, but its time I finally accepted what I really am. You should have had me locked up a long time ago.”
She hadn’t been happy then, but before she could say anything, Dante had left. He knew what he had to do now….

That had been the last time he had seen her, for good reason. Just looking at the room itself, it was as though two different beings lived in it, divided exactly in the middle. One side was neat, not a thing out of place, just as Dante was, but the other… a wreak. Papers were everywhere, as were clothes. It looked as though something had hit that side, and hit it hard. This wasn’t surprising, as Dante had been battling with his alter ego, Inferno, ever since he had stepped into isolation. At the moment, everything was under control, but his control was a fragile thing, and even now, Dante knew that he could easily switch to his insane, sociopath side with only a blink. That was what he had always been trying to fight though. He didn’t want to be a monster, but as he locked himself into this place, he had finally come to terms with what he was. Not who, but what. Sure, he was allowed more than the usual occupant, but it didn’t hide the fact that beyond his skin, beyond his being, there was a monster. One that made others cower in fear. He shouldn’t have been born, he had no purpose here. And if he did, it too had been stripped from him. His only worry was about Akito’s mental state, for aside from what he had told her, Dante had spoken not a word to anyone. Sometimes, he wondered if he was possibly losing his voice. Whatever though, it wasn’t as though he cared.

Dante had always been used to solitude, aside from hanging around with Akito, he had only hung around with Haru, and that was all he seemed to want to hang out with. He had his drawings, his music, and a select few people he had decided to hang around with. And it had all been stripped from him. As though sensing his anger, the song suddenly switched over to one that fit him oh so well. It was at that moment that he heard the click, and knew also exactly who was coming. Akito was the only one who ever visited him, at least, used to. Without so much as moving, Dante turned his mind to the song, pulling up his black sweatshirt’s hood. Everything he wore was black now, no splash of color as there was once, nothing. It was, or rather would be, to anyone who had known him, depressing. For although he had been dark in his ways, there had always been something different about Dante. Now he was just like the rest. Clicking the volume up, Dante refused to listen to his thoughts, and instead, focused on the music.

And this is how I feel when I ignore the words you spoke to me
And this is where I lose myself when I keep running away from you
And this is who I am when, I don’t know myself anymore
And this is what I choose when it’s all left up to me

Breathe your life into me
I can feel you
I’m falling, falling faster
Breathe your life into me
I still need you
I’m falling, falling
Breathe into me
Breathe into me

And this is how it looks when I am standing on the edge
And this is how I break apart when I finally hit the ground
And this is how it hurts when I pretend I don’t feel any pain
And this is how I disappear when I throw myself away

Breathe your life into me
I can feel you
I’m falling, falling faster
Breathe your life into me
I still need you
I’m falling, falling
Breathe into me
Breathe into me
Breathe into me
Breathe into me

Breathe your life into me
I can feel you
I’m falling, falling faster
Breathe your life into me
I still need you
I’m falling, falling
Breathe into me

Breathe your life into me!
I’m falling, falling faster
Breathe your life into me!
Falling, falling, falling
Breathe into me
Breathe into me
Breathe into me
Breathe into me
Breathe!!

How sadly suiting that was, pretty much the whole song. Lifting his gaze, Dante knew his eyes were glowing faintly as they always did these days; they were glowing or dark. He was in control though, anyone could see that with his quick and careful movements. But for how much longer? And what did Akito want with him, could she not leave him in the solitude that he had condemned himself to? Head dropping back down so it rested on his knees, eyes glowing brightly though not fully so even the whites of his eyes seemed red, Dante watched the door, waiting. The song was playing once more, but for once, he didn’t pay attention to it.

It felt like it may had been a long, long time—maybe even eons—since the last time she’d seen him. But, after locking him in there, she hadn’t wanted to face him, scared that for some reason, he’d hate her. Even though he seemed to be very willing to be locked in, she still feared he’d be angry with her. And she didn’t want to have to face that anger, not from him. Surely he’d despise her. She knew if someone had done something like that to her—even if she was willing at first—she’d never forgive them.
Sometimes, she’d spend hours just outside that room, though. At times she’d begin to cry without making any sound, hating herself for locking him in there, even hating her father, for she was only doing this because she felt that if he were still alive, he’d be proud of the choice she’d made. And she didn’t want him to be proud of that choice.
But somewhere deep down, she knew he would be proud, for she knew—though she’d never really admit it to even herself—he had only cared because she was cursed by the god-spirit of the Juunishi.

Today was one of those days when she lurked just outside, dwelling on her thoughts, leaning against the wall and just willing her father to materialize before her and say something reassuring like, ‘It’s okay, you don’t have to keep him locked up in there’.
But that wasn’t possible, for he was gone from this world—and had been for at least fifteen years—and there was no chance of him ever coming back.
Sometimes, when she was out here, she pretended to ask Dante for advice. She’d quietly murmur questions under her breath, then try to imagine what he would say to her. But she could never get it. For, although they were really quite alike in many ways, they thought differently. He tended to be more rational than her at times, for example.

Somehow, during this particular non-visit, she managed to gather enough courage to face him. She didn’t know what she’d say. She didn’t know what she’d do. She just had to go in there and see him. She walked around the house to the entrance. As she unlocked the door, a quiet click sounded. She gripped the handle, as if she were about to slide the door open, but instead she let her arm fall back to her side and she leaned her head against the door, fighting tears. Why did she keep kidding herself like this? She could never fully bring herself to meet him face to face, not after what she’d done to him weeks ago. It was too late, wasn’t it? If he was angry, she must have run out of time by now; she wouldn’t be forgiven, it was too late.
If anybody, it was her that was the monster, her that belonged in there. Though, she would never do that. She had far too much pride to lock herself in there in solitude. It would drive her absolutely mad, anyway.
How could he deserve the title of ‘Monster’ when she was the one being selfish?

She heard the music through the thin door loud and clear, and when she’d thought she had finally calmed down, she realized how much the song made her think of him. It sounded fitting, even though she didn’t know how his mental state was. She had to fight tears once more as her breath quickened. What if her locking him in there had made him become the monster he thought he was? No! That couldn’t happen! She’d never allow that!
Finally somewhat composed, she hesitantly slid the shoji door open just as the song ended.

She almost rushed back out as soon as she entered. Instead, though, she closed the door behind her and tentatively took a couple steps closer to him.
“Hello,” she breathed, almost wincing at how empty her voice sounded; cold, even. “I’m sorry for not visiting you,” she adding, trying to make her voice gentler. This time, though, it sounded shaky and hoarse.
But in her mind, she imagined them both as children again. They were little kids with fewer worries, dealing with their problems together. It may sound cheesy, but it was nice.
She was two years older than him, but had always felt so much younger when she was around him. He always seemed wiser. In truth, he was one of the few who had indeed suffered more than she had. He had seen more, he was wiser, in ways.
Slowly, she eased herself into a sitting position. Though, it was more like a kneeling position. Not one of reverence, no. But a formal one that she’d grown accustomed to using. Her back was straight as a rod as she sat on her legs. They’d fall asleep if she stayed in the position for too long. But there had been times when she’d had to sit in this position for hours on end at the New Years festival they had each year, so she could handle this.

She watched him in silence, then allowed her ocean-like eyes to wander around the room. The walls looked absolutely morbid, to put it mildly. To be honest, it terrified her. Half of the room looked as if it’d been hit by a hurricane. The other was perfectly neat, just as Dante’s bedroom had always been.
The pictures decorating the walls disturbed her, to say the least.
Though, there was only one that sent shivers down her spine—a movement that would more likely than not be noticed by her half brother. It read, ‘I can’t trust myself anymore’. She recognized some of the red on it as real blood, and wondered if he had cut himself to get it, for it was a color and texture that could never be matched by any sort of paint.
Her mind flashed to a time when she was sixteen at the thought that Dante may have hurt himself to get the blood on the paper. She hoped he hadn’t though.

She had been sitting there, slashing at her wrists and watching with a morbid fascination as blood dripped down her arms from the cuts and drizzled onto the tatami floor, looking like scarlet rain. She could remember that she’d been wondering if Shigure would hear her heartbeat, if he’d realize her life was in danger. She wondered if he would care.
Then Dante had come in. When he had snatched the knife from her hands, she had finally felt the pain and wondered what had come over her.

Akito snapped back to the present, looking over at Dante instead of into the distance. Her teal eyes met his glowing red ones, and the emotions swimming in her orbs begged him to say something to her.

[/blockquote]

[Dante]

Her emotions were so obvious, they sang out from her like a silent song, a song with colors, dips, and rises. In ways, it was like an aura, something that changed continuously. He wouldn’t have been able to see it before, not without letting out Inferno, but being alone; he had mastered a few tricks. They weren’t without cost though, for as his alter watched from the back, it seemed to growl like something cage, telling him now was the time to attack if he wanted to free himself from his place, if he wanted to get out. While she was still trusting enough to sit without a weapon on her. It was because of that, Dante didn’t move from his spot. Always fighting, he wanted not to hurt Akito. His control was not what it once had been though, and unless she managed to get her emotions under control, she needed to leave, before he was forced to hurt himself rather than hurt her, to distract the beast within. Dropping his burning gaze from her teal orbs, Dante drew on his inner calm to soothe his agitation. Another song had come back the music, causing Dante to stiffen, head rising up to meet Akito’s eyes, tilting his head slightly, telling her to listen without actually talking.
The secret side of me
I never let you see
I keep it caged
But I can't control it
So stay away from me
The beast is ugly
I feel the rage
And I just can't hold it
It's scratching on the walls
In the closet, in the halls
It comes awake
And I can't control it
Hiding under the bed
In my body, in my head
Why won't somebody come and save me from this?
Make it end!

I feel it deep within,
It's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I
Feel like a monster
I hate what I've become
The nightmare's just begun
I must confess that I
Feel like a monster
I feel like a monster

My secret side I keep
Hid under lock and key
I keep it caged
But I can't control it
Cause if I let him out
He'll tear me up
And break me down
Why won't somebody come and save me from this?
Make it end!

I feel it deep within,
It's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I
Feel like a monster
I hate what I've become
The nightmare's just begun
I must confess that I
Feel like a monster
I feel like a monster

It's hiding in the dark
It's teeth are razor sharp
There's no escape for me
It wants my soul,
It wants my heart
No one can hear me scream
Maybe it's just a dream
Or maybe it's inside of me
Stop this monster!

I feel it deep within,
It's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I
Feel like a monster
I hate what I've become
The nightmare's just begun
I must confess that I
Feel like a monster
I feel like a monster


And then, there was silence between the two, Dante raising a remote. And with a single click, the room went silent. The song he had chosen though, had told her exactly how he felt right now, how close to the surface his alter was at the moment. As if his glowing eyes weren’t enough of a clue. Dropping his gaze back down to his pale and scarred hands, the silence only grew between them. Dante seemed to find it…awkward, that she had come to visit him, none to surprising really, seeing as he had seen so little over his solitude. If only she could see what he saw right now, with the eyes of a predator. The eyes of a hunter. She would be terrified, but she would understand why exactly he was so silent. Too loose control, ever, had always been one of his greatest fears and with Akito not too far away from, well, he was pretty sure she was the only one who he wouldn’t kill, but he wouldn’t bet her life on that. Besides, he had chosen this fate, and being in isolation was what had happened, he would live with it. As he always had, taking the burden from others even when he felt as though he was drowning in his own life as it was. He could feel the begging in her gaze, and some part of him wanted to reach out and wrap his arm around her, comforting her the way only siblings could. He had seen her flinch at his pain poster, and although that once would have bothered him, it almost didn’t affect him. After all, she had chosen to come in here, rather then just pace around outside, as she always did.

Memory assulted him, back when he still was himself, not battling with whatever had been forced upon him some time ago. Of how he had sta against the wall, hearing somehow her silent tears, questions being asked of him, and silent as she thought of an answer. How he had longed to answer her then, but he was bound by his own silence, some part of him, the first time Inferno had showed, had refused to allow him to answer. Days and days had passed with the same results, and sometimes, when the beast was sleeping, he would whisper an answer, and only hope that she heard it. Sometimes he thought she did, others it was as though he wasn’t even there. Some days were worse then others, but it was only recently that he had decided to just keep away. As his eyes had grown brighter, what he was seemed to shrink down, until now, it being a constant battle to keep himself undercontrol. Even now, the beast was rearing forward, trying to get to Akito, something he couldn’t let happen. Something he wouldn’t let happen. If he hurt her somehow like that, he would find a way to make his wounds twice as bad, just to make it up to her. And even that wouldn’t be enough for him, he would find more ways to torture himself. Even a bare room had something one could hurt themselves with. It was just the matter of finding it.

He found it impossible to ignore her gaze though, no matter how hard he tried to. Something about it had always made him feel as though he was under attack if he didn’t respond, usually because h e was so afraid of failure. Raising his gaze up once more too meet Akito’s, there was no light in those eyes, although they seemed to be glowing in the darkness. No spark that had always made Dante who he was. Maybe if you looked deep enough, you could see that though, for just a glimmer, was visible under the eyes of Inferno. Watching Akito for only a moment longer, he shrugged, before speaking. His voice was cool, casual, as though this was nothing more then a conversation with an ordinary person. To be expected though, of course.

“I’m used to solitude. This isn’t as bad, since it was my own choosing. I’ve had worse.” Never dropping his gaze ftom Akito, he found himself wondering exactly what she was feeling right now. Well, in her mind that is, he could see what she was feeling quite easily. Her mental state was what worried him the most, she was fragile on a good day.

Akito didn’t realize just how out of control Dante might get. But her instincts told her she had to be careful. She could feel something in him when she felt his bond. Something wild, scary even. Something that could kill her, something that would.
Instincts told her that if she masked her emotions—something she rarely did around Dante anymore—she’d be safer. She couldn’t see it with her eyes, though. She couldn’t see what was dangerous about him. But she knew that some part if him wanted to hurt her, and that scared her.
But she masked the fear that flashed in her eyes for a moment. The emotions that had been in her eyes she simply replaced with an unfeeling stony look, although that’s not how it was on the inside.
Then again, she was fairly good at hiding what she felt most of the time.

When Dante showed her she should listen, she listened to the song.
It was obvious what he was telling her. He felt this way. No. That wouldn’t work. Because if she figured out a way to convince him to leave the Cat Room after thinking of a way to not have to keep him locked in to make Akira proud, he couldn’t feel this way. He didn’t belong in this room!
She almost winced at a certain part of the song, where it actually sounded like a monster had sang. She’d even heard a voice like that before. She’d once torn Kyo’s beads off his wrist when he was little. And he’d sounded like that.

Before another song came on, Dante turned off the music, and that relieved her. She didn’t want to hear another… ‘fitting’ song for him. It terrified her too much.
She wanted to drop the mask she wore now. She didn’t want to look cold. She wanted to move closer to him and try to comfort him. But she couldn’t. She knew that it wasn’t safe to do that, not right now.
For the first time in a long, long time, there was an awkwardness between the two. She fidgeted and looked away from him, scanning the room once more without taking anything in. She could feel his eyes on her, for a moment, and a small part of her was telling her to get out as fast as she could. But, of course, it’s not as if she listened to that part of her—the rational part of her. That never happened.

She looked back at him again, with the intensity she’d had before. But the mask still hid the emotions she was hiding very well.
But when he said what he did, the mask broke, and she glared at him. It was a long time since she’d been truly angry with him. But… how could he just allow this? She hated him for that—saying it wasn’t so bad. Maybe it wasn’t, but it would have been better for him if he hadn’t been locked up.
“It’s because you’ve had worse that you shouldn’t have to go through this,”she snapped, voice cold, even bitter. There was something that could easily resemble hate in her eyes, though it was obvious that she could never bring herself to despise him. She was only angry. “D**n it, Dante! You…! D**n you!”

She didn’t know why she said it to him. She was mad, though. And when she was angry, she didn’t control it. Luckily, she didn’t have the desire to hurt him. To get up, grab the nearest glass object, and fling it at him. But if she allowed herself to get any angrier—unreasonably, of course—then she wasn’t sure what she’d do. Her pupils had already gotten quite a bit smaller. They were little more than little black pinpricks in her ocean-like eyes.
Strange things seemed to happen to the siblings’ eyes when they were about to lose control.

When the mask come on, something inside Dante relaxed slightly, though the beast was disappointed that the hunt wasn’t going to happen. Breathing slightly easier, Dante turned his gaze from Akito’s eyes, looking at the various drawings he had on the walls, he had seen her flinch when she had seen them, just as he had seen her fear. Her fear of him, as she saw exactly what he had turned too, an emotion he would have never thought he would see when it came to Akito. Bitterness wandered into his gaze, an expression more Dante then Inferno. Unknowingly though, his hands had been clenched as he fought to stay where he was, and slowly he lifted his hands, revealing bloody crescents from where his nails had dug into his pale and skinned hand. Shaking his head as he glanced at the crescents, Dante casually wiped his hands onto his jeans, leaving tracks of red. Maybe he hadn’t been as careful as he thought he had been; turns out he had hurt himself to keep his place. He almost wanted to laugh, in some morbid sense, but laughing wouldn’t work here. Laughter meant something usually, and he couldn’t control how he sounded when he laughed, unlike when he was simply talking to his only visitor, Akito.

As his gaze traveled over the room, he knew which one had made her flinch. It was his favorite, simply because of how it had turned out. While there was no set theme to it, it left imagination to those who dared to look at it. He knew how everything looked in here, the two parts. And anyone who knew him would know which side belonged to which. Before Akito had entered, Dante had moved from his side, and now he sat in half and half, with no clear way which he was going to turn. The masking though, had helped some, and now it was almost as though he was going to fade back into Dante, not Inferno. His eyes had darkened slightly, though he had not moved from his position really. It was better that way, but it bothered the sane part of his mind that Akito was so stiff. That she was afraid of him. She had never been afraid of him before, but maybe she was just being reasonable. She had seen Inferno before, and she knew of his power when unleashed, and how bad it got when he was angry.

Her words though, as she pierced the silence, broke whatever calm he had been bringing down. Head snapping up, eyes dark for a moment, he just stared at her in shock, before his eyes flared back to the bright red that they had previously been. Only now, it seemed to flare even brighter than before. Suddenly he was right in front of her, standing, and obviously fighting himself. How he moved so fast was beyond him, and for a moment, Dante not only looked dangerous, but seemed to fill the room with it. With a growl, he moved quickly, as though he was going to hit her, but instead, moved and slammed his fist into the wall. There was a sudden cracking sound, one of breaking bones, but it didn’t even seem to bother him. Breathing heavily, eyes closed although he was just about shaking with his, no Inferno’s, anger, Dante slammed his other fist on the wall, though not as hard as his other. However, after taking the two impacts, the wall grew cracked slightly. His strength in regular form was impressive, although you would have never guessed he was as strong as he was. When Inferno came forth though, it was amped up.
Akito wasn’t exactly safe though. As he had brushed past her, he had clipped her shoulder slightly, something that wouldn’t hurt, but would surprise her. Even with his fluid movements, Dante was fighting with all he could. Head against the wall, shoulders drawn back and back stiff, Dante spoke in a low tone, still fighting back the beast within him.
”I appreciate you coming by, but you should leave. Now.”
Normally, Dante didn’t order her around, but with the darkness that laced his tone, it was obvious how hard he was trying not to hurt her. He was still there, just buried deep within.

Akito had tensed up even more after she said what she did, half regretting it, but still extremely angry, with him and herself. It was a shock when he got up so abruptly. As he acted as if he were about to strike her, she closed her eyes, bracing herself. But, being Akito, she opened her eyes just as his fist went by her head, clipping her shoulder, and hitting the wall. To her dismay, a quiet yell out of absolute shock exited through her lips.
She stayed down for a moment, but then stood up herself, taking a few steps away from him, not quite looking at him.
When he demanded that she left, she whirled to face him, eyes narrowed now. She knew it was only for her own safety, but she was not going to leave, even if he’d almost hurt her. Yes, she was afraid. Yes, she knew he could certainly hurt her horribly. She saw that by the way he damaged the wall. She knew that he could have easily punched her in the face and hurt her very, very badly. But he didn’t, which is why she didn’t leave. She still trusted Dante. He was strong, she was sure.
“No.” She glared. “I will not leave. I came here to see you, and I’m not leaving until I’m satisfied.”
Brave? Yes.
Wise? Obviously not.
And she was aware of that, that she was not making the safest choice. But she didn’t care.
“And even if I wanted to leave, it’s not your place to tell me when I should.”

She was furious. She’d come here to see him. But she’d barely seen him. She’d seen more of ‘Inferno’. But she knew that he was there, and she wasn’t leaving until she’d get a chance to spend some time with her brother.
But she knew that her anger wasn’t helping anything. She slipped the mask back on, leaving an almost eerie calm where the anger had been flashing in her eyes. She went less tense, willing herself to calm down. Was she bipolar? No. Well, maybe. But right now she was trying to suppress the anger. This was the first time she’d ever done so well.
She wanted to apologize, but she didn’t. She just watched his eyes, still a distance away from him, but willing herself not to be afraid of him. Dante was there somewhere, and so long as he was there, she felt she was probably safe. After all, he’d stopped himself from hitting her.

He expected her words, after all, when had Akito had the sense to listen to her emotions, to what her mind was telling her? She was so foolish. Thinking she could control things, as though she didn’t value her own life. She did, but at times, he could only wonder. And her anger wasn’t helping him gain any control he had, even when she slipped the mask back on, the air seemed to be thick with the emotion, some being his own, and some being hers. And under its chains, the beats was pulling forward, each nerve seeming to stand on end, he was aware of every breath she took, of even the slightest shift she made in her movement. It was clear as day to him, even with his back turned. The room had been memorized by him already, he knew every crevice, every crack, ever place where it wasn’t whole. He knew where all the items he had were, and which were the most deadly to others and himself. All he was missing was a lighter, he had been out to buy one the day he had been caged. How long had it been since he had last seen the glow of the flame? Much to long, that was for sure.

His breathing was ragged as he listened to her words, her tone making him want to turn around and attack, just as he had when he had seen the man behind her one night, before things were as bad as they were now. Back when he had no control over the monster he was. Well, it seemed as though he didn’t have much control even now. Things had been better then though, all those years ago, when life still had any meaning. Back before he really was a monster. When he still had something called hope. For a while, there was just silence, though the air seemed to just crack with the power that was fighting, one of not exactly light, but of good, and the other of pure darkness. There was no clear victor though, as when was the line between good and bad ever clear? Finally though, it was almost as though he couldn’t hold himself anymore, Dante whirled to face Akito. His bright eyes were narrowed dangerous as he took a step forward, looming over her short figure. He had always been tall, but never in a way that made you aware you were short. Well, now he was using his height against Akito almost without noticing it. His hands had clenched back into fists, although the pain must have been intense, as it was obvious in his right hand he had shattered something with his punch.

”You have no value for your own life.”
He hissed, gaze narrowing further. His anger was impressive, but then again, it always been. It just usually wasn’t Akito that he was mad at, but someone who had hurt her. You could ask Ren about Dante’s anger, she was one of the usual people who felt his wrath. Almost as though he couldn’t help himself, Dante lashed out, and seemed to catch himself. Whirling, he didn’t hit the wall this time though. Instead, he turned and grabbed his knife, slamming it into the wall. There, now it was out of temptation for the beast, he wouldn’t be able to hurt Akito with it, but he would and could still hurt himself with it.
”So foolish.”
Dante gave a sharp, spine chilling laugh, but he didn’t turn his blazing gaze from the knife.
”Honestly, trusting this? You must want to die if you’re so bullheaded to stay, Dante’s control isn’t what it used to be. Right now, he can barely stop me from grabbing that knife and using it on you. He’s grown so weak.”
Inferno spoke, his voice rough compared to Dante’s usually smooth voice. He seemed to be almost amused by this whole thing, though he didn’t draw his gaze away from the knife.
”Your lucky he stopped the punch from hitting your face, I would have crushed some of those pretty bones rather than snapping my own. He won’t last much longer, and then you’ll be mine.”
Inferno gave another bone chilling laugh. He wasn’t in full control though, anyone could see how badly he wanted to get that knife, but his hands still stayed down by his sides, though he was obviously fighting. For a moment t, the eyes darkened slightly as he turned toward Akito, and one could see Dante, although the pupils were laced with that bright red.
”Run as fast as you can Akito, please. I can’t hold him for too long.”
The voice was rushed, but smooth. It was Dante, not Inferno. As fast as he changed though, Inferno came back, looking a little annoyed with the intrusion.
”Now, where were we? Ah yes, I was looking to grab the knife.”
Roughly, Inferno turned back to the wall. He had none of the grace of Dante, his movements rough and choppy. Grinning, he reached for the knife, and seemed to be met by resistance.
”He is stronger than I thought. Oh well, once I get rid of him, I won’t have to worry about him. And then we’ll be siblings, sister. ”
Inferno grinned, a wolf like expression.

Akito, this time, did not regret what she said, for it hadn’t been as cruel. It was true. She would not leave until she could see him, not that horrid alter ego he had. The way he was watching her made her nervous. It was like she was prey, he was a hunter. And a goddess was not supposed to fall prey to a cat, right? It scared her, made her anxious, made her want to run out of the room. But instead she stayed in, just watching him watch her the way he was. Would he really attack her? She hoped not. But she never knew, when he was like this.
Shockingly enough, when Inferno spoke to her, she nearly flinched at the tone. She wasn’t as strong as she acted, and just the tone of his voice scared her. She was angry at Inferno, this damnable alter ego of Dante’s.

She almost yelped out of surprise—as she had earlier—as he took the knife and drove it into the wall. He could have hit her with that. He could have stabbed her and killed her. When he laughed, it made her visibly shudder.
She took another step away from Inferno as he continued to speak. She hated herself for showing such fear toward him, but she couldn’t help it. Now, it wasn’t just a tiny part of her mind telling her to get out of this room. Ever rational part of her mind was screaming at her, telling her to run out as fast as she could. But she ignored it. She pushed that idea into the back of her mind.
That is, until Dante told her what her instincts were telling her. She froze. It was amazing how he could go back to being himself—even for a moment It was a relief, that he was there somewhere.

She didn’t act until Inferno took over and spoke to her again. Though, she almost hit him when she heard what he said. She wanted to punch him. But then again, she didn’t stand a chance against him. She knew that much. So instead, she turned around and ran for the door. As she reached it, something occurred to her before she threw it open and dashed out.
She had a lighter hiding beneath the sash she wore around her yukata.
Dante, being the pyromaniac he was, would resurface if she showed him the fire—she was positive.
She couldn’t believe she thought of it before. She turned around, and there was actually a smirk on her face.

“Dante, before I go, I want to show you something.”
She was speaking to him, not Inferno. Oh, she prayed this would work out. She pulled out the lighter. Shigure had given it to soon after she had shown him and the others how she could put fire on her hands without burning herself. Hatori and Kureno had been unsure of the whole thing, but she’d simply laughed at them when they showed their concern, saying that they were so boring.
Now, she flicked the lighter on, showing Dante the flame. Then she tried at that trick. She did it less often, now. But she got it on the first try and showed him the fire on her palms.

She did something she recalled him doing a long time ago, during their second meeting. She blew on the fire in such a way that it looked as if she were breathing it.
She waited for some sort of response. She would not blow out the fire until she received a response.


Inferno watched her as she dashed for the door, a look of cold amusement on his face. He could easily cover the room in one stride, running was stupid. Grinning, his teeth flashing slightly, he laughed his typical spine chilling laugh, shaking his head slightly. Akito amused him that much was for sure. Maybe he would let her live… But then again, all this would have been for nothing if he did. Maybe he could just carve her slightly, but not actually kill her. She wouldn’t come back, but then again, she wasn’t going to come back again anyway. Not if she had any sense in that matter. But then again, she hadn’t exactly been showing much sense throughout this whole thing, so maybe she would come back. Next time though, she would be armed. But not dangerous, no, she would never be dangerous to him. No matter what she brought with her, or who for that matter, Inferno would take them out of commission, or die in the attempt to. After all, it wasn’t really his life, was it? He’d just find someone else to leech off of, and they would have killed an, well not innocent, but maybe honest, being. And would that ever give them nightmares!

“Dante isn’t present. I’m afraid I’ll have to take a message.” Inferno smirked, looking even more amused with this. What could she show him that would possibly bring the other to the surface? The other was spending all his energy keeping Inferno from hurting her, and he was wearing thin. He felt the pain of cracked fingers; he felt the pain of the various wounds that covered his arms. To Inferno, it was nothing but a blur. He couldn’t feel much of anything, much less pain. What he could feel, was the darker of the emotions. Anger, hurt, hate, and all the stuff like that. Joy, compassion, caring, it was all beyond him. Beyond a shadow of doubt, Inferno was insane. And maybe a little bit more then just insane, for that matter. Still grinning, he shrugged at Akito, as though he was actually sorry that Dante wasn’t present, at least, not physically. Inside of his head, Dante was there, but what good could that do? It wasn’t as though he could act, could reach out from Inferno now. Stepping forward, though his hand didn’t stray from where the knife was, Inferno shook his head sadly at her. A real shame this was going to be.

The fire surprised him, making Inferno step back, his face tightening, and growing paler. He didn’t hate fire, he had set several people on fire, but right now, it scared him. Of all the things she had to show him, why did it have to be fire? Dante’s strength was fire, the one thing that could possibly bring him out. For a moment, both just stared at the flickering light, one in awe, the other in hate. And then, Inferno sensed Dante’s distraction, and lunged forward, pulling the knife from the wall.
“And this is what happens when you distract him from protecting you.” Inferno laughed, eyes wide, shadows cast from the flickering flame. In a single arc, he brought the knife down. He had moved close enough so it would catch Akito if it struck her, and hurt her badly. For a moment, there was a time stop, and right before the knife could strike, a hand caught it. The right hand. Inferno was left handed, and Dante was right, although he could work with both. The knife dug deep into the skin, but only the smallest flinch as it made contact would let anyone who knew him how badly it had hurt. With fluent ease, Dante pulled the knife from his palm, the same one with the broken fingers, and threw it across the room.

Dante’s eyes were…chaotic in the least. Flashing from light to dark, and then back to light again, there seemed to be a time when they were divided equally in half, before Dante and Inferno took one last glance at the flames, and then closed their eyes, each fighting for control. A long moment passed in silence, before Dante opened his eyes; they were the normal red of his and his alone. Weariness dragged at his step, and although his hand was broken and bleeding from the wound, he went over to Akito, and put his palm over the flame, not even wincing as the fire touched his flesh. As soon as it was put out, he turned back, and leaned against the wall, gradually sliding into a sitting position. For a while, he just watched himself bleed from his cut, before pulling out a first aid kit. Carefully, with his left hand, Dante removed finger braces, and a roll of Ace bandages, applying each with ease, no matter how bad it must have hurt. Then, he reached over and retrieved his knife, wiping the blade clean, and sheathing it once more. The process took a few minutes, and finally, Dante looked back up to meet Akito’s eyes. His expression was weary, and carefully controlled. As though he was afraid of himself.

”Foolish. You should have run when I told you. You could have been hurt.” Although his tone was disapproving, anyone could tell that Dante was glad that she hadn’t run, and that she had thought of fire before he had actually lost all of his control. Dropping his gaze back to the rapidly blood staining bandage, Dante shook his head, pressing his palm against his leg in an effort to further staunch the bleeding.
”You are alright?” He asked softly, worried. She could run if she wanted now, he didn’t mind. He would have run. Well, maybe not.

Part of her was afraid to see Dante’s reaction. But there was a glimmer of hope in her when she could see some of Dante in those glowing red eyes. The awe there could only belong to him. She waited for him to resurface, say something to her, anything. She couldn’t bear her half brother’s silence toward her much longer.
But then Inferno was back, pulling the knife at of the wall and coming at her with it. At first, all she did was flinch. Then she screamed. It wasn’t loud, but it was definitely quite a few octaves higher than she ever would have expected her voice to be able to go.

By now, she’d completely squeezed her eyes shut, flinching from him, waiting for the knife to hit her. When it didn’t she opened her eyes to see that he’s stopped the knife, and very badly cut his hand with the blade.
She breathed a sigh of relief. Her Dante was still in there. If he wasn’t, she wasn’t sure what she would have done.

If she were to lose Dante, she’d probably very willingly have Inferno kill her. Or she’d kill herself. She just couldn’t bear to think that this might have been all her fault. That’s how she saw it. Had she not even brought up the issue with him—had she just put it off as long as she possibly could, he wouldn’t be in here, and he wouldn’t be like this. She was sure it was because of her. He had such good control before this, after all.

Akito watched the knife as it flew across the room, bloody, flashing in a shaft of sunlight from a small window for a moment before hitting the tatami floor. She almost shuddered when she heard the faint thud, for some reason.
He could have stabbed her with that knife and either killed her or injured her. But he hadn’t, because he had enough control. She felt like smiling at Dante, but he was still battling Inferno.
She watched him quietly and intently as his eyes flashed from glowing to dark, and then to glowing again. It went on like that, and she held her breath, waiting for his eyes to open. She exhaled, relieved, when she saw that his eyes were normal again.

”Foolish. You should have run when I told you. You could have been hurt.”

She glared at him, looking angry, but it wasn’t like when she was mad at someone and wished to deal out punishment. This was actually an expression that was rarely shown on her face. One of concern, masked by irritation and anger at her younger brother.
”It wasn’t myself that I was worried about, idiot,” she said sharply, but anyone who knew her well enough would hear the shakiness in her voice, like she was about to cry, glad and very thankful that he was himself now, and not that horrible alter ego of his. ”I’m fine,” she added. ”After all, I’m not the one who’s injured here.” She still sounded irritated with him, but she was far from it. In fact, she wanted to embrace him tightly and cling to him and apologize and then yell at him for just allowing her to lock him in her like that.
“Come on, we both need to get out of here.


Battling one's self was quite exhausting, especially when one had an insane alter ego who had more strength then you did. Dante hadn't moved from his position of leaning against the wall, though he was quietly watching Akito, eyes dark and unreadable. Dante himself was unreadable at the moment, seeming slightly more closed off then before. Of course, it was too all be expected, he was afraid of what happened if he opened himself up a bit. Inferno wasn't fighting at the surface, his alter was exhausted as well, but he would take any chance Dante offered to get back into control. It was a constant battle between the two, one that he usually just rode out; after all, it wasn't as if Inferno could do much damage here, there was very little to hurt. He had been in the middle of one of those when Akito had come in, and that was when things had gotten messy. Inferno, seeing the easy prey, had homed in for the kill, and Dante could only do what he had in his power to stop Inferno from hurting, or even killing her. While doing so, he had lost control over who was the main personality, and had been rather roughly, shoved aside. Faint marks would show in the morning, but it wasn't anything a sweatshirt wouldn't be able to hide. In fact, that was the whole reason Dante was wearing a sweatshirt, he needed to hide what happened when Inferno took control. In Akito saw them, she would flip out probably; the cuts and bruises that he didn't inflict were pretty...interesting looking, in the least.

They weren't as bad as this cut though, he thought absently as he watched the crimson spread over the bandage, not really feeling the pain anymore. It did hurt though, one could tell by the slightly more pale complexion Dante had, as well as the tight lines around his mouth. Dante was much more of a suffer in silence person though; even when he had been just about dying he hadn't made a sound of pain, though it had been immense. Shaking his head ever so faintly, he was glad that he always kept his blade clean, it would be easy to get an infection if he hadn't. And that would have been one of the last things he wanted, ever. There was a soft silence between the two; they were both counting their wounds. He had tried not to get Akito, but she would probably have a bruise on her shoulder that he already felt guilty about. He on the other hand, had faired much worse. From this episode alone, he had managed to break some fingers on his right hand, as well as get sliced into with his own knife. Something that thrilled him to no end, as was obvious.

"You're the one who stayed; that makes you the idiot."
Dante said softly, a somewhat strained smile flickering over his features for a moment, before fading away. That still bothered him; she should have run when he first had told her too. She wouldn't have been in such danger, and he could have just let the storm rock and roll without anyone getting hurt. That was what this whole room was for, afterall. It was where he belonged, something that he agreed without a shadow of the doubt. He had little control, and he wouldn't ever be able to trust himself on the outside. And although he didn't have that much energy, Dante glanced up at Akito's last sentence, shaking his head even before she finished. It wouldn't work, couldn't she see that, especially after this, he belonged in here? He knew she was worried about him, her tone told him that much, but that was why she should leave. She shouldn't get so close to a monster. And she was probably going to be able to guess his thoughts as well, not that it would have been too hard reallly.

Sighing, Dante got to his feet, and went over to Akito, speaking softly.
"It won't work Akito. Besides, you need to honor your promises. I'll be fine, this isn't the worst that has happened."
Gently, and quickly, Dante allowed her a quick hug, although he used his left arm rather then his right, he didn't want to get blood on her, before stepping back before she could grab him. Stepping back further, Dante went back to his little bit of the wall, and just watched her, waiting to see what would happen. Even if she called upon her powers of God; it wouldn't work. When he came out of Inferno mode, it took a long time to switch beings, and seeing as Akito had no control over Inferno, she wouldn't have any over him right now. Absently, he wondered if she knew that, or if she was going to try anyway.

"Besides Akito. As I told you before, and as you've just seen, I belong in here. Not where someone could get hurt."

Akito managed to roll her eyes in an almost teasing way at Dante’s statement. She felt herself smile back at him for a moment and somehow managed to quietly reply, “I’m not the one who caught a knife with my hand.”
She didn’t like this. It was like an empty version of the teasing they used to do at the best of times when they were younger. The humor was there, but the feeling in the room was not one of ease, sarcasm, and slight happiness—happiness for them, anyway.
Oh, she loved him. Not romantically, obviously—ew, that would be disgusting. But she cared about him more than she cared about any of the others. Kureno was kind, but she knew his true feelings for her were pity. She loved Shigure, though she also absolutely despised him… and feared him. Then most of the others were too afraid of her to get close to her.
So that left Dante—one of the cats as her very favorite in her family.

She stiffened when he began to shake his head at her. No? But he didn’t belong here!
“I don’t WANT to honor my promise!” she snapped at him. She was tempted to put her hands over her ears, block out whatever else he might say. She could feel hot tears pricking in her eyes, to her dismay, and wouldn’t let them roll down her cheeks. She was being foolish and childish, and she knew that, but she didn’t want to admit it to herself, didn’t want to calm herself down.

“You don’t belong in here, Dante! You don’t! You think you do, and that’s why this is happening!”
Again she was glaring at him, eyes a little colder now. She was just so angry that he couldn’t see it the way she did. If he could just see it that way, he wouldn’t think he should be in here, she was sure.
Then the angry fire seemed to disappear from her eyes, replaced by a sort of defeated look.

“At least come with me to see Hatori. We need to take care of the slice on your hand… and your fingers,” she said, adding his fingers when she realized he’d probably broken them.

[Basically, Dante refuses to leave because that is where he belongs, and Akito leaves after this point.]

[Dante]

fünf

The attempt to get Dante to come outside the Cat Room had, unfortunately, been futile. Akito wasn’t sure what to do now. So she made the stress easier by being crueler to the family. She didn’t know any other way to vent, really. Ren’s influence on her was far too strong.
But now she was out in the gardens, trying to think, crying everything out in the process. She was out where few could hear her. After all, why would she start crying where someone could hear?
She was huddled into a ball underneath a sakura tree, letting tears roll freely as she tried to think. Dante’s refusal to leave the Cat Room wasn’t the only thing bothering her. Everything in general bothered her, even though there were less things were going wrong at this period in time. Maybe it was the pain. Maybe it was finally getting to her. The feeling of getting torn apart by the bonds she clung to.

Akito sighed. She had no idea she was being watched. She wiped at her eyes with the sleeves of her white yukata like a child, inwardly shaking herself violently, trying to get a hold of herself.
She finally noticed the eyes watching her, and looked up, feeling alarmed. But outside, she had that cold mask on, hiding all emotions.

She watched as her mother approached her, smiling almost serenely.
Akito stood up in one fluid movement, leaning against the tree. She seemed totally calm, but really she was trying to keep as far away from Ren as possible.
“What are you doing out here, Mother? You’re supposed to be in your room.”
“It’s a bit unhealthy to just stay in my room all they though, isn’t it, Akito?” Ren smirked, and Akito wished she could take a step back. But she was already practically pressing against the tree. Ren seemed in too good a mood. There was something wrong here. She was hiding something, Akito was sure.

“I think you should go back to your room, Mother,” she said, voice quiet now. It was meant to sound threatening, but it ended up sounding wary more than anything else.

“I don’t think you should order me around. I am your mother, after all,” Ren replied calmly. Akito caught the iciness. She watched as her mother approached, stopping so she was right in front of her daughter. Akito felt as if she had shrunk, even though she was only an inch or two shorter than Ren.

“I have every right to order you around. I’m head of this family! I’m god!” Akito snapped, angry now.
Ren smirked coldly, and she didn’t reply. Akito went cold. Something bad was about to happen, she could tell.
Ren reached out and stroked Akito’s neck, and she shuddered. Ren was strange, and to be honest, Akito was afraid of her.

Then Ren’s grip tightened around her throat, and she brought up her other hand so she could strangle Akito. Akito tried to jerk away, and when that failed, retaliated by wrapping her own hands around Ren’s neck. Somehow, Ren managed to kick one of Akito’s legs—hard—and she lost her grip on her mother. Though, this caused Ren to lose her grip as well. She grabbed Akito’s hair in her hand and yanked, then shoved her down onto her knees.
“Let go of me!”
Akito struggled and yelled just about every profanity she could think of at her mother. That is, until she was winded by a rough kick to her stomach. She whimpered, trying to get her breath back. But before she could, she was kicked again. Ren let go of her hair, watching her turn onto her side and curl into a tight ball.

She revealed the knife, then. It had been hidden in the folds of her kimono. It was a large one, from Akira’s old sword and dagger collection. Nobody entered the room that held them all anymore.
Oh, it’s not as if he’d ever used them—no, he was too gentle for that. But he loved marveling at the beauty of the blades, of their handles. Even their sheaths seemed to captivate him… though, when he’d showed them to Akito, she’d found them rather boring with the silvery blades covered by the leather sheaths.

Ren wanted to kill her daughter, but wanted to draw it out. She wanted her to feel pain, she wanted Akito to feel a fraction of the pain she’d felt when Akira had died. This demonic child deserved this punishment. It was her fault Akira was gone, now.

Akito barely stifled a loud cry as she felt the sharp pain in her arm. She hadn’t been stabbed, no, but it had cut deep. Ren seemed to be enjoying it. She was laughing almost hysterically, saying things that Akito didn’t catch.

Soon, Akito couldn’t hold it in any longer. She screamed, really screamed. People at the Main House wouldn’t hear it.
Her yukata had become stained with her own blood. She had a lot of bad gashes just gushing blood. She hadn’t exactly been stabbed, yet. But the pain was more than she wanted to handle when it was mixed in with the constant pain of the curse.

As she screamed, the knife came across the corner of her mouth, and that caused her to clamp it shut tight although she wanted to cry out again.
She finally opened her eyes when she realized she’d squeezed them shut tight, and, as she glanced up, saw that Ren was lifting the knife high, as if she were preparing for dealing out the final blow. Akito curled further in on herself, eyes shut tight again, not wanting to see the knife come at her. This would probably be the end, she was sure. It was unlikely that anyone had heard her scream.

But she was a lot closer to the cat room than she’d thought she was.

It was foolish of him really; to sit and stare at the wall, wondering why exactly he was still in here, why he hadn’t accepted her offer. Absently, he ran his fingers across his newest scar; a deep one that went the length of his palm, recalling the pain he had felt when it had happened, but also the relief that had occurred when he had stopped it from hitting Akito. The skin was still a bit tender at times, especially if you rubbed it the wrong way, but pain was something he was used to. He even had his fingers back, they hadn’t been broken too bad, and healed rapidly, a side effect of his alter he supposed. Leaning against the wall with only a t-shirt and jeans on, Dante was surprised today to feel that Inferno wasn’t tugging at the chain; but then again, there was nobody to hurt here, so why bother coming out? It was fine with Dante though, he really didn’t want to get into a fight with himself again, it had painful results. Leaning against the wall, he let his music rush over him, allowing the peace to fill him, blotting out pretty much everything.

Suddenly, a scream pierced the air, and all peace was gone, Dante up on his feet and headed toward the door. He knew that voice, he knew that scream. He even knew that the scream was one of fear, and pain. And whoever was hurting her, was going to get hurt worse then what had happened to Akito. Grabbing his knife, Dante slipped on a sweatshirt, hiding the blade. The door though, was locked it seemed. Growling faintly, Dante stepped back, and promptly kicked open a hole large enough for him to work his way through. He didn’t have time to pick the lock, Akito was in trouble. And by the sudden silence, he knew things were bad, she never screamed, and she never cut off after one scream. Anger was written all over his features, and for once, although his eyes were glowing, Dante didn’t feel Inferno fighting him. Rather Inferno seemed to be…helping him. Almost as though he knew something Dante didn’t about this, and that they would need all the strength that they had combined to win this battle. Some part of him said that even then it might not be enough this time, but all rationality had been pushed aside as soon as he heard Akito scream in pain. Besides, he’d give his life for her freely.

What he saw though, made his blood run cold. Stepping out of the shadows, Dante’s blazing eyes saw everything at once; Akito covered in knife wounds and her own blood, Ren posed to strike the final blow. Eyes widening, Dante knew he had a small window of time here; the knife was already in freefall. If he did this right, he wouldn’t get cut, and he needed to get Akito to Hatori as soon as possible, her wounds were deep and bleeding freely. Dashing forward, Dante jumped in front of Akito, grabbing Ren at the elbow, and twisted. There was a sharp ‘crack’ sound that echoed throughout the garden, before there was silence. A clang and Ren dropped the knife. It was obvious what Dante had done; he had broken Ren’s elbow to stop the blow, and the knife hadn’t touched him. Glaring down at Ren, eyes blazing with a mixture of Inferno and Dante, he spoke in a low, and dangerous tone.
”Wait right here Ren, and we can have a knife fight. And guess what? I’ll even let you play until one of us is killed. “
The dark grin on Dante’s face told her exactly what he thought, and with a single shove, Dante pushed Ren into the tree, before turning and pulling off his sweatshirt, revealing his own knife.

”Hang in there Akito. I’ll take care of this.”
Dante murmured softly, gently brushing her shoulder where she hadn’t been hit, before tearing his sweatshirt into long strips with his knife, tying the cloth tight over the wounds. It would work, for now. He needed to get her to Hatori though, and some part of his mind chanted that over and over, refusing to allow him another thought. Very gently, he picked her up, holding her as he smoothly ran across the gardens, hitting the hallway without so much as a jolt, showing this was Dante not Inferno. Dante had always been the one with a super smooth gait, and now it was paying off. Akito stank of blood, and was still bleeding. Picking up the pace, Dante kicked open Akito’s door, and then heard a familiar laugh behind him, but he didn’t stop. He would deal with him later, when Akito was safe.
”Ren got her. I broke Ren’s elbow, but she’ll be fine. Deal with Akito first. I bound them as well as I could with what I had to slow the bleeding.”
Dante probably shouldn’t have been able to order the doctor around, but his tone of voice left no other option as to what to do. Gently, Dante set Akito down, meeting her teal eyes with his blazing eyes.
”I’m going to go deal with D’Noir and Ren now. Stay here, I can handle this without you.”
Dante spoke softly, but with the same tone he had used Hatori, before turning, and shutting the door behind him with only a soft click. One would still be able to hear the conversation outside, as well as the to be fight. Because there was no maybe this time, anyone could tell that.


Stepping out into the hallway, Dante turned to face D’Noir, his blazing eyes narrowed dangerously at his father, who was looking quite amused by the whole thing, but also, very, very angry.
”So, you don’t hurt Akito, but rather Ren, hmm? Pitiful of you, she was just doing you a favor. If course, this means you must die, nobody hurts someone I like.” Feigning a sigh, D’Noir smiled darkly at Dante, but was obviously waiting for him to respond. Fine. Stepping forward, Dante swung back his fist, and punched D’Noir in the face, and yet another crack sounded, as well as the sound of D’Noir laughing.
”Fine, you want to play that way? Draw your knife.”
There was a sudden metallic sound, echoed by another, and anyone listening on the other side would know with sudden clarity what was going to happen; the two were going to fight. With knives. Someone was either going to die, or get seriously injured. Maybe both. Dante grinned slightly, speaking for the first time, voice low, deadly, and a strange mixture between his own, and Inferno’s.
”After you, old man. We all know how this is going to end…”
And then, there was a sudden thud, followed by another, and another. Underneath the door, one could see the bright crimson of blood, and wonder, who it happened to belong too. Dante was laughing, an insane sound, and D’Noir was echoing him. They seemed to be enjoying this, for some odd reason. Ducking, Dante drew his blade across D’Noir’s stomach, and watched as the older man cussed in pain, before lashing out and catching Dante on his shin, making Dante growl under his breath; he wouldn’t swear unless it really hurt with Akito present. The clinking sounds of knives hitting each other stopped, as the two panted for breath. Dante surveyed D’Noir, as well as himself. He had landed quite a few dangerous injuries to the other man, but he had not escaped. He could feel the stinging pain from several wounds, but the adrenaline that raced through his system numbed the feeling. There was one thing that he didn’t like though, and that was the fact that D’Noir had gotten to the door while the two were circling. Stepping forward, Dante’s gaze had brightened during the time, and he felt the presence of his alter, who seemed to hate D’Noir as much as Dante did. Hate rolled from Inferno, and filled Dante until it felt as though he was going to burst. Lifting his knife, now crimson coated from handle to blade, a silent challenge to a fight to the death. D’Noir grinned suddenly, a smile that was pure predator.
”You foolish monster. Little abomination. Why do you try to live here? You know as well as I do that you should be killed, not allowed in society. Your worthless; you have no point here.”
Dante didn’t flinch at the barbed words, but he did grow paler then before. His hand though, was steady as he pointed the blade at D’Noir’s throat.
”They why don’t you fight me to the death? Or are you afraid of being beaten by what I am, an abomination?” Dante’s tone was cruel, mocking even, as he stepped forward in challenge, eyes locked on the blue of D’Noir’s. Tension crackled in the air between the two, enough to suffocate a bystander. Blood was smeared everywhere, on the walls, on pictures, on any furniture that had been around. It was a battle scene, and it wasn’t clear who was winning. Both opponents were just about coated with the crimson liquid. Wounds still bleeding, dropped the vital life liquid onto the floor, each drop making the two weaker. D’Noir’s hair was turned a shade of red rather than the golden color it really was, and Dante’s skin seemed to be smeared with blood, hiding his pale skin tone.

Suddenly, D’Noir charged forward, leaving Dante no time to brace himself. With a lunge, D’Noir jumped into Dante, and then, there was the sound of shattering glass…

And suddenly, there was a thud sound, and then, quiet. It was obvious what had happened, D’Noir and Dante had gone through the second story window, and crashed to the bottom, into the gardens, Dante on the bottom. But after that thud sound, there was no sound. At least, not to the people who were on the second story.

Pain was what surrounded him, and Dante could feel the shards of glass digging deep into his back, his shirt torn in some areas. D’Noir was on top of him, and motionless. Not dead though, Dante could feel the rise and fall of the other man’s chest. Suddenly, his father stirred, and sat up, looking unharmed from the fall, aside from the fact he was favoring his leg. And of course, all his still bleeding rather deep knife wounds, and broken nose.
”Good fight. Next time we do that though, one of us will have to die.” D’Noir said simply, picking himself up and limping away.
”Take care of your regrets.” Dante coughed, sitting up and managing to pull himself into the shadows, where he pretty much faded away, even his blazing eyes couldn’t seem to shine in those shadows. A quick glance told him that Ren was gone, but not to Hatori. Probably after D’Noir, knowing her. With every movement, a fresh wave of pain flashed across Dante’s being, and finally, he just dropped his head to his knees, and watched. He would move later, once he had a chance to get used to the pain of just breathing. With multiple knife wounds, not to mention the fact that he had just fallen out of a window from the second story with a full sized man on top of him, it was amazing Dante was even conscious.

I guess when your alter ego isn’t trying to control you, it came in handy. Somehow.

Akito heard her mother’s yelp in pain and and the crack of her elbow and opened her eyes again, wondering what had happened. But then she heard Dante’s voice and she wanted to laugh and cry all at once. Of course he’d found her. He always seemed to show up when she needed it. She swore her younger brother was her guardian.
She didn’t quite catch what he had said to Ren, and, in all honesty she didn’t care. It hurt when he lifted her up, and she whimpered, but let him hold her. As he ran, it didn’t hurt that bad because of his graceful steps. But of course she was still in pain anyway. Even if she’d grown used to pain, there were still times when she couldn’t bear it. Not even Akito had as much pain tolerance as Dante.

She saw the bright fluorescent lights of Hatori’s office. She heard what Dante said to the doctor, and then frowned at him when he said that he was going to deal with D’Noir and Ren. D’Noir was here? Obviously, she hadn’t heard his laughing behind them.
She wanted to demand that he allow her to go with him, but she was in Hatori’s arms and Dante was out of the room before she could form the words.

“Hatori, I have to go help him,” she complained, trying to get out of his arms.
“No,” the doctor replied sternly. “You don’t have to do anything but stay still.” He set her down on the cot in his office, glad that Dante had gotten the bleeding to slow. He was certainly was a smart boy.
The doctor got to work on cleaning her up. She winced every now and then. One time she punched him because it stung so much, but he simply ignored the punch since, really, it didn’t hurt too much right now.

They both heard the clang of metal outside the door. Akito sat up abruptly, but Hatori took her by the shoulder and gently pushed her back down, not saying anything. He was concerned for Dante, of course. But Akito was always his top priority. He had to take care of her before being concerned for anybody else.

After he’d finished wiping the blood away and cleaning the cuts—even though he was sure the knife had been sterile enough—and started on stitching the deeper cuts up. He wondered how much it would bother Akito to be covered in stitches and bandages for a while. Well, if it bothered her she’d have to deal with it. It wasn’t an option, after all.

He moved on to the bandages, trying to ignore the fighting a ways outside his door.
Half-way through bandaging her up, they heard the shattering of glass, and then silence.

Akito again tried to leave, and fought back when Hatori made her lay back down.
“Stay for just a few more moments, Akito,” he demanded firmly, calmly. Akito stopped fighting against him, but he could feel by how stiff she was now that she was angry with him. Well, that was too bad. He needed to get this done. Then he’d come out a little later and take care of Dante.

Hatori finished. The time had moved along agonizingly slow for Akito, but Hatori had been working quickly as he could. She shoved herself off the bed, ignoring how much her entire body protested. It bothered her, the bandages on her face so near her mouth. She wondered what she must look like, but didn’t really care enough to catch her reflection in the mirror on the way out.

She broke into a run and raced down the halls, bare feet making quiet little slapping sounds as they hit the wooden floor. She was down the stairs quickly, but things still felt as if she were moving incredibly slow. She had no idea how badly hurt he might be, and hadn’t exactly been reasonable enough to look through the window he’d fallen from to see if he was still there. Instead she ran out into the gardens and to the site. No, nothing. He wasn’t here, just shards of glass and some blood. That worried her, but it wasn’t a lot. She went toward the Cat Room, figuring he would have gone back there.
“Stupid. He’s so stupid,” she muttered to herself, slowing her pace as she got more tired. She finally reached the room and entered.
“Why the hell didn’t you come back to Hatori?” she snapped when she saw him, shirt off, taking out glass with tweezers. She saw the scars, too. She’d seen his scars before, of course. But there were new ones, she was sure. Some of them were lighter, but the angry red ones stood out, and they scared her, though she didn’t show it. She looked irritated, maybe even mad at him. But those who knew her well enough—like Dante, for instance—would see clearly that she was just worried.

Hey, she could be a good older sister sometimes.

[So, Akito finally gets him out of the Cat Room. =nod=]



And that is the last memory you guys can see. xD Everything else is based upon a different past, without D’Noir’s blocks, and Akkii isn’t sure if she is going to allow that yet. Someday, maybe though. Not too many memories I know, but you get a good view upon Dante and Akito’s relationship wise. So, yeah.

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