Disclaimer: I don't own any of them. They are the creation of the almighty, Takaya Natsuki.

A/N: For anybody that actually reads this story and gives a damn, here is the next chapter. Enjoy. Took me long enough though, right? FFXIII had me HOOKED. O_O

Peering In From the Outside
Chapter 13: Silence

"Say, Haru, have you seen Kisa lately?" He shook his head, following it up with a shrug. "Is she still being punished?"

"I guess so. Are you implying you're worried about her, Rin?" was the nonchalant question. Rin did not answer and neither did Haru push her for one. "Akito's one fucked up sadist, is all I can say though."

"Careful." Rin eyed him warily. "He might overhear you."

"Nah, not likely. He doesn't come here to our quarters much. Kureno had told me Akito said were are the more well-behaved out of the bunch. Figures he'd say something like that, seeing as we find it boring to meddle in other's affairs anyway."

"True enough."

The patio Yuki once inhabited most of the time seemed less and less inviting these past few days. The dildo was removed, but his bottom was still quite sore from having it in for two to three days. However, these things were the least of his concerns - Kisa and Momiji prevailed above them all. How are they doing? Is Momiji all right? Has Kisa's punishment been lifted yet? He wondered.

He ran one hand against the hard mahogany flooring of the patio (Akito's favorite), noticing the coldness of it. It meant winter was soon approaching; evening air sifted in a much cooler breeze than usual. He raised his eyes, seeing a starless sky.

"Ah, how many days has it been since I've last seen everyone? Three, perhaps?"

Ka-chink . . .

"Hm?" Yuki looked back down . . . Towards his feet. "A orange cat?"

It meowed, but no sound came out. Yuki was sure it moved its mouth.

"Something the matter?" he asked the creature, now staring at it intently. "Are you lost?"

The orange cat looked up at him, meowing once more - still, no sound came forth. Then, as if the ground was shaking, Yuki felt himself swaying this way and that. He awoke with a start, gazing into the eyes of Ritsu. He blinked once, twice, then three times, before he realized he was still out on the patio . . . The sound of crickets was very loud to his ears.

"You fell asleep out here," Ritsu softly said, releasing his hold on the teen. "I thought I'd wake you up before someone else spotted you. It's not good to sleep outdoors; you can catch a cold."

"Oh, sorry. I didn't realize I had dozed off. Thanks for waking me up."

Ritsu backed away, almost cowering as he did so; Yuki didn't know what to make of it since he hardly ever saw the monkey . . .

"Is something . . . wrong?" he asked.

"No, not really. It's just that I can't believe Akito actually . . . You know . . ."

"Oh, uh . . . Yeah."

"But it's not like I don't like you because of it! Ritsu doesn't discriminate! I can't forgive myself if I do!"

Yuki smiled, thinking it was funny how Ritsu was trying to not offend him. He didn't know much about the monkey, since he hardly saw him, but being with him now was a nice change - a breath of fresh air, in a sense. However, Yuki could not hide that the fact that Ritsu was present - everyone was - when he was being humiliated. In short, what did Ritsu really think of it all?

"I've been thinking, Yuki, that you must be wondering about what happened earlier, right? You must be wondering what everyone thinks?"

"More or less." No point in denying it anyway.

"I was shocked and for a moment I had wanted to run out of the room. But then I realized you and Akito shared that sort of relationship. But, to me, it meant he must have treasured you more than he did the rest of us. I've always dreamed of Akito seeing me in such a tender light, just to the point where he could be so--"

"Being with Akito isn't all fun and games, Ritsu. He showed my disgusting side to everyone."

"Even so . . ." Ritsu took on an ashamed expression then, brows furrowing. "Ah, never mind. I'm sorry. I didn't meant to offend you."

"No, it's okay. I just thought it'd be better off to tell you the truth rather than lie, you know?"

"No, no, it really is my fault . . ." Ritsu rose, swiftly turning away. "I'd better get back to my room. Shigure's going to worry if he doesn't see me in there soon."

Shigure?

This time he voiced it. "Shigure?"

"I usually only spend time with Shigure . . . Since he's the only one willing to put up with me." Upon him saying this, Yuki noted Ritsu was getting teary-eyed. "He's the only one who doesn't get mad when I make a mistake."

"Is that so."

"I really must get going! It was a great pleasure talking with you!"

He dashed off before Yuki could even reply with a heartfelt thanks himself. Shrugging it off, Yuki stood up as well, only to see the cat again from the corner of his eye. He turned, but it had probably disappeared, because he saw nothing.

"I must be imagining things . . ." he muttered.

"Kyo!"

It suddenly came to him (echoing all around) and a overwhelming feeling of pain washed over his entire being. Yet, just as he thought he was about to scream due to the pain, it dissipated. Confused, he looked around, as if searching for something.

What the hell was that? Who was that girl's voice I heard?

Not wanting to think too much of it, Yuki distilled the thoughts from his mind and headed in to his own room. Once there, he laid down to rest, closing his eyes as he dreamed the night away.

While everyone snuggled under their blankets and sought the comfort of a dark, quiet night, Kisa was up and awake . . . staring at the moon from her bedroom window. The words Kureno had spoken to her about earlier were still fresh in her mind, repeating themselves over and over.

"Hiro's dead."

"I'd rather not go into the details."

"I would believe so . . ."

"I'll keep watching over him."

She balled her fists as she fought back the urge to cry. It was really sinking in now - Hiro was gone - there was no way he was going to come back. Death is a very fickle thing. And Kisa knew it as so, but despite all the time she tried to swallow it down, to dampen the pain, it wasn't working. One single tear drop hit the tatami covered floor . . .

"No . . ." Kisa muttered, as she noted her eyes becoming fogged with liquid. "No. Don't . . ."

But she couldn't stop it . . . she couldn't stop the now tumbling torrent pooling from her eyes. She cried all the harder upon apprehending the fact that she told herself she wasn't going to cry. For an instant, Kisa felt Hiro was standing there before her, clucking his tongue in dismay.

So for the rest of the night, Kisa laid where she was, mourning for Hiro, a friend, companion, but most of all, her savior.

Hence, the morning sunlight proved to be rather painful when Kisa awoke and stretched her achy limbs. She cowered away from it as she sat up, blinking a couple of times. It didn't come to her hearing senses right away, but she soon picked up the sounds of footsteps - someone was approaching her quarter.

"Are you awake, Kisa?" he called from the other side of her screen door.

"Yes."

"I'm coming in then. I've brought you your breakfast," he said. "Today is your final day of punishment."

"I know," she replied. "But it doesn't make me feel happy inside; instead, I feel empty."

"What makes you say that?" Hatori moved closer to the girl and placed the tray he was holding down.

"I hadn't meant to cry, but . . . I couldn't stop them from falling. I hadn't meant to at all."

"Kisa, it's not a crime to mourn for someone you care about who's now gone. In fact, it's better if you let it all out; bottling everything inside will only torture you further."

"This only goes to show that I am weak. Akito would laugh if he saw me now. Hiro would have done the same thing if he could see me."

Hatori pondered for a second, thinking of what to say to counteract her negativity, but he found he could come up with nothing. Her words held a depth of truth to them even he himself couldn't deny. Rather than make the poor child pool out more of her suppressed emotions, he felt it was best he left her alone. Moreover, he had to go meet with Akito soon as well.

"If that's what you truly believe, then there's nothing I can say to you. Just, remember you aren't the only one here who's unhappy. But believe me, we'll all find happiness one day. It seems to lack definite meaning if I repeat it, but it also doesn't hurt to say it again either."

Kisa simply nodded, silently stating she had acknowledged what Hatori had said.

"Now if you'll excuse me . . ."

"Come back later?" She sounded a tad bit hopeful.

Hatori smiled slightly. "Of course."

Kisa began to eat her now cold food in silence, savoring each bite with great consideration of the tastes swirling around inside her mouth. It had only been a week since she's eaten something decent, and it was truly amazing at how she could be so entranced with such simple dishes. Something broke her out of her reverie though when she turned her head to the side.

A orange cat walked towards her, its eyes fixated on her food. She smiled, not really caring how the creature got in here and nor did she care to know why. However, just as it looked like the cat was about to be in arm's reach it suddenly disappeared. Surprised, Kisa blinked, once, no, twice, before she gazed around the room - it was gone.

"An illusion?" she pondered.

"Haru, it's going to happen."

"You sense it?" He stood, going towards Rin. "How soon?"

Shaking her head, she replied, "I'm not sure, but I know it is definitely going to happen."

"You seem pretty shaken; is it going to be that bad of a scenario?"

From what Haru figured, Rin seemed perfectly fine merely seconds ago. No one, not even Akito knew about this, but Rin had an acute sense for things that held a great ominous sign. What belied her quiet demeanor was the fact that she didn't want to stir up any trouble by saying anything unnecessary. The only other being alive who knew of her secret was Hatsuharu, and she was making sure it was only going to be him who knew.

"Given how Akito is, nothing is too overly dramatic."

Haru gave her a smug smirk at that and said nothing further.

"I'm administering the venom now, so hold still." Upon him saying this, Akito deliberately shifted a bit. Hatori eyed him, saying, "don't move. Unless you want me to miss."

"Would it matter if you did?" the unruly teen countered, sniggering.

"Yes, it would. I'm trying to help you, Akito."

"Everyone says that, but what can I truly consider as help? Ah, I know, how about you lift this curse? That'd be something I'd consider real help."

"You know I can't do that."

"Hahaha, of course not! Do you think I enjoy living life like this day by day? Can you understand the amount of pain I have to go through every fucking day? The torture? The darkness? Do you think I deserve this?"

"No." Hatori wanted to say something else, but there was nothing else he could say. "I don't."

"Did you know, my mother told me her grandfather suffered the same fate? And did you know what happened to him afterwards . . .?"

"Stop it!"

"I can't. This is his decision."

"So you're going to let him die! Do something!"

She was in a panic, frantic at the thought of losing her grandfather. She was a petite girl, with large oval shaped eyes and long dark tresses. That day, Hatori saw the tears spilling down her cheeks unconditionally, and her mouth agape with the screams of agony.

Lying in his own pool of blood was her grandfather, his eyes open and lifeless as he stared back at them. There was no sense of remorse nor regret in his voice when he told Hatori this:

"This is the curse of our family. Come time, her child, too, will bear witness to the curse. This is the way of our family, and nothing will be changed. Me, as a aging old man has seen enough of the world, and have been gifted the burden of a small humanity. Listen well, for each new successor of the curse, and you, as the current doctor, make sure to take care of the chosen one. It is your duty."

"He killed himself, I know," was the reply. "I was there."

"Then do you think I might do the same? Kill myself?" Akito asked.

"If that were your decision, I wouldn't be able to stop you."

"Is that right? So you're going to let the same thing repeat itself without doing a thing? Fucking coward."

"It is not in my right to intervene with the head household, only give help when it is needed by the others or asked of me to."

"Lapdog."

"Call me what you want, but I am only doing my duty as your doctor."

"Ah, that's right, tell my pretty bird to come in here. It's been a while since I've last seen him. Go. Fetch him."

"Let me finish up first; it won't be long now." Hatori was down to the last vial and knew if he didn't go back to Akame's place to get more, Akito would be without painkillers. "You're also running low on the venom. Shall I go and get some more?"

"No, I'll send someone else."

Chapter 13: END