Saikou watched the two conversing from where he sat. What they were speaking of he could not be sure but he felt it in the air that something was wrong. He shifted uncomfotably on the ground. He could always feel it when someone in the family was upset. He just wished his knowledge of the sintuations was a bit more controled. He could only feel a problem. To actually know what it was he would have to intrude himself.

He watched from under the tree. The stick he had been dipping into the koi pool limp in his thin pale hand as he watched the panda and the owl. Fuuyutsuki stiffened a bit and he could see Sanyuu was trying hard to keep her calm and composed face on.

"Not..." Sanyuu's mahogany eyes drifted to Saikou's form across the yard and back. "Not here." she said. The way she said it was unlike her usual tone. It was neither hard nor gruff, instead being almost a whisper. It was something so outlandish, that the panda would not have been surprised if Fuuyutsuki took the situation as seriously as she knew it could be.

Because she was a minor, she could not check herself into the Osen, thus why she was asking the owl. The other red head looked stricken and it made Sanyuu ache in a way that was unfamiliar to her.

Fuuyutsuki nodded solumnly. Her brain had automatically switched to a way to break it to Saikou that she was leaving. He wasn't going t be happy about it, and as she looked to the shadowy figure beneath the shade-tree, her heart felt heavy.

Suddenly, her brain twinged slightly. "I'll check you in a little later tonight. But I think you should at least tell Saikou-san that you'll be leaving for a little while. You don't have to tell him why, just that you'll be gone and that you'll be safe. Then... maybe we could talk a little mroe about it on the drive up?" She asked fertively.

Sanyuu's eyes drifted to Saikou and she could not help but bite her lip. She did not like the idea of having to tell him that she would be going away, and her chin lowered as she nodded at the owl. Moving to go past Fuuyutsuki, she grabbed her hand in a near shy manner and gripped it before she headed over to Saikou.

"I'm going away." she said not looking at him. Her eyes were focused on the fish in the pond and she was barely breathing.

Instinctively, Fuuyutsuki's hand flew to slap the front of her face, leaving fain traces of white makeup on her black glove. She'd dropped the ball! Harder than the owl had even imagined. She looked consolingly at Saikou-san.

"What she means-" She squeezed Sanyuu's hand a little. "is that she would like to take some time away for herself. To... clear her head and relax a little. You know, fix things that a koi pond won't solve."

She hoped that she wasn't putting words in the panda's mouth, but she had already seen a few fights today and didn't see the need to have more. Especially after the shock of checking Sanyuu into a clinic.

'Fix things?' Sanyuu blinked at the words and suddenly felt like she was small again.

"I'm sorry, Mommy!" a nine year old Sanyuu cried as her mother hit her over and over, holding her by the wrist over her head so that she could not fight back. "I didn't mean it!"

"Why are you so thoughtless!?! Why would you do such a thing?! After I raised you! After I kept you as my child, you monster!" a little keychain lay forgotten on the floor. It was the cameo of what looked like a red raccoon smiling inside of a heart.

"I'm sorry! I'll fix it Mommy! I'll take it back!" she was bawling as her mothers abuse finally stopped.

"Fix things?" her voice echoed as if she were stricken by the answer. "YOU CAN NEVER FIX IT!" she screamed and another blow came down on that red head.

Blinking her brown eyes, Sanyuu realized that her eyes were wide and she felt cold all over. She had grabbed the owl's hand and was gripping it so hard that her nails were digging into Fuuyutsuki's glove.

"Well es, we... we-" She felt the ight squeeze and winced. She looked upon the panda with concern, more for something she'd said than something the giirl had done. Fuuyutsuki honestly just wanted to know what was going on at this point. "Sanyu-chan? Sanyu-chan, are you alright." She asked, not trying to lose her cool.

Finally, she looked to Saikou and then guided Sanyuu to a stone bench and braced her back there. The owl wasn't sure of what to do next, but at least Saikou could see how majorly this was effecting her. Perhaps he would allow it; although he would not be happy.

Blinking as she was sat down, Sanyuu glanced up at Fuuyutsuki for a fraction of a second before she looked back down. She did not know what to do or say. Her head was buzzing with static and the vague sound of screaming. Bending forward on the bench, she brought her legs up and perched her feet on the edge of the bench. Her hands came up to cover her ears and she laid her head on her knees.

Staring up at the owl from behind her red locks, she could only give her a helpless look. Her eyes felt almost bruised as they stared at the elder woman in silence. She could not vocalize it, but she was scared. Scared of the voice in her head. Scared of Saikou. Scared of herself...

Sanyuu could not be alone anymore, she knew that she couldn't, but neither would Saikou let her anywhere near him... and she was scared by that.

The colorfully patterned sleeve of her nearly blak kimono draped around the girl's shoulder like a blanket. Fuuyutsuki rested her hand on the opposite shoulder furthest way and pulled the Panda a little closer. She began to gentley rub the girl's shoulder and forearm and tried to sooth her back into a state of conciousness.

"Sanyuu...?" She asked soothingly. "Sanyuu-can you hear me? Are you alright?"

It was as if Saikou's thoughts had shut off the moment Sanyuu had told him she would be leaving. She didn't waste any time with it as she voiced her plans and he was hurt to see Fuuyutsuki seemed to think it was a good idea. A good idea? Leave the estate? Leave Saikou? Sanyuu could have slapped him across the face and he would have taken it gladly over hearing that word. He didn't like to be left alone. And although he wouldn't necissarily be alone he would be one zodiac member down. Leaving him...

He watched blankly, no feeling in his eyes at all as the hurt and shock had been wiped from his face as Fuuyutsuki took Sanyuu to a stone bench and sat her down. Saikou would have gone over to comfort her but instead just sat where he was, eyes dark as he watched the two where they were sitting. Leaving him...

His teeth ground sharply in his head but he kept his temper down. Sanyuu was hurting. He didn't know why but he had a pit in his stomach that told him it was his own doing. He wanted to go over and hold her like Fuuyutsuki could. He wanted to embrace her and tell her everything would be alright and he was sorry for whatever he had done to wrong her but his legs wouldn't move. His body wouldn't react to his thoughts. He stayed under the tree, watching the two with what could have been mistaken as a hurt and angry face but was more so a concerned and shocked one.

Leaving him...

"Why?"

He snapped the twig he was holding in his hands.

"Why?" Sanyuu echoed Saikou, but it was not exactly her voice. It was similar, of course, but there was something almost hiss-like in it. Her knees came down and she shrugged herself out from under Fuuyutsuki's touch. Standing up in what seemed to be a fluid, graceful manner that was not her own, Sanyuu smiled at him. Her eyes were narrow and her head was cocked. "Because you're killing her."

The red head felt like she had no control over her body or words. What she was saying... it wasn't her talking. She knew that much. It was like she was watching a movie play before her and she could only be a spectator to it all. The other presence was laughing...

"A spoiled brat like you... you can never imagine how delightfully you can tear someone down..." the red head before Fuuyutsuki and Saikou was walking toward the brunette sitting still at the coy pond. Crouching some feet from the boy, she laid her cheek in her hand. "I suppose I should thank you for hurting her like this..." she said in that same hissing way, a cruel smile coming onto her face. "Sanyuu would never have unburied me after the incident with her parents..." her hands came up and she stretched her arms over her head, looking up at the backs of her hands as they spread out flat. Her palms were to the sky and she was looking up at them. "I would have never been able to live again, so to speak." her dark eyes turned on Saikou and she smiled the most chilling smile that had ever crossed Sanyuu's attractive face. "Thank you."



OOC: Sanyuu has another side? WUT?

.\\\.;; Maybe I might have gotten a little carried away, but I had an idea for what had happened in her past since I entered this RP, and so... =///=;; I'm sorry I'm such a drama whore. ; 3; BOOT EETZ FUUUN!

Fuuyutsuki was not bemused, more annoyed than anything. What incident with her parents? Yes, they'd beaten her, but everyone in this damnable family had been beaten at one point or another. What was all this foolishness about a second self in Sanyuu? Someone who'd been locked away for a long time and now just resurfaced after all these years?

"That's enough Sanyuu." She ordered harshly. The owl stood abruptly and straightened her kimono. "That's enough of all of this. Saikou-san has done nothing to warrent such rudeness. You ought to respect him the way you respect me. And you'd better respect me." The last bit sounded more like a threat than he'd intended, but it played to how angry she really was a this point. All she'd done was try to help; help Saikou, help Sanyuu, and inevitabley, help everyone else. But if she was going to act this way, then she'd get no help.

Saikou was more or less destroyed by Sanyuu's cold and harsh words. His heart beat quickening in his chest. His fault? How dare she? How dare she talk to him this way? If it weren't for the calming presence of Fuuyutsuki standing behind her he would have struck her for her quick words. This was not his Sanyuu. This was not the girl he loved to spend his afternoons with under the trees. This was a stranger to him talking.

"I have not hurt you. I have only ever done my best to help this family. If it is not enough for you then so be it." His voice was soft and quiet, barely a whisper. It was the way he spoke when he was holding back his anger. This was not his Sanyuu. "You have no right to speak to me this way. To say I have done anything to tear you down. To even think that I would hurt you intentionally..." He swallowed hard and took a calming breath, closing his eyes when Fuuyutsuki spoke with the voice of all that was authority. A small smile tugged at his lips as he listened to her voice, anger dissolving into a dull throb in his heart. Sometimes he beleived Fuuyutsuki would make a much better God than himself. Sometimes he really beleived she deserved to hold this family together when he clearly did such a poor job of it.

"Do you hear that, Sanyuu?" she spoke in a croon, clenching her fists and narrowing her eyes at the sun. "They don't know what we did... They don't know what you did." turning her face to look at Fuuyutsuki, she looked her in the eyes. "How long have you been playing Mom to her? Do you even remember when she was free of them... what kind of girl she was?"

Her head turned to glance at Saikou and listened to his speech. She only stared at him in a cool way. "But you know how important you are to her..." she said almost snidely and heaved herself up to her feet again. "But you're so afraid of losing control... that you can't even think of taking her hand when she's reaching out to you... Can't you imagine it? Reaching out your hand, your arm at full extension, but the person that is just out of your reach won't save you?" She laughed. "Mother was like that too..."

Somehow, her eyes seemed to grow sad and her smile fell. Her head tilted down and she clenched an unclenched her hands in an absent way. For a moment, Sanyuu seemed to peak through but it only lasted a moment as she lifted her head and glanced at Saikou in a cynical manner. "Mother was begging for Sanyuu to stop, reaching her hand across the floor to my feet... She never understood that it was all her fault that we were out of reach."

"There are others here who've been beaten down Sanyuu." Fuuyutsuki's voice had grown cold with all the talk and chatter spewing from Sanyuu's mouth. Playing mom indeed... She'd done more for Sanyuu than her own mother had done for her, at least, that's how she saw it. "You're not the only troubled soul in this house. And you have no reason to behave this way. Now stop."

The time for playing into her depression and sadness had pased. This new persona was obviously hurting both herself and Saikou, and she wouldn't let it go on. Caregiver or not, this child was really starting to piss her off... And you never want to piss off an already short-tempered owl.

"But I don't want to go to the hospital." she said frankly. This side of Sanyuu seemed like a vengeful child more than anything else. Blinking at her and giving her a cold look, she held herself firmly. "And Sanyuu wants to go so she can swallow pill after pill after pill in a feeble attempt to live a life that everyone in this family would rather not have." her defenses were cracking and slowly Sanyuu could feel herself gaining control of herself again. "Strong Sanyuu... brave Sanyuu... She thinks she doesn't need anyone when her defenses are hollow. Cant be sad, or scared, or weak... she can't take anyone's advice or accept help... Even when she's in love with someone, she can't show it, because it'll only confirm her fears."

She blinked and looked at Saikou somewhere between Sanyuu and the other one. Tears were welled in her eyes and on the verge of spilling over.

"Because the person that she wants to save the most doesn't want her there."

Saikou would not take anymore of this. He himself could take the words. He was emotional yes but he wouldn't let this girl who simply looked like his Sanyuu to make him lose control of his temper.It was when she simply ignored what Fuuyutsuki had to say that his walls broke in. Fuuyutsuki was more loyal and trusting than anyone he had ever known and at times he felt like she was his only friend, someone who would be next to him even if he didn't hold the contract of their bond in his hand. To hear Sanyuu tell him that she blamed him for all this, to hear her talk to Fuuyutsuki in such a way was enough. He had had enough of this from her today.

He stood, standing in front of her as he saw tears well up in her eyes, eyes that had never let him see her cry from before. His nostrils narrowing the way they did when he was thin on patience. He stood there looking at her for a moment and then he slapped her. he slapped her right across the face. Not hard enough to leave a mark but enough to let her know he was extremely disappointed with what she was doing. He had never raised a hand against one of them. He had come close but he never had. He wasn't in one of his fits of rage and shame either. He was perfectly in control as he backhanded her across the face, eyes filled with hurt as he watched her.

"Sanyuu. I want you to look at me. Look at me and try to tell me truthfully that I would ever ever want you to leave my side." He tilted her head lightly so she was forced to look him in the eyes. "This isn't you talking, Sanyuu. Now please, take a breath and apologize to Fuuyutsuki-sama. She deserves a little more respect than you have been giving her recently."

Ha, it's a good thing he slapped her, because I have no more patiance left for this shit. Fuuyutsuki was a little taken aback by the suddenness of Saikou's reaction. He wasn't in one of thsoe moods where nothing he said made sense, it was all a clear and chosen reaction.

Then, he asked Sanyuu to look at him and try to say that he'd never wanted her. A damnable thing to think, that he'd never wanted her. All he could ever think about was why their relationship had never been what he'd hoped. All this drama for someone who was in pain, but hardly knew the extent of the pain she was causing. A pang of loving spread through her chest when he asked Sanyuu to apologize, causing her to ache a little. So... he does care about me... after all this time and I hardly knew... A fool am I?

The hand across her face turned her head completely and sent a sting into her cheek. Her mouth had shut at this point and she stood there blinking. She could move her body; it was hers again. Her hand touched her cheek and then came out before her face as she stared at it. She bent her fingers and felt herself shaking as she realized how out of control she was becoming.

Her red hair swayed around her face as she turned her face back to look at Saikou. His features were contorted in a hurt way and she blinked. She felt her insides give a pang and she looked to Fuuyutsuki. She looked furious.

"I..." she blinked and suddenly felt like her throat was constricting. "I'm... I'm sorry- I..." she took a tentative step back and stumbled. She caught her balance on the privacy fence that surrounded the estate. Her back was flat against it and she was staring at them like a frightened animal, her eyes wide and strange. She did not look at them for very long before she bowed her head in a manner of respect and pushed off of the fence to dart out of the yard.

Sanyuu felt like a child as she ran but she did not stop. Her whole body felt as if she were trembling as she made it down the block and slowed to a walk. She was so stupid. Why did she have to be so stupid? Her heart was pounding so hard against her ribs that it hurt as she continued inching along until she bumped into someone. It was a middle-aged man who, drunk in the evening, called something to her without looking over his shoulder. It might have been something along the lines of "watch where you're going" but Sanyuu could not be sure. She was sitting on all fours on the ground as a red panda.

She lifted her claws before her and felt completely miserable. Looking around at the kimono that belonged to her laying around her, she decided that she was done. Leaving it there she leaped onto a bench and scurried into a hedge that sat in an upraised planter. Curling up in a little nook in the branches, she let her ears fall flat and stared out at the world outside, her chin laying flat on the mulch.



OOC: Sorry about the drama whorishness 9 n9

I shall refrain from such from now on. *sticks out pinky* Promise<3

(OOC; well... this particular post was really descriptive and pretty, so I forgive you at least.)

"The flying nerve!" Fuuyutsuki hissed and her foot took a harsh step forward. "To simply run away, again! Run away from all her little problems and those who might have a god damn ounce of sense to solve them."

She sighed, and her face melted from anger to pitty as thick storm clouds took the sunlight from the sky and cast the world in an unflattering grey smear. She was looking at Saikou, wh also seemed to be ready to melt, but held off. Just once, she wished the could... But why not?

She came from behind him, and although he was taller (by a little) than she, wrapped her arms around his forearms. She hoped she wasn't overstepping her boundries, but figured they could both really use it by now.

"If she comes back... we'll do all that we can for her." She told him calmingly in his hear. "But for now, let's get you out of the rain."