A/N: A sort of prequel fic/Akiha True End fic/Kagetsu Tohya fic.

She is seven, and the girl with the amber eyes and the red hair frightens her, though she won't admit it aloud. Kohaku is her age, they should get along in theory, Hisui tells her, but Akiha has never been overly fond of most girls her age anyway so she continues to keep her distance. If Hisui is bothered by this she doesn't say anything about it, doesn't try to force the issue at all, and her older sister remains, for a time, the strange ghost of the Tohno mansion seen ever so often with her fingertips pressed against the glass of windows, or as the haunting shadow always just a few steps behind her father.

Akiha thinks it's better that way at the time, she has nothing to really say to the girl. On the rare occasions when she finds herself bumping into Kohaku she doesn't stop to talk. She runs off after her brother -not from fear, never from fear she tells herself - and she clings to him, lets him smile at the girl with the cold amber eyes until Kohaku leaves again with a polite nod and nothing but the slight chill in Akiha's spine remains as proof that she was ever even there.

Shiki pushes her a bit harder than he means to one day.

It's doesn't hurt that much and Akiha refuses to cry about it but she falls into the muddy grass, dampened by recent spring showers, and comes away with dirt covering her from head to toe. When he sees she's unhurt Shiki laughs while he apologizes and Akiha almost refuses the hand he offers to help her up. Hisui says she should probably get cleaned up and that she'll take her inside but Akiha heads in alone. It's a little past seven in the morning and the three of them aren't supposed to be outside in the first place so Akiha's more than sure Hisui will be blamed for the state she's in and figures she'd be better off heading inside alone. Hisui lets her, and she can see the faint blush on her face from the laughter she's trying so hard to hold in.

The mansion's sudden warmth is a shock from the crisp cold of the weather outside and Akiha sneaks as quickly as she can back up to her room. She isn't in the mood to be lectured, she's heard it all a thousand times before. She shouldn't be running around with her brother in the mud, she'll hear, there are certain ways that women in her standing must behave, they'll tell her. And Akiha will not roll her eyes because it's unlady-like and because she knows it's all true. Luckily the hallways are deserted. It's just before breakfast and the other maids are likely down in the kitchens cooking and Akiha makes it all the way to the passage in front of her room unbothered, even managing to swipe a few towels from a nearby closet on the way.

Which is of course when she all but barrels into Kohaku.

Akiha yelps as she falls besides the girl, her knees hitting hard wood in a way that makes her legs tingle. Several of her towels have made their way a good distance away from where they've fallen and one has landed on Kohaku's face. Akiha winces and then climbs to her feet, pulling the towel off of the girl's face. "Are you alright?"

Kohaku lays still on her back, staring up at the ceiling as though she isn't entirely aware of where the two of them are. At the sound of Akiha's voice she blinks slowly and her eyes follow the sound until they fall on Akiha's face. They're still distant, an unnatural chill to them and Akiha frowns. "Here" She says. She reaches down, taking the girl's hand in her own - noting how unnaturally warm it is against her own - before hauling Kohaku to her feet.

"Thank you." Kohaku says, and she helps gather up the rest of the towels.

"There's mud all over your dress." She say softly. "And in your hair. Do you need - "

"Shh! Someone's coming!" Akiha whispers. She takes Kohaku's hand and pulls the two of them into her room. She can hear footsteps out in the hallway and waits with an ear pressed against the door for them to pass. When everything outside of her room is quiet again she turns to Kohaku. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

Kohaku unfolds one of the towel and places it over Akiha's head. "You should get cleaned up."

Akiha bats the girl's hand away. "That's fine, I can do it myself." Kohaku gives her a small nod and Akiha thinks she sees her face fall a little, though the change in her expression is tiny. Akiha sighs.

"Grab me a clean dress from my closet, would you?"

Akiha throws off her ruined dress and takes the cleaner one Kohaku hands her. Kohaku stands there, statue still, and waits until she's finished dressing. Akiha picks at her hair in the mirror. It feels disgusting; there's mud caked into it and what feels like a few small twigs stuck in places she can't see herself. If she had time, she'd rather just wash it but she knows one of the maids will be coming by at eight to "wake her up" so she'll have to make do.

"Ko - " Akiha jumps when she looks up and sees the girl standing right behind her already. "Take this." She says, and she pushed her brush into the girl's hands.

Wordlessly, Kohaku begins brushing her hair. Akiha sits up a little straighter and tries to exude a bit of the confidence that her brother always seems to show so easily. She's not sure if it's working, Kohaku isn't really looking at her anyway. Akiha hasn't ever seen so much concentration on the girl's face before but she works intently at Akiha's hair, slowing down every now and then to pick dirt away and pull free twigs. She's a bit too gentle with it actually, Akiha is used to the harsher way she attacks her own scalp with the brush but she can't really complain. It's relaxing enough anyway and she feels her shoulders slowly sagging at the sensation.

"Done."

Akiha shakes herself out of the daze she'd fallen into and checks out her hair in the mirror. It looks better, much better actually. The slight frizz from the mud is gone and it doesn't even look dirty anymore.

"Guess that'll have to do. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Akiha nods, not sure what she's supposed to say now. Kohaku doesn't work for her after all, she isn't even sure if the older girl is allowed to be here or talking to her in the first place. Kohaku doesn't move from her spot, staring at her quietly, expectantly.

"Nii-san is always talking about having you come play with us." She says. "Would you...want to?"

"Makihisa-sama doesn't like me leaving his side." Kohaku says flatly, and Akiha cringes internally. It feels strange, seeing a face so much like Hisui's look so devoid of emotion.

"Okay then. Thanks for fixing my hair." Akiha turns her back, staring intently at her reflection. Behind her, soft footsteps move across the room and her door squeaks quietly as it's swung shut.

Her brother is an idiot, she thinks to herself.

She is eight, and the girl with the amber eyes and the red hair sits on the side of her bed, feet hanging over the edge as Akiha buries her face in her pillow. She absolutely does not cry, no matter how badly she wants to. No matter how thick the guilt and sorrow are, or how badly her brother's absence hurts her, and the twisting fear in her gut reminds her what it is that runs in her blood.

"Nii-san isn't dead." She says, more to herself than Kohaku. Akiha pulls at her slightly damp hair. Though she's washed it several times in the past days she can still feel the sticky wetness of her brother's blood drenching it. She shudders, trying not to recall the way his body had looked laying in front of her, red and unmoving while she cried and the cicadas chirped loudly in her ears and Nii-san isn't dead, he can't have died, no way not him please not Nii-san -

Her fingers catch on a knot she'd made in her hair and Akiha tugs, her fingers shaking as she tries to free them, only managing to tangle everything further.

Unnaturally warm fingers close around her own, and Akiha looks up and meets Kohaku's eyes. Carefully, Kohaku dangles her from her hair and then lays her hand back down on the bed in silence, all the while her face remained impassive.

Akiha lays back into her pillow and gives Kohaku a small nod. She doesn't break the silence and Kohaku doesn't move her hand away. Akiha isn't sure why she's even there in the first place but she can't bring herself to care.

Not long after that, Akiha comes home from school with her hair wet against her forehead and her body chilled to the bone and finds Kohaku standing in her room with a brush and a towel.

"Kohaku?"

Kohaku raises the towel tentatively in question. Akiha's been seeing her around a lot more lately, it's almost like the red-headed girl is trying to fill the void her brother leaving has left in her. Akiha wonders if Kohaku has been waiting for it to rain.

"Alright." Akiha says, and she sits down in front of her mirror. She almost asks if it's okay for Kohaku to be here with her now but decides in the end that she doesn't really want to know. It's easier to pretend that everything is fine and that Akiha doesn't know any better. Kohaku's brush is a little more confident in her hair today, playful even, and Akiha wonders if maybe she's in a good mood - if that's even possible. Her face betrays nothing all the while but she doesn't seem to mind what she's doing.

"Kohaku," Akiha asks, "do you ever smile?"

"Akiha-sama?"

"Do you ever smile?" She repeats. Kohaku looks a little lost at the question, staring down and away at her words.

"Would you like me to?"

Akiha shrugs. "I don't know, maybe. You're a little scary sometimes and the other maids always smile when they greet me so I thought it was just the way these things were supposed to be."

"I'm not really sure what that means, Akiha-sama."

"Then I guess you don't need to smile." Akiha tucks her hair behind her ear. "Do what you want, Hisui smiles enough for the both of you. "

Kohaku's face is unreadable as she continues brushing her hair but Akiha wonders if she should have said anything at all.

It isn't raining the next time that Akiha comes home to find Kohaku waiting for her in her room.

Or the time after that.

Or the time after that.

But Akiha doesn't make her leave. She isn't all that sure why. Hisui, ever optimistic, says that she's happy that the two of them are becoming friends but Akiha isn't sure if "friends" is the right word. She's growing used to Kohaku's presence, sure, but there is a part of her that for reasons she can't explain is sure that she hates her. Kohaku never shows her anything but kindness. She even serves her a bit more often around the house these days too, cleaning up after her at times when apparently her father isn't occupying her, and she is always polite to a fault. Ever so often she'll even offer her little smiles when she greets Akiha, something that Akiha isn't completely sure she does because of her earlier comment.

She is nine, and the girl with the amber eyes and red hair tells her how beautiful her hair is with a smile as empty as her eyes.

"I guess so." Akiha says. It's unusually forward for her, and Akiha thinks it's the first time she's ever heard an opinion. She shifts her head forward so that her hair falls over her face and then blows it back with a puff. "'A woman's hair is her beauty', right? So it's probably a good thing I have a lot of it."

Kohaku pulls her hair back from her face and starts braiding it loosely. "Do you not like your hair, Akiha-sama?"

"No, but it's a hassle." She taps her feet against the carpet. "It's just hair, why does it matter how long it is? If it were up to me I'd just cut it."

Kohaku finishes the braid and ties the end off with a ribbon. She's gotten good at that very quickly. "It doesn't matter how long your hair is," She says quietly. "But if it's a hassle for you then..." she falls silent, her eyes set on the floor in front of her.

Akiha turns to her, frowning. "What?"

"Makihsa-sama doesn't always need me in the morning. And I'm sure if I came by in the early evenings then he wouldn't mind - "

"Okay then."

Kohaku looks up. "Akiha-sama?"

Akiha smiles. "I said okay. Come to my room and do my hair. It's not going to do itself."

Kohaku seems to be thinking it over which Akiha thinks is odd because she's sure the decision was made ten minutes before their conversation started. But finally Kohaku meets her eyes and graces her with a small smile as though this is the first time she's thought of doing her hair regularly at all. Akiha smiles back.

"I guess I'll do it." She says.

"Good."

Kohaku tucks a few loose strands of hair behind her ears. "It don't think you should be so negative about your hair." She says. "It suits you, Akiha-sama."

Akiha tugs at her braid thoughtfully. "I don't know, it's just hair." She says. "Nothing much to it."

"If you say so." Kohaku say, her smiling widening.

In time she comes to see her hair for what it is. Strong, unbroken, perfect; Akiha's essence shining through every strand. It is the elegance she wears as her armor and the coldness she feigns with every breath. And each morning before she leaves her room, and in evenings before she falls asleep, she lets Kohaku hold her essence between her fingers without fear.

But she is nine now and the only thing that really matters is that the girl with the amber eyes and the red hair doesn't look as sad when she's running a brush through Akiha's hair, and for some reason she wants that. Despite Kohaku's kindness and what might even her happiness, Akiha feels something in those moments when Kohaku's eyes glaze over ever so slightly, her brush falling into a rhythm. It's as though something of her mask is coming away and the faint ghost of a smile on her lips makes Akiha wonder what it is she's done to deserve the older girl's hatred. For she knows she has it.

She is ten, and the girl with the amber eyes and the red hair smiles, jovial and bright, the first full smile Akiha has ever seen as she sits eyes averted in front of the mirror.

"Is something the matter, Akiha-sama?" She asks cheerfully.

There are of course, a thousand things Akiha could say to this but none of them seem to be able to make it out of her mouth. Instead they sit there as the lump in her throat, an endless stream of how could you let him? and why didn't you tell me? And all the while Kohaku watches her and smiles. Always smiles.

"Not in particular." Akiha says.

"You shouldn't worry yourself so much, Akiha-sama. It won't do to have the family's head going wrinkly at ten."

"I'm not going wrinkly." Akiha says with a huff. "And Nii-san is the next head of the family anyway so I can get wrinkly if I want to."

"Ah, that's right. Shiki-sama." Kohaku says. Akiha has told her that she plans to bring him back some day despite her family's wishes, that she might not stay the Tohno family head. Kohaku brushes at her bangs lightly. Akiha has never quite been able to get her bangs to lay down flat the that Kohaku does. At some point she has come to know Akiha's hair better than Akiha herself.

Kohaku hums quietly to herself and the words caught in Akiha's throat make her mouth taste bitter.

She knows, and Kohaku knows she knows and is smiling to herself as though not a thing was wrong. Akiha wants to shout at her, tell her to get angry, to shout at Akiha and blame her for everything that's happened. For the things her father has done, and the things her blood will do to them some day.

"Kohaku -nn!" Akiha winces as the brush catches in a knot.

"Sorry!" Kohaku says. She moves the brush over and starts again. "Were you trying to say something?"

Akiha looks up at Kohaku from under the curtain of hair. Kohaku's face is unreadable and she waits for Akiha to speak in comfortable silence.

"You're not going back to him." She says, voice firm.

Kohaku tilts her head. "Akiha-sama?"

"You said I'm the head of the Tohno family. And for now it's true." She says coldly , raising to her feet. "So I'm telling you as the head of the family that my father will not so much as look at your again. It's over."

Kohaku smiles. It is Hisui's smile she thinks, when she looks at it. That's why Akiha finds it so unnerving. It is a bright and innocent smile but when she speaks her voice is flat. "If you say so, Akiha-sama."

She is fifteen, and the girl with the amber eyes and the red hair is not her friend, not tonight at least when that familiar cold has sunken so deep into her flesh that nothing else can quite sate the burning ice within her breast.

Kohaku is talking to her, she's aware of this in some distant part of her mind but all she can hear is the pounding of her own heart in her chest and the roaring in her ears. The only thing that matters is the hot blood that burns her with every swallow. Kohaku's skin is soft against her lips and her voice remains pleasant the entire time. The words are hazy but they sound like the soothing whispers of a lover, or more likely, sweet curses spoken when Akiha is too far gone to hear them and the malice behind them.

It doesn't last long, and Kohaku pulls up her clothes and detangles herself gently from Akiha's grip. It's all Akiha can do to remain upright as the blinding heat scorches through her - almost worse than the cold itself because in this pain she knows she's at fault. She lays herself down, meaning to lay against the cool floor but her head finds Kohaku's lap instead. After a few hesitant moments warm fingers stroke her forehead gently, drawing her bangs away and then carding through the rest of her hair. Akiha sighs and leans into the touch, too tired to care how pathetic she must like right now, curled up in her victims lap. She's sure Kohaku will enjoy the sight at least.

It might be the sighing of the wind, the words are so soft that Akiha can barely make them out but she thinks she hears them.

Makihisa-sama was never kind enough to cuddle me.

Akiha blinks. There is an opening here, a raw wound tore open to show the bleeding core beneath it but she can't make herself stay awake long enough to examine it."Kohaku?"

Shh.

It's nothing, Akiha-sama.

Just sleep.

Kohaku places a soft kiss against her temple and Akiha is willing to pretend that there is nothing wrong between them.

She is sixteen and the girl with the amber eyes and the red hair actually looks sad when they put her father in the ground. They're all dressed in black, the maids, the family members who haven't come to see her in years, the friends who only come calling on business, even her fiance makes it but Akiha doesn't pay them much thought. Her body moves on its own accord and she bows and smiles while not particularly paying attention to the words being said to her. It's simple enough for her, politeness is second nature after all, so she can go through the motions easily enough. This is probably how Kohaku does it, she thinks.

Kohaku, that's where her attention has been all day. Her young maids have been standing at her sides, dressed in black and playing the supportive roles as well as should be expected from them. Hisui won't met her eyes, though she bows whenever someone approaches them. She's been staring straight ahead for a while. Kohaku wears a similar face; it's solemn but respectfully so, her brow is drawn together just enough to prove that she's bothered by the loss but not to the extent that a family member should be. Distant but empathetic, exactly how her face should be and the expression almost makes Akiha laugh.

The day is sweltering but neither of her maids let their discomfort show. Akiha herself doesn't even roll up her sleeves, just stands up straight in all black and lets everyone in the graveyard watch the new head of the Tohno family handle herself with dignity and grace. For that is what she is, what she'll always be. Graceful. Dignified. The head of the Tohno family.

They get home later than she would like and there are people in her house until the early evening. Excellent host that she is, Akiha waits until the last person has finished with their condolences and kind words before she finally relaxes a bit and gets the shower she's been waiting for all day. It's not until she's sitting still, hot water pruning her skin, that she starts to consider what her father's death means to her. She has no illusions about missing the man, after all for the majority of her life he has been nothing more than a frightening figure of what she might someday become. No, she's more concerned what it means practically.

"I can bring Nii-san back." She says, as Kohaku brushes at her hair. She feels a little better now that she's out of her black clothes and in her pajamas, the days sweat washed away.

"Oh, that's right!" Kohaku says, as though the idea hasn't occurred to her already. "We haven't seen Shiki-san in such a long time."

"Yes, it shouldn't be too difficult. I'm sure the rest of the family will object to it but what are they going to do? I'm the head of the family after all." They've had this conversation a half a dozen times but Akiha still needs to say it aloud.

Kohaku hums in affirmation and begin braiding her hair. She doesn't usually bother doing creative things, not unless she thinks Akiha still wants to talk with her or if she's feeling particularly evil. Akiha reaches over her shoulder to take Kohaku's hand.

"Akiha-sama? Is something wrong?"

"He's dead." She says quietly, brushing her thumb over Kohaku's fingers. "My father is dead."

"So he is." Kohaku says. "I'm very sorry."

Akiha watches her maid's reflection in the mirror. Kohaku's face is blank, impassive and Akiha is almost a little disappointed. She isn't entirely sure what she expected, it's not as though Kohaku would dance for joy and sing to the high heavens.

"Yes," Akiha says. "Thank you." She moves Kohaku's hand back into her hair and sighs. Kohaku picks the braid apart then parts her hair, placing a soft kiss at the nape of her neck.

"You've won, Kohaku." She breathes. "Are you satisfied yet?" Kohaku smiles and tugs at her hair gently until their lips meet. Kohaku's kiss tastes like triumph and a lifetime of bitterness.

"Never." Kohaku whispers into her hair hours later when they're laying, limbs tangled on Akiha's bed. "But it's something."

Akiha continues to pretend to be asleep.

She is seventeen, and the girl with the amber eyes and red hair comes as soon as she calls her, despite the hour. It's late, and the Asagami Girl's Academy doesn't allow visitors no matter the hour so Akiha moves carefully to avoid notice. She's done it more than a few times already so it's no trouble to make her way silently to the roof of her dorm.

Akiha ties her scarf a little tighter over her face. It's cold enough in her room that she feels like she's built up something of an immunity to the frigidity of winter but she's weaker to it tonight. The chunk missing from her hair lets in the wind in new ways and she shivers at it. This night isn't as cold as the ones before it but the winter hasn't been a kind one. She smiles a little to herself.

"Akiha-sama!" A voice calls, and Akiha peaks over the side of the roof to find her maid dressed in black with her feet resting on a window sill. Her cheeks are red from the cold and her breath is coming out in white puff but she beams when she spots Akiha.

"You're late." Akiha says. She holds out a hand which Kohaku takes and then pulls the girl up onto the roof. Her fingers are warm as always despite the cold and Akiha lets their hands stay together longer than is strictly necessary.

"I came as soon as could, Akiha-sama." Kohaku tilts her head as she inspects Akiha's face then gasps. "A-Akiha-sama! W-What happened to you?!"

"Don't be dramatic Kohaku." Akiha snaps - not unkindly. "It's just short hair."

Kohaku stifles a laugh. "I'm sorry, but even with the heads up it's a bit of a shock to see. How'd it happen?"

Akiha pulls at the right side of her hair. It's been hacked crookedly up to her chest and nearly half of it gone. She sighs. "A disgruntled teenager girl came at me with a knife." Akiha tries to run her hand through her hair but stops herself. "I'm fine so it doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters, Akiha-sama." Kohaku chides her. Akiha rolls her eyes as she continues. "Honestly, you're not even gone a month and already you've got people trying to kill you."

"She's didn't really do much. The poor thing was shaking so hard that I thought she was going to wet herself." Akiha's lip curls upwards just a tad. "It's freezing up here Kohaku, did you come to fix my hair or lecture me for not getting myself killed?"

"I'm a maid for a prestigious magical family," Kohaku smiles as she reaches into her bag and pulls out a white sheet. "I'll multitask. And are you sure you wouldn't rather find a warmer place inside?"

Akiha takes a deep breath, flooding her lungs with the cold winter air and shakes her head. "No, out here is fine." The cold feels unusually pleasant tonight.

Kohaku giggles to herself. "Eccentricity suit you, Akiha-sama. Alright then, the ledge seems wide enough, sit down and I'll finish getting ready."

Akiha sits herself sideways along the ledge and Kohaku pulls several scissors from her bag. "You know Kohaku, I was pushed off a roof the other day."

"You don't say?" Kohaku throws the sheet across Akiha's shoulders and ties it at the nap of her neck before pulling her hair free. "My my, you didn't kill this girl, did you?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I just knocked her out, I'm not a savage."

"After what she did to your hair?" Akiha hears the slide of scissors across her shoulders and feels something fall away, "That's very mature of you."

"Of course." Akiha says. A sudden wind blows scraps of hair off her sheet, and Akiha's head feels lighter already.

"By the time I'm done evening you out your hair will be shorter than it's ever been." Kohaku punctuates her sentence with a snap of her scissors.

"Somehow I think I'll make it." Akiha says, and for a time the two of them are quiet, only the sound of Kohaku making quick work on her hair with the scissors breaking the silence. It's relaxing actually, and Akiha closes her eyes as Kohaku swaps her scissors for a comb that she runs through her hair, and then swaps the comb for her fingers.

"He's not dead." Akiha says. Kohaku continues cutting away at her hair.

"Isn't he?"

"No. I...it sounds irrational and I can't really explain why I'm so sure that I'm right, but I know I am. Nii-san isn't dead." The scissors feel cold at the back of her neck.

"Then I'm sure he's alive." Kohaku says, her voice shockingly earnest.

"No, you're not. You think I'm being silly and delusional."

"Akiha-sama - "

"Don't try to lie to me, I know you better than that. It's fine anyway, I don't mind if you think I'm wrong. I don't even mind that you were humoring me just now. I know it's an absurd thing to believe anyway but...what would I do if he was dead? What would my life be if Nii-san was really gone?"

Kohaku hands her a small mirror and then touches her shoulders gently. "You'd be Tohno Akiha, head of the Tohno family, as you've always been. Just with shorter hair. And I'll...I'll be"

"My infuriating maid?" Akiha offers. Kohaku laughs.

"What a rude thing to say, Akiha-sama! And unwise when I'm still holding scissors. Well, what do you think?"

Akiha inspects the job Kohaku has done. Her hair isn't as short as she was worried it might be. It hangs down to her chest and the bottom of the cut is a little straighter than she prefers but it looks good on her.

"It'll have to do."

Kohaku hums. "You're very welcome Akiha-sama." she runs her fingers through Akiha's hair, ruffling it, then straightening it, then ruffling it up again.

Akiha isn't sure what the feeling that surges in her chest at Kohaku's touch is but it soothes the base-line apprehension she so often feels at Kohaku's presence. It is warm, not the scorching of her blood but a gentle touch against her soul like trust - only it can't be trust because as deeply as she may care for Kohaku she has never been stupid enough to trust her. Not since she came to understand what the curse in her blood meant.

The familiar journey of Kohaku's fingers through her hair is much shorter than it's supposed to be and it feels as though she's missing a limb. Akiha lowers the mirror in her hands and she can see a smile, faint and absent-minded on Kohaku's lips as she runs her fingers aimlessly through the shortened hair. It looks so genuine on her face, so pure and unguarded that Akiha looks away, not wanting Kohaku to notice her and change her expression. Instead she closes her eyes, leaning heavily into Kohaku's touch and letting that warm, dangerous feeling in her chest consume her.