Warning, this is a dark fic!  I found the writing of it a very disturbing
experience!  Please, just delete it if you do not want to read a dark fic!

This fic was inspired in part by "Poison" and "Terminus."



The Surrogate
by Cindy Toler

        Kasumi stood silently at her mother's funeral, staring blindly into
space.  Her father's hand came to rest heavily on her shoulder, and Kasumi
started slightly, watching the funeral with a rising sense of grief, loss
and terror.  She stood stiffly through the burial rites, her spine so taut
it might snap, her face an unfeeling mask.  Her little sister Akane stood
next to her, crying, looking lost and confused.  Nabiki stood quietly
nearby, her wounded eyes the only outward sign of her feelings.
        "Mother," Kasumi thought.  "Don't leave me!  How can I do this?"
Her mother's last words came back to haunt her, offering no comfort.
"Kasumi," Mother had said, "I am counting on you to take my place..."


        After the funeral, Kasumi and her family returned to a dark,
lifeless home.  Without breaking the silence, they went to their separate
rooms.  Kasumi threw herself on her bed and sobbed into her pillow.  She
wondered how it was possible to hurt so much and still live...
        A knock at the door interrupted her.  She knew it was Father.  She
sat up quickly, wiping her tears.
        "Come in," Kasumi said in a trembling voice, hugging her pillow to
her as her father entered the room.
        "Kasumi," her father began.
        "Yes, Father," Kasumi said hesitantly.
        "Kasumi, I'm looking to you to take your mother's place."
        "Yes, Father."
        "Of all my daughters, you are the prettiest, the quietest.  The
most like your mother."
        Kasumi didn't answer, but looked down at her hands clenching the
pillow...


        Three years later, Kasumi stood washing the dishes and watching
through the window as Akane pummeled her practice dummy.  Kasumi was
humming mindlessly, a small smile frozen on her face.  Her sister was so
strong, so independent...so carefree.  Kasumi watched the dying glory of
the sunset with growing dread.
        "Kasumi!" her father called.
        With the serene smile still plastered on her face, Kasumi carefully
finished wiping the dishes.  Then, still humming, she made her way to her
father's bedroom, her calm expression concealing her dead soul.
        "I love you, Nabiki," she thought as she pulled off her clothes and
folded them into a neat pile.
        "I love you, Akane," she thought as she slowly walked across the room.
        "...I love you...Father..."