Cast in shadows a frail and slouched figure loomed. The room itself was bathed in moonlight from the open door, wind blowing the thin silk curtains and ringing the chimes that hung in the doorframe. A young girl sat leaning back so she was resting on her elbows, legs curled and tilted to one side, body shaking, in the middle of the room on the cold hard wooden floor. Her blue and white blouse was slightly torn as was her dark blue skirt; her shoes and socks had been abandoned long ago. She looked to the shadowy figure with a frightful expression.

"Akito…san…Why have you summoned me here?" She asked in a quiet, shaking whisper.

In response the figure took a few slow yet unnaturally loud steps forward so their face could be seen. A shaggy mess of thick black hair the hung over their eyes, yet it was short enough so it couldn't conceal the devilish smirk on the ivory-pale face. A heavy dress kimono which appeared to be lilac in color, covered in a pattern of colorful birds, hung off one shoulder. It exposed even more of the frighteningly pale skin and revealed the edge of a perked small breast. A few more steps forward, and then the person lashed out, pulling the smaller girl up by a chunk of her thick brown hair.

"You…" Akito muttered in an icy cold whisper. "Tohru Honda…."

Although she didn't want to show the taller girl any more fear, Tohru could feel her bottom lip quivering and her eyes starting to water. She had thought when she received the invitation from Hatori that this meeting with Akito would be a friendly one-perhaps a chance for the two to become friends. However, when she walked in the door with a bright smile on her face, and in exchange Akito punched her hard across the jaw causing her to drop off the porch and tear her clothes in the shrubbery…she knew it wasn't friendship Akito wanted at all. The bottom part of her face had been in so much pain it was starting to go numb, and she could feel drops of cool blood trickling down to her chin from the holes in her mouth where teeth once were.

Tears beginning to pour down her cheeks, Tohru choked out, "Akito…What do you want…What are you going to do with me…?"

Seeing those glittering tears sliding down her face, feeling her body shake beneath her grasp, Akito let out a chilling laugh. "You really want to know what I'm going to do, don't you Honda girl?" she spat.

Tohru fell to her knees upon Akito's release, and starting scooting back as Akito moved for her again.

"Why, I'm going to destroy you…I'm going to beat you, hurt you, humiliate you…I am going to make you wish you never got involved with my family to begin with…Hell, I'm going to make you wish you'd never even been born!" Akito shouted, with each breath kicking Tohru hard in the legs and stomach until the small girl balled up into a fetal position.

Akito looked down at Tohru's shivering body and allowed herself to smirk, obviously taking immense pleasure in the girl's pain. "What's the matter, girl?" she barked pulled her to her knees by the collar of her shirt. "Too weak to face me? Afraid I might do worse? You pathetic little wretch!" With her free hand Akito slapped her hard, snickering at the crack that might have came from her nose.

"Akito…" Tohru cried. "Why……..?"

Ignoring the plea of sorts, Akito flipped the girl around and slammed her face-first into the floor, holding her in place with one knee. She rummaged around in one of her kimono sleeves until she pulled out what it was she was seeking- a shining silver knife with a red dragon wrapped around the hilt. With the very edge of the blade she started at the nape of Tohru's neck and ran it all the way down until the seam of the shirt parted to expose her back. Feeling her body shaking, Akito grinned devilishly and ran the flat side of the knife over her bare flesh.

"Do you know what this is?" Akito asked in a playful tone.

Tohru shook her head.

"This blade was passed down through my family for generations. It's worth millions upon millions of yen. Quite the heirloom, wouldn't you say? Only I'm going to rid it of its worth by soiling it…with your blood."

The smaller girl shrieked in pain as she felt the sharp edge of the blade cut across her back. Blood trickled down her skin and pooled underneath her. Tears spilled down her cheeks even more, a bitter taste in her mouth of sweat, tears, and mucus. Akito chuckled as she continued with little cuts along the base of her spine and marveled the bright red color that glistened on the blade. Soon becoming bored with the sight of Tohru bleeding Akito flipped her back over and sat on her, pressing her hips down to keep her still. She held the point of the blade to Tohru's throat and grinned at the terrified expression on her face.

"Ah…A-Akito…" Tohru gasped and choked to catch her breath. "A-Are you…you going to kill me…?"

Akito cocked her head to one side and blinked thoughtfully. "No," she decided, "It wouldn't be as much fun as watching you live with pain and suffering…" She burst out into intense and insane laughter.

At this point, there was so much blood flowing out of the deep cuts on her back that Tohru was starting to tire…and fast. Slowly she was losing focus and the world around her faded to black. Her head kept trying to loll to one side but she refused to give up.

"No!" Akito barked and slapped her again across the face. "I will not allow you to pass out on me!"

Tohru coughed hard, blood sputtering from her mouth and onto Akito's face and clothes. Akito smirked and wiped the spatter off her face with her sleeve.

"Now…Where was I…" Akito whispered as she leaned in close to the young girl's face, as if she were about to kiss her.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Hatori along with Shigure rushed in. "What's going on here?" Hatori shouted. "Who was screaming?"

Akito grinned and stood up, kicking Tohru's limp body aside. She casually strolled over and gave the two men her most innocent look. "Why, nothing at all…Miss Honda and I were just having a friendly discussion…"

Shigure caught a glimpse of the near lifeless body on the floor and gasped. "Tohru!" He rushed over and scooped her up in his arms where she finally gave in and allowed herself to fall unconscious.

"Akito…" Hatori said sternly. "You've gone too far…I'm sorry, but I must do this…" He lashed out and grabbed the girl's arm hard, pulling her close to him; He then gripped her in a headlock with one arm while he pulled out a pill from his pocket with the other one. "This should sedate you so we can get her out of here…" Much to Akito's writhing and objection Hatori managed to force the pill down her throat and within minutes she collapsed in his arms, fast asleep.

"Tohru…" Shigure whispered, gazing at the young girl. "How…why…"

"We'd better take her to the hospital. She's lost a lot of blood." Hatori told him and then bent down to pick up the bloody knife. "It seems Akito used this on her…"

"You're right, let's go," Shigure sighed and made his way out the door, ignoring the fact his own kimono was now heavily stained with Tohru's blood. Hatori shook his head and followed, locking the door to leave Akito alone and asleep.

Perhaps this would be the God's fate no matter what…++