It had been oddly quiet around the Sohma estate. Too quiet, Hatori decided, taking his glasses off and lounging back in his chair. The springs squeaked, protesting the movement; they were not used to being bent back. He pinched the bridge of his nose, clenching his eyes shut. Something was happening, of that, he was certain. He had not been the only one noticing the tangible change in the atmosphere-even Ayame and Shigure, king woolgatherers, had noticed. And when they noticed something out of place, red flags shot up.
He was having a hard time figuring out just what it was, though. Business had been the same as usual, nothing out of the ordinary had happened around the estate, and as far as he could tell, everything was still moving forward at its normal pace. That was what ate at him the most; he could always figure something out. But this time…no, this time, it was different, and Hatori did not like it one bit. It set him on edge.
With a grimace, he rose, gingerly stretching his cramped muscles. After fumbling through his desk drawers for a moment, he pulled out a lighter and exited the stuffy office. It really was a filthy habit, smoking, but there was just something about it that he could not quite identify. He knew the workings of an addiction, of course, and he knew why he could not bring himself to quit, but he had forgotten what made him start in the first place. Even during his senior year, despite the bemoaning voiced by Ayame and Shigure, he would sneak out during his study halls to have one. And before he knew it, he had gotten hooked.
Taking one last drag, he flicked the butt into the tray by his door and stuck his hands in his pockets. There was no real need for him to be at the clinic any longer; he had seen the last of his patients an hour ago, and even the nurses had left by now. But this was his usual routine. He would stay, do paperwork until he went cross-eyed, and then pack up for home. However, he tried to put that off for as long as he could. With the exception of Momiji's visits, the house was quiet and lonesome. He may have perfected the art of coming off as an indurate man, but beneath the façade was a less detached person. Casting a glance at the clock, he sighed. Perhaps it would be better to just call it a day.
She stared at the books sprawled in front of her, unsure of which one to attack first. She was slipping behind a bit in history, but her mathematics needed the most help of any subject she took. It was not that she was stupid-ditzy, yes, but not stupid. It was just numbers in general. She was better with concrete logic, not with things like imaginary numbers and irrational squares. And how could a number even exist, if it were imaginary? Wasn't that a contradiction? She stared for another moment, and then grudgingly tugged the large tome of dreaded numbers towards her. It was only seven questions. Surely she could handle that.
When she finally finished, it was well past eleven. She stared at the clock in surprise. Eleven? Had it really taken her two hours to do seven problems? Hanging her head, she closed the math book and opened her history textbook. Maybe she should stay after and work with her teacher on math. As much as she hated math, although she would never admit it to anyone, she really did want to do well on her exams. This was her final year, and her last chance to prove that she was more intelligent than people gave her credit for. Although she did not know what she wanted to do when she graduated, she did not want to graduate option-less, and doing poorly in her studies would do just that for her.
She finished her history with ease, and slid the books back into her bag with relief. It was only midnight; that still gave her time to make quick lunches for herself, Yuki, and Kyo and still get to bed by twelve thirty. Nimbly, she crept down the stairs, careful not to make too much noise. She knew that Shigure would still be awake, but she was not so sure about Yuki and Kyo, and both boys needed their rest, as Yuki was the class president, and Kyo was busy with his training. He wanted to go on to be a dojo master after graduation, and he was working very hard towards attaining his goal. After quickly making up three boxes, she headed back upstairs, suppressing a yawn and crawling into bed. Tomorrow, she had work, and she wanted to be refreshed for it.
"Hatori-sama," a woman said, bowing as she entered, "Akito-sempai has called for you."
"Akito?" Hatori asked, rising. "Is she ill?"
"No," she replied, shaking her head. "She says she must speak to you, and for you to close the clinic for an hour."
"An hour?" he repeated, shrugging into his jacket. Whatever she had planned could not be good. "Reika-san, Oki-san, I have to go out for an hour. Tell whatever patients arrive within that time that I will be back later and am willing to see them later today if it suits them."
"Yes, Hatori-sama," the two nurses replied, nodding at him.
"Thank you," he said, sliding the door shut and following Akito's maid out.
It was a silent walk to the god's quarters. The maid's were not one for conversation, particularly around the intimidating doctor. Briefly, he wondered if he had done something wrong-missed an appointment, slipped up with the secret-but shook the thought away; if anything, he was the most careful with the secret, and he had never missed an appointment before. Soon, they had arrived, and Hatori was free of the older woman. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He never knew what to expect in these meetings with Akito, but time and experience had taught him to go in expecting the worst. After another moment's hesitation, he stepped into the dim room. He was not alone with Akito, however. There were two other figures prostrate before the head of the Zodiac. He padded over and joined the two.
"Hatori, you're here," Akito crooned. "Now we may begin. Sit up." The three instantly erected themselves into a straight kneeling. Glancing sideways, he took in the other two, instantly recognizing them as Ayame and Shigure. Curiosity piqued further, he turned his attention back to Akito. "I am going to be blunt with you. I am dying." She paused for a moment, and the continued, "Quickly. I do not expect to last more than one or two days." Her voice betrayed no fear or melancholy, but Hatori momentarily wondered whether she was just hiding it well. "There is no one yet to take the place of god, and will be no one in time. But I have found the solution to the problem, and I will not take no for an answer. I have found my replacement. Shigure, Ayame, and Hatori," she began.
"Yes, Akito?" they asked in unison.
"I need your help."
"Yuki-kun, where is Shigure-san?" Tohru asked, handing him his lunch. "When I woke up this morning, he was walking down the path."
"I do not know, Honda-san," he replied, taking the box. "He never really lets us in on where he goes. He probably went for a walk to garner some inspiration or something," he said, shrugging. "Are you ready to go?"
"Oh, yes, has Kyo-kun already left?" she inquired. Yuki nodded, sliding the door open for her.
"He had to be at school early to finish a project," Yuki explained.
"Oh, then let me go grab his lunch so that he doesn't go hungry!" she exclaimed, ducking beneath Yuki's arm and back into the house. "Alright, now I'm ready!" she said, re-emerging with a smile.
As they walked to school, they chattered amiably, Yuki about his duties as president, and Tohru about the new recipes she had gotten to try for dinner soon. Her eyes lit up when Yuki mentioned that the leeks would be ready to use for her meals in time.
"That's right!" she cried, "I forgot! Oh, that will be so much better than store-bought!" Smiling, she swung her arms back and forth as she walked. Now she wanted to try that recipe even sooner…although, she thought, she was going to have to find a substitute for the leeks, since Kyo hated them. But she would cross that bridge when she came to it. For now, all she cared about was getting rid of the math homework sitting in her bag.
"I don't know," Shigure said, lounging at Hatori's desk. "I don't really feel comfortable helping Akito with this particular task."
"We have to, Shii-san," Hatori reminded him, pushing Shigure's feet off of his desk. "We are bound to her commands." His eyes darkened as he thought on the task.
"Do you really think it's fair, Ha'ri-san?" Ayame asked, tugging on the ends of his long hair.
"Of course it isn't fair," Hatori snapped, "but what choice do we have, except to do it? Even if we wanted to disobey her, we couldn't." Such was the nature of their curse. The lesser things, sure, they could disobey, for better or for worse-Yuki was a prime example. But when ordered with a task like this, it would have been easier to sever a limb than disobey Akito. While the latter was not particularly savory, they really had no other alternative.
"I just feel..uncomfortable about this," Shigure said, frowning. "Although this does explain the tension and inexplicable change in the air.."
"Our god is dying..almost dead," Ayame mused. "No wonder we're out of sorts."
"We'll need to discuss this later," Hatori said. "I have patients waiting for me, and I really need to get to them. In the meantime, you two, not a word about this to anyone."
"Ne, ne," Shigure said. "Promise."
"Would Honda Tohru please report to the office? Honda Tohru to the office, please."
She looked up mid-sentence. Yuki glanced at her curiously. Why would they need her in the office?
"Well..I'll be right back, I guess!" she said, exiting the room and walking towards the office. What had she done? She knew her grades were a little down this week, but was she doing so poorly that they needed to talk to her about it? Blushing, she pressed her hands to her cheeks. How embarrassing..
"Ah, Honda-san," the receptionist said. "There is a..Sohma Masae to see you."
"Sohma Masae?" she repeated, confused. She had never met any Sohma named Masae before..
"Are you Honda-san?" a middle-aged woman asked, bowing.
"Yes," Tohru responded, bowing back.
"I know we have never met. My name is Masae; I am one of the maids at the honke."
"Pleasure to meet you, Masae-san," Tohru said. "What can I do for you?"
"Akito-sempai has requested a meeting with you today. You are to skip work tonight. We have taken care of everything, so they know not to expect you."
"Akito-sempai?" she said. "I…I will be there after school, then." Her heart skipped a beat. A meeting with Akito…what could Akito possibly need with her? Has she slipped up? Was Hatori going to erase her memories? She felt a tremble go through her body. She couldn't lose the Sohma family now. She simply couldn't. They were the only family she had. If they were taken away from her, she was not sure what she would do. "After school.."
With trembling limbs, she walked up to the main gate. She did not think she had ever been this nervous before in her whole life. Akito scared her. She felt silly to say it, but Akito held so much power, and could change anything she wanted at any time. She felt like she was always walking on eggshells around the head of the Sohmas.
"Honda-san," Masae said, greeting her at the entrance. "Follow me and I will take you to Akito. He is waiting for you." She must not know Akito's secret, Tohru mused, following quietly. Masae lead her through an intricate garden and into the largest house of the estate. "He is inside waiting for you," Masae stated, coming to a halt in front of an elaborately painted door. "I would not keep him waiting much longer. Good day, Honda-san," she bowed.
"A-Akito-sempai?" Tohru stammered, kneeling before her. Akito was silent. Three people sat at the back of the room, their poses mimicking Tohru's. Finally, Akito spoke, her voice quiet.
"Honda Tohru. Come closer to me." Shakily, Tohru obeyed, now three feet before Akito. "Do you know why I have called you here?" Akito asked, her voice still soft.
"No," she answered, trying to keep her voice from shaking.
"I have a request, ne, a..a command, if you will. I am almost dead, Honda Tohru. And I want only one thing from you," Akito said, coming to rest in front of her. "Look up at me." As Tohru did so, she realized that when Akito spoke, it was no longer that cold, cruel voice, but a softer, almost melancholic tone.
"Yes, Akito-sempai?" Tohru asked, this time in a stronger voice. She could not keep her eyes from filling, however.
"What's this? You are crying for me, even though I have done nothing but show you hatred?" Akito's voice contained carefully masked surprise. "Why should you?"
"It..it's just…Akito-sempai is so young still..it doesn't seem fair for her to die yet!" Tohru shook her head and a few tears trailed down her cheeks. "I want to help you, Akito-sempai."
"Honda Tohru…Tohru-chan," Akito said, taking hold of Tohru's hands. The sound of the sweet honorific tasted foreign on her tongue. "Please help me."
"Of course, Akito-sempai," Tohru said passionately, holding onto the god's hands tightly. "Of course."
"Tohru-chan..I want you to become the new god."
At the back of the room, the three elder Juunishi sat, impassive.
A/N: Well, what did you all think? I hope you like this one. I worked hard on it, and I'm trying to improve my writing skills. If I am using the honorifics incorrectly, could someone please tell me? Like I said, I am trying something new, and I would absolutely love some feedback. Thank you so much!