Now, as you know, my favorite character of all time is Akito, so it's really hard for me to like Ren. I detest her, if it wasn't obvious from a lot of my stories. But, I took it upon myself to try to find some sort of humanity in this creature, and I realized that there has to be some sort of story to her. There has to be a reason for her hatred. She was probably normal once just like you and I but her love drove her mad. This story is a challenge for both myself and for you to try to understand her on a deeper level than just being Akito's awful mother. And so, I give you, Dearly Departed.

xxx

The first time I had spoken to him was a cold winter's morning in which I was running my daily chores. I was carrying pails of hot water to chase away the ice that lingered on the porch when his charmingly beautiful voice stopped me in my tracks.

"Maid...could you sit by me for a moment?" I halted, turning to face the man whose voice had called to me. He looked at me with his gentle brown eyes, his hair of equal color blowing around a little in the chilly morning air. The head of the family...the head of the family had spoken to me, a lowly maid who had only been working for the Sohmas for three years. Feeling honored, after my heart skipped a beat, I nodded slowly, setting down the pails before I approached him, cautiously kneeling next to the man, placing my hands delicately on my lap.

"What is your name?" he asked me cooly, looking at me with those gorgeous, soft brown eyes. It took me a moment to answer, for I had to catch my breath.

"R-Ren... Tanaka Ren..."

"What a beautiful name...Ren...It means lotus, doesn't it?" the head asked me, and I nodded, gripping the hem of my yukata tightly, lowering my head. But he smiled, using a frail hand to raise my chin.

"You can look at me... I want to see that face." I smiled, hesitantly, hearing his voice. It warmed my heart. I had never gotten that kind of attention before, not from someone like him. Not from anyone. It brought a smile to my face, and a blush to my cheeks.

"Th...Thank you... Master."

"Please," he began, with a gentle smile. "Skip the formalities. Call me Akira."

And that was how it began.

Before long, I would sneak out of my duties to see him, just to get a glimpse. Sometimes, he'd catch my gaze, and if he wasn't busy, he'd wave me over. Other times, he wouldn't see me, and would just keep working. But I watched him anyway, taking joy in seeing that precious form, those beautiful eyes...

We'd seen each other in private for only months before he expressed his desire to marry me.

"Married?" I heard one of the older members of the family tell Akira behind the door I pressed my ear to. "You can't marry her; she's a maid."

As much as their words hurt me, Akira's would always cheer me up. "I love Ren," he said defensively, which brought a smile to my lips, and I pressed my hand to my fluttering chest.

"Eavesdropping only hurts you, Ren," the head maid, a woman whose grays had not yet set in at this time, said as she pulled me to the side, away from the door. I looked at the aging woman before back towards the door.

"But his words..." I mused, my heart then full of young, naive love. "...make me smile."

"You're a love-struck girl," barked the maid, fixing my hair. "You're young. He is too, and you're making a stupid decision."

"Stupid?" I asked, pulling away from her, though a tress of my long, black hair remained between the maid's fingers. "You'll see. When I become wife of the head of the Sohmas, you'll see!" I screamed, and I ran from her then, far off, into the rain.

I didn't come back for hours, but when I did, I snuck into Akira's room. He had been waiting for me, and so he invited my cold, wet form beside his warm one in his bed.

"I'm sorry," I whispered to him, but he kissed me to shut me up. We didn't talk the rest of the night.

I found out I was pregnant.

One missed period later, I sat crying at the head maid's feet, whispering words I hadn't told anyone but Akira. Within the month, I was officially the wife of the Sohma head. Over the next eight months, despite having a living being in my body, I felt more alone than ever.

I loved Akira, more than anyone. More than myself. And he loved me. But he was the only one who loved me. I never knew my parents, I didn't have any siblings... What if this child took Akira away from me? What if he loved her more than he loved me? I would be alone.

I started to hate the child within my womb.

On the eighth month, I birthed a baby girl, which I never held. "Raise her as a boy," I whispered to the head maid. That way, she could never steal my husband's heart.

That was the same year my husband became sick. And, as his illness got worse, I noticed him spend more and more time with it.

"Why do you do this to me?" I asked him one tearful night.

"Why do I do what to you?" he asked, innocently.

"Love it," I spat, motioning to our three year old child. Akira held the toddler, looking at me, a bit confused.

"Don't refer to her as an it, Ren," he instructed. "She's our child."

I turned away from him. I didn't want to believe that. I wouldn't believe that.

On it's ninth birthday, he gave it an ornate box filled with a brush set. "To paint me beautiful pictures," he informed. I watched in disgust as it took the box. It was a loathesome creature that didn't deserve a present from my husband. My love. That filthy, ungrateful child...

That December, it was colder than it had been in years. And, within the month, Akira had passed away.

It had been at his side when he died.

I had been out.

And I realized, then, that it had taken my place, as Akira's loved one. For how could he die by it's side and not mine? And I realized I hated that creature, that filthy thing that came from my womb, that abombination who didn't deserve Akira's love. The thing that held his soul in her precious box she had gotten from him. That gruesome, ugly thing.

I hated it.

And at that moment, I felt my heart crumble away to nothing.

A/N: Well, there you have it folks. It was the best I could do! This one for SURE isn't having a sequel. Thanks for reading! Please review!