Prologue
The clock was ticking. Every swing of the pendulum of the grand-father clock echoed throughout the hallway, reaching Kohana's ears as she lay on her bed. Beyond the window of her room, she watched as the snowflakes danced against the wind and she felt a pang of envy. Envy for their freedom, envy for their fleeting lives.
Born and gone within the blink of an eye…a snowflake's fleeting life. Kohana mused.
Casting aside her blankets, Kohana sat up from her bed and shivered. Of all the seasons in the year, she hated winter the most. It was too cold for comfort and despite the layers of clothing that she already wore, along with the warmth provided by the heater, she could still feel its icy tendrils nipping against her flesh.
With a groan, she stood up from her bed and walked towards her cabinet. Putting on another layer of clothes, she grabbed her camera and walked outside her room. She was greeted by the loud ticking of the clock. Each sound was a mocking reminder of her freedom and it made her wish that time would come to a halt...that New Year's would never arrive.
Clutching her camera, she trudged down the winding staircase of their home. Striding past the living room, she opened the door to her front porch and stepped outside the house. She immediately felt the cold kiss of the season against her skin of her face and shivered, making her wish that she had not abandoned her decision to buy a ski mask. An image of her walking through the streets wearing a ski mask appeared in her mind and she scoffed. It was probably a good thing that she had forgone the decision. Wearing one would make her look like a mugger and probably merit a free trip to the nearest police station.
Gripping her camera tightly in her hand, she pointed the lenses towards the falling snowflakes and began taking pictures.
Flash. The clock in the hallway ticked and a car sped past. It was five minutes to twelve.
Flash. She could her laughter floating in the air and the clock ticked once more. It was four minutes to twelve.
Flash. The Christmas lights placed on the trees leading to the main house were turned on and the pendulum swung once more. It was three minutes to twelve.
Flash. A sweet melody permeated the stillness of the night and Kohana knew, it was two minutes to twelve.
Silently, she checked her pictures and went inside the house. She could hear the ticking of the clock and wordlessly, she watched as the hand moved. It was one minute to twelve. She watched and waited for the clock to chime. Standing alone in front of the grandfather's clock, waiting for it to announce the arrival of the New Year, had been her yearly custom ever since she was a child. The start of every year was her birthday. It also reminded her of the transient freedom she held and of her curse. The curse of the cat.
The second hand sped past the face of the clock. Kohana gripped her fingers tightly and she wished for the same wish that she had had since she was a child. She wished for time to stop. It never did and she knew that it never will.
The clock chimed, the sound resonating throughout the empty house filling the halls and the unoccupied rooms as it announced the arrival of the year. Kohana felt the painful clench of despair consume her and a tear slid down her cheek. She only had 365 days of freedom left.
X
Within the Sohma Estate…
The banquet had started and other than the occasional clatter of porcelain against silver, the room was silent. The Juunishi were all seated in a long dining table covered with white satin sheets. The cloth was designed in such a manner that at the side of the table they cascaded in waves. Each of the juunishi was seated according to their rank and at the head of the table sat the head of the family, Leiko Sohma, the God of the zodiacs.
Positioned at the head, the woman exuded authority. Her face was pale and her high cheek bones amplified her sunken cheeks. Her thin lips were pursed in disdain and her almond shaped eyes mirrored contempt. She wore a traditional kimono and her long black hair was styled into a bun, pinned back by twelve ornamental chopsticks. At the tip of each chopstick, was a jade containing the kanji of a zodiac animal.
In silence, she watched them eat. Her nose wrinkled in disgust as her teal eyes fell on each of the juunishi, they were all worthless. However, she could not help but gravitate her gaze at the juunishi occupying the boar's seat. At the far end of the table sat Hiroshi, and a lazy smile played on her lips as she watched him forcefully swallow each bite. It was an unlikely behavior for a pig.
"Hiroshi, is the food not to your liking? Or is there something in your mind" She asked, her voice was like a whiplash which pierced through the silence of the room.
Hiroshi looked up from his plate and forced a smile.
"The food is excellent, Leiko-sama" He replied, choosing to avoid answering the latter question. She noticed it and she laughed. It was a soft sound which drifted across the room like a specter, chilling the blood of the remaining juunishi.
"Just like a pig, all you can think about is food" She mused "And here I was thinking that you were worried about Kohana" There was no response. Narrowing her eyes, she further goaded the boar.
"Poor girl, she constantly spends her birthday and new years alone" Leiko continued "Born as monster, lives as a monster and treated like a monster. I thought you actually cared for her that was why I allowed you to become her guardian"
The muscle on Hiroshi's jaw clenched and Leiko smirked.
"Bad blood is bad blood. It makes me wonder if the case you filed against your father in order to gain her custody was all just an act" She drawled "It was the best I've seen though, it showed me your prowess in court"
Upon hearing her reply, a smirk tugged at the younger man's lips. Deliberately, he slowly finished chewing his food before replying.
"Bad blood…"Hiroshi paused, took a sip from his glass of red wine and smiled "Is what we both share Leiko-sama. After all, our fathers were twins"
Silence stretched across the room and the remaining juunishi tensed as they braced themselves for the torrent of rage from their household head. Instead, they heard her bark in laughter.
"Hiroshi, your reasoning skills are sub-par to arrive on conclusions based on logical fallacies" she crooned "Our fathers may have been twins but your mother was an illiterate whore"
Hiroshi remained silent and Leiko allowed a triumphant smile to tug at her lips. Casting a furtive glance at the wall clock, she saw that it was almost one in the morning.
"I will rest for a while" She announced "I will return fifteen minutes before the start of the ceremonial dance. Seiji, come with me. I wish to know the status of our ongoing negotiations with Kaneshiro enterprises"
Two seats away from her right, a middle aged man with glowing green eyes and ginger hair wordlessly stood up from his seat. He strode towards Leiko and offered his hand.
Silently, the juunishi watched their god leave the room hand in hand with her one of her favored juunishi. Each breathed out a sigh of relief as they watched Seiji Sohma, the tiger, close the large oak doors. The eleven remaining members of the juunishi visibly relaxed in their chairs and the oppressive atmosphere in the room gave way to amicable laughter as the cousins bonded. They would have three hours of freedom from her oppressive presence. However, despite the change of atmosphere, Hiroshi could not bring himself to enjoy the banquet.
'You fool' Hiroshi thought to himself as he took another sip of wine. Angrily, he fixed his gaze at the clock and clenched his jaw. Despite his efforts to contain himself, he had lost his temper…the bitch always knew which buttons to press. 'Damn her' He inwardly cussed. Retreating to his thoughts, he began to calculate the possible consequences of his actions. He was pulled away from his thoughts when he felt a small hand gently being placed on his shoulder.
Yumi, worriedly bit her lip and gave Hiroshi's shoulder an affectionate squeeze.
"With business on her mind, she will most likely let this incident pass" She re-assured him. In reply, Hiroshi held hand and sighed.
"Let us hope so or our work would be in vain" He darkly replied.
Author's Note:
Hello everyone, it's been a while since I last updated my fanfiction account with a new story.
This story is actually a revised version of the first story that I have written here in fanfiction: Bittersweet love. However, I have added, and will be adding, quite a number of changes making it slightly different from the original story that I first wrote. Reason's for my revision? Well, I re-read the story a few months ago and I felt that the pace was too fast. It was also lacking quite a few things, such as character development. Thus, I decided to re-write it in-order to strengthen the plot and to, hopefully, give you guys a better reading experience.
I hope you guys will enjoy this new version of Bittersweet love :).