"The world that has made us
Can no longer contain us..."
-Consequence of Sounds by Regina Spektor
God, she felt awful.
It was terrible; her throat burned with every breath and every swallow, her stomach was constantly churning, her head ached and swam, and her body felt as though it were on fire. She was sweating, and her clothes were clinging to her.
And there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it.
No, last night, she had to have had a fit, and she had to order no one to disturb her until she came out of her room. She'd felt slightly ill last night, but had thought little of it; colds came and went with her; it seemed Akito was never well, and she had grown used to it.
But when she had awoken this morning, she had realized what a mistake it was to keep everyone away. She'd tried to ignore how ill she felt, but there was no getting around it. Eventually, after what seemed like hours of lying in bed with the pains, she attempted to go find Hatori, but hadn't even made it out of her room. She'd fallen to the floor, and unable to continue, she had remained where she was, hoping someone would find her.
Not that that would happen; no, she had been very adamant about being left alone.
Damn it all! Why couldn't someone choose to defy her orders now? They could do it so easily at any other point, why not now?
For a while, she had cried; out of frustration, from the pain, from how dizzy she was. Tears always came so easily to her, and so often they had gotten her what she wanted. But not now; now, the sobbing only hurt her throat, and no one could hear her.
Eventually, she knew, they would worry about the lack of her presence, and a maid would come looking for her. How long that would take, she wasn't sure. But, until then, she was stuck on this wooden floor.
Akito let out a ragged sigh and closed her eyes. She just wanted to find Hatori, and then sleep….
XxXxX
Something cool was touching her forehead, wiping across it. Akito grunted slightly and shifted, not wanting to open her eyes. She was still so tired.
"Please stay still, Master Akito."
She opened her eyes. She was in her bed, and there was a maid bent over her, a damp cloth in hand.
"You have a fever," the maid said softly. "Hatori has instructed me to keep you cool."
"H-H-Hatori?" Akito croaked. When had he been here?
"Yes, Master Akito." The maid had started to dab and wipe her forehead once more. "He found you passed out on the floor."
Ah, now it made sense. Hatori would have noticed that she hadn't been feeling well the night before, and would have come to see how she was.
"Where is…he?"
"He's talking with Shigure, just outside." The maid looked back at the door to her room, and Akito followed her gaze. The door was slightly open, and she could see Hatori's back through the gap. She could hear him talking, but it was hard to make out, what with the maid shuffling around her.
"Leave," Akito muttered.
"What was that?" The maid leaned in closer.
"Leave me," she repeated.
"I can't; you're ill-"
"Leave!" God, it hurt to raise her voice like that. "Now!"
The maid nodded. "As you wish, Master Akito." She placed the rag into a bowl that was on the bedside table, and left. Thankfully, she didn't fully close the door behind her, but left it open a bit, just as it was before.
She could hear Hatori asking the maid why she was leaving, and heard the response, and then there were footsteps as the maid walked away.
"Are you going to check on her?" she heard Shigure ask.
"No; she most likely wants to be left alone. I'll check on her in a little bit."
"I'm guessing she's not that sick then?"
"She's…stressed herself out, I believe, and you know how that makes her sick and weak. Her immune system just isn't strong enough; she's not made to deal with stress." Akito furrowed her brow; was that all Hatori ever thought of her illnesses? That she was merely stressed? "She'll feel better in several days."
"Stressed…. I can't say I can blame her…. She's beginning to realize that the world is not hers to play with, and it's startling, I guess," Shigure said in response. Ugh, she wished she could see them as well; it was so annoying only being able to listen. "It'll take a while for her to adapt…."
"What do you mean?"
"Akito has been, to put it bluntly, spoiled her entire life." Akito was not happy with the way this conversation was headed…. "All she had to do was cry or throw a tantrum, and she'd get her way. And, we're all at fault for letting it go on so long, but…she's starting to learn that she can't do that anymore."
"I hardly think that's why she was so stressed." Hatori moved a bit, reaching to one side; he was probably putting out a cigarette.
"So what's your theory?"
"What you said could be a part of it…. Have you heard about Hiro and Momiji?"
"No. What happened?"
"There are rumor's running around that they've been released as well."
"Really?"
"You don't sound surprised."
"I am, and I'm not. But, continue."
"Well, with how Akito's been acting lately, I wouldn't be surprised if they had been; how she attacked Kureno and with whatever happened with Tohru…. She's changing, and that's why I think she's so stressed."
"That's exactly what I was talking about, Hatori. Oh, how great minds think alike! The world she's played with has been our world, and it's falling apart, in a way. She can't play with it, with us, as she used to, and that, I believe has come as a huge shock for her. Now that the curse is starting to fade away, she has to learn how to deal with the world like everyone else does."
"You really think that our curse is just fading? As simple as that?"
"Yes and no." Shigure took a pause. "Yes, it is fading; at least I believe that's how it is. And no, it's not just as simple as that. The curse has been around for longer than anyone can remember; hundreds of years, probably. And, back when it originated, it fit. The world, in a sense, was smaller; countries weren't connected with each other in the same way they are today, there were less opportunities for people to grow and change and expand. But, in the past hundred years or so, that has changed. People in our family, including those cursed, had more opportunities to go out and live a life separate from the family, and their dreams grew, as well. The curse just doesn't fit in with this new lifestyle, and either our family had to succumb to it, or the curse had to leave. And, it appears the curse is leaving."
"And you believe that?"
"What isn't there to believe, Hatori? The proof is everywhere. Hiro and Momiji were released, eh? Major things have happened in their life recently; Hiro gained a little sister, and Momiji finally matured. Both of those experiences had to have made them realize that things change and that there's more to life that the curse. Something in those experiences made them want more or do more, I'm sure."
"If that's so, Shigure, then why haven't all of us been released?"
"Who knows?" Akito could almost see Shigure shrugging. "Maybe none of us have had big enough dreams yet to force the curse away. I could be entirely wrong with this theory, but I doubt it. We'll all be released soon enough, I'm sure."
"Even Akito?"
"I have no doubts that she'll be released soon. As I said before, she's realizing that she can't just have her way all the time, and once she fully realizes that, her dreams will change."
Akito didn't know what to think, after hearing all this. Why- how could they so casually talk about the curse leaving? Didn't they understand how important it was to their lives? And, how dare they talk about her like that- calling her a brat! If she wasn't so sick, she'd go out there and put them back in place.
But, what if Shigure was right- no, he couldn't be. He couldn't be. The curse couldn't be fading. It had to be something else, something…anything else.
She couldn't handle the idea of the curse simply fading away; she couldn't handle it leaving period. If that happened, she'd lose all she had; and then, where would she be? Who would she be?
No one.
That's who she'd be. And that couldn't happen.
XxxXxX
Um…yeah. I listened to Consequence of Sounds, and this story oozed out.
Please leave constructive criticisms.