It was a cloudy day at the Sohma estate, and Akito and Yuki were on a rare outing to a patch of mud under a tree in the gardens outside of the main house. Akito was having the time of her life, and Yuki, rather less so. Akito was finding the mud with the most leaves or sticks in it, and rubbing it into Yuki's hair. Yuki sniffled a bit, but did not resist. Akito's games could get quite painful, but he endured. One day his mother would come back, and praise him for being such a good boy.
Akito, for her part, was almost tired of this game. It was fun making a mess, but it would be nice to make Yuki really squirm. She spotted a large kabuto beetle crawling among the leaves. She caught it swiftly with cupped hands, and squeezed Yuki's nose shut. She knew from previous games that squeezing his nose could get him to eat anything from natto to dog poop, much to Akito's amusement, and Yuki's disgust.
A shadow fell across the pair. Akito looked up. It was Kureno, gawky in his middle school uniform.
"What are you doing?', he said. Akito smiled.
"Just getting Yuki here to eat this bug." She opened her hand slightly. The bug was large and hornless- a female. Kureno shook his head.
"Don't do that, Akito".
Akito looked up at him, half confused, half obstinate.
"Why?"
Kureno rubbed his forehead. "Well,what if Ren finds out? Won't you get in trouble?" Akito glared at Kureno and turned to Yuki. She handed the bug to him.
"You eat this by yourself." Yuki complied, crunching the bug carefully.
"Akito!" Kureno said.
Akito sighed. "Ren said 'get out of my sight', not 'don't make Yuki eat bugs'. Not that I would have listened to the bitch if she had said anything." Kureno knew he shouldn't have taken that tack.
"But what about Yuki's mom?"
Akito gave Kureno a look of contempt. "She never comes anyway, and Yuki likes this game. We play it all the time." Looking at Yuki's face, smeared with stray mud and bits of bug, and with a green tinge from trying not to throw up, Kureno very much doubted that Yuki enjoyed this game at all.
Sighing, he scooped the 7 year old and the 5 year old up in his arms.
"Baths for both of you. Yuki first.". Akito pouted. She wished she could take a bath with Yuki, but then he'd see that she was a girl. But Kureno, he already knew…. She laid her head against Kureno's side.
"Take a bath with me, Kureno".
Kureno nearly dropped the pair. "No! …I mean… I'm too old to bathe with you anymore, Akito." Akito pouted all the way home.
Authors notes: A kabuto beetle is a large beetle native to Japan. Often called a rhinocerous beetle, only males have horns. Natto is fermented soybeans. They have a slimy texture, and many people do not like them.