A smile crept its way over my lips as I awoke, before jumping out of bed
and dressing as fast as I could. The sweet air worked its way through the
room and I looked at mother, sitting on my dresser. "Kaasan... it is going
to be a wonderful day!" I murmured quietly, tying the pretty yellow ribbons
into my long hair. The sun gleamed off of it like gold, and I smiled
brightly, thinking about how lucky I was.
His face shone as I greeted him, his silvery purple hair haphazardly thrown into place. He wore his old gardening clothes, which were stained from overuse and covered in mud.
"Have you been to the garden?" I asked eagerly, hoping that he would go back later and take me with him.
"That mouse has been there all day," I jumped at the gruff voice behind me. His annoyed eyes were bored already with the conversation.
Yuki sighed as he replied, "At least I haven't had to put up with that idiot all day..."
"You wanna start something!? I can take you!" Kyou grinned as the challenge was made, putting up his guard.
"Ohayo gozaimasu, Kyou-kun!" I hoped that a smile would brighten his day, but his face just turned away, like usual. A tiny twinge of pain shot through my heart, but I masked it and smiled happily at him. Yuki had smiled at me then, probably out of sympathy at the pathetic attempt to cheer up the constantly annoyed redhead. "I'm going to go make breakfast for everyone," I added quickly, and rushed down the stairs, my smile falling into a frown as I turned away.
The smell of cooking rice and beef stew wafted out of the kitchen. "Tohru- kun," Shigure called, dragging out the -kun. "Ohayo." He rubbed his face with his palms as he sniffed the air. "It smells good!"
It had seemed like such a beautiful day when I had awoken, with the sun smiling at me through the window panes, the breeze ruffling my hair. But as I stared out the window, the clouds rolled over the sun, casting a shadow over the earth. I watched the leaves fly by the window like rain, the trees bent in the wind that had kicked up. My smile faded for a moment, thinking that this would make Kyou-kun feel awful today. I could see the white sheets of water that fell in front of the trees in the distance, blocking them from view, as it began to move closer, engulfing everything in its path.
I was staring off into space as the phone rang. I stopped stirring the stew, but heard someone pick it up. I listened to the one-ended conversation from the kitchen, catching little phrases that didn't make sense. I stuck my head out the door, trying to catch more.
Shigure pressed the phone to his cheek, singing into the receiver, "Ha-san! Hello!! What brings the pleasure of this call? You missed the melodious sound of my voice, didn't you?!" he stifled his laugh and waited for his reply.
"I love the way you say my name..."Shigure mocked after a short pause.
Shigure's face became instantly serious, all traces of mocking gone from his voice. "What are you talking about?"
"Ha-san..." he whispered. "He's gone? You are sure..."
"No, I'll do it... Ja ne, Hatori," he replaced the receiver and dragged himeself up the stairs. "Yuki-kun..."
I followed Shigure up the stairs quietly, so he wouldn't notice. My mind raced with questions. Who was gone? What was going on? I tried to piece together the words I had heard on the phone, but I couldn't think of anything. I stood at the top of the stairs and watched Shigure knock on Sohma-kun's door.
Shigure said something softly to the boy standing before him. I could see the expression on Yuki's face turn from annoyance to disbelief.
"What?!" he yelled, causing Shigure to drop his head. Shigure said something else, which I still unfortunately couldn't hear, and Sohma-kun's hand rushed up to his mouth, covering it before he could say anything. He rushed past Shigure, stopping as he got to me. He stared at me for a moment with his large violet eyes, which had a look of pleasure mixed with confusion in them.
"Sohma-kun? What's the matter?" I asked him quickly. I didn't want to be ignorant any longer. He sighed softly, and put his hand to my face.
"Akito died today, Honda-san," the violet eyes stared unblinking into mine as he spoke. The wind shook the house, and I could hear the rain splattering on the roof. "He had a seizure triggered by his illness. We are going to see Hatori right now, if you'd like to come," he frowned a little as he spoke.
I my eyes welled up with tears. I hadn't even really met Akito... and he was dead? "Please let me come!" I said, grabbing onto his shirt. A fat tear dripped down my cheek. "I want to go too!"
"Uhn... I'll go call Hatori, and we'll leave when he gets here," he replied, touching my hands lightly with his.
I ran back to my room, and stared out the window as I wiped tears away. I had wanted to meet him so badly, I wanted to help him be happy. But I couldn't now. A tear rolled down my cheek. I didn't even get the chance to get to know him. A small sharp pain pierced my heart as the pouring rain fell across my window.
Sohma-kun knocked on my door, and announced that it was time to go. I hadn't even realized how long I had been sitting here, just thinking of nothing. "Hai," I replied, grabbing my coat. Yuki's hair was now brushed, and his pea coat was buttoned all the way up. All I could do was follow him out to the car, where Shigure sat in the front seat with Hatori.
"So Hatori," Shigure began. "Who is next?"
I wasn't sure what he meant, and glanced at Yuki, who was staring straight ahead. "Sohma-kun? What does he mean?" his head turned quickly, realizing that I asked him something.
"He means that Akito must have a successor," Yuki explained.
"That is a large problem at the moment. Akito wasn't supposed to die yet, and none of the women in the Sohma family are pregnant. They all are either unmarried or not of childbearing age, somehow. I am not sure who will be next," Hatori replied, brushing his hair from his eye in frustration.
"But there must be someone!!" Yuki cried. "What is going to happen?" Hatori stayed silent, probably because I was in the car. I looked at my feet. "We can't just have no one!! Someone has to do it! Why can't we pick a member of the Juunishi?"
Hatori still stayed silent, and I blushed deeply. "None of the girls in the family are old enough to have children, or else they are too old. And we can't pick a Juunishi member, because they already have enough to deal with. I don't know who we'll choose, but if we don't soon, we will all be feeling the true weight of our curse."
I gasped. I hadn't realized it before, but with Akito gone, there was no one to bear the brunt of the curse. I suddenly felt that I had to do something. "I know... I know I do not know the curse, or why this happened to you... and I know that I didn't know Akito very well, or know what he went through. And I know that I don't belong to your family, or have any right to do this. But I also know that I don't want anyone to suffer because of this... I don't want any of you to feel pain because of this. If you would let me, I would replace Akito. I could take on the curse of the Juunishi for you all," I blurted out. I had figured out a way to become closer to Akito, even though he was gone. "I want to," I added, looking into the rear-view mirror.
Hatori's eyes went large with surprise, and Shigure turned to stare at me. I could feel Yuki's eyes upon me, and the car went dead silent. The engine shut off, and the driver turned to me. "Out of the question," he turned the engine, and the car began to roll forward again, the harsh rain splattering on the windshield. "You aren't a part of the family, and I won't allow it."
"Demo... it would be better for everyone. I could do it for only a short while, until someone is born... and you could teach me about the curse. I would love to learn it... please let me..." a smile formed on my lips. I glanced into the rear view mirror to see Hatori staring into my smile.
"You don't realize the full extent of Akito's suffering, Honda Tohru," he said shortly. "I don't want you to go through that, and neither does anyone in this car. No one would. It is very horrible."
"Hai, Tohru-kun! That is what I was going to say!" Shigure chimed in.
"It is not..." Hatori sighed.
"I don't care! I just don't want you to ever feel it! Please give me this one chance!" I clasped my hands together, and looked over at Yuki.
"Please don't do this, Tohru-kun," Shigure said softly, taking my hand. "Be a good girl and don't even think about it!" His dark eyes gazed at into mine, and he shook his head.
"Please!! Please let me do this! I won't let you down!! I want to know how it feels! I want to understand Akito-san! Please! I want to help you all! Let me do this!" I pleaded like I never had before. I really wanted this opportunity to understand the one I so longed to help, the family I desperately wanted to know.
"I really am very opposed to this, Tohru," Hatori said. "There is an incredible amount of pain, and you are not a part of the family..."
"Don't be so stubborn, Hatori." Yuki said softly. Hatori's eyes grew large as the car suddenly stopped. He turned to face us as Yuki added, "Neither was Akito."
His face shone as I greeted him, his silvery purple hair haphazardly thrown into place. He wore his old gardening clothes, which were stained from overuse and covered in mud.
"Have you been to the garden?" I asked eagerly, hoping that he would go back later and take me with him.
"That mouse has been there all day," I jumped at the gruff voice behind me. His annoyed eyes were bored already with the conversation.
Yuki sighed as he replied, "At least I haven't had to put up with that idiot all day..."
"You wanna start something!? I can take you!" Kyou grinned as the challenge was made, putting up his guard.
"Ohayo gozaimasu, Kyou-kun!" I hoped that a smile would brighten his day, but his face just turned away, like usual. A tiny twinge of pain shot through my heart, but I masked it and smiled happily at him. Yuki had smiled at me then, probably out of sympathy at the pathetic attempt to cheer up the constantly annoyed redhead. "I'm going to go make breakfast for everyone," I added quickly, and rushed down the stairs, my smile falling into a frown as I turned away.
The smell of cooking rice and beef stew wafted out of the kitchen. "Tohru- kun," Shigure called, dragging out the -kun. "Ohayo." He rubbed his face with his palms as he sniffed the air. "It smells good!"
It had seemed like such a beautiful day when I had awoken, with the sun smiling at me through the window panes, the breeze ruffling my hair. But as I stared out the window, the clouds rolled over the sun, casting a shadow over the earth. I watched the leaves fly by the window like rain, the trees bent in the wind that had kicked up. My smile faded for a moment, thinking that this would make Kyou-kun feel awful today. I could see the white sheets of water that fell in front of the trees in the distance, blocking them from view, as it began to move closer, engulfing everything in its path.
I was staring off into space as the phone rang. I stopped stirring the stew, but heard someone pick it up. I listened to the one-ended conversation from the kitchen, catching little phrases that didn't make sense. I stuck my head out the door, trying to catch more.
Shigure pressed the phone to his cheek, singing into the receiver, "Ha-san! Hello!! What brings the pleasure of this call? You missed the melodious sound of my voice, didn't you?!" he stifled his laugh and waited for his reply.
"I love the way you say my name..."Shigure mocked after a short pause.
Shigure's face became instantly serious, all traces of mocking gone from his voice. "What are you talking about?"
"Ha-san..." he whispered. "He's gone? You are sure..."
"No, I'll do it... Ja ne, Hatori," he replaced the receiver and dragged himeself up the stairs. "Yuki-kun..."
I followed Shigure up the stairs quietly, so he wouldn't notice. My mind raced with questions. Who was gone? What was going on? I tried to piece together the words I had heard on the phone, but I couldn't think of anything. I stood at the top of the stairs and watched Shigure knock on Sohma-kun's door.
Shigure said something softly to the boy standing before him. I could see the expression on Yuki's face turn from annoyance to disbelief.
"What?!" he yelled, causing Shigure to drop his head. Shigure said something else, which I still unfortunately couldn't hear, and Sohma-kun's hand rushed up to his mouth, covering it before he could say anything. He rushed past Shigure, stopping as he got to me. He stared at me for a moment with his large violet eyes, which had a look of pleasure mixed with confusion in them.
"Sohma-kun? What's the matter?" I asked him quickly. I didn't want to be ignorant any longer. He sighed softly, and put his hand to my face.
"Akito died today, Honda-san," the violet eyes stared unblinking into mine as he spoke. The wind shook the house, and I could hear the rain splattering on the roof. "He had a seizure triggered by his illness. We are going to see Hatori right now, if you'd like to come," he frowned a little as he spoke.
I my eyes welled up with tears. I hadn't even really met Akito... and he was dead? "Please let me come!" I said, grabbing onto his shirt. A fat tear dripped down my cheek. "I want to go too!"
"Uhn... I'll go call Hatori, and we'll leave when he gets here," he replied, touching my hands lightly with his.
I ran back to my room, and stared out the window as I wiped tears away. I had wanted to meet him so badly, I wanted to help him be happy. But I couldn't now. A tear rolled down my cheek. I didn't even get the chance to get to know him. A small sharp pain pierced my heart as the pouring rain fell across my window.
Sohma-kun knocked on my door, and announced that it was time to go. I hadn't even realized how long I had been sitting here, just thinking of nothing. "Hai," I replied, grabbing my coat. Yuki's hair was now brushed, and his pea coat was buttoned all the way up. All I could do was follow him out to the car, where Shigure sat in the front seat with Hatori.
"So Hatori," Shigure began. "Who is next?"
I wasn't sure what he meant, and glanced at Yuki, who was staring straight ahead. "Sohma-kun? What does he mean?" his head turned quickly, realizing that I asked him something.
"He means that Akito must have a successor," Yuki explained.
"That is a large problem at the moment. Akito wasn't supposed to die yet, and none of the women in the Sohma family are pregnant. They all are either unmarried or not of childbearing age, somehow. I am not sure who will be next," Hatori replied, brushing his hair from his eye in frustration.
"But there must be someone!!" Yuki cried. "What is going to happen?" Hatori stayed silent, probably because I was in the car. I looked at my feet. "We can't just have no one!! Someone has to do it! Why can't we pick a member of the Juunishi?"
Hatori still stayed silent, and I blushed deeply. "None of the girls in the family are old enough to have children, or else they are too old. And we can't pick a Juunishi member, because they already have enough to deal with. I don't know who we'll choose, but if we don't soon, we will all be feeling the true weight of our curse."
I gasped. I hadn't realized it before, but with Akito gone, there was no one to bear the brunt of the curse. I suddenly felt that I had to do something. "I know... I know I do not know the curse, or why this happened to you... and I know that I didn't know Akito very well, or know what he went through. And I know that I don't belong to your family, or have any right to do this. But I also know that I don't want anyone to suffer because of this... I don't want any of you to feel pain because of this. If you would let me, I would replace Akito. I could take on the curse of the Juunishi for you all," I blurted out. I had figured out a way to become closer to Akito, even though he was gone. "I want to," I added, looking into the rear-view mirror.
Hatori's eyes went large with surprise, and Shigure turned to stare at me. I could feel Yuki's eyes upon me, and the car went dead silent. The engine shut off, and the driver turned to me. "Out of the question," he turned the engine, and the car began to roll forward again, the harsh rain splattering on the windshield. "You aren't a part of the family, and I won't allow it."
"Demo... it would be better for everyone. I could do it for only a short while, until someone is born... and you could teach me about the curse. I would love to learn it... please let me..." a smile formed on my lips. I glanced into the rear view mirror to see Hatori staring into my smile.
"You don't realize the full extent of Akito's suffering, Honda Tohru," he said shortly. "I don't want you to go through that, and neither does anyone in this car. No one would. It is very horrible."
"Hai, Tohru-kun! That is what I was going to say!" Shigure chimed in.
"It is not..." Hatori sighed.
"I don't care! I just don't want you to ever feel it! Please give me this one chance!" I clasped my hands together, and looked over at Yuki.
"Please don't do this, Tohru-kun," Shigure said softly, taking my hand. "Be a good girl and don't even think about it!" His dark eyes gazed at into mine, and he shook his head.
"Please!! Please let me do this! I won't let you down!! I want to know how it feels! I want to understand Akito-san! Please! I want to help you all! Let me do this!" I pleaded like I never had before. I really wanted this opportunity to understand the one I so longed to help, the family I desperately wanted to know.
"I really am very opposed to this, Tohru," Hatori said. "There is an incredible amount of pain, and you are not a part of the family..."
"Don't be so stubborn, Hatori." Yuki said softly. Hatori's eyes grew large as the car suddenly stopped. He turned to face us as Yuki added, "Neither was Akito."