Summary: Kyo and Tohru married after graduation, but she suddenly vanished at the urging of Akito. It's been almost seventeen years since anyone in the Sohma family has seen her, but now she's suddenly come home, and with an orange-haired reason…
The Last Banquet
Chapter 4- Meeting God
Once he was back at the Sohma estate, Hatori's mood seemed dire. He absolutely didn't want to, but had no choice but to confront Akito with the news of the final Zodiacs arrival. And the steps he took to Akitos room seemed long and heavy, as if he had cinder blocks tied to each foot.
Once he reached the door, he paused for the longest time. And with a heavy breath, he finally raised his hand and knocked on the door.
"Akito-sama?"
Inside he heard a small cough and some rustling. "What do you want, Hatori?" He didn't sound too pleased to be interrupted.
"I have some news for you." He replied, not letting Akitos horrid demeanor affect him. "May I come in?"
A moment passed before he answered. "Fine…"
Inside the dimly lit room, Akito was sitting at a small table, his son sitting right by his side. He looked very much like Akito, but with chocolate brown hair and a softer gaze.
Hatori had entered the room and bowed before him. "This had better be good, Hatori."
"I can assure you, it is well worth your time, Akito-sama." He replied, raising up to look at the pair. Hatori took a breath and prepared his self.
"Go on, spit it out already!" Akito rushed, giving Hatori a nasty glare, and causing Arata to jump.
He looked up at Akito and made eye contact. "Akito-sama, the Cat has finally arrived."
His teal eyes nearly bugged out of his head at Hatori's news. "When? Who gave birth to the little monster? Why did it take so long for that filthy creature to show itself!"
Hatori waited a minute for Akito to calm down. "Actually, the Cat was born sixteen years ago."
Akitos angry look began to take on one of serious inquisition. "Sixteen years-how can that be! Who's the one hiding it and why?" His rage took over and he flung off everything that was sitting on the table, causing Arata to scurry away from his furious father.
"Apparently the she's been living in Hokkaido all these years." Hatori replied, almost unfazed by the fit.
"Why Hokkaido!"
"Because that's where she was born, and that's where she lived until recently." He simply replied.
Akito was ready to storm over and strangle Hatori. "You know damn well that's impossible! How can someone in the Sohma be born that far away!"
"Because her mother moved there. She found out she was pregnant with her after she left the Sohma."
He was nearly unhinged now. "Who is that monsters mother?"
Hatori fought with himself for a moment. 'This must be done…'
"Tohru Honda."
It had been a few days since anyone last saw Tohru or Miharu. It nearly killed Hazuki as he tried to think of a lie to tell his parents about his black eye, as Miharu was to remain secret, and he didn't want to know the consequences of betraying Hatori.
Hazuki was in class, joking around with Riku and fending off the advances of a few girls in the class.
"So hey, have you seen Miharu or anything?" Riku asked, twirling a mechanical pencil between his fingers.
Hazuki felt something heavy in his chest. "No, why?"
"I don't know," He replied, letting the pencil fall and leaning back in his chair, "I just think it's weird we haven't seen her since we met her, that's all."
Hazuki wasn't sure what he was getting at. "Riku, what are you talking about?"
"I'm not too sure myself, come to think of it." He replied, sitting back up and scratching the back of his head. "Ominous feeling, I suppose?"
"About what?" Hazuki raised an eyebrow. Just then, one of their many cousins entered the classroom, looking for them.
"Hazuki! Riku!" A girl called out from the doorway. She looked to be about a year or two younger than them, with light brown eyes and golden hair with a hint of brown to it that hung down all the way to her waist. "Come here!"
"Hanako?" Riku asked, giving the girl a strange look. "What's she doing here on the second years floor?"
"I don't know." Hazuki replied, getting up and heading over to the girl. "Let's go see."
Once at the door, Hanako led them out and away from the crowd. Down the hall and heading down a stairway, she stopped them.
"So, what's up, Hanako?" Hazuki asked, curiosity beginning to get the better of him. "Why are you in this part of the school? And shouldn't you be in class right now, actually?"
"Oh, I skipped it." She smiled, waving it off like it was no big deal. "I can miss an hour, it won't hurt my grades. Anyways, I have to ask you something."
"What is it?" Riku asked, leaning against the wall.
She didn't look like she was sure where to begin. "Well…have you two felt anything, well, strange lately?"
A bolt of fear shot through Hazuki's body. "S-strange? Strange as in how?"
"Oh, I don't know…!" Hanako sighed, shrugging and looking down as if in confusion. "It's just, for the past few days, I keep getting this feeling. I feel like everything has come together! Like I've been waiting forever for something, but I don't know what that something is. Don't you feel it too?"
Riku and Hazuki automatically knew what Hanako was talking about. It was Miharu who set off that chain of emotions in the Zodiac. After all, everyone had waited sixteen years for her to come along and complete them. But it was kind of hard to not tell Hanako they knew why.
"Well, yeah, I've felt it." Hazuki admitted, but leaving it at that.
Hanako sighed in relief. "Good! I'm glad to know I'm not crazy."
"You're not crazy, Hana." Riku laughed, ruffling up her long hair. "Now be a good girl and get back to class." He and Hazuki were getting ready to leave when Hanako stopped them.
"Hey! Wait a second!" She called out, fixing her hair in the process. "There's something else!"
"What?" Hazuki asked.
"Have you seen the new girl, yet?" Hanako asked, hesitating a bit. "I heard she's a second year like you two."
"So?" Riku replied, sort of blowing it off. Students transferred in and out all the time, it didn't seem that big a deal to him. Hazuki on the other hand had a feeling he knew where this was going.
"No, what new girl?" He asked, taking more of an interest than his friend did.
"Well, I heard she's going to be in your class." Hanako replied. "She's from Hokkaido I heard a teacher say, a pretty girl with blue eyes and orange hair."
"Orange hair?" Riku was now catching on. "Hey, you don't think it- Ow!"
"Shut up!" Hazuki hissed under his breath, nudging Riku in the ribs, though a bit harder than intended.
Riku obliged, and Hanako just chalked it up to the two being themselves. "Anyway, I heard her last name is Sohma. Don't you think that's weird?"
Hazuki and Riku really were at a loss for words. They knew exactly who she was talking about, yet were sworn to secrecy by Hatori. This time it was Riku who thought fast.
"Dunno, but we'll go check it out." He smiled, tugging at Hazuki's jacket and getting him to come along as he began to climb back up the stairs. "Later, Hana!"
Something about his answer didn't satisfy her, but Hanako accepted it for now and returned to class. "Fine, but if you find anything, you better let me know!"
Once out of earshot of Hanako, Hazuki spoke up. "Do you really think Miharu goes here now?" The thought made his heart beat a little quicker than normal.
"Maybe." Riku shrugged as they continued their way back to class. "She has to go to school somewhere, and I guess since a bunch of us Sohmas already go here, her mom thought it would be a good idea to send her here."
"I guess that makes sense…" Hazuki replied, looking out the window in hopes of catching a glance at the Cat.
Back in class, everyone was seated, as study hall had ended and regular lessons were about to begin again. Once settled in, their teacher made an announcement.
"Okay, class, we have a surprise transfer student." He began. Hazuki and Riku shot a glance at each other, thinking the same thing. "She just moved here from Hokkaido, so please make her feel welcome." And in came Miharu, decked out in the Kaibara uniform, and from what Hazuki could tell behind the tough looking exterior, she looked terrified. "Class, this is Miharu Sohma. Anyone have any questions for her?"
A number hands shot up, as did the running mouths of some students, ranging from her hair color to her relation with the other Sohmas in the room. But Miharu had an answer of her own.
"I'm not interested in any of your questions, so don't even bother asking them." She was flat out blunt in how she answered. Even the teacher was stunned.
"Ah, well then, how about you go take that empty seat in the back behind Ikeda-san there." He said, pointing to the corner seat by the window.
Miharu was quick with her actions, and was seated in no time. Even though she was trying to ignore them, she could still hear the voices and feel the unwanted stares of everyone in class. And even as the teacher silenced the class, Hazuki, who was sitting in the next row diagonally from her, couldn't keep from staring back at her.
"Hazuki!" The teacher barked. "Face forward and pay attention!"
He turned instantly. "Sorry, sensei." But even after being scolded, he continued with his actions, noticing she never looked up from her notebook.
'What's wrong with her? She looks so scared…'
After a day that seemed like an eternity, Miharu was the first one out of the classroom once the bell rang. Hazuki noticed the girl nearly run down another girl as she bolted from the class.
That's when he got the urge to chase after her. "Riku, I'll see you later, there's something I gotta do…"
"Do what?" Riku asked, watching Hazuki ignore him as he rushed out of the class. "Hey!"
Out in the halls, Hazuki zipped past anyone who was in his way, narrowly avoiding a number of girls and getting called a few choice words for barreling through a few groups.
Once he got through the main entrance and out into the courtyard, he scanned the area for any sight Miharu. He thought he saw a glimpse of orange near the gate, so he immediately ran towards it. As he got outside the gate and looked around, he could see Miharu and Tohru at the corner of the gate. He knew he should never eavesdrop on someone, but this nagging feeling in his gut told him otherwise.
Being quick, he snuck up on them with enough grace to casually stroll behind them without drawing attention, and hear their conversation with ease.
"So mom, you've been awfully quiet." Miharu said, examining her mother and body language. "What's going on? I can tell there's something really bothering you…"
Tohru desperately looked up into the sky as she inhaled deeply, then letting her head fall in what looked like distress. "Miharu we're…you're going to meet Akito-sama today…"
Miharu stopped in her tracks, her eyes nearly doubling their size. "Really?" She didn't seem scared, but rather like she anticipated it.
Tohru looked in disbelief at her daughters reaction. "You're not scared?"
The hair on the back of Hazuki's neck stood on end as he continued to tail the pair. 'Hell, I'm scared just knowing what she's getting into!'
Miharu even surprised herself. "No, I-I'm not, I guess." She said, readjusting her bag so it sat more comfortably on her shoulders.
"Then how do you feel about this?" Tohru seemed to panic for Miharu. "Miharu, this is a serious situation you're getting into!"
"I know!" She nearly snapped, catching herself, looking away and fixating on some nonexistent object in the horizon. "I just…I just feel like it's been a long time coming. Like this really needs to happen."
Tohru just stood there, mouth slightly agape as she gazed at Miharu, in shock and wonder. She suddenly stepped towards the girl, and enveloped her in a loving hug. "You're a very brave girl, Miharu. It's been twenty years since I first met Akito-sama and to this day I still can't summon up the courage you have to face him…"
"Yeah," Miharu said, letting go of her mother and trudging forward, "but if he screws with either of us he'll regret ever doing so, I promise you that."
"Miharu…" Tohru sighed, with a small smile as she followed her daughter.
Hazuki couldn't think. Instead he forced his self to continue on, following the pair and wondering where they were going, as it didn't seem to be the main house.
"Where are they going?" He asked softly, hanging back a little more as they entered a small street he knew to be filled with Sohmas who didn't want to or weren't distinguished enough to live inside the large compound where everyone else did. "Hey, that house…isn't that Kazuma-sans?"
Indeed it was Kazumas they were entering. "Why's he letting them stay there? How does he know Miharu and her mom?" He knew Kazuma was Kyo's adoptive father, and was one of the kindest people he ever knew. But he didn't think Kazuma would let total strangers stay with him. He decided to sneak in a little closer to figure it out.
After a nearly ten minutes of skulking about, he heard footsteps at the front door, and dove behind a bush near the fence. Coming out of the house was Tohru, Kazuma, and Miharu, who had changed out of her school uniform into a pair of short charcoal colored shorts, black mid-calf boots with gray socks that ended above the knee, and a short sleeved, olive green shirt that was a bit short on her frame. Far from trying to be impressionable in Hazuki's opinion.
"Tohru-kun, Miharu-chan, are you sure you don't want me to accompany you?" Kazuma asked, Hazuki noticing the worried look through the leaves. "I know how Akito can be, and if it gets to be out of hand, I'd like to be there and make sure you're safe…"
Tohru gave him a warm smile. "Thank you Shishou-san, really, but I think we can handle it."
"Yeah, grandpa, it's cool." Miharu added, giving a sly grin. "Besides, if he touches me or mom, I'll beat the hell out of him."
Hazuki had to cover his own mouth to keep from shouting out. ''Grandpa'? What the- Kazuma-san doesn't have any grandkids!"
"Well, we better be on our way." Tohru said, though looking less than thrilled to be leaving.
Kazuma smiled at the two. "Very well, please keep yourselves safe then."
"Bye." Miharu waved, walking down the short path and following Tohru.
"Miharu, you've really warmed up to Shishou-san, haven't you?" Tohru smiled, with a small laugh.
"Well, he is my grandfather, right?" Miharu shrugged. "Besides, he's pretty cool..."
As soon as they out of his line of vision, fear washed over Kazuma. "This doesn't feel right." He said turning back into his home. "I'm going to call him…"
Hazuki had to slap his own self to knock himself out of the daze he was in. "No way Kazuma-san has a grandchild, he doesn't even have biological kids of his own…! And there's no way Miharu can be his…" He said, sneaking out of the bushes to keep on trailing the pair. "I know Kyo was married for a short time, but I heard she had died, so he never had any kids…did he?" Sure, Miharu looked like him he thought, but she was from Hokkaido, and really he didn't think it was possible. "But then again her being born in Hokkaido is really weird itself…" As he thought more on it, a feeling of dread started to grab hold of him.
And as he got closer to the Sohma estate, that feeling of dread became more and more suffocating. Once he saw Tohru and Miharu enter the main gate, he decided to sneak in another way. He didn't want to be questioned on why he was somewhere he shouldn't be, even if the Rat was 'Gods' favorite, he could still get in trouble if Akito saw fit.
A few yards down behind a sakura tree there was a hole in the concrete fence, convenient as on the opposite side, a cluster of smaller trees had hidden it from the inside also. Once he crawled through, he left his bag hidden between two trees, making sure no one was around as he quietly made his way to Akito's part of the house.
Inside a large chilly room, illuminated only by the porch doors that were open, Akito was sitting face to face with Tohru, Miharu a few feet off to her left. Akitos face was expressionless as he stared Tohru down, who tried to stay strong as she kept eye contact with the matriarch.
"So, Honda-san," He began calmly enough, "I see you've returned after all these years."
"Yes." She replied, trying not to reveal how scared she was. "It really has been a long time, Akito-sama."
"Too long it seems." He smiled wickedly, then focusing his eyes on Miharu. "I see you've brought something of mine, haven't you?" He slowly stood up and strolled over, kneeling down to look at Miharu, grabbing and examining a string of her auburn orange hair. "I suppose she does look like you. Tell me," He said, looking back over at Tohru, "why didn't you bring her to me sooner, you filthy little witch?"
Miharu snapped. "Excuse me?" She grabbed his thin wrist, which forced his attention onto her, though somewhere inside it terrified her.
"Miharu, no!" Tohru cried, but she didn't seem to hear it.
"I don't care if you are my 'God', insult my mother again and I'll freaking kill you." She warned, her grip tightening on Akito's wrist as she stared into his eyes, with murder in hers. But what she didn't intend was to find herself on the ground a second later, the right side of her face stinging.
"Wh-what…?" She couldn't believe it. 'But he's so small and frail looking…!'
"How dare you try and threaten me you little insect!" He screeched, standing up only to kick her in the ribs, knocking the wind out of her. "You have no idea who you're messing with!" He then went down in an attempt to strangle her. "I'll make you sorry you were ever born, you filthy little parasite…! You're not needed anyway! Nobody will ever care!"
"Akito-sama, get off of her!" Tohru cried, lunging from her spot on the ground and tackling him of her only child. This threw Akito off and stunned him, giving Tohru a chance to get Miharu up and make a run for it.
"Miharu, hurry!" Tohru ordered, helping her off the ground and trying to run for the door. 'This was a huge mistake, I never should have brought her here…!'
"If you leave, I'll make do on my promise, Honda-san." Akito growled, the words stopping Tohru in her tracks. "I'll make sure to drain every drop of blood your precious Kyo has in his body. Do you really want your daughter to meet her father for the first time at his own funeral?"
Miharu on the other hand was confused as she saw the look of horror in her mothers eyes. "Mom, what's he talking about?"
Tohru took in a deep breath, shaking as she did so. "Miharu, sweetheart, there's something important I want you to know." She looked her daughter in the eye as she declared her next statement. "You're father isn't dead, Miharu. I thought he was, but he's still alive."
There were footsteps pounding towards the room they were in, yet Miharu didn't seem to notice them. "You're lying…you have to be, how could you lie to me like that! And for sixteen years? Why the hell would you do something like that to me?"
"Miharu, I thought he was dead, really I did!" Tohru contested, grabbing Miharu's shoulders. "I'm telling you the truth, here and now! Your father didn't die before you were born, there was never any accident, the only accident there was, was letting Akito-sama know we got married!"
"Shut up! It's your fault for marrying that monster!" Akito shouted, storming over and reaching in his robes for something, yet Tohru or Miharu didn't pay attention.
Miharu was stunned. "Mom, what are you saying, you left him then? I thought you loved him…!"
It was now or never. "Not by choice, honey. It broke my heart to leave! Akito-sama threatened to kill us if I didn't leave the Sohma!" Miharu couldn't believe it. Tohru ignored the sound of crashing doors as she defiantly looked at Akito. "If I didn't, he was going to kill your father in front of me, then myself! Because I loved your father with all my heart, I chose to leave! It's because of this man right here that I lost my husband and you lost your father!"
He was lunging at Tohru now, and from his robes, he pulled out a small knife, the same one he was going to use to kill her that night nearly two decades ago. "I should have killed you then!"
Tohru was paralyzed with fear as Akito approached her. She couldn't move, and she had tried with all her might.
"Tohru!" Shouted an orange-haired man, his red eyes wide with fear, yet it was overshadowed by a deafening cry from Akito.
"Kyo, don't!" Kazuma ordered, throwing his arm in front of him to stop him, but to no avail.
"Mom! No!" Miharu cried, attempting to throw herself in front of the blade, grabbing at Akitos arm in the process.
Hazuki had heard painful shrieks and cries of terror as he raced round the property. Nearly out of breath, he finally found Akito's room, rushing through the neatly tended garden, he jumped up the step and rushed into the room.
He skidded to a stop at the sight before him, and everything seemed to be going in slow motion. "Wha..what the hell is going on…?" He saw Kazuma and Kyo in the doorway, Akito trying to stab Tohru, and Miharu throwing herself between her mother and their murderous God.
"Miharu, no!" Hazuki cried, finding the strength to run over and try to stop her from killing herself. "Miharu!"
At that moment, nothing seemed to exist to Miharu. As she jumped between Akito and her mother, the blade had grazed her left arm, and the knife traveled down to her wrist, where it had caught her bracelet.
The sound of the chain snapping and the beads bouncing and scattering across the wooden floor had stopped everyone in their tracks. All except Miharu.
After all, she was much stronger in her cursed form.
End of Chapter 4
