Pretty Little Psycho

A/N: This chapter gets its name from Porcelain Black's song of the same name. I've chosen it as Ren's theme song. I'm fascinated with her as a character. Mainly because I would like to know WHY she's so messed up. There's an air of mystery around her that I really like, and besides that, she's fun to write. Getting into her twisted mind always proves to be an interesting experience.

Anyway, once again, thank you to all my dedicated readers. Your support is what keeps this going. And thanks to Ryan Erickson for helping me re-visit and edit a part of this.

Timeline: Early June

'Damn this season!' Ren thought as she sneezed for what felt like the hundredth time that morning, she then glared towards the open window on the other side of her room and cursed the young girl that had opened it that morning. 'She should know better!' She thought with a scowl, quickly standing to close it and then pausing when she heard a familiar laugh, the one that irritated her more than anything, and an unfamiliar voice.

"The woman at the flower shop said these were supposed to attract butterflies," Tedachi said, handing Akito a pink flower from the small bouquet he carried as they walked along the path. He had bought it on a whim on his way to the estate that morning, and made it a point to ask a few questions, knowing from a past experience that Akito wouldn't take the flowers without asking questions of her own, especially if she hadn't seen them before.

"And the red ones?" She asked.

"Do the same thing. Actually, all of these do. I had been thinking that it might be nice to section off a butterfly garden somewhere."

"I think there's some space somewhere on the side of the house."

"There is, right under your window."

"Why do you know that?"

"It's my job to know things like that. I am outside all the time after all."

Akito simply raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, I actually found out about that spot the first time I stayed over," Tedachi admitted with a shrug.

"I thought so. You should know better than to go snooping around when you have other things to do."

"You mean like you?" He teased, waiting as she paused and then took a minute to process the words before throwing the flower at his face.

"You're awful. Stop teasing me like that!" Akito snapped, though it was extremely hard for him to take her seriously with the obvious, heavy blush on her face.

It took nearly everything in him to hold back his laughter as he stepped towards her and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her to him. "Oh, hush. You know you like it," He commented, ending with a light kiss that drew a decent smile out of her.

'So…She's found a new boy-toy…' Ren thought as she watched the scene unfold. 'But…Who is he? And how the fuck did she manage to find and catch him? Stupid little whore.' At that, she slammed the window shut and turned away, though a part of her was stuck on what she had just witnessed, the scene replaying in her head as a sinister smile crept up on her face. 'She may be a whore, but he obviously cares for her for some reason. This…Could work in my favour.'

"Who is he?" Ren asked the maid who had been sent to serve her dinner later that evening.

"Excuse me?" The girl asked politely.

"The young man who hangs around Akito."

"I don't recall seeing her with anyone new…Unless you're talking about Tedachi? He's nobody really. He works here. He started right after New Years and does most of the outside work…Though, now that you mention it, he does seem to be getting close to her. They talk in whispers a lot. And, between you and me…One of the older maids suspects he might be fucking her."

'I wouldn't be surprised…' Ren thought with a scowl.

"Are you alright?" The girl asked.

"Hm? Oh, I'm fine. Better than fine, actually…" Ren replied. "Before you leave, do you think you could do me a favour?"

The girl raised an eyebrow, but knew better than to ask questions as she waited and eventually was dismissed with a note in hand and orders to take care of it the following morning, which opened with a rather bright sunrise.

'Sun go away…' Tedachi thought, groaning as it hit his face and he glanced over at the clock on the wall, gasping when he noted the time. "Shit," He said to himself quickly moving to sit up.

"Stop moving," Akito muttered, having been shaken awake by his sudden movement.

"I was supposed to have started work an hour ago," He informed her, noting how he was ignored as she shifted and moved to wrap an arm around him as she snuggled in closer.

"And? I don't care if you're late."

"But the others do. And besides, if I show up late, they might start talking," He explained, frowning when he noticed she had started to fall back asleep and then carefully jostling her with his arm.

"Stop that. I'm sleepy."

"That's what happens when you stay up all night."

At that, she shot up. "Excuse me? I believe you were the one keeping me up!"

"You didn't tell me to stop."

"Well…I…Uh…" Akito muttered, trying to form a coherent thought as she played with one of her long hair pieces. "Who would Tedachi?! Especially when you…Well…"

"What's the matter?" Tedachi teased as he sat up, cupping her face with his hand as his lips hovered just centimetres above hers. "Am I that good that you can't form a decent sentence?"

At that, Akito went silent, all of her going hot as their eyes locked. The way he looked at her, made it seem like he could see straight through her and surprisingly, she decided she couldn't care less if he did. In fact, she wanted him to and had for a long time. If it wasn't such a risk, she would tell him everything. However, if he could see something at the moment, he seemed to ignore it as he pressed his lips to hers and pushed her back onto the bed.

"This is…" She began right before Tedachi's lips interrupted her. "…just going to make…" He snuck in another kiss right when she tried to make her point. "...Make things worse." When she finished her sentence, she even felt confused about what she had just been saying.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, his lips still achingly close.

"You're already late and…" She whispered, unable to help herself as she instinctively arched her back to kiss him. "And…"

"…And you want me to stop?" He inferred, slowly pulling back.

"Huh?" She breathed out in confusion as his body parted with hers.

"Are you saying you want me to leave?" He asked, more clearly asking her intention.

"What? Oh, God. No," Akito gasped, moaning as he leaned down, captured a breast.

"If we're going to do this, you need to be quiet," Tedachi ordered as put a finger to her lips. "You know it wouldn't be good for either of us if we got caught."

"No, it wouldn't be good for you," She teased, taking advantage of the distraction as she gripped his arms and forcibly flipped him over. "I'm the head of the family. I can do what I want. Including you."

"There you are!" Minori said as Tedachi reentered the house an hour or so later, having managed to sneak out and around without anyone noticing. "Weren't you supposed to be here two hours ago?"

"I'm sorry. My sister dropped by unexpectedly this morning with news about my brother. He was discharged from the hospital," Tedachi half-lied. In truth, Ryuji had been dismissed from the hospital, the previous day. But, she didn't need to know that.

"This is the second time this week. If you're not careful, Akito is going get pissed off. She gets irritated with tardiness."

'Except when she's the reason for it,' He thought as he headed into the kitchen to find and read over his tasks for the day, most of which were outside, smiling when he saw the last note, which read: Start preparations for butterfly garden.

"Well…I guess if I want to get there, I should probably start catching up…" He muttered to himself, taking some final mental notes before heading outside, stopping halfway through his assigned weeding when a shadow came over him.

"You're Tedachi, right?" A maid asked.

"Yes."

"I was told to give you this," She said, quickly handing him a note before going on her way.

'Um…okay?' He thought with a shrug as he unfolded the piece of paper, raising an eyebrow as he read it over. 'It's not signed…And it's not Akito's handwriting…But she was told to give it directly to me. Maybe it's from Michiko? Or one of the other older maids? But of all the places to meet…Why the back of the house? I didn't even know there was anything back there! Akito seems to prefer staying in this part of the house…' He paused for a minute as he contemplated his choices, soon being broken from his thoughts as a stream of water hit his head.

"What the hell?!" He asked, looking up to find Shima smiling at him with a watering can in hand.

"You looked distracted," She said. "What are you reading?"

"Just going over my assignments for the day," He lied, quickly folding the note and sticking it in his pocket. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Akito?"
"I am. She sent me to get more water."

"And using it on me benefits the plants…how?"

"I doesn't. But it does amuse me."

"Go back to playing with your friend," He teased.

"Fine," Shima sighed before heading off, pausing after a few steps. "Thank you, by the way."
"For what?"
"For whatever it is you did to her this morning. She's been in a really good mood all day, which is great since she was in such a bad one last time I came over."

"What makes you think I had anything to do with it?"

"I actually didn't…Until now. Your denial confirms it," Shima replied. "You fucked her this morning, didn't you?" She teased, smiling when she received no response as he simply stared at her with wide eyes. "I thought so. And even if you didn't tell me, she would have eventually. Us girls talk, you know."

'God, she's…Wait, can I \classify her as a pervert? Does that even fall under that category? Oh, screw it. She is one. And she's almost as bad as her brother…if that's possible,' Tedachi thought, turning back to the task at hand before continuing on, his mind focused on both his job and the details of the note, which had told him to walk the back hallway at exactly five o'clock. Though he considered ignoring it, he decided to do as he was told, just in case the orders had come from one of the older women overlooking him and the rest of the house. They were second in command after all.

'This place is quiet…too quiet…' He thought with a frown as he looked at his surroundings and passed several rooms, turning around when one opened. He had expected to see one of the older servants, but was instead greeted with the sight of a tall woman with long, long, black hair that fell near her ankles. Despite the warmth in the house, she wore a long dress that covered her feet, though, to her credit, it did have short sleeves. And her eyes looked vaguely familiar…To the point where Tedachi swore he'd seen them before, perhaps several times over.

"So, you did come…" She said.

"What do you…Wait…Are you the one that sent me this note?" Tedachi asked, quickly pulling it from his pocket.

"I did. And I'm glad you got it," Ren said as she moved closer, not stopping until she was just inches away from him. "And now that I can finally see you up close…You're quite handsome. No wonder she came after you."

"Um…What?"

"Tell me, what is it you like about her so much?"

"I'm sorry…I don't…"

"Akito," Ren snapped. "Tell me about Akito and your connection to her."

"I work for her," Tedachi replied, growing increasingly nervous in her presence. He wasn't sure what it was about this woman that sacred him, but there was something there…And he wanted to run from it.

"You're a horrible liar," Ren declared as she promptly slapped him across the face. "You're fucking her, aren't you?! Now tell me…Why? Why her? Did she seduce you? Just like all the others…"

Tedachi was silent for a minute as he put a hand to his face, then he took in a breath before speaking. "I don't know who you are or what you want…But my relationship is none of your business. Though, if you must know, then yes, we're sleeping together. But it's not for the reasons you think. I love Akito."

At that, Ren simply laughed. "You're funny. You know that? You do know that she'll just hurt you, right?" She crooned, gently slipping a hand under his chin and forcing him to look at her. "Me on the other hand…I would never think of such a thing. In fact…I don't understand who would. You seem far too kind-hearted. Someone like you shouldn't be allowed to be hurting."

Tedachi found that he couldn't say anything as he locked eyes with Ren, unable to look away. Or move for that matter. There was something in her gaze that stunned him and he was both fascinated and frightened by it.

"In fact, someone like you deserves all the praises in the world, thought you probably wouldn't take them. Your eyes…They just seem so sincere and almost…humble. Oh, listen to me. I sound like some love struck schoolgirl. But…I'm sure you're used to that. You seem like you'd have that effect on people. Even an older, more sophisticated woman like me…" She said, trailing off as she closed the distance between them and captured his lips with hers, hoping, urging him to take the bait.

'What the hell?' Tedachi thought, unsure of how to react as he stood, completely stunned.

"Get your hands off of him!" Came another voice. And, before either party knew what was happening, Ren found herself being charged at and then shoved to the ground, looking up to find Akito glaring at her, looking as if she could murder her and not think twice.

"Akito?!" Tedachi asked and she turned to look at him.

"And you…What did she do to you?" She asked, her voice and eyes unusually dark.

"I didn't do anything he didn't ask me to do," Ren cut in as she forced herself up.

"Bullshit," Akito snapped. "I know Tedachi…He'd never do something like that. Ever. This is all your fault, you twisted bitch."

"I'm twisted? What about you? Do you honestly think this man, or anyone could actually love you, you worthless child? What could you offer him, besides your pathetic body? You're such a whore, you know that? You know that there's nothing redeemable or likable about you, so you simply seduce people into liking you. I can't imagine what kind of dirty things you've done to him, or even to poor Shima. She should hate you and yet…she's always here. I can't fathom why, besides, well…you know."

"Shut up," Akito snapped. "You don't know anything. I…I am redeemable! And she was the one who showed me that! Her and Tedachi. You…I can't believe you would…Why can't you just back off? Tedachi is MIINE. Do you understand?!"

"I do, actually," Ren said, moving towards her daughter until she had her trapped against a wall. "You're just a pity fuck to him. He hangs around because he feels sorry for you. In fact, I'm sure he sees right through you. And once it comes around full circle, he's just going to leave…like everyone else. And you'll be left alone and in the dark. Again," Ren finished as she turned and headed in the opposite direction, deciding that this was no longer worth her time, as she knew all the nerves had already been hit, given the expression on Akito's face.

'What…just happened?' Tedachi thought as he attempted to process everything, soon forgetting about it as Akito slipped to the floor.

"Why…Why does she do this?" Akito cried as her hands tensed. "Why does she always say those awful things?"

"Akito…?" Tedachi asked as knelt down to her level, he reached for her, but didn't get a chance to even get close to touching her as she looked up and then threw herself at him.

"You…You wouldn't really…?" She said, struggling to speak through sobs.

"No. I wouldn't leave you….Not without a really good reason anyway. And I can promise you that everything she said was untrue. I'm not here because I feel sorry for you; I'm here because I love you."

Akito didn't respond, instead, she simply gave a loud sob and clung to him, beyond grateful that he was there, even if he didn't fully understand the situation.

"Who was she anyway?" He asked after she had calmed down a bit, waiting while Akito forced herself up and then changed their position so she could sit in his lap as he leaned against a wall.

"She's my mother."

"Wait…What?"

She nodded. "And she's just awful. Ren is just…I don't even know anymore. She hates me. Remember when I told you I had to dress and act like a man for business purposes? That was a lie…Well…Half of one. My mother forced me into being one since the day I was born. She said it was because a female heir would cause problems…But it was all a farce. She hates me because she thinks I took my father away from her. She's been jealous of me since I was conceived. In fact…I heard that…She threatened abortion if the house didn't follow her orders."

"What?" Tedachi said again, slightly taken aback. The idea that a mother could hate their child so much, they forced them into being the opposite gender…simply did not register with him, nor did the idea that a mother could be so jealous of their child they would threaten to kill them before they were even born. However, he also realised that it did explain a lot about some of her mannerisms. The way she sometimes fretted over her clothes, her comments months ago about her mother claiming she'd never be a 'real woman.'

Akito nodded at his comment. "She wanted to be the only woman in my father's heart. And eventually…I got sick of it," She said, knowing the last part was a lie. But…She wasn't ready to tell him the real reason. Not now. "After everything happened and I started to change…Part of me getting myself back together was owning up to my misogynistic tendencies and embracing my own femininity. Despite being forced into being a man…I knew I was a woman, and felt like one. I just…couldn't express it. I sometimes wondered what it would have been like to be free…And be able to wear dresses and look pretty. In private, of course…And…I…Well…"

"Well?" Tedachi asked carefully as he ran his hand up and down her back few times.

"I had…" She paused, buried her face into his shoulder in an attempt to hide the heavy blush on her face, saying after a brief silence, "…Desires. Womanly ones. I wanted…love and affection and more than that…I wanted…"

"…This?" He teased, gently slipping a hand under her chin and making her look up just long enough to press his lips to hers, noting how her grip on him tightened as his tongue slid out almost of its own violation, sliding against her soft lips and soon nuzzling in between, eagerly curling around hers and coaxing it into a slow, sensuous dance for dominance.

Akito shuddered against him, easily relinquishing her control and moaning against his lips as he pressed harder, deeper, claiming more of her.

"Yes," She admitted once they broke apart. " I wanted someone to see and acknowledge me…Not as head of the Family…But a woman. One with feelings and desires…And then someone finally did. I had a friend I grew up with…And he…Well we…We had sex. He…was my first and it showed me what it was like to be wanted and desired as a woman. And…I liked it. It felt good…But something was always missing."

"You didn't love him, did you?" Tedachi asked carefully, holding back a smile at her light blush. Though he knew it was far from appropriate to think so, given the circumstances, he thought her slightly-reddened face was adorable.

"No…Not really. It was…Wait…Are you saying…?"

"I believe sex is better when you're mutually in love and both make an effort. Being honest, you're the best I've ever had. While I loved my last girlfriend for awhile…She never really put any effort into it and…I might as well have just spent the entire relationship masturbating."

The moment he stopped speaking, she laughed.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing," She muttered, buried her face in his shoulder, earning a raised eyebrow in response as he ran over his thoughts again and tried to figure out what caused her reaction, and groaning when he finally figured it out.

"Oh, real mature," He taunted, rolled his eyes and gently tickled her, smiling when she laughed again. "Feel better?"

"A little," She confessed with a smile.

He returned her smile and carefully, gently, leaned in for another kiss.