Kill me if you want. I know I deserve it for not updating. Well, I'm back. So let's cut the crap and go to the story yeah?

Thanks to such nice reviewers who is willing to drop me a note even I stinks at updating: ximena, takengoddess and kouga's older woman

Arigatou, My Princess chapter 9

Orders

Normal POV

When a girl of early twenties stepped into the Sohma estate, a clear bell rang in the heads of 14 peoples, acknowledging her return.

…….

"She's back!" Akito said joyously to the lady beside her. But that happiness did not last long when she realized that what was going to happen later. Kaori patted her shoulder, comforting the one who had to bear the burden of a 'God'. She had to suffer more pain because she is a woman, an identity that cannot be told out. But after everything is over, she'll be release from this curse too.

'I'll bring her in. Should the others know?' She asked the dark-haired lady who look like a boy. She considered the question for a while before shaking her head. "I don't think she'll want meet them. I'll go see her later."

'Hai, Akito-chan…' The miko-like lady got up and bowed respectfully to her charge. She then went out the paper door quietly, leaving Akito to stare melancholically at the darkening sky.

…….

"Okaidinasai, Hime…" Kaori bowed down at the young lady standing in front of the Sohma Main House with a luggage. She was slender and tall, long brown hair fluttering gently around her. Her chocolate eyes looked into the house with mixed emotions before she was lead by the priest lady, not through the huge wooden doors but away from it. She picked up her luggage, took a last glance at the house longingly, before following Kaori.

"Tadaima, Kaori-san. Please don't call me princess… How is ani-… Ah, no… How is aneue-sama?" She asked. The lush green forest was whispering and was filled with all kinds of animals' sounds. It was very comforting, as if they were welcoming her home as she walked past. The lady in front of her slowed down her pace to walk beside her, smiling a little.

"She is fine though she is worried…" Kaori answered politely. The young lady beside her waited for more explanation from the older woman but she did not say more. She smiled sadly before realizing by that talking aloud, Kaori is using a lot of energy. She scolded herself mentally before telling her to speak with her mind.

'I'm sorry, Hime… I guess my age is catching up…' Kaori said apologetically with her mind. The lady just shook her head, smiling, before telling her again not to call her princess. The older woman refused but she could not disobey the younger lady.

'If that is your wish, Tohru-sama…' The young lady sighed. Can't she get away from formality? It has been so long after all. Brushing aside that topic, she asked Kaori again about her 'aneue'.

'She's very worried about you, Tohru-sama… She's afraid that what Tohru-sama is doing is a mistake. She doesn't want to see you unhappy, Tohru-sama…' Kaori said softly. Her inner voice too carries a tinge of sadness.

"I'm sorry… But I have to end this. I started it and it is only right if I am the one who end it. I doubt if anyone will be able to end it except me anyway…" She smiled a little when she said that. But in reality, Kaori could see that she is trying very hard not to cry. As if she is able to read Kaori's mind, she said, "I won't cry. I have to be strong."

'Gomenasai, Tohru-sama… You shall have me to support you no matter what you do.' She told the young lady but Tohru shook her head.

"This is something I have to do alone. I will end everything this full moon…" She said with determination and vowed to herself. They reached a huge lake with dark blue water which reflects everything in the sky like a black mirror. Nearby facing the lake was a small wooden shrine-looking house. The house was artistically decorated with carvings of a single dragon circling the shrine in an unbreakable chain.

"Thank you for everything, Kaori-san… Please inform aneue to gather them her on this Saturday… You may go now…" Tohru ordered the older lady before dismissing her. Kaori bowed low to her back as she watched her princess enter the dragon shrine.

…….

"Akito, what was that sound earlier?" Yuki asked carefully when he was summoned to meet the God. Akito did not respond, instead he continued to stare out into the starry night. After minutes of silence, he got up slowly and went inside, closing the paper door that led the little garden. The silver haired boy suddenly felt very small and scared as he remembered those unpleasant things that happened when they were together alone.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to do anything." Akito reassured him. His lean body relaxed a little when Akito kept a distance between them. Akito sat down, folding his knees beneath him, facing Yuki.

"You heard it? What was it like?" The dark haired God with pale face asked, smiling serenely. Yuki nodded.

"It's like a bell. A very clear bell…" He recalled. Like someone was calling him.

"I see…" Akito muttered absently. He then dismissed a confused Yuki back to his room. Then silver haired young man wanted to ask more but he was not brave enough. This new Akito who is friendly and nice intimidates him a little too. He decided that he'll find out about it later.

…….

The sky was very clear that night. Inside a particular room, a silver haired boy laid staring at the wooden ceiling blankly. His mind was filled with a thousand unanswered questions that had emerged since he return to this house. Why was he summoned back here? Who is ordering Akito to do this? Why is Akito so different? What is that sound that he heard earlier, that ringing bell sound?

And the main thing was who was that someone whom he had searched for almost two years? Who is she? Is she an important person? If so, why did he forget? Why does he have this urge to look for her so desperately? All these questions frustrated Yuki the more he thought about it. Finally, deciding that he will not be able to sleep now, he got up and put on his coat to go for a walk.

The wind blowing at his face was gentle and soothing. He walked aimlessly into the forest without caring where he is heading to. The questions were still running through his mind like a spoilt video player, repeating over and over again. He bit his lips as he felt a sharp pain.

'Ack! Headache…' He thought to himself. Frustrated that he was having a headache when he could not even think an answer for all those questions, he plopped himself onto a tree root that grew above ground in defeat. He sighed as he massaged his head with his thumb and forefinger, trying to empty his mind.

'Ching~ Ching~' His head snapped up immediately at that familiar bell sound. That sound he heard during the evening. That sound that Akito asked about. The pure sweet sound cleared his head and soothed his mind in an instant. He listened for the source of the sound but could not tell where it is from. The sound was surrounding his entire body. Only did he realize that the bell he's hearing is chiming in his own mind. He pressed his hands to his ears as if he could trap the sound in his head but it was already slowly fading away.

'No! No!' His mind was shouting to that sound like it would continue ringing if he did but in reality, it did not. Yuki slumped forward when the sound completely disappear. For some unknown reasons, he felt as if something important in his life had vanished. Like someone had died. Thinking about that someone dead, his heart felt like being pierced by a thousand needles. That feeling made him suffocate and he gasped for air. Clutching the front of his shirt, he fell forward into darkness.

…….

The tinkling sound from the bell bracelet she wore stopped when she froze. Tohru immediately removed it from her wrist when she sensed the silver aura nearby go dim. Placing the accessory back into a box and into a hidden hole in the wall, she quickly grabbed her coat and ran out of the dragon shrine. Closing her eyes to focus, she found the weak silver aura and sped towards it. The person was not far away.

"Yuki-kun!" She called out to the unconscious boy lying face down on the damp forest floor. She turned the silver haired boy and gently laid his head on her lap, brushing the leaves and dirt stuck to his face. The boy's heavy breathing told Tohru that the boy just had a bronchial attack earlier. Touching his chest, her palm glowed bright pink momentarily before his breathing slowed into a more relaxed one.

"What are you doing here, Yuki-kun… The bells must have strongly affected you…" She whispered as she caressed his head lovingly. Tears from the brown eyes wet both their cheeks.

"I'm sorry… For making you suffer so much… I'm so sorry…" She continuously muttered to the unconscious boy. Then when she felt him waking up, she stiffened. She ran her hand over his eyes and he fell back into slumber. She apologized once more before opening her mind wide, calling to the lady that brought her to the dragon shrine earlier.

'Kaori-san… Yuki-kun had fainted nearby the dragon shrine. Could you send someone to bring his back?' She waited for awhile in the dark forest. The wind blew at her tear stained face.

'Tohru-sama? Yes, immediately.' Kaori's distant reply was weak but Tohru could hear her perfectly well.

'Send those not affected by the curse but knows about it. I'll guide them to Yuki-kun…' She ordered.

'Yes, Tohru-sama…' After her reply, Tohru felt the lady moved and she felt two men rushing to the Main House door. Concentrating, she touched the mind of a deer grazing nearby. She instructed the deer to lead the men to where she was. When the men auras were nearby, she laid the unconscious boy gently on the floor, kissing him lightly on the forehead before running away from the scene. Her inner mind remained focused on the silver aura. She was at the door to the dragon shrine when she felt the men's presence approaching Yuki's. Then slowly, the silver aura is moved towards the Main House where more auras surrounded him. Certain that he was safe; Tohru stared at the lake which was reflecting the incompletely round full moon. Glistering tears rolled down her cheek silently.

…….

Yuki woke up to find himself in his room. He blinked a little when the morning sun started to shine on his face through the thin paper door. He brought his heavy arm up to his face to cover the light. Then, he heard the rustle of cloth when someone stood up from the floor. He stared at the ceiling until the face of someone he knew came into view.

"Hatori…" He acknowledged the doctor's presence. His cousin knelt by his side and wordlessly put on the stethoscope around his neck to his ears and Yuki's chest. The silver haired boy inhaled and exhaled slowly as the doctor listened to his patient's heartbeat and breathing. When the doctor removed the stethoscope from his body and hung it back around his neck, Yuki sat up slowly.

"What happened?" He asked his older cousin. His cousin in return looked at him with a blank look. However, something Yuki noticed was his expression was softer and warmer, like Akito. His usually grim face was even donned with a little smile.

"You don't remember? You fainted after having a bronchial attack in the forest." Hatori told him. He vaguely remembered walking through the dark forest then sitting down when he had a headache. Then what happened? He could not remember another thing about yesterday night. Another piece of this memory was missing like that time in that make-up room. It was like someone was constantly erasing his memories. He frowned without realizing it.

"What is it? Does anywhere else hurt?" The doctor inquired. Yuki looked at the doctor before shaking his head.

"I have a feeling that someone keeps suppressing my memories. Did Akito order you to?" He asked the doctor suspiciously. However, when Hatori's eyebrow when higher, eyes wide with confusion, it told Yuki that the doctor knows nothing about it. Additional to that, the doctor shook his head solemnly, confirming the answer Yuki already knew.

"Never mind…" The silver haired boy said before his cousin could ask anymore. He got up slowly, staggering a little. He held onto the older man's outstretched hand momentarily until his dizziness cleared completely from his head.

"Get changed… Akito wants to see you." Hatori told him before going out from the room. Yuki's limbs moved clumsy as he put on his shirt. His mind was concentrating on retrieving the memories he lost last night but all he could remember was someone apologizing. And that wet sensation on his face?

'Tears…' He thought as he reached up to touch his cheek. He definitely, positively felt someone's warm tears falling onto his face when he was unconscious.

…….

"Akito…" He called the black haired God who was looking out at the blue sky. Akito turned slowly and looked at the boy kneeling down on the tatami mat before turning her head back to the garden.

"How are you?" Yuki replied 'fine' after a while. Words must have gotten to Akito ears as soon as he had collapsed in the forest. There is nothing much that can be hidden from the God but on the other hand, the God hide a million secret from them. That was the burden of being a God but not many knows about it. Yuki used to be oblivious of this matter until he was matured enough to think straight. If the zodiac members themselves have so much secrets from the public, what about the God, the main person of this curse?

"You better not wander off yourself for now…" Akito suddenly said to the silver haired boy. In the boy's mind, questions were running in his head again. Is Akito just concern about my health or just want to keep me from prodding into something I should not know? But deep down, Yuki knew that what is currently happening to him is something he definitely should know. Something he should remember.

"Yes, Akito…" Yuki muttered.

'If he wants to keep me out, he won't let me off alone like this.' Yuki thought. Knowing the black haired God almost too well, he would be followed by a few peoples.

"Is there anything else?" He asked the God before he excused himself. Akito sat as still as a stone. Yuki assumed that the silence means 'no' so he got up.

"Send Hatori in when see him…" That was the last order he heard before shutting the paper door.

…….

"Akito, do you feel unwell?" The doctor asked, concerned. Akito got up from the floor and came into the room, sitting opposite Hatori.

"How's Kana?" She in turn questioned the man without answering his. The doctor was taken aback by this particular question. His eyes dropped to the floor momentarily, weighing the questions in his mind carefully before voicing them out.

"She's fine. Did you return her memories?" Hatori enquired carefully, slowly. When he saw the woman he loved after bringing Yuki back from the airport, she was different. She ran to him and hugged him, crying, apologizing for forgetting him and leaving him. He was shocked. His stiff body relaxed a little when he peeled Kana off and sat her in front of him. When he asked her what happened, she had said that Akito returned her memories.

"Yes I did… Don't worry. Nothing in the past will happen again. Soon, you'll be totally free of the curse." Akito smiled. It looked slightly like someone crazy but was totally covered with bitterness. She bit her lips when a thought ran through her mind. When she did not voiced out her thought, Hatori opened his mouth to ask why did she say that but she stopped him before he could even say a word.

"Just gather all the zodiac members here by 10 o'clock on Saturday night…" She told her. Akito dismissed him with a wave of her hand.

…….

I know this chapter stinks. Hahaha… I don't even know what I was writing. Sorry, guys! I'll understand perfectly if you don't review. What I want to do now is to quickly completely this story and start on another. Though I doubt if I can…

Although I said I understand if you don't review, I still would like to say, REVIEW PLEASE! Hahaha…

Twilight Cherry