The Taming of Gods
An Akito X OC fanfiction story. Please leave a review.
Musical inspiration: "We are Young" by Fun, "In the End" by Linking Park
Chapter 10
The small family of four were chatting, sprawled on the floor in the living room of Shigure's house. He had brought out a small, decorated brown photo album and Meda was flicking through the pages, a huge smile on her face as the other three told her about their family. From the hilariously embarrassing stories to the more emotional ones, they'd shared it all, wasting away the evening with laughter and a few bottles of Sake that had gone by worryingly fast. Just as Meda was about to have her fourth glass, Kyo grabbed it out of her hand, holding it up out of her reach.
'Hey, hey, hey! Slow down there light-weight. Go easy. I don't think you should even be drinking at all. You're only 18 and you're a girl. Not likely that you can hold your liquor as well as we can.'
'Oh come off it. I can do anything you guys can do and more. And besides the fact that I have drunk alcohol before- more frequently than I'd really like to admit- I'm legal. Turned twenty last October.' She winked before grabbing the glass and downing it in a flash. Their jaws dropped simultaneously as they all stared at her as if she'd grown a pair of wings.
'You're twenty?' Kyo asked in shock.
'Yep.'
'Why are you still in high school then?' Yuki asked.
'Told you- I enrolled because I needed a way to get close to you guys. I had no idea you'd ever invite me to come stay with you. Nah, that was an unforeseen bonus.' She switched to English, her American accent getting heavier as she got drunker.
'Hahaha! You can't call me a pervert anymore cos she's not a high school girl!' Shigure crowed, before realisation dawned on him. 'Wait… you're not a high school girl. Awww…' Kyo whacked him over the head as the inebriated writer began to fall back into his questionable fantasies.
'Owww. Kyo-kyo, that's mean!' He pouted for a second, giving them his best puppy dog eyes, before returning to his usual, exuberant self. 'Meda, we told you so much about all the Sohmas but you've hardly met any of them. How about we invite some of the family over for dinner tomorrow? We haven't seen any of them since the New Year's party, half a year ago.'
'Are you out of your mind?' Kyo barked immediately, frowning at the excited expression that had lit up Meda's face. 'If they all find out then how long do you think before someone mentions it to Akito, huh?'
'I don't mean the entire extended family, silly cat. Just a few: Tori, Aya, Momiji and Haru. Maybe even Kagura and Ritsu?'
'I would really like to meet some of the other members of the zodiac. Please Kyo!' Meda batted her eyelashes at him.
'Fine. But not Kagura. If she's here then I'm not.' He conceded reluctantly after a few more minutes of wheedling from Meda and Shigure.
'Why? What's wrong with Kagura?' Meda asked in confusion.
'You'll see when she gets here.' Yuki laughed as he and Shigure shared a knowing glance and Kyo went red with anger.
'She drives me fucking insane.' He complained while the others all cracked up laughing at his tormented expression.
'A girl whom Kyo is afraid of is one I have to meet.' Meda decided.
'Whatever. Atleast she's better than Akito.'
'Yeah. As much as I hate to agree with you, baka neko, it's better to keep Akito away from Meda. God knows what he'd do if he ever found out about her.' Yuki said with a dark expression on his face as he thought of his hateful God. Even Shigure had become a little more sombre. The jovial atmosphere of the room had dissipated almost instantly as the dark topic of Akito slithered into like a curling tendril of black smoke. Meda was the only one who didn't frown at the mention of Akito.
'Um, if you don't mind me asking, why do you all dislike Akito so much?' She asked sadly, thinking of the softer side he'd displayed towards her. When she heard the name Akito, she thought of soft kisses and a tantalizing smirk; of dark hair and sparkling onyx eyes; of a man she'd come to love with every fibre of her being. The fear and distaste that his name spread upset her. Why couldn't they see the side of Akito she could? Why couldn't they see that he was just scared and lonely and emotionally tortured beyond belief?
'Dislike? More like hate.' Kyo scoffed, scowling at the wall as some troubling thought crossed his mind. Meda's prophetic senses suddenly kicked in as a terrifying vision hit her.
A familiar orange haired boy sat in a closed off room, surrounded by the sparsest amount of furniture. The plain walls were devoid of any form of decoration and only one barred window let in a meagre amount of light. A small bed stood on one side and a kitchenette took up space on the other side. There was a door that presumably led into a bathroom on one side and a heavy, iron bolted front door on the other. It was a prison and Kyo was curled up crying in the corner of it.
'No!' Meda gasped, trying futilely to reach out and comfort the crying cat. His topaz eyes had become dull and lifeless, rimmed red from hours of weeping. Suddenly, the bolts on the heavy door were drawn back with a loud grating noise. Kyo looked up hopefully, until a shadowy black figure stepped in.
'Akito.' Kyo said bitterly, rising to confront the slimly built man in front of him. Akito had a gauntness and weary fatigue lining his face, making him seem older than his age. He looked like he had had to grow up very quickly and Meda's heart clenched at the pain and sadness she saw in his eyes. However, a cold mask greeted Kyo as Akito turned to face him.
'Hello, my dear cat. How are you finding your new home.' A violent smile that sent shivers down her spine played on Akito's lips. 'A cage befitting the monster inhabiting it, don't you think.'
'I'm not a monster! Let me out of here, Akito!' Kyo raged, flying at Akito and grabbing him by the collar. Akito deftly removed his hands from his suit and sent the other boy flying across room. Although Kyo was more heavily muscled, Akito was much taller and Meda could tell he had put on a substantial amount of muscle as well.
'Don't you dare touch me, you filthy creature.' He spat, brushing off his expensive black suit as though Kyo's touch had dirtied it. He stalked towards Kyo's crumpled form on the ground. 'After I was such a generous God, this is how you repay me? We had a deal, monster. If you defeated Yuki before graduation then you didn't have to spend the rest of your life rotting in this cage. I was even so generous as to allow you to become a part of the zodiac. It was your own pathetic incompetence that sealed your fate.' Akito hissed, undoing his belt. Meda flinched as it cracked across the air, centimetres away from Kyo.
'If Meda knew-' Kyo started.
'SHE'S GONE!' Akito roared, the belt whipping Kyo across his arms and torso. 'Don't mention her name to me again, you vile monster. You thought she loved you? That she loved all of us? LIES! Every kiss, every word… all a lie.' Akito slumped down heavily onto the bed, a tear escaping and rolling down his face. Kyo watched him in shock. He'd never seen the God look so defeated or heartbroken. Meda watched the scene with confusion and fear. This was the future- their future. And whatever happened seemed to be a result of her departure. Why would she leave? How could her Akito show such cruelty? A thousands questions buzzed in her head, though she could elicit answers to none.
'Meda?! Meda!'
'Give her some space, baka neko!'
'Shut up. Don't tell me what to do kuso nezumi!'
The blackness obscuring her vision slowly began to lift as Meda came to. She could hear the concerned voices of Yuki and Kyo near her, wincing as they began bickering again.
'Stop fighting both of you. Look, she's coming to.' Shigure said. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was the sight of all three of them peering down at her from directly above. If she didn't feel so sick, she'd have laughed at the comically concerned and hapless expressions they wore.
Meda slowly sat up and promptly bent over and threw up into a decorative vase besides the couch they'd laid her on.
'I'm so, so sorry.' She said hoarsely when she'd stopped retching.
'Don't worry about it. The only thing that matters is that you're okay.' Yuki said, tenderly stroking her hair. Kyo pushed aside his disgust and took the vase out to the trash as Yuki and Shigure helped her get to the bathroom to wash up.
After she'd recovered, she sat down in the living room with the others sitting around in a circle.
'What happened?' Yuki asked gently.
'I'm so sorry to have caused you all so much trouble. It was a vision; stronger and more vivid than most. That's why it affected me so strongly.' She explained.
'A vision?' Kyo asked in confusion.
'I had told you when we first met that I was a prophetess. As a result, I get prophecies or visions of the future. Often they are vague, blurry or out of context. However, as I get older and I continue to train and develop and become more experienced, the visions are getting clearer, more informative and reliable.' She said slowly, sipping on water. She tried to calm down her racing heart as memories of her newest vision kept floating across her mind.
'What did you see?' Shigure asked.
'Kyo… In a room, like a prison.' She began, halting as Kyo's face paled in horror.
'T-the cage? I end up in the cage?' He whispered, his face crumpling as the last threads of hope slipped out of his fingers.
'You knew you were going to go the cage after graduation anyway, Kyo.' Yuki said gently, placing a hand on his trembling cousin's shoulder.
'Not if he defeated you, Yuki.' Meda said quietly. They all turned to face her in surprise. 'Kyo had a deal with Akito- if he managed to defeat you in time for graduation not only would he no longer have to live in this "cage" but he would also be accepted as an official member of the zodiac.'
'What?' Yuki gasped. 'That's why you kept picking fights with me. Kyo, if I'd known-'
'You'd have done what? Lost on purpose and allowed me to win? I don't need your pity, damn rat!' Kyo yelled.
'Kyo, calm down. Can't you see we all love you? We're not doing anything out of pity, but out of love. And please cheer up. Don't lose hope yet. The future is extremely volatile- it changes every moment, with every decision we make. I promise you, as long as I'm here I will not let anyone put you in that cage Kyo.' She vowed. But a tiny voice in her mind nagged at her, 'But you're not going to be here, are you? That's what the vision showed, right? Akito, Kyo, they were all in that position because you left.'
What was the terrible secret that everyone in this household avoided; a secret that would cause her to leave them? Though she had managed to reassure Kyo, her own doubts nagged persistently at the back of her mind. For now, all she could do was try to look after her new family and Akito. Maybe if she told him, convinced him of her love, if she healed him, he wouldn't turn into the cruel monster she had seen in her vision.
AN: I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. The suspense is starting to build. Please leave a review to tell me your thoughts, opinions or any ideas. Reviews are always appreciated and very encouraging. Thank you! xxx