Chapter 9- Pride and Compassion
Tohru burst into the main house, panting. "Akito!" She cried. "Akito, where are you!" That same thin figure slithered out of the other room and came over to her, painstakingly slowly. "Yes, miss Honda, I thought you might, what do you want?" Akito asked. "Why are you so cruel? Don't you have compassion for anyone other than yourself?" Tohru asked. Akito was slightly taken aback by Tohru's boldness. He seemed as though for a second, that he was lost for words. His speechlessness was soon replaced by anger. "HOW DARE YOU ASK ME WHY! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!!!" He screeched, reaching out to hit her. Tohru didn't flinch. "Are you afraid? Afraid of losing those you love?" She asked gently. Akito paused. "Do you pull them closer, afraid that if you let them go, they will leave you...forever?" Akito's eyes narrowed. "ME? AFRAID? NEVER! I AM GOD!!!" He lunged forward but Tohru held her ground. As he came forward, she wrapped her arms around him, embracing him. Her arms closed around him and she was shocked at how thin he really was. "Akito...I never intended to cause you more pain... but I love them all...even...you." Akito was shocked. Love...him? Of all the people in the Sohma family she loved, he was the one that had caused her to suffer the most, and yet she still loved him, like her beloved Kyo. "I don't understand..." Akito began. Tohru looked up at him, eyes glittering. "I admire you pride, and your strength, but most of all, I admire the fact that deep down you love each and every one of them, and are willing to die for them." Tohru told him. "You...admire...me?" He asked. She nodded. "I would never try to take them from you...I know what it si like to lose the only thing you had...and it's okay to be afraid...but each day we strive to become stronger." Akito felt a kind of warmth rise in his chest. Tears streamed down his face and a whimper escaped his lips. "No one has ever said that to me...never to me..." He said, a slight hollowness in his voice. He collapsed to the floor. Tohru fell with him, holding him and crying with him.
Akito stopped in his tears and rose off the floor. Tohru smiled up at him. "Come, you must go..." He demanded. She rose and left the room. As she emerged from the gate, Kyo panted down the path. He stopped in front of her. "What...happened?" He asked. She smiled up at him and threw her arms around his neck. To his surprise, he didn't transform. "How...?" Kyo asked, astonished. She smiled again, and he returned it. He wrapped his arms around her, dragging her close. "Tohru...I'm free..." he whispered. "I know..." She replied, tears in her eyes. He clasped her to his chest, tears rising in his own."Thank you...Tohru." He held her for a long time. He lifted her head and kissed her, holding her against him for the first time. A happy thought crossed his mind and he smiled.
'I could get used to this...'
THE END