The Taming of Gods

An Akito X OC fanfiction story. Please leave a review.

Musical inspiration: "Are you with me" by Lost Frequencies

Chapter 11

Yuki stayed with Meda for the rest of the night, despite her protests, holding her through a protective wall of blankets lest he accidently transformed in the middle of the night. Though she argued she was fine, a couple of hours later the troubling dreams started. Visions of Yuki, Kyo, a blurry, indistinct orange monster and a cruelly violent Akito rampaged through her mind.

'You belong to me.' Akito loomed over her in the dream, a bloodied whip in one hand. Just as he lashed out to give another stroke, she awoke screaming.

'Meda! Are you ok? It's just a dream, just a dream.' Yuki instantly awoke, bundling her up in blankets before pulling her into his lap. Although she was not actually touching him, she could feel his warmth and his soothing voice, calming her down. Eventually, her weeping subsided into ragged gasps, and she leant her head against Yuki's chest as she realised she was out of any danger.

'What happened? What did you see?' He asked gently, once she'd stopped shaking.

'I-I don't really r-remember. I think I saw the Sohmas, maybe Akito?' Her face scrunched up in concentration as she tried to grasp at the fleeting remains of the dream. 'All I really remember is feeling a lot of pain and anguish. So much pain Yuki.'

A few more tears rolled down her face and Yuki gently stroked her hair, cradling her in his arms as he helped her fall back to a broken sleep.

'Maybe we shouldn't have anyone round this evening.' Yuki said the following morning. 'Meda barely slept last night and she's far too disturbed to be expecting any company.'

He and Shigure were sitting at the table, quietly forcing down a few spoonfuls of cereal for breakfast. Shigure nodded in agreement but a voice suddenly came from the doorway behind them, making both of them jump.

'No, it's fine. Let them come. I'm feeling much better thanks to you, Yuki.' Meda said softly as she walked in to join them. She paused for a second to press a chaste kiss on the top of Yuki's head before sitting down next to him. He instantly flushed bright red, becoming incredibly flustered and eliciting a small giggle from Meda. They both smiled at that. It was very hard to see her unhappy; they had missed her smiles and the sound of her laugh more than they could imagine.

'But Meda, maybe you should take today to recover. You've been through a lot of emotional stress since yesterday. You didn't even sleep properly last night.' A concerned frown was etched into his face.

'I'm fine, honestly. This is probably the best reason to have people over- take my mind off things. It'll be fun.' She managed to force a smile, but Yuki still looked unsure.

'But none of us can cook, except you. What will we do?'

'We'll order take out.' Shigure chirped happily. 'I'd suggest we go out and eat, but I don't think we'll be able to book such a large table at the last minute and besides, Meda will probably want to rest at home.'

'Thanks so much, guys. I really, really appreciate everything you've done for me.' She said sincerely, tears shining in her eyes.

'You've done so much more for us Meda, than we have for you.' Yuki took her hands in his as he gazed lovingly at his princess. She laughed disbelievingly but didn't argue. 'Hey look at that! You've finally stopped calling me Miss Meda!'

'What? I-I'm so sorry.' Yuki looked flustered again causing both Meda and Shigure to laugh, properly this time.

'No! It's a good thing. I've been trying to break you of that habit for a while now. Just Meda is fine.' Yuki rolled his eyes as they both began to tease him but a smile never left his face.

'Kyo!' Hurry up! They're going to be here soon!' Meda called up the stairs.

'God, you're acting like my mum.' He grumbled as she rushed around straightening up the already spotless place, pausing for a second to smooth down his hair. She really did look like a super stressed out mother hen as she straightened the pillows on the sofa for the thirtieth time.

'Chill, Meda. They're just Sohmas. No need to get so stressed about it. It's not a big deal.'

'Not a big deal?' She squeaked disbelievingly, 'It's a huge deal! This is the first time I'm meeting most of them. I don't even remember all their names. How many people are coming? What if they don't like me? What if I offend them somehow? Oh god!' She slumped heavily onto a nearby sofa, trying not to hyperventilate.

'Tch. Stupid girl.' Kyo rolled his eyes in exasperation before sitting down next to her and rubbing her back in an effort to calm her down. 'Can you just calm down? It's really not as big a deal as you're making it out to be. And none of them bite- except maybe Kagura, but she only ever seems to attack me. As for who's coming and what their names are, you'll see when they get here, ok?'

'You're right. It's going to be fine.' She tried to convince herself. Just then, the doorbell rang.

When she opened the door, Momiji, Haru and another beautiful but androgynous looking person stood outside.

'HEY MEDA!' Momiji instantly rushed at her and gave her a hug, transforming with a poof into his adorable baby rabbit form.

'Haha. Hey Momiji. Nice to see you too.' She giggled, cuddling the rabbit for a moment before setting it down. 'Hey Haru! Come on in.'

She held the door open as the other two walked in.

'Hello, I'm Ritsu Sohma. You must be the Meda everyone has been talking so much about.' Ritsu greeted her with a beautiful dusky voice, his kind demeanour setting her instantly at ease. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

'Everyone's been talking about me?' She asked with a puzzled expression.

'OH! I'm so sorry! I don't mean in a bad way. All good things, I promise. Please forgive me if I hurt you! Oh I'm always upsetting people. I just shouldn't talk at all!' Ritsu shrieked apologetically all of a sudden, causing Meda to stumble back in shock. His initial calm demeanour entirely disappeared as he began to freak out and try to apologize, flailing his arms rapidly and in the process knocking over more things and then apologizing again. The cycle would have continued on repeat unless Kyo stepped in and rescued a flustered Meda by knocking Ritsu upside the head to shut him up.

'Was it something I said?' She wondered as Ritsu retreated into a corner looking shamefaced and guilty.

'Nah, don't worry about it. Ritsu's always like that. Dealing with Ritsu is like dealing with an over-flustered chicken.' Kyo snorted unsympathetically.

'Well, she's i-interesting to say the least.' Meda said, looking slightly shell shocked. 'All the Sohmas are rather eccentric,' she noted, 'But I guess that's all part of their charm.'

Just then, the door bell rang again, repeatedly and someone began thumping loudly on the door.

'That's my Kyo to leave. Get it? Kyo, like cue…' Kyo smiled sheepishly before he realising that it wasn't funny and disappearing into the recesses of the house.

'I'm coming!' Meda said, running to get the door, half afraid that the person on the other side would knock it down.

'WHERE'S MY KYO? KYO?' An energetic, brown haired girl almost bowled Meda over as she rushed into the house.

'Um, sorry. Are you Kagura by any chance?' Meda ventured to ask. The girl stopped and turned to face her, all the boisterous energy disappearing and leaving a pleasant faced young girl to greet her.

'Oh hello. I'm sorry, how rude of me. I'm Kagura Sohma. And you are?'

'I'm Meda. I'm not sure if you've heard but Shigure and the others were kind enough to take me in a few months ago so I live here now.' She explained briefly.

'Really? Wait, you haven't made a move on Kyo have you? He's MY fiancé.' All the friendliness in her face disappeared and was instantly replaced by fire burning in her eyes.

'N-no. We're just good friends. He's all yours.' Meda said hastily, backing away a little. Just as suddenly, all the anger was gone and the friendly smile was back.

'In that case, it's lovely to meet you! I'm sure we'll be great friends!' The girl gave Meda a tight hug, before bouncing off to greet the others.

'Oh geez, are they all this bipolar? God, I'm going to need some real strength and patience if I'm to get through this.' She thought as she quickly downed a glass of wine.

'Don't worry, just two more to go.' Shigure said cheerily, coming beside her. Just as she was pouring him a glass, the front door rang yet again.

'I'll get it.' Yuki volunteered.

'Who else is left?'

'Just Aya and Hari.' Shigure said.

'Hari?' Meda wondered, before a familiar looking stern figure stepped into the room.

'Meda?' Meda's eyes widened as Hatori entered the room and did a double take when he saw her. She hadn't told him that she was living with Shigure. Hell, she hadn't even told him that she'd met any of the other zodiac members. As far as he knew, he, Akito and Kureno were the only members of the Sohma family she had met. The room went quiet as everyone watched the interaction.

'Wait, do you two know each other?' Yuki asked suspiciously with a raised eyebrow.

'W-we met once! At a bus stop. On my way to work. It was raining and he offered me his umbrella and we got talking a bit that's it.' Meda blurted before Hatori could say anything, hoping he would get the hint.

'Hmm… Yes, nice to meet you again.' He played along, though his brows furrowed in a sceptical frown.

'Oh I see.' Shigure said obliviously, cheerily accepting the story she'd spun. 'Well come on in Hari, Aya.' A very handsome, silver haired man stepped in behind Hatori. He had eerie yellow-golden eyes that both mesmerized and unsettled Meda.

'How lovely to meet you, my lady. My name is Ayame Sohma.' He said silkily, kissing her hand. Meda blushed lightly before turning back to her duties as a gracious host.

'It's nice to meet you too. You look very familiar.'

'Ahh, that's because you've been living with my brother. He does look a lot like me doesn't he?' The man said excitably, looking behind him for said brother.

'Brother? You're Yuki's brother?' She said, realisation dawning at last.

'Yep. The one and only! Alas, though the distance between us sometimes makes it seem as though we are no longer related.' He fawned overdramatically, tears shining in his eyes as he tried, unsuccessfully, to pull Yuki in for a hug. Moments later however, he was back to happily joking and chatting with Shigure and teasing Yuki. Ayame was as superfluous, dramatic and excitable as Yuki was intelligent, calm and rational, Meda noted with a small smile. The two stark contrasts struck a much-needed balance between them, as she later mentioned to the pair.

The room buzzed with chatter and laughter as the Sohmas enjoyed being in each others company after such a long time, without the fear of Akito watching over their encounters with his usual possessiveness. Meda steered clear of Hatori, choosing instead to engage with the others, chatting, laughing and listening to tales of previous family gatherings and festivals.

'Are you ok, Ritsu?' Meda asked, chatting with the now depressingly calm Ritsu.

'Yes. I'm sorry for upsetting you're party. All I ever seem to do is ruin things. It's probably better if I didn't live at all. I'm so useless, sometimes it seems that my parents have been apologizing for me all my life.' He said sorrowfully, fiddling with the sleeves of his feminine yukata. Catching her looking at his clothes, he went on to explain,

'When I was young, I found that dressing like a girl made me feel more comfortable somehow- safe. But anytime I do so it only makes my parents apologize for me more. I want to be a more confident person. I tried to stop dressing like a girl. But I'm not confident- I couldn't do it. I'm a complete failure, just a worthless coward. It's probably better for everyone if I wasn't here at all, and really, there's no good reason for me to stay. There's no reason for my ever being born. I may have believed there was, at one time, but even if I did it's gone now. Knowing this how can I still be so bold as to burden the world with my pathetic, useless life?' He spoke calmly as though he truly believed his words. Meda's soft heart ached for the melancholy monkey. 'Just like Yuki, Kyo and all the other Sohmas, he blames himself for everything that's gone wrong in his life.' Meda realised sadly.

'We're all looking for a reason to live: some glorious purpose in our lives. But no matter who you are, I don't think anyone is born knowing the reason we're here. That's something you have to find out for yourself. But I can tell you this, Ritsu, with full confidence: your life means something. In fact, it means a lot. There's got to be some reason for you to go on; a purpose; a person. For me, it's the people in my life- my old family, Yuki, Kyo, Aki-.' She caught herself hastily before she could let Akito's name slip. 'Maybe one day, I'll find someone who'll want to live for me. So, the reason we're put here, the reason for being born, it's something we all have to find out for ourselves. You'll find it, someday. Just don't give up hope Ritsu, once you lose that, you've lost everything.' She spoke softly, studying a rose flowering out the window, lost deep in thought about the philosophy of life.

'Thank you.' He spoke suddenly, snapping her back to attention. 'I-I wanted someone to tell me that. I needed to hear that again. Maybe I will find my reason for living, someday. And maybe, I'll even find someone to live for. I'd like that- a person to love and share my life with.'

'Whoever she is, I'm sure she's out there waiting for you. And I know, I really know that she'll be wonderful.' Meda smiled with conviction as a brief vision of the future passed before her eyes.

Ritsu stood in a field of flowers; dressed in male clothing again and a spectacular smile lighting up his face. A pretty girl was holding his hand and watching him with adoration shining in her sky blue eyes. Meda smiled to herself as the two hugged, the field of tall flowers swaying gently around the happy couple in the late summer breeze.

'I see you managed to stop the monkey from breaking anymore things.' Yuki commented dryly during dinner. All the Sohmas noted the calmness that was blanketing Ritsu's excitable personality. Whatever Meda had said seemed to have gotten through to him and though the Monkey was still jumpy and nervous, he seemed more settled than before, as though a great burden had been lifted from his heart.

'I just talked to him. He has a bright, beautiful future ahead of him.' She smiled thinking of the pretty maiden she'd seen in her vision.

'Shigure, stop your nonsense. You can't marry Meda. She's too young for you and I don't think she sees you in that way.' Hatori said with his usual no-nonsense, cold attitude, but his childhood friends could see right through him.

'Oooh. What's this soft-spot you have for Meda, hmmm Hatori? Could it be that you like her? Are you jealous?' Shigure teased in a sing-song voice.

'…'

'Ooh! You're speechless. That definitely means you love her.'

'No, I'm just dumbfounded by your stupidity.' He stated coldly, glaring at him with one eye. He'd kept his other eye covered, as though it was still blind. He had figured it would be best to keep Meda's talents a secret until they could find a way to explain to all the Sohmas who she was and how she had been helping Akito. Although, now that he'd come here and discovered that she was living with Shigure, he began questioning how much of what she'd said was truth and how far he could trust her. Did the others already know about her healing skills? Well they certainly didn't know about her and Akito, so perhaps it was best that he had hidden his newly fixed eye from the rest. She'd been avoiding him during the entire dinner, he noted, as he watched her like a crow from the side-lines.

Finally after dinner, he managed to catch her alone as she stayed behind to clear up the dishes.

'Leave those. I need to talk to you.' He commanded curtly, before walking out the door onto the deserted porch. The rest of the Sohmas were inside, chatting, or more likely squabbling over something trivial. Meda quickly stacked the dirty plates inside the sink and rinsed her hands before hurrying after Hatori. She found him looking out into the woods that surrounded the beautiful little house. Unsure of what to say, she waited in silence for him to begin.

'I take it Akito knows nothing about this,' He began coldly.

'N-No. Of course not. I don't think I'd have been able to live here this long if he did. Please don't tell him Hatori!' She said quickly, looking at him with huge pleading green eyes.

'Turn off the puppy dog eyes. I won't tell him.' He said gruffly, though he still looked a little upset.

'Are you angry with me, Hatori?'

'…'

'Oh you are. I'm sorry.' She said sincerely, placing a gentle arm on his. He looked down in surprise, unused to any kind of casual contact. After Kana had gone, he'd gotten used to being alone, with minimal contact with anyone except Akito and his patients. 'It's a secret. I don't think Akito would be too thrilled to find out about this, considering how irrationally possessive he is. I didn't want to anger him.'

'I understand.' Hatori said after a moment. 'But what I don't see is why you've kept this a secret from Shigure and the others.'

'Well, for reasons I have yet to fathom, they hate Akito. They seem to think he would hurt me if I met him. You should have seen how worked up they got when I first mentioned wanting to meet Akito. It was best for everyone that my visits to the Honke be kept a secret.'

'Well I won't say anything, but you should tell them and soon. Kami forbid Akito finds out some other way… There's no telling what he will do.' Hatori warned seriously, before returning inside. Meda stood outside for a moment more, a feeling of dread sinking into her stomach. She knew she'd have to tell Akito at some point but the very thought of it made her feel sick and nervous.

'Later, I'll tell him later.' She decided non-committally, pushing the thought out of her mind as she rejoined the party.

AN: Sorry about how long it took to update- it's been a hell of a week. Super busy and then there was a nasty incident involving me, my sister and a nest of wasps she managed to upset. Ugh! Anyway, I hope you are liking the story so far. Please leave a review to let me know what you think.