Once more, I'd just like to say thank you to everyone! I am happy that my story is being enjoyed, and I am grateful that so many have taken the time to read and to review.
This is a combo chapter. I think it will make sense as to why it's set up this way as soon as you read it.
Enjoy!
Patient – Sohma Momiji; Session #87
I don't know if it's fair to really call this a real session, but I suppose I will do so nonetheless. After all, I felt the most proud about the progress Momiji and I had made that, in the end, even part of a session with him seemed to be more productive than all of my other patients' sessions combined. Moreover, while Ayame's sessions remained my favorite, as his were, I have to admit, the most pleasant (since Ayame oddly didn't have the same emotional burden as all the others), Momiji's came in a close second, for in spite of the many hardships he had faced, his sessions still remained mostly optimistic and, more importantly, Momiji appeared to get something useful out of them, albeit not as much as I would like.
"I am really feeling much better about it, Kazuki, I really am. Well, I guess I still feel bad that I can no longer play, but I started trying to find ways to refocus my energy, like you suggested," Momiji was saying ten minutes into our session when the door to my office suddenly slowly creaked open. Once opened, it revealed Akito leaning lazily against the doorframe as her large robes fell off her right shoulder. Her expression was cold.
"Excuse me, Akito, but your session is not until later," I reminded her as congenially as I could.
"I'm here to see you," Akito declared in a low voice as she glared directly at me, "Now."
"I am sorry, Akito, but Momiji – " I tried to rationalize
"Must go," she concluded for me, now glancing over at Momiji, who at once looked frightened.
"It's okay, Kazuki," Momiji jumped to his feet, "I'll just come back later."
"No, please, sit down Momiji," I insisted, standing as well, although Momiji did not heed, "Akito will come back later." I turned back to Akito; "You can speak to me during your appointment in a couple hours, just like we scheduled."
"I am not waiting." Akito strolled into the office, passed Momiji, and slumped onto the couch. Her icy stare lingered on me. "I will see you now."
"Is this an emergency?" I then asked.
"Does it matter?" Akito retorted with anger in her voice, "I have already demanded it!"
Momiji had made his way to the door by this time and hastily said, "Don't worry about me, Kazuki! I'll be fine. You should really see Akito, now."
"But – " I protested in vain, Momiji waving goodbye and hurrying out the door. It closed loudly behind him.
Akito's stare remained locked on me and her cold face had not changed since she entered my office. Feeling uneasy, I sat back down in my chair and tried to avoid eye contact by staring at the papers on my desk. "So, Akito, what brings you here so abruptly?" I asked, as I attempted to conceal my anxiety over her sudden arrival.
"If you must know, Kazuki," Akito started, an unsettling glint in her eyes, "I wanted to talk to you about silver…"
Patient – Sohma Akito; Session #215
"About silver?" I questioned, as I pulled out her folder to begin yet another meeting with her. To be honest, I had grown used to Akito's random interruptions of my sessions with other patients. However this time I felt very nervous, as Akito's expression was very serious and extremely cold. I suppose it must have been my psychiatric instincts, but I could tell something was different this time – yes, something was very wrong. Yet suddenly a strange smirk crept on her face, and she got up from the couch and walked toward my desk slowly.
"No…" she then began oddly, "That's not why I came here, Kazuki. No, not at all." Her grin grew a bit wider. "Actually, I came here to apologize."
I blinked in disbelief. "What?" I managed to choke out.
"I wanted to say I was sorry for the other day…for knocking down your bookcase…" A sort of cruel chuckle escaped her lips.
"Oh, well, thank you, Akito. I accept your apology," I said as genuinely as I could, although I had serious doubts about her sincerity as her disturbing smile widened further. Growing increasingly more uncomfortable as she reached my desk, I stood up and said, "I think it would be best if you went back to the couch, Akito."
Akito just let out some snickers and ignored me. Suddenly, her expression grew more grave, her smirk disappearing, as she stared at me once more. "Your hair…" she trailed off, and she raised her right hand toward my face. Then, quickly, she snatched a small bit of my hair and yanked it out exceptionally hard.
"Ow!" I cried out quite startled and instinctively I began rubbing the sore area with my left hand.
"I don't like your hair," Akito explained as she gazed down at the dark blonde strands, "It reminds me that your mother is a whore."
Still surprised and very worried, I suppressed my anger at her last comment and suggested as calmly as possible, "You should leave now."
"Will you feel better if I go back to the couch?" she asked, the smirk returning as she leisurely moved away from my desk.
"No," I answered truthfully, "I want you to leave. You may come back later when you are feeling better."
"I'm not finished!" she suddenly shrieked and I was taken aback. Quieting, she lethargically fell onto the couch, sprawling herself out. Holding out the strands of my hair in front of her, she studied it and remarked, "It really is quite ugly…"
Growing more impatient and tense, I asked, "What is it that you want, Akito?"
"I already told you."
"Well then, as I've already accepted your apology, there's no reason for you to stay here anymore."
Akito let out a malicious laugh. "You are such a fool, Kazuki, and so very easy to trick. How naïve you must be to think that I, a god, would apologize to you. Illegitimate wretch…"
Swallowing my pride, I accepted her insult and slowly sat down. After a moment, I inquired, hoping to regain my professional demeanor, "If you didn't come here to apologize, then why did you come? What's bothering you? Is there something you want to talk about?"
"Yes." Akito's gaze shifted in my direction, and her eyes were just as cold as they were when she first arrived. She violently clutched her hand around my hair, holding it in a tight fist. "I want to talk about silver."
"Silver?" I repeated, my anxiety becoming worse. "What about it?"
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"
"I don't understand," I replied, as I quickly averted my eyes down at my notes and began writing to distract myself from her uncomfortable glare (I admit I had grown accustomed to this rather pathetic strategy).
"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" Akito shouted, rising at once, "No more notes! You will pay heed to me now and always!"
"Yes, Akito," I complied reluctantly, placing down my pencil and forcing myself to look up at her.
"And you will answer me when I ask you a question, and you will answer me truthfully!"
"Yes, Akito."
"Why do you tempt my disciples with silver?"
"Akito, I don't know what you're – "
"I said truthfully! You will answer me truthfully!"
"Akito," I desperately tried to reason, "You're not making any sense, and as we've gone over, I'm quite concerned that this type of behavior is very negative and destructive – "
"Shut up!" Akito screamed and I fell silent almost instantly. "I know that you're feeding their minds with poison."
"Akito, I don't – "
"Devil! Dirty, disgusting, devil! That's what you are! Tempting them with silver! But you thought I wouldn't find out, did you? You thought I wouldn't learn about what you've been telling him."
"Telling who?"
"You're a fool, Kazuki, a true fool," Akito finally lowered her voice, "To make it so easy for me to find…"
"Find? Akito, I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Yes, yes you do!" she yelled again, "Don't you lie to me, devil! It's all there," she pointed a wavering finger at my desk, "All in your notes."
My eyes widened at this revelation. For all my worry and fear, my anger was immediately greater and I stood up, eyes narrowing crossly, "You read my files?"
"Of course I did."
"Those are confidential. You had no right to read them. That's a violation of my patients' privacy."
"Do you think I'd be so easily tricked, Kazuki? That I'd just let you hide your dirty secrets about how you're working against me?"
"First of all, I'm not working against you, but that's really not the point," I answered frustrated and demanded, "Which ones did you read?"
Akito hesitated. I noticed that her expression altered a bit; it seemed as if she wasn't expecting my reaction to be as angry as it was, and she was both troubled and confused by it. Immediately, I could tell that she had not been expecting to be yelled at, disciplined, or even accused of doing anything wrong and now that I had turned the tables on her, sort of speak, she had become rather uncertain. "I only read the cat's…it was enough for me to figure out the truth about you…" she trailed off, as if a child trying to rationalize her crime before an angered parent. However, then she exclaimed, "Now, explain yourself!"
"I don't have to explain anything to you," I snapped, losing all patience "It's none of your business!"
"Everyone in this family is my business!" Akito yelled back, "Now explain it!"
Sighing, I just shook my head and answered almost unenthusiastically, since I knew I wasn't getting through to her, "I can't do that - there are strict principles I must adhere to regarding patient confidentiality. You weren't supposed to read it in the first place."
"I see…" Akito mumbled, her rage finally beginning to diminish as well, and the flicker of uncertainty I noticed just moments before became more apparent. She eyed me suspiciously for a bit, yet it seemed as if she realized she wasn't going to get anything more out of me, either. With this, she lingered a bit by the couch before heading toward the door. Once reaching it, she turned to give me one final glare before leaving.
As she left, she let go of my hair, letting it slowly fall to the ground, and stated, "I still don't like your hair…"
