The Taming of Gods

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

AN: Quick note, as far as I am aware Akito doesn't transform when embraced as he doesn't have an animal to phase into. But I haven't read the manga so excuse me for any ignorance. Anyway, in this story his Kami spirit manifests itself only in an alternate dimension within his mind so he doesn't transform when hugged. Also, sorry for taking so long to update (I have no excuse I was just being lazy and struggling with mild writers block) Thank you so much for all your reviews! I really appreciate them and they truly inspire me to keep writing and updating so keep em coming! :)

Musical inspiration: 'Love The Way You Lie' and 'The Monster' by Eminem feat. Rihanna

Chapter 14

'Akito?' Meda ventured quietly after about ten minutes of tense silence.

'Hm?'

'Please say something.' She pleaded desperately. His silence was far worse than him shouting at her. She knew it was really serious this time.

'There's nothing to say to traitors.' He stated coldly.

'Please don't say that!' She frowned unhappily, 'You're overreacting. I haven't betrayed you, for God's sake.'

'I AM THE GOD!' He screamed all of a sudden, causing Meda to flinch back, hitting her head against the cold glass of the limo window. 'How dare you sit there and lie to my face? I asked you the other day, I asked you, if you had been keeping secrets from and you certainly had me fooled. Pretending as though you knew nothing, distracting me with tales of bean cakes and deceitful kisses.' He spat, the hurt in his eyes shining clearer than the anger.

'Deceitful kisses? What? Akito, I might have not told you that I live with Shigure and the others, but I have never lied to you in anything that matters. I love you, can't you tell, stupid boy?' Ordinarily being called stupid when he was already angry would have enraged him but her shocking confession and the heart-rending sincerity in her voice caused him to falter. Deceitful as she had been, it was still difficult for him to believe that she was lying. Suddenly a thought occurred to him that caused his obsidian eyes to turn steely again.

'You are quite the liar, my little witch. You love me? Just as you love Kyo and Yuki? Don't, just don't.' He commanded as she opened her mouth to protest. 'I saw you kiss Kyo in school, and you looked pretty cosy with Yuki as well. So tell me, is it a ménage-a-trois? No, I bet it's all 4 of you because there's no way that dirty old dog would miss out on the fun. Tell me, my little whore, wer-'

Akito never finished his sentence as a hard slap shut him up instantly. Meda was fuming with anger, her chest moving up and down as she drew unsteady breaths. Her eyes flashed with green fire unlike any he'd witnessed before and even his Kami spirit within flinched at the sense of raw power she was radiating.

Suddenly, the limo came to a halt and Akito grabbed Meda's hand, dragging her out forcefully into the pouring rain. He'd taken her slap to mean that he was right about her feelings for the other zodiac members. Well that would change just as soon as she found out the truth.

'Ow, Akito! Let go! Where are you taking me?' He dragged her into the house, flinging the door open. Kyo and Yuki had reached home before them, having taken a shortcut and all three Jyuunishi had been anxiously waiting in the living room. They jumped as the front door splintered and slammed opened. Akito had certainly gotten stronger over the past few months, though Shigure wasn't sure if it was the adrenaline that had helped him break down the door.

'This is really, really not good.' The dog thought anxiously, standing in front of his cousins as a protective barrier.

'Akito, please calm down.' Shigure asked politely, but was ignored as the head of his family pushed past him, aiming straight for Kyo. Akito relinquished his impossibly tight grip on Meda's hand, the ugly bruises on her skin fading before the others could worry about them.

'I wonder how much you'll love your cat when you found out what a monster he really is?' He smiled spitefully at the look of terror on Kyo's face before he pushed him out the broken door into the storm, pulling off his Juzu bead bracelet as the boy fell backward. Meda immediately ran out into the rain, trying to catch him before he hit the floor. Instead, she watched with shock as he transformed into a slimy monster. His skin was a horrid dirty flaxen colour that suited the rotting stench of corpses that rolled off the monster, causing her skin to crawl with repulsion and fear. Meda was a healer and to heal you needed to have injuries. As a result, she'd seen and fought in her fair share of battles. The instant the monster turned it's terrifying face, full of rows of razor sharp teeth, her battle instincts kicked in and she reflexively switched into a fighting stance. Her hands glowed blue-green as she summoned balls off fire in preparation to defend herself and the others if the monster attacked. They watched her in awe as her dark hair whipped around in the wind, creating a terrifying, ethereal halo around her head. Her entire being radiated power and the balls of fire in her hands that she'd conjured almost instantly showed that she was not a person to be messed with. For all her simple, flower girl charm, Meda was far more dangerous than she'd let on. However, to Akito's dismay the balls of fire fizzled out in the rain and Meda dropped her defensive stance, instead carefully approaching the scared looking monster before her.

When the monster had turned towards her, Meda's body had kicked into automatic, sensing danger, but all she saw in the amethyst eyes was a gut wrenching sadness and even fear. Shame washed over Meda and she let the magic drain out of her, dousing the fire in her hands and letting her hair fall back down, sticking wetly to her skin. She gently stepped closer, shifting to stop the monster darting away into the woods.

'Kyo, I'm so, so sorry.' She hung her head in shame, putting her arms around his elongated neck, unafraid of the sharp teeth pressing against her cheeks. Kyo's eye's widened in surprise as she hugged his monster form, apologizing profusely. Why was she sorry? He was the monster, the horror, the outcast. 'I know it's still you in there Kyo and I love you, no matter what form you take. Appearances mean nothing and I of all people should know this. Things are rarely as they appear.'

'So you do love him.' Akito spat accusatorily.

'AS A BROTHER!' She yelled in exasperation. 'Don't you get it Akito? I love them as family because they are. I've fallen love with you. Right now, I can't think of a good reason why, but when I'm not so angry with you I'll give you a reason!' She scowled at him. Suddenly, Kyo collapsed next to her.

'A brother?' He thought with a heavy heart. 'That's all she feels for me? I should've known better, but atleast she still loves me. She didn't scream or shun me as I thought she would. She's still here! She's even hugging me!' Kyo's heart lifted as a new form of happiness washed over him. He lifted his large head and with a tingling sensation, felt his body shrink returning to his human form. He wrapped his arms tightly around Meda almost knocking her over. Tears mingled with the raindrops falling on his face as he felt the weight of his curse lift from his shoulders.

'Thank you.' He sobbed, clutching her tightly.

'You don't have to thank me.'

'Wait! What's happening? How are you not a monster? Why aren't you transforming?' Akito asked, voicing everyone's confusion.

'The curse is lifted.' Shigure said, realization dawning on him. 'It's been weakening for some time.'

'I know. Kureno is already free and Hatori's was weakened, but it would take some seriously strong magic to completely break it from Kyo.' Akito replied.

'Ah you don't know, do you?' Hatori said, coming up behind them. When Akito hadn't returned home, he'd sensed something was wrong and had immediately rushed to Shigure's house. He'd arrived just in time to watch Kyo's curse break.

'What? What don't I know?'

'Ever since Meda's arrival the curse has weakened significantly. The effect she's had on you; improving both your physical health and mental health is breaking the curse at an accelerated rate. Mine has lifted completely and Momiji, Isuzu, Kisa and Hiro's curses have greatly weakened.'

'What?' Akito whispered hoarsely as his thoughts raced through his mind. The curse was breaking? Did this mean? Did he stand a chance- to live, to finally be free of his evil Kami spirit? Before he could feel even a flutter of happiness, Meda cried out and collapsed, clutching her head as she fell into the throes of what seemed like a particularly painful vision.

'Don't celebrate yet, little God. The worst is yet to come.' A familiar voice laughed in his head. Akito's heart sank with dread and fear as the Kami made his presence felt.