Ok so I think I'm gonna have to change the rating of this story to M next chapter because I have a feeling Akito is going to be a scary bastard. I dunno we'll see, it won't be too bad though, just death threats or something like that. No blood and gore.
Anyway I'm getting ahead of myself, here's the next chapter (not M yet). Hope you like it ^w^ x.
P.S THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS GUYS! WE'VE MADE IT TO A WHOPPING 205 REVIEWS *audiblegasp*! THAT'S AMAZING! I can't thank you enough, you have no idea how much it means to me knowing people actually like what spills out of my brain haha. Thank you again guys, I love you all and I'll make sure to shower you with constant chapters till this behemoth of a story is said and done :).
Chapter 28: Commander
Kyo and Tohru never said a word to each other as they rode back to the Kenshin castle. As much as she wanted to ask, Tohru refrained from bringing up anything about Akito. So she said nothing. Kyo on the other hand looked as though he was never going to speak again. His lips were pressed in a tight line and his eyes were fixated on something unseen in the distance.
More often than not, the princess would glance over at him to make sure he was ok, and every time her heart squeezed a little tighter at the lost expression on his face.
Tohru wasn't thinking of anything other than Kyo so when they finally reached the castle she couldn't figure out why everyone was running up to them with relieved expressions.
In fact it took a sentence from Rin to get her brain up to date with what was happening. "The king's gone out searching for you. Where did you go?" She reported before asking the question on everyone's lips as Tohru and Kyo dismounted their horses.
It clicked and her mind came back to reality. That's right, she'd left without telling anyone. She should have known Shigure would have noticed her lack of presence sooner than later. She felt the rock of guilt settle heavily in her stomach. How could she have been so reckless?
That's when it hit her. It was all her fault.
If she hadn't left like she did, then Kyo wouldn't have gone to look for her. And he wouldn't have met Akito like that. He wouldn't have looked the way he did right now. It was her fault.
The revelation made her dizzy and sick to her stomach. She knew she probably looked like she was going to throw up because some of the servants began looking at her with concern, while others backed up a bit.
"I-uh...I just wanted to go for a... ride by myself is all," she finally answered Rin with a queasy pale smile. Rin's eyebrows furrowed but she said nothing because Shigure was returning through the gates with castle's knights in tow.
"TOHRU!" Came the distraught cry as the king laid sad, relieved eyes on his missing daughter. He jumped off his horse and ran over to embrace the girl who was still looking paler than ever.
Tohru hugged her father as if that alone could apologise for how much she made him worry. Though she winced when the hug put pressure on her guilt-sensitive stomach. She caught sight of Kyo still standing there watching something that wasn't there. She winced again.
Finally Shigure let go of her and held her at arms length, "Where on earth did you run off to!? Why did you not tell anyone, Tohru?! How can you be so reckless?! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!" He yelled with both anger, worry and relief in his voice.
Tohru looked to the ground and muttered what she had said to Rin.
"Well if that's all it was, why didn't you tell anyone?! I'm very upset with you, young lady. I think you should go to your room for now, Tohru," Shigure calmed down slightly to deal out her punishment.
Tohru understood her father's instruction but even so, she felt reluctant to leave Kyo in such a state. She looked over Shigure's shoulder at the orange-haired prince. To her surprise Kyo seemed to have noticed she was looking at him and gave her a weak reassuring smile, as if he was telling her he was alright.
She didn't believe him but Shigure was repeating his instructions in a louder manner so she had no choice but to turn and enter the castle alone.
Shigure watched his daughter walk hesitantly into the castle before turning around to see whom she'd been looking at. Kyo was standing there looking lost to the world with his hands tucked into his pockets.
"Kyo, I'm assuming you we're the one to find Tohru?" He asked tentatively.
The only reply was a barely noticeable head nod.
"Thank you very much."
This time there was no response from the redhead. Shigure paused before asking another question, "Kyo, did something happen?"
Kyo was silent for a moment before he finally shook his head slightly, "No, nothing." And without another word the Fudoushin prince walked away from the king towards the castle courtyard.
Shigure let him go, watching with concern etched on his handsome face.
Fortunately he didn't notice the shiver that wracked Kyo's body when that cruel whisper of five certain words drifted into the teen's troubled mind.
"I'll see you soon, Kyo."
Akito arrived back at the Fudoushin castle, feeling pretty good about himself. He'd found the stupid kid and no doubt the girl too (since she seemed to have a fixation on her brother- she was bound to be at the Kenshin castle as well). The King and Queen would no doubt be pleased at finding their 'precious' heirs again. He smirked evilly. And no doubt Kyo was in for a world of hurt when Akito dragged him back again.
The dark haired man dismounted his chainmailed-horse as he approached the gate. The guards situated there fell over themselves trying to open the gates quickly for him. No servant or knight in the castle dared to keep the vicious Commander waiting. He chuckled to himself as the behemoth gates creaked open and one of the guards took his horse to the stables, stuttering a welcome to Akito as he went.
Naturally Akito ignored the lesser being and strolled leisurely up to the castle doors. He made his way straight to the royal throne room where the power-hungry royals would no doubt be. He could almost whistle at how good he felt at that moment.
Knocking on the gold-encusted mahogany door, he let himself in with a flourish of the handle. Sure enough the king and queen sat on their thrones at the end of the long room, as if they were grim statues. Akito had long since become used to the odd past time the king and queen seemed to revel in. Simply sitting in their thrones seemed to be one of the only things they enjoyed, though you could never tell from their expressions.
There cold, worn faces never seemed to deviate from either cruel indifference or deep-seeded disapproval. And Akito respected that. The Fudoushin king and queen were pretty much the only beings he deemed worthy of his services, everyone else were the scum of the earth to him. There was just something in their cruel ways of doing things that he approved of with great respect.
He reached the bottom of the few steps to the thrones and knelt on one knee with his arm crossing across his heart. "Your majesties," he greeted them with a bowed head, smirk still adorning his face.
"Have you got anything worth saying, Akito? Or are you just going to waste our time again?" The king exasperated flippantly.
Akito raised his smiling face and straightened himself upright, "I have indeed. Your majesties will be pleased to know I've located the missing prince and princess."
Despite the news, both royals remained emotionless, not even batting an eyelid. 'Cold as ever,' Akito thought happily. Yes they were very much worthy of his services.
"If that is the case then why, pray tell, have you not returned with them?" The queen inquired boredly, as if she were asking about the weather and not her missing children.
Akito's pitiless grin never faltered from his mouth, "I expect that they're not very keen to come back, my queen, especially Kyo," he smirked at the king's disapproving grunt, "I believe they might need some... encouragement of sorts."
"You already have free reign of the army, Akito. Stop wasting our time and do what you must to bring them back," the king said gruffly, impatience echoing in his deep voice.
But Akito shook his head, "I have no use for the army for this task."
Both royals gave their commander a queer look as the king propped his elbow on the arm of his throne and rested his cheek on his hand. "For the love of god, spit it out before I call for your execution on account of wasting my time," the king spat dully, though his impatience showed his slight interest in what Akito was planning. The queen was watching the knight with the same interest hidden under harshly-drawn furrowed brows.
Although the threat of having his head lopped off should have scared Akito, he had no fear in his dead eyes. He wasn't fazed or intimidated by the threat, because he knew they needed him. They needed his cunning mind and sharp combat skills, so he knew they weren't going to have him disposed of anytime soon. Not to mention he was the only other person in the world who knew they're deepest darkest secret. Hence why he always had such a cocky air about him wherever he went.
"All I ask is for a leave of absence, if you don't mind. That is all I need to bring the two 'precious ones' home," Akito added a mocking tone to the sentimental words, knowing that the parents would not care about how he mocked their children.
"And the plan, Akito?" The queen implored irritably, her dreadful bleached blonde hair bouncing in pompous curls as she shifted slightly.
Akito put a finger to his lips smugly, "Ah, but that would ruin the surprise."
Ah the dreaded cliffhanger strikes again. So this is entirely not how I was planning this story to go. I swear the fic has a mind of its own; a very uncontrollable mind at that. But at least it let me think of another little plot bunny that I can squeeze into here while I try and figure out how and when I'm going to end the story.
;_; yeah I'm up to that stage, the ending stage. Buuuttt I'm only trying to tease it out at the moment, now that I have another plot bunny to my burrow of a fanfic I won't be able to end it for a while. *squints*... Not sure if good thing, or bad...
Anywho there's no stopping it now, not when I've got a whole new villain chillin all up in here. I noticed that I really enjoy writing twisted evil characters, so you might find that Akito may end up being a tad more vicious in my fic than in the anime (though I'm not sure, he was a pretty massive jerk in the anime haha)
Hmm ok, so yeah Akito is the commander of the army/knights of the Fudoushin castle. That's why he and Kyo know each other. Trust me they go waaaay back, which is highly unfortunate for Kyo *whatelseisnew* *shot*.
So what will Akito be doing with his leave of absence? Most likely some good 'ol fashioned shit stirring. But I guess we'll find out next chapter ;)
Please let me know what you think about this story, it would be an honour to know your opinions of it :)
Xxxxx
