A/N- Thanks--- To Anon.- For being so nice and giving me food, even when I'm mean to him :-)
To Calen-- For spotting my dumb mistakes. Yeah, I went back and changed that part of ch. 6. Seems like no matter how much I go back over them, my chapters always have something wrong with them.
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A Shadow Reborn- Chapter Seven
Akito stayed near the window, as he slipped something inside his crimson robes, concealing it. It was perfect. The mouse would not escape him this time, and the dragon would witness the proof of why you respect-fear- the Sohma family head.
He peered out the window, observing Yuki. He was almost exactly as Akito remembered him- small, pale, but with a light behind his increasingly worried expression that was hard to put out. If you're going to break someone, Akito thought, sometimes it's easier to go straight for the kill. Killing. Akito had managed not to think about the aftermath, of after his scheme was completed, and he couldn't afford to think about it now. He couldn't risk losing his nerve. Akito pushed some of his hair out from in front of his eyes. The thought of killing may have somehow almost unsettled part of Akito long ago, but that surely wasn't an issue anymore. Killing was still the plan, right? It would have to be done quickly….
Watching the three 'visitors', now in front of the Main House, Akito saw Yuki hesitate on the steps leading to his chamber doors. He studied the stones at his feet, then looked apprehensively up at the closed doors. Akito wondered which recollection had struck him. And for a moment, he almost didn't want him dead.
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"All right, Yuki?" Kyo saw the unnatural fear on his cousin' face, and it unnerved him. Yuki was supposed to be the collected one. Yuki nodded, and Hatori made to open the door. But it was opened from the inside. Before them stood a figure dressed in dark red robes that hung loosely and dragged on the floor. Akito showed almost no emotion, but stared at Yuki, who looked overly determined to show any concern. Kyo expected a tense silence, or something of the sort… but Hatori spoke, almost impatiently.
"Alright. We came."
Akito scanned his gaze to Hatori. "So I see. You are welcome," he said with mock civility, and he stepped back to let them enter. But at the same time, Akito was uneasily aware of the heavy weight in his robe pocket.
It was dark inside, but the first thing Kyo noticed was on the ground. Almost directly in front of them was a dark brown stain on the wooden floor. He really should have that re-paneled, he thought, before realizing what it probably was. Dried blood? From seven years ago. "Now that's just sick…." But what was the point? Some sort of intimidation tactic? Whatever it was called, it seemed to be working. Yuki had noticed the stain, too.
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Yuki knew this place. He knew the feel of the cold stairs outside, where he had been tossed so many times years ago. He knew the psychotic man in front of him, and he knew the pain he had felt as he had made that stain with his own blood. Now, Akito gave him the smallest of satisfied smiles, and Yuki took a step back.
Hatori was not impressed. He put a hand on Yuki's shoulder and glared at Akito.
"This is ridiculous. If you have nothing to say to us, we're leaving."
Akito frowned…It would have to be done quickly…. And it was too late to change his mind now. Swiftly…..
"I have nothing to say to you." Now? "My business is with Sohma Yuki!" And in one moment, before anyone could react, he had Yuki held around the neck, almost in a headlock in his right arm. At the same time, he reached with his left hand, pulled out a .22 from his robe, and held it up at arms' length for them to see.
Yuki was Hatori freeze, but Kyo, more impulsive, yelled out.
"You're insane!"
Akito heard these words but did not process them. For the first time, he took in the situation around him. Hatori and Kyo watching him, and Yuki at his side. And here he was, pulling a gun on them. Was this the plan? What was the plan? Akito's left hand trembled slightly, but his right arm tightened around Yuki, who gasped for air, just a little. Akito paid it no attention.
Was he really planning on killing him? Now that the plans were in place, the idea seemed extreme. He had beaten people and ruined their lives, but things like that had never seemed so final. Lives could be rebuilt, after all. What was he doing with a gun?
Akito was not moving, and he was not speaking. He just stood holding onto the gun and Yuki, looking frantic, and with a wild look in his eyes. Hatori wondered what on earth he was thinking, but Kyo, seeing Yuki was in pain, made to step forward, but Hatori put out his arm to stop him. Neither movement was sudden, but Akito was not expecting them. Startled, and not in a clear state of mind, he brought the gun down blindly and shot.
Kyo shouted out, and Hatori gasped. And Akito, with a slightly dazed expression, looked down at the limp figure in his right arm.
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It was dark. The moonlight cast distorted shadows on the ground as Ayame ran through the trees. What am I going to do, even when I get to the Main House? Ayame didn't know, but as Yuki was his brother, surely he obviously should be there with him- Hatori had made that much clear. Ayame hoped he had not made a big mistake in sending Yuki to the House.
The night was eerily quiet, though it didn't matter to Ayame. Aside from his own quick footsteps and breathing, the only sound was the occasional rustle of leaves above. A car backfired in the distance, but he didn't notice that, either.
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Akito looked bewildered at what he had done, then at the gun, and Kyo wondered if this is what Akito had wanted. He suddenly dropped the gun, which clattered to the floor; and Yuki, who fell to the ground as well. And Akito was gone. He tore out of the House and into the woods, his crimson robes flailing behind him.
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A/N- yeah, kind of short. Not very conclusive, either, I guess. Review, please??
By the way….. If something happened in this chapter you don't like, please don't flame me. Remember, there's a lot left in the story.
