A/N- You hold in your hands (or rather, you see on your computer screen) the final chapter to my fic. I want to give out a special thanks to everyone that's reviewed up until now, because you guys are the reason I finished this thing! I want to give an especially special thanks to the following reviewers, just for always being there! - Calen, The Lost Saiyan, Ssjgoddesschico, Yume Maxwell-Yuy, and Yukie-chan….Thanks!

~SilverStarlight

A Shadow Reborn- Chapter Twelve

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When Yuki woke up, he first took in all his surroundings, afraid of what he'd discover. His mind felt cloudy, and he was lying down flat on his back. Muffled sounds came from outside the room he was in, and sunlight poured in through a window to his right- it was morning. He was completely alone, and was surprised to find he was…..

Still in his hospital bed?

Confused, Yuki sat up in his bed, trying to recall all of the events from the night before… There had been a man, hadn't there? It had seemed far too realistic to be a dream, but looking around the room, Yuki didn't notice anything that had changed, and he felt fine. If anyone had come in last night, he obviously hadn't had much business to tend to. Searching over the entire room, Yuki looked for anything that looked conspicuous, any sign of the man. He still didn't see anything. Besides the appearance of his breakfast table- the nurse must have already came in- nothing in the room seemed any different. Just the same, he wished Hatori, or anyone, was there with him.

Less than an hour later, Kyo came in, in a relatively good mood. He headed straight across the room towards his designated chair in his corner, grabbing the toast off of Yuki's tray on his way. Sprawling sideways over the arms of the chair, he stuffed it in his mouth and turned to Yuki. "So. Ready to go home today?" he said, through a mouthful of food.

No longer surprised by any of Kyo's manners, Yuki just nodded. "Yeah, I-"

"Hey, what's this?" Kyo got up and walked over to the window. He picked up a sealed, white envelope that was lying flat on the windowsill. Turning it over, he glanced up at Yuki. "Where'd it come from?"

Hurriedly, Yuki climbed out of his bed and joined Kyo, who handed him the envelope. On the front was scrawled, in small, dark, letters- 'Sohma Yuki'. Yuki looked up, puzzled, and Kyo shrugged. Sitting back down, Yuki tore at the envelope's corners and pulled out a couple pieces of small, white paper. Kyo watched from his spot by the window.

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Sohma Yuki-

You must know who the writer of this letter is, but do not be alarmed upon reading this… I assure you, you are in no danger and have no reason to feel threatened. There are no intentions of harming you, only of informing you. We are well separated by now, in more than one way.

You must know by now, if you didn't before, that your mother died almost four years ago. Yes, I know of this- In fact, I believe I probably knew well before you did. Because, you see, until then, I was very much in love with your mother.

Your mother was not aware of this. Your father was. You may or may not recall that your father and I had almost no association whatsoever with each other- he resented me almost as much as I did him. I even have reason to believe I was the reason that he refused to come by the Main House to see you and your brother as he was leaving Aikawa. And I admit that I had made more than one effort to take your mother away from Mr. Sohma. But I knew from the beginning that it was a lost cause. She was far too loyal, not to mention uninterested.

The rest should be self-explanatory. I was an angry man, and apparently haven't changed. I could not have your mother, yet I was still stuck with her offspring, a daily reminder that I could never have what I really wanted. So my anger was released onto you, because you reminded me of her.

This, though I am certain you will not believe it, is an honest account of my relation with all of your family. Be assured, though, I am resolved to end all of this once and for all. I will not be interfering with your lives again.

-Sohma Akito

PS-There will be no lawsuit, so I have enclosed an approximate payment for your medical charges. I hate to be in debt as much as anyone.

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What the….

Yuki stood dumbfounded for a minute, then looked up at Kyo. "You guys were right," he said in a low voice. "He really is insane."

"What? Let me see."

Still processing the entire message, Yuki handed over the letter and watched him read it. After a few minutes, Kyo looked up, looking as shocked as Yuki felt.

"Akito? Your mom?" He leaned back against the windowsill. "I think I'm going to be sick."

Yuki shook his head. "He's got to be making it up. It doesn't make sense."

"What could Akito possibly gain by making up something like this?" Kyo waved the letter in front of Yuki, who didn't answer.

"Are you going to tell Ayame? Or anyone?" Kyo asked.

"I don't know. Not yet, anyway."

Just then, someone outside turned the door handle and started coming in. Yuki practically dove across his bed and hid the letter underneath his pillow. Kyo rolled his eyes, thinking that only a complete idiot could miss that.

Fortunately, it was only Shigure. "'Morning, everyone!" he exclaimed, beaming at both of them. He picked up Yuki's suitcase and started throwing random items from the room in it. "You guys going to be ready to go soon?"

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Akito sat alone, back in the Main House. Will they even believe it? It was doubtful. Either way, it was impossible for Yuki to understand what he'd been told, but what would he think? Of course, that didn't really matter either. How Yuki reacted was irrelevant, or would be soon. Why had he even written that letter? Just an explanation? Or was it an apology? Akito wasn't even sure

With all his business taken care of, it was hard not to reflect back. Truly, his life had been a pathetic one, no matter how you looked at it. He had spent his time on the wrong people, and done terrible things, only to spend the rest of his life trying not to regret them. He had accomplished nothing, not even for himself. And the people around him hated him almost as much as he hated himself. So….taking that into consideration, at this point…what did he have to lose? He didn't want all the hatred, but there it was. Absorbed in his own thoughts, Akito leaned forward and looked out at the view from his window.

For the last time?

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On the way home, to the Sohma house, Shigure and Ayame kept the car lively, singing and yelling over each other. Refusing to drive with both of them in the car, Hatori had driven his own car. Behind Ayame, in the back seat, Kyo looked nervously at Yuki. He watched as his cousin stared out the window, obviously deep in thought.

Which made sense; Kyo didn't know what to make of Akito's letter, either. Did it change things? They had all come to the conclusion long ago- It was possible that Akito was entirely mentally stable. But on more than one occasion, Kyo had seen for himself a more vulnerable, human side of the man. Even when Akito was pulling a gun on Yuki, there was something else to it….In a way, if not for just a split second….Akito had seemed as scared of himself as they were of him. But at the same time….it was not the look of a raving lunatic. Then what was it?

Having trouble following his own logic, Kyo glanced back over to his cousin. He hoped Yuki was having more luck figuring out this man than he was.

When they arrived at the Sohma house, they all helped to get Yuki's things back inside. Chucking a suitcase into Yuki's room, Ayame said, "Well, I think that's the last of it! Glad to be home, Yuki?" Not getting a response, he, Kyo, and Shigure turned around.

"Yuki?"

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Not even thinking, Yuki was walking straight into the woods, yet he knew exactly where he was going. It was a humid, uncomfortable day, but Yuki kept going. He hadn't eaten or drunken anything all day, and he was dizzy from the heat after a while, but he continued. He had too many questions. No matter how irrational or reckless, he was going to figure Akito out once and for all. Was it possible there was more to Sohma Akito? Or was it that…what you see is what you get?

By the time Yuki could see the Main House, he was perspiring and thirsty, but didn't even notice at this point. He saw a red flicker from inside the window of Akito's chambers. Suddenly, he got a vision of a sinister-looking Akito sitting in the middle of a hellish flame, plotting or scheming some havoc-wreaking contrivance or another. But just as quickly, the idea vanished. The voice of that letter did not belong to a death-obsessive demon, but he was curious to know who it did belong to.

Yuki was now among the House. The windows were illuminated red-orange from inside, and Yuki looked inside, carefully and silently. Inside, he saw Akito.

With a knife. Yuki quickly withdrew out of sight, and was about to run, but hesitated. After a moment, he peered back inside, and realized Akito hadn't even noticed him. He was facing the other way. Yuki looked slightly puzzled for a second, before his eyes widened and he drew in a sharp breath.

Unable to utter a sound, Yuki stared, completely stunned. Akito raised the knife, directed straight into his own chest. He inhaled, closed his eyes, and-

"AKITO!!!!!"

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Nearly an hour later, as the sun was setting, Yuki was beginning to walk back towards his own house, when he heard hurried footsteps coming towards him. It was Hatori and Ayame.

"Yuki!" Hatori looked like a mess- His clothes were disheveled, and he was hot and sweaty. But a look of pure relief came over his face as he saw Yuki. "What the hell have you been doing around here?"

"Oh, um…walking."

Ayame looked at Hatori, then back at Yuki. "Out here?"

"Yeah."

"Why??"

"Uh…for the heck of it?"

Hatori looked at him incredulously, then uncertainty past him at the Main House. "Come on. Let's get out of here." And with a parenting air, he grabbed Yuki's arm and started marching him back towards the other direction.

Yuki smiled as he looked back over his shoulder, at the Main House in the distance behind them. It looked almost serene, and the red haze from the windows vanished, replaced by the golden light of the sunset.

~*~THE END~*~

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A/N- Well, there you have it. I'm DONE! Yay! Oh, and by the way… If you thought the ending was confusing, or just plain sucked, use your imagination. There's room for interpretation, if you want it. Okay, here's the catch… now's when you review my story, right?! Please? I'd really appreciate it. Anybody? Of course my greatest fear is that everyone will hate my ending and flame me for it…please don't, heeheehee. Okay, I must be going crazy, but I don't care any more, because I'm FINISHED with this fic! Ja ne!

Now….See that little purple button?

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Isn't it pretty? Let's see what happens when you click on it! :-)