~Redemption~
Chapter 2
*Home*
Matin Ange
Author's Notes: Thanks to Shadowfax who reviewed this time!! I hope you like this chapter, too. I'm sorry I didn't get it out on time either. I'm so horrible with dead lines! @_@ But, I had an idea for Kyo, but it'd only be a temporary thing, so... I don't know who to have him end up with. Suggestions on that and other pairings are welcome, in fact, they're urged!! Please!
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Shigure balanced carefully on one foot in the entranceway to the house, one hand pulling on his shoe while the other worked to straighten his tie, and held the phone delicately between his shoulder and ear. "Hi, Hari? Yes, well, I was wondering if we could bring the new guests to see Akito."
Akume came down the stairs then, dressed in a brown, short-sleeved, collared dress and innocently clung to her. A brown leather belt with orange stitching hung loosely around her waist, and her was tied back in the normal, loose braid, bound now by a thin piece of leather rope. Seeing Shigure struggling with his many tasks, she hurried forward, setting the knee-high brown boots next to the door before she moved to help him finish with his shoe so he could properly stand before she moved to the tie, leaving the older man stunned.
"Shigure? Shigure, are you still there?" The low voice carried over the phone to gently waft to her ears, and she only smiled softly at the slightly blushing man before she finished with the tie and moved away from him, sitting on the small ledge to tug on her own boots. "Shigure, this isn't funny."
Shigure shook his head. "I'm sorry, Hatori, I got a bit distracted with something. Does Akito have time for us?"
"He will when you get here. Momiji has been dying to meet them ever since you called last night, so please come soon so he'll... settle down." Hatori replied, no emotion evident in his voice, but his choice of words told his friend that he was highly exasperated with the little rabbit.
Shigure laughed softly, about to reply when Akume silently stepped outside and started stretching out her legs. "Sure thing, Hari. We'll be there in a bit." With that he hung up the phone before grabbing his coat and joining her outside. "It's cold out." He commented needlessly. "Do you have a coat of some sort?"
"The cold doesn't bother me. I'll just run it off." She replied, switching legs to briefly stretch out the muscles there.
"You could hurt yourself." Honestly Shigure had no idea why he was so worried about the young woman in front of him who he hardly knew. "Be careful."
"I've been running around since I was three and I haven't hurt myself yet." She stretched her arms above her head before she turned to look at him. "You shouldn't worry."
"Well, you are a Sohma, and it's natural to worry about family." He finally found an excuse that would justify his worry so he spit it out in his normal singsong way.
"I'm not a part of your family yet." There was something in her tone that stung Shigure, even though her soft voice was hardly meant to be so.
"There you are." Tsukeru said, spotting Akume as she poked her head out the door before moving onto the porch with them, dressed in the same outfit as the day before. "The early bird as always I see."
"No. I woke up to your singing at dawn, only I didn't go back to sleep." There was buried humor in her words as she smiled softly at Tsukeru.
"Well, excuse me for being tired after such a long journey here." The older flipped a few strands of wavy, red hair over her shoulder indignantly.
"Oh yes. Riding on my back was so hard on you." Akume rolled her eyes. "I'm going to run to the gates and wait for you there."
"Why don't we all just walk together?" Tohru asked, stepping onto the porch with them in one of her regular, winter outfits.
There was slight disappointment on Akume's face for just a moment before she smiled and nodded. "All right."
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Shigure stopped them in front of the large doors of the main Sohma household, discretely putting out his arm to stop Tohru from opening the doors, instead nodding to Akume who looked curiously back at them. Akume strode forward, feigning the confidence of the horse, but as soon as her hand was just inches away, someone from the other side, causing the horse to freeze in shock, hastily pulled it back.
"Tohru!!" Momiji bound forward, giving the smiling brunette a tight hug. It was then that he turned back to inspect Akume and Tsukeru for only a moment before grinning. He moved to grab Akume's hand, pulling her gently forward and further into the gates. "Come on! Hari's waiting to see you both. Hurry, hurry!"
The slightly shocked, timid blush on Akume's cheeks prompted Shigure to laugh softly. "Now, now, Momiji. Don't you think you should introduce yourself before you start pulling girls around?"
Momiji stopped and pondered over this for a moment before shrugging and smiling broadly at Akume. "I'm Momiji Sohma, and I'm the rabbit." He announced.
"A-Akume Sohma. The horse." Akume stammered out before managing a smile.
"And I'm Tsukeru, the rooster." Tsukeru added when the large, inquiring brown eyes turned to her.
"All right. It's very nice to meet you both! Now come on! I told Hari I would hurry and take you to him!"
Tsukeru laughed softly at the boy's antics before nudging the dazed Akume into moving. They followed the eager blonde to the house specified, and Momiji even pulled the door open for them, motioning for them to go in first. Tsukeru nodded to him in thanks before entering the large room, stopping only a few feet inside the door, and causing Akume to bump into her.
The normally calm manner of Tsukeru had dropped almost completely as she gaped at the man sitting, doing paperwork at his desk, and a light blush grazed her cheeks. "Oh wow." Tsukeru said softly after Akume had elbowed her in the side, practically pushing her out of everyone's way.
Hatori looked up then, Tsukeru managing to don back her normally calm facade, though unable to hide the soft smile. "You certainly did bring a lot of people, Shigure." He said, his voice slightly rough as her looked the two proselytes over.
"This is Akume and Tsukeru!" Momiji announced, pointing to them as he said their names. "The horse and the rooster!" He turned to the two girls then. "That's Hatori. He's the dragon, and he also erases people's memories if he has to. But he hasn't done it in a long time so he's probably pretty bad at it now."
Akume smiled. "Tsukeru does that too! She's really good at it. We couldn't have made it without her."
Tsukeru shook her head slightly. "No no, I'm not that good." She denied, looking over at Akume slightly angrily, causing her to be slightly confused.
Hatori approached them slowly, "I see. Well, it's nice to see that both of you are back. It's about time the Sohma family was complete. Perhaps we can finally get somewhere in our research, Shigure." He moved his eyes from the girls to look at his long time friend.
Shigure nodded, somewhat gravely. "I do hope so." He brightened then, hating to make the mood serious before they went to see Akito. "We shouldn't keep Akito waiting, though, Hari." He informed in his own singsong manner.
"Yes, that's true. Please follow us." He bowed just the slightest bit to Akume and Tsukeru before walking past them to the door where he joined Shigure. Together they led the party, Momiji chatting happily with Tohru, and Hatori and Shigure speaking in more hushed tones.
"I think I'm in love." Tsukeru said softly to Akume, glancing from her to Hatori and back.
Akume laughed out loud, hurriedly placing a hand on her mouth to stifle them. "I saw you gaping at him, Keru. You can't hide anything from me."
"And you can't hide the fact that you want to stay at Shigure's house - perhaps for the reason that it's his house? - while I would be content staying here." Tsukeru shot back, though her words were not intended to be mean, and Akume was able to easily pick up on it.
"Not true. It'd just be better if I stayed with them if I'm to go to their school." Akume blushed slightly, though not enough for anyone to tell.
Their conversation was stopped as Shigure and Hatori stopped them at the doors. "Akito may seem like a mean person, but please be patient with him." Hatori said softly before pulling back the doors to allow them all to file in.
They sat so that Akume and Tsukeru sat slightly in front, the other four sitting in a row behind them with Shigure on the end closest to the door. All was silent for a long moment as no one dared to disturb the man lounging lazily on the porch; a small, white bird perched on his finger. Finally Akume turned to look at Shigure quizzically, who just gave a slight shrug in return. The young horse sighed softly before turning back around, respectively bowing her head.
"A - Akito..." Shigure started, causing Akume to smile softly, hidden by creamy-orange bangs. "The horse and the rooster are here, Akume and Tsukeru, to see you."
Akito turned his head to scrutinize them for a moment before looking back at where the bird had been, though it had taken flight with the movement. "And...?"
"And we are here to speak with you about our place in the Sohma household." Tsukeru replied, her voice as soft and cool as it was always.
Akito rose, slowly, and turned to approach them, to stand before them and look condescendingly down at them. "Ah, but you never wanted one before, did you?"
"That's not true! Why would we be here if it were? We cannot control what the ones before us did, but we're here, now, and that's what matters. This is so stupid, having to come before you like this to ask to be a part of something we already are. It's not exactly like you can stop us from being Sohmas." Akume blushed as she spoke, surprised at her forwardness, though she kept her head bowed to him.
"Is that what you think, young horse? You don't know a thing." He narrowed his eyes at her before he looked to the other. "And what do you think?"
"I'm not so sure I would use the word 'stupid,' as Akume did, but I would definitely say that it's pointless, since we are of the zodiac already." She sighed softly at the mess Akume's temper had gotten them in to. "Still, I know how the others feel, needing to have some rock to cling to in the storms of their lives, so I understand why they brought us here."
"One is insightful and the other not. Interesting." Akito looked back at them. "Tell me: why should I allow you to stay with us now?"
Akume opened her mouth to retort yet another angry answer at him, but a glare from Tsukeru silenced her. "Because, in all honesty, we are needed to help end this curse. I think that should be reason enough." Tsukeru's answer was matter-of-fact, her voice holding the tone to back it up.
"And you want to help... do what? Save me? Or perhaps you're more worried with saving yourselves?"
"I think there's only one conceited person here." Akume mumbled. "You are the head of the family, of course we would want to save you." She said, more loudly, slightly annoyed.
Akito approached her, to stand just inches in front of her, causing both Hatori and Shigure to stiffen slightly. "You think I'm conceited?" He mused, his eyes narrowed softly. Akume gave him no answer, and so he reached forward to angrily grab a clump of her hair and pulling her head up slightly so that his face was inches from hers. "Tell me something, Akume, who is bearing the weight of this curse for you? Who is it that is keeping you alive?"
Akume's only answer was to reach up and slap him, fire in her eyes as his grip loosened enough for her to pull away from him and stand. "This horse does not obey when hit or abused." She huffed, before turning and walking from the room.
Hatori looked at Shigure, who helplessly looked back at him. The doctor gave a slight nod to him, and Shigure smiled slightly before standing and following her out, Momiji doing the same, though to do his own bidding, leaving Tsukeru, Tohru, and Hatori to straighten everything out.
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"Akume!" Shigure called, finally close enough to do so and not draw too much attention to them, his hand on her arm to stop her. They were still inside the main gates of the Sohma house, in some nameless garden that Akume had blindly escaped to. "Akume... Did he hurt you?"
Akume didn't turn to look at him though her silent tears were slightly evident in the way she trembled softly under his touch. "I want to go home." She whispered softly, the arm that was not being held lifted, her hand covering her face slightly.
"I can take you back to the house, if you'd like that." Shigure looked at her, his brows furrowed somewhat. He wanted to hold her, to make her tears disappear, but he knew that it was not his place, and the small part of his heart stopped him.
"That's not my home!" She said, her words harsher than they intended as she moved to sit on a deck, pulling gently away from the touch on her arm.
"Then to your parents?" Shigure walked with her, and sat next to her on the deck, looking out into the peaceful garden.
"My parents despise me." She could feel Shigure's look of slight shock, so she continued softly. "My mother was Tsukeru's mom's best friend. She was fiery and hot-tempered, impatient and beautiful and graceful. When she became pregnant with me, the horse spirit moved from Tsukeru's father to me. My father picked me up first, there was a complication with my mother, and when he picked up his tiny, premature baby, it turned into a horse. He was so shocked, so disgusted, that he threw me as far away from him as he could. I ended up almost not making it out of the encounter, having multiple injuries, and they simply left me there, at the hospital. By the time the doctors realized it, my mother and father had skipped town, vowing to Tsukeru's parents never to speak of their forsaken daughter again." She sighed softly, shivering from the added cold of the resurfaced memories. "Tsukeru was ten, and so we stayed with her parents for a long while. We erased their memories when we left, so it's impossible to ever go home again."
Shigure slid off the sports coat of his suit, draping it around her shoulders. "You have a new home now. You can live at my house, no matter what Akito says."
Akume looked up at him for a long moment before she tentatively moved closer to him, and laid her head against his shoulder. "I can't impose."
Shigure smiled softly, his own arms wrapping around her shoulders. "You won't be. It'll be nice, having another girl in the house, especially for poor Tohru. We put her through so much, now you can share the burden of being our precious, little flower."
"Ha ha! Pervert Gure!" Momiji piped up from where he had been listening quietly.
Shigure immediately withdrew his arms from her, moving back slightly with a blush. "Who? Me? Never!" He said, playing off the accusation of the rabbit.
"Akume, I swear! That was the worst position you could have ever put me in. Of course, I did pull it off so that I get to stay here, and you get to stay with Shigure and go to school with them." Tsukeru confidently flipped her red hair over one shoulder.
"I'm sorry." Akume said softly, her head bowed.
"You better be."
"But, um, about Akito... He's really not that bad of a person, once you get to know him, so I hope you'll give him a second chance." Tohru explained, apologizing for him.
"I think she already has, haven't you, Akume?" Shigure inquired, pushing a few strands of hair behind her ears.
Akume only nodded with a blush, leaving Tohru with a confused smile.
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What to be expected: New Years, Akume's first day of school, a horse race (the endurance run), and a proposition from Shigure.
When to be expected: Soon, I promise! As soon as I get another review... or two... or more (hopefully more!) Well, I'll have it out sometime next week, but reviews will give me inspiration! And hopefully some ideas on pairings... and ideas in general! Please r&r!! I'll love you forever, just like I love Shadowfax and Vashkoda!!
Chapter 2
*Home*
Matin Ange
Author's Notes: Thanks to Shadowfax who reviewed this time!! I hope you like this chapter, too. I'm sorry I didn't get it out on time either. I'm so horrible with dead lines! @_@ But, I had an idea for Kyo, but it'd only be a temporary thing, so... I don't know who to have him end up with. Suggestions on that and other pairings are welcome, in fact, they're urged!! Please!
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Shigure balanced carefully on one foot in the entranceway to the house, one hand pulling on his shoe while the other worked to straighten his tie, and held the phone delicately between his shoulder and ear. "Hi, Hari? Yes, well, I was wondering if we could bring the new guests to see Akito."
Akume came down the stairs then, dressed in a brown, short-sleeved, collared dress and innocently clung to her. A brown leather belt with orange stitching hung loosely around her waist, and her was tied back in the normal, loose braid, bound now by a thin piece of leather rope. Seeing Shigure struggling with his many tasks, she hurried forward, setting the knee-high brown boots next to the door before she moved to help him finish with his shoe so he could properly stand before she moved to the tie, leaving the older man stunned.
"Shigure? Shigure, are you still there?" The low voice carried over the phone to gently waft to her ears, and she only smiled softly at the slightly blushing man before she finished with the tie and moved away from him, sitting on the small ledge to tug on her own boots. "Shigure, this isn't funny."
Shigure shook his head. "I'm sorry, Hatori, I got a bit distracted with something. Does Akito have time for us?"
"He will when you get here. Momiji has been dying to meet them ever since you called last night, so please come soon so he'll... settle down." Hatori replied, no emotion evident in his voice, but his choice of words told his friend that he was highly exasperated with the little rabbit.
Shigure laughed softly, about to reply when Akume silently stepped outside and started stretching out her legs. "Sure thing, Hari. We'll be there in a bit." With that he hung up the phone before grabbing his coat and joining her outside. "It's cold out." He commented needlessly. "Do you have a coat of some sort?"
"The cold doesn't bother me. I'll just run it off." She replied, switching legs to briefly stretch out the muscles there.
"You could hurt yourself." Honestly Shigure had no idea why he was so worried about the young woman in front of him who he hardly knew. "Be careful."
"I've been running around since I was three and I haven't hurt myself yet." She stretched her arms above her head before she turned to look at him. "You shouldn't worry."
"Well, you are a Sohma, and it's natural to worry about family." He finally found an excuse that would justify his worry so he spit it out in his normal singsong way.
"I'm not a part of your family yet." There was something in her tone that stung Shigure, even though her soft voice was hardly meant to be so.
"There you are." Tsukeru said, spotting Akume as she poked her head out the door before moving onto the porch with them, dressed in the same outfit as the day before. "The early bird as always I see."
"No. I woke up to your singing at dawn, only I didn't go back to sleep." There was buried humor in her words as she smiled softly at Tsukeru.
"Well, excuse me for being tired after such a long journey here." The older flipped a few strands of wavy, red hair over her shoulder indignantly.
"Oh yes. Riding on my back was so hard on you." Akume rolled her eyes. "I'm going to run to the gates and wait for you there."
"Why don't we all just walk together?" Tohru asked, stepping onto the porch with them in one of her regular, winter outfits.
There was slight disappointment on Akume's face for just a moment before she smiled and nodded. "All right."
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Shigure stopped them in front of the large doors of the main Sohma household, discretely putting out his arm to stop Tohru from opening the doors, instead nodding to Akume who looked curiously back at them. Akume strode forward, feigning the confidence of the horse, but as soon as her hand was just inches away, someone from the other side, causing the horse to freeze in shock, hastily pulled it back.
"Tohru!!" Momiji bound forward, giving the smiling brunette a tight hug. It was then that he turned back to inspect Akume and Tsukeru for only a moment before grinning. He moved to grab Akume's hand, pulling her gently forward and further into the gates. "Come on! Hari's waiting to see you both. Hurry, hurry!"
The slightly shocked, timid blush on Akume's cheeks prompted Shigure to laugh softly. "Now, now, Momiji. Don't you think you should introduce yourself before you start pulling girls around?"
Momiji stopped and pondered over this for a moment before shrugging and smiling broadly at Akume. "I'm Momiji Sohma, and I'm the rabbit." He announced.
"A-Akume Sohma. The horse." Akume stammered out before managing a smile.
"And I'm Tsukeru, the rooster." Tsukeru added when the large, inquiring brown eyes turned to her.
"All right. It's very nice to meet you both! Now come on! I told Hari I would hurry and take you to him!"
Tsukeru laughed softly at the boy's antics before nudging the dazed Akume into moving. They followed the eager blonde to the house specified, and Momiji even pulled the door open for them, motioning for them to go in first. Tsukeru nodded to him in thanks before entering the large room, stopping only a few feet inside the door, and causing Akume to bump into her.
The normally calm manner of Tsukeru had dropped almost completely as she gaped at the man sitting, doing paperwork at his desk, and a light blush grazed her cheeks. "Oh wow." Tsukeru said softly after Akume had elbowed her in the side, practically pushing her out of everyone's way.
Hatori looked up then, Tsukeru managing to don back her normally calm facade, though unable to hide the soft smile. "You certainly did bring a lot of people, Shigure." He said, his voice slightly rough as her looked the two proselytes over.
"This is Akume and Tsukeru!" Momiji announced, pointing to them as he said their names. "The horse and the rooster!" He turned to the two girls then. "That's Hatori. He's the dragon, and he also erases people's memories if he has to. But he hasn't done it in a long time so he's probably pretty bad at it now."
Akume smiled. "Tsukeru does that too! She's really good at it. We couldn't have made it without her."
Tsukeru shook her head slightly. "No no, I'm not that good." She denied, looking over at Akume slightly angrily, causing her to be slightly confused.
Hatori approached them slowly, "I see. Well, it's nice to see that both of you are back. It's about time the Sohma family was complete. Perhaps we can finally get somewhere in our research, Shigure." He moved his eyes from the girls to look at his long time friend.
Shigure nodded, somewhat gravely. "I do hope so." He brightened then, hating to make the mood serious before they went to see Akito. "We shouldn't keep Akito waiting, though, Hari." He informed in his own singsong manner.
"Yes, that's true. Please follow us." He bowed just the slightest bit to Akume and Tsukeru before walking past them to the door where he joined Shigure. Together they led the party, Momiji chatting happily with Tohru, and Hatori and Shigure speaking in more hushed tones.
"I think I'm in love." Tsukeru said softly to Akume, glancing from her to Hatori and back.
Akume laughed out loud, hurriedly placing a hand on her mouth to stifle them. "I saw you gaping at him, Keru. You can't hide anything from me."
"And you can't hide the fact that you want to stay at Shigure's house - perhaps for the reason that it's his house? - while I would be content staying here." Tsukeru shot back, though her words were not intended to be mean, and Akume was able to easily pick up on it.
"Not true. It'd just be better if I stayed with them if I'm to go to their school." Akume blushed slightly, though not enough for anyone to tell.
Their conversation was stopped as Shigure and Hatori stopped them at the doors. "Akito may seem like a mean person, but please be patient with him." Hatori said softly before pulling back the doors to allow them all to file in.
They sat so that Akume and Tsukeru sat slightly in front, the other four sitting in a row behind them with Shigure on the end closest to the door. All was silent for a long moment as no one dared to disturb the man lounging lazily on the porch; a small, white bird perched on his finger. Finally Akume turned to look at Shigure quizzically, who just gave a slight shrug in return. The young horse sighed softly before turning back around, respectively bowing her head.
"A - Akito..." Shigure started, causing Akume to smile softly, hidden by creamy-orange bangs. "The horse and the rooster are here, Akume and Tsukeru, to see you."
Akito turned his head to scrutinize them for a moment before looking back at where the bird had been, though it had taken flight with the movement. "And...?"
"And we are here to speak with you about our place in the Sohma household." Tsukeru replied, her voice as soft and cool as it was always.
Akito rose, slowly, and turned to approach them, to stand before them and look condescendingly down at them. "Ah, but you never wanted one before, did you?"
"That's not true! Why would we be here if it were? We cannot control what the ones before us did, but we're here, now, and that's what matters. This is so stupid, having to come before you like this to ask to be a part of something we already are. It's not exactly like you can stop us from being Sohmas." Akume blushed as she spoke, surprised at her forwardness, though she kept her head bowed to him.
"Is that what you think, young horse? You don't know a thing." He narrowed his eyes at her before he looked to the other. "And what do you think?"
"I'm not so sure I would use the word 'stupid,' as Akume did, but I would definitely say that it's pointless, since we are of the zodiac already." She sighed softly at the mess Akume's temper had gotten them in to. "Still, I know how the others feel, needing to have some rock to cling to in the storms of their lives, so I understand why they brought us here."
"One is insightful and the other not. Interesting." Akito looked back at them. "Tell me: why should I allow you to stay with us now?"
Akume opened her mouth to retort yet another angry answer at him, but a glare from Tsukeru silenced her. "Because, in all honesty, we are needed to help end this curse. I think that should be reason enough." Tsukeru's answer was matter-of-fact, her voice holding the tone to back it up.
"And you want to help... do what? Save me? Or perhaps you're more worried with saving yourselves?"
"I think there's only one conceited person here." Akume mumbled. "You are the head of the family, of course we would want to save you." She said, more loudly, slightly annoyed.
Akito approached her, to stand just inches in front of her, causing both Hatori and Shigure to stiffen slightly. "You think I'm conceited?" He mused, his eyes narrowed softly. Akume gave him no answer, and so he reached forward to angrily grab a clump of her hair and pulling her head up slightly so that his face was inches from hers. "Tell me something, Akume, who is bearing the weight of this curse for you? Who is it that is keeping you alive?"
Akume's only answer was to reach up and slap him, fire in her eyes as his grip loosened enough for her to pull away from him and stand. "This horse does not obey when hit or abused." She huffed, before turning and walking from the room.
Hatori looked at Shigure, who helplessly looked back at him. The doctor gave a slight nod to him, and Shigure smiled slightly before standing and following her out, Momiji doing the same, though to do his own bidding, leaving Tsukeru, Tohru, and Hatori to straighten everything out.
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"Akume!" Shigure called, finally close enough to do so and not draw too much attention to them, his hand on her arm to stop her. They were still inside the main gates of the Sohma house, in some nameless garden that Akume had blindly escaped to. "Akume... Did he hurt you?"
Akume didn't turn to look at him though her silent tears were slightly evident in the way she trembled softly under his touch. "I want to go home." She whispered softly, the arm that was not being held lifted, her hand covering her face slightly.
"I can take you back to the house, if you'd like that." Shigure looked at her, his brows furrowed somewhat. He wanted to hold her, to make her tears disappear, but he knew that it was not his place, and the small part of his heart stopped him.
"That's not my home!" She said, her words harsher than they intended as she moved to sit on a deck, pulling gently away from the touch on her arm.
"Then to your parents?" Shigure walked with her, and sat next to her on the deck, looking out into the peaceful garden.
"My parents despise me." She could feel Shigure's look of slight shock, so she continued softly. "My mother was Tsukeru's mom's best friend. She was fiery and hot-tempered, impatient and beautiful and graceful. When she became pregnant with me, the horse spirit moved from Tsukeru's father to me. My father picked me up first, there was a complication with my mother, and when he picked up his tiny, premature baby, it turned into a horse. He was so shocked, so disgusted, that he threw me as far away from him as he could. I ended up almost not making it out of the encounter, having multiple injuries, and they simply left me there, at the hospital. By the time the doctors realized it, my mother and father had skipped town, vowing to Tsukeru's parents never to speak of their forsaken daughter again." She sighed softly, shivering from the added cold of the resurfaced memories. "Tsukeru was ten, and so we stayed with her parents for a long while. We erased their memories when we left, so it's impossible to ever go home again."
Shigure slid off the sports coat of his suit, draping it around her shoulders. "You have a new home now. You can live at my house, no matter what Akito says."
Akume looked up at him for a long moment before she tentatively moved closer to him, and laid her head against his shoulder. "I can't impose."
Shigure smiled softly, his own arms wrapping around her shoulders. "You won't be. It'll be nice, having another girl in the house, especially for poor Tohru. We put her through so much, now you can share the burden of being our precious, little flower."
"Ha ha! Pervert Gure!" Momiji piped up from where he had been listening quietly.
Shigure immediately withdrew his arms from her, moving back slightly with a blush. "Who? Me? Never!" He said, playing off the accusation of the rabbit.
"Akume, I swear! That was the worst position you could have ever put me in. Of course, I did pull it off so that I get to stay here, and you get to stay with Shigure and go to school with them." Tsukeru confidently flipped her red hair over one shoulder.
"I'm sorry." Akume said softly, her head bowed.
"You better be."
"But, um, about Akito... He's really not that bad of a person, once you get to know him, so I hope you'll give him a second chance." Tohru explained, apologizing for him.
"I think she already has, haven't you, Akume?" Shigure inquired, pushing a few strands of hair behind her ears.
Akume only nodded with a blush, leaving Tohru with a confused smile.
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What to be expected: New Years, Akume's first day of school, a horse race (the endurance run), and a proposition from Shigure.
When to be expected: Soon, I promise! As soon as I get another review... or two... or more (hopefully more!) Well, I'll have it out sometime next week, but reviews will give me inspiration! And hopefully some ideas on pairings... and ideas in general! Please r&r!! I'll love you forever, just like I love Shadowfax and Vashkoda!!
