Hi. Sorry it took me a few days to update. Work has been crazy but I really hope that you enjoy this chapter! ^_^ I promise that the story will end happier. Thanks for all the kind reviews! ~ Sarah-chan
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Making Our Future
By: FayeValentine00 (Sarah-chan)
Chapter 6
***Tohru's POV***
When I woke up, it was dark outside and the house seemed too quiet for comfort. My eyes felt so heavy but I fought the urge to close them again. Instead, I sat up and wiped the sleep from my eyes before I felt something soft hit my lap. When I looked down, the red hat that I'd received so long ago from my first love, was laying there. I must've picked it up before I'd laid down but why would I have done that?
I pushed my confusion away for the time being and placed that hat back on my desk before quickly changing into more comfortable clothes. I would have to figure out the mystery of the hat a different day. Right now, I needed to find out what was going on downstairs.
When I go to the top of the staircase I could hear soft voices coming from the living room and when I moved closer, I realized that those voices belonged to Momiji and Haru. They were speaking in soft voices and when I peeked inside, they both looked deeply disturbed.
"What is Akito going to do?" Momiji asked softly.
"I don't know. I think Kyo will be fine as long as Kagura is alright but Yuki..." Haru made a sound of disapproval and dropped his gaze to the floor. "Yuki has a bigger fight than he's expecting. Now that Akito finally has Yuki in his grasp, he'll do anything to keep him."
A gasp escaped my lips at Haru's dark prediction. I'd tried to stay so positive, even when we'd said good-bye, but this truth hit me hard and I suddenly realized exactly how bad the situation at the Sohma house had become.
"Who's there?" Momiji jumped up quickly to see who'd been spying so I stepped out of the shadows and met his eyes evenly.
"I-I's sorry. I didn't mean to listen."
"It's okay. You should really go get some rest." Haru gazed at me with concern.
"I'll be fine. Let me make us some coffee."
I turned quickly and left the room, heading straight for the kitchen. I didn't want to tell the younger boys but my dreams had been full of Yuki and Kyo. Some of the dreams were happy memories but others ... those others were frightening. I'd seen Yuki and Kyo battered and miserable. They'd looked so close yet I was helpless to do anything to help them.
I was afraid to go back to sleep. I didn't want to relive those nightmares. They were too frightening and I knew that I needed to have faith in Yuki. He'd promised to return to me and I had to believe him. The faith I had in him was all I had left.
I finished the coffee and carried it out to the boys. They both thanked me with a smile before the room was embraced in a heavy silence. None of us seemed to know the right thing to say but a few moments later, we heard a creak on the stairs.
"Kagura?"
"How did I get to Shigure's house?" She looked confused.
"You passed out so I brought you here for rest." Haru smiled gently to her as he spoke, gently patting the ground next to her so she'd sit down while I quickly jumped up to get her a cup of coffee too. Once we were all settled, we'd have to discuss what could be done to save the boys.
***Hatori's POV***
Akito had been more than willing to walk out to the car with us to fetch Yuki and Kyo. In fact, he seemed happier today then I even remember seeing him before and that was a bit frightening. He was getting thrills out of controlling peopled lives and didn't think anything of it. It also made me feel a little bit sad for him too because those games were all he'd ever known.
It would have been obvious to anyone who'd seen Yuki and Kyo that they were trying to put up a brave front but one look into their eyes showed that they were both dealing with a lot of emotions. A piece of me wanted to throw them back into the car and take them somewhere safe but the reality was that no where was safe. We might be able to run away from Akito but it was impossible to escape our curse.
"Ah! Yuki, Kyo ... I'm so glad that you could come." Akito's soft voice would've unnerved just about anyone. His cold stare and dark eyes bore into the boys like a snake ready to strike. "First things first..." He turned to Kyo with a sound of disgust.
"You lost. I knew you'd never beat Yuki and I was right. How stupid of you to make a bet that you'd never be able to win." Akito laughed softly to himself, obviously enjoying ridiculing Kyo but Yuki reaction was completely different.
His eyes had immediately shot to Kyo the moment Akito mentioned the bet. He'd obviously had no idea. It really wouldn't have matter though because I really doubt that Akito would have honored the bet anyway. It was all just one of the many mind games that he loved to play.
"Nothing to say, Kyo? ... You disappoint me. You're nothing but a coward." Annoyance flashed in Akitos' eyes when he still received no reaction from the boy who'd always been considered the outcast of the junnishi. "You disgust me!"
That phrase finally gave Akito the reaction that he was looking for when Kyo's head snapped up as though he'd been hit. His eyes glowed with anger and his hands were bawled into tight fists but Akito didn't even flinch. He simply let out other of his laughs that made my skin crawl.
"I wonder how Kagura took the news. I guess she must be really upset. ... Did she cry?"
"Leave her out of this!" Kyo finally spoke up to Akito with hatred in his eyes which made it extremely obvious to all of us what his weakness was.
You could almost hear the groan from the rest of us when Kyo made the vital error. If he'd only stayed quiet, it might have ended but now Akito seemed curious and a new smirk graced his lips.
"Well, well. When did you start caring about that pig? I thought she was just an annoyance to you. Tell me Kyo ... what have I been missing?"
The younger man dropped his gaze from Akito's and didn't say another word. He'd already said more than enough and now he had to deal with the consequences. After several moments of silence between the two, Akito stepped forward and put his face right into Kyos, speaking in a threatening tone.
"Or maybe I should just ask her."
Kyo's body went rigid but he still didn't speak. He just took it, even when Akito laughed in his face.
"You're so pathetic. Get out of my face!" With that, the taller, frail man took a handful of Kyo's orange hair and threw him to the ground at my feet. "Put him where he belongs."
I nodded my understanding and reached down to help Kyo up but he immediately slapped my hand away. He looked furious but still followed me to his 'cell' without even a second glance behind him.
***Kagura's POV***
When I finally had a cup of coffee in my hand, I sat down on the couch and let Haru put a comforting arm around me. I'd woken up in Kyo's bed and had to look around for nearly a minute before it all came back to me. The sinking feeling had only become worse with rest and it was to the point that I was praying that I wouldn't become physically ill.
"What can we do?" Tohru looked up at Momij, Haru and I will big, pleading eyes. "We just can't leave them there."
"Akito won't let us interfere. He'll do everything in his power to keep things the way he wants it. He doesn't care about anyone else, only himself." Haru's voice came out sounding bitter and I had no doubts that this experiance was bring back his memories of Rin.
A piece of me wanted to cry but I had no tears left and I also knew that they weren't helping anyway. Kyo had made me promise not to get involved but when I looked into Tohru's face and saw her pure determination to get the boys back, it made me think that maybe I'd made a mistake.
"I promised." I spoke softly, not sure how to tell Tohru about the conversation between Kyo and I just yesterday.
"What?" Momiji looked at me in confusion.
"I promised Kyo that I wouldn't get involved. H-He told me not to try to save him or to defy Akito. He made me promise."
Tohru's eye's were swimming when she looked into my eyes and I must have looked depressed because she jumped up and threw her arms around me tightly.
"Don't worry. We'll figure out something."
"Okay." I found myself nodding in acknowledgment but I couldn't stop myself from wondering how much of her determination was just talk. Maybe all of this was just pointless.
***Kyo's POV***
God dammit! Why did I open my big mouth?! I'd just made it totally obvious that Kagura was important to me and Akito won't just let that go. once he was done with us, he'd ask Kagura the truth and then things would really start to get ugly. No matter how much I wanted to deny it, I knew that I'd just put Kagura in danger and I wouldn't even be able to warn her, let alone protect her.
I followed Hatori towards the room where I'd spend the rest of my days, just like all the other cat junnishi before me. I guess realization hadn't quite set in yet though because the thought of the room didn't really scare me. What scared me was not having anyone to talk to. Even damn Yuki wouldn't be so bad, as long as we weren't locked up together.
"We're here." Hatori opened the door and let me in before following behind me.
I didn't say a word. I just went straight to the bed and sat down with a heavy sigh. I wanted to tell Hatori to give Kagura a message for me but I still wasn't sure if he could be trusted. If he stabbed me in the back and told Akito the truth, the danger to Kagura would be even greater.
"What should I tell her?" My cousin questioned me softly as if he read my mind and I looked up at him in confusion.
"Huh?"
"Kagura. Do you want me to warn her about Akito? ... You know he won't let it go."
I nodded my head and made a murmur of agreement before Hatori returned the nod with understanding and then turned to walk out the door.
"Oi! Hatori." I waited until the older man turned around and them spoke softly. "Thank you."
"It's okay."
Then he left the room and I heard the heavy lock on the door latch with a heavy click.
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Next chapter - Yuki and Akito
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Making Our Future
By: FayeValentine00 (Sarah-chan)
Chapter 6
***Tohru's POV***
When I woke up, it was dark outside and the house seemed too quiet for comfort. My eyes felt so heavy but I fought the urge to close them again. Instead, I sat up and wiped the sleep from my eyes before I felt something soft hit my lap. When I looked down, the red hat that I'd received so long ago from my first love, was laying there. I must've picked it up before I'd laid down but why would I have done that?
I pushed my confusion away for the time being and placed that hat back on my desk before quickly changing into more comfortable clothes. I would have to figure out the mystery of the hat a different day. Right now, I needed to find out what was going on downstairs.
When I go to the top of the staircase I could hear soft voices coming from the living room and when I moved closer, I realized that those voices belonged to Momiji and Haru. They were speaking in soft voices and when I peeked inside, they both looked deeply disturbed.
"What is Akito going to do?" Momiji asked softly.
"I don't know. I think Kyo will be fine as long as Kagura is alright but Yuki..." Haru made a sound of disapproval and dropped his gaze to the floor. "Yuki has a bigger fight than he's expecting. Now that Akito finally has Yuki in his grasp, he'll do anything to keep him."
A gasp escaped my lips at Haru's dark prediction. I'd tried to stay so positive, even when we'd said good-bye, but this truth hit me hard and I suddenly realized exactly how bad the situation at the Sohma house had become.
"Who's there?" Momiji jumped up quickly to see who'd been spying so I stepped out of the shadows and met his eyes evenly.
"I-I's sorry. I didn't mean to listen."
"It's okay. You should really go get some rest." Haru gazed at me with concern.
"I'll be fine. Let me make us some coffee."
I turned quickly and left the room, heading straight for the kitchen. I didn't want to tell the younger boys but my dreams had been full of Yuki and Kyo. Some of the dreams were happy memories but others ... those others were frightening. I'd seen Yuki and Kyo battered and miserable. They'd looked so close yet I was helpless to do anything to help them.
I was afraid to go back to sleep. I didn't want to relive those nightmares. They were too frightening and I knew that I needed to have faith in Yuki. He'd promised to return to me and I had to believe him. The faith I had in him was all I had left.
I finished the coffee and carried it out to the boys. They both thanked me with a smile before the room was embraced in a heavy silence. None of us seemed to know the right thing to say but a few moments later, we heard a creak on the stairs.
"Kagura?"
"How did I get to Shigure's house?" She looked confused.
"You passed out so I brought you here for rest." Haru smiled gently to her as he spoke, gently patting the ground next to her so she'd sit down while I quickly jumped up to get her a cup of coffee too. Once we were all settled, we'd have to discuss what could be done to save the boys.
***Hatori's POV***
Akito had been more than willing to walk out to the car with us to fetch Yuki and Kyo. In fact, he seemed happier today then I even remember seeing him before and that was a bit frightening. He was getting thrills out of controlling peopled lives and didn't think anything of it. It also made me feel a little bit sad for him too because those games were all he'd ever known.
It would have been obvious to anyone who'd seen Yuki and Kyo that they were trying to put up a brave front but one look into their eyes showed that they were both dealing with a lot of emotions. A piece of me wanted to throw them back into the car and take them somewhere safe but the reality was that no where was safe. We might be able to run away from Akito but it was impossible to escape our curse.
"Ah! Yuki, Kyo ... I'm so glad that you could come." Akito's soft voice would've unnerved just about anyone. His cold stare and dark eyes bore into the boys like a snake ready to strike. "First things first..." He turned to Kyo with a sound of disgust.
"You lost. I knew you'd never beat Yuki and I was right. How stupid of you to make a bet that you'd never be able to win." Akito laughed softly to himself, obviously enjoying ridiculing Kyo but Yuki reaction was completely different.
His eyes had immediately shot to Kyo the moment Akito mentioned the bet. He'd obviously had no idea. It really wouldn't have matter though because I really doubt that Akito would have honored the bet anyway. It was all just one of the many mind games that he loved to play.
"Nothing to say, Kyo? ... You disappoint me. You're nothing but a coward." Annoyance flashed in Akitos' eyes when he still received no reaction from the boy who'd always been considered the outcast of the junnishi. "You disgust me!"
That phrase finally gave Akito the reaction that he was looking for when Kyo's head snapped up as though he'd been hit. His eyes glowed with anger and his hands were bawled into tight fists but Akito didn't even flinch. He simply let out other of his laughs that made my skin crawl.
"I wonder how Kagura took the news. I guess she must be really upset. ... Did she cry?"
"Leave her out of this!" Kyo finally spoke up to Akito with hatred in his eyes which made it extremely obvious to all of us what his weakness was.
You could almost hear the groan from the rest of us when Kyo made the vital error. If he'd only stayed quiet, it might have ended but now Akito seemed curious and a new smirk graced his lips.
"Well, well. When did you start caring about that pig? I thought she was just an annoyance to you. Tell me Kyo ... what have I been missing?"
The younger man dropped his gaze from Akito's and didn't say another word. He'd already said more than enough and now he had to deal with the consequences. After several moments of silence between the two, Akito stepped forward and put his face right into Kyos, speaking in a threatening tone.
"Or maybe I should just ask her."
Kyo's body went rigid but he still didn't speak. He just took it, even when Akito laughed in his face.
"You're so pathetic. Get out of my face!" With that, the taller, frail man took a handful of Kyo's orange hair and threw him to the ground at my feet. "Put him where he belongs."
I nodded my understanding and reached down to help Kyo up but he immediately slapped my hand away. He looked furious but still followed me to his 'cell' without even a second glance behind him.
***Kagura's POV***
When I finally had a cup of coffee in my hand, I sat down on the couch and let Haru put a comforting arm around me. I'd woken up in Kyo's bed and had to look around for nearly a minute before it all came back to me. The sinking feeling had only become worse with rest and it was to the point that I was praying that I wouldn't become physically ill.
"What can we do?" Tohru looked up at Momij, Haru and I will big, pleading eyes. "We just can't leave them there."
"Akito won't let us interfere. He'll do everything in his power to keep things the way he wants it. He doesn't care about anyone else, only himself." Haru's voice came out sounding bitter and I had no doubts that this experiance was bring back his memories of Rin.
A piece of me wanted to cry but I had no tears left and I also knew that they weren't helping anyway. Kyo had made me promise not to get involved but when I looked into Tohru's face and saw her pure determination to get the boys back, it made me think that maybe I'd made a mistake.
"I promised." I spoke softly, not sure how to tell Tohru about the conversation between Kyo and I just yesterday.
"What?" Momiji looked at me in confusion.
"I promised Kyo that I wouldn't get involved. H-He told me not to try to save him or to defy Akito. He made me promise."
Tohru's eye's were swimming when she looked into my eyes and I must have looked depressed because she jumped up and threw her arms around me tightly.
"Don't worry. We'll figure out something."
"Okay." I found myself nodding in acknowledgment but I couldn't stop myself from wondering how much of her determination was just talk. Maybe all of this was just pointless.
***Kyo's POV***
God dammit! Why did I open my big mouth?! I'd just made it totally obvious that Kagura was important to me and Akito won't just let that go. once he was done with us, he'd ask Kagura the truth and then things would really start to get ugly. No matter how much I wanted to deny it, I knew that I'd just put Kagura in danger and I wouldn't even be able to warn her, let alone protect her.
I followed Hatori towards the room where I'd spend the rest of my days, just like all the other cat junnishi before me. I guess realization hadn't quite set in yet though because the thought of the room didn't really scare me. What scared me was not having anyone to talk to. Even damn Yuki wouldn't be so bad, as long as we weren't locked up together.
"We're here." Hatori opened the door and let me in before following behind me.
I didn't say a word. I just went straight to the bed and sat down with a heavy sigh. I wanted to tell Hatori to give Kagura a message for me but I still wasn't sure if he could be trusted. If he stabbed me in the back and told Akito the truth, the danger to Kagura would be even greater.
"What should I tell her?" My cousin questioned me softly as if he read my mind and I looked up at him in confusion.
"Huh?"
"Kagura. Do you want me to warn her about Akito? ... You know he won't let it go."
I nodded my head and made a murmur of agreement before Hatori returned the nod with understanding and then turned to walk out the door.
"Oi! Hatori." I waited until the older man turned around and them spoke softly. "Thank you."
"It's okay."
Then he left the room and I heard the heavy lock on the door latch with a heavy click.
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Next chapter - Yuki and Akito