Chapter 9b

[Note]

Hello everyone who's reading this! I'm really warmly encouraged by so many positive reviews I am getting. Now that school has reopened, I have lesser time to update, so I hope you all could forgive me if I can't update, as I have to juggle from my co-curricular activities, my student council meetings and whatever not…Lots of love to you sweethearts who have been reading my fan fiction!

hugs!

Ps: From here on, I'll post bits and bobs of the chapter… sorry!!

"Tohru? I am going out for a while… Shigure would not be home until dinner because he has some things to settle with his editor, as usual…" Yuki said, while opening the fridge. He took out an apple and took a hearty bite on it. Tohru nodded distractedly, her heart still pumping from the early afternoon's confrontation. Something is not right… She thought but shook off the thought and washed up whatever she did in the morning.

Akito and Kyou walked side by side each other. Akito took about an arm's length away from him, feeling more and more disgusted by the minute. What irony, he thought, to be standing side by side with a monster. A murderous monster. Akito placed a hand above his chest and focused on the beatings of his heart.

Funny… the burden seemed to be…

Akito shook off whatever he was thinking and noticed that Kyou was walking faster and faster, urgent to get to Tohru as fast as possible. Akito paced faster. He wasn't usually the one who would lag behind. No, it can't be.

By the time he reached, Kyou turned around to acknowledge him, he turned around to face Tohru. Tohru was looking panicky, shifting her gaze at Kyou and Akito. "What's going on!?" She said with a note of panic in her voice.

Oh god… Tohru thought, her heart beating faster and faster as her adrenaline pumps throughout the body. This can't be happening…

"Go on, Kyou…" Akito said, coming up close to Kyou. Akito smiled sinisterly, "Tell her how you really feel…" With a swift movement, Akito snapped the bracelet on Kyou's wrist. The beads fall and bounce off the floor, thud-thud-thud it went. Akito stepped behind and chuckled softly as smoke covered all around Kyou. The stench… Akito could not stand it and turned around, closing his eyes while taking in as much fresh air as possible.

The smoke subsided and it showed Kyou's monstrous form. Tohru was on the brink of tears, as her voice shook terribly, "Kyou… what happened?!"

"Stop that disgusting pretense," Kyou said, shooting every hate and fury he has in his voice. Tohru gasped, just a simple phrase… but his words had hurt so much. Her heart piercing, tearing up into two. She felt her knees go weak, and within seconds, she fell to her knees, trying to breathe. Akito laughed silently in his heart.

"… If…" Tohru started, feeling something heavy at the back of her throat. She swallowed hard, fighting to keep the tears away, "If I had been pretending… Wouldn't I have left, that minute when I saw you turn…?" Kyou looked at her slightly taken aback.

"She's lying to you, Kyou… look how she left 3 years ago…" Akito said, toying with his feelings.

"Shut up," Tohru said sharply. Disappointment… Anger… Hurt… Heart-wrenching sorrow clouded her heart. For a spilt second, Akito stepped back a bit, completely surprised, but he gritted his teeth, "Don't tell me to—"

"Shut up, Akito-san… You were the one who told me to leave…" Tohru said and pointed her index at him, "You…" She spat in fury, "I was stupid to believe you and fall into your wicked ploy…"

"It was for the good of the Souma, I knew you were pretending—" Akito stopped abruptly, realizing that he had spoilt his whole plan. Kyou, now turning to look fiercely at him, "Y… You lied to me!?" His eyes portraying such innocence and anger that Akito almost felt sorry for him.

What a minute…Akito almost felt sorry for the monster. I must be crazy…

Within seconds, Akito's chest was bursting in fury and he lunged for the monster's neck in a frustrated yell, such that he was on top of Kyou. "If you won't do it, I will after I kill you, you damn monster…" He applied a certain force down, such that Kyou was suffering, but not enough to kill him. Yet.

Tohru gasped and came in front of Akito, placing both her hands gently on Akito's arm. The touch sending a jolt down Akito; But a strangely, comforting jolt, the nice sort of jolt that one would like to feel. Tohru felt Akito tensed up under her touch, but relaxed for a while later, once he was accustomed to her touch.

"Akito... –san…" Tohru pleaded softly, so soft that Akito had to strain to hear. She was, in mental exhaustion, from that early afternoon's confrontation to Kyou's angry, hurting words and finally, the pain of watching Akito force strength down on Kyou, watching Kyou suffer.

And no one was there; just her to save him, just her to deal with Akito. Yet, just the presence of Kyou here with her, just the comfort of Kyou believing and trusting her again…

"…Kyou… still believes you after all the things you did to him… Do you see how needed you are…Why do you keep thinking that we all hate you so much so that we wished you dead?! The Souma needs you… because in every household, there has to be a leader. And all leaders are respected, that's what make people follow them," Tohru said and paused for a while, catching her breath, her hands still on his arm.

Before she continue, she felt Akito's arms relaxed a little more, his grip no longer as tight as before on Kyou. Tohru bit back tears, but somehow, they did not listen as tears trickled down her face, down Akito's arm.

"In fact, everyone is grateful about your presence because you hold such an important role in the Souma. Without you, I'm not sure what will become of it…" Tohru said. Akito's arm tensed up again and flung it, sending Tohru flying.

"Liar!"

"Tohru!" Kyou yelled. Akito turned his attention back to Kyou and this time, he forced his full strength down, hesitating, though, whether to kill him now. He let go for a little while.

"Why don't you kill him?" Tohru asked and paused, "There is still hope in you, you want to believe that you are not hated at all… but the simple truth is, you aren't. You more greatly respected than you think you are," Tohru said.

"Shut up," Akito said, trembling.

"My mother once said…" Tohru began, "to believe rather than doubt," She said, recalling her words, the ringing comfort in her voice, as if she was still right here beside her, telling her to be just like herself, telling her that she could do it. Oh god, how she missed her mother so…yet there was no turning back time… and she had to accept the harsh reality that she was gone. "I did… and I realized that I'm not as pitiful as I thought I was when I was suddenly alone without a kin to relate to, it was hard at first…"

"Because I was like you once, I thought that nobody cared, I thought that everybody was just patronizing me when they weren't at all…" Tohru said and looked at the floor, afraid to blink now for the tears were right on the brink of falling. Finally, the tear fell and she was crying so hard now, she was making little gasping noises, shaking terribly.

"Sometimes, the simple truth is just right in front and yet you can't see it," Tohru stood up and walked over to Akito as she kneeled down, "Believe than doubt, Akito-san… If you claim that your life was made to die, why are you still alive? And if so, why can't you make full use of the time you have left to enjoy it? Rather than to make you and the rest of the Souma miserable?"

Tohru looked at Akito, "If you had to choose, if anybody had to choose, wouldn't you want to be happy, than to be sad?"

Akito turned to Tohru, trembling slightly. Strange, he could almost feel like something is controlling him… but now, he had finally the will to fight back this itty bitty feeling down there, somewhere in his gut which is controlling him. Akito grabbed her wrists, not forcefully, but gently. "Th… Thank you," He said and smiled helplessly.

Within minutes, something extraordinary happened. A black aura surrounded Akito, it whirled around him for a while, Tohru remained where she was, shocked to see such a happening. The aura whirled around Akito, making Akito look as if he was in the middle of a hurricane.

Akito looked like he was in pain, as he let out a yell. "Akito-san!" Tohru called. Slowly, the black aura dissipated as Akito fell and hit the ground and fainted. The same happened to Kyou, as an orange aura surrounded him like a hurricane, but it wasn't as bad as Akito's. Kyou did not faint. He lay there for a few moments, blinking a few times and breathing heavily.

"Ky… Kyou-kun?" Tohru looked at him. He had turned back into his human form. He sat up and looked at Akito. "Ah… hmm… I bet Akito should have felt the same way," Kyou said distractedly. Tohru blinked, "Eh?"

Kyou stood up and swept Akito up, carrying him to the bedroom as he lay Akito down to rest. Tohru followed. He looked at Akito, as his chest bobbed up and down while he breathed. For a moment, there were only silence.

But with a swift moment, Kyou hooked Tohru's waist and pulled her in. Tohru let out a gasp in shock, but as his arms wrapped around her and actually felt prolonged warmth, with his body pressed against hers in a warm embrace. She knew, that the curse, had been broken as Kyou is still there, in his human form.

Tears of joy ran down her face as she wrapped her arms around his body, she smiled happily, calling his name. She felt one of his hands stroking her hair and she dissolved happily in his arms. "Aishiteru…" She heard him say softly into his ears. She blushed madly, her ears turning pink over this confession, feeling her heart jumping with such joy and exhilaration. "Hn," Tohru nodded happily, unable to give a reply for the moment. Kyou pulled her in closer to him, never fearing of transforming again…He must say it again:

"Aishiteru…"

Aishiteru – I love you