Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fruits Basket or of the song, Scarlet, which some of the lines in this chapter are based on the translations of.
A/N: Okay, so I totally love all my reviewers. You guys are the best. Some of your reviews just blow me away. I can't believe how nice some of you are to my story and me. I wish I had time to thank you all individually because you all deserve it. On a side note, in my brothers Sims game, Tohru and Kyo just got married. I just thought that was worth sharing.
Roses of Glass Chapter 24Kyo ran as fast as his injured ankle would let him, all the way to Kagura's house. When he got there, he pounded on the front door. There was no answer. Getting anxious, he went around the house, looking into all the first story windows. There was not one inside. Kyo glanced around, trying to decide what to do next. He had to find Tohru before Akito did.
"Damnit!" yelled Kyo, pounding his fist into the side of the house, "Where the hell could they have gone?"
Not knowing what else to do, he ran back to the house they were staying in to see if she might be there. His heart hammered against his ribs are he thought of what might happen if Akito got his hands on her. He clenched his fists, imagining all the things he would like to do to Akito, as he continued his search.
Tohru, for her part, had practically walked right into the lion's dent to find the lion was not in. She, as part of Yuki's plan, had allowed Shigure and Hatori to bring her to the one place Akito was sure to show up that night. She was in the main hall, the location of the Zodiac Banquet. Though friendly faces surrounded her, she was understandably nervous. She prayed that everything would work out tonight. A quick glance around the room told her that Akito was not the only absentee. Yuki was missing as well. But she could only hope that he was where he was supposed to be and that he hadn't run into Akito. In all honesty, Akito's absence disturbed her as much as it relieved her. The last thing she wanted was for Akito to run into Yuki or Kyo. There was no telling what he might do to either of them, especially if he somehow had any suspicions about their plan.
Just as the last part of the though entered Tohru's mind, there was a loud noise behind her. Turning, she saw Akito standing in the doorway, wearing a smirk on his face. She didn't know whether to be happy or worried to see that neither Kyo nor Yuki was with Akito, because the expression he wore made her heart stop. It was a face that declared that its owner had done something awful and enjoyed it. Tohru didn't have a chance to untangle her emotions, however, because, at that moment, Akito caught sight of her.
The smirk disappeared from Akito's face and his eyes narrowed to mere slits as he shouted, "What is that girl doing here?!"
The room fell silent as everyone's gaze turned toward Tohru. Her eyes grew wide with fear, but when Shigure stepped in front of her and opened his mouth to speak, Tohru placed her hand on his arm and pulled him back. Everyone watched in awe as she moved closer to Akito.
"Don't yell at them, " Tohru managed to order, trying to sound more confident than she felt, "I came on my own. I saw people coming in here and I followed them. They didn't even know that I was coming."
Akito stormed over to Tohru, grabbed her by the chin, and whirled her around so her back slammed into the wall at the side of the room. Tohru winced as pain shot through her. She tried to lower her head, but Akito's hand on her chin, forced her to remain looking directly into his eyes as he continued to rant, now directly at her, "You have some nerve, girl! First, you bring happiness into the cat's life! Then you tell me that you actually love that monster! I gave you fair warning then, but you didn't listen! You not only come back to the main house, but you presume to try to sit in on the Zodiac Banquet! You are far more stupid than I ever could have imagined! Now, I'm going to make you pay, not only for all of that, but for turning this family against me, as well!"
As this was going on, Yuki was racing towards the house that he and the other members of Shigure's household were using. He needed to find Kyo, and the sooner, the better. Racing around the last corner, he found exactly who he was looking for. Kyo was standing on the porch, facing the door. His hands were fisted and his head was bent in frustration.
Yuki called out to him, "Kyo! There you are. I need you to come with…."
"Why didn't you tell me?! You knew didn't you?! How could you let her come back here?!" interrupted Kyo.
Yuki stared at Kyo for a moment, with a questioning look on his face.
Kyo continued, "I ran into Akito! He told me what really happened the other day! How could you not have told me?! How could you go and let me bring Tohru back here after that?! How?!"
Yuki closed his eyes, not surprised, but still disappointed that Akito had told Kyo the truth, "Look, Miss Honda wouldn't let us tell you. She made the decision to come back here today on her own. She didn't want you to stop her. That's why no one told you. Now you have to calm down and come with me."
"Calm down?!" cried Kyo, "I can't calm down! We have to find Tohru before he gets to her!"
"Listen to me, Kyo. I know where Miss Honda is. If you come with me, I'll take you right to her."
"Well why didn't you just say so in the first place?"
"Just come on," replied Yuki, taking off towards the main hall, glancing over his shoulder periodically to make sure Kyo was able to keep up on his bad ankle.
At the main hall, Akito showed Tohru an evil grin as he spoke, "Do you remember when I asked you if you knew that symbolism of a glass rose? I told you that you would learn it someday. Well, I tell you now. A glass rose represents a person's dreams. They are all fragile and fleeting. And since dreams are indeed as fragile and fleeting as roses of glass, why do people persist in having hopes and dreams? It's really quite pointless, as you and the cat will eventually see. Your dreams cannot last forever."
"That's not true," Tohru replied, "It's not pointless at all. People persist in having dreams because it gives them something to believe in. And if you dream hard enough and work to make it happen, you can make just about any dream come true. If people give up on their dreams, life is not worth living. That is why, even when others may tell them that it's impossible, people continue to dream new dreams and hold onto the dreams they already have."
Outraged by Tohru's outburst, Akito's grip tightened on her chin as he spun her around, then he let go and sent her flying. Tohru's eyes squeezed shut as she prepared for contact with the ground, but flew open again when she heard her name being called out behind her. Before she had time to register the voice, she felt two arms wrap around here and stop her fall. The room went dead silent.