A/N: Well, I was going to add onto it... but I didn't. Lame ass This litle bit is basically a flash back before the Prologue, obviously, and it will work its way up from there. You'll see. - -; Enjoy the random and angsty tale I hope to get done before New Years. ;
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This situation happened nearly a year ago, when the New Years banquet took place. Everyone was having a great time, laughing and passing around food to one another, as Rin preformed the ritual Chinese New Year dance for everyone. Momiji and Kisa were sharing pie, Ayame, Hatori and Shigure discussing their plans for the new year, Yuki trying to keep Haru from turning black while Ritsu, Kagura, and Hiro played Old Maid near the end of the large table. Akito, on the other hand, was laying gracefully at his side, faced away from everyone, Kureno facing him, awaiting anything that Akito-sama would wish to ask for.
The dance was nearly at an end, and the biggest part of the feast would begin short, so everyone began to quiet down at this point, directing their attention towards Akito as Kureno spoke, "Akito-sama will now speak. There is very important news he has to share."
Everyone waited with baited breath, smiles slowly turning into frowns and happiness began to wash from their heads, draining out at their fingertips. Akito slowly sat up, shifting to this other side, facing the others who's eyes were downcast and hazy with fear. Pleased with this reaction, he softly spoke, "Rin, what a fine dance that was." The group couldn't help but notice his sarcasm with every vowel he said, but remained quiet and obedient. Gray eyes narrowed before Akito's lips parted again, "I have wonderful news to tell you. This next year, in December, I plan to hold a Christmas banquet," The table nearly broke out in a murmur, but they didn't dare to speak, "And I would like Honda-san and Kyo to arrive as well. Just so they can hear the wonderful news I have for everyone."
Suddenly, they couldn't help but give each other scared and weary looks, trying to not direct attention to themselves in the process. Akito chuckled in the back of his throat, standing up to walk around the table, giving each of them a harsh look, "Don't worry, nothing will happen," He reached a delicate hand to Yuki's head, brushing his fine hair, "To Kyo... or to Honda-san..." He let the silky hairs pour off of his fingers before moving to Momiji, "Unless its necessary, of course." Momiji, as hard as he could, kept his cool when Akito uttered those last lines, noting the look Shigure gave him to keep quiet.
Akito stepped away from the table towards the sliding doors, not looking back before saying his last words, "I do hope you plan this all out and will attend. Or I'll be very... sad."
Kureno stood and followed Akito, not bothering to make eye contact with anyone else, before sliding the door behind himself with a small bow. As soon as everyone couldn't hear footsteps anymore, the table broke out in wild conversation.
"What does he mean by that?!"
"Honda-san... and Kyo-kun?"
"Hiro, I'm scared..."
Finally, Shigure stood up and the silence began once again, "I don't think we have anything to worry about. If Akito was planning something that would hurt the two, I'm sure he'd announce it." "Why do you say that?" "He knows we can't do anything about it, even if we knew. It would be slow murder for us."
They tried to keep hushed voices while discussing, but somehow Hatori didn't seem interested in the conversation and instead stared out the window at the brightly flushed moon, realizing this day would have come sometime soon.
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Chapter I
After the New Years festival ended and three days passed before Shigure, Yuki and Kyo were able to come back home. Neither Shigure or Yuki had the courage to tell Kyo on the way home about what they had discussed. Most of all, they didn't want to say anything to Tohru, but they knew they would have to sometime.
With somber looks, Shigure and Yuki stepped inside of the nearly silent house, Kyo following with the lingering thought of why the others were in such a bad mood. A lot of running around was heard and even a "Kyaa!" arose every now and then. The dog chuckled to himself before peeking into the kitchen, "Is that soba I smell, Tohru-kun?"
With bright eyes, Tohru Honda smiled sheepishly at Shigure, Yuki and Kyo as they all stepped into the kitchen to see a feast that looked like it could feed an army or two. They all gave a smile, starting to talk about the banquet and how it went before moving all the food into the dining room, situating themselves to a nice dinner. Tohru looked pleased that they were home in time for dinner and a movie that was coming on, "Oh, and I made desert! I hope its big enough. T-though I bet the banquet was so big! I shouldn't have fixed such a big meal..." Immediately Yuki and Kyo tried to cheer her up, getting flustered in the process before turning their heads away from one another in silence.
Cheerful as always, Tohru got up to wash the dishes and bring out the desert, the boys thanking her for the food. Kyo, about to get up, was stopped by Shigure, "Now hold on a minute. We have something we need to tell you." The orange headed boy cocked an eyebrow to the side, sitting back down, "Yeah, what is it?" His eyes glanced at Yuki, who looked even more depressed than he did when they were walking home. Eyebrows slightly raised at this, he noticed the tension and direction his attention back to Shigure.
Deeply sighing, Shigure spoke, "Akito has decided that he'll be holding a Christmas banquet this year..." Kyo gave Shigure one of those 'And why should I care?' looks before the dog started again, "And he's invited you along as well as Tohru-kun."
Filled with mixed emotions, Kyo slammed his hands on the table, raising up an inch from the floor, mouth slightly agape. Not knowing what to say, he looked over at Yuki, who's eyes kept themselves away from anything but the table. Calming down for a moment, Kyo inhaled and sat back down again, "And what's gotten into him? Akito, I mean."
Shigure laughed, trying to brighten up the mood a little, "Well, you know Akito. He's cunning and always has something up his sleeves." "And I thought you said nothing would happen." Shigure looked over at Yuki, trying to not let the smile go, "Yes, well, I don't think anyone can be positive in this case... I have a strange feeling Hatori and Kureno know what's going on."
Usually it would be Shigure that would know most of the facts, but indeed he did not know anything about this at all before it was stated at the banquet. Silently, Yuki let out his breath that he was holding, "True. But I still think--"
"I'm sorry! The pudding wasn't chilled, and I needed to cut up some bananas. I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long." A concerned looking Tohru popped back into the room, but soon saw the unneeded looks directed towards her. Blinking, she furrowed her brows slightly before sitting down, setting the pudding bowels on the table, "What's... going on?"
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A/N: Oh dear me, the angst begins very, very soon. Look forward to seeing reviews