Hiya! SakuraBubbles here. Ah, chapter seven… ::turns on a fan::
Okay, as I've told many people, you're either going to kill Akito himself or me for writing this chapter. The first part is for comic relief or something, so calmeth downeth. Yeaaaah… this is a LOOOONG chapter but very eventful. I promise to keep you on the edge of your seats.
Disclaimer: Eh, you know I don't own anything, so here are some Warnings: Prince Yuki members going psycho, mathematical equations, Kagura, and violence, people. Hello, it's an AKITO chapter. Doi. Also, due to my lack of knowledge of the curse's real… deal, I somewhat go AU-ish because… yeah, I needed to. Enjoy.
Chapter Seven: Inoshishi
If anyone ever told Tohru that her days were uneventful, they were very far from correct. It was the second day after vacation when she and Haru had an adventure together. Apparently, some of the Prince Yuki Fan Club members found out about Tohru's relationship with Kyo and also Haru's relationship with their prince. During break, the three fan members in Tohru's class confronted her.
"Vice president Kinoshita Minami, I've chosen you to go forward with this operation," said Minagawa Motoko, the president of the Prince Yuki Fan Club. "As for me, I'll escort that wave girl to the office to deliver some papers."
"Right," said Minami. "Member one, Yamagishi Mio, and member two, Gotou Mai will accompany me."
"Right!"
After Motoko led Saki out of the room, the three girls cornered Tohru.
"Honda-kun, we've heard that you turned down Yuki-kun!"
"Yeah, and for that stupid carrot head!"
"How COULD you?!"
"Aahh…" was all Tohru could manage before they interrupted her.
"And that wave girl isn't here right now! You have no protection! That yankee can't take us all!"
"We'll pay you back for breaking our prince's heart!"
"But I…" Tohru squeaked but the girls wouldn't hear it. They continued up until there was a voice.
"What are you doing to Tohru?"
They all, including Tohru, looked over to see Haru standing there. He usually came with Momiji to hang out during break. Momiji, however, was bothering Kyo. Yuki was at a quick school meeting.
The girls looked to Haru.
"Who…?" Mai started to ask but then she remembered. "You're… you're Souma Hatsuharu, right?"
"Uh-huh."
"You! I saw you yesterday with your hands all over Yuki-kun!" snapped Minami, pointing furiously at him. The other girls held back shrieks.
"That… You… Yuki-kun…"
"Wow, Yuki-kun is gay?" asked Mai, slightly interested. Minami's eyes widened.
"Well… that would explain a lot…" She pointed rudely at Tohru. "But Honda here was practically hogging him! How did you get to Yuki-san without getting rid of her? We've all loved Yuki-kun forever! How did you sneak in?"
"I didn't 'sneak in,' I've been in love with Yuki for longer than you've known him. And obviously you didn't really love him because if you did, you would have been able to let him go to Tohru if he wanted," said Haru calmly as if they should have already known (which technically, they should have). Minami shook her head.
"Some of us were expecting to give up our prince to Honda… but not some… fag!"
Haru's left eye twitched. "What… did you just call me?"
Ah! Hatsuharu-san, don't turn black! thought Tohru desperately. She went in between Haru and the girls, facing Haru.
"Hatsuharu-san, please don't get too angry—"
But that set him off even more.
"Don't get angry? Why not? I may in fact be gay, but to call me something so bigoted just proves their intelligence, doesn't it, Tohru?"
Kyo took that time to look over. He freaked out and whacked Momiji.
"Shut up! Tohru needs help," he snapped at the blonde. They headed over to witness Haru threatening to pull Minami's pigtails out of her head.
"Cut it out, Haru, they aren't worth going black over," Kyo warned. Momiji bobbed up to Tohru, offering her a lollipop. Haru glared at Kyo.
"They're not worth the breathing space either, but they're still there, right?" he taunted. Mio sneered at him.
"You're not worthy enough to date Yuki-kun!"
This would have gotten Haru to really toss the girls outside the second floor window, but he froze and was calmed as arms wrapped around his torso and pulled him back.
"I think he's worthy enough," came Yuki's sweet voice. Haru put his hands to Yuki's arms, grinning incredibly at the reaction the fan club girls had to Yuki's provocative behavior while Tohru blushed, Kyo hissed, and Momiji seemed unfazed and… bored? Motoko and Saki took that time to return to the room. Saki ran straight over and grabbed Tohru's arm.
"Is everything all right? I was getting awful waves…"
"Ah, Hana-chan…" Tohru said, surprised that Saki said nothing about how Yuki and Haru were teasing the fan club girls. Motoko's jaw dropped.
"Yuki? What…?"
"Yuki-kun is gay!" cheered Mai a bit too loudly. The entire class looked over and Yuki jumped off of Haru, falling over. Suddenly there was an entire crowd around Yuki's sprawled and embarrassed body, asking him questions as if there was no tomorrow. Kyo hissed at them and knew that something needed to be done.
He put his hand to his chin, grinned, and thought about it more. Well… nah, I'll let him be tortured juuuust a bit longer… damn rat.
/-/
It was raining on Thursday night so Kyo was down in the dumps with Tohru as his only support. Kyo was helping Tohru clean up dinner, Shigure was with his editor, and Yuki was helping Haru with his homework. Shigure had made the announcement that they were going to the Main House after school Friday (the next day), so they talked little amongst themselves about anything other than the task at hand.
"There—is this right?" asked Haru, holding up his messy paper, full of erase marks and blotches. He loathed mathematics with a burning passion. The only passion that surpassed it was the one he had for Yuki. The older boy looked over his paper.
"… You forgot to carry the two over here…"
"Aaah!! I hate math!" yelled Haru angrily. Yuki stayed calm.
"It's just a tiny error that you can fix. You've got the formula right. Just try it again, it's that simple."
Haru snatched his paper back and started copying down what he had up until the error. Yuki continued to read his own book, jotting down notes on a paper. He was caught by surprise when Haru hit the book out of Yuki's hands and pinned him down.
"Haru…"
"I'm scared."
Yuki's eyes softened. "Of what?"
"Akito-san," he replied. "I've never… talked with him except for at the New Years Banquet, and that wasn't actually a one-on-one conversation."
Yuki stroked his lover's face.
"It's okay. I'll be there with you."
Haru nuzzled his face into Yuki's neck.
"I know you will be…"
He felt Yuki's arms wrap around him as he, too, admitted that he was scared.
"I… I went against him once when he was hurting Honda-san… but before that, I never dared to…" he trailed off as Haru nibbled lovingly on his ear.
"Souma-kun, I—"
Tohru halted after sliding the door open, staring at the heap known as Yuki and Haru. Haru rolled to the side and clutched his math book for safety. Yuki stared at Tohru, his mouth and his eyes open wide. Haru noticed that Kyo was behind her, holding back gags.
"Aaah! I'm sorry, I should have knocked… I—"
"N-no, Honda-san, we weren't… doing anything… well…" Yuki stammered. Haru looked to her, then Kyo, then back to Tohru.
"Sorry."
"D-don't be! I simply… wanted to… well, it's about Akito-san," she said. Yuki patted the carpet next to him. After looking to Kyo (who nodded), she came over and sat down near him. Kyo leaned against Yuki's bureau.
"… You and Hatsuharu-san are going to see him while Kyo-kun and I are going to see Kagura-san," Tohru stated the apparent.
"I'm not sure which one of us has it worse," Haru spoke, his eyes on Kyo. He grimaced and crossed his arms over his chest. Tohru only smiled sadly.
"Well… I wanted to wish the both of you luck… I'm very worried…"
Her hand went to the top of her head near the back, where a few months ago, Akito had pulled on her hair.
"Every time I think about him… my head hurts right here… I only hope that he's changed since then…"
Haru wondered about what she meant. She looked to him and told him what Akito had done to her. Kyo watched her as she spoke, wishing that he could have been there with her, however, as the cat, he was never allowed to see Akito face-to-face unless specifically beckoned.
"And… we're going to see that guy?" Haru asked Yuki, who nodded once. Haru swallowed. "Oh… man…"
The four of them could only hope things weren't going to go the same way. Yuki put a hand on Tohru's.
"Honda-san, I want to wish you luck, too. After all, you're meeting with Kagura-san. I know that she'll be fine with it, but she'll probably take it harshly. She's loved Kyo for quite some time now. However, like me, she'll only want to see the one she loves happy and let him go."
"Souma-kun…" Tohru whispered. He smiled and gave her the only kiss he would ever give her on the top of her head. Kyo didn't care, obviously. It was a kiss that mimicked what Yuki said next.
"I will always be… your prince."
Tohru giggled softly.
"So that makes Hatsuharu-san your princess?"
"Hatsuharu-hime," Yuki teased. Haru shrugged.
"I don't care as long as I get a pretty dress to wear."
The four of them shared a round of laughter, trying to keep as positive as they could before everything was torn down the next day.
/-/
Tohru tightened her grip on Kyo's hand, suddenly scared. Haru and Yuki were next to them—they felt safer all together, for some reason. They stopped and looked at her.
"Kagura-san… she'll hate me…" Tohru spoke softly. Kyo shook his head and ran his hand through her hair, kissing her on the forehead, then on the cheek, then on the lips. Kyo found that this was a very special kiss to Tohru, for each time he did it, the both of them felt much, much more calm.
"She won't. She doesn't have it in her heart to hate anyone," he told her. Tohru had to settle with this. She looked to Yuki and then Haru.
"Good luck…"
"You, too."
They went their separate ways and even Kyo felt less confident. They saw Kagura outside of where she stayed at the main house. She was wearing her pretty green dress, contrasting Tohru's yellow sundress. She turned and said nothing. Tohru did her best to stay strong. She wished that she could hold onto Kyo's hand again, but in front of Kagura, it was best not to.
Finally, Kagura moved forward, heading to Kyo. She moved her arm out and swiftly slapped him across the face. Tohru kept her head down.
"That was for betraying me," Kagura snapped, waiting for him to straighten before slapping him again on the other cheek.
"That was for continuing to lead me on," she hissed and slapped him a third time. His right cheek was burning red.
"For going behind my back!"
And a forth. Now his cheeks matched.
"And that was for not telling me."
He held his face as Kagura looked to Tohru. Tohru held her breath, expecting the same treatment.
"Honda-san… I predicted that this would happen," Kagura spoke, her voice was still firm and angry. "I knew I couldn't stop you two from getting closer. It just hurt, Honda-san. It hurt to know that some girl like you could win his heart so easily."
It was like it was Haru all over again, only meaner. Haru hadn't called her "some girl." Tohru stayed silent.
"I wanted to be the one that protected him!" Kagura yelled. "I wanted to be the one who could bring him back from that awful form of his! I was the only one who accepted it! I love him, you… you…"
It looked like Kagura did her best to discontinue the sentence she had formed in her mouth. Tohru felt like someone had slowly placed an elephant on her shoulders, for her knees were shaking slightly.
"… Honda-san, I don't want you to take my Kyo-kun away from me," Kagura sneered. "In fact, I'd like for you to go away, right now."
Tohru stayed.
"Go! Go away! I won't let you take him from me!" yelled Kagura, tears forming in her eyes. Tohru didn't move, but she felt like she was going to crumple to the ground. Kyo did his best to stay quiet.
"What did I just say? Are you deaf?!"
"Kagura-san…" Tohru whispered.
"Shut up!"
"Kagura-san!"
Kagura didn't push the girl off of her as she hugged her. She could feel that Tohru was crying.
"Kagura-san, I never meant to hurt you," Tohru told her. "I never wanted to choose between one and the other. But… I can't simply stop loving Kyo-kun… not after all of this. I went through a lot to keep him with me on that night a few months ago. It was then when I knew that I couldn't go on without him smiling at my side. So many things were running through my head that night… at first, I was trying to think of ways to escape it all. I thought about how I could run away and never speak to anyone again… about how I could give in to Akito-san and let Hatori-san erase my memories… about how I could tell my mother that I gave up on something and try my best to move on…
"And then… I wound up at my mother's grave. I don't remember—I don't know how I ended up there, but I was. My two best friends, Uo-chan and Hana-chan, were out walking when they saw me. Uo-chan told me to let it all go, to give up. Hana-chan knocked her down and told me to go get the thing that was so precious to me. 'You must go!' she told me… I had no idea what to do—they were both fighting. And then I looked up at my mother's grave and thought about how I can never see her smile again.
"That is when it hit me, Kagura-san, that I wouldn't be able to go through life without seeing Kyo-kun… without his smile ever again. I wouldn't be able to go without seeing any of the Souma faces or smiles… I needed to go to him and make things right again. I got up and used my last bit of strength to find him. When I did…"
"I know," Kagura interrupted when Tohru was at a loss for words. "Yu-chan told me what happened with the three of you then."
Tohru's noble speech was full of hesitations and pauses for a sob or two, but it was well heard by both Kagura and Kyo. Kagura held the girl in her arms as she sobbed.
"Kagura-san… please… please don't hate me," Tohru pleaded. "I don't want to hurt anyone with my decision."
"Honda-san… I don't think I could ever bring myself to hate you," Kagura told her. Tohru's tears halted. Kyo-kun was right…
"I was prepared to let Kyo-kun go… but I had to test you first," Kagura explained, pushing Tohru away from her in order to look her in the face. She had been crying also. "If… if you had done what I said earlier and gave up right then and there, I think I would be able to hate you. But your actions and words tell me that your love for Kyo-kun is as pure as mine is for him, however, yours is much stronger than mine could ever be. It's also more important to him than my love for him. I've known this all along. I knew it on that very night…"
Kyo had kept silent throughout all of this but oddly, he couldn't help himself sadly whisper, "Kagura…"
Kagura smiled.
"I'm happy, Kyo-kun, that you still care enough about me to come here today," she said. "I could tell that you loved her from the very beginning. On Valentine's Day, you only ate my chocolate in order to enjoy hers, right?"
"… Yes," strangely enough, Kyo felt his face heat up under Tohru's gaze. How silly of his face to do that.
"All right then. Kyo-kun, our engagement has been cancelled," said Kagura, regaining her voice. She turned to Tohru and placed her hands on the girl's bare shoulders. "Honda-san… I'm giving him to you. Although you and I both know, I feel I should tell you anyway. If you ever, ever hurt him, I'll never forgive you. I'll make it so that you'll wish Hatori-san would erase your memories."
"Kagura!" Kyo barked. Kagura shook her head, laughing nervously.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Honda-san! That sort of slipped out!! Ehehe…"
Tohru, having gone pale from the threat, returned the nervous giggle with one of her own. "I promise you that I won't hurt him."
Kagura nodded. "As I thought."
She smiled and hugged Kyo tightly.
"Stay happy, Kyo-kun," she told him. He patted her on the head instead of hugging her back.
"I will as long as you do, too."
They would always share a special bond, stronger than friendship but nothing more. Kagura would always love him and he was okay with that, just as she was okay with the fact that he would never love her in return.
/-/
If only Yuki and Haru's encounter with their "nemesis" had been so easy. For them, they would look back at this day with cold eyes and heavy hearts. It was truly the day where the seams began to split.
Hatori was standing at the door leading to Akito's section of the main house. Yuki and Haru stopped in front of him and waited for him to tell them what to do.
"Hatsuharu is to go see Akito alone."
"What?" asked Haru. Yuki glared at Hatori.
"I'm not leaving him alone with that bastard."
"Yuki, you are to come with me and stay in my house until their meeting has finished. Hatsuharu, you are to go forward and meet with Akito."
"No… you can't do this," Yuki tried to plead with Hatori. Haru kissed Yuki on the cheek. "I'll be fine. I can deal with whatever he has to say to me."
Yuki wanted to grab Haru and run away with him—Haru truly had absolutely no idea what he was in for. He's not going to talk to you… But he went on, anyway, as Hatori escorted Yuki to his quarters.
The first thing Haru thought when he entered the room that it was very dark. He could barely see Akito's outline in the blue-black of the room.
"Akito-san," he spoke softly and bowed down, figuring that would be the best thing to do. Akito had been standing off to the side, his kimono shrugging off of his shoulders.
"So… you are Hatsuharu…" he spoke. His voice was liquid, flowing elegantly.
"Yes," replied Haru after a moment. He was trying to get used to his surroundings although he could not see them in the first place. Akito faced him and practically glided over.
"Stand," he commanded calmly. Haru did as he was told (as he usually did) and Akito reached out to touch his face. Haru flinched at his touch and noticed that he was taller than Akito but felt as though the lanky man towered over him. Akito was caressing his face.
"To call you ugly would be far from the truth…" he said, smiling. Haru wasn't sure if he should thank him or keep quiet so he did the latter of the two, keeping his eyes forward. He felt Akito's body press up against him.
"I'd like to have my way with you right now," Akito told him. Haru didn't react, which was wise on his part, but he couldn't control his own breathing as it quickened. He was getting nervous. Akito suddenly raked his nails against Haru's cheek, drawing blood with his middle finger, the one with the longest nail. Haru winced and Akito bitterly remarked, "Of course, I wouldn't want to get myself dirty… you are nothing more than filth."
He threw him to the side and Haru hit the ground hard, narrowly missing his head on the side of the wall. Akito wiped his fingernail on his kimono without taking his eyes off of the boy.
"What made you think that you… that you could dare touch my Yuki?"
"Your Yuki?" Haru repeated. Akito swiftly grabbed his hair like he had down with Tohru and drew his fingernail against Haru's other cheek.
"Of course he is mine! He is all mine… and I won't let you take him from me, you filthy slut," he spat, literally, into Haru's face. Boldly, Haru spit back, which earned him a throw into the wall.
"You fool…" Akito grinned, grabbing Haru's hair again and smacking his head against the wall. "You stupid fool! I've worked too hard to keep Yuki under my control! I am the head of this family! You all do what I tell you to do! Yuki does what I tell him to do!"
He threw Haru over to the middle of the room and Haru could have thanked him. His head hurt so much, but oddly enough, he found he couldn't attack this brutal man back. Why couldn't he have gone black and fought back? Perhaps it was fear that kept him white.
That didn't mean he was going to lose, however.
"Yuki does not belong to anyone! I won't let you hurt him anymore!" he yelled. "You can't control us! We're all our own people!"
"Shut up!" yelled Akito as he pinned the boy down and wrapped a cold hand around his neck. "I'll say it again, you rotten piece of dirt… Yuki is mine… I have trained him very well to obey my commands!"
His tone grew more and more bitter.
"You went behind all of our backs… you've already dirtied him…"
Haru was struggling to breathe. Ohmygodohmygodyukiohmygodyukiyuki…
"You fucked him… Shigure heard it and told me."
Shigure! How the fuck could you?!
"No one is allowed to touch Yuki but me!! He is mine and mine alone! He is my toy to play with… my toy to break."
Akito… Akito has already… had sex with Yuki? The thought of this… man doing such a thing to Yuki (and the fact that he was being strangled) brought tears to Haru's wide eyes. That's… that's why he went along with it so well that night… that's how he… oh my god…
"Ah, you didn't know?" asked Akito and Haru hated himself for letting his weak spot be known. Akito released his grip and allowed Haru to catch his breath as he told him, "Yes… perhaps you were surprised by some of the things he did? You weren't his first… I was… I enjoyed him… he's very loud, don't you agree? I liked it better that way, so I made sure that he always was loud."
No… His tears were salty as they crept into his mouth.
"Hehehe… perhaps you should ask him about it some times…" Akito said, staring up to the ceiling with a smile. He then looked back down to Haru, whom he saw as a mere insect.
And kissed him.
On the lips, no less, and he invaded Haru's mouth with his tongue. Haru weakly brought his hands over to push Akito away but found that Akito was firm. Akito then bit down on Haru's lower lip, drawing blood. He dropped Haru back on the ground, Haru's blood fresh on his lips. Haru wiped at his bleeding face for a bit before Akito resumed strangling him, stronger this time—he was really going to kill him this time.
"You… you taste like Yuki… how dare you!!"
Haru gave up on trying to push him away and was banging his fists on the ground, hoping someone would be able to hear him and come to his rescue.
"You deserve to die, you horrid slut," Akito told him bitterly, "for tainting my Yuki…"
Soon, his eyelids were becoming heavy and various memories flooded to his head—meeting Yuki by the window that day, seeing him again at every banquet, meeting Tohru, being with Yuki at school, that first kiss in his bed, the night they made love—they did not "fuck," as Akito had put it. Fucking was emotionless, or at least that's what Haru thought.
Just as he swore his life would end, the hands around his neck loosened and then disappeared entirely. He opened his eyes and looked to see Akito coughing into a balled up fist. Haru caught his breath again as Akito continued coughing violently. It was then when Haru noticed blood dribbling down Akito's face from his mouth—it was on his hand, too.
"Ha… Hatori!" called Akito in between coughs. "Hatori!"
Haru was dumbfounded when the door slid to the side and in came Hatori. He knelt down beside Akito and didn't give Haru so much as a look.
He was… he was standing outside the entire time and didn't do a fucking THING?! He was choking me, you fucking bastard!!
Haru used that time to get to his feet and run outside the room, down the hall, and outside. It hurt very much to breathe but he had to get to Hatori's house. He had to get to Yuki… Miraculously, he didn't get lost on the way there—perhaps he was too determined to screw up directions. He thrust the door open and saw Yuki by the bookcase, six feet away from Hatori's futon. He heard breathing and turned.
"Haru!" he gasped, frightened. The young man had two gashes, one on each side of his face, his bottom lip was bleeding a bit, and his neck was red as if… as if he had been strangled. Haru quickly reached him and kissed him violently, pressing himself up against Yuki's body, tears streaming down his face. Yuki was too surprised to kiss back and tried his best to wrap his arms around Haru. Haru lowered his head to Yuki's neck where he sobbed softly; Yuki could feel the tears on his neck.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he wanted to know, his voice weak from his assault.
"Tell you what?"
"That Akito… that he…"
Yuki knew exactly what he was talking about. He felt as though a dagger had just torn his heart out.
"I didn't want you to know… I didn't want anyone to know! But especially not you—"
"That's why you were so submissive the other night… you were used to being dominated. Yuki, if I had known, I—"
"Haru, please. I wanted what happened between the two of us that night just as much as you did. I'm sorry I didn't tell you… I was too ashamed of it."
"Did he rape you?"
"Yes. You could say that. I was never exactly willing."
"… How many times did he do it?!"
Yuki couldn't say. Haru backed away from him, saying, "Don't let me do that to you ever again."
"Do what?" Yuki's confusion was obvious in his voice.
"What we did the other night. I think I let it get too far too fast."
"No," Yuki replied firmly, walking to Haru. He sat the two of them down on Hatori's bed. "No way. Never regret that unless you regret having anything to do with me. What we did was… amazing. Even if it might be too far in some people's eyes, it was what we needed then and there. Others… Akito-san… he can… he can fuck off."
Haru chuckled softly. "Yeah. He can definitely do that."
Yuki hugged Haru to him. "It felt so good… by the way."
Haru blushed at this. "Y-you think so??"
Yuki laughed out loud, saying, "Wow, I managed to embarrass you? I thought, Mr. Split Personality, that was your job to do to me."
"Yeah, what the hell are you doing stealing my job? I'll go homeless."
Yuki rubbed his back softly. "You'll always have a home with me."
It was a long while before either of them spoke. Haru leaned them both down into the bed so that they were laying side-by-side and said, "I… thought I was going to die back there… He told me that you were his and his alone… that I was filth… that I was a fool… and a slut."
Bitterly, he added, "And Shigure overheard us that night on the couch. He told Akito." Yuki was stunned. Shigure… betrayed us?
"He kissed me, too," Haru confessed, "and said that I tasted like you and that I deserve to die because I… tainted you… that I infected you."
"You didn't," Yuki told him. "He is the filth. You aren't. He used me… I was nothing in his eyes except for… a fuck buddy, something to play with until he was bored with me."
"He mentioned that he saw you as his toy to play with and then break," Haru said. Yuki sighed.
"I was able to escape before… he was able to do too much breaking."
They were silent again and Haru was kissing Yuki's palms lightly and lovingly up until he heard a voice.
"If either of you two are naked, you can bet that you're washing my sheets."
They sat up abruptly, blushes taking over the better half of their faces. Hatori was outside in the garden outside of the room, looking ominous. Haru glared at the man.
"Hatori—"
"You should go wash up," Hatori interrupted the ox boy, taking off his shoes and stepping up into the room. "I'll attend to your wounds once you've cleaned up."
Haru stood up and walked hastily into the bathroom, saying nothing. Yuki looked past Hatori to see Kyo and Tohru, hand-in-hand, looking happy.
"I suppose things with Kagura-san went well?" he asked. Tohru nodded. Yuki smiled.
"That's good…"
He looked down. At least they're okay…
/-/
Later, after Haru had come back into Hatori's room, Tohru and Kyo were standing near the bookcase. Kyo had his back against the bookcase and Tohru has her back against his front. Kyo was doing his best not to touch her with his arms to prevent transforming. He had his chin resting on top of her head and she looked very content and beautiful with him. Yuki was sitting on the bed still, thinking with his head in his hands. Hatori went to fixing up Haru's face immediately.
"You shouldn't have any scars thanks to this ointment… but you must put it on twice a day. Keep the bandages on while bathing and try not to overexert yourself. As for your lip, it wasn't that bad of a cut, so it should heal in no time."
Haru pocketed the tube containing the ointment for his face as Hatori felt the back of his head.
"And you have a bump here."
"You think?" Haru replied sarcastically. Of course he had a bump there; it was where his head collided with the wall when Akito had slammed him into it. The top of his head was throbbing as well from when his hair had been pulled. He understood Tohru much better now.
"You bastard…" Haru whispered to Hatori. "You heard me in there getting killed and you did nothing."
Hatori didn't deny it nor did he explain his actions. His face remained impassive as he addressed all of them by saying, "Akito is dying."
There had been a bird outside chirping a lovely little song. It was the only thing that any of them could hear for a little while before it fluttered off. At last, Yuki swallowed.
"Dying?"
"He has until the first month of next year," Hatori told them. Tohru gasped.
"That's five months from now!" she yelped dreadfully. None of them seemed happy about this fact.
"What are we going to do about finding a new…?" Haru's voice trailed off when he realized that Tohru had no idea what Akito's death meant. He pointed that fact out to Hatori.
"This curse is what keeps us alive," the doctor explained. "Without it, we would die. Akito-san is what keeps the curse alive. Rather, the head of the house is what keeps the curse alive. It drains them of their life in order to keep everyone else living. Eventually, as all things do, the head of the house dies but not before choosing someone to bear a child. That child will, as soon as he or she is born, will be cursed and forced into the position of head of the house.
"It's quite possibly one of the most horrifying things to be. Akito hates all of us and blames us for letting the prior head choose his mother. His mother, after giving birth to him, hated herself for allowing such a child to be born. She didn't hate Akito, but rather, the fact that she willingly put her child through what every head or the house has to go through. She hung herself by the window that Akito sits by everyday."
Tohru was shaking. How could she kill herself? She should have stayed with Akito-san to make sure that he turned out okay…
"And the father?" she asked. Hatori answered, "He never showed his face around us again. Apparently the mother only used him to impregnate herself so she could give birth to the new head of the house. He hated her for it."
How awful… losing one of his parents to suicide and never knowing the other…no wonder he's so cruel to everyone…
"They didn't even ask me!" Tohru remembered Akito yelling the day she went to him. Now she understood. He was, or rather, his mother was forced into having him in order to keep the rest of them alive. What a terrible price to pay.
"Who do you think he'll choose?" asked Kyo, squeezing Tohru's hand. He knew exactly what she was thinking about, as he did often.
"We're worried… that he'll choose you," Hatori gave it to her straight. Tohru's eyes widened. "M-me!?"
"To hurt you with something else," he finished resentfully, lighting up a cigarette. "He's hoping—if he chooses you, that is—that the same thing will happen to you as his mother. And he's going to try to bring you down with him."
Tohru shook her head. "No! Akito-san wouldn't do that! He won't choose me!"
Hatori looked outside as he took a drag of his cigarette.
"In five months, we'll know."
So yeah, the bit about the curse and Akito's parents is all my own musings. I hope it makes sense.
Soo! How many people want to kill me? ::gets hit with tomatoes:: Aaaah!! ::wipes eyes:: I promise you that the next chapter will make up for it!
Crappy Preview: Ayame goodness, Kyo/Tohru physical relationship progression IF you know what I mean ::wink::, cute Yuki/Haru scene(s), and… Haru in a dress. BAI! REVIEW! ::kissy face:: MUUUUAAAAAAHHH!! ::bows and runs away::
Okay, as I've told many people, you're either going to kill Akito himself or me for writing this chapter. The first part is for comic relief or something, so calmeth downeth. Yeaaaah… this is a LOOOONG chapter but very eventful. I promise to keep you on the edge of your seats.
Disclaimer: Eh, you know I don't own anything, so here are some Warnings: Prince Yuki members going psycho, mathematical equations, Kagura, and violence, people. Hello, it's an AKITO chapter. Doi. Also, due to my lack of knowledge of the curse's real… deal, I somewhat go AU-ish because… yeah, I needed to. Enjoy.
If anyone ever told Tohru that her days were uneventful, they were very far from correct. It was the second day after vacation when she and Haru had an adventure together. Apparently, some of the Prince Yuki Fan Club members found out about Tohru's relationship with Kyo and also Haru's relationship with their prince. During break, the three fan members in Tohru's class confronted her.
"Vice president Kinoshita Minami, I've chosen you to go forward with this operation," said Minagawa Motoko, the president of the Prince Yuki Fan Club. "As for me, I'll escort that wave girl to the office to deliver some papers."
"Right," said Minami. "Member one, Yamagishi Mio, and member two, Gotou Mai will accompany me."
"Right!"
After Motoko led Saki out of the room, the three girls cornered Tohru.
"Honda-kun, we've heard that you turned down Yuki-kun!"
"Yeah, and for that stupid carrot head!"
"How COULD you?!"
"Aahh…" was all Tohru could manage before they interrupted her.
"And that wave girl isn't here right now! You have no protection! That yankee can't take us all!"
"We'll pay you back for breaking our prince's heart!"
"But I…" Tohru squeaked but the girls wouldn't hear it. They continued up until there was a voice.
"What are you doing to Tohru?"
They all, including Tohru, looked over to see Haru standing there. He usually came with Momiji to hang out during break. Momiji, however, was bothering Kyo. Yuki was at a quick school meeting.
The girls looked to Haru.
"Who…?" Mai started to ask but then she remembered. "You're… you're Souma Hatsuharu, right?"
"Uh-huh."
"You! I saw you yesterday with your hands all over Yuki-kun!" snapped Minami, pointing furiously at him. The other girls held back shrieks.
"That… You… Yuki-kun…"
"Wow, Yuki-kun is gay?" asked Mai, slightly interested. Minami's eyes widened.
"Well… that would explain a lot…" She pointed rudely at Tohru. "But Honda here was practically hogging him! How did you get to Yuki-san without getting rid of her? We've all loved Yuki-kun forever! How did you sneak in?"
"I didn't 'sneak in,' I've been in love with Yuki for longer than you've known him. And obviously you didn't really love him because if you did, you would have been able to let him go to Tohru if he wanted," said Haru calmly as if they should have already known (which technically, they should have). Minami shook her head.
"Some of us were expecting to give up our prince to Honda… but not some… fag!"
Haru's left eye twitched. "What… did you just call me?"
Ah! Hatsuharu-san, don't turn black! thought Tohru desperately. She went in between Haru and the girls, facing Haru.
"Hatsuharu-san, please don't get too angry—"
But that set him off even more.
"Don't get angry? Why not? I may in fact be gay, but to call me something so bigoted just proves their intelligence, doesn't it, Tohru?"
Kyo took that time to look over. He freaked out and whacked Momiji.
"Shut up! Tohru needs help," he snapped at the blonde. They headed over to witness Haru threatening to pull Minami's pigtails out of her head.
"Cut it out, Haru, they aren't worth going black over," Kyo warned. Momiji bobbed up to Tohru, offering her a lollipop. Haru glared at Kyo.
"They're not worth the breathing space either, but they're still there, right?" he taunted. Mio sneered at him.
"You're not worthy enough to date Yuki-kun!"
This would have gotten Haru to really toss the girls outside the second floor window, but he froze and was calmed as arms wrapped around his torso and pulled him back.
"I think he's worthy enough," came Yuki's sweet voice. Haru put his hands to Yuki's arms, grinning incredibly at the reaction the fan club girls had to Yuki's provocative behavior while Tohru blushed, Kyo hissed, and Momiji seemed unfazed and… bored? Motoko and Saki took that time to return to the room. Saki ran straight over and grabbed Tohru's arm.
"Is everything all right? I was getting awful waves…"
"Ah, Hana-chan…" Tohru said, surprised that Saki said nothing about how Yuki and Haru were teasing the fan club girls. Motoko's jaw dropped.
"Yuki? What…?"
"Yuki-kun is gay!" cheered Mai a bit too loudly. The entire class looked over and Yuki jumped off of Haru, falling over. Suddenly there was an entire crowd around Yuki's sprawled and embarrassed body, asking him questions as if there was no tomorrow. Kyo hissed at them and knew that something needed to be done.
He put his hand to his chin, grinned, and thought about it more. Well… nah, I'll let him be tortured juuuust a bit longer… damn rat.
/-/
It was raining on Thursday night so Kyo was down in the dumps with Tohru as his only support. Kyo was helping Tohru clean up dinner, Shigure was with his editor, and Yuki was helping Haru with his homework. Shigure had made the announcement that they were going to the Main House after school Friday (the next day), so they talked little amongst themselves about anything other than the task at hand.
"There—is this right?" asked Haru, holding up his messy paper, full of erase marks and blotches. He loathed mathematics with a burning passion. The only passion that surpassed it was the one he had for Yuki. The older boy looked over his paper.
"… You forgot to carry the two over here…"
"Aaah!! I hate math!" yelled Haru angrily. Yuki stayed calm.
"It's just a tiny error that you can fix. You've got the formula right. Just try it again, it's that simple."
Haru snatched his paper back and started copying down what he had up until the error. Yuki continued to read his own book, jotting down notes on a paper. He was caught by surprise when Haru hit the book out of Yuki's hands and pinned him down.
"Haru…"
"I'm scared."
Yuki's eyes softened. "Of what?"
"Akito-san," he replied. "I've never… talked with him except for at the New Years Banquet, and that wasn't actually a one-on-one conversation."
Yuki stroked his lover's face.
"It's okay. I'll be there with you."
Haru nuzzled his face into Yuki's neck.
"I know you will be…"
He felt Yuki's arms wrap around him as he, too, admitted that he was scared.
"I… I went against him once when he was hurting Honda-san… but before that, I never dared to…" he trailed off as Haru nibbled lovingly on his ear.
"Souma-kun, I—"
Tohru halted after sliding the door open, staring at the heap known as Yuki and Haru. Haru rolled to the side and clutched his math book for safety. Yuki stared at Tohru, his mouth and his eyes open wide. Haru noticed that Kyo was behind her, holding back gags.
"Aaah! I'm sorry, I should have knocked… I—"
"N-no, Honda-san, we weren't… doing anything… well…" Yuki stammered. Haru looked to her, then Kyo, then back to Tohru.
"Sorry."
"D-don't be! I simply… wanted to… well, it's about Akito-san," she said. Yuki patted the carpet next to him. After looking to Kyo (who nodded), she came over and sat down near him. Kyo leaned against Yuki's bureau.
"… You and Hatsuharu-san are going to see him while Kyo-kun and I are going to see Kagura-san," Tohru stated the apparent.
"I'm not sure which one of us has it worse," Haru spoke, his eyes on Kyo. He grimaced and crossed his arms over his chest. Tohru only smiled sadly.
"Well… I wanted to wish the both of you luck… I'm very worried…"
Her hand went to the top of her head near the back, where a few months ago, Akito had pulled on her hair.
"Every time I think about him… my head hurts right here… I only hope that he's changed since then…"
Haru wondered about what she meant. She looked to him and told him what Akito had done to her. Kyo watched her as she spoke, wishing that he could have been there with her, however, as the cat, he was never allowed to see Akito face-to-face unless specifically beckoned.
"And… we're going to see that guy?" Haru asked Yuki, who nodded once. Haru swallowed. "Oh… man…"
The four of them could only hope things weren't going to go the same way. Yuki put a hand on Tohru's.
"Honda-san, I want to wish you luck, too. After all, you're meeting with Kagura-san. I know that she'll be fine with it, but she'll probably take it harshly. She's loved Kyo for quite some time now. However, like me, she'll only want to see the one she loves happy and let him go."
"Souma-kun…" Tohru whispered. He smiled and gave her the only kiss he would ever give her on the top of her head. Kyo didn't care, obviously. It was a kiss that mimicked what Yuki said next.
"I will always be… your prince."
Tohru giggled softly.
"So that makes Hatsuharu-san your princess?"
"Hatsuharu-hime," Yuki teased. Haru shrugged.
"I don't care as long as I get a pretty dress to wear."
The four of them shared a round of laughter, trying to keep as positive as they could before everything was torn down the next day.
/-/
Tohru tightened her grip on Kyo's hand, suddenly scared. Haru and Yuki were next to them—they felt safer all together, for some reason. They stopped and looked at her.
"Kagura-san… she'll hate me…" Tohru spoke softly. Kyo shook his head and ran his hand through her hair, kissing her on the forehead, then on the cheek, then on the lips. Kyo found that this was a very special kiss to Tohru, for each time he did it, the both of them felt much, much more calm.
"She won't. She doesn't have it in her heart to hate anyone," he told her. Tohru had to settle with this. She looked to Yuki and then Haru.
"Good luck…"
"You, too."
They went their separate ways and even Kyo felt less confident. They saw Kagura outside of where she stayed at the main house. She was wearing her pretty green dress, contrasting Tohru's yellow sundress. She turned and said nothing. Tohru did her best to stay strong. She wished that she could hold onto Kyo's hand again, but in front of Kagura, it was best not to.
Finally, Kagura moved forward, heading to Kyo. She moved her arm out and swiftly slapped him across the face. Tohru kept her head down.
"That was for betraying me," Kagura snapped, waiting for him to straighten before slapping him again on the other cheek.
"That was for continuing to lead me on," she hissed and slapped him a third time. His right cheek was burning red.
"For going behind my back!"
And a forth. Now his cheeks matched.
"And that was for not telling me."
He held his face as Kagura looked to Tohru. Tohru held her breath, expecting the same treatment.
"Honda-san… I predicted that this would happen," Kagura spoke, her voice was still firm and angry. "I knew I couldn't stop you two from getting closer. It just hurt, Honda-san. It hurt to know that some girl like you could win his heart so easily."
It was like it was Haru all over again, only meaner. Haru hadn't called her "some girl." Tohru stayed silent.
"I wanted to be the one that protected him!" Kagura yelled. "I wanted to be the one who could bring him back from that awful form of his! I was the only one who accepted it! I love him, you… you…"
It looked like Kagura did her best to discontinue the sentence she had formed in her mouth. Tohru felt like someone had slowly placed an elephant on her shoulders, for her knees were shaking slightly.
"… Honda-san, I don't want you to take my Kyo-kun away from me," Kagura sneered. "In fact, I'd like for you to go away, right now."
Tohru stayed.
"Go! Go away! I won't let you take him from me!" yelled Kagura, tears forming in her eyes. Tohru didn't move, but she felt like she was going to crumple to the ground. Kyo did his best to stay quiet.
"What did I just say? Are you deaf?!"
"Kagura-san…" Tohru whispered.
"Shut up!"
"Kagura-san!"
Kagura didn't push the girl off of her as she hugged her. She could feel that Tohru was crying.
"Kagura-san, I never meant to hurt you," Tohru told her. "I never wanted to choose between one and the other. But… I can't simply stop loving Kyo-kun… not after all of this. I went through a lot to keep him with me on that night a few months ago. It was then when I knew that I couldn't go on without him smiling at my side. So many things were running through my head that night… at first, I was trying to think of ways to escape it all. I thought about how I could run away and never speak to anyone again… about how I could give in to Akito-san and let Hatori-san erase my memories… about how I could tell my mother that I gave up on something and try my best to move on…
"And then… I wound up at my mother's grave. I don't remember—I don't know how I ended up there, but I was. My two best friends, Uo-chan and Hana-chan, were out walking when they saw me. Uo-chan told me to let it all go, to give up. Hana-chan knocked her down and told me to go get the thing that was so precious to me. 'You must go!' she told me… I had no idea what to do—they were both fighting. And then I looked up at my mother's grave and thought about how I can never see her smile again.
"That is when it hit me, Kagura-san, that I wouldn't be able to go through life without seeing Kyo-kun… without his smile ever again. I wouldn't be able to go without seeing any of the Souma faces or smiles… I needed to go to him and make things right again. I got up and used my last bit of strength to find him. When I did…"
"I know," Kagura interrupted when Tohru was at a loss for words. "Yu-chan told me what happened with the three of you then."
Tohru's noble speech was full of hesitations and pauses for a sob or two, but it was well heard by both Kagura and Kyo. Kagura held the girl in her arms as she sobbed.
"Kagura-san… please… please don't hate me," Tohru pleaded. "I don't want to hurt anyone with my decision."
"Honda-san… I don't think I could ever bring myself to hate you," Kagura told her. Tohru's tears halted. Kyo-kun was right…
"I was prepared to let Kyo-kun go… but I had to test you first," Kagura explained, pushing Tohru away from her in order to look her in the face. She had been crying also. "If… if you had done what I said earlier and gave up right then and there, I think I would be able to hate you. But your actions and words tell me that your love for Kyo-kun is as pure as mine is for him, however, yours is much stronger than mine could ever be. It's also more important to him than my love for him. I've known this all along. I knew it on that very night…"
Kyo had kept silent throughout all of this but oddly, he couldn't help himself sadly whisper, "Kagura…"
Kagura smiled.
"I'm happy, Kyo-kun, that you still care enough about me to come here today," she said. "I could tell that you loved her from the very beginning. On Valentine's Day, you only ate my chocolate in order to enjoy hers, right?"
"… Yes," strangely enough, Kyo felt his face heat up under Tohru's gaze. How silly of his face to do that.
"All right then. Kyo-kun, our engagement has been cancelled," said Kagura, regaining her voice. She turned to Tohru and placed her hands on the girl's bare shoulders. "Honda-san… I'm giving him to you. Although you and I both know, I feel I should tell you anyway. If you ever, ever hurt him, I'll never forgive you. I'll make it so that you'll wish Hatori-san would erase your memories."
"Kagura!" Kyo barked. Kagura shook her head, laughing nervously.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Honda-san! That sort of slipped out!! Ehehe…"
Tohru, having gone pale from the threat, returned the nervous giggle with one of her own. "I promise you that I won't hurt him."
Kagura nodded. "As I thought."
She smiled and hugged Kyo tightly.
"Stay happy, Kyo-kun," she told him. He patted her on the head instead of hugging her back.
"I will as long as you do, too."
They would always share a special bond, stronger than friendship but nothing more. Kagura would always love him and he was okay with that, just as she was okay with the fact that he would never love her in return.
/-/
If only Yuki and Haru's encounter with their "nemesis" had been so easy. For them, they would look back at this day with cold eyes and heavy hearts. It was truly the day where the seams began to split.
Hatori was standing at the door leading to Akito's section of the main house. Yuki and Haru stopped in front of him and waited for him to tell them what to do.
"Hatsuharu is to go see Akito alone."
"What?" asked Haru. Yuki glared at Hatori.
"I'm not leaving him alone with that bastard."
"Yuki, you are to come with me and stay in my house until their meeting has finished. Hatsuharu, you are to go forward and meet with Akito."
"No… you can't do this," Yuki tried to plead with Hatori. Haru kissed Yuki on the cheek. "I'll be fine. I can deal with whatever he has to say to me."
Yuki wanted to grab Haru and run away with him—Haru truly had absolutely no idea what he was in for. He's not going to talk to you… But he went on, anyway, as Hatori escorted Yuki to his quarters.
The first thing Haru thought when he entered the room that it was very dark. He could barely see Akito's outline in the blue-black of the room.
"Akito-san," he spoke softly and bowed down, figuring that would be the best thing to do. Akito had been standing off to the side, his kimono shrugging off of his shoulders.
"So… you are Hatsuharu…" he spoke. His voice was liquid, flowing elegantly.
"Yes," replied Haru after a moment. He was trying to get used to his surroundings although he could not see them in the first place. Akito faced him and practically glided over.
"Stand," he commanded calmly. Haru did as he was told (as he usually did) and Akito reached out to touch his face. Haru flinched at his touch and noticed that he was taller than Akito but felt as though the lanky man towered over him. Akito was caressing his face.
"To call you ugly would be far from the truth…" he said, smiling. Haru wasn't sure if he should thank him or keep quiet so he did the latter of the two, keeping his eyes forward. He felt Akito's body press up against him.
"I'd like to have my way with you right now," Akito told him. Haru didn't react, which was wise on his part, but he couldn't control his own breathing as it quickened. He was getting nervous. Akito suddenly raked his nails against Haru's cheek, drawing blood with his middle finger, the one with the longest nail. Haru winced and Akito bitterly remarked, "Of course, I wouldn't want to get myself dirty… you are nothing more than filth."
He threw him to the side and Haru hit the ground hard, narrowly missing his head on the side of the wall. Akito wiped his fingernail on his kimono without taking his eyes off of the boy.
"What made you think that you… that you could dare touch my Yuki?"
"Your Yuki?" Haru repeated. Akito swiftly grabbed his hair like he had down with Tohru and drew his fingernail against Haru's other cheek.
"Of course he is mine! He is all mine… and I won't let you take him from me, you filthy slut," he spat, literally, into Haru's face. Boldly, Haru spit back, which earned him a throw into the wall.
"You fool…" Akito grinned, grabbing Haru's hair again and smacking his head against the wall. "You stupid fool! I've worked too hard to keep Yuki under my control! I am the head of this family! You all do what I tell you to do! Yuki does what I tell him to do!"
He threw Haru over to the middle of the room and Haru could have thanked him. His head hurt so much, but oddly enough, he found he couldn't attack this brutal man back. Why couldn't he have gone black and fought back? Perhaps it was fear that kept him white.
That didn't mean he was going to lose, however.
"Yuki does not belong to anyone! I won't let you hurt him anymore!" he yelled. "You can't control us! We're all our own people!"
"Shut up!" yelled Akito as he pinned the boy down and wrapped a cold hand around his neck. "I'll say it again, you rotten piece of dirt… Yuki is mine… I have trained him very well to obey my commands!"
His tone grew more and more bitter.
"You went behind all of our backs… you've already dirtied him…"
Haru was struggling to breathe. Ohmygodohmygodyukiohmygodyukiyuki…
"You fucked him… Shigure heard it and told me."
Shigure! How the fuck could you?!
"No one is allowed to touch Yuki but me!! He is mine and mine alone! He is my toy to play with… my toy to break."
Akito… Akito has already… had sex with Yuki? The thought of this… man doing such a thing to Yuki (and the fact that he was being strangled) brought tears to Haru's wide eyes. That's… that's why he went along with it so well that night… that's how he… oh my god…
"Ah, you didn't know?" asked Akito and Haru hated himself for letting his weak spot be known. Akito released his grip and allowed Haru to catch his breath as he told him, "Yes… perhaps you were surprised by some of the things he did? You weren't his first… I was… I enjoyed him… he's very loud, don't you agree? I liked it better that way, so I made sure that he always was loud."
No… His tears were salty as they crept into his mouth.
"Hehehe… perhaps you should ask him about it some times…" Akito said, staring up to the ceiling with a smile. He then looked back down to Haru, whom he saw as a mere insect.
And kissed him.
On the lips, no less, and he invaded Haru's mouth with his tongue. Haru weakly brought his hands over to push Akito away but found that Akito was firm. Akito then bit down on Haru's lower lip, drawing blood. He dropped Haru back on the ground, Haru's blood fresh on his lips. Haru wiped at his bleeding face for a bit before Akito resumed strangling him, stronger this time—he was really going to kill him this time.
"You… you taste like Yuki… how dare you!!"
Haru gave up on trying to push him away and was banging his fists on the ground, hoping someone would be able to hear him and come to his rescue.
"You deserve to die, you horrid slut," Akito told him bitterly, "for tainting my Yuki…"
Soon, his eyelids were becoming heavy and various memories flooded to his head—meeting Yuki by the window that day, seeing him again at every banquet, meeting Tohru, being with Yuki at school, that first kiss in his bed, the night they made love—they did not "fuck," as Akito had put it. Fucking was emotionless, or at least that's what Haru thought.
Just as he swore his life would end, the hands around his neck loosened and then disappeared entirely. He opened his eyes and looked to see Akito coughing into a balled up fist. Haru caught his breath again as Akito continued coughing violently. It was then when Haru noticed blood dribbling down Akito's face from his mouth—it was on his hand, too.
"Ha… Hatori!" called Akito in between coughs. "Hatori!"
Haru was dumbfounded when the door slid to the side and in came Hatori. He knelt down beside Akito and didn't give Haru so much as a look.
He was… he was standing outside the entire time and didn't do a fucking THING?! He was choking me, you fucking bastard!!
Haru used that time to get to his feet and run outside the room, down the hall, and outside. It hurt very much to breathe but he had to get to Hatori's house. He had to get to Yuki… Miraculously, he didn't get lost on the way there—perhaps he was too determined to screw up directions. He thrust the door open and saw Yuki by the bookcase, six feet away from Hatori's futon. He heard breathing and turned.
"Haru!" he gasped, frightened. The young man had two gashes, one on each side of his face, his bottom lip was bleeding a bit, and his neck was red as if… as if he had been strangled. Haru quickly reached him and kissed him violently, pressing himself up against Yuki's body, tears streaming down his face. Yuki was too surprised to kiss back and tried his best to wrap his arms around Haru. Haru lowered his head to Yuki's neck where he sobbed softly; Yuki could feel the tears on his neck.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he wanted to know, his voice weak from his assault.
"Tell you what?"
"That Akito… that he…"
Yuki knew exactly what he was talking about. He felt as though a dagger had just torn his heart out.
"I didn't want you to know… I didn't want anyone to know! But especially not you—"
"That's why you were so submissive the other night… you were used to being dominated. Yuki, if I had known, I—"
"Haru, please. I wanted what happened between the two of us that night just as much as you did. I'm sorry I didn't tell you… I was too ashamed of it."
"Did he rape you?"
"Yes. You could say that. I was never exactly willing."
"… How many times did he do it?!"
Yuki couldn't say. Haru backed away from him, saying, "Don't let me do that to you ever again."
"Do what?" Yuki's confusion was obvious in his voice.
"What we did the other night. I think I let it get too far too fast."
"No," Yuki replied firmly, walking to Haru. He sat the two of them down on Hatori's bed. "No way. Never regret that unless you regret having anything to do with me. What we did was… amazing. Even if it might be too far in some people's eyes, it was what we needed then and there. Others… Akito-san… he can… he can fuck off."
Haru chuckled softly. "Yeah. He can definitely do that."
Yuki hugged Haru to him. "It felt so good… by the way."
Haru blushed at this. "Y-you think so??"
Yuki laughed out loud, saying, "Wow, I managed to embarrass you? I thought, Mr. Split Personality, that was your job to do to me."
"Yeah, what the hell are you doing stealing my job? I'll go homeless."
Yuki rubbed his back softly. "You'll always have a home with me."
It was a long while before either of them spoke. Haru leaned them both down into the bed so that they were laying side-by-side and said, "I… thought I was going to die back there… He told me that you were his and his alone… that I was filth… that I was a fool… and a slut."
Bitterly, he added, "And Shigure overheard us that night on the couch. He told Akito." Yuki was stunned. Shigure… betrayed us?
"He kissed me, too," Haru confessed, "and said that I tasted like you and that I deserve to die because I… tainted you… that I infected you."
"You didn't," Yuki told him. "He is the filth. You aren't. He used me… I was nothing in his eyes except for… a fuck buddy, something to play with until he was bored with me."
"He mentioned that he saw you as his toy to play with and then break," Haru said. Yuki sighed.
"I was able to escape before… he was able to do too much breaking."
They were silent again and Haru was kissing Yuki's palms lightly and lovingly up until he heard a voice.
"If either of you two are naked, you can bet that you're washing my sheets."
They sat up abruptly, blushes taking over the better half of their faces. Hatori was outside in the garden outside of the room, looking ominous. Haru glared at the man.
"Hatori—"
"You should go wash up," Hatori interrupted the ox boy, taking off his shoes and stepping up into the room. "I'll attend to your wounds once you've cleaned up."
Haru stood up and walked hastily into the bathroom, saying nothing. Yuki looked past Hatori to see Kyo and Tohru, hand-in-hand, looking happy.
"I suppose things with Kagura-san went well?" he asked. Tohru nodded. Yuki smiled.
"That's good…"
He looked down. At least they're okay…
/-/
Later, after Haru had come back into Hatori's room, Tohru and Kyo were standing near the bookcase. Kyo had his back against the bookcase and Tohru has her back against his front. Kyo was doing his best not to touch her with his arms to prevent transforming. He had his chin resting on top of her head and she looked very content and beautiful with him. Yuki was sitting on the bed still, thinking with his head in his hands. Hatori went to fixing up Haru's face immediately.
"You shouldn't have any scars thanks to this ointment… but you must put it on twice a day. Keep the bandages on while bathing and try not to overexert yourself. As for your lip, it wasn't that bad of a cut, so it should heal in no time."
Haru pocketed the tube containing the ointment for his face as Hatori felt the back of his head.
"And you have a bump here."
"You think?" Haru replied sarcastically. Of course he had a bump there; it was where his head collided with the wall when Akito had slammed him into it. The top of his head was throbbing as well from when his hair had been pulled. He understood Tohru much better now.
"You bastard…" Haru whispered to Hatori. "You heard me in there getting killed and you did nothing."
Hatori didn't deny it nor did he explain his actions. His face remained impassive as he addressed all of them by saying, "Akito is dying."
There had been a bird outside chirping a lovely little song. It was the only thing that any of them could hear for a little while before it fluttered off. At last, Yuki swallowed.
"Dying?"
"He has until the first month of next year," Hatori told them. Tohru gasped.
"That's five months from now!" she yelped dreadfully. None of them seemed happy about this fact.
"What are we going to do about finding a new…?" Haru's voice trailed off when he realized that Tohru had no idea what Akito's death meant. He pointed that fact out to Hatori.
"This curse is what keeps us alive," the doctor explained. "Without it, we would die. Akito-san is what keeps the curse alive. Rather, the head of the house is what keeps the curse alive. It drains them of their life in order to keep everyone else living. Eventually, as all things do, the head of the house dies but not before choosing someone to bear a child. That child will, as soon as he or she is born, will be cursed and forced into the position of head of the house.
"It's quite possibly one of the most horrifying things to be. Akito hates all of us and blames us for letting the prior head choose his mother. His mother, after giving birth to him, hated herself for allowing such a child to be born. She didn't hate Akito, but rather, the fact that she willingly put her child through what every head or the house has to go through. She hung herself by the window that Akito sits by everyday."
Tohru was shaking. How could she kill herself? She should have stayed with Akito-san to make sure that he turned out okay…
"And the father?" she asked. Hatori answered, "He never showed his face around us again. Apparently the mother only used him to impregnate herself so she could give birth to the new head of the house. He hated her for it."
How awful… losing one of his parents to suicide and never knowing the other…no wonder he's so cruel to everyone…
"They didn't even ask me!" Tohru remembered Akito yelling the day she went to him. Now she understood. He was, or rather, his mother was forced into having him in order to keep the rest of them alive. What a terrible price to pay.
"Who do you think he'll choose?" asked Kyo, squeezing Tohru's hand. He knew exactly what she was thinking about, as he did often.
"We're worried… that he'll choose you," Hatori gave it to her straight. Tohru's eyes widened. "M-me!?"
"To hurt you with something else," he finished resentfully, lighting up a cigarette. "He's hoping—if he chooses you, that is—that the same thing will happen to you as his mother. And he's going to try to bring you down with him."
Tohru shook her head. "No! Akito-san wouldn't do that! He won't choose me!"
Hatori looked outside as he took a drag of his cigarette.
"In five months, we'll know."
So yeah, the bit about the curse and Akito's parents is all my own musings. I hope it makes sense.
Soo! How many people want to kill me? ::gets hit with tomatoes:: Aaaah!! ::wipes eyes:: I promise you that the next chapter will make up for it!
Crappy Preview: Ayame goodness, Kyo/Tohru physical relationship progression IF you know what I mean ::wink::, cute Yuki/Haru scene(s), and… Haru in a dress. BAI! REVIEW! ::kissy face:: MUUUUAAAAAAHHH!! ::bows and runs away::