Stuck-up Beauty, Reformed Beast, by Raberba girl

Part 3 (Akito)

This keeps happening today. I'll wander around, I'll get tired, I'll somehow get involved in a strenuous activity, I'll forget I'm tired, and then after a while I'll realize that I'm more tired than ever.

I feel like I'm going to collapse if I don't find somewhere to sleep soon.

And I think I'm lost. Why didn't anyone tell me that it was a bad idea to go out alone? And while I'm at it, why don't I ever pay enough attention when I do go out? I just go tra-la-lalling on my way, enjoying the scenery and letting others deal with directions.

A bit of green in the near-distance catches my eye. Grass? Oh well, it's better than concrete. At least I'll be able to sit down for a while, and gather my strength. I make myself walk just a little farther. Oh, a courtyard. School courtyard. Looks vaguely familiar, but I don't really care about placing it at the moment. I just want to sleep. Ah, look, a nice shady tree; I'll just sit under that.

My legs fold under me sooner than I expected them to, and I hit the ground harder than I would have liked. I lean against the trunk for a moment, but the ground calls to me...look, I'm sliding, going down...

Ah. Very uncomfortable, but very nice at the same time. I lie on the ground, with sleepiness hanging so thickly around me that I don't care about my awkward position, the itchiness of the grass, or the tiny insect that has just landed on my neck and is probably sucking up infinitesimal amounts of my blood. I am content to remain unmoving. My eyes drag blissfully closed.

I don't know how long I slept, probably just a few minutes, but I wake up to the sound of someone crying. I try to open my eyes, but they seem to be stuck. I sit up and rub at my eyes until I can open them fully.

A girl is sitting on a bench not far from me, crying quietly. She's pretty. Very long hair, red. I like redheads. I drag myself to my feet, which is harder than sitting up was. I amble over to her, noting as I get closer that she's holding something drippy and interesting-looking in her left hand. Ice cream, they call it? Momiji made me eat some once or twice. Not bad stuff, actually, if a little too sweet.

"Hey," I say, "give me some of that."

She jerks and looks up at me, obviously startled. Then she keeps looking at me, and her eyes are going wide, and so is her mouth, and she's forgotten that she's supposed to be crying.

Wonderful. Another dunce who's fallen in love with my looks.

Sometimes I hate having silk-hair and velvet-eyes and creamy skin. And I mean, come on; does anyone ever think how I got that complexion? Anyone ever realize that that particular shade and texture is not exactly a sign of good health?

"Are you deaf or something?" Better to break her image of perfection as soon as possible. "That looks good, let me try some." I pluck the ice cream out of her hand and start eating it.

"Yuki," the girl whispers.

Ice cream bubbles back up my throat the wrong way, and I choke. When I've got myself under control again, my thoughts have cleared as well. She can't possibly be referring to my Yuki.

"Nope. Name's Sohma," I say, taking another nonchalant lick. I think I am going to get addicted to this stuff. Better not let Momiji know. Or Shigure, he'll tease me without mercy. Or Hatori, he'll give me that look that always sends Shigure and Ayame into hysterics when they see it.

"Yuki Sohma?!" She's staring at me like I'm her greatest nightmare and her most beautiful dream come to life. "Is it really you? You've...you've changed, but...you're still as-- wonderful as ever." Her voice has dropped to a whisper.

I swallow the last of the ice cream and stare at her. Yuki Sohma. So she did mean my Yuki. "My name is Akito Sohma. Who are you?"

"S-Sohma? Are you...related?"

This conversation is irritating me even more than the insect bite on my neck. I reach up to scratch it, and I say, "Yuki Sohma is my cousin." Please find where you dropped your brain and put it back in your head where it belongs, girl. The only reason I am still talking to you is because I want to know how you know Yuki.

"Oh."

Why is she staring at me like that? It has to be more than just my looks - her eyes have a haunted look in them.

I sigh and sit down next to her on the stone bench. I can't help shifting uncomfortably; my butt's too bony, and I'm used to cushions. "So, how do you know Yuki?" I ask straight out.

She blushes. "Oh, we used to go to school together. This school, in fact." She gestures vaguely at the building.

It suddenly hits me. This is Yuki's old school, the co-ed one. No wonder it seemed familiar: I've been here before, once.

"I've been here before, once," I say conversationally. I feel rather proud of myself, both for remembering to make polite conversation and for thinking up such a statement so quickly on my own.

"Oh, really?" she says politely. Though she's still blushing, I think she is recovering from whatever shock I gave her. Which reminds me.

"Sorry for eating your ice cream."

She shakes her head, looking flustered. "N-no, that's all right. I shouldn't have been eating it anyway, I'll get fat."

I give her a look out of the corner of my eye. "You're a stick. I wish I could get fat." Even though I've been eating a lot more than I used to, I never seem to gain much weight. It worries Hatori. Worries me, too, though I'd never admit it out loud.

"You?" she bursts out. What is with this girl and blushing? Her face looks like a fairly attractive tomato.

"Yeah, me. I'm too skinny. Look." I push up my annoying floaty sleeve and show her my arm. My wrist is smaller around than hers, and you can make out the shape of my veins and bones. Then I push up my sleeve further and flex, showing her the tiny little glob of muscle I have managed to coax onto my arm (after much time and hard work, thank you very much).

She giggles, then covers her mouth. "I'm sorry. It's just that, you're too beautiful to be fat."

"So are you," I snap. Wait, that came out wrong. I hope she doesn't think I was trying to flirt.

Again with the blushing. I'm surprised this girl's face hasn't burned off by now. "What's your name, anyway?" I ask.

"M-Motoko. Minagawa."

"Motoko, then." I am the Great Akito. I use honorifics for no one. "Look me in the eyes and smile."

Her eyes, which have been avoiding me all this time, snap directly to mine in surprise. I smile encouragingly at her, and she smiles back automatically.

"That's better. All that blushing and giggling and stuttering and looking anywhere but me was really getting on my nerves." Real smooth, Akito. It's like I've been taking dating lessons from Kyo.

She takes a deep breath, then stands up and looks down into my face. I frown, not liking her above me.

"I can't understand it," she says. "In some ways you are so much like him, but in other ways you are different."

"Right. And you were expecting me to be a Yuki-clone, is that it? How close were you to Yuki, anyway? If you were one of his friends, how come I never heard about it?" Shut up, Aki. Don't let strangers know that you used to be a possessive jerk.

"I was--! I was..." She trails off.

"Oh, I get it. You must have been one of the drooling admirers. The kind who sneaks anonymous chocolate into his locker on Valentine's Day, and takes tons of pictures of him without his knowledge, and has dozens of diaries all filled with his name." Yuki has never told me any of this, but I can guess.

Her face floods with anger, causing my heart to leap with excitement - I haven't pushed anyone like this in so long. I try not to be happy about what I've done, but I can't help it. I love riling people up.

"How dare you? You don't even know me!"

'Be nice, Aki, choke down those words you want so badly to say, be apologetic...' Oooh, but I know exactly what buttons to press, it's so tempting! If I could just point out that she didn't actually deny being a fangirl--

Kyo's words come back to me. "It's like training, you know? The more you practice, the easier it gets. Here, try complimenting me, just for kicks."

"Hm. Your hair is the color of a delicious orange, and I want to eat you."

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!"

I smile at the memory, then keep smiling for Motoko's sake. "I'm sorry." Oh, what the heck. I lower my voice and turn it silky. That much I can still do, at least. "That was very presumptuous of me. Will you forgive me, Minagawa-san?"

She looks away, not smiling. "I suppose so."

I take her hand delicately and raise it to my lips. Girls love this. Then I smile into her astonished face and stand up with all the grace I can muster. "I'm sorry, Minagawa-san, but I must be going." Too bad I'm as lost as Hatsuharu, but at least she doesn't know that. "It was a pleasure meeting you."

I start to walk away. Her voice suddenly calls out behind me.

"Wait!"

I turn back and raise an eyebrow.

"You...Sohma-san...you can call me by my name."

Oh, I'm thrilled. Like I'm ever going to see you again. "As you wish, Motoko." Go on, say it, you'll never see her again, anyway. "Feel free to call me by my name as well."

"All right...Akito-kun..." I can see her taste my name as it crosses her tongue. A little shiver of disgust runs up my spine, but I hide it as well as I can. I leave.

to be continued...