Thank you to all that have reviewed my fic thus far, Ana Denali, Kori hime, Nightfall 2525, Daine-Wildmaige, CrazyInsaneAnimeFanGirl, Liviania, Iris Flamewing, Kairi-chan, ConRtist, Jo Flower, Krenya-alenak, and Bballstar42. I really appreciated the encouragement and am happy you like it thus far. Please continue to R & R as it helps me as I prepare future chapters.
For those of you who run across my little tale after this chapter is posted, thank you for your reviews.
Chapter 2 Akito Comes to Her GraduationFive minutes before the scheduled start of graduation Akito strode into the auditorium as if he was royalty visiting his loyal subjects. The grace of his walk and the beauty of his features had every one turning to stare. The strength of his presence had an impact on all present. He looked around the auditorium, a beautiful smile in place to hide his dark thoughts.
He noted the aisle where Shigure and Hatori were sitting with the rest of the juunishi. Shigure was at one end of the aisle and Hatori was at the other with Ayame and Kazuma sitting next to the two older juunishi. All of the younger juunishi were seated between the four men. Akito smirked. It was almost as if the four of them thought they could protect the other 8 younger juunishi from him. That wasn't going to happen. Akito was the head of the Sohma family and everyone must play according to his rules.
As he walked down the aisle, Akito noted where his 'dear' Yuki, the cat, and 'she' were sitting. He frowned at the animated conversation between the three. "Let them enjoy themselves for the moment, it won't last forever." Akito decided. He certainly had a surprise in store for the cat. 'He' would be suspicious, but 'she' would find it to be a reason for happiness not realizing the strings attached to the gift. Both reactions were part of his plan.
As he approached the row seating most of his family Akito noted a few things in a detached sort of way. Hatsuharu and Momiji would be graduating next year. Momiji was finally growing and fulfilling the promise of his blonde beauty.
Kisa sat between Hatsuharu and Hiro. Akito frowned at the sight. Was Hiro still under the impression that he and Kisa would be allowed to stay together? He thought he had disabused both of them of that notion. He made a note for future reference that the two needed another lesson. Perhaps life would intervene first since Kisa was starting High School next year and Hiro would still be in Junior High for one more year. If he had to intervene too quickly, it might provide a serious setback in his plans for 'her'. Just for a little while Akito did not want to be seen as a bad guy by 'her'.
Next to Hiro sat Ritsu. He was admittedly startled that Ritsu had actually shown up and was dressed like a man for once in his life. It was that girl's influence again! Akito scowled inwardly. His gaze continued down the line. Kagura sat next to Ayame at Shigure's end of the row. Her gaze was fixated on the red hair of the cat who was totally oblivious to her attention as he sat talking to 'her'. Why didn't Kagura hate the girl as much as he did? After all 'she' had stolen the object of Kagura's affection as well. It was beyond his comprehension. He lightly dismissed Ayame and focused on Shigure. What was that Shigure had sitting on his lap? It was a picture of 'that woman'. Akito found himself quite amused when he realized that Shigure had quite fallen under 'her' spell as well. He wasn't really worried about Shigure. Of all his juunishi, Shigure was the one most loyal to Akito or so Akito believed and that was why Akito allowed Shigure to live outside the Sohma compound.
So, Rin wasn't here. That wasn't a big surprise, she never showed up for family events unless it was a command performance ordered by Akito himself. The only other juunishi not in the row now immediately in front of him was Kureno. Kureno was at that very moment shadowing Akito's every step. He was the one who obeyed Akito's every command unquestioningly and the one Akito kept very close. Kureno was his co-conspirator and never questioned his plans.
Since Shigure's row was full, Akito came to a stop at the row directly behind Shigure. He stared coolly at the couple seated there and they decided they had business on the other side of the auditorium. Akito and Kureno took the vacated chairs.
Shigure had been aware of Akito's presence since he had first stepped through the doors of the auditorium. Now he was fully aware of the gaze Akito had trained on the back of his neck. He turned.
"Akito, you must be feeling very well today. How happy I am that you have graced us with your presence at this grand and glorious event. It is such an honor and I am sure that our little Yuki and Kyo, as well as our beautiful flower, Tohru-kun, will be pleased." (At least Tohru will be pleased Shigure thought)
"Shigure" Akito asked coldly and quietly, "what are you doing with that woman's picture here among we Sohmas?"
Shigure chuckled. "You mean this picture of our dear Tohru's mother?"
"That is exactly what I mean."
"Tohru-kun requested I bring it so her mom could see her graduate. You don't really expect me to decline when such a cute high school girl requests a favor of me?"
"I see" Akito nodded. Shigure was afraid that Akito really did see and that he saw much more than was desirable. "Of course you can't turn down a request made by such a cute young woman." Shigure was a little taken aback when Akito smiled faintly.
"Excuse me Akito-san but the ceremony is beginning and I must observe it with my novelist's eyes. Background research you know ...I may actually use it in a novel one day."
"And of course you can't miss watching all the pretty high school girls walking across the stage." Akito added.
The smile faded from Shigure's face as he turned to the front. Akito was certainly in a good mood today. What new misery was he planning to inflict on this cursed family? Whatever it was, it wouldn't be as bad for the family as Akito believed because Tohru-kun would be there to help them through it. It was an immense burden to put on such a young woman, but Tohru had proven her strength many times over since taking up her new life with the Sohmas. Shigure wished, not for the first time, that he had known the Red Butterfly. The strength she had imparted to her daughter, the love she had encouraged Tohru to share with everyone she met was incredible.
The object of Shigure's thoughts sat between Yuki and Kyo as they waited for the ceremony to commence. Tohru noted Akito-san walking in and smiled. Her first thought was "He must be feeling well today" and her second thought was "He's so beautiful, almost as beautiful as Yuki-kun"
"Oh Mom, I can't believe I'm graduating today but here I am and I'm sitting together with Kyo-kun and Yuki-kun, two of the wonderful Sohma princes. And Mom, look around, all of the other wonderful Sohma princes and princesses, and my dear friends, Uo and Hana, are all here to share this day. I am so happy! Oh and look Mom, there's Grandpa and his family. I can't believe they came here for me today! I am so blessed!" She was startled by a thump on her head.
"Hey, what are you getting' all spacey for, the ceremony is about to start."
She turned and grinned at Kyo. "Oh, you're right. Please forgive me for spacing out at such an important time but I was telling Mom what a wonderful day this was and how blessed I was..."
"Forget it...just pay attention." Kyo replied with his endearingly awkward smile.
Tohru gave a final wave to her grandfather and a fond smile to her dear Sohma family then turned to face the front.
Yuki Sohma was watching Tohru from the corner of his eye when a look of indescribable sorrow crossed her face to be replaced a moment later by her customary joyous expression.
"Honda-san, what's wrong. You looked so sad there for a moment. Has something happened?" Yuki asked.
"What, of course there's nothing wrong" Tohru replied as she furtively wiped a way a tear. "I am so blessed and I couldn't ask for anything more." she said with a smile. "But still..." she whispered thinking the two boys wouldn't hear her.
"You can tell us if you want to, we don't mind," Kyo spoke softly.
"Yes Honda-san, please do tell us what caused your momentary sadness. We have shared so many of our troubles with you, surely you can tell us what made you so sad." Yuki seconded.
Tohru looked at both of them and smiled softly. There were two things making her sad today but never for more than a couple of seconds at a time. She could only share one of them with Kyo and Yuki. The other was a secret Akito had told her and they would worry too much if they were aware she knew of it.
"Today is so perfect it seems wrong to wish for anything more, but I do. I wish Alexander-sensei was here to see us graduate instead of in some unknown part of the world. I miss Sakura-san so much; she had become very much like my big sister while she was here. She's been gone for three months and was only supposed to be gone two weeks. She even was so kind as to name me her heir when she knew she wasn't coming home anytime soon. I know she's out there somewhere and she's hurting but she's still alive. I just know it. She will return someday, but I just wish it could have been for this day."
Both boys nodded in agreement and squeezed Tohru's hands. They kind of missed Alexander sensei themselves, especially since she had a knack for keeping Ayame and Shigure in line.
Sakura Alexander was an American heiress though her heritage was half-Japanese. She had returned to Japan in August of their 2nd year of high school after the death of her parents in a fatal accident. As it turned out, she was a good friend of Ayame, Shigure, and Hatori. She even knew of the zodiac curse. Tohru loved her like a big sister and found it wonderful that she could talk to someone about the Sohmas without having to be careful of what she said. In return, Sakura looked upon Tohru as a younger sister and they had shared many happy moments together. Even better, Hana-chan and Uo-chan had also become friends with Alexander sensei and sleepovers and shopping trips had been frequent amongst the four girls. She had become their homeroom and English teacher in September for their class and had been important in the Sohma lives since that date. However, in December of this, their final year in High School, Sakura had been sent on an investigative assignment which was to have been for a duration of two weeks. This had been a condition of her leaving her position as an investigative journalist prior to coming home to Japan. It was three months later and Sakura had still not returned. Most people believed Sakura Alexander was never coming home again but Tohru was sure she was still alive. They humored Tohru on this because no one among the Sohmas or her dear friends could stand to see her cry.
"Tohru-kun, with a belief as strong as yours, Sakura-sensei will have to come back," Kyo assured her. Anything to keep her from crying, how he hated to see a girl cry, especially her. Tohru smiled at her friends and joyfully waited for the moment she would be called forth to accept her diploma.
Akito watched the three heads so close together and his rage demanded release. "Not yet," he told himself, "it wouldn't do to create a scene here at the school and there really is no place in my current plan for this." He smiled to himself, "Soon I will separate those three and then we will see what will happen to Miss Tohru Honda."
All the speeches were done, the diplomas were handed out, and the pictures were taken. Tohru and her friends were now at the threshold of life after high school. What would life hold for the various students? It was only a matter of time before the drama would unfold.
So how did I do, am I OOC, in character, please let me know. Next chapter, Akito's plan begins to unfold
