Chapter 9- Unbelievable
Author's Note: I'm sorry I hadn't gotten this up sooner. I jammed my finger, and I was unable to type, or even write for that matter, for a few days. It hurt as much as it would if all Akito and Machi haters combined forces and started to beat both down with big metal bats. Yes…that badly. Other than that, I've started on some other Fruits Basket fanfics. Those will be up in a month or so (after I finish this story). Well, enjoy!
"No, this… this can't be…" Yuki whispered to himself. A laugh came from behind him, and he quickly turned around.
"It is quite shocking, isn't it? Having to lose just to get better," Akito said with a cruel grin.
Hatori finally caught up to Akito, but already knew he was too late to stop him. Akito had caught Yuki in his private, always locked room. All that the Head was doing, however, was standing in the doorway in a calm manner. It somewhat surprised Hatori, but at the same time it made him uncomfortable. He moved quietly to the side so that he could get a better view, and saw a wide-eyed Yuki staring at Akito. In his right hand was an ancient, battered old piece of paper, which Hatori assumed was the paper with the cure on it, which Yuki described it as just that. He smiled to himself for a split second before remembering about the whole situation and the fact that Akito was in front of him, observing the scene just as Hatori was.
"Yes, when I read that the Cat had to beat the Rat fairly, I laughed," Akito said, now taking a few steps inside the room. "Kind of shocking, don't you think?"
Yuki looked away from Akito and back at the paper. He reread the cure, hoping to see that he had read it wrong. Sadly, however, he hadn't, and he stared at the paper with a blank expression.
'So the stupid cat as he to beat me…like he always wanted to?' Yuki, now slightly amused, thought. He quietly, yet bitterly, laughed to himself and looked back up at Akito.
"Is this the reason why you taught me not to lose to Kyo?" Yuki asked, now narrowing his eyes.
"No, it's actually not," Akito replied, the smirked. "I didn't know about this until just recently. However, I am glad that I did teach you that."
"Why do you want me to die so badly, Akito!" Yuki asked angrily. He knew the Head disliked everyone in the family, but to not care if they die?
"Less to worry about," Akito said, shrugging lazily. "You're not even an important member of this family, so it wouldn't matter if you died."
Hatori watched the scene in shock. If learning what the cure was wasn't enough, hearing Akito say these things really outdid it. Never had Akito wanted death on anyone. He just wanted them to deeply hurt. Hatori observed Yuki's expressions, and saw that he was getting extremely angry.
'Be careful about what you say, Yuki, or you'll get him upset,' Hatori thought anxiously.
"I was hoping you wouldn't find the cure. No doubt would you avoid a fight with that stupid Cat in your condition. The Dog wouldn't even allow it," Akito said, now standing right in front of Yuki. "Then again, I didn't expect you, of all people, to break into here and look for the cure." With quick speed, Akito grabbed Yuki by the hair as he had only weeks ago, but this time it was with much greater force.
"That was a bad decision on your part," Akito spat angrily. He lifted Yuki, still by the hair, an inch off the floor with a cruel smile.
"Akito!" Hatori finally spoke, and he stood on his feet. He wasn't just going to sit there doing nothing. Akito looked over at Hatori and gave him a lethal glare.
"Going to go against me again, Hatori?" he said, already angry enough as it was.
"Let him go, Akito," Hatori said, ignoring the Head's question; he was trying to stay calm. However, before either of them could say or do anything, Yuki yanked himself free of Akito's grip, as it had loosened when he had turned away. To both Yuki and Hatori's surprise, Akito just stood there, letting out a small huff of frustration.
"You know, I shouldn't be worried," he finally said, his calmness quite unnerving on his behalf. "Like the Cat has any chance of beating you. He's just too weak. Besides, even though you're getting sicker by the moment, Yuki, you could still beat him." With that, he headed towards the door, but paused and turned around before going through it.
"Before I go, I'd like to remark that this isn't close to being over," he said brutally. "If that Cat beats you, I won't be too happy." With a threat lingering in the air, Akito turned around and left the room. Yuki stared at the space where Akito just was and held the paper in his hand firmly. He then finally got up and went to where Hatori was and let out a sigh of relief.
"Are you alright?" Hatori asked as they slowly made their way outside. They just needed to get out of the Main House, as it left them feeling uneasy.
"Yeah, I guess," Yuki replied. "At least now I can get cured. Though I'll have to tell Kyo about this whole ordeal, and then Honda-san will have to know." Hatori coughed and shifted uncomfortable.
"About that..." he said, and Yuki looked at him. "They both already know."
"What do you mean they already know?" Yuki asked angrily. "How do they know?"
"I was talking to Akito about this a few days ago, and they overheard when they came to the Main House. I had no choice but to tell them the whole thing," Hatori replied as they reached his car. They both climbed in and Yuki shook his head in disbelief. Though, it did explain why Tohru was nervous around him, and why Kyo refused to fight him when the chance came. If they acted like that when they heard of his curse, how would they react when they hear about the cure...?
Tohru waited apprehensively in the living room. Hatori had so suddenly came and took Yuki with him that he didn't even say where they were going. However, she did have a feeling that it had to do with Yuki's 'curse'. The hope that it was a good thing they were gone kept her still smiling, and helped her not feel like a piece of her heart had gone missing.
Shigure quietly walked into the living room and let out a small sigh. He saw Tohru sitting on the floor by the window, staring distantly off into the driveway. She hadn't left that spot since Yuki left, and that was almost 2 hours ago.
"Tohru-kun," Shigure said gently, while placing his hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you take a little rest? He'll be back soon."
"I can't, Shigure-san," Tohru replied quietly, her eyes not leaving the dirt road. "I want to be here when he comes." Shigure slowly nodded, though she wasn't able to see it, and turned around. Before he left the room, Shigure turned around and cleared his throat.
"I think you need to know something about Yuki," he said, going into his serious demeanor. Before he could muster the courage to tell her of Yuki's 'curse', she finally looked away from the window and at Shigure.
"I know about his curse," Tohru said, her voice slightly quivering. She added softly, "Yuki-kun could die if he doesn't find the cure." Shigure stood in his spot, wide-eyed, unable to move. He had no idea she knew about the whole situation. Not yet, anyways. Shigure nodded and Tohru turned back to the window. He stood there, still, watching her stare at nothing as the sunlight started to slowly fade away. Tohru's hair fell in front of her face, hiding the hurt that has now seized her eyes. She was unable to keep hold of the happiness that was with her just seconds ago, and now she was breaking. Tears silently fell from her eyes at the thought of Yuki dying, and she started to shake. Shigure was startled by this, as it was the first time he's ever seen her cry, and he went up to her. He wanted to embrace her into a hug for comfort, but with the Zodiac curse, he was unable to do so. How he wished he could find a way to truly help her at a time like this. Tohru was only 17 and had lost both her parents; if she lost Yuki…
"Tohru-kun, you don't need to worry," Shigure said, gently putting a hand on top of her head. "Yuki-kun is the type of person who will never give up on something as important as finding a way to live."
"What if he doesn't, though?" Tohru cried, trying to contain herself from completely bursting into a large amount of tears.
"To be quite honest, Tohru-kun, I think he will find it," Shigure said, sitting down next to her. "Do you really think Yuki-kun would leave you like that?" Tohru sniffed a few times in response. "No, of course he wouldn't. He loves you too much for that, Tohru-kun. Yuki-kun won't stop looking until he finds it, because he won't give up. I bet you anything he found it already." Shigure hoped he was right about that part. True, Yuki wouldn't stop looking for the cure, but whether he had it at this moment, the dog did not know.
"You're right, Shigure-san," Tohru finally said, wiping away the tears that had stained her face. "Yuki-kun won't give up. He'll find it and everything will be alright." Shigure smiled as Tohru's optimistic side showed again. He got up and patted her reassuringly on the shoulder. Just as he was about to leave, Tohru spoke up once more.
"Shigure-san?" Shigure looked down to find a gentle smiling Tohru looking up at him. "Thank you." The dog smiled.
"You're welcome, Tohru-kun."
Kyo stood outside the room in the hallway, listening to Shigure comfort Tohru. She really had been worrying about Yuki ever since she found out about the 'curse'. Kyo wished that he could do something to help ease her pain, but he wasn't sure what he could do…
"How are you going to tell them about the cure?" Hatori asked as they turned onto the dirt road that led to Shigure's house. Yuki looked out the window, his eyes meeting the darkness around him, and gave a sigh. He put his hand in his pocket and lightly touched the folded paper that he had longed to have since he saw it.
"I don't know. I'll get straight to the point, I suppose," he replied. "There's not much to do other than that." Shigure's lighted house came into view, and Yuki's nerves acted up. It was the fact that both Tohru and Kyo knew of the curse that started it. How was he going to look them in the eye now? He didn't want them to think he was so weak; especially Kyo, as he had always criticized him on everything. The car came to a halt and Yuki reluctantly got out and slowly walked to the door, with Hatori right behind him.
It seemed like an eternity to turn the knob and actually get inside, though in reality, it only took seconds. At first, he didn't see anyone around and slightly hoped that they weren't there. Yuki didn't exactly know why telling them the cure felt like he was actually telling them the curse. He should have been completely happy that he could get a chance to live. It was just that something deep inside him said that there was complete danger ahead.
"Yuki-kun!" Tohru's vivacious voice brought him back to reality. She entered the hallway from the living room and ran forward. Carefully, she wrapped her arms around Yuki, keeping a slight distance between them so that he wouldn't change. He could tell that she was on the verge of crying, but he couldn't exactlysee why. Though, he desperatly wanted her not to cry; it pained him to think of her doing so. Slowly, she pulled away and gave him and Hatori a smile. Just then, Shigure popped into the hallway, greeting them back.
"Is something wrong, Yuki-kun?" Tohru asked, staring at him with concern.
"Actually, I have to tell you all something," Yuki replied.
"I'll go get Kyon-Kyon," Shigure said, and hurried upstairs to fetch the Cat. Yuki, Tohru, and Hatori went into the kitchen and took a seat next to the table. Tohru studied Yuki's face, hoping to find out what was bothering him.
'Maybe he found out the cure!' she thought happily, while giving herself a small smile. However, it soon faded when another thought crossed her mind. 'What if he actually didn't find it?' At this, Tohru's eyes filled with tears, but she refused to let them fall in front of Yuki.
Shigure and Kyo finally came downstairs and into the kitchen. Kyo paused for a slight second at the sight of Yuki, but quickly took a seat at the table.
"Well, since you guys already know the curse I have…" Yuki started as he looked at the faces of everyone. Tohru's eyes slightly widened, but Kyo stayed the same: bored and half wanting to leave. Yuki then continued. "Hatori took me to the Main House so I could get the cure for it." Tohru stared at him intently, quietly breathing so that she wouldn't miss what he was about to say.
Yuki again reached into his pocket, and pulled out an old piece of paper. The air in the kitchen went still, and it felt as if no one in the room was even breathing. He unfolded the paper and stared up at everyone.
"Of course, I did find it," Yuki said, skipping the detail of the whole story. He set the paper in the middle of the table. "It's quite interesting."Shigure, being the first to actually move, picked the paper up gently, as if it would crumple into little pieces if he handled it like regular paper. He slowly read it before finally reaching the bottom, to which he gave a confused look, along with wide-eyes. He looked at Kyo before he read one important part of the paper.
"'The Rat, in order to be freed from death, had to lose in a fight against the Cat.'" He stated, and everyone looked at Kyo, who froze right in his spot. Hoping he had heard wrong, he raised an eyebrow and looked at Shigure.
"So, Kyo has to win against Yuki?" Shigure asked, and Hatori nodded. So he heard right... Something he always wanted to do for as long as he could remember was brought up… and in a life or death situation, too.
'Could things be more complicated?' Kyo thought, still in disbelief. 'This has got to be a dream…' The worse part was that it indeed wasn't a dream; it was reality.
Author's Note: Haha, Yuki's not good at making announcements XD
I made Akito so mean to Yuki T.T I'm so cruel! BUT DON'T WORRY, I drew a tiny picture of his nasty little weasel face on an egg with permanent marker, and I smashed the egg good. Real good.
And hey, Shigure-san was there to comfort poor little Tohru-kun! He's so sweet :3 And I hope that nothing in this chapter confused you. It almost did to me, and I was writing it .;; So if you have any questions, feel free to ask!
Yukyoru- Yup, the cute confession! Too bad I was unable to make it longer T.T There'll be more Yukiru later though!
Moonlit Maiden- Wow, no mistakes…? I typed that chapter up fast, too . I'm not sure how Tohru would react to that, either, that's why it took me forever to complete . XD
MegTao- Thanks XD I guess Kyo will have to practice harder if he's going to have to beat Yuki .
kishe- Thanks for the review! I'm getting in time to write the next chapter already XP
sanka- Yes, I agree, it's a bit rushed .;; I'll slow it down a tad without making it seem like it'll never end XD And a happy ending, eh? Maybe… Maybe not… but that's part of my many plot mystery (sneaks away in the mist of night) XP
mistic fox- Ahh, my cliffhanging ways should take a break, shouldn't it? Thanks for the comment!
o.oxanimefreakxo.o- lol That's what I thought when I started this story. Yuki's too strong for Kyo! I also thought it would be interesting to read, so I went with that anyways .!
Maple Chan- He might be. He might not. Mysteries, they are truly annoying, hm? Thanks for reviewing!
Steff7- Thanks so much for the review! I'm glad you like my story!
Kitsune Vampire Moga- Thank you! When I thought of that to be the cure, I laughed at myself and thought 'brilliant!' It's weird that idea came to me, actually O.o Thanks for the comment!
crimsonsun-rk- Ah, yes, good point! The longer he waits, the weaker he gets; true, very true. We'll just have to wait and see how he handles it! And thanks for the review!
anime-lover-4-ever- Yes, they'll both have to do something to get ready for this fight. Thanks for the review!
QueenOfHearts3- Ahh, lots to answer to . Yeah, Hatori's plan was a bit lame. He couldn't think of anything better. I mean, his original plan was to stampede in there and just tare the house apart XD Yuki and Kyo's fight will surely be interesting, yes; and those possibilities made me have a long 'me time' because I had to sort out what to do. If Ohh, you must not have liked how Akito treated Yuki in this chapter, then .;; He'll get his soon, though ahaha! Thanks for the review!
Thank you, my dear reviewers!
Well.. (mutters) Why I think writing in a notebook then transferring it to the computer is a good idea, I don't know. I do it anyways, though :3
Until the next…
TBC
