Meanwhile, in the Sohma residence, something was happening. Two things were breaking.
The first was the plate that Akito had just thrown across the room with surprising strength, considering he was sick in bed. The second was Shigure's spirit.
"Do you not respect me?" asked Akito threateningly, his eyes flashing in a dangerous manner. "Have you forgotten your place in this family, you lowly dog?"
"No, Akito-sama!" Shigure cried. His finger stung where a fragment of plate had cut into it, but he dared not show it. "Of course I respect you, I have always respected you, we all respect you…"
"Then why are you questioning my orders?" Akito's face was contorted in an ugly mix of pain and rage as he struggled to remain sitting up. "Why are you not obeying me?"
"Because… because it is for Tohru's good! For Tohru's sake! If she forgets, she will be left alone, with nowhere to stay…"
"Do you think I care what happens to the girl? Damn the girl! It is for your safety that her memories be erased! Do you understand, if she is left to remember, she will doom us all?"
"But Tohru would never do that! Tohru—"
"Tohru will kill you all! Have you not noticed that I have grown sicker and sicker every day that Tohru is here? Have you not noticed how weak I get when she is near? Of course you don't notice, because you don't care for me! You wish I would die, don't you?"
"No, Akito-sama, of course I don't wish you would die—"
"Oh, but you do, don't you see? Every time you see me, you wish I would die, I would disappear, you wish that I had never been born so you can be rid of the curse. You never give a thought to me as your protector, your guardian, your barrier to the outside world!" Akito's eyes pieced the thin atmosphere of the room. "You think of me as your captor, your jailkeeper! If I were not here you would die! Each and every Sohma would die! Tell me the truth. Do you think like that?"
"No, Akito-sama…"
"I said tell me the truth!"
There was a pause. Shigure bowed his head. "Yes, Akito-sama."
"Now get out of here. I feel even more ill, now, thanks to you," he stated coldly, lying back down onto his bed and staring indifferently at the ceiling. "And tell the Dragon to erase her memories, before I summon him again." He spit out the last word, and fell silent.
"Yes, Akito-sama." Shigure bowed, turned and walked out of the room, deep in his thoughts.