Yes, finally--it's the long-awaited Chapter 3! Just kidding... I doubt many people actually care. Although I did get more reviews... Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I'm sorry it's short again... I have to try to make it longer next time...
As for YoukoLove and samie-the-authoress, who pointed out that I had gotten Akito's gender wrong... No I didn't. That's what I meant, when I said, "major spoilers for volume 17"...so, sorry if I just ruined the series for you. Now that that's cleared up...
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Chapter 3: A Cruel Destiny
You can't ever know what is hiding in the darkness, waiting to take your soul away.
x-x-x-x-x
Shigure leaned back in his chair, staring at his computer screen. He couldn't think of anything to write. "Damn..." he sighed. "The one time that I'm actually trying to put effort into this, and I can't think of what should happen next." He rested his chin in his hands and thought.
"This isn't getting anywhere," he mumbled. He got up and wandered towards the front door. "I need to get out..." he paused, and sighed. "I could go to the main"
A cloud crossed his face. "No," he said to himself. "I don't think that would be a good idea." He turned and looked down the hall, towards his study. He gazed upward for a moment, and an idea came to him. As he walked back towards his computer, he decided, "He could fall in love..."
x-x-x-x-x
The voices were only dim murmurs, floating through her head and reverberating painfully. She grimaced and opened her eyes. "Go away," she hissed hoarsely. "Go away!"
Startled, Hatori looked up. "Akito-san, you're awake..."
She struggled to sit, her head pounding. "Go away!" she tried again. Hatori and one of the maids stared at her. "I don't want you here!" she cried.
"Akito-san... you really shouldn't get up. You're sick," Hatori reminded her. "Go back to sleep. We'll leave." He said something to the maid and gestured towards the door.
He gave her a last worried glance, then left the room.
Once they were gone, Akito tried to get up again, but every time she sat up, her head cried out in agony and she had to lie down again. She finally gave up and curled up on her futon. She hated this. Why did she always have to be sick? Wasn't it bad enough that she was going to die? Her face contorted in anger. It wasn't fair. How dare they enjoy themselves, while she had to suffer here, day after day, constantly reminded of her fate and her curse? It wasn't enough that she had to suffer. They had to suffer too. It was only right, she reasoned. She was God, and they were her subjects. Of course they had to obey her. It was their destiny... and it would remain that way until the day they all died.
x-x-x-x-x
"Shigure?" Yuki called. He dropped his backpack in the entry hall. "Maybe he's in his study..." he mumbled, then shook his head. "No," he said. "I don't think Shigure ever actually works."
Nevertheless, he wandered down the hall, seeing if Shigure was there. "Shigure?" he called. "Shigure? Are you--"
A shocking sight met his eyes. Shigure was there, at his computer, diligently typing away. "Shi--" Yuki began, but looked at his cousin one more time, at the half-crazed look in his eyes, and shook his head. He backed slowly out of the door, and thought to himself that something very strange was happening.
x-x-x-x-x
I want him here. I want to see him. I want him here so I can touch him again...
x-x-x-x-x
Shigure sighed, and leaned back again. He wiped his brow, then scrolled up to admire his handiwork. "Mitchan will love this," he chuckled.
He sat there for a moment, his face illuminated only by the flickering light from the computer screen. He frowned, and a name came into his mind. He almost said it,
quietly, but didn't. One should not use the name of God in vain.
He stood up and walked to the window, thrusting open the curtains with defiance. He expected sunlight to filter through the room, but was met only with more darkness.
"How long have I been in here?" he mused, suddenly startled. "I must look like a mess," he laughed, and stepped outside.
"Oh, Shigure-san!" a voice greeted him from the hall. "You missed dinner!" Tohru called cheerily. "I came in and told you, but you didn't look up, and you were working so hard, I thought it would be bad to disturb you... especially since Mitchan-san called and said your deadline was tomorrow!" She sat there and smiled ditzily for a moment, before saying, "Oh yes! I saved some food for you, if you want some! It's in the kitchen!"
"Thank you, Tohru-kun," he said softly.
"Okay!" Tohru cried, then pranced off to her room.
Shigure went to the kitchen and served himself some rice. There was fish, too, and God knows what else Tohru had made, but he wasn't very hungry. He thought about his story for a moment, and reflected how similar to his life it was...
x-x-x-x-x
I want him here, but I can't understand why.
Why are you here, in my dream, to torment me?