Chapter 2: A Boy Gets Sick

A/N: Yes, yes, I know. Akito is not a … blah. I guess I'm going to have to spoil it though, Okies? I can't really do this without. So for those of you who don't know, Akito's a girl. Yay. Hooray. Poor Aki-chan… I love her so!

Thanks to Reviewers:

PurifiedDarkness (aka Jess): Thanks for your support. I agree, this will make an excellent cycle. To answer your question about the curse, that's kind of the way it happens. Kureno's curse wore off years ago, which is why he stays with Akito, because she "felt" his curse break and begged him not to leave her. He said he wouldn't. Momiji and Kisa, on the other hand… So it's been happening one by one. In the manga, Hiro actually is released after Momiji, but I didn't know that until after I'd written my own story for Hiro's curse breaking, so there's a bit of variation there.

Coltee: Thank you for your awesome review. Looking back on my previous chapters, I realized that you're right. Some of the time it's hard to tell who is talking. I'll definitely try to work on that in the future!

Okay, now back to the story…

No, I won't.

Akito dug her nails into the rose in her hand; the juice squeezed out of it and trickled down her arm. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. And it was her fault. That stupid witch of a girl.

"She's probably so proud," she spat in disgust. "So proud of her little accomplishment. So then, she's got Momiji and Kisa. But I… I've got you, haven't I?"

Kureno nodded tartly.

"If the others do change," she continued. "They'll come to me. They love me, they're not blinded by that filthy-filthy-temptress."

She laughed wickedly.

"She thinks she's winning, I'll bet! But no," she continued, gritting her teeth. "They will come to me because they love me not her. It's almost sad, how she'll be left alone – those three, all alone. Because everyone loves me. They love me!"

"Don't be ridiculous," laughed a voice behind them. "How could they, when you torture them so? How could anyone, for that matter, love someone who killed her own-"

"Shut up!" Akito shouted, scrambling out of Kureno's arms and flying at the tall, dark haired woman, who laughed as she (Aki) tripped and fell to the floor. "Y-You're the most – the most-"

"Don't stutter," Ren commanded her daughter, shaking a finger at her tauntingly. "You're so pathetic. Can't even walk! Ahaha!"

She broke into a horrible cackle as Kureno wrapped his arms around Akito tightly, preventing her renewed attack. All at once, tears were streaming down Akito's cheeks, although her eyes still blazed in anger.

"THEY LOVE ME!" she shouted. "THEY LOVE ME! NO ONE – NO ONE EVER LOVES YOU! THEY ALL LOVE ME!"

"Is that why they're leaving you?" Ren giggled. Akito nearly broke free of Kureno as he attempted to lunge at his mother, but she was already being ushered out by a number of maids. "I bet even Shigure will leave you in the end…"

Akito lunged out of Kureno's arms and flew towards the door, but Ren was already gone, and Kureno had once more grabbed her arms. She fell into him, sobbing and shaking.

"They love me… they'll never leave me… ever…"

Akito stared at the glass of water on the ground in front of her. In it, the ice showed no signs of melting. Actually, the water was more likely to freeze than the ice melt. Akito vaguely wondered what would freeze first – the water or her own body?

She was outside in the woods sitting on the cold dirt. It was March, and it was snowing. Snowing! In the half hour she'd been sitting here, the snow had began to pile up. She was definitely going to freeze first. She was barefoot, for one. She had on a pair of old shorts and a tanktop. Her mother would not approve. She looked almost like a girl.

I am a girl…

Well, kind of. Lately Akito had been wondering – could she suddenly change, go against her mother's wishes, and live as a girl? Always, her answer drifted to no. Whatever about her body, her mind had been taught to think like a boy. And she'd had so much practice in deepening her voice that she wan't sure if she even could use her natural voice anymore. The girl in her, if there ever was one, was dead. After thinking this, Akito always felt pathetic. Was it really that she wanted now, to be agirl?

"Akito," she said in her toned deep voice. She thought about how she'd said it for a moment. Then she opened her mouth again.

"Akito," she said, trying to say it with her throat as clear as possible. It sounded only a little different. She sighed and hugged her knees to her chest. The girl in her was dead, alright…

In her head, she suddenly heard the laughter. The laughter that always drove her crazy, ripping at her mind in such a painful way, ripping until she couldn't feel anything anymore. She hated it. She hated it with all her soul.

As if you'd make a reasonable girl anyway… everyone would hate you even more if you were a girl. You'd insult the word female… And do you really think any man could ever fall in love with someone like you?

"Shut up!" Akito half moaned, half snapped. The laughter, the voice, vanished. (It was Ren, by the way…). She looked around in surprise. Her voice…

"Akito!" she cried into the silent woods again as the snow fell around her. No good. It was still deep. But she had to try again. Throat clear, don't deepen it… "A-ki-to!"

For the first in her life, she found herself wanting to change. So badly it hurt. She was a girl! And she was a better girl than her wretched mother ever was! She was a girl, just like… just like…

"Just like Tohru…" she said softly. And then her eyes widened in amazement. Her voice… it was the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard. Not because her voice was a voice of angels or anything like that, but because the voice was hers. She closed her eyes and smiled, then fell back into the piling snow, staring at the sky.

"Just like… Tohru…" she whispered.

Kureno gazed around by the light of the moon. The snow was at least two and a half feet deep. He had to admit, he was getting worried. He'd been looking for her for hours.

"Akito," he called again. Wait… there. He moved towards the figure on the ground and wiped the snow off. It was Akito, alright. In… a tank top and shorts! What was she… what was she thinking?

"Akito!" he said, lifting her limp form up and throwing his coat around her. "Wake up, come on…"

He rubbed her arms and shook her a bit. Slowly, her eyes flicked open, and her white face broke… into a smile. A genuine smile. It startled Kureno so he nearly dropped her.

"Kureno," she said, and he nearly dropped her. "Hi."

"Akito… your voice," he said uncertainly. "Its…"

"Different?" she asked with a sly smile. "Yeah. I'd better fix that… is this better?" she asked deeply. Kureno looked confused. Akito laughed, shifting so that her legs fell out of his arms to the ground and standing up.

"I'm hungry!" she said in the same deep voice, frowning slightly as she returned to normal. "Let's go eat."

"Uh… sure… Akito," Kureno said, still staring at her strangely. "Aren't you cold?"

"Yes," Akito said, as she started walking. "I suppose so. But I'll be fine."

Akito pulled Kureno along. She was a girl. She'd prove it. To them all.

A/N: No, this is not going to be an overnight thing. But I am going to 'free' Akito from Ren, just watch me. That's all for Akito chan for a while, we need to give her time. We'll spoil the time by talking about the other characters…

It might be a while before I update, the next chapter (The Battles Inside) is really long. It will take me a while to type up…