Disclaimer: I don't own it! I don't even get money, so there.
EvilMicella- Akito is a bit crazy. But not to fear, there is a meaning to the madness. (wink) The ending was a bit shocking huh? Yeah, I suppose I threw a lot of my readers in for a loop. LOL
pmartin33- Awwww. blushes That was so sweet. It's reviews like this that keep me writing.
HelloKat- YAY! I got a review from HelloKat everyone! Thanks for pointing out the spelling error. I really suck at catching those. Oh, and thanks for understanding about the hiatus. It was a pretty tough decision but now I'm back and ready to rumble. I've got some plans on explaining why Akito needs all that extra cash, but I need to build up on it. Otherwise people might get taken by surprise. Well, I hope you review AND update your fic soon.
kishe- Your wish is my command.
Medalladark- Thank you! I LOVE Yukiru, as you might have guessed.
MOMIJI- Hai.
Amy- Thanks for understanding and thanks for the review.
Cat-eyed Princess- Awww. You're so sweet. Thanks for understanding. Hiatus means on-hold temporarily.
Alcapacien- I know, I want to hit Akito, too. The meeting of Akito and Tohru will happen in a few chapters or so. As for Yuki transforming, the curse does not apply here. Instead they have nicknames taken from the Jyuunishi legend for their positions as agents. Mouse is highly revered and so is Yuki.
yi wen1776- I hope your CATS went well. As you can see, it took me a while to update because I went onto hiatus. Sorry. Thanks for reviewing, too. About e-mailing and such. Well... I prefer not to give out my e-mail. Never know what type of wackos are watching... (shudders). However, feel free to ask me what you like as a review, though there are certain questions that I will not answer if it is too personal or the like.
Sahrah Marmalade- Well, summer is here. YAY!
Rabera Girl- Phew. This is going to be long. OK, first of all, thanks for reviewing! Yeah, I felt that this is in Yuki's perspective most of the time, Akito would be male. The key under the mat was Yuki's doing. He stole a key from Hatori and put it under the mat for his own purposes. (Hatori was dumbfounded for months). Soichiro is not a real character. He was made up for the devices of this fic. Without him, there's really not a plot I can work with. Hatori is blind in one eye, so the lock in that eye is nothing unusual. I put him in sunglasses though, because Hatori, you must admit, is SEXY with sunglasses! Motoko Arima was not pulled out of thin air. I probably got you confused in one of my author's notes. What I meant by Motoko Arima was that I forgot the last name of Motoko so I just put Arima as her last name. I thought, well hey, its my fic, I should be able to do it. She is a bit OC, but it makes it all the more fun to write her. Yeah, I thought that Yuki's love of gardens was sweet, so I worked it in. The Romeo and Juliet thing will be pursued but most people might not expect how. Thank you for the fan girl names, and I thought chapter five was pretty funny. I think its my favorite one so far. Nope, this fic isn't finished, but I'm finishing this fic one way or another. Hope I cleared things up.
catgirlversion3.0otakufan: Thanks for the review! I'll think about the citrus, but I'm not sure if I can fit in the storyline, but I'll try. Just for you.
Within the Hidden Soul
Chapter 7: Fool Me Once
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Akito sat in the limo, jaw clenched and head resting in his palm. The nerve of that boy! How dare he stand up and argue with me! Akito balled his fists, trying to keep control of his anger. Seated next to Akito was the ever observant Kureno.
"Akito are you feeling alright?" Kureno asked briskly.
"Just fine, I just have a headache." Akito replied back, his voice strained. His face had turned red and his breathing was quick.
Kureno passed a suspicious eye over Akito's figure. Then he felt a voice nag at the back of his mind. Could he have...? No, he wouldn't. He knows that it could kill him. Kureno shook his head as to rid himself of worry but decided that he would keep watch of him.
.x.x.
Yuki's mind was foggy. Where was he? He kept his eyes shut as he listened to his surroundings. Rule one of his training: When in doubt, gather as much information as possible. He felt some type of mask over his face, a bed beneath him, and blankets over him. He heard snatches of conversations.
"-trauma...stable...combined with asthma attack-". Yuki recognized that voice. "-stress...should be fine..." Hatori! Yuki's mind began to clear. He was most likely in the hospital, how could he have been that stupid to not realize that? The previous event flooded back to him. Akito, the garden, and then Tohru. Yuki was about to sit up when he heard a softer feminine voice. He heard Tohru's voice to his right, and her voice seemed much closer than Hatori's.
"Will he be coming back to school?" She said softly. Yuki heard footsteps approach his bed and felt Hatori look over him.
"Hai, when he wakes up, but he'll need to rest. Tomorrow is when you don't have class, correct?"
"Hai."
"Well, he'll need to stay and rest in his dormitory."
"I'll take care of him. Anything to help a friend."
"That's very kind of you Tohru. We appreciate your help." Hatori said. Yuki decided to finally open his eyes. He looked around at the blindingly white walls. The mask he had felt was a respirator. He felt rather stupid, looking at them with a large plastic contraption strapped around his face, covering his nose and mouth. It was attached to a machine and he noticed smoky tendrils run through the tube to where the mask was "Aaaah, you're finally awake!"
"How long-?"
"About eight hours. You were pretty knocked out. It's only to be expected I suppose, after all you suffered from stress trauma and an asthma attack. Not to mention you were drenched to the bone when you arrived at the hospital." Hatori's voice sounded irritated when he mentioned Yuki's current ailments. "How many times have I told you to A: Carry an inhaler with you, B: Try not to stress out too much, and C: Not stand in the rain?" Hatori said sarcastically, removing Yuki's mask. "You won't need this anymore."
"Sorry, the excitement of the week must have affected my memory." Yuki said bitterly. He felt a soft hand cover his and he looked up to see Tohru looking at him worriedly.
"Are you feeling okay?" She questioned him softly.
"I feel fine." The memory of his collapse brought a faint blush to his face. "Uh, about earlier in the garden. I'm sorry about causing you all that trouble."
"Oh, no! It wasn't any trouble at all. You needed me, so I was there. That's what friends are for." She said smiling kindly.
"Did you wait for me to wake up?" Yuki said, his tone shocked. He had never had anyone show as much care for him other than Hatori and... Crap. No. He could feel the ground rumbling. Yuki's head slowly turned toward the doorway and watched in slow motion as a certain silver haired person ran into the room and embraced Yuki in a suffocating hug.
"Yes, but your brother kept me company. You never told me you had one." Tohru giggled at the silver haired man's antics.
"It is I, Ayame, your beloved brother. Here to take away your pain and comfort you with our brotherly bond of love!" Ayame cried out dramatically, his leopard trench coat flapping in the non-existent wind.
"Ayame! Get off him! He's still recovering." Hatori said, tearing Ayame off the teenager. Yuki threw Hatori a grateful glance before turning to his brother.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were...busy." Yuki said. Ayame sobered before replying.
"The project was finished as was needed." Ayame replied, his voice uncharacteristically somber.
"What project? Do you work as an architect or something?" Tohru piped up, ignorant to Ayame's mood change.
"Oh no darling! I'm an artist! I design beautiful clothing and tailor them myself. We just finished a rather tedious wedding dress of a very haughty woman." Ayame said brightly, quickly telling her a cover story.
"Oh! That sounds so exciting!" Tohru's eyes were shining.
Ayame merely smiled and turned back towards Yuki, softly muttering so no one could hear, "I'm sure it would be."
Suddenly, Hatori's cell phone began to ring. Hatori searched frantically for his phone, but couldn't find it.
"Where's my phone?" Hatori said, panicked.
"Oh, you mean this little thing?" Ayame said smirking, dangling a small silver cell phone in his right hand.
"Dammit Ayame! That phone is extremely important! Give that to me." He said irritated, snatching the phone out of Ayame's hand.
"Oh lighten up!" Ayame said as Hatori answered the phone. "I mean, I was just trying to lighten your mood. You're so..." Ayame's voice died down at the look on Hatori's face. Hatori hung up and looked grimly at Ayame. Hatori walked outside, Ayame following wordlessly. After a few tense moments. Ayame came back in alone.
"Yuki, Hatori and I need to go. There's a problem with Akito. He's at the hospital near home. A limo will be waiting for you in about half an hour. We'll take care of paying and whatnot. Just take care and I'll see you soon." Ayame said all this hurriedly before patting Yuki on the head and briskly walking out.
Tohru frowned. "I hope everything's alright."
Yuki sighed. "Hatori's a good doctor. Akito's in good hands."
.x.x.
Motoko sighed. She looked sadly at her photo album. It was filled with her images of her prince: smiling, laughing, thoughtful; she had his face in every expression possible. Or so she thought. She came to her recently developed photos. He was smiling, laughing, thoughtful. To any other person, there would be no difference between these and the others. But Motoko was not just any person, she wasn't the President of the Prince Yuki Fan Club for nothing.
She saw the difference.
He smiled wider, laughed harder, and, she noticed, he was only thoughtful when gazing at her. That Tohru girl. Motoko let out a grunt of frustration. If only she was that girl. That girl that made him happier, lighter, and intrigued.
She sighed heavily for what seemed to be the tenth time that day. She was about to sigh again when a knock interrupted. Her room mate, a sweet girl named Miki, answered for her.
"Motoko, it's for you." Miki called. Minami stepped in, seemingly out of breath.
"President (huff). Prince (huff). Not here. He's missing. (huff) Came and told you when I found out." Minami panted, her hands on her knees.
"WHAT! Our dear Prince missing? This is outrageous. Gather the Representatives and tell them to inform the rest of the club. We must probe and pick the whole school. Harass the teachers if you have to." Motoko barked.
"Yes ma'am!" She replied, saluting.
It is amazing what a few hundred girls can do in a matter of hours. There were several commissions assigned with different tasks. Trash cans were inspected, and teachers were being sweetly asked questions. All who wished to remain unharmed locked themselves away, hoping that the search craze would end before the start of the school week the next day.
"Miyazawa-sensei!" Motoko called. The school nurse cringed, as if suddenly caught in a hideous act. She slowly turned herself around. "Oh Motoko! How are you?"
"I'm well Sensei, but I feel uneasy."
"Oh? Why's that?" The nurse said, feigning surprise.
"One of our own has been noticed to be missing. The student population has displayed such an admirable concern. We must know, what has become of our Prin- I mean fellow student, Yuki?"
"I-I, uh, really don't know."
"But sensei, you MUST know." Matoko said as she smiled. Her eyes began to twitch and her fingers turned into fists.
"Well..."
"Well?"
"He had a little asthma attack, so-so w-we sent him to the hospital." The nurse said, slowly edging away.
"TO THE WHAT? My poor Yuki? Alone in those sterile white rooms. By himself. Nurse you simply must send me to the hospital at which he is residing. He needs company to comfort him." Motoko said, grabbing hold of the nurse before she began to flee.
"Oh, he's not alone." Motoko's heart dropped. "His cousin and brother are with him." Matoko let out a sigh of relief. "Oh and that lovely Tohru girl is, too. She brought him in from the rain after he collapsed. I think they were having a secret rendezvous. Ahhh, those were the days." The nurse said dreamily, momentarily forgetting the girl was there.
"WHAT? This means war!" Motoko said, thrusting her fist into the air as the nurse scampered off only to be cornered by the student body president...
.x.x.
"So..."
"So..."
Tohru and Yuki racked their brains for suitable material to talk about.
"How did the meeting with Akito go?" Tohru asked. Yuki cringed.
"It went well." Yuki lied smoothly, not able to bring himself to look her in the eye. He mentally berated himself. He could lie to some of the best, but this girl... With this girl, things were different. He glanced up at her furrowed brow. She was fiddling nervously with her hands. He wanted to calm her down and remind her it was just him he was talking to. Yeah, the guy who's trying to kidnap her, he thought bitterly. Without thinking, he placed his cool hands over her warm ones. He blushed, but hid it well.
"Sorry." He said, about to pull his hands away. He was, to his surprise, pleased when she only gripped his hand firmly. She blushed too and looked away. He smiled gently, enjoying her company, even in the awkward silence.
"So, how's school going?" He asked casually as he squeezed her hand.
"Well, it's good I suppose." She said with a sigh.
"You suppose?" He asked, one brow raised questioningly.
"Well, the Romeo and Juliet test is coming up, and, well, I've never been good at English poetry or plays." She bowed her head. "Especially Shakespeare."
He looked at her sympathetically. "Have you had much experience with Shakespeare?"
"No."
"Shakespeare is a specialty of mine. How about I tutor you. The test is next Friday, right? I can tutor you in the library everyday." He offered softly.
"Well, I don't want to bother you..."
"You won't be bothering me. I wouldn't offer if you were. I mean, you did wait eight hours for me. I owe you a few favors. Besides, I want to do it." He said looking at her seriously. He loved her eyes. Indigo, he mused, is my new favorite color. He didn't notice that he was leaning closer to her. His nose was nearly touching hers when a nurse walked in.
"Oh, am I interrupting something?" The nursed inquired. Looking from a blushing Tohru to a cool Yuki.
"Uh, no. Can I help you?" Yuki replied calmly.
"Well, your limo is ready. If you'll gather your things, I'll escort you down."
"Thank you." Yuki said, as the nurse went outside to wait. He looked down at his paper gown. "Um, Tohru?"
"Oh, I'll just be outside then." She said, glancing at his attire, turning even redder than before. She let go of his hand and hurried out. Yuki glanced at the hand she had held. It felt tingly and warm. He smiled without knowing why as he went about getting dressed.
.x.x.
Hatori hurried into the room. "Kureno, how's Akito doing?"
"Breathing is a bit faster, won't eat, and muttering unintelligible things." Kureno said automatically, as if he were used to the procedure. Hatori looked at Akito and cursed.
"Dammit. I'm going to have to bring in more people." He said, bringing out the respirator from the supply closet. "Shit, the government going to have a field day if they get wind of this. Kureno, go get the phone and call for that emergency team we hired. Explain the situation and tell them we've got a respirator already."
"Is Akito that bad?"
"No, but better safe then sorry. The last time nearly killed him." Kureno nodded and fetched the phone. "On second thought, fire the emergency team. Call the other Sohmas we sent to medical school."
"Are you sure? They're at work right now." Kureno said, fingers poised to dial the number.
"We didn't send them to school for nothin'. We sent them there for emergencies like this." Hatori said, grimacing. Kureno swiftly left the room.
"Akito, you knew it was bad for you and the whole family business. We were this close to being caught last time because of your damn antics. They're gunna be all over us in a matter of days." Hatori muttered, placing the mask over Akito's face. "As much as you might think so, you're not God."
Akito let out a laugh and uttered something odd. "What was that Akito?" Hatori asked.
"I know what you all think. But the power is all mine. So are the purple plushies." Akito muttered. Hatori looked shook his head in annoyance and irritation.
"This scenario is too familiar. Akito, you really have to stop. Whenever you do this, you get so damn delusional." Hatori said, knowing full-well Akito wasn't listening. "This family is going to be the end of me.
To be continued...
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A/N. Akito is acting a bit odd, isn't he? Don't worry, all will be revealed in time.
I know it took forever to update, and, like I've said, I'm really sorry. At least I updated, right? To all those who are getting impatient with the Tohru and Yuki stuff, don't worry, just be patient.
Anyways, remember to REVIEW. Comments and constructive criticism are appreciated.
Ja!
S.B. Kisses