Chapter 4:
The noise began to subside as the group made their way out of the chamber. He could hear the door slam shut as the final one left.
"Are they gone?" asked a voice. A voice that from first glance had no source. It didn't appear to come from any of the dark shadows that were quite common in Akito's chamber. In fact it appeared to original from where Akito himself was sitting. But that didn't make any sense. The man certainly wasn't one to talk to himself.
"Yes. They are gone." Said Akito, though he didn't sound like the same man who had only a few minutes ago been ranting at his family. Didn't seem like the same man who had caused them so much pain. This was the voice of a man who felt….regret? An emotion one would not normally associate with Akito Sohma. Yet there is was. And whoever was speaking to him, it noticed the change is his voice.
"Akito my friend, you sound regretful. Did you not do what we agreed must be done? Please let me out so I can see you." said the voice. With a light nod, Akito reached into his chest and pulled out the orb The same orb that he had earlier used to torment his family he removed from himself, and placed on a pedestal on a small table next to where he was laying. The orb floated above the pedestal, and then words began to come out of it.
"Akito, what am I?"
"You are the Sentient Zodiac Curse"
"Yes. Do you know why after so many centuries I spoke to you and you alone? Because you embraced me. You wanted to know more about me. Rather than simply seeing me as an albatross around your neck, you tried to learn how you could use this bird as weapon for control. I admired that about you. None of your predecessors had as much ambition" It stopped, and it seemed like it was trying to think of what to say next.
"The plan seems to be going well. I know you didn't want to do that, but we agreed it might be a necessary action to convince the girl to take your offer. She's so stupid…"
" I don't want to go ahead with it" said Akito, his sudden defiance and interruption obviously something the orb was not expecting.
For a second, it looked as if the orb was shocked. It had no facial features to show emotion, but there was something in the way it moved, the way the various threads of black rotated around, and the way the images of the Zodiac went around and around that you could tell what it was thinking. Akito could anyway, he had spent so much time talking to the being inside the sphere. He had no idea what it was exactly he was talking to. All it had called itself was the Sentience of the Zodiac Curse, and had made reference to how it had been created when the curse had been cast on the Sohma family however many years ago. He knew however that defiance was not something the creature tolerated. He had tried to show that he was 100 behind what they were planning. His actions, even his very thoughts had to be in accordance with the beings plans because it could monitor him anytime. He knew he couldn't be away from it because he had to carry the orb or die. And then without warning the orb spoke again, snapping Akito out of his thoughts.
"Honestly my friend, I thought we had an understanding by now. You know as well as I that this girl has the potential to break the curse. And I have no intention of letting that happen. My life depends on your family suffering, that is a simple fact. And I will not die. I don't think I am being unreasonable. No sentient being willingly accepts their own demise without a fight, unless they are mentally challenged. Now enough of this. We made an agreement, and I will make sure you keep your end of the bargain. I promised you that I could make sure you wouldn't die, and you must make sure you make this girl head. Once she is in place, I can reveal more to you"
"Yes we made an agreement. And you have yet to fulfill your end!" Said Akito, getting rather angry at the being. This surprised it, Akito had never spoken back top it before. dam mortal, perhaps I've been to soft with you. I think it's time to show you the true power of the Curse made Sentient.
"Why Akito, why do you speak to me so? You know I plan to fulfill my end. We complete the plan, and you will get your life back. I always fulfill my debts."
"I believed you before, but know I'm, not so sure. It was not necessary to use such force against the others back there. You were in control then, don't deny it. I would never have gone to such extremes." said Akito, his voice calm and almost remorseful.
This seemed to anger the orb. "What is this! Regret, coming from you? Let's not forget who you are. You tormented your cousin, mentally and physically. You did this to others as well. You were a vindictive, evil man. The only thing I did was give you a chance to escape the fate destiny assigned you, which is more than a spiteful monster like you deserved. You would have done exactly the same as you did had I not been there. I simply spoke into your ear and gave you the idea, the motivations were there all along. This has to do with her doesn't it? Do you honestly expect me to believe that one visit from this girl is enough to save you from the pit? Of you believe this, maybe you're more of a fool than I thought. In any case, it shows how dangerous she can be. And I will not let myself die without a fight. I know you know what happens when you corner a beast, the beast will do whatever it takes to live."
With that the orb flew towards Akito, but Akito seemed to be preparing this and made a move to block it. The orb went flying back and then stopped in midair, glaring at Akito. The man was starting to show sings of deprivation, having been without the orb for almost an hour now. He knew he would have to take it back soon or else die without a chance to fix his mistakes.
"This is how it will be Akito Sohma" the orb said, as it stared at Akito from across the room. "You will take me back into yourself. You will proceed with the plan. And then when all is done, you will have your pitiful life back. You can do what you want, live how you want. But you will make sure that the girl is dead before that. Or else I will kill you myself and make sure all your family pays the price for your insolences!" At this Akito seemed to get angry.
"You are a monster. I spit on my ancestors for whatever they did to bring you into our lives. I will not take your orders anymore/ Perhaps I will die. But I will die as myself, and not under your thrall"
"So be it, Sohma" said the orb and it let loose a bolt of black lightning. It hit Akito square in the chest. He went down with smoke coming form his revealed chest. He was till breathing but slowly. The orb was slowly approaching.
"Now Akito, I will return. And we will do things my way. The plan will proceed, the girl will die, and you will die. And believe me it will be a painful death indeed, traitor." And as the orb began to ascend back into it's host….
SLAM
The orb seemed almost surprised to see the door open. It hadn't realized how loud their fighting must have gotten. Sure enough, there was Yuki Sohma standing there, with a look shock.
"Hello there my dear boy. Children shouldn't be listening in on adults private conversations, that's a Bozo no-no. Now tell me, what did you hear?"
"All of it. I heard everything. And don't believe for a second that you will get away with anything that you have planned"
"My dear boy" said the orb" I hold your life in my hand. Do not believe for a second you can strike me down. I am inside you, I am your very essence. However, I am a reasonable being. I simply wish to live. Just like your family head over there" it said looking over at Akito. "Pathetic creature. It actually thought it could get out of our deal. It said it had remorse for it's past deeds, and wanted to make amends. It said it was because of his talk with the girl. He wanted to change, and that could never happen. I knew then that she must be gotten rid off"
"YOU WILL NEVER GET NEAR MISS HONDA" yelled Yuki, getting more and more angry. But he knew he couldn't strike down the creature before him. It was too strong and could hurt any of the cursed without any remorse. He wouldn't take that chance. Yuki turned around and he could see the others were standing behind him, wanting to know what was going on. Tohru was there, her eyes still damp from her tears, thinking that it was her fault that they had been given so much pain.
"As I said before, all I want is to live. That girl is a threat to my existence. So I offer this compromise. Send her away, with no memo orgy of her time here. I will return to Akito's body and become dormant. You can continue to enjoy the privilege of living. And there won't be any more of this talk about breaking the curse. Refuse and I promise you a world of pain. Your lives mean nothing to me, All I care about is ensuring the continuation of the curse. Now I must return to that pathetic shell to recharge. You should thank me, I'm sure some of your were beginning to feel the effect of him being away from me. Please consider my offer. I would hate to do anything….rash." And with that he flew into Akito's body. A flash of light appeared on Akito's chest, then nothing. All was quiet. Hatori ran over to Akito and made a few quick checks.
"He's alive, but barely. I need to get him to the clinic" And he grabbed the family head and took him away. The others began to make their way out of the chamber, but Tohru for some reason could nothing more but look at the site. She then turned to Yuki and said " Do you think the orb was telling the truth, about Akito wanting to make amends for his past"
Yuki just started out into the blackness, his mind weaving through the many memories he had of this place. Then he turned to her with a half-smile and said' I don't know Miss Honda. I'd like to think it's possible, but I just don't know." Then the two of them walked out of that terrible place, hand in hand.