Chapter Thirty-Four: Denial
(Midori's POV)
With Pohli's hand firmly latched onto my arm, there was little I could do except follow her back to the main Sohma house.
"Geez, you disappeared so suddenly! And anytime I tried to force Saki to tell me what happened to you, she threatened to use her electric waves." Pohli rambled on, completely oblivious to the fact that she was cutting off the circulation in my hand. "By the way, did you know that Ayame's not really bald? He just said that to see how everyone would react to it. But of course Shigure was in on it too."
"Hey, Pohli?" I muttered quietly. Out of everyone I knew, I wanted to tell Pohli what was going on the most… that I'd never be allowed to see Yuki again…
"Have you seen Jack lately?" She asked, not taking notice of my quiet words.
"Um…" Yeah, he just climbed in through my window a few minutes before you showed up.
"Of course I haven't seen him either, ever since that night he came into my house and Akito walked in on us. I swear I thought Akito was going to kill Jack with that knife… But I guess he won't be coming here anytime soon." The blonde concluded her thoughts, never noticing the look of horror on my face.
What does she mean by 'Akito walked in on them'? I had to suppress the wave of images that came to mind. Pohli continued to talk about things that mattered very little to me as I started to look over my shoulder every few seconds, hoping to see Yuki.
Who am I kidding? No matter how much I hope to see him here, I know for a fact that Yuki hates coming to the main Sohma house. So my hope died out quickly…
"Nobody seems to understand me as a chickens' rights activist!" Pohli declared and just noticed the stars appearing in the sky. "Hey, it's getting late. I guess you'll just have to stay the night and I'll tell you what was so important tomorrow."
I slapped my forehead. Why do you have to be so dense sometimes, Pohli!
I did not get a chance to tell Pohli what had happened all evening. Any time I tried, she'd start talking about Akito or Jack or being a chickens' rights activist…
"Goodnight, Midori." The blonde yawned and rolled over in her bed so that her back was facing me.
"Goodnight…" I sighed on the futon that had been placed onto the floor for me to sleep on. Trying to block out all my unpleasant thoughts, I nestled into the covers and Pohli's baggy clothes that she let me borrow as pajamas.
When I finally managed to fall asleep at three-something in the morning, I was awakened by a loud crash downstairs from Pohli's small kitchen. Running downstairs and ready to throw the burglar into the nearest wall, I stopped when I saw Jack rummaging through the cabinets looking for food. I couldn't help but noticing how frequently he twitched, as if he was constantly getting shocked by touching metal objects after dragging his feet on carpet floors. His jet-black hair and slightly purple bangs were disheveled even more than usual. He reached up to pull something down from a cabinet above his head when it slipped from his hand and clattered to the floor.
"Whoops… Doesn't Pohli ever buy any decent food? I'm friggin' starving here! The only thing I hate more than being hungry is being cursed." Then Jack scoffed and twitched once more. "'Curses don't take effect until three days after they've been cast' my ass! I don't know what that little runt did to me but--" He twitched again and then continued in a mocking tone, "'Name's hold a great deal of power over people… even a fake name'! I swear Midori's family is messed up!"
"Enjoying yourself?" I asked in a calm voice and he spun around so fast that he nearly tripped on the items he had dropped.
"Oh Midori! It's only you… I thought it might have been Pohli there for a minute." Jack sighed in relief and began picking up everything he had dropped and placing it back in its rightful spot. I noticed when he picked up a can of soup he shuddered.
"So is breaking into other people's houses and stalking people one of your hobbies or something?" I inquired dryly, folding my arms and leaning against the doorway.
"Yes." Jack straightened up and tried to hide another twitch. "Hey Midori, do you know if Pohli has any alcohol or sake or anything… Megumi put a curse on me and I can't stop twitching or fall asleep. I tried drinking all the alcohol I had but it didn't work." He sighed sadly.
"I see…" I scrunched up my nose at the strong scent of liquor from Jack. "No I don't."
He froze and then turned around, eyeing me for a long time before throwing his hands up into the air in exasperation. "Then what good are you! I'm sure that Pohli would be able to tell me. She's also so much more attractive than you, too… But then again I guess you're too young to understand…"
The New Years dinner party suddenly came to mind.
Back then Akito had been talking to me and telling me how inferior I was to Pohli as well… For a few moments I just glared at Jack silently so that he would take a hint and stop.
But no, he rambled on and on and on until I burst.
"SHUT UP ALREADY!" I shouted but then clamped my hand over my mouth remembering what time it was.
"Whoa!" Jack backed away into the nearest counter, afraid of my sudden rage. "Sorry, sorry… just can't stop thinking about her…" Having said this, he looked up the stairs longingly.
I watched his expression carefully for a minute and then asked, "You like Pohli, don't you?"
"Yeah..." Jack sighed. "But of course Akito would be the better choice for her since he is the head of the family and can order people around. The only problem with Akito is that he's going to kick the bucket soon—" Jack stiffened and looked at me suspiciously. "You didn't hear that from me."
We both froze the instant we heard someone walking around upstairs and Jack quickly opened up the nearest window, jumping outside like a crazed stuntman.
"Midori?" Pohli called downstairs.
"Yeah." I answered back.
"Are you… alone down there?" She asked hesitantly.
Your stalker came and jumped out the window again… "Yes, I'm alone."
I faintly heard her sigh in relief. "Oh that's good. I was afraid Jack was back or something. All that bastard does is cause trouble for me."
I stared sorrowfully at the window because I knew Jack was still there and listening. "Hey, Pohli?"
"What?"
"Never mind…" I muttered and went back upstairs to try and fall asleep again.
The next morning, Pohli took me to the private Sohma library. According to her, even some of the Sohma family members weren't allowed in here but Akito had given her permission to come here whenever she wanted. "Shigure, Hatori, and Ayame are allowed in here, though. But the younger zodiac members like Yuki aren't." Pohli explained.
"And why are we here?" I questioned, examining the old dusty books with a mild fascination.
"Research!" The blonde exclaimed and I gave her a blank look. "There might be a clue on how to break the curse in this old library. And if we find it then Akito won't have to die and you'll be able to hug Yuki!"
Inspired by this idea, I immediately started flipping through books to find anything that had to do with the Sohma curse. In one book, I found information about the bracelet that Kyou always wears… I never would have imagined that without the bracelet that Kyou would transform into a monster.
Other than that, the books were simply filled with the family's history (which I found quite boring for the most part). Disheartened by the search, I reached for another tattered book on the shelf when a different one slid off into my lap and opened somewhere around the middle of the book.
'To bring back balance, the darkness must meet the light and produce a neutral self.'
Weird… what the heck is that supposed to mean?
"Oh hey look, it's Yuki." Pohli interrupted my thoughts and pointed out the library window.
Yelping, I ducked down so Yuki couldn't see me… even though I wanted to be with him more than anything…
(Pohli's POV)
Um… okay. I thought she'd be happy to see Yuki.
"Pohli…" Came the soft, menacing voice that I knew and treasured.
"Hey Aki." I grinned, dropping the book I was holding (not that I was really reading it anyway) and I walked towards Akito who was leaning heavily against the doorway. My grin faded slightly when I saw just how pale he was. "What's wrong?"
Pulling me out of the library and shutting the door, Akito wrapped his arms around me… and we stayed like that for several minutes. Something was different about him but I couldn't really put my finger on it. He certainly was acting like someone who's given up all hope about anything. "This isn't like you."
"I'm sorry Pohli… but," He pulled away slightly so that he could look at me but he didn't meet my eyes. "Hatori says my time is almost up."
For a second I stood in shock, then laughter escaped from my lips. "That's not a funny joke, Akito… really now, what's up?"
"I'm serious Pohli." Akito hissed angrily. Then he convulsed and started coughing uncontrollably, grabbing onto my shoulders firmly to steady himself.
"No…" I mumbled weakly. "No! You're not going to die, you hear me!" One of Akito's hands released my shoulder and he covered his mouth to try and control his coughing. When he finally stopped and withdrew his hand, it had blood dripping down from it. "No…" I whispered again. "I'll find a way to break the curse, I swear."
"That's not going to help…" Akito glared at me darkly.
"Yes it will!" I insisted.
"No it won't!" Akito drew up his hand to hit me, but he stopped himself in time. "There's nothing that can help me now…"
My knees couldn't hold me up any longer and I collapsed onto the floor, taking Akito with me. I absolutely wasn't going to accept this…
"Pohli," Akito whispered into my ear, "Stay with me tonight."
TO BE CONTINUED