Yuki carried Ichiro out to the garden. The sun was already warm that morning, but not too bad if they stayed in the shade. He showed the different plants and flowers to his baby son who seemed to enjoy the attention. "This is called a 'snapdragon'", Yuki said as he made the trumpet of the flower open and close like a dragons mouth and faked a roar for Ichiro. The little one strained in concentration, reaching out his hand to grasp the yellow flower stalk his father held out to him. "Yuki", a stern voice commanded from behind. He turned to see Akito standing there with a young maid at her side. "I need you to come with me", she directed. "Chinami here will care for the baby. She's our new nanny", Akito finished rather pointedly, letting Yuki know he had lost that battle as well. Chinami bowed to Yuki humbly and smiled. She seemed sweet enough at least, so he surrendered Ichiro without too much trepidation.
Akito took another long look at Ichiro before parting. He was the spitting image of his father to everyone but her. All Akito could see was his large blue eyes and brown hair. When she looked at Ichiro she saw his mother, Tohru. And seeing Tohru reminded her that she had not kept her end of the bargain with Yuki- a thing she had never failed to do before. She had always been true to her word with others and took pride in that fact, but she had acted rashly this time, and done what served her purposes, disregarding the bargain she had made with him. Ichiro's presence was proof that she had acted without integrity, and her conscience would not let her rest because of him. "He looks very like his father", Chinami offered warmly to them. "He looks too much like his mother", Akito snapped, causing Chinami to apologize. Yuki just looked at Akito for a moment, wondering, but he said nothing.
They departed without any more debate about Ichiro. Yuki followed Akito to the conference room unsure what it was she wanted, as usual. There sitting across a heavy wooden table was a short, slick looking man in an expensive suit. He rose as Akito entered the room. "Sohma-san", he greeted her, and bowed respectfully. "Watanabe-san", Akito said genially, and also bowed. "Yuki, I'd like you to meet Mr. Watanabe, the Sohma family attorney", Akito gestured to the guest. "This is my cousin Sohma, Yuki". Yuki and the short man bowed to each other, and Mr. Watanabe smiled. "Don't worry Master Yuki", Mr. Watanabe said reassuringly, "I have no doubt we can deal with this in a way that will benefit you". He gave Yuki a sly, knowing smile. Yuki just blinked at him. "Deal with what? ", he silently wondered. "Shall we?", Akito gestured for them to all be seated, and the two men followed her lead.
"Now then", Mr. Watanabe began as he pulled a file of papers from his brief case. "I don't believe we can get a simple annulment as you had hoped". He said this to Akito. "The marriage has lasted over a year and there is a child involved". Akito nodded. "But I do think we can word things in such a way as to make sure the wife doesn't end up with anything", he smiled slyly, and Akito joined him. Yuki's head was spinning. He was just barely catching on to what this meeting was all about. "Why exactly do you want a divorce, Mr. Sohma?", Mr. Watanabe focused intently on Yuki and waited for an answer. Yuki's eyes grew wide at the question. He glanced at Akito who looked back at him unflustered, and then turned back to Mr. Watanabe. "I…", he stammered, "I…don't want a divorce", he said quietly. "Of course", Akito was quick to pounce, "No one enjoys this kind of business, Yuki", she said, her words thick with feigned sympathy. "No one likes to admit they have problems, that they have failed", she added. Mr. Watanabe nodded and offered an empathetic look. Yuki stared at Akito in disbelief. She was putting words into his mouth. "It's just as I told you", Akito added quickly before Yuki could speak, "The woman is abusive. Just look", she reached over and pulled Yuki's shirt collar down, exposing his shoulder. There, red scars and angry welts covered his skin and trickled down onto his back- the very wounds she had inflicted on him herself only a week before. "Good god!", Mr. Watanabe gasped in shock. "In light of this evidence I think we might be able to get the waiting period waived". He began shuffling papers in a frantic motion, then paused and looked seriously at Yuki. "You might want to think about pressing charges", he counseled. "You will want to protect the baby from potential abuse". "Let's plan on that" Akito was quick to agree, again before Yuki could speak. Her eyes narrowed, and her mouth curled up slightly. "I see every reason to go for full custody with no visitation", Mr. Watanabe added emphatically as he scrawled a note on the stack of papers. "You have the child with you, I presume", he said as he wrote. "But of course", Akito said reassuringly. "Good", the lawyer said with a shrewd expression, "That will make things much easier". "Well", he shoved the documents back in his brief case, "as I said, I have an appointment with the judge concerning that other matter we discussed, so I have to run", he said standing. He bowed to both of them again. "I will be by in a few more days with documents to sign before they are filed", he said at the door. "Thank you for making time for this", Akito said cordially, "Let me know how that other matter turns out, won't you?" "Of course, of course", and then Mr. Watanabe was gone almost as quickly as he came.
Akito smiled with satisfaction as she watched the lawyer go. Yuki stood there incredulous. It had all happened so fast, and what was that about Tohru being abusive? "Why are you doing this?", he queried. His voice shook with anger. "You already have me right where you want me", he hissed at her. Akito turned slowly towards him. "I have to think of the family assets", she said with a half smile, "It is my job to make sure the family interests are protected", her smile widened. "Besides", she added as she crossed to him, "we have to get this out of the way so you and I can solemnize our relationship", she said sweetly, and ran the tip of her tongue up his cheek. Yuki flinched in disgust. "What about your promise?", he said clenching his jaw. "I've kept my end of the bargain", Yuki's eyes burned with anger at her. Akito's smile faded. He had hit her in her weak spot. She turned dramatically, "As I said", her eyes narrowed at him, "I am protecting the family interests, and if that means going back on my word, then so be it!". There was a silence between them for a moment. "You're wrong", Yuki broke the silence, "It's your own interests you are protecting". With this he turned and left the conference room to go find Ichiro. As Akito watched him go, her smile faded into a dismal frown.
As Yuki roamed the halls looking for his baby he ran into Hatori. "Yuki", he said gravely, "I need to talk to you". Yuki knew Hatori had been to see Tohru, and he was anxious about her well being. He followed Hatori back to his office. "How's…", "Tohru is not well", Hatori cut Yuki off mid sentence. Yuki's eyes belied his concern as Hatori related the state of things at Shigure's house. They both sat contemplating this for a moment in silence. "What am I going to do?", Yuki said sadly. He looked down at the floor remembering something. "Hatori", he said quietly, "you did it right, not me". Hatori looked confused. "You handled things with Kana better than I have with Tohru. I should have let her go before we even got engaged", angry tears sprang in Yuki's eyes, "but I was too…selfish", he added heatedly. "It's not too late", Hatori said without emotion. "That is what I wanted to talk to you about. It may finally be time to erase Tohru's memory", he said. Yuki looked up at him with alarm. "It may be the only thing that will save her now", Hatori was very serious. Yuki stared into space, shocked and full of turmoil. What he felt inside showed plainly on his countenance. He blinked and fought back tears. Hatori sympathized, but he knew what he had to do, and added, "I will give you until tomorrow morning to decide. Otherwise, I will have to hospitalize her", he said gravely.
Across the expanse of the great house, Akito wrestled too with her own dilemma- her broken word. Yuki's arguments had actually affected her, leaving her conscience seared, and her head pounding with pain from the stress. She ended up retiring early to nurse her vicious headache.
Yuki bounced Ichiro on his knee as he sat in his room. The baby was tired and fussy. "You need to go to sleep big guy", Yuki said as he stood. He put Ichiro on his shoulder, and began to pace slowly, swaying, back and forth in front of the open window. Ichiro started to relax, but Yuki did not. He could only think of the mother of his child who was miles away, hopelessly watching out a similar window for his return. "I have to let her go", he said quietly to himself. A tear slid down his cheek. "She could have a life. She could have other children". Another tear fell, leaving a wet streak in its wake. Yuki knew what the right thing to do for her was, but he shrank from it. He felt his heart would break. He couldn't face the idea of living without Tohru even though he knew he could no longer make her happy. Again, he blamed his own selfishness, and felt pathetic.
Ichiro finally fell asleep. Yuki cradled him in his arms for a moment, and then laid him carefully down in his crib. He pulled a downy blanket over the baby. As he did this something outside the window caught his attention, and he followed it with his eyes. Two maids were heading for the main gate of the Sohma estate. Each of them carried a large sack that looked like garbage. Yuki started to turn away when a thought came to him. He quickly turned back and watched intently as the two approached the gate and were let through by the man standing guard. A plan began to formulate in his mind, a crazy plan, but he was ready to risk it. He dashed from the room to consult with Haru. He was going to need some help.
Haru had been quick to agree with the plan. He liked the idea of driving "the get-away car". Yuki had then sought out Hatori for his help as well. Hatori was willing to do his part too. "I can keep her busy, but I don't know for how long", he said flatly. "I'll plan to take her into my office at 9 o'clock sharp. Be ready". "Don't worry, I will be", Yuki said with determination. Hatori smiled faintly as he watched Yuki exit, glad to see him finally doing something about this, but then he grew thoughtful as he realized how slim the chances seemed that his plan would work.