AGGGH! I can TOTALLY understand if you hate me now… Sorry I haven't had a good, long, and interesting chapter for this story in a while. So that's what I'm gonna do now! I SWEAR that it will be good! Think of it as my…umm… 'I'm sorry for being a bitch and waiting so long to update' present. Warning: this will be a little bit

Disclaimer: Ah...whatever. I don't own it! Screw you...

Speak

He hated him…lord he hated him. But hate wasn't something that got in Akito's way of what he wanted, and this was no exception. Once Yuki was summoned, there was nothing he could do about it. He had no choice but to go and hope everything turned out in his favor…meaning he would hopefully get away without a scratch.

'That would be quite hard to explain to Miss Honda…if I did get hurt.' Yuki thought idly, as he wandered down the street to the main estate.

Luckily, he had been the one to answer the phone when Kureno summoned him, and it didn't take to much of an excuse to get away from supper. However, Yuki felt that someone would notice if he got hurt, and then he would have to tell them the truth. But the truth…he didn't know yet. He had no idea why Akito called for him, but whatever he wanted couldn't be good.

When Yuki arrived the main house, a servant was waiting to escort him to Akito's room. She nervously fidgeting with her hands and Yuki innerly groaned…her uncomfort could only mean two things. One, that she was new and felt slightly overwhelmed by the way things were run here. Or two, Akito was in a bad mood. Yuki was hoping for the first conclusion.

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Akito smiled widely as he watched Yuki enter the gates. This plan of his had certainly taken more time than the monster's, and involved a bigger sacrifice on his part, but it would be well worth it.

Akito was the head of the family, and he took it as his responsibility to make sure no one interfered with his plans. Tohru Honda had been quite a threat…offering her unjudgmental love to every one of the juniishi was just her way of breaking Akito. Or so he thought.

'But I will be the winner of this one,' Akito thought as he straightened his kimono and headed for his main room. 'There has to be a way to break her first…'

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Akito smiled menacingly at the nervous rat, quietly sipping his tea.

"Umm…Akito? Is there a reason that you called me here? If there isn't, I should get back to-" Yuki stopped when Akito held up an impatient hand, silencing him.

"Do not think I am stupid Yuki. Of course there is a reason I called you hear. I am not the kind of person to keep people around unless I need them…I'm sure you've learned that by now, however." Akito said in a low voice, like poison. It was a silent threat, daring him to say something to offend the impatient god. Instead, Yuki lowered his eyes in respect and took the beating. This way, it was less likely to end in pain.

"That's better," Akito said, referring to the submission of his younger cousin. "Now I have noticed that since you moved into Shigure's house, you have become more….testy. I believe with my heart, that you are being led into a false sense of Shigure and have decided to spare you before you end up getting hurt." Akito said, rushing into the topic of his presence. He was getting another one of his headaches and wasn't feeling as patient as before. Yuki's draw dropped when Akito told him this. 'What is he going to do?'

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Kureno tried to leave, but his feet seemed to be glued to the floor. He stood, silently, outside of the paper door to Akito's room. Yuki was crying…in the times Kureno had seen him as a child, he had done this a lot. Most of the time, was when he was around Akito.

Kureno could see through a small crack in the sliding door, Akito sauntering over the trembling, damaged rat. He laid a hand on his back and comforted him by telling him that it was for his own good. In his own sick way, Akito loved Yuki, and every one of the zodiac noticed how attached he had become over the years.

How long he had stood there unnoticed, Kureno didn't know, but the forgotten lunch tray in his arms soon began to make his arms ache. He left, realizing how much he was risking if he got caught. He would return in a few moments, and pretend he didn't hear a thing about Yuki's newest dilemma.

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Yuki walked home slowly and in a daze. Akito had asked to much of him this time… 'There's no way…I just can't…' Yuki let the thought trail off into nothingness. Feeling lost and blind in the darkness that had consumed his thoughts, Yuki finally made it home late in the afternoon. Muttering an excuse and pulling himself from Tohru, he sought out the one person he needed to talk to…for once.

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"Listen…I'll just cut right to the chase." Yuki said a little roughly, as he climbed onto the roof. Kyo jumped and then gave him a sour glare.

"What the hell do you want?" Kyo said angrily.

"Stop fucking sulking!" Yuki snapped and Kyo's eyes widened in surprise. Yuki's eyes were blazed with impatience and Kyo bit back his retort. He didn't look like he wanted to be messed with at the time.

"Why the hell do you care?" Kyo mumbled, regaining some of his composure.

"Personally, I don't care. Tohru does." Yuki said quickly. "But I'm fooling around to much, and we don't have much time." Yuki sat down a good three feet from Kyo and continued talking, as if he was being rushed.

"I want you to stop sulking and take care of her," the rat asked, hating himself for resorting to his rival for help. Kyo snorted.

"Why? Where are you going?" He asked.

"Where is not important, but when am I going is a more appropriate question. We only have three weeks of school left before we graduate, and Akito wants to send me to college across the country." Yuki said, carefully avoiding the darker details.

"And where do I fit into all of this?" Kyo snapped, growing tired of the drawn out conversation.

"You don't expect Shigure to take care of Tohru, do you? When I am gone…I need you to take care of her, and don't let…him get her." Yuki gulped and Kyo grew worried. 'I never beat him…How could I possibly take care of her when I am going to be locked in a cage at the end of the summer?' Kyo couldn't even try and tell Yuki his position, because he liked to believe it was pure hate that drove him to beat the rat, and admitting to him that it wasn't would ruin everything. Then, another thought struck him. 'Even if I weren't locked up, being around her would only cause her to get hurt by him, not protect her from him!' He silently wondered if none of these obstacles were in his way, would she still accept him after he had completely ignored her for weeks?

Yuki was oblivious to the battle going on in Kyo's mind, and began to feel a little bit relieved. Akito wasn't expecting him to leave until the end of the summer, and he had that long to try and convince him to change his mind. Stretching, he decided to leave the cat alone with his thoughts and help Tohru in the preparations for the arrival of their friends.

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"I'm fucking tired of being scared that Akito will hurt her." Kyo said loudly, try to gain confidence as he made his way into the living room that was occupied by Ronin, Hana, Uo, Tohru, Momiji, Yuki, and Haru. Opening the door without hesitation, he roughly asked to speak with her, before he could abandon all of his courage. He was suddenly aware of everyone's eyes on his sudden appearance, even the deep teal eyes that haunted his dreams. Excusing herself, Tohru struggled with her crutches and met him on the front porch.

"Tohru, it has been way to long since I talked to you last, and I'm tired of waiting."

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Don't worry! It's far from the end! I can see it now… -Saki holds her hands in front of her face imagining the next chapter-. Sorry this wasn't as long as I had promised, I just have something I can't put in until next chapter! You are gonna like it!

Did you guys think that Yuki was a little bit OOC? He is such a hard character to display…for me anyways. And yes, he was supposed to be angry at Kyo. So I don't want any comments like "What the hell Saki? Yuki doesn't say 'fucking'!" Ya, this is why it is called FANFICTION…because Yuki has never been put in that position before. You would say 'fucking' too, if your head of the family was sending you away from the one you loved! Gah…just had to get that out.

So do you guys still like this story? I am liking it myself…I may even continue it. That is, if I get a lot of nice, ego-boosting reviews! So get to it! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!

BTW! I started on two new fics! My Haru/Tohru on (finally!) and another humor one…Don't read the humor one unless you are prepared for some OOCness. Love you guys! -Saki-