Chapter 2

Author's note:

SnoFlurri - Thanks for the review! Shigure/Akito is hard to write, but it's my favorite pairing, so I'm doing my best

Thanks for reading!

"I'm home!"

Silence.

Shigure sweat dropped as he got no response. After a few moments of wondering why no one loved him any more, sudden realization hit him. It was just after school, so they wouldn't be home yet anyway: Yuki had student council, Kyo was visiting Kazuma, and Tohru had to work. Shigure was alone.

Or so he thought.

As he walked towards his office, he blinked as he saw the door slightly ajar. Peeking through the crack, he sighed as he saw the person sitting in his chair.

He slid the door open noisily, causing the girl to jump. He said in a whiney tone of voice, "Rin, you're in my seat!"

The girl looked up from the draft she had been reading. It was his new book; the one he was dedicating to Akito. "Interesting book," she muttered sarcastically.

Smiling slightly, he moved to his computer chair as she rose out of it, her freshly-cut hair letting her slender shoulders show through her low-cut shirt. "If you keep wearing those outfits, someone's going to get the wrong idea, Rin."

"I thought you didn't write "dark" novels," the girl retorted. This newest book had a very dark, morbid tone, and the dedication in the beginning was cryptic and confusing.

As he lowered himself into the chair, he replied simply, "No matter. Did you need something, coming here?"

"I…" The girl's eyes were lit with determination. She looked up at Shigure, walking over to his desk, placing her palms on the edge and leaning heavily on it. "I can't stay with Kagura any more. Let me live here!"

Shigure blinked. That was an unexpected question. He'd half expected her to ask him about the curse again. He then smiled slightly, one eyebrow raised. "You know I can't decide that. Everyone who lives here, including myself, is doing so because Akito-san told us to. Besides, what's so bad about living with Kagura-chan?"

Rin's face seemed slightly disgusted. She looked down, muttering, "They're too… happy." She looked desperately at the author, saying, "Can't you convince Akito? He listens to you!"

At this, the author couldn't help but laugh. "If Akito-san listens to me, I wouldn't even be living here."

"Are you going to let yourself be controlled by him forever!"

At this sudden outburst, Shigure suddenly looked much more serious. A slightly annoyed look on his face, he said to her, "Nice hair. You can't do anything about Akito-san yourself, can you? No, you live in fear. Afraid he'll find out about Haa-kun, am I right?"

Rin's eyes widened slightly. Yes, Akito had cut her hair off while she was locked in the cat's room not too long ago. But how did he know that everything she did was for Haru?

Actually, it was rather easy to figure out. However, he would let her wonder for now. Sighing, he said, "I'll bring it up next time I see him."

Rin smiled slightly, moving back to a sitting position on the floor. She started to say something, but Shigure interrupted her.

"Don't say 'thanks'. I'll change my mind if you do."

Rin smiled slightly. Shigure acted much more like himself around her. It seemed that he loathed being thanked with words.

The reason Shigure felt comfortable around Rin was because they were so much alike. They'd both do whatever they needed to to achieve their goals.

Rin walked over to the desk once more, picking up the draft of his newest book. "It's called 'Shadow'… Aren't your novels romance? This one's depressing."

Shigure gave her a half smile. "Really? But it is a romance."

"I read three chapters. They hate each other!"

"It seems that way, doesn't it?"

Rin looked annoyed at that response. He'd dodged her. Again. "You're not going to explain, are you?"

Shigure just winked at her, saying merely, "The book's coming out this month. You'll just have to wait for it, won't you?"

Akito was staring out of her window, watching the white bird flutter around the garden just outside her room. Kureno had returned, and was currently reading a book at a table in the large room.

Akito turned, walking towards the table, her yukata that was too long for her sliding across the floor, sounding very much like a snake. She leaned her upper body on the table, looking intently at the book that the man was reading. "Kureno… Do you read any of Shigure's books?"

Kureno looked up as she spoke. After his mind processed the question, he replied, "Yes, I've read a few."

Akito looked thoughtful, saying then, "What does he write about?" Of course, she already knew, but she wanted to know Kureno's opinion.

"He writes romance novels, usually. I hear a new book is coming out this month, it sounds interesting… why?"

"None of your concern." She then moved back to the window. The bird was gone. She began to think. Why wouldn't Shigure tell her what the book was about? It was a 'secret.' But why was it a secret? That was the strange part.

"What is his new book about?" Akito looked over at Kureno, who now knew that Akito was deeply curious about the book and not just trying to make conversation.

"I don't know, sorry…"

Akito frowned slightly, muttering, "Figures." She turned, looking out the window once more.

That's the end of chapter 2! I'll be writing this fairly quickly, since I'm really into it and I have a lot of it planned out.

Please read and review, and let me know what you think!