Tohru heard a shocked gasp. Glancing around the room it was a minute before she realized that she was the one who had gasped. Married! To Yuki! She thought it might be a joke but as she looked from Akito to Yuki she saw both their faces were completely serious, though Yuki's held some of the same shock she felt .
Tohru's heart sank as it became obvious that this was no joke. Sure, recently she had begun to entertain thoughts of marrying one of the Sohmas, but not now...and not this Sohma. In the past few weeks she had slowly come to understand that while she really likes Yuki a lot, and thought of him as family, it was Kyo that she truly cared about. Maybe it had always been that way. After all, Kyo was the cat and Tohru would be the first to admit that she'd always had a soft spot for the cat. If she was going to marry a Sohma, she wanted it to be Kyo.
Struggling for a minute, Tohru finally managed to look Akito in the eye and speak up, "I don't mean to sound rude and I don't want you to think that I'm being ungrateful. I'm really happy that you would let me join your family, but I don't think I'm ready to get married just yet."
"Now, I don't think that's the problem," Akito replied with a sly grin, "I think maybe you don't want to marry the person I picked out for you. Just like last time. Honestly, this is so predictable it almost bores me."
Yuki and Tohru turned matching expressions of confusion to Akito but it was Yuki who asked, "What do you mean last time? Have you tried to make Miss Honda marry other people before this?"
Akito's grin grew wider and more malicious, "Oh, you might say that, although I doubt very much that she remembers. Last time we had a chat like this, she rejected the man I chose for her in favor of someone far less suitable." Turnng to Tohru, he added, "I really don't know what you see in that monster."
"He's not a monster!" Tohru yelled, before thinking. She had just admitted that Akito was right and possible put Kyo in daner.
"How can you say that?" asked Akito, "You've seen his true form. He is most definitely a monster."
"That is not his true form! You should know, you did it to him. You can't call him a monster because of something you did!"
Yuki's eyes widened in surprise, Akito's narrowed in suspicion. Glaring at Tohru, the head of the Sohma family demanded, "Why did you say that? You shouldn't know anything about it. What do you remember?"
"I don't know why I said that," answered Tohru, looking as surprised by what she said as Yuki did, "I don't know why Kyo has that form. I don't know anything about his curse, or yours, except that they exist."
At that Akito gave a short laugh that caused shivers to run down Tohru's spine, "You're wrong about that, you know? You may not know exactly how the Sohmas came to be cursed but you know why. You've just forgotten."
"It has something to do with Kyo's nightmares, doesn't it?"
"Ah, yes. The dreams. Hatori told me that Kyo was having nightmares about a past which should be locked away to him. I would imagine, not knowing the details of the dreams, that theyare linked to the beginning of the curse. Does that help you remember, Miss Honda? Maybe we should let you see as well," Akito took a step towards Tohru.
Tohru cowered away from Akito. She knew how much the dreams had frightened Kyo. She didn't really want to witness whatever he had seen. But, maybe, if she knew everything she could be more helpful to him if his nightmares continued.
She was still debating when Yuki stepped in front of her, glaring at Akito, "Leave her alone. She doesn't deserve this."
"Oh, doesn't she?"
Tohru made up her mind. Giving Yuki a comforting smile, she stepped past him and walked right up to Akito, saying, "Show me."
"I give you marks for courage...or stupidity," Akito said, placing a hand on Tohru's forehead.
The outside world fell away as Tohru found herself caught up in a vision that was somewhere between a dream and a memory. She watched the scene play out in terror. She watched the girl with her face die. She heard Kei's anguished cry. She saw the beginning of the curse. When the vision ended and Tohru was fully returned to reality, the look she gave Akito was unlike any that Yuki had ever seen on her face. For the first time ever, Yuki thought Tohru just might be capable of violence. She looked like she would be willing to kill Akito, given the means. Ignoring Yuki completely, Tohru focused her murderous glare on Akito and spat out, " How dare you call Kyo a monster! The only monster that exists in this family is you! I won't do what you tell me to! I love Kyo and I will be with him! I won't let you stop me!"
"We'll see about that."
Tohru huffed and stormed out of the room, with Yuki staring after her. When she was out of sight he turned on Akito, "What did you show her?"
"Nothing you need to worry about. Most of it was already buried deep in her memory somewhere. Her memory of it was never erased, after all. That's all for now. You may go now, Yuki."
Yuki stood frozen, a bewildered look on his face. After a moment or two he snapped out of it with a shake of his head. Casting a last glare at Akito, he turned and walked away.
Left alone, Akito began to laugh, a somewhat maniacal sound. These kids. They were so predictable. Well, Yuki's strong instinct to protect Tohru had been something of a surprise. Especially when the girl had confessed to loving someone else. That could prove to be a difficulty. Still, Akito wasn't worried. For the most part, things were gong as planned. For the next phase though, Kyo was needed.
Leaving the room, Akito went in search of Kureno. Finding the man was not difficult and Akito faced him, without a welcoming remark and said, "Kureno, you and I are going to pay a little visit to Kazuma's house. I need to have a little discussion with Kyo."