Ooh… long-ish chapter! Go me!

Chapter 21. This story can now legally drink :)

Hmm…. What else…

Ooh, today I was at my job (I work at a hospital) and I was walking through the emergency room, trying to find someone. I'm not really paying attention, so I run into someone. I'm like 'oh, shit, sorry.' And the person turns around, and….

BUMP BUMP BUUUMMPPP!

It's this whore lady that I know from my school. She's there with this guy (who I know for a fact is not her husband) who kept calling her 'honey' and she had this splint over her nose. NOSE JOB MUCH! Heh. I was happy.

Stacey: I do strive for the best. Heehee ty.

Light of Heaven: This chapter is less Akito-less! In know… while I was writing that other chapter I kind of wanted to reach out and slap Haru.

Kuro-chan10307: Yes, Haru's very mad… and soon we will learn why… but not now….

Coffeeluver: I KNOW RIGHT!

Kagime and the owl: OMG I hate it when people puppy-pout me cause then I feel all guilty and do what they want. In your case update… feel special, here's the update.

NoCareChakara: I didn't think about the cruelty to benches in my story until you reviewed.

LETS ALL HAVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR THE BENCH.

And now it's over.

Mystrivin: NO COME BACK! I LIKE YOU! Ice cream is good too…

Kida-18: I know. I think Mahiru handles things particularly well…

White Alchemist Taya: WE SHALL FIND OUT! Just not now… BUT EVENTUALLY!

Aziza Icefire: Um… please do…

Amara Corbin: I'm so proud of you! You updated!

Ricochet: I can't say your username without thinking of that cartoon Mucha Lucha or some shit like that. RRRIIICCCOOOOCCCHHHETTT!

Haeiklo: REVIEW MORE BIOTCH! And I like people who bow :) they make me giggle.

Yuka Kitsune: MWAHAHA! You must wait. Why? BECAUSE I CONTROL THIS STORY!

PerplexedKiss: I like you. You're very good for the ego. Review more often :)

XxFallenxX: Thank you for your review. I like long reviews a lot. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the 'OMG YOU'RE SO HOT I LOVE YOUR STORY', but long reviews are cooler. And I have to say, yours was the coolest.

There's Beauty in the Breakdown

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Mahiru walked into Akito's room, feeling powerful for not having to knock. She found him lying on his bed, one arm still holding Pear Bear, staring longingly out the window. He greeted her with a nod when she reached his bed, never taking his eyes off the window.

"Wow, I feel special." Mahiru said sarcastically. He didn't react. "Loser." She added.

Still no reaction.

"Oh, by the way, I decided I'm going to go have wild, passionate sex with…Kyo? Yeah, Kyo, the cat. We're going to move to France and open a bakery with the money we make doing exotic dances in the Russian Roulette."

Mahiru gave up. "Hey Akito!" she called into his ear.

"What?" It was the first thing he had said to her.

"What'cha doing?"

"I want to go outside."

"I really don't think that's a good…"

"It's not."

"Well, you seem better." Mahiru walked to the other side of his bed and plopped into the armchair.

Akito smiled grimly "I'm glad I seem that way."

"Well, today I went to a picnic with some of my friends." She wasn't going to tell him about Haru.

He didn't answer, looking past her at the window.

"And now I'm here…"

"Won't Kyo get jealous?"

Okay, maybe she wasn't giving him enough credit.

Mahiru grinned. "So how was your day?"

Wrong question.

Akito didn't answer, instead he scowled, and then turned his head a little to cough into his pillow.

"Hey Akito?" Mahiru mused, and then continued before he could gather enough breath to reply. "Have you ever wanted a pet?"

"I have twelve."

Mahiru frowned. "No, like a real pet. Like a real animal."

"No."

"I've always wanted a bird."

"You would keep a bird in a cage?" Akito looked into her eyes. "And people tell me I'm horrible for keeping tabs on the Jyuunishi."

"Tell me you don't want a pet birdy." Mahiru dropped from the chair and kneeled by the edge of his bed, resting her elbows on it.

"I have one."

"Huh?"

Akito looked out the window "The white one."

Mahiru followed his gaze and saw the bird, sitting on the branch of tree, directly in the line of sight of Akito. "Really?"

"Really. He's tamed." Akito looked up at her. "Go get him."

"How?" Mahiru watched the bird. He was so pretty…

"Go outside and hold out your hand. Be calm." Akito paused to cough again. "When he lands on you, bring him in here."

"Alright." Mahiru stood and walked outside, leaving the shoji doors open behind her. She approached the bird cautiously and held out her hand, crooking her fingers so that the bird would have a place to land "Here birdy birdy birdy." When it actually flew towards her, though, she jumped backwards, resisting the urge to yelp. It took the bird a few minutes to trust her again, finally landing on her hand. Mahiru closed her eyes and cringed, terrified, but dutifully walked back into Akito's room with the bird.

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She looked terrified. Akito smirked. The bird flew off of her hand, causing her to shriek a little, and alighted upon his outstretched finger, the rest of his hand still on the bed. The bird twittered and nipped his hand fondly. People always said that birds weren't the smartest animals, but Akito begged to differ. The bird was always there, never crying at him or begging him. And it came when he called, when he wanted it. He glanced at the girl.

"When are the callbacks?"

She started, then smiled "Oh, they start tomorrow, right after school. I only have to go in two days. Tomorrow and the day after. Then I'm done and they tell me what I am."

"Rehearsals?" He watched the bird fly back out the window.

"Well, that depends on who I get. If I'm ensemble then for three hours, four days a week, but if I'm a character, it varies, but mostly for four hours pretty much every day. The rehearsals are right after school ends."

At that moment he hated her. It was hard enough for him to get through a sentence without coughing. He glared at her, and then looked out the window again.

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Mahiru sighed and sat back down in the arm chair. It was decently comfy. She sighed, and started to doze.

She was rudely awakened by a loud crash, turning quickly and seeing Akito sitting up in bed, livid, one arm outstretched, holding a maid by her throat, the tray of food she had brought into the room spilled across the floor.

Mahiru sighed and stood. Neither the maid nor the God noticed her.

"Get. OUT." Akito spat at the maid, releasing her, letting her crash to the floor.

"That's like your catch phrase, isn't it?" Mahiru went over to the maid and helped her up. "Hi, he's insane. You might want to see Hatori about that." She scowled, taking in the huge black bruise blossoming on the woman's throat. "Can you send someone in with a new tray?"

The bewildered woman nodded and ran out of the room.

"What was that?" the vehemence in Akito's voice cut through her.

"You were attacking a woman who was just doing her job." Mahiru turned and put her hands on her hips, Akito a few inches shorter than her sitting on his bed.

He growled, standing.

She looked at him in amazement. "How…?"

"It's a Curse. Not a disease. It's good, and it's bad. And now I'm fine." He started towards her, one hand grasping her hair and forcing her face up to his "Darling." He pressed his lips fiercely against hers, pushing her bottom teeth into her lip, which started to bleed. Akito flung her away and lay back down, patting the mattress next to him. "Come here."

Mahiru sat down tentatively as Akito relaxed back into his pillows.

"Why did you help her?" He demanded.

"…" Mahiru wasn't exactly sure how to reply. She already knew from experience that reasoning did no good. She flinched when he raised one hand, but it just rested itself on her cheek.

A second maid interrupted them. She handed Mahiru the tray and quickly mopped up the other spilled one. Clearly terrified, she turned and ran out as fast as she could. Mahiru took the spoon, filled it with rice and soup, and shoved it into Akito's mouth before he had time to do anything. He choked, coughing, but swallowed it in surprise. He glared at her, rage evident in his eyes. Mahiru tried to calm him down.

"Remember yesterday I said we could go outside if you did something I wanted to later?" Akito just glared. "Well, I want you to eat."

She filled the spoon again and held it up to his mouth, waiting for him to open it. He didn't.

"Hatori told me your father died two weeks after he stopped eating."

That got his attention. Akito's mouth hung open slightly, enough for Mahiru to shove the food in. He swallowed.

"What did Hatori tell you about my father?" Akito didn't sound angry… more like sad.

"Um… that he was the previous God." Mahiru didn't know anything else about him, except that, according to Ren, he had governed the Jyuunishi 'correctly.'

Akito turned away from her.

"Was he like your mother?" Mahiru asked sympathetically.

Akito shook his head. "Not at all."

"Oh." That must have been harder. A parent who loved you, and a parent who hated you, and the one that loved you dying.

Mahiru wracked her brain for a way to change the subject "Well, you have to eat."

Akito sat up, took the tray from Mahiru, and then slowly ate all of it.

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NOW I DISMISS YOU! GO REVIEW!

I'm watching you.

I know where you live.