Disclaimer: I will not own Fruits Basket until I am a multimillion-dollar author and have paid Natsuki Takaya a lot of money to own it. Feel free to buy Furuba (specifically Haru) for me in the meantime.
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It was a large, rowdy group that made their way down the street on New Year's Eve. Many of them held smiling faces, but a few were noted to be scowling as they walked past the familiar houses. The significant group of sixteen were headed to a New Year's party, one most of them were used to attending every year.
Three new faces took every step with a certain amount of glee, however, whether they showed their happiness or not. Tohru, the most optimistic of the trio, had no trouble revealing her glee as she walked beside her two friends, every so often glancing behind her to make sure Kisa still followed close behind. Uo paid her friends no attention as she was having too much fun irritating Kyo, who was making quite the racquet screaming at her while still trying to force Kagura from his arm. Hana was talking to Tohru, smiling politely, but inwardly looking forward to the visit to the Sohma house. She was already experiencing many strange waves from which she pinpointed to that location, and she was eager to search them out.
Shigure led the group, smiling and laughing as he listened to Ayame. Ayame was speaking to Yuki—whom he had not noticed held his hands over his ears—about the older times of the Mubadachi Trio, making more noise than the rest of them put together. Hatori, the last the trio, was acting as though he were walking down the street alone, paying no mind to anyone, but especially Ayame. The elder brother had been trying to bond with his younger sibling for quite some time, and though Hatori knew his current efforts weren't helping, it made Ayame to feel better to think he'd done something good.
Hiro walked next to Kisa, petulantly noticing how close she remained to Tohru, while still trying to divert her attention to their conversation at the same time. Ritsu was walking behind everyone else, yelling nearly as loudly as Ayame, apologizing first over how loud the snake was yelling, then over how sorry he was at how loud he was yelling. Haru had turned black by this point and was adding on to the racquet by yelling at Ritsu, incessantly screaming at him to shut up. Rin was walking next to Haru in silence, smiling as she watched the road. Momiji was nicely trying to tell Ritsu that he if stopped yelling, most of the yelling would end too, but Ritsu seemed unable to hear the rabbit over everyone else's shouting. Kureno walked beside them, seemingly in his own little world, unable to hear a thing, as he gazed at the blonde girl pulling Kyo's bright orange hair.
Shigure led them into the Sohma grounds, the noise following him, and perhaps a few stares from the Sohmas down the street. He walked down the path laid out that led to the main house. He reached the door and held it open with a bow, ushering them all inside.
"Come now, we mustn't keep Akito waiting!" he said cheerfully. Despite Akito's flaws, she wasn't all that bad. He rather liked her, in fact, and refused to let the other zodiac members' opinions influence him on the matter.
The others eagerly went inside, admiring the different decorations they saw as they passed. They weren't much different than they were every year, but it was the same ritual to make Akito happy. As long as they said everything looked pretty, enjoyed themselves (or at least pretended to), and obeyed her every whim, things went fine.
"Oh, they're so pretty! Who did all of this? It looks amazing!" Tohru eagerly admired.
"Yeah, they're nice," Uo agreed before returning to her irritation of Kyo.
Hana looked at the bright colors with distaste but said nothing.
Ayame and Yuki, who were now at the front, led the way into the largest room of the house, where the food and socializing always happened. Ayame, being too immersed in his reminiscence of the old days, paid no attention to what was inside the room—only to Yuki. It was therefore when Yuki stopped cold in his tracks that Ayame, too, ceased his movement and followed Yuki's gaze.
"AND SO WITH A GREAT AMOUNT OF EFFORT, WE ALL PULLED TOGETHER AND HAULED THE AMAZON GOD UP THE EIGHT-THOUSAND-FOOT CLIFF WITH OUR TWENTY POUND BACKPACKS ON OUR BACKS AND OUR SHOES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MOUNTAIN! IT TOOK US FORTY DAYS AND FORTY NIGHTS TO BRING IT ALL THE WAY UP THE MOUNTAIN, BUT IT WAS WELL WORTH THE EFFORT WHEN THE MONK OF THE TEMPLE BESTOWED UPON US THE—"
It was at this moment Ayame noticed Yuki had ceased movement and was staring fervently at the figure of Akito before them.
The sudden lack of movement from the two in front caused the others to halt as well, peering around to try and see what was the cause. Several gasps and cries of surprise went through the line as each saw what was going on. Kureno and Hatori rushed over to Akito's side. Shigure, who had come in last after holding the door for them all, made his way to the front.
"All right, what's the holdup, now? Did the maid eat half the food again? You'd think after last year she'd have learned—" Shigure stopped dead in his tracks, but then hurried over to Kureno, Hatori, and Akito.
Akito lay unmoving on the ground in the middle of the room, a pool of blood surrounding her that was previously pouring from a head wound. Hatori checked for a pulse, though simply out of procedure. It was quite clear that Akito was dead.
There was a tense silence as everyone anxiously awaited Hatori's verdict. "She's dead."
"I'M SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRY! I SHOULD HAVE BEEN HERE TO HELP AKITO! I COULD HAVE PROTECTED HER SOMEHOW, BUT OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH I KILLED AKITO! BY NOT BEING HERE TO SAVE HER I SENTENCED HER TO HER DEATH! I'M SOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYY! AKITO, PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO SAVE YOUR LIFE! MY OWN SHOULD HAVE BEEN REMOVED IN YOUR PLACE! I DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE, AND HERE YOU HAVE DIED! I'M SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRY!"
Hatori was the one who got up and poked the scurrying Ritsu in the side. Ritsu fell to the ground, and Hatori stared at the monkey with his cold gaze. "Stop yelling. It's no use apologizing to a corpse."
"What do we do?" Kisa asked in a shaky voice.
She was holding onto Hiro, which made him happy and afraid. She wasn't holding on to her stupid "sister", but to him. Now was his time to be her prince! If only these feelings of terror would disappear. He'd never even liked Akito, so why now was he so afraid?
"Hey, a dead body? Is this some kind of New Year's joke?" Uo asked the others.
"No," Hana answered in her misty voice. "There are no waves emanating from that girl. She is truly dead."
"Um, was it just her time?" Tohru asked uncertainly. Uo and Hana would interpret her words wrong, but she hoped someone else of the zodiac would understand.
"No," Hatori answered. "That wound was inflicted by another person."
"But who would do such a thing?" Tohru asked. "That makes it… that makes it murder."
"I'm gettin' outta here," Uo said suddenly, turning away and towards the door. "I could have a happier New Year's back home, and that's saying something."
After a moment, Yuki turned away as well. "I'm not staying here either."
The two headed straight towards the door, Yuki closely behind Uo. She reached for the handle, turned it, and pulled.
"Hey, what's wrong with this thing?" Uo asked, pulling again. The door remained where it was, though it shook with her force upon it. "Why won't it open?"
"It won't open?" Kureno asked in worry, finally leaving Akito's side and going over to the door. Uo moved away and Kureno gave the door a shot, but with the same result. "We're locked in! From the outside!"
"Try a window!" Kyo urged, rushing over to the nearest one. He shoved aside the curtains that hid the outside world from them and paused, staring at what he saw. He backed away slightly, and then turned around, a furious look on his face. "THERE ARE BARS!"
Momiji started crying. "How are we gonna get out of here?"
Kyo bopped Momiji on the head as he passed, which made Momiji's tears fall harder. "Not by whining about it!"
Kagura, who had remained silent this entire time, slowly walked up to Kyo with a pleading look on her face. She grabbed his hand, but he thrust it away. She backed away, hurt by his actions, still silent.
"Stop it, Kagura!" Kyo said. "This is not the time for me to calm down! It's the time for me to find a way out of here!"
"Kyo, calm down." Shigure, who had long been silent himself, left Akito's side. Unnoticed by the others, he had moved her body to a corner of the room, though the blood on the floor still remained. "We'll find a way out of here." His gaze moved to one of his closest friends. "Hatori, you've lived here your whole life. You must know this place better than anyone. How can we get out of here?"
Hatori looked thoughtful while keeping his solemn face. "If you can't get through the doors and windows have bars… we're locked in."
There was a great surge of despair—and for some, a bit of anger—throughout the sixteen. Murmuring and shouting erupted, each person worrying over their fate. If Akito was found dead—clearly murdered—what would happen to them? Would they, too, suffer the same fate?
"I think we all need a leader!" Ayame announced in his impossible-to-miss voice. Everyone quieted to hear what he had to say. "In this dire situation, we need someone who will guide us with a clear head and a firm hand! I nominate myself, of course, to help us all through these troubled times!"
Shigure cheered.
"LIKE HELL WOULD WE VOTE FOR YOU!" Kyo snapped.
"Must you always yell, stupid cat?" Yuki asked, glaring sideways at him. "I'm getting a headache just listening to you."
"YEAH, WELL LISTENING TO YOU MAKES ME WANT TO VOMIT, YA DAMN RAT!"
"Then go do it already. At least something else would be spewing out of your mouth rather than this useless chatter."
"YOU TRYING TO PICK A FIGHT?"
"Ah, shut up, both of you," Uo said, punching Kyo on his cheek, though rather softly for a punch.
Kyo stumbled and felt a vein throbbing. "YOU TRYING TO START SOMETHING, YANKEE?"
"Dammit, I thought I said to shut up!" Uo seethed.
"WHY'S EVERYONE TRYING TO TELL ME—"
"DAMMIT, SHUT UP!" Uo, catching Kyo off guard in the middle of his sentence, swung her fist up and hit Kyo square in the nose.
"OH, NOW YOU'RE GOING DOWN, YANKEE!" Kyo threatened from the floor, standing up. He brought his fist up, but it was suddenly grabbed from behind. He looked behind him with a furious glare to see who was holding him back. "WHY YOU LITTLE PUNK!"
Haru stared at the floor for a few moments, and when he lifted his head, a smirk was placed mockingly on his face. "Kyo, it's not nice to hit girls."
"Then I guess I shouldn't hit you, huh?" Kyo asked, smirking, Haru's contemptuous tone calming him down while angering him at the same time.
"I'm going to bed," Hatori said dismissively, removing his glasses and walked away from the fight.
"Ooh, Hatori, let me join you!" Ayame eagerly suggested.
Hatori paused only in the slightest to give Ayame his answer. "No."
Tohru, Uo, and Hana watched the fight in a corner of the room, Kisa clinging to Tohru and Hiro not far away. Tohru had tried to stop them earlier, but Uo had told her to "let them sort out their own damn problems." She therefore worriedly watched as Haru and Kyo went at it. Uo seemed to find some sort of pleasure in this, laughing and making comments to no one in particular. Hana seemed only in the slightest worried about them, but for the most part seemed rather bored with the situation. She kept looking at the others in the room with a rather piercing gaze, almost as if seeing straight into their souls.
Kisa barely moved from her spot, clutching to the bottom of Tohru's skirt. She watched them with fear on her faces, not liking it when they fought. Hiro watched with his arms folded, a more bored expression plastered on his face than Hana. He occasionally made sarcastic remarks to Kisa, but he wasn't sure she heard him, and that further agitated him.
Rin was watching, and she too looked highly uninterested, leaning lazily against the wall. Ritsu seemed torn between urging them to stop fighting and getting into the middle of the fight he so desperately wanted to cease. Momiji seemed completely unaware of what was going on, happily sucking on a lollipop. Yuki was leaning against the counter in a bored fashion, though watching the fight carefully. Kagura was standing as close to the fight as she dared, enthusiastically cheering Kyo on. Kureno was standing away from the fight, letting his eyes wander over those in the room, though Hana dually noted that his eyes often landed on Uo.
As Ayame rejoined Shigure, the dog murmured, "At least it's not my house."
"They do seem to fight a lot, don't they?" Ayame said.
"Yes," Shigure agreed. "Kyo and Black Haru are always fighting, but Kyo and Yuki are getting along much better now."
"Are they now? I was sure that when they were arguing Yuki was going to punch him any moment."
"Oh, no," Shigure said. "That was just their usual bickering. It rarely goes farther than that anymore."
"Really?" Ayame asked, though it didn't sound like a question as his eyes trailed to Tohru. "She truly is a miracle worker."
"Not getting jealous of my little housewife, are you?" Shigure asked playfully.
"Oh, but I think I am!"
"Isn't she just the cutest little thing?"
"I don't suppose I could buy her off you?"
"Not a chance! But even if I did let you, I don't think Yuki and Kyo would allow me."
"Yes, I can tell they have grown rather attached to her. Of course, if she was living in my house, I would too!"
"You act like two perverted old men," said a voice to their right. The two looked over, surprised to see Uo listening. She lazily held her hands behind her head, as though she were under arrest, eyeing the two that had been speaking. "You just keep in mind that if you hurt Tohru at all, I'll beat you and she'll kill you." She pointed behind her where Hana was watching with an unfaltering stare.
The two froze slightly.
"You've nothing to worry about!" Shigure assured quickly.
"Yes, nothing at all! It's not like we would hurt Tohru or anything!" Ayame agreed.
"For your sakes, I hope not," Uo warned. She stretched a bit. "Well, I think I'm gonna go find the bath around this place. See ya 'round."
Hiro, who was now immensely vexed with Kisa's lack of interest in him, gently tugged on her sleeve. "Kisa, let's go in there." He pointed to the room to his left, next to the kitchen, where there were seated many couches and chairs that looked rather inviting.
Kisa nodded and tugged on Tohru's skirt to get her attention. "Sissy, let's go in there."
Tohru looked to where Kisa was pointing and then smiled down at the girl. "Okay. Hana, let's go."
The four walked inside, Hana taking a seat in the navy blue chair. Tohru sat on the end of a paler couch, where Kisa immediately sat next to her. Hiro sat next to Kisa, though rather disdainfully, for he was on the same couch as "that woman." Tohru was about to strike up conversation when Yuki followed them through the door, politely asking if he could join them. Hiro was about to tell him otherwise, but Tohru told him he was welcome to join them.
"I hope I didn't interrupt anything," Yuki apologized as he took a seat across from them.
"No, not at all!" Tohru said. "I was just about to ask everyone what they wanted for breakfast, since we're probably going to be here in the morning."
"Oh, Tohru, how kind of you!"
Yuki tried not to scream in agony. It was that voice.
"Really, allow me to help you, won't you?" Ayame was already at her side, holding her hand and looking deep into her eyes in a pleading manner. "I simply cannot let you cook for us all alone!"
"O-oh, well, that's, um, very kind of you, but you really don't—" Tohru was stopped.
"No, don't say it!" Ayame said dramatically, dropping her hand and walking away to the barred window, staring out it while speaking. "It's been my dream to help you in the kitchen, Tohru, to lighten your burden of feeding us all! But no, if it's what you want, you may cast my dearest dream in oblivion! Really, it's all right."
"Oh, no!" Tohru said, suddenly horrified. "I couldn't do that! It's okay if you want to help, I just didn't want to put you through all the—!"
"Oh, thank you, Tohru!" Ayame was back at her side, grasping her hand again. "With this one last wish granted, I could die in—Yuki, what are you doing? You like me so much you must steal me away? Getting jealous, are we? Oh, this is all too wonderful!"
Yuki's vein was throbbing as he grabbed Ayame's arm with a vice-like grip. "I don't know what you're up to, but it can't be good."
"Are they always like that?" Hana asked once the two brothers were out of the room.
Tohru sweat dropped. "Yes, most of the time."
"So, what, don't we get an opinion?" Hiro asked, glaring over at her. Tohru looked at him, confusion in her eyes. "Don't tell me you've forgotten already. You just asked us a question before that stupid snake entered the room, and now you're telling me you don't want an answer? Why ask if you don't care? I can't stand such insensible people!"
Tohru, who by this point was getting highly flustered again, was unable to say anything in reply because Kisa looked at Hiro sadly and said, "Hiro."
His name, as long as it was from her, was enough to calm him down. He stared at Kisa for a moment, but would lose a stare-down from her any day. He turned away, his nose in the air. "I like eggs."
"Or bacon!" Kisa, now happy again, added. "Could we have bacon, Sissy?"
Kagura, who had just entered the room, froze and slowly began backing away. Tohru laughed. "Of course! Kagura, please come talk with us!"
The boar cautiously took a seat, but managed to form a smile. "What did I interrupt?"
"Kisa and Hiro were telling me what they wanted for breakfast!" Tohru said. "What do you and Hana want?"
"Not bacon," Kagura said bluntly, but leaving it at that.
"Whatever you make I'm sure will be wonderful," Hana said encouragingly.
"Hmm…" Tohru said thoughtfully. "Maybe we can have bacon, Kagura just doesn't have to eat it!"
"Okay!" Kisa and Kagura said simultaneously.
In precise timing, Kureno and Momiji walked in.
"Tohru! There you are!" Momiji greeted happily. He bounced over to the brunette and hugged her. "I missed you!"
Though they had only been apart for a couple minutes, Tohru eagerly agreed. "I missed you too!"
"I don't suppose you've seen Miss Uotani?" Kureno asked in his quiet voice.
Tohru shook her head. "I think she said she was going to take a bath."
Hana nodded, confirming the statement.
"Oh," Kureno said sadly, turning and starting to walk out of the room again.
"Oh, wait!" Tohru said. "What do you want to eat tomorrow?"
Kureno paused at the door and turned to look at her. "For breakfast, lunch, or dinner?"
"Oh, um… all of them, I guess!" Tohru said, not knowing when she would next see Kureno to ask him.
"Can we have chicken for dinner?" Momiji asked eagerly as he went and sat down on another couch.
Kureno shook his head. "We can't. I'm allergic to chicken." He shuddered. "I doubt I would eat it anyway. Too close."
Kagura nodded in understanding.
Kureno mulled over the possibilities of the question Tohru had asked him for a moment. "Breakfast, pancakes; lunch, miso; dinner, rice."
"Okay, thanks!" Tohru made a mental note of his answer as he walked out of the room.
"Miso sounds good for lunch," Hana agreed.
"Yes, but Kyo won't like it," Tohru said pensively. "He hates miso."
"Who cares about the cat, anyway?" Hiro asked.
There was suddenly a glint of pink at the door, and then it was gone. Tohru, whose eyes had just passed over it, turned quickly to give it a second glance, but saw nothing. She stared hard, as though her eyes were deceiving her, and then, ever so slowly, golden-brown hair appeared around the edge again.
Ritsu, dismayed at being caught, hid behind the door as soon as he met Tohru's eyes. After a moment, he stepped forward so he was in the door, looking very nervous at his intrusion.
"I'm sorry to disrupt you, but I was wondering if I could—?"
"Ritsu, you're in the way."
"OH, I'M SO SORRY! HOW SELFISH OF ME TO BE STANDING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DOORWAY! I'M SUCH A SELFISH PERSON, EVEN ALLOWING MY EXISTANCE ON THIS PLANET! I'M SORRY WORLD FOR MY TRANSGRESSIONS HERE AT THIS DOOR BY BEING IN SHIGURE'S WAY! I'M SUCH A NUISANCE! EVERYTHING I DO IS WRONG! I'M SOR—!" He fell to the floor at Shigure's poke in his side.
"Good evening everyone!" Shigure greeted cheerfully. "The fight got boring, so I decided to join you all!"
"The fight's been boring," Hiro muttered.
Hana gave Shigure a cold stare, and it made the dog hurry over towards Tohru. "So, Tohru, what did I miss?"
"We were just discussing what we're going to eat tomorrow!" Tohru said.
"Oh, that sounds wonderful!" Shigure, who enjoyed talking about food almost as much as talking about himself, immediately took a chair. "Well, I like rice and miso and chicken fried rice and sweet and sour pork and…"
Kagura's face paled again, and she, Hana, and Hiro stopped paying attention to Shigure at this point. It was then to their relief that a great multitude of people began piling into the room, and Shigure stopped his naming off of foods. Tohru decided that Shigure would eat basically anything.
"Hello!" Tohru greeted to those who had entered, which was almost everyone. "Where are Kyo and Haru?"
"Getting a drink," Rin answered, giving Tohru a cold look.
"We're missing someone else, too," Yuki said. "I know Hatori went to sleep, but where is Miss Uotani?"
"She's taking a bath," Tohru said. "Though she usually does take quick baths. I wonder what could be keeping her. I'll go check on her."
Tohru left, to Kisa's discontent, leaving the others in the room to their own methods of entertainment. She took a left at the door and walked into the kitchen, greeting Kyo and Haru.
"Hello! I hope you two are okay now?" Tohru asked.
"Yeah," Haru said vaguely.
"We're fine," Kyo agreed, chugging a glass of water. "Where are you off to?"
"I have to find Uo," Tohru said. "She's taking a bath, and she should've been out by now."
"Down that way," Haru instructed, pointing to the kitchen's other exit, where there was a long hallway with many doors leading off to unknown places. "Bathroom's fourth door on the left."
"Thank you!" Tohru said, walking past them and into the hallway. She walked down the hall, forgetting to turn on the light switch. She could see the light seeping under the bathroom door, and could still hear the bath running. How much water did Uo need?
Just before she reached the door, she heard a splash under her feet. Tohru looked down in surprise. Water was flowing through the bottom of the door, a very strange color water too. Tohru, getting severely worried that Uo would let the bath overflow, knocked firmly.
"Uo? Uo, are you okay?"
No response. Tohru hesitantly touched the doorknob and turned it slightly to discover that it was unlocked. That, too, was strange. Tohru carefully opened the door a few inches while staying outside.
"Uo?"
When she still received no response, Tohru stuck her head inside. The room was steamy, the mirror's fogged, clear signs that the still-running water was hot. On the floor were Uo's shirt and a handkerchief, but that was all. Running her eyes a little further to the bathtub, Tohru looked at Uo, lying inside.
She screamed.
---
There was a moment in the room, which now included everyone but Hatori, Tohru, and Uo, where no one reacted to the scream they heard. Then suddenly, as one, Hana, Kyo, and Yuki stood and dashed out of the room. They were soon followed by the others nearest the door until everyone was out. By the time Ritsu, the last person, had left the room, Hana, Kyo, and Yuki were already with Tohru. The brunette was slumped against the bathroom door, bloody water sliding through her fingers.
"Tohru, what happened?" Hana knelt by her side while Kyo was on her other.
Tohru just shook her head, her fingers covering her face, though they were wide apart, leaving room so that the others could see her haunted eyes.
Kyo, furious at not knowing what had upset Tohru so much, put his hand on the door.
"NO!" Tohru shouted, hearing his hand hit the handle. Hers suddenly grasped his wrist, that terrified look still in her eyes. "You can't go in there…"
"Tohru," Hana said seriously, grabbing Tohru's hand and trying to pull it off Kyo. Tohru held on with all her might, and eventually Hana had to rip the girl's hand away. "Tohru, what happened? Answer me!"
Tohru shook her head. "No…"
"Tohru, I need to know! Is it Uo? Where is she, Tohru?"
Tohru's eyes widened, and the fear was much more obvious than it had been before. Hana stood up and slowly looked around the house, as though seeing through the walls.
"I don't sense her waves anywhere."
"That's it!" Kyo said, turning the doorknob. "I don't know what scared you so bad, but it can't be all that—!"
The door had revealed the horror behind it. The strange-colored water was a murky red because it was mixed with Uo's blood. The girl lay in the bathtub, the blood red water over her head.
Hana's eyes widened, and the same fear that had engulfed Tohru now consumed her. "U-Uo…"
"She… she's dead," Kyo managed.
Word spread down the line, which went all the way into the kitchen. Someone was dead! That friend of Tohru's—Uotani! She was dead!
"Who did this?" Hana's voice was not her own, and an ominous wind swept through the hallway, blowing Hana's long, wavy hair in an eerie fashion. "Who killed her?"
No! Control it! Control it! Uo's dead. Control! Someone killed her. You can do it! She was murdered.
No one answered. Hana's piercing gaze swept through them all, a wind going through their very souls. Which one of them did it? Which one's waves seemed so triumphant—? She would kill them! Kill them! They should die! Die for killing Uo! Die for hurting Tohru! Die for hurting herself! Die! DIE! They needed to—!
"Hana?"
Tohru's quiet voice reached Hana's ears.
"Hana, please stop."
The wind ceased as Hana was snapped from her trance, and her sincere gaze turned downwards to Tohru, who was on her knees, facing the floor.
"Tohru." Tohru didn't move. "I'm sorry." Hana collapsed next to her friend and embraced her, tears falling.
Hatori, whose room had been beyond the bathroom, emerged and swept past them into the room Uo was lying in. He didn't even flinch as he saw the scene, but quickly grabbed a towel—a white one, as it were—and draped it around the corpse. He lifted her from the tub, ignoring how wet his clothes were getting.
"Kureno, go ready Akito's room."
"But Hatori—" Kureno began, somewhere just behind Kyo.
"Go do it now."
After a moment's hesitation, Kureno made his way past Kyo and Yuki and beyond the bathroom once again, somewhere towards the back of the hallway where Hatori's room was. Kyo and Yuki moved aside so that Hatori could leave the bathroom. He paused slightly, seeing as Tohru and Hana made no such movements, but managed to side step them and continue down the hallway to the last room on the right, where Akito had once dwelled. Kureno had already pulled back the sheets, and Hatori quickly laid the girl down on them. Without needing to be told, Kureno pulled the sheet over the blonde girl.
Hatori immediately stood up and left the room. Kureno hesitated a moment by the corpse, but then stood up and followed Hatori wordlessly, letting not a single emotion show through him.
Tohru and Hana had stood up now and were still crying, though seemed to be trying to compose themselves. Hatori was already speaking to the group.
"As you can see, Miss Uotani has been murdered. Akito was also, undoubtedly, murdered here as well. Unless there is someone else in this house, one of us is a killer." As several suspicious glances were thrown about, Hatori grabbed their attention again. "I don't want anyone accusing anyone of anything. Not now, unless you have some proof, at which you'd better speak up now."
No one spoke.
"Feel free to stay up and talk with one another, but be cautious of what you say. I'm going back to bed. I'll think clearer in the morning."
He turned around and walked straight to his room, shutting the door behind him. There was such silence that they could hear the springs on his bed as he crawled into it. They looked at one another.
"I'm going to bed, too," Kyo said, though he knew damn well he wouldn't be sleeping. He just wanted to get away. "I think better in the morning. Better claim a room if you want one," he warned, walking into a spare bedroom next to the bathroom. Before he shut the door, he added, "And I'm not cleaning that up."
"Stupid cat," Yuki muttered as the door closed. "Just like him, not to take any responsibility."
"Well, he wasn't responsible," Kagura reminded Yuki.
"Or so we think."
"Don't even start, Yuki," Shigure said sternly. "Hatori said not to accuse anyone."
"Well what are we going to sit around and talk about?" Yuki asked. "The weather? Two people have just been murdered in this house, and we're trapped inside it! Don't you see, Shigure? More of us are going to die! We'll all just sit in a room in silence staring at each other, wondering which of us is a killer!"
There was a pause. "Yuki, you're much too serious!" Ayame shoved anyone in front of him aside and pulled Yuki into a hug. "Do try and lighten up, my dear brother! No one else is going to die!"
"Get away from me!" Yuki snapped, jerking out of his brother's grip. "For all I know, you're a murderer of two people!" He paused, expecting some sort of verbal response from Ayame. Instead the elder brother looked immensely hurt. Yuki waited impatiently for Ayame to say something—Ayame never had nothing to say—but nothing came from his lips. Unable to stand it any longer, Yuki said, "I'm going to bed too."
Tohru whimpered into Hana's shoulder as Yuki slammed the door.
There was more silence, and finally Ayame took heavy steps down the hallway. Several thought he was going to confront his younger brother, but instead he opened the door next to Yuki's and stepped inside, closing the door silently behind him.
"Hiro," Kisa was tugging on Hiro's sleeve. Sissy was in her own pain right now. "I'm scared."
Here had come his moment to shine. Hiro began leading Kisa down the seemingly endless hallway. "Come on, Kisa, let's go to bed. Don't worry. I'll protect you."
He took her into the room next to Hatori's and entered it with her. Just before the door closed, they could hear one last thing.
"Hiro, you promise?"
There was a pause where Hiro smiled. "I promise."
The door shut.
Kureno, uncertain what to do, muttered his goodbye to everyone. "Hiro will want the room next to Kisa. Night." He disappeared into his own room, next to the furious Yuki.
There was another pause where all they could hear were the sniffles of two girls.
"I'm going to check on Ayaa," Shigure said, carefully walking over to the room Ayame had chosen and entering without a knock. There was some kind of sound from Ayame that indicated surprise, but the door shut and they could hear no more.
"We're going to bed too," Haru said, indicating himself and Rin. They took two of the rooms before the bathroom, hands locked. When they reached their doors, they allowed their fingers to interlace as long as possible before retracting their hands so they could shut the doors.
Momiji seemed torn between speaking with Tohru and walking away. After several moments of contemplation, he decided to choose walking away, not seeing how he could help her. He took the room opposite of Haru, which was apparently his own, and shut the door as quietly as he could behind him.
Kagura also seemed torn between what to do. She wanted to help Tohru, but wasn't sure how. In the end she settled on walking up to her friend and hugging her, even hugging Hana, whom she did not really know. Then she walked back to where she had just been, and into the room across from Rin. There was nothing more she could do for Tohru now.
Ritsu, the last of the Sohmas to remain outside their room, hesitantly made his way towards Tohru and Hana. He nervously tucked some hair behind his ear and murmured, "Tohru?"
Forcing herself to find some kind of strength, Tohru managed to lift her head to look at Ritsu.
For the first time in his life without screaming, Ritsu said, "I'm sorry."
Tohru's head fell back to Hana's shoulder as the tears that had temporarily ceased were let loose again. Ritsu's head dropped so that he watched the floor the entire way back to his room, leaving Tohru and Hana to their pain.
Eventually the two did leave the hallway, for Tohru realized they might be keeping others awake. The two rooms nearest the bathroom had been left vacant for them, whether by courtesy or curse. The two wiped their tears away as they shut their doors and collapsed into bed. They had to be strong. Uo would want them to be strong. But even her name brought tears to their eyes. How were they supposed to be strong through so much pain?
Arisa Uotani, the best friend of Saki Hanajima and Tohru Honda, was dead.
The murderer, somewhere amidst that hallway, hidden deep in one of the rooms, smirked to themselves. Akito had had to die. She was driving them insane. And the thrill of killing her… it had driven them to the most bizarre idea to kill the others too. Killing the Uotani girl was so fun. The thought made them lust for the thrill of murder again. They were quite delighted that she was only the first, the first of many in Sohma house to die.