Taking a deep breath, Tohru stepped over the threshold of the towering iron gate, trying desperately to swallow up all of her fear, hoping beyond all hopes that her emotions were not expressed clearly upon her face. She shuffled timidly in, away from the safety of the street now behind her, and entered the estate.
"Well, hello, Tohru-San." His voice was smooth and cold, though not cold in a foreboding sense. Tohru spun around to view a tall, lanky man clad in a black suit. He leaned casually against the brick wall that enclosed the estate, straightening slightly as Tohru looked him over. His straight, auburn hair was cut fairly short, no longer then Kyo's or Yuki's in length. His eyes were a dark brown color, and surprisingly blank of emotion. It took a few moments before Tohru could recognize the man standing before her, and when she did, she gave him as warm a smile as she possibly could.
"Oh, hello, Kureno-San." Her greeting to the zodiac member (as Kureno was the year of the Rooster) was cut short as Kureno pushed himself off of the wall he had previously occupied and strode towards her, until he was standing mere inches away from Tohru. He cupped one hand on her shoulder, and leaned down, his lips brushing against her ear. To a bystander, this would appear to be a lover's modest embrace, and Tohru blushed, trying to back away a step, unsure of the older man's intent.
"Does Hatori know you are here, or why you have come?" His whisper was near inaudible, and Tohru had to strain to hear him properly. Her eyes widened, shaking her head slowly before Kureno continued.
"Shigure? Kyo? Anyone?" Again, Tohru shook her head.
"I-I- I didn't want them to… To w-worry." She managed to stammer out, entirely unnerved by Kureno's questioning.
Kureno nodded his head slightly, straightening in a clearly business-like manner. "Well, then, we mustn't keep Akito waiting. Follow me." Before removing his hand, the Year-of-the-Rooster male squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. Without warning, he took off, his long legs carrying him so quickly that Tohru had to jog to keep up with him. Veering off to the right, the Zodiac member led Tohru through a labyrinth of variously sized buildings, Tohru silently trying to decipher the houses and living quarters from the offices.
He began to slow, drawing near to one of the larger buildings Tohru had seen thus far. It was in the very heart of the Sohma estate, and yet it seemed to be isolated from everything else. It had an air about it, one of fear and a foreboding disdain. This was where Akito resided; it was Tohru's destination.
Throughout their journey to this building, the young woman's confidence had been slowly ebbing away from her, and now left her all together. Kureno stepped onto the hardwood hallway surrounding a beautifully made courtyard, roughly giving Tohru a hand. She took it willingly, grateful for Kureno's presence, else she might have ran and never returned.
Kureno, too, seemed to be anxious. He fidgeted as he led Tohru to one of the rooms at the end of the hallway. Stopping abruptly at the last door, he turned to face her, a grave expression etched into his face. It was as if he was silently screaming for her to turn back, though never letting a sound escape his lips. Kneeling down on the ground, he slid open the paper screen door slowly. When it was fully open, he stood, helped Tohru out of her shoes, and led her inside. She chewed her lip nervously, smoothing her honey-colored locks as she analyzed the room. It was bare of all furniture but for a few large vases and pillows to sit on. The tatami mats on the floor had a musty smell to them, and they frayed in places. There was one window in the far recesses of the room, and there stood Akito, looking dazed and ill. He was clad in a violet robe that was far too large for him, and his black hair hung limply around his face.
Kureno stood by the door, silently indicating for Tohru to sit on one of the large, black pillows. She kneeled, sitting awkwardly on her knees as fear took hold of her. She looked back to where Kureno had stood, hoping to find an encouraging glance of some sort, only to see that he had gone.
Breathing slowly, trying to sustain any calmness she had left, Tohru looked up at Akito, hoping that he wasn't looking at her. He was. The dull look of illness that had previously occupied his eyes had been replaced with a passionate hate, a mixture of anger and controlled calm animating his sullen face. Akito penetrated Tohru with his piercing eyes, as though he knew everything she was about to say even before she said it.
Pushing himself off of the windowsill, Akito stood shakily, his robe falling loosely past his shoulder. Taking a step towards the very nearly terrified girl before him, he smiled weakly, as if this would console her. Slowly, Akito stepped delicately towards Tohru, no sounds emanating from him but the dull whisper of his robes as he moved. Tohru found it was easier to look at the ground, focusing on Akito's hidden feet than it was at his face, so she did. It had taken nearly a minute for Akito to cross the small room, stopping only when he was inches away from Tohru. Not willing to join Tohru in the kneeling position on the floor, he remained standing, towering over her in height. Leaning slightly, he grasped Tohru's chin in his delicate hand and drew her face upwards until she was gazing up at him at an almost complete vertical angle.
"I believe that I know why you have come to see me, Ms. Honda." His voice sounded fragile and soft, and whether or not he was whispering or if the low volume of his voice was because he was weak, Tohru couldn't tell.
"O-oh… y-you do?" She managed to stammer out. Finding no way to avoid looking at him, Tohru fixed her gaze on Akito's cheek, anything to distract herself from looking into his eyes.
"Yes, I believe I do. It is quite obvious; one so dim as you could not be counted on to come up with much better, even when something, someone so precious to you is on the line. Would you like to know what I think of your planned compromise, Ms. Honda?"
Akito had not yet released Tohru's face from his hands, and with each increasing moment, the force he held her with gained in strength. Tohru winced, trying not to show the eminent pain she was feeling. "I… I would like to know… w-what you think, please."
By this time, Akito was kneeling next to Tohru, their faces inches apart. Still, Akito held Tohru's face, her cheeks cupped in his frigidly cold hands. Tohru winced; unnerved at the feeling of Akito's breath on her skin and of his hands holding her face so tightly she guessed she would bruise. Without warning, the small man released Tohru, his hands flying away from her as if she had turned to hot coals. The look on his face was one of disgust, and he looked upon her with wretched disdain.
"I think that you are a worthless little slut! How many times must I tell you to stay away from us? From all of us? You know you'll never do anything but hurt him. By staying with him and showing him kindness that he should never have received, you've given him hope! Hope! What a wretched thing. How do you think he will feel, when suddenly he has nothing. He'll hate you, Tohru. He'll hate you…"
Now in a state of blinded fury, Akito's hands scrabbled about aimlessly on the floor, searching for something… anything he could use to follow through with his initial intent. Just looking at Tohru, a fiery, passionate hate welled up inside his belly, making him feel lightheaded and slightly senile. The anger ate away at him until it consumed him completely, turning him into some kind of feral animal. This is what always happened when he had an encounter with the younger girl, and, fortunately for him, she had come to him, without anyone here to stop him form hurting her. Akito would have loved nothing more then to bludgeon Tohru, to make her beg for his forgiveness. The crazed adolescent's hands finally closed on something, one of the flower-filled vases in the corner of the room. In a flurry of blind, manipulating fury, Akito stood and flung the vase straight at Tohru.
Tohru was knocked backwards, the vase shattering as it struck her shoulder and collarbone. Dirty, gritty water and shards of glass were catapulted all over the room, leaving tiny scratches and cuts all over Tohru's small body. Akito stood, mixed pleasure and shock at what he had done etched into his facial expression. Flailing his hands about like a mad man, he shrieked loudly, the pitch of his voice matching that of a woman's. "Look what you've done now, you stupid, stupid bitch!"
Tohru backed away from the scene, holding a quivering hand out in front of her eyes. Crimson was streaked across her palm and fingertips, the aftermath of Akito's attack. Where the blood had arisen from, Tohru was not aware. She could not feel the pain where glass vase had met bone, nor could she feel the places where shattered pottery had broken her skin. She was numb, a devouring feeling that began at her heart and fanned out until it reached her toes.
She looked away from her hand, now backed firmly against a dank wall, only to see Akito rushing at her. He had something in his hand, something she could not see until it was raised above his head. In one swift movement, Tohru felt a white hot pain explode inside her, blinding her momentarily as her world went black. Her body crumpled, and she collapsed, completely oblivious in her unconscious state to the shouts and shrieks that were going on about her.
'I'm sorry. I tried.'