Author's Note: Remember that since I write this a while ago and since it's based mostly on the anime, some things are different in reference to Akito's predecessor. If you know all the Fruits Basket spoilers, that was for you. If not, disregard this message.
Chapter 8 (Soul Searching)
After Kita left the room, Akito walked indolently back over to the heater and sat next to it. The cold, January air was hazardous to his health so the best thing to do was stay warm. Kureno stood over by the door, waiting for some sort of instruction since he hadn't been given anything to do yet today.
"I'm bored." Akito complained, laying down and tracing patterns on the floor with his fingers. Kureno didn't really know how to respond to such a statement.
"Are you hungry?" Kureno asked. "You haven't eaten in a while and it would probably be good to build up your immunities."
Akito sighed like he was frustrated and sat up. "What's the point?" he asked, languidly. "You can't fight the inevitable."
Kureno looked down at the floor. It was always difficult to find something to say after Akito casually mentions how he is so close to death. On top of that, it's a pretty tedious effort to try to figure out how Akito feels about his fate considering that he has a very nonchalant attitude about it most days. Kureno considered mentioning that he might want to be around longer to be with Kita since living for the juunishi didn't seem to matter to him much as long as they're with him during his life but decided against it. Fighting with Akito always led to either bloodshed or nothing at all.
"Does Kita know?" he asked curiously. Maybe she could get him to take better care of himself. He won't always listen to him but he might listen to her. It's unlikely but possible.
"No." Akito said, staring out the window. The bird feeder had been moved outside onto his porch and he was watching two small doves take long drinks from it, knowing that it may be a while before they find another feeder to nourish their weak bodies. "And I don't want her to know, not yet anyway. I plan to tell her when she has to know." he said cryptically.
That Kita can be a bit of a mystery herself, he thought watching the now spirited birds fly off together. Then an idea for something to occupy his time popped into his head.
"You are dismissed." he said, smirking at Kureno and waving his hand towards the door.
Kureno bowed and left the room, a bit unsure and worried about Akito's motives. Once he was out of sight, Akito stood up and walked out, peering down the hallway. Kureno took a right after leaving the room and walked down the hall. Akito was pleased that he would be able to infiltrate Kita's space in private.
He opened the door to her room and was surprised to see that it hadn't changed since she had been unpacking her things on move-in day.
On her nightstand the tiger lilies resided in a blue mosaic vase in the center of the stand. They will need to be replaced in a few days, he noted touching one of the dying petals. I'll tell Kureno to get a servant to do it the next time I see him.
He picked up and inspected the various bottles on her nightstand, the fact that she didn't have any visual markings from three days ago now making sense. She covers things up, he thought. Not only is she a verbal liar but she's also good at hiding things. What a little devil I have on my hands.
He put down the bottles and picked up her onyx-beaded silver necklace which had been in front of the bottles and ran his fingers over the black beads. The necklace and matching earrings were the only jewelry she had brought with her. They must be special.
Then he opened the nightstand's drawer. His original intention when he entered her room was just to examine what was conspicuous and not to delve any deeper but once he was surrounded by her secrets he realized that he wanted to know all of them, privacy be damned.
The only thing inside the drawer was a cell phone and a charger for it. He picked up the tiny, silver phone and turned it on, surprised to find that it was still in working order. Another note to Kureno, he thought searching through the phone to find her number; make sure to start getting the house to pay for her cell phone bill.
He knew she didn't have an after school job and he was sure her father hadn't left her with loads of inheritance money but he liked the idea of her having a cell phone. It meant that if she were to try to get away, she could always be tracked down somehow.
He found the number, memorized it, and then opened her address book to see who she talks to. A short list appeared on the screen: Dad, Hatori, Home, Hoshiko, Main House, Raidon, and Shigure; that was it. Akito turned off the phone and put it back in the drawer, a little surprised that there hadn't been more numbers in the database. He also wondered how she had the number to the main house but assumed Kureno had given it to her when she moved in.
On the bottom part of the nightstand, there was a CD player and a bottle of water. The bottle was half frozen and on top of a paper towel to catch the dripping condensation. Why does she need that by her bed, he wondered. Maybe she has a problem with staying hydrated.
He decided that the bottle wasn't important and instead sat down on her bed and ran his hand over the sheets. They were just the right kind of material. Akito smirked to himself, thinking about the various uses for such a large, soft bed. Hopefully I'll get to enjoy the comforts of this bed some time soon, he thought.
He deliberately got off her bed to keep himself from getting overly quixotic and walked over to her bookshelf which seemed to be the center for her self-expression. The books that had been put there before she moved in had yet to be touched. He assumed it was because she had been too depressed to read.
Underneath those books, on the next shelf, were Kita's CDs and movies. The CDs all had very unique cover art and the movies were mostly dubbed films with an anime movie or two thrown in. Akito wasn't familiar with popular music or movies so he didn't really learn anything about her from them. On the other side of the shelf was a picture of Kita and two other people. He picked up the frame and affectionately ran his thumb along the side of Kita's smiling face. He didn't recognize the two other people in the picture and that bothered him. The girl to Kita's left bared an annoyingly close resemblance to Rin or even...Ren, except that her hair only fell to her shoulder. The boy on Kita's right possessed a certain quality that, in Akito's mind, was reminiscent of Hatsuharu. Thinking back to her cell phone he assumed these people were Hoshiko and Raidon. One more thing to tell Kureno, he thought. Get him to find out more about these two people.
Her own books were lined up on the shelf below it. There was a pretty wide variety, with a lot of novels, a couple shojo manga books, and a book on the Western and Chinese Zodiac. Akito examined the cover of the book and laughed to himself at the irony of her bringing such a book into Sohma house. He didn't know too much about Western astrology, it was inferior to its rival anyway, but, out of curiosity, he opened it up and found Kita's birthday, February twenty-eighth. It said she was a Pisces and that she was compatible with other water signs like Cancer and Scorpio. Akito is a Cancer.
Happy with that answer, he closed the book and put it back on the shelf. Next to the books, he saw another framed photograph. This one was of Mina and a man who had purple tinted hair like Kita's only it was darker than hers. They were smiling together and leaning against a railing in front of a lake with the sun setting behind them looking like the prototype for the perfect couple. Akito had heard stories about how the God before him had been in love with Mina and how Kita's father had stolen her away from him. There's no way I will let Kita get away from me like that, Akito thought furiously, turning away from the bookshelf and walking over to the dresser.
He opened her drawers and started rummaging through her clothes. There were skirts, pants, shirts, scarves, belts, and other things that would make Kita embarrassed if she knew he had been looking at them. The articles of clothing were mostly cool colors, reds, and some black pieces with patterns or just solid colors; she likes to layer her clothes usually. Akito was surprised to find that she didn't have any nice dresses or kimonos. Maybe they're in her closet, he thought.
He slid open the closet door but there was nothing inside except a few extra pillows and an extra blanket that had been put in there before she moved in. She must not know there's a closet in here, he thought. It's hard to tell that this was a closet because the opening to it matches the wall panels perfectly. If I hadn't had closely studied the room before Kita moved in, I wouldn't have known it was here either.
"Akito, what are you doing?" Kureno asked from the doorway. It was clear that he had been looking through her room but Kureno knew better than to accuse him.
"Trying to learn more about my little Kita." he said, smirking and closing the closet door. "I have a few jobs for you today, Kureno."
"Kita! Hey! Wait up!"
Kita looked up from staring at the ground and turned around. Running over to her was a small boy with big, light brown eyes and blond hair wearing a girl's uniform with shorts, an undeniable image. Behind Momiji was Haru who was walking a lot slower than him. She was surprised Momiji wanted to talk to her but he was always freakishly friendly to her, and everyone else for that matter.
"Kita, I haven't seen you in months! Remember at the culture festival last November?" he said enthusiastically. Kita had always thought he was a sweet kid but he sometimes got on her nerves a bit with his perpetually upbeat attitude.
"Yeah, I remember. It's great to see you to." she said, trying to muster up a smile but coming up short. Momiji grabbed her hand like he was about to drag her somewhere.
"I heard you were living in the main house. Do you want to walk back to Sohma house with me and Haru?" he asked, practically jumping up and down, shaking her hand. Apparently the news has spread. Since she moved, Kita had started walking home alone. She used to be able to walk with Hoshiko and Raidon for a little while before they all broke off in different directions but Sohma house was so far away from there that she walked by herself. It gave her a chance to organize her thoughts or wallow in misery as the case may be. Kita looked at Haru who smiled down at them both.
"Yeah, sure. I'll walk with you guys." she said, hesitantly.
"Yay!" Momiji shouted. Kita feared he might try to hug her but he contained his excitement well.
The three of them made their way down the street which was pretty crowded for once. Kita laughed to herself thinking that they made quite a spectacle, a boy with white and black hair, a boy in a girl's uniform, and a girl with purple-shaded hair.
"Kita, I heard about your dad. I'm really sorry. I wish I could have been able to meet him." Momiji said, having a moment of seriousness.
Kita gave him a weak smile.
"Thank you." she said, ruffling his hair. Even though he was only two years her junior, she still thought of him as being an innocent six-year-old.
"Are you really living next to...Akito?" he asked tentatively.
Kita nodded.
"Is it bad?" he asked, a worried look in his eye.
Kita sighed. "Not really." she said, even though sometimes it really was more bad than good. Haru sensed how uncomfortable she was and changed the topic.
"So you'll be out of the school soon, less than two months."
"Mm-hm. I'm pretty excited but also nervous. I need to start getting my life in order so I can get away from here once I graduate. I'm off to a university but I'll come back for holidays and such. I'll still want to see my buddies." She smiled at them to show that they were included in that category. Momiji beamed back at her but Haru looked unnerved at her talk of the future.
"Hey Momiji, why don't you go run ahead? I need to ask Kita something kind of personal." Haru said gravely. Kita looked nervously at him.
"Okay sure." Momiji said, skipping ahead of them blissfully unaware of the severity in Haru's tone. Once he was out of earshot, Haru spoke again.
"Kita, what kind of relationship do you have with Akito exactly?"
Kita was taken aback by his question. She really wasn't sure herself what kind of relationship it was so how would she be able to verbalize it to other people? He liked her a lot and she liked him sometimes. Currently it could only be described as mildly abusive or at least love-like feelings directed into anger, passionate or at least love-like feelings directed into destructive romantic behavior, and unspoken or at least a relationship that could not be defined by words.
"I don't really know." she said truthfully.
"Well, I remember hearing many times over the years that he was infatuated with you. And last New Years, I overheard him yelling to Hatori about how he hasn't seen you in years but that he wants you to be his and how you will be once you graduate. It was pretty scary." he said calmly.
"That sounds about right." Kita said, hardly absorbing the part about after graduation as she kicked a can that was lying on the ground and then picked it up once they had caught up to it at the slow pace they were going.
"Well, I'm not going to try to stick my nose where it doesn't belong but I do want to make sure you're okay. Does he...lock you up?" he asked, thinking back to how Yuki used to be treated. It's possible that Kita is kind of like his new Yuki only better because she's female.
"No. But he does try to hold a tight grip on me, figuratively speaking."
Haru nodded. "And how does a university fit into the equation?"
All the color drained from Kita's face and she stopped walking, the after graduation part of what he had said hitting her hard. How hadn't she thought of this before? One day you'll be all mine. Was that day now? Would he let her go to a university? Would she have to run away? How would he react?
"Kita, are you okay?" Haru asked, putting his hand on her shoulder. She looked like she had stopped breathing.
"I'm well." she said, tossing the can into a trash bin and walking quickly ahead. "We better go catch up with Momiji. He's probably wondering what we're doing."