Author's Note: So over here on the east coast of America the 14th Fruits Basket book just came out so now I have five dollars to my name. I need a job. I'm reading it as I'm doing this. I find it strange that when I watch the anime Ayame pisses me off but in the manga he makes me laugh like crazy. Go figure. And Kureno is on the cover and Kureno is yummy so I'm a happy girl.
Okay, enough of me babbling. This chapter has more introductions of old characters. Enjoy!
Chapter 24 (The Martyr and the Savior)
Kita lifted the hanger of her freshly cleaned and pressed school uniform off the hook behind her door, the scent of detergent and fabric softener wafting up to her nostrils and filling her with its floral aroma. Counting that day, she only had four full days of school left then a shortened day on Saturday that would probably be mostly a review, the day off Sunday, and then four days of exams before graduation. Four regular days of school left and then no more high school lessons ever again.
She hadn't exactly decided if she would miss high school. She would mostly miss getting to see Hoshiko and Raidon almost every day since she couldn't see them on the days off. And she would also miss the security of knowing what to expect every day since her future was still pretty undecided.
She had hid all the information about her college, the one she had decided on going to before her father died, underneath her mattress and in recent times she found herself frequently taking it out and gazing longingly at the brochures with their lush, green campus covered in studious-looking individuals racing off to their next class. How badly she longed to be one of them but how horrible she would feel to leave the main house! She hadn't exactly told the school to give her spot away to another student but she had pretty much lost hope regardless. The college was pretty far away from there and she wouldn't be able to live at Sohma house if she could go. One of the reasons she and her father had ended up selecting that school was because its distance would allow Kita to break out of her comfort zone and lower that barricade she puts up around strangers. So much for personal growth.
Kita pulled down her striped, cotton pajama pants and stepped into her dark-blue school skirt. The soft fabric rubbed against her legs and she wondered if that was a feeling she would miss, the pleats swishing back and forth against her thighs. Look at me getting nostalgic, she thought with a smile.
Just as Kita had finished positioning the skirt so that it was securely around her waist, the door opened and Kureno was standing there, typically dressed in his slacks and button-down shirt but holding an expression that said he had unsettling news.
"I could have been naked, you know." Kita said matter-of-factly. Kureno didn't seem to have considered that possibility.
"I'm sorry." he said with alacrity. "You aren't going to school today."
"But why..."
"Akito is sick. Probably sicker than he has ever been since you've started living here and he wants you to take the day off and care for him." Kureno told her, his deep, brown eyes telling her that Akito's afraid his time here is limited. Kita didn't need anything else to persuade her.
"Okay." she said quickly. "I just need a minute to change and I'll be right in."
"Good. I'll see you later." Kureno said as he pulled the door closed.
Kita quickly stripped herself of her tank top and school skirt and grabbed her purple yukata from her closet. He liked it when she wore the yukata and it was as comfortable as wearing a fleece blanket strung over her shoulders. She stumbled into the hallway and practically caused Akito's door to go off track as she flung it open and stepped inside, forgetting that she could have disrupted his rest. Sure enough, he was lying on the futon in the corner with his eyes closed so she assumed he was asleep. She walked over to the futon, barely letting her feet touch the surface of the floor as she approached him.
"Kita?" he mumbled as he opened his eyes which were bloodshot and marred with heavy dark circles. "Come lay by me."
Kita did as he requested and slid under the covers next to him. He coughed violently, the sound of congealed mucus being broken up filling the room. His breath was heavy and acidic with cold germs causing Kita to wince slightly at the feel of his burning breath on her shoulder. When he had finished his fit, Kita rubbed his back to try to sooth any pains that could have arisen as a result. Akito grew quiet.
"My back aches." he groaned, after they had been laying in silence together for a few minutes. Kita wasn't quite sure how to respond so she went with her helping instinct.
"D-do you want me to give you a...back...massage?" she asked nervously. The question sounded odd to her but she hoped it didn't to him.
"Yes." he said, as he turned onto his stomach eagerly. Kita got up and stood over him with one leg on each side of his small body and lowered herself down so that she was straddling his around his behind. She deliberately pulled his yukata off his shoulders and brought the fabric down so that it clung to his elbows and exposed most of his back to her. He shivered, even though he was right next to the heater.
Kita stared at his back in sad shock. She had never seen it so frail and cadaverous. The bones of his vertebrae protruded in a dangerous manner reminding Kita of a teaching skeleton from her old biology class. With one curious finger, she reached out and traced the little bones, the life beneath tangible through her thin-feeling skin. She bit her lip to keep from crying but found that it only made her eyes water more.
In a gentle, continuous motion she kneaded his back, starting at his shoulders and working down to the small. She lightly pushed down the material of his yukata so that his entire back was uncovered, her hands gracefully working right above where she was seated. Her knuckles knocked his bones, inducing him to twitch and she apologized fearful that she had hurt him. The last thing she wanted to do was cause him more pain. She watched her pink hands graze the soft white flesh, so delicate and translucent and then move back up to his shoulders again where her fingers touched his velvety, dark strands of hair.
It was strange how infatuated she had become with him. He had been everything for her since that night she had seen how much he loved her and she now knew that every thing he had done to her to hurt her was rooted in his own insecurities brought on by his curse and all its affiliating problems. Misunderstood. We are one in the same.
Kita leaned forward so that was she resting on top of him and kissed his back, her lips caressing his spine and savoring the feeling of his smooth flesh against her mouth as they made their way up to his neck and around to his ear. He sighed in delight.
In between ghostlike kisses on his ear, she purred softly, "I love you, Akito."
Exultant and surprised, Akito turned over onto his back and looked up at her to see her smiling down at him, tears staining her lower lashes. Whether they were of joy or sadness, he could not tell. She leaned down again and their lips locked in a passionate embrace, as her hands carefully undid the ties around his waist and slid his yukata from his elbows so that he was naked beneath her. She sat back onto his legs and his lips curled into his trademark smirk as his hands flew to her own robes and removed them slowly so he could take in every ounce of her that he hadn't seen in a while, leaving her in only a pair of light blue underwear. Her shiny, purple tresses had grown to be so long that as they fell in front of her, they concealed her breasts and made her resemble a mermaid that had just been granted with legs to walk the shore.
For a while Akito just looked at her, admiring her beauty and her purity in such a state. An angel. She was a wounded angel. And he had helped to make her whole again.
He took her hand into his and tugged it lightly, asking her to come down and join him on the futon. She complied, laying down on him and with renewed energy, he gently rolled her over so that he was on top of her. As his tongue explored the already shared secrets within her mouth, his hands glided her underwear off her legs.
I feel better already, Akito thought to himself smiling. What a good nurturer she is.
Kita woke up after napping for a few hours because her body was signaling to her that she needed to go to the bathroom. After their strenuous activities, she and Akito had fallen right to sleep. He was still sick so he was sleeping soundlessly beside her while she awoke feeling a bit more rejuvenated.
She slowly got out of Akito's grasp and stood up, stretching her arms to get the blood circulating and simultaneously looking around the room for her yukata. Akito had tossed it a lot further than she had initially thought as it was lying on top of the table on the other side of the room. She put on only the dark purple outer robe and clutched it tightly around her, not bothering to find something to tie it closed. She was just going to be going back to bed afterwards anyway.
As she finished up using the bathroom, she stood in front of the mirror and washed her hands, her robe revealingly falling open in front of her. She looked up and stared at the strange image that was her reflection. Eyes, same but gleaming with an unfamiliar emotion, hair, longer but the same, face, scarred, same as the rest of my body. She allowed her robe to slip off her shoulders to get a better look at her chest. Along her neck, shoulder, and collarbone she saw bruises and scratches from various punishments coexisting with what could only be described as 'love bites.' She ran her finger around a particularly large, violet bruise that lead to a scratch and ended on an oddly deep love bite. My body is a canvas of love and hate, she thought. Rage and lust. Affection and rancor.
She pulled her robe up and walked into her room finding a long, turquoise hair chopstick on her nightstand. She used it to put all of her hair into a tight, messy bun. Every time she put her hair up, Kita was reminded of one day after her mother had died. Her father took her out to a restaurant to cheer her up but she refused to smile so he had taken the chopsticks from the meal and stuck them in his hair. She had laughed and twisted her own around in her hair, making little knots. The people who worked there didn't really appreciate it but they couldn't have cared less.
She walked down the hall, still having to hold her robe closed, not quite sure what time it was but she was convinced that all the kids were still in school.
"Yo Kita." she heard a powerful but young voice say. She looked down and was surprised to see Hiro coming over to her. Most Sohmas wouldn't have expected her to know him since her mom died before he was born but they had gotten to know each other a couple years ago. Kita used to babysit for a kid who lived near her and, at the time, he and Hiro were good friends so he would come over often while she was watching him. The two had developed a sort of younger brother/older sister relationship, meaning that they didn't always get along famously but there was still love there.
"Oh, hello, Hiro. How are you?" she asked politely.
Hiro smiled like he had a secret. "Not as good as you."
"Huh?" Kita questioned, cocking her head to one side.
"Don't pretend to be all innocent. I'm twelve years old. I'm not stupid. Do you really think I don't know what you were doing in Akito's room? I mean, it's so obvious. I could hear you all the way down the hall when I came in an hour ago." Hiro said simpering. Kita turned fuchsia, absolutely mortified.
"H-Hiro, please don't tell a-anyone. I swear." Kita asked, now aware that she was trembling.
"Why? Are you embarrassed? Are you ashamed? Because you didn't seem ashamed at the time. You sounded pretty happy at the time actually. Are you afraid of what people will think? Because it doesn't reflect well on someone if they do stuff like that before they get married. Will Akito punish you? Is he ashamed of it?" Kita had forgotten how much Hiro could drawl on and on. He would do well on a debate team.
"No. It's none of that. Just don't tell anyone." she said quickly, now feeling very exposed with only her thin, untied outer robe on.
Hiro's devious grin faltered when a chipper, childish voice entered the mix.
"Hi Kita! And Hiro too!" exclaimed Momiji, running up them. Hiro rolled his eyes.
"What are you doing here, Hiro?" Momiji asked, cheerfully.
"None of your business, rabbit." he snapped and turned away from him to look at, or more so to taunt, Kita with the threat of telling Momiji what he heard.
"Kita, guess what?" Momiji asked, with a little hop.
"I don't know. What?" she asked, subtly shaking her head at Hiro, pleading him not to say anything. He responded by continuing his sly smile and making targeted glances at Momiji.
"Tohru is here! She came to see Hatori and Yuki and Kyo are here too! Well, Kyo is actually sitting on a rooftop somewhere...but Tohru and Yuki are still here and I'd love for you to meet her!" he shouted, taking her wrist in his hand.
"Um, sure. Okay." Kita said realizing that she didn't have a choice since Momiji was dragging her towards the door.
"Yay! Kita's gonna meet Tohru!" he shouted. She looked behind her to see Hiro looking confused and a little crushed that his entertainment was leaving.
I bet Akito won't like this, Kita thought frightened. I hope he doesn't get mad. At least now I'll get to officially judge this girl. I want to know what makes her so special anyway.
"Kita, this is Tohru. And of course, you already know Yuki." Momiji said, standing on the steps of Hatori's house, above their heads, and grinning as he introduced the girls. "Tohru, this is Kita. She's a Sohma too."
"It's nice to meet you, Tohru." Kita said, bowing with a firm grip on her robe. The last thing she wanted was for her rode to go flying open.
"Oh, uh, it's nice to meet you too!" Tohru said quickly, bowing low. She had long brown hair, a young and ingenuous face, and was of a pretty short stature. She can't be any taller than 5'2" Kita thought to herself, who had to look down to her, being 5'4" herself.
"And it's good to see you again, Yuki. It's been a long time." Kita added, bowing to the timid, grey-haired boy standing a little behind Tohru. She and Yuki had always gotten along very well when they actually got the chance to talk together.
Yuki bowed back. "Yes, a lot seems to have happened to you recently. I'm very sorry about your father."
"Yeah." Kita mumbled, staring at the wet ground and her already damp boots.
Tohru's eyes stretched open. Apparently no one had told her that she would be meeting another orphaned girl.
"So where in this estate are you living, Kita?" Yuki asked. Apparently no one told him about her relationship with Akito.
"At the main house." Kita said quietly, never really ashamed of her residence until now. She could already picture Yuki's horrified reaction.
"With...Akito?" Tohru asked, looking very scared. Yuki's eyes had gotten wide in remembrance as Kita had predicted. She nodded.
"Oh." Tohru squealed. Yuki now had his back to them and his head down. Tohru didn't seem to know why he had gotten trepid and aloof so rapidly but Kita and Momiji knew all about his past with Akito, the beatings, the abuse, the little room he locked him in.
"Um, Tohru, why don't you and Kita take a walk and bond a bit?" Momiji suggested, thinking Yuki needed some time alone and they should have some time to get acquainted.
"Okay!" Tohru chirped. "Unless you don't want to! I wouldn't want to make you do something you don't want to do!"
"No. Uh, it's, uh, fine." Kita answered. She had stepped back a bit. This girl seemed way too eager to please.
"Great!" Momiji said, stepping aside to allow the girls to walk past him down the path. "Have fun!"
For the first few minutes of being alone together, neither of the girls said anything as they plodded through the quiet estate. What do you say to someone you just met, Kita wondered. This is why I'm so bad with new people. Once they were far from the others, Tohru spoke up. "What happened to your father? If you don't mind me asking of course."
"He died almost two months ago." Kita answered solemnly.
"I'm so sorry!" Tohru exclaimed.
"That's okay." Kita was getting sick of everyone saying that. She knew they were all sorry, not like they could have done anything to prevent it. All the sympathy in the world wouldn't bring him back from the dead.
"So why do you live here at the main house now?" The younger girl asked curiously.
"Well, my father and I lived away from Sohma house. My mom died when I was six and since I'm underage I needed somewhere new to live and Akito wanted me to live with him."
"But, Akito? Is he old enough to be your guardian?" Tohru asked. Kita stopped walking. It just dawned on her. Akito isn't twenty yet. He can't be my guardian now, she thought. Who is then? Hatori? Kureno? Ren?
"No, he's not." Kita answered briefly and dismissively.
"Oh." Tohru said, realizing that Kita didn't want to discuss her guardian anymore, whoever that happened to be. "Why did he want you to live with him?" she asked.
Kita sighed so quietly that Tohru couldn't hear her even though her cloud of breath was visible in the cold air. "He loves me." she said, insouciantly.
"Is he your...boyfriend?" Tohru asked, having to push out the last word. She had a hard time believing Akito would actually treat someone as an equal of himself or that he would embark on a relationship with someone who wasn't one of the juunishi.
"Uh, sure. Yeah." Kita answered dubiously. "Yes. Yes, he is." she answered more confidently.
Tohru smiled at her but she didn't return the gesture.
"My mom always used to say that there's someone out there for everyone. It's great you two have found each other!" she said happily.
Kita remembered that Momiji had said Tohru mentions her mom a lot. Doesn't she had her own opinions, Kita wondered. She was finding Tohru to be mildly annoying but friendly, kind of like Momiji.
"So you live at Shigure's house, huh? I've already heard about why...Does he try to peep on you?"
"No! Why would he do that?" Tohru asked ignorantly. She was a very naive girl in Kita's opinion if she couldn't even comprehend that Shigure can be very perverted, especially with the convenience of having a girl living in his house.
Kita shook her head. "Never mind. So are you and Yuki together?"
"Oh no. No." she said nervously, shaking her head.
"Okay, okay." Kita answered, wondering if her questions were too personal for her to answer comfortably. So that topic is also off-limits...
"So, you're going to help cure the Sohmas huh?" she asked, the question coming out of thin air and again surprising herself with her newfound direct speech. Tohru looked at the older girl, stunned.
"Oh, um, I w-wouldn't say that. I'm really not that special. I j-just wish I could help them." she said. Kita nodded, finding the answer to be modest enough for her to not dislike her, not that she really liked her either.
They had barely noticed that they had already arrived back at Hatori's. Yuki was still standing in front of the house but he was now stuck standing between Momiji and a very angry Kyo.
"Come on, damn rat! We have to go." Kyo shouted, waving his arms around like he was going to punch him if he didn't listen.
"Stupid cat, haven't you forgotten something?" Yuki retorted, folding his arms across his chest.
"Hi Kyo." Tohru said meekly, coming up behind him.
"Oh, hi Tohru." Kyo said, his voice softening significantly. His crimson eyes seemed to light up once he caught sight of her. Kita smiled a bit, noticing the obvious romantic tension between them. "And hi Kita. Where the hell have you been?" Kyo never really treated Kita like he did with most people because she always seemed so vulnerable and bashful that yelling at her seemed like such a brutal thing to do.
Kita shrugged. "Around."
"Now we can go." Yuki said, purposely stating the obvious in an almost condescending tone as revenge on Kyo for yelling at him. Kyo shot him a nasty glare in return.
"Bye Kita." Tohru said with her fair weather smile. Yuki and Kyo waved to her as the three left the estate to head back to Shigure's house.
"Bye guys." she said, waving.
"Bye Tohru! Bye Yuki! Bye Kyo!" Momiji added.
Once they were out of sight, he turned to Kita so quickly she thought the gust of wind he created would knock her off-balance. "Isn't Tohru great?" he asked hyper and enthusiastic.
"She's...something."