Author's Note: Yeah so, chapter 26 I kind of refer to as "The Lost Chapter" because I pretty much only wrote it because my friend wanted there to be another lemon and I had an idea for one. I'm still debating whether or not to post it or just skip it so if you could message me with your opinions, that would be very helpful. On with 25!

Chapter 25 (Ode to Afflictions)

The thick crimson liquid slid down the fine, sharp teeth of the blade and collected cohesively at the pointed tip, dripping onto the wood floor every time there got to be such a massive amount that the forces weren't strong enough to hold each molecule together. The knife didn't feel as crisp as it used to as it was conducted over the papery, pallid skin. The incision was more rough and jagged than the normal clean, straight lines, as thus, packed more of a sting. But the sense of alleviation was still there. It still made for a great release.

Time for a tribute, he thought, bringing the knife back up to his inner arm, below his bluish veins, the scars from other times, and a few fresh ones. It had been a few weeks since he had done this. To this illness that refuses to go away. Cut. To all the Zodiac members who haven't come to see me: Yuki, Shigure, even Kureno is distant lately. Cut. To my bitch of a mother for most recently going after my Hatori. Cut. To my father, gone too soon just as is my fate. Cut. To Kita, lying on the wet ground with a gun to her head as the other mugger proclaims rape. I'd rather cut their throats. Cut. And another one for poor Kita, who loves me...

"Akito?"

The hushed sound of his name barely carried through the room once it left her lips; it just hung near the door like a dim paper lantern. Kita stood in the midst of the sound in her dark blue and white school uniform, her right arm holding the upper portion of her left arm in a very insecure way that said she was nervous.

"Damnit Kita!" Akito yelled, trying to hide the knife behind a large vase so she couldn't see it, even though he knew it was too late. Even if he hid the knife and his arm, she could still see the tiny drops of blood on the floor and the bleeding look in his eyes.

"I-I'm s-sorry." she said, on the verge of tears as her eyes traced the new unevenly cut lacerations below and on his wrist. It was strange how sloppy they were for such an experienced professional.

Once the knife was out of sight, Akito turned around and snarled at the frightened girl. She sank back against the door as he closed in on her, his loud footsteps reverberating around the interior of the room and causing a painting to fall off the wall. He grasped her shoulders so firmly that his fingernails dug into her flesh, bruising but not drawing blood thanks to the fabric between the nail and her skin.

"Next time, wait until I call for you." he spat out curtly. Kita nodded, her head shaking so violently she was afraid it would fall off her shoulders. She could have said something about missing him so much that she forgot to ask but she bit her tongue thinking that maybe this wasn't the time.

Akito loosened his grip and stepped away from her, tugging at the sleeve of his purple and black yukata. Blood seeped through the sleeve of the gray yukata underneath but the marks weren't yet noticeable on the external one because of its dark color. Kita tried to find a safe spot to look. His eyes were intimidating and the rest of him was heart-breaking. She stared at the fallen picture on the ground. It was simple calligraphy that had some sort of poem that she couldn't read from her focal point.

"I met Tohru Honda yesterday." Kita admitted into the maladroit silence, twirling her fingers in her hair anxiously.

Akito pursed his thin, chapped lips as if the news gave him a sudden pang of distaste and raised an inquiring eyebrow. "And?"

"And what?" she asked, still looking away from him. He put his hands on her cheeks and pulled her face up so that she was gazing directly at him. He didn't like it when she pretended not to see him. There were speckled traces of blood on his hands but Kita disregarded them.

"And what do you think of her?" he asked coldly. The imbrued sleeve brushed against her lower lip as he moved his hands away from her face, assuming she would keep it positioned there on her own.

What do I think of her, Kita pondered. Well, she's friendly but in an almost overbearing way. She's sweet but way too naive for someone of her age. She's eager to please but appears to have no consideration of herself to the point of absurdity. And on top of all that, she is a bit irritating, but in a Momiji kind of way: uncomfortable but tolerable.

"Um, well, she seems nice but kind of annoying," she said vaguely, hoping he wouldn't ask her to elaborate. She knew he didn't like her so she didn't exactly want to say anything too wonderful about her, but she didn't have the same loathing as him either.

"She is rather intrusive." Akito scoffed, in a way that made it sound like he was making an understatement. "That gorgon deserves to be put in her place. She thinks she is so special."

Actually, the fact that she doesn't seems to be a bit of a problem, Kita thought. Her overmodest attitude is mildly bothersome.

Akito stood with his back to her as if he was contemplating his hatred for Tohru while Kita quietly walked over to the table and sat down on the cushion, waiting for him to stop his silent cursing and voodoo to sit down with her. Something was bothering her. She had overheard his bloody salutes, which were probably not intended to be spoken, before she entered the room and there were two she was still wondering about: his mother and father. She had never heard Akito mention his father before and she had never heard him mention his mother without the word 'bitch' lingering somewhere in the same sentence or the one following it.

He finished brooding and sat down at the table across from her. He motioned to the white, ceramic teapot on the table as if to ask if she wanted any and she shook her head. He didn't pour any for himself either.

"Akito?" Kita said. He looked at her to show she had his attention. "What did your mother do to you exactly? I mean, when I met her, she was very condescending and seemed to live off the Sohma's wealth."

Akito clenched his fist. "She's always been jealous of me and my position. She's always despised and rejected me. She doesn't believe that the bond between God and the Zodiac is real and she takes great pleasure in trying to direct them away from me. Ever wonder why Shigure doesn't live at Sohma house anymore?" Kita nodded. "That horny dog couldn't resist participating in one of her attempts at pissing me off."

Kita's eyes widened. I can never look at Shigure the same way again, she thought to herself. "Was your father the same way?" she asked cautiously.

"No. He was the opposite." Akito said, making it sound like he didn't want to continue to describe how and why. He hung his head so that he was looking down at his arm. The blood stain had dried and it now looked like part of the design.

"Do you miss him?" Kita asked hesitantly.

Akito looked up into her compassionate green eyes and nodded emotionlessly.

Something we have in common, Kita thought. How did this never occur to me before?

She smiled sadly and, with an unsurely slow pace, she reached across the small table and slid her little hand into his red-flecked one. And, much to her surprise, instead of drawing back or using the gesture as a way to pull her into a compromising position, he just smiled back at her, too sick to do anything else.