Chapter Five

"Hey, Kyo-"

"WHAT, DAMN IT?"

The orange-haired boy was sitting outside school with his back against the wall, nose buried in a book. "Can't you see I'm trying to concentrate?" he grumbled, a feeble attempt at explaining his sudden, uncontrolled outburst.

Hatsuharu Sohma, his cousin, breathed a small sigh of exasperation. "I was just going to ask you where Yuki went," he explained calmly. "I need to talk to him. He's probably in a student council meeting, but-"

"Why the hell would I know where that damn rat is?"

Haru scowled and crossed his arms across his chest. "Would you cut it out already? We both know you're just mad because Yuki beat you to school this morning."

"He didn't beat me, damn it, it was a tie!"

Just then, Momiji Sohma, their other younger cousin, came dancing around the corner to join them, stopping only when he had reached Haru's side. "Oh come on, Kyo," he said with a wink. "Yuki beat you fair and square!"

"You know what? You'd better shut your face, you damn kid! Hear me?"

Haru rolled his eyes, finally having enough. "All right, Kyo, we get it. The point is that I really need to talk to Yuki. It's kind of an emergency."

Kyo looked up. Already the anger had steadily begun to leave his face. "Emergency?" He frowned. "What kind of an emergency?"

"Yeah," Momiji piped, his brown eyes gleaming with interest. "What's goin' on, Haru?"

Haru shook his head. "It's nothing. I mean it is, but...I'd really rather not say much right now."

There was a long, drawn out pause.

"Oh come on," Kyo finally said, casting Momiji a worried side-glance. "Just tell us. Not like anything ever stays secret long in this family, anyway."

Haru turned his back to Kyo and Momiji for a moment, considering. Would Rin care if he told them about what happened at Sohma House yesterday? Probably. But Haru knew that even if she did get upset, she would come to forgive him eventually. Rin was stubborn, and once you got on her bad side…well, good luck ever digging yourself out of that hole. But Haru was the one person that, no matter what happened, she just couldn't seem to stay mad at. She loved him too much. Haru smiled to himself. Almost as much as I love her.

"It's about Isuzu, isn't it?" Kyo asked before Haru could say anything. "She havin' problems with depression again?"

"Rin?" Momiji's childlike face filled with concern. "Oh, no! Is she okay? She's not hospitalized again, is she?"

Haru blinked, surprised by both of their reactions. "Uh, yeah. I mean, no. Rin's fine. This isn't even about her, really. It mainly has to do with Tohru."

At the mention of Tohru, Kyo jumped to his feet. "The hell do you mean?" he demanded. "What's Tohru got to do with-"

"Calm down, Kyo, it's all right," Haru said. "Rin's just worried about Tohru. That's all. And I need to talk to Yuki about it, so if you don't mind-"

"Worried?" Momiji cried. "Tohru's not in any trouble, is she?"

"Shut the hell up, Momiji," Kyo snapped. He turned back toward Haru then, eyes wide. He looked like a cat ready to pounce. "Why is Rin worried about Tohru? And why were you gonna talk to that damn rat about it and not me? I oughta beat your ass!"

Haru was really getting fed up with Kyo. Honestly, did he have to be so abrasive all the time? He supposed it must be in his nature. "I was going to talk to you later, too," he said. "It's something you should both hear, now that I think about it."

"Yeah? Well then out with it already!"

But Haru remained silent, still not sure how to answer. Or rather, if he should answer, because of how heated Kyo was getting.

"HARU!" The cat was growing more and more impatient by the minute.

Haru sighed again. He wasn't happy, but in order to prevent Kyo from losing his temper, he decided to proceed.

"Rin says…well, she says she saw Tohru at Sohma House yesterday…"

"I'm dying!" Akito wailed. "HATORI! Aren't you listening? I said I'm dying! I command you to do something about it this instant!"

The zodiac god was bordering on hysterics, and the dragon watched on all the while, secretly wishing he could roll his eyes. "You aren't dying, Akito," he said, deadpan. "It's only a headache. I'll give you some pain medicine, and soon enough, everything will be-"

"No, everything will not be all right," Akito insisted. "My head is going to explode at any moment! If I die now, you're going to regret not doing anything to try and save me for the rest of your life." He cried out in pain, pressing his hands to both sides of his head as he screamed, "MAKE IT STOP, MAKE IT STOP, MAKE IT-"

Hatori grabbed one of Akito's hands and dropped three white pills into his palm. "Here. Take these and give it a little time. It's going to be all right. Please, just trust me."

Breathing heavily, Akito looked back and forth from Hatori to the pills in his hand. "These won't help," he muttered.

Hatori glared pointedly at the zodiac god. "Then what will, Akito? What is it that you want me to do?"

But Akito shook his head, closing the pills tightly in his fist so that he crushed them. "You know full well that there is nothing in this entire world that can help me now. Nothing."

Then at last he fell silent, choosing simply to stare off into space. His eyes drifted toward the window, where a pair of white finches had come to rest on one of the many bird feeders that the zodiac god kept stationed on the porch outside his bedroom. This went on for so long that Hatori moved to get him more pills to replace the ones he'd just destroyed. But before he could exit the room, Akito spoke.

"I suppose...there is one thing that might help."

His voice sliced through the air like a knife, and Hatori froze, instantly on high alert.

"Oh? And what might that be?"

Akito scoffed at the question. "I asked you yesterday to call Shigure and inform him that I wish to see Yuki and Kyo. But you did not fulfill that simple request for me, now did you?"

Hatori sighed then, shaking his head. Of course. Akito had not yet received an audience with Yuki and Kyo. The dragon mentally berated himself for being so absentminded. He should've known that this sudden "headache" was nothing more than another one of the childish tantrums that the zodiac god often threw when he did not get his way.

"Actually," he said, "I did call Shigure-"

"And?"

"-and he said he would rather that Yuki and Kyo not return to Sohma House anytime soon. I don't believe he even informed them of your request. However," he continued before the zodiac god could express his displeasure, "Hatsuharu called me just a few minutes ago. He said he spoke to Yuki and Kyo at school this afternoon. According to him, they are both more than willing to pay you a visit. I was going to tell you this when I came in, but-"

"So they are coming, then?"

The doctor nodded. "From what I understand, yes. They should be here within the hour."

A tiny smirk tugged at Akito's lips as he said, "Excellent."

Hatori watched Akito warily. To say that the zodiac god was behaving strangely would've been a massive understatement. All day he had been complaining of a headache, and while it was now more than apparent that that had only been an act, Hatori couldn't help but feel that the young man was planning something nefarious.

Why does he want Yuki and Kyo here so badly?

The doctor cleared his throat. "Akito," he began, "this situation concerns me-"

But before he could say anything else, there was a knock on the bedroom door.

Akito whirled then, his eyes wide with anticipation. "Is it them?"

"No," Hatori said. "They couldn't be here already."

Akito hissed. "If it's one of the maids, tell her I said to take that vile tea and shove it up her-"

"I will tell her to come back later," Hatori swiftly cut him off. Some of Akito's comments were simply too distasteful for the doctor to allow him to say aloud, even behind closed doors.

"Isuzu?"

He was more than surprised to see the tall, black-haired girl scowling at him in the bedroom doorway. She was wearing a long black dress; the neckline was extremely low-cut, exposing a lot of her skin…

Hatori blinked. He would never admit it, but he had always thought that Isuzu was very beautiful.

As I'm sure many other men do, he thought hastily in an attempt to make himself feel better. Still, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly at the shameful thought.

"Is Akito in there?" the girl demanded, pointing straight ahead.

In response, Hatori gave an affirmative nod. "Yes, but you can't see him today-"

Isuzu shoved right past him as she fearlessly made her way toward Akito.

"Rin," Hatori tried to stop her. "I don't think-"

But it was too late. Akito had already seen her.

"Back again, I see." He spoke in a soft, casual voice, though Hatori recognized this for the deception that it was.

"I must say you look rather exceptional today in that provocative dress," the zodiac god remarked. "Who gave it to you? Your parents?" He stopped then, feigning a look of surprise. "Oh! I'm sorry...I'd quite forgotten. You don't have a family anymore, now do you?"

There was a flash of pain in Isuzu's eyes, and Hatori immediately jumped to her defense. Because that comment was cruel, even for Akito.

"Akito, please." He reminded himself to keep calm, much as a part of him didn't want to in that moment. "Don't be rude to Isuzu."

But Akito just chuckled. "And why not? She has already shown me a great deal of rudeness by bursting in here without appointment." He glared at Isuzu. "For the second time this week."

"I don't care," the girl snapped. "You're up to something again! I know you are."

Akito waved a hand, as he so often did as a means of dismissing people. "I don't know what you're talking about, but I have no use for you at the moment. Hatori, get her out of my sight."

"You invited the cat here!" Isuzu fumed. "Why? You hate him! There must be some sneaky reason behind it, you conniving little-"

All Akito had to do was take three steps forward, and in a single movement, so quick that Hatori had not even anticipated it, he slapped Isuzu straight across the face.

"AKITO! STOP!" Hatori shouted before rushing toward Isuzu, taking her face in his hands. He turned her head to one side so that he could see where Akito had struck her. Sure enough, there was a faint red mark that had already begun to form across her left cheek. Hatori inhaled sharply. It was at times like this that he wanted nothing more than to grab Akito by the neck and throttle him.

Much as he might want to, though, he knew that he never could.

"This needs ice," he said to Isuzu. The girl gritted her teeth, clearly not caring for the suggestion.

"Don't touch me," she mumbled before halfheartedly pushing him away from her. "I can take care of myself."

"That may very well be," Hatori said, "but I'm still going to fetch you some ice so that it doesn't swell-"

"Oh, of course, see to her ailments," Akito spat. "Meanwhile, no one ever seems to care what I'm feeling, or take my pain into serious consideration!"

He put his hands to both sides of his head again, just like he had earlier. The "headache" had apparently returned.

"Hatori, are you not listening to me? My head is throbbing! Go find a solution this instant or I shall-"

But before he could finish his threat, the door burst open.

"All right, Akito. What is it that you want?"

Yuki stepped over the threshold to Akito's bedchamber. He was still in his school uniform, though his body language betrayed nothing but hostility as he fixed the zodiac god with a pointed glare.

"Yuki?" Isuzu cried, and for a moment, everyone in the room turned to stare at her.

"Rin?" The rage promptly left Yuki's eyes. He seemed just as surprised to see the horse as she was to see him. "What are you doing at Sohma House?" he asked her. "Haru wouldn't be happy if he knew you came here again-"

But Isuzu cut him off with a shout. "I don't care! Haru doesn't control what I…" She trailed off, her eyes narrowing at the implication of his words. "Wait a second. What do you mean again? How do you know that I-"

"Haru told me everything," Yuki replied softly. "He said you came here yesterday to talk to Akito. To try to protect Miss Honda."

Hatori jerked his head in Akito's direction. "Yesterday? Miss Honda was here? At Sohma House?"

Yuki nodded sadly. "Yes. And I don't understand it. Why didn't she tell any of us? She didn't tell me, Kyo, or even Shigure what her plans were. She lied and said that she had to work." His gaze dropped to the floor. He looked truly hurt. "I just don't understand. It's so unlike her to lie about anything." He glanced at Hatori. "And the fact that you didn't even know she was here worries me even more. Why would she-"

"Because I told her to."

Despite the fact that everyone was looking at him, the zodiac god didn't even bother trying to conceal his triumphant grin. And why would he? This was the most fun he'd had in weeks!

Yuki's voice was the first to break the silence. "What?" He sounded horrified.

But Akito just laughed. Things will become even more interesting once Kyo gets here, he thought, casting the doorway a short, expectant glance. What the hell was taking that stupid cat so long?

"Wouldn't you like to know, my dear Yuki?" Akito said, his eyes glimmering menacingly as he turned to face the rat. "My, my, what do we have here? Your beloved Tohru Honda has deceived you!"

Now Yuki looked furious. "I'm not here to play games, Akito. Just tell me why Miss Honda was here yesterday!"

"Yes, Akito." Hatori spoke in a tone that somehow sounded even more serious than normal. "Why was she here? And why was I not informed when she arrived?"

Akito glanced around the room. Hatori was watching him coolly, whereas both Yuki and Isuzu made no secret of the fact that they wanted nothing more than to rip his throat out right then and there. Akito lips quirked into a smug expression. I'd like to see them try.

"He thinks this is funny," Isuzu said suddenly. "He finds amusementin our turmoil! He's the worst kind of sadist. Why am I the only one in this family who seems to be willing to stand up to him? Why-"

"Isuzu." Hatori put a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her.

"Yuki's right. You're just playing games!" she shrieked, elbowing Hatori off of her. "That girl has done nothing to you, and yet you summoned her here yesterday just so you could torment her! Do you feel no shame? Do you honestly not have any-"

It was too much for Akito. Isuzu's insolence, the cat's tardiness, the fact that even Hatori, his most dutiful servant, was now turning against him...

Akito stared at the clock on his bedside table, trying to catch a glimpse of the time, but by then he found that his senses had begun to dull, a phenomenon he often experienced when his mind and body were under a great amount of stress. Black spots formed around the edges of his vision, and before long, Isuzu's voice faded out into nothing. For some reason, though, he could still hear the damn clock.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Grimacing, Akito covered his ears, trying to block out the sound.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

But he couldn't. Hard, as he tried, he simply could not keep the noise from seeping through.

Akito crossed the room, and an instant later he found himself picking up the clock from his bedside table. His movements were slow and deliberate, though his mind was empty and void of all thought, as though he was being compelled to carry out these actions by some unknown force. Then, without even so much as blinking, he hurled the loathsome object straight at Isuzu. It missed her by several inches, bits of glass and plastic flying everywhere as it collided with the wall. The ticking stopped, mercifully, and for several seconds Akito could only stand and stare at Isuzu, breathing heavily. The horse stared back at him in shock, and Akito made sure his expression was harsh so as to not clue her in on the fact that, secretly, he was just as surprised as she was.

Because he'd done it again. He'd lost complete control of himself, just like he had with Hatori all those years ago.

Of course, he wasn't going to apologize to Isuzu for what he'd done, yet he couldn't deny that there was a part of him that truly was sorry, just like there was a part of him that he knew would hate himself forever for hurting Hatori.

"All right, Akito, that's enough." Hatori grabbed the zodiac god's arm and began pulling him away from Yuki and Isuzu. Obviously Akito wasn't the only one having flashbacks of that fateful day. "Come to my office and we'll get something to calm you down-"

"You don't understand," Akito snapped. He used all of his strength to pry himself free of the doctor's grip. "None of you understand!" he went on, stomping back toward Yuki and Isuzu. "Her weakness…"

"Akito," Hatori yelled, "that is enough!"

"Her weakness gives me strength!"

Three pairs of eyes gaped dumbly at the zodiac god. None of them knew what to say. Even Hatori was rendered speechless, and could do nothing but stand with Yuki and Isuzu as he waited for Akito to elaborate.

"My hands." The zodiac god held his hands out flat in front of him as he demonstrated to them all his ability to flex his fingers comfortably and with ease. "My arms, my legs…I can feel more strength in them!"

It was then that Hatori finally found his voice. "Your new medicine is more than likely responsible. It has nothing to do with-"

"Silence, Hatori. I know what I'm talking about." Akito's eyes were gleaming with delight. "You saw what I just did, Hatori. I overpowered you! I have never done that before, have I?"

The doctor blinked, considering for a moment. "No, now that you mention it, you haven't," he admitted. "But that doesn't mean-"

"It's that woman, I tell you!" Akito insisted. "When she left yesterday I felt no different, but as the night wore on I gradually began to gain more strength." He sneered. "And each time I thought about the way she looked at me with those eyes…the way she pathetically burst into tears at the mention of her mother…I felt stronger.

"At first I believed as you do now, Hatori; I thought it was simply in my head. But it is now clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am, in fact, stronger than before. I feed on her weakness. It empowers me." He flexed his fingers yet again, staring down at them in wonder all the while, as if it was the most amazing sight he'd ever beheld. "It would appear that Tohru Honda may not be so useless after all."

Hearing that, Yuki took a step backward, aghast. "That's why you wanted me to come here? To inform me that you intend on hurting Miss Honda?" His hands clenched into fists again. "I won't allow it."

"Nor will I," Hatori declared.

Isuzu said nothing, but her scowl made it more than evident that she agreed.

Akito rolled his eyes before abruptly turning his back to them all. "Stupid animals. I'm not going to harm her."

Isuzu bared her teeth. "Then what exactly are you going to do?"

But Akito said nothing. He only continued to saunter away from them in the direction of the door.

"Akito!" Hatori started after him. "Where do you think you're going?"

Still Akito did not reply.

What am I going to do, you ask? He laughed softly to himself. Why, I'm going to use her for my own benefits, of course.