-The Secret Sohmas-
Our missing pageswarning: notes for the names are at the end of the chapter.
update: The climax comes to a close.
After leaving Kurenai and Ren behind, Tohru and the Sohma girls hurry to save their counterparts.
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Chapter 12-
To this day they still can't tell you what truly happened.
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When she burst into the room she found them all sitting there. The air in the room was warm and unbearably thick. The light was dim and unnaturally yellow, casting a sickly glow on the room and its occupants.
The three Sohma boys were stiff and quiet. Tiny pieces of broken glass among them caught and reflected the sickly yellow light.
Kyoko, at that time, was the only one of party that had barged into the room. Kyoko had burst in before the other girls could stop her and now they waited outside for a moment with Tohru to see what the situation was.
"Ah, Kyoko," a voice that made the hair on the back of their necks stand up darkened the room even more. "So good of you to join us."
Kyoko's eyes flared in the darkness as they adjusted. The boys all looked all right, a bit worn out, but all right. Even Ru looked rather calm. He knew better than to anger Akito, especially in the position he was in. Akito had Ru sitting quietly next to him.
A fiery hiss formed in Kyoko's throat. "Let them go, Akito."
Kyoko had to be careful to not meet Akito's eyes because she knew that once she did her fear would catch up with her. She wouldn't meet Ru's eyes either, but she watched as his hands began to quiver as his own fear began to sink in.
"No," said Akito casually, leaning back on his mat, fiddling with some small trinket, casting malevolent eyes from Ru to the trinket, to Kyoko. "I think I'll keep them."
Kyoko's eyes, though they were down cast, tightened and shrank into enraged slits. "Then we'll take them from you."
Kyoko knelt swiftly to take up a piece of glass, but a loud click stopped her in her tracks. She glanced over at the small piece in Akito's hand that had produced the sound. It was a lighter and he flicked the lid open and closed again. "Now, now, Kyoko-chan. Don't do anything foolish." The fear was creeping into her eyes as she watched the top of the lighter flick open and close, causing sickly yellow sparks. "I'd hate for something bad to happen."
Yukiko and Hara burst into the room, taking Kyoko's hesitation as their cue. Tohru followed close behind them and they ran to free the boys.
Akito had a sinister smile as he watched, not attempting to interfere, as Yukiko ran to pull Ru to his feet. Ru stumbled because his legs had fallen asleep, but Akito didn't seem to care in the least bit. Akito was pleasantly surprised, however, when he caught sight of Tohru. "What's this? Another one?"
Tohru's hands began to shake violently when hearing Akito's tone, feeling his eyes on her. She lifted her head, and then quickly realized that she had made a terrible mistake.
Akito's eyes became wider and his sinister smile turned into a devilish grin. "It's a girl."
Kyoko threw herself in between the two to break Akito's gaze, but that's when she failed. Akito caught Kyoko in his web instead. His eyes caught hers.
Behind her, Kyo, Yuki and Haru were free to move now that Ru was out of harm's way and Hara hurried to assist Yukiko in moving Ru while he tried to regain his ability to walk. Kyo quickly helped Tohru back to her feet, as well.
"What an interesting encounter," Akito grinned, his voice ringing in their ears. "So you found yourself a new family, my Kyoko."
Kyoko was frozen to her spot. Ru almost fell on his face when he realized that he had only regained the feeling in one leg.
"Did they help you forget the last one you destroyed?" Akito hissed.
Kyoko's eyes were blurring with tears and rage.
Yuki pulled at the adjoining door. "It's locked!"
"Impossible," Yukiko stuttered, coming up to the door. "We just passed through it."
"They must've locked it from the other side."
"There has to be another door."
Akito began to stand. "Uh oh, Kyoko. You've already gotten them into trouble."
Kyoko's voice trembled. "S-shut up."
Akito began to pace. "Who are you to tell me to shut-up? You don't have the right to command anything of me. I own you. I'm all you had left after you killed your parents."
"Shut-up."
"You tried to kill me, I remember. You tried to kill me but you got your parents instead."
"Shut-up," she croaked as her voice broke inside her.
Akito didn't stop. "It would've been better if you had never been born. All you've done is make everyone's lives miserable.
"Shut-up," she cried, her hands clamped awkwardly over her ears. "It was your fault."
"But don't worry," Akito coaxed with an animal hiss as he took Kyoko into his arms. "I still love you, even if you are a monster."
"Shut-up!" She cried, her knees giving out from under her. Her hands tugged at Akito's shirt. "Shut-up! It was your fault! It was your fault! You killed them." Kyoko broke out into tears, her hands tearing at Akito's clothes and her face hanging to the ground.
She could see it. She could see it all in her head: the moment all those years ago. The first time it had happened. How much she had hated him. How much she resented him now. She had knocked the candle lamp down. How angry she had been, how frightened he had been, and then how he had smiled. She didn't think he would go on then to live and do something so terrible.
Tohru watched and Ru watched, and Kyo, Yukiko, Yuki, Hara, and Haru watched.
Akito took one hand and slid Kyoko's cap off her head so he could place his hand on her hair, the other lifted the lighter to his face so he could flick it open and stare into the flame. "It's amazing that something so small destroyed you entire life, isn't it, my Kyoko?"
"You," her voice was still scratchy from the tears, but the anger it held began to boil up. She had knocked over the first flame all those years ago, but Akito had went and knocked down all the others. "It was you who did it! YOU RUINED MY LIFE!!!"
She sprung up and knocked Akito off his feet and onto his back. "YOU RUINED ALL OF OUR LIVES!!!"
Akito was simply laughing, amused with Kyoko's anger. "And what if I did? What can you do about it now? You're too late."
"No," Kyoko hissed, her anger permanently set into her scowl, "It's not too late to take you with me."
For the first time in their lives they saw Akito show fear and the last thing Akito saw was all the hatred and loathing he had planted in Kyoko overflow and return to destroy him.
Kyoko socked him right across the face with a well-trained fist, slamming his head back. Akito didn't move after that. He wasn't dead. Kyoko wouldn't let him die yet, but his lighter, when Kyoko had knocked him over, had went skidding out of his hand and landed on the rug, which had quickly caught. Now that the spell was broken, they saw the fire had spread, the smoke quickly filling up the room. It was too late to do anything about it now.
"Let's get out of here!"
"The door's still locked, ya stupid cat."
"Well, you're not pulling hard enough, ya damn rat!"
"You have to push, you moron! Look what you've done!"
"I didn't do anything!"
"We'll just have to find another way out."
"There is no other way out. Just this door and that door."
"What door?"
The door Kyoko pointed to opened before they got there. A skinny young man with dark hair and dark eyes was there to open it, accompanied by a maiden of the final gate.
"Sorry, Hara." Ren said with a cough as the smoke gathered. "I couldn't wait for you any longer."
Kurenai stood in the doorway too, short of breath. "Quickly. Akito had all the doors locked behind you."
There was a scramble as the Sohmas and the Hondas hurried through the door. "Ru, Tohru, you get out first."
"Hara, come o-" Yukiko stopped. Hara's eyes had found Ren's and they were not to be moved.
Hara's hand found Ren's face. He was sporting a rather nasty red mark and blood had soaked through his shirt at the shoulder. "Ren, you-"
"I tried to protect you, Hara," Ren's hand found Hara's, "But all I could do was rescue you from what I failed to prevent."
Hara pulled Ren's face down to hers. "As long as you're here. You're all I need to make me happy."
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They followed Kurenai, wide open doors and dark smoke following them in their wake. Wooden rafters supported the stone rooms they passed through and great tapestries covered every wall and rug covered every floor. The doors they passed through were great, wooden, and lacquered. None of it would resist the flame. It could burn, and it would.
It wasn't until they could see the light of the outside breaking through the last door that Kurenai turned to them. "Where is Akito?"
Kyoko was the one who answered. "He was finally abandoned by those he knew hated him."
Kurenai's eyes became wide, her head swung back to face the smoke that met her. "You mean he's still in there?" She didn't wait for a reply but turned fully. Ru called after her as she ran back into the smoke from whence they came. "Kurenai! What about -"
"I have to make this right!" Kurenai cried back, not allowing Ru to finish, for she knew she would be unable to continue on if she questioned her motives.
Their group was diminishing. Outside the sky was already beginning to turn dark and the smoke billowing out from the medieval fortress was only working as a catalyst.
"It's so dry. This fire's going to spread."
"Hey!" A small voice cheered behind them. Three children emerged from the large rear gate: Akito's gate.
"O-né-chan!" young Kisan laughed, pointing through the gate. "Look! Look! We got all your friends out like you asked."
Tohru sighed heavily, overwhelmed with relief. Kyo gave her a funny look. "Who else was here?"
The small blond haired boy with the empty eyes started off in a run back into the compound.
"Wait!" Ru and Tohru called together. "Momiji-kun, where are you going?"
The small Momiji smiled back at them. "Momo-neechan told me to tell her when I saw you."
Yuki and Kyo blinked in confusion. "Momiji?"
"Wait!" Ru called after the small child. "Momiji, you shouldn't go back in there."
"Don't worry, O-nii-chan!" Kisan smiled, finally doing something bold. "We'll get him!"
"Of course we will!" Hinata stubbornly agreed. Kisan and Hinata had vanished too before Ru had any chance of stopping them. "Ohh!" Ru wailed aloud and then started after them.
"Honda-san, where are you going?" Yukiko asked, reaching to try to catch Ru by the sleeve.
"Yukiko-chan, we have to get the others."
"But, uh-" Yukiko stumbled after him in the smoke.
"We can't just leave them." Ru fumbled.
Yukiko's hands met in front of her, folding themselves over her chest. Hair flew up in the wind, her eyes red from both smoke and tears. "But you can just leave me?"
Some how it had slipped out, with all that was going on and almost to her regret, that even though she tried hard to protect, she desired a protector. She couldn't tell him that, though. "I'm sorry, Ru-kun. I didn't mean-" She gasped, for two reasons. One, she had never called him by his first name, though Hara had always persisted and second:
Ru took the hands that Yukiko held before her in his own. "Come with me, Yukiko-chan." He took both her hands and held them in front of him, lacing their fingers together. Yukiko was overcoming her shock from the request and her own outburst when Ru's forehead met hers. It wasn't a hug, but it was very close, their eyes watering. Perhaps that's the closest they'd ever get.
They vanished quickly through a wall of smoke as they ran around the main house to pass back through the final gate.
"Bye, Ru-san! Bye, Yukiko-san!" Haru waved as they ran while Tohru, Kyo, and Yuki were recovering from blushing. Apparently Ru was a bit bolder than their Tohru. Ru was a boy, after all.
Kyoko watched them vanish, her already bright orange eyes slowly turning red from the smoke. Water began to build in them.
They were all slowly slipping away.
It wasn't until Tohru started coughing that Kyoko was brought back to reality. "What are you still doing here, you idiots? Get out!" She placed a firm hand on Kyo's back and shoved the four that were left through Akito's gate.
"Wait a minute," Tohru protested as she was pushed through the large gate.
Kyoko smiled as her as if she knew this would be the last time. "Be careful, Tohru. They still need you."
"But what about you?" Tohru demanded.
"I promised Kazuma I'd come back for him," Kyoko coughed as the smoke began to grow thicker. She tried closing the large doors on them, but Kyo got half his body in the way. He managed to grab Kyoko by the wrist with the beads. "Hey, Kyoko. What's going on?"
"I'm sorry, Kyo-kun. It looks like we're the ones who were meant to vanish." She tried to shove him back through the gate, but Kyo was very persistent. "Wait. What are you talking about?"
Kyoko looked at him, then looked at the main house behind her and then back to Kyo, her face transformed into that of a desperate fool. She took him strongly by the scruff of the shirt. "Tell me, Sohma Kyo. Tell me now; Are you glad we met? Did we teach you anything?"
Kyo looked at her over her fist that had his shirt. "What are yo-"
She shook him. "Will you live your life differently because you have had a chance to see how life could've been?"
Kyo looked at her, he looked into her desperate eyes, eyes that were exactly like his and yet nothing like his. Hers were filled with a pain that he would never understand, a feeling of extreme loss, of starvation, of temptation, of guilt and of grief. Perhaps, he wondered for a moment, he and the others had been sent to help them.
"Kyo?" Kyoko shook him desperately again pleading for an answer, and he gave her one.
"Yes," he said, looking at her with brotherly sincerity, his voice steady and disbelieving. "Yes, I will."
Kyoko's eyes brimmed over with tears. She could not hold them. The tears she had cried before Akito were of anger, pain, and grief. The tears she cried now were of relief and, perhaps, of joy. She flung her arms around Kyo's neck and clung on tightly. "Remember that. Remember us. The memories will be all you will have."
She thrust herself from him and strained against the gate as she forced it shut.
"Wait!" Tohru cried. She ran to gate and managed to get her hand in the small opening before it was sealed. The gate stopped, but it did not reopen. Tohru was half in shock that she had presumed to sacrifice her hand in order to keep the door open. It was a small price to pay to not lose so many people who had become so dear to her. There was a pause. Kyo and Yuki hurried to Tohru's side, Haru taking up the rear. Tohru removed her hand, but the gate did not close.
Voices from behind the gate began to break through the disturbed silence; voices they recognized. They spoke in turn, each voice creeping through the small opening one by one.
"You were created and fashioned for the roles you play."
"But even if you don't realize it, the one that truly keeps you bonded to that role is yourself."
"These roles and these bonds effect everyone and are tied to everyone."
"These bonds can be very strong and can cause much hardship."
"But they are also very fragile."
"Even Akito's."
"God's role is especially delicate."
"A false move on either side can cause the bonds to weaken."
"Yes, Akito made sure to claim a piece of your heart."
"Even if it's the part that turns to hate."
"Your first test will be to discover this on your own."
"And your final will be discovering how to move on."
The voices faded away and Kyo stared at the gate for a minute. They all did. They paused there, the parting words of the Secret Sohmas slowly setting into their hearts.
"Take care of her," came a final voice from behind the gate as it slowly finished closing. "She's fragile too. She is strong but she too can weaken."
The gate closed and they heard it lock. Cold night winds began to slip in with the sunset. Their adventure, it seemed, had come to an end.
After a pause of listening to fire rage and wind cry, Haru broke the silence. "Come on," He whispered, slipping Hara's cowboy hat from his head. "Let's get these two out of here."
Kyo turned and lead Tohru around the side of the wall, heavy materials crashed, unseen, on the other side of the stone. Haru, it seemed, was the only one that had thought of saying goodbye.
Momiji, Kagura, Shigure, Ayame, and Hatori met them at that fateful first gate. They had all been watching the fire too. For some strange reason, everyone was quiet and everyone was serious, at least for a moment as the red sun vanished beyond the rise.
Haru placed Hara's hat on the low wall of the first gate. That was their goodbye.
"Are you hurt, my dear brother?"
"Leave me alone! I'm fine!"
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note: No notes
name notes: Kazuma's name is the same as the original Kazuma's. The only people who have counter parts are the Juunishi (and their siblings) and Tohru. The difference with Kazuma is that I modified him to my liking. You may reread chapter 3 if you want to know what I'm talking about. Teehee!
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The last two lines would be the little things the people say when something emotional happens. Like when Tohru says 'I'm the luckiest girl in the world' and then Kyo says her nose is running. Something like that.
I almost named this chapter "Terrible Confessions", but that would break the theme of the chapters not having names.
Ten pages. Not bad for the ending. Was that too rushed? I actually regret not being able to go more in depth with Yukiko and Hara, but they had some moments. If anyone can think of something cooler for Kyoko to say at the end, feel free to say something. I'll make some alternate endings if I like 'em.
It almost ended with just Kyoko closing the doors on 'em and then leaving, but I thought that wasn't fair so the Secret Sohmas imparted their little bit of knowledge that they had gathered in their short lifetime.
!!! Hold tight, 'cause there's a little epilogue thing that should prove to make you happy.
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Thank you, reviewers. Your support makes me eternally happy. I am very thankful.
Damki: Aw shucks. Your devotion makes me happy. If I had a better way of saying that I'd say it. I love you guys. I'm flattered that you enjoy my characters so much and my writing style! There were a whole lot of emotions in that chapter. It was fun! It's so hard to write these things properly when they were originally pretty pictures and dialogue, but I think I did a pretty good job, eh? I managed to add almost 2 more pages to this chapter as I was revising it. I didn't want to post it until I liked it. I'd hate to go back and try to change things latter. That'd stink…
NekoKazam: I'm glad you liked it! I hope you like what happened to. It tore me apart to end it, but all things must come to an end. The epilogue will come soon! Its written I just need to post it.
Moonflower: I guess it's fair that it turned into a story that revolved around the Secret Sohmas since that is the title of the story and it's a fanfic. They come in and then they go out. If they story doesn't revolve around them now then it never will. Awww! You said 'Update when [I can'. That makes me feel so happy. That's a very nice way to approach requests for updates. You're so cute, Moonflower!
Seadrance: Yeah! It's awesome! I have gained the respect of my fans! I'm updating now so I hope this counts as soon. I've been pretty good about updating, haven't I? (except for that large gap a few chapter back (It was after chapt. 8, right?). I apologize again for that.)
StargazerBlue: Oh? Really? I didn't, actually. I guess I just have good taste in names, eh? And I'm happy you didn't think the last chapter was too short. I have written shorter chapters so I guess I shouldn't fret too much about it. Your confusion with male and female is understandable. The one that's the most confusing should be Momiji and possible also Momo. With the Secret Sohmas, along with having slightly altered names, they all go by nicknames (except Yukiko and Kyoko) so there's Ru, Kyoko, Yukiko, Hara, Kagi, Momo, Shigen, Hato, Ayaa, Kisan, Hinata, Zou, Ren, and Kurenai. There's Akito too, but since the original Akito's never really mentioned I hoped that wouldn't be as confusing.
JennyKim319: Awwwwww!!! You really wish it would never end? Even if I end up dragging it out and there's stupid plot twists in a desperate attempt to continue the story and the pace slows down dramatically and there's stupid side stories about Ru's attempt to host the Juunishi banquet and Kyoko eloping? I think I'd just make people angry with me if I dragged this out. But if any of you people are upset that it doesn't look like Shigure will ever have a girl friend or Ayame or Kagura, then you make think of my characters and be happy. (I'm also sorry Ren confused you… He does that sometimes.)
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Did anyone notice that the number of lines that are said through the gate after Kyoko closes it is the same as the number of Juunishi? Coincidence? I think not! I'm so clever!
Did anyone notice the little captions I've been putting under the titles for the last few chapters?
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I don't own Fruits Basket but so far it sounds like at least a few of you wish I did. Do you still after reading that chapter?
Thank you for reading!