On the last day of Akito's stay, Noa dressed Akito in the same purple and pink dress she had worn on her day out with Yuta.
Then Noa drove her out of town to a special place she had planned on taking Akito since the week before.
Akito's eyes widened a little when she finally saw where Noa had brought her.
It was a large garden full of cherry blossom trees that were in full bloom.
There were several cherry blossom trees surrounding the main house, but that was nothing compared to how many there were here.
"I thought this was the best place for us to spend time together on your last day with me," Noa smiled.
The two of them got out of the car and started walking down the path that went through the large garden. Many of the cherry blossoms had fallen and decorated it with their petals.
Most of the people who had come to admire the cherry blossoms wore kimonos or yukatas. Noa had considered having Akito wear one, but she had worn a yukata for enough of her life. And for all she knew, this might be the last day Akito could ever wear regular girls' clothing.
"I've never actually been to a cherry blossom viewing before," Noa told her. "But now was as good a time as ever. I'm glad I got to bring you with me."
After they walked for a couple more minutes, Noa went over to one of the cherry blossom trees and plucked a blossom off it. Then she went back over to Akito and gently placed the flower behind her ear so it stood out against her black hair.
"You're beautiful," she smiled.
Akito felt a very odd feeling in her stomach. She tried to remember if anyone had ever called her beautiful before, but nothing came to mind.
The problem was that everyone thought she was a man, and 'beautiful' was not a word people used to describe a man, at least not to his face. The four who knew her true gender had not called her beautiful before, and even if they had, she wouldn't have believed them.
"Akito, there's something I need to talk to you about."
The feeling quickly depleted.
This was it. This was the moment Noa was going to abandon her. It was the moment where she would tell her she never wanted to see her again.
Noa led her to one of the benches on the side of the path and made her sit down next to her. She took a deep breath, suddenly nervous about what she wanted to say. "I promised that I wouldn't say anything, but I think you deserve to know."
With the confession that Noa didn't want to see her anymore, Akito would win their little deal. She could have Yuki all to herself.
But she found that…she didn't want to win.
"I know all about the zodiac curse."
Akito's head snapped over to make direct eye contact with her. Of all the things she expected Noa to say, that had most definitely not been one of them.
"You…you know?" she mustered out.
"Yes."
"How…how long?"
"Since I first met Yuki eight years ago."
Akito felt all of her breath leave her lungs. If she had known that long, then that meant…she had known the entire time she had been staying at her house.
"How much do you know?"
"Yuki's told me everything he knows. So I know which members of the Sohma family are cursed and what their spirit is though I haven't met any of them aside from Kyo, Shigure, Kureno, and Hatori. I also know that you're the god of the zodiac and that you rule over all of them with a very strong bond."
"You're saying that when you first came to see me, you knew all of this…and you still invited me to come live with you?"
"Yes."
"But…why? Why would you do that…knowing who and what I am?"
"Because all I ever heard about was how much people equally respected and feared you. And you had such a terrible temper that I had guessed was from being the head of the household and never having anyone refuse you. Not only did I want to teach you a little bit of discipline, but I also knew how strongly you held onto the zodiac bonds and I wanted you to know what it was like to have someone who genuinely cared about you without that bond. And I wanted to show you that it is entirely possible to have a relationship with someone without putting the fear of God in them. Quite literally in your case."
"Does Yuta know about any of this?"
"No. I promised Yuki that I wouldn't tell anyone I knew because he was terrified that I would have to have my memories erased if anyone found out."
"So you know about Hatori's ability."
"Yes."
Of course, Yuki had been right. Had Akito known that Noa had found out their secret all those years ago, she most definitely would have ordered Hatori to erase her memories. It would've broken him enough so he would have learned that only she could truly want him.
It was so…cruel of her to be that way.
"You…you took me in…and did so much for me…knowing my secret?"
"And I don't regret a single moment of it." She slightly grimaced. "Well, maybe one thing. I shouldn't have called you a spoiled child."
"I shouldn't have called you a stupid woman."
Noa laughed lightly and gently moved Akito's hair behind her ear. "What I now realize is that you are a strong and beautiful woman who I have been very privileged to know. I don't care that you're the head of the Sohma family or that you're the god of the zodiac. To me, you are first and foremost Akito Sohma. And she is pretty incredible."
Akito felt like crying again. "I need a moment alone."
She sprang up off the bench and quickly walked away. Noa decided to give her her moment, knowing she had probably just put a lot on her all at once.
It must be a pretty startling revelation for her to know that someone accepted her, god and all.
Akito leaned against one of the cherry blossom trees and pressed her hand to her mouth. Then the tears began to flow down her cheeks and she was powerless to stop them.
After all this time of only being with Sohmas and afraid that no one would ever accept her outside of the members of the zodiac, this woman came into her life without warning and accepted her despite everything she had put her through.
When Akito tried to hit her or verbally abuse her, she still accepted her. When she made life increasingly difficult for her, she still accepted her. When she found out that she had been lying about her gender, she still accepted her and allowed her to live as her true self. When she had nearly been assaulted, she had beat her attackers to a pulp to protect her.
And now…she learned that she had done all of that knowing the truth of their curse, and she still accepted her.
Was this what is was like to have…a mother? Someone who accepted her no matter what she did? Someone who always looked out for her and desired to keep her safe from all harm?
Was this what it was like to be…truly loved?
Noa stopped her car in front of the main house, her heart heavy. It was hard to believe that the month with Akito had already come to an end. She wished she could keep her at her home forever and away from all of the toxic relationships she had here.
She just hoped that everything she had learned and felt while staying at her home continued to stay with her now that she was back at Sohma house.
"All right, I believe this is everything," Noa said as she pulled the last bag out of the trunk. "Akito, I really enjoyed having you stay with me. If you ever want to come over again at any time, the guest room will be open to you. You're welcome to come back whenever you'd like."
Three servants opened the large gates and bowed towards Akito. "Welcome back, Master Akito," they said together.
Akito visibly grimaced when they called her 'Master'. After nearly four whole weeks of living as herself, it was more difficult to go back to her previous life than she had expected.
Noa wondered what Akito would do now. Would she choose to reveal her true self to everyone, or would she continue to keep that part of herself hidden? Would doing such a thing completely undo everything Noa had accomplished in her?
The servants grabbed Akito's bags for her. Akito began to walk through the gates when she paused.
"Noa."
Noa looked up at the retreating girl.
Akito didn't look at her as she told her, "As far as Yuki goes…you can continue to see him. And all of the other members for all I care."
"Thank you," Noa said.
"And…the gates of Sohma house will always open for you. You can come inside…whenever you want. You…can tell Yuta that…the same goes for him."
Noa smiled warmly. "Until then."
Akito and the servants disappeared behind the large double doors.
Noa breathed out a sigh of relief. After an entire month, Akito had finally accepted her. She hadn't said the exact words, but she had accepted her all the same.
Things were far from perfect and Noa was aware that Akito still had her doubts about letting Noa in. It would probably take a lot more time until she was fully comfortable around her.
But now that the main house was open to her, Noa had no intention of backing away.