There was something about her reflection in the mirror that made Akito want to stand and stare, as well as turn away and silently resolve never to look into that particular mirror ever again as if it had wronged her. Her body, which had always been rather straight and could pass as boyish was starting to change, regardless of whether she wanted it to or not. The changes were faint, but the more she looked, the more obvious they felt.
She traced her fingers lightly over her face. Her cheeks still felt soft, like a baby's, though there were small raised bumps along her jawline and chin.
'Hormones,' Hatori had said with an easy shrug. Apparently, everyone got them, especially during puberty. They would go away if she kept her face clean and washed it every morning and night. She hoped he was right. It was hard for anyone to take someone seriously when they had the ugly little bumps across their face.
Just out of curiosity, she examined her teeth. In a few days, she'd have to get her wisdom teeth removed since they had recently started to bother her and cause some pain. None of the maids wanted to tell her why those particular teeth were causing her pain. They all said that it would just be useless knowledge that would clutter her head. She had more important things to focus on, after all. Not knowing about these mysterious teeth only made her mind wander to them further, though.
She closed her mouth and sighed softly through her nose. She traced her fingers over her lips absently. She wasn't yet sure how she felt about that feature of her body. On one hand, they were nothing like the lips she always saw in magazine ads and on TV. The girls in those always had soft pink lips that were small and dainty. Hers were fuller and seemed to be a more beige color, which often made her wonder if there was a reason why she didn't often see models, actresses, or even idol girls with lips like hers. On the other hand, though, Shigure always told her how much he loved them. He often said they were like a fully bloomed rose.
'You shouldn't compare yourself to those girls on TV or in magazines, Aki,' He would croon while holding her in his lap like a child. 'They're all either caked in makeup or so photoshopped they're barely human anymore. Probably even both. They're not real at all. You're very real and you're going to be drop-dead gorgeous when you're done growing.'
Shigure always treated her like a child. Why she always put up with it, she was never sure.
Her fingers trailed down her jaw until she let her hands fall back down to her sides. Well, just staring and zoning out into the mirror wouldn't get her ready for the day any faster. Finally, she tore her attention over to the clothes hanging up for her to wear for the day. While her tutor would be coming that morning, she had a meeting at lunch with some men from the family's company, and no time to change between the two. So, she would be forced to spend the morning in the uncomfortable suit that had been prepared for her instead of the kimono she'd rather be wearing.
She frowned once she'd finished tucking her shirt into her pants. At fourteen years old, her body was still growing, but her figure was developed just enough to be just slightly evident under the white cotton.
A knock on the door interrupted her train of thought.
"Sir? Your tutor is here." A maid called through the door. "Will you be much longer, sir?"
Stupid bitch. Why didn't she tell me sooner when he'd be here? Akito glowered at the door. She shifted her thoughts back to the problem, or problems, at hand. The tutor would be expecting a boy, and wouldn't know any better. In her usual kimonos, she could wear the top loosely and cover herself with a jacket to hide anything that might raise suspicions. Whoever had picked out the suit for her was obviously an idiot. The shirt was much too slim-fitting.
"No, I'll be right out." She called back, pulling on the suit jacket and relaxing a bit when she found that it hung just shapelessly enough to conceal any parts of her torso she wanted to. With that, she finally left the bathroom, coming face to face with the maid on the other side of the sliding door.
"Find whoever chose my clothes for today and tell them to report to me later. Next time I'm expecting someone, you will alert me shortly before they arrive. Now I'm late, and it's all your fault. If you're too much of an idiot to handle that much, then find someone who can." She spat, walking past the maid and down the long hallways of the main house.
"Yes, sir. I'm very sorry, sir." The maid replied, lowering her gaze respectfully.
Akito paid her no mind and kept walking down the wooden hallways, before stopping at one of the sliding doors and letting herself into the room. The room wasn't a big one. It was a plain, mostly unfurnished room, that could be used for almost anything. The floors were tatami, and there was a single low table set up in the middle that could easily be moved if need be. Usually, that room was used for her lessons, small meetings, or as a guest room.
The tutor was already sitting on one side of the table, materials spread out across the wood.
"Excuse me," Akito said as she stepped into the room.
"Good morning, Sohma." The tutor replied, standing up to greet her respectfully.
Akito's relationship with her tutors had always been a weird one, though it was much weirder when she was a child. On one hand, the tutors were her elders, and were her authority figures, within the context of education. However, she was the head of a very large, very wealthy and influential family. They'd decided that it would be easiest for the tutor to be superior, but only while they were having lessons. If she ever saw the tutor on the street, or outside of their lessons, she was superior.
She sat down at the other side of the table, her own notebooks already in a stack on the side.
"We're going to start with English today." The tutor said.
She nodded and pulled the corresponding notebook from the stack, opening it up to her last page of notes. English was her best subject, but only in writing. Her tutor was an Englishman, and was very strict about her accent, and was hardly ever pleased when she tried to speak the language.
That particular lesson was heavily focused on speaking practice, which made it feel like it lasted for years.
"'It is a truth…. u-uni-universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.'" She read aloud haltingly.
"'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.'" The tutor repeated, much smoother. "Say it like that."
"'It is a truth yoo-niversally acknowledged, that a single man in possess-in of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.'" She repeated, trying to copy the sounds he'd made when saying the words.
"That's better. Read the next quote on the sheet." The tutor said.
Akito sighed and did as she was told. She must have gone over all those quotes on the two-sided sheet of paper a hundred times before the tutor finally decided to move on.
The lessons only lasted until noon, but they felt like an eternity. At noon, Akito ate a small lunch, and at about one, the businessmen started to show up. Akito excused herself to the bathroom, telling the maids to let the businessmen into the meeting room and that she'd meet them in there.
After washing her hands, she splashed water onto her face to wake herself up. Then, she walked back down the long hallways of the main house.
The thing with old, traditional Japanese style homes like the main house, was that a lot of the doors and walls were made of paper. There weren't a lot of secrets that couldn't pass through to unwelcome ears.
"Taking orders and answering to a little boy, what a joke." One of the older men griped. "It's demeaning."
"You'd think a family like the Sohma's could have lined up a sort of regent to act long after his father died. These people seem so stupid, it's a wonder they still have any money left." Another agreed.
Akito stopped outside the sliding door, letting the old wood creak underneath her feet to announce her presence for them. The men were suddenly quiet when she slid the door open.
"Sohma, it's good to meet you, sir." One man said as they all stood up respectfully to her.
Akito looked up at the man. He must have been the newer American worker, who'd taken over as the financer. She didn't recognize his voice from the group of disgruntled old men.
"It's good to meet you, too. McDonald, was it?" She replied politely, bowing her head lightly in reply to him.
"Yes, sir. Like the fast-food chain." The man replied with a smile. "Oh! Here, I read online that giving gifts was normal when going to someone's house for the first time here."
Akito blinked as the man held a small bag out to her. "Oh, thank you, but I can't accept something like that."
"No, I insist." He replied, pushing it out towards her again.
"Alright, thank you." She replied, taking the bag with both hands. She looked inside and pulled out an AKB48 CD.
"The shopkeeper told me all young men your age like them," McDonald said with a happy grin.
"Thank you, it's wonderful," Akito replied politely, wondering why the man couldn't have just bought an orange basket or something basic. She set the bag against a wall and moved to sit down at the head of the meeting table, keeping her back straight and head high to seem bigger than she was.
As the meeting got started, a maid came in quietly and poured out tea for everyone around the table. The meeting went without interruption until about halfway through when a maid quietly slipped inside and knelt down next to her.
"Sir, Shigure's asking for you. What should I tell him?" She asked.
"Tell him to wait for me, and to get a better sense of timing," Akito replied before turning her attention back to the meeting.
When the meeting was over, she found Shigure sitting on the veranda of her bedroom, swinging his legs off the side. She felt her heart rate increase when he turned around and gave her that wide, familiar grin. She walked over to sit down next to him on the veranda.
"So, I need a better sense of timing, huh?" He asked, turning to face her.
"Yes, you do. You always come when I'm at my busiest." She replied with a nod. "It seems to be a talent of yours."
"I'm a man of many talents," Shigure said, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Oh, shut up," Akito said, lightly pushing him with a foot. "Why did you come over today?"
"Because it's a beautiful summer day, you're not that sick right now, and I think you should get out of the house to enjoy it," Shigure replied. "Come on, change into something more weather appropriate, and we'll get ice cream."
"Alright, that doesn't sound too bad." She replied, getting up from the floor to slip back into her room and close the door for privacy while she changed. She didn't have a lot of summer clothes, because she typically didn't go out much in summer. It was always too hot for much and left her feeling sluggish and sweaty. If she could help it, she'd spend every summer day inside, sitting in front of multiple fans.
With nothing much to wear, she kept her black dress pants on and traded the blazer and long-sleeved button-down shirt for a short-sleeved button-down shirt. She smoothed the fabric down before checking her face in a mirror that hung over her dresser. She fussed with her bangs for a bit, finger-combing them straight. Then, she pinched her cheeks to make them look pinker and give herself a more healthy-looking flush.
"Are you almost done? God, you're such a girl." Shigure teased from outside.
"And you're an ass." She called back before opening the door again. "I need to get my shoes. Why don't I meet you out front?"
"It's a plan." He replied, hopping off the veranda to walk around the front of the house.
Akito shut the door again before leaving her room and walking down to the front entrance of the main house.
"Sir? Are you going somewhere?" One of the maids asked.
"Obviously," Akito replied, pulling her shoes on easily
"Will that be good for your health?" the maid asked.
"You're not my doctor, what do you care?" Akito snapped back, standing up and moving to meet Shigure out in the front of the house.
Shigure smiled at her and walked by her side out of the main house and to the entrance of the main estate. "You know, you should get cooler clothes." He commented.
"What's wrong with what I have now?" Akito asked with a small frown.
"Well, for one, you look like a schoolboy. Aki, your wardrobe consists of suits and a bunch of nagajuban that you wear like regular kimono." Shigure replied. "Come on, you're a teenager. Don't you want to dress like a normal teenager?"
"What difference does it make, whether I dress my age or not?" She asked.
"Well, it might help you relate to some of the other Sohma teenagers a bit better. Let's be real here, other than me and Kureno, you don't really have a lot of friends." Shigure replied bluntly.
"I don't have the time or the option to be a child, Shigure, I'm busy," Akito replied with a small sigh.
"I know, and I hate that. You're only fourteen, you should be outside, riding a bike around with friends and enjoying your last year's of childhood." Shigure replied with a frown, looking down at her. "I know you have no other option, but it sucks that your only taste of freedom is when I steal you away like this."
Akito looked up at him and said nothing. All she could think about was how concerned Shigure seemed to be for her. That meant he thought and cared about her.
"Well, it's not like it would matter anyway. Hatori said I'm starting to grow very quickly now, so there's no sense I. Buying a bunch of clothes I won't get much use out of." Akito shrugged. "Shigure? Do you love me?"
Shigure blinked at the question and smiled down at her. "Of course I do. We all love you, Aki."
"Would you love me, even if you had the choice?" She asked. "If there was no curse and you had the choice to love me, would you?"
"Of course I would. You're my family, and I've known you since you were a baby." Shigure replied.
"Just because someone's family, doesn't mean you always have to love them." Akito pointed out.
"Yeah, and you need to stop listening to Ren." Shigure hummed, ruffling her hair. "You know she only ever says stuff to get under your skin and psych you out. Stop paying attention to her."
Akito fell silent at that, knowing full well that he had a valid point. She kept close to him as they walked into the 7-Eleven, one after the other. She followed Shigure back to the drink coolers and the little freezer full of ice cream.
"There's too many to choose from." Shigure lamented. "What kind do you want, Aki?"
"Don't call me Aki in public," Akito replied, grabbing a strawberry mochi ice cream and handing it over to Shigure.
"Sure thing, Little Aki," Shigure replied.
Akito glowered and hit the backside of his head. Shigure just laughed and grabbed a mango mochi ice cream for himself. He got a couple bottles of water from a beverage cooler and walked up to the front counter to pay.
Akito got momentarily distracted by a magazine next to the checkout till that displayed a couple of young women on the front. The girls both had porcelain skin, straight dark hair, big eyes, and even bigger breasts. She looked back over at Shigure before she could think about how different she looked compared to them.
"I can pay." She said when he handed the money over in the tray.
"No, it's fine, Aki. I just got the royalty check from my first book anyways." Shigure replied, taking the change from the cashier.
"Oh, that's right. You got your book published." She hummed, taking her bottle of water and ice cream from the counter and walking out with Shigure to eat sitting down on a nearby public bench.
"Yep! They're already saying I should start working on another one." Shigure hummed as he started to work on opening his bottle of water.
Akito watched him struggle with the bottle until it finally cracked open, spilling on his shirt in the process. She smiled and laughed behind her hand, only laughing more when he took a bit of water on his fingers and flicked it at her in retaliation.
"See how it feels?" He asked with a grin, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to hug her tightly while ruffling her hair even further.
Had it been anyone else, Akito might have berated them for treating her like a child. However, with Shigure it was different. Perhaps it was because she'd chosen him as a favorite. Perhaps it had something to do with the way he made her heart rate pick up. She couldn't really be sure.
She opened up her ice cream and started to eat it, letting it cool her down on that hot summer day. She relaxed in the comfortable silence while eating and drinking next to Shigure and just watching the other people of the town wander about and go about their daily business.
After a little bit, she glanced up at Shigure, catching him looking across the street at someone. She followed his gaze over to a pair of older girls, walking and talking with shopping bags on their arms. They both looked relatively normal, compared to the models on the covers of magazines, but they were both still very pretty. Akito wondered what she'd look like if she had long hair and wore breezy, floral sundresses like the two girls across the street. Probably not very good.
She adjusted her shirt a bit, self-consciously pulling it away from her chest. The more she looked like a boy, the fewer people would compare her to other girls. When she went back to eating, she noticed Shigure looking over at her.
"What's wrong?" She asked with a small frown.
"Did you use bandages to, uh, flatten yourself?" Shigure asked, keeping his voice low and quiet.
"Is this shirt that transparent?" Akito asked with a frown.
"When the sunlight hits it just right, yeah," Shigure replied. "Aki, I wish you wouldn't do that. I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure that's not safe."
"Well, what do you suggest, then?" She asked with a frown.
"I don't know. Not that. Those bandages are meant to hold things down and in place. Your chest needs to move to breathe, and those might make it hard." He replied, frowning in return. "Talk to Hatori for other options, maybe he'd know. But there's got to be better ones."
Akito sighed and just went back to eating her ice cream. "What I do to conceal myself is none of your business. Stop butting in where you're not wanted."
"I just want to make sure you're safe, that's all," Shigure said, keeping his voice gentle.
"You're not my brother, you're not my father, you're not my doctor. You're just a big, stupid mutt. So, stop telling me what to do." Akito snapped back, throwing her ice cream wrapper at his face before getting up from the bench. "Come on, we're going home."
Shigure just nodded and got up from the bench obediently, walking the girl back to the main estate.