Most people came early for New Years and milled around, chatting with each other. Just so long as people came before the meal was served, they were free to come on their own time. Momiji had arrived early to put on the ornate kimono set that had been given to him for his dance later that day. The only people who had yet to arrive were Shigure, Yuki, and Kyo. Kyo always seemed to come, despite not being allowed inside the banquet. Akito wasn't sure why he even bothered anymore.
Akito wasn't dressed yet when Shigure appeared at her door and let himself into the room. He didn't seem to have dressed up for the banquet at all unless the haori he wore over his kimono counted.
"I thought you'd be out with the others, bothering Hatori or something." Akito hummed as Shigure came into the room and walked over to stand next to her.
"I wanted to check in with you, first. You're not dressed yet?" Shigure asked.
"I'm getting there," Akito replied, moving to stand up and go over to her wardrobe to pull out the dark blue men's kimono and hakama that had been prepared for the banquet.
The dark kimono was generally kept in a dust bag and stored away for safekeeping. It was only ever brought out for the head of the family to wear at large ceremonies like the New Year's banquet. Akito ran her fingers over the fabric. It wasn't anything new, she'd been wearing it every year since she could fit into it. But, still, she couldn't forget the sight of her father wearing it. As a child, the kimono seemed so huge. Akira had always seemed so much taller than her. She pressed her nose to the fabric, sighing when it only smelled like the dry-cleaners.
"You need help with that?" Shigure asked, watching as she pulled the kimono on and worked on tying the obi herself.
"Yes, please," Akito replied.
Shigure came over and helped her arrange the kimono and then tied the obi tightly around the top of her hips. The top of the kimono was just loose enough to hide any semblance of a feminine figure. From there, he helped her into the hakama and tied them securely at her hips, tucking the knot under the obi.
"There you go. I think you're ready." Shigure hummed. "I still think you'd look better in a furisode, but that's neither here nor there."
"You and I both know that's not going to happen any time soon," Akito replied, pulling the haori on over the kimono. "I'm guessing Yuki's out talking with everyone, then?"
"Oh, yeah, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. You're not gonna like it, though." Shigure hummed, a small smile playing on his lips as Akito moved to fix her hair and bangs in the mirror.
"What do you mean?" Akito asked, looking back at Shigure. He only smiled wider.
"Yuki's decided to play hooky. He's staying home with Tohru for New Years." Shigure replied.
Akito stared at him in shock for a moment before clenching her jaw shut. It would be hard to use Tohru for her benefit when the little bitch so easily forgot her place.
"Why isn't he coming?" She asked, her dark eyes burning as she looked up at Shigure.
"Hey, don't shoot the messenger," Shigure said, holding his hands in the air.
Akito grabbed the collar of Shigure's kimono, yanking him down to look her in the eyes. "Why isn't Yuki here? Why didn't he come?" She asked again through gritted teeth.
Shigure just kept smiling at her. "God, you look about ready to eat me. Usually, when we're together, it's the other way around."
Akito huffed and pushed the man away from her as hard as possible, sending him back to land on the tatami floor on his ass. "Where is he? You should have dragged the little rat here by his tail!" She screamed.
"He's at home, with Kyo and Tohru. They both felt bad about leaving her alone on New Years." Shigure finally replied. "Her mom died some months ago, and I guess they always used to spend it together. They felt bad about leaving her alone."
"That's not an excuse. They should have come anyway. What do they care about some dumb little squatter?" Akito huffed, starting to pace about her room.
"I don't know, Aki." Shigure sighed as he got up to his feet.
"It was your job to keep an eye on them and keep things under control. Now, there's going to be an empty spot at the table for the first time in years, and it's all because of some little outsider! This is your fault, Shigure! If you could just grow a spine for once in your life, we wouldn't have this problem!"
Shigure said nothing as he dusted off his kimono, letting the girl shout at him. "Well, there's nothing that can be done now, is there? So, why not just enjoy New Years and deal with them later?" he replied with a small frown.
"Well, there's no choice now." Akito huffed, leading Shigure out of her bedroom and down the long wooden hallways of the main house. The room that had been prepared had been set up and was now noisy with the voices of the ten people gathered inside, sitting around the long table.
The maids at the doors quietly bowed to Akito when she arrived at the door and slid it open for her. The room quieted down almost immediately as she walked into the room and took her place at the head of the table.
"Thank you all for coming today. It's so wonderful to see everyone." Akito said with a warm smile at all the seated members of the zodiac, taking the small cup of plum sake set in front of her and raising it in greeting.
The other members of the zodiac did the same, the adults raising glasses of sake while the children rose glasses of sparkling cider.
"It makes me so happy to be with everyone again. I hope to see you all continue on in good health in the coming year, and I look forward to many more banquets in the future. I love you all so very, very much." She said in a toast. Everyone drank from their glasses after she drank from hers.
Akito still wasn't used to the taste of alcohol on her tongue, but the fruity flavor of the sake made it a little easier to handle. Once the toast had been made, maids came in to serve the first course of the banquet to everyone at the table, starting with Akito and making their way around the table. As everyone began to eat, conversations started up again, and things became just as lively as they had been.
Akito watched from the head of the table as everyone spoke with each other. She ate her first course of miso soup in silence. Part of her longed for someone sitting nearby to turn to her and start talking with her as well, but nothing like that ever happened. That banquet went relatively the same way every other banquet did. They ate, the others talked with each other, and Akito wondered why she felt so lonely while surrounded by family members and loved ones.
By the end of the meal, Akito had had enough of the little glasses of sake for her head to feel light and fuzzy. As everyone departed, she caught Shigure by the sleeve of his kimono as he was chatting with Ayame and Hatori.
"When did you say that entrance ceremony is for the high school?" She asked him, holding onto his sleeve.
"It's not for over a month or so. It's the first Monday of April." Shigure replied. "You're really flushed, do you feel okay?"
"I'm fine, it's just the alcohol," Akito replied dismissively. "We'll make plans to go to the school when the time comes closer."
"Sounds good," Shigure replied before laughing and patting her on the back. "Sleep it off, Aki."
"It's because I'm not used to alcohol yet, that's all. I haven't built a tolerance for it." Akito said defensively.
"Uh huh. Sure. It has nothing to do with your height or weight." Shigure hummed, resting a hand on the top of her head and sliding it to illustrate that she came up to his chin.
"Oh, get out of here. Go annoy the teenagers at home or something." Akito huffed, gently shoving his shoulder.
"Sleep tight, Aki." Shigure countered.
Akito rolled her eyes and turned to go back down the hall and strip off her kimono that had begun to feel overly hot on her body.
The next two months kept Akito busy enough to keep her mind occupied until the entrance ceremony for the local public high school came. On the morning of the first day of the new school year, Akito woke up early, dressed in a black turtleneck sweater and black men's jeans. She ate breakfast quickly and met Shigure and the family driver outside the main house.
The pair sat close to each other for the short ride through town, with Akito leaning against Shigure's chest the whole way there.
"Now, fair warning. they don't know you're coming. I kinda left that part out." Shigure hummed as they got to the high school and slid out of the car together.
"Oh, wonderful. Oh, well." Akito hummed before leaning back into the car to address the driver. "I'll call you when it's time to pick us up."
"Of course, sir." The driver replied with a nod.
With that, Akito shut the car door and turned to start up the path with Shigure and the many other parents to head into the school and get seated in the gymnasium for the entrance ceremony. They sat amongst the other parents and the older students in the gymnasium. Akito looked around the large room like she'd only ever seen in TV shows, having never gone to a traditional school herself.
"How do these ceremonies usually go?" She asked Shigure as everyone got settled.
"Well, soon the first years will come in, and everyone will clap because they made it this far. Then, the principal gives a speech, then the student council president or some other older student will give a speech, and then someone from the new group of students will give a speech. Then the kids will sing the school song, and start slowly heading to class. It's not exactly the most exciting thing ever." Shigure replied.
"I'll probably catch Yuki afterward, then." Akito hummed.
"Oh, for sure. I can find an old friend of mine who works here now and harass her." Shigure hummed happily.
"Don't make too much of a nuisance of yourself," Akito replied.
"When have I ever done anything like that?" Shigure asked with a grin.
Akito opened her mouth to reply but was cut off as the class of first years made their way into the gymnasium and everyone began to clap. She found Momiji and Hatsuharu with ease and waved to them with a smile. Momiji smiled back hesitantly, and Haru took a couple moments to register who she was before doing the same.
All the speeches given were more or less the same. Do your best, make the most of your first year at high school, you have a bright future ahead of you, and other optimistic platitudes. Akito wondered how the students didn't go crazy having to listen to the speeches every year for three years. She'd had quite enough by the time the speeches were over. She sat with her legs crossed as the second and third-year students all stood and sang the school song, more than happy when it was done and they filed out of the gymnasium with the other parents and grandparents.
"Alright, you have my phone number when you need me. I'm gonna annoy an old friend of mine." Shigure said once they were out of the room and off to the side together.
"Right. I'm going to find a bathroom, and then find Yuki." Akito replied with a nod.
"It's a plan," Shigure replied, patting her shoulder before they parted ways.
Akito wandered around the school until she found a bathroom, weaving through the crowds of students in the hallways as they milled about and talked before heading to class.
After re-emerging from the men's room, she stood off to the side of the hallway, thinking with her hands behind her back about where she might be able to find Yuki. The hallway was mostly empty until she heard a soft, happy humming that cut off her thoughts. She looked over to the source, not about to say anything until she saw it was coming from the lodger girl she'd seen months before. She was pretty sure it was the same girl, though it was hard to be sure since she'd only ever seen Tohru from afar.
"You look like you're having fun," Akito commented, watching to see what the girl did.
Tohru was smiling happily as she turned to see who was talking, her smile falling as she made eye contact with Akito. She looked scared.
"A-Akito Sohma…" Tohru guessed, watching with wide, doe eyes as Akito walked closer.
"That's right," Akito replied, standing in front of the girl, quietly glad to see she was a little shorter than her. "You must be Tohru Honda."
This only seemed to startle the girl more. "Y-Yes! It's nice to meet you!" She cried, bowing low at the waist in greeting.
Akito watched the girl greet her. It was perfectly polite, if not a little frazzled. She hadn't expected the girl to have much respect for authority, but the girl looked about ready to kneel on the floor and bow to her feet.
Tohru definitely looked like the person Shigure described her to be. She was adorable, one of the cutest girls Akito had ever seen off the cover of a magazine. Her brown eyes were big and bright, her hair looked as soft as spun silk, held partially out of the way with a pair of delicate ribbons. Her cheeks and lips were a sweet rosy pink and her little button nose reminded Akito of a doll. She was adorable but seemed painfully dumb. Akito could easily manipulate the girl, just by being polite to her.
"Hmmm," Akito hummed in thought before putting on a warm smile. "You seem like a nice girlish girl. I'm glad. And most of all, you're very cute."
Tohru straightened up, looking shocked at the compliments, her cheeks burning red. "What? N-no, I'm-!"
Akito laughed as Tohru stammered and flushed in front of her. "Oh, don't be flustered. You're adorable. I apologize for not meeting you when you came to the house, I'm actually rather shy when it comes to new people. You're not angry, I hope?"
Tohru continued to look surprised. Akito wondered what she'd been told about her.
"N-no! Of course not!" Tohru replied with a shake of her head.
"Oh, good. Well, allow me to introduce myself properly. I'm Akito, the head of the Sohma family. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, too!"
"I really hope we can be friends. Please continue to take good care of Yuki and the others."
"Akito." Another voice cut in.
Akito turned at the same time as Tohru to see Yuki walking down the hallway. He looked terrified to even be speaking to her.
"Yuki!" Akito said with a warm smile, holding her arms out to her younger cousin. "It feels like I haven't seen you in ages!"
"What were you just doing?" Yuki asked, his voice shaky and soft as she approached him.
"You're definitely taller. I think you've hit a growth spurt or something." Akito continued contently.
"What did you do to Tohru?" Yuki asked, his voice firmer.
Akito stopped in front of Yuki. The boy was just about the same height as her now, so she could look right into his eyes.
"Nothing. nothing at all. All I did was introduce myself." Akito replied before turning back to Tohru. "Isn't that right, Tohru? I was just introducing myself to you."
"Oh! Y-yes!" Tohru stammered, watching them from a bit away, still looking surprised by the world.
"But, Yuki, that aside, there was something I wanted to ask you." Akito hummed, turning back to Yuki and leaning in closer to hold his face as she whispered into his ear. "Why weren't you at New Years? Why wouldn't you come home? I've been lenient with you lately, but when you pull something like that, it really hurts me. Why would you be so dismissive of me? Maybe you need to be re-educated."
Yuki's eyes grew wide in fear and he started to tremble, but he didn't dare to step away from her or break eye contact. The boy looked close to tears.
"Maybe you need to spend some quality time in that special room of yours until you relearn your true nature." Akito hissed, gently rubbing Yuki's cheek with her thumb.
Suddenly, Tohru seemed to come to reality and pushed Akito away from Yuki with two hands. The shove wasn't hard enough to do anything but make Akito stumble a little, but it was unexpected all the same.
"Um, I'm sorry. But w-we should really be getting to class…" Tohru stammered, averting her eyes from Akito's. "The teacher will be mad at us…"
"I see," Akito replied. "My apologies. I should be getting back to Shigure, anyway, he's probably worried about me. Yuki, I hope you have an enjoyable time at high school. I'd be pleased if you came to see me one of these days."
Yuki said nothing in reply, keeping his eyes averted.
Akito turned to make her way back down the hallway. A little further away, Kyo had been watching the scene play out. Akito brushed past him as she walked down the hallway. She wrinkled her nose as her shoulder hit his.
"Disgusting." She sneered before walking away to find Shigure.
It didn't take her long to find the man talking to one of the teachers. The teacher looked about ready to use the book in her hand to hit him upside the head.
"I'm sorry, is my cousin bothering you?" She asked as she sidled up to Shigure.
"He's been bothering me since day one." The teacher replied.
"I know the feeling." Akito hummed. "Shigure, I'm going to call the car around. Say your goodbyes."
Akito stepped off to the side of the hallway to call the driver to come back to get them and bring them back to the main house. Shigure joined her once again as she hung up the phone and they walked out to the front of the building together.
"Who was that woman?" Akito asked curiously as they walked outside.
"Who, Mayu? She's just an old friend, Akito." Shigure replied.
"Uh huh. I see. I'm guessing you slept with her, then?" Akito asked.
"I'm not that big of a whore, you know." Shigure laughed.
"You could have fooled me," Akito replied.
"She's nothing but an old friend, Akito. Relax." Shigure sighed.
"Well, given your track record, excuse me if I like to be sure," Akito said as she slid into the car and got comfortable on the seat.
"Did you ever find Yuki and everyone, then?" Shigure asked as he got settled next to her.
"Oh, yes. I found that Tohru girl, too." Akito replied, bringing her feet up onto the seat to hug her knees to her chest. "She's so ugly. That girl has to be one of the ugliest people I've ever seen. She seems stupid, too, which is a relief. But Yuki will return to me, without a doubt. Just the sight of me still makes him freeze in his tracks. It's proof he'll never be able to forget me, you know."
"I'm not sure if there's really much risk of anyone leaving your side, to begin with, Akito," Shigure replied, moving to run his fingers through her hair.
"I can't be so sure. Someone missed New Years. It's not normal. I don't like being ignored in favor of some outsider girl, that Tohru." Akito replied, wrinkling her nose and sneering the name like it was some sort of disease. "I'll make her sorry she ever associated herself with this family. I swear to God, I'll make her suffer."