Battle for a riceball
Chapter 18: Riceball's plans to flee
"Akito don't touch her!" the voice behind Kyo snarled. Kyo's attention was suddenly turned towards two figures behind him.
The damn rat…and Shigure…they're here…
Kyo shot Yuki a "you're-late" kind of look.
"Don't-please.…if there is anyone you should harm it's us…for allowing her to stay in this house," those words were surprisingly coming out of Yuki's mouth. He stood, behind Kyo, fear was evident in his voice. Kyo didn't blame him if he was scared, it was actually the first time he had heard Yuki stand up to Akito.
"Y-Yuki!?" Akito's eyes narrowed in shock, his hands were still wrapped around Tohru's small neck.
"Let her go…Akito," Yuki mumbled slowly.
"You! You are protecting this disgusting, worthless girl too! You're supposed to be with me! You're supposed to be on my side Yuki!" Akito's voice was rising, he clutched on to Tohru's neck with more hatred.
"Please Akito-stop. I didn't mean to get too involved with Sohma family. I just thought- I thought," Tohru hiccupped her words as more tears fell down.
"You thought a grubby, worthless girl like you can lift us from the zodiac curse!? Don't make me laugh.." Akito spat angrily. Kyo clenched his teeth in anger.
I have to do something…for Tohru. But I feel so weak and tired. I don't think I can even move.
Kyo's shot up to look at Yuki, hoping that he would strike to attack Akito before he harmed Tohru.
Tohru shakily gasped for breath as more tears welled up in her eyes.
"Stop crying! Shut up!" Akito roared, making Tohru cry even harder. She closed her eyes in fright, hoping that the nightmare would end soon.
"Why do you hate her so much? She didn't do anything! She actually brought more happiness to the Sohma family," Yuki muttered.
"Why does everyone love her so much!? The whole Sohma family should draw more attention to me! Not this filthy, stupid girl! I'll kill her! I'll kill her for stealing everyone from me! I never imagined that Yuki would someday go against me, and it's all YOUR FAULT!!!" Akito clenched his teeth in anger. Torhu remained silent, closing her eyes in fear, she shakily shook her head.
"No please. I'll leave if that's what you want. Just let me leave with my memories and my life! Please Akito. That's all I ask for!" Tohru cried, her eyes had more tears welling up. She had never felt so scared in her life. How could someone like Akito be so heartless?
"Shut up!" Akito growled.
"Let her go. Please I beg you…just let her go," Yuki said calmly. He hoped that Akito wouldn't kill Tohru in one blow. He didn't want to foolishly go and attack Akito or else things would probably turn out worse.
Kyo looked up at Tohru, with kind, soft eyes. He was trying to let her know- he wouldn't let her die. She looked at Kyo, with fear in her eyes, then back at Yuki with pleading eyes.
"Stop protecting her! Stop it! Shut up! I don't want anyone to remember her! I don't want her to remember anything about the Sohma family!" Akito muttered.
"Then why did you let her know of the curse to begin with! Why did you let her keep her memories!? Stop doing stupid, useless things Akito!" Kyo barked, with pain in his voice. He flinched at the murderous look Akito shot him.
"You useless cat, don't talk to me like that! You have nothing to do in this! I hate her and that's enough of a reason to get rid of her! She's no use in this family," Akito spat.
Without another word, Tohru gasped when Akito tightened his grip on his hands. Tohru had never felt so much pain, she couldn't breathe, she couldn't move. It was so frightening for her, seeing Akito strangle her to her last breath. He was squeezing the life out of her. She felt the whole world shake, and her vision start to get blurry. Her eyes pleaded for mercy, she wanted it to end. She didn't want to go through so much pain.
She felt her face drain color, and the horrible feeling of not being able to breathe made her panic.
It's over. I'm such a fool…I should have tried harder. I should have- tried to stop this from ever happening. I'm such an idiot. Now I'm going to die…without even breaking the curse! Without doing anything…
She saw a blurry figure running towards Akito and pushing him away, and in that second she felt her breath come back to her. She wearily rolled off the bed, and to the ground and gasped for breath, looking beside her, Kyo was watching her with a horrified look on his face. Yuki pushed Akito away with rage in his eyes.
"Akito…don't do this!" Yuki cried out. It was obvious that Yuki felt terror in him, but he didn't just want to stand and watch Tohru die. He had never imagined the day he would actually push Akito away.
"YUKI!" Akito roared in anger. He punched Yuki in the face before he could even react. Yuki fell to the ground with a painful grunt. He shot up again, standing in front of Tohru. Kyo crawled towards Tohru, protectively. Akito snarled, and angrily walked away, slamming the door in the process. It was all over in seconds, the tension in the room slowly calmed down, nobody said a word. They all just stood there watching the door that Akito had angrily slammed.
There was silence, and Tohru laid in the ground her body shivering in shock. She closed her eyes and let more tears roll down freely. She was in the brink of death, and she managed to pull through. Reality had snapped in that she had managed to escape death. She cried louder, breaking the silence in the room.
Yuki sighed in relief, falling to the ground. He stood silently for a moment, his hands pressing against the hard ground. His eyes were fixed on the wooden ground, and nothing else. He clenched his teeth and looked away. He started to shake, and cry. Yuki was actually crying.
"I'm sorry Tohru," he choked out in a small whisper.
"I'm so sorry," he muttered louder.
Kyo turned to face Shigure, who was in the state of shock. He noticed another figure behind Shigure-Hatori. He was standing, in silence, just looking at Tohru sobbing.
Akito's voice growled through the door.
"HATORI!" he cried out in anger. Hatori silently walked towards the door and entered the room Akito was in. Tohru kept her eyes fixed on the door, as if Akito would just pop back in and kill her. She shakily reached for her neck, which now had bruises from Akito's tight grip. She pressed her fingers against one of her bruises and she cringed.
Yuki and Kyo just kept their eyes fixed on Tohru. She bit her lip in pain, and she couldn't stop crying. Kyo clutched his stomach in pain as he got closer to Tohru. He wanted to comfort her more than anything at that moment. Yuki did the same, he opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but nothing came out.
Instead, he grabbed Tohru's hand as if telling her that he was sorry she had to go through this. He put his warm hand on top of Tohru's icy soft hand. She immediately stopped crying and she shot him a sideways glance. She seemed dazed out, as if she weren't thinking clearly. She looked disgusted as her eyes meant Yuki's.
Yuki was surprised at her reaction, he felt rejected just by the look in her eyes. She immediately slipped away from his grasp, and she cringed away. Struggling to get up, she crawled away, closer to her bed. She fell to the ground, and just laid there. Kyo couldn't understand what was going through her head, but it was obvious she didn't want to see anyone at the moment.
Is she mad at us? And if she is…I guess I can't really blame her…But I want her to be safe…I love her so, I guess even if she's mad at us it doesn't matter as long as she's okay.
Kyo shook away from his thoughts when Hatori returned, with a distressing expression on his face. Hatori walked towards Tohru, and started pulling out some bandages and ice for her wounds. Tohru just shook her head, refusing any help.
"Tohru, stop this. We're just trying to help. We understand if you're mad at us," Shigure whispered in a gentle voice. Tohru quickly reacted, widening her eyes.
"No! I'm not mad- I'm not mad at all-Please! I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong idea," Tohru cried, her voice shaking.
"Sorry Tohru, but I don't quite understand," Shigure mumbled.
"I just think…." she lowered her head and sighed. "I don't belong here, everything Akito said is true. I've brought nothing to this family, so why do I need to stay? Instead of helping you guys break the curse, I've only been a burden. I'm so sorry. I know that it's best for everyone's sake if I just leave. Nothing can change my mind about that," Tohru mumbled.
Yuki's eyes immediately shot up to look at her. He felt a wave of relief to know that she was only ashamed and she wasn't mad, but hearing her words hurt him. She was thinking she was worthless, but to Yuki she was worth so much. He couldn't let her walk away now, he wouldn't let her.
Kyo just looked away in anger. He clenched his teeth at Tohru's words. After so much he had been through with Tohru, how could she say that she wanted to leave so casually?
"Tohru…..you've got the wrong idea, you are worth a lot to this family. I won't mention any names in particular, but if you left I know two people that would definitely miss you," Shigure assured her.
"Maybe you're right, but it doesn't matter. I know it's for the best. Besides, if I leave right now, I'll still have my memories. Then I can cherish my memories of all the Sohmas and all the great time I had living here! That's more than enough….for me," Tohru put a fake, cheerful smile on her face.
"Actually Tohru…there is something Akito told me to tell you…." Hatori interrupted her. Tohru's smile quickly faded with the worried look on Hatori's face.
"W-What is it?" she asked nervously.
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Sorry for the OCness with Yuki, but he loves Tohru so much he stood up towards Akito (I know Yuki probably wouldn't do that, but he does in this one! Aww Yuki is so brave! ).
And sorry for the slow update too! I've been really busy, but either way, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Find out what happens in the next chapter of Battle for a Riceball! Please review! and thank you!