Author's Notes!

yay for chapter two!

i actually have three chapters already written, then I actually have to do work. xD

ohoh! if anyone notices where the title came from, i'll be happy.

later on in the story it makes sense, especially if you've read the actual poem or seen the movie.

thanks, Bakudon.

Baku: Wise man say 'Thou who smelt it, dealt it.'

Disclaimer!

i still don't own Furuba.

no sex up in this mother yet.

just angst.

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"I don't want to die, Hatori."

Akito sat down, still facing away from Hatori. He hugged his knees to his chest, resting his head against them.

"Akito..."

Hatori was...well, almost shocked. Akito had never said this before. He'd always told him that he accepted his death. That he might even be a little okay with going.

"...if you break the curse-"

"No one wants me to stay. No one wants me to live. They want me gone. They hate me. If I break the curse, everyone will leave Sohma House. If you say you wouldn't, you're lying."

Hatori sighed and stared at his knees. Would he leave Sohma House? He wasn't sure. He had always led an enclosed life. He didn't know anything else. But to get away from this family? It would be a deep breath of fresh air. Kana made him feel so...invigorated! What if he could find that again without Akito to dictate what relationships he could and could not have?

And Akito in general...the boy brought him pain. Unhappiness. Stress. Akito was a mess. He probably wanted nothing more than to make Hatori miserable just because he had that power. He did not, and never would, understand that boy.

"If you don't want to be alone, why do you distance yourself? Why do you treat everyone so badly? Fear gains you control, but it does not gain you love."

Akito said nothing. He merely shivered and closed his eyes, starting to feel worse. It wasn't a strange occurance, but nonetheless an unpleaant one all the same.

"...I don't hate all of them, Ha'ri..."

"You could have fooled me. Punishing everyone won't make them like you. Do you think hurting people and making their lives hell will make anyone like you? It will make them stay away from you. Hate you."

"Silence!"

Akito was standing now. He was shaking, shaking from a mix of fever and anger. "If I have to suffer, so do you. If I have to be alone, so does everyone else. If I have to live in hell, so do you!" He was furious. Hatori braced himself, waiting for punches, smacks, thrown objects. "If I have to die with no one who cares one little bit about my life, I hope you all suffer with your curse! Suffer forever!"

"Akito-!"

"If I cannot have the love I desire, neither can you or anyone else!"

Hatori was taken aback, startled. Love? Akito had never mentioned a thing love before. Where was all of this coming from?

"I should have killed Kana! I loved you first! I wanted you! I..." Akito stopped suddenly. His eyes went wide as he realized what he was saying. Realized the secret he'd just told.

He ran.

"Akito!"

Hatori ran after him, if not only because he had to know more about this sudden discovery, but because Akito was still ill and in no shape to be running around in the cool, night air. But this love? Akito was in love with Hatori?

It explained everything! It explained it perfectly. Why Akito hated Kana. Why he wouldn't allow the marriage and even why he blinded Hatori. Why he convinced Hatori to erase Kana's memories. That was the way Akito had always been. If he couldn't have something he desired, no one else could, either. But it made so much sense to Hatori!

Akito was heartsick with unrequited love.

Akito ran. Out of the main house and onto the bridge before he felt someone grab his wrist. Stop him. Turn him around. He didn't need to look to see who it was. He already knew.

"Akito!"

Akito couldn't bear to look at him. Akito was so tired and hurt and cold and...he grabbed onto Hatori. He leaned forward, pressing his lips ever so softly onto the older man's, feeling him tense with eyes wide open with disbelief. Akito's eyes closed as a tear rolled down his cheek, breaking the kiss and clinging to Hatori's shirt. He fell to his knees as his eyes shut, everything going black...fading...darkness...

"I'm sorry, Ha'ri..."

Akito collapsed. Hatori didn't know what to merely stood, a hand pressed to his lips, playing the scene over and over in his mind. Akito said he was in love with him. Akito kissed him. Akito...apologized. Akito passed out.

"Hatori!"

He snapped back into reality, back to the new situation at hand. Hatsuharu was kneeling, holding the head of the Sohma family in his arms.

"I don't know what the hell just happened, but he needs your help! Now!"

And Hatsuharu was right

-chaptertwo++fin-