Chapter 5-I do not own Fruits Basket
My apologies on the delay in updating. Both my daughter and I have been badly ill which resulted in visits to the hospital and urgent care centers and numerous doctors over the last two weeks. As you can imagine, this interrupted my writing (as well as hers) tremendously. Everyone is feeling better now, and I will try to update more frequently. Also, I may be leaving my job soon (which is where I do all my writing) and this may change the frequency of my updates as well. I will try to write as many chapters as I can in this story before that happens so that I can try to finish it. I know I will finish my story "All's Fair in Love and War" since that one is shorter, but I'm a bit worried about this one which is looking like it's going to be very long!
Akito sat leaning out her window watching the birds flitting about from tree to tree. She often spent much time looking out this window, watching as the other Sohmas scurried about, living their normal, daily lives. Sometimes she imagined what it must be like to be able to go about freely, experiencing all that life had to offer. A young woman in a freshly starched maid's uniform hurried by, clutching a small package wrapped in brown paper and tied off with twine. She glanced nervously at her watch, and then picked up her pace slightly and hurried towards the front gate. Akito watched her until she could no longer see her past the myriad buildings and trees that dotted the Sohma compound. She imagined the woman's internal dialogue as she rushed away with her package. "Oh I must hurry! Shinobu-san said that this package must be delivered to Chihiro Seta-san before noon and it's already past eleven!" Or perhaps the package was a birthday present she was mailing to her mother. Akito's stomach knotted and her chest grew tight at that thought. She wondered what it would be like to have the sort of relationship with her mother that would include the exchange of presents at birthdays. She wondered what it would be like to have any sort of positive relationship with her mother.
The sound of her sitting room door sliding open distracted Akito from her thoughts, and she turned and looked over her shoulder to see who was entering the room. Her maid stood there with a tall, beautiful blond woman and a small,frightened-looking silver haired boy. She felt a warmth spread through her heart that began pulsing and humming as it sang through her veins and spread to every limb. The little boy's violet eyes welled up and his lower lip began to quiver. Akito opened her arms to him and he began to cry. The blond woman's beautiful face twisted into a grotesque mask of annoyance.
"Yuki!" she chided him severely, "Quit crying and go greet the head of the family. I will not have you humiliating me." The child looked up at her with wide, frightened eyes that pleaded silently for comfort and understanding.
"That is how all of the juuneshi who have met him responded, Ma'am. Even the older ones cried when they first were brought into Akito-san's presence," said the maid in a placating tone. The woman looked contemptuously at the maid as though she was disgusted that the woman had even dared to speak to her, and then she directed her attention back to the boy.
"You are to stay here with Akito, Yuki, and be his companion. I expect you to obey everything the head of the family says. Do not do anything to dishonor your father or me. Do you understand?" The boy looked up at her with his wide, tear-rimmed eyes and nodded. His mother turned then to Akito, bowed obsequiously, and then began to head for the door. Yuki tried to grasp her hand as she walked away, but she pulled it sharply away from him and left without looking back. The maid bowed to Akito and then followed the woman, sliding the door shut behind her. Akito turned to the boy.
"You are Yuki," she said simply. He nodded at her, his eyes still brimming with tears. "Your hair is silver, like a rat's fur. You must be the rat." He nodded again, still mutely observing her. She felt irritated by his continuing silence. "You can talk can't you?" she asked impatiently.
"Y-y-yes, Akito-san," he stammered. She smiled at him again.
"Good. Then let's go play outside. It's been a while since I've played outside." She grabbed his hand and ran for the door, half dragging the startled boy until he could catch up to her.
She was excited. It had been too long since she had had a playmate. She had spent too many long, lonely days alone in her room since Shigure and the others had gone back to school. She had become so accustomed to the painfully polite indifference of the servants and the outright hostility of her mother that she felt uncertain of how she should interact with Yuki; but she also wasn't going to let this opportunity to play and have fun slip through her fingers.
As she and Yuki ran out the front door of the main house and into the grassy and tree-shaded courtyard. She saw a red rubber ball lying deserted in the corner of the garden, half hidden under the foliage of a rhododendron bush and she scooped it up.
"Hey Yuki!" she shouted. The boy was at the other end of the courtyard, running to catch up with her. "Catch!" she shouted and she tossed the ball at him. The ball bounced off ground in front of him and laughing, he ran to get it as it bounced away. When he caught the ball, he threw it back to her and she jumped up and caught it.
Akito laughed happily. She ran over to Yuki and hugged him. The boy was at first startled, and then surprised. He looked at her questioningly and she could read his confusion in his eyes.
"We can hug each other because we are both a part of the juuneshi bond," she explained to him. His eyes lit with understanding. He shyly hugged her back. Akito enjoyed the contact of the hug, but she was eager to get playing again. She broke free of his hug and started kicking the ball around the courtyard.
He ran after her and they continued running and playing outside. Unnoticed by either of them, Kurosawa and Ren watched them playing from the window of the main house.
"As you can see, I have taken care of your little problem Kurosawa," Ren said lightly, turning her gaze on to the doctor. Kurosawa ignored her, continuing to watch the children's play. Ren frowned at his lack of attention and she placed her hand lightly on his arm.
"You could show a little more gratitude, Kurosawa," she said coaxingly. "Now we don't have to worry about Akito feeling lonely and taking it out on the help." Kurosawa turned and looked at her without making an effort to feign his disdain for her.
"I should hardly be expected to praise you for doing a duty you shouldn't have had to be coerced into performing in the first place." Her eyes narrowed and glittered dangerously. "Still, I think you chose well in selecting Mitsune's son Yuki as a companion for Akito," he admitted grudgingly. Ren relaxed her expression into her slow, seductive smile.
"Why Kurosawa, I do believe that is the first time you've ever said something complimentary to me." She ran her hand softly over Kurosawa's arm, enjoying the feeling of revulsion she felt rolling off of him in waves. He turned and faced Ren, effectively removing his arm from her caress.
"Don't get too accustomed to it," he said in a tightly controlled voice. "It's not likely to occur again any time soon." He bowed and took leave from her. Ren watched him as he walked briskly away, laughing softly to herself. Few things distracted her better from her Akira's death than making Akito miserable; but tormenting Kurosawa was almost as effective. She watched Kurosawa's tight little ass in his gray dress slacks as he walked away, and a slow, dangerous smile played across her lips. Tormenting Kurosawa had some very interesting possibilities that she hadn't previously considered.
