Thanks to you all for the wonderful reviews; as I've said before, I love that I can bring enjoyment to others through my work. Anyhow, I hope everyone likes the next session!

Please note - this session contains MAJOR SPOILERS for those who have not read all the way up to I believe chapter 101 of the manga (I'm sorry, but I can't remember exactly which chapter, but I think it's chapter 98 and 101 where the following information is revealed).

Patient – Sohma Akito; Session #213

Session #213 with Akito might be the most bizarre and disturbing psychiatric session I ever had with a member of my family. It had started out as a seemingly normal one (well, as normal as it could be), with Akito coming in, sprawling on the couch, and merrily partaking in some idle banter with me for the beginning bit of the session. Admittedly, at times, I got the impression that Akito continued with these sessions as mere entertainment, with me as her primary entertainer. It was an unsettling feeling, one that I tried to shake off so that I could concentrate on doing my job to the best of my ability.

Once Akito finished amusing herself with her chit chat, I was able to start dealing with some of her more pressing issues and emotional problems. It seemed harmless, at first, the typical discussions, all ending with the same results the previous 212 sessions had. However, without warning, it suddenly became ugly - very ugly.

I blame myself. I'm the one who initiated it with a simple question; "So, what was it about Ataru Moroboshi that bothered you so much Akito?" Thinking back, I should have let it go, but the psychiatrist in me wouldn't allow me to. After all, it had been lingering in the back of my mind since our last session, and I knew that Akito's expressed hatred for the main character of the Urusei Yatsura manga must have had some sort of psychological implications. Yet, at the same time, I should have known better; when we had discussed the manga last time, it had ended in disaster. Why did I think that this time would be any different?

"He is a disloyal lecher," she stated, eyes narrowing.

"I suppose that's true, but Ataru is only a character, Akito. His behavior is typically taken to be just part of the light-hearted fun."

"Do you think it's fun?" she interrogated with severity, "To be so disloyal?"

"Well, of course it's wrong to be disloyal. Are you perhaps struggling yourself with unresolved issues pertaining to this?"

"Lum is their god - she should not be questioned."

"So, Ataru's lechery angers you because, in your mind, it shows that he is questioning Lum?"

"Yes."

"I see…"

"You're taking notes again! What are you writing?" she demanded, sitting up and glaring threateningly at me.

"I'm just writing down your answer to the question, so that I'll remember it later. That's all."

"Oh…" she trailed off. Her gaze averted to the window. It was raining out.

"Do you then feel - "

"Enough!" she snapped; it was her way of saying that she disapproved of how much control I had taken over the session.

"All right," I concurred, and we fell into our usual awkward period of silence. After a moment, she stood up and began slowly pacing around the room. She seemed greatly troubled and almost desperate to share it.

"I was disloyal once…" she finally said in a strange voice that I had never heard her use before.

"Were you?" With this, I foolishly thought I could piece the puzzle together; obviously, she was expressing hatred for Ataru Moroboshi because she saw a character flaw in him that she in actuality loathed in herself. Unfortunately, I would soon learn that wasn't quite it. Yet, I pursued this notion and asked, "Then, do you feel you relate to Ataru on some level?"

"No!" she shouted violently, and her reaction truly startled me. "He is nothing like me! I am like Lum! I am a god! I do nothing wrong!"

"It's okay, Akito, it's okay," I tried to relax her, "Please go on – if you'd like, that is."

She was quiet for a while. Then, she spoke, "We were in love, you know. That never changed. He just didn't understand that I had other urges and desires that I had to fulfill. I am a god, though, but he didn't get it. He's just like Ataru! They all are!"

"It seems to me that you're afraid that those family members cursed by the zodiac will betray you as Ataru does Lum, but remember how we discussed how each of them is an individual who has the right to - "

"He already has betrayed me!" she interrupted me with a shriek.

I felt perplexed as I studied her quizzically. "I'm trying my best to understand, but I'm afraid I'm a bit confused, Akito," I admitted. "Who betrayed you?"

Her eyes were twitching and then grew wide, her expression maddening. She whispered with a strange hiss, "Shigure…Shigure betrayed me…"

My mouth dropped open, and I looked at her silently for a long time in disbelief. Blinking, I shook my head and barely managed to choke out, "What?"

"It wasn't my fault!" At once, she broke out into a frenzy, her body shaking with rage. "It wasn't my fault, Kazuki! Yes, I lusted for Kureno, but Shigure had no right! I was his god! I am his god! And he, he dared sleep with her! He dared to share a bed with her!" With a furious scream, she used all her strength to knock over my bookshelf, all of my books scattering about.

Nervously, I rose to my feet, hoping to calm her down as I slowly approached her. "Please, Akito, this is not a constructive or positive way to deal with your anger."

She snatched one of the books from the floor and threw it at me, the book thankfully missing. She threw a second one which came closer, but I was able to dodge it. "Would you do such a thing to me, Kazuki? Would you?"

"Please, Akito, you mustn't throw things like that –"

"He's a lecher! A lecher like Ataru! A dirty disgusting lecher! How low! How low! To sleep with her! He said he loved me but he slept with her! To sleep with my disgusting mother!"

My eyes widened in shock. To be honest, I was speechless. I couldn't believe it. 212 sessions and how could something like that never come up? How could it be that Shigure, Shigure of all people, had a relationship with not just Akito, but with her mother, as well?

I watched as Akito staggered to the door, breathing labored and coughing a bit. As she left my office, I just stood there silently, unable to think of a single thing to say. I was completely lost for words. The longer I thought about what I had just learned, the more shocking and disturbing it became.

For a fleeting moment, I truly believed that perhaps my family really was cursed.