AN: Hey! I managed to update. Well, the same warning goes for next chapter (meaning that I can't guarantee that I'll have a chapter written for next week)...

Anybody send me a link to where I might find chapters 106+ of the manga? My normal site that I read them on is still only at 105... Check my profile for my email, or put it in a review, or send me a PM. o-o Please?

Chapter Thirty-Two-

"What?"

"I'm sorry, sir..."

"No! Repeat what you said, you stupid nurse! What did you say?"

"Yes, sir... um... Akito-sama just passed on in her sleep, a moment ago..."

The Doctor cursed everything he could think of; the Nurse blushed crimson.

"Sir..." she said hesitantly when he'd finally stopped a moment later, "Her life support was turned off when I came in to check on her..."

The Tatsu finally looked at her, "Who was the last person in to see her?"

"Um..." she glanced at her charts for a moment, "A 'Sohma Kureno'..."

Hatori let loose a sigh of relief, "Alright..."

"Would you," she ventured, "like me to track him down?"

"No, no... It's alright; everything's alright..."

-

Kureno smiled to himself; knowing he'd done something wonderful for the family.

However, a moment later, he something rather... important... came to his attention.

He stopped in his tracks as a rather unnerving thought occurred to him, 'Who will be the head of the Sohma Clan...?'

Little did the former Tori know, several Sohma higher-ups were alerted immediately to Akito's seemingly peaceful death. They were wondering the exact same thing.

These Sohmas are horrid at avoiding loopholes; aren't they?

-

"Hiro!" Kisa suddenly cried out, fidgeting in her overstuffed visitor's chair.

The Hitsuji looked at her with the same "did-you-just-feel-that?" expression painted across his face, "...Y-yeah...?"

As he answered, a very depressed-looking Inoshishi turned about to corner. She looked at the two youngest Juunishi, at a loss.

Kagura finally spoke, caving in under their twin curious-but-frightened looks, "Kisa-chan, Hiro-kun... Umm... Akito-sama..."

"Something's happened to Akito-sama, hasn't...?" the Tora blurted out.

"..." the Inoshishi looked to the ground, dreading the pressure on her shoulders, "yes... Akito-sama... has passed on..."

"What?" Hiro said incredulously, "That bastard is dead?"

"I regret to inform you that," she said, "indeed he is..."

Kisa immediately burst into tears.

A watching Momiji suspected that it was more in Kisa's nature, than her pity, that the salty drops ran down her now-rosy cheeks.

She convulsively latched onto Hiro's unsuspecting shoulder, sobbing into it.

At first, the Hitsuji didn't know what to do. He couldn't very well pull away and he certainly didn't want to. In fact, in this situation, it seemed, even those in the Juunishi who hated the deceased God with a passion, were forced to depression. He gathered all of his strength into not crying back onto the Tora's embrace.

He had to be strong for her!

-

"Ah," said Hatsuharu, somewhere between his dwelling and the hospital, "I see the old bitch is dead..."

He shrugged.

AN: I'm learning Japanese! Yay! Sadly, though... My beginner speak-japanese prgram doesn't like me (and neither my dad nor I can make it work); but my Kanji-learning program works fine... I can write vowels, k's, g's, t's, d's, s's, z's, and n's, now. (when I say that I know a letter, it means all of the ways to use the letter... like "ka, ki, ku, ke, ko" is "k"...)

Did you know that, unless the word's borrowed from another language, there are no "ti" and "te" sounds in japanese? oo;;