Title: Living in a Romance Novel

Chapter 12: In the Antagonists Den

Authors Note: Ah, I'm so sorry for the delay guys – one word, relatives. They're great company but it's a pain in the ass to try and get any work done when they're around. So anyways, you guys deserve an amazing chapter and I intend to give it to you.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or any of the characters. Evalena White is my own creation however, and belongs solely to me.

Fighting is essentially a masculine idea; a woman's weapon is her tongue. ~ Hermione Gingold

For Shigure, the car ride was full of nerves and tension as he did he best to look calm and stare out the window as Hatori drove him, and Lena, to finally meet Akito.

For Lena…the ride was simply tedious.

She picked at her finger nails, let her eyes wander outside, and after the first five minutes of the car ride stopped all attempts to make conversation. It wasn't until they began the slow drive through the outside of the Sohma house that Hatori spoke.

"Don't over strain Akito, he's weak and the last time an event like this happened, the results weren't good," he let a shadow of curiosity fill the car.

Lena sensed it and couldn't help but leap at the mystery, "Well? What happened?"

"I asked permission to marry," Hatori replied solemnly, through the rearview mirror, he saw surprise in Lena's face, and a soft look of pity because she could see there was no ring on his finger. "Akito didn't see it fit, her memories were erased."

"Hmmm, and Akito blinded your eye," Shigure volunteered.

"I wouldn't have told her that part until later Shigure," Hatori shook his head disapprovingly.

"Blinded?!? As in…physical violence?" Damn it! She would have brought her pepper spray…wait a minute. Lena checked the soft bottom of her purse, and found the cold hard metal can of sweet victory.

"Yes, but I'm sure Akito will behave himself in the presence of a woman…at least I hope," Shigure mused, for a moment the old sparkle was back in his eyes as he looked over at Lena and snickered lightly.

"I don't find this amusing," I will taser his ass if he so much as flinches at me. Lena shuddered, and ordered herself to keep a cool and collected mind. There was no reason why her tongue and her brain couldn't do the battle for her.

"He'll be expecting you," Hatori muttered ominously as he unlocked the doors for Shigure and Lena to slip out of.

For a moment, Lena thought about making a run for it, but she didn't like her odds in three inch heels and an unfamiliar forest that she was sure Hatori and Shigure would know every nook and cranny of.

Forward, it seemed, was her only choice.

The doors were heavy; Lena noticed, outlined and framed in gold paint. Apparently the Sohma family was very frivolous with the almighty dollar, well, yen.

"Is it really a good idea to mix business with pleasure on a Sunday?" Lena joked as the doors slammed behind their backs.

"Why? Is the thick blood of New York City thinning out from one tiny little meeting with our head of house?" Shigure asked with tickled amusement. Though even he was failing to find humor in their current situation as they waited for Akito to make an appearance.

"SHIGURE, SHUT THE HELL UP. I AM UNDER ENOUGH PRESSURE AS IT. ANY OTHER GENTLEMAN WOULD TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION BUT NOOOO, YOU HAVE TO BE AN ARROGANT PRICK ABOUT IT…I SWEAR EVERY TIME YOU OPEN YOUR DAMN MOUTH…"

"SILENCE!"

The order rang throughout the room, it had to in order to shut Lena up for her to hear it. Few things could stop Lena when she was on a rampage, but that did it.

"You have the most annoying voice," a whinny, softer voice muttered and half a face could be seen as Akito slowly began to expose himself. "You're such a stupid dog, Shigure. How could some loud mouth American like her protect our secret?"

"See, I'm not the only one who calls you a stupid dog," Lena pointed out with a sassy smirk on her lips. She caught the groan and a look from Shigure that said 'now's not really the time.'

Shigure turned to Akito and fainted a chuckle, "Akito, Evalena's…got personality. She's really no danger."

Humph, "Besides," Lena didn't wait for permission to speak, and by the look she gave Akito, she wasn't planning too, "I can keep a secret," she had since birth.

"Oh really?" Akito's dull voice told Lena that he really could care less.

"Really. Looking around, it seems to me you have all the Sohma's living in one tight little area," Lena's lips grew into a wolfish smirk, "But you missed one. A little nobody that no one cared about, she slipped right through your fingers."

Because she had the Sohma blood running in her veins, and she deserved to have the Sohma surname and as an added plus, the money that came with the surname.

Akito starred at her for the longest time and then frowned, "You really did pick a dense one, Shigure. Oh well, she won't cause any problems once Hatori erases her memories…"

"See, now we have a problem," Lena frowned and heaved a long sigh, "God…I hate being a bitch, but you make it so tempting…see, I'm….slightly fond of my memories from age three until the present. In fact, I can get pretty defensive over my memories…I can be a bitch," because she didn't like how sitting made it look like she was surrendering to him, Lena rose to stand up.

"But I'm not going too," She finally decided and watch Akito seem, almost amused.

In fact, he seemed a little red in the face, "Indulge me," he finally demanded, "I haven't had this much entertainment since Hatori and Kana. Tell me, when you're so obviously a bitch, why aren't you?"

Lena drew in a breath, and then gave her award winning, nail the client smile that always did the job at the end of the day, "Because unlike you, I won't be the result of somebody else's misfortune and unhappiness. I could bitch, I could fight tooth and nail, I'd probably shed some blood, but I won't let you make Shigure's life miserable on my account. He can fuck that up on his own. I won't be another Sohma that ran away, and let the ones they loved and cared about be punished for it. I won't be that person, because to look in the mirror and see that every day, to see a reflection of you…I'd rather shoot myself," and then, her lips curled to make straight, defiant line and her eyes narrowed in on him.

That was all it took, "BITCH, SHIGURE HOW DARE YOU LET HER SPEAK TO ME! I AM GOD. YOU WILL NOT SPEAK TO ME…" he lunged himself at Lena, and caught her full on so both of their bodies were knocked back and they hit the ground.

Shigure was up and tearing Akito away from Lena…or was it Lena away from Akito?

Lena fought, like a girl would fight. She used the weapons god had intended, and ripped with her nails and bit with her teeth. She was not below pulling hair and that was the first thing Akito found out.

It took Shigure a good five minutes to separate the two, bloody, clothes torn, hair messed up and both panting. Under different circumstances, he would have made a sexual joke, but at the moment could find nothing humorous.

"Get out," Akito finally snarled as he pointed towards the door.

"We aren't finished yet," Lena remarked and tore her upper arm away from Shigure so nobody was holding her back.

"Don't care…get out," Akito gasped, "HATORI…" he finally screamed.

"No, you're going to listen, for once, a head of house is going to listen. They aren't going to undercut those they find below them because they simply can. They're not going to call the shots and determine another person's fate because lately, it's been a bit boring in their lives. That's up to me, and if I want to see Shigure, if I want to kiss him and love him, that's up to me too," she patted Shigure's cheek in a fond way that let him know it really was up to her (Shigure on the other hand, had no say in the matter).

Her heels clipped nicely on the floor as she surrounded Akito like a vulture, "Listen up, Shigure might be an irritating, button pushing, infuriating prick…but he's my irritating, button pushing, and infuriating prick. And my memories are also, my memories. So, you can step off, or I can bring out the big guns and we'll really have ourselves a party."

She folded her arms, popped a hip, and waited impatiently for Akito to speak, Shigure beat him to the punch though.

"You love me?"

"Would I put up with you if I didn't?" Lena questioned, she had to bite down on her cheek to stop her lips from splitting into a wide smile.

"Isn't this…precious," Akito spat as he glared at the two of them, "A wet dirty mongrel, finally found someone to love him, too bad this isn't the fairy tales. You won't find a handsome prince coming from him."

Lena laughed, "You know, princes are kind of over rated, I like frustrating arrogant writers."

"Pushy, sarcastic editors aren't half bad either," Shigure remarked with a funny smile on his lips, "Not half bad at all," he added as he gave her slightly torn and inappropriate look another long, desirable look.

"And every time you want to hold him? He'll change into a filthy animal," Akito laughed, and Lena decided it was one of the most awful sounds she had ever heard.

He laughed, and laughed, and laughed…until Shigure let go of his arm.

"I love you Lena, and if you can over look that furry side of me…" was it too much to ask? Shigure hesitated.

Lena gave a bittersweet smile, "Prince needs a play mate anyways," she teased softly, and watched with amusement hidden behind her eyes as Akito's face grew slightly red.

"NO…NO…YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME…" he grabbed for Shigure, but Shigure was easily able to put a hand out and stop Akito.

"I believe our business is done," he took Lena's hand in his and spun around to give Akito a long strange look, "You won't be bothered by us again," this time, when he walked outside and breathed in the air, he was a free man.

Free of the ties that kept him promised to a God.

Free of a curse that didn't allow him love.

Free.

"Okay, what happened in there?" Lena asked as he continued to walk forward with his hand grasping hers, a big smile on his face.

"Stop grinning like an idiot and tell me!" She snapped at him again.

In return, he spun her around and brought her close to his chest, so their racing hearts could beat like one.

For the first time since birth, he stayed completely man with the embrace.

Additional Authors Note: Besides an Epilogue, this is pretty much the end of the story. Now, if you really want me to continue with either a sequel or more chapters (I do have other ideas, but I'd like to know that people still want this story to continue) you have to let me know. I'm not fishing for reviews, if it seems like I am, you can send me a message instead - I'm already quite pleased with how much attention LIARN has gotten. This was always supposed to be a 10 - 15 chapter story, but I figured since it has seemed to reached a lot of interest, I'd give the readers a choice. So, if you want the story to continue and not just have a nice, smooth ending here - let me know. I can give Shigure more lip and sass from Lena. ;)

~ Lady M.