Prettyinpinkgal: Chapter Fifteen! The charade is over! How will Akito react? What will happen to the Sohmas? Will Tohru find a way to save her friends, and her future love, even if she couldn't save those dearest to her in the past? Stay tuned... ;)
Much thanks to Ebony Dagger for submitting not one, but TWO reviews in one day. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
TROUBLED LOVE
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: CAUGHT
Kyo automatically stepped in front of Tohru.
Akito smiled in a way that was gentle, but full of malicious intent. "No need to fear, Kyo. I won't do anything to any of you at this moment. I thought we would discuss things at the main house."
"Like heck we will!" Kyo snarled, becoming more and more protective as he felt Tohru's trembling fingers clutch his shirt.
"But you will. Especially since you have a chance to save the rest of the Sohma family," Akito said calmly to Tohru, who was barely visible.
"Don't buy it, Tohru," Kyo told her in a low voice. To the vile Akito, he said, "You won't do anything. If you kill them, then you won't have any loyal followers, will you?"
"Ah, but I wouldn't kill anyone, silly Kyo," he laughed lightly. "I would only instill such fear in them that they wouldn't be able to breathe without asking my permission!"
"You're so sick! Isn't there any part of you that's human at all?!" Kyo yelled, drawing attention from a couple of passersby, who then continued on their way.
"That's funny, hearing the cat say such things to me."
Kyo's fists tightened. "Why you--!"
He was just about to charge at the sadistic Sohma when Tohru wrapped her arms around his waist. "No!"
"Tohru, let go!"
"No! No, no, no!"
"Don't shoot her!"
"Hikaru-kun, look out!"
"HIKARU-KUUUUUUN!"
"Not again! Please, God, not again!" Tohru sobbed.
Kyo froze, then unclenched his fists and gently touched her arms, which were still wrapped tightly around him. "It's okay," he said, feeling his heart break. "I won't attack him. Calm down."
Tohru's grip relaxed, and she managed to slow her tears. She looked up at Akito, ready to beg if necessary. "Please, just hurt me. Just don't hurt anyone else."
"Tohru, you idiot!" Kyo yelled.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but no. Our bargain was for the Sohmas and you. How sad," he said with a frown, "that the pain coming for them will all be your fault. You couldn't stand to be apart, and now look what will await them."
"There has to be some other way! Akito-san, please!"
"There is another way. Come to the main house by nightfall and you shall find out. Take care," he said mockingly, taking leave.
Kyo trembled as he watched the object of his disgust blend in with the crowd of people. "Curse him! Tohru, are you okay?"
She nodded, but gave no further answer.
"Oh no, you are not doing that silence thing again! You're going to talk to me, got that?!"
"What do you want me to say, Kyo-kun?!" she wailed. "Of course I'm not okay! I wish Hikaru-kun had just let me get shot, that way everyone would be okay and safe and happy!"
"Don't talk like that!"
"You're the one who wanted me to talk!"
Kyo paused; she had a point. However, anger rose up within him again and he yelled back, "Listen, maybe everyone would be alive but nobody would be happy! I guarantee you that if that Hikaru guy had loved you as much as you believe he did, then he'd still be upset, just like you are. And my family? We'd still be cursed and that dang rat would still be all cool and uncaring all the time and Shigure would still be a huge pervert! Well, he still is... But he's not as much of one! And Ayame wouldn't have made up with Yuki, Kisa would still be missing, and Hiro would be like the walking dead because Kisa would be missing, and Ritsu would be even more annoying than usual, and Hatori wouldn't have forgiven himself. Momiji would be constantly faking smiles because of his own family problems, Kagura wouldn't be happy since she doesn't have any friends besides you, Haru would be Black Haru a lot more, and I'd still be the pathetic kid you met last year."
His voice softened. "I'd be the guy who felt like he constantly had to measure up, the guy who was too pathetic to do anything but beat up everybody and keep my distance. I wouldn't be able to be Shishou's son. And I even if I was, I wouldn't be as happy as I was today."
Tohru's tears had stopped, and she stared at him in amazement, hardly able to believe what he said was true except for the confirmation in her own heart and her own knowledge of the change in everyone. Still, tears welled up again as she muttered, "But even so, I caused you the most pain out of everyone. You and Yuki-kun."
He then reached out and grabbed her shoulders. Quickly, he bent down and kissed her gently on the lips. He lingered there for a few moments, then broke it.
Tohru was still staring.
He concluded his long speech with bluntly saying, "There. Now you've erased any pain I did have. But don't let that rat kiss you. He'll have to figure out some other way."
She only stared at him dumbly.
"Do you want to go to the main house?"
"...Eh? Ah, yes."
"Fine. Let's go."
He took her hand and pulled her along. Now that his face was safely out of her sight, he was able to allow himself to blush; and despite the present circumstances, he could not help but replay the kiss over and over in his mind.
They arrived at the main house just before nightfall.
"Are you sure about this?" Kyo asked.
Tohru nodded. "I'm going to end this." Her eyes were full of the determination she had come to possess, which he admired her for. Yet he still greatly feared for her safety.
They entered. An older servant greeted them. "Everyone is assembled in the banquet room."
Tohru and Kyo were then separated. Kyo was prepared to forcefully keep Tohru with him, but she convinced him that Akito probably wouldn't do anything to her without the Sohmas seeing it, since he apparently was receiving much pleasure from this.
Kyo sat at next to Hatsuharu at the end of the table. "Do you guys know why you're here?" he asked.
"No, only that Akito has an announcement to make."
Kyo only nodded, knowing there was no point in explaining anything now.
Akito made his grand entrance. "Hello, everyone." The smile on his lips was malicious.
"Hello, Akito-san," everyone said politely and simultaneously. Only Kyo was silent.
"I have an important guest who I know you're all anxious to see. Actually, Yuki and Kyo already know about this guest."
Kyo's eyes widened. Yuki? How did he know about this thing? Did Akito tell him? But why bother?
Unless...
Akito's voice was amiable, but his eyes were not. "Send her in," he called to a servant on the other side of the door next to him.
It slid open. Tohru, still in her school uniform, walked in and turned to face everyone. Murmurs of "who's that?" and "that's Tsuki Nekono from school!" began, and it was not until Akito spoke that silence feel on the assembled group.
"Why don't you introduce yourself?" he asked Tohru, smiling.
Tohru could not even manage a smile. Her eyes were serious as she said, "Some of you know me as Tsuki Nekono. I was adopted into the Sunatani family about a month ago after I dyed my hair blonde and got a haircut. I decided to completely remake my personality to become a kogal just before I met my foster mother."
Everyone listened attentively, but some eyes were widening as they began to realize why she might have changed her personality.
"The reason I changed was because I had to keep a bargain I made with Akito-san. I had to stay away from all of you or else he would hurt not only me, but all of you. To make sure to keep distance between us, I had to change my entire identity to keep us safe in case we ever met again. But I did meet many of you again, and then Kyo and Yuki found out my identity, so I did not fulfill my end of the bargain.
"I'm called Tsuki Nekono, but you all once knew me as Tohru Honda."
