A/N: I promise I haven't forgotten about this story! It's just, I have a lot of them - and a lot of other ideas I'd like to work on too. ^^' Sorry for the delay in updating!

VvVvV

Akito paced the floor of her room in a rage. How dare that woman! she thought menacingly, clenching her jaw. Who does she think she is…she's a pathetic, vile, useless creature not worth anyone's time – and yet she acts as if she is the god!

The head of the family threw a book at the wall, eyes snapping back to it when it fell to the floor.

'The spine will be damaged.'

Shigure's words to her, such a long time ago – after he'd given her a journal. A beautiful, crisp journal.

And then she'd seen the first words inside of it, scribbled on the left side:

For all the secrets I already know but need a place to go

And then hurled it at the door as Shigure laughed, spoke, and left.

It hadn't been this door, of course. This door led to the hallway behind Hatori's office, not the hallway to her bedroom…although, for now, the room was hers – to be shared with Kureno once he returned from his errand, and relinquished what she was sure was a skinny apartment building, with no room for comfort.

She sighed, remembering – more to hold in the tears than because of sadness.

She wasn't sad. She was merely grieving. As head of the family, it was only right to grieve for what had been her family's home for generations – perhaps millennia. No one really knew how long.

But it had been during her reign that it had been destroyed.

And that hurt like nothing else her mother had ever done to her – that anyone had ever done to her. Shigure's little tricks and comments were nothing compared to this – compared to that new girl who lived with him, Yuki, and Kyo. Isuzu or Kyo's acting out only slight misdemeanors when faced with this atrocious felony.

But Yuki; Yuki was coming. She should concentrate on that…she wanted to concentrate on that. And it was more important anyhow.

Feeling suddenly calmer, Akito changed out of her nighttime robes and into the daily, more formal ones meant for Jyuunishi visits, then made her way to the front of the house. She took one look around Hatori's office and frowned, wishing there was another chair in it besides the lone desk chair. But that was easily remedied – although the doctor himself wasn't there, a few select maids had come along with her to the dragon's workplace, and she rapped the wall loudly to summon one to her side, not in the mood to call.

"Yes, Akito-sama?" Akito liked this maid, and seeing her relaxed the god further. She never pressed for anything, always did what she was told, as swiftly and efficiently as possible.

"I need another chair." The head of the family pointed to other, indicating that she wanted the maid to bring it here and set it next to this one. After she had, Akito sat down on the cushier, taller one and then dismissed her. She bowed lowly before withdrawing, a sight the god failed to see because the doorbell rang.

Akito swept across the room, wanting to open the door herself – something that the maid hadn't failed to notice. Once she'd wrenched it aside and her eyes had adjusted to the sudden outpouring of light, it revealed a small, brown haired girl standing there, who bowed politely in the Sohma head's direction.

"Ah – Akito-san…hello.." Tohru's voice was timid, gentle – which made Akito want to shake her, shake her until all of the gentle kindness she possessed, perhaps stolen, had been drained out of her. "Is Hatori-san here?" she asked, courageously pressing on. Akito didn't doubt that she was intimidated by her – by the unexpected presence of the god.

The god was going to respond, tell the silly, ugly girl that he wasn't here and have her be on her way before Yuki had the chance to arrive, but then she went on softly, "I was told he wanted to see me…"

"He's here," spat Akito, blood rushing to her face, voice slathered with the utmost contempt, "but he definitely doesn't want to see you!"

With that, she slammed the door in Tohru's face, seething.

Tohru remained in place for a moment, temporarily dazed. Then she seemed to shake it off, bringing her fist up to the door again. This time she'd knock – maybe Akito-san didn't like loud rings, maybe she'd been rude the first time without knowing. Maybe she needed to be more respectful, more attentive – this time she would be, this time she'd get it right!

Although…if what the Sohma family head had said was true, if Hatori really didn't want to see her…it'd be disrespectful to push her company onto him when he didn't want it. She wanted to make all well between her and Akito – but perhaps this wasn't the best time to try.

So she turned away slowly, not wanting to intrude. She bumped into Yuki, who'd just come up behind her on the stone path.

"Oh, Yuki-kun, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there!" she apologized quickly, flushing a light pink. He smiled back at her.

"It's alright. Don't worry about it Honda-san. Did something distract you?" he questioned, looking at her with concern.

"Well, um, yes," she admitted, her fingers interlacing and then splitting apart in nearly the same movement. "But it's okay – it's gone now." He still seemed worried, so she added hastily, "-Did you come to see Hatori too?" She knew Yuki had to have fairly frequent checkups, on account of his poor physical health – which, reminding her of Akito's even poorer health, sent a vein of sadness coursing through her heart.

"No," answered Yuki, looking away. "I didn't." He wondered, briefly, if he should tell her the real reason he'd come…it would only upset her, he thought – and if she told him not to, he didn't think he'd be able to go. So he decided against it, instead saying, "I just came to deliver something."

It wasn't a total lie. Shigure had given him a small, rectangular package, to 'give to their almighty God', he'd said. Yuki wasn't sure if his words had been sarcastic or not – it was hard to tell with the novelist.

"Oh, really, what?! I mean, if you don't mind telling me, you don't have to, of course…" Tohru trailed off, feeling more than a little embarrassed.

"I don't know," he told her honestly, eyebrows furrowing in thought. "Here, you can hold it." Yuki handed it to her, watched her weigh it in her hands. "Maybe it's a book. Shigure gave it to me, so it could be one of his," he reasoned. "Although…it's a little light for that."

"Maybe it's a comic book, or – or – or a graphic novel!" suggested Tohru, peering at it curiously.

"Maybe," conceded Yuki. "But I don't think Shigure would give one to Akito…except maybe as a prank," he added under his breath, just so she couldn't hear.

But would the dog prank the god? Yuki wasn't sure about that, either.

"It's for Akito-san?" exclaimed Tohru in surprise, looking up at him. Yuki nodded.

"Yes. He told me to give it to him."

"Do you want me to wait for you to give it to him, so we can walk back together?" she offered, mustering up a smile. She knew that being around the god terrified him – to say the least.

Yuki hesitated. "-No. I appreciate it, Honda-san – but I think this might take a while."

Tohru nodded. "…Okay." She was still reluctant to leave Yuki by himself, but he stepped past her and knocked on the door, leaving her with little choice but to go.

Akito stopped mid-fury as soon as she heard the knock, a little weaker, a little louder than the previous one.

This had to be Yuki. If it wasn't, then at least the god would get satisfaction in taking her disappointment out on the idiotic girl.

"Akito-sama." Yuki bent quickly when she opened the door, afraid of retribution.

Akito smiled, waving him to come inside. She was genuinely happy to see him, and was now in a much better mood because of it.

Only for them. Only for her Jyuunishi could she do this, do this whole, recycled routine daily.

"Yuki…hello. Come, sit." She directed him to the chair the maid had left, signifying that she wanted him to sit there.

Which of course he did, simultaneously trying to suppress his anxiety at being near the Zodiac god again.

"I told you I had something to show you. Something I'd like you to see." She paused, cocking her head to the side gently. "I'm not certain how you'll react." It sounded more like a threat than curiosity – innocent or otherwise.

Then she noticed the package he was holding. "What's that?" inquired the god sharply, dark eyes narrowing at her rat.

"I – I don't know. It's for you," answered Yuki obediently, striding over to give it to her. "From Shigure."

Akito gave a small start at the name, but Yuki didn't see that or her shocked expression – he'd scampered back to his chair as soon as he'd handed the item to her, as fast as he could without being too conspicuous about it.

But the god wasn't watching him, anyway.

Why – why would he send me something? wondered Akito, instantly suspicious. As interested as she was to see the package's contents, she knew, from past experience, that it might be something horrifically embarrassing or painful…something she in no way wanted Yuki to see. So she set it on top of Hatori's desk, resolving to open it later, as soon as her rat was gone.

But that didn't stop her mind from wandering back to it, wondering what it was.

It was most certainly not a book – it was too thin to be one of Shigure's, or another journal. What else would he give her that would be shaped like this – like a rectangle? She didn't have any idea…which frustrated her to no end – but Yuki was still there, so she forced the thoughts away from the mystery and told him, through tight lips, to follow her outside.

He came, hanging back uncertainly whenever she stopped. It wasn't that far from Hatori's to where the main house had been, but she wasn't used to getting around without him or someone else to lead the way – and she hadn't paid much attention to the directions then, thinking it unnecessary when she'd never have to use them herself.

Still, by some miracle, they made it there – probably because she'd recognized a few landmarks, things she'd thought were odd and so had stuck out to her.

Even being warned beforehand hadn't prepared Yuki for the sight that awaited him. He sucked in a surprised breath, eyeing the scorched remains of the once proud and long-standing Sohma residence. In his heart he felt confusion, sadness, and then relief, remembering what memories the house had held.

Akito watched him, seeing only the surprise. "–Well? What do you think?"

Yuki hesitated. That was always a dangerous question, when asked by the god. "I think…it's sad." He didn't dare to ask what had happened, though he longed to know the answer.

"It is," she stated simply, agreeing with him but leaving room enough for doubt. Then she stopped for about a minute, waiting to see if he'd say something.

He didn't, so she continued. "Would you like to know how this happened?" She could tell he was suppressing his curiosity, trying to keep from angering her.

Her face split into a sinister, knowing smile. The rat would always be hers – no matter what happened.

Yuki looked up at the god with surprise, startled to hear his thoughts voiced aloud by him – although not too startled, considering where they were and why they'd come.

Still, he didn't respond, thinking it safer at the moment than saying yes or no.

He was right, for Akito went on, "A certain witch thought herself a god. That's how this happened."

Yuki's head jerked up, utterly shocked.

Honda-san? But she would never –

"You look so surprised, Yuki." Akito's lips curled. She would enjoy this, although she'd only just gotten the idea from the look on Yuki's face. "She didn't tell you, did she…that's why she was here, you know. Didn't you see her?"

Akito wasn't lying, not outright. Hatori had surely wanted to discuss something with her, something that had involved the fire. Tohru's visit had been purely conversational, although the god knew well that that wasn't how Yuki would take it.

"What did you do to her?" His words startled even himself, falling roughly from his lips as he trembled with rage. He hadn't even known. She'd smiled at him. She'd expressed curiosity for what he'd been holding. She'd acted so normal, and yet…she'd just gone through something terrible.

His mind reeled, imagining all sorts of torture that the god could have put her through.

She'd said she'd been at her job lately, but what if…

No. She wouldn't – she couldn't lie.

It wasn't possible.

He'd seen her try to lie before – he'd definitely have noticed.

Had Kyo known something about this, whatever it was? Was that why he'd been sulking so much?

Come to think of it, where was Shigure? Yuki had only seen him briefly that morning, when he'd given him the package to take to Akito. Hatori had warned them he wouldn't be around much right now, but…still…his absence was unusual, like the rest of what had been happening lately.

"Why, nothing. We merely spoke to each other – that's all."

Yuki glared at Akito, unsure whether or not he should believe the god. The first time he and Honda-san had spoken, she'd assured him that that was all that had happened, but Yuki hadn't quite been convinced then, either.

Akito smiled, also recognizing the echo in her statements. "Don't worry, my rat. Your precious Honda-san is unhurt. As much as I despise her, I would never hurt you in such a way." No, she had plenty of other perfectly harmful, perfectly legal ways. "You are too pathetically kind. Caring for outsiders is a weakness. Trusting them is also a weakness. Look what someone who intruded on the estate did here." Ren certainly fell under the 'intruding' category, so, again, she wasn't lying. Perhaps shaping the truth more than was needed, but this was for Yuki's own good.

Finally…the 'silver lining' on top of this dark cloud of an event – something to use to her advantage.

Yuki stared at the god squarely. "Was it Honda-san?"

Akito stared back just as squarely. "No. But she would have if she could."

Yuki didn't think so, but was too cautious and relieved to say anything else about the subject. The two walked back together, Yuki hurrying a bit because he wanted to check on Tohru as soon as he got back – to make sure that Akito really hadn't done anything else to her.

He also wondered, since it definitely hadn't been Honda-san, who had started the fire…who would have wanted to? From the sound of it, it hadn't been an accident…quite the opposite, in fact. But Akito had said that, and, even without today's experience, he knew well that the god was an expert in making things sound like what they weren't.

He supposed the mystery would have to wait for now. He wasn't sure he wanted to know, at any rate. As long as it wasn't anyone from the Sohma family and no one he knew was in any danger, then he didn't need to know.

But danger comes in many forms…something that the true perpetrator of the fire was ready to show everyone.

VvVvV