The Taming of Gods
An Akito X OC fanfiction story. Please leave a review.
Musical inspiration: "Fight Song" by Rachel Platten, and "Guts over fear, Till I Collapse" by Eminem. (Basically lots of angry music to get me in the mood, which is hard when it's the holidays and the sun is shining brightly outside my window…)
Chapter 16
Darkness. That was the first thought that crossed Kyo's mind when he opened his eyes in the dim cavern. Close by, he could see Shigure and Yuki staggering to their feet; Hatori was helping Meda up behind him. Their little group seemed relatively unharmed and they were all together. The only person missing was Akito.
'What the f-?' Kyo trailed off as his eyes slowly adjusted to the dimness around him. It wasn't a cavern, it was some sort of throne room. The walls were bare and seemed to be made of compacted dirt. A resplendent gold and crimson throne glistened in the centre of the room as a golden spotlight shone upon it.
The rest of the room receded into darkness and the five quickly moved away from it. The shifting shadows emitted an eerie feeling, almost as if they were alive. Whatever forms lurked in the corners, Kyo was sure he didn't want to find out. Despite the chills it sent down their spine, the room was quite warm- the temperature and darkness creating a cosy feeling that lulled most visitors into a false sense of sleepy security. However, the fear of the unknown and charged atmosphere kept the 4 Sohmas and Meda wide awake and on high alert.
As they approached the lighted centre of the room, they took in the sight of a splendorous mountain of gold and riches surrounding the throne. Golden cups and diamond chalices shone in the unearthly light. It seemed almost like an altar, filled with rich offerings of gems, money and even food. Shigure's tummy rumbled as he took in the sight of silver platters, laden with mountains of colourful sweets and expensive, juicy fruits. He was about to reach out for a ripe looking nectarine, when his hand was slapped away by an angry Hatori.
'Don't touch it. We don't know what will happen if you do.' He scolded his friend. Kyo and Meda nodded in agreement and hastily took a step back from the daunting throne and offerings.
Suddenly, an eerily familiar, mocking voice boomed out from behind them.
'Greetings and welcome to my humble abode.'
The small group whipped around in both fear and surprise, gasping as they beheld the sight that met them.
It was Akito. Or rather Akitos. For before them, stood the pale trembling head of the Sohma family, watching them with a wild, terrified look in his eyes. Kyo blinked in disbelief as next to Akito stood a powerful looking replica, swathed in robes so dark that they blended into the shadows. The regal version of Akito swept his arms open in welcome, though the cold smile on his face never once reached his onyx eyes.
'What are you?' Yuki gasped, his heading whipping back and forth between the two similar figures. How can there possibly be two Akitos?
'My my, Yuki. How could my dearest, most beloved pet not recognise its master?' He smiled cruelly, a grin of twisted pleasure. Yuki visibly blanched as he remembered the many days spent within the confines of his special room in the Honke, with nothing but this monster and an array of torture devices to pass the time. He began to tremble as the powerful, masterful version of Akito he'd become so well acquainted with came over and ran his hand down the side of his face; a lover's caress. A muscle in the real Akito's jaw twitched as anger steeled his eyes.
'I am your master, all of you will bow to me.' He declared with another grand sweeping gesture, ignoring Meda completely as he addressed his Jyuunishi. 'i am the Kami spirit that dwells within Akito Sohma. Your master, your god, your benevolent benefactor.' Another shark like grin split his face.
'You are not our master.' Hatori ground out, his face twisted into a mask of snarling rage. The sharpest of the lot, he'd already worked out what was happening and just what this Kami meant to the rest of the Sohmas. Before Meda could blink, Hatori was on his knees before the dark robed God, a red palm shaped welt blooming across his handsome face.
'Hatori!' Shigure rushed to his side, his usually placid face torn between anger and concern for his friend.
'Hey! What the fuck do you think you're doing?' Kyo screamed, launching himself at the tall, dark figure who stood laughing amusedly before him. Yuki grabbed Kyo before he could reach the Kami, restraining his cousin before he did something stupid, but the low growl of anger thrumming in Yuki's throat was heard clearly above Kyo's filthy curses.
'Filthy animal. Have you learnt nothing from your ancestors' experiences. Undoubtedly, you deserve your fate. Wild animals like you belong in a cage.' The Kami taunted, his upper lip curled in a familiar expression of disgust.
'STOP! Just stop it!' Akito screamed suddenly, his face colouring red with a passion none of them knew he possessed. It shocked them all, even the Kami, whose pause to blink was the only sign that betrayed his surprise.
'Or else what, my puppet?' He asked sweetly, though his cold eyes flickered with anger.
'I have had enough. Enough of you treating my family like shit. Enough of you tormenting them and torturing them and letting them pour their hate on me. I am the head of the Sohma family and I'm in control. I'M NOT YOUR PUPPET ANYMORE.' Akito thundered, the power and rage rolling off him in almost tangible waves. Meda smiled cruelly as she caught a shadow of doubt- maybe even fear- flicker in the Kami's eyes.
'Looks like our little witch has been filling your head with insensible nonsense. Making you believe you're worth more than you really are.' The Kami sneered, acknowledging Meda's presence for the first time since they'd got there. She stiffened at his use of Akito's pet name for her. 'Well it's time to put you back in your place. Remind you of the pathetic human you were, are.'
Before they could even register his words, tendrils of darkness shot out from the writhing shadows and wrapped them around Akito's wrists and ankles, before another tendril whipped across his back, leaving a glistening red slice in its wake.
Akito involuntarily let out a cry of pain. In the space of a second, seven more slices split his back, cutting into the toned muscle of his back. Akito used all the strength he'd gained in the last few months to keep from crying out as agony seared through his being with every stroke of the tendril.
The Kami laughed at the stricken look on his Jyuunishi's faces.
'Look at this! How pathetic your family head is, reduced to a bleeding, trembling mess under a snap of my fingers. It was I who controlled him for these long years. Every sweet second we spent together Yuki, in the privacy of your "special room", was nectar for my soul, but how your cousin cried for you. 'Leave him alone! Stop hurting Yuki!' In fact, he had this ridiculous attachment to all you Sohmas, but your hatred for him crushed that out of him by the time he was 12. Love? Hah, the entire notion is ridiculous! Thank you Kyo, Yuki, all of you Sohmas for proving me right. For proving to Akito that no matter how much he loved you, all you will ever do is hate him.' The Kami laughed hysterically as Yuki and Kyo's faces paled. All these years, the hatred the entire Sohma family directed towards their head had all been for nothing. The real culprit had worn him like a costume and used his pure soul as a wall to hide his evil behind. Before the ninth whip could land across Akito's ragged red back, two balls of spitting blue fire were hurled across the room, one banishing the tendrils of darkness back into the ugly shadows, and the other bowling over the unsuspecting Kami. As he fell, he knocked down the beautiful golden platters of food and sent many precious jewels and golden statuettes tumbling. Meda had been silent the entire encounter, drawing on every ounce of her training and self control to keep her temper under control. However, the minute the whip had struck her beloved Akito's back, her saint like patience vanished, to be replaced by a burning rage like none she'd felt before. The fire she commanded was not contained just to her hands this time, but consumed her entire being, matching the angry fire spitting in her eyes. Her long thick hair shone luminescent, creating a halo around her head. Shigure swore as the very image of an avenging angel burned before him.
'You do not speak to them that way.' She breathed, struggling to keep her voice even. 'You do not touch him. YOU DO NOT CONTROL ANY OF THEM!' She thundered, her rage finally giving way. Wildfire surrounded the room suddenly, melting the precious metals. The resplendent throne was reduced to a puddle in a matter of seconds and the fire continued to destroy the lavish altar of a God who never deserved it. Though they were witnessing the effects of the unearthly fire around them, none of the Sohma's could feel any heat. In fact, the warm cavern seemed to get colder as Meda's magic burned away the glamorous facade and the ugly truth came to light. Horrific, deformed monsters writhed in the shadows and rotting corpses and bleach white bones glistened in the compact dirt walls. Kyo swore, fear filling him as he grabbed Yuki and Shigure's hand, pulling them protectively back, drawing closer to Meda. The Kami roared in anger as his altar and throne room were burnt to ashes before his eyes. He hadn't anticipated in his wildest dreams that this soft spoken maiden, with eyes like limpid pools, would ever be capable of this much destruction. He rose and with a swipe of his arms, grabbed a handful of the shadows which instantly hardened into a deadly looking, sharp metal rod in his hands. Meda smiled in anticipation. Her expression of love and gentleness was gone, replaced by a terrifying bloodlust and wildness that took her back to when she was younger and had clawed her way to survival in a cruel world, haunted by monsters at every turn. The Kami wasn't the first monster she'd fought, and she'd stopped feeling scared years ago. After her entire Quiluete tribe had been slaughtered in an effort to abduct their young, beautiful prophetess, Meda had quickly learnt the true meaning of evil.
Her fire molded itself into a golden-orange hilted sword, with blue flame for the blade. She met the Kami's strike with her fire-sword, parrying and thrusting and relying on muscle memory as years of self training and fighting began to come back to her.
'You know what? I swore a long time ago to devote myself to healing and spreading love in a world that has far too little of it. However, that doesn't mean I don't know how to cut down bastards like you who threaten to spoil it all. And worst of all, who threaten to hurt people I love.' She grunted with the exertion of blocking the rapid thrusts the Kami threw at her. She whirled to avoid a deadly strike of his rod and aimed low, cutting him by his knees. He hissed in pain as the robe sizzled and burned and the white skin underneath turned an angry, blistering red. 'I lost all the people I ever loved. I watched as my father was hacked to pieces and my mother burned, fighting to her last breath to protect me. I watched my entire family slaughtered in a bloody battle that no child should ever witness. I never thought I'd love again, never thought i'd laugh again until I met the Sohmas. They have all loved me, looked after me, cared for me. They made me feel again when I'd gone so numb that living had become a chore. And you hurt them!' She screamed, bringing her fiery sword down in an arc that severed the wounded God's head from his body. 'This is for Akito.' She breathed in finality as a silence settled over the devastated room. the God's body turned to mist that rapidly dissipated in the freezing room. The walls of the cavern began to quake and break around them. The dirt floor gave way beneath them as the scene crumbled away and they were whisked from what used to be the lair of the God who tormented the Sohma family for generations.
AN: Hey! Sorry about how long it's been since the last update- I just started A levels and boy is it hard. Especially with all science and maths, feels like i never get a break! Anyway, hope you liked the chapter, please leave a review to let me know your thoughts!
NB: I have never read the manga, so the entire thing is based off the anime. As a result, the story is just based on my perceptions of the characters from the anime and my idea of what the Zodiac god would be like. :)