Momiji looked at Akito with fear on his face. "Akito!" he said, looking down. Akito walked closer to Tohru. "I don't care how disrespectful you are to me," she said, raising her arms toward Tohru. "But there is something that I want to tell you."
She grabbed Tohru by the face and pulled her towards her. "You may think that you have saved Yuki and Kyo. But don't get full of yourself, scum." Momiji raised his head and looked at Akito with fear in his eyes.
"You better take your arrogance down a notch. "Let me tell you something about your precious Kyo. After high school, Kyo will be confined." Tohru's eyes widened. "Just as the previous cats before him. They were all confined. Locked away. For life."
"Yuki and the others will come to live and die at the Soma Estate, with me. All of the Zodiac members will live in one place, in the same position at the same pace. They will not take and nothing will be taken from them. Forever unchanging."
A future of happiness, an eternal banquet." Akito's fingers ran through Tohru's hair. "But I will not allow you to join us." Akito turned to walk away. "Is that what true happiness is?" asked Tohru in a small voice.
Akito stopped and turned to look at Tohru. "To be confined? To return to the Soma estate, forever?" Akito stared at the girl. Tears fell from Tohru's eyes.
'All of the progress that everyone made to move forward with their lives, will that be taken away from them?'
Akito looked at her. "Don't make it sound like it's such a bad thing. You, an outsider, just have a different way of life than us. It's not something as simple that you can just judge whether this is right or wrong with your pathetic values."
Tohru looked at Akito as it started to rain. "Who are you? Who are you in the zodiac?" she asked. Akito scoffed and walked towards Tohru.
'Akito isn't the rooster. Akito is different. A different being.'
Akito stopped in front of her. "Who are you to the zodiac members?" she asked, looking at the woman standing in front of her. Suddenly Kyoko's voice filled Tohru's head with the story of the Zodiac. 'God.'
Akito put her hand on Tohru's cheek. 'God told the animals.' Her mother's voice echoed in her ear.
"To the zodiac members above all others, my existence is equivalent to that of God." She said, dragging her nails down Tohru's face, leaving trails of blood down her face. "I command their souls."
"I am ruler of their souls." Tohru looked at Akito in shock. "Akito." She turned and there stood Kureno. "I was wondering where you went," he said, walking towards her. Akito smiled and walked over to him.
She put her arms on his chest. "Sorry, Kureno. I just had to come and see her." Akito turned. "That's right. Let me introduce you." She leaned into him. "This is Kureno Soma, the rooster."
Kureno looked at Tohru. "It's nice to meet you." Tohru looked at him in shock. 'The rooster. He's the rooster.' Akito walked back over and grabbed some of Tohru's hair. She leaned into her ear.
"All the zodiac members will come to me in the end. They can never be separated from me. So don't try to ruin our blessing anymore. Stop meddling and behave. "Or else.." She ran her hand down Tohru's hair. "You will be punished."
Akito turned and started to walk away. "I may be nothing. You may despise me. But I will do whatever I can to protect them from you." Akito stopped and turned to look at Tohru.
Tohru looked up, tears brimming her eyes. "Because your eternity, your blessing is misery to them." Akito reached her arm in the sleeve of her shirt.
"Akito, no!" yelled Kureno. She slashed Tohru's arm. Tohru just stood still. Momiji looked in horror. He grabbed Tohru, pulling her slightly away from the thrashing woman.
Kureno grabbed Akito. "Akito, enough! We need to go back to the house," said Kureno, fighting to keep Akito controlled.
"How dare you talk about my special bonds with the Zodiac animals! You don't know anything about them!" She screamed, thrashing, fighting Kureno. Tohru continued to stand there, blood running down both her cheek and arm.
Akito reached for Tohru again. Someone walked in front of Tohru, putting their arm in front of her. "I think that's enough, Akito," said Shigure. Tohru snapped out of her trance and looked at Shigure.
"I think it's time that you allow Kureno to take you back to the house. You seem tired." Akito stopped thrashing and looked at Shigure. Her bangs covered her eyes. She faced Tohru.
"What happens with the Zodiac animals is up to me and me alone. You are nothing but a nuisance, girl. You mean nothing. You are just a stupid girl that I allow to be here. Remember that girl. You can't do anything. Not for any of the members."
She turned and walked away. It started to rain. Shigure turned and looked over at Tohru. "Are you alright?" he asked. She dropped to her knees and just looked at the ground. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to Hatori.
"Hatori, you're here too?" she asked lowly. "Yes, Momiji came and got us." Tohru looked at Hatori.
"Momiji is okay right!? He's not hurt !?" she asked. "He's fine. He's behind me." Tohru looked behind Hatori to see Momiji. His bangs were covering his eyes and tears were running down his cheeks.
He raised his head, his bangs revealing his bloodshot eyes from crying. "Tohru, are you okay?" he asked. "I'm fine. Nothing to worry about," she said with a kind smile. Momiji ran straight to Tohru and embraced her.
He soon turned into a rabbit and she hugged the rabbit so tightly. She stood up and she looked in the doorway and there was Kyo. She could feel the anger in the air coming from both him and Yuki. She also noticed that Haru had his hand on Kyo's arm, holding him back.
They all walked in. Tohru carrying Momiji in. She stopped and looked at Haru, Kyo, and Yuki. They were all silent.
"Ms. Honda…." Yuki trailed off. He didn't know what to say. This was exactly what he wanted to avoid. He never wanted Tohru to be a victim of Akito too. She laid the exhausted rabbit on the couch and she turned to Hatori.
"Come, I will see to your wounds," he said. She nodded. Hatori dabbed at her wounds with a cotton pad. "They aren't too deep." Tohru stayed silent. Hatori sighed deeply. "I am sorry that you are caught up in all this. The last thing we wanted was for Akito to be a threat to you."
Tohru looked at Hatori. "It's not me that I worry for. It's all of you." Hatori sighed and looked at her. "We were destined to be this way Tohru. This is what happens to the members of the zodiac."
Tears filled her eyes. "I can't accept that." Hatori looked at her with shock. "I can't accept that that will happen to all of you. That you have to be stuck with her for eternity. That you have this suffocating bond. That Kyo…" she trailed off as more tears filled her eyes.
She wiped the tears from her eyes. "It's late." Tohru looked up at Hatori. She nodded. "Yes." Hatori stood up. "You should get some rest." She nodded silently. She opened the door and she stopped when she saw Kyo standing there, bangs covering his eyes.
"Kyo? Are you okay?" she asked. He looked at her. "Are you?" She sighed and nodded. "Are you really?" She looked at him, tears filling her eyes. "No. I'm not okay." She looked at the floor.
"I'm sorry. I want nothing more than to just have fun while we are here. But I can't get over the fact that Akito is going to take you, take all of you from me. I love living with you, Yuki, and Shigure. And what she said she was going to do with you.." She stopped talking as she looked at him. She looked back at the ground. Kyo walked over to her and put his hand gently on her head. "Hey, it's going to be okay." Tohru shook her head. "No, not if I lose them. Not if I lose you."
Kyo put his head on her shoulder. "Tohru, you aren't going to lose anyone." Tohru looked at him. "Please, Kyo. Don't let her take you from me. I can't bear to lose you." Kyo sighed and he put his lips to the top of her head. "You aren't going to lose me."
Tohru looked up at him, tears falling down her face. "Kyo, I will do whatever I can to keep you from being locked up." Kyo shook his head. "Tohru, don't worry about that."
'I'm not worth it. Don't waste your breath on me.'
"Don't worry about me. I'm not going anywhere." Tohru looked at him. Kyo's heart broke for her. He could see the fear in her eyes. He took her hand. "Want to take a walk on the beach, to calm down?"
Tohru nodded her head. She walked to her room and she checked on Momiji and Kisa, both sleeping soundly. She quietly grabbed her sundress and she walked back to Kyo. They walked to the front door.
"We are going for a walk. We will be back," said Kyo, opening the door. They walked back to the beach. And they stood there and looked at the ocean. Tohru closed her eyes and she tried to focus on the waves, letting them calm her.
Kyo looked at her. "Do you feel any better?" he asked. She opened her eyes and she looked at him. "Kinda." Kyo nodded. He sat her down on the beach and he sat next to her. They both watched the water.
"Tohru, I don't want you to worry about me. About what is going to happen to me after graduation. That's my life." Tohru looked at him, tears filling her eyes. "No." Kyo gasped and looked at her, her tear-filled face.
"No, that is not a life. What Akito is doing to all of you. That isn't life. She's being selfish. She doesn't want to let go of any of you. And then she wants to lock you away just because you are the cat. That's not a life Kyo."
Kyo sighed. "You can't worry about that. About me." Tohru shook her head. "You are all special to me. You are precious to me, Kyo." Kyo looked at her with shock.
'I won't hope that I can make you mine anymore. I want to stay by your side for the time I have left.'
Tohru looked at the sand. "Kyo, when Akito told me that all of the zodiac members were going back to the main estate, my heart hurt. Because all of the zodiac members have become important to me." Kyo looked at her, blinking slowly.
"But.." She clenched the skirt of her dress. She took a deep breath and picked her head up, tears falling. "When Akito told me that you were going to be locked away forever, my heart completely broke." Kyo looked at her in shock.
She looked back down. "It may make me selfish because I feel this way. But I can't imagine my life without you." Kyo looked at her in shock, silent. "I love living with Yuki, and Shigure. But if you weren't there, it would feel empty."
Kyo shook his head. "No." Tohru looked up. "You can't feel that way. Not about me." Pain went through Tohru's heart. He stood, her head following. "You can't feel that way about me."
"You have to let me go Tohru." Tears fell down her face. "Kyo.." He refused to look at her tear-stained face. Tohru went to touch and caress his cheek. Kyo grabbed her hand, stopping her.
Tohru gasped lowly. He turned, looking into her tear stained eyes. "I am disappointed in you, Tohru."
Tohru gasped. She sobbed and got up, running back toward the house, leaving Kyo on the beach. Kyo looked at the full moon and tears fell down his face.
'I'm so sorry, Tohru. I just can't let myself tarnish you. I can't let Akito continue to talk bad about you. I won't.'
He clenched his fist at his side.