It was the fifth day of summer vacation. Akane woke up quite late and found Tohru and Kyo drenched in water. She couldn't help but laugh as Kyo gave Tohru the chance to bathe first. Akane gave her a knowing eye and smirk which Kyo responded with a grumpy pout. She and Tohru then went to dry the laundry together. Noticing her little sister's long face, Akane nudged Tohru playfully with her elbow.
"Something the matter, Tohru?"
"Ah, it's nothing, nee-san!" Tohru brushed it off with a smile. Akane frowned as she knows Tohru's thinking about something, hard and deeply. But rather than trying to pry the information out of her little sister, Akane chuckled and patted her head.
"Ok, but if you really need something, you know I'm here to listen to you, right?" Akane smiled. Tohru gaped as her cheeks reddened.
"Y-Yes!"
"Come here, let's hug it out!" Akane pulled her lovely little sister into a hug which Tohru reply with a squeal. The two were giggling and laughing.
Their little interaction was suddenly disturbed by two flying sheets of laundry. One went left and one went right.
"Shoot!" Akane scowled. "Tohru, you get the one on the right, I'll get the one on the left!"
"Yes!"
With that, the two sisters took off to find their flying laundry.
Akane found and took the fallen laundry. Thankfully, it landed on a bush and didn't get dirty. She walked to where Tohru was and was shocked to find Yuki, and a beautiful dark horse who suddenly turned into a beautiful... Naked, young girl.
She had a nice figure, a pretty face, and long, silky black hair. And She's a Sohma. And Sohmas has pretty genes.
She was really pretty.
The girl could be seen looking at Tohru with malice, then met Akane's eyes as she stepped into the clearing.
"Tohru, get her clothes, will you?" Akane instructed as she passed her laundry sheet. Tohru did so and ran back to the
The girl seemed wary as Akane stood next to Yuki, who gave her a polite little smile. He turned to ask the girl.
"Rin, what in the world are you doing here?" Yuki asked kindly. "Did you come... To see someone?"
Rin held Yuki's collars at that, angry.
"Haru..." Akane thought to herself.
"Shut up! It's none of your business where I go or what I do!" She spat.
"Listen, don't you dare tell anyone that I'm here!" Rin then turned to Akane with malice, "If you do, I'll kill you!"
"Kill me? You know that's impossible..." Yuki replied simply.
"Excuse me..." Tohru came back with her clothes. Akane hoped that Tohru would bring hers because of the size but hers was still wet.
"Don't play it cool. You're just Akito's toy, after all." Rin said with resentment as she glared into Yuki's eyes. Yuki just stayed silent, not wavering. Rin noticed she said something wrong and stood up, swatting the clothes away from Tohru's hands.
"Don't tell! Don't tell anyone!" She treathened.
"Isuzu-san!" Tohru called out.
Akane sighed and stood up, following the young girl as she left the two younger teens. Yuki was about to stop her, but held off thinking that maybe,
Maybe Akane could handle Rin.
Akane found Rin on the beach stomping on the sandcastle Kyo and Tohru made. She noticed that the collars to Tohru's blouse was ripped because it was too small for Rin.
"Dammit!" Rin kept repeating over and over again. Akane just watched her pitifully.
"What are you angry for?" Akane asked curiously.
"Tch," Rin scowled and turned to kick Akane, only for her to block the kick by taking Rin's foot in her grip.
"That's kind of rude... Not only were you ungrateful, you also destroyed my precious sister's sandcastle." Akane glared at the black haired beauty, gripping Rin's foot tighter. "And you got sand in my hair."
Rin forcefully let go of her foot from Akane's grip, which impressed her. She is the horse of the family after all, it's not surprising that she has strong legs.
"It's not your problem! Go away!" Rin growled angrily.
Akane just stared at her, searching for something.
"You're stubborn just like Haru told."
"Haru?" Rin gasped, and immediately held Akane by the neck, "You keep your mouth shut! And stay away from the Sohma's problems!"
With that, Rin left angrily.
"So it's true." Akane hummed as she watched Rin walk away, "And from the looks of it, she's hiding something... But what?"
Day six, Kyo was called to the main house. Akane just knew it was a recipe for disaster and hoped Kyo would be okay.
Only her and Tohru was left in the house, and Akane had really missed her little sister. So, she decided to spend time with each other.
"Tohru~" Akane called as she opened the door to their room.
"Yes, nee-san?" Tohru answered like her usual happy self from the balcony.
"Want to cook together?" She smiled.
Tohru quickly lit up and ran to hug her sister.
The two cooked together as they caught up with each other. Although they live in the same roof, it always seemed like they never spend much time together.
Tohru was always with Kyo, Yuki, or Arisa and Saki, while Akane was either with Shigure helping him with work, or Hatori.
Just thinking about Hatori made Akane's head hurt. She even felt the blush creeping as she cooked, thinking what if she was cooking for him?
But she quickly snapped out of it, and turned to look at Tohru to ask something, only to find her little sister having the same expression on her face like Akane was.
Tohru looked like she was in love.
Who was she thinking of while making the dish?
Was it... Perhaps... Kyo...?
Tohru seemed to notice not long that Akane was not focused with her dish, when she smelled burning.
"Aka nee-san! Your dish--"
"Ah!!!"
Akane burnt her food, and quickly turned off the stove in a panic. Tohru seemed worried for her, while Akane was catching her breath.
She suddenly laughed out loud, finding it all ridiculous and funny. Tohru seemed confused at first but followed her sister along laughing.
Akane watched from the distance as Tohru built the fallen sandcastle that was destroyed by Rin once again. Not long, she noticed Kyo running to Tohru, and before Tohru seemed to notice, Kyo was the one in realization.
"He loves her..." Akane muttered with a smile. Finally he admitted his feelings.
But since he was so stubborn, it would probably take time to grow into a fruit.
That night, Momiji bought fireworks for them to play the next day, since they're coming back soon. The time flew so fast.
Akane woke up noticing Tohru wasn't in bed and went to search for her. She went down and noticed an ajar door and saw Akito clutching Tohru's face and instantly reacted when she saw scratches on her cheek.
"What are you doing to my sister?" Akane stepped outside with anger from Akito touching Tohru.
"Ah, Akane. Nothing is going on." Akito smiled innocently. Just as Akane was about to take a step closer, someone appeared.
"Akito! I've been looking for you." The man walked closer, and Akane started to recognize him. "I didn't know where you'd gone."
"Sorry, Kureno. I just had to come see her." Akito answered innocently.
"Ah right, Let me introduce you." Akito held the man's chest, "This is Kureno Sohma, the Rooster."
Akane's eyes widened. He was a Sohma all along?
"Nice to... Meet you..." Kureno answered softly and locked eyes with Akane. While Akito went to Tohru to whisper something in Tohru's ear, Akane and Kureno exchanged knowing glances.
So Kureno is Akito's pawn too.
The two left not long after, and Akane turned to Tohru.
"Tohru, get inside,"
"Nee-san!" Tohru called, but Akane had ran and caught up with Akito and Kureno.
"Just how many people are you holding for yourself, Akito-san?" Akane huffed. Akito slowly turned to look at her, amused that she had followed them.
"You're stingy." Akane took a step, "Wanting every Zodiac member to yourself every day," Another step, "Yet throwing them away when you don't need them anymore." Akane finally caught up to a livid Akito.
"And when you want them to attend to your every wishes, how convenient that they come back to you that easily?"
Akito chuckled crazily. "What is your point, you bitch?"
Akane was unfazed by the words.
"What I'm saying is," Akane went nose to nose, "If they weren't really attached to you, would they really come back to you?"
That seemed to struck a nerve. Akito was about to slap her when she dodged and hit him back in the cheek. That slap only made Akane a bit confused.
It really didn't feel like--
Akito was about to slap her again this time, taking advantage of her loss of focus, only to be stopped by Kureno.
"Akito..."
"Shut your mouth... You know nothing!" He growled.
"What I know is," Akane bravely stood up for herself, "You're just an insecure brat."
SLAP!!!
Kureno didn't stop him this time as Akito broke free from his hold. The slap was very hard.
"Why you--!!!"
"Akito-san. We really need to get back." Kureno pleaded patiently.
"Tch!" Akito took Akane's collar, "When I see you again, it's on sight!"
With that, Akito walked away. Kureno locked eyes with Akane, and bowed. He really seemed like he was sorry.
Then Akane got thinking.
If Kureno was the Rooster...
Akito, being someone who has superiority out of all of the Zodiacs would be...
The God.
And Akane just pissed off the God.
But ain't no way he mistreats her friends like that.
She can take God on.
Just watch her.
It was raining when Akane went back wet with a mark on her cheek. She instantly saw Tohru who was hugging the rabbit version of Momiji. Shigure and Hatori was also there, surprising her.
Hatori locked eyes with her.
"Kane..." He walked closer to her, in a bit of a worry. Akane instictively held her cheek, not wanting him to see.
Hatori held her wrist softly so he can move it away for him to assess.
"Are you alright?" He traced the raw skin caused by Akito's hand with his finger. Akane looked away with a blush.
"I'm fine." She pouted, "Help Tohru and Momiji first."
It was only Hatori and Akane in the living room.
Per Akane's request, Tohru and Momiji were treated first and went to bed early. Shigure had gone back knowing he didn't want to disturb the two.
"What did you do?" Hatori sighed as he opened a bottle of cream.
Akane looked away. "What made you think that I did something?" Then sneezed it was very cold outside and she got several drops of rain on her.
Hatori poked her red cheek with his finger, making Akane's eyes look at him. Hatori was unamused.
"Did you fight Akito?" He asked concernedly.
"No?" Akane hummed, "I just called him stingy."
"Stingy?" He glared at her pointedly.
"And an insecure brat."
Hatori sighed at that.
"And did you get slapped from that?"
"I slapped him first though." She said proudly with a large smile. Hatori sighed again and pinched his nose bridge, massaging his eyes.
"You've got to stop aggravating people, Kane." He advised.
"Since when did I start aggravating people?" She challenged back, but sizzled down when Hatori's face only showed genuine concern.
Like he had saw or experienced it before.
Like...
Kana...
"Sorry."
Hatori stopped scrunching his face and gave her a pat in the head.
"Be nice." He concluded.
"Fine."
He smiled at that, and his fingers went down to her bangs and slowly brushed them away behind her ear, so he can reach them and apply some cream.
Akame tried holding her blush. And her tiredness.
Admitting that she has some kind of feelings for him was a bad idea. Now she can't handle him in close proximity.
She looked away as Hatori softly touched her cheek, and tried looking at him while he was concentrating, and found her heart beating faster.
This is bad...
Hatori seemed to notice and his eyes went to her.
This is really bad...
Akane looked away and gulped.
"Sorry, it's just tickles." She lied.
"I'll finish it quickly, then you can go to sleep."
It only tool 2 more minutes for Hatori to finish and bandage her cheek when he noticed she had dozed off. She must've felt very sleepy.
Hatori brushed her hair behind her ears again and watched her breathe. The corner of his lips slowly turned up into a smile, and he stood up to carry her to bed.
Akane seemed compliant as she immediately snuggled to him after smelling his dress shirt. The scent must've been familiar to her. Hatori kept a distance between them so Akane wouldn't be hugging him to make him transform. He went up the stairs with Akane in his arms sleeping peacefully while muttering.
"Ha... Tori..."
He opened the door to her shared room where all of the kids already slept. He walked slowly to her bed, the nearest from the door (which he found out because it was empty), and he gently laid her down and tucked her into her blanket.
Just as he was about to go, Akane's hand stopped him and grabbed him by his dress shirt.
"Tori...?" She called out to him. "No good night... kissy?"
Hatori took her hand in his and kneeled down beside the bed. He patted her head gently like usual and kissed her hand before tucking it inside the blanket again. "Goodnight, Kane..."
He turned to leave and got to the door until Akane called him again in her sleep.
"Tori-san..." That caught his attention. "I... love..."
And then she snored. Hatori's eyes widened a little and ran a hand through his hair.
"It's probably nothing..." And with that, he closed the door to her room.
"Does she...?" He ponders.
The last day, Akane and the kids were playing fireworks happily. Although it was an end to their trip, Akane was happy she got to spend time with Tohru and the Sohmas.
It was after a while when she noticed Rin's figure in a distance. The girl was watching the group play with malice in her eyes, but Akane knew that the malice was more to something else. Rin was gone not long after.
At one point, Tohru stood next to her, which made Akane lean her head on her sister's shoulder, as they look at the Sohmas play.
"I'm going to break their curse," She vowed.
Tohru was not surprised, since she got the same feeling too.
"I'm going to break their curse too, Nee-san."
"Then we're going to break their curse." The two siblings promised as they held each other's hand.
They watched more of the Sohmas, and Akane stood straighter as Tohru called her.
"Nee-san,"
"Yes, Tohru?" Akane follows Tohru's eyes as it never left Kyo's form.
"There's something yoh should know..." The hand holding hers tightened, making Akane concerned.
"Akito-san told me..." Akane gulped. Akito? He's bad news. The bandages on their cheeks proved it.
"Don't listen to him, Tohru..."
"He's the 'God'. All of the Zodiacs are tied to him."
That confirms Akane's suspicions.
"Oh."
"And also..."
What comes next makes Akane's eyes widen in shock, fury, and sadness.
"When everybody graduates, they will come to stay in the Sohma compound forever."
Dread.
"But when Kyo graduates, he will be held in the Sohma compound like a prisoner. Just because he's the Cat Zodiac, like Kazuma-san's grandfather."
Akane's breath shook.
"We really need to find out a way to break the curse."
A/N
Sorry for the very long update! It's been a while. I moved and all that, and it's the new years! And year of the Dragon no less XD My Zodiac year, and Hatori's too hehe. And wow, We've reached so far. Thank you all that have been here through my writing journey. I truly appreciate it.
Reviews:
LadyAmazon: Oh, they sure should've XD hahah Thanks for the review!
James Birdsong: Thank you! And Thanks for the review!
Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967: Thank you for the review!
TwilightEclps: Sorry for taking so long! I hope you'll like this chapter. I didn't want the series to end too. Thanks for the review!
roman fiori: Thank you very much! I appreciate it!
malexity: Hey there! I get what you mean. I've been in and out of my Fruits Basket too, and just recently got back again cuz I miss Hatori. Hope you like this chapter, sorry it took so long! And thanks for the review!
NightOwler: Here's an update, sorry it took so long! And thanks for the review!
Jay: Congrats! And thank you for the review!
hollypop2014: I'm writing more of it alright! Sorry it took so long, and Thanks for the review!
Please Read and Review. Truly Appreciated! Thank you so much! See ya next chapter!