Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Diminishing Ripples ❯ Akito and the Not So Secret Sick ( Chapter 2 )
[ P - Pre-Teen ]
By: Sakura02 
Anime/Manga: Fruits Basket Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 12.17.2008 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.8K | Visits: 1.4K | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Fruits Basket Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 12.17.2008 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.8K | Visits: 1.4K | Status: Completed
Diminishing Ripples
- - -
Shigure did finally manage to meet his deadline, even with the sudden oncoming of his cold and the worrying over Akito. He had been informed just the other night by Hatori that the Head of the Sohma household was now worse off than he had been the week before. According to Hatori, Akito had recently begun refusing to eat, and the few times that he actually did, he picked at his food and ate very little.
Even Shigure's condition had not gotten any better. He had developed a bad cough that had gotten into his chest, causing him to spit up phlegm. Hatori was sure that his smoking wasn't doing anything to help him, but Shigure did his best reassure him that he had involuntarily quit the habit; when Hatori found out that it was involuntary because Shigure had enough trouble breathing even without a cigarette in his mouth, he prescribed the Dog with some heavy-duty antibiotics.
But Shigure hadn't told him that all they did was clear the phlegm. He still had a cough, and now he felt chills and his body ached horribly. He hadn't been transforming as much, which he considered a good thing, but Hatori had been keeping tabs on him, too--through Tohru and Yuki--and when he found out that Shigure was still ill, he decided to make a quick unannounced visit to the house.
"I don't appreciate you coming over like this; I'm busy," Shigure said, coughing dryly.
"You don't look busy. You look like you could be waiting for dinner."
"That's because I am. How did you know that?"
"Tohru offered me some when I got here--she said it was almost ready. Now, let me do a check-up."
Out of his medical handbag, Hatori pulled out a handful of items, including a digital thermometer and a stethoscope, but in Shigure's eyes, all the items seemed pointless. Hatori put the items on Shigure's writing desk, taking the thermometer and roughly shoving it into the Dog's face.
Somewhat startled, Shigure paused, before taking the offending object and placing it under his tongue. With Hatori's sudden appearance, Shigure forgot all about Akito and the rest of the sufferings the Sohma's would go through once he passed; he was now beginning to worry about his own health. It must have been Tohru that told Hatori to stop by that evening--it had been her the first time. But, of course, he couldn't blame her; she was only worried about him after all.
After a minute, Hatori pulled the thermometer away from Shigure. He studied it a while, his usually stern face unchanged.
"I don't understand," he said, wiping the object on his coat, before throwing it back into his bag.
"What is it?" Without answering, Hatori swept his hand in front of his friend, placing it palm-down against his forhead. "...Har'i?"
"You don't have a fever...," he said, more to himself than to the other.
Shigure rolled his eyes, lightly pushing the man away. "I told you I'm fine. Stressed, but fine."
Again, Hatori ignored him, but instead reached for his stethoscope. He placed the two ends into his ears, and then stopped and looked at Shigure.
Shigured sighed; he wasn't going to even try to argue with Hatori. He let his kimono fall off his shoulders, leaving his chest quite exposed. Hatori took the other end of the instrument and pressed it against Shigure's chest.
"That's cold!" Shigure said, shuddering.
"Sorry."
"No you're not..."
"Shigure, quit acting like a little kid. You don't need me to tell you that metal is cold." Hatori removed the stethoscope and dropped it into his bag. "Your cold hasn't progressed, but it doesn't seem like you've gotten any better."
Shigure looked away, ashamed. It was true: he hadn't gotten better at all. He still felt lousy and no matter what kind of medicine he took, he never seemed to feel different. He was sure Hatori knew that before he did the check-up, and Shigure was just humoring him.
"Akito will want to see you."
"What?" Shigure asked, being brought out of his daze, and then pulling up his sleeves.
"He's requesting private meetings with all of us. I'm surprised no one's told you yet."
He shook his head. "No, Haru and Momiji made that quite clear during their last visit."
"You'll be next on his list," Hatori said, packing up his things. "He's starting with the oldest; Ayame and I have already gone."
"What does he want with us?"
"Nothing really," he said, pausing before continuing. "Shigure, he's getting ready to die. Maybe there are just some things that need to be said."
Shigure was curious now. He'd never had a problem meeting with Akito before, and usually the invitation would be spoken via Hatori but Akito had never been so close to death either. Just thinking about what the family head would say to him made him shudder.
"Just keep taking whatever medicine you've been taking," Hatori said, turning to leave. "If you keep your stress level down, then you should be fine in a few days. Oh, and when you see Akito, don't tell him you're sick."
- - -
Two days after Hatori had come to visit, there was a phone call for Shigure--from the Head Sohma himself--requesting a meeting with him. And even though Shigure had been advised to keep taking medicine, he had stopped taking it altogether. Now that he was visiting Akito today, he regretted his actions completely. He had been coughing so much that he was physically tired of it; his stomach and chest were sore and his throat was raw: he had little to no voice left.
As he made his way down the cobbled path that led to the Main House, he began getting more anxious about what Akito wanted to discuss with him; whatever it was, he had sounded somewhat desperate on the phone:
"...Hello? Is anyone there?"
"Shigure...?"
"Yes, this is he. May I ask who this is?"
"...It's me..."
"Akito?"
There was silence on the other end. Shigure, already knowing of Akito's worsening condition, dearly hoped that Hatori was somewhere nearby the ailing boy. "Akito, are you there?"
"Yes."
Shigure sighed loudly, although he said nothing else that might have set off the Head Sohma. Instead, he asked what had been on his mind since Hatori had come to visit and do his check-up. Again, there was another pause before an answer, and during that small time, Shigure swore he could hear Akito wheezing as he breathed.
"I'm sure you already knew that I would be calling on you," Akito said.
"Hatori told me a few days ago, although Akito, I will admit that I wasn't expecting you to be the one making the call."
"Why not?"
It was times like these that Shigure was glad that he was a writer; he was usually able to come up with an idea in a heartbeat, and with Akito being the one told, Shigure was careful at choosing his words.
"I think you know why," he said, evading the question if just barely. "When did you plan on me coming to meet with you?"
"Tomorrow morning, at 11. There are important things I want to discuss with you, Shigure. I need you to make sure you're here, and on time."
"Okay."
"Shigure, please. 11am tomorrow, don't forget."
"Goodbye, Akito."
Shigure heard Akito begin to cough, first softly and then into a loud hacking cough. The gut-wrenching sound of a liquidy substance being ejected from Akito's mouth made Shigure feel the need to hold back his own vomit. Although it disgusted him beyond all means, he continued to listen, just to see if Hatori had noticed, but when he could take it no more, he slammed the phone down, all the while keeping his hand glued to his mouth; he was afraid that if he removed it, the same thing happening to Akito would soon befall him.
Shigure blinked, having just realized that during his thought-process, he had taken the necessary steps and was now right outside the front door to the Main House. He checked under his kimono sleeve to check the time, but quickly noticed that he had forgotten his watch at home. So, was he early, or was he late? Akito had made it perfectly clear what time he needed to be there, but without his watch, did Shigure really have an excuse for being tardy?
It's now or never, Shigure thought, taking a deep breath.
He stretched out his arm, grabbing for the door when, suddenly, the door opened of its own accord, giving Shigure a fright. He saw no one until he looked down and was met by the shy and curious golden eyes of the little girl, Kisa. She stared up at him, somewhat startled with someone being in front of the door when she opened it.
"Good morning, Kisa," Shigure said, pulling the door ajar.
"Morning," the girl answered, her voice quivering with uneasiness.
Shigure smiled as she ducked under his arm and dashed towards one of the other homes in the compound. Kisa was an unusually shy girl, but she had always seemed somewhat comfortable with Shigure and most of the others under the zodiac curse. He quickly dismissed it as he stepped into the Main House, sliding the door shut behind him. He was beginning to feel a little uneasy himself as he made his way to Akito's private room, down the hall and to the last door on the right. He was polite enough to knock, already knowing that there wouldn't be an answer.
"Akito, I'm coming in," he said, opening the door slowly and quietly.
Akito was sitting at the window, which wasn't a rare habit, and he turned his head as Shigure made his way inside. The sickly boy pulled himself up, smoothing the creases in his clothes before walking closer to the Dog who had already knelt down in the center of the room, his hands folded neatly in his lap. Akito stepped up onto the raised part of the room, across from Shigure, and sat down rather casually.
Shigure avoided Akito's eyes completely, he couldn't bring himself to look at them. Instead, he kept his eyes glued to a dark wine-colored stain in the carpet. After thorough observation, he realized that it was a faded blood stain. He wondered if that's what he heard Akito cough up the other day.
"I'm glad you made it," Akito said. "I was beginning to worry that you'd forgotten."
Shigure said nothing, but stared directly into the boy's eyes. Over the years he'd learned that speaking out of turn, which was whenever Akito thought it was, usually got you in trouble like it had Hatori; he learned that, in Akito's eyes, speaking was a privilege that only he could grant.
"Why are you here, Shigure?" Akito asked, smiling a wicked grin.
Shigure also knew that Akito liked to play games with people's minds. His question seemed easy enough, but when Akito gave that special smile, it was clear to any zodiac member that there was something beyond the question itself. The trick was to find out what it was before Akito got tired of playing. Sometimes, there really were no hidden understandings to catch; that was also his way of making people crazy.
"You wanted to see me," Shigure said, when he could think of nothing else that Akito might be asking. "You said there were important things you wanted to discuss with me."
"That's right, I remember now." His smile became more profound. "But first, tell me why Hatori went and visited you."
Now Shigure knew what Akito was getting at. His first question had been a true honest-to-God question, but it had made Shigure think about the possibilities of an answer, which had left him defenseless against the next question because he could find nothing wrong with the first. He knew now that Hatori hadn't mentioned that he would be stopping by his place to do the check-up, which meant that Akito had found out another way; he had good means of doing that. Shigure knew that in order to save himself and his friend, he would have to lie to Akito. He didn't know how long he would be able to keep up the charade, but he knew that he had to at least try.
"Hatori came by last week to pick up Hatsuharu and Momiji--"
"Don't lie!" Akito's grin had faded completely and was replaced with a face of malice. "I know Hatori went to see you two days ago, and I'm asking you why."
"Oh, and when you see Akito, don't tell him you're sick."
Those had been Hatori's only words of advice to him, but when Akito demanded information from someone, they were foolish to deny him.
"Akito, please," Shigure began again. "You didn't call me out here to--"
"Didn't I, Shigure? Do you even know why I called you here?"
When he said nothing, Akito became furious. Shigure watched as he grabbed a burning stick of incense and tossed it to the side. Inwardly, he sighed, squeezing his hands together to stop them from twitching. He had really been afraid that that burning stick was meant for him. But his relief was short lived as he saw Akito grope for the small plate of incense ashes and launch it in Shigure's direction. Afraid to move, he let the plate fly towards him, wincing as it hit the side of his head and the ashes burned his ear.
"Is that all?" Shigure asked, trembling but ready to leave.
"Your voice," Akito said, his face becoming more relaxed and less threatening. "What's wrong with your voice?"
"What do you...?"
Shigure's voice had become hoarse, probably from his walking out in the cold air. He hadn't noticed before, or maybe it had just gotten that way, but with his throat so sore from coughing and then with the chilly air, now it was almost impossible to miss that he was ill. True, Akito was young, but he wasn't naive; no secret was safe from him.
"You're sick!" Akito shouted. "How could I have missed it? You're pale, your cheeks are flushed from fever, and now you sound like a toad. That's why Hatori went to see you."
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I--"
"Get out.
"Please, listen to me."
"GET OUT!"
Still shaking, Shigure climbed to his feet, turning to leave the room; he didn't bother to shut the door as he left. As he made his way down the hallway to the main door, he passed Hatori who was probably on his way to check on Akito after hearing the commotion. Neither said anything to each other, almost as if the other was invisible, but continued to make their ways in the opposite directions.
Shigure stepped out the front door, slid it closed, and began his walk down the cobbled path away from the Main House. He had barely made it halfway across before he heard the familiar pop! of him transforming. He cursed and sighed, or as best as a dog could, and dipped his head to retrieve his fallen clothes. Those in hand, or mouth rather, he continued out into the street, questioning this stupid curse and even his very existance.
- - -
Well, that was fun, right? Talk about muy drama!
I had about 1/4 of this written down in a journal (an assignment for english), and it got me back into the mood of writing. Plus, I started Fruits Basket again and it made me want to update. So, that's what I did. And, yes, I'm sorry I made Shigure seem like a slave to Akito, but that's basically what he is, right? He and the rest of the zodiac crew are just slaves to the master, Akito. That's the way it seems to me anyway.
I guess you can consider this my X-Mas, or your preferred holiday, present for the year. This chapter was a whopping five pages (not much, but still) and now that it's finished, I can work on other fics. Tell me what you thought of this chapter, please.
- - -
Shigure did finally manage to meet his deadline, even with the sudden oncoming of his cold and the worrying over Akito. He had been informed just the other night by Hatori that the Head of the Sohma household was now worse off than he had been the week before. According to Hatori, Akito had recently begun refusing to eat, and the few times that he actually did, he picked at his food and ate very little.
Even Shigure's condition had not gotten any better. He had developed a bad cough that had gotten into his chest, causing him to spit up phlegm. Hatori was sure that his smoking wasn't doing anything to help him, but Shigure did his best reassure him that he had involuntarily quit the habit; when Hatori found out that it was involuntary because Shigure had enough trouble breathing even without a cigarette in his mouth, he prescribed the Dog with some heavy-duty antibiotics.
But Shigure hadn't told him that all they did was clear the phlegm. He still had a cough, and now he felt chills and his body ached horribly. He hadn't been transforming as much, which he considered a good thing, but Hatori had been keeping tabs on him, too--through Tohru and Yuki--and when he found out that Shigure was still ill, he decided to make a quick unannounced visit to the house.
"I don't appreciate you coming over like this; I'm busy," Shigure said, coughing dryly.
"You don't look busy. You look like you could be waiting for dinner."
"That's because I am. How did you know that?"
"Tohru offered me some when I got here--she said it was almost ready. Now, let me do a check-up."
Out of his medical handbag, Hatori pulled out a handful of items, including a digital thermometer and a stethoscope, but in Shigure's eyes, all the items seemed pointless. Hatori put the items on Shigure's writing desk, taking the thermometer and roughly shoving it into the Dog's face.
Somewhat startled, Shigure paused, before taking the offending object and placing it under his tongue. With Hatori's sudden appearance, Shigure forgot all about Akito and the rest of the sufferings the Sohma's would go through once he passed; he was now beginning to worry about his own health. It must have been Tohru that told Hatori to stop by that evening--it had been her the first time. But, of course, he couldn't blame her; she was only worried about him after all.
After a minute, Hatori pulled the thermometer away from Shigure. He studied it a while, his usually stern face unchanged.
"I don't understand," he said, wiping the object on his coat, before throwing it back into his bag.
"What is it?" Without answering, Hatori swept his hand in front of his friend, placing it palm-down against his forhead. "...Har'i?"
"You don't have a fever...," he said, more to himself than to the other.
Shigure rolled his eyes, lightly pushing the man away. "I told you I'm fine. Stressed, but fine."
Again, Hatori ignored him, but instead reached for his stethoscope. He placed the two ends into his ears, and then stopped and looked at Shigure.
Shigured sighed; he wasn't going to even try to argue with Hatori. He let his kimono fall off his shoulders, leaving his chest quite exposed. Hatori took the other end of the instrument and pressed it against Shigure's chest.
"That's cold!" Shigure said, shuddering.
"Sorry."
"No you're not..."
"Shigure, quit acting like a little kid. You don't need me to tell you that metal is cold." Hatori removed the stethoscope and dropped it into his bag. "Your cold hasn't progressed, but it doesn't seem like you've gotten any better."
Shigure looked away, ashamed. It was true: he hadn't gotten better at all. He still felt lousy and no matter what kind of medicine he took, he never seemed to feel different. He was sure Hatori knew that before he did the check-up, and Shigure was just humoring him.
"Akito will want to see you."
"What?" Shigure asked, being brought out of his daze, and then pulling up his sleeves.
"He's requesting private meetings with all of us. I'm surprised no one's told you yet."
He shook his head. "No, Haru and Momiji made that quite clear during their last visit."
"You'll be next on his list," Hatori said, packing up his things. "He's starting with the oldest; Ayame and I have already gone."
"What does he want with us?"
"Nothing really," he said, pausing before continuing. "Shigure, he's getting ready to die. Maybe there are just some things that need to be said."
Shigure was curious now. He'd never had a problem meeting with Akito before, and usually the invitation would be spoken via Hatori but Akito had never been so close to death either. Just thinking about what the family head would say to him made him shudder.
"Just keep taking whatever medicine you've been taking," Hatori said, turning to leave. "If you keep your stress level down, then you should be fine in a few days. Oh, and when you see Akito, don't tell him you're sick."
- - -
Two days after Hatori had come to visit, there was a phone call for Shigure--from the Head Sohma himself--requesting a meeting with him. And even though Shigure had been advised to keep taking medicine, he had stopped taking it altogether. Now that he was visiting Akito today, he regretted his actions completely. He had been coughing so much that he was physically tired of it; his stomach and chest were sore and his throat was raw: he had little to no voice left.
As he made his way down the cobbled path that led to the Main House, he began getting more anxious about what Akito wanted to discuss with him; whatever it was, he had sounded somewhat desperate on the phone:
"...Hello? Is anyone there?"
"Shigure...?"
"Yes, this is he. May I ask who this is?"
"...It's me..."
"Akito?"
There was silence on the other end. Shigure, already knowing of Akito's worsening condition, dearly hoped that Hatori was somewhere nearby the ailing boy. "Akito, are you there?"
"Yes."
Shigure sighed loudly, although he said nothing else that might have set off the Head Sohma. Instead, he asked what had been on his mind since Hatori had come to visit and do his check-up. Again, there was another pause before an answer, and during that small time, Shigure swore he could hear Akito wheezing as he breathed.
"I'm sure you already knew that I would be calling on you," Akito said.
"Hatori told me a few days ago, although Akito, I will admit that I wasn't expecting you to be the one making the call."
"Why not?"
It was times like these that Shigure was glad that he was a writer; he was usually able to come up with an idea in a heartbeat, and with Akito being the one told, Shigure was careful at choosing his words.
"I think you know why," he said, evading the question if just barely. "When did you plan on me coming to meet with you?"
"Tomorrow morning, at 11. There are important things I want to discuss with you, Shigure. I need you to make sure you're here, and on time."
"Okay."
"Shigure, please. 11am tomorrow, don't forget."
"Goodbye, Akito."
Shigure heard Akito begin to cough, first softly and then into a loud hacking cough. The gut-wrenching sound of a liquidy substance being ejected from Akito's mouth made Shigure feel the need to hold back his own vomit. Although it disgusted him beyond all means, he continued to listen, just to see if Hatori had noticed, but when he could take it no more, he slammed the phone down, all the while keeping his hand glued to his mouth; he was afraid that if he removed it, the same thing happening to Akito would soon befall him.
Shigure blinked, having just realized that during his thought-process, he had taken the necessary steps and was now right outside the front door to the Main House. He checked under his kimono sleeve to check the time, but quickly noticed that he had forgotten his watch at home. So, was he early, or was he late? Akito had made it perfectly clear what time he needed to be there, but without his watch, did Shigure really have an excuse for being tardy?
It's now or never, Shigure thought, taking a deep breath.
He stretched out his arm, grabbing for the door when, suddenly, the door opened of its own accord, giving Shigure a fright. He saw no one until he looked down and was met by the shy and curious golden eyes of the little girl, Kisa. She stared up at him, somewhat startled with someone being in front of the door when she opened it.
"Good morning, Kisa," Shigure said, pulling the door ajar.
"Morning," the girl answered, her voice quivering with uneasiness.
Shigure smiled as she ducked under his arm and dashed towards one of the other homes in the compound. Kisa was an unusually shy girl, but she had always seemed somewhat comfortable with Shigure and most of the others under the zodiac curse. He quickly dismissed it as he stepped into the Main House, sliding the door shut behind him. He was beginning to feel a little uneasy himself as he made his way to Akito's private room, down the hall and to the last door on the right. He was polite enough to knock, already knowing that there wouldn't be an answer.
"Akito, I'm coming in," he said, opening the door slowly and quietly.
Akito was sitting at the window, which wasn't a rare habit, and he turned his head as Shigure made his way inside. The sickly boy pulled himself up, smoothing the creases in his clothes before walking closer to the Dog who had already knelt down in the center of the room, his hands folded neatly in his lap. Akito stepped up onto the raised part of the room, across from Shigure, and sat down rather casually.
Shigure avoided Akito's eyes completely, he couldn't bring himself to look at them. Instead, he kept his eyes glued to a dark wine-colored stain in the carpet. After thorough observation, he realized that it was a faded blood stain. He wondered if that's what he heard Akito cough up the other day.
"I'm glad you made it," Akito said. "I was beginning to worry that you'd forgotten."
Shigure said nothing, but stared directly into the boy's eyes. Over the years he'd learned that speaking out of turn, which was whenever Akito thought it was, usually got you in trouble like it had Hatori; he learned that, in Akito's eyes, speaking was a privilege that only he could grant.
"Why are you here, Shigure?" Akito asked, smiling a wicked grin.
Shigure also knew that Akito liked to play games with people's minds. His question seemed easy enough, but when Akito gave that special smile, it was clear to any zodiac member that there was something beyond the question itself. The trick was to find out what it was before Akito got tired of playing. Sometimes, there really were no hidden understandings to catch; that was also his way of making people crazy.
"You wanted to see me," Shigure said, when he could think of nothing else that Akito might be asking. "You said there were important things you wanted to discuss with me."
"That's right, I remember now." His smile became more profound. "But first, tell me why Hatori went and visited you."
Now Shigure knew what Akito was getting at. His first question had been a true honest-to-God question, but it had made Shigure think about the possibilities of an answer, which had left him defenseless against the next question because he could find nothing wrong with the first. He knew now that Hatori hadn't mentioned that he would be stopping by his place to do the check-up, which meant that Akito had found out another way; he had good means of doing that. Shigure knew that in order to save himself and his friend, he would have to lie to Akito. He didn't know how long he would be able to keep up the charade, but he knew that he had to at least try.
"Hatori came by last week to pick up Hatsuharu and Momiji--"
"Don't lie!" Akito's grin had faded completely and was replaced with a face of malice. "I know Hatori went to see you two days ago, and I'm asking you why."
"Oh, and when you see Akito, don't tell him you're sick."
Those had been Hatori's only words of advice to him, but when Akito demanded information from someone, they were foolish to deny him.
"Akito, please," Shigure began again. "You didn't call me out here to--"
"Didn't I, Shigure? Do you even know why I called you here?"
When he said nothing, Akito became furious. Shigure watched as he grabbed a burning stick of incense and tossed it to the side. Inwardly, he sighed, squeezing his hands together to stop them from twitching. He had really been afraid that that burning stick was meant for him. But his relief was short lived as he saw Akito grope for the small plate of incense ashes and launch it in Shigure's direction. Afraid to move, he let the plate fly towards him, wincing as it hit the side of his head and the ashes burned his ear.
"Is that all?" Shigure asked, trembling but ready to leave.
"Your voice," Akito said, his face becoming more relaxed and less threatening. "What's wrong with your voice?"
"What do you...?"
Shigure's voice had become hoarse, probably from his walking out in the cold air. He hadn't noticed before, or maybe it had just gotten that way, but with his throat so sore from coughing and then with the chilly air, now it was almost impossible to miss that he was ill. True, Akito was young, but he wasn't naive; no secret was safe from him.
"You're sick!" Akito shouted. "How could I have missed it? You're pale, your cheeks are flushed from fever, and now you sound like a toad. That's why Hatori went to see you."
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I--"
"Get out.
"Please, listen to me."
"GET OUT!"
Still shaking, Shigure climbed to his feet, turning to leave the room; he didn't bother to shut the door as he left. As he made his way down the hallway to the main door, he passed Hatori who was probably on his way to check on Akito after hearing the commotion. Neither said anything to each other, almost as if the other was invisible, but continued to make their ways in the opposite directions.
Shigure stepped out the front door, slid it closed, and began his walk down the cobbled path away from the Main House. He had barely made it halfway across before he heard the familiar pop! of him transforming. He cursed and sighed, or as best as a dog could, and dipped his head to retrieve his fallen clothes. Those in hand, or mouth rather, he continued out into the street, questioning this stupid curse and even his very existance.
- - -
Well, that was fun, right? Talk about muy drama!
I had about 1/4 of this written down in a journal (an assignment for english), and it got me back into the mood of writing. Plus, I started Fruits Basket again and it made me want to update. So, that's what I did. And, yes, I'm sorry I made Shigure seem like a slave to Akito, but that's basically what he is, right? He and the rest of the zodiac crew are just slaves to the master, Akito. That's the way it seems to me anyway.
I guess you can consider this my X-Mas, or your preferred holiday, present for the year. This chapter was a whopping five pages (not much, but still) and now that it's finished, I can work on other fics. Tell me what you thought of this chapter, please.