Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ The Game of Memory ❯ Part II ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: My story. Not my characters.

 

The Game of Memory

Part II

 

 

 

“Hm…hm-hmmmm…hmmm…AHA!” Gleefully holding up two cards, Akito called out triumphantly, “I win!”

 

Sighing softly, Yuki turned his cards over and weakly smiled. They had both been playing this game for the last hour in his room. As much as he wanted to pay attention to the card game he normally enjoyed, he was rather tired today. The night before he had been wheezing and coughing phlegm throughout the late hours, keeping many a maidservant on his/her toes. Akira had been pretty adamant that he not get any sicker than he already was...

 

So here he remained in bed with a stubborn cold. They were passing the time away with the deck of cards Akira left Akito with, and thus far, she was taking full advantage of winning most of the games. Not that he minded in the least…her smiles always cheered him up.

 

“Akito-sama, please child!” implored a maidservant at the doorway to Yuki's room. “You must leave Yuki-sama's bedroom! The boy is sick and could pass the illness to you!”

 

“Oh, be silent, Kei,” remarked Akito flippantly as she frowned at the maidservant's direction. “I'm my own master, and if I want to be here, I will. Now go…fetch us some hot tea or something.”

 

Turning her back on her, Akito rolled her eyes and giggled quietly. Yuki saw over his shoulder that the maidservant was about to persist when he immediately shook his head at her, silently conveying to her not to press the matter any further. Seeing two superiors (albeit children but nonetheless her superiors in the family) give her specific orders, she relented silently and bowed her head in submission.

 

Yuki quietly let out a sigh of relief. As much as the maidservants sometimes were a bit uppity with them (heck, even he knew that it was strange for a grown-up to obey the orders of a child), he didn't like to see them get in trouble. Turning to Akito, he did voice his own concern about her being in his room.

 

“Akito, is it okay…for you to be here? I don't want you to get sick again…” he softly replied, recalling her last illness, and how it left her very lethargic. While she did recover from her illness with no problem, he had been unable to shake his off.

 

“Oh, not you, too!” pouted Akito. Wrapping her robes tightly around her, she shuffled the deck of cards once again. “I'm fine. Just peachy…hehe, that reminds me, I brought some in this basket down here. We can eat it later, okay?”

 

His eyes quickly lit up at the mention of his favorite fruit. “Hai! Do you want to play another game then?”

 

Stopping in mid-shuffle, she tapped her finger on her chin, giving serious thought to his question. Shaking her head, she tucked the cards back into her robes. “No, let's stop. Now scoot over, I'm getting in…it's cold out here.”

 

Smiling happily, he pulled down the blankets and scooted over towards the wall. Akito quickly tucked herself in and pulled up the blankets around them. Shivering slightly, she rubbed her feet and hands together to warm them up. At seeing this, Yuki took her cold hands into his warm ones and rubbed them `til they were as warm as his.

 

“Brr…it's getting colder. I don't like the cold.” Chattering her teeth a bit, she finally felt the warmth of the covers and of Yuki's warm body heat. Feeling his head with the back of her warmed hand, she noticed that his temperature was a bit on the high side, but didn't say anything about it. The doctor was supposed to come in later, so she'll wait to tell him then.

 

“I like snow…and I like it when it snows. It's really pretty,” replied Yuki demurely. Keeping his hands clasped on hers, he asked, “What do you like about winter?”

 

“Snowballs…snowmen…the smell…” she trailed in her remark.

 

“The smell?” he asked curiously.

 

“Yes, silly goose. Everything has some sort of smell…so does winter. Can't you tell?” she explained as if it were common knowledge. “You smell like winter…didn't you know?”

 

“Hehe, that's funny,” he remarked with a grin.

 

Laughing lightly, she grinned in return. She then widened her eyes when she suddenly realized what next month was. “Yuki, I almost forgot! We have the New Year's party next month! It's going to be so much fun! We'll see everyone there and there's going to be lots of food and candy…”

 

“I like candy,” eagerly replied the excited boy. Coughing behind his hand, he sniffled some before continuing, “We get to see the others, too. (Pause-whispers) I wonder if Nii-san will be there…at the banquet.”

 

Yawning, she lazily rambled, “Well, of course he'll be there. Tou-sama had said that we'll get to sit next to each other at the banquet, too! We can play while the guys play around…Shigure will be there, too! Maybe he'll want to play with us.”

 

“Mmm…” mumbled Yuki silently through half-closed eyes. Feeling extremely comfortable hearing her gentle voice, he snuggled closer to her. “Ne, Akito, will Kyo be there, too? I can't remember if he was there last year…”

 

“Of course not, silly,” admonished Akito gently. Rubbing her hand over his, she yawned once more before continuing. “Remember…he's the Cat. Cats are never allowed at the banquet. Tou-sama said that it was not (yawn) his place to be there. Or something like that…”

 

“Oh…” By now, he felt the lids of his eyes too heavy to stay open, and so let them fall shut. With that, his breathing evened out with the occasional sniffle or cough.

 

She herself couldn't stay awake for much longer, seeing that her one companion on this day was now taking a much needed nap. She could have tried looking for her father to see what he was up to, but in the end, she felt too comfortable lying next to Yuki.

 

`Funny little boy,' she thought languidly while tracing his facial features. `But he does have the best colored-eyes. Mine are too plain.' Laying her head right next to his, she smiled softly and closed her eyes to the world, thinking of all the many things they'll get to do and see and eat at the Jyuunishi banquet next month.

 

What seemed like mere moments were actually a couple of hours. Akito sleepily glanced at the clock next to Yuki's bed and noticed it was a few hours later from the time she had slept. `I must still be getting better…I don't feel as tired anymore. I wonder if Yuki…'

 

Her train of thought came to a screeching halt.

 

“Yuki?”

 

The empty spot next to her where her companion once was felt quite cold, indicating that he'd been gone for a while. Wide-awake now, she turned around in her covers, blinking the sleepiness from her eyes. The room was empty with no indication that anyone had been there.

 

`Weird. Where could he have gone? Hmph…he's supposed to be in bed,' thought Akito grumpily. `I'm going to tell if he doesn't get back here now. Oh, maybe he's in the restroom.'

 

Quickly shedding the blankets from her legs, she slipped into her warm slippers and walked out of his room down the corridor. Eerie silence met her all around…not even a maidservant could be seen. She made her way to the restroom only to find it empty. Growling in annoyance, she started marching up and down the hallway, glancing into each room to see if there was any sign of the sickly boy.

 

“Yuki, where are you? Yuki…” she called out with growing impatience. Placing her hands on her hips, she replied loudly, “Yuki, if you don't show up, I'm going to tell Tou-sama that you got out of bed for no reason. We're going to have dinner soon…Tou-sama will be here, too!”

 

Silence.

 

It was then that she started to worry, if only slightly. `He knows we get our dinner in our rooms when we're sick. He can't have needed anything…he always asks me first and makes me ask for him.'

 

No maidservants close by like normal, no Yuki nearby either. She gasped in shock.

 

`What if he got so sick that they took him away to the clinic without waking me? That's absurd…I'd have felt it if they were running around with him. It's not like they can touch him anyway. And they wouldn't just leave me here…not without asking my permission to take Yuki away. This is too strange…'

 

Not liking being kept in the dark with regards to Yuki, she immediately set out to the clinic. If he'd be anywhere, it'd be there. And then she'll give those foolish adults a piece of her mind. No one took Yuki away from her…

 

With as large a stride as she could make with her short legs, she made good timing reaching the personal clinic of the Sohmas which was only a few corridors down the way. Finally reaching there, she opened the doors with a flourish and looked around at all the adults scampering about.

 

Standing to her full height with head held high, she called out loudly, “COULD SOMEONE TELL ME WHERE IS YUKI?”

 

Several of the adults could only gape at her before one stepped forward with a low bow to her. “Forgive us, Akito-sama, but right now we're in the middle of…something else. Last we checked, Yuki-sama was in his room and he—”

 

“I was in his room the whole time up `til now, and he's not there,” snapped Akito irritably. “He's gone. Now, WHERE DID YOU TAKE HIM?”

 

“I…uh…eh…we don't have him, Akito-sama,” nervously replied the adult who was now wringing her hands together. “Perhaps the boy wandered off elsewhere. He may have just grown tired of being confined to his quarters—”

 

“You know nothing about Yuki!” Akito cut in once again. With a piercing gaze that mimicked that of her father's, she lashed out, “If you did, then you'd know that he'd never just `wander off'. Now, if you can't give me an intelligent answer to my question, then FIND SOMEONE WHO CAN!”

 

“Akito-sama, please forgive her,” called out another woman as she bowed low to her young mistress. “She is new and isn't aware of Yuki-sama's habits. We will look for him as well—”

 

“What do you mean `as well', Maika? Explain yourself,” snapped Akito, impatient at the runaround they were giving her. She would never, ever show them any weakness…any flaw in her authoritative demeanor. To do so would undermine her position as `God', no matter how worried she actually was at the moment.

 

“Akito-sama? Were you not informed?” asked the woman aghast. With an immediate bow of her head, she quietly remarked, “She's missing…Ren-sama.”

 

And thus her world became still and silent with just that one word.

 

Hardly sparing the adults a glance, she ran out the door at a speed that was only attributed to her youth. She gave nary a care as to how the maidservants and others were gawking at her as she ran down countless corridors. It all blurred into one mesh of utter insignificance.

 

The heavy breathing…the burning in her chest…the pain at her side for not breathing in enough…all that was ignored as she tore down the hallways in search of that one individual that always set things right.

 

`Tou-sama…Tou-sama…TOU-SAMA!' Frantically searching each room or porch she came across, she mentally cursed (Shigure did take care of her before) at the size and length of the Sohma estate. `At this point, I'll never reac—'

 

“TOU-SAMA!!!” cried Akito frantically as she rushed outdoors when she saw her father speaking with another man that she gave little care to at the moment.

 

Akira turned around to see his daughter rushing at him with worry etched into her face. `She hardly ever worries about anything…damn these servants. I told them not to bother her with Ren's disappearance. Ren does it often enough that's it's no news…there was no need to worry Akito…'

 

Akira turned to his companion with a small smile and bowed slightly in apology. “Kazuma-san, let's speak of this at a later time. I'm sure we can come to an agreement on the expansion of the dojo.”

 

“Yes, of course, Akira-san. Give my regards to your daughter,” replied Kazuma, understanding that now was not the best time to discuss business when clearly there was something amiss with Akito.

 

As he watched Kazuma walk off, Akira turned to find Akito now upon him. She launched herself into his arms and panted hard into his chest. Worried that she may become ill with her running around in the cold so soon after getting over her last illness, he wrapped her loosely into his own heavy overcoat.

 

“Akito, you know better than to be running around like this,” he admonished gently while rubbing her back in soothing motions. “Now, tell me wha—”

 

“SHE TOOK HIM!!! SHE DID!!!” she screamed into his chest. Looking up wild-eyed, she cried out again, “I KNOW SHE DID, TOU-SAMA!!! I CAN'T FIND HIM! HE WAS THERE AND THEN HE'S GONE AND THEN THEY TELL ME SHE'S MISSING!!! TOU-SAMA, SHE TOOK HIM AWAY FROM ME! I KNOW SHE DID!!”

 

Grasping her trembling head firmly, he pierced through her hysteria with his commanding tone, “WHO…WHO TOOK WHO?”

 

“HER….that…that WOMAN!” cried hysterically Akito as she clutched to his collar securely with her tremulous hands. Breaking down with heaving sobs, she wrapped her thin arms around his neck securely, burying her face into his neck. “We…we were asleep (sniffle) in his room. And I woke up…(sniffle)…he…he was gone. Yuki wasn't there anymore. That woman took him…”

 

He immediately understood whom she referred to with remark. `Ren? Why on earth would she just take the boy? Unless…'

 

“Akira-san, you have Akito with you,” was the unexpected comment from behind him. He turned to see Kureno heaving heavy pants, puffs of steam coming from him in steady beats.

 

“Akira-san, I had went to check on them after my lessons and didn't find them anywhere in your home. I'm glad you have Akito with you, but…where's Yuki?” asked Kureno apprehensively as he looked all around him, half-expecting to see the diminutive child hiding from him. `That can't be so…he's been sick for the past few weeks…he wouldn't be out here…'

 

“KURENO!” cried out the girl in Akira's arms as she tried wiggling out her father's solid grip. Seeing that her father wasn't about to let her down in the cold snow, she settled for just yelling her answer to his question. “HE'S GONE!!! SHE CAME AND TOOK HIM, I KNOW IT!!!”

 

“She? Who could have…” trailed off Kureno's comment as he realized whom she was referring to. Turning his stunned gaze to meet Akira's own, he knew then that it was true. And it really shouldn't have been such a shock…

 

“THAT STUPID, STUPID WOMAN! SHE HATES ME…SHE ALWAYS DID!! NOW SHE TOOK HIM AWAY FROM ME!” cried out bitterly Akito with tears of rage falling down her flushed cheeks. “BUT I WON'T LET HER HAVE HIM! HE'S MINE!!! SHE CAN'T HAVE HIM!!!”

 

“Ssshhh, it'll be all right. She's not going to take him away from you,” Akira soothingly called out to her as he tightened his embrace on her, which she immediately responded to with a tightening of her grip around his neck. Gazing into her tear-streaked face, he calmly replied, “Do you trust me, Akito?”

 

Nodding her head in the affirmative, he wiped her tears away as he took her down to Kureno's waiting arms. “I want you to stay with Kureno-kun, and wait for me at the clinic.”

 

“NO! I WANT TO FIND YUKI!” she yelled exasperated that now her father was keeping her from her personal companion.

 

“I WILL bring him to you, Akito. But right now, I need you out of the cold and indoors,” he replied firmly, his tone brooking no room for argument. Seeing her face dejected as she relented, he kissed her softly on the nose. “Trust your father, okay? I'll see you in the clinic shortly with Yuki.”

 

She watched forlornly at her father's quickly retreating back while Kureno carried her back indoors. She tiredly laid her head against his shoulder and mumbled too softly for Kureno to make it out.

 

“I'm sorry, Akito, I didn't hear,” replied Kureno quietly. It would do her no good to see him worried as well…especially since he knew how Ren could be.

 

“He'll…he'll be afraid,” murmured Akito softly, too worn out to elaborate further.

 

Kureno however didn't need to hear any further explanation. And she was right…Yuki would be frightened to be in the presence of a stranger. The boy was incredibly shy and hardly ever saw anyone else or spoke to anyone other than Akira and Akito. He would literally freeze up in a stranger's presence. And with his current condition, Kureno just grew more anxious with every moment passing him.

 

`If Ren truly tries to hurt Yuki, I don't even want to imagine how Akito would react…'

 

This thought was also shared by the adult male who was blasting out orders to everyone he came across. The orders were simple: Find Ren and Yuki. Yet what truly had them falling over each other to complete this task was the cold gaze he leveled at each one of them. Never had they seen the normally levelheaded man in such an anguished state. Of course it came to their attention then that Yuki was also missing, implying the worst of their fears…Ren had taken Akito's companion.

 

That's one rule they never broke…to do so would be to trespass the `God' of the Jyuunishi. And that was highly unforgivable…

 

Akira repeatedly cursed himself for allowing this to happen. Ignoring all the aghast faces he came across after giving them their orders, he swiftly went from one room to the next, checking every closet, every chest, every armoire in hopes of getting a clue as to where Ren had hidden herself and Yuki. She's pulled this disappearing act so often that he hardly worried about it anymore, content to know that many servants were out looking for her and would eventually apprehend her.

 

He was still shaking from shock at what Akito had told him. She was right, of course, but still, he'd never had guessed that this time around that Ren pulled her stunt again, she would have taken Yuki with her.

 

`Damn her. DAMN THAT WOMAN.' Seething quietly with barely restrained anger, he barked out the same order to the two servants cleaning the gardens as he went out to cross to the next building. Resuming his search, he reeled in his anxiety and breathed in heavily to calm his nerves. It was then that he realized why she would have done such a thing…

 

`I can't believe I've forgotten.' Stilling in his stride, he shook his head in utter amazement of how careless he had become. “She wanted to meet the Nezumi ever since his arrival. She kept asking for him to be brought to her…one of the maidservants had told me this. I can't believe that I've forgotten that!”

 

“AKIRA-SAMA!”

 

Turning to see a maidservant huffing and panting, the servant pointed in a different direction than where he was going. “There…(panting)…over there. (Swallows audibly) She has locked herself (panting) in the storage room…upstairs in the fourth wing of the…second building from here. (Breathing heavily) We can't open it!”

 

Sighing in relief, Akira went off in that direction, calling over his shoulder, “Bring the doctor over to the room…NOW! And have him bring Yuki's medication. HURRY!”

 

As he hastened his pace to the building Ren hid herself in, he barged through the long, winding hallways, following the sound of commotion overhead. Rushing up the stairwell, he encountered a horde of people just crowding the narrow hallway that was seldom used, cobwebs and dust covering everything.

 

“STAND ASIDE,” he yelled above all the hubbub. Immediately many within the crowd dispersed and allowed him passage to the locked door. He walked through them, his hard stare boring a hole into the door, willing it to be opened. As he arrived, he tried shoving the door open with no success as well.

 

Narrowing his eyes at the closed door, he turned around and addressed the remaining stragglers who were wishing to help. He replied quietly, “Go downstairs and wait for the doctor to arrive. Have three men escort him upstairs. Go.”

 

They hurriedly rushed down the hallway and down the stairwell as per his instructions. Glad to see them now out of the way, he breathed in heavily as he squared his shoulders, bracing himself for the inevitable confrontation.

 

(Knock, knock) “Ren, it's me. Open this door right now,” replied Akira softly. Noting the pervading silence, he called out again, “Ren, everyone has been sent away. Let me in. I know you wish to speak with me. Let's do this face to face…open this door.”

 

He held his breath amidst the continuing silence. He would hate to call in anyone to tear this door down, certain that it would only aggravate her and possibly cause her to react violently towards Yuki. No, he couldn't risk the boy's safety that way…

 

(CLICK)

 

Eyes widening, he calmed his beating heart when the door was unlocked from the inside. He tentatively reached out and slid the door open very quietly. The storage room certainly was dusty and unused, a small window shedding light into the small room. It was freezing in here due to the window being left open. He looked around calmly, not once giving himself away that he was frantic with worry.

 

`I don't see him…I don't see him here. Where could he be?' Letting his stoic gaze rest on the woman in the room, he coolly walked in, stopping just short of a foot from her. “Ren…how are you?”

 

She smiled widely as she sat in her chair, wrapping her heavy robes a little more snugly to her body since the wintry breeze was picking up. “Akira, I am well. It is chilly today, isn't it?”

 

“So it is.” Tilting his head, he asked her, “Why are you here, Ren? This room is very drafty…”

 

“Oh, it just caught my fancy, that's all. Look at all these boxes and knickknacks. We should really have the maids keep these rooms in better condition.” Standing up from her chair, she walked over to Akira and gently laid her hand on his shoulder. Sidling up to him, she leaned in and nuzzled her head into his chest. “You still smell the same, Akira. So wonderfully fresh…just like the little boy.”

 

Reigning in the spike in his rage, he licked his dry lips and replied, “The little boy? Did you see him after all?”

 

“Hm…” She pulled back and stared into his face, tracing with her icy fingers his nose and lips. “You know, he's something like you…but not. His beauty is far more…ethereal. Heh, must be the Nezumi in him. He does have the softest hair I've ever felt on a person.”

 

This time he just couldn't hold himself back as he narrowed his look on her. “Where do you have him, Ren? He's too frail to be taken from his quarters…”

 

“Ooohh, tell me about it!” she replied dramatically. Waving her hands in the air, she marched back to her seat and sat comfortably down. Still smiling at her guest, she commented, “There I am being as quiet as can be just looking at those two sleeping soundly in his warm bed. Let me tell you, it's not easy holding a male Jyuunishi without him transforming. Luckily though, he's so dead asleep when I carry him at arms length. Poor thing didn't even realize that he wasn't in bed anymore until we were halfway here.”

 

“Ren, I'm not going to repeat myself,” bit out Akira through clenched teeth, his patience all but nonexistent.

 

She continued without letup, oblivious or uncaring to his state. “Well, the little thing just started to freak out. He started to cough and wheeze and tried pulling himself out of my grasp. So, I had to drop him. After all, it's not good to have them transform in public, ne?”

 

It really took all of Akira's hard-earned control to not lash out at her at this moment. He knew that this was the way she handled herself and how she manipulates those around her. At the moment, though, he was becoming quickly infuriated since she obviously was aggravating him on purpose.

 

“Well, that drop shut him up quick. Icy snow and the bitter cold could have also played a role in it, I'm not sure. Anyway, I took hold of his wrist and pulled him along to get here…it's too cold to be out there, you know. I'm sorry to say that he was very uncooperative…very stubborn all the way here, like a mule. Heh, maybe that should have been his sign!” Laughing at her own demented joke, she stretched her arms high above her as she got up once again from her chair. Grabbing at dusty knickknacks and then putting them back down, she sighed tiredly.

 

“Ah well, I had to drag him up the stairs and into this unlocked room. He practically tore away from grasp and curled up in a corner. Now, I'm usually very understanding, but the boy was being very rude. All I could see was his hair.” Looking back at Akira, she stared at his eyes with admiration. “His eyes…the boy's eyes were absolutely captivating. And I only got a glimpse of them when we were outside. Ever since then, he avoided looking at me and never spoke once. I hear from the maids gossiping that the child has an exquisite voice. Could you tell me what it's like? I'm just so curious…”

 

“Ren, where is he?” demanded to know Akira. At the bitter tone in his voice, all the cheery demeanor she held vanished as quickly as the steams of breath leaving their noses as they breathed in the cold room.

 

“All he had to do was say his name. Why is that so hard?” she asked sullenly as she sat down in her chair with a huff. “Honestly, that boy hangs around too much with that daughter of mine…so willful…”

 

“I don't believe you honestly see her as your daughter, Ren. Now, for the last time, what did you do with the boy?” In asking her this, he now stood right before her very face, his countenance more than mirroring the anger raging inside him.

 

She licked her own dry lips, taken aback at how her latest plot truly brought forth the darker side of Akira…the side she knew he kept under strict control. Not used to dealing with this side of him, she nervously replied, “The boy or the Rat? He's both you kno—”

 

“I tire of your games today, Ren,” he eerily replied while tightening his firm hold on her throat. “Either you tell me this instant where Yuki is, or I swear I'll put you in an outside institution where you'll never see the light of day again.”

 

Her lip trembling at the nasty turn of events and at his threat that she knew he could very well carry out, she struggled to breathe just a little. However his grip only tightened with each passing second. The cold and bitter glare that he now gave her shook her to the core. And so, she allowed her eyes to tilt to the side to where the window was.

 

Try as he may, he just couldn't stand to be mocked at and defied any longer. His worry over Akito and near-panic over Yuki's whereabouts finally took their toll on his last shred of sanity. Akira knew that his choke-hold on her throat was an extreme reaction on his part, but, dammit, the woman clearly had no intention of giving up the boy's whereabouts.

 

When she finally let her stunned gaze drift over to the window, it was all he could do to keep from choking her to death right then and there. Shoving her aside, he rushed to the window, expecting the worst scenario imaginable…that of a dead rat or a small frozen body crumpled in the snow below.

 

What he saw though was not so terrible, but it wasn't good either. There, outside of the window, was a shingled roof that served as part of the wraparound porch of the building. On this cold-tiled roof lay Yuki, barely clad in his sleeping yukata, trembling terribly in the bitter cold. He did see that the boy was breathing, but noted that he was having a bad asthma attack, his wheezing growing very light as he struggled to breathe.

 

“YUKI!!!” he cried out anxiously as he very carefully leaned out far enough to reach out to him. One wrong tug or slip and the boy could indeed tumble down to the hard ground below. Grasping the hem of Yuki's sleeve, he breathed in deeply as he gently tried to pull the boy's body towards the window. Praying to every known deity and star, he finally pulled Yuki close enough so that he could reach the boy's wrists and pull him inside.

 

Once inside, Akira wrapped his arms around the near-frozen body of the young boy. “Yuki…wake up! Open your eyes! Come on, don't sleep right now. I need you to stay awake!”

 

“Mmmm…” mumbled Yuki groggily as he vainly tried to obey.

 

“Damn…” The adult wasted no time in discarding his overcoat and loosening his warm robes, exposing warm skin to the bitter winds of winter. Chattering his teeth lightly, he then reached out to the boy's yukata and tugged it off, leaving the poor boy exposed completely to the cold wind save for his undergarments. Now jolted awake, Yuki stared wide-eyed at Akira, trembling dreadfully and teeth chattering loudly.

 

“Ssh…it's okay, come here,” softly remarked Akira, gently urging Yuki into his embrace. Feeling the ice-cold skin of the little boy against his own warm skin, Akira clenched his teeth as he endured the icy feeling through his veins. Gasping lightly, he looked down to the little boy in his arms, making sure to rub his hands up and down Yuki's cold back.

 

“Wiggle your toes and fingers, Yuki.” Just as he reached for his overcoat to cover them both, a blanket was shown to him. He looked up into the eyes of the young teen, Hatori. Nodding his head in thanks, he eagerly took the blanket and wrapped it securely around Yuki's shivering body.

 

“Akira, I came to help you with Yuki. Is he all right?” asked Hatori anxiously as he looked down on the shivering little boy. “Akito is beside herself with worry, and Kureno is barely able to calm her down.”

 

“Thank you, Hatori. Let us go now to them.” Turning his calm face to Ren, who had been busy trying to catch her breath, he noted that the doctor that accompanied Hatori had just sedated her so that it would be easier to transport her back to her confinement.

 

“Doctor, let us go now. Once we have Yuki stabilized, you can tend to this woman.” Coldly glaring at Ren who looked away guiltily, he quietly remarked, “Have her confined this time to that institution we discussed before. A few months should be allowed so that she may reflect on the error of her ways. Perhaps then I will allow her back to the estate.”

 

“NO!!!! AKIRA, NO!!!!” screeched Ren in horror. She had a morbid fear of being confined in a mental institution versus a wing at the Sohma estate, and Akira knew this all too well. “PLEASE, I'M SORRY! PLEASE…I ONLY WANTED TO SEE HIM…MAYBE HEAR HIM SPEAK! IT'S SO RARE TO HAVE THE NEZUMI AMONG US!”

 

She was greeted with dead silence on his part as he turned his back on her while walking out of the room. Sneering in his direction, she yelled angrily, “SHE CAN'T KEEP THEM TO HERSELF FOREVER…NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY, AKIRA! `GOD' AND HER LITTLE ANIMALS WILL NEVER AMOUNT TO ANYTHING IN THIS FAMILY!!!”

 

“That's where you're wrong, Ren,” quietly remarked Akira as he paused at the doorway, not bothering to turn around. Embracing the frightened child, Akira looked down on him and smiled. “They will change the course of this family's destiny. And Akito and Yuki will ensure our future. Of this, there is no doubt.”

 

Her incoherent screams were heard throughout the building as Akira rushed out with Hatori and the doctor in tow. Once reaching the clinic, it took him a while to calm Akito down enough so that he could see to the progress being made to heal Yuki. As he was stabilized, he turned to the doctor who was now ready to give him the diagnosis.

 

It wasn't pretty…Yuki's lungs sounded like they had fluid—a serious cause for alarm. However the doctor was confident that he could treat Yuki fully without any invasive procedures. Besides this, the boy suffered a light case of hypothermia (apparently she didn't leave the boy outside the window for very long) plus a sprained ankle, no doubt from being dropped to the ground by Ren. All in all, it could be better, but it could have been a lot worse.

 

Akito remained silent in her chair next to Yuki's bed after she ordered the nurse out of the room. She twirled idly a loose thread from her robe, feeling extremely exhausted but not willing to surrender to it no matter how many times Kureno insisted. She had left him outside with Hatori, grateful to be out of their company at the moment.

 

She felt vacant…void of any life…her feelings numb to what's around her. She absently wondered if Shigure would come by and pay them a visit when her attention came back to the patient who was now mumbling incoherently.

 

“Yuki, can you hear me?” called out Akito worriedly.

 

“Hmmm…” It was way too tiring to lift the heavy eyelids, but Yuki pried them open by sheer will. He then noticed that he had a breathing mask in place, ensuring that he was getting plenty of oxygen. He slowly moved his fuzzy gaze to the person sitting next to him, and he could barely make out her eyes and mouth.

 

“A-Akito?” was his throaty reply while he in vain tried to swallow. Feeling his throat swollen from the inside, he closed his eyes once again, thinking seriously that he may just give up on trying to stay awake.

 

“Yes…I'm here. Can you feel my hand?” she asked as she clasped her warm hands into his lukewarm hands.

 

“….M-hm…” Turning to his side, he pried his eyes open once more as he looked at her. “Akito…are you…cold?”

 

She couldn't hold in her chuckle at such an odd question. She was obviously warmer than he was, and here he was trying to determine if she was cold. It then struck her as to why he had asked. She knew then what he wanted now.

 

“Hm…a little. Scoot over a bit,” she replied happily as she helped pull back the covers. Snuggling close to him without interfering with his facemask, she covered their bodies with the warm blanket, and smiled kindly to him while she stroked his face gently. `All mine…she can never have you, Yuki. She will never have you.'

 

“You're so special, Yuki…and you're mine, too,” she softly whispered to the slightly awake boy.

 

Accepting her comment as any innocent child would, he smiled back at her and asked, “Ne, can we eat the peaches now?”

 

Akira then made his presence known before Akito could reply. “Why don't you two rest first? Then we'll worry about the peaches when you wake up, okay?”

 

Both smiling widely, Akito and Yuki fell into a deep slumber while Akira looked on. He carefully reached out and tucked the blankets more securely around the two. Mentally he made note to have the doctor look over Akito one more time to be sure she's well. With all that's happened, he didn't want her coming down with another cold.

 

Yet, his calm demeanor hid his concerns well. With what happened to Yuki, he was starting to realize an ugly pattern that was weaving its way into the family behavior. And it truly scared him. Why?

 

`This family seems bent on destroying this relationship…but why? What has them so afraid now that both `God' and Nezumi are together? What omen could they possibly perceive in this unity between the two? It's a true blessing…and I'm not about to give that up without a fight.'

 

—TBC—