Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Whitewashed Anchor ❯ Goodbye ( Chapter 11 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: jackalsscalpel 
The final chapter! I know.. finally :p Akito and Yuki are faced with a life changing problem.
Anime/Manga: Fruits Basket Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Hentai / Angst | Type: Songfic | Uploaded On: 12.19.2006 | Pages: 1 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 503 | Status: Completed
The final chapter! I know.. finally :p Akito and Yuki are faced with a life changing problem.
Anime/Manga: Fruits Basket Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Hentai / Angst | Type: Songfic | Uploaded On: 12.19.2006 | Pages: 1 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 503 | Status: Completed
C Title: Crashing Ends
LJ Author: pikapicokitt
Theme: Goodbye
Fandom: Fruits Basket
Pairing: Akito x Yuki
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Fruits Basket is property of its original creator; I can only be credited for the story idea.
Spoiler warning ahead!!
A/n: As I have become horribly busy in my real life I've taken longer then I had wanted to write the next chapter for this story... as I feel I won't be able to come back to it again for a long time I'm going to try and conclude the series in this last chapter. Forgive me if it is not what everyone was hping for... there was so much more I wanted to do with it but just do not have the time. I still hope you enjoy this chapter and have enjoyed the story! Thanks so much for reading this fic, much love goes out to my fans and of course Akito and Yuki!
Akito had insisted on the ban put upon Yuki and Shigure to remain, she wasn't ready to fully forgive them yet. Tension between the dog and rat was at an all time high, they couldn't even stand to be in the same room as one another anymore. This worried Tohru more than anything, and she tried hard to fix the problems between Shigure and Yuki while also trying to battle her own. She was finding it exhausting to come to terms with her growing feelings for Kyou and deal with the feuding housemates. While it was nice Kyou and Yuki rarely ever argued anymore, it still hurt Tohru to see such hate in the eyes of two of her other friends. There was nothing she could do to save them without the knowledge of why they hated each other.
Yuki had taken on a job outside of school, it was tiring and he didn't much care for it, but his goal was to be rid of the Sohma's and the heavy burden that linked him. When he'd raised enough he would move out of Shigure's and live for himself. No more thoughts of Akito, or the painful love he hid from the world. It would still be a while before he had the money, but it wasn't a dream he couldn't see fulfilled. Being banned from the estate gave him a new freedom to make his own choices. These choices of course didn't come without some kind of pain.
It had been weeks since Akito had seen either her dog or her rat, and she'd refused company from anyone else. This left Kureno just as heart sick and broken as the other two. With no way to soothe the pain he saw in Akito every time they met by chance in the estate, the small light left within him died. Recently Akito had also become prone to horrible spells of sickness. They worried Hatori more than any other illness she'd had before. He worried for the sake of everyone around her that it wasn't what he feared. He'd procrastinated on an examination for days simply because he didn't want to be faced with the harsh truth of it all.
"What's wrong with me? You're a doctor you should know! Tell me!" Akito curled in pain, arms wrapped around her stomach. Her throat hurt from all the puking she had been doing and her body felt alien to her, heavy and strange. Hatori sighed, he didn't have much of a choice anymore he had to go through with it. "Let's go examine you Akito." Akito barely had the strength left to nod to him so there was no argument. She found quickly the tests he took were not like any others she'd had done to her before. When Hatori finally told her what was wrong there was an outbreak of screams and Akito destroyed everything in sight she could find.
"Sohma-kun, there's a call from Hatori-san..." Tohru smiled at Yuki, holding the phone out to him. The rat smiled back, he'd been doing that more often and it made Tohru happy to see he was slowly getting better. Yuki held the phone up to his ear a little surprised Hatori was calling, he hadn't heard from his cousin in a while. "Hatori-nii?" The sound of Hatori's voice, just the tone alone, sent a shiver down Yuki. Whatever news was going to follow the depressed sound of his name off the other's lips wasn't good. Yuki dropped the phone shortly after, the harsh sound of it smacking against the wall as it fell, drawing the household silent. "Sohma-kun? Sohma-kun are you alright?" Yuki's pupils were mere slits in his large, shocked eyes and he just barely managed to get the words past his mouth. "A...Akito-san is pregnant."
"Eh.....?EHH??" Tohru blinked in complete confusion, Kyou mirroring her expression. How on earth could Akito be...they had to think about this for a second. Shigure, his face void of any emotion except for pure hatred, appeared in the doorway. "Well looks like you messed up big time Yuki." Yuki didn't even hear what Shigure had to say as he slammed his back to the wall and slid down it. He could faintly hear the destressed sounds around him and Hatori shouting over the discarded phone. Tears flodded down Yuki's face, though he was completely unaware of it. This was just too much, far too much for him to handle. When he was so close to escaping this horrid family his bright future had crumbled right before him.
Living with Akito and the fact they had concieved a child was not going to be easy. Yuki already saw how wretched it was going to be and it had only just started. She was not going to be easy to deal with and he could just hear her telling him to return to the estate. That was the one thing he did not want anymore. He didn't want this responsibility, he didn't want the ruined life. He laid in his bed, tears no longer able to come as he had cried until his duct's were dry. He barely processed that someone had knocked on the door and he rolled onto his side. "Who is it?" Yuki waited for a reply, there was silence for a few moments before he heard that familiar and somewhat craved for voice. "It's me.." Tohru slowly opened the door, her face red as if she too had been crying for hours. Shigure had filled both her and Kyou in on Akito and the situation. Tohru had an hutrful understanding now of what Yuki might possibly have been going through.
"Can...can I sit down?" Tohru closed the door before her, happy to get a nod from Yuki. She settled down on the floor in front of the bed. "Shigure-san... ah..." She lowered her head, this situation was probably something Yuki didn't want to talk about. "He told you about Akito-san and I." Yuki finished her sentence without giving it much thought. "Do you... do you love her... Akito-san I mean?" Yuki blinked, he was surprised by Tohru's forwardness, but he supposed this wasn't the type of situation to peddle your way around. "Probably." They both sighed together, not much else left to say. Instead of words Tohru reached over and clasped his hand, closing her eyes when he returned the gesture. They sat like that, in silence, for a long time.
When Akito finally demanded it of him, Yuki went to visit her. The state he found her in depressed him even more than he already had been. She looked as if she hadn't slept in days. Her throat was so raw from puking that her voice was hoarse and it appeared as if she had even ripped some of her hair out in frustration. He sat down in front of her without a word, not even meeting her gaze, simply staring at the floor. He expected what she dealt him, his cheek burning and his head turned to the side from the force. "Are you happy? Are you happy that you did this to me?!" Yuki closed his eyes slowly, his expression full of pain that was no longer physical. "Why would I be happy with this, Akito-san? Do you think it makes me happy to see you like this? Do you think it makes me happy to be once more forced back into this family?"
Akito struck him again, with a little more force this time. "Are you calling me a burden?" Her eyes narrowed at Yuki and she waited for any sign of breaking. She was dismayed when she didn't receive even a hint. "You think you are not? You are like a leech, Akito-san. You attach to people and sap everything from them. Their energy, their love... everything. No matter how much I love you..." Yes, he could say that now. With great certainty he could admit how much he cared for her. "...you are still in fact a burden." It was the first time in his life he had ever stood up to her and surprisingly it hurt rather than felt good. The look of astonishment in her eyes dug it's own little dagger of sorrow within him.
"Then get out. Go have your precious life outside where you can never truly fit in. Leave me here as your burden, with your burden." This reaction was a big surprise to Yuki, he had expected Akito to beat him, come at him with a hatred but she hadn't. She'd basically just given him his freedom. Yuki stood, and felt his last bit of self break as he closed the door behind him and on her. Yuki stopped by Hatori's office, finding him looking just as terrible as the rest of the people wrapped up in this big mess. "For what it's worth... I'm sorry." Hatori startled, staring over at Yuki in surprise. "Whatever for?"
"For starting this... causing this." He waved his hand at Hatori's protest, sitting down in the seat across from him. "So what are you going to do about her? She can't possibly raise a child." Hatori sighed and nodded in agreement. "Her body can't handle a child either. I keep asking her to allow me to destroy it... but she refuses." Yuki blinked, this was news to him. "She doesn't want an abortion? I would think she'd be all for it." Hatori sighed again, scrubbing his tired face with his hands. "I would have thought so to... but she just refuses everytime. She never gives me a reason, just says no... and the baby is already taking its toll on her body. I fear this baby will kill her if she keeps it.... and even still if she has it she's bound to kill it afterward." Yuki nodded, resolving to go talk with her once more. "I will go discuss it with her." Hatori wasn't sure how Yuki talking to her might change her mind.
"Why are you back?" Akito was lying in her bed now and she didn't need to look up to know who it was. She knew Yuki by his smell, the way his feet moved across the floor, with slight little scuffs. "Why won't you let Hatori do it?" Yuki didn't sit down this time, he didn't plan on staying long. He caught her scowl and watched her roll away from him. "Because it is mine and I will do with it as I please." Yuki sighed, sitting down now, this was goign to take more effort than he wanted to put forth. "You can't possibly want the baby... and you know the risks of keeping it." Their conversation was oddly calm, though neither really wanted to be having it. "I said it is mine. My baby, my body. You've broken your ties from us so go away." Yuki sighed, ignorning the dull pain that tried to rise within him. "Have it your way then." He stood and left her alone to herself once again.
Yuki had done as Akito had asked, he'd left the estate and hadn't come back. In the months that followed everyone in the estate was pushed to their edges. Shigure had been allowed back onto the estate only because Akito needed him there. It was painful, and she let everyone know it by making their lives harder and harder every day. Kureno was so broken by this point that he couldn't even manage a smile anymore. He sat with Akito, wiping her fevered face with a wet cloth. He watched the water from the cloth mingle with her tears, she cried all the time now, and couldn't find anything to say to her.
The day the birth came was by far the worst any of them had dealt with. She had already broken a maid's arm and both Kureno and Shigure bore scratches that would probably scar. She faded in and out of conciousness during the whole labor, making this very difficult for Hatori who more than anything didn't want to have to resort to a c-section and risk exposing her to anything in her sick state. She managed to pull through until the very end when she scared everyone and almost faded out completely. It took Hatori and a team several minutes before they were able to bring her back. She slept for the rest of the day, thanks to medication, monitored very closely.
Yuki wasn't glad to get a call from Hatori, he had been hoping to put this all behind him, now in his own place and quite content with his new life. "It's a girl... I just thought you might like to know." Yuki sighed, smiling just slightly. "How are they doing; the baby and Akito-san?" Yuki sat down, nodding as he listened to Hatori condense the last 9 months in a few minutes. "Won't you come and at least visit? I have some important things I'd like to talk with you about in person." Yuki sighed and agreed, though a little reluctantly. It had been a while since he'd seen any of the Sohma's and it might be nice to have an excuse to stop by and see Haru or even Tohru and Kyou.
It was a magical moment, when Yuki saw the baby for the first time. It didn't last long as heartbreak set in when he tried to hold her. Even if the child of God, he still could not hold her. It had been a while since he'd cried last, but he was unable to hold it in. Hatori sat him down, seriousness all about him. "I am going to erase Akito's memory." Yuki's eyes widdened, could he really do that? Yuki supposed he could, since it was his power. "Are you sure that's alright? What about the baby?" Hatori sighed, it had been a hard decision to settle on. "The baby will be given to an orphanage... we don't need Akito have any second guesses about the child... and it isn't fair to let her grow up with that kind of woman around. And it will be healthier for Akito if she doesn't know."
Yuki frowned, he didn't like this turn of events, but he didn't feel he was allowed much say in the matter since he had abandoned them. Yuki would watch the process, only because he felt he owned the family that much for putting them through this. It would be painful to watch Hatori strip her memories away, but he was right it was what was needed. When Akito had finally woken up, Hatori was sitting at the edge of her bed, Yuki in a chair where she could see him. Her eyes lit up in shock and she couldn't surpress the few tears that rolled down. She pushed those happy feelings away quickly and snapped at him. "What are you doing here?!" Yuki said nothing, just stared at her.
Hatori lowered his head, speaking lowly. "Akito.." He raised his hand, placing it on her forehead and he felt the realization wash through her. She grabbed his arm, digging her nails into his skin and growled out her words. "Don't you dare, you can't do this to me! I am your god, you can't dare betray me!" She saw only determination and sadness in Hatori's eyes and tears welled up in her own. She pleaded with him as if it were her life on the line. "You can't... don't... I can't forget..." She turned her frightened eyes to Yuki, begging him to speak up. "Yuki, you can't let him do this..." Tears streamed down her face, and she turned her blurring eyes back to Hatori who looked like a blank slate. She closed her eyes, sobbing. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry! I'll change! I promise I will! Just don't take them away! They're all I have! You can't!!!"
There was silence, the two men staring at the sleeping body on the bed. It was then that they broke, and it was the first time Yuki had ever seen Hatori cry. Yuki didn't blame him, that entire scene had been unbearably painful. Yuki knew he would never be able to rid her destroyed face from his mind. "I'll take her." Hatori blinked, through his tears, visibly confused. "The baby... I'll take care of her. I owe Akito-san that much." Hatori blinked again as if he had heard that wrong. "But you can't.." Yuki stood, quieting his cousin. "I will figure it out... but I want to take care of her." Hatori sighed, wiping his face. He supposed it would be alright for Yuki to take her, since he no longer lived with the family.
The estate had become a quieter place after that. While Akito still remained her usual bitter self, there wasn't an added stress like there had been before. Tohru and Kyou had moved in with Yuki, leaving Shigure behind so the dog spirit had sold his home and moved back into the estate to look after Akito. Kureno had given up on Akito all together, daring to reach out to a girl he had met a while back in a grocery store by chance. The rest of the jyuunishi spoke of nothing even though they all knew. It was as if the year before had never happened.
"So how is Yuki and Akki-chan?" Kureno was sitting beside Hatori having lunch, Haa-chan being the only one that really kept in contact with those three. "As well as to be expected. Tohru seems to enjoy taking care of the baby. Yuki seems to be content with how things are as well." Akito walked in at the end of their conversation, only hearing a small piece of the exchange. "Yuki? That dumb rat, running out on us." She shook her head, sitting across from the two boys. "Hello Akito, here to eat lunch with us?" Akito merely believed Yuki had transfered to another school. She had no idea he wasn't even attending anymore, instead he worked and took care of their child. "I guess since I'm here I must." Akito said this as she stole a carrot from Hatori's plate, smirking at him.
There was a time in the early fall when Yuki had received a call about Akito's diminishing health. He'd visited her once, getting the usual verbal abuse about leaving the estate behind but he didn't mind it. It was nice to just see her again. That would be the last time he'd see her. By the middle of fall she was in tragic condition, unable to eat and slowly wasting away. The curse was catching up to her and no one, not even Shigure who sat beside her night and day, could stop it. Yuki didn't need to receive a call that day to know what had happened. He felt it, just as every other Jyuunishi left under the curse felt it. That small snap within them that brought everyone of them to tears. It was painful, more so than any of them could have imagined and they all mourned the fall of their god. When Yuki had finished crying he did what he had been wanting to do since the day he'd heard about his daughter. He picked his little Akii-chan up and held her for a long time.
~~~~~~~~~EPILOGUE~~~~~~~~~~
"Papa, where are we going?" Yuki smiled down at his daughter, who was a spitting image of himself with coal black hair and dark inquisitive eyes. "To visit a friend." The little girl blinked at her father. Four years had passed since the death of her mother that she had never met, but Yuki made sure she knew about Akito the way he had loved her. Yuki smiled, catching sight of the man he had called to meet him. They were scheduled to have brunch at a small cafe near the estate. "So how are you, Yuki?" The once bound rat smiled, pulling his daughter into his lap. "Well, actually. Akki will be starting preshool soon." The little girl giggled in excitement at the tought. "That's nice. She really does look just like you, doesn't she? And just the right touch of Akito in there as well." Yuki smiled, nodding at the older male.
"So how are things on your end? I heard your new novel is selling well. You finally decided to publish something that wasn't perverted." Shigure laughed, waving Yuki off as if it were nothing. "The Fantasy genre seems to work better for some reason." Yuki chuckled, switching Akii to his other leg. "I'm afraid I haven't managed to read it yet, though I did pick it up the other day. What is it about?" Shigure smiled ruefully at this, folding his hands in his lap. "A cursed family and a twisted love." Yuki outright laughed, making his daughter look at him a little oddly. "I see why it made the best seller list. How does it end?"
Shigure smirked at the question. "You'll just have to read it and find out." Yuki shook his head and then nodded. "I see. Alright then." There was a silence between the two as they sipped their tea, Akki-chan playing with the napkins and drawing the animals from the zodiac on them. Yuki was caught off gaurd when Shigure spoke ever so softly. "She loved you, you know." Yuki's face softened and he smiled warm-heartidly. "I know. She loved us all more then she could ever understand."
LJ Author: pikapicokitt
Theme: Goodbye
Fandom: Fruits Basket
Pairing: Akito x Yuki
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Fruits Basket is property of its original creator; I can only be credited for the story idea.
Spoiler warning ahead!!
A/n: As I have become horribly busy in my real life I've taken longer then I had wanted to write the next chapter for this story... as I feel I won't be able to come back to it again for a long time I'm going to try and conclude the series in this last chapter. Forgive me if it is not what everyone was hping for... there was so much more I wanted to do with it but just do not have the time. I still hope you enjoy this chapter and have enjoyed the story! Thanks so much for reading this fic, much love goes out to my fans and of course Akito and Yuki!
Akito had insisted on the ban put upon Yuki and Shigure to remain, she wasn't ready to fully forgive them yet. Tension between the dog and rat was at an all time high, they couldn't even stand to be in the same room as one another anymore. This worried Tohru more than anything, and she tried hard to fix the problems between Shigure and Yuki while also trying to battle her own. She was finding it exhausting to come to terms with her growing feelings for Kyou and deal with the feuding housemates. While it was nice Kyou and Yuki rarely ever argued anymore, it still hurt Tohru to see such hate in the eyes of two of her other friends. There was nothing she could do to save them without the knowledge of why they hated each other.
Yuki had taken on a job outside of school, it was tiring and he didn't much care for it, but his goal was to be rid of the Sohma's and the heavy burden that linked him. When he'd raised enough he would move out of Shigure's and live for himself. No more thoughts of Akito, or the painful love he hid from the world. It would still be a while before he had the money, but it wasn't a dream he couldn't see fulfilled. Being banned from the estate gave him a new freedom to make his own choices. These choices of course didn't come without some kind of pain.
It had been weeks since Akito had seen either her dog or her rat, and she'd refused company from anyone else. This left Kureno just as heart sick and broken as the other two. With no way to soothe the pain he saw in Akito every time they met by chance in the estate, the small light left within him died. Recently Akito had also become prone to horrible spells of sickness. They worried Hatori more than any other illness she'd had before. He worried for the sake of everyone around her that it wasn't what he feared. He'd procrastinated on an examination for days simply because he didn't want to be faced with the harsh truth of it all.
"What's wrong with me? You're a doctor you should know! Tell me!" Akito curled in pain, arms wrapped around her stomach. Her throat hurt from all the puking she had been doing and her body felt alien to her, heavy and strange. Hatori sighed, he didn't have much of a choice anymore he had to go through with it. "Let's go examine you Akito." Akito barely had the strength left to nod to him so there was no argument. She found quickly the tests he took were not like any others she'd had done to her before. When Hatori finally told her what was wrong there was an outbreak of screams and Akito destroyed everything in sight she could find.
"Sohma-kun, there's a call from Hatori-san..." Tohru smiled at Yuki, holding the phone out to him. The rat smiled back, he'd been doing that more often and it made Tohru happy to see he was slowly getting better. Yuki held the phone up to his ear a little surprised Hatori was calling, he hadn't heard from his cousin in a while. "Hatori-nii?" The sound of Hatori's voice, just the tone alone, sent a shiver down Yuki. Whatever news was going to follow the depressed sound of his name off the other's lips wasn't good. Yuki dropped the phone shortly after, the harsh sound of it smacking against the wall as it fell, drawing the household silent. "Sohma-kun? Sohma-kun are you alright?" Yuki's pupils were mere slits in his large, shocked eyes and he just barely managed to get the words past his mouth. "A...Akito-san is pregnant."
"Eh.....?EHH??" Tohru blinked in complete confusion, Kyou mirroring her expression. How on earth could Akito be...they had to think about this for a second. Shigure, his face void of any emotion except for pure hatred, appeared in the doorway. "Well looks like you messed up big time Yuki." Yuki didn't even hear what Shigure had to say as he slammed his back to the wall and slid down it. He could faintly hear the destressed sounds around him and Hatori shouting over the discarded phone. Tears flodded down Yuki's face, though he was completely unaware of it. This was just too much, far too much for him to handle. When he was so close to escaping this horrid family his bright future had crumbled right before him.
Living with Akito and the fact they had concieved a child was not going to be easy. Yuki already saw how wretched it was going to be and it had only just started. She was not going to be easy to deal with and he could just hear her telling him to return to the estate. That was the one thing he did not want anymore. He didn't want this responsibility, he didn't want the ruined life. He laid in his bed, tears no longer able to come as he had cried until his duct's were dry. He barely processed that someone had knocked on the door and he rolled onto his side. "Who is it?" Yuki waited for a reply, there was silence for a few moments before he heard that familiar and somewhat craved for voice. "It's me.." Tohru slowly opened the door, her face red as if she too had been crying for hours. Shigure had filled both her and Kyou in on Akito and the situation. Tohru had an hutrful understanding now of what Yuki might possibly have been going through.
"Can...can I sit down?" Tohru closed the door before her, happy to get a nod from Yuki. She settled down on the floor in front of the bed. "Shigure-san... ah..." She lowered her head, this situation was probably something Yuki didn't want to talk about. "He told you about Akito-san and I." Yuki finished her sentence without giving it much thought. "Do you... do you love her... Akito-san I mean?" Yuki blinked, he was surprised by Tohru's forwardness, but he supposed this wasn't the type of situation to peddle your way around. "Probably." They both sighed together, not much else left to say. Instead of words Tohru reached over and clasped his hand, closing her eyes when he returned the gesture. They sat like that, in silence, for a long time.
When Akito finally demanded it of him, Yuki went to visit her. The state he found her in depressed him even more than he already had been. She looked as if she hadn't slept in days. Her throat was so raw from puking that her voice was hoarse and it appeared as if she had even ripped some of her hair out in frustration. He sat down in front of her without a word, not even meeting her gaze, simply staring at the floor. He expected what she dealt him, his cheek burning and his head turned to the side from the force. "Are you happy? Are you happy that you did this to me?!" Yuki closed his eyes slowly, his expression full of pain that was no longer physical. "Why would I be happy with this, Akito-san? Do you think it makes me happy to see you like this? Do you think it makes me happy to be once more forced back into this family?"
Akito struck him again, with a little more force this time. "Are you calling me a burden?" Her eyes narrowed at Yuki and she waited for any sign of breaking. She was dismayed when she didn't receive even a hint. "You think you are not? You are like a leech, Akito-san. You attach to people and sap everything from them. Their energy, their love... everything. No matter how much I love you..." Yes, he could say that now. With great certainty he could admit how much he cared for her. "...you are still in fact a burden." It was the first time in his life he had ever stood up to her and surprisingly it hurt rather than felt good. The look of astonishment in her eyes dug it's own little dagger of sorrow within him.
"Then get out. Go have your precious life outside where you can never truly fit in. Leave me here as your burden, with your burden." This reaction was a big surprise to Yuki, he had expected Akito to beat him, come at him with a hatred but she hadn't. She'd basically just given him his freedom. Yuki stood, and felt his last bit of self break as he closed the door behind him and on her. Yuki stopped by Hatori's office, finding him looking just as terrible as the rest of the people wrapped up in this big mess. "For what it's worth... I'm sorry." Hatori startled, staring over at Yuki in surprise. "Whatever for?"
"For starting this... causing this." He waved his hand at Hatori's protest, sitting down in the seat across from him. "So what are you going to do about her? She can't possibly raise a child." Hatori sighed and nodded in agreement. "Her body can't handle a child either. I keep asking her to allow me to destroy it... but she refuses." Yuki blinked, this was news to him. "She doesn't want an abortion? I would think she'd be all for it." Hatori sighed again, scrubbing his tired face with his hands. "I would have thought so to... but she just refuses everytime. She never gives me a reason, just says no... and the baby is already taking its toll on her body. I fear this baby will kill her if she keeps it.... and even still if she has it she's bound to kill it afterward." Yuki nodded, resolving to go talk with her once more. "I will go discuss it with her." Hatori wasn't sure how Yuki talking to her might change her mind.
"Why are you back?" Akito was lying in her bed now and she didn't need to look up to know who it was. She knew Yuki by his smell, the way his feet moved across the floor, with slight little scuffs. "Why won't you let Hatori do it?" Yuki didn't sit down this time, he didn't plan on staying long. He caught her scowl and watched her roll away from him. "Because it is mine and I will do with it as I please." Yuki sighed, sitting down now, this was goign to take more effort than he wanted to put forth. "You can't possibly want the baby... and you know the risks of keeping it." Their conversation was oddly calm, though neither really wanted to be having it. "I said it is mine. My baby, my body. You've broken your ties from us so go away." Yuki sighed, ignorning the dull pain that tried to rise within him. "Have it your way then." He stood and left her alone to herself once again.
Yuki had done as Akito had asked, he'd left the estate and hadn't come back. In the months that followed everyone in the estate was pushed to their edges. Shigure had been allowed back onto the estate only because Akito needed him there. It was painful, and she let everyone know it by making their lives harder and harder every day. Kureno was so broken by this point that he couldn't even manage a smile anymore. He sat with Akito, wiping her fevered face with a wet cloth. He watched the water from the cloth mingle with her tears, she cried all the time now, and couldn't find anything to say to her.
The day the birth came was by far the worst any of them had dealt with. She had already broken a maid's arm and both Kureno and Shigure bore scratches that would probably scar. She faded in and out of conciousness during the whole labor, making this very difficult for Hatori who more than anything didn't want to have to resort to a c-section and risk exposing her to anything in her sick state. She managed to pull through until the very end when she scared everyone and almost faded out completely. It took Hatori and a team several minutes before they were able to bring her back. She slept for the rest of the day, thanks to medication, monitored very closely.
Yuki wasn't glad to get a call from Hatori, he had been hoping to put this all behind him, now in his own place and quite content with his new life. "It's a girl... I just thought you might like to know." Yuki sighed, smiling just slightly. "How are they doing; the baby and Akito-san?" Yuki sat down, nodding as he listened to Hatori condense the last 9 months in a few minutes. "Won't you come and at least visit? I have some important things I'd like to talk with you about in person." Yuki sighed and agreed, though a little reluctantly. It had been a while since he'd seen any of the Sohma's and it might be nice to have an excuse to stop by and see Haru or even Tohru and Kyou.
It was a magical moment, when Yuki saw the baby for the first time. It didn't last long as heartbreak set in when he tried to hold her. Even if the child of God, he still could not hold her. It had been a while since he'd cried last, but he was unable to hold it in. Hatori sat him down, seriousness all about him. "I am going to erase Akito's memory." Yuki's eyes widdened, could he really do that? Yuki supposed he could, since it was his power. "Are you sure that's alright? What about the baby?" Hatori sighed, it had been a hard decision to settle on. "The baby will be given to an orphanage... we don't need Akito have any second guesses about the child... and it isn't fair to let her grow up with that kind of woman around. And it will be healthier for Akito if she doesn't know."
Yuki frowned, he didn't like this turn of events, but he didn't feel he was allowed much say in the matter since he had abandoned them. Yuki would watch the process, only because he felt he owned the family that much for putting them through this. It would be painful to watch Hatori strip her memories away, but he was right it was what was needed. When Akito had finally woken up, Hatori was sitting at the edge of her bed, Yuki in a chair where she could see him. Her eyes lit up in shock and she couldn't surpress the few tears that rolled down. She pushed those happy feelings away quickly and snapped at him. "What are you doing here?!" Yuki said nothing, just stared at her.
Hatori lowered his head, speaking lowly. "Akito.." He raised his hand, placing it on her forehead and he felt the realization wash through her. She grabbed his arm, digging her nails into his skin and growled out her words. "Don't you dare, you can't do this to me! I am your god, you can't dare betray me!" She saw only determination and sadness in Hatori's eyes and tears welled up in her own. She pleaded with him as if it were her life on the line. "You can't... don't... I can't forget..." She turned her frightened eyes to Yuki, begging him to speak up. "Yuki, you can't let him do this..." Tears streamed down her face, and she turned her blurring eyes back to Hatori who looked like a blank slate. She closed her eyes, sobbing. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry! I'll change! I promise I will! Just don't take them away! They're all I have! You can't!!!"
There was silence, the two men staring at the sleeping body on the bed. It was then that they broke, and it was the first time Yuki had ever seen Hatori cry. Yuki didn't blame him, that entire scene had been unbearably painful. Yuki knew he would never be able to rid her destroyed face from his mind. "I'll take her." Hatori blinked, through his tears, visibly confused. "The baby... I'll take care of her. I owe Akito-san that much." Hatori blinked again as if he had heard that wrong. "But you can't.." Yuki stood, quieting his cousin. "I will figure it out... but I want to take care of her." Hatori sighed, wiping his face. He supposed it would be alright for Yuki to take her, since he no longer lived with the family.
The estate had become a quieter place after that. While Akito still remained her usual bitter self, there wasn't an added stress like there had been before. Tohru and Kyou had moved in with Yuki, leaving Shigure behind so the dog spirit had sold his home and moved back into the estate to look after Akito. Kureno had given up on Akito all together, daring to reach out to a girl he had met a while back in a grocery store by chance. The rest of the jyuunishi spoke of nothing even though they all knew. It was as if the year before had never happened.
"So how is Yuki and Akki-chan?" Kureno was sitting beside Hatori having lunch, Haa-chan being the only one that really kept in contact with those three. "As well as to be expected. Tohru seems to enjoy taking care of the baby. Yuki seems to be content with how things are as well." Akito walked in at the end of their conversation, only hearing a small piece of the exchange. "Yuki? That dumb rat, running out on us." She shook her head, sitting across from the two boys. "Hello Akito, here to eat lunch with us?" Akito merely believed Yuki had transfered to another school. She had no idea he wasn't even attending anymore, instead he worked and took care of their child. "I guess since I'm here I must." Akito said this as she stole a carrot from Hatori's plate, smirking at him.
There was a time in the early fall when Yuki had received a call about Akito's diminishing health. He'd visited her once, getting the usual verbal abuse about leaving the estate behind but he didn't mind it. It was nice to just see her again. That would be the last time he'd see her. By the middle of fall she was in tragic condition, unable to eat and slowly wasting away. The curse was catching up to her and no one, not even Shigure who sat beside her night and day, could stop it. Yuki didn't need to receive a call that day to know what had happened. He felt it, just as every other Jyuunishi left under the curse felt it. That small snap within them that brought everyone of them to tears. It was painful, more so than any of them could have imagined and they all mourned the fall of their god. When Yuki had finished crying he did what he had been wanting to do since the day he'd heard about his daughter. He picked his little Akii-chan up and held her for a long time.
~~~~~~~~~EPILOGUE~~~~~~~~~~
"Papa, where are we going?" Yuki smiled down at his daughter, who was a spitting image of himself with coal black hair and dark inquisitive eyes. "To visit a friend." The little girl blinked at her father. Four years had passed since the death of her mother that she had never met, but Yuki made sure she knew about Akito the way he had loved her. Yuki smiled, catching sight of the man he had called to meet him. They were scheduled to have brunch at a small cafe near the estate. "So how are you, Yuki?" The once bound rat smiled, pulling his daughter into his lap. "Well, actually. Akki will be starting preshool soon." The little girl giggled in excitement at the tought. "That's nice. She really does look just like you, doesn't she? And just the right touch of Akito in there as well." Yuki smiled, nodding at the older male.
"So how are things on your end? I heard your new novel is selling well. You finally decided to publish something that wasn't perverted." Shigure laughed, waving Yuki off as if it were nothing. "The Fantasy genre seems to work better for some reason." Yuki chuckled, switching Akii to his other leg. "I'm afraid I haven't managed to read it yet, though I did pick it up the other day. What is it about?" Shigure smiled ruefully at this, folding his hands in his lap. "A cursed family and a twisted love." Yuki outright laughed, making his daughter look at him a little oddly. "I see why it made the best seller list. How does it end?"
Shigure smirked at the question. "You'll just have to read it and find out." Yuki shook his head and then nodded. "I see. Alright then." There was a silence between the two as they sipped their tea, Akki-chan playing with the napkins and drawing the animals from the zodiac on them. Yuki was caught off gaurd when Shigure spoke ever so softly. "She loved you, you know." Yuki's face softened and he smiled warm-heartidly. "I know. She loved us all more then she could ever understand."