Fumei no Musubi
Chapter Five 
by Ina-chan
First Posted Online: March 14, 2003
History: Sequel to Jyuunishi no Enkei Monogatari

“Tooru-san?” His quiet voice filtered through her stunned consciousness once again, “Are you feeling all right?” 

“Ah…” She blinked in confusion, before turning her flustered attention to the mess on the floor, “AH! I’m sorry! I’m fine! I’m made a mess! I’m sorry! Let me clean it up!” 

She bent down to pick up the broken shards of crystal on the floor, feeling the small hairs at the back of her neck prickle, as she sensed his eyes silently watching her. He stood there, unmoving, making no attempt to stop her or to help her. Though, she was grateful for having an excuse to not look straight into those gray eyes. 

Those eyes… 

Once again, it struck her. How is it that can two people have those identical gray eyes, yet at the same time, be completely different? 

“How ironic,” Akito’s quiet tone rang again before falling into a peal of amused laughter 

She couldn’t help but raise her head. He was still standing there, laughing quietly as his gaze fixed on the window across the room, “Akito-san?” 

“This room…” His voice trailed as he turned his attention back to her, “Yuki and I used to play in this very room when we were children.” 

The woman stared at the man, “I suppose this room holds a lot of fond memories for you.” 

A sardonic smirk lined the man’s lips, as his gaze turned to a darkened corner in the room,  “Yuki was a spoiled sport and a cry baby. When he lost and he would curl up into a ball and cry right over there. It was really pathetic…” 

The ghostly apparition of a little boy silently sobbing in the corner immediately appeared in the young woman’s mind’s eye. Pain suddenly shot through her heart and her hands unconsciously tightened their grip on the shard of crystal in her hands, “What kind of game was it?” 

The raven-haired man made his way to the seat beside her husband’s bed and sat there, his hypnotic eyes steadily, and almost painfully, holding hers. He gave her another chilling smile and cocked his head innocently to one side before replying. 

“Prisoner’s base.” 

Her lips moved to say something in reply, but she was surprised to realize that her voice was stuck in her throat. She didn’t know exactly the reason why, but somehow, his simple statement brought about a shiver down her spine. In the back of her mind, she couldn’t understand how it was possible for two people can play such a game. She quickly dismissed it as she turned her attention back to the Family Head, with a slight frown. Akito had always had that scary and intimidating air around him… but for some reason… there was something even more odd about Akito now. Whatever it was, she couldn’t put her finger on it. 

“Tooru-san, are you sure you’re all right?” Akito asked again, “You seem a little pale.” 

“N-no… I’m fine,” The woman replied nervously, “I’m just a little tired.” 

“Your hand is bleeding,” He noted non-chalantly, making a passing glance on the young woman’s injured flesh 

“I-I’m so-sorry…” Tooru snapped into attention, dropping the crystal shard on the floor as if suddenly scalded. She automatically reached for a nearby hand towel and wrapped it around her injured hand. 

“You should take better care of yourself. Most specially in your condition,” Akito commented monotonously, “We wouldn’t want something bad to happen to you as well now, do we?” 

Once again, she shot the Family Head another look of surprise. Akito held her gaze without a single hint of expression for a few awkward moments before lapsing into an amused, but non-malicious, look. “Hatsuharu mentioned the good news. Congratulations.” 

“A-ah… yes… thank you…” Tooru replied hesitantly, unconsciously putting a protective hand over her now slightly swelling belly. 

The Clan watched her for few moments before speaking, “Tooru-san.” 

“Hai?” The young woman straightened up in attention 

“For some reason, I have this vague feeling that I’m not welcome here,” Akito stated bluntly, smiling innocently cocking his head to one side 

“NO!” Tooru replied more forcefully than she intended, before turning several shades of red from her uncharacteristic outburst, “I- I mean… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. It was just surprising to see Akito-san here… Shigure-san said that…” 

The smile immediately disappeared from the man’s face, his voice dropping into a harsh monotone, “I felt well today. I thought I would pay Yuki a visit. I haven’t had the chance to see him… for a long time.” 

“Ah…” Tooru ducked her head. Despite of herself, she immediately feeling a small hint of guilt upon hearing the Family Head’s carefully selected words. There was no denying that she was partly the reason why Yuki never made an effort to visit Akito since after the ceremony, “I’m sure Yuki-kun is happy that you’re here.” 

Akito smirked and turned his stoic attention to the sleeping figure on the bed, “That’s impossible.” 

Tooru blinked, puzzled at the man’s reaction, “Why?” 

“Because Yuki hates me…” Akito smirked in an almost inaudible voice, “…Yuki already hated me before he was even born…” 

Tooru frowned, her kind nature overpowering her anxiety. She clasped her hands together and looked at the Clan head with great concern, “Akito…san?” 

“Nee, Tooru-san… Can I tell you a story?” Akito asked, turning back to her with a sweet expression on his face 

“Y-yes,” Tooru answered, feeling a little unnerved at the Clan Head’s sudden change of pace. 

“Once upon a time, God called upon to the animals of the forest to attend a great banquet and made it a point not to be late. The Mouse tricked the Cat, so the Cat was not able to attend. So that’s why, the cat was not a part of the twelve …” The young man began, his voice attaining a faraway quality, “But did you know that there was another side to that story?” 

All traces of fear completely disappearing in her being upon hearing the young man’s words as she curiously stepped nearer to the young man seated before her, “What do you mean? Akito-san?” 

“You see…” Akito looked at the sleeping figure before them with a genuine sorrowful expression, “God didn’t want the Mouse to be part of the twelve.” 

“What?” 

“At that time, the Mouse was the most revered creature in the land, with beauty and cunning that rivals that of the legendary Princess Kaguya. True to the rumored reputation, the Mouse was able to see through God’s plan and tricked the Cat to protect him.” 

The young woman’s eyes widened, “Protect… him?” 

“Stupid… stupid… that damn stupid mouse…” The man muttered under his breath as he got on his feet 

Tooru took an involuntary step backward. Once again, in less than a split second, the Souma Head’s demeanor made a complete unpredictable 180degree turn. She was tempted to rush out of the room, to try to get Hatori-san or Shigure-san… anyone… But the almost menacing way he towered over her husband’s sleeping figure immediately made her hesitate at the thought of leaving them alone, “Akito-san, what’s wrong?” 

“I could have made you happy.  But you had to choose him. You had to protect him. Now look where it got you now, you bitch. Now you’re even more trapped than the rest of us. Fitting to the pathetically hopeless little mouse that you are.” The man’s voice rose angrily as he stepped closer to the sleeping younger man before him. But for some reason, he stopped. Not being able to clear the minute physical space separating them, as being repelled by some invisible force. 

He gazed at the slumbering young man before him. Completely unresponsive to what was happening around him… completely unaware of the Souma Head’s presence… The young woman watched with baited breath, as the man stood unmoving… barely even breathing. She took a step closer and covered her mouth to stifle a gasp of surprise. It was only then that she saw the silent streams of clear liquid, openly running down the man’s eyes.

“Akito-sa…” The woman began uncertainly as she took another step toward the man 

 “AAAAAAAH!!!!” The man suddenly screamed as he pulled at his hair. As if struggling against an intense internal pain, “WHY DO YOU KEEP DOING THIS!?!? WHY DO YOU KEEP RUNNING AWAY FROM ME!?!? WHY!?!? WHY!?!? WHY!?!?” 

“Akito-san!” Tooru cried out in alarm, rushed forward to close the remaining gap between them.  She grabbed on to the dark-haired man’s arm just as the man suddenly collapsed and fell on his knees. The young woman’s eyes widened, totally unsure of what to do “AKITO-SAN!!” 

“All I wanted… all I ever wanted…” Akito continued on, as he buried his face onto one hand, his voice dropping into a pathetic, almost childish, whine, “…was to see you…”

 “Akito-san…” The young woman whispered softly, still holding on to the man’s arm. She had no idea what just happened, but it really didn’t matter anymore. She could sense the genuine sorrow in the Souma Family head’s emotions. Something was torturing him…

 “I don’t understand,” The man stated softly, once again, in his earlier monotone

 “What is it, Akito-san?” Tooru inquired in her gentle tone

 “Why are they all drawn to you?” Akito replied, as he slowly shifted around to face the young woman beside him. His gray eyes bore into the brown spheres that stared back at him. His fingers slowly started to twine themselves between her brown locks, “Why is that when…you’re just an outsider?” 

Tooru frowned, puzzled with the man’s words, “Akito-san…? I don’t… understand…” 

“Why is SHE so drawn to you when you are just an…” Akito repeated his words as his fingers very slowly tightened their grasp on her hair,“…outsider…” 

“AKITO!”

 The two occupants of the room turned to the direction of the voice with a start. The man instantly pulled his hand away from the woman’s tresses as three newcomers stepped into the room, walking toward them. 

“Hatori-san,” Tooru said breathlessly, not bothering to hide her relief. 

“Akito,” The doctor’s disapproving tone even made the young woman make an involuntary wince, “You know shouldn’t go about the complex alone.” 

Akito frowned childishly at the Dragon, “Don’t treat me like a child. I felt well today, so I came to visit Yuki.  And I didn’t feel like taking a walk with my nannies.” 

“Nonetheless, you shouldn’t go on your own without telling anyone, Akito,” A familiar monotonous drone stated firmly. 

Once again, Tooru’s face reflected her surprise when the face of the owner of the voice registered in her mind, “Hatsuharu-kun? Kureno…san…” 

The white-haired young man gave her a nod of acknowledgement, before silently turning his attention to their third companion. The auburn haired man stepped forward and silently offered his hand to the Family head. 

“Don’t treat me like a child,” Akito stated in a firmer tone as he slapped the taller man’s hand away before getting on his feet. He made a show of brushing invisible dirt from the seat of his pants before turning his attention back to the young woman staring up at them, still sitting on the floor. 

Tooru could only stare back mutely, at the now cold gray eyes boring down at her, despite the polite smile that accompanied it. 

“It was good to see you Tooru-san,” Akito said with a polite nod, “Make sure you have Hatori check your wound. We don’t want it to get infected.” 

“Ye-yes!” The woman replied automatically, once again, feeling unnerved at the Family Head’s unpredictable chameleon-like disposition 

Without another word, the dark-haired man turned to his heels and briskly walked out of the room, the Rooster, silently at tow. Haru held out his hand to help her up, in which she accepted gratefully. 

“Did he cause any trouble?” Hatori immediately asked a-matter-of-factly as soon as the Family Head was out of earshot 

“N-no!” Tooru automatically replied, “He simply came to see how Yuki-kun is doing.” 

“Is everything alright? To-ru?” Momiji asked as he peeked cautiously into the room from the entrance way 

“Momiji-kun!” She called out brightly, as she flashed the younger man a grateful smile. All at once, it was perfectly clear to her on who was responsible for bringing the calvary, “Yes, everything is alright!” 

The blonde man instantly rushed to the young woman’s side and clung to her arm, “I’m so relieved. Akito just barged in, and I didn’t know what to do.” 

“It’s okay, Momiji-kun,” Tooru replied reassuringly as she tousled the younger man’s hair affectionately 

“AH! What happened to your hand?” Momiji exclaimed in alarm, noting the drying bloodstains that seeped through the pristine hand towel, still wrapped around her injured hand 

“AAAH! It’s nothing!” Tooru waved her hand, “I was just clumsy and dropped a vase. Then cut myself trying to clean up.” 

“Let me take a look at it,” Hatori commanded 

“It’s okay, really!” Tooru insisted, “It’s just a small cut! It’s not bleeding anymore, either.” 

“I apologize for him suddenly appearing unannounced,” Haru said with a rueful bow, “It was my fault.” 

“But it was no trouble at all! It was nice of him to take time to visit,” Tooru protested in a cheerful tone, before stopping as a thought hit her, “Ano… where is Shigure-san?” 

“In my office,” Hatori stated as he turned his attention to his slumbering patient, before silently mumbling ‘hiding’ under his breath. He sighed and idly studied the numbers on the bedside monitor in front of him. Once again, another frown lined the doctor’s forehead. 

“Hatori-niisan? Is there something wrong?” Haru called out in concern, his strong intuition immediately sensing something amiss on his older cousin’s body language 

“Yuki’s pulse and blood pressure just seems to be a little elevated than normal today…” Hatori commented absently 

“Well… Akito’s presence can even make the dead turn on its grave,” Momiji commented, putting his hands behind his head, non-chalantly 

“Momiji…” Haru immediately gave his cousin a stern reprimanding glare 

“I’m sure it’s just from all the excitement that happened,” Tooru simply made a nervous laugh, as she moved closer to her husband’s bedside. Then she suddenly stopped on her tracks, her eyes widening in astonishment. She pointed her finger excitedly at her husband’s hand, “Hatori-san! Look!” It was subtle to the casual observer. But sure enough, the sleeping young man’s fingers seemed to be moving on their own accord, “Yuki-kun?” 

“Yuki? Can you hear me?” Hatori called out as he pried open the young man’s eyes and flashed the tiny penlight he fished from his pocket, “Give us a sign if you can hear me.” 

The occupants of the room watched in silent anticipation and delight as the movement of the Mouse’s hand became even more pronounced. Their hopefulness, however, turned to horror when the sleeping figure’s entire body stiffened and started jerking erratically… in time with the sporadic and frantic beeps of the monitor. 

Hatori swore under his breath as he immediately turned Yuki on his side, making sure that the delicate instruments that ensured his patient’s breathing were not disturbed until the seizure passed. He threw Hatsuharu a silent command before calmly turning to the stunned rabbit. He motioned his head toward the portable apparatus resting on the table, “Momiji, get the suction ready.” 

“Hatori-sa---” Tooru began, but immediately got cut off as she felt the Ox’s strong grip around her shoulders as he steered her out of the room. She gave the younger man a frightened look as he calmly slid the door behind them, cutting them off from what was happening inside the room, “Hatsuharu-kun…” 

“Don’t worry. Yuki will be just fine,” Haru replied, his voice filled with uncharacteristic emotion, “This time, we won’t fail.”

End of Chapter Five
Return to Chapter Four  
Continued on Chapter Six 
 

AUTHOR’S SQUAWK:

                WAI! It is my Dad’s birthday today, so I’m glad I finally got this chapter out of my head before it drove me crazy! I still have so much to do!

                Anywayz… things are starting to take a more and more mysterious tone, ne? I wasn’t sure how to portray Akito in this one… I wanted to show how even more mentally unstable he’s become because of a still to be revealed obsession that he’s taken on to… BUT at the same time, I still wanted him to stay in character with his original characterization. I hope I managed to pull that off. 

                I know this chapter is a break from the usual format… since so far, everything has been in Shigure’s point of view… but there’s a reason for that too. ^_^. Let’s just say, Shigure isn’t ready to face Akito again… yet. So as Hatori said, Shigure was basically hiding… Or is he? ^_^. We all know how unpredictable Shigure really is. Well… in the next chapter… Shigure will be back. And things seem to be going to turn for a worse… I’m thinking of putting in another character whom we haven’t seen in a while in the original series… but I haven’t really decided if it’s really necessary to do that. Well… we’ll see. Until then, thanks for continuing to read! ^_^.

Ja!
Ina-chan