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renywrites · 4 years

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Hello! I am back from the dead, this time with a new fandom. Whoops. Take it away, Fruits Basket 2019!

Heads up, this contains references to suicide, self harm, and pregnancy. Akito uses they/them pronouns because I am a they/them and I say so.

***

Akito sits in the darkness of their room, the screens closed. The shadows darkened, stretching across the room as the sun set. They watched it, as the shadows overtook the pale skin or their feet, traveled up their thin body, chased their fingers. It lingered on their neck, then swallowed up their face. Akito closes their eyes.

The shadows were all they had, now. Everyone was gone. Well, everyone but Shigure. But sometimes, they thought the shadows and silence were better than his pity.

After the zodiac curse had been broken, Akito had become a shell of a human. Who were they, without the god they had always been? What were they, now that the part that had made them up had been severed? Akito avoided mirrors now, avoided those dark and haunted eyes that they hardly recognized.

They drifted, most days. The staff probably thought of them as a ghost - a haunted thing, not quite here, not quite human.

What did you do when holiness was stripped from you? What did you do when your life became as inconsequential as anyone else’s?

Akito’s eyes open, straying to the corner of the room when someone - Shigure, most likely - raps their knuckles against the frame of the door.

“What?” They snap, and they can hear a bit of the old Akito. Bile rises in their throat.

The door slides open, and there’s the rustle of a kimono before it slides shut again. A hand slides through their hair.

“It isn’t good for you to sit in the dark like this, you know,” Shigure murmurs.

Akito allows themself to linger in the simple touch. Their long eyelashes flicker, and they tip their head a bit to look up at him. Shigure’s dark eyes were shadowed with worry. They flick their tongue over their bottom lip, gathering their strength.

“My head hurts.” They murmur, letting their hand tangle in the soft fabric of his kimono.

His gaze softens, his hand coming down to hold theirs, sitting down on the floor beside them. “Do you want me to call Hatori?”

“No,” they whisper. This wasn’t the kind of hurt Hatori could fix. How could they ask him to, anyway? They had been so awful to him. To everyone. It was a wonder anyone had stayed at all. Besides, how did you fix a heart so fractured? Everyone had taken a piece of them when they had left.

Shigure casts a measuring gaze of their small form, swallowed by swathes of fabric. They wanted to spit something nasty at him, drive him back. Don’t look at me, they wanted to beg. Don’t tell me what you see.

The worst part was, Shigure had always been the one to stay. He’d been the one to comfort, to calm, to council. He was a rock, stable and stubborn. Harsh words hadn’t done much to him.

“Alright,” He concedes at last, settling in beside them. His hand held theirs, like they were something precious. Something worthy of holding close. Akito swallows a lump in their throat and stares at the blank wall in front of them.

How did one find purpose after it was stripped away from them?

They throw up their dinner that night.

***

“You’ve got a high fever,” Hatori tells them in that flat voice of his. His back was to them, writing something in the chart they knew contained pages on pages of ailments they’d contracted over the years. “I’ll send you back with some fever reducers. You’d do well to rest. No strenuous activity for a few days, at least.”

Akito wants to laugh at that. When had they ever done anything that required more physical energy than a tantrum?

Hatori turns back to them, fixing them with his stern gaze. It was funny, they think distantly, you could hardly tell he was half blind, with the looks he gave his patients.

“Shigure tells me you haven’t been eating well lately.” His voice snaps them out of their head.

A familiar flash of rage wells up, but they’re too tired to do anything other than hold their hospital gown a bit tighter in their small fists. Their small mouth twists down at the edges, and they have to look away from Hatori.

“You know you have to eat, Akito,” Hatori says, in that voice he used when they were a child and refused to take their cough medicine or sit still for a checkup. “That’s probably what’s caused your fever.”

“I’m not hungry,” they hear themself say, in a voice that does not belong to Akito. None of them belongs to Akito.

Hatori gives them a brief, disapproving frown. It rips through them, right to the core. Severs them in half, shatters their torn heart and makes their insides bleed. Didn’t they see? Why couldn’t they see?

“Well, starve yourself if you want. But I highly recommend against it.” He says, in a short, impatient tone he never would’ve used before.

He turns again, opening a cabinet to pull out a bottle, to give them more pills to choke down. Something desperate claws its way from their gut, scraping against their mouth, leaving gouges in their throat.

“Hatori,” they say, this side of desperate.

You have to know I didn’t mean it. You have to know that wasn’t me. Please, please know. Please forgive me. Please be gentle with me.

Hatori turns to look at them, and they can see the annoyance in the crease of his brow, in the harsh line of his mouth. They can feel the hatred simmering beneath his skin, can feel the way he wishes they were dead.

Or maybe that was just them.

Their desperation dies in the face of it, withers to nothing. The small burst of mania vanishes, and they hold his gaze, struck dumb and mute.

“Yes?” He prods in that gentle way of his.

Akito tips their head forward, their temples pounding. “I’m sorry.” They say, their voice a whisper.

The silence that follows threatens to drown them. They feel it rising from the floor like a flood, menacing and desperate and horrible. Akito looks up, and their breath catches in their chest.

Hatori looked… shocked. Hatori looked like he had when they’d dug their thumbs into his eye, like he had when Kana had screamed, like he had when they’d laughed in his face and shook his blood from their fingers.

His blue eyes were wide. His mouth was slightly open. Akito bleeds, their insides cleaved apart.

Just as soon as it appeared, Hatori shakes the shock away. He shakes the look away, into that mask of passivity he always wore. “Well,” he says, turning to their chart. “Let me go get the pills for you.” He closes the thick binder, hurrying from the room like Akito was a fire that threatened to burn him to ashes.

The door slides shut behind him. Alone in the office, Akito puts their head in their hands and weeps.

***

“I want to go away.”

Shigure’s hand pauses where it was tracing their pale hip. They were naked, sweat lingering in the swampy heat of a midsummer night. He props himself up on his elbow, head resting in his hand, looking down over them.

“Away?” He repeats, his hand tracing the slight of their body. Akito lets it ground them, nodding.

After another minute of silence, Shigure hums. “Where would we go?”

We. Akito’s insides twist at the word. They didn’t deserve we. They didn’t even deserve me. They deserved it. Monster, tormentor, demon. All the things Kyo had been wrongfully labelled and more.

“I don’t know,” they say callously, pushing their hair from their face. “Away. Not here.”

This earns them a small curve of an amused smile. “Well,” Shigure sighs. “I have been meaning to take a vacation. Think about where you’d like to go, yeah? I’ll make arrangements. Hatori will have my head if I steal you away without a proper exam.”

Akito can’t help but indulge the wave of selfishness that makes them turn, makes them wrap their thin arms around him and hold on tight. They let themself feel relief when he pulls them closer with an arm around their waist and buries his nose in their sweat-damp hair.

You don’t deserve this, they remind themself. You are on borrowed time. You have never earned this.

“Are you alright?” Shigure asks in that delicate way of his. Akito knows that delicateness is born from fear, from the need to step on eggshells.

“Fine,” they answer.

***

“America, huh? That’s exciting.” Mayuko leans forward over the table.

It was a wonder that Hatori and Mayuko had come to dinner in the first place. Shigure had been the one to ask, though, and Akito didn’t miss the way Mayu watched her words around them.

“Yes, well, Akito was very insistent.” Shigure says with his devil-may-care attitude, reaching for his drink. Mayu looks over at them, gives them a thin smile.

“I think it was a terrible choice,” Hatori says, not for the first time.

He’d tried to argue them out of it, at first, but had broken after Akito had gotten up to leave, taking it as them going to lash out. They’d stopped at the door, realizing why he’d flinched, and left with a slam of the door. Just to feel the walls shake. Just to feel anything other than the dark pit that yawned in their stomach.

Akito holds their chopsticks a bit tighter, shooting Hatori an annoyed look. They see him pause, see Mayu tense. They feel Shigure’s gaze on their head.

“You know Akito,” Shigure interjects, before Akito has any idea of what to do next. “Stubborn to the very end.”

The tension in the room relaxes, and Shigure goes back to teasing the newlyweds, leaving Akito to pick at their rice in silence. They hardly say a word that night, but Shigure fills their silence enough for the two of them.

When they bid Hatori and Mayu a goodnight, Akito watches them and wonders what it’s like to be in love with something other than self destruction.

***

San Francisco reminds Akito of Tokyo in all the worst ways. There are too many people, too much noise, too much smog. The cars are loud, the people are loud, and they hardly understand a lick of English. This had been a terrible idea. Hatori was right, as he usually was.

Shigure seems to be having the time of his life, however, and Akito tries their best to join him in his excitement. After they spend a day sleeping off their jetlag, he drags them around the beachside city. They visit Nihonmachi first, and Akito finds peace in the familiarity of it.

Here, the people had no idea who Akito was. Here, Akito was just a foreign visitor, someone who could be anyone. It felt freeing, and for the first time since they could remember, Akito relaxed.

They were the first to speak when they ordered food. They bickered with Shigure, who seemed shocked that they were even speaking in the first place. They traded stories with the shop owners and their children, reveling in the wide eyed innocence of youth and the nostalgia of days long passed.

They felt sad when it was finally time to go, time to retire for the night. But Shigure was as familiar with their body as they were, and he could see as they pushed through the tiredness into dangerous territory. He had to practically carry them from the district, back to their hotel.

“Did you enjoy yourself?” He asks in the shower that evening, holding them up as their body submitted to the weakness it had always known.

They close their eyes as he drags a warm, soapy cloth down their spine, and they let themself smile. “Yes,” they say, and they mean it.

***

On their final day, Shigure drags them to an old Catholic church, citing he wanted to do some research for a book he’s writing.

The structure is odd to Akito, very western. The religion was even more foreign, hardly making sense to them. But the building had a haunting, empty quality about it that they could sympathize with.

Shigure leads them into the large building, into a huge room with stained glass windows depicting men and women and children. Akito was sure they meant something, but to them, it was just pretty imagery.

They’re left by the altar as Shigure goes to track someone down, likely to interrogate for his book. They watch him go, left to take in their surroundings and hope that nobody tried to speak to them. Akito looks up at the wall above the altar, and wonders if this religion had any truth to it, too.

They had been a god, once. They had been revered, feared, respected, obeyed. They had been worshipped, too. But being a god had been such a horribly lonely existence. Everything had been so dark, so crushing, so significant. The slightest act of defiance had sent them into a rage, and in their attempts to draw everyone closer, they had only succeeded in driving them away.

Akito lowers their dark gaze to the altar, and wonders if sacrifice had ever been necessary in this religion. They wonder if it would matter if they had sacrificed themself, bled out on a stone cold slab for their own glory.

They wonder if it would matter now, if they could bleed to death, if they could atone with their blood. Would that fix anything? Would anyone notice? Would anyone care? They were already bleeding. Most days, it threatened to choke them.

Akito wondered if Shigure would miss them. If Hatori would. They had left such a stain on their lives, shaded everything dark for so long - what would happen if they just disappeared? If god was no longer God, what did they do? Who were they? What purpose did they have?

“There you are.”

Akito jumps, gives a sharp breath, and looks up into a worried Shigure’s face.

He chuckles. “Easy, it’s just me. Lost in thought? Has this place managed to convert you? Now, there’s a thought. God being led to God.”

They know he means it as a joke, but they can’t help the vitriol in their tone. “I am not god anymore,” they hiss, and the emptiness where their soul had split in two aches.

Akito watches the amusement fade from his face, watches as Shigure sees them. Here, in this western holy place, where they are nothing but an insignificant piece in the universe. Akito watches those grey eyes widen, watches his mouth thin, watches the understanding settle and the pieces click.

They want to cry in relief and scream in horror.

***

“Akito,” his voice is so gentle. They don’t deserve gentle. “Akito, look at me.”

Shigure had closed the door to their hotel room and looked at them, and the tears had not stopped since. They hated how he looked at them, with gentle understanding, with pain, with sorrow. They hated it - so why did they want it?

His fingers tilt their chin up, his other hand coming up to wipe their tears. “What’s wrong?” He asks, and they break.

“I am not god,” Akito says, reaching up to clutch his wrists, their fingernails digging half moons into his skin. “I am not god, so - so what does that make me? Who am I? Why - Why didn’t I die, why was I left?”

They sob, their head tilting into his palm, dark eyes closing tight against the pity that was surely in his eyes. Their small body shakes, and they want nothing more than to curl in on themself and hide away for good.

“You weren’t left. I’m here. Hatori is here.” Shigure says when their tears pause long enough for them to suck in a breath.

Akito tears away from him, clutching at their elbows, shaking their head. “You shouldn’t be,” they gasp, “you should be far away, you should have left me behind. I’m - I’m a monster, I’ll always be a monster, nothing will change that.

“I don’t know who I am, Shigure!” They wail, dropping to their knees, their frail body conceding against the whirlwind of pain and suffering they’d been stuffing down.

Not moments later, he’s kneeling in front of them, hands hovering over their shaking body. Akito can feel his unsurity, can feel his hesitation. Why revive a dead beast, why fix a broken altar? Why not leave it to rot, leave it to fester, leave it for the maggots and the flies and the plants.

Shigure takes them in his arms when they have no tears left, when they are left shuddering and shaking and broken. He pulls Akito against him, holds them close, and whispers in their ear, “You are Akito.”

“I wish I were anyone else.” They whisper, face pressed to the fabric of his dress shirt.

“No,” he hushes, pulling them back to look at them, his grey eyes serious. “No. The world would be so different without you, Akito.”

Maybe it would be better, they don’t say.

“What do you need?” Shigure asks, and Akito lets themself be selfish.

“Worship me,” they breathe, letting desperation take over.

Shigure’s gaze darkens a bit, and Akito prays it’s with desire. He picks them up, pulls them into a kiss, and they hold onto him like he would somehow save them against the tidal wave of self hatred and misery.

Before they can take it back, he lays them down and worships at the altar of a long dead god.

***

“I told you that going to America was a bad idea,” Hatori snaps, his stress palpable, despite it having been weeks since their trip. They had been bedridden for days, unable to stomach anything or stay awake enough to even try. Akito knew all of their ailments were mostly mental, mostly emotional. They were starting to wonder if Hatori really knew the depth. If they really knew, either.

“Sit still,” Hatori mutters, setting up a phlebotomy kit. Akito didn’t think blood work would help anything, but didn’t have the energy to argue it. They don’t even flinch at the needle, and Hatori fixes them with something close to a worried expression.

“I’ll get this processed and be back within the next couple hours with the results.” Hatori says, taping a cotton ball to the crook of their pale elbow, pulling away with the small vial. When they don’t respond, he sighs and walks out of the room.

Akito can hear hushed conversation from the outside of the room. Likely Hatori speaking with Shigure. Their fingers tighten on the blankets, their eyes drift to the door open to the outside.

The door slides open, announcing Shigure’s presence, and they roll over to look at him. He smoothes over his troubled expression with a smile, going to sit with them, rest their head in his lap.

Akito buries their face in his thigh, relaxes as he tangles his fingers in their dark hair, pretends to be alright for his sake. They were doing a lot of that lately; pretending to be alright, just so that worried expression of his faded away.

They stay like that, drowsing in and out of sleep, Shigure’s hand in their hair. It remains for the hours it takes for Hatori to get back.

When he does, it’s with the door slamming open, jostling them awake, and Shigure’s sharp, “Hatori!”

Hatori freezes in the doorway, staring at Akito, then straightens and walks over, handing Shigure a piece of paper.

Akito watches him scan it, reading the results as he usually did. Although before he can scoff and hand it to Akito with a tease about scaring them to Hatori, Shigure tenses. His eyes go wide.

“What,” Akito says, their voice cracking from non-use.

When they don’t get an answer, when the tension rises in the room, they push themself up and snap, “What, Shigure?”

Shigure jumps, glancing down at them, then gives them a thin lipped smile and hands them the piece of paper. “Read for yourself.”

They take the paper, sitting up. Their dark eyes scan it, reading over the results. Normal, normal… Everything looked normal. Just as they’re about to look up and give Shigure and Hatori a piece of their mind, their gaze freezes on the very last result. They read it again. And again.

Their gaze lifts, flicking from Shigure to Hatori. Then they start to laugh. It’s an ugly, manic thing. Hysteria creeps up their throat, breaking through the fog that had claimed them.

Shigure lets out a chuckle, seeming relieved by this. Hatori even seems to relax.

Akito reads over the words again, their fingers gripping the pages, sweat crinkling the edges where it rested in their palms. They hiccup suddenly, a sob choking them. A tear leaks down their cheek, blotting the ink on the paper. They take a breath, trying to compose themself.

And then Akito begins to scream.

***

“A psychotic break.” The psychiatrist says, sitting back and clicking his pen, writing something down. Adding more to Akito’s already full chart. “I’d say major depression and possible PTSD. Normally I would prescribe something, but with the pregnancy, I would say just keep an eye on it. The scratches are cosmetic, more Hatori’s area of expertise.”

The psychiatrist gets up, casting a glance at Akito. More pity. Akito felt sick of it, sick of people looking at them like they were on the verge of breaking when they had already broken.

“Someone needs to be with Akito at all times,” the doctor continues, tucking his pen in his pocket. “No leaving her alone. Especially not this early in the pregnancy. We don’t want anything to happen to the baby.”

“Of course, doctor,” Shigure says, leaving his watchful place at Akito’s side and going to shake the man’s hand. “Thank you for coming on such short notice.”

“Anything for the family head.” The man says, exchanging one last handshake with Hatori, who had been lurking in the corner, before taking his leave.

The room is silent, and Akito can feel the scratch marks on their cheeks itch. One or two would surely scar, they had made sure of it. After Hatori had broken the news, they’d screamed their voice raw and had tried so hard to claw out of their skin, out of a body that was not their own.

It had taken Shigure holding them down and some sort of sedation shot from Hatori before they finally relaxed, blood pooling on the floor beneath their face, breathing erratically. Shigure had yelled at Hatori then, demanding why he’d broken the news like that, accusing him of not knowing how close to the edge Akito was.

Akito had never heard Shigure yell before, let alone argue with Hatori in a way that wasn’t teasing, and it was only their sluggish panic attack that brought the two from each other’s throats. They had cried pathetically as Hatori had stitched their face while Shigure called around the Sohma family in search of someone who could deal with this better than they could.

Now, they felt numb in a way that was almost a relief. The pain from their face kept them grounded, and sometimes they moved too fast to feel the stitching throb in time with their heartbeat. It reminded Akito that they still had one.

“Akito,” Hatori starts, sounding all sorts of worn out and frustrated. “Why didn’t you tell me? Or Shigure? We could have prevented - this.”

The two men look at them, and they look back. “Why should I?” They settle on.

Shigure’s grey eyes flare with anger, and Hatori looks like he’s swallowed something sour.

“You’re carrying our child,” Shigure starts, his temper flaring, before Hatori cuts him off.

“Explain yourself.” The doctor’s blue gaze pins them in place.

Akito sits in silence for a while, chewing on their words, trying to find the right ones. There were no right ones, though, and so they sat in silence.

***

Akito spends their days by a mirror, after the third month. Their body is so small, and the curve of their belly comes quicker than they imagined. Pregnancy wasn’t all bad, they had decided. It made them more tired, sure, but at least now they could justify their exhaustion with the fact that they were growing an entire human within themself.

Hatori made weekly visits, setting a strict schedule and diet. They had been made to keep a journal by their psychiatrist, as much as they hated it. But it had helped some. They were able to write out the darkness that threatened to eat them alive, purge it all before they went and sat naked by the mirror, watching their child grow within them.

Shigure was their shadow now, more so than before. Akito could hardly do anything without him there. He had taken to sitting in the corner and reading or writing while they went about their day. He was there in the night, to calm them from the night terrors they had, always ending with a small child and their hands covered in blood, fingers curled into cruel claws.

But it was getting to him. They could see it, even if he didn’t mean them to.

“You should go visit Ayame.” Akito suggests one evening during dinner, prompting a coughing fit as Shigure chokes.

“I’m sorry, what?” He rasps, after they patiently wait for him to finish, their gaze steady on him.

“You should go. Visit someone. Get out of here.”

“Trying to get rid of me, are you?” He asks, raising his eyebrows.

Akito hums, sipping their tea before sitting back a bit, one hand resting on the swell of their belly. His gaze follows.

“No,” they say at last. “But you need it. I’ll call and make the arrangements myself, if I have to.”

“Akito,” Shigure sighs. “Who will stay with you?”

They smile faintly, tipping their head back, closing their eyes. “I doubt they’d want me to come. Either of them. We have the servants, and Hatori is here weekly. I’ll be fine.”

Shigure hums, his gaze uncertain.

***

Akito realizes very suddenly one night that they would do anything for their child.

It was one of the rare occasions when Shigure had left them alone, and they had taken refuge in the mirror once again. They were sitting against the wall, mirror in front of them, a hand cupping the side of their belly. It had become a nightly ritual to sit and watch themself in the mirror, familiarize them with a body that now did not belong only to them.

The journal was starting to help. Shigure had started taking them on walks, after Hatori made a comment concerning their pallor, which Akito thought might also be helping. The dark cloud that was their thoughts had not gone away, but something was drowning it out for now.

It was dizzying when they realized all at once that it was because of their child.

What was creation to a god, if not everything? What was closeness to a god, if not the definition of their existence? Akito was not a god anymore, but they were creating, they were close, and their child was safe where they could reach.

When they felt the cloying fear of abandonment, they set a hand on their belly and realized they were not alone. When they spun out, got lost in the spiral of who am I what am I how can I go on, they could look in the mirror and think, I am a creator.

The first time the baby kicks, it shatters Akito in a way that makes them want to pick up the pieces and put them back together, but better this time. They sit up, stare at their wide eyed reflection in the mirror, then scramble to their feet. They’ve hardly got a robe on when they run into Shigure in the hallway.

“Whoa!” He grabs them by the elbows, his gaze searching, scanning for something wrong. “Where are you going?”

But Akito only gives him a grin that’s as blinding as the sun and takes one of his hands, pressing it to their belly with a soft, “Feel.”

They stand there for agonizing seconds, heads bowed, focused, before a tiny foot kicks into the palm of Shigure’s hand.

Akito laughs, and for the first time, their joy is not twisted by some sick sense of destruction.

***

Tohru ends up stepping in, because of course she does.

It’s more of a surprise to see Kyo behind her, his angry gaze fixed menacingly on Akito from where his partner can’t see. The promise of protection over Tohru is comforting to Akito, in a way. Unnecessary, but comforting all the same.

“Oh wow, you’re so big already!” Tohru gasps when Shigure steps aside to let them in. Akito tips their head to the side, then looks down at themself. It was nearing six months at this point, and they did not waddle, whatever Shigure might say.

It had taken a long time, but Akito had finally convinced Shigure to go out on a break, to do something for himself that wasn’t a trip to the store or a meeting with his editor. He, Ayame, and Hatori were going away for a weekend. There were mentions of Yuki, but Akito did their best not to pry.

It was hard, unlearning manipulation. But they were determined to do it - if not for themself, then for their child.

“Come in, come in,” Shigure fusses, ushering the two in the door. “Tohru, I’ve got a list of instructions and phone numbers and anything you might need on the fridge. I’m only a phone call away.”

Akito gives him a look. “I won’t go into labor.”

Shigure winks. “Oh no, that’s for if you miss me too terribly. I’ll have no choice but to come home at once! You may lie to yourself, Aki, but Tohru could never. Isn’t that right?”

Shigure turns to a flustered and confused Tohru, who gives a faint. “Ah… no?”

“That’s what I like to hear!” Shigure pats Kyo on the back as he passes, then takes Akito’s hand and leads them to the front door with him.

They watch as he slides on his shoes, trying to ignore that old voice that wanted to beg him to stay, accuse him of playing favorites and leaving. He seems to hear their inner turmoil, and looks up, giving them a soft smile.

“I’ll be back before you know it.” He murmurs, taking their face into his hands and tipping it forward to kiss their forehead. “Try not to torment those two, please.”

Akito holds onto his wrists, their long eyelashes flickering. “Alright,” they murmur. He smiles against their skin, pressing a kiss to their lips before pulling away.

“See you Monday,” He calls over his shoulder, stepping out the door and leaving Akito on the step.

Akito stares at the door, fighting the urge to run after him. They’re startled out of it by Tohru, though, who gently takes their hand.

“Come on,” she says kindly, pulling them away from the door. “Are you hungry?”

“Huh?” Akito tears their gaze from the door. “Oh. No.”

“Well, I’ll start on dinner anyway.” Tohru nods, leading them to the sitting room off the kitchen. “Here, you sit and rest. Shigure said you get tired around this time, anyway.”

Akito gives an annoyed sigh, and notices how Kyo tenses, ready for a fight. “He would say that. Bastard.”

Somehow, Kyo and them are left in the same room together, alone. A thousand memories wash over Akito, and they choke on some of the darkness that liked to linger around everything Before. Their hands itched for their journal.

“So,” Kyo starts, always unable to sit in silence. “How’d you get that?” He taps the side of his cheek.

Akito brings a hand up to touch the angry scar on their cheek, then snorts. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Kyo bristles, then seems to remember something and takes a measured, deep breath. “I couldn’t care less, actually.”

“Then why’d you ask,” they sit back, rolling their eyes.

“You know, you’re still a real asshole, despite what Shigure says.” Kyo snarls, and Akito blinks.

A small part of them wanted to jeer and taunt, to threaten and win. Their hand twitches, finding the ample curve of their belly, feeling the small life beneath their skin. They take a steadying breath.

“Shigure likes to see the best in everyone, I think.” Akito says. They can tell they’ve thrown Kyo off - he looks stricken, not too sure on how he should react now that Akito hadn’t risen to the bait.

“Didn’t know you had a best.” He mutters sullenly, sitting back and eyeing them suspiciously.

Surprising even themself - Akito laughs. “Neither did I,” they admit. “But he seems to think so.”

Kyo sits back, staring at them long and hard. Before, Akito would’ve gotten pissed, would’ve lashed out at anyone who tried to make them into anything they weren’t comfortable with. But these days, they were desperate for a definition that wasn’t cruel monster worthless pathetic that their brain supplied them when they tried to do it themself. They’d done so much damage to the Cat, the only thing they could do now was draw his own conclusions. Whether or not they had changed, they recognized that they did not have the right to beg for a forgiveness that they didn’t deserve.

The redhead frowns after a moment. “You’re different, somehow.” He states, always to the point. “It’s… weird.”

“Weird,” Akito hums, thinking about this for a moment. “I think I can live with that.” They decide, nodding. It was worlds better than anything else they had come up with.

Kyo shakes his head in disbelief. “Damn, you used to be so good at eviscerating me the second I got in here. What the hell? Is this some kind of game?” His voice raises, and Akito stares steadily at him.

“Is this funny to you?” He accuses, getting to his feet. “Do you think you can just change overnight, and we’re supposed to just accept that?”

“No, I don’t think that.” Akito cuts in when he pauses to take a breath. They watch the fight turn to disbelief again, watches Kyo stare at them in open confusion. They wait until they know he’s listening, and then they take a breath.

“Look,” they start, and pause, closing their eyes a moment. “I don’t expect you to accept anything. I hurt you,” they hear his teeth click shut, watch his fists clench. “And what I did was unacceptable. If you want an apology from me, I - I’ll give it to you. But that’s… I have so much to atone for.”

They look at him, really look at him, and sigh. “I owe you an apology. But you don’t owe me your forgiveness.”

Kyo and Akito stare at each other for a long time, long enough that it takes Tohru opening the door to the kitchen and seeing them to break it.

“Uh… guys? Is everything okay?”

Kyo snaps his gaze away to Tohru, some of the tension melting from him. “Yeah,” he says, flicking his gaze back to Akito. “We were just talking.”

Akito notices how his tone softens for her, how his gaze melts a bit, and they wonder to themself if Shigure looks at them like that.

***

The moment Tohru and Kyo are gone, Akito pulls Shigure to what had become their room, stopping once the door is closed and stepping into his space. They let out a breath, relaxing when his hands cup their face, their own resting on his chest.

“Did you miss me?” He asks, his tone teasing.

“Yes,” Akito says, without hesitation. He doesn’t even blink - this is not new, this dance they’re doing. It’s an old thing, one they’ve played for years and years. “Shigure?”

“Yes?”

“I love you.” They say, and then, “Will you marry me?”

If I am not worthy of this, they think, then you are, little one.

***

The day Shiki Sohma graces the Sohma household with her presence is a long and arduous one. Akito is in labour for two days, and the household breathes a collective sigh of relief once the cry of a baby being introduced to the world rings out.

Akito is not ashamed when they cry as Hatori lowers her onto their chest. They kiss her tiny head, hold her tiny body, and realize.

This is who they were. Akito Sohma, creator of Shiki Sohma, and partner to Shigure Sohma. They were the head of the Sohma household, once the bearer of a dark curse, and a survivor of being split in half.

Shiki cries for the world, and Akito cries for her and the future they would fight to give her. Their daughter would not bear the suffering her parents had. They would give their daughter the world, and maybe one day, she would give it back.

#fruits basket #anime #tohru honda #kyo sohma #hatori sohma #shigure x akito #akito sohma #depression #character study

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seitosokusha · 4 years

Text

All of his kids were missing. There hadn't been any ransom and some of the kidnappings had been downright suicidal. Mayuko was taken from right under Kyoya's nose. Who the fuck did that?

(Likewise, Kyoya was on utter rampage because of this. The bill for damages was going to be horrendous. Normally Tsuna would care, if he wasn't causing some himself! None of his Guardians were handling the kidnapping of the kids well. The Varia wasn't handling it well. Reborn wasn't handling it well.)

From {x}

#khr #tenkuu shinpan #seitowrites

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patamon-ears · 4 years

Text

fruits basket fancasting

(girls edition: part one)

L -> R

(1) tohru - kiritani mirei (2) saki - komatsu nana (3) mayuko - mizukawa asami (4) mitsuru - goriki ayame (5) mine - kawaguchi haruna (6) arisa - nose karina

the boys edition can be found here. i’ll post part ii soon...with the female zodiacs :)

what’s your RL fancast?

---

more fruits basket fancasting:

* fruits basket (boys edition) [link] * fruits basket (girls edition, part two) [link]

other anime fancasting [click here for the index]

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popsixsquishcicerolipschitz · 5 years

Video

youtube

Kutiman - Thru Tokyo | クティマン - スルー東京 | PBS Digital Studios

Musician and video artist Kutiman remixes the sights, sounds and music of Tokyo into one incredible piece. This is the first in a new series of original shorts from PBS Digital Studios.

To download the song: hhttp://kutiman.bandcamp.com/track/kut...

Video created by Kutiman (directed, shot, recorded and edited) Creative Direction : Yuya Ozawa & Taro Mikami (GROUNDRIDDIM) Tel Aviv producer: Nitzan Ofir Special Thanx to Potato Studio and www.Teder.FM TEDER Tel Aviv producer: Zack Bar TEDER Japan Producer : ICHIRO MIURA (M.I.C Brothers Inc.) TEDER Japan crew : KOHEI MATSUDA (LAPAZ), NAOKI SERIZAWA (NIGHT OUT) Kutiman's management: B.M.usic -- Boaz Murad

PBS Digital Studios Original Shorts Series Producer: Matt Vree

Musicians:

KEIZOmachine! (HIFANA) [FRESH PUSH / Kaossilator / Turntable]

Juicy (HIFANA) [ASALATO / Nose Flute]

塩高和之 Kazuyuki Shiotaka Biwa

小林真由子 Mayuko Kobayashi Koto

竹井誠 Makoto Takei Nohkan / Shinobue / Shakuhachi

石井千鶴 Ishii Chizuru [小鼓 / 太鼓] Tsuzumi / Taiko

明和電機 Maywa Denki a.k.a Novumichi Tosa [パチモク / オタマトーン] Pachi-Moku / Otama-Tone

鎮座DOPENESS [Rap]

三根星太郎 Seitaro Mine [Guitar]

For more from Kutiman: http://www.youtube.com/kutiman

For more from PBS Digital Studios: http://www.youtube.com/pbsdigitalstudios

#Kutiman #Thru Tokyo #クティマン #スルー東京 #PBS Digital Studios #HIFANA #鎮座DOPENESS

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harrishanie · 5 years

Text

Threnody for Mayuko Hino

I’m behind you on the carpet.

My mouth is coming undone. It’s sliding onto the floor. You were holding me together with kite string, trying to hide all my skin and keep me closed, but it doesn’t seem to be helping. I must be coming loose.

You’re in the pantry looking for spare parts. The knives could be my guts, the plastic bags could be my flesh. I want you to use me however you want. I roll over, trying to find myself, but you push me down. Start to work. I won’t get up until you tell me to, until I’m finished. Until you’ve made me the right way. Until I’m finished.

I’m leaving a stain on your stomach. My flesh is being strained through the string, pushing it out until it looks like old rubber, rotten and soft. I must be leaking. You let me up, cupping me in your hands.

You’re wrapping my face in copper wire, starting with the spot between my nose and lips. I don’t want you to hurt me. I don’t want to hurt anymore. I can feel the other end of the wire between your lips. Your mouth is surrounding me. Your warmth. I don’t want to hurt anymore. I need you.

Please come back.

(from Requia, available through Rabbit Linguistic Technology Center).

0 notes

newsintodays-blog · 6 years

Text

Honey the lonely dolphin, abandoned in Japanese aquarium, sparks public outcry

New Post has been published on http://newsintoday.info/2018/08/28/honey-the-lonely-dolphin-abandoned-in-japanese-aquarium-sparks-public-outcry-2/

Honey the lonely dolphin, abandoned in Japanese aquarium, sparks public outcry

TOKYO (Reuters) – The plight of a lonely dolphin and dozens of penguins that have been abandoned in a derelict aquarium in Japan since the start of the year sparked protests this week, with activists and ordinary Japanese alike calling for the animals to be saved.

The female bottlenose dolphin, nicknamed Honey, was captured in 2005 near Taiji, a western port town that has become notorious for its annual dolphin hunt that was featured in the Oscar-winning 2009 documentary “The Cove”, media reports say.

The practice of Japanese aquariums buying dolphins from Taiji came under heavy criticism following the release of the film. The hunt involves driving hundreds of dolphins into a cove, where some are taken alive for sale to marine parks, while others are killed for meat. The Japan Association of Zoos and Aquariums has since agreed to stop buying dolphins from Taiji.

The operator of the Inubosaki Marine Park Aquarium in the city of Choshi in Chiba prefecture, just east of Tokyo, shuttered the facility in January citing a decline in visitors after the 2011 earthquake and nuclear crisis.

Honey and 46 penguins, along with hundreds of fish and reptiles, remain at the aquarium, an official with the Chiba prefectural Health and Welfare department said.

Employees have been regularly feeding the animals, he added, but photos and video taken by activists in March and August from outside the park show Honey floating in a tiny pool in an eerily empty facility. In another picture, dust-covered penguins can be seen perched on a crumbling structure near a pile of debris.

Honey, a bottle-nose dolphin, is seen at abandoned Inubosaki Marine Park Aquarium in Choshi, Japan August 15, 2018. Picture taken August 15, 2018. PEACE/Handout via REUTERS

“Honey is a symbol of both the problem of marine parks and Taiji’s hunting practices,” said Akiko Mitsunobu, chief of aquarium issues for Animal Rights Center, a local group.

“When we went to check on the facility, she was showing signs of stress, putting her head weakly in and out of the water.”

Repeated calls to Inubosaki Marine Park and its parent company went unanswered. A Choshi city official said they have also been unable to reach park representatives.

“I get feelings of danger and doubt from the fact that they are so silent about this,” said Sachiko Azuma, a representative of local activist group PEACE (Put an End to Animal Cruelty and Exploitation).

“As a group that handles animals, they have a responsibility to explain what they intend to do with Honey and the other animals.”

News of the abandoned animals spread quickly over social media, with Twitter users posting photos captioned “Save Honey”. A resort hotel’s offer to give them a new home sparked a flood of retweets.

“I beg the authorities to get in close contact with each other and push ahead with this,” wrote one Twitter user.

Slideshow (3 Images)

Reporting by Mayuko Ono, writing by Mari Saito and Elaine Lies; Editing by Michael Perry

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source link

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todaynewsstories · 6 years

Text

Honey the lonely dolphin, abandoned in Japanese aquarium, sparks public outcry

Honey, a bottle-nose dolphin, is seen at abandoned Inubosaki Marine Park Aquarium in Choshi, Japan August 15, 2018. Picture taken August 15, 2018. PEACE/Handout via REUTERS

Honey and 46 penguins, along with hundreds of fish and reptiles, remain at the aquarium, an official with the Chiba prefectural Health and Welfare department said.

“Honey is a symbol of both the problem of marine parks and Taiji’s hunting practices,” said Akiko Mitsunobu, chief of aquarium issues for Animal Rights Center, a local group.

Slideshow (2 Images)

“When we went to check on the facility, she was showing signs of stress, putting her head weakly in and out of the water.”

Repeated calls to Inubosaki Marine Park and its parent company went unanswered. A Choshi city official said they have also been unable to reach park representatives.

“As a group that handles animals, they have a responsibility to explain what they intend to do with Honey and the other animals.”

“I beg the authorities to get in close contact with each other and push ahead with this,” wrote one Twitter user.

Reporting by Mayuko Ono, writing by Mari Saito and Elaine Lies; Editing by Michael Perry

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source link

The post Honey the lonely dolphin, abandoned in Japanese aquarium, sparks public outcry appeared first on Today News Stories.

from WordPress https://ift.tt/2oh4Uv0 via IFTTT

#IFTTT #WordPress

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seitosokusha · 7 years

Note

First off I wanna say I love all your stories! They are amazing and have kinda inspired me. ^^ what do you think Reborn and Tsuna's reaction to Yu and the others be when they get home? I sense a grounded for life XD also do you think they will ever show Yu's face or is it gonna be like TYL tsuna were we all crying cause we never see his face.

Oh anon, we can do so much better than that. They better show Yu’s face.

Break the Sky Limit

Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn/Tenkuu Shinpan

Pairings: R27

Triggers: N/A

Important: Part of the Adoption by Kidnapping verse

Check the Adoption by Kidnapping AU tag for more of this universe

Summary: To say Tsuna was worried sick out of his mind was like saying the sun was bright, the sky was blue. A glorious understatement that didn’t even begin to cover what he was feeling.

Someone had taken his kids. There was hell to be paid.

read on ff.net | read on ao3

The battle had been won, the dust had been settled.

They had all regrouped together in a nearby building, emotions still running high. The first thing Rika had done was pull Yu into a tight hug, babbling how happy he was to see without a mask. Yu quietly returned the hug as the three girls shared a look, mentally cooing over the sight. Those two were still sappy idiots.

As the sun crawled to the horizon and night began to set, Rikuya arrived with his team. He quickly joined up with them, thanking Yu and the others for saving his Angel. They easily joined the celebration. Aikawa was dead. It was time to unwind and recover. In the morning they would tackle on the rest of the mystery of this realm.

It was somewhat fitting that as soon as the sun had risen, the blue sky cracked and a ball of orange flames dropped, hovering in midair.

“Shit,” Yu said.

“Doomed,” Mayuko said.

“We’re dead,” Rika said.

“Grounded for life,” Yuri said.

“They’re never going to let us out of their sights again,” Kuon said.

-.-.-.-

To say Tsuna was worried sick out of his mind was like saying the sun was bright, the sky was blue. A glorious understatement that didn’t even begin to cover what he was feeling.

Yu had been missing for exactly five days, three hours and forty seven minutes. Rika disappeared four days. Yuri and Mayuko disappeared three days ago, most likely at the same time. Kuon just two days ago.

All of his kids were missing. There hadn’t been any ransom and some of the kidnappings had been downright suicidal. Mayuko was taken from right under Kyoya’s nose. Who the fuck did that?

(Likewise, Kyoya was on utter rampage because of this. The bill for damages was going to be horrendous. Normally Tsuna would care, if he wasn’t causing some himself! None of his Guardians were handling the kidnapping of the kids well. The Varia wasn’t handling it well. Reborn wasn’t handling it well.)

Someone took his kids. There was going to be hell to pay for it. The metaphorical kid gloves were off and Tsuna shoved his usual kindness deep in the closet. No one, no one touched his kids.

Thank the ever loving fuck for Byakuran.

“I found the kids,” Byakuran said, strolling into the main office. All of Tsuna’s Guardians were running around, tensions at all time high boiling point.

The entire room froze, turning to look at Byakuran; bloodlust narrowing into a sharpen edge.

“Where?” Tsuna hissed.

“I’ve never seen it before,” Byakuran said, looking oddly serious. “It’s a parallel dimension but not. A pocket dimension I think. It’s a pretty vicious place from the looks of it. If they were normal kids, they would have already died.”

“What.” Reborn said, voice dark.

“I don’t have a counterpart in this pocket dimension,” Byakuran explained. “So from what I can gleam, there are people wearing Masks who target those who aren’t doing anything. They hold nothing bad. Either the person not wearing a mask commits suicide or the Mask kills them. There’s a strange power located in the tallest tower but other then that I don’t know anything more.”

Tsuna grit his teeth. “Tell me Byakuran that you can open a portal there.”

“I wouldn’t be here if I couldn’t,” Byakuran answered.

“Open it,” Tsuna said. He wanted his kids back now, especially since they were in a dangerous place.

“Tsuna,” Reborn said.

“Kids first, destruction second,” Tsuna commanded. “And I get first hit.”

Byakuran opened the portal and Tsuna lit his Flames.

-.-.-.-

“What are you five talking about?” Rikuya asked.

“And what do you know about that giant ball of fire in the sky?” Hayami asked.

“That,” Mayuko said solemnly. “It Yu’s Tousan.”

“A ball of fire?” Uzuki asked.

“It could be worse,” Rika said. “Uncle Reborn could be here.”

A wave of killer intent slammed into all of them causing everyone but Yu, Rika, Yuri, Mayuko and Kuon to stagger.

“Had to say that, Rika,” Yuri said. “Of course Uncle Reborn was going to come.”

“Papa is pissed,” Yu remarked.

“We should reassure them that we’re okay,” Kuon said.

“Is anyone else really confused?” Rikuya asked. He jumped back as Yu caught on fire as well. “Whoa!”

-.-.-.-

Skyscrapers.

That was the first thing Tsuna saw. He hovered in midair, extending his Flames outwards in a protective cocoon. In the distance, the large tower loomed. Tsuna scowled, his anger snarling like a vicious animal. He didn’t care who or why, but no one took his kids.

Reborn’s presence joined him. Tsuna cast a look backwards, unsurprised that Reborn could keep himself airborne with his own Flames.

His reaction was equally unsurprising as a deadly burst of killer intent erupted from Reborn now that the others were gone from view. “This is where they’re keeping the kids?” Reborn said, eyes shadowed by the brim of his hat.

Tsuna smiled a bloodthirsty grin. “We will have to pay them a visit later.”

The bright beacon of Yu’s Flames finally caught his attention. Tsuna grabbed Reborn and took off, racing towards it.

-.-.-.-

Mayuko crossed her arms. “Is anyone else concerned that Uncle Tsuna is just as angry, if not angrier than Uncle Reborn?”

Everyone froze, turning their attention to Yu. Yu stared back at them, Flames dying away and eyes wide. “I don’t think I have ever seen Tousan this angry before,” Yu said.

Yu’s Tousan was arguably one of the most gentle men Yu had ever known. Sure, Tsuna lost his temper, especially at the crazy antics that his Guardians cause. Yu wasn’t exactly the most behaved child and Tsuna had scolded him and gotten cross with him growing up.

But this was something else. Even from the distance they were at, if Papa’s killer intent was overwhelming it had nothing on Tousan’s where there was an undercurrent of a promise. This was death, destruction and vengeance.

This was Vongola Decimo.

This was what it meant to be a Sky.

He had so much more to learn.

-.-.-.-

Tsuna and Reborn dropped onto the roof, relief immediately fill them.

“Yu-chan, kids!” Tsuna called out, rushing over to them. He quickly patted them down, seeking out injuries. They had been in here for days. Who knew what had hurt them.

He frowned, noting that Rika looked like he hadn’t eaten in two days. There was an uncertainty clinging to Yu and weariness in the three girls. There were also other children as well, all looking worse for wear.

Tsuna shared a look with Reborn. What exactly was the purpose of this world?

“We’re fine,” Yu said.

Tsuna frowned harder.

The click of Reborn’s gun, drew his attention. A girl in a lolita dress had come into view and she was wearing a Mask. Tsuna immediately summoned his flames, remember what Byakuran had told him about Masks. Careless for him to let one get so close.

“No!” Yuri immediately placed herself in the line of fire. “Ain isn’t a threat.”

Reborn scowled but didn’t drop his gun. “Start explaining, Yuri.”

The kids shared a look and launched into tale. They quickly told them what they knew about this realm, what information they had discovered, about how this was a realm to choose a God and why certain Masks were not a threat.

Tsuna listened patiently, mentally ticking off how many times each of his kids nearly died in this world. He briefly mourned that they all had to kill in this world, hoping to have put it off for another couple years. They were all still young. Older than when Tsuna took his first life, but young nevertheless.

“Wait,” Tsuna interrupted, blood going cold. “Did you just say that until yesterday Yu was wearing a Mask?”

“I’m fine, Tousan,” Yu quickly reassured.

No. No he wasn’t. Yu had always been a confident child. The uncertainty was new and worrisome. Tsuna originally wrote it off as the confusion of being dropped into a brand new world with everything trying to kill you. (Because he had been there, done that and even now, looking back at that little trip to the future still terrified him.) But Masks, the Masks rob you of your control, forcing you to kill others. What else did it take? What else were the kids not saying?

“Okay, that’s it,” Tsuna said. “We are not staying any longer.”

“The God Codes,” Hayami said.

“No,” Tsuna said. “We’re leaving now. We’re not playing this game anymore.”

That was went four Guardian Masks appeared.

“Yu, those aren’t friends, correct?” Reborn asked.

“No,” Yu said as everyone else scrambled for their weapons.

Tsuna immediately vanished, reappearing behind the first mask. “Burning Axle!” He swivel, firing off a smaller version of his X-Burner at the second.

Reborn vaporized the remaining two with two well placed shots.

“So fast,” Tanabe said in awe.

Tsuna scowled, touching his headphones. “Byakuran we got the kids. Open the portal at my coordinates.”

The portal opened. Byakuran stuck his head through, waving at the kids. “Wao, you five get into worse trouble than Tsunayoshi.”

“Is it really alright to just leave like this?” Rika asked. “I mean what happens to people like Ain?”

“We’ll find out,” Reborn said darkly.

“I don’t want anyone to remain here longer,” Tsuna agreed. “Through the portal, now.”

The kids shuffled, stopping to help the allies they had gained through portal. Yu was the last one stopping to look at his parents. “What are you two going to do?” Yu asked.

Tsuna flicked his wrist, his bright red Vongola Gear materializing. Reborn let Leon transformer in a sniper rifle. They both faced the direction of tall tower.

“It’s very simple.” Reborn said. Bright yellow Flames gathered at the tip of rifle barrel.

“Kidnapping you and the kids is unforgivable,” Tsuna finished, palms pointed out.

“CHAOS SHOT!”

“XX-BURNER!”

This world could burn to the ground.

#Tenkuu Shinpan #khr #Katekyo Hitman Reborn #sniper mask #sawada tsunayoshi #reborn #Anonymous #seitowrites #adoption by kidnapping au

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seitosokusha · 7 years

Note

Firstly I really appreciate your writing especially R27 fics they are cute and fascinating (at least to me and no that's not being courtesy I really mean it). Secondly will you write another TS fic with Sniper Mask slowly remembers about his parents (R27)? Like Sniper says out loud that he has a dad and a padre in front of every1 and he's ok and Yuri is like 'I knew it you are into guys do you like my brother how dare you not he is amazing' and he's like 'wtf girl wil you put that gun away??!!'

This isn’t quite what you asked for but I hope you enjoy. 8D

Tear the Heavens Asunder

Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn/Tenkuu Shinpan

Pairings: background/implied R27

Triggers: N/A

Important: Sequel to Adoption by Kidnapping

Check the Adoption by Kidnapping AU tag for more of this universe

Summary: no one ever seemed to understand, you do not get between a Sky and their Elements.

read on ff.net | read on ao3

Rika’s heart dropped as he turned around. Slowly from the shadows, gun raised, stood a familiar figure. “No,” Rika snarled, clenching his fist so tight. Rage roared like an angry dragon within him, burning hotter than any fire he had ever known.

Standing across from him was Yu, except there was no familiarity, only that mocking smiley faced mask. Rika’s Lightning Flames sparked to life, ready to run wild and free.

Someone had touched his Sky. For that, this world would burn.

-.-.-

Yuri was well familiar with weapons, specifically guns. It was her personal favorite, and she could always count on Uncle Reborn to teach her. (Or Yu, or Uncle Xanxus, or Aunt Lal. There were plenty of people in their family who could use guns. It was just universally agreed that Uncle Reborn was the best.)

So she could admire the skill of the Sniper Mask firing at her from over 200 meters away. She set about setting fire to the policeman’s body when a feeling of unease washed over. Cautiously she looked back, frowning.

If she didn’t know better…

No.

Yu wouldn’t.

She turned back and fled. Right now the more pressing moment was to get to safety.

-.-.-

“Mayuko!” Yuri darted forward, so happy to see her. She wrapped her best friend and sister in a tight hug.

Mayuko turned, equally surprised. “Yuri! What’s going on?” she asked. “Have you seen Kuon?”

Yuri stepped back, sniffing. “No. I got in touch with Rika for a little bit and I haven’t seen Yu anywhere either. I was heading back home when I found myself here.”

“Sounds familiar,” Mayuko said. “I was sitting down for tea with Kyoya-sensei.”

“They’re going to flip when we get back aren’t they?” Yuri said with a weak laugh. If Mayuko had been taken right in front of Uncle Kyoya’s nose… that promised nothing but destruction for the people responsible.

Mayuko sighed. “Uncle Tsuna isn’t going to let us out of his sight. Uncle Reborn might agree with him.”

“Yu’s going to be the worse,” Yuri said glumly.

Yu got overprotective of them fairly easy. He picked up Uncle Tsuna’s mothering habits, even though Yuri and Mayuko was perfectly capable of looking after themselves. Mayuko was even more armed than all of them put together!

“We can point him in the direction of Rika,” Mayuko said.

“I mean if Rika is here too,” Yuri said. None of them held it against Yu, but Rika was clearly his favorite. (Uncle Reborn explained it about being first Element to harmonize with Yu. It just got more cute the older the they got.) If it let them escape from everyone’s mother henning, it was an easy sacrifice.

She looked pass beyond Mayuko, sensing someone approaching. Like a bolt from the blue, she froze, shocked. “Yu…?”

Standing at the end of the hallway was Yu. His face obscured by that same damn smiling mask that kept attacking them. The box he was carrying dropped to the ground as he swung out his rifle.

No.

He wouldn’t.

Yuri’s Rain Flames exploded outwards. Everything slowed to a halt under the tranquility factor of her Rain Flames as Yuri screamed. Like a storming ocean, she poured out as much Rain Flames as possible, turbulent and choppy. Someone. Someone had put that damn mask on her Sky?!

-.-.-

Mayuko sliced through the Masks with ease, snarling. Even a day later, the rage she felt hadn’t subsided.

Yu!

Thanks to Yuri’s Rain Flames, they had withdrawn from a fight against Yu without any injuries or deaths.

But… a fight against Yu!

Someone in this world had put a Mask! A Mask! On Yu!

Bones cracked under her sharp punches, blood free flowing from the slashes of her knives. None of the Masks they had run into had stood a chance against her.

Yu didn’t recognized them, raised his weapon against them. He wasn’t prepared for Yuri’s Rain Flames either. Her Rain Flames slammed onto Yu like a tidal wave, knocking him down the stairs.

They didn’t look back as they fled.

Yuri was inconsolable. She was half afraid she had hurt Yu permanently. Yuri flipped between same all consuming rage as Mayuko and unstoppable tears.

Mayuko hated when Yuri cried.

As they continued on, they learned more about the Masks; it wiped away parts of the person’s personality and couldn’t so easily be removed. It was just more fuel to the fire.

Someone was responsible for touching Yu. That was utterly unforgivable.

-.-.-

Kuon recognized him from the distance. It was easy to, considering she had spent a good portion of her childhood hiding behind his back.

“Yu!”

A muzzle of a rifle was automatically pointed at her.

“Yu?” Kuon asked.

“Who are you?” Yu asked.

“You… you don’t recognize me?” Kuon asked.

But… how? She frowned, trying to sense if there were any Mist Flames over him. There were none.

“Yu?” Kuon asked. A sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach began to grow. “Do the names Rika, Yuri and Mayuko mean anything to you? What about Reborn and Tsuna?”

Yu placed his hand to his face, to… his mask, shoulders hunching. His fingers traced the light cracks on his Mask. “N-No? Who are you?”

Kuon made a low pitched whine. Yu didn’t even recognize his parents.

A low burning anger began to build. Of everyone, her anger was the slowest. Someone had taken her Sky’s memories.

She would break their minds for it.

-.-.-.-

Rika seethed, glaring at Aikawa. It was almost laughable the way Aikawa tried to get him to convert over to his side. Clearly Aikawa never dealt with the mafia.

Rika had a Sky. There would be no one else he would ever follow. For Aikawa to even try was insulting.

He took a deep breath and forced some of the anger away. Right now, all he could do was wait. He could bust out on his own, but it was risky. Thanks to Aikawa’s mocking, he knew Yu was still alive, with his memories missing, and together with Yuri, Mayuko and Kuon. His Sky, sister and friends were safe.

He also had the feeling Aikawa was responsible for Yu’s Mask too.

That meant Aikawa wasn’t leaving Rika’s sight alive next time.

-.-.-.-

It was confusing. Sniper bowed his head, resting it in his hand. His memories were a complete scrambled mess. He caught glimpses and flashes, he could have sworn he saw Rika, Yuri, Kuon, and Mayuko all at one point, as children. He remembered a tall dark figure, lips curled in a smirk and curly sideburns, challenging him to do better. He remember a gentle hand, soft warm brown eyes and friendly smile.

Yuri and Kuon had tried to explain it to him. That they all knew him before he come to this world. He had asked about that odd colored Flames and freely they told him, and only him. Not any of the others who traveled with them, not even the Prophet.

Mayuko looked at him sullen. All three of them gave him, not looks of pity, but closer to concern and a rage that wasn’t directed at him.

Then there was Rika.

Rika who had been captured by Aikawa.

That, ignited a deep seated rage and a sharp stab of jealousy.

“Ne, Yu-chan.”

“Tousan?”

“Your Elements are strong; there’s no denying that. They don’t really need us to look after them, and they might fight you on it. But taking care of our Elements is what a Sky does. And…”

“What is it, Tousan?”

“If anyone ever hurts them, Yu-chan, don’t ever hesitate to use your Flames. Burn them all to ashes, because no one ever hurts our Elements.”

“Do it with my Dying Will, right?”

“That’s right.”

Sniper griped his head. The memories flowed his brain again, but this time something was different. A familiar warmth and old, hot and comforting.

“You’re my Sky, Yu-chan!”

Orange Flames erupted, wrapping around Sniper like a thick blanket. He felt his Mask Program begin to rebel, recognizing the immediate threat.

“Error-”

Yu snarled, punching his Program in a face with a burning fist. A fresh wave of anger cause his Flames to spark, consuming the program completely.

On the outside, the mask crumpled, shattering into pieces. Yu stared down at his hands; the Sky Flames dancing gently in his palms. His head hurt, memories still trying to settle back down in place. But it was easy to ignore that as the whole situation with Rika and Aikawa took on a more unsettling light.

“Sniper?”

Yu turned around to see Yuri standing in the door. Her eyes went straight to his Sky Flames before she gasped. “Yu!” She was across the room in seconds, tackling him in a tight hug.

He gently hugged her back. “Sorry for forgetting,” he said.

Yuri pulled away, eyes shining with unshed tears. She shook her head. “All that matters is that you remember.”

“Yu!” Kuon came out of nowhere tackling Yu in a hug as well.

“Looks like you finally remember,” Mayuko said, hands on her hips.

Yu smirked, looking too much like his papa. “Shall we go get back Rika?”

His three girls grinned, each one just a little tainted with the chaos and insanity that Vongola was so well known for.

“Yes!” The three girls chorused.

-.-.-.-

Aikawa didn’t know where he had gone wrong. Somehow, Honjo Yuri and her group had slipped into the building, getting past Kijima and the Idol Trio without any of them wiser.

Volleyball Mask was sniped down with a single bullet. Aikawa scrambled, managing to call Kijima and the Idol Trio but the remainder of his Angels were still too far away.

What happened when Kijima burst through the door could only be described as a colorful rainbow explosion.

Aikawa sank to his knees, still in shock at how easy his plan had fallen apart.

“You made one mistake.”

Aikawa looked up to see the muzzle of a rifle staring down at him. Black suit and fedora, a sniper rifle, sharp brown eyes. This must be the Sniper Mask, but where was his Mask?

“You never get between a Sky and his Elements.” A bright orange light gathered at the tip of the muzzle. “Chaos Shot!”

#tenkuu shinpan #katekyo hitman reborn #khr #sniper mask #honjo yuri #honjo rika #seitowrites #adoption by kidnapping au #four-eyes-girl

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