Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ A Sohma Family Christmas ❯ Older Brother's Company ( Chapter 6 )

"Now, now koinu-chan, no pouting. I thought you outgrew that a long time ago." Shigure sat straight up in his chair when he heard a deep, almost eerie voice [1] outside his office on the veranda.

"Wh-who's there?" a face with a sly smile on it appeared in the doorway and a soft laugh escaped his lips.

"Chibi koinu-chan, you hurt my feelings! You don't recognize me." His voice was smooth as he spoke, almost comparable to silk, or so any of the older Sohma would say. Shigure's eyes widened at the person who now stood before him.

"Akihi!?!?! Is that you?!?!?" He looked at the older Sohma (his elder by 11 years at the age of 44) carefully; it was definitely Akihi: His long hair [2] (from what Shigure could tell, it would be about to his waist if left down) was tied high atop his head just like Shigure remembered; his tall stature of 6 feet was ever present; he was well dressed ("Just like Hatori" was Shigure's first reaction to Akihi's attire) and the blazing champagne stare [3] and trademark smirk were the two things that best finalized the fact that this man was indeed Akihi, the oldest child of Akira and Ren. His thick bangs hung in his face only giving some view to his stunning eyes. This Sohma was not unlike the other Jyuunishi as he was, like they were, stunning and hard not to stare at.

"Finally," the velvetine voice came forth again, "Someone in this miserable estate recognizes me!" Shigure immediately got out of his chair and said,

"Nii-san, please come in out of the snow." he motioned to a chair on the other side of his desk and Akihi went in and sat down; Shigure followed soon after. Once the two men had both taken their seats Shigure spoke up again, "Its been twenty years Akihi, where have you been?" Akihi closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them,

"Well, my father asked me to leave. Naturally I wondered why, but then, I, like all the Sohma, found out that Akito was possessed with the ancient spirit of Amaterasu and so then I also figured out father's resolve for asking me to leave this place: to prevent a power struggle between his oldest child and the one properly destined to hold the family together. You knew all this, yes?" Shigure nodded at the older man, waiting for him to continue, "Of course, I'd never have fought with her over the subject. Hell, I never felt bad about losing the family to her, I never wanted it in the first place. And besides, she was the one who had the power to hold the bond together." he made a sound of disgust as he thought about his next statement, "I guess mother raised Akito as a boy because she wanted her son to inherit and run the family." He sighed heavily, "Anyways, after I left the Sohma I landed myself a job at a pharmaceutical company. The CEO took a liking to me and a colleague of mine and eventually gave us each 25% of the company as he had no family and therefore, no heir. By the time I was 27, my colleague had died of a cold in the night and the old man had died of Tuberculosis. In his will he had named the both of us the owners of the company, but circumstances being what they were, I took over the company and have been running it on my own for the 17 years. And there you have my story, in full." Shigure nodded,

"Akihi," he proceeded cautiously, "That colleague of yours, were the two of you good friends?"

"Mmhm. That we were; inseparable really."

"What was the name?"

"Honda Katsuya-san. Why?" Shigure's eyes widened momentarily, "Shigure? what is it?" Akihi questioned. Regaining his composure, Shigure replied,

"Did he ever have a family? Of his own I mean." Akihi nodded,

"Yes, he did. He married a pretty girl and the two of them had a daughter together. Again Shigure, I ask why?"

"I'll get to that. What were the names of his wife and daughter?" Akihi cocked an eyebrow but went along with Shigure anyway,

"Kasunuma Kyoko-san was his wife and the daughter was...is, Honda Tohru-san."

"I see...Akihi, did you ever meet them?"

"Yes, many times actually. Tohru was such a cute little girl and Kyoko...gorgeous! They would frequently come to visit me, and vice versa. After Katsuya's death, the last time I saw her was at the funeral. Then when I heard Kyoko died I wondered what became of Tohru. Katsuya told me the Honda's never approved of Kyoko, so it seemed strange that Tohru would end up living with them. I offered to take them in after Katsuya died, but Kyoko told me that she didn't want to burden me. Likewise when Kyoko died, I offered to take in the girl but the Honda's told me the same." Shigure nodded, picked up his phone and dialed a number. Akihi heard an irritated male voice on the other end of the line, then Shigure spoke,

"Now, now Kyo-kun, I just need to speak to your wife for a moment........Yes, I under----...Kyo, just give her the phone!.....Kyo...I'll come down there myself and kidnap her!...thank you Kyo-kun." Akihi sat confused; Shigure winked at him as if to say, "just hold on a minute Nii-san." then he spoke into the receiver again, "Hello Mrs. Sohma..." Akihi heard a bright feminine voice on the other end of the line now, "I was wondering if you were busy?......No, no Mrs. Sohma, don't stop because of me...Ha ha very well, if you insist Mrs. Sohma.....Well, I was wondering if you might come to my office A.S.A.P then....Yes....ha ha ha you'll find out when you get here Mrs. Sohma, Oh! and could you find my daughter and bring her here with you?....Thank you Mrs. Sohma, you're an angel....ok...bye." He smiled at Akihi, "I suppose you were looking for your sister when you first entered the gate?"

"Don't change the subject Shigure. Who were you just speaking to?" Shigure smirked,

"You'll soon see, mon amour." Akihi sighed,

"Fine then. And now that you mention it, yes, I was looking for her. Where is she?" Shigure sighed contentedly,

"Well currently she's in the hospital; gave us quite a scare this morning. Not to worry though, she's fine now." Akihi stared at Shigure,

"What happened?"

"Long story short, she had a baby." Akihi choked on his breath,

"SHE WHAT!!!!" Shigure tapped his chin thoughtfully,

"Hmm, you know, thats what everyone seems to be saying about that..." Just then, a soft knock was heard on the door,

"Daddy, can I come in?" Shigure got up and opened the door. He smiled at his little daughter, picked her up and said,

"Yes of course, Darling. Where's your Auntie?" Tohru emerged from the hallway,

"Right here, Shigure-san. Sorry I took so long, but this rosy cheeked little girl was hard to find in the snow." She smiled pleasantly and Shigure patted her shoulder.

"That's fine, and I'm sure she was," he smiled at the little girl in his arms, "I suppose you were wondering why I asked you down here?" Tohru nodded,

"Yes, I was wondering. When I heard Kyo-kun arguing with someone on the phone was when my curiosity was peaked. So, what was it that you wanted Shigure-san?"

"There's someone here I think you should meet...or rather, see again." He moved aside and they saw eachother; Akihi's jaw dropped and Tohru's eyes widened. She was the first to speak,

"UNCLE!!! It's been so long since I last saw you." She stood beaming. Akihi stood up smiling,

"Yes, Tohru, it has been a while." He opened his arms and she ran to hug him. Then Akihi looked at the child in his brother-in-law's arms, "Daddy, was it, that she called you, koinu-chan?" Shigure beamed with pride,

"Yup! This is my daughter, Shikito," he nudged his daughter softly and she took her gaze directly from the stranger to her father, "Shi-chan, don't just stare at Papa's guest, go say hello." he coaxed her softly as he put her down. She sauntered over to Akihi and said,

"Hi! I'm Shikito and I'm dis many years old," at this point she held up 5 fingers to show him, "my mommy isn't here though, she's doin' work." Akihi got on one knee in front of her, noticing her wings only momentarily, he asked,

"Who is your mommy?" he was curious to know what woman actually had enough patience to spend the rest of her life with the mischievous, enigmatic writer.

"Her name is Sohma Akito-san!" The child exclaimed happily. Akihi's eyes widened briefly, then his expression took on a fake smile that only Shigure could tell as fake; Akihi commented in fake pleasantry,

"I know your mommy; She is a very nice lady."

"Yep!" the child replied, "she's also real prettiful!" she smiled cutely, and Akihi momentarily felt as if his heart had melted. He stood up; fake smile still in place, he addressed Shigure,

"She is an adorable girl Shigure; and so much like her mother." Shigure nodded and laughed nervously. He knew that the 1 thing the two Sohma siblings really had in common was their temperament, and Shigure only hoped he wouldn't be in for it later. He turned to Tohru and said to her,

"Tohru-san, why don't you take my daughter and play with her in the snow? Make a snowman or something?" Tohru got the drift and nodded in understanding,

"Should I send for tea?" She asked as she picked up the girl.

"Thank you Tohru-san." Shigure nodded as she and the child left; then turning to face Akihi, he motioned for him to have a seat. Though they only sat in silence for 5 minutes, Shigure felt like his brother-in-law had been staring at him for an eternity. In Shigure's opinion the tea couldn't have come any sooner; he immediately dismissed the maid and served the tea himself. Akihi never took his sharp gaze off of Shigure; Shigure remembered this kind of thing from when he was younger, it was always Akihi who would admonish him as his own parents rarely spoke to him at all. Shigure couldn't make eye contact with Akihi and quietly said,

"Please say something." Akihi made it seem as if he hadn't heard Shigure at all and remained silent until Shigure had sat down. Shigure noticed his silence and got the hint. He took a seat and stared down at the tea in front of him like a small child accused of stealing candy.

 

 

 

[1] Sesshoumaru's English dub voice: for an example of how Akihi sounds

[2] Mr. K (Claude Winchester) -Gravitation, inspiration

[3] Yuki Eiri's eyes- gravitation inspiration