Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ A Sohma Family Christmas ❯ Lectures and The Heat of Winter ( Chapter 7 )

The piercing gaze of the older Sohma looking over his cup and straight as his silent brother-in-law remained still until he broke the silence with his deep voice, "Well, that explains the wings." Shigure looked up, only to meet that icy, champagne stare that Akihi firmly held in place.

"In my own defense, Nii-san, the child was and currently is being raised properly, and is dearly loved...she is a happy child." Akihi looked at Shigure in disbelief,

"You disappoint me Shigure, you're a famous author and that's the best you could come up with? Really, Shigure, I thought you were better than that. I could plainly see that the child was not abused, happy, and content with where she was; its the fact of who her mother is, Shigure. I just---"

"I loved her and STILL love her!!!" Shigure cut him off in an outburst of distress and desperation, "You think that I would do something like that to her and then just LEAVE HER?!?!" Akihi sat shocked into silence by his usually fun-loving, friendly brother-in-law. There were tears in Shigure's eyes as he stood up and continued, "I was lectured about this by Hatori earlier and I will not hear it from you! YOU abandoned us and the family fell to pieces! Your father died 5 years later and you never came to comfort your mother or even to console your 5 year old sister! So don't you dare tell me what's right and wrong in MY life Nii-san! She needed someone to love her! Your mother sure as hell didn't and you were never around! I wasn't about to just sit there and let her deteriorate because of loneliness!!!" The shocked business man could only stare with a look of regret at his brother-in-law, knowing he was right. He hung his head in defeat, a solitary tear rolling off his face.

"Gomenasai, Shigure." he spoke so softly that the former dog of the Zodiac had to strain his hearing to make out the words his brother-in-law spoke, "Why did the family fall apart?" was the next question.

"Because it was being run by a five year old girl." Akihi's eyes shot up to look at Shigure in horror.

"Sh-she took over as soon as Father died? Why didn't one of the older Jyuunishi take over until she was a little bit older?"

"Because you're father told us not to. He also told us not to contact you about the exchange of leaders. I guess he though she was ready." Akihi rolled his eyes and said,

"Oh for the love of----" he choked as he was attacked from behind by a pair of red, gold embroidered sleeves.

"Nii-san! Okairi!" Akihi's face and demeanor turned from serious and vicious to tender as he reached a hand behind him and wrapped his fingers in long silver locks.

"Hello, Aya-han." [1] he whispered, only loud enough for Ayame to hear, "I missed you." What Shigure and Hatori never knew was that the reason Akihi was there, was because Ayame had told him that the curse had ended. They also didn't know that when the three of them were in high school, Akihi and Ayame were seeing each other. Ayame kept it a secret from his cousins by simply telling them that he had errands to run; eventually, the other two Sohma boys had figured it out that he, in fact, did not have errands to run and forced him to tell them where he was going every other day. He decided not to tell them the whole truth, and instead, told them that there was a pretty secretary that he had a crush on at a building downtown; which, incidentally, was the building that Akihi worked at and later came to own.

Shigure paid no mind to the smile on his brother-in-law's face, or the one on his cousin's face; he simply assumed that they were happy to see eachother after 20 years. Then he said, "Aya, what brings you to my study?" Ayame, still hanging off of Akihi, looked up innocently at Shigure,

" Mon ami, I heard you yelling and immediately came to see what the fuss was about. Gure, you never yell." Shigure blushed, he heard me that far away? Great, explaining this to my daughter will be something else!

"I know. I kind of got defensive. Aki---"

"But we won't discuss that now," Akihi cut him off. He unlatched Ayame from his neck and stood up.

"Aya, where's Ha'ri?" Shigure asked his cousin, who would usually be fawning over the family doctor. Ayame thought for a moment,

"He just left, Gure."

"Left? Where'd he go?" Shigure inquired further.

"I don't know. but wherever it was, he took the black car." Shigure beamed; the black car meant only one thing,

"SHE'S COMING HOME TONIGHT!!!" Akihi was confused,

"Black Car? And who's coming home?" Ayame answered the first question,

"The black limousine. The Sohma have three of them: black, gray, and white." Shigure answered the other half,

"And the black limousine means only one thing: Akito; My treasure, the love that keeps me alive...and she's healthy enough already to come home!"

 

 

 

[1] the suffix "-han" in Japanese means "my other half"; commonly used by people in love.